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suni51 answered the question Only Rahman deserves high expensive projects???.
I like Rehman's music but he is repeating himself now. Besides he is also accused of copying others' work which is not a good thing. I am sure he is capable of doing better...
8 years ago
suni51 created new article China and its Financial Crisis .
China in Deep Trouble by Labor Strikes
I am an avid economical development watcher having interest not only in Indian but whatever is going on in world’s different countries. You can say I have an enthusiasm for everything related to development and even the failures of policies adopted by different countries of the world.
I have my special interest in Chinese economy because they are our main competitors in Asia. I would not say that their failing economy and increasing labor unrest is a matter of satisfaction for us but the fact they are going through a bad face is a reality.
The Chinese government is trying its level best to keep economical matters under control but there should be no doubt whatsoever that the recession in China has already taken deep grip over the policies and economy and the signs of the economical slowdown will obviously effect other countries.
I was reading report of Indian Moody's investor service which clearly indicated that growth rate of China is going down regularly and global demand of their products is constantly going down, thousands of Chinese factories have either been already closed or on the verge of shut down.
There were rare cases of labor strikes in China but in recent times labor unions are actively showing their dissatisfaction by organizing strikes in the streets. The labor force sitting at home in the process is going through a stressful mental state that could explode soon worsening the situation if the present condition of industry does not improve.
If the recent agitation on such a large scale in Guangdong Province the main industrial state of China is any indication then Chinese policy makers and factory owners must have lots of problems to solve at their hands right now.
Actually, large Chinese factories have no orders in hands but they are neither removing their workers from the pay role nor paying them their salaries but assuring to pay them soon. Same is the case of transport sector laborers working as loaders at ships and trucks.
All these labors have not been paid for months and they have no option but gather at highways and demonstrate for their pending salaries. I believe the Chinese government has a tough task to deal at their hands in such a tough situation. Probably the Chinese policy makers are planning to adjust all these unemployed workers in service sector provide they agree to work as waiters and cleaners.
Chinese Economy At Lowest
China is in trouble, I mean their economy is slowing down very rapidly. If we look back at their growth rate of less than 6% during 2016-17 which is perhaps at the lowest in last 25 years that clearly tells the story and the entire world should be ready for the impact of Chinese economical debacle. That is one side of the story and the other side is that there is no alarming situation in their economy but they are shifting from export oriented country to service provider so it’s normal if China is registering lower economical growth.
However, Chinese government had set a target of 7% growth rate for its economical growth and it’s almost there but the very fact that China had been growing at the rate of 10% or more in last couple of years and reached to the status of second biggest economy in the world will certainly feel it as a setback. The Chinese demand for raw material and their demand for development in infrastructure sector played a major role for keeping the world markets doing comparatively well.
Chinese growth story was major reason that kept world markets full with consumers items made in China. But the story is different now, the international markets are feeling the impact now as the demand is at its lowest especially in countries which were dependent on Chinese economy. If we look at the other reasons the crude price has come down to almost one third during 2015 and reducing demand in China is said to be one of the reasons behind that.
If we believe the experts on Chinese development story they feel the Chinese are in deeper trouble than what it appears on the ground level. They feel the Chinese growth is under 5% at the most at this point of time but being kept behind the iron curtain by the communist party of China. The government of China is still trying to control the economy by using high handed methods instead rather than accepting the market’s truth. There is so much to add in this topic and I am willing to do so in my coming posts.
8 years ago
suni51 created new article India Can Achieve a Double Digit Growth Rate.
Challenges in front of us
India has learned a lot of new lessons during last two decades so based on these experiences we have fair chances for improving our progress story. India is in the group of front runners of developing nations contributing their share to world community. India is especially doing well on economical front and this perhaps is the best time when we should have a look on our stats and plan for a rapid future growth.
As per the general belief among the world community that India’s contribution and growth story is limited to software sector only but the fact that India is progressing in all fields including manufacturing, infrastructure, agriculture, health sector and education. However, we should look beyond what we have already achieved and look further on newer avenues.
Poverty should be on the top of priorities list since we have close to 200-250 million people in the list of below poverty line depending upon various scales set by different agencies based on their annual income or consumer products used by people who participated in the surveys. But if we do not take all those surveys and their outcome into account the fact is there are at least 50 million people in poor living condition in India.
According to Merrill lynch global wealth management there are more than 200,000 people having more than $100 million or more in India and the number of people in this list is increasing at a rapid rate every year. We can boast about world’s largest middle class in the range of 300 to 350 million people in our country but at this point we should concentrate on poor class.
Most of our poor people live in villages working as agricultural workers having no land working for bigger farmers but not earning enough to manage food, education and childcare for their family. In fact it is our chance for uplifting and doing concrete efforts for uplifting the poor of this country. And if succeed in doing so then there is nothing that can stop us from attaining a double digit growth rate.
Fast Moving Consumer Goods- The Changing Trends
Fast Moving Consumer Goods is comparatively new concept in Indian corporate sector although the consumer products have always been the part of our economy. However, the buying trend of Indian consumers has entirely changed now he is willing to spend more money for premium products. Indian consumer has become more demanding now his demands are not limited to a particular brand or a packing but he needs them in product format.
For instance Hand Wash, body Wash, Face Wash and Shampoos have replaced earlier cake soaps used for bathing, hand washing and other general purpose uses. The industry now concentrates more on needs and demands of consumers like they provide their products in various packing according to size and choice of the consumer.
It’s no more sellers market but with so many players to cater the needs of consumer they keep a close eye on consumers’ choice and demand. Their market research wings constantly keep a watch at their consumers preferred size of packing or their customer needs the product in a sachet or a plastic bottle sells more than poly-pack. Companies keep a watch on customer’s convenience according to his demand of size and price preferences.
Companies like Parle are ready to provide pack of biscuits in the range starting from 50 Paisa (8 cents) to costlier products. Pepsi, Coca-Cola and other companies in soft drinks sector keep experimenting with size unlike previously when only one pack in glass bottle was available in Indian markets. Companies like Colgate are continuously changing color, taste and ingredients of their products to stay in the race.
If we look carefully at the way of working of top 100 FMCG companies operating in Indian market there are 62 multinational brands and out of these 27 top brands come from one company the Hindustan Unilever itself. The other popular brands are from Nestle India, Cadbury India, Dabur India, Britannia India and Proctor & Gamble etc. Maybe the companies are able to change the taste of consumers with their advertizing campaigns but the fact remains the consumer is the ultimate boss.
But do you know that Patanjali, the fastest growing FMCG Company of India under the aggressive campaigning of Baba Ramdev is going to beat some of the established companies very soon or drive them out of business?
Fast Moving Consumer Products
Most common people would give you a strange look if you ask them what FMCG does mean to them. Or at most their reaction will be limited to “oh you must be talking about consumer products”. But the matter is not that simple but the fact is if you look around you will find you’re pretty much surrounded with products that come in fast moving consumer products.
For instance, you begin your day with hand wash, tea or coffee, toothpaste and brush then you use soap, shampoo, moisturizer, conditioner, hair oil or cream. In a hurry for office you probably will eat gem, bread and bread or cornflakes with milk and ready to go out probably using deodorant or scent. There are so many other choices for your lunchbox like noodles or other readymade preparations coming from FMCG section.
You name any of the products that you use during your day and the FMCG comes to play its role in your daily routine. There is a long list of FMCG companies in India some of these are multinationals but each one of us use products manufactured by one or more of these companies on regular basis like Hindustan Unilever Limited, ITC Ltd, Amul, Britannia, Parle Agro, Pidilite Industries, Bikanervala, Wipro Consumer Care, Haldiram, Himalaya, Emami, Dabur, Godrej, Tata, Nestle, Marico, Proctor & Gamble, Agro Dutch, Agro Food, Kohinoor Foods etc.
The fact is you cannot survive without them and there is nothing new but the trend is going on for long time. Remember the time when Dettol was your only choice as an antiseptic or Lifebuoy was the first soap that came to mind as an antiseptic soap or Lux and Pears as regular soaps. Surf used to be the first choice of consumers as laundry detergent powder with its various brands as quality and status symbol but Nirma managed to capture most of the washing powder sector as it was comparatively economical.
8 years ago
suni51 created new article North Korea- A Dangerous Nuclear Power .
The Dictator in Making
Whenever I read North Korean dictator threatening South Korea and America with atomic weapons I feel like laughing aloud although this is not a matter of laughing. The way Kim Jong-un leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea talks and keeps threatening superpowers shows that they live in a world of fantasy with couple of atomic weapons.
There is no doubt about the fact that North Korea is a threat to the world and the way the leader of DPR Korea keeps repeating his threats of atomic attacks on America and South Korea there is any country that would support them. Even China, the hard core supporter of North Korea is now keeping a distance from hostile statements by North Korea dictator and even started criticizing some of the statements and act in recent times.
China supported recent sanctions by UNO on North Korea even after having said that they did not believe blind faith in sanctions and pressure, which in their views are not a right approach for the future of the Korean peninsula according to China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi. But that was probably against the combined move of the US and South Korean plans to deploy an anti missile in South Korea.
It is highly unlikely that China would stop support to the sanctions imposed by UN on North Korea that China will stop its support to North Korea. There is no doubt about the fact that China and North Korea have strong relation but the Chinese are reconsidering their approach especially after the growing dispute in the international community over the issues of North Korea's nuclear weapons.
China has its own reasons to support North Korea as it strongly believes that if there is a change of power in North Korea it will not only effect the Korean region but will have its impact on entire Asian pacific region that will have indirect impact or weaken Chinese grip on the region.
North Korea and Atomic Policy
I don’t think anyone was surprised when the news of North Korean hydrogen bomb explosion hit the headlines of world media. The North Korea has already conducted 4 such tests since 2006 and firmly maintaining their stand on atomic research policy. The government of North Korea has been constantly saying that it will not compromise on atomic policies for more than 10 years and also that there is no power in the world that can stop it from carrying out further tests.
The North Koreans are committed to their promise made to themselves to not to hand over their atomic weapons “Even if the sky falls down”. That means they will do what they have been doing for last one decade you like it or hate it. The powers that be at most can ban them but that will not change the situation much for North Korea as they are not dependent on foreign trade. There is no doubt about North Korea is less with atomic power but super powers will never accept this fact.
It may sound astounding to rest of the world but if we see it with North Korean point of view they are probably looking at what happened to Iraq and Libya and their intentions are to remain safe from invasion on their territory by the foreign forces. As the things stand today we should accept the fact that North Korea is a country with atomic power and they are not going to take their steps back.
The ban on them can at most affect the living style of few people with higher standard or very poor but that makes very little impact on thinking of the rulers. Probably the dictators of North Korea do not want to see themselves in the place of Saddam Husain or Muammar Gaddafi so bomb is the perfect hiding for them. But let us not forget that North Korea was first country that signed atomic treaty but on one condition- there should be global cleanout of all atomic weapons.
8 years ago
suni51 created new article Top Ten Places to Visit in North India- Part 1 .
Vrindavan- The religious town
During the summer of 1916 I was working on a photography project for an Indian website and had a wonderful chance of visiting several tourist locations in northern India. Incidentally, I had already visited most of these places before but some of them now have an entirely different look. The places now look totally different which were so different in my memory for their religious look.
For example Vrindavan is one of the most religious towns of Uttar Pradesh in India. According to mythology Lord Krishna spent most of his his childhood in this holy town. Vrindavan that was city of temples dedicated to Lord Krishna. All of the temples are dedicated to Krishna and Radha his inseparable beloved until not long ago, but has changed a lot now with number of star hotels and modern restaurants.
One of the places under this program I visited was Vrindavan, a town about 200 km if I travel by road from my city But I went there by train via Delhi as I wanted both my hands free on this mission and wanted to walk on foot in the city areas. Vrindavan is 10 kilometers before on Delhi- Mathura highway considered the childhood home of Lord Krishna.
Here is a short introduction for Lord Krishna for those who have any interest in Indian culture or Hinduism, Vrindaban is all about Lord Krishna, his love for Radha, his love stories and innumerable temples in this ancient town. The atmosphere of Vrindavan is filled with love for Radha and Krishna and that is visible in each and every building, temple and lane of the town.
As I said there are thousands of temples in the town of Vrindavan starting from the first left turn towards the town while coming from Delhi the temple of Ma Vaishno Devi with a grand statue visible from a distance but the most visited among them is Banke Vihari Temple in the heart of town.
Banke Vihari temple is in ancient Rajasthan Architecture structural style having Lord Krishna’s divine statues in a different style uncommon in north India. The inside of temple is decorated heavily by flowers and balloons.
It takes a long time for reaching to the main temple area as devotees in very large number from all parts of the world come to visit this temple every day. You can hear devotes chanting “Radhe-Radhe” far from the temple itself and everyone moving toward this temple with flowers in their hands.
At Banke Bihari Temple, the curtain in front of Krishna’s statue is opened and closed every few minutes. At Radha Raman Temple, a gold plate beside Krishna signifies Radha. Prem Mandir is a huge white marble temple
I moved to Mathura after finishing my job but five stars facilities available for visitors to Vrindavan were a pleasant surprise for me. It was a different town from what I had visited a few decades before.
Famous Places & Buildings in Delhi
Hello Peeps, I will show you couple of places in Delhi the Indian capital today which will be part of my journey to travel blogging in this website. I begin with Qutub Minar (Qutb Minar) which is one of the highest towers in India 73 meter high built in the end of 12th century. Qutub Minar is considered as one of the best historical monuments in the world built during Tughlak and Aibak dynasties. Incidentally, the Qutub Minar is a multistoried building with red sandstone in the first three floors and then the fourth and fifth with white marble and red sandstone.
The other important building in Delhi is Jama Masjid which is India's largest mosque. Jama Masijd is one of the most important buildings in India a place where every tourist shoud come to visit for structural value irrespective of what faith he follows. Jama Masjid the beauty of a strurcture was constructed by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan which is a 40 ft with 4 angles, 2 minarets and can have more than 25,000 people at a time for offering their prayers.
While you are in the Jama Mosque area you should visit Chandni Chowk, one of the most crowded markets of old Delhi. You will see some wonderful footpath markets with almost everything in electronics from watches to calculators and clothes to domestic items. Chandni Chowk is also famous for tasty food available both on footpaths and small shops in narrow lanes. Chandni Chowk is also famous for gift items, jewelry shops and clothes.
Among most popular places to visit in Delhi are, Kutub Minar, Jantar Mantar, Akshardham, Houz Khas, Zoo, Red Fort, India Gate, Connaught Place, Lotus Temple, Mosque of Humaun, Gurudwaras, the Sikh religious places, Birla Temple, Chhattisgarh Temple, Boat Club, Kalka Temple but this is going to be a long list. So I will show you all these places in my future posts.
Photo- My own camerawork
8 years ago
suni51 created new article India and its basic health infrastructure.
We are good and bad at healthcare
According to report prepared by the World Health Organization India is at lowly position of 112 among the 190 countries. That is not a healthy situation according to India’s overall growth story in total growth. Generally speaking, there is a wide gap as far facilities available to urban and rural Indian population. However to understand the basics we shall have to look at five different aspects of Indian healthcare system.
The difference in rural and urban health facilities- India is undoubtedly doing better in health sector but the overall expenses on health are still only 4.2% of the national GDP. To give you an idea, America spends 18% on healthcare sector.
The effective payment system- There is no effective payment system in Indian health sector therefore more than 75% in India are in cash transactions. The fact that that less than 5% population of India has any kind of health insurance should give you a better idea.
Lack of infrastructure in health- It’s a fact that more than 7% children die before the age of 5 and to give you a better idea the number of such deaths are far below 1% in America. The reason for such a bad situation in India is the government spends less than 30% of allocated budget. There is an immediate need of more hospitals, diagnostic labs and health IT system.
Indian medicine industry
Fortunately there is no shortage of medicine industry in India and we stand at number three as medicines exporters in the world ranking with more than 80% medicines produced in lower price range under generic section. The future of Indian medicine sector has a bright future but we shall have to make sure that the profit of such a mass production goes to Indian population.
India lacks production of healthcare instruments- India is still far behind in healthcare instrument sector so far. However, the production of instruments is on the up equal to the health insurance sector going up. If India can correct these five basic problems from the system the health of the country can come back to track.
India and Medical Tourism
It’s a controversial fact that not all Indians are getting the benefits of advance health facilities growing at a rapid rate but medical tourism in our country is increasing by leaps and bounds for last decade or so. India is expecting a fare share of the world’s total revenue from medical tourism sector to reach to a figure of $8 billion from current figure of $3 billion within next 3-4 years taking us to top of the global list in medical tourism sector.
Currently our growth rate in medical tourism is increasing at 30 to 35% per annum with investment coming from large Indian and foreign players in the healthcare industry from all over the world investing not only in metro cities but class B and C towns and tourist centers draws a very rosy picture. The corporate sector has found medical tourism as a lucrative business with possibilities in allied business opportunities like hotels and sightseeing therefore spending large amounts in this sector.
There is another factor that has played its role that treatment in India is much cheaper compared to developed countries in Europe and America. At a rough estimate the cost of heart and bones treatment in India is almost 80% cheaper than developed countries and dental treatments cost only 25% and all other surgeries are 60-65% cheaper what it cost to patients in European countries or in America.
India with its super specialist doctors, some of them working as visiting doctors in different countries all over the world with undisputed reputation are doing well in drawing the patients from every part of the globe. Indian health tourism is working out plans offering their consumers a package deal that includes medical expenses, visa arrangements, airport transfer, hotel bills and sightseeing. We are expecting that our government will provide more facilities and tax rebates to medical tourism that will bring more revenue for developing the Indian overall health services in coming annual budget.
Online Health Care
Despite of all the innovative developments we are still way behind western countries in medical healthcare sector. Although, online health facilities are available to Indian users in metros and bigger cities that will cut the need of going out for many useful facilities like online availability of medicines, online blood tests, physio-services and the best of all the availability of in home service for treatment instead of going to a hospital.
I was searching for few such websites and found few useful references on a Health Care Portal that all such health care portals in west provides doctors, physiotherapists, also provides healthcare to senior citizens and medicines to patients under a package deal. It sure helps save them from many problems including an infection a patient might catch in a hospital. After all 1 in 15 patients get an additional problem of caching an infection in a hospital only.
There is another useful facility available to serious patients in bigger cities of our country as the patients do not have to go to a hospital for availing ICU facilities but the ICU facilities are provided at patient’s residence itself at only 20-30% cost compared to what you have to spend in a hospital. If anyone is interested to check the facts he can read them here, (Times of India is a leading English language Newspaper of India)
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health-news/ICU-at-home-at-a-fraction-of-the-cost/articleshow/34111246.cms
We all go for Health Checkup which is something that we all face and when the doctor hands the prescription of long list of tests, I think our doctors leave nothing to chance but they make sure you are tested immediately for everything. But the fact that most people in India have no government medical cover or health insurance for such tests.
Apart from few tests in government hospitals most patients find it a tough proposition in terms of money involved on all these tests besides the waiting for their turn at pathology labs is another time consuming affair. Now a number of online healthcare companies have started providing this facility at patients’ home with special discounts on a simple message to their website or App is a big relief. Here is An Android App Ausodhyatmika-Know ur medicine available on Google store for detailed information on medicines
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.krishna.ausodhyatmika&hl=en
Image source https://pixabay.com/en/medical-appointment-doctor-563427/ (Free image source)
8 years ago
suni51 created new article Negativity is one of the worst enemies.
No Negativity- No Problems
Do you think if no problems left in this world than this world will be a better place to live in? There are many of us who feel so but imagine the world where no one having any complaints against anyone then no one will have any problems, or do you think without a night after a sunny day will make the world better! Or imagine the world where no one has anything to complain about we all will feel happier!
So, just what is the big issue behind all the problems? I had a discussion to this effect with a friend of mine, in the beginning he listened to me seriously but after a while he broke into a hearty laughter. He said he can’t imagine the day without night or no problems in life which only encourage us to face the world more courageously.
Sometimes we think so negatively that we forget all about probabilities but if learn to think positively the chances of better possibilities will increase instantly. If only we learn how to utilize our time and not wasting it for blaming others or finding faults in others or concentrating on better future plans then there will be an answer to all the unsolved problems immediately.
Let’s accept it, there is a solution behind every problem but if we look at the negative side of the story only then the chances of solution look bleak but when we know the importance of positivity we can solve all the problems with depending on others. There are very few chances we can reach to our goals if we limit our activities to criticizing, blaming and accusing others for all our failures.
We all believe that someone’s failure can lead others to path of success but that doesn’t mean we should use him as stepping stone but we should learn the lessons from his failures by learning from his mistakes and avoid repeating them. It is entirely our choice that how we take the advantage of the chances coming our way.
I should act according to time
I was reaching nowhere even though I had not changed my strategy or method of doing things but my success rate was going down constantly. I was bit confused when I had faced this situation for the first time after I had taken over as the project leader. In fact we had accomplished many similar projects successfully without any problems. I was unable to understand the reason of decreasing achievement targets despite working with same team and same efforts.
One day, during my visit to local book shop I chanced upon a book, I have forgotten the name now, but I picked it from the rack and went through few pages and what impressed me most was a phrase ‘things change the way you look at them’. That simply meant that we should change our mindset and look at things in a positive way. We should never hesitate changing ourselves according to demands of the situation else the situation will be similar to swimming against the tide.
I recently saw a book, ‘How to Leverage the Power of Seeing Things as They Are’ By Dr. by Elizabeth Thornton it said the same but in a little different manner. She said, we should always be prepared thinking differently in different situations. If we keep doing things in a same manner we get used to them and we never fail doing or completing the job in routine manner. But… and then arises a big question at that point- what went wrong?
There is nothing unusual, you find nothing wrong with your way of working unless you suffer failures but as the things begin to change we feel confused and start doubting about our own abilities. That’s the exact point which asks for a change in our strategies or way of working and those who adapt to such changes come back to success. We must understand that changes are part of life and changing according to demand of situation make us successful.
Try something new in your routine life
Don’t we all feel dull, tedious and repetitious or something lacking in variety and interest of our life at sometime or the other? Isn’t it the same routine job, the same people, the same discussions and same people? I feel it too boring especially on certain places when I see people repeating the same or ranting about the same what they were doing yesterday.
Then what should we do for getting something new in our routine life or would it be worth or the same time pass kind of change which will again become dull after a few days. These are some common questions we all face but never try to do something which will keep us busy or do something that will engage in interesting activities.
There are ways one can come out of his boredom or find renewed interest in his life. Like when I see a woman trying to ride a bicycle with the help of his 15 years old son just for the sake of doing something new or watch a man of 50 learning to swim with the help of a boy 30 years younger.
I love that when I see someone doing something for the first time and then the matter is certainly not limited to the adventure part of the learning a new activity but it is all about a person was trying to do something new to keep his life interesting.
And bringing something new is not limited to learning something new but there are so many other things you can try to bring “Newness’ to your life. For instance, change your daily rout to your office if possible and try a new one and see the difference.
Try meeting an old friend you haven’t met for ages or just close the door of your bedroom and dance to the tune of your favorite music until you drop on to your bed totally tired and feel the difference. There are so many ways you can try for bringing something new to your routine life.
Image source https://pixabay.com/en/no-negative-board-chalk-font-1532840/ (Free photo image, no obligation)
8 years ago
suni51 created new article The Indian Story at a Glance- Part One.
India is moving ahead at a fast rate
India is constantly on its way to success but we have yet to cross many hurdles. We are doing a good job in many fields including education sector. Our institutes in different sectors in technical, medical and information technology are producing some of the best doctors and engineers proving their worth in global job market.
However things were not the same until early 1980. Indian education was all about old curriculum set for producing office clerks. Our institutes were not enough to accommodate all the students seeking admission in different technical courses. But situation took a new turn with introduction of private sector in education changed the whole scenario for this country with introduction of computers and smart classrooms.
The National Policy on Education introduced by Rajiv Gandhi government in 1986 with new concept in different fields gave a new dimension to education sector. The new education policy had special plans and emphasized on including women, tribal section and schedule castes for uplifting and improving their position in the society.
Most of these targets were achieved but we lacked one point, to make the education a fundamental right of every child but that too was achieved by the year 2010 which provided free basic education to every child of India. India is marching fast towards the aim of becoming a major world power and to achieve that we need to take our educational system to greater heights.
Our experts feel we have lots of opportunities waiting for us in the fields of science, technology, research and industrial sector and yet to do lots of efforts especially in the field of infrastructure, our ways how we handle internal issues and of course our bureaucracy. Possibly the next few decades belong to Indian success story in the fields of biotechnology, robotics, 3D printing, computing and space research but we shall have to better than what we are already doing.
India produces enough Fruits and Vegetables
India with over 1.3 billion people and the second most populous country in the world has 29 states and 7 union territories. All states are unique in their life style and agricultural produce according to climate of their particular geographical conditions. However, most of our country lives in rural areas and depends on agriculture sector.
However, we are no more as backward in several sectors including agriculture as we used to be until a couple of decades back. We are progressing at a rapid rate in almost all fields including agriculture, education and employment.
India produces most fruits and vegetables after China followed by Brazil, America and Italy in that order. According to data available for the year 2012-13, China produced 137 million tons of fruits where as India produced close to 82 million tons. America with 38 million tons, Brazil 26 million and Italy with 14 million tons were other major fruit producers. In vegetable section also China was on top with 57 tons followed by India again on second with 16.2, America 3.6 million tons and Turkey at 4th spot with 2.8 million tons.
India suffered a setback due to bad monsoon in 2014-15 but still managed a bumper production of 280 million tons of fruits, vegetables and spices and a little over 252 million tones of grains. The production of these two groups of produces was in 2013-14 was 27.7 and 26.5 million tons.
India has a vast desert area, almost 1/3 of its total land and that leaves us with only 95 million hectare land for agricultural use but we are trying our best for increasing it at a rapid rate despite increased needs of habitation and industrializing but we still managed to achieve growth in production of grains, fruits and vegetables.
Our efforts in this respect can be seen in the fact that we used 65 million hectare of land in 2010-11 but increased the area by more than 50% within 5 years. If we are doing far better in industrial sector at the same time we are trying our best to increase production of wheat, rice, spices, pulses, flowers etc in different states adapting to scientific methods according to atmospheric conditions.
India is ready to move ahead
India is ready to lead the way to progress on the world-map and become one of the fastest in the list of growing nations. We have reasons to believe that India will contribute almost same as China and double that of America’s contribution in the world economy. There are certain other reasons like our natural resources, availability of funds and use of carbon which add to our theory of a fast growth in next decade.
There are few obvious signs which indicate that the world will follow Indian model of development in near future. The Indian products are going to overtake imported products used by local population and also be exported to other developing and under developed countries. The best scale for judging a country’s is its purchasing power and if you judge it by statistics India is among the top three world leaders on the basis of production.
According to the World Bank statistics the current leaders China with $18 trillion is on top followed by America $17.4 trillion at second place and India with $7.4 trillion is on third spot but if we calculate at the present rate of progress China with its 5% growth rate will add 11.3 trillion, India 8% will add 8.6 trillion and America with current rate is expected to add $4.9 trillion with its 2.5% growth rate to the World’ GDP.
The return on capital in India is greater than most other world economical powers. India has lesser bank interest rates compared to other coming up countries in the list of fastest growing economical powers. If we go by the reports of various global economical institutes our financial loan is only 135% compared to GDP against 282% China, 269% America, 160% Brazil, 154% South Africa and 88% Russia.
The combined efforts by government and number of younger people are doing their best to provide better products to Indian people and increasing exports. Indian open market policy is adding to the efforts of India shining project at a rapid rate which is going to take India on top as world’s super power in economical field soon.
Image source – My own camera work
8 years ago
suni51 created new article The All Time Adventurists.
Giant Size heroes of our society
This is my first post on this site about humans, but all of them are superhuman size, larger than life, larger than all of us. Why larger than life? Because they never let others reduce their size or importance. Yes, they did not let others show their real worth. These are the people that helped others making their dreams come true.
We need such people in our lives because we all have our own mountain to climb and there are times when the effort seems wildly illogical and absolutely unreasonable. We need such people because we all have a bit of Himalaya in each one of us. You will have to agree that a time comes in our life we feel the life is widely illogical or absolutely unreasonable.
How they did it
I am not interested to know how far they really walked, climbed, sailed, shipped or climbed, but when I choose them then my main concern is always the same, just how and why they managed to do that. I am sure you did not expect me to go and ask them these questions personally.
In fact, I searched about them from whatever source that was available to me. Sure, I didn’t ask these questions going to them because everything was there for everyone to see. Again, I was not interested to know why they did or how they achieved such wonderful achievements. In fact, I was interested to know about how they achieved such great goals.
Goals Achieved
Some of the feet achieved were almost impossible for common people, but they did it. Let’s face it, none of these great achievers come from different age groups but all of them are full of life. All of them were not college graduates or moneyed people, but really determined to achieve their target. Yes, they all are full of life and true adventurers but none of them ever thought death as their ultimate.
No, I haven’t met any of them because they are always on the move. Let me accept that some of them do it for the sake of adventure involved. Adventure, in their own words makes them go for even higher, gives them a sensation beyond words. Who I am talking about anyways so let me add a couple of names here that will appear in my future posts on this site.
People who did it
I am talking about people who climbed over the mountains, swam across rivers and ocean, ran across deserts, sailed in Antarctica, piloted around the world in unorthodox ways and many more. I am sure it’s beginning of a journey that would test me under extreme conditions for writing about real heroes is not as easy as writing about actors from silver screen although I have Ronald Regan and Arnold Schwarzenegger in my list of heroes.
I am talking about, Sherpa Tensing Norgay, Milkha Singh, Rakesh Kumar Sharma. Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger one of the greatest heroes of modern American history and I have no intention to mention all the controversies here that came into limelight about his son but his adventures.
I am impressed
I am willing to write about Ronald Reagan, the movie actor turned politician and I have intention to write about Henri Sullivan, the first American who crossed English Channel. I am willing to write about the first Asian girl Arti Saha, from West Bengal India the only girl who crossed English Channel twice. I am willing to write about Sachin Tendulkar, Ganguli and Mahender Singh Dhoni who took Indian cricket to newer heights and I am willing to write about Dhyan Chand who is one of the greatest hockey players the world ever produced.
While on the topic we should not forget the heroes in financial sector who gave India a new image in the world community. We can include bigwigs like Narayan Murthy, Tata, Birla, but we should not forget the contribution of players like Kunal Bahl, the co founder and CEO of Snapdeal, one of the e-commerce business sites of India.
The Achievers
I would like to mention Sachin and Binny Bansal of Flipkart the eCommerce site giving a serious competition to Amazon.com. Sachin and Binny Bansal sold books in the beginning and the first book they sold was 'Leaving Microsoft to Change the World’. Today the net worth of Flipkart is more than 98 Billion Rupees. And these are not the only ones but there is a long list of people in the world who belong to this particular category… “The Adventurists”
I will post about real heroes about INdia in my future articles.
8 years ago
usha manohar created new article The Best Way To Burn Fat.
The best way to burn Fat
Each time I take in a mouthful of chocolate cheese cake or any other ghee laden Indian sweets , I start feeling guilty because all I can hear are the various warnings that swirl around me -" Reduce the fat content in your diet" , “ Beware of Cholesterol “ or “higher the cholesterol - higher the risk for your heart “ and more importantly the pounds and kilos that I would add on after that indulgence and the struggle I need to go through for weeks and months to shed those extra pounds and kilos!
Every day thousands of physicians all over the world, give the same advice to millions of people, causing spirits to sink as patients consider whether they can so easily give up their favorite foods in order to remain slim and trim and more importantly disease free and healthy? Going on a diet for a day or two or even for a week may not be that difficult a proposition. But to be watchful all the time and to curtail all the goodies that come with supposedly bad after effects is something else.. One wonders whether there are easier ways to lose weight?
Starting a weight loss program is rather like running a marathon. Both require training and hard work to reach the finishing line. Our success depends on the ability to sustain motivation levels as well as focus which, believe me is not easy. Taking all facts into account, one can easily say that weight loss is not just a matter of diet and exercise because a lot of brain work and mental calculation is required too.. I would say it is somewhat similar to training athletes and those taking up personal challenges. We already have most of the necessary skills, if not they are not difficult to learn. And, as we learn we find that these skills apply to many areas of our life. Finally when you succeed in losing weight, you will realize and feel that you can achieve anything in life.
There are SIX points to take into consideration while planning your weight loss program, which I am mentioning and elaborating below..
1, Believe
Believe that you can do it. Believing in yourself really makes a difference. It may amaze you to know that dieticians have made a study of this involving 54 women who followed a diet and exercise program for nine months. Before they started the investigators asked them whether they would lose weight. Twenty eight of the women were believers and the rest 26 were non -believers. At the end of the nine month period, believers had lost 30% more weight than the non- believers. It is the same with anything else in life, unless you believe in yourself you will not be able to achieve much. So the best way to carry on is to forget about all past efforts and start afresh with confidence and a firm belief in your own self.
2, Take Responsibility
This involves training your mind and changing your attitude towards most things in life because majority of the people have the tendency not to take responsibility especially when they face failure . Once you start on something you need to take 100 percent responsibility about the issue and focus on making it a success rather than blame others and other factors. Once you develop the attitude of taking responsibility for yourself and your actions, sky is the limit as far as what you can achieve in life and losing weight is a small matter after all.
3, Better to be realistic rather than set goals that are not achievable.
I agree that there is a saying - If you aim for the Mountains you may at least climb a hill top. However, here, we need to aim for more realistic goals so that we don’t feel disappointed right at the beginning of our weight loss program. Slow and steady is the best way to lose weight rather than a drastic weight loss and an even faster weight gain later.
4, Eat Healthy and Drink Lots of water
Popping diet pills and weight loss tablets and capsules will not help in the long run since no weight loss plan is complete without a planned healthy diet that includes consuming lots of water. Ideally, you should make changes in your diet if necessary by increasing proteins and cutting down on carbohydrates and fats. If your diet is already balanced, all that you need to do is to cut down on your portions during each meal. Eat less and drink more water and you can see pounds falling off within a matter of days.
5, Increase Physical activity
No weight loss plan is complete without physical activity . A healthy diet, lots of water and physical activity that includes house work, walking and exercise or yoga helps you in burning fat quickly. Make sure that you never sit for more than half an hour at a stretch. Ideally you should be walking or moving around for at least 5 minutes after you sit for half an hour watching TV or sitting in front of your desk if you are working on an office job.
6, Being consistent
This is very essential in life more so when it is a matter of your general health and looks . Once you have planned your diet and exercise routine make sure that you stick to it and are consistent with it. We get to see very encouraging results when we are consistent , review the results and make changes as and when necessary .
Conclusions
The moment we realise that we are beginning to sadd on pounds , we need to analyse our life style and see why this is happening and take steps immediately to rectify the situation before it becomes difficult or even too late in some cases. The one basic thing you need to keep in your mind is to make sure that you burn more calories than what you consume. Once that is taken care of , losing weight is very easy. Eating less, drinking more water and being active are the only three major requirements to burn fat .
8 years ago
Monisha Agrawala created new article The pink city.
The pink city i.e. Jaipur is a place which attracts a billion of tourists every year. I was also attracted towards it once. I went there and I literally lost my heart in Jaipur. The place has a fantastic variety of tourist attractions. From forts to malls and cinema halls, from markets to restaurants this is a perfect place for the tourists. The forts are the special attractions as Rajasthan is popular for palaces and forts allover the world.
A few places to visit are:-
Amer fort- The residence of the Rajputs this place was the best place I saw in Jaipur. I just feel in love with it. This fort is a place with seeing. It is so big and has so many tunnels that you are sure to be lost in it. It has many interesting parts in it like the Sheesh Mahal. There are big vessels displayed on the first with were then used for cooking in the palace. The fort complex also has cafes and a few shops.
Chokhi Dhani- If you are going to Jaipur then make sure to visit this place. It's a perfect place to experience Rajasthani culture. The theme of this place is Rajasthani village. It has many things to see in it. They're are puppet shows, magic shows and dances for the entertainment. With an extra charge there are animal rides available too. It has a replica of Vaishno Devi Mandir and many shops in it. The shops have handlooms, magic products, puppets, some food ets. You will be welcomed with a Tika and you can apply some complimentary mehndi if u wish. They serve a variety of Rajasthani delicacies for the dinner which is included in the ticket.
Hawa Mahal- As the name suggests this is an airy palace containing a lot of windows. This place is worth a visit in Jaipur.
City palace- This place has a nice collection of weapons and many other things from the rein of kings. It also has a hall which displays the sabha or the meeting on the palace during the time of king's rule in India. This is an awesome place to visit and if you are interested in history this is surely a must visit place.
Albert hall museum- Like all other museums this also has a collection of antiques and valuable things. This place is worth paying a visit.
Jantar Mantar- If you are a science lover then this place is for you. There are many old devices based on science and a few on astronomy. Thks is a very interesting place in Jaipur with a small shop in it. Don't forget to hire a guide here to understand the working of the devices.
Hotels:-
Rambagh palace- Among the top expensive hotels of the world this hotel is a luxury hotel which was a residence of the kings back then. If your budget is high then you must spend a day relaxing here.
In the budget hotels the umaid Mahal and the umaid bhawan are the best hotels to have a stay in.
Shopping:-
Jaipur is also a good place for shopping. There are giant malls like world trade park as well as markets like Johri bazaar.
Everything here makes Jaipur a perfect place to visit
Near Jaipur the places like Udaipur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Kota and Pushkar can be visited. Jaipur is also a 8 hour drive and will connected by rail and air from the capital of India, New Delhi.
8 years ago
jabeen created new article The menace of solid waste.
In the year 2017, one of the biggest problems faced by the people living in Imphal was regarding the solid waste management. Like in many other urban areas of India, solid waste management in Imphal consists of centralised method in which unsegregated wastes are collected from households and other business institutions either by Imphal Municipal Corporation or by some other private agencies. The collected wastes are then dumped in open fields located in low lying areas like Sanakeithel, Lamphel etc. These disposal sites are often near some residential areas. As a result, the stench that comes out of the accumulated wastes become a problem for the people living there. This often becomes a cause of conflict between the residential people and the people from agencies dealing with waste management.
The problem of solid waste management
The problems related to waste disposal is not only limited to small towns like Imphal that lack infrastructure to dispose the waste efficiently but is spread all around the world. Urbanisations have increased tremendously waste related problems. According to the central pollution control board, India alone produce about 52 million tonnes of waste every year. Its worse in countries like China, Brazil, Japan, Germany and US.
One of the factors which worsens the problem is the prevailing' use and throw' life style. For instance, using disposable plates and disposal glass for any get together, in stations etc or using polythene for buying things etc. Though these items are quite convenient for using, they constitute a significant amount of trash.
Impacts of unscientific dumping of solid waste
In many places, the solid waste are often dumped in open fields or landfills which are not managed properly. The trash would litter all over the areas. Such improperly manged landfills have lots of adverse impacts on the environment, some of which are summarized as under:
Apart from the strong stench that comes out of the accumulated waste, dumping grounds can attract many vectors of diseases such as rats, cockroaches, insects etc
Burning of trashes containing plastics and polythene in open may release gaseous pollutants like dioxin, furans, polychlorinated biphenyls etc which are associated with discomforts such as allergies, breathing problems, aathma etc. Pollutants also increase the risk of heart diseases.
Open dumps releases large amount of methane due to the anaerobic decomposition taking place among the accumulated waste. Methane is one of the green house gases that contribute to global warming. Studies shows that methane is 23 times more potent than carbon dioxide to trap heat in the atmosphere.
The chemicals leached from the accumulated wastes contaminate soils and ground water.
Stray animals which rummage for food from the waste often ingest harmful substance along with the food.
Accidents at dumping sites
Apart from the effects on human health and environment, accidents often take place at the dumping sites. In the early 70s, the cases of spilling of the contents from the drums dumped at the valley of drums, Kentucky which eventually contaminated the neaeby creeks with toxic chemicals was widely publicized. A few years later it also caught fire due to the methane produced. Similar incident occurred in India when the methane produced by the accumulated waste of Deonar landfills in Mumbai caught fire and burned for about ten days in February 2016. Accident of different nature took place at Ghazipur landfills of east Delhi. The 50 tonnes of garbage dumped there came crashing down on September 2017, catching people unaware. Two people were killed in the mishap.
Trying to find a solution
Considering the immense adverse impacts, solid wastes have on the environment, different government and non government agencies have taken up waste related projects. Institutions like World Bank and UNDP have also been funding projects to develop waste to energy infrastructures, sanitary landfills, support recycling etc. In spite of the efforts being made, no nations have been able to deal with the problem successfully. The only nation which come close to being successful is Sweden, though it also has its share of critics.
Success stories
Sweden
Efforts to improve the waste management in Sweden began in 1970s with implementation of strict waste disposal rules. Swedish laws make the producer of wastes responsible for every works related to the collections and disposal of wastes. Government also provide recycling stations within 300 meters from any residential areas which make collection of wastes easier. The collected wastes are either recycled or sent to the plant for converting into energy. It is said that only about 1% of the trash produced ends up in sanitary landfills. They have been so successful in managing the wastes that in 2015, Sweden imported 1.3 million tonnes of wastes from countries like Norway, UK and Ireland as raw materials. The critics however point out that more amount of wastes are converted into energy and less amount are recycled which is not eco friendly.
Oslo
In case of Oslo, the citizens play an important role in managing the wastes. They segregate the domestic wastes at household levels by putting the wastes in different coloured bags. The plastic wastes are put in blue bags, the food wastes in green wastes and other types of wastes in other coloured bags. The trash bags are collected and sent to the processing plant which are provided with optical sensors. The optical sensors detect the green and blue bags as they move forward in the machine and diverted to other units for further processing. The blue bags containing plastics are sent to the remoulding unit while the green bags containing food wastes are converted into biofuels and bio fertiliser. Other type of wastes ends up in plant that convert them into energy.
Allappuzha
Allappuzha is a village in Kerala. A few years back the villagers took the responsibility to segregate the wastes when they realized the harm caused by the unhygienic dumping of the waste at the open landfills. The organic wastes segregated are composed and converted to manure while the non biodegradable wastes are handled by the municipalities.
Panaji
Panaji, the capital of Goa is another city worth praising for successfully implementing its' segregation of waste at source' policy. The municipalities have developed certain mechanism to ensure proper segregation of wastes. Apart from providing different coloured bins for collections of different types of dry wastes, the pick up trucks of the municipality collect biodegradable and non biodegradable waste on different days of the week. Consumers dumping unsegregated wastes are also penalised.
Role of rag pickers
In many countries which follow centralised method of collecting unsegregated wastes and dumping them in a dumping sites, rag pickers play an important role of segregating the wastes. They would pick up, sort out and sell any waste worth recycling to a middleman who in turn sells them to the manufacturing plant. It is reported that about 20-25% of the wastes are recycled by them. Recognising the important role played by them, Brazil has integrated the waste pickers into the municipal solid waste management system.
Role of individuals
Though most of the nations have formulated policies related to the waste management, the citizens need to play a bigger role in order to implement it successfully. Following the golden 4R rules of reduce, reuse, recycle and recover can make a significant change.
When we recycle materials, we not only curb the problems related to wastes but also save energy. Since recycled materials have already been processed, it would require less energy to convert them into a new item. For instance, according to a website of Standford university, one tonne of recycled aluminium saves 14000Kwh of energy which is equivalent to 95% reduction in the energy required than manufacturing from its ore, bauxite. Similarly, one tonne of newsprints saves 601Kwh of energy and one tonne of recycled steel saves around 642 Kwh of energy.
Conclusion
With urbanization, one cannot avoid generating wastes. But the various cases of success stories have shown that most of the domestic waste are manageable wastes. With a little change in our lifestyles we can also mage them effectively.
8 years ago
Sreematrana created new question What are the qulities you search in your future husband ?.
8 years ago
Sreematrana created new question What is the cutest thing your kid had done for you?.
Our Kid are our world, we do lot of things to make them happy . They also try to make us happy in their own way by doing small small things. So what are those small things...
8 years ago
suni51 answered the question Can anyone tell the list of revenue programs currently active in boddunan?.
Article submission is revived on trial basis for sometime now and if everything goes well it may continue. All are invited to take part please.
8 years ago
suni51 answered the question Once a thief always a thief....
I agree but with a suggestion. It's not the case with more than 50% people who do it in most challenging conditions but when they think about the consequences then they...
8 years ago
suni51 answered the question Has anyone here used RTI?.
No, I am not a legal expert besides it's like kicking a honey bee nest so I won't do that unless I am a party and ready to take the risk.
8 years ago
suni51 answered the question Did RaGa standing in ATM queue needed so much gaga by media??.
I think we had a serious problem not because our PM took that decision but we did it in a haste without making enough arrangements for that. We are not as advanced technically...
8 years ago
suni51 answered the question What changes would you anticipate in Tamilnadu .
I think new players from film world are going to make some changes in politics of TN. Apart from that I see no changes.
8 years ago
suni51 answered the question Can trade normalize relations between India-Pakistan??.
Looking at things in today's conditions only gun is the solution to make them understand the reason. Talks won't do any good with them but firepower is the only solution.
8 years ago
suni51 answered the question Only Rahman deserves high expensive projects???.
I like Rehman's music but he is repeating himself now. Besides he is also accused of copying others' work which is not a good thing. I am sure he is capable of doing better...
8 years ago
suni51 created new article China and its Financial Crisis .
China in Deep Trouble by Labor Strikes
I am an avid economical development watcher having interest not only in Indian but whatever is going on in world’s different countries. You can say I have an enthusiasm for everything related to development and even the failures of policies adopted by different countries of the world.
I have my special interest in Chinese economy because they are our main competitors in Asia. I would not say that their failing economy and increasing labor unrest is a matter of satisfaction for us but the fact they are going through a bad face is a reality.
The Chinese government is trying its level best to keep economical matters under control but there should be no doubt whatsoever that the recession in China has already taken deep grip over the policies and economy and the signs of the economical slowdown will obviously effect other countries.
I was reading report of Indian Moody's investor service which clearly indicated that growth rate of China is going down regularly and global demand of their products is constantly going down, thousands of Chinese factories have either been already closed or on the verge of shut down.
There were rare cases of labor strikes in China but in recent times labor unions are actively showing their dissatisfaction by organizing strikes in the streets. The labor force sitting at home in the process is going through a stressful mental state that could explode soon worsening the situation if the present condition of industry does not improve.
If the recent agitation on such a large scale in Guangdong Province the main industrial state of China is any indication then Chinese policy makers and factory owners must have lots of problems to solve at their hands right now.
Actually, large Chinese factories have no orders in hands but they are neither removing their workers from the pay role nor paying them their salaries but assuring to pay them soon. Same is the case of transport sector laborers working as loaders at ships and trucks.
All these labors have not been paid for months and they have no option but gather at highways and demonstrate for their pending salaries. I believe the Chinese government has a tough task to deal at their hands in such a tough situation. Probably the Chinese policy makers are planning to adjust all these unemployed workers in service sector provide they agree to work as waiters and cleaners.
Chinese Economy At Lowest
China is in trouble, I mean their economy is slowing down very rapidly. If we look back at their growth rate of less than 6% during 2016-17 which is perhaps at the lowest in last 25 years that clearly tells the story and the entire world should be ready for the impact of Chinese economical debacle. That is one side of the story and the other side is that there is no alarming situation in their economy but they are shifting from export oriented country to service provider so it’s normal if China is registering lower economical growth.
However, Chinese government had set a target of 7% growth rate for its economical growth and it’s almost there but the very fact that China had been growing at the rate of 10% or more in last couple of years and reached to the status of second biggest economy in the world will certainly feel it as a setback. The Chinese demand for raw material and their demand for development in infrastructure sector played a major role for keeping the world markets doing comparatively well.
Chinese growth story was major reason that kept world markets full with consumers items made in China. But the story is different now, the international markets are feeling the impact now as the demand is at its lowest especially in countries which were dependent on Chinese economy. If we look at the other reasons the crude price has come down to almost one third during 2015 and reducing demand in China is said to be one of the reasons behind that.
If we believe the experts on Chinese development story they feel the Chinese are in deeper trouble than what it appears on the ground level. They feel the Chinese growth is under 5% at the most at this point of time but being kept behind the iron curtain by the communist party of China. The government of China is still trying to control the economy by using high handed methods instead rather than accepting the market’s truth. There is so much to add in this topic and I am willing to do so in my coming posts.
8 years ago
suni51 created new article India Can Achieve a Double Digit Growth Rate.
Challenges in front of us
India has learned a lot of new lessons during last two decades so based on these experiences we have fair chances for improving our progress story. India is in the group of front runners of developing nations contributing their share to world community. India is especially doing well on economical front and this perhaps is the best time when we should have a look on our stats and plan for a rapid future growth.
As per the general belief among the world community that India’s contribution and growth story is limited to software sector only but the fact that India is progressing in all fields including manufacturing, infrastructure, agriculture, health sector and education. However, we should look beyond what we have already achieved and look further on newer avenues.
Poverty should be on the top of priorities list since we have close to 200-250 million people in the list of below poverty line depending upon various scales set by different agencies based on their annual income or consumer products used by people who participated in the surveys. But if we do not take all those surveys and their outcome into account the fact is there are at least 50 million people in poor living condition in India.
According to Merrill lynch global wealth management there are more than 200,000 people having more than $100 million or more in India and the number of people in this list is increasing at a rapid rate every year. We can boast about world’s largest middle class in the range of 300 to 350 million people in our country but at this point we should concentrate on poor class.
Most of our poor people live in villages working as agricultural workers having no land working for bigger farmers but not earning enough to manage food, education and childcare for their family. In fact it is our chance for uplifting and doing concrete efforts for uplifting the poor of this country. And if succeed in doing so then there is nothing that can stop us from attaining a double digit growth rate.
Fast Moving Consumer Goods- The Changing Trends
Fast Moving Consumer Goods is comparatively new concept in Indian corporate sector although the consumer products have always been the part of our economy. However, the buying trend of Indian consumers has entirely changed now he is willing to spend more money for premium products. Indian consumer has become more demanding now his demands are not limited to a particular brand or a packing but he needs them in product format.
For instance Hand Wash, body Wash, Face Wash and Shampoos have replaced earlier cake soaps used for bathing, hand washing and other general purpose uses. The industry now concentrates more on needs and demands of consumers like they provide their products in various packing according to size and choice of the consumer.
It’s no more sellers market but with so many players to cater the needs of consumer they keep a close eye on consumers’ choice and demand. Their market research wings constantly keep a watch at their consumers preferred size of packing or their customer needs the product in a sachet or a plastic bottle sells more than poly-pack. Companies keep a watch on customer’s convenience according to his demand of size and price preferences.
Companies like Parle are ready to provide pack of biscuits in the range starting from 50 Paisa (8 cents) to costlier products. Pepsi, Coca-Cola and other companies in soft drinks sector keep experimenting with size unlike previously when only one pack in glass bottle was available in Indian markets. Companies like Colgate are continuously changing color, taste and ingredients of their products to stay in the race.
If we look carefully at the way of working of top 100 FMCG companies operating in Indian market there are 62 multinational brands and out of these 27 top brands come from one company the Hindustan Unilever itself. The other popular brands are from Nestle India, Cadbury India, Dabur India, Britannia India and Proctor & Gamble etc. Maybe the companies are able to change the taste of consumers with their advertizing campaigns but the fact remains the consumer is the ultimate boss.
But do you know that Patanjali, the fastest growing FMCG Company of India under the aggressive campaigning of Baba Ramdev is going to beat some of the established companies very soon or drive them out of business?
Fast Moving Consumer Products
Most common people would give you a strange look if you ask them what FMCG does mean to them. Or at most their reaction will be limited to “oh you must be talking about consumer products”. But the matter is not that simple but the fact is if you look around you will find you’re pretty much surrounded with products that come in fast moving consumer products.
For instance, you begin your day with hand wash, tea or coffee, toothpaste and brush then you use soap, shampoo, moisturizer, conditioner, hair oil or cream. In a hurry for office you probably will eat gem, bread and bread or cornflakes with milk and ready to go out probably using deodorant or scent. There are so many other choices for your lunchbox like noodles or other readymade preparations coming from FMCG section.
You name any of the products that you use during your day and the FMCG comes to play its role in your daily routine. There is a long list of FMCG companies in India some of these are multinationals but each one of us use products manufactured by one or more of these companies on regular basis like Hindustan Unilever Limited, ITC Ltd, Amul, Britannia, Parle Agro, Pidilite Industries, Bikanervala, Wipro Consumer Care, Haldiram, Himalaya, Emami, Dabur, Godrej, Tata, Nestle, Marico, Proctor & Gamble, Agro Dutch, Agro Food, Kohinoor Foods etc.
The fact is you cannot survive without them and there is nothing new but the trend is going on for long time. Remember the time when Dettol was your only choice as an antiseptic or Lifebuoy was the first soap that came to mind as an antiseptic soap or Lux and Pears as regular soaps. Surf used to be the first choice of consumers as laundry detergent powder with its various brands as quality and status symbol but Nirma managed to capture most of the washing powder sector as it was comparatively economical.
8 years ago
suni51 created new article North Korea- A Dangerous Nuclear Power .
The Dictator in Making
Whenever I read North Korean dictator threatening South Korea and America with atomic weapons I feel like laughing aloud although this is not a matter of laughing. The way Kim Jong-un leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea talks and keeps threatening superpowers shows that they live in a world of fantasy with couple of atomic weapons.
There is no doubt about the fact that North Korea is a threat to the world and the way the leader of DPR Korea keeps repeating his threats of atomic attacks on America and South Korea there is any country that would support them. Even China, the hard core supporter of North Korea is now keeping a distance from hostile statements by North Korea dictator and even started criticizing some of the statements and act in recent times.
China supported recent sanctions by UNO on North Korea even after having said that they did not believe blind faith in sanctions and pressure, which in their views are not a right approach for the future of the Korean peninsula according to China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi. But that was probably against the combined move of the US and South Korean plans to deploy an anti missile in South Korea.
It is highly unlikely that China would stop support to the sanctions imposed by UN on North Korea that China will stop its support to North Korea. There is no doubt about the fact that China and North Korea have strong relation but the Chinese are reconsidering their approach especially after the growing dispute in the international community over the issues of North Korea's nuclear weapons.
China has its own reasons to support North Korea as it strongly believes that if there is a change of power in North Korea it will not only effect the Korean region but will have its impact on entire Asian pacific region that will have indirect impact or weaken Chinese grip on the region.
North Korea and Atomic Policy
I don’t think anyone was surprised when the news of North Korean hydrogen bomb explosion hit the headlines of world media. The North Korea has already conducted 4 such tests since 2006 and firmly maintaining their stand on atomic research policy. The government of North Korea has been constantly saying that it will not compromise on atomic policies for more than 10 years and also that there is no power in the world that can stop it from carrying out further tests.
The North Koreans are committed to their promise made to themselves to not to hand over their atomic weapons “Even if the sky falls down”. That means they will do what they have been doing for last one decade you like it or hate it. The powers that be at most can ban them but that will not change the situation much for North Korea as they are not dependent on foreign trade. There is no doubt about North Korea is less with atomic power but super powers will never accept this fact.
It may sound astounding to rest of the world but if we see it with North Korean point of view they are probably looking at what happened to Iraq and Libya and their intentions are to remain safe from invasion on their territory by the foreign forces. As the things stand today we should accept the fact that North Korea is a country with atomic power and they are not going to take their steps back.
The ban on them can at most affect the living style of few people with higher standard or very poor but that makes very little impact on thinking of the rulers. Probably the dictators of North Korea do not want to see themselves in the place of Saddam Husain or Muammar Gaddafi so bomb is the perfect hiding for them. But let us not forget that North Korea was first country that signed atomic treaty but on one condition- there should be global cleanout of all atomic weapons.
8 years ago
suni51 created new article Top Ten Places to Visit in North India- Part 1 .
Vrindavan- The religious town
During the summer of 1916 I was working on a photography project for an Indian website and had a wonderful chance of visiting several tourist locations in northern India. Incidentally, I had already visited most of these places before but some of them now have an entirely different look. The places now look totally different which were so different in my memory for their religious look.
For example Vrindavan is one of the most religious towns of Uttar Pradesh in India. According to mythology Lord Krishna spent most of his his childhood in this holy town. Vrindavan that was city of temples dedicated to Lord Krishna. All of the temples are dedicated to Krishna and Radha his inseparable beloved until not long ago, but has changed a lot now with number of star hotels and modern restaurants.
One of the places under this program I visited was Vrindavan, a town about 200 km if I travel by road from my city But I went there by train via Delhi as I wanted both my hands free on this mission and wanted to walk on foot in the city areas. Vrindavan is 10 kilometers before on Delhi- Mathura highway considered the childhood home of Lord Krishna.
Here is a short introduction for Lord Krishna for those who have any interest in Indian culture or Hinduism, Vrindaban is all about Lord Krishna, his love for Radha, his love stories and innumerable temples in this ancient town. The atmosphere of Vrindavan is filled with love for Radha and Krishna and that is visible in each and every building, temple and lane of the town.
As I said there are thousands of temples in the town of Vrindavan starting from the first left turn towards the town while coming from Delhi the temple of Ma Vaishno Devi with a grand statue visible from a distance but the most visited among them is Banke Vihari Temple in the heart of town.
Banke Vihari temple is in ancient Rajasthan Architecture structural style having Lord Krishna’s divine statues in a different style uncommon in north India. The inside of temple is decorated heavily by flowers and balloons.
It takes a long time for reaching to the main temple area as devotees in very large number from all parts of the world come to visit this temple every day. You can hear devotes chanting “Radhe-Radhe” far from the temple itself and everyone moving toward this temple with flowers in their hands.
At Banke Bihari Temple, the curtain in front of Krishna’s statue is opened and closed every few minutes. At Radha Raman Temple, a gold plate beside Krishna signifies Radha. Prem Mandir is a huge white marble temple
I moved to Mathura after finishing my job but five stars facilities available for visitors to Vrindavan were a pleasant surprise for me. It was a different town from what I had visited a few decades before.
Famous Places & Buildings in Delhi
Hello Peeps, I will show you couple of places in Delhi the Indian capital today which will be part of my journey to travel blogging in this website. I begin with Qutub Minar (Qutb Minar) which is one of the highest towers in India 73 meter high built in the end of 12th century. Qutub Minar is considered as one of the best historical monuments in the world built during Tughlak and Aibak dynasties. Incidentally, the Qutub Minar is a multistoried building with red sandstone in the first three floors and then the fourth and fifth with white marble and red sandstone.
The other important building in Delhi is Jama Masjid which is India's largest mosque. Jama Masijd is one of the most important buildings in India a place where every tourist shoud come to visit for structural value irrespective of what faith he follows. Jama Masjid the beauty of a strurcture was constructed by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan which is a 40 ft with 4 angles, 2 minarets and can have more than 25,000 people at a time for offering their prayers.
While you are in the Jama Mosque area you should visit Chandni Chowk, one of the most crowded markets of old Delhi. You will see some wonderful footpath markets with almost everything in electronics from watches to calculators and clothes to domestic items. Chandni Chowk is also famous for tasty food available both on footpaths and small shops in narrow lanes. Chandni Chowk is also famous for gift items, jewelry shops and clothes.
Among most popular places to visit in Delhi are, Kutub Minar, Jantar Mantar, Akshardham, Houz Khas, Zoo, Red Fort, India Gate, Connaught Place, Lotus Temple, Mosque of Humaun, Gurudwaras, the Sikh religious places, Birla Temple, Chhattisgarh Temple, Boat Club, Kalka Temple but this is going to be a long list. So I will show you all these places in my future posts.
Photo- My own camerawork
8 years ago
suni51 created new article India and its basic health infrastructure.
We are good and bad at healthcare
According to report prepared by the World Health Organization India is at lowly position of 112 among the 190 countries. That is not a healthy situation according to India’s overall growth story in total growth. Generally speaking, there is a wide gap as far facilities available to urban and rural Indian population. However to understand the basics we shall have to look at five different aspects of Indian healthcare system.
The difference in rural and urban health facilities- India is undoubtedly doing better in health sector but the overall expenses on health are still only 4.2% of the national GDP. To give you an idea, America spends 18% on healthcare sector.
The effective payment system- There is no effective payment system in Indian health sector therefore more than 75% in India are in cash transactions. The fact that that less than 5% population of India has any kind of health insurance should give you a better idea.
Lack of infrastructure in health- It’s a fact that more than 7% children die before the age of 5 and to give you a better idea the number of such deaths are far below 1% in America. The reason for such a bad situation in India is the government spends less than 30% of allocated budget. There is an immediate need of more hospitals, diagnostic labs and health IT system.
Indian medicine industry
Fortunately there is no shortage of medicine industry in India and we stand at number three as medicines exporters in the world ranking with more than 80% medicines produced in lower price range under generic section. The future of Indian medicine sector has a bright future but we shall have to make sure that the profit of such a mass production goes to Indian population.
India lacks production of healthcare instruments- India is still far behind in healthcare instrument sector so far. However, the production of instruments is on the up equal to the health insurance sector going up. If India can correct these five basic problems from the system the health of the country can come back to track.
India and Medical Tourism
It’s a controversial fact that not all Indians are getting the benefits of advance health facilities growing at a rapid rate but medical tourism in our country is increasing by leaps and bounds for last decade or so. India is expecting a fare share of the world’s total revenue from medical tourism sector to reach to a figure of $8 billion from current figure of $3 billion within next 3-4 years taking us to top of the global list in medical tourism sector.
Currently our growth rate in medical tourism is increasing at 30 to 35% per annum with investment coming from large Indian and foreign players in the healthcare industry from all over the world investing not only in metro cities but class B and C towns and tourist centers draws a very rosy picture. The corporate sector has found medical tourism as a lucrative business with possibilities in allied business opportunities like hotels and sightseeing therefore spending large amounts in this sector.
There is another factor that has played its role that treatment in India is much cheaper compared to developed countries in Europe and America. At a rough estimate the cost of heart and bones treatment in India is almost 80% cheaper than developed countries and dental treatments cost only 25% and all other surgeries are 60-65% cheaper what it cost to patients in European countries or in America.
India with its super specialist doctors, some of them working as visiting doctors in different countries all over the world with undisputed reputation are doing well in drawing the patients from every part of the globe. Indian health tourism is working out plans offering their consumers a package deal that includes medical expenses, visa arrangements, airport transfer, hotel bills and sightseeing. We are expecting that our government will provide more facilities and tax rebates to medical tourism that will bring more revenue for developing the Indian overall health services in coming annual budget.
Online Health Care
Despite of all the innovative developments we are still way behind western countries in medical healthcare sector. Although, online health facilities are available to Indian users in metros and bigger cities that will cut the need of going out for many useful facilities like online availability of medicines, online blood tests, physio-services and the best of all the availability of in home service for treatment instead of going to a hospital.
I was searching for few such websites and found few useful references on a Health Care Portal that all such health care portals in west provides doctors, physiotherapists, also provides healthcare to senior citizens and medicines to patients under a package deal. It sure helps save them from many problems including an infection a patient might catch in a hospital. After all 1 in 15 patients get an additional problem of caching an infection in a hospital only.
There is another useful facility available to serious patients in bigger cities of our country as the patients do not have to go to a hospital for availing ICU facilities but the ICU facilities are provided at patient’s residence itself at only 20-30% cost compared to what you have to spend in a hospital. If anyone is interested to check the facts he can read them here, (Times of India is a leading English language Newspaper of India)
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health-news/ICU-at-home-at-a-fraction-of-the-cost/articleshow/34111246.cms
We all go for Health Checkup which is something that we all face and when the doctor hands the prescription of long list of tests, I think our doctors leave nothing to chance but they make sure you are tested immediately for everything. But the fact that most people in India have no government medical cover or health insurance for such tests.
Apart from few tests in government hospitals most patients find it a tough proposition in terms of money involved on all these tests besides the waiting for their turn at pathology labs is another time consuming affair. Now a number of online healthcare companies have started providing this facility at patients’ home with special discounts on a simple message to their website or App is a big relief. Here is An Android App Ausodhyatmika-Know ur medicine available on Google store for detailed information on medicines
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.krishna.ausodhyatmika&hl=en
Image source https://pixabay.com/en/medical-appointment-doctor-563427/ (Free image source)
8 years ago
suni51 created new article Negativity is one of the worst enemies.
No Negativity- No Problems
Do you think if no problems left in this world than this world will be a better place to live in? There are many of us who feel so but imagine the world where no one having any complaints against anyone then no one will have any problems, or do you think without a night after a sunny day will make the world better! Or imagine the world where no one has anything to complain about we all will feel happier!
So, just what is the big issue behind all the problems? I had a discussion to this effect with a friend of mine, in the beginning he listened to me seriously but after a while he broke into a hearty laughter. He said he can’t imagine the day without night or no problems in life which only encourage us to face the world more courageously.
Sometimes we think so negatively that we forget all about probabilities but if learn to think positively the chances of better possibilities will increase instantly. If only we learn how to utilize our time and not wasting it for blaming others or finding faults in others or concentrating on better future plans then there will be an answer to all the unsolved problems immediately.
Let’s accept it, there is a solution behind every problem but if we look at the negative side of the story only then the chances of solution look bleak but when we know the importance of positivity we can solve all the problems with depending on others. There are very few chances we can reach to our goals if we limit our activities to criticizing, blaming and accusing others for all our failures.
We all believe that someone’s failure can lead others to path of success but that doesn’t mean we should use him as stepping stone but we should learn the lessons from his failures by learning from his mistakes and avoid repeating them. It is entirely our choice that how we take the advantage of the chances coming our way.
I should act according to time
I was reaching nowhere even though I had not changed my strategy or method of doing things but my success rate was going down constantly. I was bit confused when I had faced this situation for the first time after I had taken over as the project leader. In fact we had accomplished many similar projects successfully without any problems. I was unable to understand the reason of decreasing achievement targets despite working with same team and same efforts.
One day, during my visit to local book shop I chanced upon a book, I have forgotten the name now, but I picked it from the rack and went through few pages and what impressed me most was a phrase ‘things change the way you look at them’. That simply meant that we should change our mindset and look at things in a positive way. We should never hesitate changing ourselves according to demands of the situation else the situation will be similar to swimming against the tide.
I recently saw a book, ‘How to Leverage the Power of Seeing Things as They Are’ By Dr. by Elizabeth Thornton it said the same but in a little different manner. She said, we should always be prepared thinking differently in different situations. If we keep doing things in a same manner we get used to them and we never fail doing or completing the job in routine manner. But… and then arises a big question at that point- what went wrong?
There is nothing unusual, you find nothing wrong with your way of working unless you suffer failures but as the things begin to change we feel confused and start doubting about our own abilities. That’s the exact point which asks for a change in our strategies or way of working and those who adapt to such changes come back to success. We must understand that changes are part of life and changing according to demand of situation make us successful.
Try something new in your routine life
Don’t we all feel dull, tedious and repetitious or something lacking in variety and interest of our life at sometime or the other? Isn’t it the same routine job, the same people, the same discussions and same people? I feel it too boring especially on certain places when I see people repeating the same or ranting about the same what they were doing yesterday.
Then what should we do for getting something new in our routine life or would it be worth or the same time pass kind of change which will again become dull after a few days. These are some common questions we all face but never try to do something which will keep us busy or do something that will engage in interesting activities.
There are ways one can come out of his boredom or find renewed interest in his life. Like when I see a woman trying to ride a bicycle with the help of his 15 years old son just for the sake of doing something new or watch a man of 50 learning to swim with the help of a boy 30 years younger.
I love that when I see someone doing something for the first time and then the matter is certainly not limited to the adventure part of the learning a new activity but it is all about a person was trying to do something new to keep his life interesting.
And bringing something new is not limited to learning something new but there are so many other things you can try to bring “Newness’ to your life. For instance, change your daily rout to your office if possible and try a new one and see the difference.
Try meeting an old friend you haven’t met for ages or just close the door of your bedroom and dance to the tune of your favorite music until you drop on to your bed totally tired and feel the difference. There are so many ways you can try for bringing something new to your routine life.
Image source https://pixabay.com/en/no-negative-board-chalk-font-1532840/ (Free photo image, no obligation)
8 years ago
suni51 created new article The Indian Story at a Glance- Part One.
India is moving ahead at a fast rate
India is constantly on its way to success but we have yet to cross many hurdles. We are doing a good job in many fields including education sector. Our institutes in different sectors in technical, medical and information technology are producing some of the best doctors and engineers proving their worth in global job market.
However things were not the same until early 1980. Indian education was all about old curriculum set for producing office clerks. Our institutes were not enough to accommodate all the students seeking admission in different technical courses. But situation took a new turn with introduction of private sector in education changed the whole scenario for this country with introduction of computers and smart classrooms.
The National Policy on Education introduced by Rajiv Gandhi government in 1986 with new concept in different fields gave a new dimension to education sector. The new education policy had special plans and emphasized on including women, tribal section and schedule castes for uplifting and improving their position in the society.
Most of these targets were achieved but we lacked one point, to make the education a fundamental right of every child but that too was achieved by the year 2010 which provided free basic education to every child of India. India is marching fast towards the aim of becoming a major world power and to achieve that we need to take our educational system to greater heights.
Our experts feel we have lots of opportunities waiting for us in the fields of science, technology, research and industrial sector and yet to do lots of efforts especially in the field of infrastructure, our ways how we handle internal issues and of course our bureaucracy. Possibly the next few decades belong to Indian success story in the fields of biotechnology, robotics, 3D printing, computing and space research but we shall have to better than what we are already doing.
India produces enough Fruits and Vegetables
India with over 1.3 billion people and the second most populous country in the world has 29 states and 7 union territories. All states are unique in their life style and agricultural produce according to climate of their particular geographical conditions. However, most of our country lives in rural areas and depends on agriculture sector.
However, we are no more as backward in several sectors including agriculture as we used to be until a couple of decades back. We are progressing at a rapid rate in almost all fields including agriculture, education and employment.
India produces most fruits and vegetables after China followed by Brazil, America and Italy in that order. According to data available for the year 2012-13, China produced 137 million tons of fruits where as India produced close to 82 million tons. America with 38 million tons, Brazil 26 million and Italy with 14 million tons were other major fruit producers. In vegetable section also China was on top with 57 tons followed by India again on second with 16.2, America 3.6 million tons and Turkey at 4th spot with 2.8 million tons.
India suffered a setback due to bad monsoon in 2014-15 but still managed a bumper production of 280 million tons of fruits, vegetables and spices and a little over 252 million tones of grains. The production of these two groups of produces was in 2013-14 was 27.7 and 26.5 million tons.
India has a vast desert area, almost 1/3 of its total land and that leaves us with only 95 million hectare land for agricultural use but we are trying our best for increasing it at a rapid rate despite increased needs of habitation and industrializing but we still managed to achieve growth in production of grains, fruits and vegetables.
Our efforts in this respect can be seen in the fact that we used 65 million hectare of land in 2010-11 but increased the area by more than 50% within 5 years. If we are doing far better in industrial sector at the same time we are trying our best to increase production of wheat, rice, spices, pulses, flowers etc in different states adapting to scientific methods according to atmospheric conditions.
India is ready to move ahead
India is ready to lead the way to progress on the world-map and become one of the fastest in the list of growing nations. We have reasons to believe that India will contribute almost same as China and double that of America’s contribution in the world economy. There are certain other reasons like our natural resources, availability of funds and use of carbon which add to our theory of a fast growth in next decade.
There are few obvious signs which indicate that the world will follow Indian model of development in near future. The Indian products are going to overtake imported products used by local population and also be exported to other developing and under developed countries. The best scale for judging a country’s is its purchasing power and if you judge it by statistics India is among the top three world leaders on the basis of production.
According to the World Bank statistics the current leaders China with $18 trillion is on top followed by America $17.4 trillion at second place and India with $7.4 trillion is on third spot but if we calculate at the present rate of progress China with its 5% growth rate will add 11.3 trillion, India 8% will add 8.6 trillion and America with current rate is expected to add $4.9 trillion with its 2.5% growth rate to the World’ GDP.
The return on capital in India is greater than most other world economical powers. India has lesser bank interest rates compared to other coming up countries in the list of fastest growing economical powers. If we go by the reports of various global economical institutes our financial loan is only 135% compared to GDP against 282% China, 269% America, 160% Brazil, 154% South Africa and 88% Russia.
The combined efforts by government and number of younger people are doing their best to provide better products to Indian people and increasing exports. Indian open market policy is adding to the efforts of India shining project at a rapid rate which is going to take India on top as world’s super power in economical field soon.
Image source – My own camera work
8 years ago
suni51 created new article The All Time Adventurists.
Giant Size heroes of our society
This is my first post on this site about humans, but all of them are superhuman size, larger than life, larger than all of us. Why larger than life? Because they never let others reduce their size or importance. Yes, they did not let others show their real worth. These are the people that helped others making their dreams come true.
We need such people in our lives because we all have our own mountain to climb and there are times when the effort seems wildly illogical and absolutely unreasonable. We need such people because we all have a bit of Himalaya in each one of us. You will have to agree that a time comes in our life we feel the life is widely illogical or absolutely unreasonable.
How they did it
I am not interested to know how far they really walked, climbed, sailed, shipped or climbed, but when I choose them then my main concern is always the same, just how and why they managed to do that. I am sure you did not expect me to go and ask them these questions personally.
In fact, I searched about them from whatever source that was available to me. Sure, I didn’t ask these questions going to them because everything was there for everyone to see. Again, I was not interested to know why they did or how they achieved such wonderful achievements. In fact, I was interested to know about how they achieved such great goals.
Goals Achieved
Some of the feet achieved were almost impossible for common people, but they did it. Let’s face it, none of these great achievers come from different age groups but all of them are full of life. All of them were not college graduates or moneyed people, but really determined to achieve their target. Yes, they all are full of life and true adventurers but none of them ever thought death as their ultimate.
No, I haven’t met any of them because they are always on the move. Let me accept that some of them do it for the sake of adventure involved. Adventure, in their own words makes them go for even higher, gives them a sensation beyond words. Who I am talking about anyways so let me add a couple of names here that will appear in my future posts on this site.
People who did it
I am talking about people who climbed over the mountains, swam across rivers and ocean, ran across deserts, sailed in Antarctica, piloted around the world in unorthodox ways and many more. I am sure it’s beginning of a journey that would test me under extreme conditions for writing about real heroes is not as easy as writing about actors from silver screen although I have Ronald Regan and Arnold Schwarzenegger in my list of heroes.
I am talking about, Sherpa Tensing Norgay, Milkha Singh, Rakesh Kumar Sharma. Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger one of the greatest heroes of modern American history and I have no intention to mention all the controversies here that came into limelight about his son but his adventures.
I am impressed
I am willing to write about Ronald Reagan, the movie actor turned politician and I have intention to write about Henri Sullivan, the first American who crossed English Channel. I am willing to write about the first Asian girl Arti Saha, from West Bengal India the only girl who crossed English Channel twice. I am willing to write about Sachin Tendulkar, Ganguli and Mahender Singh Dhoni who took Indian cricket to newer heights and I am willing to write about Dhyan Chand who is one of the greatest hockey players the world ever produced.
While on the topic we should not forget the heroes in financial sector who gave India a new image in the world community. We can include bigwigs like Narayan Murthy, Tata, Birla, but we should not forget the contribution of players like Kunal Bahl, the co founder and CEO of Snapdeal, one of the e-commerce business sites of India.
The Achievers
I would like to mention Sachin and Binny Bansal of Flipkart the eCommerce site giving a serious competition to Amazon.com. Sachin and Binny Bansal sold books in the beginning and the first book they sold was 'Leaving Microsoft to Change the World’. Today the net worth of Flipkart is more than 98 Billion Rupees. And these are not the only ones but there is a long list of people in the world who belong to this particular category… “The Adventurists”
I will post about real heroes about INdia in my future articles.
8 years ago
usha manohar created new article The Best Way To Burn Fat.
The best way to burn Fat
Each time I take in a mouthful of chocolate cheese cake or any other ghee laden Indian sweets , I start feeling guilty because all I can hear are the various warnings that swirl around me -" Reduce the fat content in your diet" , “ Beware of Cholesterol “ or “higher the cholesterol - higher the risk for your heart “ and more importantly the pounds and kilos that I would add on after that indulgence and the struggle I need to go through for weeks and months to shed those extra pounds and kilos!
Every day thousands of physicians all over the world, give the same advice to millions of people, causing spirits to sink as patients consider whether they can so easily give up their favorite foods in order to remain slim and trim and more importantly disease free and healthy? Going on a diet for a day or two or even for a week may not be that difficult a proposition. But to be watchful all the time and to curtail all the goodies that come with supposedly bad after effects is something else.. One wonders whether there are easier ways to lose weight?
Starting a weight loss program is rather like running a marathon. Both require training and hard work to reach the finishing line. Our success depends on the ability to sustain motivation levels as well as focus which, believe me is not easy. Taking all facts into account, one can easily say that weight loss is not just a matter of diet and exercise because a lot of brain work and mental calculation is required too.. I would say it is somewhat similar to training athletes and those taking up personal challenges. We already have most of the necessary skills, if not they are not difficult to learn. And, as we learn we find that these skills apply to many areas of our life. Finally when you succeed in losing weight, you will realize and feel that you can achieve anything in life.
There are SIX points to take into consideration while planning your weight loss program, which I am mentioning and elaborating below..
1, Believe
Believe that you can do it. Believing in yourself really makes a difference. It may amaze you to know that dieticians have made a study of this involving 54 women who followed a diet and exercise program for nine months. Before they started the investigators asked them whether they would lose weight. Twenty eight of the women were believers and the rest 26 were non -believers. At the end of the nine month period, believers had lost 30% more weight than the non- believers. It is the same with anything else in life, unless you believe in yourself you will not be able to achieve much. So the best way to carry on is to forget about all past efforts and start afresh with confidence and a firm belief in your own self.
2, Take Responsibility
This involves training your mind and changing your attitude towards most things in life because majority of the people have the tendency not to take responsibility especially when they face failure . Once you start on something you need to take 100 percent responsibility about the issue and focus on making it a success rather than blame others and other factors. Once you develop the attitude of taking responsibility for yourself and your actions, sky is the limit as far as what you can achieve in life and losing weight is a small matter after all.
3, Better to be realistic rather than set goals that are not achievable.
I agree that there is a saying - If you aim for the Mountains you may at least climb a hill top. However, here, we need to aim for more realistic goals so that we don’t feel disappointed right at the beginning of our weight loss program. Slow and steady is the best way to lose weight rather than a drastic weight loss and an even faster weight gain later.
4, Eat Healthy and Drink Lots of water
Popping diet pills and weight loss tablets and capsules will not help in the long run since no weight loss plan is complete without a planned healthy diet that includes consuming lots of water. Ideally, you should make changes in your diet if necessary by increasing proteins and cutting down on carbohydrates and fats. If your diet is already balanced, all that you need to do is to cut down on your portions during each meal. Eat less and drink more water and you can see pounds falling off within a matter of days.
5, Increase Physical activity
No weight loss plan is complete without physical activity . A healthy diet, lots of water and physical activity that includes house work, walking and exercise or yoga helps you in burning fat quickly. Make sure that you never sit for more than half an hour at a stretch. Ideally you should be walking or moving around for at least 5 minutes after you sit for half an hour watching TV or sitting in front of your desk if you are working on an office job.
6, Being consistent
This is very essential in life more so when it is a matter of your general health and looks . Once you have planned your diet and exercise routine make sure that you stick to it and are consistent with it. We get to see very encouraging results when we are consistent , review the results and make changes as and when necessary .
Conclusions
The moment we realise that we are beginning to sadd on pounds , we need to analyse our life style and see why this is happening and take steps immediately to rectify the situation before it becomes difficult or even too late in some cases. The one basic thing you need to keep in your mind is to make sure that you burn more calories than what you consume. Once that is taken care of , losing weight is very easy. Eating less, drinking more water and being active are the only three major requirements to burn fat .
8 years ago
Monisha Agrawala created new article The pink city.
The pink city i.e. Jaipur is a place which attracts a billion of tourists every year. I was also attracted towards it once. I went there and I literally lost my heart in Jaipur. The place has a fantastic variety of tourist attractions. From forts to malls and cinema halls, from markets to restaurants this is a perfect place for the tourists. The forts are the special attractions as Rajasthan is popular for palaces and forts allover the world.
A few places to visit are:-
Amer fort- The residence of the Rajputs this place was the best place I saw in Jaipur. I just feel in love with it. This fort is a place with seeing. It is so big and has so many tunnels that you are sure to be lost in it. It has many interesting parts in it like the Sheesh Mahal. There are big vessels displayed on the first with were then used for cooking in the palace. The fort complex also has cafes and a few shops.
Chokhi Dhani- If you are going to Jaipur then make sure to visit this place. It's a perfect place to experience Rajasthani culture. The theme of this place is Rajasthani village. It has many things to see in it. They're are puppet shows, magic shows and dances for the entertainment. With an extra charge there are animal rides available too. It has a replica of Vaishno Devi Mandir and many shops in it. The shops have handlooms, magic products, puppets, some food ets. You will be welcomed with a Tika and you can apply some complimentary mehndi if u wish. They serve a variety of Rajasthani delicacies for the dinner which is included in the ticket.
Hawa Mahal- As the name suggests this is an airy palace containing a lot of windows. This place is worth a visit in Jaipur.
City palace- This place has a nice collection of weapons and many other things from the rein of kings. It also has a hall which displays the sabha or the meeting on the palace during the time of king's rule in India. This is an awesome place to visit and if you are interested in history this is surely a must visit place.
Albert hall museum- Like all other museums this also has a collection of antiques and valuable things. This place is worth paying a visit.
Jantar Mantar- If you are a science lover then this place is for you. There are many old devices based on science and a few on astronomy. Thks is a very interesting place in Jaipur with a small shop in it. Don't forget to hire a guide here to understand the working of the devices.
Hotels:-
Rambagh palace- Among the top expensive hotels of the world this hotel is a luxury hotel which was a residence of the kings back then. If your budget is high then you must spend a day relaxing here.
In the budget hotels the umaid Mahal and the umaid bhawan are the best hotels to have a stay in.
Shopping:-
Jaipur is also a good place for shopping. There are giant malls like world trade park as well as markets like Johri bazaar.
Everything here makes Jaipur a perfect place to visit
Near Jaipur the places like Udaipur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Kota and Pushkar can be visited. Jaipur is also a 8 hour drive and will connected by rail and air from the capital of India, New Delhi.
8 years ago
jabeen created new article The menace of solid waste.
In the year 2017, one of the biggest problems faced by the people living in Imphal was regarding the solid waste management. Like in many other urban areas of India, solid waste management in Imphal consists of centralised method in which unsegregated wastes are collected from households and other business institutions either by Imphal Municipal Corporation or by some other private agencies. The collected wastes are then dumped in open fields located in low lying areas like Sanakeithel, Lamphel etc. These disposal sites are often near some residential areas. As a result, the stench that comes out of the accumulated wastes become a problem for the people living there. This often becomes a cause of conflict between the residential people and the people from agencies dealing with waste management.
The problem of solid waste management
The problems related to waste disposal is not only limited to small towns like Imphal that lack infrastructure to dispose the waste efficiently but is spread all around the world. Urbanisations have increased tremendously waste related problems. According to the central pollution control board, India alone produce about 52 million tonnes of waste every year. Its worse in countries like China, Brazil, Japan, Germany and US.
One of the factors which worsens the problem is the prevailing' use and throw' life style. For instance, using disposable plates and disposal glass for any get together, in stations etc or using polythene for buying things etc. Though these items are quite convenient for using, they constitute a significant amount of trash.
Impacts of unscientific dumping of solid waste
In many places, the solid waste are often dumped in open fields or landfills which are not managed properly. The trash would litter all over the areas. Such improperly manged landfills have lots of adverse impacts on the environment, some of which are summarized as under:
Apart from the strong stench that comes out of the accumulated waste, dumping grounds can attract many vectors of diseases such as rats, cockroaches, insects etc
Burning of trashes containing plastics and polythene in open may release gaseous pollutants like dioxin, furans, polychlorinated biphenyls etc which are associated with discomforts such as allergies, breathing problems, aathma etc. Pollutants also increase the risk of heart diseases.
Open dumps releases large amount of methane due to the anaerobic decomposition taking place among the accumulated waste. Methane is one of the green house gases that contribute to global warming. Studies shows that methane is 23 times more potent than carbon dioxide to trap heat in the atmosphere.
The chemicals leached from the accumulated wastes contaminate soils and ground water.
Stray animals which rummage for food from the waste often ingest harmful substance along with the food.
Accidents at dumping sites
Apart from the effects on human health and environment, accidents often take place at the dumping sites. In the early 70s, the cases of spilling of the contents from the drums dumped at the valley of drums, Kentucky which eventually contaminated the neaeby creeks with toxic chemicals was widely publicized. A few years later it also caught fire due to the methane produced. Similar incident occurred in India when the methane produced by the accumulated waste of Deonar landfills in Mumbai caught fire and burned for about ten days in February 2016. Accident of different nature took place at Ghazipur landfills of east Delhi. The 50 tonnes of garbage dumped there came crashing down on September 2017, catching people unaware. Two people were killed in the mishap.
Trying to find a solution
Considering the immense adverse impacts, solid wastes have on the environment, different government and non government agencies have taken up waste related projects. Institutions like World Bank and UNDP have also been funding projects to develop waste to energy infrastructures, sanitary landfills, support recycling etc. In spite of the efforts being made, no nations have been able to deal with the problem successfully. The only nation which come close to being successful is Sweden, though it also has its share of critics.
Success stories
Sweden
Efforts to improve the waste management in Sweden began in 1970s with implementation of strict waste disposal rules. Swedish laws make the producer of wastes responsible for every works related to the collections and disposal of wastes. Government also provide recycling stations within 300 meters from any residential areas which make collection of wastes easier. The collected wastes are either recycled or sent to the plant for converting into energy. It is said that only about 1% of the trash produced ends up in sanitary landfills. They have been so successful in managing the wastes that in 2015, Sweden imported 1.3 million tonnes of wastes from countries like Norway, UK and Ireland as raw materials. The critics however point out that more amount of wastes are converted into energy and less amount are recycled which is not eco friendly.
Oslo
In case of Oslo, the citizens play an important role in managing the wastes. They segregate the domestic wastes at household levels by putting the wastes in different coloured bags. The plastic wastes are put in blue bags, the food wastes in green wastes and other types of wastes in other coloured bags. The trash bags are collected and sent to the processing plant which are provided with optical sensors. The optical sensors detect the green and blue bags as they move forward in the machine and diverted to other units for further processing. The blue bags containing plastics are sent to the remoulding unit while the green bags containing food wastes are converted into biofuels and bio fertiliser. Other type of wastes ends up in plant that convert them into energy.
Allappuzha
Allappuzha is a village in Kerala. A few years back the villagers took the responsibility to segregate the wastes when they realized the harm caused by the unhygienic dumping of the waste at the open landfills. The organic wastes segregated are composed and converted to manure while the non biodegradable wastes are handled by the municipalities.
Panaji
Panaji, the capital of Goa is another city worth praising for successfully implementing its' segregation of waste at source' policy. The municipalities have developed certain mechanism to ensure proper segregation of wastes. Apart from providing different coloured bins for collections of different types of dry wastes, the pick up trucks of the municipality collect biodegradable and non biodegradable waste on different days of the week. Consumers dumping unsegregated wastes are also penalised.
Role of rag pickers
In many countries which follow centralised method of collecting unsegregated wastes and dumping them in a dumping sites, rag pickers play an important role of segregating the wastes. They would pick up, sort out and sell any waste worth recycling to a middleman who in turn sells them to the manufacturing plant. It is reported that about 20-25% of the wastes are recycled by them. Recognising the important role played by them, Brazil has integrated the waste pickers into the municipal solid waste management system.
Role of individuals
Though most of the nations have formulated policies related to the waste management, the citizens need to play a bigger role in order to implement it successfully. Following the golden 4R rules of reduce, reuse, recycle and recover can make a significant change.
When we recycle materials, we not only curb the problems related to wastes but also save energy. Since recycled materials have already been processed, it would require less energy to convert them into a new item. For instance, according to a website of Standford university, one tonne of recycled aluminium saves 14000Kwh of energy which is equivalent to 95% reduction in the energy required than manufacturing from its ore, bauxite. Similarly, one tonne of newsprints saves 601Kwh of energy and one tonne of recycled steel saves around 642 Kwh of energy.
Conclusion
With urbanization, one cannot avoid generating wastes. But the various cases of success stories have shown that most of the domestic waste are manageable wastes. With a little change in our lifestyles we can also mage them effectively.
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