My Experience

Energy Demands In Future

2013-11-15T04:00:00.000-08:00

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MSMEs Definition in India

2013-10-31T23:11:00.001-07:00

Definition of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) under the MSME Development Act, 2006 on the basis of their capital investment:

The manufacturing MSMEs are defined as;
Micro (less than Rs. 2.5 million), Small (between Rs. 2.5~ 50 million) and Medium (between Rs. 50~100 million)
The corresponding thresholds for service MSMEs are:
Micro (less than Rs. 1 million), Small (between Rs. 1.0~ 20 million) and Medium (between Rs. 20~50 million)

Number of MSMEs in India

MSME Census (2006-07) reported that there were 36.17 million MSME units employing over 80 million people producing a gross output of Rs. 13.5 trillion.

Accordingly for year 2011-12, the corresponding figures projected by Ministry of MSME are 44.7 million units, employing 101 million people with gross output exceeding Rs. 18.3 trillion

Please add your comments if any;

Malala Yousafzai, Interview

2013-10-20T22:36:00.000-07:00

THE LAW OF ATTRACTION: It Works beautifully

2013-10-18T23:48:00.000-07:00

Calm Your Mind

2013-10-18T02:36:00.001-07:00

Meditation takes awareness and a willingness to keep going. The good news is that it is not possible to fail! As you continue, it will begin to feel more natural, and cool things will start to happen. Being still happens in a moment, but it may take some time before that moment comes. Remember,it is a great gift to yourself!

In other words, meditation is a letting go of resistance, of whatever may arise: doubt, worry, feelings of inadequacy or endless dramas and desires. Every time you find your mind is drifting, daydreaming, remembering the past or planning the future, just come back to now, come back to this moment. In meditation, paying attention is both the key and the practice. To be with what is; nothing else is going on.

One way to become more focused is to label the thoughts. If you drift off into thinking, silently repeat, "Thinking, thinking." Ed likes to repeat, "Monkey mind, monkey mind," when meaningless thoughts appear. If you get distracted, simply label it, "Distraction, distraction." You can also see thoughts like clouds in the sky, just moving through the sky without stopping, or like birds and watch them fly away. Everything comes and goes—nothing stays, no matter how strong or insistent the thought or feeling may be. There is no need to struggle; meditation is really your best friend.

Breath Awareness Meditation

Sit comfortably with a straight back so you can breathe easily and freely. Hands are resting in your lap. Eyes are closed or lowered. Take a deep breath and let it go.

Now simply focus on the natural in and out flow of your breath without trying to change it in any way. Let your breathing be normal and relaxed; your attention still and focused.

If you find you are getting distracted or caught up in thinking, simply label your thoughts as distraction or thinking and let them go, or see them as birds in the sky and let them fly away. Do your best to do this for at least 10 minutes. Just breathing and being.

When you are ready, take a deep breath. Gently open your eyes.

Read more: http://www.oprah.com

US DEBT CEiLING

2013-10-17T03:17:00.001-07:00

What is the debt ceiling?

The debt ceiling is a self imposed limit for US Government borrowing. How much the US can borrow is set by legislative procedure. Both houses must vote and determine a limit. Currently, that limit is nearly $17 trillion. That limit ran out in May 2013 but the US Federal Reserve has managed to run the economy without borrowing more by using some other measures. However, the Treasury Secretary has said that these measures will be exhausted by Thursday and the Government will need to borrow more. With only a few hours to go the Government must vote to increase debt ceiling.

Why does the US keep hitting the debt ceiling?

Between 1940 and January 2013, the debt ceiling was raised 94 times. During President Reagan’s term, the ceiling was raised 18 times – the maximum. And so far, during President Obama’s term, it has been raised 6 times. You probably remember reading about frequent debt ceiling debates in the recent past. What has lead to this recent frequency of increasing the debt ceiling?

While US has been borrowing for a long time, the recent events can perhaps be traced back to the financial crisis of 2008. (Read a detailed explanation of that crisis here) After the 2008 sub prime crisis exploded, the US economy was weak and the Government had to revive it. It decided to dole out money through stimulus packages. But the Government didn’t have enough money in its kitty for these packages so it decided to print dollars. Failing companies were given money to survive; people were given money to spend. At that time, the crisis was controlled.

But the doling out of money was just a temporary solution. It only prevented a further fall. The fiscal stimulus did not help promote industry, did not help create jobs. All this while, while the US Government did not earn much by way of income, it still had the same level of spending to do to keep up the people’s standard of living. Remember that the country also fought two expensive wars during this period. All this lead to a widening deficit.

How does the US Government fund the widening deficit? It can raise taxes or cut spending but both are not very popular. It can also print money but it has already printed a lot and printing more can cause inflation. The last option, also the cheapest for the US, is to borrow and so the US borrows more and more. Who does it borrow from? From its own people (internal debt) and from other countries (external debt). The Government issues bonds to its people and to other countries and raises dollars. Right now, the US is a AAA rated sovereign. That means, it is has the best credit rating. People and countries believe that the US will not default in repaying borrowed funds. Because of this rating the US is able to borrow funds at a low cost. Countries like China that export heavily to the US tend to accumulate huge dollar reserves. They lend those dollars back to the US in exchange for treasury bonds.

Today, the US has borrowed so much that it repeatedly hits the debt ceiling.

To put it in numbers, here’s a look at the US economy (2012 numbers):

Total Revenues: $2.45 trillion (mostly taxes)

Total expenditure: $3.54 trillion (social security, defense, medicare, interest and other expenses like crude oil etc)

Deficit: $1.09 trillion

Accumulated Public debt: $16.68 trillion

Why is it so nail biting this time?

The US hit the debt ceiling in May 2013. But the Fed has managed to run the economy without borrowing more by using some other measures. However, the Treasury Secretary has said that these measures will be exhausted by Thursday. In order to raise the debt ceiling, the House must vote. But this time around, the Government is at an impasse. The Republicans and Democrats are at war over Obamacare. Neither party is willing to negotiate. The Government has been shutdown for the past few weeks because the two parties could not agree to a Budget. Read more about that here.

According to Moody's Analytics, a two-week shutdown would cut 0.3% off US GDP, while a month-long outage would knock a whole 1.4% off growth.

As revenues continue to deplete, the need to borrow more will only increase.

What happens if the debt ceiling is not raised?

If the debt ceiling is not raised, it means the US will not have money to bridge the fiscal deficit. It will not have money to pay its bills. This also increases the risk of default. A default means the US is not able to repay the principle and interest on its borrowings. If the US defaults, it will hamper its credit rating. Rating agency Fitch has already issued a warning on the US credit rating.

Apart from this, it would also send a signal to the rest of the world about a weakening US economy. A blip in the US economy, also called the world’s biggest buyer, will have an impact on world economy. So far, the US economy and therefore the US dollar was the single strongest currency in the world. Nowquestions are being raised about the efficiency of the US dollar as the universal currency.

We are back to the game of wait and watch. Hope this helps in putting some perspective into that game. Till next time, Money Happy Returns!

By Deepa Venkatraghvan

Markets and Elections

2013-04-24T04:45:00.001-07:00

Globally, elections are key events and are followed minutely bu investors and market participants. Markets always hope for stable and progressive governments. As the general election near, there is a period of nervousness in the markets. In India, the upcoming general elections are scheduled in May 2014. As the current year is a pre-election year, all the political developments are tracked closely by the market participants.
During most of the pre-election years, equity markets have traded flat with positive bias, except for the year 1998, when the markets traded flat with negative bias as there was extreme uncertain political environment due to unstable government at the centre. Even in 2009 pre-election period had witnessed highly volatile markets with downward bias, though all the global markets witnessed turbulent meltdown due to the US sub prime crisis.
While the reforms are still to show any significant impact on the economic growth, as the election period nears, the pick up in the government spending should lead to revival in the economy.
Also as the political parties prepare for the elections, the election linked spending by the political parties and the spending by the election commission could also drive momentum in the econmoy.

SNACKS INDUSTRY INDIA: MARKET SIZE

2012-11-23T02:40:00.000-08:00

Top snacks maker PepsiCo Foods has started slipping with a slew of smaller and regional brands eating into the market share of its flagship brands Kurkure snacks and Lays potato chips.

Kurkure and Lays, which dominate the Rs 9,400-crore Indian snacks market, have begun losing share to regional players such as Gujarat-based Balaji, Indore's Yellow Diamond and DFM Foods' Crax in addition to some variants of ITC's Bingo snacks, which are matching the multinational on pricing, variants and regionalisation.

Industry official quoting Nielsen data said both Kurkure and Lays' market shares slipped 2-3% in the April-September period, while some others like ITC's Bingo, Balaji, Parle and even Yellow Diamond have gained. Nielsen data also shows that PepsiCo Foods' (FritoLay India) share in overall western snacks has slipped to 40% last fiscal from 48% in 2009-10.

A PepsiCo spokesperson said the company doesn't comment on market shares, which "fluctuate from quarter to quarter".

"This year we have further strengthened our market position in all potato chips, Kurkure, baked snacks and traditional namkeen that we operate in, with more than 25 new launches including new category introductions like Kurkure Monster Paws and Kurkure Puffcorn," the person said.

Officials said the firm is banking on volumes, multiple packs and increased marketing spends to get back its market share.

But then its smaller rivals too are widening their product portfolio and reach.

DFM Foods BSE -4.08 %, maker of Crax snacks, for example, stepped up its distribution in North India and launched Crax in the western markets last summer. "This has helped in our brand share going up," Mohit Satyanand, independent director at DFM Foods, said.

The salted snacks market in the country has been growing 25% a year, and smaller players have been fuelling category growth as much as bigger ones like PepsiCo, ITC BSE -0.88 % and Haldiram's.

And they are attracting the attention of private equity players. Mid last year, Sequoia Capital invested close to $30 million in Indore-based snack food maker Prakash Snacks, owner of Yellow Diamond chips. The eight-year-old Indore-based firm sells a range of chips and savoury puffs.

PepsiCo has been selling products at prices ranging from Rs 2 to Rs 55 across categories. Last year, it consolidated its mass-priced snacks under a new entity, Lehar Foods, to take on regional brands such as Balaji, Bikanervala and A-Top Foods.

It operates on a low-cost model and PepsiCo is hopeful that Lehar Foods will contribute 50% to the firm's foods division FritoLay by 2015. A couple of years back, PepsiCo attempted to buy out strong regional players such as Gujarat-based Balaji Wafers and A-Top Foods, but the talks did not materialise.

Meanwhile, the competition is increasing. Biscuits and snacks maker Parle Products extended its portfolio to the traditional salted snacks category with the revamp of its 'Parle namkeens' earlier this month.

"Whenever new products enter any category, the dominant player naturally gets impacted," B Krishna Rao, group product manager at Parle Products, said. He said the company was enthused by the product's initial response and hoped to capture 20% share by the end of this fiscal.

Festivals and the life

2012-08-23T23:14:00.001-07:00

It has been long time since the last post about the famous beaches all over world.
In the mean time celebrated this eid with the kids at the amusement park and it was so fun and happiness all around. Although missed my dear ones on this eid, this is what life is all about, somewhere one has to give sacrifices to achieve or gain something in his or her life.
But Inshallah, On Eid-ul-Zuha, this october, Surely will be there, celebrating with the family and the kids

Top 10 beach cities of the world

2012-05-18T04:04:00.002-07:00

Following are the top ten finest beach cities in the world,

1. Barcelona, Spain

2. Cape Town, South Africa

3. Honolulu, Hawaii

4. Nice, France

5. Miami Beach, Florida

6. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

7. Santa Monica, California

8. Sydney, Australia

9. Tel Aviv, Israel

10. Vancouver, British Columbia

Facebook and other companies comparision

2012-05-18T03:15:00.000-07:00

As Facebook is finally going public and it would be worth about $104 billion when it debuts at $38 a share, and there's guaranteed to be a pop once it starts trading.

That means that the total value of Facebook, an eight-year-old company, is more than some of the largest, most successful companies in the world that have been around for decades.

Here are some of the most interesting ones:

1. Hewlett-Packard, one of the largest PC makers in the world, is smaller than Facebook. It's worth $44 billion — less than half of Facebook's titanic $105 billion valuation. HP also just laid off about 25,000 employees.

2. Facebook is four times larger than Dell, another super-giant PC and server maker. Dell has a market cap of about $26 billion. It's still trying to find its way in the post-PC era.

3. It's bigger than Salesforce.com, a company that is more or less partially responsible for the cloud computing revolution. Salesforce is only worth around $20 billion — and its interns end up as high-ranking officials from time to time.

4. Starbucks, the coffee chain that literally appears twice on every corner. Starbucks is worth about $40 billion — less than half of Facebook. We hear plenty of horror stories about Starbucks.

5. The New York Times, one of the most prestigious content publishers in the world, is a blip compared to Facebook. Sharing is apparently worth 105 times more than some of the best content available on the Internet. The New York Times is worth slightly less than $1 billion. A bunch of New York Times staffers are actually planning to quit.

6. Target, a huge big-box retailer similar to a higher-end version of Walmart, is worth less than half of Facebook. Target has a market cap of about $37 billion — well short of Facebook's expected valuation. Target actually raised its guidance this week, raising its value.

7. Facebook barely edges out Amazon, the largest online retailer in the world. Amazon is worth about $100 billion, while Facebook is worth just a smidge more. Amazon'sKindle has been a bit of a bust so far.

8. Disney is worth about four-fifths of what Facebook is worth. The owner of ESPNand a ton of other properties is worth about $80 billion. Disney could soon be replaced by Rovioas one of the biggest media properties in the world.

9. Facebook is worth twice as much as eBay. eBay has a market cap of about $50 billion.

10. Facebook is worth about 10 Nokias put together. Nokia, one of the largest phone manufacturers in the world (not smartphone), is worth about $10 billion. The Nokia Lumia 900 isactually pretty nice, though.

It is not surprising that the Facebook is paying much better to its engineers as compared with the other companies in Silicon valley, thereby attracting the best of the talent.

But Facebook still isn't bigger than the typical tech giants: Google, Microsoft and Apple. Microsoft is worth about $250 billion, while Google is worth $204 billion and Apple is worth about $500 billion.

Let us wait and watch the story of facebook at the stock exchange

Is it better to rent than to buy a house?

2012-05-17T01:57:00.000-07:00

The origins of this article can be traced to a meet with 5 television editors (to be fair, their boss was on my side) who were shocked when I mathematically proved it is better to hire, than to buy. This is true of cars, vacations, or homes! Here we are talking homes.
So let us see what I do which worries, surprises, shocks, my editor friends.
Even though I do write articles on portfolio planning, portfolio construction and occasionally even stock picking, my own money is with a portfolio manager – and he is urging me to index! It took me a long time to understand that ego of stock picking need not interfere in the more important task of wealth creation.
So the stock picking happens as a hobby and the money gets managed by an extremely competent and diligent portfolio manager – and to use today’s modern language he is “just a broker”. He has been handling our family portfolio for the past 30 years.
We attended each other’s wedding, and now his daughter is ready for marriage. No I do not call him my “relation-ship manager”.
I rent an apartment, despite having enough money to buy a house. I plan to keep renting for as long as I can. I’m not just holding out for better prices. Renting will make me richer. Businesses are great investments while houses are poor ones, so I’d rather rent the latter and own the former.
Shares of businesses return 7% a year over long time periods. I’m subtracting for inflation – gradual price increases for everything from a loaf of bread to a root canal surgery. (After-inflation or “real” returns are the only ones that matter.
The point of increasing wealth is to increase buying power, not numbers on an account statement. Shares have been remarkably consistent over the past two centuries in their 7% real returns.
In Jeremy Siegel’s book, “Stocks for the Long Term,” he finds that real returns averaged 7.0% over nearly seven decades ending 1870, then 6.6% through 1925 and then 6.9% through 2004.
How much does investing in a house return?

The average real return for houses over long time periods might surprise you. It’s zero. Shares return 7% a year after inflation because that’s how fast companies tend to increase their profits. Houses have their own version of profits: Rents.
Tenant-occupied houses generate actual rents while owner-occupied houses generate ones that are implied but no less real: the rents their owners don’t have to pay each year. House prices and rents have been closely linked throughout history – except for bouts of bull / bear runs- and related to inflation.
A house, after all, is an ordinary good. It can’t think up ways to drive profits like a company’s managers can. If land, cement, steel, and money are all commodities, how can a combination of all these not be a commodity?
Robert Shiller, a Yale economist and author of “Irrational Exuberance,” which predicted the stock price collapse in 2000, has recently turned his eye to house prices.
Between 1890 and 2004 he finds that real house returns would have been zero if not for two brief periods: one immediately following World War II and another since about 2000.
Even if we include these periods houses returned just 0.4% a year, he says.
The average pundit, planner, lender or broker making the case for ownership doesn’t look at returns over long periods of time – it is embarrassing to say the least! Sometimes they reduce the matter to maxims about “building equity” and “paying yourself” instead of “throwing money down the drain.” If they do look at returns they focus on recent ones. Those tell a different story!
Aauthor P V Subramanyam

International trade and India's story

2012-03-15T22:26:00.001-07:00

Trade is done simply to satisfy the wants, Trade is conducted not only for the sake of earning profit; it also provides service to the consumers. Trade is an important social activity because the society needs uninterrupted supply of goods forever increasing and ever changing but never ending human wants. As per Wikipedia, Trade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another by getting something in exchange from the buyer. As per Wikipedia , International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories.[1] In most countries, such trade represents a significant share of gross domestic product (GDP) International trading system is severely impacted by the Industrialization, advanced transportation, globalization, multinational corporations, and outsourcing.
Following are different types of trades,

Trade can be divided into following two types, viz. a. Internal or Home or Domestic trade. b.External or Foreign or International trade United States is the largest by International trade In this post I will restrict my focus on understanding the Indian perspective and we shall come to conclusion on the India’s position in International trade. International trade now accounts for nearly 53% of the gross domestic product (GDP), pointing to increased integration with the global economy, which is not limited to the stock market and the banking system alone. In 2004-05 , global trade accounted for 37% of the GDP. It is the rapid growth in shipments in and out of the country, driven by lower customs duty, which has spurred this sharp growth. India's share in global trade is now near the 2% mark, compared to a mere 0.7% in 2000. The rise of other trading partners has pushed the US to the third slot. US has been displaced by UAE as India's largest trading partner, followed by China, since 2008-09. In the first six months of the current financial year, however, China overtook the UAE to be the top trading partner. There has been a gradual shift in India's manufactures exports from labour-intensive sectors like textiles, leather and manufactures, handicrafts, and carpets to capital and skill-intensive sectors. The Economic Survey 2011-12 highlighted the growing imbalance in trade, with increase in gold and silver imports being major contributors. Gold and silver imports stood at $50 billion in 2011-12. Source: ET and Wiki

Just 8% Indians have Internet

2012-03-13T21:55:00.000-07:00

Though known for its computer whizkids world over, the penetration of computers/ laptops in India is only 9.4% or less than one out of 10 households with only 3% having internet facility. The penetration of internet is 8% in urban as compared to less than 1% in rural area. The 2011 housing census figures released on Tuesday by the Registrar General of India threw up some interesting facts bringing out stark realities in India that is trying to carve a place among the top advanced nations. While the use of TV sets in Indian households saw an increase of 16 points from 31.6 to 47.2% in last one decade and penetration of mobile phones touched 59%, the country failed to match this progress in giving better sanitation to the people as 50% of the 24.67 crore households still defecate in the open and 41.6% have no bathroom facility. The figures of modes of transport can give a reason to smile to the automobile manufacturers as only 4.7% households have four wheelers and only 21% have two wheelers. The majority, about 45%, still prefer to ride bicycles, while 17.8% households still have not personal transport assets. The last decade saw an increase of 9 point in two wheeler and 2 points in four wheelers, with bicycle showing increase of 1 point only. As regards amenities 36% of households still have to fetch water from a source located within 500 mts in rural areas and 100 mts in urban areas while 17% still fetch drinking water from a source located more than half a kilometre away in rural areas or 100 metres in urban area. For the main source of lighting, 31.4% households still depend on kerosene while electricity is available to 67.2%, an increase of 11 points over 2001. The rural urban gap for electricity reduced by 7 percentage points from 44% in 2001 to 37% in 2011. Two-third of the households are using firewood/crop residue, cow dung cake/coal etc. and 3% households use Kerosene. There is an increase of 11 pts in use of LPG from 18% in 2001 to 29% in 2011. The Census 2011 for over 24.66 crore households across was done over a period of 45 days and involved approximately 25 lakh enumerators and 2 lakh supervisors. Source:http://www.dnaindia.com

Facebook shutdown

2012-02-28T20:57:00.000-08:00

Facebook life line of millions of people across the globe will be shutting down their operations in next month on 15 if sources are to believed. This has created panic all over the globe as the users are worried about losing their virtual world although build over short period of time. The reason for the shutdown was absurdly cited as, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook "wanted his life back" and desired "to put end to all the madness". Zuckerberg is supposed to have made this statement at a press conference outside the social network's Palo Alto office. Zuckerberg has also told that "Facebook has gotten out of control, and the stress of managing this company has ruined my life. I need to put an end to all the madness," But imagine your life after the shutdown, what about those who are operating multiple accounts on the facebook. It would be hardest for those active users who regularly post their latest pics and attach the status update with these pics as how many likes for this. It could be a sigh a relief for the parents across the globe who have always blamed the social networking giant as a glue which enables the kids to engage in so many unwanted activities. However the company continues to deny the rumours, In fact David Ebersman, the CFO of Facebook was quoted as saying, "All of these rumours are false. We are going to be stronger than ever after 15 March."

Getting more productive

2011-12-29T05:07:00.000-08:00

Question which always strucks everyone's mind is how to get more productive So let us discuss the proven mantra for getting more productive without working any harder than you do now. The mantra that has been tested and proved by every personality is how you track your time by keeping a log of it on everyday basis.By keeping a time log of your activity you will be able to check absolutely where your times is being consumed mostly, which will help you also to have a look at your weak and strong points. By prioritizing and making a list of top to do things first will also lead to better performance. While you get ready to start your day it is very much necessary, with all planning and to do lists in the near by, to get colleagues who are cheerful and who make one at ease.You might have experienced surely one thing from your professional, school, college or any other experience that your working day seems shorter and much more interesting when you remain in the vicinity of interesting people who radiate more energy in the workplaces. That is the effect of people who are motivated, hardworking and enthusiastic about their lives and more importantly what they do. So it is my suggestion to all of you to choose your colleagues accordingly with whom you feel really good at work. Please share your experience!

Develop your leadership

2011-12-06T22:42:00.000-08:00

People are always confused about the concept of leadership. There are always some questions in the minds of managers regarding the mindset involved in the leadership.
One of the questions is whether leadership skills are innate or learned through various phases of life and the mindset involved in the leadership.

The truth is that if you are not a born leader, by working hard at it, you can get better day by day. If you change your mindset completely that the great leaders are not born as they might have worked hard through different phases of life which is very much evident by looking at the world's top leaders.

Cultural assumptions will also play a very crucial role in developing a leader.eg if you dwell in that culture where you are being told that great leaders are born, which ultimately will develop a response and perception in your mind that one can't be molded into a leader over a period a time, that is exactly why we are seeing decrease in the transformation phase.
Now take the example of that culture where your colleagues believe you can be a leader and help you develop the skills you need, you will enthusiastically embrace the mantle of leadership. It might not be your goal to become a CEO or a top politician. But, regardless of your occupation, you will view yourself as a leader at home, at work etc.

I hope you might have got exactly what i am trying to tell you about the role of culture.

One more thing to discuss here is types of mindsets which does also play a very crucial role in developing yourself as people have always one of mindsets in them.
Fixed Mindset and
Growth Mindset

People with fixed mindset believe that they they can only go as far as their natural abilities will take them. They think talent, rather than hard work, is the fundamental component of success.
People with growth mindset believe that they can get better at what they do, that they have reservoirs of untapped potential. They realize that by working hard they make some incremental changes in their carriers and their lives.

I don't know which mindset you have, but we should always try to keep a growth mindset which will open all the golden doors for your success and will enable you to take a commanding role in your life.

Sainik School Manasbal Website

2011-11-15T00:45:00.000-08:00

Much awaited website of Jammu and Kashmir Sainik School Manasbal was finally launched on the eve of school annual day in the month of october,2011.

The website is
Jammu and Kashmir Sainik School Manasbal Kashmir

Being a student of this school, against Roll No Jkssb/1218, year 1997, there is so much to share about those days that we spent in the school.
This school was a kind of change agent in my life as i think what ever i have achieved till date the foundation has been laid by the sainik school.

Still living those moments.....

Role Of Relationships

2011-09-27T05:50:00.000-07:00

Relation play a very crucial role in one's life. Right from the birth till the end, the relations need to be nurtured and addressed like the small plants need the care. Actively we need to cultivate the habit of keeping the relations hot, active and growing.
Relationships are like the heavens on earth at around which we carry ourselves and at the same time get touched and cared with the role and influence of others. We pass through so many relations and even have to garner and create new relations on the daily basis. Love and trust being the basic essence of any relation, this is the only criteria on which the existing relations get halted and the newer ones come into action.

Sales Discounts

2011-08-03T01:54:00.000-07:00

Hi,
Recently visited a mall where in every store you could at least see 50% off on every item.I looked at so many items which were of interest to me and after looking at the price there was a major difference in the current sales price and the discounted price.
Looked at few jeans, the jean whose price was Rs 2200, now was available at Rs 1100. This tempted me to purchase few jeans, in fact purchased two jeans and a t shirt.After purchase compared the prices and came to realize that i have saved exactly Rs 2700.
But does quality remain same during these discount periods? I don't feel the same, in fact had a word with few people and they told me these are just marketing tactics in which customers are lured to purchase more and more.

Experience At Call Center

2011-03-07T16:08:00.000-08:00

Guys you might have heard of Novel One Night At Call Center, while reading this novel interest was aroused in me to go for one night in call center to learn what exactly the call centers are all about. Before reading this novel during my graduation, i was also very fond of call centers and let me tell you very frankly i was getting fascinated by the people who are working in call centers.finally i took some time away and joined an International call center For few months in Chandigarh here finally i got aware of the general workings in call centers.Shift was totally night based and i had to spend my whole night in the call center from 9:30 pm t0 07:00 am in the morning.In those few days everything changed as my day became night and night became day.

Looking at the experience it was good one, spending my night time and interacting with the US Based people was so nice and enriching in every aspect. In the starting days i don't used to sleep in the day then as i was not able to sleep properly,at the same time i was not feeling well and active.One time what happened is that i was sleeping at 06:30 pm and suddenly some one woke me up, and you would be amazed by my reaction i just told what you are in the midnight,wandering here and there, and do you know what was his reaction.........sorry dear actually you are wandering in and around your much talked call center.
But anyways guys call center experience is very nice an you will remember the activities that you over the time go through during the peak timings.All the guys working in my office were professional and have joined the BPO as their full time Profession, people were MBA's MCA's , Btec's etc, in other words you can say the people over there were occupied with blend of capabilities and potentials.They were completely professional and looking very enthusiastic for the work, i interacted with so many people from diverse backgrounds and what i could found was that everyone is blessed with some in born capabilities and qualities,which if utilized properly could lead to the fulfillment of their respective goals and dreams.Leanings were immense from these few days spent in the call center,you need to be active in each and every aspect,it is not only calling to to the client but after calling how you note down that information and how you present that to make it final.As call center jobs are stereotyped by many classes of people stating very rude about the discipline in the call centers, but believe me i haven't seen anything like that, i was very overwhelmed by seeing the actuality..the discipline,rules and regulations were followed properly by all the people working in my call center whether they were my seniors or juniors.Team work concept was all around there leading to greater productivity and motivation.
Even the schedule for break was so strict which you can't imagine, you need to follow all these guidelines otherwise warning follows you via you corporate mail id.Surely i was fascinated by the working atmosphere in my call center but i don't what is in yours.

Finally In Amritsar as ASM.

2011-03-01T16:18:00.000-08:00

Finally went to much awaited destination on DEC 07 2010 from Chandigarh.Right from my childhood days i was wishing to see the GOLDEN TEMPLE,but you know it was very impossible to come from Kashmir to this place. As i Did my MBA from Chandigarh so that was the moment when i thought it is time to move towards my destination spot.But being very near to Amritsar as was staying at Chandigarh it took about 3 years to go to Amritsar.My joy knew no bounds when i reached Amritsar seeing the place full of crowd and every one the move.As i had came to Amritsar for the purpose of job as was selected as Area Sales Manager (ASM) for a agricultural Company Vidhata Agrotech Pvt.Ltd, so reaching Amritsar fulfilled my dual purpose.
But initial experience in Amritsar was so so bad which really i could not have thought of as i was robbed of my cellphone full of contacts and messages of my near ones.This happened exactly at the entrance of GOLDEN TEMPLE where some one i crowd took my mobile off.I was totally over as this was the only source of contact with rest of my world like my family, friends and near ones.As now a days you just feed the numbers in your cellphone without ever trying to remember a single contact,same thing was with me, no contact on board except my Father and you know who? no need to tell this.
In order to come in touch with my friends in Chandigarh i logged into so many social networking sites and thank GOD was able to pull out some important contacts.
Also called one of my friends as i could remember only her No. regarding this issue.
Any ways it was totally a very bad initial experience in Amritsar , but after staying in Amritsar for few months what i could realize you could not find a better place to live in as compared to Chandigarh and no dought about Kashmir.

Social Media Marketing Strategy

2010-07-13T04:32:00.000-07:00

Now a days every Entrepreneur wants to incorporate Social Media In their main stream business and marketing plans but the facts is that they do not really know how the social media works.To best of my knowledge what people know about Social Media Marketing is just creating Face Book Page,Twitter Account etc,but this is not the case.
in this post i would give you some idea of how exactly Social Media Marketing Works.
Here i will explain to you in steps what you exactly need to do and follow.
Step No:1
The first step is to listen to conversation that are going on like
* who is talking about you
* what they're saying
* is it positive or negative
* where are the conversations taking place
* what communities talk about you
* what are your competitors doing in social media
* what's the buzz about them
Once you are through this,then you definitely can go forward to put your presence.
Step No:2
Share your presence or voice.
Share of Voice is defined as the total percentage that you possess in the conversation about the particular niche or market you’re active in.
Step No:3
Set Goals
Once you are through this phase you will come to know what is all being said in that particular group which you are currently tracking and this is the group which you are targeting as this of your interest.
Step No:4
Find your Targeted Communities.
You can go through the forums or communities to just know what is going on so as put your resources accordingly,eg
A skin care company discovered that there is conversation about dry skin in gardening forums, moms talk about skin care and so do crafters and medical professionals. These folk all have their own niche social networks. There is also a lot of chatter about skin care on Twitter.
Step No:5
Identify Influence's.
Step No:6
Strategise Your Content and Strategy.
This is one of the most crucial step in Social Media Marketing because what you are giving and sharing with people will differentiate you from other people,As Content is the King.
Step No:7
Select Tools like twitter,face book etc to deliver your content to give out your content to your particular or target ted people.
Step No:8
Deliver the Content.
Step No:9
Engage the People in the conversations.
Step No:10
Measure Results
After going through the above steps,Measure the set goals what you want to achieve through this marketing strategy.

While Entering Corporate World

2010-07-08T23:54:00.000-07:00

If you are entering into corporate world which is full of uncertainties always remember some basic fundamentals which will really make your experience in corporate sector enthusiastic and charming.
Although i have not that much much personal experience in the corporate sector,what ever i would be suggesting would be from the general point of view and what ever i have realized in the past couple of months.
while in the early days of your carrier,don't try to lay your own path to your success,even if you did be sure that the way you have chosen will fetch you the results,because if it is giving the results,then you are putting two big entities on stake,one is your own future and other is your company who have hired you to realize their own dreams and missions.
So it is better to be calm in the beginning,follow the path given to you,in the mean time learn the fundamentals to lay a strong foundation to your carrier.
Other thing which i would recommend is that become a listening entity so as to get the impression that you are also listening to other people who are trying to give you something whether that is advice or something else.If you listen to people of different departments,different levels etc they also feel that they are being listened and respected.
Also try to mingle with people in order to know different personalities in your environment,and give them impression that you are also there who should be noticed.Try to add on something that is most needed by a particular while mixing with people,that could have long lasting impression of you.Because these are the people who could give you newer opportunities in your future not only in your existing company but also some where else.
And the most important when ever you would be having meeting with your manager,CEO etc,don't come on to conclusions early.
Comments Welcome.

Top Executives Need To Become Social.

2010-07-07T06:37:00.000-07:00

What i feel regarding the compaign of Social Media Presence by any Company,it should get erupted within the company itself from Top officials in order to have a strong hold in the virtual front.Your organization’s social media strategy should be not implemented by one lonely intern sitting in the corner of your communications and marketing department.
You may be wondering if that means that your executive director and CEO needs to write a blog or have their own Twitter account to share their wisdom. I think it depends.Yes it completely depends if your one of your clients has an easy way of communicating with you,it really gives an immense confidense into to the whole give and take business from both ends.
There are definitely some benefits to having your executive director or CEO being present on social media channels. They can provide a human face to your organization’s work, a unique viewpoint, and serve as a thought leader in your field. And if your organization finds itself in the middle of groundswell or if there is a major news event or a public relations crisis happens and it is being discussed on Twitter or other social media spaces, your CEO can join it without having to get up to speed.
But it is also important to understand that there are challenges to be overcome as well. These includes investing the time to make it successful because a CEO presence on social media is nothing that should be “ghost” written. It has to be authentic and reflect the CEO’s personality. There is also the issue of comfort – both with the technology and being transparent.There are so many examples from the US CEO'S who on the real time basis manage their online profiles and communicate with their friends and clients time and again.