InsurTech 2.0

The Life Insurance industry is going through a disruption, as we see a lot of tech giants getting converging in the Insurtech 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 IoT, Big Data analytics, AI etc. we are witness to what the Industry giants are terming as Insurtech 2.0

Advent of such technologies will facilitate both the customers as well as the insurers, thus changing the life insurance products from a push to a pull 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.

The following Insurtech 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.

AI & Chat Bots: To provide their Customers with the best in call experience, insurers have been moving from UI to UX. AI is the latest tool that is expected to provide customer delight. AI based technologies like IBM Watson is driving chat bot based products that are providing the insurers with a new and cost effective way of connecting with their customers across the social medial landscape. Artificial Intelligence is playing a very important role in refining the customer experience via these chat bots that facilitate smart and simple humane conversations. This will also result in lowering the cost of customer service processes.

IoT/ Wearable: 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.

Big Data Analytics: 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.

Cloud based services: IaaS, PaaS 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 Insurtech 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 (minimal) IT Infrastructure model. This gives them the required agility and freedom from the overhead of managing IT infra while adhering to the regulations.

Blockchain: 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 smart contracts and digital assets. Distributed Ledger Technology (basis of blockchain technology) means an increase in transparency in policy servicing, claims management etc. Smart databases can be created with information assets 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.

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.

Kolad - Outbound Training Experience

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.

Venue: Empower Adventure Capms, Kolad, Maharashtra, India.

Sprawling lawns in front of the campus:

View from Gazebo (common dining area):

Greenery galore - A rare site in Mumbai:

Taking time out between the hectic schedule:



My Bronze Beauty - I-gen i20 Sportz (P)

I am an automobile enthusiast and always try to stay updated with the development in the Indian automobile industry.

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.

 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. 

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.

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. 

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. 

All in all, its a luxury sedan meant for comfortable driving and I am loving it!!!

All Is Not Lost Yet...

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Why India Works

*Why India Works - written by internationally-acclaimed film director

Shekhar Kapoor.*****

 ****

A greater ‘hole in the wall’ you cannot imagine. A small fading sign on the

top saying “Cellphoon reapars” barely visible through the street vendors

crowding the Juhu Market in Mumbai. On my way to buy a new Blackberry, my

innate sense of adventure made me stop my car and investigate. A shop not

more than 6 feet by 6 feet. Grimy and uncleaned.****

‘Can you fix a Blackberry ?”****

‘Of course, show me”****

”How old are you” ‘Sixteen’****

Bullshit. He was no more than 10. Not handing my precious blackberry to a 10

year old in unwashed and torn T shirt and pyjamas! At least if I buy a new

one, they would extract the data for me. Something I have been meaning to do

for a year now.****

‘What’s wrong with it?”****

‘Well, the roller track ball does not respond. It’s kind of stuck and I

cannot operate it”****

He grabs it from my hand and looks at it****

“You should wash your hands. Many customers have same problem. Roller ball

get greasy and dirty, then no working’****

Look who was telling me to wash my hands. He probably has not bathed for 10

days, I leaned out to snatch my useless blackberry back..****

” You come back in one hour and I fix it’.****

I am not leaving all my precious data in this unwashed kid’s hands for an

hour. No way.****

“Who will fix it?”****

‘Big brother’****

‘How big is ‘big brother?’****

‘big …. Umm ..thirty’****

Then suddenly big brother walks in. 30 ??? He is no more than 19.****

‘What problem?’ He says grabbing the phone from my greasy hand into his

greasier hand. Obviously not trained in etiquette by an upmarket retail

store manager.****

‘Normal blackberry problem. I replace with original part now. You must wash

your hand before you use this’. What is this about me washing my hands

suddenly??****

19 year old big brother rummages through a dubious drawer full of junk and

fishes out a spare roller ball packed in cheap cellophane wrapper. Original

part? I doubt it. But by now I am in the lap of the real India and there is

no escape as he fishes out a couple of screwdrivers and sets about opening

my Blackberry.****

“How long will this take?”****

”Six minutes”****

This I have to see. After spending the whole morning trying to find a

Blackberry service centre and getting vague answers about sending the phone

in for an assessment that might take a week, I settle down next to his

grubby cramped work space. At least I am going to be able to watch all my

stored data vanish into virtual space. People crowd around to see what’s

happening. I am not breathing easy anyway. I tell myself this is an

adventure and literally have to stop myself grabbing my precious Blackberry

back and making a quick escape. But in exactly six minutes this kid handed

my Blackberry back. He had changed the part and cleaned and serviced the

whole phone. Taken it apart, and put it together. As I turned the phone on

there was a horrific 2 minutes where the phone would not come on. I looked

at him with such hostility that he stepped back.****

‘you have more than thousand phone numbers ?”****

‘yes’.****

‘backed up?’****

‘no’****

‘Must back up. I do it for you. Never open phone before backing up’****

‘You tell me that now?’****

But then the phone came on and my data was still there. Everyone watching

laughed and clapped. This was becoming a show. A six minute show. I asked

him how much.****

‘500 rupees’ He ventured uncertainly. People around watched in glee

expecting a negotiation.****

That’s $10 dollars as against the Rs 30,000 ($ 600) I was about to spend on

a new Blackberry or a couple of weeks without my phone. I looked suitably

shocked at his ‘high price’ but calmly paid him. Much to the disappointment

of the expectant crowd****

‘do you have an I-Phone ? Even the new ‘4D one ?****

‘no, why”****

‘I break the code for you and load any ‘app’ or film you want. I give you 10

film on your memory stick on this one, and change every week for small fee’*

***

I went home having discovered the true entrepreneurship that lies at what we

call the ‘bottom of the pyramid’. Some may call it piracy, which of course

it is, but what can you say about two uneducated and untrained brothers aged

10 and 19 that set up a ‘hole in the wall’ shop and can fix any technology

that the greatest technologists in the world can throw at them. I smiled at

the future of our country. If only we could learn to harness this potential.

****

‘Please wash your hands before use’ were his last words to me. *Now I am

feeling seriously unclean.***** 

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.

Destitutus Ventis, Remos Adhibe!

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 Anna today, which is great and heart-warming, but my question is, why should we limit our support to the passing of Lokpal bill only? Do we think that by punishing our 'corrupt' babus & Netas we'll be able to live in a corruption-free society? Are you and I any less corrupt than them? Can't the "small adjsutments we make" 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 "Corruption" 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!

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:

"Destitutus ventis, remos adhibe",

meaning:

"when the winds don't serve you, take to the oars"

Smartphone User Profiles

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 http://www.androidandme.com/ depicts the midset of the consumers in a very witty manner.
Hope you people also enjoy it as I did ;p

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!

Chitragupt Pooja

Chitragupt Pooja is done by the "Kayasthas" on the second day from Deepawali, i.e. "Yama Dwitiya".

The mantra is as per the below attached picture:

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.3

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there's some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

- Robert Frost

The Hangout - A Gourmet Bonanza!

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!
My friend took me to a small and lesser known food joint called "The Hangout" 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 "Hang out!" .

In fact, earlier this place was called "Mostly Liquids" 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, "The Hangout"

So, here goes the review:

1. Ambience (First Impression isn't always the last impression):

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.
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!
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.

My Rating: 6/10

2. Customer Service (Not Applicable ;D):

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 chef and this process went on until we finalized upon our menu.
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!!)
Finally when we presented a credit card for bill payment, guess what! they don't accept cards (WTF! man and they talk of plastic money & smart cards!!)

My rating: 4/10

3. Food (Worth taking all the troubles!)

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.
So finally what we ordered was: Korean Chicken (starters), Chicken Pot Rice Peri Peri & Soft drinks (A 500 ml pet bottle of cola).
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.
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.

My Rating: A very high 8.5/10

4. Pricing (Decent):

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:

Korean Chicken (starters) - Rs. 85/-
Chicken Pot Rice Peri Peri (main course) - Rs. 165
Soft drinks (A 500 ml pet bottle of cola) - Rs. 30/-

Total Bill amount: Rs. 280/-

The only problem is that they accept only Cash. So, if you are planning to visit, keep some dough with you.

My Rating: 7/10

Overall Rating: 7/10

Caution: This place is not for fitness freaks, but for those who have a taste for junk will simply love it!

Mera Bharat Mahaan!!!

We live in a nation ,

• Where Pizza reaches home faster than Ambulance police,
• Where you get car loan @ 8% and education loan @ 13%,
• Where rice is Rs 40/- per kg but sim card is free,
• Where a millionaire can buy a cricket team instead of donating the money to any charity,
• Where the footwear, we wear ,are sold in AC showrooms, but vegetables, that we eat, are sold on the footpath,
• Where everybody wants to be famous but nobody wants to follow the path to be famous,
• Where we make lemon juices with artificial flavours and dish wash liquids with real lemon.
• Where people are standing at tea stalls reading an article about child labour from a newspaper and say,"yaar bachhonse kaam karvane wale ko to phansi par chadha dena chahiye" and then they shout "Oye chhotu 2 chaii laao....."

Incredible India,

Mera Bharat Mahaan.

(Source: An email forward worth sharing)

Movie Review - Badmash Company

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
So here goes my review:


Banner: Yash Raj Films
Status:Released on 07th May 2010
Language: Hindi
Genre: Drama
Producer: Yash Chopra, Aditya Chopra
Director: Parmeet Sethi
Star Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Anupam Kher
Music Director: Pritam
Cassettes and CD’s on: YRF Music
Release Date: May 7, 2010

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.

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.
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.
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".
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.
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.
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.
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!
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 "Badmash Company"!!


Ratings:
Performance: 4/5
Music: 2/5
Story: 4/5
Cinematography: 3/5
Dialogues: 3/5
Overall Rating: 3/5

CARBON TRADING IN THE INDIAN CONTEXT

Yesterday, while I was going through my friends' tweets, I came across a tweet informing about something called Blog Action Day 2009, which as per them, "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." (http://www.blogactionday.org)

When I checked out the site, I found that this year's topic was one of my old favorites - "Climate Change". It reminded me of my Management Research Project that I had done during my MBA days. So, I started digging through my old CDs & Zip Drives 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 blogosphere writing on one common topic; which I feel is a very wonderful idea; here I am finally sharing my research paper in a nutshell.

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:

Findings:

• CDM projects Reduce global warming
• More companies adopting CDM Projects
• Emissions trading allows flexibility for emitters without sacrificing the environmental objective of reducing emissions
• Emissions trading can also encourage innovation in the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
• India, a Non Annexure I country; huge potential

Recommendations:

a) No adequate monitoring of sustainable development and local community benefits.
- Hence, the government should ensure that there is a separate governing body which can enforce stringent rules to overcome this.
b) No reduction in actual carbon emissions
- The companies should come up with alternative sources of energy to reduce the carbon emission
c) May result in increased local concentrations of emissions - Thus, there should be a clearing house which will look after the volumes being traded
d) Price is uncertain – determined by market
- The exchange should decided a daily price range to reduce this ambiguity
e) Eucalyptus used in carbon sink projects, degrades the soil
- 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

Some of the important findings by me can be explained as given below:

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.

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.

Finally, 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.

Restriction on Free Access of Third Party Bank ATMs

Earlier, in April this year, RBI had brought out a directive, which gave the consumers a freedom to use ATMs of third party banks, without attracting any penalty. This was being viewed a a great start to the Financial Year and more such consumer-friendly reforms were expected over the coming months. But the news of restriction of this freedom has come as a shocker to the Indian consumers.

August 09, Reserve Bank of India (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, IBA (Indian Bank's Association).

As per the new directive, savings account holders will get 5 free third party ATM transactions per month, with a cap on withdrawal amount of Rs. 10,000 per transaction. Also, this facility won't be extended to the Current Account holders.

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 central bank of the country till date.

This step of RBI has come up as a roadblock towards the implementation of new Basel 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.

Swami Vivekananda's CONCLUDING ADDRESS -The World Parliament of Religions, Chicago, Sept 11, 1893

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.

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.

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 Hindu? God forbid. Do I wish that the Hindu or Buddhist would become Christian? God forbid.

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 plant. It develops after the law of its own growth, assimilates the air, the earth, and the water, converts them into plant substance, and grows into a plant.

Similar is the case with religion. 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.

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 church 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 Dissension."

Source: http://hinduism.about.com/library/weekly/extra/bl-sv2.

Swami Vivekananda's WELCOME ADDRESS -The World Parliament of Religions, Chicago, Sept 11, 1893

Sisters and Brothers of America,

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 Hindu people of all classes and sects.

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 toleration. 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 refugees 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 Israelites, who came to Southern India and took refuge with us in the very year in which their holy temple was shattered to pieces by Roman tyranny. I am proud to belong to the religion which has sheltered and is still fostering the remnant of the grand Zoroastrian 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."

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 Gita: "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.

Source: http://hinduism.about.com/library/weekly/extra/bl-sv1.

Tweeting my way to Independence/Inter-dependence!!

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!! To keep in touch with my tweets, you all can visit this blog of mine, or follow my tweets here: http://twitter.com/_anish

Influenza A (H1N1) / Swine Flu

Influenza A (H1N1) is an influenza virus, which has been reported as a cause of illness and death in people. It was earlier known as Swine Flu. Originating in Mexico 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 North America, which is why the illness was originally called Swine Flu. Later on, further tests proved that this virus has gene segments from the swine, avian and human flu virus genes. This led scientists to discard the previous name and rename the virus the 'Influenza-A (H1N1) Virus'. Swine Flu- More details...

Symptoms of Influenza A (H1N1)

The symptoms of Influenza A (H1N1) are similar to the symptoms of regular seasonal flu. People who have this illness may experience fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some patients have also reported diarrhoea and vomiting.

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.

Commons Precautions

Here are some precautions to prevent contraction of the virus -
1. Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Discard the tissue after use.
2. Wash your hands thoroughly after you cough or sneeze.
3. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth as germs may spread this way.
4. Stay away from close contact with people having respiratory illnesses.
5. If one displays influenza like symptoms, one must limit contact with others by staying at home. However, in case of respiratory distress, one should visit a nearby hospital without delay.
6. Take care of your health. Get plenty of sleep, exercise regularly, manage stress, drink plenty of liquids and eat wholesome food.

Medicines for the treatment of this illness are available in India. 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.

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 011-23921401.

Source: http://india.gov.in/citizen/health/h1n1.

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