The Accidental Banker !

Is Google Pay app safe for payment ?

2020-06-26T10:42:00.000+05:30

RBI has recently said to high court that Google pay is not an authorized payment system. This statement has made all the people using Google pay app suspicious and apprehensive about Google pay app and other apps such as Amazon Pay, Phone pay etc.

Well does this means that Google Pay or other UPI payment applications were running in India without the permission of RBI or other regulatory authorities?

To understand the payment system of India and all these apps which we were gleefully using firstly for the cash backs and now for the ease which they provide in doing any transaction , we will have to dive little deeper.

First question which arises and which we all should know is what are the payment systems of India

Authorized payments systems of India are RTGS ( Real Time Gross Settlement) , NEFT ( National Electronic fund transfer, IMPS ( Immediate payment service) , UPI ( Universal payments interface) and other debit and credit cards .
Any payment in India is routed through these systems only .

Now, then what are these payments app ??

Universal payment interface or UPI has been a path breaking innovation from NPCI ( National Payment Corporation of India ) . This facilitate immediate intra-bank fund transfer . Based on UPI a Govt owned app was launched called BHIM . BHIM(Bharat Interface for Money) is an Indian mobile payment App developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), based on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). Named after B. R. Ambedkar and launched on 30 December 2016,it is intended to facilitate e-payments directly through banks as part of the 2016 Indian banknote demonetisation and drive towards cashless transactions.

It was allowed by RBI and NPCI that Third Party App Provider (TPAP) can develop app based on the BHIM app to facilitate payments through UPI. So, a large number of UPI apps players forayed into the market like Google , Amazon and others . There are total 22 Third party apps at present in market which are authorized by NPCI. A clarification note was also issued by NPCI to dispense all apprehensions about Google pay and other UPI apps which clearly says that all these apps are legal and authorized and come under grievance redressal process. The letter issue is attached here for all your reference.

NPCI ClarificationPDF

Google spokes person has also issued a statement 'All authorised TPAPs are listed on the NPCI Website. All transactions made using any of the authorized TPAPs are fully protected by the redressal processes laid out by applicable guidelines of NPCI/RBI and customers already have full access to the same. Further, we would also like to clarify that all authorised TPAP’s are already bound by full compliance to all the regulations and applicable laws in India. UPI ecosystem is fully safe and secure, and we appeal to the citizens not to fall prey to such malicious news. We also request UPI customers not to share their OTP (one time password) and UPI Pin with anybody,”.

Therefore, it can be clearly seen that although it is correct that Google Pay is not a payment system but it uses an existing payment system UPI to facilitate payment. It is completely safe for use.

BIT Mesra Hostel Life through My eyes- Part 1

2018-07-27T14:44:00.001+05:30

Hostel life is one thing that every individual should experience in his or her life at-least once. And if you are fortunate soul like me then you get to experience the bliss called BIT Mesra, Ranchi! Its the indelible mark that BIT life has on you that even after 11 years of passing out , you sit down and feel the rush in the blood just by recollecting the nostalgic memories to pen down.

It was the summer of 2k3 when I first landed from my bus Pawapuri from Muzaffarpur on the famous BIT mode ( BIT मोड़ ). It is the destination for all buses plying from different areas towards Ranchi who have passengers for BIT. BIT मोड़ is about 3 KM away from the main campus and you need to take an Auto to reach you final destination.

I gathered all my belongings and reserved an Auto to BIT hostel no 6. With lot of uncertainty and anxiety in my heart my Auto started to take me towards BIT campus. I saw some yellow colored buildings on my left and with curiosity tried to read the board . It read : "University Polytechnic ".
It is a joint venture of Dept of Welfare and BIT mesra. My auto moved on. The road was as bumpy as my thoughts! I found another institute on the right named : Jawahar Navoday Vidyalay. It is a well known school we all know. Finally my auto moved towards some population. Some shops were there on the left and one large open ground on the right. Little did I know at that time that these shops are a lifeline for BIT life!

My Auto stopped at a large gate with a large rectangular Name board which read : " Birla Institute Of Technology , Mesra , Ranchi".

This gate is the boundary beyond which life changes its color dramatically.

The guards at the gate asked me to do an entry in the log book after that my auto was allowed inside. Just after a few seconds my autowallah turned right and then sharp left to stop at the entrance of Hostel No 6. I could see long yellow colored three storied building with one guard sitting at entrance and some students roaming here and there. I could see that a similar hostel was just adjacent to it on the right . It was Hostel No 7.

In BIT mesra , the hostels are given a number and we call that hostel by that number like "teen no chalo , saat no se blawa aaya hai "

I was allotted a room earlier and after doing entry in guard log book I went straight to my room which was a dormitory with some students already in there. I was along with some others were late comers to the institute as we were allotted seats in 2nd counselling of BIT. So, all the rooms were allotted and it was a temporary arrangement made by BIT admin. later in one month we were shifted to our rooms with double sharing arrangement.

Hostel 6 was exclusively allotted to the freshers so every one was fresh and the the hostel was full of energy. BIT is very strict with its rules and regulation and any mistake may fetch you a "Black Dot" which means a blot on your report which might affect you adversely at time of placements. There was a strict no ragging policy.

But, Nonetheless, we had our share of friendly ragging . Initially we were scared and we have heard many horrific tales about engineering college ragging. But , in BIT the ragging was mild one and it was more fun than any torture. We got used to our seniors and most importantly it made the fellow classmates gel as the discussion about ragging was just hilarious. If I start writing about the ragging incidence it will be a whole new post. So, lets cut short on that and move on.

BIT at that time had 9 hostels, 7 for boys and two for girls. Hostel 1 to 4 were specially reserved for seniors. Hostel five had our immediate seniors i.e 2k2 batch and hostel 7 had 2k1 batch. Hostel 8 and 9 were for girls where in hostel 8 freshers and 2nd year girls lived and in 9 other seniors.

All hostels had their very own mess where food was served. It also had a common room were we had TT table, TV and and some other indoor games. We used to enjoy a lot in them playing and watching cricket. Watching cricket in a hostel with your friends is completely out of the world experience.

So, In this way I settled in my hostel and BIT life started.

In the next part I will continue and try to present to you what it feels to be a BITian and why the BIT experience is once in a lifetime chance which not every one gets.

Till then Bbyee!

How to clear bank PO exam in single attempt ?

2018-07-19T17:55:00.001+05:30

Bank PO jobs has always remained a Holy Grail for government job seekers over the last several years. Many of us has devoted several years trying to get one coveted seat in any Public sector banks but due to large number of applicants, and not knowing the exact nitty gritty of the exam, many applicants fail. They develop a notion that Bank PO exams are very difficult to crack and only few brilliant minds have the ability to get into banking.

If you also have the same notion, you have come to the right place.Here I would try to dissect the whole bank PO exam patter conducted by IBPS every year and try to find an answer to the big question " How to clear bank PO exam in single attempt ". Sounds interesting , then read on !

First question is how many seats are there and how many candidates apply for bank PO?

Historically speaking , earlier bank PO seats were very limited as the retirement rate was very less and not many new branches were set up regularly. Now, you can find every year IBPS issuing notification for 3000 to 8000 seats. This number might not seems to be huge but considering the PO vacancies of few years earlier, it is substantially more.

As per the IBPS figure, around 30 lakhs students apply for IBPS PO every year. That is a huge number considering the average vacancy of 5000 odd seats! This means only one is selected in approximately 600 students. Hazaron main ek proverb fits aptly for a bank PO 😊😊.

But, if you dive deeper into this number you will find that approximately 40 to 50 % applicants are those who apply just because of pressure from parents, or by looking at their friends. They do not put in the required efforts to clear the exam. So, they are not the real competition for a serious candidate. This brings down the number of serious applicants to 15 lakhs. 5 % of applicants are very bright and they get selected in some civil services and other government jobs.The remaining can also be put aside easily with proper planning and sincere study. I feel that the top 1 lakh candidates are the real competition for these bank exam . They are serious, sincere and always on their toes to achieve their dream job.

So, from 30 lakh we have come down to 1 or 2 lakh , that is a substantial reduction and now the ratio stands at 1 candidate in 50 applicants. Now , you must be thinking "That's not very tough, I can deal with it !"

Having instilled some confidence in you, now we are ready to understand the structure of the bank PO exam conducted by IBPS.

IBPS PO is a three tier exam - Prelims , Mains and Personal Interview just like any game you play on your mobile, PC or Xbox. It is like levels of the game where starting levels are less difficult and as you progress difficulty level increases!

Prelims exam pattern is depicted below in the chart

Prelims is an one hour qualifying exam having a negative marking of 1/4th . It means that this is just a screening exam to separate non serious candidates from the real one. The ratio of selection is 1:20.
This means that if the number of vacancy is 5000 the number of candidates who will qualify prelims be 100000.

Now, that first hurdle is passed, its time to look at the second and the most important part - The Mains exam.

Why I am referring to the Mains exam as the most important because the marks obtained in this section plays a vital role in your final selection. In prelims even if you score highest , you and the candidate scoring least to qualify are on the same level at the start of Mains.

But, the mains score is given 80 % weight-age for your final selection. Only 20 % weight-age is there for Interview. The overall selection is combination of marks obtained in mains and interview.

This can be understood by the below mentioned chart :

Please note that there is minimum cutoff in both Mains as well as Interview. So, it does not mean that you can ignore interview. You have to qualify interview as well in order to get selected.

Therefore, we now understand that securing good marks in Mains gives us good chance to qualify. There is an added benefit of securing good marks and not just qualifying - If you rank good then the chances of getting your first choice PSU is more.

Let us understand the structure of Mains a bit more .

Mains consist of two paper- One objective and one subjective. Subjective test has been added from this year 2018 and this makes the IBPS PO and SBI PO exam similar in pattern now.

The pattern of Mains is enlisted below

The subjective paper is of 30 min where you will be tested subjectively in letter writing and essay writing. The exam will be in online mode , means you will have to write it on computer. This paper will only qualifying and only those candidates, who secure the minimum cutoff in objective exam, will be evaluated in this paper.

This brings us to the end of analysis and exam pattern dissection. Now, the big question arises as to how to study and prepare. Do we need coaching ?

I always suggest that you go for self study mode of preparation . There are ample amount of materials available on the net which is sufficient for preparing for any exam. If you want to know more about self study then you can refer my previous post by clicking here .

For any bank exam be it PO, Scale II, Scale III, RRB following strategy was used by me and it helped me in cracking any bank exam I gave.

First of all you need to analyse the bank PO exam like level of exam , cut off of each section , type of questions asked etc .
Secondly, start preparing sincerely with all subjects in mind. Keep in mind that PO exams does not only want you to answer correctly but also wants the answer fast. So, TIME MANAGEMENT is the most crucial aspect of any PO exam. You will have to learn some tricks to solve questions in short way.
Analyse one subject which you are really good at , like in my case I chose English to be my scoring subject. Then prepare that subject such that you score maximum in this subject way above the cut off. This is very important because in PO exam , you will find that there is individual subject cutoff and one overall cutoff. Even if you score more than the individual subject cutoff in all subjects, you might not get selected for interview as overall cutoff is more . So, having one subject of strength is very important to score well in written.
Moreover, written marks and interview marks have weight age allocated to them generally in the ratio of 70:30, or 80:20, or rarely 50:50. As you can see, generally more weight is given to written marks , so this makes scoring high in written all that more important.
Math and reasoning require a lot of practice , so devote time sincerely and grab all the concept. If you are not good in math ( Like me !) you can employ my trick . In math section you will find math and DI questions clubbed together. DI ( data interpretation ) is some what less difficult than normal math question and more rewarding as if you can crack one set , then 3 to 4 questions can be solved easily. The flip side of this is that it is more time consuming . I would recommend that you should devise your own strategy . But remember, in math and reasoning you need not solve all questions. The cutoff are generally very low , so you need to pick and choose the easy questions.
By applying these strategy I am sure any one can crack PO or any other bank , Insurance AAO/AO written exam .
Now coming to the interview part. Interviews are never a test of knowledge so, do not bother if you were not able to answer all questions. Interviews are more of a personality test which test your confidence and your conviction . Do not hesitate to tell the interviewer if do not know a question . Never try to bluff , as the interviewer panel generally comprise of highly educated people from various fields and they can tell easily when a person is buffing.

I hope I have covered the whole Bank PO exam in detail and given some useful strategy for anyone to follow. But, always remember that what works for me might not work for you. So, devise a strategy which suits your strength and weakness. Be sincere and regular in your approach.

Remember, all competitive exams are like a race. No matter how brilliant you are , you will have to keep running , otherwise the chances of success will become bleak like that over confidant rabbit who lost to a slow and steady tortoise !

Next, I will try to bring forward my experiences of bank interviews and try to dissect bank interviews for you.

Hope you liked this post. If you have any query feel free to write in comment box.

Till then keep learning !

Seven Steps to ace self study like a Boss !

2018-07-18T14:44:00.001+05:30

India is a country where people will find business opportunity in everything. Education is one such sector which has always been the most profitable. I have seen many highly educated people leaving their high paying jobs to start a coaching institute. You can find coaching for class 10th , 12th , IIT JEE, NEET, IAS, BANKS, CA, etc. You name a course and you will find a coaching institute nearby you.

The main reason for this is that we are trained like that from the beginning of our schooling. Our parents enrol us for tuition right from the start like form 1st standard itself. The poor kid has to go to school and after coming home he again have to face the tuition Masterji. All this leaves very less time for the kid to explore himself and learn anything by his own. He or She starts following up all the instruction which his school or his tuition teacher has asked. But, generally the level of these tuitionwalahs are not up to the mark. They are generally students who for some pocket money starts giving tuition. Many a times the school teachers do not teach nicely in schools so that students enrol for their tuition where they will explain the concept better. This type of scam is very rampant in our schools and many will relate to this.

This leads to a situation where the minds of the kid are limited and he or she gets the notion that in order to learn anything new he or she needs some teacher to teach him. And this mind-set my friends have led to a boom of tuition and coaching industry in our society.

But do we really need them so much?

In my opinion, a little bit of nudge or guidance is required but majorly it’s the self-study which a kid does is the most important aspect of learning. If we can make our kid learn the basics of comprehension skill, there are ample number of books available out there to help master any concept or subject in the world.

So, I am enlisting some of my learning which can help us in our self-study plan:

1. The most important thing for self-study is that you should be able to grasp what the book is saying. This means you will have to work on your comprehension skill. All the books which are recommended for our studies are generally written by very renowned authors. They have invested so much time in explaining each and every concept in concise manner with examples in the book. No teacher from these coaching and tuition would add any value more than what is written in the books. You just need to understand the book properly. So, my first and most important advice is learn to comprehend. For this you will need to work on your language skill.

2. This brings us to the second most important thing How to improve language skill? The answer to this is very simple but to implement this is very difficult. You will have to develop a reading habit. Read good books like novels, newspapers, articles etc. The more you read the better will be your reading skills. Having said that, it cannot be developed overnight. You will have to keep doing it for some time. But, once it’s done, half of your problem is solved. Now, you will never need a tuition or a coaching class for anything!

3. If you are doing anything like maths, or physics where problem solving is required, there you will find a lot of solved examples. After reading the concept, read the question of solved example by hiding the solution. Then try to solve the question by your own. After that match it with the solution provided. Even if you did the question wrong, you will find that some steps were right and after looking at the solution your lack of concept will be cleared.

4. All thanks to Mr Ambani, the internet is very cheap now! We spend lot of time wasting on Facebook and other social media. The best use of internet is for self-learning. Internet is full of materials for any subject. You can also use you-tube to see if any relevant videos are there for your subject. Just watch those videos and you will see that your understanding of the subject has improved a lot.

5. Solve as many questions as you can. This not only gives you match practice but also expose you to a variety of questions which can be asked in exam. Try to give mock exam in timed manner sincerely. After that analyse the paper critically and find out your grey areas. Use this to fine tune your learning.

6. Form groups of similar minded people preparing for the same exam. The peer to peer pressure and the healthy competition will keep you on your toes and will motivate you to push your boundary. But, avoid friends who are gossip mongers and mischief makers. They will derail your whole plan and inject negativity. So, keep distance from those.

7. Join online forums where students from the whole country post their query. Try to be active on those groups. You can learn a lot from others query and you can also ask yours there. www.Pagalguy.com is one such platform where la variety of topics from MBA to banking is discussed.

If you can follow these steps, I am sure you will never need any coaching for anything in your life. I can boast of not taken tuition of coaching for anything in my life. Still I have managed to do some good in my career.

I have also decided to run a series on my blog about how to clear bank exams in a detailed manner. This article was just a precursor to that. So Keep checking my blog if you are interested to know more. Comment if you have any query.

Till then keep learning!

BIT Mesra Placement for Engineering pharmacy and MBA- Update

2018-07-12T22:32:00.000+05:30

Oh ! Writing about BIT Mesra evokes such a nostalgic feelings and makes me wish I had a Time Machine so that I could rewind time and go back to the golden days of my life !

Year 2003 or in BIT lingo 2k3 was the year destiny forced me to join an unlikely institute ( as I was a Bio student ) for doing my B Pharm degree. As a Bio student who failed to compete for Medical exams , I was left with little option but to go for B Pharm . BIT mesra's name was the only charm which propelled me to go for this course.

As any other average student , I was also mainly concerned about the placement. BIT has always been ranked as good engineering college having great placement facility. This reputation of its engineering courses misled other students of other streams like pharma, MBA , MCA to believe that they would get the same or similar facility.

So, majority of the time was wasted in worrying about placement and packages and many of us did not enjoy the stay. Now, after 11 years since graduating form BIT , we all laugh at our childish and immature behavior. Every one I know who graduated from BIT , be it B tech, B Pharm, Architecture, MBA, MCA all are doing very well in their life.

Therefore, all of you who are searching for placement figure, packages , my sincere request to you is that do not worry about the placement and packages of a college and do not base your decision solely on the placement figure. Placement and package figure are many times misleading and are skewed due to some random person grabbing an exorbitant package, pushing the average package up. Base your decision to join a college on the quality of life you will be getting at that college. These 4 or 5 years which you will be spending in this college will be the best in your life.

You must be wondering then why I am writing after so many years of passing out about placement and packages of BIT mesra . So, the answer to that lies in the fact that I wrote about BIT mesra life in my blog in 2008 . Some random visitor still visits my blog for answers about BIT mesra placement. Thats why , I thought that at least I can help them by writing a short update about the current position. I am not an expert , but I have gathered some data and that I will be giving below for those who still wants it.

The below mentioned chart shows the Placement figure of BIT B tech courses.

As you can see the highest package offered was 34 lacs with average of 9.11. It looks very good for an undergraduate course. But, still the median figure of 7.5 lacs is more reliable figure to look at.

Now, coming to Pharmacy, It has improved from my time but it still lags behind BE courses.

Highest package of 9 lacs certainly looks good. But, I am sure only one or two person must have got that . One interesting thing in the above chart is that average is less than median. This means that many would have got much lower than 4.11 lacs. I have also seen the number of people placed and it seems to me that not every one was placed . I would be giving links to a pdf file which you can refer to as to find how many students were absorbed in which company. This will clear some of your doubts.

Next chart shows the figure for MBA.

Above figures for an MBA course does not look very promising. Anyway, BIT is not an MBA college and I am not an expert so I will leave the data for your own wisdom.

I am providing a google drive link for you to download branch wise and company wise data. Analyse this data along with the above data to arrive at any conclusion.

BIT Mesra Placement data 2017-18

So, I hope the above information will be useful to the stray visitors of my blog .

Finally one last time I would urge all of you to if you do not have a better option than BIT mesra , go ahead and join BIT . If you have a learning attitude I am sure BIT will help you achieve all the successes you dream of.

Till then keep learning !

Disclaimer: All the images and data used in this post is from BIT mesra portal.

BIT Mesra Placement page

Which is better - Public Sector Bank (PSB) or India Post Payment Bank (IPPB) - A Comparison

2018-07-10T02:08:00.000+05:30

Ever since in 2016 when India Post Payment Bank announced its recruitment for PO, Scale II and Scale III , a lot of buzz was created over this new entrant in the banking universe. A Central government newly incorporated public sector bank , recruiting in bulk and promising a pay structure as good as SBI ( if not better ) was a dream come true for many banking aspirants including private sector bankers looking for a way to enter the govt sector.

The first recruitment process took quite long but at the end the early movers , from freshers to banking professionals having experience ranging from 4 years to 15 years, were recruited and Inducted as IPPBians starting February 2018. The word of mouth publicity for IPPB job increase even more after the first batch induction .

So, The big question is why so many existing bankers (even from SBI) having loads of experience choosing IPPB over other public sector banks ?

Other similar questions boggling the minds of aspirants like
Is it better to join IPPB ?
What is the pay structure at IPPB?
Is IPPB a private bank?
Will IPPB follow 11th bipartite or the CPC ?

So, Let us try to understand what is a payment bank and how IPPB is different from other payment banks in the India banking universe.

In 2014 Nachiket More committee recommended for establishments of Payments banks in India under differential banks . RBI accepted its proposals and asked entities to apply for Payment bank license. On 19th August 2015, RBI gave In principal approval to 11 entities to open payments banks in India .

On 19 August 2015, the Reserve Bank of India gave "in-principle" licenses to eleven entities to launch payments banks.

Aditya Birla Nuvo
Airtel M Commerce Services
Cholamandalam Distribution Services
India Post
Fino PayTech
National Securities Depository
Reliance Industries^[12]
Vodafone M-Pesa
Paytm
Tech Mahindra
Sun Pharmaceuticals

Bharti Airtel launched India's first live payments bank in March 2017. Paytm and India Post have also launched services. Cholamandalam Distribution Services, Sun Pharmaceuticals and Tech Mahindra have surrendered their licenses. ( from wikipedia)

India Post , whose application for Universal banks was denied by RBI, was also granted In principal approval for Payments bank paving the way for a Financial revolution in the field of Financial Inclusion.

India Post , in the above mentioned list was the only Govt entity granted license.

Why India Post payments bank is destined to bring a revolution in the field of Financial Inclusion?

India is a vast country with huge geographical area and diverse collection of people from different cast and creed. In spite of the best efforts from our government, financial inclusion has always remained a distant dream . Many initiatives for financial inclusion like No frill accounts, Basic saving account , Jan Dhan Yojna etc were launched but still the figure of Financial inclusion stands at a meager 40.1 CRISIL  Inclusix score .

So, It is clearly evident that close to 60 percent of India is still unbanked and a large part of the population is dependent on the unorganized sector of banking like money lenders , sahukars , pawn brokers etc.

India Post , having an existing network of 1.55 lakh branches all over the country with 1.3 lakh branches in rural area , was a sleeping giant in the field of banking which needed to be woken up. India post was doing its bit for financial inclusion by its way of mobilizing small savings and providing for some insurance needs. But, It needed a huge upgrade in terms of technology and manpower in order to meet the growing needs of the financial market.

Therefore, Department of Post incorporated India Post Payments Bank to bring in the required technology . But, establishing a bank required specialized knowledge of banking . This is where IPPB went ahead for recruitment of experienced bankers from Public sector , PVT sector and RRBs so that lack of knowledge of banking does not comes in its way to establish itself as a Bank.

Moreover, IPPB also hopes to leverage the existing 3 lakh GDS ( gramin Dak Sevaks ) and postman network to deliver its services. India Post have an existing customer base of over 17 cr loyal customers . With the launch of IPPB they hope to bring the existing customer under the umbrela of IPPB , extending the financial inclusion cover to the rural people. The unique door to door service approach is another USP on which IPPB is banking heavily.

Therefore, we see that IPPB have a unique position already in the payments bank niche. It is expected to apply for Universal bank license once the payment bank structure is fully functional.

So, we now know that IPPB as payments bank is more likely to succeed given its vast reach, existing network , superior technical knowledge and Govt of India backing. This also answers our second question Is IPPB Pvt ? It is a central Govt entity with 100 shares from Department of Post.

Now, The next big question which comes to a banking aspirant is what is the pay structure. Is it better or worse than the PSU or the PVT sector? Will IPPB follow 11th bipartite settlement or the CPC?

The answer to these questions are simple :

1. IPPB is a part of India Banking Association ( IBA) . So, as of now it is following the 10th Bipartite recommendation for banks salary. In future also , it should continue to follow IBA .

2. Salary structure is same as of any Public sector bank.

3. The difference in salary from other PSU lies in the fact that IPPB pays 50 % of the basic as allowances in the salary itself. So, Many banks including SBI have different allowances structure. SBI being the highest allowance paying bank pays close to 45 % of basic as allowance. So, if we convert all banks allowances like Petrol, Newspaper, Furniture , LTC , none of the PSU banks come close to 50 % of basic. Therefore, considering this allowances factor and the lease accommodation value, IPPB becomes the highest paying PSU at present.
This explains why so many people from different PSU banks joined IPPB .

4. Pvt banks follow their own salary structure and it varies in the same grade from person to person based on ratings, vintage and all. Still, from my experience in ICICI bank , I can easily say that IPPB pay structure is far better that any PVT banks in India like ICICI, Axis, or HDFC etc.
Plus, we Indians always yearns for a Govt job . So, for PVT bankers it was a no brainer to Join IPPB .

5. For people from RRB , it was an obvious choice to move unless you are a person who look for others means earning in bank ( I hope you understand what I am hinting at ;) )

There were some other reasons as well for people to move from PSU to IPPB as I gathered from my interactions with my colleagues. Many were not comfortable with the growing pressure of NPA in PSU. The fear of accountability, chargsheet always loomed on their heads . This has played a major role in their decision to move as IPPB being a Payments banks will not have loans as of now.

There are some cons as well one should consider before joining IPPB .

1. The in hand salary might look more than other PSU but its all taxable. So, the tax liablity is more in IPPB.

2. IPPB as of now, does not provide two additional increments for JAIIB/ CAIIB like in all other banks.

3. Its is new entity, so if you are thinking that pressure of work will be less, you are mistaken. The onus of establishing this bank lies on its employees, so, in order to have a successful career at IPPB, all it's employee will have to go the extra mile to ensure IPPB is viable.

4. Since IPPB primary purpose is financial inclusion, hope of a very posh posting will be very less. Most of its ground force will have to work in rural India.

To conclude, In my view IPPB will be a great career choice for those who wants to get away from the monotony of the same age old banking and experience some thing new and be a part of new revolution. Salary and other perks are secondary thing as compared to the job satisfaction one gets by doing something good . Not every one gets a chance to start something new and witness it from the nascent stage.

So, All of you out there, contemplating about your future, come join the next revolution in bringing Apka Bank Apke Dwar .

Keep learning !

IPPB Website

Picture Perfect

2018-07-09T13:55:00.002+05:30

Picture Perfect

I have an angel, who does not have wing,

Musical quintessence without any string.

Flowers bloom; but it is not spring!

Feeling regal; Am I in dream?

To be a canary one need not fly,

I found elixir when land was dry.

Bliss struck me without any try!

Will this vanish in a blink of an eye?

Time flew but the aroma remain!

Applause faded but not the Name!

Crusts are Dry in the lack of Rain .

Wounds healed but not the Pain!

Life goes on as unstoppable Train

Cant see the shackle but still in chain!

Search is on, Heart is not brain !

My Picture Perfect for the Empty Frame !

Can JAIIB/CAIIB be cleared in one week -My experience !

2018-07-06T17:39:00.001+05:30

What Is JAIIB/ CAIIB?
What is its importance for a banker?
Is it tough to clear JAIIB/ CAIIB?
Can JAIIB/ CAIIB be cleared in on week straight ?

As a banker you keep on hearing these questions or these questions come to your mind always.

When I was in ICICI bank I was not knowing about these certifications as private banks in India do not give any increments based on JAIIB/ CAIIB . But when I went for Canara bank interview I came to know about this JAIIB / CAIIB thing and how additional weightage was given to these. Additionally, Govt banks provide two extra increments one for each JAIIB and CAIIB.

That is when I decided to do my JAIIB first. All the above questions were boggling my mind as I was a private banker and time was very limited for me to study.

So, I did some research on this and got myself enrolled for JAIIB.

Now when I reflect back , I feel there is a need of page where all the above questions are answered and a realistic approach is provided .

If you are one who also have these questions and want to complete JAIIB/ CAIIB in least of efforts , keep reading . I would try to resolve each question objectively.

What Is JAIIB/ CAIIB?

First thing first : Junior associate of Indian Institute of Bankers ( JAIIB)
: Certified Associate of Indian Institute of Bankers ( CAIIB)

These are the two most popular courses offered by Indian Institute of Banking and Finance ( IIBF) which all the banks recognize.

You have to qualify JAIIB first to be eligible for CAIIB. so, JAIIB is like the first step towards getting CAIIB degree.

As JAIIB is the first step let us first understand the JAIIB in detail.

There are three subjects in which you have to score the passing marks to be called JAIIB qualified:

1. Principles & Practices of Banking
2. Accounting & Finance for Bankers
3. Legal & Regulatory Aspects of Banking.

Type of Exam and passing marks and the grace marking system

JAIIB is conducted twice a year in online mode
Pass marks is 50 in each subject

If in your first attempt the score in each subject is minimum 45 and the aggregate of the three subjects is 150 , then also you are declared passed. This is called the grace marks system in JAIIB /CAIIB .

Let us understand this with an example : Suppose you have scored 55 in first subject, 50 in second and 45 in third subject. As you can see you are failed in third subject but as your aggregate of the three subjects is 150 , you are declared passed.

Only existing employees of banks can write JAIIB Exam.

People other than Bank Employees Can write Diploma in Banking and Finance Exam. If Passed, JAIIB Examination certificate will be issued After joining the bank.
Syllabus & exam pattern for both JAIIB and DBF exams are same.

Exam Pattern :Total No of Questions - 120 MCQs.
Duration - 2 Hours
Approx - 70 Half Mark, 35 one mark and 15 two mark questions.

What is its importance for a banker?

The monetary benefit of one increment for JAIIB and one for CAIIB.
Preference to candidates with JAIIB / CAIIB candidates in promotion.
Preference to candidates with these degree in interview.
Increase in knowledge to perform better as banker.

I think above reasons are more than enough for any banker to go for these certificates as the return on investment outweighs the cost.

Is it tough to clear JAIIB/ CAIIB?
Can JAIIB/ CAIIB be cleared in on week straight ?

Now coming to the most important question .

The answer for first question is NO . Its not very tough to clear JAIIB at all. Yes CAIIB is a bit tough.

Let me break it down to you :

Total marks for which exam is taken is 100

Pass marks is 50

Objective exam pattern

No negative marking., yes you read that right.

As there is no negative marking, if anybody would randomly click the answers of all the question there is good chance that he will score 20 to 25 marks . So, you only need to prepare to get 20 to 25 marks on merit and rest will be taken care by guess work.

Having said that, I am not encouraging you all to not study and score marks on merit. I am only emphasizing the fact that its very easy to score in at least Principal & practices of banking and banking law and get pass marks . Yes, for non commerce students , Accounting can be a little difficult.

So, Now I would like to discuss the most important question Is it possible to pass JAIIB in one week.

I would say yes as I did pass JAIIB with one week preparation !

I am enlisting below my strategy to clear JAIIB in one attempt with minimum preparation.

1. The three papers are taken on each sunday so you get one week time in between the exams. This is sufficient to clear JAIIB

2. Do not read the whole McMillan book . It will be better to read the last page ( summary) of each chapter.

3. After reading the summary, read the questions and try to answer them on your own. If you are comfortable in answering all , very good, move to next chapter. If not, revisit the topics in chapter where you found difficulty in answering. By this method , you will not have to read the whole book but only parts . This will save your time and your bandwidth as McMillan books are written in so boring language that you will be bored to death !

4. Pay attention to this tip as you will not find this anywhere as I discovered it myself :)

IIBF provide you with Id password for learning resource site. There you will find interactive PPT on each subjects. They are very concise and have interactive questions to test your understanding. You can read the PPT and get a gist of each chapter very quickly from there.

If you are very lazy like me, there is an option to hear the PPT also . You just need to play the PPT and it will read aloud the chapter. As after my hectic bank job I was too tired to read, I used to plug in my headphone and hear the PPT. It gave me fairly good idea about the chapter.

5. Solve as many sample questions as u can on each chapter. Do not worry if you could not answer many on your own. Just remember the correct option. There are tons of material available on internet. I will give links to a site where you can find a lot of material, old questions, sample papers and all.

6. Search google for PPTs for subject or chapter. It will give you large number of PPT made by IIBF . They are very concise and have good load of questions. Why I am telling you to do a lot of old questions and sample papers is because many questions are repeated in the exam . So, if you have gone through the questions once, it is more likely that in exam you will be able to guess smartly the right answer.

7. Lastly there are many sites which offer mock test for JAIIB. Do one or two mocks just before the exam date to make sure your preparation is on track. You will be surprised to notice that after this much effort you will clear the mocks easily.

8. On the exam date go with confidence and be surprised by your result as I was !

After exam , come back , unwind then start the process again for the next subject.

For CAIIB the process will remain more or less same but as this is a little vast I would cover CAIIB in my next post in details.

I hope my experience and my tips will help you crack JAIIB with ease. If you have any questions please feel free to ask in comment.

Till then happy learning !

Jaiib caiib resources

ICICI Bank as an employer - an inside view!

2018-07-05T21:53:00.001+05:30

ICICI bank has always been a risk taker in the field of banking . This strategy of ICICI bank has most of the times bore fruits which were sweet but sometimes it has backfired also ( like in case of Lehman brothers fiasco ). But, nonetheless it has continued to remain a risk taker and has paved way for the new age banking in our country.

In India , career as a banker has always remained one of the most sought after jobs . The perks are good in banking and the respect which a banker gets has kept this sector as the golden goose in job market. Every year IBPS conducts exams for PO, Clerks and other levels. But, the seats in the government banks are limited and the competition level is very tough as people from all the fields apply for banking jobs.

ICICI bank once again showing its foresightedness, in 2008 started a program in collaboration with Manipal university called as ICICI Manipal Academy( IMA as we call it !) in Bangalore. It was mainly aimed at recruiting fresh graduate with little or no experience into banking after providing a nine month rigorous training at IMA followed by three months internship at ICICI bank. They later absorbed all successful candidates into ICICI bank as Probationary officers . They were awarded Post graduate diploma degree from manipal which was later up gradable to MBA in Banking and finance after doing an online course with Manipal.

Initially they did not charge a penny for the course and ran three batches without any fee or bond. Later, they incorporated a fee structure for the course which they financed and later recovered from the salary. Still, this way of becoming a PO in bank was very lucrative for many as they were getting chance to get associated with a brand like ICICI in the start of their career and the level of competition was a bit low as compared to the Govt banks.

Other banks including some Govt banks like Bank of baroda also started their courses at the same venue with manipal and have started inducting freshers as PO in similar fashion.

I had the privilege to be part of ICICI manipal PO batch 3rd and I cherish my memories of nine month at IMA. It was all expense paid residential learning program with a guarantee of job after completion. After my intership I was absorbed as Assistant manager I and was given the opportunity to establish a new branch as Branch Operations manager.

The rigors of ICICI bank made me into a seasoned banker which helped me in grabbing scale III post at Govt bank later. I spent my first 7 years at ICICI bank in various position from BOM to BM.

So. I would like to conclude that you may hear a lot of things about ICICI bank as a very tough bank with steep targets and all, but the experience which it provide and its willingness to trust a new entrant with larger responsibility is unparalleled. If you want to become a good banker ICICI is surely the place to start.

If any of you have any query feel free to ask in comment. I would like to answer all of them to the best of my knowledge and capability.

Till then enjoy and keep learning !

https://ima.manipal.edu/
https://www.icicicareers.com

Back from exile !

2018-07-05T16:41:00.000+05:30

Ten years ago I started my blog to write about my feelings, my frustration , my inspirations and all. But after some time I went ahead in search of my destiny and this passion of mine was left inside the cold box.

In 2008 I was frustrated with my B Pharm degree and wanted to do MBA so that I could match up with the world. So, I went to Manipal for my MBA and after that I joined ICICI bank as Probationary officer in 2009. I worked there till 2016 and successfully switched my career from Pharmacy to Banking.

Later I left ICICI and joined Uttar Bihar Gramin Bank as scale III officer . Now, I was a government employee. But , there also I could not get satisfaction and now I moved to India Post payment bank as Senior Manager .

In these ten years , I have become wiser and content with life. Now I am married to a beautiful wife and have the most wonderful daughter in the world.

But, even after all these years and gaining so much of experience of life, there was some emptiness. I realized that what we do for our living is not always the thing we wanted to do in our life. In the mad rush to make money we leave aside our passion and the work which really gives us pleasure.

Now , after ten years and lots of ups and down , I stumbled upon my old blog . I was pleasantly surprised to see this blog still running and generating some traffic. So, I have decided to make sure that this site is kept running and updated with latest information for people like me who can benefit from my experiences.

Hope this passion of mine does not go into oblivion !

Apple Of Discord

2008-06-16T00:44:00.002+05:30

Recent developments in the pharmaceutical world have suddenly made Ranbaxy-an Indian pharma major, the apple of discord between Pfizer and Daiichi Sankyo- the other two pharma major of the world. Just one day after the news of Japanese company Daiichi Sankyo taking over 34.8% stakes of the promoters of Ranbaxy, there comes the news of a hostile bid for the other 65% Non-promoters stake by the largest pharma company of the world- Pfizer. Daiichi was willing to pay 31.4% premium to get the whole 34.8% shares held by the family promoters and add 20 % shares from the public. But now comes the twist in the tale. Pfizer which had negotiated with the Indian major last year unsuccessfully, may now bid for 41.3% stakes from the institutions and 21.2% from the individual shareholders. So, now Ranbaxy has become the Apple in which everyone wants to have a bite!.
Now the biggest and most interesting question which arises is WHY? Why a company of the stature of Pfizer would want so desperately to buy a company which have no major patented drugs to its name? What is the profit these companies are looking for in buying a company which only make generic /low cost versions of branded drugs?
The answers to the above questions are as interesting! Pfizer has maintained its lead in the pharmaceutical ground on the success of some of its patented drugs like Norvasc, Lipitor e.t.c. The patent rule allowed it to exercise monopoly on some life saving drugs for HIV and blood pressure. But, now Pfizer finds itself in an awkward position as its major patents are going to last till 2011 only like that of Lipitor and no major drugs are present in its pipeline which can maintain its position. Pfizer wants to increase the patent of lipitor by combining it with Norvasc. But, Ranbaxy seems to be determined in not allowing Pfizer get what it wants. Presently Ranbaxy is contesting legal battle with Pfizer in 17 countries over generic versions of patented drugs. Moreover, Ranbaxy is one of the major players in the Generic drugs market and can run away with all the booty because of its low cost and good quality. For an instance , HIV drug for one patient for one year costs approximately $10,000 for branded drugs as compared to the $ 100 for generic version from Ranbaxy.
Thus from the above facts, we can easily deduce the actual motive behind the rumoured hostile bid by Pfizer for Ranbaxy. The obvious reasons seems to be that Pfizer wants to kill the competition and hostility from Ranbaxy by buying it. The other reason can be that it wants to enter the generic market by utilising the Ranbaxy's low cost model. This is very much a possibility as other branded drug manufacturer like Nvartis have already entered the generic drug market, and Ranbaxy can help Pfizer establish a solid base for building a larger generic drug business.
So, now it will be very much interesting to see in which direction the ball will roll. One one hand the deal would mark a giant leap for the Japanese Sankyo to 12th position in pharmaceuticalfield with presence in over 56 countries, on the other It will mark the entry of a Branded major into Generic drug business. Whatever be the case, lets all hope that the generic drug business is not affected as this serves as a lifeline for many poor countries which can not afford the costly drugs made by companies like Pfizer.

Worth Studying at BIT, Mesra

2008-06-11T01:49:00.008+05:30

Hi Guys,
Now that the much awaited results of AIEEE is out and the counseling season is about to begin...the next biggest problem that arises in front of the students is which colleges they would be getting according to their AIR( All India Rank) and which college to go for…
I hope my post could solve some of their problems… To start with, I am an Ex student of Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi and I think I could give the real picture of the college. As far as Engg is considered, the courses that are offered here are:-
1) Computer Sciences
2) Information Technology
3) ECE
4) EEE
5) Mechanical Engg
6) Production Engg
7) Polymer Engg
8) Civil Engg
9) Biotechnology
10) Pharmaceutical Sciences
Apart from these Bachelor in Architecture and many Post graduate programmes are being offered here. Let’s start with the first question that comes to the mind of all the students on hearing a college’s name and that is” THE PLACEMENTS” …Stop worrying for the placements if you are at BIT Mesra..The placements here are mind blowing though not as the IITs but not even less than that!!! The students are offered more than 3 jobs ( 300% placements) and that too in world’s leading MNCs
Most of the Fortune Five Hundred Companies like Microsoft, Hp, Google, Oracle, Goldman sachs , Dell, Patni, TCS, CTS, Infosys, IOCL etc etc the list is endless, come to the campus and hire students in bulk with a very decent package of around 5L...Microsoft even offers around 10L apart from other benefits. The students have opportunities not only in the Private sectors but also in the Govt sector. But let me tell you one thing this is not the case for all the branches. Branches like Pharmaceutical Sciences, Biotechnology, B.Arch are still lagging behind as far as the placements are concerned. About 80% pharmacy students get placed at a very average salary with a general designation of Medical Rep, some go in production with an annual salary of less than 2L and the rest 2% of the students are absorbed by any IT companies. Same is the condition of Bio tech students, 10% students are placed in IT companies and the rest have to look for Off campus. For Architecture there is NO placement and the poor students who have devoted their 5years get nothing in return. But I must say the situation is improving year after year.
If we talk about the Infrastructure and Hostel facilities, they are damn good. The best thing about BIT is its greenery .The Institute is spread in many acres with greenery all around. The Institute has a very rich library with a huge number of books. There are separate hostels for boys and girls (which are actually too much separated). Single rooms are allotted to the first year students under the strict supervision of the higher management, to avoid ragging. I must say there is practically no ragging at BIT, the correct word is Interaction (Condition is somewhat like this that the seniors are afraid of the juniors and try to maintain a distance with their junior batches. For the Girl candidates, there are two Hostels-8&9. Hostel 8 is only for the freshers and Hostel 9 is for the senior batches. The hostel is extremely safe from all points and is under the direct supervision of the Hostel Warden. The only problem is that of the IN TIME.All the girl students have to be inside their respective hostels before 6:30PM!!!
Coming to the examination at BIT, Mesra: The entire course is completed in 8 semesters and each semester consists of a MID SEM (Mid Semester) and an END SEM (End Semester) apart from the Lab End Sems and Viva which are frequently taken. Mid Sem is cool because a TUTE SHEET is given and you are guaranteed with 4Questions, but the real terror is the END SEM when the syllabus seems to never ending. But again not to worry, there is a Xerox shop nearby. One more thing, don’t ever dare to bring a “CHUTKA” for the exams because if you are caught, believe me my friend you are gone for a semester…
So friends grab the opportunity if it comes your way and be a part of the BIT Family. I am proud to be a BITIAN …..Are you???
To summarize:-
Things to be appreciated at BIT:

1) Infrastructure
2) Placements
3) Library and Wi-Fi facilities
4) Hostels
Things to be improved at BIT:

1) Placement of the Non- Engineering branches
2) Student’s Independence

And lastly the most important thing, while joining BIT Mesra don't think you are joining a college! It is a school . The amount of discipline and restrictions takes out a lot of fun. But the bottom line is in spite of these restrictions there are still enough fun to cherish for a lifetime!!

Best of luck.

Elexir

2008-06-02T20:46:00.003+05:30

Picture Perfect

I have an angel, who does not have wing,

Musical quintessence without any string.

Flowers bloom; but it is not spring!

Feeling regal; Am I in dream?

To be a canary one need not fly,

I found elixir when land was dry.

Bliss struck me without any try!

Will this vanish in a blink of an eye?

Time flew but the aroma remain!

Applause faded but not the Name!

Crusts are Dry in the lack of Rain .

Wounds healed but not the Pain!

Life goes on as unstoppable Train

Cant see the shackle but still in chain!

Search is on, Heart is not brain !

My Picture Perfect for the Empty Frame !

Awarding olympics to Beijing- A mistake

2008-05-30T23:48:00.010+05:30

The above three picture tells the whole story of the coming Beijing Olympics and shows how wrong the IOC has gone in picking China as the host of the biggest sporting extravaganza of this planet. The Olympic games means different things to different people. To the athletes it represents the culmination of hard work and ambition , to keen followers of the game they represent competition of highest level, but to the host country it is an opportunity to showcase their country's might and means.

The International Olympics committee were myopic in their decision to grant China 2008 Olympics. They went on to appease an emerging super power with some 1.3 billion people but forgot the base that after all it is an sporting event and the country should be suitable for hosting games. There are basically two major reasons why the Games should not have gone to Beijing.

Firstly, Beijing is not technically fit to host such an event like olympics, which require a lot of endurence, due to its high level of pollution. The level of pollution is as high as 12 times the limit considered safe by WHO. Breathing in Beijing is harmful and holdig an atheletic event is like " feeding athelete with poison". this whole pollution issue is already taking its toll as in march Haile Gebrselassie, the world record holder in marathon and favoriete for gold medal has announced that that he will almost certainly not compete in that race and opt for a shorter distance to prevent long-term injury to his lungs. Some might consider it as a harsh decision, but some earlier events have shown how difficlt it is to compete in such conditions like the cycling race held recently in which all but 8 out of 47 cyclist drop midway due to air.In short, the IOC should not have chosen a city where athletes’ tolerance for particulates is a major factor in determining medals.

Since then beijing has produced results of decreasing pollution level. But the truth is that it has employed fraudulent techniques to show better results by moving the lab from city and others.To get a more clear picture following points should be noted.

1. According to the World Bank, 16 cities in the world with the worst air pollution are located in China.
2. The country’s Ministry of Science and Technology has estimated that 50,000 newborn babies a year die from the effects of air pollution.
3. China’s emissions of carbon dioxide, the most important global warming gas, are expected to surpass those of the United States in 2009, according to the International Energy Agency.

So, what china can do to bring down the pollution level is shut down industries and prohibit automobile usage. These extreme steps points to the second reason why the games should not have gone to china.
The communist party is obsessed with the idea of hosting a perfect Olympics and this has led to increase in repressive measures applied by the Chinese officials on the citizens. Some may argue that china have become more free from the time the games have been awarded to it. But the change is not due to the Olympics. As the Olympics are approaching, the government have become less tolerant and more coercive in its measures. The following points will highlight the condition of china.
1. They have shut down factories.
2. They have relocated 1.48 million people without their consent to make way for Olympic venues.
3. They have been systematically jailing citizens who question the hosting of the Games.
4. Visa restrictions on foreigners.
5. They are withdrawing permission for academic conferences and other long-planned events to ensure complete control over society.
Thus we see that the Olympics are becoming a showcase of violent repression and a means to control a dynamic population.
So, we can say that it was a mistake to grant Olympics to china on the technical as well as the political grounds.

All that Glitters Is not Gold !!

2008-05-30T01:14:00.005+05:30

Its true that all that glitters is not always gold. I would like to correlate this phrase with the mushrooming MBA colleges in India and how they are playing with a student's career. With the ever growing number of MBA colleges in India its a real hard time for every MBA aspirant to decide where to nurture their future as this is not just a degree but would be the platform on which they would be taking their career to a new hike. Even I am a MBA aspirant and have the same dreams in my eyes as every aspirant has and I also faced the same difficulties like others. That was" Which Would Be The Best College For Me??"
The story goes on like this -
I didn't get a very high percentile in CAT...though I was expecting it to be good !! I had no other option but to apply in some average B-School with an Ok type placement. I wanted to join a B-school this year only as I was not satisfied with my job. My search began...and finally I got calls from some average schools.I was happy as I had heard that the placements were good in those colleges.
Till that time I had made up my mind that I would be joining that institute. The school was also good infrastructure wise with a fees of around 5.3L. I thought I would manage it anyway but would go for it. Before the admission I went to the the Institute to just have a chat with the seniors and know more about the college. From the entrance starting from the guard to the Admission Incharge everybody was speaking the same language.We have 100% placement with an average salary of 6L and highest of 10L.I was satisfied with the feedback until I met a guy who was a final year student of the Institute. I just asked him about the placement as he was the one who would be appearing for the placement. Initially he denied to say anything, I was surprised why he was behaving like that..then finally he insisted me not to go for that college as it was a total wastage of time. Though the college was claiming for 100% placement but they were hardly able to get a job for 80% of the student. Not only that, the package that was being offered was the CTC( Cost To Company) not the amount they would be getting in hand. The CTC included Medical Insurance , the bonus that they would be getting if and only if they perform something excellent, the rent of the area that they would be given as their workstation and many more and the list was endless.....
I was shocked to know this and that time I promised myself that I would give my best and give myself a second chance to bell the CAT and get into IIMs. So, friends don't go with the rumours, try to get to the depth as this is your career and don't let anyone play with it.
All the best !!

DSC02236

2008-05-29T04:06:00.001+05:30

DSC02236
Originally uploaded by ashish.singh2008

all dressed up and no where to go

Just got my Degree

2008-05-28T19:24:00.011+05:30

Finally the convocation at Bit mesra took place on 22nd May. This was the day which we used to discuss and speculate for the four years of study. Convocation was the day for old friends and foes to unite and show off what they have achieved and relish those memories of togetherness.
But the spirits were dampened as memories of two of our old friends kept coming back to us . It was Sadaf and Prabhat. Both of them lost their lives on the very first day of their job in an accident. But life goes on... and so we tried to enjoy ourselves as much as we can.
As always, there was lack of enthusiasm from the pharmacy guys, and less number of people turning up was a dampener.
Anyway, here is my experience as I enjoyed it and will relish these memories for life.
Convocation was on 22 nd May and we were supposed to collect our gowns on 21 st . I was expecting a big queue , but there was none as the number of people were less. Next day we were supposed to enter the Hall before 9.30 A.M. But as expected, due to some unforeseen reasons, I went there at 10.00 o' clock. I was wondering whether I would be allowed to enter or not . I was such a fool! I forgot that I was in India. Convocation was delayed due to the chief guest not coming on time. I was relieved. I went inside and took my seat. Due to some poor planning and absurd seating arrangements, mine seat was quite far from the whole group.

Like always, this year also, we were hearing the rumours of President coming as the chief guest, but as expected, She did not and some P.Balram of Indian Institute of Science from Bangalore came along with ever-available Governor of Jharkhand! Before their arrival. we were taught how to enter the stage and bow to the panel after receiving the degree which hardly anyone noticed( Bitian way-- never pay attention to what u r taught!!)

At 11 o' clock the chief guests arrived along with the panel, sat on their respective seats and the convocation started. Initially there was a long and tedious speech from our acting V.C. which kept on going on and on and on..... We all were tempted to shout " ek do teen chaar... band karo yeh attyachaar" but we did not, thanks to our restraining power. After ages it was over and then came the turn of Mr. Balram and then The Governor. In the mean time we were supplied with the copy of the speeches which were being delivered. We thanked BIT for this!!! Not because we were interested in the speech but it was really hot and the pamphlet worked as a fan!!

Then Gold medalist from each branch were called and presented with the gold medal. After this there came one "Mr. hunsmukh" whom I think was trained to give degrees. For rest of the students he kept on posing and smiling for the photographers . At last our turn came and we went to take our " beloved " degree from our very own " sugga" . We took it and posed and ran away.

Then it was some photography time. We all posed in different angles with our degree . Bit had arranged for some snacks and there was more number of people than the actual convocation. We managed to get some packets for ourselves. One thing I would like to add that this time BIT was very generous in giving cold drinks as that was available in plenty and we were all lining up to that stall one after another.

So, overall it was great time and specially the Gown( which was the same from the time BIT started ) was great. We let our imagination go wild which is reflected in the pics .

Anyway, thank you BIT for everything.

Do we live in a "country"??

2008-05-15T00:24:00.008+05:30

Do we live in a Country? This the question which came to my mind while watching the IPL match between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super kings. I was watching the score on ciricbuzz and also chatting with others. Initially the chat was related to cricket but later it all came down to a menace called Regionalism. All the people were having mutual hatred for other states and a sense of superiority for themselves. This reminds me to what is happening in Maharashtra .
Maharashtra, one of the most developed state of India, is showing the most primitive kind of behaviour. Suddenly from nowhere a person called Raj Thackeray emerges as their saviour because he is talking about Maharashtra for Maharshtrians. This the most ridiculous thing I have come across in the recent times. People are throwing away the North Indians from Maharashtra and are not allowed to enter.
India at 60, has faced many problems like terrorism, war, natural calamity, disease, poverty, population etc but what could prove to be the deadliest is Regionalism.It has the potential to shatter our very base and throw the whole nation into bits and pieces. What is happening in Maharashtra is just the Tip of the iceberg. The hatred is deep rooted every where. It is like a dormant volcano. People like Raj Thackeray are just trying to evoke these sleeping monster for their personal gains.
Now the responsibility lies in the hands of Maharshtrian to show this world their true spirit. They must out rightly reject such people and let this country remain ONE. They might be tempted by little personal gains, but they should remember that the cause of Nation is bigger than any state.
We have lost a large number of lives for this country and so let us not break it for people like Raj.

what's on my mind

2008-03-12T19:55:00.000+05:30

Today i took a day's off from my job to recharge my batteries. U know , jobs can be at times very tiring. i have just come across this blogging thing, and found it very interesting. this my first post, and i hope this new beginning will mark a new beginning in my life as well.

what's on my mind today is as always MBA. this year i want to crack CAT with full force and yes there will be no half measures this time. After doing my B.Pharm I was left with little options for my future. many of my friends will think that why am I so frustrated with my degree???

well!! to all u people out there , there is no real opportunity in this country i.e. INDIA for pharmaceutical graduates. after going through the rigors of four years course we are suppose to do pharmaceutical marketing which does not require any sort of knowledge, whatsoever . some people get production jobs in big pharmaceutical houses, but they are also not considerate enough to pay at least 10k.

The biggest question which boggles my mind is why a sector which is responsible for the health of the mankind is not recruiting quality people from the pharmacy background rather than going for the general science graduates? every where we go we have to compete with the science graduates.

By writing these things, by no means i am trying to demean the general science graduates, but if u look at our course and the amount of study that we are suppose to do to clear our degree, then u will be surprised to note that what we get after this!! we are supposed to run a medical shop, beg in front of non competent doctors to prescribe, get thrown out of clinics by doctor's assistants, and earn a meager 10 thousand .

OK OK!! now I m getting heated by this. but this is me, whenever i start to discuss this topic i become aggressive. whatever be the reason , i have decided to do an MBA this year and show the world that we are not incompetent but the lack of opportunity is what dragging us behind.
i invite all u pharmacy people to comment and join me to take this profession from rags to riches.