Category Archives: General

BID for a valentine

Background: Since the days of Adam and Eve there has always been an effort to rejoice on V-day, however there has always been a strong objection from either party involved and more often the clients here after referred as people from Venus.

Objective

To help the people from Mars identify a suitable association/alliance with one of the person from Venus for maintaining a long term strategic partnership in the future.

Scope

This involved the procedure only for the preliminary steps of the process and in no way is associated with the after effects or any unsuitable consequences resulting in a full time strategic merger or off springing of a new entity.

Budget/Costing

The costing and the methodology will depend entirely on the client’s strategy and exposure due to inherent dynamic nature of the sector. Approximately a four figure number.

The bidder has the exclusive rights to terminate the contract in case the performance of the client fails to meet the negotiated matrix.

inspiration from Mommy, crafted by Utk and RR

General

mtaram.com x Dress-Lace Online Yellow Lace Dress

February 12, 2010 gajju Leave a comment

mtaram.com x Dress-Lace Online Yellow Lace Dress – Rhinestone Necklace

Mid-weight Jacquard fabric is embellished with a rhinestone necklace on this mtaram.com x dress-lace shop lovely yellow lace dress. The fabric is loaded with texture and personality. The dress has an elegant cut with a full, gathered waistline, flattering to your figure. The bright yellow is a cheerful color that brings out the best and highlights your features. The sleeveless feature is cool and comfortable as is the rounded neckline with the lovely rhinestones that mimic a necklace. With a side-zip closure and a hook and eye in the back, this dress is easy to slip into. The back of the dress has a keyhole opening. This dress has regular fit, true to size for easy size choices. Fabric is machine washable and can be placed into the dryer or line dried if preferred. Made of 55% cotton and 45% polyester, this lace dress is ready to wear as no iron is necessary for quick, easy use and long-term care.

General

India Mortgage

February 11, 2010 Ridhima Leave a comment

Mortgage Financing industry, which is primarily known as the housing finance industry in India was estimated approximately at US $ 18 billion.In case of India there is a stiff competition in the financial services mainly from the European Banks like ABN Amro, HSBC and Standard Chartered bank.Top U.S. financial services companies are active in the asset securitization market in India are Citibank, GE Countrywide, Morgan Stanley etc. but not all of them are engaged in the market right now.

A significant change in the structure of the mortgage industry is being marked in the recent years. Presently the banks are gaining market share in direct housing finance segment. From estimation it is found that the share of commercial banks in the direct housing finance segment has increased from 27% in FY 2000 to 57% in the FY 2003.

Though the housing finance industry in India is growing for the past few years still financing through the organized sector continues to account only for 25% of the total housing investment in India (Source: LIC Housing finance).

The top players in this industry are housing finance companies, commercial (local as well as foreign) banks, cooperative banks and other non-banking financial companies (NBFCs).

Presently the commercial banks are set to take the major portion in next years. Presently Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) is the market leader followed by State Bank of India (SBI). The Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI) Bank and the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) Housing Finance Limited also have significant market share.

The industry sources has reported that, 8 to 10 percent of the market share that foreign-owned banks have in the industry, Citibank has 5 percent share, followed by Standard Chartered and HSBC with about the 3 to 5 percent.

Housing Finance Disbursement In India

Here the table gives us a clear picture on the trend in organized housing finance disbursements in India.

US $ Billion	FY 03	FY 02
Housing Finance Companies	3.91	3.24
Banks Direct	5.24	1.91
Banks Indirect	1.51	1.26
Total Direct	9.15	5.15
Growth Rate %	77.6	27.5

Sources: All figures in the above table are calculated and Industry estimates.

Housing finance disbursements have increased at a compound annual growth rate of 45.6% in the recent years with FY 2003 reporting a phenomenal 78% growth. While the growth in fresh purchase of housing assets may be lower than the disbursement growth because of the increasing incidence of loan takeovers (by competitors), it still remains high.

In case of India there is a stiff competition in the financial services mainly from the European Banks like ABN Amro, HSBC and Standard Chartered bank.

Top U.S. financial services companies are active in the asset securitization market in India are Citibank, GE Countrywide, Morgan Stanley etc. but not all of them are engaged in the market right now.

Home Loan Disbursement In India The home loan disbursement by the banks and housing finance companies has increased from Rs.29359.29 Crores in 2001-02 to Rs.51672 .7 Crores in 2002-03.

Home Loan Disbursement (Rs.In Crores)

Years	HFC’s	Banks
1999-00	9812.03	9911.35
2000-01	12637.85	9787.24
2001-02	14614.44	14744.85
2002-03	17832.17*	33840.53

Sources: -National Housing Bank

The share of banks in total home loan disbursement has increased from 43.6% in the year 2000-01 to 65.5% in 2002-03.

Mortgage To GDP Ratio In India

The Mortgage to GDP Ratio (ratio of outstanding home loans to GDP) in India is very insignificant in comparison to the other countries. In the developed countries the ratio varies from 25% to 60%. For the year 2001,the mortgage to GDP ratio in India was at 2.5%.

IFC and India’s Housing Finance Market

The International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, has provided financing package of $200 million to HDFC (Housing Development Finance Corporation).

The loans of IFC’s strategy are to assist the expansion of financial markets in India and, in particular, to promote access to housing finance by middle-and lower middle- income households. In the year to June 30, 2003, IFC committed to invest up to $388 million in projects in India.

The mission of IFC is to promote sustainable private sector investment in developing countries, helping to reduce poverty and improve people’s lives.

IFC finances private sector investments in the developing world, mobilizes ital in the international financial markets, helps clients improve social and environmental sustainability, and provides technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses. Credits:economywatch.com

General

Having Lunch with God

February 11, 2010 Ridhima Leave a comment

A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with a bag of potato chips and a six-pack of root beer and started his journey.

When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old woman. She was sitting in the park, just staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to her and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old lady looked hungry, so he offered her some chips. She gratefully accepted it and smiled at him.

Her smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered her a root beer. Again, she smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.

As twilight approached, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave; but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old woman, and gave her a hug. She gave him her biggest smile ever.

When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, “What did you do today that made you so happy?” He replied, “I had lunch with God.” But before his mother could respond, he added, “You know what? She’s got the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen!”

Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, returned to her home. Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face and he asked, “Mother, what did you do today that made you so happy?” She replied! “I ate potato chips in the park with God.” However, before her son responded, she added, “You know, he’s much younger than I expected.”

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime! Embrace all equally!

Have lunch with God ……. bring chips.

General

Alienware M11x – Next on my wish list!

February 10, 2010 Utkarsh Leave a comment

Alienware laptops are powerful, but they’re not exactly known for being ultraportable or affordable. In a form approaching Netbook size, the 11.6-inch laptop comes packed with switchable graphics, including an Nvidia GT335M GPU as its main powerhouse, and will sell this spring for less than $1,000.
According to Dell representatives, the M11x will achieve over six hours of battery life in its lower-graphics function mode, and with a hot switch to the faster Nvidia GPU that will take under 2 seconds and not require logging out, will attain around two hours of “intense gaming.”
Dell claims that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will run at over 30fps in full-HD mode and settings set to high, which would certainly be a feat.
Compared to other Alienware laptops, the M11x is surprisingly slim. In fact, its overall dimensions weren’t far off from the Asus EeePC 12.1-inch Atom Netbook we were carrying along with us. It’s a bit angular and blocky, but the M11x represents a massive move to true portability for the Alienware brand.

General

Fir Mile Sur… – A tribute to India or Bollywood?

February 9, 2010 Utkarsh Leave a comment

It was India’s 60th republic day and the stage was perfectly set for the re-launch of one of the India’s most popular anthem on national Integration; yes it was “Mile Sur Mera Tumhara”. In it’s 61st year The Republic of India stepped up its quest for becoming a superpower by 2020, just 10 more years before it reaches there.
The album too was aptly titled “Phir Mile Sur Mera Tumhara” coming to re-establish the fact that the diversity in which we live is the key strength to our nation’s success. The original score had come at a time when India was reeling under IMF sanctions and zero foreign exchange reserves.
Today the challenges have taken a different face. Recovering from recession, we are growing at constant pace but the economic divide is widening as well,giving rise to internal extremism in various forms. India is bugged by regionalism and its politics. India’s immediate neighborhood is no better; with couple of failed states and unstable economies they project a truly grim picture of the future. Sudden rise of middle class of two huge consumerist economies (China & India), pose an uphill task for agriculturist to increase food grain production by leaps & bounds. The global warming and climate change predictions give no respite.

So it was a right time to “Phir Mile Sur Mera Tumhara”, but unfortunately the album fails to match the charm of original one. The “Common Man”, itself is missing from the prolonged video. It is bollywood overdose of a kind. The words from Amitabh Bachan set amongst renovated background(renovated after 26/11) of Gateway of India and Taj Hotel give a perfect beginning to a song to become an epitome of strengthened India. However Bhart Bala’s recreation of eternal song loses track immediately. The original Mile Sur too had several actors representing various regions of country. But they were shot in such a way that actors were looking as good as any common man of that region. Take for instance Om puri sitting with a farmer family & singing the “mile sur” in native language gives a completely different impact than Deepika Padukone in western attire singing similar lyrics. It is unfortunate that several national icons like Vishwanathan Anand and Sachin Tendulkar have not been shown. The video fails to project the real picture of India. It is highly bollywood centric and projects as if India is all about bollywood artists and nothing more. I do appreciate the greatness and talent of all the artists in the video, but then they are just a small drop in huge ocean of talents & traditions that India is really made of.
Leaving me little disappointed about Phir Mile Sur, I went back to the old & original version of Mile Sur Mera tumhara…..to Sur bane hamara!!! And relived the memories again…
Jai Hind..!!

by Manohar Gadre

General

Catch 22

February 9, 2010 Utkarsh Leave a comment

One day while having a Chat with my friend I was amused when he said he was caught in a Catch- 22 situation. I exclaimed “Whats that?”.
He was referring to a situation in which he had two choices: But both the choices lead to a lost cause. He was caught in a double bind or a no win situation.
I wondered why call it a Catch-22 situation. So, I decided to explore.

On googling I found good amount of info on this. Catch-22 a term coined by satirical novelist Joseph Keller, in his influential novel “Catch-22”. Now question arises as why to call something as Catch-22? So I decided to get hand on the Novel itself.
The novel follows Yossarian, a US air-force bombardier and number of other characters. Most events occur while the airmen of fictional Fighting 256th squadron are based on island of Pinosa, in Mediterranean Sea west of Italy.

The Catch-22 as it occurs in novel can described in words of Heller as “There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one’s safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr (One of the characters: a fighter pilot) was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more combat missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane (Of sound mind; mentally healthy) if he didn’t, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn’t have to; but if he didn’t want to he was sane and had to.”
Now what to do in such a situation?

Developing further, Catch-22 is a false dilemma in a rule, regulation or procedure where no real choice exists. Consider one more example. In order to get excused from flying combat missions in enemy territory one must submit an official diagnosis from his squadron’s flight surgeon demonstrating that he is unfit to fly because he is Insane. For this he must approach the surgeon to ask for one. However the catch-22 (twenty second of the guidelines) used by military surgeons suggest that “An insane person should not believe or suspect that he is insane. Thus, to be recognized as insane, a person must not ask for an evaluation, because doing so implicitly shows that he suspects him selves to be insane. But, if a person does not ask for an evaluation, he cannot be recognized as insane because the evaluation is the method by which such recognition would occur. Thus, nobody can ever classify themselves as insane (even if they genuinely are), and thus nobody may ever use an insanity diagnosis to escape flying combat missions.

Quite confusing? Read one more time, it is definitely going to interest you.

So have you even been caught in Catch-22? Think…you probably would have been caught.

by Manohar Gadre

….. continue reading >>more from Manohar Gadre

General

People Scratch, We Win

February 6, 2010 gajju Leave a comment

“People Scratch, we win”- ItchGuard

There is a lot of hullabaloo in the business orchard for “think different “ , “innovations”, “branding” and few more “buzz” words, in between this rush an anti-fungal cream creators showed “We really mean it…!” Raise your eyebrows for this statement or make a disgusted face but the truth lies in the facts below:

* Itchguard successfully created a new category of “Itch creams”
* The creators Paras Pharma had created products like Krack , Moov, Ringguard, D’Cold, Stopache and Moov Neck & Shoulder
* Lead Indian OTC Market with Market Capital – Over 400 Crore
* Focused on OTC Sector (Over-The-Counter)
* The advertisement campaign follows educating and creating the needs.
* There are few more “Me too” kind of brands jumps into this new river viz. B-Tex Super, Itch-Nil and ItchCare to grab some tiny shares.

The moral of story is big bucks are lying all around us, but only the men who have the sight can reap them. Make sure you are on 6/6 “vision” to see them.

Time to scratch your head…!!

News, Technology

Is 2010 going to be the year of e-reading?

February 3, 2010 Utkarsh Leave a comment

With Apple launching its iPad it has become clear that ereading is going to be a serious business in coming years. To me iPad currently is nothing more than a GIANT iPhone which Apple would use to sell Books on the same lines as that of iPod, remember the iTunes store? iPad has a new application called iBooks which includes iBookstore, which allows users to purchase content that will be displayed on their virtual bookshelf. Apple announced deals with five major book partners, including Macmillan and HarperCollins.

Apple iPad Touch Tablet Concept Amazon on the other hand wants to bring the iPads multi touch to the Kindle. To do so they have bought Touchco, a startup of around six employees and Amazon plans on incorporating both the new personnel and technology into its Kindle hardware division, named Lab126, which is located in Cupertino, Calif. – also home to Apple.

Amazons purchase of Touchco can be thought of as a direct response to Apple’s iPad, and the technology acquired could be included in the next iteration of its Kindle e-reader. Amazon has been looking to compete with Apple on other fronts as well. Last month, it announced plans for a Kindle applications store and an effort to get developers to create the same breadth of programs for the Kindle that they have created for the iPhone and, soon, the iPad.
Amazon has also decided to charge less for e-books in part to make the purchase of its Kindle e-book reader more palatable and create reader interest in a new format.

There has been a new entrant in the battel filed the “Pi”. A homegrown company has introduced its own e-book reader that, at least by the looks of it, has what it needs to take on the biggies in the business.This is by far India’s first attempt at making an e-book reader of our own that has actually materialized and the product is ready for “consumption”. The Pi is made by shopping portal Infibeam which currently offers over one lakh books for Indian readers via its portal http://infibeam.com. The Pi gives its users a cool option to upload their own content via a USB. In future, you can also expect a lot of newspaper and publications to the list of reading materials. The Pi, apart from being just an e-book reader, also happens to be a music player. It has 512MB of ROM and supports upto 4GB of memory with SD cards.

Amidst all this hassle there has been no major update from sony who were the first to come up with digital ink and epaper format and the very first to launch a ebook reader based on the same technology. One thing has always been clear about Sony’s line of e-readers: they’re arguably the sleekest and most elegant dedicated electronic-reading devices out there today (in a pre-Apple Tablet world, at least).

Sony launched Reader Daily Edition PRS-900, Sony’s first e-reader to include built-in 3G wireless service for accessing e-books wirelessly from Sony’s Reader Store. The move to wireless is a big deal for Sony, because it allows the company to compete directly, from a features standpoint, with the Kindle and other e-readers like the Barnes & Noble Nook, which bundle in “free” cellular connectivity.

We would like to know about our readers’ opinions, what do you all think about it? Please leave your comments.

Coming soon: a comparison of all four.

General

Facebook – from color to Country

February 3, 2010 Utkarsh Leave a comment

New Facebook game, just like the one based on colour.

Single = England
In love = Germany
Unrequited love = France
With couple = Spain
Single but Happy =Italy
Spring from one flower to another = Norway
Special friends = Sweden
In the mood for sex = Andorra
Sexually Satisfied = Russia
Not so sexually satisfied: Portugal
My boyfriend is Stupid: Austria
Remembering old love/lovers: Croatia
Married = Switzerland