Hyderabadi Road (NON)Sense

4 years of being in Hyderabad I have understand that Hyderabad do not have traffic sense at all.  Don't know if this is specific to Hyderabad or other cities also.

Auto are the Kings of Roads.  They can stop anywhere in the middle of the road and expect you to anticipate that and apply brakes immediately

Never drive on the left side of auto. You never know when they may feel the urge to go to left side of the road.

People will cross the roads only when the traffic signal light for that lane is green and they expect you not to hit them.

Crossing the road is another hell because when you are about to cross there will an auto standing in front of you as if to kidnap you.

Every non metered auto will start quoting for 50 rs even if the distance may be less than half kilometer.

Footpaths in Hyderabad is an virtual concept, which only archaeology department can trace where the path lies. Every path is for vehicles.  Pedestrians have to be careful for their own life while walking on so called footpath as vehicles from both direction will be coming.

No software programme can trace out the pattern of the auto driving, sorry not even Google

People waiting for city bus will scuttle in middle of the roads for catching the bus.  They will come to the other side of the road if the bus is going from that side to avoid bus stand.

 

FDI for Banks

The PM last week announced scores of measures that will allow FDI in retail, aviation, power exchanges and others. Well according to me, all these measures are aimed at reducing the exposure of Banks towards this sectors.  If you see the power sector, the current reforms does not penalize the State Electricity Boards but convert their loans taken from Banks into long terms bonds which will be paid by states at a later date.  The exposure to aviation sector is already high.  The private sector banks (read ICICI) has already reduced its exposure to aviation sector by selling the loan to private investor.  The Public sector banks (PSBs)are not that lucky in that aspect.  The PSBs acts on the whims and fancy of the local politicians.  They also consider every public utility as their own.  Instead of rolling out their own purse strings they ask the public utility to shell out benefits which the politicians claim as their own.  Consider the current example of Oil and Gas subsidy given by ONGC and OIL India to the Refiners (BPCL, HPCL, Indian Oil).  Instead of Government paying subsidy as per their claims they are asking ONGC and OIL India to pay the subsidy for selling it for less the cost price.  These subsidies are making ONGC and OIL India bankrupt and they are not adding any new reserves as they don't have money to explore new regions.

Online Grocery Stores in India

Why online grocery may not be successful in India
Some time back two things happened.  I and my office colleague were having discussion on his friend opening online grocery store in Hyderabad.  Also another friend posted an quote on FB "Currently people are suffereing from MALLaria".  This got me thinking about the success of online grocery store in India and will it be ever successful in India. 
 
Family Weekend Get-together
Logistical Issues
Quality Issues
Peripheral purchases
Time of Matter
Online Population
Inhibitive Costs and thin margins
Proliference of nearby Stores

Giveter - A gift recommending engine

Today in this fast paced world, people jump to look for better work. One company to another company. One city to another city. But often they leave behind folks with whom they had interacted for months and even years. They develop special relationship which weather out over time as we make new acquaintances. Often we remember the time we have spent together; those celebrations; those exchanges of gifts.
Giveter.com gives an opportunity to relive those moments. Giveter.com allows you to send gifts even to persons you don't have address of. So there is no need to worry if the person has moved on to a different place and you want to be uncomfortable to ask their address; because it ends in a long series of question and answers. In the present scenario, all the current ecommerce portals require the delivery address to be entered in order to process the order. But with Giveter.com, you only have to select the gift. In fact, Giveter.com will also suggest you gifts based on occasion, relationship and other factors. In order to send the gift, Giveter.com will need receiver's address, Facebook/Twitter ID or email ID. Giveter.com contacts the receiver at the specified ID and convey in email details like the gift received, sender details, any personal message left by sender. After receiving the email, the person responds back with his address. Giveter.com will send the gift and the personal message to the receiver

Double-edged sword on Nokia

Currently Nokia is facing double whammy. Clearly with so many advertisements airing on the TV, online and print media, they are bearing huge costs to sell their phones. Also revenues are down from the previous high. Currently it is very short in losing the top position for top mobile makers. Stephen Elop joined Nokia as CEO from Microsoft. He is the first non-Finn to become so. Nokia is closing the Meego division, a joint venture with Intel. Thats also after launching a single phone (Nokia N9). Nokia is also shutting down the Symbian division and will be releasing only Windows phones from now on. They are transferring the Symbian division to Accenture They should follow what Samsung has done. Samsung is the lead Android phone maker apart from HTC. It is also making phones on Bada platform and on its own proprietary OS for lower end phones. So different phones at different price tags for different type of people. So is it all lost for Nokia. Will it see another bright rise. Well that is for time to tell. What do you think which strategy will work for Nokia. Or is it becoming a Titanic midway to the iceberg.

Current Crude prices pinching more

 

Currently India is among the nations which pay the highest prices for gasoline (petrol).  The current petrol is hovering around INR 70 (USD 1.46/liter).  There are numerous reasons for this.  Currently the supply from many of the countries is on the low side due to ongoing conflict state of affairs.  In contrary to this, there is currently a decline in demand from Europe due to Italy and other countries. 

But what is happening in India.  Currently India is facing shortfall in exports; both in manufacturing and services.  The current IIP (Index of Industrial Production) have gone to the 2 years low.  RBI has increased the cost of lending by increasing the interest rates on loans.  This has affected the manufacturing sector both supply and demand side.   The Software services are experiencing turbulence.  Infy is currently facing the music for migration related issues in the US, its biggest market.  Wipro is currently not at its best right now.  Due to Satyam, the image of the IT companies has taken a beating.  The imports are currently at the same position.  Even with increase in prices, currently there is no shortfall in demand of petroleum products.  This has led to the deterioration of Rupees – Dollar exchange prices.  Three months back the USD was floating around INR 43-45.  Currently due to export crisis, it is around 48.  Due to Europe and Middle East crisis, the crude oil prices have also increased.  Currently it is at $115.  Three months back it was below $100.  This has become a double blow on India.  So if we see, before we use to pay INR 4,300 for a barrel, currently we are paying 5,520; a rise of around 28%.  What can be done about it?  Will the prices ever come down? 

I think the answer is yes. But it has to be worked upon.  Crude prices are not in our hands.  As suggested by the Planning commission, Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) is not a solution.  Even after forming SWF and investing in petroleum assets, there is no proof that we can gain significant control of crude oil prices.  Also SWF will result in suboptimal returns; well that's a different topic altogether.  The best thing to go for is reduction in usage in all forms; whether its diesel, petrol, kerosene, derivatives etc.  The other thing is fiscal austerity measure.  In current form we are paying around 55% of the prices as tax to the State and Central Government.  With the prices rise, the taxes we pay also increases and who would not like rise in income.  That's why no State/Central Government is interested in decreasing the taxes.  And also they would not say anything about price rise.  The tax on petroleum products should reduce. 

The Great Telecom Circus

The Great Telecom Circus Government of India is thinking for pan India license and also discussing the possibilities for companies who dont want to pursue mobile operations to surrender their license. This will lead to a potential mobile call rates escalation all over the country. Currently there are over 15 operators in some of the circles. Considering this move of Government, it will result in few bigger operators and will wipe out the smaller companies which currently have operations in some of the 22 circles of our great country. So who will be benefitting from this situation.Obviously Government. Lets see how. If the existing smaller telecom companies merge with the bigger companies, there will be tax benefits to Government. If they return the license to Government, Government will have additional spectrum which Government can sell at market rates given the hue and cry concerning the 2G scam. Also license fee is given by the companies. As competition will reduce, so the call rates in existing markets will go up. So is this the end of Great Indian Telecom circus.

Banish your doubts!

Most of us spend a great deal of energy every day of our lives doubting our abilities – to our great detriment. We doubt ourselves at practically every turn; we doubt our abilities to write well, speak to a group, come up with a new idea or solution, overcome an obstacle, market a product or service, or negotiate with a difficult person.

Many times, we question our self-worth, how much we deserve to be paid, or how valuable or talented we are to an organization. We doubt our ability to overcome rejection, start over, or confront a challenge.

Banish doubt from your life – all of it. This doesn't mean you should start doing foolish things or making childish decisions. It means you should start trusting in yourself. True obstacle lies within the doubt itself – and all doubt lies within your own thoughts.

It's silly to hold on to any doubt in your life. It does no good. All doubt is a waste of energy and interferes with your natural ability to do things. Whatever doubts are lingering in your mind, let them go.
From: http://harekrishnanetwork.blogspot.com/2011/03/banish-your-doubts.html

Pathetic State of Government and Judiciary

 

The Government is under tremendous pressure from everybody. The three years old Cash for Vote Scam is an old one. But seriously it shows the lame attitude of Government and Judiciary. The 2 BJP MPs-turned Whistleblowers have landed in Jails for showing that they have received 3 crores from the opposite party for not taking part in no confidence motion in the Parliament. The middlemen are also in Jail for routing the money. But the beneficiary is enjoying in the Parliament. I suppose there would be many others MP s who have got money and kept quiet. They are also enjoying. So why the MP s who have turned into whistle blowers should be subjected to this harsh terms when they are exposing what is happening outside the parliament.  Don't we have some Whistle Blower Protection Policy which will protect them. 

Couponing Websites - Scaming Nest

Currently I am tracking many websites which gives coupons (free or for cash). I don't like the part where they ask for email/phone number upfront before displaying any offers. Its just like you have to drop your card before even you see what products are there inside. Its very nudging just like you have entered the store, you have enter your details in the register.

I don't understand the fact why the hell you need the email id/contact details. If I like the store, I will come again. Have an option to subscribe (and unsubscribe) to the email newsletter. If I like, I will subscribe to that section and officially say yes to receive your email. Remember the recent hack on Sosasta.com database hack. These websites can be easily hacked and your emails can be spammed any time.

Also there is another offers going on in mydala.com. They are offering the chance to win a product at a very low price. That's understandable when so many people are agreeing to buy goods at a very lower price. The point of contention is why the hell are you not allowing to use the existing points which I have accrued from the past deals and not won anything. First of all if you compare, these deals have got better traction than any other deals on their website. We understand that you need cash, but what about the cash we gave you before.

Feel free to use the comment section.

Filmy Drama: Adarsh Land files missing: Again

Yes its the fourth time that Adarsh Land files are missing from various Government offices. This time key documents like maps and survey records pertaining to the land where Adarsh Society is currently build is missing from Land Records office itself.

Previously also files related to CWG scam were also missing. I wonder why the tainted officers and ministers are allowed to continue in their capacity when an ongoing investigation is due. They can tamper with evidence. The offices should be cordoned off.

It is for the fourth time that key Adarsh land documents between 1847 and 1882, which could have shown whether the Adarsh plot existed at the time, have gone missing.

The records were first missing at the Maharashtra government's urban development department, then at the central government's ministry of environment and forests and then at the Army headquarters in Mumbai, and now, at the office of land records in Mumbai itself. This all looks like bollywood filmy drama to me. Congress shying away from Lokpal bill & tainted ministers. Crucial files missing in cases. Looks like we are watching a movie. We all know at whose instance these files are missing.

Rahul Gandhi Same as Feroze Gandhi ?

Rahul has never fought real elections. Standing from Amethi, which has been a traditional Congress hub is nothing. Even a small minion from Congress will win the seat from Amethi. What great achievement he has accomplished. Recently he sat at dharna against the tyrannies of UP government. Where was he when there was lathi charge against Baba Ramdev supporters. He see only problem with other states where there is non-Congress government.
Why he is not speaking of Maharashtra which is currently rocked by Adarsh Land Scam. I wonder where is the blue-eyed boy of Congress when the Congress is rocked by Lokpal Bill, CWG scam, 2G scam, NREGA scam, Antrix Case and many others. Why is he not open about those cases. Why don't he protest against them. I wonder if he can act like his grandfather Feroze Gandhi which exposed Congress double standards and led to the nationalization of insurance companies into LIC.

Lets see what future holds for AICC and India. I am welcome for all the Bricks and Bats. Use the comment section.

Political Clout of Family

It is said that, movies are a mirror image of society. They portray the current events happening in our lives. Sometime back, I saw a movie in which, a High Court judge was pressurized to give judgement in a person’s favour because the person was connected to the main political party in the state and they had kidnapped his wife and son.

Currently it seems, the same drama is going on in the centre, with the Supreme Court Judges being changed for Kanimozhi bail case. The current judges have taken recluse from the case and new judges are being appointed for the case. The case will be heard on this Monday. Meanwhile Kanimozhi’s mother is in Delhi to support her. And remind of the movie “No one Killed Jessica” in which Manu’s mother keeps on asking his husband “Mere Manu ko kuch nahi ho chahiye”. CBI is asking that bail should not be given to Kani as she can influence the witness. No wonder if she is given bail on Monday as the Judges have been changed. Such is the political clout of the family, may be the judges are in fear. Let’s see, what happens on Monday. My Lord, till then I rest my case.

Update: SC denies bail to Kanimozhi and Sharad kumar. They can apply for fresh bail application.

New Feature in Google Chrome - Instant Pages

Google Chrome has a new feature called Instant Pages. Previously they launched Instant Search, in which the results of Google search were launched instantly as you type in the search box. Now with Instant pages, as you type in the omnibox, the pages would be displayed instantly. But for this you have to update your Google Chrome with the latest version. Mine Google Chrome Browser version is 12.0.742.100.

After you are updated then go to Google options option i.e. Click on Wrench icon and select options. It will open new tab with options page in your chrome browser. Now Click on basics tab on left and go to search option in right. Click the checkbox that says “Enable instant for faster searching and browsing”. Check out the following screenshot to see this option.

Source: http://www.blogdefined.com/2011/06/how-to-enable-google-chrome-instant-page-feature-in-google-chrome-browser/#ixzz1PVIAj1uT

Fuel subsidies...Doing more harm than good

Recently there was news of recent increase in fuel prices across the country. And I tried to search what is the amount of tax, State Government levies on petroleum products. According to an estimate, around 30-40% of any state revenues comes from taxation from fuel. The central government has little control over the state taxes. Basically the central government is funding the states government in form of taxes and subsidies. I found a very good article on Value Research by Sanjay Kumar Singh. The whole article can be found at http://www.valueresearchonline.com/story/h2_storyView.asp?str=16965. Few of the excerpts from the article is given below.
India should end giving subsidies because of
1) Fiscal Consolidation. Because of high prices and high export volume of petroleum, it would be difficult to control the fiscal deficit
2) Encourage Conservation practices: High fuel prices give a phillip to usage of alternate fuels.
3) Subsidy is a cost borne by everyone. Even the companies are not happy as the subsidy don't come in time. There is a lag in subsidy payment and payment for fuel.

Read the whole article and you will come to know about the harms the current fuel subsidies are doing to us. What are your views on this.

IBSTimes 117th Edition

Open publication - Free publishing - More business

India Air(in the)lines. Do we need the national carrier

Do we need a national carrier?
Recently the pilots strike has ended. It is estimated that the loss due to this strike was around 180 crores. But this strike has raised another question too. Do we need a national carrier? Even after pumping crores of rupees, the airline is not able to get on air. According to DGCA, it has 14.9% share in the domestic market. It ran at around 61% seat factor in March 2011 due to lean season. Compared to this Jet ran at 69% seat factor in the same month. Jet airways have 17.5% market share in the market.
The last time Air-India was profitable was in 2005. It was once a flag bearer for India, but now it is struggling from overcapacity and unprofitable routes. It is also not able to cut neither costs nor trim the staff. The 2007 merger between Air India and Indian Airlines was to deliver economies of scale and scope. But it has remains a case study on how to turn profitable airlines to unprofitable ones.
Today Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines are ranked above Air India. Also many of the other national airlines like Air Canada, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines and Alitalia are only partly state-owned or even fully privatised.
The problem is that Air India is run by pack of politicians and IAS officers who have no experience of operating an Airline. The politicians run AirIndia like it is their property. And why they are interested in running Air India, because its the only airline which offers free tickets to netas. Last year there was news that Poorna Patel, daughter of Prafful Patel, the then civil aviation minister pulled out a scheduled AI flight for IPL players to transport them from Chandigarh to Chennai.
The problem is that the airline is falling into abyss of death, a point from which it is very difficult to return to profit. No investor will not be willing to buy a stake in the airline even if privatised. Again the question, should the government run an Airline or a hospitality entity. We have seen equity infusion of around 2000 crores in the airlines in the past and may 1200 crores in 2011-2012.
The best thing for Air India would be to divide the operations in Ground Staff. The same ground staff can give services to other airlines thereby generating money for the enterprise.
As part of entry into Star Alliance, they have to unify the domestic operations and international operations. So this cannot be ruled out. As a Star Alliance member, a passenger would be able to book ticket from Ranchi to Chicago even if Air-India runs operations from Ranchi to New Delhi and New Delhi to New York. As a unified ticket, the passenger would be able to save money. Currently the passengers are avoiding Air India as they are not getting single ticket to their destinations.
What do you think? Your Comments are most welcome.

Tradable Fixed Deposits

The very thought of investment in India means a Fixed deposit in a Bank. They provide a secure way of returns. All the fixed deposits in banks are guranteed by a wing of RBI(Dont remember the name right now). So there is no risk like return of investments.

All the banks are free to price (rate of interest) their fixed deposits as per their liking and demand. Generally they are in the range of 7-10%.

But there are many flaws in these systems. One of them is the liquidity. All these FD's are not liquid. These FD's are not transferable. They dont have a market.

So if you need money now and not a year later, you cannot trade them. Also if another bank is offering better rates, you cannot switch. The person has to go to banks and sold these FD back to the bank at a penalty. The penalty is around 2% of the amount deposited.

This is also a problem if you have kept deposit as hedge against a loan. This is due to deposit being on fixed interest rate and loan on floating rate. When the RBI changes the key interest rates (mostly upwards due to inflation) the gap between both the rates also increases.
The other problem is tenure. You cannot get a Fixed deposit of the tenure you want. Suppose you have payout after 7 months and no bank is willing to offer the tenure you want. Either you have to keep the money in your safe or do multiple transactions.

Now whats the solution for this. One of them is to make these FD's transferable. other is to create a market for fixed deposits for trading. As all these deposits are secured there is no default risk. These FD's can be considered bonds with interest rate payments as its coupon. Based on the current market, the value of this FD's would fluctuate. For example, during the time of interest rate hardening, a bank issued 9% FD. That FD is now listed in market at 9% discount. Now with easing of market, the same bank is issuing 8% FD. Obviously the 9% FD would fetch higher value due to higher interest rate.

Advantages:
Depositor: Would not be paying penalty on breaking of FD. Switch easily to get better returns. Market available to depositor. Deposit of his tenure available.

Trader: Deposit of his tenure available. Easily turn to FD if equity markets are giving better returns. Market Makers.

Market: Keep track of who is holding the FD. Keep track of transactions.

Bank: Would not have to worry about early payment on FD's. Just have to pay interest to the person holding the coupon. No need to worry who is holding the FD.

Disadvantages:

Bank: They would loose the penalty.

What do you think of this concept. Give your concerns and queries in the comment section.

BSNL.....Keep it Simple Silly

There is a series of tv ads for Tata Docomo featuring Ranbir Kapoor doing just like Jerry Seinfeld, a stand up comedian...Given the proliferation of 3G operators, I was searching the best operator. Then I remembered our g(ood )old BSNL, which was the first operator to be given the first free 3G license (albeit they have to pay the money now). I visited their page. Here there are so many schemes and data, I feel like lost. Why there are so many tables on the page. Why can't they keep it simple. Why can't they revamp the website to something which looks like Web 2.0. See the websites of other operators. I think the problem with them, it is too much fragmented. What I think, the state-wide website like ap.bsnl.co.in or gujarat.bsnl.co.in are maintained by the regional BSNL office and not by a single office. Give it a toss and express your views.

Is Reliance reliable

Reliance has a very long history of taking "panga" with the law and the government. I suppose many of you must have read the polyester prince to know about the history of reliance. The latest one has been with KG D6 gas output. First the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) accused Reliance of not carrying out the work program of drilling adequate wells. According to the Field Development plan (FDP), the production from KG D6 should be 61 million standard cubic metres per day (mmscmd), but the current output is 49 mmscmd in the first week of April. Then there is a priority sector in the gas allocation to sectors like fertilizer units, plants extracting LPG from natural gas, power firms and city gas distributing companies selling CNG to automobiles.

Currently Reliance is producing enough gas to meet priority sector demands.
But it has entered into stringent ship-or-pay contracts with all its customers, wherein it has committed to transport the contracted quantity failing which it has to pay the pipeline transportation cost.

Since July, last year, Reliance had implemented pro-rata cuts all across the contracts. But the ministry directive is supply gas to the priority sector and leaving non-priority sector like steel and refineries without gas. But Reliance has denied that order, saying the government should indemnify the company against financial cost.

My question, can the company enter into a contract for the distribution of a natural resource over which the Government should have first say. My other question, as a business owner can you believe Reliance (which had another contract with RNRL to supply gas at cheaper prices and later retracted).

Your Views????

PS For Readers a link of polyester prince is given below.

Polyester Prince-The Real Story of Dhirubhai Ambani(Banned in India)