Birthday Boy !!!

It's Monday morning and people are getting ready to start a new week, with the last day of the year, as I lay in my bed "just born" trying to open my eyes. It's neither a hangover from the drinks I had last night nor the warmth of the blanket that is not letting me get up. But it's the feeling of just born that's making me lay down still in my bed and reminisce all those 26 beautiful years. Yes, you got it right, I am 26 now.

26 years and I still feel I don't have many ideas to write this post. Damn!!! It's my birthday and you want me to write something sensible here. I am gone crazy as I write this one. I am playing a game of Pool online and somehow I am feeling happy even if I loose (well you need balls to beat me, doesn't matter where you have them). I have called up a lot of people yesterday just to make sure they know it's my birthday and now I am just counting how many of them called back.

Birthday is actually fun. When you are a kid you are allowed to wear casuals to school and then an exempt from the homework for a day. You spend all the time with your family preparing for the birthday party in the evening, when all your friends come in and they clap enthusiastically, as if it were their own b'day. You feel and see yourself as an elite member in that group of kids. You have yours parents holding your hands while you cut the cake and all the kids anxiously look forward to having a dash at the cake.

When you are a teenager you spend the evening with your friends at a local restaurant or a local coffee shop and may go out for a dinner with your parents.

And then when you are finally grown up, you spend your b'day throwing a party to all your friends.

I don't know what to write, I am all short of ideas today. I am the Birthday boy !!!

Dec 31 - 2 yrs back

Dec 31 - This day has always been a great day for him, coz this is when he was born 24 yrs back. He has always enjoyed this day and that year it was surely going to be something special as he was with his friend whom he admired, loved and respected the most. Both had already planned how to celebrate his b'day: the cake was already in place and the drinks were all set.

At midnight, as soon as the clocks hit 00:00 hrs, he was out of his room, elated just like a kid. After all, it was his b'day and he wanted everyone to know that. Just then "the planner" came out of his room and hugged the kid. Wished him best wishes and started preparing for the party.

Just then the phone rang. He knew who it was. They have always been the first one to call him on this day. He lifted the phone and started to babble. His parents have called up. They were 2000kms away from him, but he felt as if they were close to him celebrating his b'day.

The celebration started by cutting the cake. And then it was time to enjoy the drinks. Both stood in the balcony in their shorts and enjoyed the drinks. The phone kept ringing all this time. He had never imagined so many people will remember his b'day.

Both went to sleep thinking about the next morning.

In the morning it was business as usual. Milk with cornflakes + A cup of milk with Holicks Lite + 5 eggs for breakfast and then to office.

At office he reminded everyone, he met that it was his b'day and they were expected to wish him. There was a small celebration in the office in the evening and then they were back at home.

Evening was spent at the juice corner, where they talked about all the stuff they did during the day and checked out every girl that passed by. By now they actually knew most of the girls that passed by that juice shop. And then as a daily routine they would share an Apple Pie.

At 20:30 hrs they started planning for the New Year's Eve. There were parties all across the city. Finally they decided to visit "Liquids". Liquids is a nice little disc at Hyderabad, famous for its hip-hop-crowd and lovely girls. Both were ready to Rock by 21:30 hrs.

Liquids came as a pleasant surprise to them. They didn't expect stag entry for 31st. But then a two thousand bucks at the entry and they were in. Both had girls in their lives but the thought of spending that night with those girls never crossed their minds. They were happy in each others company. Liquids was already rocking when they entered. Dim light floor; jam packed with crowd, sipping on their drinks and the DJ deftly playing his numbers.

They took a place next to the Bar counter and ordered their first drink. Both were enjoying the party as people danced to an eclectic mix of numbers played by the DJ. Both were having fun watching all the girls around, especially the one in the black dress, whom they made exchange few smiles even as her boy friend watched them.

At midnight 00:00 hrs the lights went off, people turned wild and one could even hear people screaming in the next building. Both shook hands and wished "HAPPY NEW YEAR" to each other. "Cheers" and the next round of drinks were ordered.

At 1:00 they returned back to their flat, where one of them went to sleep, but one was still awake because...

I wish I could complete this and write what happened next, but then let’s see if you people can guess what happened next.

Draw money from any ATM

Reserve Bank of India is considering a proposal wherein one will be able to withdraw money from any ATM across India, without being charged extra for withdrawing money from an ATM under which one does not have an account. The scheme is proposed to be in place 2009 onwards.

At present banks charge Rs 50 for a cash withdrawal and Rs 20 for a balance inquiry from an ATM incase one does not have an account in the same bank. The amount being charged is not fixed and may vary from bank to bank.

The move is facing opposition from SBI which has the largest chain of ATMs across India. SBI went down to number 2 spot in Banking sector after ICICI picked the top spot. In a move to regain the top spot and to keep its high-net-worth investors intact, SBI started setting up ATMs across India and made substantial investment in the process. SBI is surely going to get hurt by this move as it will loose its advantage of a big ATM chain.

But for the common man this comes as a sign of relief. One can now go to any nearby ATM and withdraw cash without any apprehensions of the charges being levied. Apart from this, we’ll see queues getting shorter at ATMs.

From the banks’ perspective this will reduce the number of transactions happening and the overhead faced by the bank dealing with these inter bank transactions.

It is imperative for banks, banking on their ATM count, to start looking out for improvement towards the level of service they offer and also innovate fresh banking products to cope up with the burgeoning competition in Banking sector.

Narendrabhai - bijli, hindu aur votes

Let us all go back in time to the election rally where we have Narendra Modi, Chief Minister, Gujarat, addressing all his fellow gujaratis and asking them to vote for him in the coming elections. Modi starts by saying "Who got electricity to your homes" and the crowd erupts "Narendrabhai", next "Who got drinking water to homes" and the crowd erupts "Narendrabhai", next "Who got roads till your homes and who helped Gujarat develop" and the crowd erupts again "Narendrabhai", next "So if you want the same kind of development happening in Gujarat, go and vote for your Narendrabhai on the election day" and the crowd applauds with exuberance.

After his win in the state elections, Narendra Modi has shown us that elections can be won by making people realize, the development that has happened in the state under one's rule. The last time BJP tried to use the same subject for promoting themselves at general elections, where they raised a toast to "India Shinning", BJP lost the election.

Soniaben tried to besmirch Modi by calling him "Merchants of death". The statement that ultimately played to Modi's advantage. Modi was seen as a one-man army against all the jehadis, and Hindus across Gujarat saw him as the '56-inch chest Macho Man' who can give them 'riot free Gujarat'. As Modi quoted in one of his rally's "100 Hindus were killed across India last year, and only one in Gujarat", making himself the favorite among Hindus.

Everything sounds like the old quote by Bose, "tum mujhe khoon do/ main tumhe aazadi doonga". Here we have Modi saying "tum mujhe vote do/ main tumhe security doonga".

Happy with your job, You need to meet ME !!!

The subject here itself may sound provoking, but I am not here to preach on "Good Job - Bad Job". Neither am I asking you all to quit your jobs and start looking for new ventures. But what I will be talking here, is on the zeal to get more out of life. Working 9 to 5 is an important part of our lives as it takes 33.33% out of our daily life. So while you are on your job make sure you are really getting what you want out of it.

People should be aware of their true potential. Most of the people tend to turn complacent once they are into a job. Somehow they never realize their true potential or a possible flaw at the place they are working. As I write this today, I have a good friend of mine spending his last few hours with a company in Hyderabad and then he will be off to a new mission. I am glad I could motivate him to do this ardous task. You may argue on certain points that the place you are working at is the best place to work at. Maybe you are right, but then, even if you are working in Heaven there is one thing missing for sure - you being not "alive".

People quit jobs for different reasons viz. job location, money, designation, marriage..etc. If you don't have a reason to quit and are happy working with the company you are working with at present, then that itself is a problem. What are you doing at a place where there is no scope for improvement? In terms of work, you need to question yourself daily at the end of the day "Is this what I wanted to do?”. In terms of salary and designation you need to see how the market is, what other companies have to offer to people of same experience level and same intellect as yours.

I have seen people who join a company and then somehow don't feel like quitting that company, even if they don't get proper recognition. Ask them the reason and you get "I just don't feel like leaving". The reason here is people tend to fall in love with the company they are working with. Someone rightly said "Never love your company, coz you never know when the company stops loving you". There is always a kind of a shell that restrains one from leaving the company and looking out for new ventures.

Do some introspection; see if this is what you were born for. I know everyone of us is special in some or the other way and should be getting more that we currently are. While you were a kid there were no restrains, you did everything you wanted to, everything was so natural. What is wrong now?

Being in a wrong job is like being pregnant. You know things will be fine at the end. But then, the pain is unbearable - Anonymous

Friends !!!

If you are expecting some gyan out of this article just stop here. This is just a story of two friends.

The day they met each other in person, for the first time, they never had a feeling that they were meeting for the first time. They had never met each other before but knew a lot about each other, more than people usually know about each other even after numerous meetings. Both of them never sensed the energy that was flowing between them. They greeted each other with a smile and then they were off on their bike (yes, "their" bike). And that is where it all started.

The two started living together, sharing each moment and loving each others company. Both were working with the same company. They laughed together, went for a jog together, appreciated good looking girls together, played together and celebrated together. One of them was a great thinker, a planner, who knew what he wanted to achieve in life. The other one non-serious, the worst planner and never knew what he was destined for. Something was really amazing about the two. What one loved was surely loved by the other one.

And then "the planner" planned for something that will change things for good. He knew what he was destined for. He worked hard to achieve his goal. And the other guy was just running thru each day in the same way how things have been all the time. And finally they got the news. The "goal" has been achieved. Both of them were ecstatic. The feeling was expressed by a big hug when they met in the evening. And then they started counting days, when they will part for good, with one heading to achieve for what he had worked hard and the other one still taking life on the lighter side. And finally the day came, when they parted. They hugged each other and with the shake of hands they parted.

Both were now 1000kms apart but at heart both were still close to each other. Both of them shared what they were doing and they talked even if they were not doing anything exciting. The talks lasted for hours.

They were friends, then they crossed the barriers and now they are more than Brothers.

IIM Shillong - The New B-School on World Map

Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management (RGIIM) Shillong, the plans for setting up which were approved months back has finally invited applications for three specialized course for academic year 2008. The three courses being offered are:

-> Post Graduate Programme in Management
-> Fellow Programme in Management
-> Management Development Programmes

Whereas all the 6 IIMs running at present do not require applicants to put in separate applications for PGPM, one seeking admission to RGIIM needs to apply separately to RGIIM. People interesting in applying for RGIIM may go thru this link.

At present, all the 6 IIMs are rated among the top 10 B-Schools in India. RGIIM, with its first batch starting this year, will surely like to join the ranks soon. Being an IIM brand will surely attract a lot of applicants to RGIIM and based on the current reputation of IIMs it will not be tough for RGIIM to be among the top B-Schools in India pretty soon. But students need to be wary while applying to RGIIM. Here are some of the points I came up with that may play a key role in how RGIIM is going to come up in future:

-> Faculty : As of now there is no update on the website on what constitutes the faculty at RGIIM. For students, who are planning to take up admission to a college this is of utmost importance as faculty is what shapes their future. An adept faculty specialized in key areas like Finance, Marketing, Operations, HR is a key asset for any top notch B-School.

-> Infrastructure : As talked above for Faculty, there is no mention to what is the current Infrastructure in place. A small photograph of the institute could have helped a great deal. Even if they have the building under construction and it is not worth taking a photograph, the website can atleast have a mention of what facilities are the B-School going to offer.

-> Accessibility : A school in North-East is comparatively less accessible to corporates as compared to a B-School in any of metros or cities like Delhi, Hyderabad. We have already seen in the past how good institutes fail to attract top corporates just because they are not easily accessible. There is a need of developing Shillong as a city in terms of infrastructure available to host such a prestigious brand. Also good air connectivity to all the metros and cities like Hyderabad and B'lore should be present.

As RGIIM starts to prepare for its first batch, there should be a lot of focus on taking in the best people as students, as these students will determine the fate of this B-School, when it gets ready for final placements and various rating agencies rate it based on its placements.

For now, Best of Luck to everyone who is applying for RGIIM.

Carbon Capture and Storage - CCS

The recent talks at Bali on Global Warming, where everyone talks about CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) Emission and ways to reduce Carbon Emission, has once again reminded nations of dangers emanating from Carbon Emission. As per the Kyoto Protocol all the developed Nations which are emitting Carbon more than specified volumes need to buy credits from other nations which are selling such credits. The motive behind this is to support or fund all projects that help reducing carbon emission or its effects in those nations. Lets me elucidate this with an example: US emits carbon at a rate which is higher than the permissible rate for US, but it cannot put in efforts to work on projects which help in carbon control. So US buys Carbon Credits from countries like Ireland that will use the funds in building ways to curb carbon emission.

There have been a number of ways of curbing carbon emission and of reducing the effects of carbon being emitted in the atmosphere. One of the methods is called Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). The main idea as the name suggests is capture CO2 being emitted and then stored, preventing its release to the atmosphere. The industry will opt for this approach will need to invest into carbon storage in terms of storage space and also machinery and/or energy used by the project. Once CO2 is collected it needs to be transported to a place where it can be stored without any leakage to the atmosphere.

The various forms in which carbon can be stored are:

1. Under water in oceans. CO2 collected will be disposed off in the ocean bed where there is no chance for carbon to escape to the atmosphere. The disadvantage of this approach is carbonic acid that will be generated out of the carbon present will increase the acid levels of water and may harm flora and fauna flourishing at sea bed.

2. Geological storage which is also called geo-sequestration, which involves injecting CO2 directly into underground geological formations. This will help in enhancing sites which are acting as current Oil resources. But because such places are not much in number and also at far away place huge cost will be involved in moving CO2 from factories to these sites.

3. Last one is reacting metals like Magnesium and Calcium with CO2 to form carbon compounds of these metals which are not harmful.

As of now all the above methods are under review and nothing has been planned as of now. But as the awareness on Global Warming gains momentum, global economies will be pushed to go for some or the other method of lowering CO2 emission to atmosphere.

No "Sardari" for this Sardar

Bygone are the days when gabbar used to ask "Katne aadmi the" and the menial brigand replied "teen sardar". This is the new era, the twenty-first century, the era when when we don't have a single sardar or leader who leads from the front. Today we have leaders surviving on coalition politics. And incase you want to keep your position intact you better belive, see and do what the members of the coalition what you to.

Here we have the most eligible Prime Minister - Sardar Manmohan Singh, trying to placate the belligerent coalition members on the 123 - Deal. If you ask me how I see our dear PM, he is a man of honour. A man who has seen it all in Finance and Economics, who has taken Indian economics to new heights. Going back to 2000 when the Global Economy hit a recession, he was the one who opened the gates for global trade and introduced reforms in Indian Economics which made it easy for Global players to come in and start operations in India. India, owing to its cheap labour stands as the only country which was actually benefited from the 2000 recession and the Y2K bug.

So what is stopping our PM from inducing fresh ideas into Indian Nuclear Trade. Let me brief you on the proceedings till now. It all started with India trying to be a part of the big league by signing a Nuclear Deal with US. Manmohan Singh as a thinker planned to go ahead with the deal, whereas the coalition forces that make up the power at center went against the deal, claiming the deal will make India dependent on US in terms of Nuclear freedom. Also the party ridiculed Manmohan Singh by calling him a stooge to US and George Bush.

Out PM is in a dilemma now. If the deal goes thru we are sure to see a fresh election owing to withdrawal of support by coalition members. And if it does not India will earn a bad name in global markets for backing out of a major nuclear deal. As for the PM it's a matter of how he is to salvage his pride and make sure the deal goes thru.

SEBI to go harsh on QIBs

SEBI - "Securities and Exchange Board of India" is discussing a proposal wherein Qualified Institutional Bidders (QIB) may have to fork out 100% margin money upfront while placing a bid for allotment of shares offered thru IPOs. As of now the rule asks QIBs to put in a margin money of 10% while placing a bid.

Every IPO that hits the market has a portion of allotment going to QIBs. At present, Sebi guidelines prescribe a quota of 35% of shares on offer in a public issue for retail investors, 15% for high net worth individuals and 50% for QIBs. This section usually gets oversubscribed as the bidders are not required to put in the whole amount and just a small sum for placing orders. This leads to many bogus bidders placing their orders and the orders being placed in high numbers.

The affect of QIB portion getting oversubscribed is seen on the Retail section as well. As the Retail investors look upon the status of QIB section, Retail investors also go gung-ho, while putting in their applications, resulting in Retail section getting oversubscribed.

SEBI's decision to ask QIBs to put in the whole amount while placing application for allotment is a welcome move and will help in maintaining parity in the market among Retail Investors and QIBs. Also this will help in reducing the number of applications placed for allotment under QIB section and only legitimate and serious investors will be in the fray for allotment. For the Retail investor, this will lead to a lucid picture of how valueable the IPO is.

IFCI - The Complete Story

IFCI - Industrial Finance Corporation of India, plunged by 23.29% on NSE, falling by Rs. 23.30, owing to the stake sale that was scrapped yesterday. The script ended the day trading at Rs. 76.75.

The build-up to the 26% stake sale that started 6 months back came to a sad end for the investors. The script had gone from Rs 12 in Jan this year to an all time high of Rs 110 in Nov. IFCI had planned for a 26% stake sale to Public Equity players and of all the bidders Stelite and Morgan Stanley consortium emerged as the front runner after others such as Blackstone Group LP and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. dropped out.

IFCI quoted Sterlite and Morgan Stanley's terms as unacceptable which caused annulment of the deal. Sterlite and Morgan Stanley, were looking for 3 members to be a part of IFCI Board after the stake sale whereas IFCI was permitting only 2 members from the consortium to join the Board. Apart for this Sterlite also asked for appointment of a new CEO to which IFCI did not agree.

Investors expressed their disappointment today at the bourses and the script is expected to loose further when the market opens on Friday. Investors are suggested to book profits and go for short selling the stock.