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NEW DELHI: Come April 1, 2012, your cheques and bank drafts will have a life of just three months instead of the earlier six.

In a notification on Friday evening, the Reserve Bank of India said these instruments will have to be presented within three months from the date of issue as it has been brought to its notice by the government that some persons were taking undue advantage of the six month validity of cheques/drafts/pay orders/banker’s cheques by circulating them like cash for this period.

For customer awareness, banks have been asked to print the change on cheques and drafts that will be issued from April 1, 2012.

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Drivers caught exceeding the assigned speed limit in Dubai by at least 60 km will have their vehicles seized for one month and fined Dh1,000. The offenders will also have 12 black points added to their record.

The stringent penalty is part of a new drive by Dubai’s traffic police to reduce road deaths by curbing accidents which they say are caused mainly by speed.

An advanced speed camera introduced by Dubai, dubbed “jin” caught nearly 16,776 drivers exceeding the speed limit in the first 10 months of 2011, part of nearly 283,753 offences recorded by the system during that period.

“The traffic department is gradually targeting zero deaths on roads by curbing accidents through intensification of traffic patrols and speed camera, coupled with more media awareness campaigns,” said Major General Mohammed Saif Al Zafin, director of the Dubai traffic department.

He said drivers caught speeding by jin would have to pay Dh100 for every additional 10 km above the speed limit.

“In case they exceed the limit by 50-60 km, the fine will be Dh900…..if their speed is at least 60 above the limit, they will be fined Dh1,000 and have 12 black points added to their record. The offending vehicle will also be impounded for one month,” he said, quoted by the Dubai-based Emirat Alyoum newspaper.

Zafin’s figures showed deaths caused by road mishaps declined by around 17 per cent to 119 so far this year compared with 133 in the same period of 2010.

The number of offences hunted by speed cameras also plunged to 283,753 from nearly 341,951 in the same period, he said.

“We have this year launched a campaign against excessive speed as part of our strategy to reduce deaths…this campaign will continue until the end of the year.”

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The writer Deepak Mohoni is from trendwatchindia.com

The market was relatively unscathed in the last week even as most global markets tumbled. The Sensex finished 1.36% or 242.19 points lower, and the Nifty ended 1.43% down. The CNX Midcap Index managed a gain of 1.11%.

Hindustan Unilever was the biggest winner among the index stocks with an 8.4% gain. The other index stocks to rise included State Bank of India, BHEL, Tata Power and Bharti Airtel, with gains between 3% and 1.6%.

Tata Motors was the biggest loser among the index stocks with an 8.8% loss. The other index stocks to fall included Sterlite Industries, ICICI Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra and Coal India, with losses between 7.3% and 3.5%.

Allahabad Bank was the biggest winner among the more heavily traded non-index stocks with a 17.1% gain.

The other non-index stocks to rise included Orchid Chemicals, Sun TV Network, Bank of Baroda, Prakash Constrowell, Gravita India, Onelife Capital Advisors and JSW Steel, with gains between 15.1% and 7.1%.

M and B Switchgears was the biggest loser among the more heavily traded non-index stocks with a loss of 30.1%. The other non-index stocks to fall included Jaypee Infratech, Jain Irrigation, VIP Industries, Tata Motors DVR, GVK Power & Infrastructure, Suzlon Energy and Steel Authority of India, with losses between 13.8% and 4.1%.

INTERMEDIATE TREND

The Sensex, Nifty and the CNX Midcap managed to remain in intermediate uptrends despite the global sell-off.

The levels below which the intermediate uptrend would end are now at 17,275 for the Sensex, 5,200 for the Nifty, and 7,175 for the CNX Midcap Index. (Figures rounded down to the nearest 25).

The intermediate uptrend has been on from the October 4 lows of 15,745 for the Sensex, 4,728 for the Nifty, and 6,817 for the CNX Midcap Index.

Some of the European indices had apparently entered intermediate downtrends, but bounced back strongly towards the end of the week.

It may take another week before their intermediate trends are resolved. Most other global indices are still in intermediate uptrends.

LONG-TERM TREND

The Sensex and the Nifty have risen past their previous intermediate tops during the current intermediate uptrend, triggering the so-called ’Dow Signal’ for a bull market. The Dow itself and a few other global markets also did this.

Further confirmation of a bull market would be signalled if these indices settle above their 200-day moving averages. The Sensex’s average is just under 18,000 and the Nifty’s a bit below at 5,400. The Dow is a little above its 200-day average.

TRADING & INVESTING STRATEGIES

Additional investment for the long term is best done after an intermediate downtrend develops and runs for a week or more, as the current uptrend is almost a month old.

Existing portfolios should be retained as the risk on most volatile stocks too is now lower as a bull market looks to have set in. Small long-term equity exposure may be taken now, but only if the portfolio is extremely underweight in stocks.

Investing in gold and other commodities remains risky, as there is a strong possibility that the longer-term trend in most commodities is down despite some strong rallies.

Most commodities remain well below the peaks they reached earlier in the year.