My Views

Every year monsoon gives us a realty check when it comes to quality of urban infra and robustness of city planning. Every year authorities end up citing same reasons and resorting to quick fix fire fighting measures. However, till the time concrete measures are not taken on some of the root causes, the scenario will have recurrence every year. Not only does it hurts the positioning of the cities, but it also dents productivity for the companies operating out of such cities by taking away some productive hours for those 8 - 10 days during the monsoon season. What we need is a thoughtful and meticulous approach and not quick fixes. In my opinion, some of the key reasons needs to be addressed.   1. Inadequate Drainage Systems - Many cities lack well-designed and properly maintained drainage systems capable of efficiently handling excessive rainfall. The case t seems gets compounded in case of #Gurugran where even an hour of rainfall wrecks havoc.  2. Encroachment of Water Bodies:...

Lithium-ion batteries have long been the go-to choice for electric vehicles (EVs) due to their high energy density and performance. There have been efforts to explore efficient alternatives to Lithium-Ion owing to limitations and costs associated with lithium-ion batteries. Among the emerging contenders, sodium-ion batteries have garnered significant attention as a potential replacement. Sodium-Ion batteries’ advantages and utilization up to potential might revolutionize the EV industry and expedite its adoption for mobility across the globe. The key factors in favor of Sodium-Ion batteries include the following. Abundant and Cost-Effective One of the key advantages of sodium-ion batteries is the abundance of sodium compared to lithium. Sodium is a highly abundant element, making it more cost-effective and accessible than lithium. This abundance translates into reduced manufacturing costs and a more sustainable supply chain, making sodium-ion batteries an attractive alternative fo...

Do you know on what basis banks approve a Home Loan? Because a home loan is something that we all have in our financial mix. And this is a loan that is generally availed by all salaried employees. At time, you would wonder, that despite most of the things being in line with requirement, you failed to get a home loan from bank. Banks do several inspections on you, before they grant home loan. One good reason that makes the borrower a risky bet, is sufficient for Banks to reject the loan application. Listing out some key reasons based on which, a Bank may reject the loan application. Lower CIBIL (Credit) Score A lower CIBIL score makes the case prone to rejection. Scores lower than 550 are considered low. While on the other hand scores above 700 & 750 allows access to credit at better differential rates. Properties in ‘red zones’ Banks typically have ‘red zones’ list where they never lend. If the property falls in that list, its difficult to get a home loan. Past defaults...

 Electric vehicles (EVs) have gained significant traction as a promising solution for reducing carbon emissions and mitigating environmental degradation. Governments, environmentalists, and automakers worldwide have touted EVs as a key tool in combating climate change. While the adoption of EVs undoubtedly offers several benefits, it is crucial to critically examine their role in achieving carbon reduction targets and saving the environment. Environmental Impact of Battery Production The production of electric vehicle batteries is resource-intensive and often relies on the extraction of minerals such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel. These mining processes can lead to habitat destruction, water pollution, and deforestation, thereby causing significant environmental harm. Additionally, the energy-intensive manufacturing and disposal processes associated with battery production contribute to carbon emissions. To fully evaluate the environmental impact of EVs, the entire life cycle of t...

Food Security Bill..Another burden of Rs 1.1 Lakh Crore...How is Govt going to arrange funds for such a huge expenditure ? Probably another loan form some external source...But isn't our economy already paying one third of its revenue to service the interest of existing debt ? Isn't the extra burden going to widen the aready widened fiscal deficit ? How is govt going to arrange the funds ? Isn't the burden bad at such a tight economic scenario ?What is the govt doing ? Kiiling the India growth story ?Degrading the bussiness environment in the economy ? And Govt. anyway has never been a good implementaiton agent for public schemes.Isn't it a new avenue for corruption ? And, providing free food ? How prudent is that ?Isn't it going to kiil the productivity of the economy ? EX - If on gets free meal every day. He also get money from NAREGA ? Why would one take a burden of working ?Arent these policies destroying the productivity of the large workforce of India ?The wo...

The Lokpal for which every body is fighting, would again become a part of a corrupt system. Fears are that, it may create a power center, if made very strong and hence a center of corruption. If accepted in the form suggested by Govt, it would again que up in existing list of toothless systems... Now What to do !!! Support What!! But, History shows that ways of governance evolves over a period of time and adapts itself to the changing needs. Probably its another phase in the evolution of Indian democracy after the JP movement. JP movement made sure that emergency wont be declared without any reason, It strengthened our democracy. Similarly, The Lokpal bill, if passed would create some checks and balances in the system to add to its efficiency. This would only add some efficiency in democracy!!! But, I would like a thorough discussion b/w the govt and team Anna as varried opinions would create checks and balances for Lokpal so that it doesnot become a supmreme power center in itse...

WHY ONIDA AS A BRAND IS AILING? Internal management Problems: One of the main reasons for this is the fight between the brothers : Gulu and Sonu Mirchandani and their brother -in- law Vijay Mansukhani over the control of the Onida group. The fight has severely eroded the share of the brand and even the marketing of Onida. Onida was staging a recovery after the successful re-launch of the brand and the return of the Devil. But the family feud has made things difficult for the brand. Frequent change in Advertising: What is interesting about Onida is the branding. The creative duty of the brand has partly moved from one marketing agency to another i.e. from Rediffusion to McCann Erickson. But as usual, when the agency changes, the entire brand elements changes. For Onida, the change till now unfortunately is always for the worse. When O&M took the brand from Avenues, the famous tagline “Neighbor’s Envy, Owner's Pride” and the Devil was taken off. The brand suffered for almost 10...

No, Sachin is in a different league. He is beyond Comparisons. He never had the comfort of taking risks in his time. He was burdened. Every time he walked out, he was supposed to finish the game. Same is not expected from Sehwag. If he fails, few will blame him. Sehwag has more freedom. Even today , Sachin is burdened by expectations. If he starts playing like Sehwag (Which I strongly feel he can), and fails in two consecutive games, the critics will start analyzing his fitness, his age, etc. I'l say one line "Its very difficult to be Sachin". To carry the expectations of Billions. We are so emotionally attached to him that when he fails we feel that we have been defeated and that is the time, we become very critical of him. So, he never had the freedom to play naturally. Even after all this what he has achieved in world cricket is nothing short of exceptional ! Sachin is a role model for most of the Indians. Hats off to Sachin! Sehwag is also a very fine player and in a ...

US economy built up an enormous credit bubble that has now popped this bubble was created principally by a Federal Reserve that kept real interest rates too low for too long. In doing so the Fed created a subsidy for debt and a commodity price spike. The Fed's 'cheap money' policy created artificial demand for housing which drove prices to unsustainable levels. As greed took over, dubious sub-prime liabilities were sold to hedge funds, insurance companies and foreign banks. And then the American financial markets were hit by a severe liquidity and credit crunch. High oil tags, lower spending by the corporate sector, rising unemployment, etc added to the woes of not just the Americans, but also engulfed economies of the entire world. Sequence of events that led us to the Financial Catastrophe  August 9, 2007: This can be termed as the official date when the crisis is said to have hit global finances. However, the issue had started much earlier. In 2006, the US housing sector...

Advantages of nuclear power generation Nuclear power generation does emit relatively low amounts of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). The emissions of green house gases and therefore the contribution of nuclear power plants to global warming is therefore relatively little. This technology is readily available, it does not have to be developed first. It is possible to generate a high amount of electrical energy in one single plant. Disadvantages of nuclear power generation The problem of radioactive waste is still an unsolved one. The waste from nuclear energy is extremely dangerous and it has to be carefully looked after for several thousand years. High risks: Despite a generally high security standard, accidents can still happen. It is technically impossible to build a plant with 100% security. A small probability of failure will always last. The consequences of an accident would be absolutely devastating both for human being as for the nature. The more nuclear power plants (...

Google launched a new browser called chrome (beta) . You can notice, google.com page is showing download link for chrome beta just below the search. Its another open source product, It has all basic features like tabbed browsing, fast search, google search integration, bookmarks, search in history and bookmarks; with nice simple interface. It has some advanced features you haven't seen anywhere like: Application shortcuts Dynamic tabs Crash control Incognito mode

For Sachin Tendulkar, this is 1989 all over again. At 35, after a career that has spanned 147 Tests and 417 one-day internationals, he stands poised on the threshold of a brave new world. Yes, its about the new Slam bang game T20 - The future of cricket. Can the Master stam his authority in this format? Twenty20 though is a very different game. Sourav Ganguly has shown signs of getting to grips with it, but other titans of the one-day game, like Ricky Ponting and Herschelle Gibbs, have struggled to impose themselves in the frenetic atmosphere. Two of the greatest rivals of Sachin has shown that class stamps its authority in all formats. Sachin has conquered all the formts of cricket. He plays the paddle-sweep, to pace and spin alike, perhaps better than anyone has done, and Brett Lee could tell you about the bunt over the slips that tormented him in Australia earlier this season. The inside-out shot over cover is also frequently unveiled, but it's the neat tuck off the pads and the...

The issue of rising inflation has engulfed many economies in the world including the US and the UK, China, West Asia, and India. The symptoms were in the making for some years. The Iraq war marked the onset of high and higher oil prices. There was a steady rise in the  commodity prices in the global markets over the last three years for various reasons including substantially high consumption across new markets such as India, China, Russia,  and West Asia. So far, most economies were managing price escalations through classic macro-economic tools. However, something has fundamentally changed over the past 12 months, which has triggered frantic interventions from most of the central banks across the globe ineffective. To make matter worse, the onset the impending recession in the US and the perennial decline of the US dollar,  has put even more pressure on the other economies of the world, both developed as well as developing.  Mounting inflation has now become t...