Benefits of cycling

Hi friends, continuing discussion on reduction of carbon footprints through change in life style, I want to count the benefits of cycling in all angles. It is a known fact that the concept of cycling is green and it is no less greener then any other environmental friendly activities. Using cycle as a mode of travel in place of vehicle run on fossil fuel will no doubt reduce carbon load on the environment. Benefits of peddling a cycle regularly with respect to personal health are many. Because of our modern life style as well as nature of job, many of us especially younger generation are confined to tables which denies them enough physical activities and lack of physical work retards the calorie conversion in our system. According to Baba Ramdev, who is a well-known Yoga Guru, as long as blood circulates without any hindrance, digestive organs burns all the calories taken inside and mind is free from any worries, then you will keep yours self away from any diseases. He teaches Yoga and other physical exercises along with meditation which can keep a person physically, mentally and socially healthy. Baba says, rhythmic cycling to a long distance will keep us physically and mentally fit mainly because of proper digestion of food. Un burnt calorie will accumulate as fat in different parts of our body and becomes a cause for health upset. As a developing nation with second highest human population in the world, oil consumption in India is always a matter of worry for economists and environmentalist and replacement of motorcycle with a bicycle for daily use can make a huge difference for exchequer and to our environment. I heard that in European counties people prefer to pedal cycles for smaller distance with an aim to save environment and remain healthy. But unfortunately in India, our craze for motorbike is increasing and in spite of increasing fuel price this trend is still continuing. Modern India tries to imitate western culture very happily, then why not adopt their cycling concept?

Benefits of Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) in Mutual Funds

Hi friends, as a blogger my sincere effort should be to give value addable information or enjoyable moments to my site visitors. Blogger who posts on a particular subject cannot survive for a longer period unless he is a master in that subject. But in my case, I have got too many options at my command. My published posts on my blog can be categorized as “mixed bag” and I am happy about it. I can be choosy about the subject for my next post where as blogger who runs a blog on food category can’t be. One of my friends advised me to try some posts on financial matters which may drive additional traffic to my site.

We Indians believe that it is not wise to stretch legs beyond bed which means “don’t spend beyond earning capacity”. I think, by following this age old concept (taught by Indian moms) we remained financially fit when the whole world was struggling to survive. Even during the peak of economic recession, majority of Government owned Banks functioned normally simply because banking industry followed all basic rules of banking while sanctioning loans. Happy news is that most of the economies including US have freed themselves from the clutches of recession and I feel the time has come to increase our financial activities.

During the successful visit of American president Mr. Obama, various deals were finalized between corporate giants of USA and India and it is believed that their out come will be a win-win situation to all concerned. It is generally expected that Indian stock markets may boom after the announcement of $10 billion deal but as usual Indian investor’s response was Luke warm. Individual investors who have got burnt their fingers like me are not in a position to take further chances in this most volatile financial market and I want to give an example to justify it. A dream deal of $2.2 billion is announced between Indian based Reliance Power ltd and US based General Electric. In spite of the announcement of such a huge deal, R. power share price did not move up substantially which is still below its IPO price. What it shows? Majority of individual investors in India invest cautiously and their contribution is negligible in the stock market performance compared to Indian mutual funds, FII and hedge funds. I feel, only because of the participation of foreign institutional investors and hedge funds we could see sensex crossing 20k again and again.

Systematic investment plan (SIP) was practiced in Indian households since centuries. Indian moms used to collect some portion of food grains and money separately to meet emergency requirements if any. For an Indian investor who wants be part of share trading activities but with minimum risk, investing in mutual fund through a SIP is a good option. Since there is a stiff competition between major mutual fund players like Birla Sunlife, SBI, UTI, Tata, Kotak Mahindra, LIC, Franklin Templeton, Morgan Stanley etc. we can expect better service and returns to the customers. A small investment for a longer period may become a huge fund which may take care of future requirements like higher education for children or their marriage. Indian middle class always play safe in all aspects and I feel SIP in few companies will increase the value of their portfolios, keep them free of stock market tension. Browsing the internet to know the past track record of companies and NAV levels of different funds before selecting a fund will end up with a good selection. I am investing through monthly SIP in two different funds of Birla Sunlife Mutual fund and already received handsome dividends which are quite higher than Bank interest.

My dear Obama- how you could win the heart of majority of Indians?

Hi friends, though I am not much interested in world politics I keep a watch on the important political developments taking place around me. In India we have received heads of various countries in a big way but only visits of American Presidents arouse curiosity in even common Indians where as dignitaries from other countries failed to make much impression. Even I too have a special attraction towards America and I admire Americans for my own reasons and this may be true with majority of Indians. Mr. Obam’s visit has become a talk of the town well before his arrival and the entire 3 days concentration of the whole Nation was on him. I think he could win the heart of Indian people and made a permanent impression by his simple and straight forward approach. From the first day of his visit where he landed at Mumbai to his historic speech on the floor of Indian Parliament House his fan following went on increasing and I think today he is the most popular international figure in India. His deep knowledge about India and its cultural heritage, references of Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar in his address has brought him nearer to Indians. His statement “I am directly speaking to one billion Indians through this platform” has become an added advantage for his popularity. I liked his style of pronouncing Namaste and Jai hind and I am sure millions of Indians felt so. Whatever may be the out come of his visit on political and economical grounds, it has boosted the spirit of our business community. I feel, the tie up between two countries will result in increased income opportunities in both countries. Whatever good thing happened during 3 days of his visit is because of the combination of US policy and the personal interest of President Obama. I feel proud of this gentle man who acts tough when ever situation demands not only in the interest of his country but the whole world. I think America and American’s are lucky to have him as their leader. Mr. Obama, all of us want to see you in active politics for many more years for the betterment of the world. Bro, wish you all the best

Mr. President - is it a Big bang visit?

Hi friends, much awaited and much debated visit of Mr. Barack Obama to my country is over and in many ways it is considered as different from visits of earlier American presidents to India. Unlike other Presidents, he has attracted the attention of whole nation during his stay in India. I have watched his live actions in our Parliament house where he addressed members of both houses. I salute him for his oratory skill and it was a treat to watch him speaking on various topics beneficial for both India and America. I felt he was speaking from the bottom of his heart and I am impressed by his pleasing personality and positive body language. All the dignitaries listening to his proposals were applauding voluntarily including Mr. L K Advani, who is one of the tallest leaders of India. I don’t want to go into details of the proposals and assurances given in his speech but I can say they are beneficial to our country also. I feel proud that my country is slowly becoming a economic power and President of mighty America is giving us business proposal on equal grounds. His assurance of support for a permanent membership in UN Security Council may taste very sweet for us but it may take more than 2 decades before it takes place.

It is believed that the whole universe was formed because of an event called Big Bang and shall I call Mr. Obama’s visit a Big bang visit, which may give birth to many positive developments for the betterment of the word? He deserves a second term as President of USA and hope American’s will rightly give him another term to rule and improve their country.

Welcome to India Mr. Obama

Hi friends, wish you all happy Deepavali and prosperous New Year. Deepavali, the festival of lights is already on and my observation is that people are showing better enthusiasm than last year in its involvements. The only reason for this observed behavioral change is nothing but secured financial condition. In spite of being a most disciplined economy, we also felt the heat of turbulence in the world economy and tightened our belts on personal level as well as organizational. Moreover the contradictory predictions by different economists created doubts in the minds of Indians which made them to think twice before spending. But, now the derailed world economy is slowly and steadily rolling on the right track and that is why we are loosening our belts little bit. Indian stock markets are booming again and as usual corporate is bettering its results. American President Mr. Barack Osama is going to visit India shortly and Indian economy is welcoming him with a record stock market jump. But I think we cannot relax too much because some experts are expecting few more bubbles to burst in near future. Any way I wish better sense prevail on us not to repeat the earlier economic blunders which led to the collapse of world economy.

Congratulations Mr. President!

Hi friends, it is since 28 days I did not write any thing on my blog and there is no particular reason for this long gap of inactivity. Though many times I made up my mind to write some thing but I could not proceed further. Today after returning from office in the evening, sweet surprise news was making the headlines in all electronic channels which show Q3 US GDP growth report is very encouraging. As per the report US GDP grew by 5.7% which shows things are moving in a right direction as far as economic recovery is concerned. People from across the globe are waiting to hear such good news which is directly affecting their life. I hope this trend will continue for ever and harvest of economic excellence is enjoyed by each and every individual. I feel, this is one of my memorable blog posts because it gives good news for all people. I would like to congratulate Americans under the leader ship of President Barack Obama for doing this sweet magic.

Chanakya’s Quotes: Part 1

Hi friends continuing my post about Chanakya, he was a very religious person and known for his straightforwardness. He was a professor at the then world famous Takshashila University and some of the quotes extracted from his books are very famous in India and I can say those quotes written about 2000 years ago are more relevant to present conditions than ever and you will agree with me after going through some of his famous quotes. I copied them from “Brainy Quote”. Since I felt some of these quotes are very useful in dealing with critical situations, I am publishing them as blog post.

A good wife is one who serves her husband in the morning like a mother does, loves him in the day like a sister does and pleases him like a prostitute in the night.

A man is born alone and dies alone; and he experiences the good and bad consequences of his karma alone; and he goes alone to hell or the Supreme abode.

A man is great by deeds, not by birth.

A person should not be too honest. Straight trees are cut first and honest people are screwed first.

As a single withered tree, if set aflame, causes a whole forest to burn, so does a rascal son destroy a whole family.

As long as your body is healthy and under control and death is distant, try to save your soul; when death is immanent what can you do?

As soon as the fear approaches near, attack and destroy it.

Before you start some work, always ask yourself three questions - Why am I doing it, what the results might be and will I be successful. Only when you think deeply and find satisfactory answers to these questions, go ahead.

Books are as useful to a stupid person as a mirror is useful to a blind person.

Do not be very upright in your dealings for you would see by going to the forest that straight trees are cut down while crooked ones are left standing.

Do not reveal what you have thought upon doing, but by wise council keep it secret being determined to carry it into execution.

Education is the best friend. An educated person is respected everywhere. Education beats the beauty and the youth.

Even if a snake is not poisonous, it should pretend to be venomous.

God is not present in idols. Your feelings are your god. The soul is your temple.

He who is overly attached to his family members experiences fear and sorrow, for the root of all grief is attachment. Thus one should discard attachment to be happy.

Continued............

Financial mismanagement! Et tu, Dubai?

Hi friends, we are still in the process of recovery from the self created economic crisis but the recent shocking news from Dubai may hinder this process to some extent. As published on “The post.IE”, Dubai, once the poster child of global economic boom, looks like becoming the symbol of its collapse, with major question marks over its financial health. When I first read this story I remembered the famous quote from Julius Caesar, Et tu, Btute? and I never imagined that a country like Dubai with the blessings of our ancestors in the form of fossil fuel resources will lose its face on economic fronts. (Read my post written long back: “Are we enjoying on debris of our ancestors”) Can the already weaken world economy with stand another turbulence without sinking? And only time will give the real answer to this question because in economics contradictory answers are given by different experts keeping in mind their interest. One of the basic reasons for all economic crisis which we have seen in recent past either globally as a whole or in individual countries is the failure to assess our own economic strength and in India our moms use to call it as stretching legs beyond our bed. I have published a post “Remembering my mom and her proverb” long back about this subject and some people criticized my views. Dubai economic disaster is a fresh case of economic mismanagement which has given sudden shock to all of us. Since we are living in a global village, any blunder committed in one part of the village is bound to create problems in other parts. So it is necessary for the economists to observe some discipline that are planning and advising governments on day to day basis so as to keep the progress in a normal way. Whenever I hear the stories of economic mismanagement from the responsible Governments, I remember the most powerful historical personality of India Chanakya who is known for his practical approach in successfully dealing with any political situation. He was the most honest and shrewd politician ever seen and if you have a deep knowledge of world history including India, you will agree with my opinion. I think Chanakya is the most ideal kingmaker because he has chosen an ordinary person like Chnadragupta who was not having any sort of back ground either political or financial, established a kingdom from nothing and made him the king of Pataliputra. He has guided Chandragupta in all aspects of ruling and he became the most ideal emperor in the history of India. The book “Arthashastra” written by Chanakya is still considered as the best ancient Indian treatise on statecraft, economic policy and military strategy and the economic disciplines explained in the book if followed in letter and spirit with changes to present conditions will create a heaven for all of us in the earth itself. Those who have read this book have called Chanakya as Indian Machiavelli. According to Chanakya, country’s interest stands first and everything follows next and the book “Arthashastra” teaches how to rule and keep your citizen happy. Though this book was written in 350-283 BCE, Chanakya’s economic visions are relevant to present modern world and we can practice and get benefited from them which are unique in many ways.

Hi friends I will put a break to this post and continue tomorrow……….

Reasons for economic recession

Hi friends, after suffering for many months, we are slowly coming out from the self created economic mess but the reasons for the occurrence of recession is still a matter of debate. I have gone through many articles available on line about this unprecedented universal phenomenon but my confusion and doubts are still unanswered. I believe our quest for rapid growth is one of the major contributing factors for the recent bad phase in the world economic performance in general and America in particular. I have published a post about the misuse of credit cards few days back and no body can deny the fact that credit cards culture was also responsible for the recession. Apart from this, releasing home loans or property loans on easy terms has shaken the pillars of economy even in mighty economic countries like America. As I have understood from the articles, high inflation is the root cause of economic recession and unless the economists who are guiding the Government in financial matters suggest timely corrective and preventive actions, inflation may end up with recession. Impact of inflation will be felt by consumers when they go for shopping where they will have to spend more than usual. In other words, you can see a decline in purchasing capacity of currency and either you need to spend more money for buying a particular product or buy lesser quantity to maintain your monthly budget. If the inflation rate remains high for longer period, more and more people are forced to bring down their buying quantities. I think, this is the first step of recession. When people think twice to spend a dollar even for day to day usable products, economic activity starts declining and we are entering a phase where supply will be more than demand. At this stage, manufactures are forced to reduce their normal production and subsequently start using lesser man power by laying off remaining people. As income opportunities are becoming lesser and lesser, people who have taken loans from banks and other lenders including through credit cards, find it difficult to pay the monthly installments. I heard that, some people have taken home loans from more than one banks for the same house and such people lost their home within few months. The sad part of the whole story was that, in some cases as many as ten loans were obtained from different financiers for a single property and I am still unable to digest this news. Financiers who have liberally distributed loans without proper scrutiny have become bankrupt and stooped their activities. This is one of the reasons for the closure of many financial institutions during the recession period in different parts of the world. Millions of house owners who were enjoying home loans have become homeless because of their inability to pay back the loan amount and its interest. There are many other smaller reasons which are contributing to the recessions and I will try to analyze them on my own way in the coming days.

Misuse of credit card- an economic blunder?

Hi friends, continuing my earlier discussion about the economic blunders which made millions of our fellow human beings income less and home less, to day I would like to high light the role of credit cards in spoiling the game. I feel, massive misuse of credit card for purchasing products and services well beyond our capacity has contributed its share in weakening the economy especially in countries like America where credit cards were issued on easy terms. Still I am not convinced about the wisdom of bankers who have issued as many as ten credit cards to a single person without verifying his credit score or financial back ground thoroughly. As long as things were moving smoothly, multi credit card holders were balancing the show of credit card bill payment but they were unaware of the fact that they were digging their own graveyard. In spite of the repeated warning from many quarters, we failed to anticipate the bleak economic future and continued our unhealthy economic activities and the resultant world economic crisis was inevitable. The impact of the economic turbulence was less in countries like India, where credit cards were issued strictly on repaying capacity of the individuals.

Feeling happy about economic recovery?

Hi friends, here is a good news for all of us. According to Federal Reserve Chairman Mr. Ben Bernanke economic turbulence has already calmed down and healthy economic activities are stepping up but in a slow phase. Now the time has come to look back at our past blunders which have pushed the whole world to the brink of economic disaster. I hope the end of recession may bring big smile on the innocent faces of our bothers and sisters all over the world (like in the pencil sketch drawn by my son). Though I am bad at economics, I have listed down many points (I feel they are blunders) which are responsible for this bad economic phase and I firmly believe if we start repeating those economic blunders, it may lead to more severe world economic crisis from where it may be difficult for us to come back. As I have mentioned in my earlier post “remembering my mom and her proverbs” the mighty America and its determined people can contribute a lot to the stability of the world economy. A change in life style may be the need of the hour not only for a healthier economy but for the survival of our planet. I would like to discuss those blunders and connect them to the environment degradation which is taking place in a more accelerated phase than ever. Many a times a feel bad economy is good for our future generation and environment and I have dealt with this topic in my post “Bad economy- good for future generation?” I will conclude here and try to bring out my genuine feelings in my own way in the coming days.