tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-226387392024-03-07T14:45:57.421+05:30Memoirs of a journey called - Life...Life is a journey which teaches a person all the aspects of human nature and behavior. We are mere travelers on this journey, with our guide being our conscience. Hence, we must follow the path shown by it so that we can enjoy the beauty and excitement that is a part of this journey called life...anishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12496594903784185510noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22638739.post-23949862166488069282017-10-13T07:59:00.001+05:302017-10-13T09:55:31.327+05:30InsurTech 2.0<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The Life Insurance industry is
going through a disruption, as we see a lot of tech giants getting converging
in the <i>Insurtech</i> space. This is an
industry that’s witnessing a revolution in terms of the ways people think of
insurance as well as the way insurers go about gathering data and doing their
business. With the advent of technologies like <i>IoT</i>, <i>Big Data analytics</i>, <i>AI</i> etc. we are witness to what the
Industry giants are terming as <i>Insurtech</i>
2.0<o:p></o:p></div>
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Advent of such technologies will
facilitate both the customers as well as the insurers, thus changing the life
insurance products from a <i>push </i>to a <i>pull </i>driven industry. With the advent of
aggregators and apps and wearable and what not, the consumers are finding it
easier to understand and transact the life insurance products. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The following <i>Insurtech</i> areas are the torch bearers of
the tech revolution the life insurance is witnessing now and it will be
interesting to see how the technology landscape changes the market.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="text-indent: -18pt;">AI &
Chat Bots:</b><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> To provide their Customers with the best in call experience,
insurers have been moving from </span><i style="text-indent: -18pt;">UI</i><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> to </span><i style="text-indent: -18pt;">UX</i><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">. AI is the latest tool that is
expected to provide customer delight. AI based technologies like IBM Watson is
driving </span><i style="text-indent: -18pt;">chat bot</i><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> based products that
are providing the insurers with a new and cost effective way of connecting with
their customers across the social medial landscape. </span><i style="text-indent: -18pt;">Artificial Intelligence</i><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> is playing a very important role in
refining the customer experience via these </span><i style="text-indent: -18pt;">chat
bots</i><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> that facilitate smart and simple humane conversations. This will also
result in lowering the cost of customer service processes.</span><br />
<b style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></b>
<b style="text-indent: -18pt;">IoT/
Wearable:</b><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> The new generation of customers are adapting to the wearable
tech for a healthier lifestyle and are ready to share their personal data with
the insurers if it results in a savings on their policy premium. Insurers will
user machine learning to gain insights from these real – time data. Pricing can
be more accurate and tailored basis these insights, resulting in better
customer persistency ratios.</span><br />
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<b style="text-indent: -18pt;">Big Data
Analytics:</b><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> The advent of IoT and wearable have increased the touch points
of insurers with their customers, resulting in a manifold increase of data that
needs to be crunched to provide the insurers with insights for better pricing,
and personalized customer service. Big data analytics will allow the insurers
to automate the underwriting processes up to an acceptable financial limit,
reducing their turnaround times and increasing the cost efficiency of these
operational processes.</span><br />
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<b style="text-indent: -18pt;">Cloud
based services: </b><i style="text-indent: -18pt;">IaaS</i><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">, </span><i style="text-indent: -18pt;">PaaS</i><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> and SaaS are some of the hot
selling cloud technologies having a wide acceptance in the Fintech landscape. Still,
we don’t see those making similar in-roads in the </span><i style="text-indent: -18pt;">Insurtech</i><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> landscape. There are some complications in adopting cloud
based technologies due to the regulations and data confidentiality clause.
Hence, the strategy has been improvised wherein companies are trying to
implement a hybrid hosting model having a mix of cloud and on-premises (</span><i style="text-indent: -18pt;">minimal</i><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">) IT Infrastructure model. This
gives them the required agility and freedom from the overhead of managing IT
infra while adhering to the regulations.</span><br />
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<b style="text-indent: -18pt;">Blockchain:
</b><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Back office paperwork and operations has been a major headache for all the
insurers since ages. Not much has been achieved here due to the stringent
regulations revolving around the areas of underwriting and claims. Blockchain
is disrupting this archaic working model by bringing in concepts like </span><i style="text-indent: -18pt;">smart contracts</i><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> and </span><i style="text-indent: -18pt;">digital assets</i><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">. Distributed Ledger Technology (</span><i style="text-indent: -18pt;">basis of blockchain technology</i><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">) means an increase in transparency
in policy servicing, claims management etc. </span><i style="text-indent: -18pt;">Smart
databases</i><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> can be created with </span><i style="text-indent: -18pt;">information
assets</i><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> that will provide with verified data at the fingertips of the
insurers, thus minimizing the risk of fraudulent claims. The data will be
available in the public domain and hence, will result in an increase in data
sharing among the insurers and providing with a unified customer experience.</span></div>
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With the convergence of so many
technologies, it will be interesting to see the insurance industry transforming
into a global technology hub and the benefits it will bring to the insurers as
well as the customers. Hope it will help in changing the mindset of the
customers and will commoditize the insurance products and become a part of life.
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anishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12496594903784185510noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22638739.post-18326478674195077302013-02-19T13:25:00.000+05:302013-03-01T23:34:59.237+05:30Kolad - Outbound Training Experience<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Recently, my company decided to have an outbound training for its employees. I was lucky to get included in the list of the selected few for the first batch. It was a great experience and I also got to re-live my NDA - SSB days. This post is going to be a image-blog, with minimum comments, mostly to describe the images.<br />
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Venue: Empower Adventure Capms, Kolad, Maharashtra, India.<br />
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Sprawling lawns in front of the campus:</div>
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View from Gazebo (common dining area):</div>
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Greenery galore - A rare site in Mumbai:</div>
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Taking time out between the hectic schedule:</div>
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Early and sumptuous breakfast before a long and strenous day:</div>
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The winding path through the woods to Neverland:</div>
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The famed Banyan Tree, responsible for creating many a 'Corporate Buddhas':</div>
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An interesting sign stating "Yahaan par bore hona manaa hai"...So True:</div>
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Modern A.C. Tent houses - A Farce:</div>
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Weapons of Mass Destruction:</div>
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That's yours truly, peeping out of my tent:</div>
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the entire batch that got "Empowered":</div>
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'Anna' too realizing its high time he came out of his slumber:</div>
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Goradia a.k.a. Gujju Bhai with his morning beauty smile:</div>
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A small step for me, but a giant step for mankind:</div>
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that's me and Gujju bhai pitching our tent:</div>
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Taking some rest at the porch of a VIP tent:</div>
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......still resting...</div>
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The obstacle course that reminded me of NDA's SSB days:</div>
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Doing what we do best - strategizing, planning, but to no avail:</div>
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Live in action:</div>
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Hanging for dear life:</div>
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That's me in the front, rowing in the raft that we had made. Still can't believe it survived the trip across the river and back without any casualties:</div>
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Raft building:</div>
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A litlle competition never hurt anybody:</div>
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On the far end:</div>
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That's my team, coming back victorious!!:</div>
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Yay! we won!!:</div>
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Accomplishing the impossible, conquering "The Wall":</div>
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Look at the gap between us and the second team:</div>
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A river on the way to Kolad:</div>
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Time for Bon' (Fire) Appetite':</div>
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anishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12496594903784185510noreply@blogger.com9Kolad, Maharashtra 402304, India18.4077066 73.21018370000001618.3926401 73.190013700000023 18.4227731 73.230353700000009tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22638739.post-15886559509719628302013-02-11T11:28:00.000+05:302013-03-01T23:35:30.179+05:30My Bronze Beauty - I-gen i20 Sportz (P)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I am an automobile enthusiast and always try to stay updated with the development in the Indian automobile industry. <br />
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My current favorite Indian car is the i-Gen i20; i might be a bit biased as I am a proud owner of one. Even though the new Swift gives it a tough competition, I feel Hyundai has understood the Indian buyers' needs and has delivered it to the T.</div>
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i20 comes (over)loaded with gadgets and gizmos. Its got all the bells and whistles required to attract the Indian consumers. It has brought so many first in the class features like auto headlights, DRLs, rain sensing wipers, rear parking camera assist, electrically retracting ORVMs etc. </div>
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The build quality of this Korean make is much superior to the Swifts, Figos, Indicas et al. The dual- tone interior with a generous helping of chrome gives it the feel of a luxury sedan. The 1.2 litre dual VTVT engine though might be a bit underpowered but when the turbo kicks in, its a beast on prowl.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The second gear has a noticeable lag, but you can still overtake other cars easily. The steering wheel has been criticized by one and all for being light and non- responsive, but it feels just fine in my hands and I love the fact that I can steer the car with the touch of a finger. Steer- mounted controls and a sporty 3 - spoke steering wheels are also a big plus as they lend a sporting look to the car. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The suspension is the only negative that I can think of. It being very soft is good for low speed driving but on high speed, there's a risk of the car bottoming out on big potholes. The mileage is comparable to the best in the category and even the ASS is light on the wallet. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
All in all, its a luxury sedan meant for comfortable driving and I am loving it!!!</div>
</div>
anishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12496594903784185510noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22638739.post-86655089014012020552013-02-11T11:15:00.000+05:302013-02-11T11:15:40.127+05:30All Is Not Lost Yet...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Since the last couple of years, I
have noticed that I have stopped helping people. Even my wife has been
complaining about my behavior and I don’t know why but have been unable to
bring myself to helping others. In other words, I have changed, changed for
worse. But all this changed last night; a small incident made me realize that
all is not lost yet. There still are some good Samaritans left in this world
and irrespective of their age, they never fail to lend a helping hand to those
in need.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
It all started last night when
after coming back from a short ride I was putting cover on my car. Since I was
alone, I put the car keys, papers and my ID card on the Alto parked next to my
car. While I was in the act, a lady came, sat in the Alto and drove off. Since I
was busy completing my task at the earliest, I didn’t notice the lady getting
into the Alto. Just when she left, I realized all my papers and car keys were
still on the roof of her car. She didn’t bother to see if anything was kept on
the roof and had taken off. I ran after her car shouting at the top of my
lungs, making hand gestures, trying to stop her. To my utter dismay, she kept
driving and got out through the OUT door of our society. I even tried to shout
at the guard to stop the car but he was in his own sweet world.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Now the car was on the road with
me running at max speed possible for me and waving my hands frantically and
shouting words like “STOP”, “STOP THE CARRRR”, but oblivious of the situation she
continued driving. All the pedestrians were enjoying the chase and I was
feeling like James Bond giving chase to some goons escaping in a car. Soon after
a couple of minutes I was jolted back to reality with the feeling of hammering
in my chest and breathlessness. I was out of my breath after running for about
150 meters and was about to give up when suddenly I saw someone running past
me, at double my speed trying to chase the car. I paused to look at my knight
in shining armor to find a kid of around 12 who had been returning home and had
taken pity at me and was trying to help me. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Just when I was about to give up
hope, the car went over a bump and mercifully all the documents and keys fell
off. I felt as if I had won a lottery of a million rupees. The kid picked them
up and came back running to me. With an innocent smile on his face he gave them
back to me and asked if there was anything else that was still missing. I thanked
him profusely and went on to buy him loads of chocolates. His friends gave him
a hero’s welcome and carried him around on their shoulders chanting slogans.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I dragged my exhausted self back
to my flat, but with a smile on my face. This incident made me realize that
there still are some good people around and I should not lose hope.</div>
</div>
anishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12496594903784185510noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22638739.post-6862556495774005892012-05-08T11:06:00.002+05:302012-05-08T11:06:38.124+05:30Why India Works<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
*Why India Works - written by internationally-acclaimed film director </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Shekhar Kapoor.***** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
**** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A greater ‘hole in the wall’ you cannot imagine. A small fading sign on the </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
top saying “Cellphoon reapars” barely visible through the street vendors </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
crowding the Juhu Market in Mumbai. On my way to buy a new Blackberry, my </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
innate sense of adventure made me stop my car and investigate. A shop not </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
more than 6 feet by 6 feet. Grimy and uncleaned.**** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
‘Can you fix a Blackberry ?”**** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
‘Of course, show me”**** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
”How old are you” ‘Sixteen’**** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Bullshit. He was no more than 10. Not handing my precious blackberry to a 10 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
year old in unwashed and torn T shirt and pyjamas! At least if I buy a new </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
one, they would extract the data for me. Something I have been meaning to do </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
for a year now.**** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
‘What’s wrong with it?”**** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
‘Well, the roller track ball does not respond. It’s kind of stuck and I </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
cannot operate it”**** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He grabs it from my hand and looks at it**** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
“You should wash your hands. Many customers have same problem. Roller ball </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
get greasy and dirty, then no working’**** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Look who was telling me to wash my hands. He probably has not bathed for 10 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
days, I leaned out to snatch my useless blackberry back..**** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
” You come back in one hour and I fix it’.**** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I am not leaving all my precious data in this unwashed kid’s hands for an </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
hour. No way.**** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
“Who will fix it?”**** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
‘Big brother’**** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
‘How big is ‘big brother?’**** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
‘big …. Umm ..thirty’**** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Then suddenly big brother walks in. 30 ??? He is no more than 19.**** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
‘What problem?’ He says grabbing the phone from my greasy hand into his </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
greasier hand. Obviously not trained in etiquette by an upmarket retail </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
store manager.**** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
‘Normal blackberry problem. I replace with original part now. You must wash </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
your hand before you use this’. What is this about me washing my hands </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
suddenly??**** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
19 year old big brother rummages through a dubious drawer full of junk and </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
fishes out a spare roller ball packed in cheap cellophane wrapper. Original </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
part? I doubt it. But by now I am in the lap of the real India and there is </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
no escape as he fishes out a couple of screwdrivers and sets about opening </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
my Blackberry.**** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
“How long will this take?”**** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
”Six minutes”**** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This I have to see. After spending the whole morning trying to find a </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Blackberry service centre and getting vague answers about sending the phone </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
in for an assessment that might take a week, I settle down next to his </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
grubby cramped work space. At least I am going to be able to watch all my </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
stored data vanish into virtual space. People crowd around to see what’s </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
happening. I am not breathing easy anyway. I tell myself this is an </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
adventure and literally have to stop myself grabbing my precious Blackberry </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
back and making a quick escape. But in exactly six minutes this kid handed </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
my Blackberry back. He had changed the part and cleaned and serviced the </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
whole phone. Taken it apart, and put it together. As I turned the phone on </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
there was a horrific 2 minutes where the phone would not come on. I looked </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
at him with such hostility that he stepped back.**** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
‘you have more than thousand phone numbers ?”**** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
‘yes’.**** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
‘backed up?’**** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
‘no’**** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
‘Must back up. I do it for you. Never open phone before backing up’**** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
‘You tell me that now?’**** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But then the phone came on and my data was still there. Everyone watching </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
laughed and clapped. This was becoming a show. A six minute show. I asked </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
him how much.**** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
‘500 rupees’ He ventured uncertainly. People around watched in glee </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
expecting a negotiation.**** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
That’s $10 dollars as against the Rs 30,000 ($ 600) I was about to spend on </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
a new Blackberry or a couple of weeks without my phone. I looked suitably </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
shocked at his ‘high price’ but calmly paid him. Much to the disappointment </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
of the expectant crowd**** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
‘do you have an I-Phone ? Even the new ‘4D one ?**** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
‘no, why”**** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
‘I break the code for you and load any ‘app’ or film you want. I give you 10 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
film on your memory stick on this one, and change every week for small fee’* </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
*** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I went home having discovered the true entrepreneurship that lies at what we </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
call the ‘bottom of the pyramid’. Some may call it piracy, which of course </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
it is, but what can you say about two uneducated and untrained brothers aged </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
10 and 19 that set up a ‘hole in the wall’ shop and can fix any technology </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
that the greatest technologists in the world can throw at them. I smiled at </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
the future of our country. If only we could learn to harness this potential. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
**** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
‘Please wash your hands before use’ were his last words to me. *Now I am </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
feeling seriously unclean.***** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><b>Disclaimer: Its a fwd I got from someone and any law violation should be aimed at that person and not him. In case anyone has any problem with this article, he/she should email me his/ her protest. </b></i></div>
</div>anishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12496594903784185510noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22638739.post-43573302626628939032011-04-08T16:55:00.003+05:302011-04-16T16:42:17.409+05:30Destitutus Ventis, Remos Adhibe!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div align="justify">Is just accepting a "Causes" invitation to support Anna Hazare on some social networking site enough? Does our responsibility end there? Is it enough to click a "like" button or post a support message as our status message? Mission accomplished? Is our patriotism limited to celebrating a world cup victory after 28 years? What about this decades old cliche' problem called "Corruption"? Is our yearning for a -free society any way lesser than the yearning for the cricket world cup victory? If we can come out on the streets at midnight waiving giant indian flags, isn't it time we come out of our comfort zones and really do something about this problem also? Shouldn't we do something so that we can celebrate our victory against corruption in much more grandeur than the way we celebrated the world cup victory recently? Everyone is showing his/her support to <i>Anna</i> today, which is great and heart-warming, but my question is, why should we limit our support to the passing of <i>Lokpal bill</i> only? Do we think that by punishing our 'corrupt' <i>babus</i> & <i>Netas</i> we'll be able to live in a corruption-free society? Are you and I any less corrupt than them? Can't the "<i>small adjsutments we make" </i>for our convenience be termed as 'corruption'? Is there a defined rule that says that for a wrong-doing to be termed as corruption, the amount needs to run into lacs or crores? Isn't giving a few bucks to a T.T.E. to buy a seat on a train also a form of corruption? The point I am trying to make is that let's not limit our fight/passion/support to the passing of Lokpal bill only, but rather we should have the bigger objective in our mind of defeating <i>"Corruption" </i>from each and every walk of our lives and for that, we may take the Lokpal bill as a small step towards achieving our ultimate objective. Let's not aim to change the whole world by oneself and let's not expect it all to happen overnight. Instead, let's start with something very small and banal; and when we'll view the results of our small acts collectively, we'll be able to see how our small contribution helped in filling up a lot of pieces of the giant jigsaw puzzle placed infront of us! </div><br />
<div align="justify">Hoping against hope that maybe this time we would come out of our comfy couches in our respective homes and offices and actually do something about it! As the famous latin proverb goes: </div><br />
<div align="justify">"Destitutus ventis, remos adhibe", </div><br />
<div align="justify">meaning: </div><br />
<div align="justify">"when the winds don't serve you, take to the oars" </div></div>anishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12496594903784185510noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22638739.post-30521050884894683472011-02-11T09:57:00.004+05:302011-02-11T10:19:20.033+05:30Smartphone User Profiles<div align="justify">This is one of the best forwards I have received till date. In the on-going fight for leadership in the smartphone market, the consumers are also divided into groups as per the technology being used by them. They are hardcore brand loyalist, leaving no chance of intimidating the other user groups. This cartoon by <a href="http://www.androidandme.com/">http://www.androidandme.com/</a> depicts the midset of the consumers in a very witty manner.<br />Hope you people also enjoy it as I did ;p<br /><br /></div><a href="http://www.myartfix.com/images/14496144345666150445.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 510px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 721px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://www.myartfix.com/images/14496144345666150445.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><em><span style="font-size:78%;">Note: All copyright rights remain with the image owner. Kindly excuse my ignorance if any of the laws are being broken by reproducing this image!</span></em>anishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12496594903784185510noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22638739.post-74410207891238534622010-11-07T12:43:00.004+05:302010-11-07T13:03:31.101+05:30Chitragupt Pooja<p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga_yk0EsrDwq5fqIA8zuCkzWASYATpDwARJ7woZ0u-JVGIgkCZpb7ymVT1g5AEByMCm1mA5uPsaHEpZAq5AxNExHTM6xhA2PWEBzLB3WtZbt8Kgs4zLVMyTTme9ClI_N4PxJb_/s1600/chitragupta-family.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536707108558900882" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 471px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 299px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga_yk0EsrDwq5fqIA8zuCkzWASYATpDwARJ7woZ0u-JVGIgkCZpb7ymVT1g5AEByMCm1mA5uPsaHEpZAq5AxNExHTM6xhA2PWEBzLB3WtZbt8Kgs4zLVMyTTme9ClI_N4PxJb_/s320/chitragupta-family.jpg" border="0" /></a></p><div align="center"> Chitragupt Pooja is done by the "Kayasthas" on the second day from Deepawali, i.e. "Yama Dwitiya". </div><br /><div align="center">The mantra is as per the below attached picture:</div><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXNtrlV97KezV4Vim0caxDwTm7jA8AsuRPsIHxbMFapoOSGn2_u2AQLHyg7qt1SnXf0NR5M2MGBixQpByd9gZt-mUJhKRmW0AhyphenhyphenvRzPK9AW1188jWeOe4uWkGgLCokXdYdTF_S/"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXNtrlV97KezV4Vim0caxDwTm7jA8AsuRPsIHxbMFapoOSGn2_u2AQLHyg7qt1SnXf0NR5M2MGBixQpByd9gZt-mUJhKRmW0AhyphenhyphenvRzPK9AW1188jWeOe4uWkGgLCokXdYdTF_S/s400/2010-11-07%2012.40.59.jpg" /></a></p><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; FONT-SIZE: xx-small; TEXT-ALIGN: center">Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.3</div>anishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12496594903784185510noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22638739.post-3658314638891422332010-07-23T14:32:00.002+05:302011-04-16T16:43:29.869+05:30Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 78%;">Whose woods these are I think I know.<br />
His house is in the village, though;<br />
He will not see me stopping here<br />
To watch his woods fill up with snow. </span> </div><div style="color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 78%;">My little horse must think it queer<br />
To stop without a farmhouse near<br />
Between the woods and frozen lake<br />
The darkest evening of the year.</span> </div><div style="color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 78%;">He gives his harness bells a shake<br />
To ask if there's some mistake.<br />
The only other sound's the sweep<br />
Of easy wind and downy flake. </span> </div><div style="color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 78%;">The woods are lovely, dark and deep,<br />
But I have promises to keep,<br />
And miles to go before I sleep,<br />
And miles to go before I sleep. </span> </div><div style="color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 78%;">- </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 85%;"><b>Robert Frost<br />
</b></span></div></div>anishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12496594903784185510noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22638739.post-13796200472593054622010-07-02T15:17:00.002+05:302010-07-02T15:25:42.444+05:30The Hangout - A Gourmet Bonanza!<div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8C4R9NNWSbcneT-nyVFIM4sRYaj3zKwhErnhDpOHw4hvGicS5TMJ74C-7b8rL7kxGlbi3SqT-KotKHwU3cVsYVcsjYZsI22PlPyYjESPRcP3dBwGG17CAsOg11r7yBpQvy100/s1600/AB20976.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 245px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489243390716150594" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8C4R9NNWSbcneT-nyVFIM4sRYaj3zKwhErnhDpOHw4hvGicS5TMJ74C-7b8rL7kxGlbi3SqT-KotKHwU3cVsYVcsjYZsI22PlPyYjESPRcP3dBwGG17CAsOg11r7yBpQvy100/s320/AB20976.jpg" /></a> <span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;">When I was planning to go out for lunch today with one of my colleagues, little did I know that I was in for a Gourmet Bonanza!</span><br /><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;">My friend took me to a small and lesser known food joint called "<b><i>The Hangout</i></b>" in Belapur, Navi Mumbai near my office. Even though the name sounds pretty cool and hip, let me remind you that its just a small food joint where college people "<i>Hang out!" .</i></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;">In fact, earlier this place was called "<b><i>Mostly Liquids</i></b>" and was a juice-cum-mocktail bar! but due to a positioning mismatch and poor response, they later aligned it to the target customers' needs (college students) and revamped it to an Oriental food joint thus, "<b><i>The Hangout</i></b>"</span><br /></div><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;"></span><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;">So, here goes the review:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:sans-serif;"><b>1. Ambience (First Impression isn't always the last impression):</b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;">The ambience was not very impressive, which I wasn't even expecting for, but the fact that it was spic-n-span was a comfort for my hygiene quotient.</span><br /><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;">There were around 8 of 4-seater tables, out of which only 3 were occupied when we walked in. There were two sections of the restaurant, one was the indoor A.C. section while the other was the outdoor seating arrangement section, which was dysfunct thanks to the merciless Mumbai rains!</span><br /><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Wimbledon match was being aired on the sole 21" TV perched on top of a big almirah at one of the corners, with the A.C.'s water leaking on top of it! There were frequent power-cuts during or meal, which added to some discomfort since there was no power back up option installed.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;"><b>My Rating:</b> 6/10</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:sans-serif;"><b>2. Customer Service (Not Applicable ;D):</b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;">The only waiter available was one of the most confused guys I have ever come across; the first dish I enquired about drew a blank from his side and I had to urge him to get some info about it from the <i>chef </i>and<i> </i>this process went on until we finalized upon our menu. </span><br /><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Then started the wait for our order to arrive. We were so irritated with the waiting time and the power cut that we decided to take a stroll outside while our order was brought. Finally, the food arrived after 20 long minutes! To put a cherry on the top(just an expression, please don't take it in the literal sense), the waiter dropped some of the food in my soft drink glass (and they expect a tip after such pathetic service!!)</span><br /><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Finally when we presented a credit card for bill payment, guess what! <b>they don't accept cards</b> (WTF! man and they talk of plastic money & smart cards!!)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;"><b>My rating:</b> 4/10</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:sans-serif;"><b>3. Food (Worth taking all the troubles!)</b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Well, on our way to the restaurant, my friend had described it as a Thai food joint, which I later found out as a complete tangent observation. Rather, after going through the menu I found it to be a mix of some Oriental cuisines with a few Thai delicacies thrown in. Since we didn't have much time at our hand, we did not go for an elaborate multi-course lunch but stuck to a rather simple lunch of a starter, a main course and some soft drinks to go with it.</span><br /><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;">So finally what we ordered was: Korean Chicken (<i>starters)</i>, Chicken Pot Rice Peri Peri & Soft drinks (A 500 ml pet bottle of cola).</span><br /><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Now, when we were expecting an anti-climax, the chef thankfully proved us wrong. The food tasted heavenly, with the tender chicken morsels melting in mouth and the aroma of the herbs was out of the world. Even though the quantity wasn't much, but was just enough for two persons to have a decent fill. </span><br /><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;">While ordering the pot rice, I was thinking whether the chef even knew what Peri Peri meant, but the first spoonful of the sinful rice made me correct my thoughts. This chef really knows his job and we should not let the waiter's incompetence fool you into believing otherwise like me. In fact I was so overwhelmed with the food that I dared compare it with my favorite restaurant "5 Spice". Though this David cannot slay the Goliath, but then no one's expecting it to do so also. "5 Spice" definitely is way ahead of "The Hangout" on all the parameters but for food, where "The Hangout" has managed to Hangout to a very very close 2nd position. And for the foodie in me, as long as you give me good food, I care a damn for the Ambience, Customer Service or any other external factor!!! Hope the food-junkies out there would surely be able to relate with what I am saying.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;"><b>My Rating:</b> A very high 8.5/10</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:sans-serif;"><b>4. Pricing (Decent):</b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;">The prices were not dirt cheap, but were very decent, considering the target customer base of college students with most of the dishes priced in the range of Rs. 80/- to Rs. 100/- and the dishes ordered by use were in the highest bracket. Our bill details were as follows:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Korean Chicken (<i>starters) </i>- Rs. 85/- </span><br /><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Chicken Pot Rice Peri Peri (<i>main course</i>) - Rs. 165 </span><br /><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Soft drinks (A 500 ml pet bottle of cola) - Rs. 30/-</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Total Bill amount: Rs. 280/- </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;">The only problem is that they accept only Cash. So, if you are planning to visit, keep some dough with you.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;"><b>My Rating:</b> 7/10</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:sans-serif;"><b>Overall Rating: 7/10</b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;color:red;"><b>Caution:</b></span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;"><b> <span style="color:#ff0000;">This place is not for fitness freaks, but for those who have a taste for junk will simply love it!</span></b></span></div>anishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12496594903784185510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22638739.post-91541992154901428212010-05-13T14:45:00.002+05:302010-05-13T22:20:30.335+05:30Mera Bharat Mahaan!!!<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:85%;" ><b>We live in a nation ,</b></span> </div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span style="font-size:85%;">Where Pizza reaches home faster than Ambulance police,</span> </li><li><span style="font-size:85%;">Where you get car loan @ 8% and education loan @ 13%,</span> </li><li><span style="font-size:85%;">Where rice is Rs 40/- per kg but sim card is free,</span> </li><li><span style="font-size:85%;">Where a millionaire can buy a cricket team instead of donating the money to any charity,</span> </li><li><span style="font-size:85%;">Where the footwear, we wear ,are sold in AC showrooms, but vegetables, that we eat, are sold on the footpath,</span> </li><li><span style="font-size:85%;">Where everybody wants to be famous but nobody wants to follow the path to be famous,</span> </li><li><span style="font-size:85%;">Where we make lemon juices with artificial flavours and dish wash liquids with real lemon.</span> </li><li><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:85%;" >Where people are standing at tea stalls reading an article about child labour from a newspaper and say,<i>"yaar bachhonse kaam karvane wale ko to phansi par chadha dena chahiye"</i> and then they shout<i> "Oye chhotu 2 chaii laao....."</i></span></li></ul><p style="text-align: justify;"> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:85%;" >Incredible India,</span> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:85%;" ><b>Mera Bharat Mahaan.</b></span> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:85%;" ><i>(Source: An email forward worth sharing)</i><br /></span></p>anishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12496594903784185510noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22638739.post-45025139296928976512010-05-09T00:20:00.006+05:302010-05-09T19:08:57.761+05:30Movie Review - Badmash Company<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://fullytimepass.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/14138.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 159px;" src="http://fullytimepass.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/14138.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Well friends, just came back after watching a late night show of "Badmaash Company". On my way back from the theater, I was contemplating on tweeting about the movie, since that's the usual way of me sharing my views with my friends, of the movies I watch. But this time I thought of taking a more detailed approach. I thought this time 140 characters won't suffice; also its been ages since I wrote my last blog ;p<br />So here goes my review:<br /><br /><strong><br />Banner: </strong>Yash Raj Films<br /><strong>Status:</strong>Released on 07th May 2010<br /><strong>Language:</strong> Hindi<br /><strong>Genre:</strong> Drama<br /><strong>Producer:</strong> <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD1">Yash Chopra</span>, Aditya Chopra<br /><strong>Director: </strong>Parmeet Sethi<br /><strong>Star Cast: </strong>Shahid Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Anupam Kher<br /><strong>Music Director: </strong>Pritam<span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br /><strong>Cassettes and CD’s on: </strong>YRF Music<br /><strong>Release Date: </strong>May 7, 2010<br /><br />Let me clarify here itself that I ain't going to reveal the plots here, so those of you who are looking for the details of the story, I would suggest you please try another page.<br /><br />So, now that the modalities are over, let's get down to business; the movie is very fast paced, switching from one sub-plot to another, which some might find annoying, but for me it was really cool and saved me from getting bored.<br />Best part was that Shahid wasn't over-acting for a change. He stuck to his role and played it perfectly. Yes, even I am surprised with myself; why am I singing paeans of Shahid, when I had vowed to not to watch any other of his movies after watching the disaster called "Paathshala", which I would rather not talk about (Just like my sister had written in my Autograph book a long time ago - "Sad thoughts better lost"; I know its cliche' but I had to use it to get over with the trauma). Anyways, coming back to the topic, though I was a bit hesitant at the thought of watching another Shahid flick, my wife conned me into it.<br />About the movie, well its a regular story of rags to riches with a few pitfalls, fights with friends and grilfriend and all the regular masala that you can expect in a "Junta Movie".<br />One miore thing that I would like to point out was the surprise I got in Anushka Sharma; she was in a completely opposite role from "Rab Ne Banaa Di Jodi", she was looking super hot in those ultra mod dresses that show more and hide less, leaving very little for imagination. There were lots of liplocks thrown in to raise the thermometer a few more notches, which could have been completely avoided, though the couple were sizzling on the screen. One thing I didn't understand was, why was Anupam Kher wasted in such a weak role. The director could have made better use of the seasoned actor.<br />The music was very mediocre, bordering on the edges of "Boring" which was never expected from a talented music director like Preetam. None of the songs were engaging, in fact they were so mediocre that its not even been 2 hrs since I watched the movie and I fail to recollect any of the songs except Aiyyashi, which I had already heard courtsey Mumbai FM channels.<br />The build up for the climax was very boring, wherein Shahid becomes a good guy and goes on an apology spree only to take his friends' help in the climax plot.<br />The "Bleeding Madras" was hilarious and the Michael Jackson show was unasked for! One thing that i would like to ask Mr. Story writer/ Director saab is how can "Insider Trading" be classified as a "seedha" act? In my opinion, that was the biggest scam the "Badmash Company" pulled off!<br />Anyways, overall the movie was a good entertainment and I would recommend this movie as a Once watch option for sure. So, if you don't have an AC at your home, or are getting bored and dont want to brave out the Sun, its a good option to enjoy the flick in an AC theatre with your own <span style="font-style: italic;">"Badmash Company"!!</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ratings:</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Performance:</span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> </span>4/5<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Music: 2/5</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Story: 4/5</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Cinematography:</span> 3/5<br />Dialogues: 3/5<br />Overall Rating: <span style="font-style: italic;">3/5</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></div>anishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12496594903784185510noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22638739.post-90504397311835917092009-10-15T20:52:00.009+05:302011-04-16T16:48:56.257+05:30CARBON TRADING IN THE INDIAN CONTEXT<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Yesterday,</span> while I was going through my friends' tweets, I came across a tweet informing about something called <a class="zem_slink" href="http://blogactionday.org/" rel="homepage" title="Blog Action Day">Blog Action Day</a> 2009, which as per them, "<span style="font-size: 85%; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">is an annual event that unites the world's bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day. Our aim is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion.</span>" <span style="font-size: 85%;">(</span><span style="font-size: 85%; font-style: italic;">http://www.blogactionday.org</span><span style="font-size: 85%;">) <br />
</span> <br />
When I checked out the site, I found that this year's topic was one of my old favorites - "<span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f800000000005e136" href="http://www.amazon.com/Inconvenient-Truth-Al-Gore/dp/B000ICL3KG%3FSubscriptionId%3D0G81C5DAZ03ZR9WH9X82%26tag%3Dzemanta-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB000ICL3KG" rel="amazon" title="An Inconvenient Truth">Climate Change</a></span>". It reminded me of my Management Research Project that I had done during my <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f800000000005da17" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_of_Business_Administration" rel="wikipedia" title="Master of Business Administration">MBA</a> days. So, I started digging through my old <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f800000000000ef7b" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_Disc" rel="wikipedia" title="Compact Disc">CDs</a> & <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f80000000001aca20" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iomega_Zip_drive" rel="wikipedia" title="Iomega Zip drive">Zip Drives</a> and finally found out my old research paper. I have always been wanting to post it on my blog, but procrastination always got the better of me. But now, with the deadline of 15th October and with the exciting emotion of all the <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f80000000001edd07" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blogosphere" rel="wikipedia" title="Blogosphere">blogosphere</a> writing on one common topic; which I feel is a very wonderful idea; here I am finally sharing my research paper in a nutshell. </div><div style="color: white; text-align: justify;">To cut a long story short and to avoid the boring parts of the research, I am going to share with you all only the findings and the recommendations: <br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 100%; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Findings:</span></span></span></span> </div><ul style="color: white; text-align: justify;"><li><span style="font-family: NewBaskerville; font-size: 100%; font-weight: bold;"><a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f80000000006b54a0" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_Development_Mechanism" rel="wikipedia" title="Clean Development Mechanism">CDM</a> projects Reduce global warming</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: NewBaskerville; font-size: 100%; font-weight: bold;">More companies adopting CDM Projects</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: NewBaskerville; font-size: 100%; font-weight: bold;">Emissions trading allows flexibility for emitters without sacrificing the environmental objective of reducing emissions </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: NewBaskerville; font-size: 100%; font-weight: bold;">Emissions trading can also encourage innovation in the reduction of <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f800000000004a40f" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas" rel="wikipedia" title="Greenhouse gas">greenhouse gas</a> (GHG) emissions</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: NewBaskerville; font-size: 100%; font-weight: bold;"><a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f800000000001de20" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=28.5666666667,77.2&spn=10.0,10.0&q=28.5666666667,77.2%20%28India%29&t=h" rel="geolocation" title="India">India</a>, a Non Annexure I country; huge potential</span></li>
</ul><div style="color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: NewBaskerville; font-size: 100%; font-weight: bold;"> <br />
</span></div><div style="color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Recommendations</span></span>: <br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">a) </span><span style="font-family: NewBaskerville; font-weight: bold;">No adequate monitoring of <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f800000000003a5fc" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_development" rel="wikipedia" title="Sustainable development">sustainable development</a> and local community benefits.</span></span> <br />
<span style="font-family: NewBaskerville; font-size: 100%;"> <span style="font-style: italic;"> - Hence, the <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f8000000000019a9e" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government" rel="wikipedia" title="Government">government</a> should ensure that there is a separate governing body which can enforce stringent rules to overcome this.</span></span> <br />
<span style="font-family: NewBaskerville; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">b) No reduction in actual <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f800000000004a40f" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas" rel="wikipedia" title="Greenhouse gas">carbon emissions</a></span></span> <br />
<span style="font-family: NewBaskerville; font-size: 100%;"> <span style="font-style: italic;"> - The companies should come up with alternative sources of energy to reduce the carbon emission</span></span> <br />
<span style="font-family: NewBaskerville; font-size: 100%; font-weight: bold;">c) May result in increased local concentrations of emissions</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span><span style="font-family: NewBaskerville; font-size: 100%; font-style: italic;"> - Thus, there should be a clearing house which will look after the volumes being traded</span> <br />
<span style="font-family: NewBaskerville; font-size: 100%; font-weight: bold;">d) Price is uncertain – determined by market</span> <br />
<span style="font-family: NewBaskerville; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> - The exchange should decided a daily price range to reduce this ambiguity</span></span> <br />
<span style="font-family: NewBaskerville; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">e) Eucalyptus used in <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f800000000000e366" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_sink" rel="wikipedia" title="Carbon sink">carbon sink</a> projects, degrades the soil</span></span> <br />
<span style="font-family: NewBaskerville; font-size: 100%;"> <span style="font-style: italic;"> - The government should increase the awareness among the farmers and the aggregators should try to come up with other plants which don’t do any harm to the soil <br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"> <br />
</span></span></span><style>
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<div style="font-family: times new roman; font-weight: bold; line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Some of the important findings by me can be explained as given below:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-family: times new roman; line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><o:p> </o:p>As India is a non-annexure I country, hence it can sell CERs to the Annexure I countries and generate profit from the trade. Looking at the increasing rate of industrialization, it can be said safely that this is a profitable option for our country to generate foreign revenue.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-family: times new roman; line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">During the project I came to know that the plants used for carbon trading is Eucalyptus. The main problem with it is that it degrades the fertility of the soil. Thus, even though the villagers are able to generate good amount of revenues in the short term. But, if we look at the long term perspective, I feel that in the end it is not a profitable option for the villagers, as their regular crops will get them lower but constant revenue always. Whereas, in the case of eucalyptus plantations for the carbon trading, the soil after a point of time becomes infertile, rendering the farmers useless.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 85%;"><o:p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Finally, </span></o:p><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"> the "Carbon Trading" doesn’t help in reducing carbon emission, but in a way helps in covering up the emissions. So, newer and more effective ways should be used to control the carbon emissions.</span></span></div><br />
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But the news of restriction of this freedom has come as a shocker to the <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f800000000001de20" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=28.5666666667,77.2&spn=10.0,10.0&q=28.5666666667,77.2%20%28India%29&t=h" title="India" rel="geolocation">Indian</a> consumers. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;">August 09, <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f80000000001ab966" href="http://www.rbi.org.in" title="Reserve Bank of India" rel="homepage">Reserve Bank of India</a> (RBI) has asked the banks to impose restrictions on third part ATM usage from the middle of October 09. This step has been taken, keeping in mind the recommendations of an Industrial lobby, <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f8000000000352605" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_Broadcasting_Authority" title="Independent Broadcasting Authority" rel="wikipedia">IBA</a> (Indian <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f8000000000009ed2" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank" title="Bank" rel="wikipedia">Bank</a>'s Association).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;">As per the new directive, <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f800000000044b922" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savings_account" title="Savings account" rel="wikipedia">savings account</a> holders will get<b> 5 free third party ATM transactions per month, with a cap on withdrawal amount of Rs. 10,000 per transaction. </b>Also, this facility won't be extended to the <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f80000000001e7218" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Current_account" title="Current account" rel="wikipedia">Current Account</a> holders.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Thus, from now on the freedom of entering into any Bank's ATM, other than in which the customer holds an account will become restricted from 15th of October 09. This step is seen as the result of the influence IBA has over RBI, since it made RBI make a 180 degree turn on the directive rolled out by them at the start of the financial year, which was being perceived as one of the best customer-friendly moves by the <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f800000000000d902" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_bank" title="Central bank" rel="wikipedia">central bank</a> of the country till date.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;">This step of RBI has come up as a roadblock towards the implementation of new <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f800000000000c48d" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=47.5666666667,7.6&spn=1.0,1.0&q=47.5666666667,7.6%20%28Basel%29&t=h" title="Basel" rel="geolocation">Basel</a> Reforms that we were so eagerly waiting for. We hope that the RBI would keep in mind the consumer sentiments and give it another thought before the implementation of this new directive, or atleast increase the no. of transactions so that the effect on common man is restrained.</span></div> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/07665510-d1bd-4bf4-b9cd-d68ca8f9734d/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=07665510-d1bd-4bf4-b9cd-d68ca8f9734d" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related more-info pretty-attribution paragraph-reblog"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>anishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12496594903784185510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22638739.post-67177539391117293912009-08-22T11:59:00.005+05:302009-08-22T14:11:37.385+05:30Swami Vivekananda's CONCLUDING ADDRESS -The World Parliament of Religions, Chicago, Sept 11, 1893<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.anishsinha.blogspot.com/"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 107px; height: 137px;" src="http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:t8KwXq8TNXKc_M:http://mohanchandran.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/swami-vivekananda.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >The World's Parliament of Religions has become an accomplished fact, and the merciful Father has helped those who laboured to bring it into existence, and crowned with success their most unselfish labour.</span><br /><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" > </span><br /><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" > My thanks to those noble souls whose large hearts and love of truth first dreamed this wonderful dream and then realized it. My thanks to the shower of liberal sentiments that has overflowed this platform. My thanks to this enlightened audience for their uniform kindness to me and for their appreciation of every thought that tends to smooth the friction of religions. A few jarring notes were heard from time to time in this harmony. My special thanks to them, for they have, by their striking contrast, made general harmony the sweeter.</span><br /><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" > </span><br /><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" > Much has been said of the common ground of religious unity. I am not going just now to venture my own theory. But if any one here hopes that this unity will come by the triumph of any one of the religions and the destruction of the others, to him I say, "Brother, yours is an impossible hope." Do I wish that the Christian would become <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f800000000001c0cb" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism" title="Hinduism" rel="wikipedia">Hindu</a>? <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f8000000000c01646" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God" title="God" rel="wikipedia">God</a> forbid. Do I wish that the Hindu or <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f80000000009129a5" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism" title="Buddhism" rel="wikipedia">Buddhist</a> would become Christian? God forbid.</span><br /><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" > </span><br /><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" > The seed is put in the ground, and earth and air and water are placed around it. Does the seed become the earth, or the air, or the water? No. It becomes a <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant" title="Plant" rel="wikipedia">plant</a>. It develops after the <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f8000000000023947" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law" title="Law" rel="wikipedia">law</a> of its own growth, assimilates the air, the earth, and the water, converts them into plant substance, and grows into a plant.</span><br /><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" > </span><br /><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" > Similar is the case with <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f8000000000032b55" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion" title="Religion" rel="wikipedia">religion</a>. The Christian is not to become a Hindu or a Buddhist, nor a Hindu or a Buddhist to become a Christian. But each must assimilate the spirit of the others and yet preserve his individuality and grow according to his own law of growth.</span><br /><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" > </span><br /><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" > If the Parliament of Religions has shown anything to the world, it is this: It has proved to the world that holiness, purity and charity are not the exclusive possessions of any <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f800000000000caa8" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity" title="Christianity" rel="wikipedia">church</a> in the world, and that every system has produced men and women of the most exalted character. In the face of this evidence, if anybody dreams of the exclusive survival of his own religion and the destruction of the others, I pity him from the bottom of my heart, and point out to him that upon the banner of every religion will soon be written in spite of resistance: "Help and not fight," "Assimilation and not Destruction," "Harmony and Peace and not <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f80000000007ce3b2" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissension" title="Dissension" rel="wikipedia">Dissension</a>."</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:sans-serif;font-size:78%;" ><i>Source: </i></span><a href="http://hinduism.about.com/library/weekly/extra/bl-sv2.htm"><span style=";font-family:sans-serif;font-size:78%;" ><i>http://hinduism.about.com/library/weekly/extra/bl-sv2.</i></span></a></div><br /> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/c974604c-ab4c-4dd9-b588-3e79b4d29eac/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=c974604c-ab4c-4dd9-b588-3e79b4d29eac" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related more-info pretty-attribution paragraph-reblog"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>anishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12496594903784185510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22638739.post-40904190727039865162009-08-22T11:54:00.001+05:302009-08-22T14:11:08.569+05:30Swami Vivekananda's WELCOME ADDRESS -The World Parliament of Religions, Chicago, Sept 11, 1893<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.anishsinha.blogspot.com"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 109px; height: 150px;" src="http://tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:1wcymPnHo7C-6M:http://nirvaana.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/swami_vivekananda-1893-09-signed.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">Sisters and Brothers of America,</span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"> It fills my heart with joy unspeakable to rise in response to the warm and cordial welcome which you have given us. I thank you in the name of the most ancient order of monks in the world; I thank you in the name of the mother of religions, and I thank you in the name of millions and millions of <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f800000000001c0cb" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism" title="Hinduism" rel="wikipedia">Hindu</a> people of all classes and sects.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"> My thanks, also, to some of the speakers on this platform who, referring to the delegates from the Orient, have told you that these men from far-off nations may well claim the honor of bearing to different lands the idea of <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f8000000000992c1b" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toleration" title="Toleration" rel="wikipedia">toleration</a>. I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f800000000005ae4c" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refugee" title="Refugee" rel="wikipedia">refugees</a> of all religions and all nations of the earth. I am proud to tell you that we have gathered in our bosom the purest remnant of the <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f8000000000067154" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israelites" title="Israelites" rel="wikipedia">Israelites</a>, who came to Southern <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f800000000001de20" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=28.5666666667,77.2&spn=10.0,10.0&q=28.5666666667,77.2%20%28India%29&t=h" title="India" rel="geolocation">India</a> and took refuge with us in the very year in which their holy temple was shattered to pieces by <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f8000000000032e75" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Empire" title="Roman Empire" rel="wikipedia">Roman</a> tyranny. I am proud to belong to the religion which has sheltered and is still fostering the remnant of the grand <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f80000000045c5c72" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism" title="Zoroastrianism" rel="wikipedia">Zoroastrian</a> nation. I will quote to you, brethren, a few lines from a hymn which I remember to have repeated from my earliest boyhood, which is every day repeated by millions of human beings: "As the different streams having their sources in different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee."</span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"> The present convention, which is one of the most august assemblies ever held, is in itself a vindication, a declaration to the world of the wonderful doctrine preached in the <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f8000000000c5f5ec" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavad_Gita" title="Bhagavad Gita" rel="wikipedia">Gita</a>: "Whosoever comes to Me, through whatsoever form, I reach him; all men are struggling through paths which in the end lead to me." Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful earth. They have filled the earth with violence, drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed civilization and sent whole nations to despair. Had it not been for these horrible demons, human society would be far more advanced than it is now. But their time is come; and I fervently hope that the bell that tolled this morning in honor of this convention may be the death-knell of all fanaticism, of all persecutions with the sword or with the pen, and of all uncharitable feelings between persons wending their way to the same goal.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:78%;"><i>Source: </i></span><a href="http://hinduism.about.com/library/weekly/extra/bl-sv1.htm"><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:78%;"><i>http://hinduism.about.com/library/weekly/extra/bl-sv1.</i></span></a></div> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/bb8a934f-ba94-4f8e-be86-af6ad7851169/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=bb8a934f-ba94-4f8e-be86-af6ad7851169" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related more-info pretty-attribution paragraph-reblog"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>anishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12496594903784185510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22638739.post-85575940252044872192009-08-14T21:44:00.009+05:302011-04-16T16:50:38.404+05:30Tweeting my way to Independence/Inter-dependence!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="font-family: georgia; font-weight: bold;"><style type="text/css">
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<tr><td style="margin: 8px; padding: 8px;" width="100%"><h2 style="color: #666666; margin-bottom: 16px;"><span style="font-size: 85%;">First and foremost, let me wish all my fellow countrymen a very very Happy Independence Day. Well, today being one of the most important day of the year, I thought of doing something different, something which will make me feel independent......something much more expressive than my blog........something with which I wud be able to share tit-bits with all my friends......when I did some thinking, twitter was the natural choice.........So, here I am, tweeting my Independence!!</span></h2><span style="font-size: 85%;">To keep in touch with my tweets, you all can visit this blog of mine, or follow my tweets here: <a href="http://twitter.com/i/ad844d727a1a1047866232d88ba415fdba74e40c?utm_source=invite&utm_campaign=twitter20081014103612&utm_medium=email">http://twitter.com/_anish</a><br />
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Originating in <a class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=19.05,-99.3666666667&spn=10.0,10.0&q=19.05,-99.3666666667%20%28Mexico%29&t=h" title="Mexico" rel="geolocation">Mexico</a> in April 2009, the virus has since spread to many countries worldwide. Early laboratory testing showed that many genes in this virus were similar to those found in pigs of <a class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=48.1666666667,-100.166666667&spn=1.0,1.0&q=48.1666666667,-100.166666667%20%28North%20America%29&t=h" title="North America" rel="geolocation">North America</a>, which is why the illness was originally called Swine Flu. Later on, further tests proved that this virus has gene segments from the swine, <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avian_influenza" title="Avian influenza" rel="wikipedia">avian</a> and human flu virus genes. This led scientists to discard the previous name and rename the virus the '<a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influenzavirus_A" title="Influenzavirus A" rel="wikipedia">Influenza-A</a> (H1N1) Virus'. </span><a href="http://india.gov.in/outerwin.php?id=http://www.mohfw.nic.in/SWINEFLU.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(0, 47, 128);font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" >Swine Flu- More details...</span></a> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" ><b>Symptoms of Influenza A (H1N1)</b></span> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" >The symptoms of Influenza A (H1N1) are similar to the symptoms of regular seasonal flu. People who have this illness may experience fever, cough, <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharyngitis" title="Pharyngitis" rel="wikipedia">sore throat</a>, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some patients have also reported diarrhoea and vomiting.</span> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" >The flu virus is thought to spread from person to person through droplets that come out of an infected person's nose or mouth when he/she sneezes or coughs. Pigs have nothing to do with this disease. Pork products are absolutely safe if properly cooked and culling of pigs is not needed.</span> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" ><b>Commons Precautions</b></span> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" >Here are some precautions to prevent contraction of the virus -</span><br /><span style=";font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;" >1. </span><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" >Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Discard the tissue after use. </span><br /><span style=";font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;" >2. </span><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" >Wash your hands thoroughly after you cough or sneeze. </span><br /><span style=";font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;" >3. </span><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" >Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth as germs may spread this way. </span><br /><span style=";font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;" >4. </span><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" >Stay away from close contact with people having respiratory illnesses. </span><br /><span style=";font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;" >5. </span><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" >If one displays influenza like symptoms, one must limit contact with others by staying at home. However, in case of <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Respiratory_failure" title="Respiratory failure" rel="wikipedia">respiratory distress</a>, one should visit a nearby hospital without delay. </span><br /><span style=";font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;" >6. </span><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" >Take care of your health. Get plenty of sleep, exercise regularly, manage stress, drink plenty of liquids and eat wholesome food.</span> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" >Medicines for the treatment of this illness are available in <a class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=28.5666666667,77.2&spn=10.0,10.0&q=28.5666666667,77.2%20%28India%29&t=h" title="India" rel="geolocation">India</a>. The Government has procured and stored the necessary drugs in sufficient quantities at designated hospitals. Citizens are strongly advised against procuring and taking medicines on their own, as it will lower their immunity.</span> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" >The Government has also created a strategy to detect Influenza A (H1N1) cases among passengers arriving from affected countries either by air, land or sea and quarantine them. A standard process for screening, testing and treatment will be used across the country. If you have travelled from any of the affected countries in the past 10 days and display the symptoms of Influenza A (H1N1), then kindly visit a nearby hospital or contact the Outbreak Monitoring Cell at <b>011-23921401</b>.</span> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:78%;" ><i>Source: </i></span><a href="http://india.gov.in/citizen/health/h1n1.php"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:78%;" ><i>http://india.gov.in/citizen/health/h1n1.</i></span></a></p><fieldset class="zemanta-related"><legend class="zemanta-related-title">Related articles<br /></legend><ul class="zemanta-article-ul"><li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://prep4md.blogspot.com/2009/04/what-is-swine-influenza.html">What is swine influenza?</a> (prep4md.blogspot.com)</li><li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><br /></li><li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://scienceblogs.com/effectmeasure/2009/05/swine_flu_more_on_the_cases.php">Swine flu: more on the cases [Effect Measure]</a> (scienceblogs.com)</li><li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://www.king5.com/topstories/stories/NW_043009HEB-K-swine-flu-faq-TP.76a29e2.html?rss">Swine Flu: What is it, symptoms, treatment</a> (king5.com)</li><li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://r.zemanta.com/?u=http%3A//www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/08/04/swine-flu-world.html%3Fref%3Drss&a=6702118&rid=92abce6a-ffaf-4bb3-b31e-2f8aa530998a&e=33dd7d5bb0fd535170fb6008d605904c">Swine flu deaths rise above 1,000: WHO</a> (cbc.ca)</li><li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/JaneLu/swine-influenza-1367199">Swine Influenza</a> (slideshare.net)</li></ul></fieldset> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px; text-align: justify;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/92abce6a-ffaf-4bb3-b31e-2f8aa530998a/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=92abce6a-ffaf-4bb3-b31e-2f8aa530998a" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related pretty-attribution"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>anishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12496594903784185510noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22638739.post-28416636032781005142009-07-31T19:15:00.006+05:302009-08-08T20:06:23.685+05:30Real Heroes of India<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Another nice and inspirational forward for your reading pleasure!!</span><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Suvendu Roy of <a class="zem_slink" href="http://www.titanworld.com/" title="Titan Industries" rel="homepage">Titan Industries</a> shares his inspirational encounter with a rickshaw driver in <a class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=18.96,72.82&spn=1.0,1.0&q=18.96,72.82%20%28Mumbai%29&t=h" title="Mumbai" rel="geolocation">Mumbai</a></span> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> Last Sunday, my wife, kid and I had to travel to <a class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=19.113826,72.871435&spn=1.0,1.0&q=19.113826,72.871435%20%28Andheri%29&t=h" title="Andheri" rel="geolocation">Andheri</a> from <a class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=19.0553,72.8314&spn=1.0,1.0&q=19.0553,72.8314%20%28Bandra%29&t=h" title="Bandra" rel="geolocation">Bandra</a>. When I waved at a passing auto rickshaw, little did I expect that this ride would be any different.</span> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> As we set off, my eyes fell on a few magazines (kept in an aircraft style pouch) behind the driver's back rest. I looked in front and there was a small <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television" title="Television" rel="wikipedia">TV</a>. The driver had put on the <a class="zem_slink" href="http://www.ddindia.gov.in/" title="Doordarshan" rel="homepage">Doordarshan</a> channel. My wife and I looked at each other with disbelief and amusement. In front of me was a small first-aid box with cotton, dettol and some medicines. This was enough for me to realise that I was in a special vehicle. Then I looked around again, and discovered more -there was a radio, fire extinguisher, wall clock, calendar, and pictures and symbols of all faiths - from Islam and Christianity to Buddhism, <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism" title="Hinduism" rel="wikipedia">Hinduism</a> and Sikhism. There were also pictures of the heroes of 26/11- Kamte, Salaskar, Karkare and Unnikrishnan. I realised that not only my vehicle, but also my driver was special.</span> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> I started chatting with him and the initial sense of ridicule and disbelief gradually diminished. I gathered that he had been driving an auto rickshaw for the past 8-9 years; he had lost his job when his employer's plastic company was shut down. He had two school-going children, and he drove from 8 in the morning till 10 at night. No break unless he was unwell. "Sahab, ghar mein baith ke TV dekh kar kya faida? Do paisa income karega toh future mein kaam aayega." (Sir, what's the use of simply sitting at home and watching TV? If I earn some income, then it will be useful in the future.)</span> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;">We realised that we had come across a man who represents Mumbai - the spirit of work, the spirit of travel and the spirit of excelling in life. I asked him whether he does anything else as I figured that he did not have too much spare time. He said that he goes to an old age home for women in Andheri once a week or whenever he has some extra income, where he donates tooth brushes, toothpastes, soap, hair oil, and other items of daily use. He pointed out to a painted message below the meter that read: "25 per cent discount on metered fare for the handicapped. Free rides for blind passengers up to Rs50?. He also said that his auto was mentioned on <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Mirchi" title="Radio Mirchi" rel="wikipedia">Radio Mirchi</a> twice by the station RJs. The <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathi_language" title="Marathi language" rel="wikipedia">Marathi</a> press in Mumbai know about him and have written a few pieces on him and his vehicle.</span> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> My wife and I were struck with awe. The man was a HERO! A hero who deserves all our respect. I know that my son, once he grows up, will realise that we have met a genuine hero. He has put questions to me such as why should we help other people? I will try to keep this incident alive in his memory.</span> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> Our journey came to an end; 45 minutes of a lesson in humility, selflessness and of a hero-worshipping Mumbai - my temporary home. We disembarked, and all I could do was to pay him a tip that would hardly cover a free ride for a blind man.</span> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;">He has got a first aid box on the left and a <a class="zem_slink" href="http://www.wikinvest.com/industry/Newspapers" title="Newspapers" rel="wikinvest">newspaper</a> box on right (which had all hindi-english- marathi-gujrati and economic times)</span> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;">He has got a tv on the top with cable (I was watching colors channel) and below that is a tissue box. On the left is the mandir types with "Only gandhigiri" written there, below that is a calender and a notepad and pen along with a blue fan (which is blowing towards the customer who sits)</span> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"25% discount for handicapped !!" who on this earth can expect something like this from an rickshawala yaar!!</span> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Its amazing there are ppl still alive like him in this world!</span> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;">I hope, one day, you too have a chance to meet Mr Sandeep Bachhe in his auto rickshaw - MH-02-Z-8508</span> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 64, 128);font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;" > </span> </p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px; text-align: justify;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/48fdb7e7-1817-4693-9af3-4e7d407ac088/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=48fdb7e7-1817-4693-9af3-4e7d407ac088" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related pretty-attribution"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>anishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12496594903784185510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22638739.post-39042576081606515292009-07-24T16:12:00.003+05:302009-07-25T01:53:53.140+05:30From an INFOSCION to a POLITICION<div style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>This is a hilarious forward I got today, couldn't help sharing it to you all.........so, go ahead and enjoy it......</b></i><br /><br /><u><span style="font-size:130%;"><b style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Nandan Nilekani's brief of his first day in parliament!</b></span></u><br /><br />Continuing my tryst with capturing the life and times of Nandan Nilekani in his new avatar as a <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabinet_%28government%29" title="Cabinet (government)" rel="wikipedia">Cabinet Minister</a>, here is what he had penned after his first day in the Parliament. The last entry stopped when the House was just about to begin. Let's see what happened thereafter….<br />The House was in pin drop silence. I was brimming with anticipation and excitement!!!! Manmohan had informed me that my introduction was one of the important points of the agenda. I hoped that I will be able to make my speech properly. After so many interviews and conferences, I was nervous today!!!! After the Speaker indicated that the proceedings of the House could begin, Manmohan formally introduced me to the entire House. He mentioned that as the head of the Unique Identification Authority of India, I was responsible to ensure that each and every <a class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=28.5666666667,77.2&spn=10.0,10.0&q=28.5666666667,77.2%20%28India%29&t=h" title="India" rel="geolocation">Indian</a> had a digital <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_card" title="Smart card" rel="wikipedia">smart card</a> as a proof of his existence.<br />Manmohan spoke about why I was selected and also some references to the various projects executed by me in <a class="zem_slink" href="http://www.infosys.com/" title="Infosys Technologies" rel="homepage">Infosys</a> were mentioned. The House listened with rapt attention. I was asked to say a few words and I did exactly the same!!! I thanked the <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_India" title="Government of India" rel="wikipedia">Government of India</a> for having given me this opportunity and I assured the House that I would strive to successfully deliver this project. The Speaker then formally inducted me into the House and before the proceedings could move any forward, there was a small commotion on the other side of the hall.<br />It was <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minister_%28government%29" title="Minister (government)" rel="wikipedia">Minister</a> of Textiles who had a comment to make before the next point on the agenda. He made a request that I should be attired in a more austere way instead of a flashy suit. It did not go well with the image of a minister who should live to serve the common man and should be less ostentatious in his habits. I stood up to reply. I offered my apologies to the Honourable Minister and assured that I shall be in a more acceptable dress next time. I felt that he was right. We also used to have corporate dress code in Infosys. So it's here as well!!!!<br />I sat down and felt somebody nudging me. I turned around and to my surprise; it was the former Indian skipper and one of my favourite batsman Mohd. Azharuddin. I remembered that he had recently won the elections. I smiled at him and mentioned to him that I used to like his game very much, shaking his hand. No Rolex, I noticed. Azhar told me that he would "fix" me an appointment with an Italian designer who had designed his dapper Kurta suit. An Italian designer in <a class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=45.4666666667,9.16666666667&spn=0.1,0.1&q=45.4666666667,9.16666666667%20%28Milan%29&t=h" title="Milan" rel="geolocation">Milan</a> doing Kurtas!!!!! I made a note of this and reminded myself to give this example to Friedman for his next book," The World Markets are flattened".<br />Since there was no doubt about the "Fixational" capacities of Azhar, I told him to give me the details and I would consider. The proceedings of the House went on with numerous bills being debated and passed as I sat as a passive audience waiting for my project's turn to come up. After the lunch break, it was the moment for me!!!!<br />MY PROJECT"S FIRST REVIEW CAME UP FOR PRESENTATION.<br />I was at sea. My laptop did not have any <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reserve_power" title="Reserve power" rel="wikipedia">reserve power</a>. I went to Manmohan and apprised him of the situation. I was sweating. He calmly replied that this would not be a cause of concern. I was flummoxed!!!! The Speaker asked me to explain to the House on what were my plans for the Unique Identity Project. I replied that I have a plan prepared for 30-60-90-120 days' milestones and I have presentation to make for which I need a power socket, a projector and a screen. I had no idea what was going to happen after this.<br />The next couple of minutes were a complete jolt for me. I was completely in a tizzy. Let me just summarize what happened. A Joint Cabinet Secretary Committee was set up to judge the feasibility of my request. The Under Secretaries for the Ministries of Power, IT and Broadcasting will prepare a Viability Report after scrutinizing <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_security" title="National security" rel="wikipedia">National Security</a> threats to my request. This was because the power socket comes under Power, laptop comes under IT and projector comes under Broadcasting. I have also been told to reconsider my timelines of 30-60-90 days and start thinking in terms of years. Probably, they are right. I did not have the foresight in this matter.<br />The summary of the issue is that I need to come up with a more inclusive, democratic, comprehensive long term plan for this project to be executed over the next five years. I have also been given a presentation slot 3 months from now (by which the issues related to the power cord etc will also be resolved). I am filled with mixed reactions. I was planning for a quick resolution; the management wants a strategic solution. I come out of the House and text Murthy.<br />"You won't believe it but these guys work just like us. I am on a NATIONAL BENCH for the next three months!!!!!!!!"<br /> </div> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/ada8349d-51e1-4947-9ea9-1daf5f2871e7/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=ada8349d-51e1-4947-9ea9-1daf5f2871e7" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related pretty-attribution"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>anishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12496594903784185510noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22638739.post-68696823719211222332009-07-22T15:22:00.002+05:302009-07-22T20:17:33.478+05:30Exit Load waiver give MF Companies a run for their money<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMZ3ZZowSmhNoA7dewD5yLQG9-QdxfU3T0pAz-HESXERtwUEtoTauvo0aI1gKw8mHl5YgE8-v5QSczwBWFplwAcBtkFz4NW2_DUprYGCB3BWWaXigSSlBTMTrrLrJo1DZHwpaU/s1600-h/mutualFund.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 142px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMZ3ZZowSmhNoA7dewD5yLQG9-QdxfU3T0pAz-HESXERtwUEtoTauvo0aI1gKw8mHl5YgE8-v5QSczwBWFplwAcBtkFz4NW2_DUprYGCB3BWWaXigSSlBTMTrrLrJo1DZHwpaU/s200/mutualFund.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361296138103988738" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">Ever since <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Securities_and_Exchange_Board_of_India" title="Securities and Exchange Board of India" rel="wikipedia">SEBI</a> directive came to waive off the entry load for all <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutual_fund" title="Mutual fund" rel="wikipedia">Mutual Funds</a>, <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asset_management_company" title="Asset management company" rel="wikipedia">Asset Management Companies</a> (<a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_management_company" title="Association management company" rel="wikipedia">AMC</a>) are in a hurry to close their NFOs before the deadline of 01st of August 09. Most of the comanies are closing their New Fund Options on 31st July 09. Even though the directive says that the NFOs opened before 01st of August can continue to charge entry load for the same, but the AMCs want to play a safe game and to avoid any complications leading to further <a class="zem_slink" href="http://abc.go.com/daytime/allmychildren/index.html" title="All My Children" rel="homepage">confusion</a> among investors, they are closing their NFOs by the end of July.<br /><br />Even when SEBI had waived off entry load for direct applications, the AMCs had resorted to a similar behavior, but their concerns were brought to rest when the no. of direct applications accounted for only single digit percentage of all. At that time, some of the organizations had gone on to express their displeasure, stating that their objective of entering the rural market itself will be defeated by this step taken by SEBI.<br /><br />Anyways, for a lazy individual investor like me who finds it too much of a task to send direct applications, its a welcome step by SEBI and it will be a further help in increasing my market <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Investment" title="Investment" rel="wikipedia">investments</a>. </div> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/689fcf93-75cb-48e8-9304-30028e5e7ada/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=689fcf93-75cb-48e8-9304-30028e5e7ada" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related pretty-attribution"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>anishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12496594903784185510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22638739.post-78167831090181839902009-07-16T17:12:00.003+05:302009-07-16T20:13:18.186+05:30Income Tax Return Filing (ITR) made easy!!<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Good news for all the individual tax payers!!</b><br /><br /><b>Now you can fill your IT <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax" title="Tax" rel="wikipedia">returns</a> online and get instant Acknowledgment receipt also. No more </b><b>standing in queues and no more paying commissions to intermediaries.</b><br /><br /><b>Just follow these easy steps to file your returns:</b><br /><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;"><b>Step 1:</b> Go to the site: <i style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"><b> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">"</span><a href="http://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/">http://www.incometaxindia.gov.in</a></b></i></span><i><b>"</b></i><br /> <span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;"><b>Step 2:</b> Click on the link <b style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">"eFile-<a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_tax" title="Income tax" rel="wikipedia">Income Tax</a> Return"</b> link at the top Left of the <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homepage" title="Homepage" rel="wikipedia">home page</a></span><br /> <span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;"><b>Step 3: </b>Register yourself once with the help of our PAN number. <i style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">(Your PAN number will be </i></span><i style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">your lifetime userId)</span></i><br /><i style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"> </i> <span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;"><b>Step 4:</b> From the <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tab_%28soft_drink%29" title="Tab (soft drink)" rel="wikipedia">Tab</a><b style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"> "e-Filing A.Y. 2009-10"</b>, select <b style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">"Individual"</b><i> <span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">(It will get you the ITR-1 </span></i></span><i style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Utility Excel Sheet</span>)</i> <u><b><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;"><br />ITR 1 Utility</span>:</b></u><br /> <span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;"><b>Step 5:</b> With the help of your Form 16, fill the details in the .xls <span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">(<a class="zem_slink" href="http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/excel2008/default.mspx" title="Microsoft Excel" rel="homepage">MS Excel</a>)</span> sheet.</span><br /> <span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;"><b>Step 6:</b> Once the sheet is filled, click on the button <b style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">"Generate <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XML" title="XML" rel="wikipedia">XML</a>"</b> present on the sheet. </span><i><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">(<span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">This will generate an XML file based on the data filled in the ITR 1 form above. Save this </span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;" >sheet on your local machine/computer)</span></i><br /> <span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;"><b>Step 7:</b> Now go back to the site once again and Log-In with the userId & password generated </span><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">previously.</span><br /> <span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;"><b>Step 8:</b> Under <b style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">"Submit Return"</b>, select assessment year as "<b style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">A.Y. 2009-10</b></span>"<br /> <span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;"><b>Step 9:</b> It will ask you to upload the XML file. <i style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">(<a class="zem_slink" href="http://www.slideshare.net/upload?type=powerpoint" title="Upload" rel="homepage">Upload</a> the file generated from the previous </i></span><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;"><i style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">step, that you had saved on your local machine)</i></span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;"><b>Step 10:</b> Once the upload is successful, go to<b style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"> "My Accounts" </b><b>-> <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">"My Returns" </span></b>menu. <i style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">(Here you </i></span><i style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">will get your <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_signature" title="Digital signature" rel="wikipedia">digitally signed</a> acknowledgement of ITR)</span></i> <i><b><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">By following these 10 simple steps you can file your ITR from the safe and cozy confines </span><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">of your Office.</span> <span style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;">Kudos to IT Dept. for this great system they have put in place!!</span> </b></i> <i><b><span style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;">Happy ITR Filing!!</span></b></i> </div> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/f1d495c8-df71-43f6-b95f-89581d47ca35/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=f1d495c8-df71-43f6-b95f-89581d47ca35" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related pretty-attribution"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>anishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12496594903784185510noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22638739.post-64309351329423476342009-07-16T10:23:00.007+05:302009-07-16T20:16:40.454+05:30Life @ Bombay<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.anishsinha.blogspot.com"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 331px; height: 262px;" src="http://www.euroindia-ict.org/uploads/images/India/Mumbai/The%20Gateway%20of%20India_Mumbai.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:garamond,serif;">My company's IT team has come of age; it doesn't allow me to send forwards. from my corporate email id (what a waste!!!); Whenever I send one, they send me a warning mail about it, with my boss in cc. So, To Hell with them, I have my blog to share all the forwards in the world that I want to.... Hope you guyz enjoy it as much as I did!!!!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Bombay has no bombs and is a harbour not a bay.</span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;"><a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churchgate" title="Churchgate" rel="wikipedia">Churchgate</a> has neither a church nor a gate. It is a <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Train_station" title="Train station" rel="wikipedia">railway station</a>. </span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">There is no darkness in Andheri. </span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Lalbaag is neither red nor a garden.</span> <span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">No king ever stayed at Kings Circle .</span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Nor did Queen Victoria stay at <a class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=18.94,72.8353&spn=0.01,0.01&q=18.94,72.8353%20%28Chhatrapati%20Shivaji%20Terminus%29&t=h" title="Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus" rel="geolocation">Victoria Terminus</a>.</span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Nor is there any princess at Princess Street .</span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;"><a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parel" title="Parel" rel="wikipedia">Lower Parel</a> is at the same level as Parel </span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">There are no marines or sailors at Marine Lines.</span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">The Mahalaxmi temple is at Haji Ali not at Mahalaxmi.</span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">There are no pigs traded at Dukar bazaar.</span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Teen bati is a junction of 3 roads, not three lamps. </span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Trams used to terminate at Kings circle not <a class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=19.01798,72.844763&spn=1.0,1.0&q=19.01798,72.844763%20%28Dadar%29&t=h" title="Dadar" rel="geolocation">Dadar</a>* Tram Terminus (Dadar T.T.).</span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Breach Candy is not a sweetmeat market.</span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Safed Pool has the dirtiest and blackest water. </span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">You cannot buy coal at Kolsa street.</span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">There are no Iron smiths at Lohar chawl.</span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">There are no pot makers at Kumbhar wada. </span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Lokhandwala complex is not an Iron and steel market.</span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Null bazaar does not sell taps</span> <span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">You will not find ladyfingers at Bheendi Bazaar.</span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Kalachowki does not have a black Police station.</span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Hanging Gardens are not suspended. </span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Mirchi Gully does not sell chillies. </span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Figs do not grow in Anjir Wadi,</span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Sitafals do not grow in Sitafal Wadi,</span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Jackfruits do not grow at Fanaswadi</span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">But it is true that you may get fleeced at Chor Bazaar!!! </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">AMCHI MUMBAI</span> <span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">A City where everything is possible, especially the impossible.</span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Where lovers first love and then marry, </span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Where there is place for every Tom, Dick and Harry </span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Where telephone bills make a person ill, Where a person cannot sleep without a pill.</span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Where carbon-dioxide is more than oxygen, Where the road is considered to be a dustbin, </span> <span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Where college canteens are full and classes empty, Where Adam teasing is also making an entry,</span> <span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Where a cycle reaches faster than a car, Where everyone thinks himself to be a star,</span> <span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Where sky scrapers overlook the slum, </span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Where houses collapse as the monsoon comes, </span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Where people first act and then think, </span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Where there is more water in the pen than ink,</span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Where the roads see-saw in monsoon, </span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Where the beggars become rich soon,</span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Where the roads are levelled when the minister arrives, </span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Where college admission means hard cash, </span><br /><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Where cement is frequently mixed with ash.</span><br /><br /><br /><i>THINGS TO PROVE YOU'RE A BOMBAYITE. </i><br /><i> </i><br /><br /><i>1. You say "town " and expect everyone to know that town means south of Churchgate. </i><br /><br /><i>2 You speak in a dialect of Hindi called '<a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bambaiya_Hindi" title="Bambaiya Hindi" rel="wikipedia">Bambaiya Hindi</a>', which only Bombayites can understand.* </i><br /><i> </i><br /><i>3. Your door has more than three locks.</i><br /><br /><i>4. Rs. 500/- worth of groceries fit in one paper bag.</i><br /><br /><i>5. Train timings ( 9.27, 10.49 etc) are really important events of life.</i><br /><br /><i>6. You spend more time each month travelling than you spend at home. </i><br /><i> </i><br /><i>7. You call an 8' x 10' clustered room a Hall.</i><br /><br /><i>8. You're paying Rs 10,000 for a 1 room flat, the size of walk-in closet and you think it's a "steal." </i><br /><br /><i>9. You have the following sets of friend: school friends, college friends, neighbourhood friends, office friends and yes, train friends, a species unique only in Bombay.</i><br /><i> </i><br /><i>10. Cabbies and bus conductors think you are from Mars if you call the roads by their Indian name, they are more familiar with Warden Road, Peddar ?Road, Altamount Road .</i><br /><br /><i>11. Stock market quotes are the only other thing*besides cricket which you follow passionately.</i><br /><i> </i><br /><i>12. The first thing that you read in the Times of <a class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=28.5666666667,77.2&spn=10.0,10.0&q=28.5666666667,77.2%20%28India%29&t=h" title="India" rel="geolocation">India</a> is the "Bombay Times" supplement. </i><br /><br /><i>13. You take fashion seriously. You're suspicious of strangers who are actually nice to you.</i><br /><br /><i> 14. Hookers, beggars and the homeless are invisible.</i><br /><i> </i><br /><i>15. You compare Bombay to New York 's <a class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=40.7283333333,-73.9941666667&spn=0.1,0.1&q=40.7283333333,-73.9941666667%20%28Manhattan%29&t=h" title="Manhattan" rel="geolocation">Manhattan</a> instead of any other cities of India.</i><br /><br /><i>16. The most frequently used part of your car is the horn. </i><br /><br /><i>17. You insist on calling CST as VT, and Sahar and Santacruz airports instead of <a class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=19.0886111111,72.8680555556&spn=0.03,0.03&q=19.0886111111,72.8680555556%20%28Chhatrapati%20Shivaji%20International%20Airport%29&t=h" title="Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport" rel="geolocation">Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport</a> .</i><br /><i> </i><br /><i>18. You consider eye contact an act of overt aggression.</i><br /><br /><i>19. Your idea of personal space is no one actually standing on your toes.</i><br /><br /><i>20. Being truly alone makes you nervous.</i><br /><br /><i>21. You love wading through knee deep mucky water in the monsoons, and actually call it ''romantic'.</i><br /><i> </i><br /><i>22. Only in Bombay , you would get Chinese Dosa and Jain Chicken. </i><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Whatever People say and think about <a class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=18.96,72.82&spn=1.0,1.0&q=18.96,72.82%20%28Mumbai%29&t=h" title="Mumbai" rel="geolocation">Mumbai</a> but the conclusion is Mumbai is the best city in the World. It has got its own recognition where you can experience everything you want. It has got its own charm. You name it and you get it. It is the fastest city in India and one of the fastest cities in the World. Be proud to be a Mumbaikar and Be proud to be an Indian...!!!</span> </div> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/69b3061f-dded-4a69-b883-96bba5d49c0e/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=69b3061f-dded-4a69-b883-96bba5d49c0e" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related pretty-attribution"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>anishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12496594903784185510noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22638739.post-17978218766674069452009-07-14T12:52:00.005+05:302009-07-14T19:32:21.849+05:30A proud moment for India: Indra Nooyi named "CEO of the Year 2009"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.anishsinha.blogspot.com"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 174px; height: 228px;" src="http://futureindia.blog.co.in/files/2008/06/14273237_indra-nooyi_01.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">Indian women have done us proud again!!<br />Indira Nooyi, the <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chairman" title="Chairman" rel="wikipedia">Chairman</a> & CEO of <a class="zem_slink" href="http://www.pepsico.com/" title="PepsiCo" rel="homepage">Pepsico</a> has been named the "<i><b>CEO of the Year 2009"</b></i> by Global Supply Chains Group (GSCG). Ever since joining Pepsico, she has been instrumental in various CSR (<a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_social_responsibility" title="Corporate social responsibility" rel="wikipedia">Corporate Social Responsibility</a>) initiatives by her <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Company" title="Company" rel="wikipedia">company</a>. She's also kept the cause of "<a class="zem_slink" href="http://www.amazon.com/Inconvenient-Truth-Al-Gore/dp/B000ICL3KG%3FSubscriptionId%3D0G81C5DAZ03ZR9WH9X82%26tag%3Dzemanta-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB000ICL3KG" title="An Inconvenient Truth" rel="amazon">Climate Change</a>" in her top agenda and has contributed a lot for the same. She's a true <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_citizen" title="World citizen" rel="wikipedia">Global Citizen</a>, setting high benchmarks for the corporate world.<br /><br />Its very heartening to see that the women of <a class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=28.5666666667,77.2&spn=10.0,10.0&q=28.5666666667,77.2%20%28India%29&t=h" title="India" rel="geolocation">India</a> are making us proud in all the walks of life; hope this helps in changing the views of our fellow countrymen who don't consider women on par.<br /><br />Cheers again to Ms. Nooyi for yet another feather in her cap!! </div> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/669361e7-237a-4b48-84b9-a9ac18c1a704/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=669361e7-237a-4b48-84b9-a9ac18c1a704" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related pretty-attribution"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>anishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12496594903784185510noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22638739.post-50823958724474448622009-07-14T12:37:00.007+05:302009-07-14T19:23:04.899+05:30Air India to adopt the Low Cost Carrier (LCC) Model<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.anishsinha.blogspot.com"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 279px; height: 278px;" src="http://wpcontent.answers.com/wikipedia/en/3/37/Airindia.mascot.maharaja.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Cash strapped <a class="zem_slink" href="http://home.airindia.in/" title="Air India" rel="homepage">Air India</a> has finally decided to enter the Low Cost Carriers league. Its planning to start low cost flights in domestic routes by the end of this SEptember, thus increasing the already <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cut-throat_competition" title="Cut-throat competition" rel="wikipedia">cut-throat competition</a> in the <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-cost_carrier" title="Low-cost carrier" rel="wikipedia">LCC</a> market.<br />Air India already has its presence in international LCC market, with their Air India Express flights. With the drastic decrease in the premium fliers <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_segment" title="Market segment" rel="wikipedia">market segment</a>, Air India expects to reclaim its falling market <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_share" title="Market share" rel="wikipedia">share</a>.<br /><br />Also, since the LCC tickets are majorly booked via online <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Website" title="Website" rel="wikipedia">websites</a>, Air India is planning to revamp its currently rustic Online Booking site to make it more user-friendly and attract more customers.<br /><br />Its also planning to tweak its Frequent Flier <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loyalty_program" title="Loyalty program" rel="wikipedia">Loyalty Program</a> to enroll more and more customers. Jet and <a class="zem_slink" href="http://www.flykingfisher.com/" title="Kingfisher Airlines" rel="homepage">Kingfisher</a> have already adopted the LCC models and have been very effective in tapping his market.<br /><br />Until now, Air India was the only carrier that had no representation in the LCC market, but with the change in plans, we hope that this <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_carrier" title="Flag carrier" rel="wikipedia">national carrier</a> is on its way towards better days. Amen! </div> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/4d0dfdee-30af-46c9-beb7-d91f53ff0fe6/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=4d0dfdee-30af-46c9-beb7-d91f53ff0fe6" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related pretty-attribution"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>anishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12496594903784185510noreply@blogger.com1