JAB

Girls World - funny :P

2010-12-01T13:26:00.002+05:30

It's a Girl's World

If he is late for class,he's told,
"Time and Tide wait for none".
If she is late,then the bus was late.

If a girl is dressed as a boy,she is modern,says the world.
But if a boy is dressed as a girl,"Has he escaped from the Zoo?"

If a boy talks with a girl,"I think he is trying for her"
But if a girl talks with a boy,then she is trying to be friendly.

When a girl cries,the world is convinced of her
But when a boy cries,"Come on man:Don't be a girl".

If a girl meets with an accident,then it's the mistake of others.
And if a boy meets with an accident,"I think you should learn to
drive".

If a boy sits in front of a city bus,he is mannerless and cultureless
brute.
But if a girl sits in the back seat,"Try to respect ladies,man!".

If a boy gets a big rank in an entrance exam,"You've to work hard".
But if a girl gets a big rank,... still got 33! Reservation.

If there are girls in a class,the professor gives an interesting
lecture,
And if there are no girls,he says,there is no class today.

If a girl does not answer,during a viva,then atleast 'smile' says the
examiner.
But when a boy does not answer,"better luck next time".

20 Awesome !One liners

2010-12-01T13:14:00.000+05:30

1. Regular naps prevent old age... especially if you take them while
driving.

2. Having one child makes you a parent; having two makes you a referee.

3. Marriage is a relationship in which one person is always right and
the other is the husband!

4. They said we should all pay our tax with a smile. I tried - but they
wanted cash.

5. A child's greatest period of growth is the month after you've
purchased new school uniforms.

6. Don't feel bad. A lot of people have no talent.

7. Don't marry the person you want to live with, marry the one you
cannot live without... but whatever you do, you'll regret it later.

8. You can't buy love . . but you pay heavily for it.

9. True friends stab you in the front.

10. Forgiveness is giving up my right to hate you for hurting me.

11. Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote.

12. Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get
tired.

13. wife and husband always compromise.

14. Those who can't laugh at themselves leave the job to others.

15. Ladies first. Pretty ladies sooner.

16. It doesn't matter how often a married man changes his job, he still
ends up with the same boss.

17. They call our language the mother tongue because the father seldom
gets to speak.

18. Saving is the best thing. Especially when your parents have done it
for you.

19. Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools talk
because they have to say something.

20. Real friends are the ones who survive transitions between address
books.

Funny Joke _ Arab -Pepsi Ad

2010-12-01T13:12:00.002+05:30

A disappointed salesman of Pepsi returns from his Middle East
assignment.

A friend asks, "Why weren't you successful with the Arabs?"

The salesman explains, "When I got posted in the Middle East, I was
very confident that I will make a good sales pitch as Pepsi is virtually
unknown there."

But, I had a problem....I didn't know how to speak Arabic. So, I
planned to convey the message through 3 posters...

First poster - a man crawling through the hot desert sand... totally
exhausted and panting ....

Second - the man is drinking our Pepsi ....

and Third - our man is now totally refreshed ....

Then these posters were pasted all over the place"

"That should have worked," said the friend.

The salesman replied, "Well, not only did I not speak Arabic,
I also didn't realize that Arabs read from right to left..."

Engineers VS Doctors!

2010-11-29T16:47:00.001+05:30

message: 7 Engineers and 7 Doctors are going from PUNE to Mumbai. So
all of
them gather at Pune Station. Both groups are desperately trying to
prove their superiority.

SCENE 1 (PUNE- MUMBAI) :

7 engineers take only 1 Ticket and 7 doctors buy all 7 tickets..

Doctors are desperately waiting for TC to come......

When TC arrives, All 7 Engineers get in one toilet SO when TC
knocks, one hand comes out with the ticket and the TC goes
away....Doctors say "Dekh lenge"

NOW on return Journey All of them don't get a direct train to
PUNE.
So they all decide to take a Passenger till Lonavala, as from there
they can easily get a LOCAL to PUNE

SCENE 2 (MUMBAI - LONAVALA) :

Doctors decided, "this time we will prove that we too are equally
SHAANE"....All 7 Doctors take 1 Ticket, Engineers don't buy any
ticket at all!!!!!..

TC arrives.... ALL DOCTORS IN ONE TOILET.ALL ENGINEERS IN THE
OPPOSITE ONE..

One engineer gets out and knocks the door of Doctors toilet, One
hand comes with the tickets, he takes the ticket and comes in engg
Bathroom...

TC DRIVES out ALL the doctors from the toilet and they are heavily
fined........

SCENE 3 ( LONAVALA) :

SO now both the group are on LONAVALA station. Doctors planning
their move for last chance, they board the local to Pune.

This time doctors decide that they will play the same (1 ticket )
trick.

ALL Doctors take 1 tickets...Engineers BUY all 7 tickets this
time...

SO TC Comes.. All Engineers show their tickets.....
& Doctors are still searching for toilet in the LOCAL
train!!!!!!!!

Universal Laws - Not Taught!!

2010-11-29T16:39:00.002+05:30

1. Lorenz's Law of Mechanical Repair:
After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch.

2. Anthony's Law of the Workshop:
Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.

3. Kovac's Conundrum:
When you dial a wrong number, you never get an engaged one.

4. Cannon's Karmic Law:
If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tyre, the next morning you will have a flat tyre.

5. O'brien's Variation Law:
If you change queues, the one you have left will start to move faster than the one you are in now.

6. Bell's Theorem:
When the body is immersed in water, the telephone rings.

7. Ruby's Principle of Close Encounters:
The probability of meeting someone you know increases when you are with someone you don't want to be seen with.

8. Willoughby's Law:
When yo u try to prove to someone that a machine won't work, it will.

9. Zadra's Law of Biomechanics:
The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach.

10. Breda's Rule:
At any event, the pe ople whose seats are furthest from the aisle arrive last.

11. Owen's Law:
As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something which will last until the coffee is cold.

12. Howden's Law:
You remember you have to mail a letter only when you're near the mailbox.

And the last and best :
13. Murphy's Law
What has to go wrong will go wrong

Case Mystery in Hospital

2010-11-29T16:33:00.001+05:30

This case happened in a hospital's Intensive care ward where Patients always died in the same bed and on all Sunday morning at 11a.m, regardless of their medical condition.
This puzzled the doctors and some even thought that it had something to do with the supernatural. No one could solve the mystery as to why the deaths took place at 11 AM.
So a world-wide expert team was constituted and they decided to go down to the ward to investigate the cause of the incidents. So on the next Sunday morning few minutes before 11 a.m. all doctors and nurses nervously waited outside the ward to see for themselves what the terrible phenomenon was all about. Some were holding wooden crosses, prayer books and other holy objects to ward off evil........
Ju st when the clock struck 11...

and then......

then.....

then........

Santa Singh, the part-time Sunday sweeper, entered the ward and Unplugged the life support system & plugged in the vacuum cleaner............

Funny Hindi

2010-11-29T16:30:00.002+05:30

: Have a nice day!
----- * Achcha din lo!

What's up?
----- *Uppar kya hai?

You're kidding!
----- *Tum bachcha bana rahe ho!

Don't kid me!
----- * Mera bachcha mat banaao!

Yo, baby! What's up?
-----* Beti Yo, uppar kya hai?

Cool man!
-----* Thandaa aadmi!

Check this out, man!
----* Iskee chaanbeen karo, aadmi!

Don't mess with me, dude.
----- * Mere saath gandagi mat karo, e vyakti.

She's so fine!
----- * Woh itnee baareek hai!

Listen buddy, that chick's mine, okay!?
----- * Suno dost, woh chooza mera hai, theek?

Hey good looking; what's cooking?
----* Arrey sundarta ki devi; kya pakaa rahee ho?

Are you nuts?
----- * Kya aap akhrot hain?

Son of a gun.
----- * Bachcha bandook ka.

Rock the party.
---- * Party mein patthar feko.

And the best ones are.....

How do you do?
----- * Kaise karte ho?

Keep in touch!
----- * Chhoote Raho.

Lets hang out!
----- * Chalo bahar latakte hain

You have to Know _ Orkut

2010-11-29T16:24:00.000+05:30

Today I was just browsing for funny stuff.. I got through an Old Article.Many of you might have read this. i am posting here for ppl. who havent.it may sound rude but you will enjoy it..!

OUGHT TO KNOW ABOUT ORKUT!!!

ONE
If you're ugly,
stop acting like you don't know it.
The captions under you picture that says
"top model pose"
"sexy bitch"
"arnt i hot"
doesn't convince anyone.

TWO
To the people who have like 25,000 friends,
are you serious?
Nobody in this universe can keep up with that many friends.
You're stupid.
Go play in traffic.

THREE
Don't ever post pictures and say
"OMG, I'm so ugly"
"OMG,I'm so fat"
because if you were,
you wouldn't post them.

FOUR
Nobody cares about threats over the internet.
Don't try to act hardcore with the keyboard.
Fighting online is like racing in the special olympics;
even if you win,
you're still retarded.

FIVE
Making 20 bulletins a day
about how you hate other people
b/c yoUR not on their top 8.
who really cares, i mean get over it!

SIX
Who really gives a crap if
I don't accept you as a friend?
MOVE ON!!!
Don't send me another request or message asking
"what's up with you not adding me?"
I don't want you as a friend;
that's what's up!

SEVEN
Little 12 year olds who have Orkut
and look like sluts,
go somewhere else
because nobody wants you here.

EIGHT
If you have decided to read this,
you are a true Orkut Friend.
Real friends read their bulletins.

NINE
I say you go and pass this on
and maybe it will finally get through people's brains

TEN
And if you open a bulletin and it says something like
"repost this in 100 seconds or a ghost will rape your dog tonight,"
IT'S NOT REAL!
QUIT BEING AN IDIOT!!!!!!!!
THOSE R REALLY STUPID!

Couple Images for orkut

2010-11-29T15:35:00.001+05:30

Images for Girls

2010-11-29T15:24:00.000+05:30

Images for Boys

2010-11-29T15:20:00.001+05:30

Stylish Images for Girls

2010-11-29T15:16:00.000+05:30

Funny Cartoons - Telugu!

2010-11-29T10:32:00.000+05:30

Enjoy Mallik and Sekhar Cartoons

Central Bank Of India - Upcoming Bank exams - 1163 clerks

2010-11-28T23:19:00.002+05:30

Central Bank of Indiabecame a nationalised bank in 1969 & is one of the leading public sector banks in India.The bank is present across all states of the country with over 3500 branches.Central Bank of India has announced recruitment of1163 Clerks.

Post – Vacancies - Payscale:
Clerk – 1163 posts(across all states) – Rs.7200/-/19300

Dates: Online registration of applications – 9.11.2010 to 8.12.2010
Written Examination – February 13, 2011

Eligibility: Those interested to apply for Central bank of India clerk recruitment 2010,

* Age between 18 – 28yrs, as on 1.11.2010
* Must have Degree OR 60% marks in 10th std.OR 50% in std.12, as on 1.11.2010
* Be able to read/ write & speak english & the language of the state applying for

* Should have computer course certificate or provide within 6 months after joining.

Selection: The process has Written Exam (Objective & Descriptive) &Interview.Candidates have to score qualifying marks in each objective paper, which also has negative marks for each wrong answer.Depending on the marks in test, those with high scores would be shortlisted for Interview process.

Fee: The application fee of Rs.250 (General/OBC) & Rs.50(SC/ST) has to be paid at any Central bank of India branch, with the given payment receipt.Candidates should then submit their application online through the website www.centralbankofindia.co.in & take a printout of the application for reference during interview.

Candidates are requested to read the advertisement of Central Bank of India clerk recruitment before applying online, from the bank website here

Corporation Bank 398 posts - Upcoming Bank exams -

2010-11-28T23:18:00.000+05:30

Corporation Bank is one of the leading public sector banks in India with headquarters in Mangalore, Karnataka.The bank has announced recruitment for 398 Officers in different scales, that also includes Probationary Officers

Post - Vacancies: (refer advt.for detailed list of positions)

Probationary Officers – 82 posts

Marketing Officers – 100 posts
Total - 398 posts (across all scales)

Dates :Online application registration – 16.11.2010 to 30.11.2010
Written test – 16.01.2011

Eligibility: Those interested to apply for Marketing Officer post,

* Age within 20-30 yrs as on 1.11.2010

* Must have scored 60% in UG & MBA (marketing) OR PG (diploma/degree) in management (marketing/finance)

* Working knowledge of computers is necessary

* This post is for a contract of 3 years.

for Probationary Officer post:

* Age between 20-30 yrs, as on 1.11.2010

* Graduation in any degree with 55% marks from a recognized university.

* Final year students/ waiting for results are not eligible

Selection: Written test & Interview would be conducted for certain posts including PO & Marketing officers.It consists of Objective test for 300 marks & Descriptive test for 100 marks.Based on ranking of high scores in test, candidates will be called for Interview.

Application: The fee of Rs.300(Gen/OBC) or Rs.50(SC/ST) has to be paid in cash using the challan, at any Corporation bank branch before Nov 30.After the payment, proceed to bank website for applying online. Separate fees & application has to be sent, if applying for more than 1 post.

Refer: Those interested to apply for Corporation Bank Officers recruitment, visit the from the bank website here for complete notification.

Upcoming Bank exams - UCO bank-1050 vacancies

2010-11-28T23:16:00.001+05:30

UCO Bank, with over 2000 branches is one among the leading public sector banks of India.Headquartered in Kolkata, the bank is operational since 1943.UCO Bank has announced recruitment of 1050 Probationary Officers.

Position – Vacancies - Payscale:
Probationary Officer – 1050 posts – Rs.14500/-/25700

Dates: Online registration of applications – 9.11.2010 to 30.11..2010
Written Examination – 30.1.2011

Eligibility: Candidates applying for UCO bank PO recruitment,

* Be within 21 – 30yrs of age, as on 30.11.2010
* Must be a Graduate with 55% aggregate marks from a recog. university, as on 30.11.2010
* Should have good knowledge in computer operations (MS-Office)

Selection: The selection process includes Written Exam(Objective,Descriptive test) &Interview.There are negative marks for wrong answers & candidates have to scorequalifying marks in each paper.Depending on the performance in written test, you would be shortlisted for Interview.

Application: The fee of Rs.400 (others) & Rs.50 (SC/ST) should be paid at any UCO bank branches using the challan from Nov 9 – 30, 2010 only.Candidates must then register their applications online through www.ucobank.com with the necessary details(including payment info)

Candidates can download the UCO Bank Probationary Officers Recruitment notice from the bank website here(.pdf file) Online application opens after Nov 9 only.

Friendship Quotes - I

2010-11-28T23:01:00.000+05:30

"True friendship is like sound health; the value of it is seldom known until it be lost."

- Charles Caleb Colton

"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born."

- Anais Nin

"My friends are my estate."

- Emily Dickinson

"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out."

"A friend is one who walks in when others walk out"

-Walter Winchell

"A friend is someone who is there for you when he'd rather be anywhere else."

- Len Wein - Sent by Paulo Louro

"A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart, and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words."

- Sent by Donna Roberts

"A friend is one who believes in you when you have ceased to believe in yourself."

- Sent by Lysha

"Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow.

Don't walk behind me, I may not lead.

Walk beside me and be my friend."

- Albert Camus (also attributed to Maimonidies). Sent by clovers

"A hug is worth a thousand words. A friend is worth more."

- Sent by Jasmine Fitzwilliam

"Everyone is a friend, until they prove otherwise."

- sent by Steve

"Your friend is the man who knows all about you, and still likes you."
- Elbert Hubard
"I get by with a little help from my friends."
- John Lennon
"Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up."
- Bible: Ecclesiastes
"Two may talk together under the same roof for many years, yet never really meet; and two others at first speech are old friends."
- Mary Catherwood
"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather is one of those things that give value to survival."
- C. S. Lewis
"I might give my life for my friend, but he had better not ask me to do up a parcel."
- Logan Pearsall Smith
"Friends are the most important ingredient in this recipe of life."
- (sent by Dior Yamasaki)
"The better part of one's life consists of his friendships."
- Abraham Lincoln, (sent by Heather Myers)
"The love of my life is the love between friends."
- (sent by Jess)
"One's best friend is oneself."
- (sent by Jess)
"A Friend is someone who knows all about you and loves you anyway!!!"
- (sent by Heather Tallent)
"To be depressed is to be lonely; to have a friend is to be happy..."
- Guido
The following Girl Scouts Motto has been submitted by many people in varying forms, so I've just placed the three most popular versions on:
1) "Make new friends and keep the old, one is silver and the other gold"
2) "Make new friends, both young and old, one in Silver, the other Gold."
3) "Make new friends but keep the old, some are silver and others are Gold"

4}"I have a hand, and you have another; put them together and we have each other."

"Strangers are just friends waiting to happen."
- (sent by Steve Klaka)
"Sometimes you pick your friends, sometimes they pick you."
- (sent by Steve Klaka)
"The greatest good you can do for another is not just share your riches, but to reveal to him, his own."
-Benjamin Disraeli
"Though our communication wanes at times of absence, I'm aware of a strength that emanates in the background."
-Claudette Renner
"I can trust my friends. These people force me to examine, encourage me to grow."
-Cher
"Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being."
-Goethe

Indian Round UP - 27th Nov

2010-11-28T22:50:00.000+05:30

Politics & the Nation

Ratan Tata says Radia tapes a smokescreen

Ratan Tata, the chairman of India’s largest conglomerate, has described the media frenzy over the tape leaks featuring conversations between Niira Radia, the owner of a public relations agency, and prominent politicians, industrialists and journalists as a “smokescreen” which was deflecting attention from bigger scandals.
Mr Tata suggests that the real scandal was out-of-turn allocation of spectrum and what he described as the “hoarding” of spectrum by some telecom companies. Mr Tata said the government should hold a proper investigation to book the guilty.
The tapes feature conversations between Ms Radia, Mr Tata and other industrialists, politicians and journalists. The tapes suggest that Ms Radia was lobbying for the continuation of Mr Raja as telecom minister after the 2009 elections.

On combating corruption

Raghunathan’s op-ed pieces are not missed by us usually. Today he takes on ourselves as the reason for India being corrupt.
As he rightly puts it, we all suffer from fatigue when it comes to discussing corruption.
Take a look at his well written piece. Once in a way we do need a shock treatment; don’t we? In this case, we deserve it. The ‘we’ here refers to us all Indians; not just the blog readers.

Even the Supreme Court is forced to make strong observations against judiciary

Look at this news report wherein the SC has found fault with the Allhabad High Court functioning.

Finance & Economy

Is our current account deficit worrisome? How should we bridge the deficit?

This is an excellent editorial that tells us about why FDI is a better bet over FII for bridging the current account deficit. It also suggests how we can do that.
BTW the current account deficit at present is 3% of our GDP. Not an alarming figure; yet. What is alarming however, is the fact that FDI inflows have fallen by 23% during the first half of the current fiscal.

Fine tuning the IIP

An expert committee chaired by Dr Saumitra Chaudhuri is reportedly fine-tuning the new series of the index of industrial production (IIP).
Product like LCDs, laptops, mobile phones and a large number of chemicals and pharmaceuticlas that were not manufactured when the last base revision was carried out in 1993-94 will be included in the basket this time.
The base year also should be as recent as possible, it being a normal year without extraordinary influences.

A titbit on PSUs

PSUs account for 26% of the gross domestic capital formation in our country.

What are the strategies that states in India have to follow to tap their demographic dividend?

According to the theory of demographic dividend, the rate of economic growth increases due to a rising share of working age people in a population. For India, falling fertility rates are resulting in a larger chunk of working-age people, who can contribute to the GDP and generate higher output per capita.
In fact, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has stated that India will account for the highest working age population in the next 10 years, in a report released recently. In the document prepared for the G-20 Summit held earlier this month in Seoul, the ILO says that the G-20 nations will see their working age population between 15 and 64 years increase by 212 million in the period 2010-2020. Over 64% of this increase will occur in India alone!
In this context, it is interesting to look at how our states are placed on the demographic dividend map. Look at this article which identifies four broad categories of states and suggests the strategies that they have to follow to tap their full potential. The accompanying graphic is also very educative.

What is our FDI policy?

The policy was enunciated through a series of Press Notes over the years. But on March 31, 2010 the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) had come out with Circular 1 of 2010, which enunciated a comprehensive policy overriding all the existing press notes, circulars and clarifications. When this left some confusion on issues relating to upfront determination of price for capital instruments and non-inclusion of party paid shares and warrants within teh definition of 'capital', it came out with yet another Consolidated FDI Policy in Circular 2 of 2010.

Decrease in area of cultivation is causing concern among economists

Government data shows agricultural land has declined to 182.4 million hectare in 2007-08 from 183 million hectares in 2004-05, a drop of nearly 600 thousand hectares.
Land acquisition has increased for various non-agricultural needs such as special economic zones, urbanisation, power projects, roads and mining. As a result, the percent share of agricultural land has declined to 59.7% in 2007-08 from 59.9% in 2004-05.
India has more agricultural land than China, but its farm output is much less because of a sharply lower per hectare yield for most crops, thanks to outdated agricultural practices, poor use of inputs and fragmented land that makes mechanisation difficult.
Independent estimates put India’s crop land at 170 million hectare as compared to 135 million hectare for China, but the latter manages to produce more from the smaller area it has under cultivation.
A look at this graphic in this context is educative.

International

Some interesting statistics and data interpretation work on government debt

This is an interesting article that opens our eyes to how nations will be faring in incurring debt over the future years. Some excerpts:
Based on IMF forecasts, the level of aggregate net government debt in the world will more than double from $23 trillion — 44% of world GDP — in 2007 to $48 trillion — 65% of GDP — in 2015. Advanced economies account for much of this increase.
In 2007, emerging markets (EMs) accounted for 24% of world nominal gross domestic product (GDP), in US dollars terms, and 17% of world debt. By 2015, they are expected to produce 35% of world output but account for just 14% of world debt. Thus, even as EMs increase their share in world GDP, their share in world debt is expected to come down. That is to say, EMs will power their growth from internal rather than borrowed resources.

Paul Krugman explains the Ireland problem

The Irish story began with a genuine economic miracle. Eventually, though, this gave way to a speculative frenzy driven by runaway banks and real estate developers, all in a cozy relationship with leading politicians. The frenzy was financed with huge borrowing on the part of Irish banks, largely from banks in other European nations.
Then the bubble burst, and those banks faced huge losses. You might have expected those who lent money to the banks to share in the losses. After all, they were consenting adults, and if they failed to understand the risks they were taking that was nobody’s fault, but their own. But, no, the Irish government stepped in to guarantee the banks’ debt, turning private losses into public obligations.
Before the bank bust, Ireland had little public debt. However, with taxpayers suddenly on the hook for gigantic bank losses, even as revenues plunged, the nation’s creditworthiness was put in doubt. So, Ireland tried to reassure the markets with a harsh programme of spending cuts. Step back for a minute and think about that. These debts were incurred, not to pay for public programmes, but by private wheeler-dealers seeking nothing but their own profit. Ordinary Irish citizens are now bearing the burden of those debts.

Language Lessons

smokescreen: Noun

(military) screen consisting of a cloud of smoke that obscures movements; An action intended to conceal, confuse or obscure

cloud cuckoo land

It refers to an unrealistically idealistic state where everything is perfect. ("You're living in Cloud Cuckoo Land.") It hints that the person referred to is naïve, unaware of reality or deranged in holding such an optimistic belief.

up to speed

being fully informed or up to date on some matter; being conversant with something
eg: Following the private meeting, the board now is up to speed on the investigation.

Sharing Is Always A JOY.!

2010-11-28T20:45:00.002+05:30

They say a problem shared is a problem halved and a happiness shared is a happiness doubled. We are not made to live on our own; we are social beings and as such need to share our emotions.

When times are tough it is so wonderful to feel you have a person to confide in, share your fears, worries and sadness with. To feel you can share these emotions, shows much love and instils a deep sense of friendship and pride in the person you choose to confide in. Just knowing we have someone to talk to about our deepest emotions is a comfort and makes us feel loved and stops us from feeling alone and desolate in our darkest hours.

On the other hand sharing wonderful, happy emotions is equally important and many things just have to be shared. Enjoying a wonderful meal or sunset, for example can become a totally memorable experience when shared.

When are have received good news, the first thing we want to do is tell someone; because it is our natural instinct to do so. It adds to our happiness to be able to tell someone.

The people we share good or bad experiences and feelings with, are precious beings in our lives. They help us, advise us, make us feel loved and cared for and make a wonderful moment incredibly special. They are an important part of our lives and memorable moments. The ones we choose to share our experiences with are to be cherished and valued, as they make our lives so much more meaningful and precious.

Never Let Fear to Drop You down

2010-11-28T20:40:00.002+05:30

Just as we set our aims and goals, we set our own limitations. Consciously or unconsciously we allow fears to stop us doing many things.

Sometimes we have deep desires to expand our wings, but fear of doing so, can makes us keep our wings closed. Often it is the fear of the unknown or of risk that stops us from chasing our dreams. These fears make us stay within the confines of our comfort zone, stopping us from venturing out and experimenting in the search of new pastures.

Fear can paralyse us and lead to a life full of regrets of what we would have like to have done or tried. Instead of fearing, we should learn to embrace a challenge, change and look forward to trying things we fear…we may be pleasantly surprised. I have met so many people who have limited their life experiences just because of fear. I am not talking about fear of doing something like bungee jumping or paragliding, these can be good experiences, but feel they are to be enjoyed by those who want to enjoy it and not necessary. I am talking about fear of life-changing matters, such as changing jobs, cities, countries or getting in or out of a relationship. We fear that we may get hurt, that we may not like it, fear it simply for being different to what we are used to. These fears seriously limit our life and our growth, because change is always growth, for better or for worse.

So, the next time you realise that fulfilling your dreams has to involve losing your fears, let go of them. Instead of fearing, look forward, focus on being happy and trust that the universe is always on your side. Know that if you don’t like what you do when you do it, you can always change it again. Don’t fear pain, don’t fear the unknown, embrace it as a gift for living new experiences, learning and being closer to fulfilling your dreams

Immune to Negative Criticism

2010-11-28T20:36:00.001+05:30

There is positive, constructive criticism and there is negative, destructive criticism.

We have to learn not to let the negative criticism affect how we feel about ourselves. When people make a negative remark about an aspect of our personality or appearance, we can begin to focus on it to a point of developing a complex. We may never have even noticed it before or given it any importance and then suddenly allow one comment to change our opinion of ourselves.

When faced with such a situation, we must remember to think that we were perfectly happy with ourselves until that remark was made. It is important to disassociate ourselves from this criticism and not take it to heart. It is only one person's observation and it may even be true, but if we were content with ourselves beforehand, why should we let this change our healthy relationship with ourselves?

On the other hand, we should also remember what effect our words can have on someone and think before we say anything. We are all less than perfect and if you are about to remark on something about somebody, think whether it is really necessary and if it’s not for their own good, keep your opinion to yourself, as it may seriously harm their self esteem.

Weekly Round Up - 25th Nov - Indian Current Affairs

2010-11-26T00:01:00.001+05:30

Politics & the Nation

Nitish Wins in Bihar

The JDU combine won 203 seats in the 243 seat assembly. Some excellent commentary / observations on the emphatic victory scored by Nitsh Kumar in Bihar:

He ran his political campaign in Bihar on just two words: development and governance. And the response from the voters was historic: a seismic shift in the political mood among voters.

The election results, which proclaimed a dramatic expansion of Mr Kumar’s social base, saw the NDA eating into every category of voters. The social rainbow that he tailored — it has in it large chunks of upper castes, non-Yadav backwards, numerically preponderant extremely backward classes, the politically crucial Maha-dalits, besides a respectable share of Muslims — torpedoed the socio-political foundations of every party. While the ripping apart of the once lethal Muslim-Yadav (MY) alliance bullishly shoved Mr Yadav to the periphery, the poll results exposed an abysmal lack of electoral depth on the part of the Congress in the Hindi heartland state.

Bihar’s electoral script has for long been riddled with heavy doses of key voter-friendly themes such as bijli, sadak and paani. But irrespective of who came to power, the promises remained hollow. Mr Kumar changed the rules of the game early in his tenure, quietly unrolling the script aimed at transcending Bihar from the morass of empty commitments and delivering palpable changes on the ground. If this result proves anything, people will not buy into empty promises of politicians. Mr Kumar’s campaign dispensed with the usual poll-time styrofoam promises made by leaders and, instead, precision-bombed voters with focus on development in the last five years. The voters responded resoundingly through ballots that celebrated hopes for good roads, hospitals with both doctors and medicines and schools with buildings and teachers.

And if the result means that the enmeshing of crime, clans, caste and communalism is starting to end, then it is a welcome outcome. Nitish Kumar’s development agenda has demonstrated that the caste arithmetic of rivals RJD and the LJP will not work beyond a point.

The lesson from Bihar seems to be that governance and development offer a politically-viable platform. If more politicians act on this cue, it would take the Indian growth story to the next level.

An excellent graphic that puts Bihar in an economic perspective.

Rosaiah quits; Kiran Kumar Reddy is the new CM

Assembly Speaker N Kiran Kumar Reddy will be sworn in as the new chief minister of Andhra Pradesh today. In a day of swift political developments, the Congress high command effected a change in the state leadership.

Chief Minister K Rosaiah was asked to put in his papers to make way for a more assertive chief minister who would not only be able to “politically handle” the Jagan factor but also deal effectively with the crisis that may crop up after the report on whether Telangana state should be created is submitted on December 31.

The trigger for the change was prompted by a recent show on Sakshi TV, a regional channel owned by Jagan Reddy, which criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Though the objectionable remarks were dropped in a subsequent re-telecast, the Congress leadership decided it was time to have a more assertive leader to tackle the rebellion in the party.

A bit about UNCAC

It stands for United Nations Convention Against Corruption. It provides state-of-the-art legal framework for recovering stolen assets. The UNCAC is the first international treaty against governmental corruption, which, according to the UN, is the major obstacle to development in poor countries.

It is the news recently because, in spite of Global Financial Integrity identifying that a staggering $462 bn of Indian money is stashed away abroad in foreign banks, there is virtually no political will on the part of the government to initiate any action to move in the direction of getting it back into India.

The complete lack of political will to contain and recover the illicit outflow has only deepened poverty and inequality, degraded public institutions and weakened the private investment climate in the country.

India has not even ratified the convention so far.

On our membership in FATF

India became the 34th member of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in June 2010. Gaining FATF membership is a long and arduous task. It evaluates the country’s commitment to abide by the 40 + 9 recommendations, and involves reviewing not only the regulatory framework but also its implementation by representatives from FATF member countries. The FATF review for India was undertaken in November-December 2009. While we have received the membership, our journey is not complete. With a periodic mutual evaluation still looming large, we need to work on amending a few regulations as well as review implementation effectiveness.

Finance & Economy
Another bribery scandal

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested eight finance executives, including the chief of LIC Housing Finance, accusing them of taking bribes to give big corporate loans and sending shockwaves through stock and property markets at a time when the government is buffeted by a series of high-profile scandals.

LIC Housing Finance chief executive Ramachandran Nair, Life Insurance Corporation secretary for investments Naresh K Chopta, Bank of India general manager RN Tayal, and Central Bank of India director Maninder Singh Johar were among those arrested in the nationwide swoop by investigators. The agency also arrested Rajesh Sharma, chief executive of Money Matters Group, a specialist loan arranger that was the go-between for lenders and corporates and is at the centre of the scandal.

CBI said Money Matters ‘either bribed or attempted to bribe’ bankers to get loans for many companies, including wind energy developer Suzlon, hill station township builder Lavasa, and Mumbai developer DB Realty. The bankers were accused of seeking bribes of as much as Rs 50 lakh on transactions.

These are the biggest and most high-profile arrests since the Unit Trust of India corruption scandal a decade ago and the 1992 securities scam. This is the biggest corruption investigation involving officials of state-owned banks since the Unit Trust of India was investigated in 2001 for favouring brokers in the Ketan Parekh scandal. Investigative agencies filed many cases in that instance, but there have been no conclusive convictions.

Experts said the arrests could choke liquidity in the market, as banks apply the brakes on fresh lending, especially to property firms that have been classified as ‘sensitive’ by the Reserve Bank of India, which fears a speculative bubble building in the real estate sector.

A very good editorial comment that explains how policy irrationality is actually giving room for this sort of corruption.

On mobile number portability

A good graphic that gives details about its unveiling in the country.

Nira Radia questioned by ED in 2G spectrum investigation

In a day of hectic developments, this is one more development that deserved our attention.

Ms Radia’s questioning mainly revolved around her role as a lobbyist for her highprofile clients with interests in telecom. She was also quizzed on certain transactions, where investigators were keen to understand if she had a role in bringing foreign investment into telecom firms in India.

Her companies include NeUCom Consulting, which advises Reliance Industries, and Vaishnavi Corporate Communications, which advises the Tata Group.

Ms Radia’s business activities have been under scanner since the past two years. The income tax department scrutinised her phone calls for nearly three months and tapes containing her conversations with the ousted telecom minister A Raja, prominent industrialists, notably Ratan Tata, and high-profile journalists Barkha Dutt and Vir Sanghvi have surfaced.

On the concept of GDP

A very good ET in the Classroom column.

Employers refuse to put contract workers on par with regular staff

The Indian Labour Conference, a tripartite meet of the government, employer and employee organisations, concluded in Delhi on Wednesday.

It was at this meeting that there were a number of demands from the employees’ unions. Prime among them being that contract labour should be paid the same remuneration and benefits as there are for regular employees. Employers have refused it saying that there is a difference in skill levels between contract and regular employees and hence that it cannot be done.

The current rules say that a contract worker must be paid at least the minimum wage prescribed for the government for a particular work, but they do not prescribe same pay for same work across an organisation.

Employers are refusing to be covered by the contract labour (regulation & abolition) Act. At present, the law applies only to organisations employing more than 20 workers.

There are reportedly more than 130 million contract workers in the country.

International
On the still evolving Eurozone crisis

This is an article on the subject from TT Rammohan, which is well worth reading atleast once. But some excerpts in maieutic method for our understanding.

What exactly is the problem with Ireland? How is it threatening to engulf the Eurozone?

The immediate problem in Ireland is with banks, not with government finances. In 2008, at the height of the subprime crisis, the government assumed full or partial ownership of three large banks and guaranteed the liabilities of the entire banking sector until the end of 2010. The guarantee was recently extended up to June 2011. But these measures have not stabilised the Irish banking system. Bank losses from real estate have mounted. Corporate deposits have been fleeing Irish banks. Ireland’s banks are on ventilator support — they now survive on liquidity provided by the European Central Bank.

Fear of contagion is the answer for the other question. Banks in Ireland -- when they fail -- threaten the banks across the border in the Eurozone. Today's banking problem will become tomorrow's sovereign debt problem. That's why weak/failing banks in one country are a threat to all other economies to which these banks have an exposure -- or conversely, the economies / banks of other countries which have an exposure to these weak / failing banks, have an immediate problem on hand.

Ireland is being mentioned in the same breath as Greece. But the two situations are different. In Greece, the EU bailout was necessitated by the refusal of private investors to provide funds to the Greek government. Ireland contended that its government finances were fully funded until the middle of 2011. And yet the EU has pushed funds down Ireland’s throat.

So how do we tackle the interconnectedness of banks across economies?

There has to be monitoring of cross border borrowings of banks. It is not enough to monitor total external debt for a given country. External debt of banks in that country must be separately monitored.

Secondly, there must be prudential limits on total exposure of banks in economy A to a given bank in economy B as well as to all banks in economy B. Banks routinely monitor total loans to a given borrower in their own country. The principle must be extended to their exposures to any overseas banking system. This is necessary for preventing contagion.

Lastly, as the UK and the US did on a larger scale, Ireland shows up the perils of a bloated financial sector, of relying overly on finance as an engine of growth. We need to debate whether there is an appropriate size for the financial sector in relation to the overall economy. As for any individual or firm, so also at the level of the aggregate economy, diversification has its virtues.

An example of cartelisation

Cartelisation (apart from OPEC in oil) is there in potash trade too. Canada owns 52% of the world-known reserves of potash, while Russia and Belarus own 30%.

The three largest producers of potash in Canada, Potash.Corp, Mosaic and Agrium with a total share of 35% of the world market participate in a cartel, called Canpotex, which manages their worldwide sales (with the exception of their exports to the United States for fear of US antitrust laws). The cartelists coordinate their production to maintain a high level of price.

The producers from Russia and Belarus have created their own cartel which coordinates with Canpotex. Together, the two cartels control about 70% of the world exports of potash.

What's the result of this cartelisation?

Artificially increased prices of potash. Whereas the price of potash hovered between $100 and $150 per tonne from the beginning of the eighties to 2005, it reached $200 by the beginning of 2008, and $825 on average in 2009 due to the increase in demand from India and China and the output restriction by the Canadian potash cartel. A reduction in the consumption of potash in 2010 brought about a reduction in price which is expected to remain at $532 in 2010.

SAP ordered to pay Oracle $1.3 b in copyright case

SAP must pay Oracle Corp $1.3 billion for software theft in a jury verdict that could be the largest-ever for copyright infringement.

SAP has acknowledged that its TomorrowNow subsidiary had wrongfully downloaded millions of Oracle’s files. With the admission of liability, the issue before the jury was how much was owed in damages. SAP said no more $40 million, while Oracle sought at least $1.65 billion.

This graphic details the issue in a nutshell for us.

Language Lessons
atavistic: Adjective

Characteristic of an atavist

Atavism: Noun: A reappearance of an earlier characteristic

Atavist: Noun: An organism that has the characteristics of a more primitive type of that organism

trite: Adjective

Repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse

schmaltzy: Adjective

Effusively or insincerely emotional

eg: It will be galling for either sex to admit that such age-old stereotypes may still be playing out in the 21st century thanks to some ancient atavistic urge, at a time when so many other trite conventions have been dispensed with for being too schmaltzy.

maieutic method (also Socratic method)

A method of teaching by question and answer; used by Socrates to elicit truths from his students

50 Inspirational Quotes Makes you to Think

2010-11-25T23:47:00.002+05:30

“Think like a man of action, and act like a man of thought.”
- Henri L. Bergson

“I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. And because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”
– Hellen Keller

“Half of the troubles of this life can be traced to saying yes too quickly and not saying no soon enough.”
- Josh Billings

“Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there”
- Will Rogers

“Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.”
- Mahatma Gandhi

“You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.”
- Christopher Columbus

“To a brave man, good and bad luck are like his left and right hand. He uses both.”
- St Catherine of Siena

“When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we took so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened up for us”
- Helen Keller

“We don’t see the things the way they are. We see things the way WE are.”
- Talmund

“Every problem has in it the seeds of its own solution. If you don’t have any problems, you don’t get any seeds.”
- Norman Vincent Peale

“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
- Dr Wayne Dyer

“The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem.”
- Theodore Rubin

“Pessimist : A person who says that O is the last letter of ZERO, instead of the first letter in word OPPORTUNITY.”
- Anonymous

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
- Thomas A Edison

“Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting”
- Elizabeth Bibesco

“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift. That’s why we call it the present.”
- B. Olatunji

“When you get to the end of the rope, tie a knot and hang on.”
- Franklin D Roosevelt

“Your attitude, not your aptitude, determines your altitude.”
- Zig Ziglar

“If you’re going through hell, keep going.”
- Winston Churchill

“The secret to success is to start from scratch and keep on scratching.”
- Dennis Green

“Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.”
- Muhammad Ali

“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.”
- Dale Carnegie

“So many of our dreams at first seems impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.”
- Christopher Reeve

“Hard work spotlights the character of people. Some turn up their sleeves. Some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all.”
- Sam Ewing

“There are those who work all day. Those who dream all day. And those who spend an hour dreaming before setting to work to fulfill those dreams. Go into the third category because there’s virtually no competition.”
- Steven J Ross

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
- Confucious

“Many of life’s failures are people who had not realized how close they were to success when they gave up.”
- Thomas A Edison

“The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”
- Stephen Covey

“Efficiency is doing things right. Effectiveness is doing the right things.”
- Peter Drucker

“Do you know what happens when you give a procrastinator a good idea? Nothing!”
- Donald Gardner

“Success is what you attract by the person you become.”
- Jim Rohn

“You have to ‘Be’ before you can ‘Do’ and ‘Do’ before you can ‘Have’.
- Zig Ziglar

“You can have everything in life that you want if you will just help enough other people to get what they want.”
- Zig Ziglar

“The test we must set for ourselves is not to march alone but to march in such a way that others wish to join us.”
- Hubert Humphrey

“Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus when the limo breaks down.”
- Oprah Winfrey

“Formal education will make you a living. Self education will make you a fortune.”
- Jim Rohn

“It isn’t what the book costs. It’s what it will cost you if you don’t read it.”
- Jim Rohn

“You must be the change you want to see in the world.”
- Mahatma Gandhi

“The future has several names. For the weak, it is the impossible. For the fainthearted, it is the unknown. For the thoughtful and valiant, it is the ideal.”
- Victor Hugo

“There is nothing more genuine than breaking away from the chorus to learn the sound of your own voice.”
- Po Bronson

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
- Waldo Emerson

“Use what talents you possess, the woods will be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.”
- Henry van Dyke

“Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.”
- Bertrand Russell

“History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it.”
- Winston Churchill

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life’s about creating yourself.”
- George Bernard Shaw

“Live your life each day as you would climb a mountain. An occasional glance towards the summit keeps the goal in mind, but many beautiful scenes are to be observed from each new vintage point.”
- Harold B Melchart

“The tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goals to reach.”
- Benjamin Mays

“More often in life, we end up regretting the chances in life that we had, but didn’t take them, than those chances that we took and wished we hadn’t.”
- Anonymous

“An excuse is worse and more terrible than a lie, for an excuse is a lie guarded.”
- Pope John Paul I

“Don’t wish it were easier, wish you were better. Don’t wish for fewer problems, wish for more skills. Don’t wish for less challenges, wish for more wisdom.”
- Earl Shoaf

Speak English Better Tips - Stage Fear Tips

2010-11-25T23:44:00.001+05:30

Do you feel embarrassed when you speak English? Are you at a disadvantage in job interviews because of your poor English language skills? Do you make a lot of grammar mistakes? Forget the past. Here’s our Speak English Better Tips that help you correct common mistakes. Would you like to learn, today?

Let’s learn how to correct this common error. “It was a blunder mistake.” It should actually be “It was a blunder.” You might wonder why. Blunder means a big mistake. Therefore if you use “blunder mistake”, it actually means big mistake mistake, you see. There’s no need of repeating the word “mistake”.

Do you think “These stuffs are costly,” is the correct way of saying it. Well, “This stuff is costly,” is grammatically correct. Stuff is anyway plural so you don’t have to use an ‘s’ after stuff.

Don’t know the art of communicating in English? It’s time for you to speak well and influence people. Our Speak English Better Tip will help you do this. Try one today.

Many a time we unknowingly say “Revert back to me after you finish the task.” But it’s not right. “Revert to me after you finish the task,” is the accepted way of saying it. The reason being “revert” means to “get back.” Hence, there’s no need of using the work “back” once gain.

Leadership quotes

2010-11-25T23:41:00.001+05:30

Leadership is all about leading and execution. Hear the great leaders say what true leadership means.

Nothing is so potent as the silent influence of a good example.
James Kent

Leadership is not a position. It is a combination of something you are (character) and some things you do (competence).
Ken Melrose

Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.
Peter F. Drucker

Most important, leaders can conceive and articulate goals that lift people out of their petty preoccupations and unite them in pursuit of objectives worthy of their best efforts.
John Gardner

A leader or a man of action in a crisis almost always acts subconsciously and then thinks of the reasons for his action.
Jawaharlal Nehru

If I have seen farther than others, it is because I was standing on the shoulder of giants.
Issac Newton

A leader must have the courage to act against an expert's advice.
James Callaghan

To do great things is difficult; but to command great things is more difficult.
Friedrich Nietzsche

To be a great leader and so always master of the situation, one must of necessity have been a great thinker in action. An eagle was never yet hatched from a goose's egg.
James Thomas

The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can't blow an uncertain trumpet.
Theodore M. Hesburgh