www.BPODigest.com i-Vortal

Navarasa 2003

2003. The year when the dust finally settled, around the world. And life, as we knew it returned to normal. A look at the events that marked the year based on the emotions they evoked.
Check Gallery

Welcome to YEAR 2004

These are my 2004 Resolutions/Goals

Personal:
#1 I need to work out on my abs this year and need to tone more. Past two years I have been consistent and has build a nice structure. Need to concentrate on things I want most, mostly I need to get that 6 pack this year.
#2 I need to grow spiritually more and should do a lot of reading on a variety of subjects other than technical.
#3 I would like to get married to the girl of my dreams this year. I wish/hope to find that girl of my dreams. Gosh didn't believe that its so difficult.
#4 I need to get involved with more activities of Rajesh and grow more. Rajesh has been a wonderful inspiration to me last year.
#5 Get trained in flying small flights, need to do sky diving also.

Career:
#1 I need to take my career to next level, I have been successful for the last few years and enjoyed my success.
#2 I need to complete the remaining parts of Sun Certified Enterprise Architect Exam and get ahead.
#3 I need to publish 10 technical papers this year.
#4 I need to do everything needed to take www.enterpisestuff.com to be rated as one of the best technical sites out there. Atleast try hard to get nomination for the best technical sites from India. I need help of all friends and people out there to help me do that.
#5 Need to apply for the Management Institutes, its high time that I need to get into school agian. With the back ground and experience I have amassed and the effort I have put it, I need to get admission into top 10 management institutes of the world.
#6 Churn out a very sleek and highly efficient VBi.

Financial:
#1 I would like to see my bank balance to grow this year and hopefully enter into sharemarket, not to blow up but as a good investment.
#2 I will have to do lots of reading on financial field and publish stuff on my weblog from time to time.

Community:
#1 I will continue contributing financially for community, I am really not ready to contribute time, but will help mom and dad financially in their mission to make the world a better place to live.

Hmmm, looks like very few goals, I will have to keep revisiting this entry once in a while and may be add new goals.

AP 2003: Highs and sighs

AP 2003: Highs and sighs

Highs
* Shantha Sinha gets Magsaysay award.
* Sania Mirza won the girls’ doubles trophy on the hallowed turf of Wimbledon.
* V V S Laxman’s love affair with the Australians continues.
* Child bride Ameena of a decade ago is now married.
* Baby Haseena finally found a home for the first time in the four-and-a-half years of her life.

Sighs
* Mahmooda Begum from the city walked away with the days-old son of Latha Reddy of Mahbubnagar district
* IAS official C Arjun Rao started off an ugly badmouthing Chief Minister’s Office biggie Satish Chandra.
* A new scam hits Hyderabad cricketer Vanka Pratap said Noel David paid selectors for a place in the Indian team.
* A variety of swamis and sadhus still rule the dark corridors of the mind.
* F-1 and Volkswagen are only one part of the story.
* Science capital, IT capital. And now crime capital.
* The racket in sale of organs is thriving.

Lows
* The rape of an 11-year-old girl who became pregnant after she was raped by neighbour in Warangal town.
* Pavan Kalyan beats up journalists who go to cover the betrothal of brother Chiranjeevi’s daughter.
* Bread Kumar took the jam, the cake and oodles of moolah brokering loans from Prudential Bank.
* Mohan Babu smacks newcomer Shilpa Shivanand for not smooching son Vishnu for his debut film Vishnu.
* Krishna Yadav stamped his name in infamy by demanding Rs 2 crore from fake-paper tiger Abdul Karim Telgi.

The Little People
* A 22-year-old man Dasari Suresh of Kavali in Nellore district took an entrance test for his 12-year-old sister Revathi.
* Taxi driver S Mallesh of Warangal gets PhD in Public Administration from Kakatiya University.
* 20-year-old N Rajendra Prasad commits suicide. He tells parents to sell eyes and kidneys for family marriages.
* Child labour continued to thrive, and the children were oftentimes cruelly treated.

Tailpiece:
Robert Blackwill, Bush’s man in India, compliments AP for its Pepperhilli: “Make no mistake, it’s a real weapon of mass destruction”

Hike in US colleges fees to hit Indians hardest

Welcome to SIFY News

Major US colleges announced their tuition fees for 2004, and across the board there is a hike of almost 15 percent; which is certain to hit Indian students harder than any other group, as they form the largest enrollment group every year in US colleges.

In 2003, nearly 90,000 Indian students enrolled in American colleges. The average annual tuition fee has now crossed Rs 14 lakh per annum as against Rs 12 lakh last year.

The availability of financial aid has also come down in 2004. For many international students, financial assistance is necessary to be able to get an American education.

The 2004 costs of a university in America will range between 30,000 and 60,000 dollars per annum or Rs 14 lakh plus on the lower side.

This large sum is very difficult to meet without some sort of assistance from the college. Indeed, most students on American campuses receive one form of aid or another. However, a large portion of a college's financial perks have now been reserved for American citizens for the academic year 2004.

Already lots of students are sufferring with credit card debts due to less aid resources available, this hit students a lot with increase in fee. On the other side as most of the jobs are now going abroad, a lot of students will try to find jobs in India and will ditch the credit card debt, this will inturn hit the american credit market, which will inturn bring stringent rules for issuing credit cards to International students in a couple of years. Who is loosign at the end, America loosing the top notch talent, or students who have to sqeeze their pockets and get into debt situations to get American education.

India's call for South Asian currency could take years to achieve

Channelnewsasia.com

India's proposed single South Asian currency would foster trade and economic growth but it could be a long time before the region of 1.4 billion people gets its version of the euro, experts say.

"The experience in Europe shows several stages of economic cooperation have to be successfully implemented before we can think of a common currency," said Manmohan Singh, the architect of India's free-market reforms a decade ago.

Europe's single currency was adopted in 1999 after decades of effort. In South Asia, one of the world's poorest and most politically troubled regions, "it could take years before it can be achieved," Singh told AFP.

Talk about a single currency among the seven-member South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) which groups Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka has surfaced from time to time amid the push toward global economic integration.

But Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee gave it new life ahead of the SAARC summit to be held in Islamabad on January 4 to 6.

DFW Bloggers Christmas Party

I have been following DFW Blogs for a while and I know they meet once in a month for a Happy Hour, I attended the christmas party this year and it was lot of fun. Cance to meet cool people. Here are some pics.

Front: Amanda, Christine Back: Dan, Ru, Alex, Me

Me with white elephant gift Back: Michael,Josh

I got a good shot working my hips

You can find all the pics at Larrys Gallery

Enterpreneurial Mistakes

Via Rajesh Jain

- Be careful about fixed-bid projects.
- Be careful about using bleeding-edge technologies.
- Small ISVs should do software and stay out of real estate.
- Investors don't like low-margin business models.
- A market with no competition ain't.
- The negative connotations of the word "middleman" are often deserved.
- All contracts must be reviewed by an attorney. No exceptions.
- Cash is supposed to flow from your customers to you, never the other way around.
- Small ISVs should build apps, not platforms.

What’s common to Sachin Ferrari and chapati-machine?

Both on this year’s Customs exemption list
Read here, lol, What's common to Sachin Ferrari and chapati-machine?

NRI doctor performs landmark surgery

NRI doctor performs landmark surgery - Sify.com

Dr Arun Gulani dreams of being able to create entirely artificial eyes for the blind. The NRI surgeon moved closer to his dream by performing a corneal transplant using an artificial cornea. He is the first and only doctor to do this in Florida. In fact, only a handful of doctors in the world are qualified to perform this procedure, seen as a landmark in eye-surgery.
"This is the first step of my dream coming true," says Dr Gulani, who is the director of cornea and refractive surgery at the UF Department of Ophthalmology in Jacksonville, Florida. This is indeed the stuff of science fiction, claim eye experts. Dr Gulani is also a renowned expert on Lasik laser eye surgery and the founder-director of the University of Florida Lasik Institute.

Nominated for 'Best New Indi Blog 2003'

WOW WHAT A WAY TO END YEAR 2003. MY BLOG GOT NOMINATED AS

'BEST NEW INDIBLOG 2003'

CAN'T ASK FOR MORE, I AM SO EXCITED. IT GIVES ME MORE RESPONSIBILITY. I CAN SEE MY BLOG GETTING POPPED UP A LOT IN GOOGLE AND YAHOO SEARCHES. LOT OF PEOPLE ARE COMING FROM THE SEARCHES. WELL, THATS A GOOD SIGN, ACTUALLY I CAN SEE AN AVERAGE OF ABOUT 20 PEOPLE VISITING MY SITE ON A DAILY BASIS, I WANT IT TO GROW MORE. GUYS HELP ME OUT, LOL

Why this Indian doesn’t want a Melbourne miracle

Why this Indian doesn't want a Melbourne miracle

While all of India is praying for a miracle at Melbourne on Tuesday, one man in a corner of Malad, Mumbai, will be watching with quiet satisfaction if the Australian juggernaut rolls on. As the man who does the number-crunching for Australian coach John Buchanan, Krishna Tunga can claim some small part in the world champions’ success.

So who is Krishna Tunga? Three years ago, he was a wannabe statistician who’d failed the exam because it was in Marathi. His credits till then included modelling, fashion designing and working on Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Khamoshi, but his passion was cricket — specifically, the numbers game.

Then, during the famous Australian tour of India in 2001, he bumped into Buchanan in the lobby of the Taj in Mumbai, and a relationship was born.
What Tunga offered Buchanan was a different way of looking at stats, to get the answer to why a team won or lost. ‘‘In 1998, I started scoring differently, which I later realised was called notational analysis. I still call it ‘script writing’, paying attention to every detail, to cover whatever I can see, to collect as much information as possible — sometimes 200 indicators for each delivery — about that particular game.’’

Even in an age when the Indian coaching staff has a Kiwi, an Australian and a South African, Tunga’s relationship with the Aussies doesn’t go down well with the few who know about it. ‘‘I’ve been called a deshdrohi’’, he admits. ‘‘I am patriotic, but I treat this as strictly professional — I will assist anyone who supports me if there is an interesting offer.’’

American Jobs

A WSJ Artilce via Rajesh Jain

It's true that U.S. manufacturing employment has been dropping for many years, but that's not primarily due to foreigners taking these jobs. Factory jobs are vanishing all over the world... What happened to factory jobs? In two words, higher productivity...Manufacturing is following the same trend as agriculture. As productivity rises, employment falls because fewer people are needed.

Want to blame something? Blame new knowledge. Knowledge created the electronic gadgets and software that can now do almost any routine task. This goes well beyond the factory floor. America also used to have lots of elevator operators, telephone operators, bank tellers and service-station attendants. Most have been replaced by technology. Supermarket check-out clerks are being replaced by automatic scanners. The Internet has taken over the routine tasks of travel agents, real-estate brokers, stock brokers and accountants. With digitization, high-speed data networks and improved global bandwidth, a lot of back-office work can now be done more cheaply abroad. Last year, companies headquartered in the U.S. paid workers in India, China and the Philippines almost $10 billion to handle customer service and paperwork.

The problem isn't the number of jobs in America; it's the quality of jobs. Look closely at the economy today and you find two growing categories of work -- but only the first is commanding better pay and benefits. This category involves identifying and solving new problems. Here, workers do R&D, design and engineering. Or they're responsible for high-level sales, marketing and advertising. They're composers, writers and producers. They're lawyers, bankers, financiers, journalists, doctors and management consultants. I call this "symbolic analytic" work because most of it has to do with analyzing, manipulating and communicating through numbers, shapes, words, ideas. This kind of work usually requires a college degree.

Over the long term, symbolic analysts will do just fine, as long as they stay away from job functions that are becoming routinized. They will continue to benefit from economic change. Computer technology gives them more tools for thinking, creating and communicating. The global market gives them more potential customers for their insights.

The second growing category of work in America involves personal services. Computers and robots can't do these jobs because they require care or attentiveness. Workers in other nations can't do them because they must be done in person. Some personal-service workers need education beyond high school -- nurses, physical therapists and medical technicians, for example. But most don't, such as restaurant workers, cabbies, retail workers, security guards and hospital attendants. In contrast to that of symbolic analysts, the pay of most personal-service workers in the U.S. is stagnant or declining. That's because the supply of personal-service workers is growing quickly, as more and more people who'd otherwise have factory or routine service jobs join their ranks. Legal and undocumented immigrants are also pouring into this sector.

But America's long-term problem isn't too few jobs. It's the widening income gap between personal-service workers and symbolic analysts. The long-term solution is to help spur upward mobility by getting more Americans a good education, including access to college. Unfortunately, just the opposite is occurring. There will be plenty of good jobs to go around. But too few of our citizens are being prepared for them. Rather than fret about "losing jobs" to others, we ought to be fretting about the growing number of our young people who are losing their footing in the emerging economy.

It's time to get down to bijiness

It’s really curious how just about everybody you meet seems to be in “bijiness” these days. Your local panwallah, you friendly neighbhourhood carpenter, even your part-time gardener. Then there is the husband and wife who open a carpet store in Gurgaon, a former luxury hotel chef who launches a Mexican eatery in Kolkata, an MIT student who returns home to farm vanilla in Tamil Nadu, a marketing executive who starts a design hotshop in Delhi, a royal who turns hotelier, a cricketer who sinks money into a restobar, a teacher who sets up a school for special needs - as one looks around - just about everyone you know has a business these days.

Even if we aren’t talking big money, as yet. Sure they take a risk, but are they entrepreneurs? All they do is what has been done many times before. In the new world innovation must be part and parcel of the ordinary, the norm, if not routine.
When Rajesh Jain sold IndiaWorld to Sify for over $100million it was catalyst of sorts. Till then mega money-deals only happened to the global Indian. Think Sabeer Bhatia.

Entrepreneurs are change experts, and they understand better than others how technological change can be applied to redefine how we view our world. The energy and innovation brought to the table by the new generation of entrepreneurs is redefining not just how we work together to become a global player, but also solve social questions that face us. Yet, as former banker Ramesh Ramanathan says of his innings as a social entrepreneur:”It’s harder when all you have is an an idea, without the power to effect change.”

The really smart entrepreneur just gets around it, we suspect. And with a certain urgency.
It's time to get down to bijiness - The Economic Times

SAAL - The Year

Saal - The Year - The Economic Times

A pictorial view of the wonderful India in Year 2003. Indian fared tremendously in Economy, Soprts, Bollywood. Unfortunately/Fortunately worst scams like Stamp Paper, CAT Exam Paper leak, etc are exposed which hit the heart of the system and kind of left a sour feeling about the credibility of system and politicians.

Power Of Ten in Java

Power Of Ten in Java

View the Milky Way at 10 million light years from the Earth. Then move through space towards the Earth in successive orders of magnitude until you reach a tall oak tree just outside the buildings of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Tallahassee, Florida. After that, begin to move from the actual size of a leaf into a microscopic world that reveals leaf cell walls, the cell nucleus, chromatin, DNA and finally, into the subatomic universe of electrons and protons.

Best Buddies For Ever

Me, Mr/Mrs. Narayana Naik (Nari),Sheriff(in glasses). We 3 are one of the best buddy group. We 3 have been together through out college, we have lots of fun, we keep meeting once in a while. All 3 of us are pretty successful, Nari is DSP(unbelievable, but true) now, Sheriff Project Manager. I miss them very much, its a lot of fun for best buddies to be together. Anyways, life is journey where you accumulate good buddies and relations.

Ohh forgot to tell you, Sheriff and I used to hang out a lot, we were roommates in college and kind of peple in college dont know which dress is whose, lol. I always admire his proactiveness. Well, I tell you one thing, during our freshers day in college, after all the speeches, college principal asked if there is anybody who is interested to give a speech. The only guy who dared to get on to stage and give an improptu speech is Sheriff, he was dressed in a yello t-shirt (well we still call him, 'Pachoda - Yellow Dude') and jeans. That incident is a huge inspiration for me for all my speeches, when ever I feel weakness in knees before getting onto stage, I just remeber Sheriff and thats it all the fear is gone. Sheriff - may be that speech given by you was inspiration for many more students from college, you never know, keep going buddy, make me proud.

Now, Nari, well what can I say, you want to meet the most rebel guy who always picks a fight, there u go, u got him here. He got the guts of a Lion, may be more I guess. Very clear thinker, but gets emotional very easily and picks a fight. I bet no one from the college might have imagined that he would become a DSP (Deputy Superintendent of Police), he is a package of surprises, does things what nobody can imagine of doing. Well, I hate being like Nari, but would love to have his guts. Dude, keep kicking, one day I might make a movie on u r life, i am sure its going to be exciting.

We 3 are a gang in college and got so many awesome pics together. I will have to collect them and post them.

Chaitanya - Cool Bro

My Bro - He is so much fun to be arround with, he kind of got 6 pack on his stomach. Actually he showed me new style of working on abs, will have to work on that style. Every Body Loves Him.

Rape violates right to life: Apex court

Read the Sotry - The Telegraph - Calcutta : Nation

The Supreme Court has equated rape to an offence violating the most basic of all fundamental rights — the “right to life” — guaranteed by the Constitution.

“It (rape) is a crime against basic human rights and is also violative of the victim’s most cherished of the fundamental rights, namely, the right to life contained in Article 21 of the Constitution of India,” a division bench of Justices Doraiswamy Raju and Arijit Passayat ruled on December 17.

The judgment thus quashed a Punjab and Haryana High Court order acquitting a rape accused on the grounds that the complaint was filed 17-18 days after the incident and that the victim had “habitual sexual intercourse”. The 14-year-old domestic help was raped by her employer at his house in his wife’s absence.

Signs of “previous sexual intercourse” found on a victim during a medical test “cannot, by any stretch of imagination, be a ground to acquit an alleged rapist”, the bench said. “The question which was required to be adjudicated was did the accused commit rape on the victim on the occasion complained of.”

“Even if the victim in a given case has been promiscuous in her sexual behaviour earlier, she has a right to refuse to submit herself to sexual intercourse to anyone and everyone because she is not a vulnerable object or prey for being sexually assaulted by anyone and everyone,” the judges observed in another significant aspect of today’s judgment.

“Even if it is hypothetically accepted that the victim had lost her virginity earlier, it did not and cannot in law give licence to any person to rape her. It is the accused who was on trial and not the victim,” the judges said.

India: 52nd state of USA?

India: 52nd state of USA? - The Times of India

Very funny column about George Bush.

LOC - A Tribute To Kargil War

CAST: Abhishek Bachchan, Ajay Devgan, Akshay Khanna, Sanjay Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Saif Ali Khan, Suneil Shetty, Nagarjuna, Manjoj Bajpai, Kareena Kapoor, Rani Mukherjee, Raveena Tandon, Mahima Chowdary, Esha Deol.

Well, as usual 'First Day First Show Syndrome', may be not. Went to the movie today and I have never seen so many people at Funasia. The whole complex is packed and people are standing in queue to watch the movie.

What can I talk about the movie which talks about about the betrayal of arch rival Pakistan, the fundamental question that always remains as a puzzle for the public is 'How the hell did so many pakistani soldiers and mujahiddins infiltrate across the border? Whose fault is it?' Forget it.

Well J P Dutta, did not disappoint the audience, he did a great job picturising the amazing bravery of Indian soldiers. Hats off J P Dutta, thanks for giving such a wonderful picture, especially at this time when Indian politicians are again becoming blind to the betraying attitude of Pakistan and putting all kinds of efforts, c'mon Vajpayee Sir, u r kidding, u r proposing common currency across SAARC, when we know that Pakistan is printing loads of fake currency and shippng them to India and imagine the plight of common currency. Read this critic.

While watching the movie, there were ABCD's(American Born Confused Desis, sorry for the acronym, I never usually talk low of people, but I had to use that in this situation), sitting in the back row and laughing, it actually irritated me and I had to warn them to watch the movie in good humor, instead of laughing at Indian highway #1, and actors posing as soldiers, it really freaked me out when they were laughing. I would say have some respect for the brave soldiers fellas.

While watching the movie I kind of felt that, Indian armed forces need a revamp in the battle strategies and the basic logistics and planning. Well, I may not be right person to comment, but just a thought.

I was in India when the war was happenning and I still remember train loads of Tanks, Ammunitons, artellary being transported across India to the Kargil War Zone. I used to see solders sitting on the artillery and we guys run to the trains and raise slogans 'BHARAT MATA KI JAI,BHARAT MATA KI JAI' cheering the solders and saluting them.

I wish J P Dutta has not done such a worst case for the families of the Soldiers, I really believe that the families are a lot braver than how he depicted, JP its a tribute you are doing, and you could have shown how brave Indian Soldiers families are. Have you not seen 'DHOOP' (thanks to my friend Prateek Chaturvedi for giving me an opportunity to watch DHOOP) movie JP and don't u realize how brave the families are and how they support the brave soldiers.

I wished J P Dutta has represented South India in a better fashion, like getting Chiranjeevi, Mammutti, Rajani Kanth etcc.. I know the limitations of J P Dutta, but its a wish I really craved for, but really no complaints, hats off to J P Dutta.

I have a complaint against Nagarjuna, c'mon give me a break, I have never seen such a pathetic body language of Nagarjuna, he doesn't know how to sit or stand properly, just completely pathetic. I really wished deleting Nagarjuna 's part. You are soldier in the movie Nag,( you don't need half clad chicks roaming arround u to have a better body language), and stand like a Soldier and look like a soldier, u r so pathetic in the scenes.

Guys, buy the DVD and treasure it in your collections, your kids and grand kids need to see the movie.

I AM GLAD BOLLYWOOD IS GETTING BRAVE ENOUGH TO BRING THE HEROISM OF BRAVE INDIAN SOLDERS TO SILVER SCREEN. CAN'T WAIT FOR KHAKHEE TO SEE WHAT BRAVE HEROISM OF INDIAN POLICE FORCE IS DEPICTED

Read all the articles and accolades below, I agree with all of them, but want to point out some of my experiences in blurb above.

Kargil War Happenning
Click here for a better critic than mine
Somebody, Please explain LOC
Why we can never forget Kargil?
Go watch India's finest war epic - LOC Kargil
J P Duttas Interview
Abhisheik Bachan See a Kargil Ghost
The Real Story of LOC

Indian Music On Korean Domain

Here you go, a link to free indian music and videos click here

Santa George Flies with cake for Jawans

Santa George flies to Siachen with cake for jawans : HindustanTimes.com

It's not yet certain if this feat would make it to the Guinness but it would certainly rank among the more fascinating military airlifts. On Christmas, defence minister George Fernandes is flying to Siachen and the contiguous boundaries of this glacier-battlefield with a consignment of 4.5 tonnes of rich plum cake for troops defending India.

This is not the first time Fernandes is playing Santa at Siachen. it's the magnitude of his Yuletide benediction that is unprecedented. Aides of the defence minister insisted that the Christmas cake should reach the last trooper at Siachen. An elaborate logistical exercise has been undertaken by the armed forces to fulfil the minister's wish.

While soldiers posted at Siachen will be the most celebrated recipients, the first to taste the Christmas speciality were actually their colleagues deployed at Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh near the Line of Actual Control with China.

Nice Quote

"If you dont stand strong for something, you will fall for anything..........
theres a price to pay for what you do."

India Superpower 2020

Via Rajesh Jain CoverStory: ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL; Great Indian dream; Super power 2020; Dec 28, 2003. The Week has a collection of articles with a lead-in by President Kalam: "The nation can use its core competence in IT, natural resources and human resources to become a knowledge superpower by 2020...In the 21st century, knowledge is the primary production resource instead of capital or labour. There will be a shift from the molecule-centric agricultural era to the electron-centric knowledge era. The efficient utilisation of knowledge alone can create comprehensive wealth for the nation in the form of better health, education, infrastructure and other social indicators. The ability to create and maintain the knowledge infrastructure, develop knowledge workers and enhance their productivity through creation, and nurturing and exploitation of new knowledge will be the key factors in a nation becoming a knowledge superpower...As the world transforms into a knowledge society, India has the tremendous advantage due to it! s core competence in certain technologies including IT, vast natural resources and above all, 300 million ignited youth. This strength must be harnessed fully for the transformation of society. This will be a beautiful India, prosperous India and happy India."

Among the other contributors for the lead articles are Ganesh Natarajan, Arun Nehru, Naveen Patnaik, Bharat Karnad, M.S. Swaminathan, Chinmaya R. Gharekhan, R.K. Pachauri, P.V. Indiresan, K. Kasturirangan, Pritish Nandy and Arun Shourie.

Poverty and hunger are the world's greatest challenges

Via Deeshaa: by Atany Dey

• 1.2 billion people--one out of five--live on less than $1 a day.
• More than 800 million people are hungry, including 31 million in the United States.
• Every day, 24,000 people die from hunger and other preventable causes. One billion people do not have adequate shelter, and 2.4 billion people do not have access to proper sanitation.
• More than 1 billion people in developing countries lack access to safe water.
• Yet enough food is produced in the world to feed everyone.
• Overpopulation is not the main cause of hunger. In Japan, a densely populated country with 125 million people, hunger is rare compared to other countries. Many larger countries with fewer people, like Peru and Sudan, have much higher rates of hunger.
• The problem is inequality in access to education, resources, and power.

Cingular plans IPO, acquisition

WSJ says Cingular is planning an IPO, acquisition - Dec. 23, 2003

Cingular Wireless is seeking to make an initial public offering next year to help fund expansion, a newspaper said Tuesday, citing people familiar with the situation.

Susanna Moore's One Last Look

'You must have passion and curiosity'

Susanna Moore's One Last Look, a story of conflicting desires and folly of well-meaning people, is set in the Calcutta [now Kolkata] of the first half of the 19th century. Though some critics found the book too ornate, The Washington Post gave it an excellent review. 'How marvelous is a book that educates but does not preach!' wrote Carolyn See. 'One Last Look is a cautionary tale for smart women... and dumb men... but the beauty of the prose and the complexity of the narrative here far outweigh any edifying messages.'

What was your inspiration for writing this novel?
I have visited India half a dozen times and I lived in Calcutta for five months four years ago. While I was there, I visited many bookshops. Whenever I travel, I collect maps, books, diaries in towns and cities. In Calcutta, I read many journals, diaries, collections of letters and histories. While reading Up The Country by Emily Eden, who traveled to India in 1836 with her sister Fanny, her nephew, brother George Eden and Lord Auckland, I began to wonder what her life would have been. I suspected she was not telling the whole truth. I didn't know if she even knew the truth herself. Most likely she did not. I began to think about Calcutta in 1836. What would it have been like for Emily Eden and her younger sister Fanny? That is how I began to write One Last Look. I also began to look at the impact of imperialism and colonialism.

Laloo ban jayega doctor?

Laloo ban jayega doctor? - Deccan Herald

On January 11 he could turn into Dr Laloo Prasad Yadav. Yes, the Patna University has decided to confer an honorary doctorate degree on none other than Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Laloo Prasad Yadav. His name has been forwarded to the Chancellor of the University, state Governor M Rama Jois, for his approval.

If that happens there will many feathers in the crown of the ‘controversial’ politician who continues to call the shots by installing his wife as the chief minister of the state. Laloo Prasad Yadav is an MA in Political Science from Patna University, he is an advocate, he is an actor who has acted in a bhojpuri film and he has been approached by a private company to anchor a news programme on the idiot box.

First love a woman's best catch

First love a woman's best catch - The Times of India

Marrying the first love is the healthiest option for a woman 's mental well-being – marrying
anybody else is a sure prescription for problems!

So says new research that also suggests men are the happiest when they are "serial monogamists" – having a succession of faithful relationships but never getting married, LOL.

The study conducted by researchers from the University of London comes up with some more interesting revelations:

© The happiest men were those who had cohabited with at least two different women before forming another relationship;
© Men who lived with their first partner but did not get married were also happier than those who wed their first love;
© Women take the end of relationships harder than men;
© Women are more likely to suffer depression in the aftermath of a partnership breakdown and are happier when they are married rather than cohabiting;
© Men who choose to marry fare less well emotionally than those who simply live with a partner;
© Women who married the first man they had a relationship with had the best mental health; and
© Women who had experienced several relationships and splits were found to be in the worst emotional state. Even single women who had never married or lived with a partner were happier than those who went through a split and found a new partner.

Amazing Inspirational Quotes from the Worlds VIP's.

Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The trouble-makers.
The round heads in the square holes. The ones who see things
differently. They're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the
status-quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify, or vilify
them. But the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they
change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see
them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy
enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

"Think Different" Advertisement
Apple Computers

Indian(Italian) Pizza Show

Very Funny Show on Italys System: Click Here

This basically says whats the difference between EU and Italy systems.

As I watched through the show, its has the same similarities to Indian system, see and find out.

Going to the US? smile please

Going to the US? smile please - Newindpress.com

On January 5, 2004, foreign visitors arriving at certain US ports of entry will be among the first to participate in a new entry-exit system that will incorporate biometric identifiers _ fingerprints and a photo.

The new process, part of the US-VISIT program, is a critical part of US efforts to facilitate legitimate travel while increasing border security. In conjunction with US-VISIT, by fall 2004, applicants for US visas at Embassies and Consulates General around the world will also provide biometric information at the time of the visa interview.

The process is designed to be both accurate and non-intrusive, will take only a few seconds to complete, and all information collected will be stored in secure databases.

When travellers holding US visas arrive in the US, as part of the routine entry screening, their fingerprints will be captured in an inkless process and a digital photograph will also be taken. The information collected will be checked against a database and used to determine that the traveller does not pose a threat to the US.

After October 2004 when visa applicants around the world will also have their fingerprints recorded, the entry process will also be used to verify the individual's identity and compliance with visa and immigration policies. When visitors depart the US the process will be repeated creating a complete travel record.

Kal Ho Na Ho finds a place in Oscars library

Kal Ho Na Ho finds a place in Oscars library - Newindpress.com

Impressed by the New York-based love triangle story Kal Ho Na Ho, (KHNH) the managers of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has sent a letter to Karan Johar requesting for the screenplay of his movie.

The reason: They want to place KHNH's screenplay in their library for the reference of film-makers.

Amazing isn't it, what a feat Karan and Nikhil. Youngsters are redefining the scope of Indian diaspora in every field.

Think Asia, Think India

rediff.com: Think Asia, Think India!

Asia is the bright spot in the world's economic landscape today. In Asia, India and China together present the world's largest markets.

But increasingly, 'Think Asia' also means 'Think India'.

In the last few months, India's resurgent economy, its successes in the IT sector and its promise of a strong growth have raised the country's profile internationally.

At a day-long conference organised by the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad recently, India's top CEOs debated on how India is emerging as a strong economic power in Asia and a force to reckon with, especially in knowledge-based industries like pharmaceuticals and IT.

• Over 75% of the revenues of Ranbaxy, India's largest pharmaceutical company, come from markets outside India, of which the United States alone contributes more than half.
• Bharti has turned into one of India's true-blue global companies. It has applied for licenses for new circles that will establish it as a pan-India player and has its finger in almost every part of the telecom pie today from cellular to basic telephony to international telephony and bandwidth services.
• ICICI Bank transformed from a primarily term lending institution to a technology-led, diversified financial services group.
• India is widely acknowledged as one of the hubs for IT services and business process outsourcing. India's competition in the BPO business to an extent comes from the Philippines, which is also aggressively competing for contracts drawing upon its availability of low cost English-speaking graduates.
• At the end of the day-long conference at the ISB, the ‘Icon of the Year’ award was given out, on behalf of the students of the institute.
• At the ISB, India's business leaders were confident that India has the potential to overtake China and become a leader especially in areas like telecom, IT and pharmaceuticals.

"Think big, think of shaping the future, not because it is important but because it is the right thing to do."

New minister puts his foot down so women can walk into temple

New minister puts his foot down so women can walk into temple

This story involves a BJP minister and a temple, but this is an unusual one. On his birthday, newly elected Education Minister of Rajasthan, Ghanshyam Tiwari, created history. Ignoring protests and lecturing priests, he broke an ancient tradition and took his wife and daughter inside the sanctum-sanctorum of the Ghushmeshwar Shiva temple in Siwad yesterday.

In the process, Tiwari opened the temple doors to all women, many of whom have expressed resentment at being kept out of the shrine in the temple’s visitor book.

‘‘I told them that if my wife couldn’t go in then neither would I,’’ says Tiwari, who says he wasn’t aware of the rule when he arrived at the temple in Sawai Madhopur’s Siwad area along with wife, son and daughter.

As the priests objected, Tiwari and his son stuck to their ground. They had almost turned to go back when the temple trustees came to their rescue and the situation was diffused. The complete Tiwari family then entered the sanctorum and offered prayers.

Soon after that, the temple trust passed a resolution allowing the entry of women into the sanctum-sanctorum.

Ironically, adds Sharma, ‘‘The biggest disciple in the history of this temple (a centuries-old Shiva shrine) was a woman. Ghushma, after whom the temple is named, was a Brahmin lady who performed puja here. It is only in the recent past that the rulers of this area banned the entry of women. We don’t know exactly why or when.’’

I wish these kinds of incidents start happenning across India and transforms India into a place of equal opportunity.

NRI's who make India proud!

NRIs Who Make India Proud: Part 1 - Sify.com

NRIs Who Make India Proud: Part 2 - Sify.com

When is my name getting into lists like these :D

Lok Satta

Lok Satta

• Did you know that 60 million children have no access to schools ?
  
• Did you know that a third of the people are below poverty line? (which is defined roughly as a daily income less than a dollar)
  
• Did you know that there are only 27 million persons employed in the organized sector while about 40 million are registered as unemployed ?
  

This is India.

Does this mean that there is no hope?

That all Indians are bad, corrupt and incapable?

But then how is it the same incapable, corrupt people perform well in better environments, for instance NRIs. Lok Satta believes that there are no good people and no bad people; there are only good institutions and bad institutions. There are hundreds of instances where a little bit of good governance and strategic planning has worked miracles.

One such Instance

Why good governance is important?

Let us take a minute to tell you about the Tamil Nadu experiment - a shining example of how strategies that provide incentives can work miracles and transform life.

About 20 years ago Tamil Nadu and AP were comparable in many respects, including human development. Around that time, the MGR government came to office in Tamil Nadu, and introduced a mid-day-meal programme for school children. The motives were probably political populism, personal glory or a genuine compassion for the poor. The programme was the centre-piece of AIADMK's political strategy, and was implemented in all sincerity. Simultaneously, public expenditure in school education was stepped up. A few years later, another populist scheme of subsidized rice at Rs.2 a kilogram was implemented equally seriously by another matinee idol, NTR, in Andhra Pradesh with probably similar motives. However, the results could not have been more different. In Andhra Pradesh, the poor people ate the rice, sung high praises of NTR and probably voted for his party. But there was no qualitative change in the people's behavior. The scheme was a huge drain on the exchequer without any real long-term progress. However, in Tamil Nadu, the poor people sent their children to school to avail the wholesome meal. As a lot of attention was focused on the school, the quality of schooling went up. Literacy, in particular female literacy, short up significantly. Tamil Nadu in next only to Kerala among major states in terms of literacy, whereas AP stands at the bottom of the ladder, just above Bihar and Orissa. In recent years, the dramatic increase in literacy led to reduced growth in population in Tamil Nadu and at present the state has reached a near stable population level! This contrast clearly shows how governance process and public policies alter the course of history! Both illiteracy, and population growth can be combated effectively with prudent policies based on practical wisdom.

I beleive that Lok Satta is one of the best thing that is happenning to India after so many years of democracy/politics basterdization. Its time for the well educated and social aware genious of India to redefine the rules of the politics and governance of India and make it a rising star and eventually a leader whre the whole world look/come for.

We are plagued with the conception that an average Indian is dishonest, corrupt and lazy, well this is coming from the brutal basterdization of politics and governance where no fruits reach the comman man, its become a social epidemic which should be rooted out of the society completely. It becomes the duty of every citizen of India to do every thing they can to produce a new generation which can grow with the values like Honesty, Integrity, Hardwork and most important Faith in the system.

Everybody support lok satta and see how LokSatta you can help Lok Satta and how Lok Satta can help your community. Lets build an Amazing India.

Unconventional Gift Guides

Wired News: Wanted: Gift Guides That Surprise

Like eggnog, gift guides are an unpleasant and inescapable holiday tradition.

Why unpleasant? Unfortunately, most gift guides are pretty routine, especially those oriented toward technology. With so many on the Net, it's surprising how few offer any new ideas. Who wants to read another recommendation for a digital camera, a portable DVD player or, God forbid, an iPod?

Resources:
Geek Gift Guide
Designtechnica
TechTV's Top 20 Gifts
Seattle Weekly Gift Guide
Urbane gift guide from New York magazine
Willamette Week intriguing gift guide
Give Guide
Surprise.com
ThinkGeek
Gift ideas from The New York Times<