Nokia Launches N79 in India

Nokia has launched the N79 in India with a special offer of preloaded 'Anthems 1998-2008', a compilation of 19 all-time favorite classic club songs and 17 new age music videos, presented by the Ministry of Sound.

The Nokia N79 comes with a 4GB microSD card, features an FM transmitter and offers music playback time of up to 30-hours. It is also equipped with AGPS with voice navigation, 10 pre-loaded N-Gage games and a 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and dual LED Flash.

"The Nokia N79 packs cutting-edge technology into a super-sleek, compact design – a characteristic typical of the iconic Nseries," said Devinder Kishore, Director Marketing, Nokia India. "It has been designed for those who want a device that is as appealing as it is powerful. This balance of performance, style and entertainment means that it is a defining step forward from the popular and very successful Nokia N72 and Nokia N73," he further added.

Each Nokia N79 pack comes with two additional interchangeable Xpress-On covers in different colors that have an inbuilt microchip that ensures that when the back cover is changed, the display theme changes automatically to match the color of the cover. These covers are available in five colors - Light Sea Blue, Espresso Brown, Olive Green, White and Coral Red.
The Nokia N79 is priced at Rs. 22,939

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Airtel enters the elite club of top 25 telecom companies

Diwali went well. We might have contributed to the global warming in a significant way, but who is checking? Muhurat trading went very well with Sensex regaining 9000 levels. That is the good news. Though it is not the topic of this discussion. Bharti Airtel has entered the elite club of top telecom companies. It is at number 25. It is the only Indian company in the list. Britain’s Vodafone which recently acquired Hutch is at number 1.

The study conducted by UK based brand valuation firm Brand Finance Plc, uses a methodology called “royalty relief”. This takes into account several factors mixed up to come up with the brand value of the company. Brand value is not tangible. If it has to go by number of subscribers alone at least 3 Indian companies would be featuring in the list.

India has crossed 300 million subscribers at the end of September. That number is pretty close to the population of United States. India is second in terms of number of subscribers only next to China which has 616 million subscribers. So, it would not be a wonder that Indian telecom providers might have more subscribers than most of the global telecom giants on the list of 25. Airtel has 75 million subscribers, Reliance has 55 million subscribers and BSNL has 38 million subscribers.

Since brand value is measured on a global scale, only one Indian company on the list is justified. None of our telecom providers have global presence. Airtel is setting up its shop in Sri Lanka with the help of IBM. Reliance pursued South Africa’s MTN which would have been a gateway to Africa for Indian telecom. Thanks to family feuds that did not go through. Airtel is rumored to be pursuing MTN kind of deal to expand its global footprint. Lack of global presence is the main reason for a lesser brand value.

I still agree with what came out of the report. Airtel, to me is a better brand compared with Reliance or Hutch (now Vodafone). I had my share of frustrations with both Reliance and Hutch, but not with Airtel. Reliance might not be behind for very long. Reliance has acquired its GSM license and is rolling out the operations swiftly. It is only a matter of time Reliance will overtake Airtel to become the top company in India. Airtel to keep or improve its brand value should innovate with mobile services and also expand into overseas markets. Airtel should grow both organically and inorganically .It is clear that Reliance cannot grow inorganically. That would be Airtel’s strength. If only it can capitalize on it. Reliance will be on the next list.

Do you think Airtel’s brand value is justified? Do you think Reliance or any other telecom company should be on that list?

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SPICE JET is Worse Jet

I booked a flight from Coimbatore to Chennai and on that day the flight got cancelled. I was informed a day before that the flight got cancelled. They said they can provide another flight but that will depart only in the evening. I booked for 9:40 AM flight and they said if i can go in 10 PM flight. I said thats fine, i can book in other airline and i just need my money back.

To my surprise, they said that they cannot give my money back at that time and they will be able to send that amount via cheque ??? and that too within 15 days and not immediately. I was having only 10,000 Rs at that time and din have enough money to book for 5 person at that time. I spent around 3 hours in searching for money (asked my relatives), to collect the remaining amount and then booked in jet airways as i gave my ATM card to my brother at chennai when i was in coimbatore. I was jus thinking i would never spend more than 10,000 rs for one day. It was the most embarrasing moment in my life to beg for 5,000 rs to my relatives.

AND NOW EVEN AFTER 20 days we did not get our money and i am begging for my money by calling the customer support guys. We got a cheque worth 1800 Rs. when I spent around 15,000 Rs. (God knows what is that 1800 Rs is for).
I hope every body should ask these questions to themselves before booking in Spicejet:

1. Why would an airlines company not refund the amount immediately when the airlines cancelled the flight.

2. Why should the customer beg for the money to spicejet that he has spent on the flight. Why they are not able to send the amount within 15 days as they said.

3. Why the airlines is not thinking about the customer and his financial status when they cancel the flight and not return the ticket amount. How will the customer book another flight.

4. Why does Spicejet take 15 days to return the flight amount to us. What is Spicejet doing with those amount. Yesterday i made a funds transfer of 12,000 Rs to my brother with 1 minute.

5. The Coimbatore customer support executives are talking like a recorded audio clip - telling the same thing (This is our policy, we will not be able to refund the amount now). I was telling that i need to book another flight at Jet airways and what will i do for the amount when you are not refunding. They were repeating the same thing again and again (This is our policy, we will not be able to refund the amount now).

What kind of policy does SPICEJET has, when it is putting the customer in a embarrasing position.
Why do you call that as a policy statement. I would call that as a crap statement.

6. Why did Spicejet cancelled the flight in the first place. They said technical reason. I doubt this. It might be even to the extent that they did not have enough tickets booked and they cancelled the tickets.
Or if it is really some technical reasons, i would never want to fly in Spicejet anymore.

Overall experience: WORSE.
Summary: Flight got cancelled and I din get my money back even after 20 days.

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Reliance Telemedicine Venture- Reliance Healthcare Magic

Is there a business in which Reliance is not in? I can’t think of any. BUT .... Now, Reliance has tied up with Bangalore based HealthCare Magic to provide tele-medicine and mobile health consultancy.
"There are some businesses which doesn’t make money. For everything else there is Reliance"

HealthCare Magic which is a online medical consultancy will allocate 30 doctors for Reliance’s tele-medicine initiative. Based on the demand, this number could be increased to100. Patients have to subscribe to a exclusive Reliance phone number to avail this service. The doctor who attends the patient on phone will listen to the symptoms and advise on the treatment or emergency medicines over the phone. All of this will happen in real time. Reliance will provide the network and infrastructure for Healthcare Magic.

The service is called "Doc on Call" service. This will be a paid service.The fee details for the services are not yet known. Healthcare Magic which services their clients through web, has 30 doctors and services about 3500 enquires each day. Online services are charged at 40/- per day or at an annual subscription of 600/-

Compare this service with what your regular doctors charge. They charge anywhere between 300 to 500 rupees for less than 10 minute consultation. You have to wait for at least an hour to get into the doctor’s room. One hour is if you have an appointment. Don’t we all need a little break from this medical mess. Healthcare Magic might just be that.

For common problems which are not emergency, tele-medicine can be very useful. For emergency the use of this service can be a little tricky. May be patients can use this until the ambulance arrives. Based on the diagnosis, the doctor should send an SMS for the medicines to avoid any communication gap. This is really useful in case of those midnight emergencies where you don’t know what to do. You are not sure if your regular doctor picks up the phone. You can just call the number and be assured that some one picks up and helps you right away.

The success of this services relies on three factors. Adoption, network coverage and signal strength, doctor available on the call. Any service in India suffers with poor customer care. Reliance is no different. I just hope that customer care for this services is taken care. After all it is not customer care, it is patient care.

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10 principals of teaching children about money

As Indians try to come terms with the current trends in the financial markets, this provides an opportunity to teach the next generation. Here are ten principles for teaching children about money:

Talk about money. Every time money is involved, parents have a chance to teach their children the values and analysis behind their actions. Money, is one of the important topics through which we communicate our wisdom and values to our children. Every purchase, investment, or donation can be a time to teach your children something about your values.

Talk openly about money. Parent makes a mistake when they keep information from their children. The only way children learn what is a good deal and what is too expensive is by the experience of what their family earns and what items cost. Hiding this information robs children of the financial education they need.

Talk factually about money. Many parents have strong emotions about money based on their childhood experiences. These emotions are always transmitted to children. Instead of helping children, they can cripple children from growing to make sound financial decisions

Require chores; pay for optional work. Everyone in the family has to help complete the work that needs to be done. If you want to pay your children, only pay them for optional work they can choose to do or not to do.

Provide children an allowance they can make real choices with. Talk about money is important, but children need real-world lab experience to understand the consequences of their decisions. Consider giving them an allowance large enough so that they can purchase some of their own needs. Then continue to give them honest advice, and help them ask the right questions to make wise decisions based on their values.

Help children prioritize purchases. Ask them if this purchase is better than other purchases they are considering making.

Help children comparison shop. Help them consider issues such as cost, quality, and convenience.

Require children wait before making large purchases. Adults should wait at least a month whenever they are making a large purchase. Children shouldn't be expected to wait that long. Here is a good rule of thumb: Children should be required to wait as many days as they are old in years before being allowed to make a large purchase (over a week's allowance). There is always tomorrow and over half the time they won't remember what attracted them to it in the first place. Developing this habit will help make them resistant to impulse buying.

Don't use money as a punishment. Your priority should be helping to give your values to your children, not buy their outward behavior.

Don't loan your children money. If their desired purchase is something they should be saving for, let them save for it. If you want to buy it for them for the value of the experience, buy it for them. The principles are "If they want it, they have to save for it. If you want them to have it, you will buy it for them." Loaning your children money for items they want teaches them they aren't responsible and they don't have to prioritize.

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5 great gadgets to buy this Diwali!

With Diwali around the corner, this is a great time to shop for gadgets what with discounts available at most stores. Gadgets make great gifts too; if you choose well they will be used often and for a long time by the lucky recipient. So here are five great gadgets for this festive season.

Canon Powershot A580

Approximate price: Rs 8,000

Perhaps no other company knows how to make cameras as well as Canon and their A series provides some of the best value for money in the entire digital camera segment. The A580 is an excellent new model in this series.

The 8 mega pixel A580 with 4X optical zoom is a good camera for beginners and will give you great photos on the automatic settings especially with the face detection and motion detection technology. However the real strength of the camera is the wide array of adjustable settings in the manual mode which give the user much more control than the typical digital camera.

You will be able to adjust shutter speed, aperture and ISO which means that the A580 is a great camera to learn the basics of photography.

Kodak 10 inch digital frame (SV 1020)

Approximate price: Rs. 9,500

The digital frame is a relatively recent product in the world of gizmos but the basic idea is very simple: an LCD screen with internal memory to store your photo collection. It's like a traditional photo frame except you can change the photos or cycle through different photos.

The 1020 comes with 128MB of internal memory which means it can fit more than a hundred photos (the exact number depends on the resolution). It also comes with speakers so you can set your favourite music to go along with your photo collection. Though it doesn't have a remote control, you can navigate through the various options using a touch interface.

iPod Classic (120 GB)

Approximate price: Rs 14,000

Apple recently announced that their 80GB and 160GB iPod classic models would be replaced by a single 120GB model. Clearly, the Nano and Touch lines of the iPod are overshadowing the more traditional Classic. Still the Classic has a couple of big advantages and may still remain the best version of the iPod.

The first is the huge storage capacity; with 120 GB you can store a vast music collection of 10,000 songs and still have plenty of space for thousands of photos and dozens of hours of video. In terms of rupees per GB the Classic blows away the Nano and Touch.

Secondly, while the Touch has a nifty touch interface, when it comes to navigating a large music collection the tried-and-tested scroll wheel of the Classic may still be the best option.

Samsung i450

Approximate price: Rs 14,000

When it comes to music phones, Sony Ericsson has ruled the roost with its Walkman series but Samsung has lined up a serious challenger with the i450.

The i450 is a dual-slider with a Touch wheel for easy scrolling through your music collection. The phone also comes with a 3.5 mm headphone jack which means a much wider choice of headphones to go with it.

Rather unusually for a music phone, it runs the Symbian S60 operating system which means better multi-tasking and a wider range of applications than the typical phone. The phone also comes with a 2 mega pixel camera.

Sony Playstation Portable

Approximate price: Rs 9,000

The Sony PSP is already four years old but it still remains by a long distance the most powerful handheld gaming device in the world. The PSP was Sony�s attempt to weaken Nintendo�s vice-like grip on the handheld gaming segment and though it hasn�t succeeded in that regard it�s still a pretty solid gaming device.

Its greatest strength is the gorgeous screen and a powerful processor which can take advantage of it to deliver great graphics. The screen is easily good enough to watch videos as well making the PSP a very capable media player.

When it comes to gaming, the hallmark of the PSP is a much wider range of games compared to earlier handhelds. You have your usual array of sports and racing games but you also have darker, more adult-oriented fare like the Grand Theft Auto series.

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5 Things for your portfolio

WHAT are the ‘must haves’ in your suitcase, when you go on a holiday?

Cash, clothes and camera?

Okay, if you’re a girl then add make up kit to that list as well!

A holiday is incomplete if any of these essentials are missing. Similarly, there are certain ‘must haves’ in a financial portfolio as well.

And yes, they are applicable at all times, irrespective of your life situation.

1: Medical Insurance
Medical costs and hospitalization expenses have hit the roof. A medical emergency can affect you in two ways. On one hand, there are expenses to care of. While on the other hand, you may have a temporary loss of income (in case you are hospitalized and take time to recuperate).

If you are a salaried person, you might have a medical policy from your company. However, find out the exact amount of cover you have.

For a family of four (comprising husband, wife and two kids), a family floater policy for a minimum amount of Rs 5 lakh is ideal. This is a common cover you can take for your entire family. The premium for this is usually Rs 8,000 - 8,500 per annum.

2: Life Insurance
Take your family’s needs into account before you freeze the amount of life cover. I would recommend a term insurance policy, which is the cheapest and the purest form of insurance.

Consider this. A 30 year old can buy a Rs 10 lakh cover for a premium of around Rs 3,500 to Rs. 4,000 per annum. If you have bought an expensive policy, you can consider surrendering it back and switching to a term plan.

3: Public Provident Fund (PPF)
To keep a fair balance between risk and returns, have some safe investments in your portfolio. In this aspect, PPF is king. For starters, it’s a risk free avenue since it is government backed. Also, the interest is compounded annually, so you can be assured of a nice sum on maturity. Lastly, it comes with the Section 80C tax benefit as well.

An annual investment of Rs 70,000 in PPF will fetch you around Rs 32 lakh in 20 years. Cool, isn’t it?

4: Equity
Equities give your portfolio a major boost. But remember this golden rule; making money in the market is easy; losing it is easier. If you invest on the basis of tips, over time you are literally kissing your money good bye. Unless you understand equities very well, stick to mutual funds. Invest in equity diversified funds with a good track record of at least three years.

5: Emergency fund
Don't invest all that you have. Have a minimum of three month’s expenses readily available to you. Out of this, you can keep a cash equivalent of a month’s expense in the bank. The rest can be invested in a money market scheme. A money market scheme invests in safe, short term instruments and gives moderate returns (around 6-7 per cent per annum).

Disclaimer: While I have made efforts to ensure the accuracy of content (consisting of articles and information), neither this website nor the author shall be held responsible for any losses/ incidents suffered by people accessing, using or is supplied with the content.

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What is the safest asset today

'FORGET stocks. Invest your money in buying a bigger bed. You can tuck away all your cash here', read an sms that I got the other day.

Funny I thought, but it really gives away what the world is thinking today. Everyone and his uncle are scared to invest their money!

"Should I keep all my money in cash? Is it the best asset class at this time?", is the question most of you are asking. Here is my analysis.

Cash has risk too!
Cash is surely one alternative but don't forget that there is a huge amount of risk. What risk? You might have a thief as a visitor and he can make a clean sweep (And the bed idea might not be a great one here!).

Besides, fire is another threat if you have cash lying at home. And we cannot rule out the possibility of natural disasters destroying your cash either.

And if all this isn't enough, then remember that inflation erodes the value of your money. So, idle money is inflation's delight!

Now that cash has been ruled out, here are some other investment options. But at this stage, are they worth it?

Bank deposits
This is an attractive avenue for many people because they want to 'preserve their capital'. Banks pay anything between 3 to 11 per cent per annum as interest on the fixed deposits (FD). However, post tax and post inflation returns on FDs are either negligible or even negative. Hence, this is not a great option either.

Income funds
If you think interest rates have peaked and will only fall now, you can keep your money in income funds. This is because when rates keep rising, the market value of securities that the income fund invests in, falls. This impacts the returns of these funds negatively. Similarly, when interest rates fall, the market value of securities increases, thus generating more returns for the fund.

But do you understand the rate scenario? Are you sure that interest rates have peaked? If you are not, then don't lay your bets here. It would only be a gamble.

Income funds are debt funds which invest in bonds, government securities, commercial paper, debentures etc. These funds value their portfolio based on the market value of securities they hold. Depending on the market value, the fund makes losses or gains, which impacts returns on these funds.

Real estate
A popular news channel announced that property prices will fall by 30 per cent in the coming months, so it would be foolhardy to invest in property now.

If you think that real estate will give you a return in excess of the interest rates at which you are borrowing (for the next 20 years), then you can invest in this avenue. For instance, if you buy property with a home loan at 12 per cent interest and if you feel that your property will give you returns of around 15-20 per cent, you can think of putting your money here.

Again, for a lay person to understand how property markets move is like hitting darts with your eyes closed. And it's best to stay away from guesswork.

Equity (read mutual fund SIPs) rule the roost!
Experts on all the business channels seem to think that the markets are a bad place NOW to keep your money. Of course I find solace in the fact that the experts are only looking at a teleprompter and not at a crystal ball.

I must admit that I do not understand equity markets as well as the experts on television. However, I have kept my SIPs running and they have been on for seven to nine years. I do not intend stopping them. If you have a long term view, think Systematic Investment Plans. It cannot get better than that!

Disclaimer: While I have made efforts to ensure the accuracy of content (consisting of articles and information), neither this website nor the author shall be held responsible for any losses/ incidents suffered by people accessing, using or is supplied with the content.

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Kyunki Saas bhi kabhi bahu thi coming to end

Finally Kyunki Saas bhi kabhi Bahu thi will come to an end by first week of November. SGL Entertainment Ltd, part of the STAR Group, has issued a notice to the producer of this serial, Balaji Telefilms to terminate its the show with effect from 10th November. It is a popular Hindi TV soap opera produced by Balaji Telefilms, that revolves around the lives of the fictitious Virani family. The show has been airing since year 2000 on STAR Plus channel worldwide. Rajan Shahi’s new daily soap, ‘Yeh Rishtha Kya Kehlata Hai’ will replace this show. Star Plus has also some future plans to replace all its old shows with fresh and bright ones.

The contract with Balaji is over, so there are chances that their all long-existing shows will of off from television. So all boring rona dhona of Saas Bahu, sex-affairs, Kitchen Politics, multiple marriages, superstitions, huge joint families, meaning less co-incidences will disappear from Indian Television. But still is if favorite of the big aunty brigade of Indian middle class. Initially when the main character Tulsi was young, then I also used to watch this serial, but after 2-3 years, their producers and directors started stretching the story like a rubber-band and it became boring for me.

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Google and Indian Developers

When Sanjeev Bikchandani first had the idea for digitizing the job classifieds that were posted in the newspapers he has to make a call to his brother in US to find about what Internet is all about and to buy some server space for him to host his website. That costed him $25 per month and in those days the servers were only in US. That was 1996 and the company was naukri.com.

From then to the recent IPO of naukri everything else is history. I got my first job in India through that portal. That was the fate of entrepreneurs in the post-liberalization and pre-dotcom bust world.

Now, fast forward that to 2008 and we have a totally different world. If you have an idea there are bunch of opportunities to fund it. Starting with angel investors, venture capitalists to the recent TATA NEN initiative, you just need a business idea and a way to monetize it and capital is almost secondary. To take this to different level, Google made an open invitation for the Indian developers.

Develop your software or content with the Open software tools, run on the Google infrastructure and attract 5 million page views per month. Hosting is the half the battle won for any idea. Most of all it gives a platform to see if your idea works. Now that you know your idea works you can monetize it. That is exactly how Google became a company it is today. Now, compare this opportunity with what Bikchandani has to work with back in 1996.

Along with this Google is also opening up the API for its Android platform, which will be yet another race towards free applications for this Google’s phone. This along with the Open Social API is a must for the open source developers who want to show their coding skills and monetize it.

Unlike Microsoft, Google has realized the potential of open source and the way it can revolutionize the web 3.0. Google is not repeating the mistakes Microsoft did. I think Google is the next Microsoft in a more benign way.

The barrier to success is not capital but connectivity in this flat world of ours.

Do you think connectivity is the only barrier to reach greater heights in this world 2.0?

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The Ultimate website for MBA aspirants- pagalguy

With the most prestigious management exam, CAT just around the corner, I thought it would only be appropriate to review this startup now. I came to know about this website (read startup) when I was preparing for CAT in 2006. I am not trying to be hip here, I have never written the exam and my hall ticket is placed in the memorabilia. I am referring to pagalguy.com, which is followed by most of the MBA aspirants.

Pagalguy is almost a one-stop shop not just for CAT, but MBA in general. Its discussion board is of tremendous value to any aspiring management student. If we have to go by statistics, It has over 2 lakh registered users and have 1 million articles on its website. Most important of all, 50% of the registered users are either alumni or students of top Bshools. PagalGuy also features interviews from famous personalities. The recent interview is of Vivek Bhandiri, IRMA director.

PagalGuy can also help you choose the right school. Domestic or International you can go through the discussion boards and follow it up to make a choice. If you haven’t done very well on CAT, then don’t be disappointed because there are a lot of other schools which have their own exams and for which you can get familiar with and prepare by following pagalguy.

There is competition for pagalguy in coolavenues.com, shiksha.com and studyplaces.com. Shiksha is more like a directory and has started recently and it has a long way to go. Coolavenues and Studyplaces are close but not quite there. When one has to assure a seat in one of those IIM’s he has to go to a specialist. That specialist is pagalguy.

If you have to choose between being big and being remarkable, I would choose being remarkable. In the similar lines for pagalguy to be remarkable they have to stay focused on the niche they have chosen (i.e., management) and deliver compelling content and add value to their users.

If you have to follow only one website for your CAT preparation, I would recommend pagalguy.

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5 things to look at in an Fixed Deposit

Fixed Deposit (FD) probably ranks as the most conventional investment avenue for domestic investors. More importantly, given its offering, it makes an apt choice for risk-averse investors. In this article, I present 5 things investors must look at in an FD.

1. Credit profile
The FD’s credit profile is an indicator of the degree of risk associated with it in terms of timely repayment of the principal and interest payment. For example, an ‘AAA/FAAA’ rating is indicative of the highest level of safety. Typically, an FD with a higher rating would offer lower returns vis-à-vis an FD with a lower rating. The additional return in a lower rated FD is in effect a compensation for the higher risk borne. Investors would do well to decide on the quantum of risk they are willing to bear and then select an FD.

2. Rate of return
Rate of return or interest rate indicates the return that the FD investor will clock. At any point in time, it is not uncommon to find various entities like banks, small savings schemes and corporates offering differential returns on similar rated FDs. Investors on their part would do well to scout various options and select the FD that offers them the best return at a rating that suits them.

3. Interest payout options
Investors can generally choose between various interest payout options like monthly, quarterly, annually or on maturity. Ideally, the investor’s need for liquidity should be used to determine which interest payout option is chosen. Selecting the interest payout ‘on maturity’ option can help investors benefit from the compounding effect and clock a higher return.

4. Tenure
The FD’s tenure is the period over which the investor stays invested. By and large, a longer tenure translates into a higher rate of return. Investors must match their investment tenure with their needs/objectives. For example, if the investor has an expense to meet 3 years hence, he can invest an appropriate amount in a 3-Yr FD to ensure that the maturity proceeds match his future obligation. On the same lines, if there is a 5-Yr investment tenure, then investments can be considered in tax-saving FDs; this will help the investor simultaneously benefit from tax sops under Section 80C.

5. Premature withdrawal
An often-ignored aspect of FD investing is the premature withdrawal clause. Investors opting for a premature withdrawal can be penalised by either being given a lower rate of return or zero interest depending on the terms and conditions of the FD. Investors would do well to acquaint themselves with the implications of a premature withdrawal before making an investment.

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Saving fo Children through MF route

Indians have a strong family bonding than any modern community. Saving for children is one of its visible signs. Securing future of the children, some times takes the tax route through the Sec 80 of the Income tax Act 1961. Insurance companies have done their bit eversince the segment was open for private entry ever since year 2000. The PPF, NSC, PO FD, PO RD, Bbank RD and Bank FD are additional sources for saving for children. Among all these, the MF route is substantially longer and one need not specify the time limit for saving if properly allocating funds depending upon the age of the child. Unlike the insurance shemes that take huge upfront cut, the MFs provide substantial investment growth opportunities - The effects of compounding is properly harnessed in the MF for an early start, systematically in the same market conditions with similar asset allocations.

Saving through the Mutual Funds have been there from the days of CGGF-1981 from the erstwhile UTI. The reforms in the capital markets, especially the shift from the fixed interest regime made such products unviable and finally faced closed down by 2003. But by that time, market related saving schemes from the private MFs have stabilised in tge market along with the CCP-1993 from the UTI MF. Today, CCP-1993 is the largest fund among the children's segment with over Rs.2369 crores as at June 30, 2008.


In fact UTI offers two schemes for children: the CCP-1993, a balanced scheme with maximum 40% allocation to equity and another CCP Advantage Fund 2004 that has a majority equity allocation. The upper age limit is capped at 15 years for entry into CCP. The AUM of advantage Plan stood at Rs.23.42 crores by June 30, 2008.

Tata Young Citizens Fund 1995 had an AUM of Rs. 141.07 crores in june 30, 2008.

Templeton India CAP-Education Fund 1998 provides for withdrawal maximum 4 times befor the child attain 18 years of age. But in their Gift Fund option brought in 2005, one can withdraw partially or fully after 18 years of age only.

HDFC Children's Gift Fund was introduced in February 2001. The Savings option is emphasizing a bond flaour wheras the Investment option is concetrating on equity flaour. The AUM of Investment option crossed Rs.124 crores in June 2008, whereas the Savings option, AUM, hardly inching above Rs 51 crores during the same period.

ICICI Pru Child Care Study plan of August 2001 has clearly mandated it for children of age 13-17 years with majority asset allocation for bonds. The gift plan, but, concentrates on equity asset allocation and mandated it for children upto 13 years of age. The AUM of of Study plan was 27.5 crores whereas that of Investment plan stood at Rs 114.81 crores in June 30, 2008

Principal Child Benefit Super Saver (Career Builder) Paln was also launched in August2001. 7, 10 and 15 years lock-in are available in this plan and anytime entry is possible. However in the Future Guard plan, the annual SIPs only is permitted. It has got additioonal life cover of the beneficiary child upto 50,000.

LIC MF Children Gift Fund launched in October 2001, has got AUM of Rs. 7.88 crores. Highly skewed equity allocation exists as on June 2008.

Magnum Children's Benefit Plan was launched in January 2002. Its asset allocation is skewed to bonds. AUM Rs 20.07 Crores


BOB MF Children Fund 2004 has got Gift plan and also study plan. The smallest in size is yet to cross Rs1 crore in AUM.


What is the logic in having a specific children oriented scheme when the child grow in age, the re-purchase goal is nearing excercise. So how can one have a moving target focussed with respect to fund management?

Looking from the angle of customer, I would put it like this: When your child is above 15 years of age, his need for money is sure to arise in 1-3 years. Depend upon the Fixed Maturity Plans or CPOSs instead of any of the above detailed products.

But if you are looking for Saving for children in 12-15 years age, you may be lured to put the 'plain children schemes'; DO NOT GO full throttle: Put 60% of your funds in an Equity scheme of above list and the balance in Fixed Maturity Plans or CPOS. Here you may even look at the traditional products in comparison to the MF products and take a learned decision as far as the goal amount required, especially the debt allocation. The 60% equity allocation will help you top up your gains or limit your lossses. The danger is that an astute sales person, may lure you to believe that a standard portfolio will give you the same result: which is untrue. Your goal horizon, is your own; it is not the same as that of the Fund that he is promoting.

If your child is in 10-12 age bracket, the goal is 8-10 years away. You can go for any of the balanced schemes given above or any of the diversified funds or index funds upto 80% of your asset allocation. The balance 20% shold be in MMMF/Liquid MFs to provide liquidity support to your portfolio. suppose the market is in a bear phase. You can use the funds to buy more additional equity investments for your baby.

When you invest for 5-10 years of age, you can buy equity 'children funds' . If it is a rising market like 2005-2008, equity will increase your wealth, but adequate care has to be made to shift to balanced fund when fluctuations like post Jan 2008 occur. The created wealth in the market become usable only when you repurchase and transfer it into another asset.

When investing for kids up to 5 years of age, you can gor equity schemes or balanced schemes depending upon the market cycle at the time of your entry. Some people are of the opinon that one should not be investing for children below 5 years. However, compounding principl esaya that earlier the better; larger the better. So have a SIP.

The wisdom says that balanced funds perform better in asset allocation strategy over longer periods of time than equity as the latter has more expenses eating into the fund corpus.

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Are you a high risk taker? Top 5 products to invest in

Enamored with the thought of earning above average returns? These avenues are for you.

Risks vary from one investment avenue to the other. For instance government securities, bonds and bank deposits are less risky compared to equities that are a high-risk avenue. So before you take the plunge into investing in various avenues ascertain your risk profile. Find out what kind of a risk taker are you. Are you an aggressive investor? Here are some high-risk avenues you may consider:
Sector funds: Banking mutual funds, infrastructure funds and technology funds are mutual funds that invest in companies operating in a given sector. For e.g Reliance Banking Sector Fund, Franklin Pharma and Reliance Power are a few of the sector funds. They provide spectacular returns when the sector is doing well, but can also tank when the tide turns. Investing in sector funds? Caution is the word.

Global funds: Global funds have been introduced by mutual funds to allow investors exposure to international markets. They do so either by investing directly in the companies listed on foreign stock exchanges or investing indirectly in the foreign mutual funds that have exposure to these stocks. Some global funds are Fidelity International Opportunities Fund and ICICI Prudential Indo Asia Fund. While these funds can be an effective diversification strategy to your portfolio, they are far riskier than regular mutual funds. An important risk is the currency fluctuation risk. If the currency of the country where the fund has invested its money depreciates against the currency of the resident country, expect losses. Says an investment adviser from a leading investment house, “Invest not more than 5-10% of your savings in these funds, but only after you have built a core portfolio of diversified equity funds investing in Indian equities. If you intend to invest in these funds, invest in existing funds with a proven track record. Also stay with these investments for a long time, in order to reap benefits. Watch out for the fees and expenses and redemption charges though.”

Hedge funds: A hedge is a private mutual fund, where investors pool their monies, which are then invested by the fund manager. Most of these funds are unregulated and so the fund manager has complete freedom to buy or sell any asset. In order to generate high returns, the fund manager can indulge in high-risk trades in order to earn large profits. These funds charge both performance fee as well as management fee. These funds are completely dependent on the fund manager, so the success or failure of the fund will depend entirely on the investment decisions taken by the manager. These funds use futures, short selling and other extremely risky strategies to generate high returns.

Small/mid cap funds: Mid cap funds are the mutual funds that invest in medium-sized companies while small cap funds invest in smaller companies. Mid and small caps are risky due to the volatile stock prices of these companies. In the event of a business downturn, these companies have a hard time staying afloat unlike large caps. However when times are good they can give you high rates of return. If you are looking for above average returns, and ready to take on the risks, this investment option is for you. Deb Biswas, a financial advisor with a leading bank says, “Invest around 40% of your corpus in mid cap and 20% in small cap. However keep in mind that these funds are very volatile. When the going is good, these funds can give you spectacular returns but can erode all your wealth when the tide turns. So if you know when to book profits, then this is the best investment avenue for you.”

Penny stocks: Many stocks in the small and mid cap segment are penny stocks. These are the stocks whose share prices are dirt cheap. They are easy to manipulate and most often rigged by the promoters in collusion with the brokers, thereby causing a sharp rise in the share price. They are then dumped on the investors. This is a high-risk investment because there is not much information available about them. If you can time your entry and exit well, you can make a good profit. If not, you will be left holding useless stocks that you cannot trade in.
Rahul Sinha, an investment advisor from Mumbai says, “Use these high-risk products sensibly, but don’t make them a part of a long-term investment plan. This is because these products do have a potential to make money but could also make you poorer in the long run. Also try to invest only the money that you can afford to lose…not money meant for your retirement or buying a new home.”

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Govt May BAN Chinese Mobiles

Mobile phones which do not have a unique identity number may soon go out of circulation. The Department of Telecom (DoT) is planning to block cellphones which do not bear the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number. Many handsets assembled locally or imported from China do not have IMEI numbers. The DoT has also proposed a bar on all mobile phones with IMEI numbers bearing all zeroes or no zeroes. IMEI numbers can be checked by dialing "*#06#" in any keypad . Investigations into the recent serial blasts revealed that mobile phones used by terrorists did not bear valid IMEI numbers. If they had valid numbers, the phones could have been tracked from their origin to the point of purchase. It is estimated that there about 1.6 crore handsets in India which do not have valid IMEI numbers, which is a unique 14-digit number used to identify valid devices. If the DoT move goes through, mobile operators will snap services to these phones. Chinese handsets account for about 13.3%, or Rs 4,000 crore, of India’s total mobile market, which is about Rs 30,000 crore a year. Every month, about 16.8 lakh Chinese and locally-assembled handsets are sold in India. A GPRS-enabled Chinese handset costs about Rs 3,500, against at least Rs 5,000 for a similar branded phone.

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Growth and Dividend Options Difference

People are confused , really confused ...

There are 3 Mutual Funds Options (Growth , dividend , dividend Re-investment) and we will discuss those today. There are lot of misconceptions and myths which add to confusion in the world of mutual funds and agents use it against investors and make them fool ...
Different Options in Mutual funds

1. Growth Option
Under this option you get the units at the time of buying and you have same number of units till the end. The NAV keeps changing according to performance
2. Dividend Option
This is the most misunderstood option in mutual fund.
Dividend option in mutual funds means that you will be repaid some amount of your investments every year and it will be called as "dividends" , this helps those people who want some regular returns every year from their investments in mutual funds.
People think that dividend is something extra which they receive other then their investments which is not true :) , Dividend is declared per unit basis, if you have 100 units and MF declares dividend Rs 4 per unit , you receive Rs 400 , and you think that your earlier investments have the same worth , where as it decreases by the amount you receive as dividend , because its paid out of your investments only . The NAV of the unit goes down after paying dividend proportionately.

Example : let assume you have Rs 1 lac of units in a mutual fund with NAV of Rs 100 , you will have 1000 units . dividend declared : Rs 20 per unit
How it works : You will get Rs 20,000 and then your remaining worth will be Rs 80,000 and as you have 1000 units , the NAV will go down to 80 . So your actual worth is same as Rs 1 lac . The only advantage to you is that you are getting liquidity with your investments and getting regular cash every year, unlike growth option.
Agents generally lure investors to invest in NFO's claiming that if company declared dividends, they will get more dividend compared to existing funds as they will have more units, Which is nothing but a idiotic myth :)

3. Dividend reinvestment

In this option ,the step is as follows
- Re-adjust the NAV assuming that dividend is paid.
- after that buy more units of same MF with that dividend money and allot it. So ultimately the number of units increases and the NAV goes down. In this case dividend money is not given to the investor but re-invested in the same scheme.
Example : let assume you have Rs 1 lac of units in a mutual fund with NAV of Rs 100 , you will have 1000 units .dividend declared : Rs 20 per unit
How it works : Your dividend will be Rs 20,000 , and NAV will come down to Rs 80 like it happened above. Now this 20,000 will be re-invested in same mutual fund and you will get extra 250 units (20000/80).
Your Total units = 1250
NAV = Rs 80
Worth = 1250 * 80 = 1,00,000
Which one is better Dividend or Growth ?
It depends . There is no thumb rule to decide which one is better then the other, it depends on the situation and your needs.
When is Growth Option better ?
If you are a person who earns well and does not need regular money back from your investment and if you are looking at long term investments then growth option is best for you because your investments gets compounded , which does not happen on the dividend part in dividend option as it goes back to investor and its never part of future growth .
When is Dividend Option better ?
If you are a person who need regular money every year from investments for some purpose, It may happen that you have more responsibilities and more dependents and if any small money which you get extra every year is helpful to you , in that case you can go for dividend option.

Conclusion : Different options in mutual funds are for different types of investors , before investing just see what do you want from your investments and take appropriate option.

I would be happy to read your comments or disagreement on any topic. Please leave a comment.

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30% of New Mobile Users from Rural India

TRAI's last quarter report has an interesting stat that is an eye opener to many of the telecomplayers

- Of the 25 million customers added in the Apr-June quarter, 8 million are from rural areas!

• 70 million mobile users in villages (out of a total 300 million) compared with 40 million in September 2007 (out of 209 million).


• Nearly 75 per cent of mobile users in villages are now owned by private operators.


• mobile handsets costing less than $50 account for 62 per cent of all imported units (as per Yankee group) - source

The biggest impact for operators will be drop in ARPU numbers, but that means a great opportunity for startups/other players to build voice-specific VAS applications.

What's your opinion?

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Why Endowment policies should be avoided

Today we are going to see Today we are going to see why Endowment policies should be avoided in any portfolio and how other things are much better than Endowment policy with the same cost .
The assumption is that you understand what are Endowment policies and What are Term Insurance Plans .
A look at the Endowment Policy
An Endowment policy would look like this for a 25 yrs old
Tenure : 30 yrs
Yearly premium : 31,000
Sum Assured : 10 Lacs
Maturity amount : 23.1 Lacs lacs ( this you get when you survive full tenure , It includes the sum insured + Bonus accrued)
This data is from website of an Insurance company .
Q . How much money to be paid every year? How much will the person get in case of Death or Survival ? What are the Risk factors ?
Ans :
Tenure : 30 yrs
Money outgo : Yearly 31,000/yr
Money received Incase of Death : 10,00,000
Money received Incase of Survival : 23,100,000
Risk : Virtually no risk (The only risk is when the Insurance company goes bankrupt)
What is the interest earned on this investment ? 31,000 per year for 30 years becomes 23,10,000 .
Annuity formula is :
Maturity value = Amount paid per year * [ {(1+r)^n - 1}/r ] * (1+r)
Here n = 30 years
and r = rate of interest earned
Putting all these values
23,10,000 = 31,000 * [{(1+r)^30 -1}/r] * (1+r)
The value of r which satisfies this equation is 5.4 . Which means that the interest earned by the investment in Endowment policy is mere 5.4% , which is truly pathetic by any standard in India at least . There is no investment product known which is known to pay so badly .
The reason why people feel that endowment policy are so good is that they also get insurance cover ( which is virtually useless because its so less that it does not even cover the financial dependents to even a fraction of what they need in reality)
So can we mix Insurance + investments product which can be better than supremely better than Endowment policies and still cost the same( or even less) .
Now let us see that by spending same amount (30,000 , 1,000- less than the endowment policy) every year for 30 yrs , can one achieve better than this .
1. For Safe Investor (Let us first see a almost 100% safe way to do this)
Term Insurance of 50 Lacs for 30 yrs : 10k
Investment of 20k in PPF for 30 yrs : 60 Lacs (this is assured returns , as its invested in govt backed PPF , which gives 12% post tax return)
Amount invested = 30,000 per year for 30 years (same as Endowment policy)
Amount received on death : 50 Lacs + investments done in PPF
Amount received without Death : 60 Lacs (investments)

2. For Aggressive Investor ( A person who can take more risk that the former one)
Term Insurance of 70 Lacs for 30 yrs : 14,157
Investment of 17,843 ( 30000 - 14157) in ELSS for 30 yrs assuming 15% CAGR : 92 Lacs
Amount received on death : 80 Lacs + investments done in ELSS
Amount received without Death : 92 Lacs (investments)
Equity investments for long term are almost risk free.
So , we can see here than in any case term insurance + MF is supremely better than Endowment policies .

Solution for People who have taken fresh policies
People who have already taken fresh policies and have not completed 3 yrs should just forget there payments and stop there premium payments. The profits of switching from Endowment to "Term + MF" will be far greater than the loss from leaving Endowment policies .

Solution for People who have completed more than 3 yrs
Either convert your policies to Paid-up or just surrender your polices and take the Surrender value (take your call on what you are comfortable with)

Solution for people near the Maturity

You have almost paid most of the installment , so better stick with it , but don't forget to insure yourself to a respectable cover through term insurance
Summary

Endowment policies according to me are totally incorrect and worst product i have ever seen (ULIPS are not far behind) . It is structured and presented in such a way that investors are attracted to it . Agents present them in such a fancy way and give judgements which make these policies look like must have products.

Disclaimer : The exact figures can differ , this is just a demonstration of how Endowment policies can not be better than Term Insurance + MF combo . All the Insurance premium are for Aegon Religare Life Insurance and Mutual funds payments are considered monthly (amount/12) .
All the view on this article are personal, some people may disagree with it which is totally acceptable

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How to build Mutual Fund (MF) portfolio?

First we should choose the fund houses based on the performance in good times as well as bad times over a period of 5-10 years instead of 1-2 years.

Some recommendations are SBI Magnum, Reliance, Fidelity, HDFC, ICICI etc. Then we should allocate our investible funds for different categories starting first with diversified funds.

1) Diversified funds: are always less risky as they cover multiple growth sectors instead of a particular sector or theme. You can have a long term view of 10-20 years in them. Upto 60% of the total investments can be made in diversified funds.

2) Equity Linked Saving Scheme(ELSS): Only difference from diversifies funds is that they save us tax also and since there is a lock in period of 3 years fund managers have less pressure of redemption. The amount of funds invested in ELSS should be governed by our tax planning needs.

3) Sector funds or thematic funds: are more risky in nature and outlook of the sector should be taken into consideration before investing. Also we should not invest in sector funds at the peak of the sector performance. Upto 30% of the total funds can be invested in sector or thematic funds. Time horizon for investments in such funds should be 3-5 years and they need closer monitoring then diversified funds.

Example: IT funds outperformed all other funds in late 90's but once they crashed in 2000 they lost up to 90% of their value and took next 3-5 years to recover the old highs.Some sector funds that have given good returns in the past few years are Reliance diversified power fund, Reliance Media and Entertainment fund and ICICI Prudential Infrastructure fund.

4) Contrarian funds: invest in sectors or companies which have good growth potential in future but are currently disliked by the investors due to sentiments, short term difficulties etc.

They should be a part of each investor portfolio and 10-20% of the funds can be allocated to them. Investments should be made with a time horizon of more then 5 years. Investors can continue to hold the fund even when markets peak as by definition contra funds switch to new sectors when a particular sector peaks out.

Example: Magnum Contra fund has given fabulous returns over last few years.

Some other important points to note are:

Ø Investments can be divided between large cap funds and mid caps funds based on risk profile and age. A young person with higher risk appetite can go for higher allocation to mid-cap funds.

Ø While investment decisions are better left to the fund manager we need to constantly monitor the fund performance at least once or twice a year but not daily or weekly. If the performance of the fund is consistently poor as compared to other similar funds we can think of switching to other funds(Please note this involves the extra costs of exit load and entry load)

Ø We should not choose an NFO over existing funds just because NAV of Rs 10 is less then an existing fund. Only the % returns should matter rather then NAV of Rs 10 or Rs 100. In fact NFOs have the disadvantage of higher fees and no past performance to prove its credibility.
Ø Instead of replacing our equity portfolio MFs should complement it.

Example: If one has more mid-caps in his equity portfolio then he should go for a MF having large caps exposure. If a particular sector is good but missing in your portfolio then go for that sector fund

Ø Dividends of mutual funds are not same as a dividend by the company. A company shares its profits by paying dividend while dividend of a MF means they are returning a part of your invested amount back. So opt for a dividend option only if you need regular tax free income (especially old people).

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13 Tips on How to Have Great Conversations On Your Blog

Let me start by saying that this post is not about 'how to get comments on your blog'. I've written previously about 10 techniques to get more comments and would recommend that post as a primer for this one.

What I do want to focus on in this post goes beyond getting comments and how to grow 'conversations' (something that I think is a little deeper). There is some overlap - but I hope this post goes beyond that previous one.

1. Set Time Aside for Conversation

The biggest conversation killer in my own life is simply that I'm too busy. This is true in 'real life' as well as blogging. If you don't set aside time to have conversation it is highly unlikely to ever happen because it takes time.

Again - I'm not talking here about leaving comments (leaving a comment can take a second or two) - but actually engaging in conversation means listening to what others are saying and thoughtfully responding in a way that goes deeper, adds value and says something meaningful - this takes time and if you don't prioritize it you're not likely to fit it in.

2. Ask Questions

As mentioned in my post on how to get comments, 'asking questions' is a powerful technique for starting off a conversation. If you want people to respond to your posts include questions within them - it's key to get the comment thread started, however it's also a great technique for keeping the conversation going.

One way to add depth to a conversation and to draw out more from those commenting is to take their comments and ask questions of them that elicit a second response. Rather than just responding to someone's comment with a 'great point' type comment - why not go a little deeper with a question that draws them into extending their idea.

3. Answer Questions

Not only is asking questions powerful - but so is answering those that readers ask. This can be challenging when you get a lot of comments on your blog (I've had to hire someone to help me manage this lately) but it makes your posts more meaningful and helpful to readers who come away wondering about some aspect of what you've written.

4. Track Offshoots of Conversation

The beauty of blogging is that posts that one blogger publishes can inspire other bloggers to write posts on a similar topic on their own blog. While the comments section of your blog might be the place that most of your readers interact with your ideas - a good post might inspire multiple conversations in all kinds of places in the blogosphere.

It is important to be aware of these offshoot conversations and to participate in them. Start a vanity folder in your news aggregator to help track them and when you find them visit the blog and add value to the conversation there. Don't feel you need to drag people back to your blog - but add value on that blog. In doing so you will build a relationship with the blogger who has posted about your idea but also potentially could find yourself a few new connections (and even new readers) among their readership.

5. Add Value and Depth

I've talked many times about writing blog posts that are useful and unique (the secret to great content) - however it struck me recently that the same advice actually applies to comments. If the comments that YOU leave (either on your own blog or others) are not actually useful (if they don't add value and/or depth to the conversation) and if they are not simply echoes of what others are saying (ie unique) then there is little point in leaving them.

One of the best ways to kill a conversation is to respond to something that someone else has written with a generic comment like 'great point'. Before you comment, consider what you're writing. Does it add something to the conversation? Will it elicit a response from others? Is it unique from what others are saying? If the answer to these questions is 'no' - work on your comment until it does.

6. Listen, Listen, Listen

As a blogger who has just published a post you've been doing most of the talking and your readers have been doing the listening - so when it comes to the comments section of your blog turn the tables and become the listener and let others do the talking.

Conversation is a two way street and if you take the 'monologue' approach into comments then you're unlikely to develop a culture of conversation on your blog.

7. Play Devils Advocate (with Care)

One way to stimulate conversation is to throw into the conversation an unexpected and opposing point of view. Playing Devils Advocate (when done well) can be a powerful tool to draw out responses in your readers and extend a conversation into a place that it might not have naturally gone.

The key with this approach is to do so with care. Writing something controversial just for the sake of it and in a hostile tone can actually kill a conversation (or take it into the realm of a flame war). A better approach might be to make it clear what you're doing with an 'I agree with you - however some might argue….' type comment.

8. Promote the Conversation

I find that when a good conversation emerges on a post it can actually be very effective to promote the 'conversation' (as opposed to the post itself) in some way. For example I occasionally will use Twitter to alert readers to a comment thread with a tweet that says 'there's a great conversation emerging at www.xxxx….' - these tweets tend to get a fairly good level of people not only visiting the post but coming over with an openness to respond.

9. Protect Your Comments Section (Moderation)

The comments section on your blog is a really important space on your blog and can both add to and take away from the perception of others towards your blog. If your comments section becomes a comment spammers heaven or always dissolves into a place where trolls flame one another it will not draw genuine readers into conversation.

As a result I advocate that you not be afraid to protect your comments section and set some guidelines in place for people to interact there. Ultimately it is your blog and your rules need to apply. If people step outside of your rules then they need to be willing to have their comments moderated.

10. Model the Behavior you Want

What about trolls and comments sections that get too negative? My theory is that the majority of blogs that have highly snarky comments sections will generally have bloggers posting to them that display their own fair share of snakiness in the blog posts that they write. I'm sure there are a few exceptions but I find that most blog readers take the lead of the blogger on a blog when interacting in comments.

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15 Awesome Search Tricks For Google

I am sure most of you here all know what Google is. If you don't I am not sure what planet you have been living on for the last 10 years. Google's search engine can be used to find all your favorite websites and it can be very useful finding things you want to learn more about or get more information about. Below are a list of 15 awesome tricks you can do with the Google search to get the answers and information you want!

1. Google Calculator

How this works is your type an equation into the search field and it will give you the result. Example: 2*4 - 23*5 + 1000. After you type this in and click search or enter it will give you the result. You can do addition (+), subtraction (-), multiplication (*), division (/), to the power of (^), and square root of a number (sqrt).

2. Dictionary Definitions

You can get the definition of a word by typing "define:" followed by the word. Example: define: canucks. This will get you the definition of canucks.

3. Search for a specific title

Suppose you came across a website you thought was awesome but you forgot to bookmark the site and only remembered the title of it and wanted to find it again. Well you can search by title with Google to hopefully find that website a bit more easily. All you need to do is type "intitle: then the title". By doing this you will only get results of websites with that line in the title.

4. Google Converter

This is a very useful one if you need to convert something from one unit to another unit quickly. All you need to do is type something like "5km in miles" and it will do the conversion for you. I also use it a lot for changing from Fahrenheit to Celsius (25F to C).

5. Compare Currencies

Google search engine has a built in currency converter so you can go from one currency to another. This is done by simply typing something like "1 USD in CAN" and press enter and it will do the conversion for you.

6. Weather Updates

If you want to know what the weather will be like in your area you can type something like "London weather" and it will give you the conditions in that area.

7. Search for specific file types

If you want to find a certain type of file on the Internet it is normally pretty difficult to find what you are looking for but with the use of Google search you can find file types a bit more easily. You can search for file types by doing something like "Guide to build a good website filetype:ppt". That will look for files with that name and the file type of a powerpoint presentation.

8. Search on a particular website

If you want to search a particular website from Google you can do this by typing "hitch DVD site:www.amazon.com". By typing in site: and then the website it will search that website for what you have type before site:.

9. Get the local time anywhere

Want to know the time in London now? You can do that by typing "what time is it London" in the search bar. You can also do it by typing "time (location)" without the quotes.

10. Remove unwanted search results

Have you ever wanted to search for something in particular but wanted to remove some of the search results? You can do this by type -something after the search term to remove it from the search results. Example: James Bond -movie. What that would do is remove the search results of James Bond that included the movie so you would find other things like news, books, etc.

11. Search for URLs

Want to search for a particular URL? You can do so by putting a "_, . , -" in between the words instead of a space. Example: What_are_you_talking_about. This would search for URLs that included those words.

12. Track Flight Status

Want to track a particular flight status? You can do that if you know the airline and flight number. You just need to type in the airline and the flight number to get the status. Example: British airways flight 5. This will bring you the results of this flight from this particular airline.

13. Search Google Groups by the subject line

You can search Google groups by subject line with this little trick. Type "insubject:then topic here" and you will get the Google groups with that subject line.

14. Find Related Sites

This trick will probably be familiar to a bunch of people but is helpful for finding related sites. What you do is type "related:www.site.com". So if you wanted to find an alternative to the website your are looking at that you may have liked you can use this feature.

15. Find Links to a specific URL

This is pretty helpful for finding backlinks to your website. If you want to find out what websites link to your website you can type "link:www.yoursite.com" and you will get all the results of the websites that link back to yours.

In Summary:

Below is a summary of 15 awesome tricks you can use Google search engine for:

• Google Calculator


• Dictionary Definitions


• Search for a specific title


• Google Converter


• Compare Currencies


• Weather Updates


• Search for specific file types


• Search on a particular website


• Get the local time anywhere


• Remove unwanted search results


• Search for URLs


• Track Flight Status


• Search Google Groups by the subject line


• Find related sites


• Find Links to a specific URL

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Indian Infotech companies on shopping spree - No credit, all cash!

Nasscom forecasted a 21-24% revenue growth for IT industry till April 2009. This is valued at $50 billion. Not the expected 30% growth, which the industry saw for the past 3 years. I think the final figure would settle down at 20%. Satyam has fired 4500 employees and the same news is expected from other companies. BPO companies are going easy on the hiring part.

Reading this should you be worried? If you said yes then read on.

Infotech is eyeing a $40 billion dollar acquisition in Germany. Satyam has 20000 crores for acquisitions. Satyam and TCS have gained key contracts in Middle East and Europe. Satyam has also acquired land for new facilities in Pune and Vizag. TCS is zeroing on buying the BPO arm (Citigroup global services) of Citibank for $550 million. Symphony Technology Group (STG), the US-based strategic holding company founded by an Indian, plans to invest $900 million (around Rupees 4,230 crore) in acquisitions.

I guess everybody is following the Infosys-Axon-HCL triangular dance. Axon has agreed for a $441 million pound take over by HCL. Infosys, which wanted a SAP exposure through Axon, has to wait. May be HCL has paid a higher price for the company but it has gained key expertise and exposure to European market.

This is not limited to the biggies. Small and mid-sized IT companies are game too. Ahmedabad based iCall has set aside $50 million for a suitable buy. GlobalTech, which provides embedded IT solutions, is looking for suitable acquisitions. This is the Indian acquisition story so far. India is also expecting organic growth from the financial crisis.

US financial majors like Lehman Brothers and others have given a lot of pain to the Indian IT industry. It is estimated that Indian IT industry's exposure to BFSI is anywhere between 33% to 50%. Given this statistic it is a lot of pain for the industry. But it has also brought cheer to a different vertical called Legal Process outsourcing (LPO). The companies, which filed bankruptcy, have to do a lot of legal work to bring the company down. It will cost a bomb to do that work in the US. Indian lawyers charge only a tenth of what their US counter-parts do. A new industry is born or seeking revival.

Next stop would be the regulation. The debacle of Enron and WorldCom in the US has led to a new regulation in terms of corporate governance. Sarbanes Oxley, which forces the companies to go through stiffer regulations, has made the companies go through a lot of work. It is only prudent for the US government to enforce some stiffer regulations for the financial companies and corporations in general. They should teach their organizations on how to use credit and oversee that. Many Indian BPO firms are already betting big on the new regulations, which are not even in talks.

The global accounting will see a sea change in their procedures. Indian BPO firms, which do the outsourcing work in the accounting vertical, are really optimistic about the new work they will be getting. India has the first mover advantage in terms of IT infrastructure and ecosystem. It would be hard for the west to look beyond India for outsourcing this kind of work.

If round one went to Tata for million dollar acquisitions round 2 will be going to Indian IT industry which is sitting on a pile of cash.

This looks like a tasty Indian khichidi just in for the Diwali time. The constituents to make the khichdi (accidental though) are as follows:

· Firing employees

· Falling stock prices

· Buying land

· Shopping companies

· Developing new verticals

· Bringing more business with the new acquisitions

· Keeping share holders happy

The khichdi took just 2 months. I think that is too much activity for any CEO. Our Indian IT CEO's need a nice massage and a big break.

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8 Low Cost Methods to Promote Your Website and Blog Offline

1. Have a bumper sticker printed up with your web site address and other business information. Place it on the bumper of your car. People will see it when you're driving.




2. Have some t-shirts made with your web site address and other business information. Your family or friends could wear them almost anywhere.




3. Have some ball caps made with your web site address and other business information. Wear them to keep the sun out of your eyes and promote your business at the same time.




4. Have some business cards printed up with your web site address and other business information. Pass them out to people you meet or that might be


interested in your business.




5. Have a magnetic sign made with your web site address and other business information. Place it on your car door or roof when you are traveling.




6. Have some flyers printed out with your web site address and other business information. Keep a few with you to hang on bulletin boards you see.




7. Have some jackets printed with your web site address and other business information. Give


them away to family and friends. When it's too cold for t-shirts, you can wear jackets.




8. Have some mugs imprinted with your web site address and other business information. Use them when you have company or give them away to friends and family as gifts.

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सुशील गिरधर का नया हिंदी ब्लाग

आज से मैं अपना एक नया ब्लाग शुरु कर रहा हूँ। www.girdherhindi.blogspot.com नाम से यह ब्लाग अब से कुछ पल पहले इंटरनेट के जाल पे अवतार ले चुका है। सबसे पहले मैने अपना मुख्य ब्लाग www.girdher.wordpress.com बनाया था जिसे अपडेट करना अब लगभग बंद सा ही है। इस ब्लाग ने गूगल में वो शौहरत पाई कि इसका हर लेख छपने के थोडी ही देर बाद गूगल पे आ जाता था फिर मैने www.girdher.com बनाया जो हिंदी को ध्यान में रखकर ही
शुरु किया था और इसपे कई लेख लिखे भी थे मगर एक दिन अचानक टैंम्पलेट बदलते वक्त पता नहीं क्या हुआ कि सब खत्म हो गया। फिर मैने एक नए टैम्पलेट के साथ इसे फिर शुरु किया अंग्रेजी में....और फिर इसने जो किया वो आप गूगल में खोज सकते है। हालांकि विजिटर तो कम हैं मगर एडसेंस की कमाई आशानुरुप चल रही है। लेकिन इस दौड में मैं हिंदी के पाठकों से दूर हो गया। हिंदी के पाठकों से फिर से रिश्ता जोडने के लिए मैने ये नया ब्लाग शुरु किया है जो अब हिंदी में ही रहेगा। अगर आप हिंदी के शौकीन हैं तो www.girdherhindi.blogspot.com और अगर अंग्रेजी के शौकीन हैं तो www.girdher.com पढ सकते हैं।मेरा एक तीसरा ब्लाग भी है www.sheelu.wordpress.com जो थोडा कम अपडेट हो पाता है। हिंदी के प्रमुख ब्लाग रवि रतलामी, कुन्नु भाई, हाय प्रथम, भडास, हिंदी टिप्स, जीतू का पन्ना आदि का मैं नियमित पाठक हूं। उम्मीद है आज के बाद मेरे ब्लाग के भी कुछ नियमित पाठक बनेंगे । साथ ही मैं ये बता देना चाहता हूं कि मैं एक टैलीकाम इंजीनियर हूं । अगर किसी भाई की टैलीकाम, कंम्पयूटर, किसी भी हार्डवेयर या साफ्टवेयर से जुडी कोई समस्या हो तो मुझसे बेझिझक पूछिए।शेयर मार्केट, म्युचुअल फंड या बीमा और आय कर आदि की सलाह भी उपलब्ध रहेगी। एडसेंस में काफी कुछ सीख लिया है और काफी नई बातें पता चली हैं जो गूगल वाले नहीं बताते । वो भी धीरे धीरे बताता रहूंगा। खास बात ये रहेगी कि मेरे ब्लाग पे मैं वो नहीं लिखूंगा जो मेरा मन करेगा बल्कि वो लिखूंगा जो आप पढना चाहेंगे और ये तभी संभव है जब आपके विचार मुझे नियमित रूप से मिलें। तो अब बताइए कि अगली पोस्ट में क्या लिखूं।

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Sensex breaks 12K, ends down 725 points

The Sensex opened with a negative gap of 242 points at 12,284 on the back of negative cues from the global markets. The NSE Nifty is down 216 points at 3,602.




The US markets on Friday tumbled despite the House of Representatives clearing the $700 bn revised bailout package. As a result of which Asian markets were down 3-4% on an average at the opening bell.

Eventually, most of the asian markets like Hang Seng, Nikkei, Straits Times, Shanghai Composite and Seoul Composite indices ended with losses in the range of 4-6% each.

Bank home, the index too witnessed unabated sellling and tumbled below yet another psychological mark of 12,000, to a low of 11,733 - down 793 points from the previous close. The Sensex finally ended with a significant loss of 725 points (5.8%) at 11,802.

In the process, the index has shed 9.6% (1,254 points) in the last two trading sessions, and is down a whopping 41.8% (8,484 points) so far this year.

The BSE Realty index slumped almost 10% (330 points) to 3,000. The Metal index plunged 9.3% (780 points) to 7,636. The Capital Goods and Power indices tumbled over 7% each to 9,495 and 2,066, respectively.

The market breadth was extremely negative - out of 2,677 stocks traded, 2,369 declined, 281 advanced and 27 were unchanged on Monday.

BIG LOSERS...

Sterlite slumped over 15% to Rs 335. Reliance Infrastructure tumbled 14% to Rs 638, and Jaiprakash Associates [Get Quote] plunged 13.5% to Rs 100.

Tata Steel [Get Quote] crashed 11% to Rs 350. DLF, Tata Power [Get Quote] and Reliance Communications [Get Quote] dropped around 10% each to Rs 302, Rs 798 and Rs 300, respectively.

Grasim [Get Quote] shed 9.5% at Rs 1,591. BHEL crumbled 7.5% to Rs 1,449.

Reliance, Ranbaxy [Get Quote] and Larsen & Toubro slipped around 6.5% each to Rs 1,642, Rs 246 and Rs 1,083, respectively.

Wipro [Get Quote] and Satyam [Get Quote] dropped over 6% each to Rs 320 and Rs 294, respectively.

TCS [Get Quote], HDFC Bank [Get Quote], HDFC and ITC declined around 5.5% each to Rs 619, Rs 1,202, Rs 1,965 and Rs 180, respectively.

Infosys [Get Quote] and Tata Motors [Get Quote] were down over 5% each at Rs 1,318 and Rs 314, respectively.

MOST ACTIVE COUNTERS

Reliance topped the value chart with a turnover of Rs 381 crore followed by Reliance Capital [Get Quote] (Rs 244 crore), Axis Bank (Rs 141 crore), ICICI Bank [Get Quote] (Rs 119 crore) and Tata Steel (Rs 117.70 crore).

Debutant 20 Microns led the volume chart with trades of around 1.30 crore shares followed by IFCI (1.06 crore), Reliance Natural Resources [Get Quote] (1.04 crore), Reliance Petroleum [Get Quote] (71 lakh) and Jaiprakash Associates (59 lakh).

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Account Statement for Mutual Funds

Once you invest in a mutual fund (MF) scheme, your MF sends you a statement within seven working days that gives details of the investments. Your MF account statement is just like a bank passbook, and gives information on all recent transactions done within a particular folio.




The Securities and Exchange Board of India mandates that in addition to sending account statements to unitholders as and when there is some action in the account (redemption, additional investment or dividend declaration, for instance), MFs also have to send an account statement, at least once a year, for every folio a unitholder has.




WHAT TO CHECK




1. Current cost and value


Current cost is the amount you invested in a scheme while current value is the latest market value of your investments as on the date the statement is generated. Also, the price of one unit will be the net asset value (NAV) plus entry load or minus exit load.




2. Folio and account numbers


Make a note of folio and account numbers. Most MFs offer one folio number and several account numbers in the same folio for all investments under the same unitholder combination. This makes for easier tracking all your investments with same MF.




3. Bank details


Check your account number and bank name. If you want to change your bank mandate, fill out the slip at the bottom of your account statement and submit to your


fund or agent.




4. PAN details


It is mandatory for you to give the correct Permanent Account Number (PAN), irrespective of the amount invested. Check your PAN mentioned in the account statement and ensure there are no discrepancies.




5. Advisor name


If you have invested through an agent, your agent's name and code will appear on the statement. However, if you have invested directly, these parts should be left blank on your account statement. Ensure that this has happened

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