Most of us postpone investing our cash inflows in productive investment opportunities.

The extra cash

lies idle in your bank account, earning a meager Savings Bank (SB) interest, just because you may be
too busy to invest it or do not give much thought to it. This is where an Auto-Sweep facility in your
Savings Bank account will help you.
Meaning of Auto-Sweep Facility
Auto Sweep facility is offered by many leading banks and is called by different names in different
banks. This gives the twin advantages of both a Savings Bank account and a fixed deposit (FD)
account. Your Savings Bank account is linked to a FD, and any amount lying in the Savings Bank
account above a pre-defined threshold limit is automatically transferred to the FD account, helping you
earn higher interest compared to the interest earned in Savings Bank account.
Working of an Auto-Sweep Account:
In an Auto-Sweep account, you define the maximum amount you would want to hold in your Savings
Bank account, which is the threshold limit. At any point in time, when your account has a balance
higher than this limit, the surplus is transferred to a FD account automatically, enabled by technology.
This is called a sweep-in and the transferred amount earns normal FD interest. The amount in the
Savings Bank account earns Savings Bank interest. Whenever you need money in excess of the predefined limit, the money in your FD is swept back into your Savings Bank account, which is called
sweep-out or reverse-sweep.
Suppose you open an Auto-Sweep Savings Bank account in ABC Bank with Minimum balance: Rs.5,000
Initial deposit: Rs.30,000
Threshold limit defined: Rs.10,000.
The excess Rs.20,000 is transferred automatically by the bank to a new FD account. This will earn FD
rate of interest. The amount in your Savings Bank account (Rs.10,000) will earn Savings Bank rate of
interest. If you wish to withdraw Rs.15,000 after 3 months from your Savings Bank account, the
shortfall amount of Rs.10,000 (withdrawal amount of Rs.15,000+ minimum balance of Rs.5,000threshold limit of Rs.10,000) will be auto-reversed from your FD account. If it is a zero balance
account, only Rs.5,000 will be reversed from the FD. Your FD which is now reduced to Rs.10,000, will
continue to earn FD interest. In future, if you deposit more money into your account, the excess above
the threshold limit will again be swept into a FD.
Advantages and Drawbacks:
This facility offers the double benefits of liquidity and flexibility of a Savings Bank account and high
interest rates of a FD account. It is suitable if you are not able to exactly time the need for money. This
facility is especially useful for the salaried class, who may not be willing to lock-in large amount in FD,
but at the same time want to earn high interest on idle money in the Savings Bank account.
While there are certain benefits of the Auto-Sweep facility, it is not bereft of drawbacks. You
may not be able to efficiently track the movement of your funds if you are too frequent in your
sweeps. Additionally, some banks may specify a minimum period for FDs. If there is a premature withdrawal when you need money, it will attract a penalty on the interest rate offered.
Some banks also calculate simple interest on FDs created under this facility, as against
compound interest in traditional FDs. Although this facility is generally free of charge, some banks
apply service charges on transactions.

Should you opt for the Auto-Sweep facility?

Auto-Sweep is best suited for busy professionals who do not have time to monitor their Savings Bank
account, helping them earn higher interest on idle cash. It is also suited for people having only few
transactions in their Savings Bank account. However, it is important not to over-do this facility. If you
think you can predict your cash flow patterns reasonably well, it is better to invest the surplus cash in
better-manageable investment avenues with no penalty for fore-closure.
While it is a good idea to leverage the excess cash and earn better interest, please keep in mind that
such short term FDs are tax inefficient. Also, interest earned on FD is subject to TDS by Bank if the
amount exceeds Rs. 10,000.
If you like to avoid Auto-Sweeps, one good option is to look at Yes Bank Savings Account. This will
earn you interest @ 7% p.a. for balances above Rs. 1 Lakh.
Another important aspect to keep in mind is that your surplus cash may have a better use for your
Financial Goals like Retirement, Childrens Education etc.

What is Premium Unleaded Petrol?

The product names of the premium petrol products will often include a number eg Unleaded 95. That
number you see in the product name which is somewhere between 91 and 100, relates to the Research
Octane Number or RON. Under the National Fuel Quality Standards Premium Unleaded Petrol (PULP) is
required to have a minimum RON95, whereas regular Unleaded Petrol (ULP) has a minimum RON91. You
pay more for a higher octane fuel.
In the table below you can see that petrol outlets typically offer a choice of regular unleaded petrol with
RON91, premium unleaded petrol with RON95, and ultra-premium unleaded petrol with RON98.
Outlet
BP

Caltex

Mobil

Shell

Product

Octane

Unleaded 91
Premium Unleaded 95
Ultimate Unleaded
Unleaded
Vortex 95
Vortex 98
Unleaded 91
Premium Unleaded 95
Premium Unleaded 98
Unleaded
Unleaded 95
V-Power

91
95
98
91
95
98
91
95
98
91
95
98

Octane in petrol is not a measure of energy or power (or manhood). Research Octane Number (RON)
relates to the fuels resistance to ignite under high pressure. During normal operation of the petrol
engine, ignition of the fuel mix is supposed to be activated by a perfectly timed spark from the spark
plug. Pre-ignition occurs when the fuel mix ignites too soon under extreme pressure within the
combustion chamber. The poor timing of pre-ignition robs the engine of maximum possible power, but
worse than that, the shock of the detonation could damage engine components. A knocking or pinging
sound can be heard. So higher octane fuels, with a greater RON, means better resistance to pre-ignition
and less chance of knocking.
High octane fuel is required to avoid engine knocking in engines operating at high ratios of compression.
Not all engines operate at such extremes. Engines which are tuned for performance and operate at a
high compression ratio, make use of high octane fuel to reduce the risk of knocking.
"What petrol does my car use?"
You are wasting your money if you are filling up with high octane fuel and your engine is not designed to
take advantage of it. The decision about which fuel to use for best performance is not your decision
to make. This has already been decided by the engine manufacturer. Assuming you have not modified
your engine, and kept your car well maintained, the best fuel to use for your modern car is most likely
stated on the petrol cap, or listed in the vehicles handbook.

If your car manufacturer recommends ULP, rejoice! Thats regular UnLeaded Petrol. Regular
unleaded petrol is usually the cheapest unleaded petrol at the pump and provided your engine is not
modified and in good shape, ULP as stated in the handbook is the best choice for your car. More
expensive premium unleaded petrol with RON above 91 will not do your car any harm, but will not
drastically improve performance. Save your money and treat yourself to a premium beer at your
next BBQ.
If minimum RON95 or RON98 is specified for your car, you must not fill with regular unleaded.
Always fill with premium unleaded petrol (PULP) at or above the minimum RON specified by your car
manufacturer. The engine will be designed to take advantage of the higher octane. Using unleaded
petrol with lesser octane could produce engine knocking resulting in expensive damage, especially
when driven aggressively or heavily loaded.
Increasingly for some new cars, the handbook will allow a choice of either unleaded or premium petrol,
but indicate that premium unleaded petrol is preferred by the car manufacture for best performance.
Modern road cars fitted with advanced engine management systems can detect knocking and make
adjustments so that fuel with lower octane can be used safely but with some loss of power as a
downside. For these vehicles, it could be said that high octane fuel found in premium unleaded petrol
will improve performance compared with using regular unleaded petrol. This is why the man with the
deep voice on the ad who claims improved performance by switching to high octane premium fuel is not
completely wrong. For these particular cars with the correct type of engine management system,
premium unleaded petrol will improve performance. If you drive one of these cars, Im sure the car
salesman would have rammed this down your throat when you bought the car so you would already know
before filling up that you have the option of filling with either premium unleaded petrol or unleaded
petrol.

Engine Cleaning Additives

Octane rating aside, each petrol brand boasts additional special benefits for their unleaded petrol
formula.
Some, but not all, premium unleaded petrol brands claim to contain additives which are said to prevent
the build-up of carbon deposits, helping your engine to use fuel more economically, thus saving you
money. Given the price difference between unleaded petrol and the more expensive premium unleaded
petrol, I would not expect any money to be saved by filling up with premium unleaded for this reason
alone.
If you like the idea of a fuel that cleans your engine, consider a petrol brand such as Shell which has the
same cleaning additives across all their unleaded petrol products. For example if I fill up with Shell
regular Unleaded petrol, I know I am getting the same engine cleaning formula as the more expensive
premium Unleaded95 petrol product.

Anti Friction Additives

Special anti-friction lubricants are often reserved for the very top end of the premium unleaded petrol
range, intended for high performance engines. For example according to Shell literature, the addition of
what Shell call Friction Modification Technology is attributed only to the most expensive Shell V-Power
product, which has an octane level far exceeding the needs of an average vehicle. Marketing petrol
products in this way makes us feel as if we are missing out on something unless we buy the most
expensive product. If your car engine is tuned for high performance and you drive to its very limits, then
the anti friction additives are a handy feature of ultra premium unleaded petrol.