No Cess Please ! - My solution for rising fuel cost.

Indian oil cos are bleeding. International crude oil prices are going up and Indian companies are not allowed to increase the Price on ground that "Left Front" is unhappy. Who could be better enemy of India then left, as this exercise will give them no incentive to server and increase the capacity.

But even Left has their point, if Oil prices increase then this will largely impact the poor people, as the transportation of goods will increase, but if they don't raise the price then People will continue to drive their way while making Indian oil cos uncomfortable. Government came up with another solution to burden middle class with Cess, which doesn't sound to be a good option.

Probably what had been the hurdle in India growth story seems to be another case here, lack of innovative Ideas and poor implementation.

So what could be the better solution ?

Following are my two paise to solve the issue.

What makes more economics sense at this point keeping environment in mind is to discourage people to use oil for luxury, encourage them to use public transport. Levying tax would affect all irrespective of whether they really use vehicle or not.

Hence government should set prices at different level. Usually in tier-II and below cities work distance is not more than 10 Kms, which is about 300 KMS a month, added to that another 100 KMS of drive for other activities (to buy food items etc). Hence a total of 400 KMS. Ideally for initial 300 KMS they should be encouraged to use vehicle which gives more mileage, hence approx 40 Km / lt, anything above that should be considered luxury. And for car for the rest 100 KMS, around 10 Km/lt. So the average mileage is 32.5 (weightage average), so the fuel consumption would be around 12.30 or say 13 lt per month. Hence the person should be given only 13 lt oil at subsidized rate, rest should be allowed to pay at the market price + premium. Similar case can be defined for the other cities. Moreover subsidy should be given only to public transport and carrier transport.

1). This would reduce the burden on government.
2). It will help in turning people to use public transport more than personal.
3). It will result in lesser demand for fuel (unless some richy rich are ready to pay huge amount) and hence will result in less pollution.
4). It will provide incentive to vehicle manufacturers to build fuel efficient cars.

Hope government read this and understand some of the basic things which can be done to improve the situation.

Rural India - Problem or Solution ?

Rural India, for many is a synonymous to abject poverty. Rural India pose a picture of crying baby without much care and attention given. Indian growth story has largely been the Urban tech Boom, increasing consumption power of Urban well reflected in increase in pocket money of urban children which goes as high as 1900 per month for Delhi children.

But is Rural India is all about poverty?

Probably i am not talking about something new and this gets featured every now and then in any esteem person's speech. Promising government anouncements (waiving of farmer loans etc) which gernerally results in nothing then a perfect vote attracting speech.

Rural India certaily looks a big market ready to explode. But largely has remained virgin because of lack of the targeted policies. Probably rural India demands more thoughtful act than what has been done till now. Waiving of 60000 crs of farmer loans might be a respite for the moment but farmers wants irrigation machanism. Which could have been developed provided instead of vote bank politics government had parked money to develop such mechanism.

Rural India is certainly not about the mainstream market as they have different problems which demands different solutions. It's about the innovative solution. Many a times we see unnoticed rural innovation in some form. These stories might be just a space filling stories for Media but they pose the innovative attitud of rural india to deal with problems. But they definately lack resources to crystalize those innovation because an idea like google can get funding from Venture Capitalist as they know how to approach them but rural people don't.

The need is to empower them with the information and ways to increase the productivity. Government is crying for inflation but this could have been kept under control had they concentrated on increasing farm land productivity which should have resulted in more production and simple demand and supply equation.

Need of the hour is to act than speak, the need is to really do something about the rural india, to empower them so that they have equity in the India Growth story.

Indian democracy died ! The great india is no more great

Today is the saddest day of Indian democracy. India has defied its well purpose of treating every individual equal and in a politically driven move Indian government has succeeded in their attempt to divide India on caste basis.

Welcome to new India run by self proclaimed not-so-competent Indian (Forgive me, i never believed that in past India anyone is not competent but on this ground only they asked for reservation). Where meritocracy would be mere joke. There won't be any new development as Indian would have thrown their talented pool out of country.

To blame its' only the Arjun Singh (poor minister of poor country), i can't blame indians now because they din't elected him. He was forcibly given place by giving him space in Rajaysabha.

God bless him and take him away as soon as possible so that India doesn't get split on his will.

I am ashamed of being Indian, i hate India, i hate myself.

When your manager says .....

I am flowing with a river which has rocky sideways, so everytime i swim into it, it hurts me. Your manager is a one crappy creature in this world which has his ass integrated with his mouth so everytime something comes out of it, it smells badly or may be pathetically. In my journey to corporate, i learnt few things which i would always hate to. When your manager says :

1). Tell me about your expectation : Hints it that he wants you not to have any expectation.

2). Can you give Knowledge Sharing session : Bet he is trying to replace you so that you don't left demanding in appraisal.

3). You have any concern : Oops, never open your mouth, because telling him your concerns might be big concern you might end up inviting.

4). We are planning: Fuck it and forget it, it never gets implemented.

5). Status call : one last chance for him to understand what you are doing, so that he can define Knowledge session and left you alone.

6). Appreciate : Fuck it again, coz thats gonna follow with some more work ONLY.

7). See : never follow him, he would show you the fishy world.

8). Team building : To ensure that you are not involved in any value creation activity, coz that mean that you might leave soon. This is applicable specially if the team building is after office hours, which usually happens.

9). Onshore team: The big ass guys, who know nothing.

10). Let's discuss : Get cottons for you ears, coz he is gonna speak all the time.

11). Your manager's status call: he gonna screw you as he would get screwed from his manager.

12). Team meeting : one fucking excercise which leads nowhere.

Nano or Big ?

Showcase of Tata's "Nano", a lakh rupees car created lots of noise around. For good reason and for bad as well. People are cherished that sooner they are gonna get a car that fits into their budget, is fuel efficient, hurting their pocket less and still make them feel that they are the owner of the car, a big status stature in India. The car was considered as the dream project of Tata's and launch of this car would make Tata's name listed as the revolutionary automobile major. The world automobile market is keeping close watch on this project.

But this also raised concern on the mind of few. The launch of 1 lakh car, which is supposed to be a big hit looking at that people are eager to own a car, would add to already congested Indian roads. India is supposed to have the worst infrastructure in the world and adding few more vehicles on road would be a chaos. Some people turn this as a capitalist argument as they find no reason why a lower middle class should be denied to own a car. Which makes pretty good argument as well, is that the only lower middle class is responsible for lessening the congestion. Why these concern not being raised when a mercedez or ferrari or BMW is on road?

But probably we are missing or hitting the bigger question now, which is inviting more pollution, and i won't want to be termed as capitalist and would be taking the holistic approach. Every vehicle which is introduced on road adds to pollution. Already polluted environment would cripple down with few more emitting vehicles adding methane, nitrous oxide, carbon oxide etc to "our own environment". Probably this is the time to take the ownership of bigger issue then playing the blame game. This is not the only responsibility of the government but also of citizens.

Although government can play the bigger role by introducing a much healthier public transport system, which reduces the per-capita emission and road congestion as well. The focus should be shifted now to more fuel efficiency than anything. People are forced to use vehicle as we lack the strong public transport system, although this won't guarantee the less use of private vehicle, but atleast that would make sure that those who are using this because of a reason can find good reason to avoid so. So for exaple if 10 people who give-up using their own vehicle and were collectively emission say 100 (assuming each as 10*10), if they start using the public transport probably this would go down if not exactly to 10 but to 40 level of emission still we would be saving 60%. Moreover tree plantation should be takes seriously now and government should stop issuing jungle land for use. More well planned flat can be introduced to meet the growing housing demand and more better architecture can be created so that big corporate house uses the less floor space or build up area.

But the responsibility not only fallen on the shoulder of government but also on citizen. They can't be unaware or act irresponsibly as they are on the receiving end. It directly affects the citizens only. They can reduce the emission drastically by taking more severe measures at their end by acting more responsibly. Use the public transport wherever its possible. User more fuel efficient vehicle. Have their vehicle regularly checked up for meeting the norms. Planting trees in the available free space. Being more eco-friendly, minimize the use of paper as many things now can be done paperless manner. May be bicycle to their office or nearby place which also has health benefits. Try to optimize the resource, so if there are 4 people from the same place trasporting to same destination, may be collectively they can use one vehicle which would give them economic bandwidth also and so forth.

Collectively we can make the difference, whereas if we keep the blame game going on its us who would be loosing none else, understanding that perhaps got more merits for safer, more beautiful future and this is something we should promise ourself to give to our generations. So that they can make the difference between Nano or Big.

Osama Bin Laden-- Listed in Time's 100 powerful person's list--- does he really deserve ??

Leaders & Revolutionaries

Leaders & Revolutionaries

King Abdullah, Saudi Arabia

Peter Akinola, archbishiop, Nigeria

Mohamed Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir, president, Sudan

Osama bin Laden

Michael Bloomberg, mayor, New York City

Raul Castro, acting president, Cuba

Hillary Clinton, US senator from New York

Queen Elizabeth II, United Kingdom

Sonia Gandhi, chair, Indian National Congress Party

Hu Jintao, president, China

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader, Iran

Liu Qi, chief, Beijing Olympic Committee

Tzipi Livni, foreign minister, Israel

Angela Merkel, chancellor, Germany

Barack Obama, US senator from Illinois

Nancy Pelosi, speaker, US House of Representatives

David Petraeus, commanding general, US Army

Pope Benedict XVI

Condoleezza Rice, US secretary of state

John Roberts, Chief Justice, U.S. Supreme Court

Arnold Schwarzenegger, governor, California

Builders & Titans

Bernard Arnault, French businessman

Richard Branson, CEO, Virgin

Rhonda Byrne, author, The Secret

Steve Chen & Chad Hurley, founders, YouTube

Steve Cohen, hedge fund manager

Clare Furse, chief executive, London Stock Exchange

Ho Ching, chief executive, Temasek

Steve Jobs, founder and CEO, Apple

Ken Lewis, CEO, Bank of America

Erik Lie, finance professor, University of Iowa

Pony Ma, founder and CEO, Tencent

Lakshmi Mittal, CEO, Arcelor Steel

Shigeru Miyamoto, game designer, Nintendo

Michael Moritz, investor, Sequoia Capital

Indra Nooyi, CEO, PepsiCo

Cyril Ramaphosa, South African union leader

Philip Rosedale, founder, Second Life

Stephen Schwarzman, CEO, Blackstone Group

Katsuaki Watanabe, president and CEO, Toyota

Artists & Entertainers

Cate Blanchett, actress

Sacha Baron Cohen, actor

Leonardo DiCaprio, actor

Alber Elbaz, creative director, Lanvin

America Ferrera, actress

Tina Fey, actress and writer

Simon Fuller, creator, American Idol

Brian Grazer, producer

John Mayer, musician

David Mitchell, author

Kate Moss, fashion model

Yossou N’Dour, musician

Anna Netrebko, opera singer

Rosie O’Donnell, comedian and talk show host

Brad Pitt, actor

Shonda Rhimes, actress and writer

Nora Roberts, romance novelist

Rick Rubin, music producer

Martin Scorsese, director

Justin Timberlake, musician

Kara Walker, artist

Brian Williams, anchor, NBC Nightly News

Scientists & Thinkers

Paul Allen, scientific philanthropist and co-founder, Microsoft

Chris Anderson, author, Long Tail

Elizabeth Blackburn, researcher, UCSF

Richard Dawkins, evolutionary biologist, Oxford University

Frans de Waal, chimpanzee researcher

Al Gore, environmental activist and former U.S. vice president

Monty Jones, agricultural researcher

John Mather, Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist

Douglas Melton, stem cell researcher, Harvard University

Steven Nissen, cardiac researcher, The Cleveland Clinic

T.C. Onstatt, geoscientist, Princeton University

Svante Paabo, paleogeneticist, Max Planck Institute

Lisa Randall, string theorist, Harvard University

Klaus Schwab, founder, World Economic Forum

Kari Stefansson, genomics researcher

Alan Stern, planetary scientist, NASA

Neil DeGrasse Tyson, director, Hayden Planetarium

Craig Venter, founder, Institute for Genomic Research

Nora Volkow, director, National Institute on Drug Abuse

Heroes & Pioneers

Maher Arar, rendition survivor

Wesley Autrey, New York City subway hero

Tyra Banks, talk show host and model

Warren Buffett, businessman and philanthropist

Youk Chhang, executive director, Documentation Center of Cambodia

George Clooney, actor, director and activist

Tony Dungy, coach, Indianapolis Colts

Elizabeth Edwards, cancer activist

Drew Gilpin Faust, newly appointed president, Harvard University

Roger Federer, tennis star

Michael J. Fox, actor and stem cell advocate

Timothy Gittins, decorated U.S. soldier

Thiery Henry, French soccer star

Garry Kasparov, Russian chessmaster

Amr Khaled, Egyptian televangelist

Judith McKay, anti-tobacco activist, World Health Organization

Chien-ming Wang, pitcher, New York Yankees

Oprah Winfrey, talk show host and philanthropist

Zeng Jinyan, Chinese blogger

Fig-1, List of 100 most powerful people (Thanks - www.ibnlive.com)


Before you really scroll down: "Don't expect perfection. No one wins all the time. Leaders grow by making mistakes."

This list figure out one of the most hated, dis-respected and torchbearer of terrorism, "Osama Bin Laden" (Naam hi kafi hain, so no more description about him). Osama figures in the list of leaders and revolutionary, strange enough for quite a few and probably in future that would invite heated debate on News channels and public gathering. So here are my few cents, analyzing him on some of the basic leader qualities.

1). Have Vision : "Leaders have a clear sense of where they want to go and how they intend to get there. They see the big picture, then create a strategic plan for achieving their goals."

The above statement doesn't talk about whether the vision has to qualify the ethical standard. Osama is clearly a islamist visionary and driving all forces to achieve the vision. When i say ethical, it becomes really hard to define or differentiate among several parameter and would first probably have to define ethics. so 10/10.

2).Make decision: "Leaders aren’t afraid to make difficult or unpopular decisions because they have confidence in themselves and in their abilities. They know that indecision wastes resources and opportunities."

Osama whose decisions are definately unpopular (if conspiration theories not to be believed), but his decision matches the path of his vision. 10/10

3).Take risks: "Leaders have the courage to act in situations where results aren’t assured. They're willing to risk failure."

Well no comments. 10/10
.

4).Motivate others. "Leaders can articulate their vision and ideals to others, convincing them of the value of their ideas. They can inspire people to work toward common goals and to achieve things they never thought they could do."

To motivate someone to die for you and bang into some of the most secure nations most important building really require motivational skills and there is no guess that osama out-beats others in that regard.Osama motivate his followers and probably make them realize to fit into the bigger canvas which he has drawn in terms of triumphing world and spreading Islam.

5). Build teams: "Leaders create productive teams that draw the best from people. They effectively coach teams in collaboration, consensus building, and conflict resolution."

One person can write the script but it needs an orchestra to compose the symphony. Osama is well succeeded in building orchestra over a period of time. But that more or less comes from the motivation he provides to his team. Hence 8/10

6).Possess self-knowledge: "Leaders know their own strengths and weaknesses and are able to view their behavior objectively. They recognize their shortcomings, open themselves to feedback, and are willing to make changes when necessary. "

Something which only his followers can tell us. So will go blindly 10/10

7). Display integrity. "Leaders must be trustworthy before others will follow them."

10/10

Well all these definitely qualify him as one of the leader and probably disqualify Bush as one of the person to be kicked out from the list.

Analysis of Affairs at work place ! -- Changing dynamics !

A recent brokeout in TOI (Times of India) " Cupid roles played by Indian ITes" made me to ponder over such a contentious issue. India's ever dynamic demographics which provides cushion to Indian corporates and reason why MNCs are looking towards India (apart from other factors), have given indian teenagers with immense earning opportunities, the kind of income which earlier generation had only dreamt about is happening in India.

But apart from such a major generations shift, now the most happening places in India, the corporate galleria's new role as cupid makes your brain cells move 360*. With ever increasing work load and major portion of time spent in offices drinking coffees, discussion over every issue as sensitive as "SEX", late night parties and many more have added to ever growing phenomenon of "Affairs at Work Place".

These stress relieving activities over a period of time turning out to be waste of "Productive Man Power", a major resource in Knowledge economy. Frequent visits to cafetarias (sooner or later to be named as "Love Nest") just adds more to this pain of efficiency loss. As things become personal the loss in productivity becomes proportional. Probably if you apply "The square law of computation" such activities increase the computation time as the most important commodities "Time & Efforts" get diverted to other places, a frequent gyration in such nacent relationships leads to more pain (Recent breakouts of murder of call center gals by their supposed to be boyfriends supports my view).

But such affairs keeps workplaces alive, giving anoher reason for employees to cherish, results in loyalty if such relationships keeps alive hence lesser pain to HR (the only people in company who comes at 9:00 Am and leave at 6:00 Pm).

So may be soon you might find a "Mandap" in your offices and a permanent "Priest" chanting mantras all the time and may be a couple of lawyers to carry forward "Divorce" activities, well that means "Fun at Work Place! "