tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64537618540287955032024-03-14T14:58:39.857+05:30Says Aman......Aman Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583790239623124667noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453761854028795503.post-61844488796805573812010-07-14T19:41:00.001+05:302010-07-14T19:41:00.302+05:30Is India Unduly Concerned About China and Chinese Telecom Firms?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0.25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;">There have been stray reports about <st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region> and Indian ministries being “unduly” concerned about <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region></st1:place> and Chinese companies, particularly in telecom and power.<a href="http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2010/05/pleading-for-dragon.html" name="_ftnref1" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><sup>[1]</sup></span></a> Making light of such concerns is based on the specious premise that <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region></st1:place> is too focussed on its global ambitions and economic prosperity to take undue risks via military (mis)adventures that could jeopardise its economic gains.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0.25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0.25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;">That’s a dangerous line of thought that overlooks <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region></st1:place>’s past record. The dragon always works to a game-plan. It would be naive to ignore <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region></st1:place>’s hegemonistic ambitions, despite its assertions to the contrary. The global cyber hacking of foes <i><span style="font-style: italic;">and</span></i> friends alike (<st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region>, US, <st1:country-region w:st="on">UK</st1:country-region>, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region></st1:place>, etc.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_578529288">)</a><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><sup><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_578529288">[2]</a></sup></span><a href="http://open.salon.com/blog/riazhaq/2010/04/08/cyber_hack_attacks_growing_in_india_and_pakistan"> </a>is ample indication that <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region></st1:place> nurses Genghis Khan’s ambitions cloaked with Mao Zedong’s stealth. Allowing Chinese telecom and power companies into <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place> can be fraught with long-term security implications. It’s not without reason the Home Ministry has voiced fears that telecom equipment may contain spyware or malware that could compromise confidential information and allow hostile intelligence agencies to access this.<a href="http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2010/04/29/stories/2010042952880100.htm" name="_ftnref3" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><sup>[3]</sup></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0.25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0.25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;">In fact, Chinese telecom company Huawei has been accused of bribery, data theft and conspiracy to disrupt national telecom networks in many countries around the world. Worldwide, many countries and their intelligence chiefs are extremely wary of Huawei, particularly since it was founded by Ren Zhengfei, ex-director of the telecom research arm of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region></st1:place>’s People’s Liberation Army.<a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article5993156.ece" name="_ftnref4" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><sup>[4]</sup></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0.25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0.25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;">The other point for sceptics to note is that <st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region> has been making diplomatic, economic and militaristic inroads into neighbouring countries and, essentially, ‘encircling’ <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>, which includes setting up ‘listening posts’ in the neighbourhood.<a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1897871,00.html" name="_ftnref5" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><sup>[5]</sup></span></a> <st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region>’s attempt to strike a nuclear deal and transfer conventional and nuclear weapons capabilities to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region></st1:place>is part of its larger game-plan. Attempts to equate a Sino-Pak nuclear deal with the Indo-US nuclear agreement are untenable, especially because <st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region> has an abysmal nuclear proliferation record, while <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place> doesn’t. Although trade with <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region></st1:place> should be welcomed, allowing Chinese companies unrestricted entry into telecom and power calls for an abundant measure of caution. As the saying goes, better safe than sorry!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0.25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></span>Aman Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583790239623124667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453761854028795503.post-14540158929602207742010-07-13T19:38:00.000+05:302010-07-13T19:38:16.913+05:30New way to detect viral infections gives homeopathy a boost-Jonathan Leake<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Following up on the article on homeopathy , the Times of India carried an article on page 13 titled : <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">New way to detect viral infections gives homeopathy a boost </span></b></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">Also in the Sunday Times London:</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><b><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><a href="http://lite.epaper.timesofindia.com/getpage.aspx?pageid=13&pagesize=&edid=&edlabel=CAP&mydateHid=05-07-2010&pubname=&edname=&publabel=TOI">A Nobel laureate who discovered the link between HIV and AIDS has suggested there could be a firm scientific foundation for homeopathy.</a></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Professor Luc Montagnier,a French virologist,stunned his colleagues at a prestigious international conference when he presented a new method for detecting viral infections which bore close parallels to the basic tenets of homeopathy. Although fellow Nobel prize winners who view homeopathy as quackery were left shaking their heads, Montagniers comments were rapidly embraced by homeopaths in </span><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">UK</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"> eager for greater credibility.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Montagnier told the conference last week that solutions containing DNA of pathogenic bacteria and viruses, including HIV, could emit low frequency radio waves that induced surrounding water molecules to become arranged into nanostructures. These water molecules, he said, could also emit radio waves. He suggested that water could retain such properties even after the original solutions were massively diluted, to the point where the original DNA had effectively vanished. In this way, he suggested, water could retain the memory of substances with which it had been in contact - and doctors could use the emissions to detect disease.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">For the lay person such claims may sound technical but uncontroversial. For scientists they are highly provocative because they embody principles which are extremely similar to those said to underpin homeopathy. Homeopathic medicines work on the principle that a toxic substance taken in minute amounts will cure same symptoms that it would cause if it were taken in large amounts.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Montagniers claims come at a sensitive time, with British Medical Associations annual conference last week calling for the National Health Service to stop spending 4m a year on homeopathy.</span></span></span></div>Aman Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583790239623124667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453761854028795503.post-66574232797775511612010-06-22T13:12:00.000+05:302010-06-22T13:12:44.777+05:30Why an Indian Real Estate Regulator is Long Overdue<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"> <!--StartFragment--> </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">Indian builders are presently a law unto themselves. Numerous buyers are hoodwinked by builders reneging on their commitments with impunity. Real estate is one of India’s most unregulated sectors where developers get away with almost anything. Many builders garner funds through pre-launch sales or by promising fixed returns on investments, acting more like NBFCs, although both practices violate norms.<a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Markets/Real-Estate/Policy-/Time-for-a-realty-regulator/articleshow/5596126.cms?curpg=3" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[1]</span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">When end-users invest their entire savings to book a flat, they are promised possession within a year or two, yet may not receive possession even four or five years down the line. If a buyer fails to make any payment on time, he’s forced to pay penal interest ranging between 18% and 21%. But when builders don’t deliver on time, they only pay a benign rate of interest – and only if there is a penalty clause. If a property is resold, some builders also take exorbitant transfers charges – in cash, with no receipt provided – which can be as much as four to eight times the permissible transfer charges. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">Naturally, end-users as well as investors are keen a real estate regulator is created to act as a watchdog and curb the rampant violations indulged in by builders. For the past two years, the Government has been promising to set up a real estate regulatory body, which is yet to see the light of day. Urban Development Minister S. Jaipal Reddy has now promised that a regulator will be in place by end-2010, to stop builders from “unnecessary profiteering”.<a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Markets/Real-Estate/Policy-/Time-for-a-realty-regulator/articleshow/5596126.cms?curpg=3" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[2]</span></span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">Developers, though, have different alibis to resist regulation and protect their usurious profit margins: another level of authority will only lead to more delays, red tapism, and higher cost, which will ultimately be counterproductive for end users; unnecessary; will only challenge the competence of existing authorities, etc. The Government should ignore such vested pleas and ensure the real estate regulator is in place this year itself. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><br clear="all" /> <br />
<div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;"> </div></div><!--EndFragment--> </span>Aman Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583790239623124667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453761854028795503.post-83392313708913483752010-06-15T11:23:00.000+05:302010-06-15T11:23:52.694+05:30Is Homeopathy a Sham?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"> <!--StartFragment--> </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">It may be exactly the opposite! Although many allopathic practitioners and scientists label it a sham, and there is inconclusive proof about its efficacy, the fact could be that Homeopathy is based on a truth that the world has not yet grasped – water is alive and indeed has a memory! That’s why substances that no longer harbour the active ingredient – except its memory – still apparently work.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">Few scientists or modern doctors are willing to buy this theory. The British Medical Association (BMA) has passed a motion denouncing the practice and saying taxpayers should not foot bills for remedies which lack scientific basis.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><a href="http://www.zeenews.com/news627084.html">[1]</a></span> Developed by German physician Samuel Hahnemann, homeopathy is based on the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">law of similars</b> – the principle that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">like cures like</i>. In essence, substances that cause symptoms in a healthy person can cure the same problems in a sick person when vastly diluted. Homeopaths contend the resultant remedy retains a “memory” of the original ingredient, which scientists dismiss as hogwash. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">Yet, what scientists, modern doctors and the BMA conveniently forget is that vaccination itself is based on the law of similars!<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><a href="http://www.lifepositive.com/body/homeopathy/homeopathic-treatment.asp">[2]</a></span> Would they therefore conclude that immunisation is hogwash and vaccines are ineffective?! <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">In fact, French immunologist Dr Jacques Benveniste had conducted research that indicated water may actually have a “memory”.<a href="http://www.naturalnews.com/022289.html" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[3]</span></span></a> If these findings of the late immunologist are confirmed repeatedly by others (it has been confirmed by Swiss chemist Louis Rey),<a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn3817-icy-claim-that-water-has-memory.html" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[4]</span></span></a> this will be further proof that homeopathy is indeed based on scientific principles which may be well ahead of the times. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">Although other researchers are sceptical about the findings,<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7505286.stm" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[5]</span></span></a> the truth will prevail sooner or later. Remember, once upon a time humans never believed that plants were living beings…<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><br clear="all" /> <hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" /> <div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"><br />
</span></div></div><div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;"> </div></div><!--EndFragment--> </span>Aman Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583790239623124667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453761854028795503.post-78984727351069557162010-06-02T11:31:00.000+05:302010-06-02T11:31:08.531+05:30Is Viswanathan Anand India’s Greatest Unsung Sports Icon?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0.25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">On 11 May 2010, Viswanathan Anand retained his World Chess Champion title by defeating Bulgarian challenger Veselin Topalov in the 12</span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">th</span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> and final game. Anand’s victory is creditable since he beat Topalov in the challenger’s backyard at Sofia, Bulgaria – despite being forced to travel 40 hours by road to reach the venue, after all air traffic was disrupted due to the volcanic ash crisis over </span><st1:place w:st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Europe</span></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">.</span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><sup><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1597214617"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">[1]</span></a></sup></span><a href="http://www.in.com/news/sports/fullstory-anand-reaches-sofia-after-40hour-road-journey-13598975-d0c55294ac244075c24790f7048c20f3e9f4c1fb-1.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">And despite being considered over the hill and losing the first game itself (thanks in part due to the tiring 2,000-km bus journey to </span><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Sofia</span></st1:city></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">).</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0.25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0.25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Anand’s heroics in winning in </span><st1:country-region w:st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Bulgaria</span></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> notwithstanding, his efforts have barely been hailed in </span><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">India</span></st1:country-region></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, while the losing T20 cricket team has received reams of newsprint.</span><a href="http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/report_champion-viswanathan-anand-merits-the-honour_1382809" name="_ftnref2" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">[2]</span></sup></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Had Anand been a cricketer scaling commensurate peaks, he would have been felicitated by all and sundry as well as covered in newsprint, endorsements and gold. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0.25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0.25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The poor status accorded to chess, as well as the towering yet ‘faceless’ credibility enjoyed by Anand, is well illustrated by an anecdote Anand narrates: “When I was travelling by train in Kerala many years ago, a fellow passenger asked me about my profession. ‘I’m a chess player,’ I replied. ‘You wouldn’t be able to make a living out of chess unless you are Viswanathan Anand,’ he shot back. I told him I was the Anand he was referring to!”</span><a href="http://www.deccanchronicle.com/sports/anand-champ-%E2%80%98four%E2%80%99ever-602" name="_ftnref3" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">[3]</span></sup></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0.25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0.25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In this respect, Anand could be sailing in the same boat as </span><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">India</span></st1:country-region></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">’s former hockey wizard Dhyan Chand. Although undoubtedly the world’s greatest hockey player of all time, Dhyan Chand died disillusioned and penniless on 3 December 1979, spending his last days uncared for in a general ward of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, undergoing treatment for liver cancer.</span><a href="http://www.rediff.com/sports/2003/aug/28inter.htm" name="_ftnref4" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">[4]</span></sup></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0.25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0.25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Hopefully, Anand is investing wisely for a rainy day and will avoid the fate that befell Major Dhyan Chand during his sunset years. </span></span></span></div></span>Aman Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583790239623124667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453761854028795503.post-88875746257533727302010-06-01T11:58:00.000+05:302010-06-01T11:58:28.751+05:30Can the Kashmir Problem be Resolved Permanently?<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;">That was the headline of a Blog post written on 25 March 2010. The post emphasized my conviction that the J&K issue could be resolved permanently via a Vatican-like status, with open borders facing India and Pakistan and the entire J&K region (including Pak-occupied Kashmir) being treated as a demilitarized zone.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="webkit-fake-url://B7E71088-607E-4D0D-8F44-08797B2BAD49/pastedGraphic.pdf" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="pastedGraphic.pdf" border="0" height="640" src="webkit-fake-url://B7E71088-607E-4D0D-8F44-08797B2BAD49/pastedGraphic.pdf" width="399" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;">This conviction has now been buttressed by a front-page report in <i><span style="font-style: italic;">The Times of India</span></i> (28 May) headlined: <b><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Just-2-of-people-in-JK-want-to-join-Pak-Survey/articleshow/5982710.cms">Just 2% in J&K want to join Pak</a></span></b>, with the sub-head: <i><span style="font-style: italic;">Most Favour Relaxed LoC As Border, Finds First-Ever Poll</span></i>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;">Read the Blog Post of 25 March and the TOI report of 28 May and it is clear that the solution advocated in both cases is along the same lines, just in different words.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;"><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br />
</div></span>Aman Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583790239623124667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453761854028795503.post-38539920330488724002010-05-21T13:44:00.000+05:302010-05-21T13:44:48.051+05:30Should Test Cricket go Day-Night to Survive?<!--StartFragment--> <br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;"></span></b></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-large;"><b><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;">Why not? Day-night games would enhance the charm of Test cricket, especially for youngsters, fed on a high-octane diet of Twenty20 cricket. The idea of day-night Test matches was first mooted a few years ago, although the proposal shot into the spotlight when Lalit Modi (the now-disgraced ex-Commissioner of the Indian Premier League) broached the topic.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><sup><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><sup><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1569668976">[1]</a></span></span></sup></span></sup></span><a href="http://www.cricinfo.com/ipl2010/content/story/450565.html"> </a>Modi opined it was imperative Test cricket shifted to the day-night format to become more broadcaster-friendly and ensure its survival amid the pervasive popularity of Twenty20 cricket, which would “become the dominant format – without doubt”.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;">Modi said Tests failed to draw crowds because they are played during the day, when people are at work. A night Test would allow people to visit the stadium or watch the match on TV after they returned home, besides catching the interest of broadcasters too – vital for the game’s financial well-being.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;">The day-night Tests idea was backed by MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) chief executive, Keith Bradshaw: “The research we undertook showed there was a willingness among fans to attend day-night Test cricket and that was something boards were attracted to.”<span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><sup><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><sup><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2010/mar/28/day-night-test-matches">[2]</a></span></span></sup></span></sup></span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;">But changing over to a day-night format may not be easy. Changed playing conditions would necessitate a change in the players’ traditional white kit and the red ball – not easily visible under floodlights. Pink balls were tried as a replacement for the red or white balls, but the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">England</st1:country-region></st1:place> board apparently rejected pink balls as they were “little better than white balls”. Cricket <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Australia</st1:country-region></st1:place> chief executive James Sutherland has also backed day-night Tests, believing this could be the only way for Test cricket to survive the onslaught of Twenty20 cricket.<a href="http://www.cricinfo.com/england/content/story/397240.html" name="_ftnref3" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><sup><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><sup><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;">[3]</span></span></sup></span></sup></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;">While Modi and Twenty20 may not have killed Test cricket, Tests under lights will boost its traction for broadcasters as well as attraction for cricket lovers young and old.</span></span></div></b></span><br />
<!--EndFragment-->Aman Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583790239623124667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453761854028795503.post-32001547318752555642010-04-21T13:10:00.000+05:302010-04-21T13:10:00.540+05:30Will Dwindling Ad Revenues Make Most Magazines History by 2020?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"> <!--StartFragment--> </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">Small chance! Just as Radio survived dire predictions following the launch of television, the print media will ride the storm too.<a href="http://ezinearticles.com/?Traditional-Media-Not-Going-Away---Why-Radio,-TV-and-Print-Will-Survive-the-Rise-of-the-Internet&id=3623869" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[1]</span></span></a> Although 2009 was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Annus horribilis</i> for the print media in terms of lower ad revenues and falling margins due to the global economic slowdown, there was a silver lining too. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">First, the bad news: the print media purportedly lost Rs2,000 crore of ad revenue and de-grew a whopping 21% compared to 2008.<a href="http://www.exchange4media.com/E4M/news/fullstory.asp?section_id=1&news_id=37248&tag=2517" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[2]</span></span></a> Magazines reportedly fared worse than newspapers. With advertising revenues critical for the print media, growth in ad spends of just 4.5%, compared to 18.9% in 2008, spelt bad news for media moguls.<a href="http://www.afaqs.com/perl/media/story.html?sid=25908" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[3]</span></span></a> Given the negative investment sentiment, ads were procured via massive discounts on the listed ad tariffs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">The good news: unlike the West, few Indian newspapers or magazines folded up, with lower retrenchments too. Indian media managements were more street smart, resorting to salary cuts and reduction in page numbers, including more scrapping of supplements and less scrapping of staff. Uncertain times forced the media to employ innovative means to combat sluggish market conditions and run low-cost operations by curtailing staff and capital costs as well as overhead expenses. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">Though corporate advertising suffered a setback, ads from educational institutions (particularly private ones) saved the day. Ad spends during the General Elections were another godsend. Both categories offset corporate advertising losses. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">Unfazed by dwindling revenues and embattled readership figures, foreign magazines stayed the course to launch Indian editions (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Forbes, Harpers Bazaar, CFO</i>), while new Indian magazines such as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Open</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Career 360</i> also hit the newsstands. The trend continues in 2010 with the launch of BBC’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lonely Planet</i> magazine.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_2026736182">[4]</a></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_2026736182"> </a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_2026736182"><o:p></o:p></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">Although the Internet, TV, and other forms of infotainment are eating massive chunks from print media readership and revenues, magazines will nonetheless survive the onslaught of the new media well into 2020 and beyond. Can you ever imagine people sitting over the commode every morning with anything but a newspaper or magazine in their hands?!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><br clear="all" /> <hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" /> <div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"><br />
</span></div></div><div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;"> </div></div><!--EndFragment--> </span>Aman Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583790239623124667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453761854028795503.post-73860771313897372642010-04-13T12:04:00.000+05:302010-04-13T12:04:00.030+05:30Was M F Husain right in accepting Qatari citizenship?<!--StartFragment--> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">Yes, he has every right to… Poets, painters and other creative people have oftentimes led lives at odds with traditional values and moral standards. While this always riles the moral brigade, their acts have not necessarily transgressed the laws of the land, although detractors pretend otherwise. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">‘Creative licence’ is the prerogative of artistes, as long as they don’t blatantly flout the nation’s laws. But in surcharged times when rabble rousers seek flimsy ruses to rake up irrelevant issues that earn them 15 minutes’ fame in local, national or international periodicals, it’s easy to step on such people’s toes. Given MF’s penchant for painting Hindu gods and goddesses in their natural glory, falling foul of the moral brigade was inevitable. The slew of cases and charges that then piled up were also inescapable. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">The primary prerequisite for most artistes to practise their vocation is peace of mind, solitude – which increasingly became a luxury for Husain in India. Travelling abroad to escape detractors was the best thing Husain could do under the circumstances. Husain was in self-imposed exile since 2006.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._F._Husain">[1]</a></span> Away from the heat and hubris of critics, he could paint in peace. Although an Indian citizen, Maqbool Fida Husain ended up spending the past few years in Dubai and London. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">The scenario changed after Qatar granted MF citizenship, which he accepted subsequently. Although critics may cry themselves hoarse about MF betraying India, the fact remains that Husain is now a PIO (person of Indian origin),<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><a href="http://expressbuzz.com/news/when-fundamentalists-stole-the-canvas/153989.html">[2]</a></span> having surrendered his passport, since India doesn’t recognise dual citizenship. That the Indian ethos will always course through MF’s veins is clear from his son Owais Husain’s words: “He will continue to miss his real home, wherever he is. You can take M F Husain out of India. But you can’t take India out of M F Husain.” <span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><a href="http://in.news.yahoo.com/43/20100227/812/tnl-m-f-husain-to-accept-qatar-citizensh.html">[3]</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><br clear="all" /> <br />
<div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;"> </div></div><!--EndFragment-->Aman Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583790239623124667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453761854028795503.post-54855735976114798102010-03-25T11:08:00.000+05:302010-05-31T11:10:54.890+05:30Can the Kashmir Problem be Resolved Permanently?<!--StartFragment--> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">Indeed it can! Here’s how it can be done to the satisfaction of all three parties… and Pakistan can only object to this solution at the cost of exposing its duplicity about fighting for Kashmir’s “freedom”. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">History tells us that national boundaries have periodically been drawn and redrawn. Once this is clear to all citizens and politicians – in India and Pakistan – Jammu & Kashmir (including Pak-occupied Kashmir!) would be conferred a <u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/State_and_Government/General_informations/">Vatican-like status</a></span></u>, subject to certain conditions. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">While the State would have its own currency, Indian and Pakistani rupees would both be legal tender. Although the State would have its own police force, it would not have an Army, being considered a <u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demilitarized_zone">demilitarized zone</a></span></u>. All Indian and Pakistani troops would be withdrawn from the respective sides of their J&K borders. Military (and terror) training camps would be dismantled and Jihadis absorbed into the new J&K police force. J&K citizens could move about freely within India and Pakistan, without visas and passports. Indian and Pakistani citizens would likewise have the freedom to travel freely within J&K. Although permitted to live there for extended periods on work or business, citizens of India and Pakistan would not be permitted to buy land in J&K. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">J&K would have a separate Constitution, Flag and National Anthem, with its own Parliament and Courts. Mining and mineral rights in the State would only vest with J&K entities and individuals. Maps of both India and Pakistan would display J&K as a “separate extension” of their national borders. Ten years after J&K’s new status comes into effect, India would not be required to extend subsidies to it, as it would earn its own keep. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">In short, the effort would be to meet the aspirations of all J&K citizens, whatever their religious denominations, while forever burying any excuses and alibis for extremists to continue their so-called Jihad or freedom struggle against India. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><br clear="all" /> <br />
<div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;"> </div></div><!--EndFragment-->Aman Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583790239623124667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453761854028795503.post-76559676902939390312010-03-24T10:33:00.000+05:302010-03-24T10:33:30.501+05:30Sachin Tendulkar the World’s Greatest Cricketer of ALL time?<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;"><b><br />
</b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;">Yes and No! The Little Master is undoubtedly the world’s greatest cricketer of all time… alongside Sir Donald Bradman and Sir Garfield Sobers! Here’s why…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;">Australian Don Bradman is unquestionably the <u><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;">greatest batsman of all time<a href="applewebdata://28BCB0FC-9D35-41C3-BF1C-F9E1E8661838#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><sup>[1]</sup></span></a></span></span></u> (52 Tests, 80 innings, 6,996 runs, highest score 334, 29 centuries, average: 99.94) with an average that may never ever be surpassed in Test cricket.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;">West Indies</span></span></st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;">’ Garry Sobers is unarguably the <u><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;">greatest all-rounder of all time</span></span></u><a href="applewebdata://28BCB0FC-9D35-41C3-BF1C-F9E1E8661838#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><sup><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;">[2]</span></span></sup></span></a>. Batting (93 Test Matches, 160 innings, 8,032 runs, highest score 365 not out, 26 centuries, average: 57.78; first player to hit six sixes in one over in first-class cricket), bowling (235 Test wickets, average: 34.03; bowled left-arm orthodox spin <i><span style="font-style: italic;">and</span></i> wrist spin, and left-arm fast-medium) and fielding (109 catches/stumping) exceptionally. The chances of an all-rounder reaching the dizzy heights Sir Garry did are remote, given the heavy toll modern cricket (T20, One Day, Tests) extracts from players.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;">With Bradman and Sobers being legends in their own lifetimes, it seemed improbable another cricketer could ever match their exploits. …Until the rise of a baby-faced cricketer, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;">In a career spanning two decades – and still going strong! – Tendulkar has scaled new peaks to script a 21<sup>st</sup> Century legend. In 166 Tests and 271 innings, he has 13,447 runs at an average of 55.56 with 47 centuries and 248 not out as the highest. In 442 ODIs, he has 17,598 runs at an average of 45.12 with 46 centuries and 200 not out as his highest – the first time in 39 years of ODIs that any player has reached <u><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;">the 200 mark</span></span></u><a href="applewebdata://28BCB0FC-9D35-41C3-BF1C-F9E1E8661838#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><sup>[3]</sup></span></a>. Tendulkar also bowls offbreak and legbreak, with 44 wickets in Tests and 154 wickets in ODIs and 3 for 10 his best Test Innings effort and 5 for 32 his best in ODIs.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;">With 93 international centuries, it’s only a question of time before he completes 100 centuries. How many centuries Tendulkar adds before retiring time will tell. But one thing is certain – any batsman who surpasses Tendulkar’s century of centuries will be a dead-tired cricketer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><br />
</div>Aman Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583790239623124667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453761854028795503.post-27985482153257197172010-03-18T10:52:00.000+05:302010-03-18T10:52:08.405+05:30Warily, Pharma Companies Engage via Social Media<!--StartFragment--> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">Pharmaceutical companies, particularly Indian ones, were traditionally wary of social media networks and about operating in the public domain. This is prompted primarily by concerns about maintaining secrecy on IPR-related issues and <u><span style="color: blue;">a<a href="http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/current-issue/e3ie08aadb553c2ade9caea50c91352c7aa">voiding complaints on adverse reactions</a></span></u>, as well as <u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1268889448163">not running afoul of regulatory authorities</a></span></u><a href="http://blogs.forrester.com/groundswell/2009/11/why-the-fda-needs-to-accept-phrmas-social-proposal.html"> </a>and laws on public promotion of drugs. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">But given the complexity and competitiveness of marketing mediums today, any untapped channel could imply a handicap of sorts. An increasingly Internet-savvy and social media-savvy populace means doctors are not the sole KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) on medical issues. Besides, the really influential KOLs are those who <u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://pharmamkting.blogspot.com/2010/01/new-kol-your-local-community-doctor.html">increasingly use the social media network</a></span></u>. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">Despite online engagement being a <u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.pharmamanufacturing.com/articles/2009/108.html">double-edged sword</a></span></u>, non-engagement could mean relinquishing the public domain to companies willing to risk engagement. That’s why pharma companies began with blogs and are now <u><span style="color: blue;">i<a href="http://ksujay.blogspot.com/2009/11/mastering-social-media-in.html">ncreasingly embracing Twitter</a></span></u>. As they say, the early bird catches the… patient! <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">Recognising the dangers of being left behind and abdicating the first-mover advantage, pharma companies and their brand managers are battling their fear of the Unknown and <u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.healthcareos.com/117/pharmaceutical-social-media-challenges/">gingerly testing their social media capabilities</a></span></u>. Step by hesitant step, they are moving forward – much like an army division marching across a mine-infested city. Some companies are now hiring managers specifically with <u><span style="color: blue;">s<a href="http://www.socialmediajobs.com/job/account-director-pharma-new-york-ny-m80-39484d051c/?d=1&source=rss_page">kills in social media</a></span></u><span style="color: blue;"> </span>so they can play catch up. Although these are early days yet and pharma companies will take a few years to develop some degree of comfort with <u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0">Web 2.0</a></span></u>, a beginning has nevertheless been made. <o:p></o:p></span></div><!--EndFragment-->Aman Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583790239623124667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453761854028795503.post-18371457243882345662010-03-02T11:14:00.000+05:302010-03-02T11:14:38.661+05:30IPL – Cheerleaders, Confounded Critics, Controversies… and Cricket<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"> <!--StartFragment--> </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">When Lalit Modi launched the <u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Premier_League">Indian Premier League</a></span></u> (IPL) to counter Subhash Chandra’s ICL (Indian Cricket League), purists where shocked by the cheerleaders’ titillating gyrations, while <u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?237243">sceptics scoffed at IPL’s revenue model</a></span></u>. Weeks later, Modi and the IPL franchisees laughed all the way to the bank, while critics fell into numbing silence. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">In Season 2, terror and politics sought to scuttle the event. Unfazed, <u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.wittysparks.com/2009/04/22/indian-premier-league-in-south-africaits-different/">Modi took IPL to South Africa</a></span></u>. Despite the change of venue, cash registers rang merrily. While Terror and Thackeray seek to play spoilsport in Season 3, an unruffled <u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1267508330120">Modi seeks to take the show to American shores</a></span></u><a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/cricket/article6991616.ece">. </a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">What accounts for <u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1267508330124">IPL’s astounding success</a></span></u><a href="http://ezinearticles.com/?IPL-3-Twenty20-Cricket-Fever---Are-You-Ready?&id=3563006">?</a> Much of it can be credited to the business acumen of maverick Modi, who turned traditional revenue models on their head, even <u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ddcebe1e-0522-11df-a85e-00144feabdc0.html">YouTube-ing IPL</a></span></u>. Cricket could likely <u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/top-stories/We-are-extremely-proud-of-Olympic-recognition-ICC/articleshow/5564906.cms">enter the Olympics in 2020</a></span></u>. Has IPL-2020 achieved the seemingly impossible?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">As former Hollywood star Clint Eastwood may have drawled: “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet pardner!” This brings us to IPL’s high glamour and Bollywood quotient. Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty are Bollywood stars with <u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8001792.stm">stakes in IPL teams</a></span></u>, while India Inc. is represented by Mukesh Ambani, Vijay Mallya and Ness Wadia, among others. Although the IPL jamboree may run for 44-odd days, the buzz lasts 365 days of the year. How come? IPL’s greed-cum-instant gratification traction and Modi’s domineering ways are <u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/quickiearticleshow/3091866.cms">lightning rods for controversies</a></span></u>. Remember Osho? Hated by some; ignored by none. Ditto for Modi and IPL! With controversies galore, newsmen will always beat a path to IPL’s portals. Whether it’s cricket or controversies, just dial IPL. <o:p></o:p></span></div><!--EndFragment--> </span>Aman Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583790239623124667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453761854028795503.post-89274230217436948672010-02-24T10:20:00.000+05:302010-02-24T10:20:16.433+05:30Impact of the TOI Campaigns<!--StartFragment--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Various such campaigns like Lead India, Teach India campaign & the latest in the list -Aman ki Asha initially create an impact as they serve as a platform for voices to come up and talk about the critical issues facing out country today. </span> <br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Each of these campaigns has targeted the enthusiastic youth who want to be the voice of the country. Though these campaigns are for short span, they do manage to achieve a great level of participation of people within the timeframe of the campaign. <br />
<br />
But the questions we need to ask are whether they are sustainable in the long term? Are there measureable impacts? Each of these campaigns starts with a desire to bring about change for the social or public good. (And of course, get TOI in the limelight but that’s a separate point)<br />
<br />
But to achieve the ultimate goal of delivering a positive benefit for society in the form of a sustainable behavioural change, any campaign- social or otherwise has to be long term.<br />
<br />
P.S Have you seen Teach India etc in the news lately? Where did all the action go? </span> </span></span></span> <!--EndFragment-->Aman Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583790239623124667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453761854028795503.post-17375326772715427882010-02-23T13:26:00.002+05:302010-02-23T13:32:16.571+05:30Climate Change Controversy – Missing the Wood for the Trees<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"> </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana;">Over the past few decades, weather patterns have changed noticeably. Free-flowing rivers have slowed considerably due to pollution and sludge; or reduced to a trickle; or even disappeared from the earth. While a welter of causes is responsible, <u><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change">climate change</a></u> is undoubtedly an underlying cause. That’s what most people believed – until the <u><a href="http://www.nowpublic.com/environment/climate-gate-scandal-what-got-missed-2530603.html">Climategate scandal</a></u> broke, giving sceptics the leeway to claim that global warming is a hoax. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana;">Despite Climategate, <u><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090119210532.htm">human-induced global warming</a></u> is a real threat. Let not the IPCC-Pachauri fax paus permit vested interests to sabotage mitigation efforts by saying <u><a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5513907.cms">global warming is a hoax</a></u>. As a science, climate change is in its infancy and open to abuse by some. Yet the abuse humans heap on Mother Earth is real. One outcome is <u><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1266911847435">vanishing topsoil</a></u><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/agriculture/farming/6828878/Britain-facing-food-crisis-as-worlds-soil-vanishes-in-60-years.html">.</a> Let not the errors and misdeeds of a few scientists make us miss the wood for the trees. Else the consequences will be disastrous. <o:p></o:p></span></div></span>Aman Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583790239623124667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453761854028795503.post-67059090557876118372010-02-23T13:24:00.000+05:302010-02-23T13:24:23.927+05:30No publicity is bad publicty!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"> <!--StartFragment--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">SRK ? one of the new marketing “GURUS’ of today’s generation ?<br />
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Hardly! The promotion of his new film is for sure one great example of promotion activities wherein the entire country including the international market got involved in promotion of MNIK. <br />
<br />
While Shahrukh Khan and Kajol were busy promoting their latest offering before the release abroad -they didn’t have to worry about the publicity back home as the political outfits such as the Shiv Sena, Bajrang Dal and the likes had taken care of that.<br />
<br />
During the auction of cricketers for IPL’s new session, SRK commented on the selection committee for not taking any players from Pakistan -which stirred definitely a reaction within the country and also in Pakistan. This came at a time when MNIK‘s release was being announced. <br />
<br />
But I feel that in comparison, Aamir Khan when promoting Three Idiots followed a unique strategy. For those who </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial Italic';">still </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">don't know, has been traveling around India in various disguises, challenging people to recognise him before his film releases. His brand value can be well understood from the fact that he has lived up to all the hype he had created while promoting the movie with his disappearing act.<br />
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MNIK is in theatres now and we shall soon know how well the movie has done for the all the hype in the media. </span></span></span> <!--EndFragment--> </span></span>Aman Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583790239623124667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453761854028795503.post-30042673488574178852010-02-15T12:46:00.000+05:302010-02-15T12:46:26.557+05:30The TED Fellows Program<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><i> </i></span></b><!--StartFragment--></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.0pt; margin-bottom: 22.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><i>What is TED all about? </i></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Cambria;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><i>This is a powerful network endures that endures to this day where </i></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><i>participants find recognition and validation of their </i></span></b></span><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><i>projects</i></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><i> and </i></span></b></span><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><i>ideas</i></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><i>. </i></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><i>Being a TED Fellow myself, I highly recommend this program. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;">All in the information is on the web- www.ted.com</span></i></span></b></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.0pt; margin-bottom: 22.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><i>The Next Application Cycle</i></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><i> </i></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><i>Opens inJanuary 11, 2010</i></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><i> and c</i></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><i>loses: February 26, 2010</i></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><i> </i></span></b></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.0pt; margin-bottom: 22.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><b><i><br />
</i></b></span></span></div><!--EndFragment--> </span>Aman Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583790239623124667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453761854028795503.post-11392722130811034322010-02-10T12:18:00.002+05:302010-02-15T12:32:18.733+05:30Apple’s IPAD: Just a toy???<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"> <!--StartFragment--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">What can be said about the Apple newroll-out, which initially created a lot of hype?<br />
<br />
It offers the web browsing experience in landscape and portrait modes, maps, and the ability to go through e-mails. It's good for all of the things you can already do on the ipod touch, like listen to music, look at pictures etc According to apple, this tablet is the perfect device for watching movies and reading books, magazines, and newspapers. <br />
<br />
But it cannot be called a notebook, nor is it an I phone. The lack of multitasking on the iPad has been cited as its biggest flaw. For a device that costs as much as a laptop, the inability to run multiple applications at once is a major downside. And it doesn’t have a phone, camera or a usb port!<br />
<br />
So that's MY general take on Apple's latest product. What do you think about the iPad?</span></span></span> <!--EndFragment--> </span></span>Aman Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583790239623124667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453761854028795503.post-24083856635398575412010-02-10T12:12:00.001+05:302010-02-10T12:43:51.999+05:30Macro Development and the Maoist Agenda<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><b>As thought leaders with diverse political leanings debate the economic agenda India must adopt – against the backdrop of the rising Maoist menace – one point is beyond debate or doubt: India’s growth and prosperity must include the poorest of the poor.</b> </span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, serif; font-size: 100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><i> </i></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, serif; font-size: 100%;"><i></i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, serif; font-size: 100%;"><i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;">Like the rest of humankind, India today stands at the crossroads of history. Climate change and terrorism now dominate the daily headlines and the lexicon in one form or the other. The path that we choose to finally take can either condemn our future generations or redeem their future. This is why all the stakeholders involved – the Government, the private sector and civil society – need to join hands and work for the common good. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> Rapid industrial growth and globalisation may have indeed lifted millions of Indians, Asians and others out of poverty. Yet, the price paid in terms of environmental degradation and economic disparities has been alarmingly high. This has created a deficit of trust among common people when dealing with the Government and the private sector. The Tata Nano drive-out from Singur was just an undercurrent of this nationwide malaise. Posco, Vedanta and Reliance are some of the other corporate entities experiencing the painful bite of this harsh reality.</o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> The global economic slowdown further aggravated these public misgivings and fears. In India as well as worldwide, systemic weaknesses in market-driven economies stand thoroughly exposed. This is the best time, though, to pause and ponder. Ponder how to best integrate the interests of the people, the planet and the profit motive. Ponder how to facilitate inclusive, qualitative development for those at the bottom of the pyramid. And, as management guru C K Prahalad has enunciated, catering to the bottom of the pyramid pays its own dividends.</o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> There is no doubt that the market-driven economy has afforded multiple benefits and conveniences (longer life spans, higher literacy rates, faster mobility, greater connectivity etc.) for many Indians. Yet, the fact remains that these benefits have not trickled down to large sections of the populace. The disparities between the haves and have-nots have only widened.</o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> Consider the tribal areas in many parts of India – here sunlight is the only beneficial element touching the lives of poor villagers daily. More than six decades after Independence, the poor in these forgotten jungle zones lack basic amenities such as drinking water, electricity, roads and healthcare. Given this scenario, it’s easy to understand why the Maoists hold sway over large swathes of land comprising as much as 40% of India’s landmass.</o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> Unless the Government makes certain basic amenities and meaningful development reach these tribal zones, Maoists will continue to attract new recruits and attack all forms of authority. Unless programmes such as the NREGS (National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) reach impoverished villages in the Red Zone (without the proverbial leakages), the hearts and minds of these villagers can never be won over to turn back the tide of Naxalism.</o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> Besides the human angle, we must consider the impact on the environment due to unplanned industrialization. Global climate change is no longer environmental scaremongering, as some of us once believed. It’s now a fact of life – and one that we need to address as quickly as possible.</o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> Today, we must focus on two issues. First, how do we ensure that the vast majority living in poverty are also lifted by the high tide of prosperity? Second, how do we achieve this via sustainable development – without further irreparably damaging Mother Earth?</o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> As we deliberate the path forward, it’s clear the agenda for growth must be inclusive, qualitative growth. Keeping this in mind, one must target the bottom of the barrel, i.e., people living in rural regions as well as the impoverished in urban areas. </o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> Catering to those at the bottom of the pyramid need not be at the cost of profits. Entrepreneurs just have to discover new ways to open virgin markets profitably.</o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> A case in point is the exponential growth in India’s telecom markets, with companies providing services at rock-bottom prices. Compare this with the situation a decade ago when India was one of the costliest telecom markets. Despite rates that keep falling periodically, Indian telecom companies still make money. How? A major reason – they have suitably tweaked their revenue models.</o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;">It would be in everybody’s interests – the Government, the public and private companies, and civil society – if all commercial activities had an element of Corporate Social Responsibility interwoven in them. This can be in the form of sustainable or environmentally friendly forms of development. Such an approach would also help preserve the traditional way of life in rural areas, since it would seek to integrate the least destabilising ways of achieving development. An inclusive approach would also allow greater job opportunities for rural populations.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;">These goals are best achieved, though, through public-private partnerships. Government organisations and the private sector must act in concert to ensure better results in development tasks.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;">Commercial activity backed by societal responsibility can achieve excellent results. The best example in this regard is the city of Jamshedpur, now in Jharkhand.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;">It was in the early 1900s that the Tatas began efforts to build India’s first steel plant. The site for a location rich in resources (iron, coal, limestone and water) began in April 1904 in present-day Madhya Pradesh. Only after three years’ painstaking search did the company’s prospectors find a suitable location in a village called Sakchi. The village lay in densely forested stretches of the Chhota Nagpur plateau, where the Subarnarekha and Kharkai rivers meet.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;">An extremely enlightened man, Jamshetji Tata (after whom the city is named) wanted the city to be more than a row of hutments for his workers. His city should have all the possible comforts and conveniences of modern life. Within years of its establishment, the city began to do its founders proud. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;">Jamshedpur is the lone city in India without a municipal corporation – possibly the world’s only modern city with this distinction. The maintenance of the city is entirely undertaken by Tata Steel. It is also the sole city in India to provide uninterrupted drinking water supply 24 hours a day. Jamshedpur Utilities and Services Company Limited, a Tata Steel division, handles this service to the city’s 1.1 million residents.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;">One of the richest cities in India, Jamshedpur also has one of the highest per capita incomes in the entire country. It is also one of the greenest cities. Tata Steel undertakes regular reforestation and tree plantation activities to maintain the air quality. Without ongoing tree plantation drives, Jamshedpur would rank as one of India’s most polluted cities, given the presence of a large number of industries. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> The villagers of what was once Sakchi village (which lies in the heart of Jamshedpur) now enjoy the kind of life they could have never dreamt of a hundred years ago. Jamshedpur is truly the epitome of inclusive, qualitative growth.</o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> Had the Jamshedpur model been adapted in other parts of India, there would have been no Maoist menace today. Yet it’s never too late to make mid-course corrections and promote genuine, sustainable development in all the neglected regions of India.</o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> If we develop equally enlightened minds like that of Jamshetji Nusserwanji Tata, there’s no reason why miracles like Jamshedpur cannot be replicated in the rest of India. Were that to happen, the pipeline of Maoist recruits would dry up. Overnight. </o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div></i></span>Aman Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05583790239623124667noreply@blogger.com0