Now, choose your Lucky bank a/c number as per numerology
Already have a mobile and a car number plate with your lucky series? Now, add your bank account to the list. You can flaunt a personalized account number and add a touch of exclusivity to your financial transactions.
The service introduced by Development Credit Bank (DCB)—for its elite customers with a quarterly balance of at least Rs 5 lakh—gives both savings and current account holders the option to pick their choice of last six digits in their account numbers.
The craze for VIP numbers peaked a few years back with cellular operators offering mobile numbers ending with special series such as 99999. This became hugely popular in states like Punjab and Haryana as operators put these premium numbers up for bidding and pocketed lakhs of rupees.
Made available to postpaid customers, an Airtel spokesperson said the price tag attached to such numbers starts at Rs 1,000 but did not give details on how much these premium numbers can fetch at the most. In the past, people have paid up to Rs 15-20 lakh for their choice of numbers. The state-owned MTNL has a bidding process on its website for both pre- and postpaid subscribers.
Although DCB does not let you bid for a particular series like you can for your mobile number, the bank works on a first-come-first-serve basis without charging any fee for the service. Launched recently across its 80 branches, the bank says the service has generated a positive response from its customers, but did not give details on how many customers had opted for it. At the moment, none of the big lenders like HDFC Bank or ICICI Bank offer this service. Praveen Kutty, head, retail & SME banking, DCB, says that the service launched under the bank’s elite programme also offers other value-formoney benefits and has received positive feedback from its customers.
A banking expert, however, says that under core banking the account holder is no longer a branch customer but part of a centralized database. The bank identifies the customer using a customer ID number, which is generated sequentially. In some core banking solutions, bank officials have the option to decide the number while in some others it is randomly generated. “We are not sure how the central bank would react if banks started selling premium account numbers like traffic authorities or telecom operators. We would not like to freely provide this option to all customers because it will add to the costs and does not really provide any benefit,” said a senior official with a large private bank.
But given the craze for lucky numbers, numerologist Sanjay B Jumaani, whom actors like Salman Khan consult, says he has recommended many of his clients to go for a lucky series when it comes to their cars, houses and mobile phone numbers. He says these numbers have an important bearing on one’s career and personal life.
“I give simple solutions to my clients and not really ask them to splurge huge amounts to get a particular series. A lot of these people get these numbers for reasons other than numerology as it’s just a fancy thing to have and also because they have halfbaked knowledge of numerology,” Jumaani adds.
From bank account numbers to AGM dates, the number 9 rules India Inc
When the Hindujas-run IndusInd Bank launched its ‘Choose Your Account Number’ scheme earlier this month, it had factored in the high demand for traditionally “lucky” sequences, but the rush for accounts adding up to Number 9 has the bank scrambling for ideas – and numbers.
Ritesh Raj Saxena, head of personal accounts at IndusInd Bank, says while its customer base rose 50%, about a quarter of the newbies demanded account numbers that added up to nine.
No. 9 rules, not just Mars but also Planet India Inc, says Pramod Chaudhari, founder chairman of Praj Industries, which supplies equipments to bio-ethanol producers. The 64-year-old has been partial to No. 9 ever since he found that his 11th standard examination hall ticket added to nine – his seat number was No. 9. And that was just the beginning.
A few years later, he scored Rank No. 117 at the IIT-JEE. “I noticed my luck during this exam,” says Chaudhari who completed his engineering degree from IIT Mumbai. When he began his own business with investments from blue-blooded investors such as Vinod Khosla and later from Tata group, No. 9 continued to be his lucky mascot – he even rewarded his shareholders with dividend payout that added to nine.
For the past three decades, Praj Industries announced dividend payout with percentage adding to No. 9, which is decided by its nine-member board.
It turns out, astrologically, No. 9 is quite a force to reckon with: apart from symbolising completeness, it is said to contain the energy of the previous eight numbers.
“Nine is a symbol of energy represented by Mars (Mangal), the red fiery planet human beings can see with their naked eyes,” says Sanjay B Jumaani, a Mumbai-based numerologist. whose clientele includes Bollywood stars, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar, and cricketers Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble.
“Khan and Kumar made bumper hit movies at age 45. Khan, born on December 27, and Kumar on December 9, broke collection records of Rs 300 crore,” says Jumaani. Man Infra MD Parag K Shah, 44, keeps count of all the ways in which his business has benefited from No. 9. His public issue was oversubscribed by 63 times at an issue price of Rs 252 a piece, with both numbers adding to nine. “It was a coincidence. The number of investors who applied to the offer added up to 9. In the past 20 years, I found nine lucky for me,” says Shah.
Well, Shah’s crush with No. 9 doesn’t end there. “I like to have my board meetings and shareholder meetings on dates which add up to 9. But sometimes the lack of availability of independent directors may push us to other dates,” he says.
And as if his point was not evident by now, he adds for good measure: “Right now, I am speaking to you from the 72nd floor of a tower in Dubai.” Shah is in fact a leading member of Club Nine whose other luminaries include leading corporate lawyer Berjis Desai, managing partner at JSA.
“The plot where my building is constructed is 9.” Staying true to his belief, he lives in flat number 81. Desai doesn’t mind driving the extra mile in the gridlock of Mumbai traffic – it appears that Mumbai has a geographical connect with his lucky number. “In Mumbai, the latitudinal and longitudinal axis comes to nine, which exerts a strong psychological and cosmic influence on human beings,” he says.
Such theories of cosmology find a ready audience among India’s realty mavens, who can’t seem get enough out of No. 9. “In the past seven years, we have won projects where we negotiated with a price adding to nine,” says Vinod Goenka, CMD of real estate-to-hotels group DB Realty.
‘”My fascination for nine started with my marriage in 1986 to Aseela, whose date of birth added to nine. Later, I got my car number 621 without asking for it.”
Now every price bid for his business adds to nine. He recalls an incident when he built a hotel near the Sahar International Airport in Mumbai. “I never planned to have the number of rooms adding to 9, but the keys added to 171,” says Goenka.
No surprise then that the likes of Chaudhari, Shah, Desai and Goenka share the same number plates for their luxury sedans. Chaudhari owns an Audi 8 series with 909 and a Skoda Superb with 1800, while Shah’s four cars – a BMW 7 series, Range Rover, Land Rover and Mercedes Mini Coupe have their registration numbers – 9800. Desai drives a grey BMW whose registration number adds to nine and Goenka’s trio of his Aston Martin Rapid series, BMW 7 series and Range Rover, all have registration numbers adding to 9.
While No. 9 has spelt success for so many entrepreneurs, here is a word of caution: “Nine is like a nuclear energy and overuse of the number can make one impulsive, rash, stubborn, obstinate and accident prone,” says Jumaani.
Hope Club Nine is listening.