Char Dham

Char Dham journey consists of following 4 places :
Char Dham Destination 1. Badrinath
Char Dham Destination 2. Jagannath Puri
Char Dham Destination 3. Dwarka
Char Dham Destination 4. Rameshwaram

This is just a listing.
Will complete the article as and when i get info


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Which ISP to select?

Here ISP stands for Internet Service Provider.

ISP are companies that provide internet connection to common public plus corporates. Normally every ISP provides connection to both the audience. The prices may vary accordingly too.

The basic points for pricing is the the Usage,Connection Speed,Data Transfer. For techy people availability of LAN also matters. This is because software like DC++ and ODC helps to transfer movies/music in fraction of a second through lan. Thankfully it prevents the painful waiting of 2-3 days for a movie to be downloaded. All the ISPs that gives connection which are shared that means that do not have dedicated services allows usage of such software.

So I looked for various options as follows:
You Telecom
Globcast(our local provider)
Hathway
MTNL TriBand

My first choice was that I needed a Cable Net connection. If it is dedicated connection(static IP) than it was more preferred. So I decided to go for Hathway. My budget was anything below 600 per month and around 256 kbps. So hathway didn't fit my budget also it had very high data speed at a very high cost and with less validity of usage.

Visiting you telecom website I shortlisted the following plan :

You explore 250 @Mbps !gB free 250 per month rental and 0.90 Rs extra per MB of usage.

But then it again would require LAN connection and an extra Carton of LAN cable. The problem is more if they do not have a near by existing connection and would take more time for installation. I never inquired their installation charges.

I had already experienced bad service with our local cable net operator so decided to go for MTNL Triband. The plan of MTNL Triband is as follows

200P 256 Kbps 500MB download limit 199 per month rental and Re 1 per extra MB usage.

This is how we can take a triband connection. Actually the connection we get is on the existing MTNL land line connection. So we have to just call on 1504 from the land line on which we have to take the Triband connection. Then just book the plan that we have selected from their brochure. Next they will send their technician at your place within next 3 days.

They will install the modem, which requires a LAN card(not necessary). Actually there goes a UTP cable between their modem and our LAN card with a RJ45 connector. They will also provide us with a phone cable splitter with the RJ 11 connector. This is for the purpose that we can use the phone and internet simultaneously.


After this, the actiivation takes around 1-2 hours and you are ON. The modem also has a facility to connect to PC through USB rather thann through LAN card. The speed is pretty decent and also since we didnt need more data usage this plan is perfect.

So now comes the ONE TIME CHARGES.
Rs.300 - Installation charges
Rs.500 - For modem usage(since its rented; we can even buy the modem from them).

Plus apart from the rental (299 in my case) we have to pay Rs.50 per month as a modem rent.

ok guys, thats it :)
happy surfing

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7 wonders of India

As there are 7 wonders of the world, I think every country would be coming out of its own 7 Wonders.

Based on the same theme, two big Indian Media houses have followed the suite. They have also started to list out 7 wonders of India.

One started the poll for 7 wonders of Idnia through a SMS from 21 July to 31 July in 2007. The result that came out of this poll for 7 wonders of India are :

1. Shravanabelagola or Gomateshwara- a place called Shravanabelagola in the Hassan district of Karnataka state

2. Harmandir Sahib (Golden temple) - located in the city of Amritsar in Punjab

3. Taj Mahal - located in Agra, Uttarpradesh

4. Hampi located in a village in northern Karnataka

5. Konarak - a small town in the state of Orissa

6. Nalanda - an ancient university near Patna in Bihar

7. Khajuraho - a village in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh

I don't think so any one would deny the above list.

But still out of what reason I do not know, other media house have come out with yet another campaign to list 7 wonders of India. The year for "7 wonders of India" campaign this time is 2009 and the voting is still active. I am not so sure what might be the purpose, may be business or may be a real one. The verbatim from its website is as follows
Verbatim:
"The rich heritage of India is best revealed in its 'Seven Wonders'. From a majestic monolith to places of worship, a mausoleum and a university- our wonderful land is a treasure trove. Join us as we discover incredible India in all its glory. Our campaign endeavors to choose the magnificent SEVEN from the wonder that is India. Your votes will decide the winners among the enchanting monuments from around the country."

What ever may be the reason campaigns like 7 wonders of India will definitely reiterate the ancient culture of India in our minds. Apart from the reiteration it will make people realize that our country probably has more tourist destination than any other country in the world. What change the campaign 7 wonders of India made in me is; "NOW I WANT TO SEE THE WHOLE OF INDIA BEFORE GOING TO ANY COUNTRY"

First time I did miss the voting for 7 wonders of India, but this time I will not and actually didn't. I missed the voting for the top20 wonders which is the predecessor step for the final 7 wonders of India. So without wasting any time when I knew that the final 7 wonders of India have to be chosen from the top 20 I voted ASAP. What was different this time was probably they allowed us to list any of the destination that we felt should be nominated, other then just giving us the options.

So here is my voted list out of top 20 for 7 wonders of India. :
1 - Golden temple
2 - Nalanda university
3 - Ajanta ellora
4 - Jaisalmer fort
5 - Sun temple
6 - Shravanabelagola
7 - Khajuraho

The top 20 list for 7 wonders of India voted were : go to this link

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Indian Banking Vision 2010 - 03

Conclave on Indian Banking Vision 2010

BY SIESCOMS

PART 03

The next module was a panel discussion on Market Forces and Consolidation. Chaired by Mr. Ashvin Parekh, Partner and National Leader - Global Finance Service, Ernst & Young. Mr. Krishnamurthy Vijayan, Chief Executive Officer, J. P. Morgan AMC, India in this module mentioned about the impact of consolidation on the stock prices. The traders and Investors reaction along with the market reaction to the consolidation. He mentioned that the analyst in the industry like consolidation major reason for which being that the stocks would be bought into limelight if consolidation takes place and is likely to increase liquidity and more important is the opportunities that it would bring to both the speculators and the investors. The stocks potential would basically be analyzed on the bases of its Balance Sheets, Branch Networks, and Management post the consolidation.

To proceed, Mr. Venkatachalam, General Secretary, AIBEA, compared the Indian banks size to that of the foreign counterparts and also mentioned that in the future there would exist opportunities for some banks to carve out niche in the market and serve specific segments like the rural segment, in India this can be possible thanks to the huge diversity that the country provides.

Mr. Leo Puri, Managing Director, Warburg Pincus India Pvt. Ltd. spoke about the possibility of the public private cross consolidation can bring about certain implication which would be challenging to handle such as the public sector banks major goal would be to ensure social profit where as that of the private sector bank would be to earn commercial profit in such a situation, it may be difficult and confusing to decide on strategies and bring abount commonality of goals.

Also he brought about an interesting thought that in the past it was said that more the number of banks will be there, more the amount of competition would exist and hence more efficient the banks would become and now a reverse trend is seen where it is said that less the number of banks, more the consolidation and economies of scale and more efficiently the banks can operate.

The last but definitely not the least was the module on Changing Global Regulatory Standards. This module was handled by CA Ved Jain, President, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and Mr. Prashant Saran, Chief General Manager-in-charge, Reserve Bank of India.

CA Ved Jain spoke about the various types of risk that need to be managed. The Credit Risk, Market Risk and Operations Risk are the risk that needs to be managed. Some of the regulatory framework for the same being BASEL II and Accounting Standards Rule 32. Also, in India, The International Financial Reporting Standard will come into play from 1st April, 2011. So, all banks will have to make sure by then, they comply to these standards for which they might have to look at consolidation as a option.

Mr. Prashant Saran spoke about the various tools for regulation like risk management, incentives, etc, on what the regulation entities want. He also threw light on rule based regulation in comparison to principle based regulations.

As good things come to an end, so this Conclave on Indian Banking Vision 2010 with the vote to thanks which was given by Mr. Ashvin Parekh, Ernst & Young. The wonderful event which made consolidation the way ahead for Indian Banks so much more clearer with a 360 degree view of all stakeholders and implication on each one of them. The event was possible thanks to the Indian Banks’ Association, Principal Sponsor IDBI Bank, Ernst & Young the Knowledge Partner for the event and S.I.E.S. College of Management Studies, the Academic Partner of the Conclave on Indian Banking Vision 2010.

PART 01

PART 02

Courtesy : Manish Punjabi

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Indian Banking Vision 2010 - 02

Conclave on Indian Banking Vision 2010

BY SIESCOMS

PART 02

Ernst and Young, the Knowledge Partner of the event launched the report which it had prepared on the Indian Banking Sector in association with S.I.E.S. College of Management Studies and Indian Banks’ Association called “Consolidation: way forward.

Mr. Ashvin Parekh, Partner and National Leader-Global Financial Service, Ernst & Young spoke about the report in brief, mentioning the need of consolidation, the drivers, trends and the areas that would require attention. In India, we have a number of Commercial banks both in the private and public sector along with a number of co-operative banks, UCB’s Regional Rural Banks and Foreign Banks. Public banks could have issues related to NPA or Capital requirements, the Private bank may not have deep pockets of the promoters and consolidation would through be needed. The Drivers towards Consolidation being the need for size, the need for minimum net worth and the BASEL II requirements.

Internationally also, a similar trend exists, like in Japan from thirteen banks in 1990’s to just four now. The Areas that would require managing would be those related to Pre-merger, post merger and regulatory. Thus, the way forward according to him would be Consolidation.

After the wonderful presentation by Mr. Ashvin Parekh, went ahead with a tea break and resumed to start off a discussion on Business and Systemic Justification for Consolidation. The panelist of the discussion were Mr. K. S. Harshan, Executive Director, The Federal Reserve Bank Ltd., Mr. Neeraj Swaroop, CEO-India, Standard Chartered Bank, Mr. Alok Misra, Chairman and Managing Director, Oriental Bank of Commerce. The Discussion was chaired by Dr. A. K. Sengupta, Director, S.I.E.S. College of Management Studies. The discussion came forth with the pro and cons of consolidation. The advantages which would come out of it being in terms of Capital, HR and growth and the disadvantages being in terms of consolidation may not change anything for the consumers and also that India being a large and wide country, more number of banks in a way does make sense. It was discussed that the need of the hour may be that of Differentiation by the banks and not consolidation. Also when were consolidation is spoken of in case of the Banking sector of India it is usually referred to as that of Public Sector Banks and not private. So it may be important to note that the same consolidations may make equal sense for the private player and also cross-consolidation may be seen in the future.

The current market scenario was discussed the observation being that the customers are now much more demanding as compared to the past. Also the customers being widespread, scaling up is an option which is necessary to reach out to them and keeping in mind the foreign banks which would in the future be a big threat to the Indian banks, scaling up would make sure they have a healthy playing filed with the foreign competitors.

The Banks in India today seem to be caught in the QoQ syndrome i.e. the Qayamat sey Qayamat Tak syndrome where they keep working to ensure short term goals of good results are visible every quarter without keeping the big picture in mind.

The discussion ended with an extremely interesting question answer session which made every one ponder on the thought that in the sector moved from monopoly to perfect competition and is seen to be moving in the future from perfect competition back to a more monopolistic situation i.e. with only a few big players which would be present after consolidation.

Post the Lunch; the event was addressed specially by Mr. V Leeladhar, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India. The speech was about the Payment System in Indian. He spoke about the past which started off with barter system to coins, paper, bills of exchange, cheques, plastic money and the present internet and mobile gateways. The need in India is a Safe, Secure, Speedy and Sound payment gateway system. The implication of the Payment and Settlements Act, 2007 were then discussed by Mr. V. Leeladhar along with the e-payment initiatives like Electronic Clearing System (ECS), Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT), Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS), Internet Based Banking and Mobile Banking.

PART 01

PART 03

Courtesy : Manish Punjabi

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Indian Banking Vision 2010 - 01

Conclave on Indian Banking Vision 2010

BY SIESCOMS

PART 01

It is said that banking sector is the backbone of any economy. The stronger and efficient the banking sector in an economy the easier can business take place, the more attractive the market is for companies and more beneficial it is for the consumers. And in today’s dynamic environment where its cliché to say this but yet true that Change is the only things that is constant, it is essential for the Indian banks to continuously bring about reforms in them to become better and stronger so as to be recognised as world class and to facilitate the robust growth in the economy.

Keeping this need of bringing about reforms in the Indian banks continuously to become better each day, The Indian Banks’ Association organized a conclave on Indian Banking Vision 2010. This conclave was organized in association with S.I.E.S. College of Management Studies which was its Academic Partner, Ernst & Young its Knowledge Partner and IDBI Bank the Principal Sponsor of the event. The event was held in the marvelous ball room of the Hotel Grand Hyatt on the 1st of August, 2008.

The event started off with the inaugural speech by Mr. T S Narayanasami, Chairman IBA & Chairman and Managing Director Bank of India. He gave a brief introduction to the reforms in the past decade how the Indian commercial banks need to be geared up to face the upcoming competition of foreign banks which are far more superior in terms of capital, technology and products. With this he discussed how Consolidation could be used by the Indian banks as a spring board to launch into growth.

The Inaugural session was followed by The Key Note Address by Mr. Venugopal Dhoot, Chairman and Managing Director, Videocon Group. Mr Dhoot threw light on the fact that how the Indian infrastructure is severing as a deterrent to growth. Even though the infrastructure has improved leaps and bounds in the recent past, there still exists immense opportunities for further enhancement. At present the cost of the banks is an issue which if addressed can help the banks, the consumers as well as the businesses. And one way to address this issue is to put emphasis on Internet Banking, ATM and Mobile Banking. Both these concepts have picked up huge following in the foreign countries and have saved huge sums in the costs. In India, these mediums have started picking up pace but more fuel to this fire is required if the banks wish to flourish and be competent enough against the technologically advanced foreign banks.

The Vote of Thanks was offered by Dr. A. K. Sengupta, Director, S.I.E.S. College of Management Studies. Dr. Sengupta expressed gratitude towards all those who had been involved in making the event possible and a success and also mentioned an interesting shift in what the 3C’s for a Bank was in the past as compared to what it is in the present moving towards the future. He mentioned that in the past the 3C’s for the Banks were Character, Capital and Capacity of the customers. In today’s scenario, peeping into the future, the 3C’s that would be important for banks would be Consolidation, Convergence and Capacity Building to ensure success.

PART 02

PART 03



Courtesy : Manish Punjabi

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vote karegaaaa vote kar

Ppl if you guys like any of my blogs please do vote for it.

Please go to this link : http://www.mumbaibloggers.net/vote-for-the-best-blog/

Its basically a competition for the best blog in mumbai.

thanks.
Cyborg

Red Green Blue - Cartridge Refilling

I have a HP PSC-1402 All in One printer. It has Printing Copying and Scanning facility. But the main problem is its cartridge. New cartridges are costly and the refilled don't last long.

So for the first time in almost three year i got the color cartridge refilled. Initially the charge for BW cartridge was Rs 80 and now it has become Rs.100. The color cartridge cost me Rs.250. Do not know whether the color rates are at par but the guy who refills it dies it pretty good.

Do just have a comparison I went to Cartridge World in Mulund West. What i found was the rates were a BOMB. Color refilling was around 450 and BW refilling was around 225. They have a good deal if we give both refilling at a time. So finally I got the refilling from the local guy.

Just to make it clear, the coloring thing normally works with the combination of three basic colors Red,Green,Blue (RGB the acronym). It is the usage of this color with different intensities that we get all the shades of the color. All the three with least intensity will give White and all the three shade with full intensity will give Black to just explain it.

What this guy did is, he by mistake put more of Red color in the cartridge. It was even leaking from the cartridge. The worst part was whenever I used to print any color image or document it was all in Red. So I called him up and he told to keep on printing 4-5 pages till all the extra Red color goes.

Hence I went to internet to find some images in RGB so that I knew whether rest of the color is somewhat working good.

The image search result really came out with good or Fantastic images of RGB and its combination.

So did try to print it 3-4 times and 4th time I got all the colors right. :))

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What is the Automatic Route?

"We have a subject called International Business in our final semester. Under this we had to give a presentation on Kingfisher Airlines regarding its international business environment. The analysis was to be done taking under consideration Social, Legal, Economical, Political, Technological factors. Also called as Slept analysis; its nothing but PEST analysis with a L for legal.

While making the presentation I came about that India allows FDIs in the Airline Industry thorough Automatic Route. I recollected something but was not sure. So after the presentation which was on 15 Feb, and went good, I searched on Automatic Route. I found a very short and perfect route of Automatic Route of FDI investment on RBI's website. Here it is verbatim.

For all non finance people, FDI stands for Foreign Direct Investment. This is nothing but people out of India investing in Indian companies. The automatic route gives a route through which Indian companies can get investment from abroad without any hindrance from RBI."


What is the Automatic Route?

A. Under the Automatic Route, an Indian Party does not require any prior approval from the Reserve Bank for setting up a JV(Joint Venture)/WOS(Wholly Owned Subsidiary) abroad (in case of investment in the financial sector, however, prior approval is required from the concerned regulatory authority both in India and abroad). source


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HAME GARV HAI HINDUSTAN PAR AUR HINDUSTANI HONE PAR
I have taken the oath have you? http://tinyurl.com/oathforindia


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Google's Initial Beta Homepages

http://tinyurl.com/create.php

This is how google home page looked initially.

Source : Google's tenth anniversary/birthday


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VISA explained

A-B-C-D-E-F-H-I-J-K-L-M-O-P-R


A Visas (Official Visas)-
A-1: For Ambassadors, public ministers & consular officers
A-2: For immediate family members of A-1
A-3: Attendants & servants of A-1 and A-2 holders


B (Business/Visitor) Visa -
B-1: Temporary visitor for business
B-2: Temporary visitor for leisure


C & D Visa (For Aliens in transit) -
C-1,2: Alien in transit directly through US
C-3: Family of C-1,C-2 in transit
C-4: Transit without Visa(TWOV)


D-1: Sailors departing on vessel of arrival
D-2: Sailors departing by other means


E - Visa (For Traders/Investors) -
E-1: Treaty Trader, spouse and children
E-2; Treaty Investor, spouse and children


F Visa (Students) -Want to study or research at a U.S. college? Then F is the visa for you -
F-1: Academic Student
F-2: Spouse or child of F-1H (Temporary Worker) Visa -


H-1B: Persons in a specialty occupation
H-2B: Seasonal nonagricultural workers
H-3: Trainees other than medical/academic; also training of handicaps
H-4: Dependants of H visa holders


I Visa (Mediapersons) -Are you a reporter, film person, Editor? Then you require an I-visa -Essential docs: Your press ID, a letter from the editor.


J & Q Exchange Visitor Visa -
J-1 exchange visitors may be academics, scientists, businesspeople or students.
J-1: Visas for exchange visitors
J-2: Spouse or 'child' of J-1 under 21


Fiance(e) of US Citizen -
K-1 Fiance(e)
K-2 Minor child of K-1
K-3 Spouse of a U.S. Citizen (LIFE Act)
K-4 Child of K-3 (LIFE Act)
Docs: Marriage certificate & Photos, Intent of marrying within 90 daysin US(for K1).


L Visa (Intracompany Transferees)-
L-1A: Executive, managerial
L-1B: Specialized knowledge
L-2 Spouse or child of L-1


Vocational and Language Students -
M-1: Vocational student or other non-academic student
M-2: Spouse or child of M-1


O -Visa (For Prodigies) -
O-1: For a Genius in Sciences, Arts, Education, Business, or Athletics.
O-2: Alien's (support) accompanying O-1
O-3: Spouse or child of O-1 or O-2


Athletes and Entertainers-
P-1: Athletes & Entertainment groups
P-2: Entertainers in exchange programs
P-3: Entertainers in cultural programs
P-4: Spouse or child of P-1, 2, or 3


R-Visa (Religious Workers)
R-1: Religious workers
R-2: Spouse or child of R-1

A-B-C-D-E-F-H-I-J-K-L-M-O-P-R