The Great Unifiers....

A unique sense of camaraderie and unison pervades the nooks , streets and corners since the past few days in eager anticipation of the much awaited showdown between the two continental giants in the semi-finals of the ICC World Cup`2011. Cricket is one of the three strong unifiers in the country , the other two being war and festivals. Be it Diwali or Eid or Christmas or an India - Pakistan Class , on the green field or the battlefield, the vibes in the air are palpable. As someone very aptly noted "The Most Notable Facet Of The Indian Populace Is The Fact That Their Souls Are Essentially Simple And Uncorrupted". JAI HO......

ENGLISH COMMUNICATION - THE THREE VERTICES....

Paradoxical it is to. Amongst the three pillars of English Communication i.e.
Grammar , Vocabulary & Fluency , which is the one that is most vital ?
Whether it is Error free Grammatical Command which matters most or
a richly garnished & impeccable vocabulary which is prominent or flawless
fluency which in crucial ? No doubt all three are very important and desirably
one should establish command over all three but it would be really interesting
to know which one should be conquered first !!!!

WIKILEAKS EXPOSURES , A QUESTION OF ACCOUNTABILITY ?

With all the diatribe being directed at the Government in the light of the facts
brought out by Wikileaks , it is appalling to hear and see the responses emnating
from the Treasury benches. "I neither accept or deny these charges" is the
intellectually brilliant {Pun Intended} statement furbished by the honourable
finance minister whereas the Prime Minister Has rather gleefully washed off his
hands of the whole issue. It poses a serious question reagrding the actual onus
of accountability in running a National Government.

When ‘less words’ turn ‘more eloquent’!

1. When the wife comments to a well dressed husband, “I know now what are you upto”?
2. On appraisal time the Boss warns the employee, ” to deserve is the criteria and not to desire”
3. After the interview the interviewer tells the interviewee, “ the profiles need to have congruence”
4. The fiancée after having good time with would-be-bride tells, “I wish the marriage set ups need a rethinking”
5. Father tells the young daughter who scored less marks, ‘ it is time to real life teachings than academics”
6. The minister comments spontaneously to a controversial plea, “ it draws my attention”
7. When an irritated father on property sharing issue threw the ‘keys’ at the daughter and the ‘purse’ at the son
8. When the American says, “ take free wheat but use our transportation”
9. When the teacher admonished the strong student he commented, “I know now what to do”
10 When the Boss reacts after a patient hearing from the marketing officer on his failure to achieve the big target, “I have now to rethink”.
11. The sister tells the brother,’ my friend adores you” the brother retorted, because I concur with ‘his’ idea on you.
12. The disguised beggar asks for alms from the master of the house and the master gives him one rupee coin instantly without a grumble. The beggar profusely thanks him that now he is the owner of one hundred rupees as he has won the prize from his friend on winning the worst miser.
13. The husband said’ I spent a vigil night yesterday because of mosquitoes” singing around his ears. The wife commented that she could have a comfortable sleep because the ‘mosquito’ near her did not disturb her with the snoring, the whole night.
14. The mother-in-law wanted to have dinner with son; but the daughter-in-law wanted to have the dinner with the son (the husband). However, in the melee the sister took advantage to dinner with all of them to which all agreed. she brought her boy friend and he took the opportunity to propose to her. The brow-beaten mother could not eat the dinner.
15. The wife said she was happy that she could get her selection of sari and the husband said he was happy that he could get his selection of the suit. But both were unhappy thereafter that none considered the others choice.
M.S.kumaran

OPEN CAMPUS - A UNIQUE COLLAGE OF CAMARADARIE !!

Yesterday while at a family dinner , a close relative , who co - incidentally is
also heading placements at a city Engineering College , casually informed me that
he hosted an open Campus during the day of an American Software firm called
CONVERGYS wherein students from approximately thirty five Engineering
Colleges from Indore participated , rather competed , with each other for the
two hundred odd selections which took place. Close to thirteen hundred students
strived with and against each other`s aspirations for close to seven hours going
thorugh rigorous rounds and getting a feel of what exactly is campus recruitment.
Boys and Girls from distinctly diverse backgrounds converging for a common purpose
and in the process unknowingly building up bonding is a good example of a competitive
process leading to co-operation.

Ego Vs. Will.

Should ‘ego’ be ruling over ‘will’?
‘Ego’ is blind while ‘will’ is vision. Ego is reactive and instantaneous. It is a flash out of rage and the forward view is marred by dizziness. While it is reactive it generates further reaction and not a solution. It doesn’t open a path for you but confuse you with splinters of paths and misguide you to look for a way out.
There is a saying that one has to come out with many lies to substantiate one lie and similarly ego misfires relentlessly to make the other person bewildered and astounded. It often creates dirt and stains in the mind. One is prompted to strive in negatives and unreal imaginations. Ego distances you from sensibility and wisdom. You may turn blind to intelligence and commonsense. Egoism enjoys in a perverted pleasure which is painful to the victims. It is like the cat which plays with the incapacitated mice. Cat derives more pleasure in watching the fight for safety of the mice in the death trap.
Ego lives in a misjudged self-identity with attitude of stubbornness, obstinacy, selfishness and blatant disregard for reconciliation. It travels in a single route not ready to relent to reality. It hides in an aura of its own and professes everything else outside its periphery is meaningless and deserves to be fumed with neglect. It ,if compelled, agrees to reality with sarcasm and reluctance. Egoistic persons normally gets derailed fast disintegrate in anger and frustration. Even if ruined such people hardly repent and agree to honour the truth. Ego is like a volcano and engulfs its victims under its lava. It leaves behind the victim with wound and sour, ever to think vice fully and in disdain.
In contrast, ‘will’ is sane and sensible. There is coolness and patience. Will implies thinking and response are thought provoked. It relies on its inherent strength. It is like a spring with its multiple out wings drooping with its sprinklings of knowledge and wisdom. In ‘will’ there is exposure and transparency. It is instinctive and hence not whimsical. ‘Will’, with its power of openness and broadmindedness can be relied upon. There is enthusiasm, courage, enrgy and punch in its approach. It tends to enlarge its area of knowledge with inquisitiveness and urge to know better wide and in depth. There is an underlining sense of endurance and tolerance which adores the personality with a nature of reconciliation. It is endorsed with quality of pragmatism with its magnanimity to live to the reality and truth and submit to it with apology if required. While ‘will’ propagates self-pride, it honor’s others pride and their standpoint. It belies animosity and hatred and always maintains a policy of ‘give and take’ and ‘forgive and forget’. ‘Will’- full action represents determination and commitment. The word will upholds confidence, involvement and passion and takes the personality into great heights. ‘Will’ also signifies contribution and implies a challenging attitude to face and overcome problems and hindrances. It reflects clarity of purpose and promise a process of ongoing and achievements. It denotes an arrow like speed and penetration and adopts a well- focused approach. It is blessed with vision about future and a forth righted attitude to achieve the ends.
It is desirable that we avoid a dirty bath in ‘ego’ but instead have a smooth go in purity with the ‘will’. When look for a compromise in conflict is the will of ‘will’,’ego’ tries to live on with the conflict with its denial attitude. A flooded outburst of water will destroy creations while smooth flow of water would help to cleanse the paths. Let us burry the ego and move with a will to forge a bright path towards the future.

M.S. Kumaran

WOMEN`S DAY : SOME THOUGHTS

It indeed is an indicator of a sea change in the paradigm of the world towards the
fairer of the gender`s that we are actually acknowledging the relevance of the
day in a very constructive perspective. As the world inches forward in being
more and more equal oppurtunity provider , some sectors such as IT and Education
are already employing a huge percentage of female professionals which gives us
a glance of the times to come. Also endearing is the increasing number of women
professionals who have beautifully balancing work and home.
KUDOS TO WOMEN POWER !!

National Games Anyone ? ? ? ?

Amidst all the hoopla surrounding India`s Blasphemous Tie against England and brouhaha
about the Cricket World Cup in general , the 34th edition of the Indian National Games
went almost unnoticed. Conducted at Ranchi , Dhanbad and other Cities of Jharkhand from the 12th - 26th of February , the Games recerived minimal media coverage and elicited the barest public interest , if any. In fact the only highlight of the Games was that The Indian Criket Cpatain was there at the Inauguration Ceremony. It puts a big question mark on the sanctity of the conduction of such events in a scenario where even the people of the state it is being conducted in are not inclined towards viewing them. Just for the record , The Services Team topped the medals tally again followed by Manipur. Provides us some genuine food for thought !!

Vicissititudes of democracy in India

Vicissititudes of democracy as projected in India
Democracy is like the flow of a river. As long as it is gentle it flows with a pat on the bed and give coolness to the banks. History depicts civilizations and cultures formed, nourished and flourished on their banks. Similarly, democracy is expected to conduct smoothly taking into account of peoples’ welfare, freedom and prosperity.
Rivers, however, when flooded are atrocious and ruthless. They loose their sight, understanding, identification, contributiveness and utility destroying every thing that fall on their path whether good or bad, useful or useless or valuable or valueless. Democracy often gets subjected to frustration when it turns like flooded river and throws out the cardinal principles and practices of serving the people.
India is presently facing a similar situation. More than 60 years of its implementation, the system has been losing its path, focusing and application in view. It has been encroaching into side sleuths and into artificial perforations which are causing destruction to the strong walls of the banks and convert everything into slush and mud.
The political parties are losing their probity and poise and are turned into a species of their own nurturing a tendency to grab every thing glittering. They are suffering a certain kind of political cataract losing in appreciable attitudes and in a democratic approach. ‘Horse Trading’ has been the play of the day and the cohesion of the parties are broken the citadel of the strong houses of the parent political parties shaded with self interest dominating the common interests. There are now all kinds of snakes and insects penetrated into these political houses eating its own share of flesh and blood leaving the organisation weak and vulnerable to sickness and deformity. Innumerous regional parties have sprung up like beetles in the garden to live on the honey and fragrance of the flowers. They exploit the innocence of the public and build their pleasure-huts upon their poverty and helplessness.
Corruption disguised as mosquitoes sucks the blood of the ordinary people day and night when the politician stays behind the net enjoying monarchic joy oblivious of forums of functions and parliament and assemblies. They have their own sand hills converted into fortresses and live protected by their cocoons and the so-called caucus. They snore like Alsatians as if to save the public but in disguise protect their own homes and houses. They create shrieks allover the work place like a mouse pretending to be working hard and never loose to grab everything for self and spoil the balance to let none to live on, on the remnants. We have our bureaucratic cockroaches and insects to live on spills causing nuisance to public while clinching on to patience for their survival.
The scandals involving huge money slandering are the handy works of the combined political and bureaucratic power blocks and they are no worse than leaches and tapeworms. The black money accumulated at the behest of these power blocks are pivotal for the slow growth of the economy of the country and these power blocks continue to grow the black money day-after-day as they are habituated in the enjoyment of the plundered wealth.
Clubs and sickles, bows and arrows, lanterns and ladders elephants or oxen and hands and lotuses are immersed in mud and all look like same and nobody is saner than the other while compete themselves to be worse than the other as suckers and plunders. They have been behaving like hungry wolves living on the lion’s prey. The current conservative political leadership is parasitic and has lost all the credentials to be the servants of the people.
However, we have now our youth power on the threshold on whom we can bestow our hopes who can take over the struggle of economic freedom and emancipation. We have to now initiate a new freedom struggle to save ourselves from the burden of the yokes of the ‘mafia’ now active with political support. The youth know their priorities now as they have been the sufferers so far at the instance of the abattoirs of political system in the country. There is now better transparency among our youth and they have experienced the glass houses of the erstwhile politicians whose lips and fingers had marks of bloodstains on them. They have their professional remedy with them to save the country from this bankruptcy.
Our country has its inherent strength to grow tarnishing all the blockades and the youth can definitely give a better leadership and to take the country into its original path. The duty of the electorate now is to strengthen the hands of the youth to clean the dirt away and bring the glory back.

M.S.Kumaran

Union Budget-2011-12

Union Budget-2011-12
Budget is an estimated or planned receipts and expenditure account for the ensuing year. It is not a policy statement.
There is no question of sitting for a judgment with regard to certain aspects of the Budget. The evaluation has to be consisted of the following factors:
The Economic Analysis
Agricultural
Industrial
Technological
Educational
Public Health
Transport
Scientific Development
National Defense and Security
Research and Development
The political Analysis
The Financial Analysis
Social Analysis
Prior to the evaluation we need to understand that the Budgets are not policy statements of the Govt. but however, project the design of the future policies which might be involved- an overview of the shape of things to happen or plan to happen.
Let us make a financial assessment of the Budget:
Total Revenue Receipts Rs. 9.32 Trillion - 2011-12
Total Expenses: Rs. 12.58 Trillion- 2011-12
Total Plan Expenditure: Rs. 4.41 Trillion- 2011-12
Fiscal Deficit: Rs. 7.67 trillion- 2011-12
5.1% of GDP (2010-11)
4.6% of GDP (2011-12)
3.5% of GDP (2013-14)
Revenue Receipts:
Gross Tax Receipts: Rs. 9.32 Trillion -2011-12
Non-tax Revenue Receipts: Rs. 1.25 Trillion - 2011-12
Corporate Tax Receipts: Rs. 3.6 Trillion – 2011-12
Customs revenue: Rs. 1.52 Trillion (2011-12)
Factory Gate collection: Rs. 1.64Trillion (2011-12)
Service Tax Receipts: Rs. 8.20 Billion (2011-12)
Indirect Taxes: Rs. 113 Billion (2011-12)
Market borrowing; Rs. Rs. 3.4 Trillion- 2011 -12(planned)
Revised/Actual borrowing 2010-11
Rs. 4.47Trillion (3.45 Planned)
Disinvestments: Rs. 400 Billion (51%-Govt.Holding)

Distribution –Expenses (Budgetary Plans)
Subsidies:
Total provision: Rs. 1.44 Trillion -2011-12
Food Subsidy: Rs. 605.7Billion -2011-12
Fertilizer: Rs. 500.0 Billion -2011-12
Petroleum: Rs. 550.0 Billion-2011-12
Revised:
Food: Rs. 606 Billion
Fertilizer: Rs. 550Billion
Petroleum: Rs. 384 Billion
State runs Oil Retailers: Rs. 200.0 Billion Cash Subsidy
Tax Proposals
Standard Rate of Excise Duty: 10%
Service Tax : 10%
Iron Ore export duty 20%
Nominal Excise Duty on 130 items: 1%
(Essential commodities exempted-Basic food, fuel, Gold, and silver)
Peak Rate of Custom Duty: 10%
Agro Machinery-custom duty; 4.5% (earlier 5%)
Service Tax on hotel charges above Rs.1000/- 10%
Service Tax on air Travel- Domestic: Rs.50/-
Service Tax on Air Freight-International; Rs.250/-
Service tax on Higher classes-Inter national; 10%
Personal Income Tax
Exemption Limit: Standard: Rs.180000/-
Senior Citizen: Rs. 2.50 Lacs. (60 years)
Senior citizen: Rs. 5.0 Lacs. (80 years)
Income tax Rates:
Normal Rates:
Income Slab Tax Rate
Upto180000 Nil
180001 to 300000 10%
300001 to 500000 20%
500001 upwards 30%
10% surcharge if Income exceeds Rs. 1000000/-
3% Education cess on income inclusive of surcharge
The surcharge is only on the amount in excess of Rs. 1000000/-
Rate on senior citizens: For Women:
Upto Rs. 240000/- Nil Upto 190000/- Nil
240001 to 500000 10% 190001 to 500000 10%
500001 to 800000 20% 500001 to 800000 20%
80000000 upwards 30% 800000 upwards 30%
Policy reforms enunciated:
To create infrastructure for debt funds.
Liberalize FDI Policies
Tax-free Bonds for 300 Bills Range for Infrastructure build up
Food Security Bill to be introduced for 2011-12
Mutual Fund to have Foreign Investments with SEBI’s permission.
FII limit increased to $20 Billion by 5 Years.
Independent set up for Debt Management.
GST introduction through out the country
A new Companies Bill.
The Budget as such is growth oriented both in the Rural Sector and at the Industrial sector. It is apparent that there are no specific measures to contain inflation. It might be due to the fact the inflation will have its play for sometime more as one has to pay the price for progress and development. With the growth in the employment ratio the Purchasing Power Parity on the increase hence a certain amount of inflation will have to be sustained. Probably this might be the reason that the Finance Minister is keeping silence on this front.
It is not a political populace Budget and therefore there can be criticism from the political front. It is possible that the Budget do not make any reference to the foreign Black money held by Indian citizen owing to International commitments to unearth the same.

M.S.Kumaran