Educational Loans

All public sector as well as private sector banks offer educational loans for the students aiming for higher education in foreign countries or in India, but due to global meltdown prospectus of jobs have declined, even peoples are getting pink slips and after finalisation of next central government the process of cost cutting will increase so what should be the precautions while you are taking loan. How do you know about it.

First of all it is very difficult to compare the rate of interest charged. It is common phenomena peoples think that private banks charges more interest but they provide loan and quickly without any hassles while government / public sector banks charges less interest but to getting loan from these banks is very difficult because of formalities involved and bureaucracy. Normally securities like your house, jewellery, fixed deposits, other assets are asked against disbursement of loan. In public sector banks may be you need to pay commissions (actually bribe) to the concerned authorities through the mediators.

Secondly are you sure what are the chances of placement after completion of course. What package you will got and what is repayment plan for loan availed.

Thirdly, does the bank offers any discount or charge interest as per availed period if you pay early or before completion of specified time period.

Frankly if you see all those things you will be not able to avail loan because it is a time consuming process and no bank will provide all this information. Actually when bank gives you loan, they shows that it is a obligation which irritates every person availing loan because he is paying interest and giving loan is a investment by bank so why they shows that it is a obligation?

Send me your views on same.

India: Not a Land of Doers!

"India is not a land of doers"! Without inviting the wrath of my country fellowmen, let me state that these are not my words (but I agree with it 100 %, though. Sorry). This was stated by Naryana Murthy.

Ok, my mental agony began like this. Deepak from Bangalore sent me a link of his post that he published on his blog (Lamhe- The Moments): " Shame on Bangloreans- Keep it up". He started his post with this: "Its really a matter of personal shame, just 50% around voter turnout in Bangalore."

And the post continues to describe the apathy and indifference of our countrymen to the electoral participation. It is another fact that we Indians are first to criticize and lament the system!

I said: Depak, We know just to complain, criticize and curse! That is it! The youth of the nation has not been galvanized by the use of Information Technology to an extent that translates into  participation into the democracy. Yet, we never forget to complain!

Every one wants that we need Bhagat Singhs to be (re)born for the country, but not in my home!

To aptly summarize the situation in our country, let me quote a few phrases from the an interview with N R Narayana Murthy, co-founder and chief mentor of Infosys Technologies: (source: Rediff)

●  The Indian society is a society of ideas. It is a society that has revered talk. In this society, articulation is mistaken for accomplishment. We are quite satisfied with our voice, with our writings. This is not a society that is focussed on execution.

● Here everybody wants to be an engineer, nobody wants to be a technician. So when a society does not value implementation, execution, what happens is you create more and more reports and nothing gets done.

For example, (Reliance Industries Chairman) Mr Mukesh Ambani and I gave two reports on how to improve the higher education system: one to (then prime minister) Mr Vajpayee and one to Dr Manmohan Singh.

Second, there has been the Knowledge Commission. Nothing has happened. Third, in 1998 I was a member of the IT Task Force -- which was headed by Mr Jaswant Singh -- and that task force submitted its report somewhere in 1999 0r 2000.

Nine years and I don't think even one suggestion has been implemented. And we made 108 suggestions! So that is why I am not a big fan of ideas in India.

● My brother-in-law is a famous professor of physics at Caltech and he tells me it is very easy to come out with an idea. But to validate that idea he and his doctoral students will have to work hard for six months, one year... sometimes two years. That takes 20 hours of work each day for two years. So it is important to come out with new ideas, but it is even more important to execute them.

● We are not a nation of doers; we are a nation which believes that our articulation is our accomplishment.

The Google Maps Alphabet (Aerial Photos)

The first Google Maps alphabet, featuring all 26 letters, has been created from satellite images of natural features and buildings by Rhett Dashwood, a graphic designer from Australia.

read more | digg story

Recession in India

In view of election highlights by political parties and media we all have forgotten the problem of recession/global meltdown. I think in view of coming election government did not presented the clear picture of global recession to the nation and by use of government machinery put the pink slip process on hold as happened in the case of Jet airways. As per my views all the big companies/organizations are under pressure from government not to fire their employees and after new governments formed in centre, it will officially declare the recession in India and then the actual process of firing / cost cutting in companies will start which will increase the unemployment and we all knows that these corrupt and greedy leaders in association with bureaucrats don't have any plans to provide means of survival to the unemployed talented youths.

Profits of all the major MNC's operating in India have declined in recent quarters due to downward trend in financial scenario of whole world. Various measures are already put in place by all companies to cut down their cost. The major arm of cost cutting i.e. reducing staff will start as soon as new government takes place and all the political parties will start blaming each others for these unemployment scenario.

So dear friends please make sure you save at least 20%-25% of your earning so that you have sufficient resources required in bad time (may god save all from these bad time). Update yourself, sharp your skills, increase your talent so that your career goes upward.

Cricket

Everyone in train, office, tea-shop, news channels, newspaper seen talking about Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket now a days. The discussions of each ball and every match is going. Various teams like Kings XI Punjab, Chennai Super Kings,Deccan Chargers, Kolkata Knight Riders, Bangalore Royal Challengers, Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals have mix set of international and local players. All of these players are earning excellently. IPL event / matches are much much more than a sporting activity. Actually sports is only a part of IPL Event. I just want to say that bringing of too much glamor to Cricket will damage the sportsman spirit and kill the objective of playing sports.

If we look at the history of cricket then you see then in starting test matches are played and then the concept of one day started with 60 over and reduced to 50 overs and now T-20 matches shows the cricket is synchronizing and may lost is importance in coming decades. I am saying this because sun rises in the morning and sets in the evening and it is a universal truth so may be the sport of cricket have reached its heights and downward trend may be waiting for this popular sport.

Sharp Rise in Assets: Where are Income Tax Authorities!

The candidates for Lok Sabha elections are filing affidavits regarding their assets. Many of these are sitting MPs. How come their assets have multiplies astronomically in last 5 years? The public knows how much income a MP gets! How do we explain this?

What is the Income Tax Department doing? Are they chasing the candidates for this exposure?

Very logical question: How these MPs amassed this fortune? The country needs an explanation.

Rental Rate Hikes

Since last 3-4 fortnights I am searching for a taking a a two room set on rent in and around Old Faridabad and I found a very interesting fact about Property Dealers during the process. In Sector-28, one property dealer told me that rent for the two room set and three room set is equal and the range is around Rs.6000, while in sector-17 market one property dealer told that the range for two room set starts from Rs.5000 and in Sector-18 housing board colony the scenario is very robust, thanks to these property dealers who are increasing rate everyday and making clients fool. In starting day the rent for EWS is Rs.3000 after one week it is Rs.3500 and now it is Rs.4000 and about LIG flats one month ago rent is Rs.4000 but now it is Rs.5500. When I myself starts roaming in Sector-18 the rent is around Rs.3000 in starting which is negotiable and now it is Rs.3500 negotiable for EWS category. For LIG category the actual slab is around Rs.4500 now a days. In Sector-28 itself I found a two room set @ Rs.3700 which clearly presents the thinking of property dealers.

In other sectors the range is Rs.4000(negotiable) for two rooms. Actually if you goes to one dealer on first day he recommends a rate which is generally 15% more than the actual price and in next 2-3 days he will again increase it by 15% more and the cycle continues.

This virtual cycle crates a fictitious bubble which on burst creates a havoc as happened in the Real Estate (flats/bungalow/plots) markets. I also feels that due to fall in buy & sell market of real estate the focus of dealers are on rental market.

In case of the buyer/seller is an outsider (not local to that place) they provide him with totally wrong information. From some peoples I also listened that in case of sale of property dealers eats big chunk money by giving less amount to buyer and charging higher amount from Seller. They tells buyer that market is down and no seller is their and also mention weak points regarding his property and to the seller they says no their is no recession in real estate and mentions him advantages of owing the proposed property and tells him the rate which is much more than told to buyer. They keep his difference money in their pocket and also charges commission from both parties. I think it is purely against the moral ethics of business to eats money between deals, you should charges commission from both parties but should not take the money in between. It is also commonly known fact that property dealers are not having clear image, background, character.

It is worth to be noted that on Internet I was not able to found any property for less than Rs.5000 on most popular sites like 99acres, magicbricks and makaan.

Property Dealers in Real Estate sector are like the share market operators who sometimes create blunder is financial market and leads the real/small investors to surprise.

So do you have any idea which can break this virtual / fictitious rental rate hike cycle.

Most Richest Candidate in General Elections

The name of Mr. Deepak Bhardwaj came in news when he filed his nomination on Bahujan Samaj Party ticket from West Delhi. In his affidavit he declared the assets worth Rs.622 crore (the richest candidate fighting general election in 2009 till date). Mr. Bhardwaj has overtaken Mumbai builder Mr. Patadia, Independent candidate from Surendranagar in Gujarat whose assets are worth Rs.513 crore. BSP says since it can not provide funds to candidates to fight elections that's why the rich candidate has been given ticket.

Some other rich candidates are :

Congress’s L Rajagopal from Vijaywada (Rs 299 crore),
BSP’s Karan Singh Tanwar from South Delhi (Rs 150 crore)
SP’s Abu Azmi from Mumbai NW (Rs 122 crore).

In this election many old candidates/sitting MPs, MLA assets have increased many folds and most of the candidates fighting election in this election are crorepati so we can say Parliament is becoming the meeting place of crorepatis/rich peoples, then why all these candidates are saying they will serve the nation and upon victory will work for the betterment of common man, (all this is purely fictitious statement by this political leaders.)

The important point to be noted is what action is being taken to investigate the sources of funds/assets with these candidates. I think tax department is doing nothing as they have to work under these leaders after election.

If you know any of the good leaders who are fighting this election please mention his/her name here.

Level of Journalism!

CNN = Politics
Program: Situation Room by Wolf Blitz
Discussion is on: Obama getting his new dog in the White House.
A supposedly 'dog expert' giving his views on various aspects!
In the back ground, the Obama family strolling in the gardens of White House with the new dog.
Captions being shown: "Obama's 100 days; The most popular dog in the world.

What an issue! CNN claims that it is equal to politics (CNN = Politics). What a topic to discuss in "Situation Room"! They kept discussing and out of disgust I switched off the TV set and starting focusing on the tea and pakoras that my wife had just prepared. This also happens when you have TV channels running for 24 hours! They have to show something, I believe!
This is today April 18, 2009 at 5:50 PM (Central Time).

Whistleblower Protection Act: Bring it in Private Sector also!

A few days back, as I watching the news on a local Chicago channel, the Illinois Governor Patt Quinn ( Governor is an elected official, hence equivalent to Chief Minister of an Indian State) announced that in order to encourage the phenomenon of whistle-blowing, some percentage of the money -if recovered - would be given to the whistle blower also. This I believe will encourage people to come out with more exposures.

The Illinois state has provided a website so that a person can get help how to expose corruption.

What does the term "Whistle blower" mean? The website tells us that: "A whistleblower is someone who exposes wrongdoing, fraud, corruption and/or waste."
The government provides protection to someone who exposes corruption (whistleblower): Whistleblower Protection Act.

Does India have Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA)?

Yes, it was enacted after a lot of public pressure and outcry.
One of the resource on internet says:

" Four years ago (2005?), India was rocked by the murder of Satyendra Dubey, a government engineer who exposed corruption in the national highway building program.

Two years later, Shanmughan Manjunath, a manager at a state-owned oil company, laid bare a scheme to sell impure gasoline. His body was found riddled with bullets in the back seat of his car. Is this what honest person should get in India.

After all, Satyendra Dubey may not have died in vain. His death was neither the first, nor will be the last that vested interests will perpetrate, but Dubey’s death uniquely galvanised nation-wide protest. That he was an alumnus of IIT mattered. IIT-ians across the world demanded action. Now at last, India has taken the first tentative step towards a full-fledged law to protect whistleblowers.

Finally on April 21, the Ministry of Personnel issued a notification granting immunity to all employees of the government except those in armed and intelligence services.

For the moment, the protector of whistleblowers will be the statutory office of the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC). A robust law is however, some years away."

What Further?
● In India, WPA is a welcome step. Indian government machinery is thoroughly infected with the virus of corruption. This will help fight the corruption to a certain extent. Make it more popular, and efficient! Make it simple!

● But it should be extended to private sector also so that more of Satyams can be prevented.

To conclude:
I also found a Indian blog dedicated to issues related to Whistle-blowing: http://whistleblowers.wordpress.com/

"If you must sin, sin against God, not against the bureaucracy. God may forgive you, but the bureaucracy never will!"— U.S. Admiral Hyman Rickover

Co-ordination in Security Agencies

After terrorist attack in Mumbai, a lack of co-ordination between different agencies of state government, central government, various security agencies came into the light. A National Investigation Agency is also raised. Senior Bureaucrats & Govt. Ministers said that the co-ordination will be stepped up between all security agencies but as per news published in Times of India in first phase of general election naxalist / Maoists group attack on security forces at various location and many security personnel's killed and now the BSF says that its soldiers died due to lack of intelligence but as per home ministry official BSF (Border Security Force) did not followed the (SOP) Standard Operating Procedures laid down for naxal affected areas while CISF (Central Industrial Security Force) followed and reduced its vulnerability. In a point it is said that security forces did not got the enough time to co-ordinate with previous teams and understand the areas of their deployment. these all comments by individual agencies are showing their spirt towards the coordinated efforts.

I want to ask that is terrorist/naxalists/Maoists organization are better organized and have greater co-ordination between them in comparison to our security forces? If so then the working & operating methods of forces need immediate review and the current scenario is hinting the things in this direction.

All the bureaucracy / ego / red-tapism / selfishness is costing the nation the lives of its brave soldiers.

Model Code of Conduct

Since the announcement of General Lok Sabha Election the model code of conduct has come into effect and many action has been taken against the leaders who are going against the model code of conduct but since last three days the construction of road is going on road from Ankhir Chowk to Badkhal Flyover in Sector-21, which I think purely against the model conduct of conduct. I don't know whether our electronic & print media is aware about it or not and what the officers on election duty is doing.

Don't you think that this activity is purely against the rules.

The problem of Naxalism

Naxalism in many states of India is a very big issues in front of Indian government. Few days back the Nalco's bauxite mine (The biggest bauxite mine in Asia) in Orissa is attack by Naxalites and they killed eight CISF peoples. Naxal organisations calls for boycott of elections, they sometimes threat public transport system such as Indian Railway. Some of the main question related to Naxalism is as under :-

- What is the aim of naxalism

- Why they are growing

- What are their sources of funds to operate & running their activities

- Who are members of think tank of these naxal organisations

- Who is supplying arms to them

- Are they getting any political support

- How to stop them

I think government must try to engage more and more youth from naxal hits area in to security forces, give employment to them in public & private sector. The speed of development works needs to be accelerated at a very high pace and mid-day meal programme, primary education, Rural Employment schemes must be started on large scales in the tribal areas of naxal affects states. In Parallel Government should start crack down on top leadership of naxal organisation and their financial resources must be tracked and captured. It must be noted that during the anti naxal operation of security forces there must not be any political interference.

Actually government should take hard action against the problem of naxalism otherwise in coming future the nation may face the problem of naxalism as a problem of Jammu & Kashmir, North-East states. Government must learn from the action of Sri-Lankan government who almost finished the LTTE from their country. LTTE is known as one of the biggest and powerful terrorist group of world. I will say that nation only needs political will to finish the problem of naxalism.