What an IBM-Sun deal could mean for India

The news of global IT giant IBM buying Sun Microsystems has been doing the rounds for years. So, despite the Wall Street Journal reporting that an approximately $6.5 billion buyout is imminent, analysts remain sceptical.

 

However, if the deal were to happen, analysts feel IBM and Sun have a lot of overlaps in technology and in product offerings. Hence, it would be an integration challenge.

 

In the short term, there may be no impact on the 1,200-odd Indian employees of Sun. In the long run, some could get impacted due to platform and technology consolidation. Sun, though, has been cutting staff over the past few quarters.

 

"IBM will be the clear market leader (if the deal fructifies) in the server market in India, dominated by HP. But there will be conflict of platforms for IBM," said an analyst.

 

There's a lot of software overlap in databases -- IBM has DB2 and Sun has MySQL.

 

India is now an important market for Sun Microsystems, both for its products and creating intellectual property (IP). For instance, the number of programmers working on Sun Microsystems' platforms in India is 780,000, retaining the country's position as the leading developer location in the world. This is over half the total developer community in the country.

 

In fact, the Rs 1,700 crore (Rs 17 billion) Sun India, with around 1,200 employees, has consistently witnessed close to 30 per cent q-o-q growth in the country, according to Dataquest India estimates.

 

Servers garnered around Rs 800 crore (Rs 8 billion), storage Rs 300 crore (Rs 3 billion), and software and professional services accounted for the rest in FY08. Sun's presence in services is negligible.

 

An attempt was made to address the anomaly in 2008 with Sun Learning Services, which accounted for Rs 50 crore (Rs 500 million). Its professional services, under Sun Tech Consulting, took off as well.

 

Sun's India Engineering Centre (IEC), the first in Asia, was set up in Bangalore in 1998. The company has also set up its APAC's first Control Centre in Chennai --  the third such centre globally.

 

The India R&D centre has also played an important role in creating IP. Of the total 11,000 patents awarded, over 170 are from the Bangalore R&D centre.

 

However, for engineers at Sun India, this is much more than just an acquisition. "It's about the culture that Sun promotes. Some of the people working at Sun India have never shifted to any other firm," said a source.

 

Java is Sun's best asset, but the platform was never monetised. IBM could help it do so. Sun also has some interesting ideas on cloud computing, IBM's forte. Finally, Sun can allow IBM to consolidate a data centre rival and bring things back to equilibrium, now that Cisco has entered the market.

 

Globally, IBM -- which also has a significant presence in India, with over 70,000 employees -- can acquire server and storage share. With Cisco entering the server market, profit margins could be squeezed, especially if the server essentially becomes a storage and networking box, too. By acquiring Sun, IBM could get more scale. The same argument holds for storage hardware.

 

Sun is a powerhouse in Unix, still a key platform, but isn't exactly making waves. IBM could acquire Sun and establish both Linux and Unix. Sun would enable it to put pressure on HP's Unix-based businesses, too. However, IBM sells AIX Unix servers, while Sun sells Solaris.

 

There are issues to be worked out on hardware. IBM has refrained from commodity servers and Sun plays in that space. Hardware is often the entry point for IBM's software and services. With a stronger hardware business, it can fend off HP in the marketplace.

 

(http://business.rediff.com/report/2009/mar/19/what-ibm-sun-deal-could-mean-for-india.htm)

How IT revolutionised politics

There were a couple of successful electronification initiatives, which, by demonstrating the capability of technology to millions of Indians across the country, were transforming popular opinion in its favour. One was the electronification of India's elections with the introduction of a colourful, pop-art style, easy-to-use voting machine, which became an enormous hit with Indian voters.

 

'It took us twenty-seven years to implement electronic voting from the time we conceived and built the machine,' the Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami tells me. 'When we tried to use the machines in a 1981 Kerala by-election, one of the contenders challenged their validity but lost at the state's high court, so we went ahead.' But in the election, the politician who had fought against the machines won, and the loser challenged the result at the Supreme Court. 'The SC tossed out the results because the law required paper ballots.'

 

Amending the law took six years, and then the machines went on the backburner. In 2001, after a long hiatus, the Election Commission again tried the machines out. In Tamil Nadu, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetru Kazhakam, AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa made a fuss, alleging that the machines were unreliable. 'This time, the Supreme Court threw her case out,' Gopalaswami says. 'Good for her, because she won that election.' Since then, it has been smooth sailing -- in 2004 all elections across the country had electronic voting, with one million machines deployed across over 700,000 polling booths.

 

India's elections have typically been corrupt and chaotic, with 'ballot-box stuffing' part of the nuts and bolts of getting yourself elected, and voting fraud in some areas have been as high as 40 per cent. The electronic voting machines (EVMs) considerably reduced the problem of ballot stuffing.

 

As Gopalaswami says, 'When one vote is cast, the machine takes twelve seconds to reactivate. So the "productivity" of the fraudsters goes down, since you can't just stuff bunches of paper into a box.' The time delay has also helped the Commission figure out when 'stuffing' has happened with a machine. 'If we spot a series where votes were cast every twelve seconds, we simply cancel that result,' he says.

 

Gopalaswami seems to take these challenges of our elections in his stride, and when he tells me of his technology-aided solutions to stop box-stuffing, I cannot miss the twinkle in his eyes. Recently, the commission began to clean up the system by digitizing other parts of the process -- such as using randomizing software to choose the presiding officers for election booths. 'There are exclusion parameters that the software uses, which eliminate, for example, the guys whose home town is in the district.' In addition, these presiding officers used to be selected a week before the election, which gave candidates enough time to ply him with his weakness of choice -- alcohol or money. The new software, however, chooses the name of the presiding officer on the day of the election. It has, the commissioner tells me cheerfully, really annoyed some candidates.

 

And the sincere ballot-stuffers bring artistry and skill to their efforts. As Gopalaswami points out, 'They can figure out elegant ways around regulation and anti-corruption measures. But IT helps us make it a lot harder for them.'

 

Another major initiative that transformed the popular perception of IT and brought India's masses in direct contact with it was the electronification of the railways. The Indian Railways is a huge part of travel for most Indians; it cris-crosses the length and breadth of the country and transports fourteen million passengers a day. The computerised reservation system could not have been a better introduction to the value of IT systems -- it was highly efficient and allowed the poor to bypass the long queues for tickets and the ineffectual, often exploitative bureaucracy.

 

At the railway ministry, I meet Sudhir Kumar, an IAS officer with a wide, infectious smile, one of the sharpest minds I have known, and a tendency to quote the management gurus Gary Hamel and C K Prahalad to get his point across. He is animated about how much computerising reservation and ticketing has helped the rail traveler. 'We transformed lives for a lot of people with computerised reservation systems,' he says. 'We freed up passengers from long queues, the mercy of touts and tickets being sold in the black. But there is so much more we can do with IT.'

 

One of his plans, he says, is 'electronic dispersal of tickets through railway kiosks'. He is hugely optimistic about the options technology offers in future services. 'Software, intelligently applied, can help us mine a lot more information on customer behaviour, and build dynamic pricing systems,' he says. I get a sense that while people in India see the present transformation of the railways as dramatic, for Sudhir things have just started rolling.

 

(from Nandan M Nilekani's book Imagining India)

Satyam's path to disaster

Following is the chronological summary of events which saw IT major Satyam Computer Services, founded in 1987, on its path to disaster:

1. December 16: Satyam gets board's approval for acquisition of Maytas Infrastructure and Maytas Properties for $1.6 billion.

2. December 17: Defers Maytas' acquisition on stiff investor resistance.

3. December 18: Schedules board meet for the proposal of buyback of shares on December 29.

4. December 18: British mobile solution provider Upaid files a law suit against Satyam in a district Court in the US over Maytas deal.

5. December 24: World Bank bans Satyam for 8 years on charges of data-theft.

6. December 25: Satyam objects to World Bank's statements; asks Bank to apologise to the company or face legal action.

7. December 25: Mangalam Srinivasan, non-executive and independent director resigns from board.

8. December 27: Postpones board meeting to January 10, 2009 to consider buyback of shares.

9. December 27: Promoters disclose that their entire holding in Satyam pledged with institutional lenders since 2006.

10. December 28: Two independent directors - Krishna G Palepu, Vinod K Dham - resign from the board.

11. December 29: M Rammohan Rao, another independent director, resigns from board.

12. January 1: Satyam-Upaid case hearing over the Maytas deal in Texas court on January 7.

13. January 2: Promoter holding in Satyam drops to 5.31 per cent from 8.27 per cent after sale of pledged shares by lenders.

14. January 5: Satyam brings up old report by research firm Forrester complimenting company's innovation strategy.

15. January 6: IL&FS Trust company sales 2.45 crore shares of Satyam pledged to institutional investors by the promoters

16. January 6: Raju family holding in Satyam falls to 3.16 per cent after sale of pledged share by lenders

17. January 7: Satyam Chairman Ramalinga Raju sends letter to board tendering his resignation and admitting to fraud in accounting books.

18. January 7: Satyam Managing Director B Rama Raju also resigns.

19. January 7: DSP Merrill Lynch terminated its advisory engagement with company.

(http://us.rediff.com/money/2009/jan/07satyam-path-to-disaster.htm)

Govt rules out bailout package for Satyam

The government on Thursday ruled out any bailout package for crisis-ridden Satyam Computer, but assured to do everything required to save jobs under the framework of its responsibilities.

"This is a decision that the new board of Satyam would take. This government is not going to directly or indirectly subsidise wrong doing and fraud in Satyam," Minister of State for Industry Ashwani Kumar told reporters on the sidelines of a Petrotech-2009 conference.

When asked, is government not in favour of bailout package for Satyam as such, Kumar said that the new Satyam board "... are the ones to decide. The government would try and support within the framework of its responsibilities and do whatever it can to preserve and save jobs and to protect the good name of India in corporate sector".

He said, "The government will try to ensure to the extent possible that the brand equity of the country and Stayam in terms of its intellectual capital is preserved and the jobs are secured to the extent possible".

The minister said, "I do believe that Satyam aberration should not in any way take away from the great success story of India in the IT sector."

Earlier speculation was rife that the government is considering a package of up to Rs 2,000 crore to bail out Satyam Computer. But shortly after the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's review meeting on Satyam on Tuesday, there was media speculation that government would be considering a financial assistance ranging between Rs 500 crore and Rs 2,000 crore but the PMO office declined to comment on it.

However, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath, who attended PM's review meeting, had said that the government was open to consider a financial package for Satyam Computer.

The official sources had also indicated that the government appointed Satyam board had written a letter to the finance ministry raising concerns about the liquidity crunch in the troubled company.

Satyam has 53,000 employees and needs over Rs 500 crore a month to meet the staff cost. Satyam had plunged into a deep crisis following the founder-chairman B Ramalinga Raju's admission that he fudged the company accounts to the tune of Rs 7,800 crore.

(http://in.news.yahoo.com/48/20090115/1238/tbs-govt-rules-out-bailout-package-for-s.html)

Success tips from world's top management guru

He's the world's most influential living management guru and the first Indian-born to be so honoured.

Which is why, in these troubled economic times, when countries are slipping into recession, companies are going bankrupt, CEOs are taking pay cuts and pink slips are the norm, it makes sense to take Coimbatore Krishnan Prahalad's sage words of advice.

Strategy is about stretching limited resources to fit ambitious aspirations.

Management is a lot of blocking and tackling.

Many companies don't understand yet that outsourcing isn't about exporting jobs. It's about importing innovation.

You have to have faith. You cannot lead if you don't believe.

The technology eliminated the tyranny of the few over the many.

 

Invest time in languages and intercultural awareness. Focus on becoming part of the global citizenry. In exchange for the opportunity to participate everywhere/ anywhere in the world, you have the obligation to do something productive which will improve the world. Develop a personal mission, a desire to leave personal legacy.

You cannot solve the world's problems in a small company. The goal is not to say that we are going to do it anyway, with or without money. It's a nice, brave thing to say, but very soon you'll be running out of cash.

The negative side of a small company is that there are no dampers. Just because you can make a change quickly, the temptation is to act. Speed is nice to have, but going faster to hell is not how I want to run a company. I want somebody to keep pushing the organisation. I also want somebody to say, 'Let's be thoughtful about getting this done right.'

It is the bamboo that bends in heavy winds that has another day to live. The trees that don't bend get uprooted.

If you do precisely what you're supposed to do, and you're boxed in, then you're going to do that very well. But if pressed to do things that aren't in your normal job description, the challenge can push you to a new level of achievement.

 

If you want new ideas, you have to push yourself into the periphery.

How many senior executives discuss the crucial distinction between competitive strategy at the level of a business and competitive strategy at the level of an entire company?

Especially in troubled times, leaders must behave like emotional and intellectual anchors. You must steady the organisation and have a passionate belief that what you are doing is important.

Leadership is about what you do when the going gets tough� The critical issue is about faith, passion, and, most importantly, authenticity -- so that people know you are not pretending. People can see a sham."

I spend a lot of time talking about what we're doing in terms of strategy. You have to give the same message over and over again.

 

Consumption can and does increase income. Consider health care. If you are legally blind with cataract, you can't work and neither can the family member who cares for you. But if you get access to inexpensive cataract surgery, now you can see and both of you can work. Have you consumed eye surgery or increased the family's earning power? You've done both. It's two sides to the same coin.

In an organisation, one unique person makes a difference, but you need teamwork to make it happen.

In a company like ours, if we want to do something, we can just call a meeting. But in a small company, you have to exercise caution and build your own personal dampers so that you don't act on everything. Sometimes not acting may be smart. But if I get the feeling that everybody's becoming so thoughtful that nobody's doing anything, I want to go and light some fires somewhere.

If you are a good manager, you always worry about your competitors. To take the competitors for granted is a mindset of a closed economy. Nobody in the open market takes anybody lightly.

Leaders do not allow themselves to be weighed down by the difficulties of the present but are focused on the possibilities of the future. Instinct, passion, courage and confidence are the precious ingredients of managing differently. A vision of the future is critical to motivate people to become innovative.

 

Being anchored in reality and taking small steps towards that vision is equally critical. We have to learn to look at the stars and count the grains of sand at the same time.

Any company that cannot imagine the future won't be around to enjoy it.

Managing differently calls for a major revolution in the way we perceive our own roles as managers. The biggest transition that needs to be made is to move away from managing to leading, from administration to entrepreneurship.

Whether it is quality levels, logistics, costs, scale, working capital management, or capital efficiency, there is no room for the second best. Good is not good enough anymore.

If you want to understand how the future is being created, you have to understand how decisions get made, how people allocate resources, how choices get made.

 

Why don't people have economic opportunities? Because there's no information. You don't know what the price of fish is in the next village. The large-company Internet business models, the Internet poor, the new business models -- they're one big circle. They all interact with one another. But we have to make this a business issue.

A commitment to lead in the creation of new opportunities -- an opportunity-led management system -- is critical. Most often, managers change in reaction to a crisis or a problem, not in search of opportunities

People are intelligent enough to know what they are getting and not getting.

The greater the angst of sales and marketing managers over the decision to sell core products to outsiders, the more likely it is that the firm's in-house channels are less efficient than alternate distribution channels

How to distinguish non-core capabilities from core competence? In the broadest terms, a company many have 40 or more primary skills, but only 5-15 core competencies. Senior management has to focus on which competencies are at the centre of their business.

 

Excitement is manifested strategically by employees seeing how their jobs link up with attainment of a goal. The new strategic intent presents a challenge, and engages employees' intellectual energy. Like Ford did in the early 1980s with its quality campaign, managers must make every employee aware that without their help, the company will not regain or increase its competitiveness.

Companies that create the future do more than satisfy customers, they constantly amaze them.

Beyond reengineering a firm, top managers must know how to reengineer their entire industries, a la CNN, Wal-Mart, and Service Corporation International. Pathbreakers all, they recognized their core competencies and developed strategies to reshape industry structures around their competitive competencies.

Rebuild leadership before you need to.

Business must start with the assumption that consumers don't want to apply the same amount of effort to construct all their experiences. Today, I will take whatever coffee I'm given -- but on another occasion, I might be more particular.

 

Management must be performance oriented. Meritocracy, stretch targets, clear measurements and rewards based on contribution are the keys to a high performance culture.

We have company think, not consumer think. What we make is not what they want.

People shift their priorities, where they want to customise, where they want to invest their energy and expertise.

If you build systems for total participation and co-creation, buying off-the-shelf is a sub-set and is also possible. If you only build a system for what's available and what you make, then people cannot co-create.

Over time successful business recipes become dull -- your success leads to business structures that may become dysfunctional. What we need to ask ourselves is -- is there a different way?

 

To be extraordinarily sensitive and concerned about key competitors, especially those who have more experience and technology capabilities, is not a wise thing to do. I think we have to distinguish between being respectful and being concerned about competitors.

At headquarters, managers are focused on the markets already being served, not the potential markets of the future. When this happens, the company is hostage to existing markets, even though it may possess highly-evolved core competencies which can be leveraged for the future.

By creating a mismatch between aspirations (more) and resources (less) you create entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs leverage resources and change the business model to get more, for fewer resources. So the task for us is, how to create aspirations that rest outside the current resource base

You have to have faith: otherwise, every time there's a minor problem in the implementation, you'll change direction. Just because you are going north, doesn't mean it's going to go in a straight line.

Start with clear specifications and a clear idea of gaps by auditing your own internal structure. Then create small internal experiments to move one step at a time rather than turning everything upside down.

 

Consumers did not have much share of voice. Now they do. There is a fundamental transition that is taking place -- from a firm-centric society to a consumer-centric society.

Creating a new market is key... not to create new needs for these consumers, but to find new ways to sell the same products and services in an innovative way

It's a question of taking a lot of small steps: don't try to eat the elephant in one big bite.

The social architecture -- the mindset of managers -- must change. You cannot procrastinate. People must be empowered to act. Real time action requires a managerial mind-set. It also requires distributed leadership -- a shared agenda commonly understood, but access to information at very distributed levels.

Everyone should act in a way that's consistent with the broad philosophy of the company, so you enhance your brand, you enhance the experience of consumers.

 

(from http://specials.rediff.com/money/2009/jan/15slide1-success-strategies-from-worlds-top-management-guru.htm)

Telecom giant Nortel granted bankruptcy protection

(http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090114/Nortel_board_090114/20090114?hub=CTVNewsAt11)

Nortel Networks Corp. has been granted protection by an Ontario Superior Court judge from its creditors under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act.

A lawyer for Nortel said in court that the bankruptcy protection was necessary because the company was quickly burning through its cash reserves.

Nortel has also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States, the company announced Wednesday. It is expected to file for protection in Europe in the near future.

The move comes just one day before the telecom firm was due to repay a $107-million interest debt on bonds, which would have amounted to about 10 per cent of the company's North American cash reserves.

But the company is vowing to stay alive as a smaller operation, by ridding itself of non-core businesses and restructuring itself to deal with the North American recession.

The moves mean more jobs will likely be shed from its 30,000 global workforce. The filing also will affect the company's sponsorships, but Nortel says it remains committed to sponsoring the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Nortel is also a major sponsor for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Once Canada's most valuable company, Nortel stocks traded as high as $124.50 a share during the tech boom in 2000.

On Wednesday, it had dropped 24.5 cents to close at 12 cents on the TSX, off from a 52-week high of $14.  

"People who are close to the situation are saying to us that although there is a great deal of equity in the company the possibility of it staying together as the Nortel Networks we knew is fairly slim," BNN's Michael Kane reported Wednesday.

"We're likely going to see it sold off in bits and pieces."

Ian Lee, director of the MBA program at Carleton University's Sprott School of Business, told CTV Newsnet that he doesn't think investors are going to see a return from Nortel.

"I think you can them as wallpaper in your rec room," Lee said, referring to Nortel stock certificates. "I don't mean to be flippant but I don't think the investors are going to see a return."

While many on Bay St. are not confident for a Nortel revival, the company's CEO remains bullish on its prospects.

"There are very significant changes happening in a very large industry, we refer to this as the world of hyper-connectivity," Nortel CEO Mike Zafirovski said. "I believe we are very well positioned to do very well to profit from those significant changes in the marketplace."

In an earlier press release Zafirovski called the bankruptcy filing "imperative" for the company's survival.

"Nortel must be put on a sound financial footing once and for all," Zafirovski said in a press release.

"These actions are imperative so that Nortel can build on its core strengths and become the highly focused and financially sound leader in the communications industry that its people, technology and customer relationships show it ought to be."

The company's board of directors reportedly met in Toronto Tuesday to discuss the decision.

In Wednesday's press release, Nortel said day-to-day operations are expected to continue without interruption.

"The global financial crisis and recession have compounded Nortel's financial challenges and directly impacted its ability to complete this transformation," said the press release. "Nortel is taking this action now, with a $2.4 billion cash position, to preserve its liquidity and fund operations during the restructuring process."

Political reaction

In Ottawa, Industry Minister Tony Clement said the federal government was willing to provide financing to assist during the company's restructuring phase.

"The government of Canada appreciates the importance of the telecommunications industry to our economy and will continue to work with Nortel during its restructuring through Export Development Canada," Clement said in a statement.

"EDC has agreed to provide up to $30 million in short-term financing through its existing bonding facility and is open to discussing with Nortel post-filing financing in conjunction with other financial institutions."

Meanwhile, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said the province has $2 billion available in various programs to help struggling companies. However, he said Nortel hasn't applied for any money yet.

"We'll see how things shake out in the end and what it means specifically for jobs in Ontario," McGuinty said Wednesday.

"I remain hopeful that Nortel will experience ultimately a renaissance of some kind and that will be of benefit to the Ontario economy and to Ontario workers."

After the telecom bubble burst, the company failed to re-establish itself and was plagued by accounting scandals and weakening demand.

"It has been a changing landscape that Nortel has been unable to adjust to," Kane said.

Still, Peter A. Chapman, of Bankruptcy Creditors' Service Inc. in Pennsylvania, said Nortel could survive despite Wednesday's move.

"There's every indication at this early juncture that Nortel will survive, confirm Chapter 11 and CCAA plans, and successfully emerge from its restructuring," he said in an email to The Canadian Press.

"The Chapter 11 and CCAA proceedings will provide Nortel with the ability to sell useless assets, walk away from every bad business deal, improve its operations and operating margins, and knock its $11 billion debt load down to a reasonable level."

Nortel employs about 32,000 people around the world, including several thousand in Ottawa and Toronto.

Chapman said shareholders will likely lose whatever money they had invested in the company.

Drop a dress size in two weeks

Corinne, a vivacious 23-year-old from Delhi is getting formally engaged in two weeks, with her marriage following in another two months. But what happened today has left her sweating bullets!

She was trying on her engagement outfit, when she got the fright of her life. The buttons on her blouse were peeping open and worse yet, the bottom one had popped out when she bent over.

Lately, she has been careless with her eating, and has not been working out as often as she would like to; but hey, she's young and active. Where the heck did these inches come from?

Two weeks will be here in a flash and two quick months later the wedding will soon follow. Corinne calls up her best friend Sonali, who tells her to go on an extreme diet of fruit one day and vegetables the next, for two weeks straight. Her sister Jasmine tells her to take the same fat-busting pills she regularly takes to lose weight before special events. She can shed nearly 10 kgs in two weeks -- perfect for the engagement party!

Corinne knows stress, overeating and lack of exercise and sleep have done her in. How on earth will she look slim, radiant, and glowing if she goes on an extreme diet or takes those awful diet pills? But then again, her engagement is a once-in-a-lifetime event.

Do you find yourself sailing in Corinne's boat, on the wrong side of unexpected weight gain?

Irrespective of whether you're a man or a woman, here are a few healthy quick-fix suggestions -- the first three are compulsory and the others you need to embrace wholeheartedly. They will not only help you lose weight in two weeks, but can be uses as a jumpstart effort to look great from this day onwards, for better or worse, till death do you part.

Watch and cut back on portion sizes -- Eat 5-6 small, low-calorie meals a day, but ensure they are balanced nutritionally. Never take second helpings, and drink plenty of water. 

Exercise 45-60 minutes every day -- Dance, skip, take the stairs, just keep moving.

Eat a good and light breakfast every day and never skip a meal -- Carry a fruit and 6-8 nuts with freshly-cut veggies to chomp on. No cold coffees, fruit milk shakes and juices.

Lunches must include small salads with no oil -- Have lemon juice dressings, low-fat yoghurt, dal and chapati or grilled meats at every meal. No spicy curries, heavy biryanis, restaurant soups, breads and definitely no desserts.

Keep only healthy snacks at home -- Good examples are fruit and sliced vegetables such as carrots and cucumber. Try bean salads, bhuna chana, raisins with a couple of almonds, lentil sprouts, a small cup of skimmed milk or fat-free yoghurt. No namkeens, cream biscuits, pakoras, samosas, kebabs etc.

Ask your partner to help -- Eat in rather than eating out. The chances of overeating or eating unhealthy, fatty foods are higher when you eat out. Go dancing after dinner and let those calories burn off, sweat out the fat and feel aglow with the flowing endorphins.

Avoid all alcohol, it's where those calories creep in -- A rum and cola here and a 'lite' beer there add up fast, so drink water instead. It hydrates you without the additional calories. Alcohol adds an easy 100-150 calories per serving. Ditto for sodas, juices and cocktails. Add a slice of lemon to water if you crave some flavour.

Skip prepared desserts -- Instead, enjoy ripe fruit dripping with juices, they make for a luscious dessert that you can share with your partner.

Get a good night's rest -- Your body rejuvenates itself when you sleep like a baby. Lack of sleep increases stress and decreases your ability to discriminate -- perfect scenarios for emotional overeating. Get adequate rest and if you find yourself in an emotional and stressful situation with your family or work (which you and I both know happen from time to time), get onto a phone and talk it over with friends, instead of turning to food for comfort.

Remind yourself, you are worth every calorie and every inch dropped.

Dropping a dress size means different things to different people. Some may need to drop 2-4 kgs, while others may need to lose 6-7 kgs before they see a difference. But usually, inches decrease before weight does.

Eating 500 fewer calories a day and exercising to burn another 350-400 calories a day should sensibly work out to not only losing 2.5 kgs in two weeks but also losing some unnecessary flab and bulk.

(http://us.rediff.com/getahead/2009/jan/12drop-a-dress-size-in-two-weeks.htm)

Wipro did nothing wrong

Hours after World Bank made public that Wipro has been debarred from doing any business with the global lender, the company's chairman Azim Premji wrote to its over 100,000 employees saying that the company had not done anything unethical.

 

Denying charges levelled by the World Bank that Wipro provided improper benefits to the bank staff, Premji said, "Let me reaffirm that Wipro was right from a legal as well as ethical standpoint. We believe what we did what was right and we did it in the right manner."

 

World Bank bars Wipro, Megasoft, 3 others

 

The company, in 2000, had provided World Bank staff option to purchase its American Depository Shares at IPO price through a Directed Share Programme. However, the World Bank in June 2007 determined that this was a conflict of interest.

 

In an internal communication to the company's employees, Premji said, "We have always prided ourselves for setting the highest standards of business ethics in our dealings with all our stakeholders. We have built a strong culture which upholds compliance in letter and spirit. The approach was no different in this instance also."

 

The World Bank deemed the IT firm ineligible to bid for direct contracts from it for the period 2007-2011. The World Bank also named other companies that were barred from doing business it in a list made public on Monday.

 

Premji further explained that all participants in the Direct Share Programme signed a conflict of interest statement that their purchase did not violate any ethics or conflict of interest policies of their company.

 

Though the company maintained yesterday that the announcement will not have any impact on its revenues, its stock took a beating at the BSE on Monday. It, however, was trading 4.5 per cent up at Rs 237.6 on the BSE on Tuesday.

 

(http://us.rediff.com/money/2009/jan/13satyam-wipro-did-nothing-wrong-premji.htm)

Toyota refuses to lay off workers

Toyota is struggling to sell trucks and SUVs like everyone else, but unlike the competition, no full-time workers from stalled factories are getting laid off. The 4,500 workers at idled plants are instead bettering themselves through education by taking classes on safety, diversity, and Toyota history. They're also doing community service while on the clock and even some gardening. The workers will be learning how to work faster and smarter during the down time, and are even being shifted to busier plants on a temporary basis to help plants that are working beyond capacity to keep up with demand.

 

Toyota's plan to keep its workers busy at all costs isn't cheap, as about $50 million is being spent to keep workers busy with training programs. Of course, you can't please everyone and the plan isn't sitting well with all of Toyota's workforce, as workers at running factories don't like the fact that laid off workers are getting a leg up on training. A more skilled plant could have an advantage over others in getting earmarked for future products, so unaffected workers also want the extra training.

 

While expensive and a bit of a logistics nightmare, Toyota's plan is a good one if you can afford it. It should help create a more loyal, better trained workforce that also forges ties with the surrounding community. We bet Toyota hopes it will prevent any talk of unionizing, as well. And with Toyota's record profits over the past few years, $50 million is a drop in the corporate bucket.

Seven golden home loan rules

Rule # 1: Never choose a lender till the property is identified

Speak to your bank about home finance only after you have identified a property/home/flat you want to buy. While most banks will provide finance for ready-to-move-in properties, some banks do not readily finance a property which is being self-constructed or a property under construction.

Also, if the property is very old or is being developed by a relatively unknown builder, the bank might have an issue with providing a property loan. Take a sanction for the loan only after identifying the property. Banks are known to reserve the best deals for immediate disbursement cases.

Rule # 2: Get clarity about the loan amount eligibility

Banks have different ways to calculate loan eligibility. If loan eligibility based on your income is likely to be an issue, then talk to several banks to find out which bank can give you the maximum amount.

It may so happen that based on your own income, as well as your spouse's, you may still not be eligible to get the amount of loan that you require.

Then you must seek a bank that allows you to club the incomes of your other close relatives (parents, siblings, children etc) to increase your loan eligibility. Some banks may agree to club the incomes of two siblings for the purpose of calculating the loan eligibility.

Rule # 3: You must have 10-15 per cent funds of the house cost

If the house costs Rs 5 lakh, the bank expects you to pay at least Rs 50,000 to Rs 75,000 from your own sources, while the remaining Rs 4,50,000 to Rs 4,25,000 is provided as loan subject to your income based eligibility.

If the value of the house goes down in future, your down payment ensures that the bank's interest is protected by ensuring that outstanding loan amount is less than the realisable value of the property. Once you decide on your dream property, the bank will get the cost of the property evaluated by its own personnel.

Surprisingly, this evaluation can throw up a price different (in most cases lower) from the actual price you are paying for the property. In such cases, you will need to shell out the difference between the actual price and the bank's valuation as additional down payment.

So again, it makes sense to ask the bank to value the property (on payment of a small fee), especially if it is an old resale property. The small fee will be worth the while to avoid future hassles.

Rule # 4: Go window-shopping, bargain more & more

You should shortlist four or five banks and get the short listed banks to compete for your loan. The cost of your loan depends a lot on your ability to negotiate. Remember that all terms and conditions of a housing loan are negotiable.

Interest rates offered by banks take your income and repayment profile into consideration, apart from, of course, your negotiation skills. Apart from interest rates, also check various charges like processing fees, pre-payment charges, legal fees, valuation fees and other hidden costs. Take all these factors into account before choosing your bank.

Rule # 5: Be prepared to lose your processing fee

Your lender will charge you a fee to get the loan proposal on roll. This fee is called the 'processing fee'. This fee varies from bank to bank, but is usually around 0.5 per cent to one per cent of the total housing loan amount.

Paying the fee doesn't mean that you will get the loan, but this is the fee to get the lender to even 'take a look' at your application. No matter what the bank representative informs you; the processing fee is 'NON-REFUNDABLE'.

Don't trust any verbal promises about not encashing the cheque if the sanction is not done or is not as per the promised terms. Get all such promises in writing. This means that if your loan application is rejected or is sanctioned for a lower amount or at a higher rate than promised, you cannot claim the processing fee back.

Rule # 6: Fixed or floating, there is no substitute for vigilance

Even when opting for 'fixed interest', remember that in some cases, it may remain fixed only for a certain period of time, as the bank may have the right to arbitrarily change even the so called 'fixed rate'. So, probe further and read the fine print before you sign on anything.

Like a majority of consumers, if you have signed a floating rate loan, check whether the rates of your chosen lender had floated down in the years when interest rates were dropping like a stone.

To know whether your lender offers 'transparent floating rates', ask for and check the bank's floating rate records from 2002-2003, when interest rates were going down. This is a fair indicator of what you can expect as (not if) and when the interest rates start moving down and the time comes for the bank to pass on the benefit to you.

Rule # 7: Let your family inherit the house, not the home loan

We know little what fate has in store for us. When you take a home loan, it is on the basis and assumption of continuing income. We run into all kinds of risks in our daily life. Accidents and health issues like heart attacks, strokes, paralysis, kidney failure and other physically crippling ailments can cause loss of income or in some cases, even your life.

Housing loans are a fairly long-term liability. This is why when you take a home loan it is advisable to take a life insurance and critical illness policy.

Life insurance policies provide monetary benefit in case of an unfortunate incident like death and ensure that your family members inherit your home not your home loan. Critical illness policy will take care of the home loan liability if your income gets interrupted due to unforeseen, unavoidable circumstances which such conditions may create. That will be one less thing to worry about while you are anyway under severe stress.

Best of all, most banks will be happy to finance the one-time premium payable for both policies, enabling you to get this protection at a small addition to your regular premium.

(http://specials.rediff.com/getahead/2008/dec/15slid1-seven-golden-home-loan-rules.htm)

World Bank bars Satyam for 8 years

The World Bank has barred Satyam Computer Services from doing any business with it for the next eight years even as the share prices of India's fourth-largest IT firm tanked 13.5 per cent on rumours that B Ramalinga Raju, founder and chairman, has resigned.

 

Speculation was also high on news that Wipro Technologies, India's third-largest IT firm, might acquire Satyam, something both companies denied.

 

Foxnews.com on Tuesday reported that the World Bank ban started in September this year "due to alleged malpractice's including bribery". The news report said the World Bank debarment -- the harshest sanction ever made by the bank since 2004 -- was meted out for 'improper benefit to bank staff' and 'lack of documentation on invoices'.

 

"The information is true," Sudip Mozumder, a spokesman for the World Bank in New Delhi, told Reuters. Moreover, Robert Van Pulley, the information security official, admitted to the ban during a recent meeting with officials of the Government Accountability Project, a 30-year-old whistle-blowing organisation based in Washington.

 

When contacted, a Satyam spokesperson said that "the company does not comment on individual clients".

 

According to reports throughout 2003 to 2008, the World Bank has paid Satyam hundreds of millions of dollars to maintain and manage its software systems across global networks as well as look at back-office operations.

 

In 2005, the bank's chief information officer, Mohamed Muhsin, was asked to leave after being accused of improperly buying preferential stock options from Satyam, even as he awarded the firm major contracts. A top-secret investigation led to Muhsin being banned permanently from the bank in January 2007.

 

Satyam has been in the line of fire since it made an attempt to acquire Maytas Infra and Maytas Properties for $1.6 billion that are partially owned by the promoter family. Within 10 to12 hours of this announcement, the company retracted its decision due to investor outrage.

 

(http://us.rediff.com/money/2008/dec/24world-bank-bars-satyam-for-8-years.htm)

Anti-theft software for cell-phones

Own an expensive hi-end mobile phone? Petrified of losing it?

Police recently tracked down a mobile theft - a rare occurrence – but the moral of the case was it was better to be safe than sorry.

J. Vikram works as a Security Engineer with a top software firm in Chennai. A few months ago, Vikram lost his brand-new Nokia N 70 mobile phone. He registered a police complaint and in just two days the handset was back in his pocket. It was not just the swift action of the Cyber Crime Cell of the city police but it was Vikram’s prudence that gained him back his handset.

The ‘saviour’ was Guardian 2.1, a free mobile antitheft software installed in the phone. “The software when installed on the phone will ask for your International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI), International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) along with area code and a nominated mobile number to pass on automatic SMS alert when your handset is lost and used by someone else,” Vikram says.

Apparently, Vikram had nominated his sister’s mobile number. When his mobile got stolen and every time a new SIM card was inserted, the Guardian software in the phone started working. And as a result, Vikram’s sister got the warning message on her phone from the illegally inserted SIM.“Immediately I alerted the cops and they nabbed the culprit and got back my phone,” Vikram adds. The interesting element about the anti theft software apart from being free to download is that its presence inside the mobile phone can’t be detected.

Vikram is one of the few who managed to retrieve his mobile phone. According to M. Sudhakar, Assistant Commissioner, City Cyber Crime Cell, nearly 700 cases of missing mobile phones were registered with the city police last year. “But the recovery rate is 50 percent. People buy expensive mobile phones but don’t know how to safeguard them. A simple installation of an anti-theft software can prove effective when the handset goes missing,” stresses Sudhakar.

There are a number of mobile anti-theft softwares apart from Guardian, which can be downloaded to guard your expensive high end mobile phone. Sudhakar recommends softwares that primarily feature the following three options: a) Two mobile numbers can be nominated to receive alert SMS in case of loss of the phone b) Locks the stored data when a new SIM is inserted c) Exports all stored data to the nominated mobile numbers.
“High-end mobile phone users must make use of these softwares. In case of theft or loss of the handset, the software inside makes the police investigation less time consuming. The culprits can be nabbed quickly and in turn increases the percentage of recovery,” Sudhakar adds.

So if you own a high-end expensive handset, it is high time you protect it with some advanced technology that is easily accessible on the internet.

The software

Mobile phone anti theft software Guardian 2.1 can be downloaded for free from http://www.download.com/guardian/3000-11138_410612972.html or http://www.symbian-toys.com/ or http://www.symbian-toys.com/
guardian.aspx
Anti-theft softwares works well on Nokia models like the 6600, 7610, 6630, 6670, N 70, N 72, N 80, N 93, N 95 and also on a few models of other mobile makers.
Virtual Mobile Security (VMS) suite from Mumbai-based Innova Technologies is also an anti-theft software that would lock up the phones in case of unauthorised SIM card change or if the owner sends a text message alert to the culprit. The password-protected software would literally render the handset useless to anyone but the owner.
It would also forward the new SIM card number, the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number of the handset and the cell phone number of the new user via an SMS to a mobile phone nominated by the user.

(http://www.goergo.in/?p=231)

How India is weathering the financial tsunami

The global financial turmoil has hit a number of financial institutions overseas, resulting in write-downs, bailouts and bankruptcies. In contrast, the Indian financial system has largely escaped unscathed, thanks to a stringent regulatory framework, which was  considered stifling in times of upturn.

Not that the Indian banking system has not had its share of worries during the recent crisis.

Four large Indian banks with significant foreign presence had to make provisions for potential losses due to their exposure to overseas financial institutions.

These are: ICICI Bank (international assets accounts for 22 per cent of total assets), State Bank of India (7 per cent), Bank of India (18 per cent) and Bank of Baroda (19 per cent).

But by and large, the Indian banking system has been left untouched by the unfolding crisis, not only due to regulatory restrictions, but also because of their limited exposure to US-mortgage backed securities.

The central bank's stranglehold has also ensured that the Indian financial system has a leverage of 13:1 -- small in comparison with the US investment banks' leverage of 30:1.

Another factor that provides succour during such times is the dominant role that government-owned banks play in the Indian banking sector. These banks hold financial assets worth 77.2 per cent.

Moreover, all banks, irrespective of ownership, need to invest over 32 per cent of their deposits with RBI or invest in sovereign bonds.

Reserve requirements set by RBI are among the highest in the world. This ensures that RBI and the banking system have enough muscle to support the economy when there is a slowdown or liquidity crisis.

Effectively, this also means that  banks have limited credit risk and the balance sheets have significant liquidity.

Consider these facts: Over 90 per cent of borrowing with the banks is in the form of deposits.

Almost 75 per cent of risk assets are in the form of loans rather than bonds or securities.

The industrial loan book is fairly diversified across sectors -- the top five sectors account for 58 per cent of industrial loans.

The consumer exposure, including mortgages, is less than 25 per cent of the system's loan book.

In the case of bank failures, the Indian regulator guarantees a payment of up to Rs 100,000 to each depositor. This guarantee extends to over 95 per cent of depositors.

Also, over 50 per cent of deposits by value are protected.

Indian banks have stronger balance sheets compared to the past, as net non-performing loans of Indian banks have fallen consistently over the last five years.

In fact, subsequent falls in government bond yields have translated into sufficient gains for banks, helping them clean up their books.

The best way of judging a bank's health is to look at some critical parameters such as capital adequacy ratio, asset quality and earnings, which define banks' ability to pay off their service depositors in times of crisis. On all these parameters, Indian banks meet the accepted norms.

State Bank of India has the highest net worth in capital and reserves among all Indian banks, followed by ICICI Bank. Each of the two has about four times the net worth of the third biggest bank, Punjab National Bank [Get Quote], in this category.

Most Indian banks have non-performing assets amounting to less than one per cent. The average NPA of all banks operating in India (including foreign banks) is around one per cent.

The reduction in NPAs has been primarily driven by higher write-offs earlier and higher recoveries done very recently.

The gross and net NPA ratios have improved from the 1994 levels of 19.5 per cent and 10.7 per cent to the current levels of 2.4 per cent and 1.1 per cent, respectively.

The marked improvement in asset quality is a result of tightened NPL recognition norms (from 180 days to 90 days) and provisioning norms having come into force from March 31, 2004.

The incremental slippage ratio has also trended down from 5.3 per cent in 2001-02 to the current level of 1.8 per cent.

Among the big Indian banks, ICICI Bank has the highest capital adequacy ratio of 13.97 per cent against the mandated 9 per cent. Four banks, all of which are smaller than ICICI, have higher CAR than ICICI Bank.

Overall, 28 Indian banks have a CAR of more than 12 per cent each. Not even a single bank has a CAR of less than 9 per cent. Under the norms, banks need capital worth Rs 9 for every unit of asset worth Rs 100.

Going by FY08 numbers, none of the Indian banks, big or small, can fail.

However, the current fiscal, beginning April, has brought with it some troubling signs of an economic slowdown. The rapid credit expansion in recent years has resulted in a jump in NPAs.

At the same time, a disproportionate rise in the unsecured books combined with the growing lending is a cause for concern.

This, in an economic downturn, could mean a higher probability of default, as well as a lower probability of recovery, if the loans get converted into NPAs.

Over the past six years, the ratio of unsecured loans to total loans has doubled from 10.8 per cent to that of 21.9 per cent.

This means that unsecured loans have compounded at a massive 49 per cent during these years.

For individual private sector banks, the ratio has increased from 6.7 per cent in 2001-02 to 23.4 per cent in 2007-08.

The top three banks in private sector have more than 15 per cent of their portfolios in unsecured loans and advances.

(http://us.rediff.com/money/2008/dec/22bcrisis-how-indiai-is-weathering-the-financial-tsunami.htm)

No lay-offs, no matter how bad it gets, assures HCL Tech

HCL Technologies one of India's leading Information Technology firm, will not fire its employees even if the economic situation gets worse over the coming months, the company's chief executive officer told Hindustan Times. The company, like other corporates is cutting costs through other 0measures like reducing transport and electricity bills amongst others.

"We have not and will not lay off no matter how bad it gets, even if recessionary trends get worse," said Vineet Nayar, CEO, HCL Technologies. HCL Technologies employs around 55,000 employs across 19 countries. Nayar said that the company's hiring plans were on track but declined to put a number to the target. On expected salary hikes for financial year 2010, Nayar said that the company will take a decision around June next year.

"We will take a decision around June and expect that most of the bad news will be behind us by then," said Nayar. "We will cut costs from all corners, through better utilisation of electricity, reducing cycle time from desire to implement of a project, controlling transportation and vendor bills," he said. He declined to comment on how much the company is likely to save through these initiatives.

(http://in.biz.yahoo.com/081221/32/6z7zo.html) 

Balance your professional equations

After Chemistry and Mathematics, if I were to pick one place where equations play a major role, my choice would be professional office spaces. Yes, within the confines of our daily work places.

 

The only difference between the academic equations and the ones being referred to within the office space is the change in variables or constituents of the equations -- bosses, peers and various colleagues replacing chemicals and numbers.

 

The basic rules, however remain the same.

 

For instance, the results you get are invariably dependant upon how various constituents react.

 

Be it your equation with your boss, your boss's boss, immediate peers, colleagues working in other departments of the company or the guard who waves to you in the office everyday -- equations affect and matter everywhere.

 

But why are equations in the offices so important?

 

The answer can be found in the highly people-driven societies that the workplace has come to be. These days, you do not work alone and may get involved with umpteen number of people within the organisation. Interactions with so many people are bound to leave as many impressions. It is these impressions that can make or break one's efforts as opinions float around easily in these ever so connected confines.

 

It isn't hard, therefore, to fathom that having good equations with everyone is in one's own interest.

 

So, if you strike the right chord with your boss, chances are that you'd find yourself in good stead. If not, you could be asking for trouble.

 

However, the buck doesn't stop at the boss only. You would also need to be aware of the equations of other people with your boss. A budding manager, in spite of her hard work, wasn't finding the commensurate payback for her efforts from her boss. On digging deeper, it was found that she had unknowingly offended the head of another department who happened to be quite close to her boss.

 

If you deal with other departments of your organisation regularly for your work, the success of the task at hand may depend upon how various people construe you and your team. Having good equations with those teams may ease your task. Others would only be happy to work for your interests.

 

However, if the equations are not good, you may have to fight a lonely battle. But in spite of that, your boss may be sympathetic to you, if you are on good terms with her, even if you fall short of targets, knowing the equations the other team has with your team.

 

This also extends to the feedback about you, that your boss might seek from others. Keeping good company and more importantly a halo of positives around you is bound to improve the ratings you get in your next appraisal. That would show that you are able to handle the aspirations and expectations of various people, which is an important trait in a people-driven office.

 

Knowing then that equations are so important, how does one get to remain on the right side of the law? 

 

One way is to keep your eyes and ears open for any signs of deteriorating relations or appearances of slag in the broth that is cooked up every day in the office.

 

Check up on the office grapevine doing the rounds every once in a while. These are important sources of the prevailing undercurrents.

 

Senior team members or those who have been around for quite some time in the organisation are also good sources of internal dynamics. Popping quick and harmless queries before embarking on any endeavour would help get the lowdown of existing power centres within the organisation.

 

Information gleaned from such sources helps set proper expectations right from the start of the task. You'd know whether you can expect positive contributions from certain quarters in the office or not and thereby direct efforts appropriately.

 

Brush up your PR skills and keep others' interests in mind while you ask or provide for requests at work.

 

And finally nothing beats sticking to the tasks at hand without indulging in the politics of the workplace. After all, in the long run, a clean record looks far more appealing than a tarnished image.

 

(http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2008/nov/10balance-your-professional-equations.htm)

Credit card caution: use it wisely

With the Supreme Court coming down hard on credit card companies for charging exorbitant interest rates - in excess of 42 per cent a year in many cases - card users can breathe easy, at least for sometime.

Credit card companies, on their part, have argued that they need to charge these rates from the 'existing cardholders' for a variety of reasons - cost of courier, cost of marketing, cost of rewards and loyalty programmes and many others.

The figure - over 42 per cent a year itself, reminds one of all the 60s and 70s Hindi movies, where a village moneylender charged usurious rates of interest. And the inability of villagers to pay puts them in a financial hellhole.

In case of a credit card user, the situation can become quite similar. But here, usually the problem is irresponsible use. Also, a very few take the trouble of reading the card statement properly, which would make them aware of the all the small charges that the card company imposes, even for small requirements like generation of a new pin number or duplicate statements.

In other words, a credit card is simply a slickly-packaged, but atrociously-priced personal loan. It has its utilities, but the charges far outweigh the benefits.

Here are some of the regular costs

Interest cost: The biggest one. This can range from 2.79 - 3.9 per cent per month.

Late payment fee: Credit card companies charge Rs 350 per month on outstanding amount less than Rs 10,000. For outstanding balances between Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000 the charges are Rs 500 and can go up to Rs 600, for higher amounts.

Overdraft limit: There is a charge if a customer exceeds the credit limit. This varies from issuer to issuer.

Overdue: For overdue accounts and payments that companies collect by sending an executive to the customer, there is a fees of Rs 75.

Cash advance: If the card holder withdraws from the ATM, there is a charge of 3 per cent on the total money withdrawn or Rs 300, whichever is higher. For money drawn through a branch, credit card companies levy an additional fee of Rs 500.

Joining and annual fees: Considering the competition in the credit card apace, a lot of banks entice customers with no joining fees. Later the card holder is charged the annual fees.

Duplicate statement fee: The card issuers, for instance Standard Chartered, charges Rs 25 per statement if the requested statement is more than three months old. Issuers such as SBI [Get Quote] Credit Cards charge Rs 100. (In fact, most representatives at SBI quote a charge for duplicate e-statements as well).

Foreign currency transactions: Transactions outside the country are converted into Indian Rupee at a rate suggested by Visa/Master (network infrastructure provider). Apart from charging 2.5 per cent on foreign transactions, banks levy an extra 1 per cent towards reimbursements to Visa/Master.

There are other charges on cheque return, pin replacement, card replacement and outstation teledraft.

And it does not end there. Even the government penalises expenses on credit cards by charging the customer a service tax of 12.36 per cent on the total value of the transaction.

However, even a customer who may roll over, yet prepays as much as possible, (above the minimum 5 per cent) does suffer because of the way the interest on the outstanding amount is calculated. Let's take an example of how credit card companies charge. Typically, most credit cards allow a person to pay between 5-10 per cent of the outstanding. The rest can be rolled over to the next month.

But even if the card holder prepays a good 40 per cent of the outstanding bill, the card issuer does not take into consideration this paid amount. Instead, the credit card company keep charging interest on all the transactions made until the entire outstanding is paid off. (See interest pinch)

INTEREST PINCH
	Transaction Details	Transaction Amount (Rs)
1/7/2008	Shopping	50,000
5/7/2008	Shopping	40,000
5/7/2008	Dinner	10,000
21/8/2008	Payment Made	40,000
25/8/2008	Groceries	4,000
8/26/2008	Petrol	2,000
Interest on the entire outstanding balance of Rs 100,000 at 3 per cent a month (July 30 - August 21 - 23 days). Though Rs 40,000 is paid, the interest is charged on the entire Rs 1 lakh and not on Rs 60,000
Interest on Rs 60,000 (remaining balance, after Rs 40,000 is paid) at 3 per cent a month (August 22 - till  August 29)
Interest on Rs 4,000 at 3 per cent a month on groceries from (August 25 - August 29)
Interest on Rs 2,000 at 3 per cent a month on groceries from (August 26 - August 29)
Next Month if he just pays the minimum he will be charged 3 per cent on Rs 66,000 and any fresh purchases done

As it is clear from the example, even though there is no outstanding balance on June 29, but expenses incurred in August are hitting him very badly.

Similarly, cash advances too rob the cardholder of the grace period. In fact, when cash is withdrawn using a credit card, the interest is charged from the same day onwards. In other words, there are a large number of costs that you have to incur in order to maintain a credit card.

If not used diligently, credit cards can cause a real strain on finances. Of course, the best way to deal is to keep them as a convenient payment mechanism and to limit purchases. More importantly, it is pertinent that all bills are cleared at the due date.

This will ensure that you do not carry forward any balance and, in turn, not incur any exorbitant interest charges. Simple isn't it? But it is like an excellent weight loss plan that few ever implement.

(http://us.rediff.com/money/2008/sep/15perfin.htm)

Indian American behind Google Chrome

When search giant Google launched its own Internet browser, Google Chrome, on September 2, it has one Indian American to thank for making it possible.

Sundar Pichai, a technology whiz-kid and an IIT-ian, was responsible for the development of the Google browser as the company's vice president of product development.

"We realised that we needed to completely rethink the browser. The Web gets better with more options and innovation Google Chrome is another option, and we hope it contributes to making the Web even better," Google's Sundar Pichai said in a blog post.

Pichai believes Chrome can capture a sizeable portion of the market. His blog also said that Chrome was designed for newer online content, such as videos, television and music.

Chrome is an open-source Web browser designed to rival Microsoft's new Internet Explorer version 8 and Mozilla Firefox.

The browser can be downloaded for free and since it has an open source code, no rights will have to be paid by those who use it.

With this, the Google strategy to become the category leader in all Internet-related areas is very apparent. Currently, Microsoft's Internet Explorer has over 70 per cent market share, followed by Mozilla Firefox at a distant second spot.

Pichai joined Google in 2004 and now leads product management and innovation efforts for a suite of Google's search products, including Google Toolbar, Chrome, Desktop Search, Gadgets, Google Pack, Google Gears, Firefox extensions and Mac products.

He has over 12 years of experience developing high-tech consumer and enterprise products. Before joining Google, he held various engineering and product management positions at Applied Materials, and was a management consultant with McKinsey & Company for a variety of software and semiconductor clients.

He holds an MS from Stanford University and an MBA from the Wharton School, where he was named a Siebel Scholar and a Palmer Scholar.

"He is responsible for our overall desktop strategy and ensuring access to Google services for our desktop users," said Google spokesperson Jay Nancarrow.

(http://us.rediff.com/money/2008/sep/05google.htm)

Portfolio of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala

For all those affiliated with the stock market, it is always fascinating to know what the other person is investing into, what are the stocks owned? Call it human nature, but its always interesting to know what the other person does, the ever inquisitive nature of mankind.

So we were also a bit inquisitive and decided to take a look at the holdings of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, one of the savviest and smart investors on Dalal Street. He is a CA by profession and his name catapulted into fame when Forbes, in 2007, ranked him as the 51^st richest man in India. Son of an income tax officer, he started dabbling in stocks while in college. Rather than take a job, he plunged into investing, starting with around Rs.5000 in 1985 when the BSE Sensex was at 150; it is now over around 14,000. His privately owned stock trading firm Rare Enterprises, derives the name from first two initials of his name and wife Rekha's name.

Hence we thought it would be very interesting to know about his holdings and the stocks which he holds a substantial stake in. He is a long term investor and does not trade for short term profit. Take a look at his portfolio and maybe learn a few lessons. These shares are held by Rakesh and his wife Rekha Jhunjhunwala and form a part of his disclosed portfolio. There could be more holdings through companies, trusts, proprietary accounts which are not in the public domain.

NAME OF COMPANY	SHARES HELD (as on 30/06/08)	PRX (as on 5/08/08)	VALUE (Rs.in crores)
TITAN INDUSTRIES	39,85,756	1277	508.98
PRAJ INDUSTRIES	1,33,76,624	188	251.48
LUPIN LTD	27,52,135	753	207.24
CRISIL	5,50,000	3631	199.70
NARAGJUNA CONSTRN	1,24,50,000	134	166.83
BILCARE	20,25,000	640	129.60
PUNJ LLOYD	50,40,000	291	146.66
PANTALOON RETAIL	23,30,895	353	82.28
KARUR VYSYA BANK	24,94,073	348	86.79
BHUSHAN STEEL	8,20,000	922	75.64
GEOJIT FINANCE	1,80,00,000	43	77.40
PROVOGUE INDIA	3,80,000	850	32.30
GARWARE WALL ROPE	5,00,000	86	4.30
PRIME FOCUS	8,82,500	460	40.59
VICEROY HOTELS	47,50,000	51	24.22
INFOMEDIA INDIA	15,06,062	155	23.34
AGROTECH FOODS	17,03,259	126	21.46
ZENOTECH LABS	11,50,000	113	12.99
MID-DAY MULTIMEDIA	22,50,000	26	5.85
ION EXCHANGE	5,00,000	153	7.65
ZEN TECHNOLOGY	5,00,000	164	8.20
ALPHAGEO	1,25,000	413	5.16
JB CHEMICALS	10,81,650	47	5.08
AUTOLINE INDUSTRIES	12,11,622	182	22.05
MRO TEK	5,70,834	51	2.91
HIND OIL EXPLOR	61,00,666	136	82.97
TOTAL VALUE OF PORTFOLIO – Rs. 2231.67 crore.