My speech about impact of Union Budget (2009-10) on Personal Finance:

Kizhakku Pathipagam, in association with Fundsindia.com, conducts a weekly workshop on Personal Finance. Topic for the last session was about impact of Union Budget on Personal Finance.

Earlier, when I read the news on the blog of Mr. Badri Seshadri (founder of Kizhakku Pathipagam), I was thinking of attending the session as a participant (if time permits).

But to my surprise, I was honoured to receive an invitation from him to deliver a speech to the participants and to have an inter-active session for clarifying their doubts.

Immediately after he blogged announcing my speech for the forthcoming session, I started receiving congrats-calls from many readers whom we both know in common.

I should mention that the program went really fine and the inter-active session was very energetic. Pls check Badri's after-session blog post here.

Here’s the link where you could find the audio file of entire recording. Pls listen the audio link and correct me if I was wrong on any of the points discussed.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN THE AUDIO FILE

Mr. Badri Seshadri complemented me a book which is the tamil version (published by Kizhakku Pathipagam) of a popular book written by Jeffrey Archer titled "Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less".

Believe what you feel

On this day, Morrie says that he has an exercise for us to try. We are to stand, facing away from our classmates, and fall backward, relying on another student to catch us.

Most of us are uncomfortable with this, and we cannot let go for more than a few inches before stopping ourselves. We laugh in embarrassment.

Finally, one student, a thin, quiet, dark-haired girl whom I notice almost always wears bulky, white fisherman sweaters, crosses her arms over her chest, closes her eyes, leans back, and does not flinch.

For a moment, I am sure she is going to thump on the floor. At the last instant, her assigned partner grabs her head and shoulders and pull her up harshly.

“Whoa!” several students yell. Some clap. Morrie finally smiles.

“You see”, he says to the girl, “you closed your eye, and that was the difference.

Sometimes you cannot believe what you see; you have to believe what you feel.

And if you are ever going to have other people trust you, you must feel that you can trust them too – even when you're in the dark, even when you're falling".

The Mouse Trap :

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package. "What food might this contain?" the mouse wondered. He was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.

Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning: "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"

The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said "Mr.Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it."

The mouse turned to the pig and told him "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The pig sympathized, but said "I am so very sorry, Mr.Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers."

The mouse turned to the cow and said "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The cow said "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose."

So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap alone.

That very night a sound was heard throughout the house - like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital and she returned home with a fever.

Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient. But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock.

To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. The farmer's wife did not get well; she died. So many people came for her funeral; the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.

The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness. So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn't concern you, remember: when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another. Each of us is a vital thread in another person's tapestry.

Life Equations

OFFICE ARITHMETIC
Smart boss + smart employee = profit
Smart boss + dumb employee = production
Dumb boss + smart employee = promotion
Dumb boss + dumb employee = overtime

SHOPPING MATHS
A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs.
A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn't need.

GENERAL EQUATIONS & STATISTICS
A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.
A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.
A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.
A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

ROMANCE MATHEMATICS
Smart man + smart woman = romance
Smart man + dumb woman = affair
Dumb man + smart woman = marriage
Dumb man + dumb woman = pregnancy

HAPPINESS
To be happy with a man, you must understand him a lot and love him a little.
To be happy with a woman, you must love her a lot and not try to understand her at all.

LONGEVITY
Married men live longer than single men do, but married men are a lot more willing to die.

PROPENSITY TO CHANGE
A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.
A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change, and she does.

DISCUSSION TECHNIQUE
A woman has the last word in any argument.
Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

HOW TO STOP PEOPLE FROM BUGGING YOU ABOUT GETTING MARRIED
Old aunts used to come up to me at weddings, poking me in the ribs and cackling, telling me, "You're next. “They stopped after I started doing the same thing to them at funerals.

Budget Implications Analysed (FY 2009-10)

This year's union budget FY 2009-10 (AY10-11) did not bring many expected reliefs and cheers for the common taxpayers and has provided some marginal reliefs. Here is a brief perspective of various income tax changes in budget:

Basic Exemption Limit:

• Rs.2.40lacs for Senior citizens (earlier Rs.2.25 lacs). This will provide a tax relief of about Rs.1545.
• Rs.1.90lacs for Women/ Females (earlier Rs.1.80lacs). This will provide a tax relief of about Rs.1030.
• Rs.1.60lacs for All other category of Individual tax payers (earlier Rs.1.50lacs). This will provide a tax relief of about Rs.1030.

Surcharge Scrapped:

• Surcharge on Income tax has been scrapped. Individuals having taxable invomce over Rs.10 lacs will benefit more from this as their tax incidence at the highest slab has declined to 30.09% from 33.99% (savings of about 3.9%)

FBT Scrapped (Plus & Minus):

• FBT has been scrapped for companies. This could result in tax on many employee benefit perks to be shifted to employees. The list of perks is yet to be released, but major perks affected could be ESOP (employee stock options) and contributions to super-annuation funds etc.

Deductions:

• Deductions u/s 80DD in respect of maintenance, including medical treatment, of a dependent who is a person with severe disability has been increased to Rs.1 lac from the present limit of Rs.75,000
• Deductions u/s 80E in respect of interest on loans taken for pursuing higher education in specified fields of study has been extended to cover all fields of study, including vocational studies, pursued after completion of schooling

Gift Income:

• Non-cash gifts will be taxed. As per the new proposal, any non cash gift (e.g. property, shares and securities, jewellery, archeological collections, paintings and gold etc.) received from a non-relative where the value is in excess of Rs 50,000 in a particular year will be considered as income in the hands of the recipient. However, the proposal provides for some exclusion, which includes receipts on occasion of a marriage or by will or inheritance or from certain specified authorities (educational or medical institutions among others)

Other Important Highlights:

• If you don’t have a permanent account number (PAN), your tax deducted at source (TDS) could be higher. The penal rate will be a minimum 20%.
• Saral-2 is likely to re-introduced soon

Budget expectations

As the countdown commences for the presentation of the Union Budget, the first of the reelected United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government on 6th July 2009, the stock market expectations remain high. The capital market is of the view that the government can stimulate the economy, reinforce fiscal prudence and yet enhance social welfare programmes. We are less optimistic and though we believe the government would announce some stimulus packages for the economy, fiscal deficit constraints would limit the efficacy of such proposals.

On excise duty

In order to bring about a spurt in the economy, the government brought down the general excise duty rate from 14% to 8% since December 2008 through couple of stimulus packages. Post excise duty cut the two wheeler segment and compact car segment has seen revival in sales volume. We expect the government would not like to tinker with sales volume recovery in these segments and therefore maintain "status quo" on the existing excise duty rates. However if the government decides otherwise and plans for partial/complete roll-back on the excise cuts, in that case it would be negative for the two wheeler and small car players.

The large car manufacturers are hoping for lowering down of excise duty in line with excise duty rates on small cars. We do not expect the excise duty rates on large cars would be changed because the customers of such cars are less sensitive to price changes and therefore bringing down the excise duty rate may not necessarily increase demand for large cars.

On depreciation

Due to slowdown in the economy, the commercial vehicles sector was the worst hit during FY09. In order to provide a demand push, the government through its second stimulus package announced accelerated depreciationof 50% on commercial vehicles purchased between Januray-March2009. Players in CV segments are expecting that the accelerated depreciation benefit be extended beyond 31st March2009. Due to continuing economic slowdown the CV sales continue to remain under pressure, and we therefore expect that the benefit of accelerated depreciation would be extended beyond 31st March2009.

Overall, we believe that the budget would be neutral for the auto sector as we do not foresee any direct measures (except for CV) would be announced in the budget that benefits the auto sector. Indirectly, the sector can benefitfrom additional farm loan waiver and improved financing scenario.

Banking:

Increase in foreign direct investments in insurance sector from present 26% to 49%:

We expect the Finance Minister to increase FDI limit in domestic insurance sector to 49% to facilitate much needed fund infusion for future growth.

Expectation of 50-75 bps reduction in government small saving interest rates:

We expect the FM to reduce small saving interest rates to provide room to commercial banks to further cut their deposit and lending rates.

Permission to infrastructure sector lenders to issue tax free bonds:

We expect FM to permit infrastructure lenders likes (PFC, IDFC etc.) to issue tax free bonds to increase their resources base; if permitted infrastructure lenders would benefit but the commercial banks would be at slight disadvantage.

Increase in limit of tax deduction on interest payment on housing loans:

We expect that the budget may propose to increase limit of tax deduction on interest payment on housing loans from present level of Rs 0.15 mn to make housing loans more attractive.

Overall, we expect that the budget to be positive for the banking industry at large. Considering the sharp run-up in stock prices, we are negatively biased on Indian banking sector.

Cement:

Restoration of excise duty from current 8% to 12%

Government has reduced the excise duty from 12% to 8% during the year to stimulate the cement demand. But cement industry has increased the cement price driven by strong demand. We believe the excise duty would be restored at 12% which has negative impact for the industry.

Abatement on excise duty

Currently excise duty on cement is based on MRP and industry gets abatement whenever excise duty is based on MRP. However we don't expect the abatement on excise duty would be given in this budget.

Abolition of import duty on pet-coke and coal

Coal is the major fuel for the production of cement. Currently there is 5% import duty on coal and pet coke. We expect the import duty on pet coke would be abolished from 5% to nil. The abolition of import duty would reduce the operational cost for the cement industry.

Subsidy on freight cost on export of cement and clinker

Most plants are in the hinterland which makes the export unviable due to higher freight cost. We believe the industry would be in capacity surplus in H2FY10. Hence the government may provide the freight subsidy to make export viable.

We expect primarily the budget would be negative for the sector. However indirectly it would benefit through increase in allocation for various infrastructure schemes.

Construction:

Increased allocation under various infrastructures schemes:

Clarification on section 80IA benefit

There is varying interpretation of section 80IA to claim the benefit (Currently allowed to developers of project). We believe section 80IA benefit would be clarified and construction companies would be included under the purview.

Re-introduction of tax benefit u/s 10 (23G)

The income of the companies engaged in infrastructure projects by way of debt or equity was exempted from tax under Section 10(23G) which was removed. We believe the exemption would be re-introduced which will bring down the interest cost of the funds for the infrastructure companies as the lending institutions may pass on the benefit or otherwise improve the interest in funding for infra projects.

We expect the budget to be positive for the sector.

Fertiliser:

1. The Government may announce incentives for green field expansion for urea capacities.
2. The government may also announce assured feedstock supply and minimum assured returns on new urea capacities.
3. Currently, the government disburse subsidy in cash as well as in bonds. In budget 2009-10, the Government may introduce full cash payment of subsidies.

We expect the budget to be Positive for the sector.

Infrastructure:

Higher budgetary allocation in Infrastructure development schemes

Road development to get a new face with higher allocation

Steps to ease out infrastructure funding

Setup monitoring units

Social Infrastructure focus to continue

Multiplex:

Rationalization of Entertainment Tax

Removal of service tax on rentals paid on immovable property

Real Estate:

Resume tax exemption under section 80 IB (10) to promote mass housing

Increase the tenure of tax holiday to hotels under section 80ID

Increase the exemption limit of home loan interest payable under section 24 (b)

This section deals with exemption on interest payable by home loan buyers for self-occupied houses. Currently, the exemption stands to the extent of Rs 150,000. We expect that the government could extend this to at least Rs 300,000. This will not only help the middle class home buyers in payment of their existing home loans but also encourage first time home buyers.

Service tax provisions relating to real estate

It has been clarified that no service tax should be levied in case pre-construction sale of residential complex where the seller and the buyer enter into an 'agreement to sell'. We expect that a similar clarification can be issued for pre-construction sale of commercial complexes as well.

Lower and uniform stamp duty rates

50 PROMISES FOR MARRIAGE

No experience for me on this yet, but you can let me know whether it is 'Yes' or 'No' in your case.

1. Start each day with a kiss.
2. Wear your wedding ring at all times.
3. Date once a week.
4. Accept differences.
5. Be polite.
6. Be gentle.
7. Give gifts.
8. Smile often.
9. Touch.
10. Talk about dreams.
11. Select a song that can be "our song".
12. Give back rubs.
13. Laugh together.
14. Send a card for no reason.
15. Do what the other person wants before he or she asks.
16. Listen.
17. Encourage.
18. Do it his or her way.
19. Know his or her needs.
20. Fix the other person's breakfast.
21. Compliment twice a day.
22. Call during the day.
23. Slow down.
24. Hold hands.
25. Cuddle.
26. Ask for each other's opinion.
27. Show respect.
28. Welcome the other person home.
29. Look your best.
30. Wink at each other.
31. Celebrate birthdays in a big way.
32. Apologize.
33. Forgive.
34. Set up a romantic getaway.
35. Ask, "What can I do to make you happier?".
36. Be positive.
37. Be kind.
38. Be vulnerable.
39. Respond quickly to the other person's request.
40. Talk about your love.
41. Reminisce about your favorite times together.
42. Treat each other's friends and relatives with courtesy.
43. Send flowers every Valentine's day and anniversary.
44. Admit when wrong.
45. Be sensitive to each other's sexual desires.
46. Pray for each other daily.
47. Watch sunsets together.
48. Say "I love you" frequently.
49. End the day with a hug.
50. Seek outside help when needed.

How to Win Friends and Influence People?

This is a summary of a book written by Dale Carnegie.

Fundamental Techniques in Handling People

1. Don't criticize, condemn or complain.
2. Give honest and sincere appreciation.
3. Arouse in the other person an eager want.

Six ways to make people like you

1. Become genuinely interested in other people.
2. Smile.
3. Remember that a person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
4. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
5. Talk in terms of the other person's interests.
6. Make the other person feel important - and do it sincerely.

Win people to your way of thinking

1. The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.
2. Show respect for the other person's opinions. Never say, "You're wrong."
3. If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.
4. Begin in a friendly way.
5. Get the other person saying "yes, yes" immediately.
6. Let the other person do a great deal of the talking.
7. Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers.
8. Try honestly to see things from the other person's point of view.
9. Be sympathetic with the other person's ideas and desires.
10. Appeal to the nobler motives.
11. Dramatize your ideas.
12. Throw down a challenge.

Be a Leader: How to Change People without Giving Offense or Arousing Resentment ?

A leader's job often includes changing your people's attitudes and behavior. Some suggestions to accomplish this:

1. Begin with praise and honest appreciation.
2. Call attention to people's mistakes indirectly.
3. Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person.
4. Ask questions instead of giving direct orders.
5. Let the other person save face.
6. Praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement. Be "hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise."
7. Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.
8. Use encouragement. Make the fault seem easy to correct.
9. Make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest.

10 Most Stupid Questions and Funny Answers

People usually ask obvious situations and some funny answers:

At the movies: When you meet acquaintances/friends...
Stupid Question: Hey, what are you doing here?
Answer: Don't u know, I sell tickets in black over here.

In the bus: A heavy lady wearing pointed high-heeled shoes steps on your feet...
Stupid Question: Sorry, did that hurt?
Answer: No, not at all, I'm on local anesthesia. Why don't you try again?

At a funeral: One of the teary eyed people ask...
Stupid Question: Why, why him, of all people.
Answer: Why? Would it rather have been you?

At a restaurant: When you ask the waiter
Stupid Question: Is the "Paneer Butter Masala" dish good?
Answer: No, it's terrible and made of adulterated cement. We occasionally also spit on it.

At a family get-together: When some distant aunt meets you after years.
Stupid Question: Munna, Chickoo, you've become so big.
Answer: Well you haven't particularly shrunk yourself.

When a friend announces her wedding, and you ask...
Stupid Question: Is the guy you're marrying well?
Answer: No, he's a miserable wife beating, insensitive lout...it's just the money.

When you get woken up at midnight by a phone call...
Stupid Question: Sorry. Were you sleeping?
Answer: No. I was doing research on whether the Zulu tribes in Africa marry or not. And you thought I was sleeping.... You dumb witted moron.

When you see a friend/colleague with evidently shorter hair...
Stupid Question: Hey have you had a haircut?
Answer: No, its autumn and I'm shedding.

At the dentist when he's sticking pointed objects in your mouth...
Stupid Question: Tell me if it hurts?
Answer: No it won't. It will just bleed.

You are smoking a cigarette and a cute woman asks...
Stupid Question: Oh, so you smoke.
Answer: Gosh, it's a miracle... it was a piece of chalk and now it's in flames!

Love Feelings !!

When one stone, and one mirror
they bang and does not break - it means love
one word, and lot of silence
if they converse - it means love

when you get love in your eyes,
does tears accompany you all the way

another name for arrogance is you
i died everyday bcoz of you
but i forgot to forget you

i know that you are a fire
but still i dare to touch and play
knowingly i enjoy burning myself in you
those wounds do not matter me anything.

Even when one swallows a strongest poison
life goes only after few seconds or minutes
but life goes as soon as you fall in love
does love means torture?

i wake up by seeing your face
i co-relate and recognise your voice
i accompany you like a shadow

i live on your smile
what will i do when you go away
where will i go my love

those magic words hidden in ur lips, if they fall
my life will begin after that
If they are buried in silence
my life will be a silent death !!

Warren Buffet advices on financial planning:

We begin with dampened enthusiasm and dented optimism. Our happiness is diluted and our peace is threatened by the financial illness that has infected our families, organizations and nations. Everyone is desperate to find a remedy that will cure their financial illness and help them recover their financial health. They expect the financial experts to provide them with remedies, forgetting the fact that it is these experts who created this financial mess.

I adopt a couple of old maxims as my beacons to guide my future. This self-prescribed therapy has ensured that with each passing year, I grow wiser and not older. I invite you to tap into the financial wisdom of our elders along with me, and become financially wiser.

Hard work: All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.

Laziness: A sleeping lobster is carried away by the water current.

Earnings: Never depend on a single source of income. [At least make your investments get you second earning]

Spending: If you buy things you don't need, you'll soon sell things you need.

Savings: Don't save what is left after spending; Spend what is left after saving.

Borrowings: The borrower becomes the lender's slave.

Accounting: It's no use carrying an umbrella, if your shoes are leaking.

Auditing: Beware of little expenses; A small leak can sink a large ship.

Risk-taking: Never test the depth of the river with both feet. [Have an alternate plan ready]

Investment: Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

I'm certain that those who have already been practicing these principles remain financially healthy. I'm equally confident that those who resolve to start practicing these principles will quickly regain their financial health.

Let us become wiser and lead a happy, healthy, prosperous and peaceful life !!

JAR OF LIFE - EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT

One day, an old leader-manager with great reputation for building businesses, was invited to lecture on the topic of "Effective Management" in front of a group of senior executives representing the largest and most successful companies.

Standing in front of this group of elite managers, who were willing to eagerly listen to his every word. The old leader manager slowly met eyes with each manager, one by one, and finally said, "we are going to conduct a simple experiment".

From under the table that stood between him and the listeners, he pulled out a big glass jar and gently placed it in front of him. Next, he pulled out from under the table a bag of stones, each the size of a tennis ball, and placed the stones one by one in the jar. He did so until there was no room to add another stone in the jar.

Lifting his gaze to the managers, the leader asked, "Is the jar full?" The managers replied, "Yes".

The leader paused for a moment, and replied, "Really?" Once again, he reached under the table and pulled out a bag full of pebbles.

Carefully, the leader poured the pebbles in and slightly rattled the jar, allowing the pebbles to slip through the larger stones, until they settled at the bottom.

Again, he lifted his gaze to his audience and asked, "Is the jar full?" At this point, the managers began to understand his intentions.

One replied, "No!" "Correct", replied the old leader, now pulling out a bag of sand from under the table. Cautiously, he poured the sand into the jar. The sand filled up the spaces between the stones and the pebbles. Yet again, the leader r asked, "Is the jar full?" Without hesitation, the entire group of students replied in unison, "NO!" "Correct", replied the leader.

And as was expected by the managers, the leader reached for the pitcher of water that was on the table, and poured water in the jar until it was absolutely full. The leader now lifted his gaze once again and asked, "What great truth can we surmise from this experiment?" With his thoughts on the lecture topic, one manager quickly replied, "We learn that we can look at the jar as half full or half empty. Your attitude matters."" "NO", replied the leader.

Another manager quickly replied, "We learn that as full as our schedules may appear, if we only increase our effort, it is always possible to add more meetings and tasks." "NO", replied the leader.

He smiled and said,” The great truth that we can conclude from this experiment is: If we don't put all the larger stones in the jar first, we will never be able to fit all of them later." The auditorium fell silent, as every manager processed the significance of the leader’s words in their entirety.

The old leader continued, "What are the large stones in your job? Is your company? Is your environment? Are you putting the large stones first or wasting time on small things?. What we must remember is that it is most important to move the larger stones first.

Get the larger issues right, because if we don't do so, we are likely to make very little progress. If we give priority to the smaller things in life (pebbles & sand), our lives will be filled up with less important things, leaving little or no time for the things in our lives that are most important to us.

Because of this, never forget to ask yourself, 'What are the Large Stones in your Life?' And once you identify them, be sure to put them first in your 'Jar of Life'".

With a warm wave of his hand, the leader bid farewell to the managers, and slowly walked out of the room.

Love and Marriage:

A student asks a teacher, "What is love?"

The teacher said, "in order to answer your question, go to the wheat field and choose the biggest wheat and come back. But the rule is: you can go through them only once and cannot turn back to pick."

The student goes to the field, go thru first row, he saw one big wheat, but he wonders, may be there is a bigger one later.

Then he saw another bigger one, but may be there is an even bigger one waiting for him.

Later, when he finished more than half of the wheat field, he realized that the wheat is not as big as the previous one he saw, he know he has missed the biggest one, and he regretted.

So, he ended up went back to the teacher with empty hand.

The teacher told him,

"This is love... you keep looking for a better one, but when later you realize, you have already missed the person...."

*"What is marriage then?" the student asked.

The teacher said,

"in order to answer your question, go to the corn field and choose the biggest corn and come back. But the rule is: you can go through them only once and cannot turn back to pick."

The student went to the corn field, this time he is careful not to repeat the previous mistake, when he reach the middle of the field, he has picked one medium corn that he feel satisfy, and come back to the teacher.

The teacher told him,

"This time you bring back a corn, you look for one that is just nice, and you have faith and believe this is the best one you get. This is Marriage."

What Happens in Heaven?

I dreamt that I went to Heaven and an angel was showing me around. We walked side-by-side inside a large workroom filled with angels.

My angel guide stopped in front of the first section and said, "This is the Receiving Section. Here, all petitions to God said in prayer are received." I looked around in this area, and it was terribly busy with so many angels sorting out petitions written on voluminous paper sheets and scraps from people all over the world.

Then, we moved on down a long corridor until we reached the second section. The angel then said to me, "This is the Packaging and Delivery Section. Here, the graces and blessings the people asked for are processed and delivered to the living persons who asked for them." I noticed again how busy it was there. There were many angels working hard at that station, since so many blessings had been requested and were being packaged for delivery to Earth.

Finally at the farthest end of the long corridor we stopped at the door of a very small station. To my great surprise, only one angel was seated there, doing nothing. "This is the Acknowledgment Section," my angel friend quietly admitted to me. He seemed embarrassed "How is it that? There's no work going on here?" I asked.

"So sad," the angel sighed. "After people receive the blessings that they asked for, very few send back acknowledgments.”How does one acknowledge God's blessings?" I asked. "Simple," the angel answered. "Just say, "Thank you, God." "What blessings should they acknowledge?” I asked.

"If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of this world.”

"If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.”

Also.....

"If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the many who will not even survive this day.”

"If you have never experienced the fear in battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 700 million people in the world.”

"If you can attend a prayer meeting without the fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death you are envied by, and more blessed than, three billion people in the world.”

"If your parents are still alive and still married, you are very rare.”

“If you can hold your head up and smile, you are not the normal, you're unique to all those in doubt and despair.”

"Ok, what now? How can I start? If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing in that someone was thinking of you as very special and you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all.

Have a good day, count your blessings, and if you want, pass this along to remind everyone else how blessed we all are !!

God's Timing is Right !!

Whatever that happens in life, happens for good. So, stop worrying about the future and forget the past.

After Sept. 11th, one company invited the remaining members of other companies who had been decimated by the attack on the Twin Towers to share their available office space. At a morning meeting, the head of security told stories of why these people were alive and all the stories were just the 'L I T L E' things.

As you might know, the head of the company survived that day because his son started kindergarten.

Another fellow was alive because it was his turn to bring donuts.

One woman was late because her alarm clock didn't go off in time.

One of them missed his bus. One spilled food on her clothes and had to take time to change.

One's car wouldn't start.

One went back to answer the telephone.

One had a child that dawdled and didn't get ready as soon as he should have.

One couldn't get a taxi.

The one that struck me was the man who put on a new pair of shoes that morning, took the various means to get to work but before he got there, he developed a blister on his foot. He stopped at a drugstore to buy a Band-Aid. That is why he is alive today.

Now when I am stuck in traffic, miss an elevator, turn back to answer a ringing telephone….all the little things that annoy me. I think to myself, this is exactly where God wants me to be at this very moment.

Next time your morning seems to be going wrong, the children are slow getting dressed, you can't seem to find the car keys, you hit every traffic light, don't get mad or frustrated.

God is at work watching over you.

Pass this on to someone else, if you'd like. There is NO LUCK attached.

If you ignore this, it's okay: "God's Love Is Not Dependent On E-Mail forwarding / message-sharing."

Diseases that can be cured by Honey and Cinnamon:


It is found that mixture of Honey and Cinnamon cures most of the diseases. Honey is produced in most of the countries of the world. Ayurvedic as well as Yunani medicine have been using honey as a vital medicine for centuries. Scientists of today also accept honey as a Ram Ban (very effective) medicine for all kinds of diseases. Honey can be used without any side effects for any kind of diseases.

Today's science says that even though honey is sweet, if taken in the right dosage as a medicine, it does not harm diabetic patients also. A famous magazine named Weekly World News published in Canada dated 17 January, 95 has given a list of diseases that can be cured by Honey and Cinnamon as researched by western scientists.


1. ARTHRITIS:

Take one part honey to two parts of luke warm water and add a small teaspoon of cinnamon powder, make a paste and massage it on the itching part of the body slowly. It is noticed that the pain recedes within a minute or two. Or arthritis patients may daily, morning and night take one cup of hot water with two spoons of honey and one small teaspoon of cinnamon powder. If drunk regularly even chronic arthritis can be cured. In a recent research done at the Copenhagen University, it was found that when the doctors treated their patients with a mixture of one tablespoon Honey and half teaspoon cinnamon powder before breakfast. They found that within a week out of the 200 people so treated practically 73 patients were totally relieved of pain and within a month. Mostly all the patients who could not walk or move around because of arthritis started walking without pain.


2. HAIR LOSS:

Those suffering from hair loss or baldness, may apply a paste of hot olive oil, one tablespoon of honey, one teaspoon of cinnamon powder before bath and keep it for approx. 15 min. and then wash the hair. It was found very effective if kept for 5 mins. also.


3. BLADDER INFECTIONS:

Take two tablespoons of cinnamon powder and one teaspoon of honey in a glass of luke warm water and drink it. It destroys the germs of the bladder.


4. CHOLESTEROL:

Two tablespoons of honey and three teaspoons of Cinnamon Powder mixed in 16 ounces of tea water, if given to a cholesterol patient, it reduces the level of cholesterol in the blood by 10% within 2 hours. As mentioned for arthritic patients, if taken 3 times a day any chronic cholesterol is cured. As per the information received in the said journal, pure honey taken with food daily relieves complains of cholesterol.


5. COLDS:

Those suffering from common or severe colds should take one tablespoon luke warm honey with 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder daily for 3 days. This process will cure most chronic cough, cold and clear the sinuses.


6. INFERTILITY:

Yunani and Ayurvedic have been using honey for years in medicine to strengthen the semen of men. If impotent men regularly take two tablespoon of honey before sleeping, their problem will be solved. In China, Japan and Far-East countries, women who do not conceive and to strengthen the uterus have been taking cinnamon powder for centuries. Women who cannot conceive may take a pinch of cinnamon powder in half teaspoon of honey and apply it on the gums frequently throughout the day, so that it slowly mixes with the saliva and enters the body. A couple in Maryland, America had no children for 14 years and had left hope of having a child of their own. When told about this process husband and wife started taking honey and cinnamon as stated above, the wife conceived after a few months and had twins at full term.


7. UPSET STOMACH:

Honey taken with cinnamon powder cures stomachache and also clears stomach ulcers from the root.


8. GAS:

According to the studies done in India & Japan, it is revealed that if honey is taken with cinnamon powder the stomach is relieved of gas.


9. HEART DISEASES:

Make a paste of honey and cinnamon powder, apply on bread or chappati instead of jelly and jam and eat it regularly for breakfast. It reduces the cholesterol in the arteries and saves the patient from heart attack. Also those who have already had an attack, if they do this process daily, are kept miles away from the next attack. Regular use of the above process relieves loss of breath and strengthens the heartbeat. In America and Canada, various nursing homes have treated patients successfully and have found that due to the increasing age the arteries and veins, which lose their flexibility and get clogged, are revitalized.


10. IMMUNE SYSTEM:

Daily use of honey and cinnamon powder strengthens the immune system and protects the body from bacteria and viral attacks. Scientists have found that honey has various vitamins and iron in large amounts. Constant use of honey strengthens the white blood corpuscles to fight bacteria and viral diseases.


11. INDIGESTION:

Cinnamon powder sprinkled on two tablespoons of honey taken before food, relieves acidity and digests the heaviest of meals.


12. INFLUENZA

A scientist in Spain has proved that honey contains a natural ingredient, which kills the influenza germs and saves the patient from flu.


13. LONGEVITY:

Tea made with honey and cinnamon powder, when taken regularly arrests the ravages of old age. Take 4 spoons of honey, 1spoon of cinnamon powder and 3 cups of water and boil to make like tea. Drink 1/4 cup, 3 to 4 times a day. It keeps the skin fresh and soft and arrests old age. Life span also increases and even if a person is 100 years old, starts performing the chores of a 20 year old.


14. PIMPLES:

Three tablespoons of honey and one teaspoon of cinnamon powder paste. Apply this paste on the pimples before sleeping and wash it next morning with warm water. If done daily for two weeks, it removes pimples from the root.


15. SKIN INFECTIONS:

Applying honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts on the affected parts cures eczema, ringworm and all types of skin infections.


16. WEIGHT LOSS:

Daily in the morning, 1/2 hour before breakfast on an empty stomach and at night before sleeping, drink honey and cinnamon powder boiled in one cup water. If taken regularly it reduces the weight of even the most obese person. Also drinking of this mixture regularly does not allow the fat to accumulate in the body even though the person may eat a high calorie diet.


17. CANCER:

Recent research in Japan and Australia has reveled that advanced cancer of the stomach and bones have been cured successfully. Patients suffering from these kinds of cancer should daily take one tablespoon of honey with one teaspoon of cinnamon powder for one month 3 times a day.


18. FATIGUE:

Recent studies have shown that the sugar content of honey is more helpful than detrimental to the body strength. Senior citizens who take honey and cinnamon power in equal parts are more alert and flexible. Dr. Milton who has done research says that half tablespoon honey taken in one glass of water and sprinkled with cinnamon powder, taken daily after brushing and in the afternoon at about 3.00 p.m. when the vitality of the body starts decreasing, increases the vitality of the body within a week.


19. BAD BREATH:

People of South America, first thing in the morning gargle with one teaspoon of honey and cinnamon powder mixed in hot water. So their breath stays fresh throughout the day.


20. SINUS & HEADACHES:

Drink mix up with honey & lemon juice helps sinus headaches.

21. TOOTHACHE:

Make a paste of one teaspoon of cinnamon powder and five teaspoons of honey and apply on the aching tooth. This may be done 3 times a day daily till such time that the tooth has stopped aching.

Investing important cash:

During the entire first year of my college period, I used to travel by bus. In the second year, I wanted to buy a two wheeler since I had my ACS classes everyday at 6 A.M. Though I didn’t (don’t) want my parents to spend cash for me, but still I thought a two-wheeler would be comfortable to attend my classes in the early morning.

When I told my father, he didn’t have adequate cash but he borrowed money from someone and bought me a bike the next day. Years ran by, I used it for about 13 years and treated it like my friend (people used to comment that they can walk more faster than my driving :-). I used to drive very slowly / carefully, keep it clean and service it once in 3 months – all because that I liked it a lot.

Since it became aged and also the fact that I use my car, I could not use it regularly and hence, did not want to spoil its life. I sold it off to someone for 8k in 2008.

While carrying this cash, I was thinking how to spend it. Definitely for investments, but where? Being a finance professional, my investment portfolio is across almost all investments.

I understood that my father bought it during critical time and also that I liked my bike a lot. Hence, I want that money to be invested in guaranteed instrument and also want to have it for longer period of time.

Suddenly I remembered that I haven’t contributed to Public Provident Fund (PPF) for about a year, and thought investing this money on that would be wiser. It’s a guaranteed investment portfolio and also would stay for 14 more years (2 years are already over).

I was able to do it last March and feel happy about it.

Guys / Gals: If you want to invest your money in guaranteed instrument, for a longer term and with reasonable return of 8%, I would strongly advice PPF.

Forgot to mention that my bike never carried any gal in the pillion and perhaps, that’s the reason for it being so memorable :-)

Message from siliconindia.com about the event for startups:

Hi,

After the phenomenal success of the siliconindia Startup City 2008, wherein there were 4000 attendees and 50 Startups, it is back again!

Siliconindia Startup City 2009 is a technology showcase event wherein Startups' can demo the cool products you are building. This is a great opportunity for them to find investors, technology partners, resellers and potential customers.

BENEFITS:

1) Booth: 3x2 mtr

2) One page company profile in the Show Guide

3) 10 Minutes company presentation time (VCs, Corporate Investors and senior management of various technology companies will be present)

4) One invitation for round table breakfast and lunch with investors and leaders of technology giants.

5) One Special invite for the CEO Roundtable discussion

6) Visibility on the website for one month

7) Opportunity to meet 40 investors

8) All PR and Marketing activities related to event promotions will carry your Company name

CONFIRMED VCs: Accel Partners, Artiman Ventures, Axon Ventures, Battery Ventures, Bluerun Ventures, Canaan Partners, DFJ, Epiphany Ventures, Greylock, Helion Ventures, IDG, Indian Angel Network , Intel Capital, Inventus Capital, Jafco Asia Ventures, Lightspeed, Mercatus Capital, Mumbai Angels, NEA-Indo US Ventures, Nexus India Capital, Ojas Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, Reliance Capital, Seeed Fund, Sequioa Capital, Singularity Ventures, UTI Ventures, Venture East, Walden International

CEO CONCLAVE: This is a close-door CEO discussion, which will be attended by CEOs and Managing Directors of over 500 startups. The roundtable will facilitate an informal discussion amongst the senior management about the best practices of building a technology company in India, what works, what doesn’t work, potential pitfalls and other challenges.

PARTNERSHIP: Leaders of technology companies like Microsoft, Amazon, Sun Microsystems, Yahoo!, Honeywell, Alcatel-Lucent, Philips, Siemens, SAP, Nokia, Adobe and many other will be present at the venue. You can explore opportunities of technology partnerships.

BRANDING: Siliconindia has put in place a brand campaign plan, which ensures greater visibility.

ATTENDEES: Last year we had 4000 qualified professionals. This year we will have close to 5000. The profile of attendees include:

1) Senior Management of multinational companies & established Indian companies

2) Senior management of Indian Startups

3) Senior management of US based startups with R&D center in India

4) Distributors & Resellers

5) Angel Investors

6) Venture Capitalists

7) Corporate Investors

8) To-be Entrepreneurs

9) Qualified technology professionals with product bent of mind.

For details & Participation enquiries please email to Suman Rammurthy [suman@siliconindia.com].

Tough experience with Bajaj Auto Finance:

Attracted to the advertisement about the 4 days’ Electronics exhibition being conducted by Vasanth & Co, I visited Rani Meyyammai Hall to buy an Air Conditioner for my sister as her marriage gift. The place was heavily crowded for three reasons –

- interesting cost-saving offers
- hall-entry is free
- it was the last day of the event

I swam in to the crowd and took a complete visit of the hall. Was able to enquire about the split air conditioner for 8 brands. I came out, then analysed the features and costs involved, had a con-call with my family members, then finally decided to buy Samsung air conditioner.

Again swam inside and landed at the Samsung stall. The person over there was happy to receive me again and after negotiating for few minutes, gave me a discount of INR 1,500. The price was fixed at 26,000 with free stabilizer and installation. All went fine till this moment.

He then offered me interest-free financing option. Being a finance professional, I felt that I should not ignore it. He introduced me to a useless staff of Bajaj Auto Finance. That guy did the calculation at a fast pace (I should mention that he was fast, only in calculation and rest were all dead slow). He insisted for the advance payment of two months’ EMI and certain documents like ID proof, address proof, couple of cheques and photocopy of the bill. He promised that the product will be delivered in two day’s time.

After making advance payment and furnishing the documents, I waited for two days and since I didn’t hear anything from them, I called him to know the status. He told that there were thousands of applications received during the exhibition and they were processing one by one, and hence my application was in queue. He repeated the same story whenever I called him. One fine day, he told me that my application was missing and they were searching for.

After a week’s time, he completely stopped attending my calls. I was a little bit irritated and tried to reach the top management guys online. When I searched online, I found that there are many complaints like this against Bajaj Auto Finance. Pls check www.consumercomplaints.in (this is a web site where people express the problems they face in buying/availing products/services - a must-check web site).

I spoke to the Branch Manager and he agreed that there are many internal problems. It looks like there are several complaints like this where customer pays advance but couldn’t get the products delivered because of the internal confusions in Bajaj Auto Finance and that’s the reason they don’t attend the customer calls. I thought of cancelling my order, but was informed that it will again take a long time for refund. Meanwhile, I got my credit card statement where I was charged the advance amount of 2 month’s EMI, but the product was not delivered yet.

Finally, I got someone from Bajaj who put his personal efforts to help me. It works like - only after the financier passes the order, the shop will deliver the product. Then, I also spoke to the person who processed my application, the shop keeper, the delivery-in-charge – all to ensure that the delivery happens at least before the summer season ends.

I got the machine delivered after 15 days of booking. But received another surprise that the installation needs to be done by Samsung guys and they were all busy. Then, I took care of it myself by talking to the concerned person and insisted to install it immediately.

You could understand that a customer’s job is over after he pays the advance money and submits the relevant documents. The financier / vendor should take care of the rest. But, the response from them gave mental agony and involved lots of our efforts to have the product delivered.

RBS - Cogzidel's first product launched

RBS – Cogzidel’s first product was launched on late hours of 25th March, 2009 at 23.45 IST. It is a proud and exciting moment for the entire Cogzidel team. I take this opportunity to thank Senthil Guru who started the project and Sathick Basha who took over from Senthil and completed the mission. I must also thank Pandi who assisted Sathick, Saravanan for CSS work, Major Karthik for his design, Bala Subramaniyam for managing and getting the product out successfully, last but not least it is our Bala Krishnan for his commitment and passion he contributed a lot encouraging the team and he acted as System Analyst for the project.

RBS is an abbreviation for Reverse Bidding System, it is a bidding system which is developed by taking inspiration from scriptlance.com. We have more features in mind to make the product unique and we will be evolving the product in a phased manner by releasing update at frequent intervals which will be bundled with new features and patches.

Product is launched under Creative Common license and is offered for free. This must be a bonanza for webmasters. We are offering the project for free to create more entrepreneurs & webmasters. You can think why we are offering it for free, let me explain it with an example,

“A has one rupee and B has one rupee… Both exchange that rupee… They go home with one rupee each!

But if A has one idea and B has one idea… Both exchange that idea… They go home with two ideas.”

Same way when we offer something for free lots of people will try it and it will create an eco-system where it will create lots of opportunity for many people and ideas will be flowing. So, we want to create such a eco-system and that is why we are offering the product for free.

In coming days, I think there will be lots of success stories and I wish it happens soon.