Friday, May 25, 2018

Self Arranged Marriage: Expectations vs Reality

Since, we live in India and as we are extremely concerned about society and what people say, marriage becomes a social phenomenon. So after a certain age, it becomes difficult to stay alone in this society. Some segments of society are too excited to see you married before you attain the age of 25 years while some segments are slightly liberal and don't mind waiting for another 2-3 years before they actually start to taunt you and pester you with questions on your marriage. It’s like seeing you married is the only thing left for them to live for. And it doesn't end there you also tend to receive continuous tantrums of your own people including your parents and married friends. Yes, it gets worse, you tend to doubt yourself and think as to really where you are lacking, the social pressure hits you hard. But, if you’re hopeful and open to change you might get to see the events you never expected.   

Nevertheless, lucky are those who find love early and are able to marry the one they love. But, for others sometimes it seems like an endless search. An arranged marriage is a feeble shot at some watered down version of love. You simply cannot throw two supposedly "compatible" individuals together and tell them to fall in love. Love is a spontaneous reaction. And some basic chemistry will tell you that chaos-creating spontaneous reactions tend to be exothermic. But, when you have no other option and when you do not want to go the typically arranged way, you tend to look for a self arranged marriage. Now, a self arranged marriage is different from the old fashioned arranged marriage only in one aspect that you search for your life partner yourself but of course the families are involved. The only difference is you meet each other first, try to judge the compatibility and then arrange the family meet. But, only if life was as easy as it seemed.

Now, let’s see how different our expectations are from the reality:

Expectation: You meet the guy; get to know him, then decide.
Reality: The families meet and decide amongst themselves, your opinion doesn't count.

Expectation: To have a good courtship period with beautiful magical moments.
Reality: Families start pestering you, "good you like each other, you should now exchange the rings".

Expectation: To fall in love and getting your dream proposal. 
Reality: Families already started giving you stress about marriage arrangement and managing the finances.

Expectation: To be happily married with the man you love for the rest of our life.
Reality: Families discuss about exchange of gifts, the kind of lavish wedding the girls side can arrange, etc.

Expectation: The man of your life will step up and fight for what's right and say I just want her, what I am going to do with these gifts anyway.
Reality: The man has a list too over and above the list of demands of his family.

Expectation: The man realizes what’s more important, the relationship or the list. 
Reality: The list is always given a priority.

Expectation: Things to work out somehow.
Reality: Things never work out until you fulfill the demand list.

Thus, I sometimes ponder is love possible in an arranged way?

What are your thoughts?







Saturday, March 12, 2016

Art of Living fined by NGT

The NGT (National Green Tribunal) in-spite of appreciating Sri Sri's Art of Living Mission for hosting of the World Culture Festival on the flood plains of the river Yamuna fined the Foundation for ‘initial’ Environmental Compensation of Rs. 5 crores. This fine is imposed on the Art of Living Foundation as the NGT feels that the Foundation is liable to pay for the damage caused to the environment, ecology, biodiversity and aquatic life of the river.

The order of NGT is as below:
For the damage caused to the environment, ecology, biodiversity and aquatic life of the river, the Foundation should be held liable for its restoration in all respects. In that regard and in exercise of our powers under Sections 15 and 17 of the NGT Act, 2010 we impose an Environmental Compensation, initially of Rs. 5 crores. This amount would be paid by the Foundation prior to the commencement of the event. This amount would be adjusted towards the final compensation determined to be paid by the Foundation for restoration work. We hereby direct the Principal Committee constituted under the judgment, to submit a report within four weeks from today, in relation to the steps required to be taken for restoration, restitution and rejuvenation of the flood plains to its original status. It will also state the approximate cost that would have to be incurred for such restoration and restitution. We further direct that the entire area in question shall be developed as a biodiversity park in terms of our judgment in the case of Manoj Mishra (supra). The cost thereof shall be paid by the Foundation and DDA in the proportion as would be directed by the Tribunal finally. For the reason of delay and laches on the part of the applicant in approaching the Tribunal and for the reason of fait accompli capable of restoration and restitution, we are unable to grant the prayer of prohibitory order and a mandatory direction for removal of construction and restoration of the area in question to the applicant at this stage.

The foundation has so far already spent a total of Rs.25.63 crores on the event.

The Tribunal also imposed a fine of Rs. 5 lakhs on the DDA (Delhi Development Authority) and Rs. 1 lakh on the DPCC (Delhi Pollution Control Committee) which it described as incompetent for not discharging their statutory functions.

Thereafter, the Tribunal constituted a committee of representatives of Delhi Pollution Control Committee, the Union Environment Ministry and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), which should immediately inspect the site and issue directions Thursday in relation to the source of water, and collection and disposal of solid waste and sewerage.





Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Loosing Balance

Everyone feels pressed on and knows it personally, yet not very many of us ponder what stress really is. In today's social atmosphere anxiety is something that we only have a tendency to acknowledge as a piece of our home and workplace. We are taught that one must figure out how to unwind and assume responsibility of one's responses to outer occasions, individuals and circumstances. Thus one will discover peace and stay in proactive control over the feelings that have a tendency to show signs of improvement of us as the day progressed. In any case, managing push in a compelling and effective way goes past straightforward unwinding strategies and into the domain of viable anxiety administration methodologies. Powerful stress repairs includes overseeing what you consume, how you think, the way you treat your body, what moves you make on a steady premise, how you manage social relations, and what you have a tendency to abstain from doing. These key components of anxiety administration are the foundational obstructs that will help you to construct congruity with yourself, others and your quick surroundings. Develop them and apply them into your every day schedule, and you will discover joy where others just discover ruin and pandemonium. 5 Steps to Help Keep Stress from Beating You: 1. Move. The most ideal approach to smolder off the anxiety hormones without needing to change your reasoning is to move and sweat. Run, move, bounce, ride, swim, extend, or skip—do something incredible and vivacious. Yoga is likewise impressive, as it consolidates development and relaxing. 2. Relax. The vast majority of us hold our breath regularly or inhale swallow, on edge breaths. Profound, moderate, full breaths have a significant influence on resetting the anxiety reaction, on the grounds that the unwinding nerve (or vagus nerve and not the Las Vegas nerve) experiences your stomach and is actuated with each full breath. Take five full breaths now, and watch how distinctively you feel after. 3. Bathe. For the lethargic among us (counting me), a Ultrabath is a mystery weapon against anxiety. Include 2 glasses of salt which contains magnesium, the unwinding mineral, a half-measure of preparing pop, and 10 drops of lavender oil (which brings down cortisol) to an exceptionally hot shower. At that point, include one focused on human and douse for 20 minutes. Ensured to prompt unwinding. 4. Rest. Absence of slumber expands stress hormones. Get your eight hours regardless. Sleep in the event that you missed your slumber. Prioritize rest. 5. Think Differently. Hone the specialty of perceiving anxiety, recognizing how your reasoning makes you pushed. Work on taking full breaths and relinquishing stress. Life is riotous and startling things happen. The more you make time in your day for taking care of life's little curve balls, the all the more easily and placidly you will work. Showing up completely in your connections begins with assuming liability once again your anxiety response. When you see stretch as circumstance and you change your associations with anxiety, you feel more quiet, focused and grounded and you consequently captivate with others in a more true and positive way. I hope through this basic, solid lifestyle I can help keep stress from wrecking individuals' lives. By executing my 5 simple way of life steps, you can help free yourself from day by day push and move in the direction of accomplishing a more content and healthier perspective and life!

Saturday, November 30, 2013

The modern India is not so modern after all

There has always been a debate on the perception of modernity. In India this debate is on even a wider level. As in India the transformation from traditional or religious dogma to scientific or rational thinking has been at it’s lowest. India has been engaged with rapid growth of higher education and rapid expansion of professional institutions. However, the scathing hand of the West has turned turtle the basic Indian psyche of happiness in scarcity, and, the same poor yet contented to have turned into an unhappy, rich, and neo-rich people. The education system in our country today has changed for the worse. The natural creative thought process in children has been shut down. Only the course material is given importance but reasoning it with real life isn’t important as the Teachers need to finish their portion in time. Hence, no class participation is encouraged. The only goal is to be bookworms to produce photocopy of what you swallow. All this is due to aggressive competition and in an aim to try to lead a lifestyle like the one in the west. The cultural complexity of India due to diversity in ecology, language, religion, family structure, and uneven introduction of technology. This context has shaped the course of higher education in general and psychology in particular. There is probably no other country where regional, caste and family loyalties are more important than the national interest. Corruption and division of society based on caste will ensure that India remains the same at the core. Our mindset (psyche) is such that it stops us from becoming a driving force to make a better India. Political parties exist in India to sustain one group of people in the country at the expense of a whole other than to promote a national agenda. This creates an inequality and deprivation for other groups. Thus, a cycle is created in which the group which was not in power earlier when comes into power conducts the same inequality created by the previous group which was in power earlier. Indian politicians do not hesitate to sell their country down the river and it does not require a high price. Therefore, we also need to look at psychological processes within cultural contexts, holistically. With these directions and prospects, the move toward indigenous psychology holds promise for the future of the country. The journey toward an indigenous psychology is in progress. First these strange alienated elite (dirty politics) have to be removed from the positions of power and influence, and they will not give up without a fight. Second this is not the psyche of a country which has the oldest culture in the world - it is the psyche of a culture that is continuously enslaved to foreign contacts. Thus, this dependency also needs to be reduced. Our mindset needs a change for the better, for a better India. Outer development without inner transformation of the psyche is not worth praising. We must rise. Education system should be changed and made more practical. People should be encouraged people to bring about change in fact even be the change. We need a renewed attitude to change India at the core. We need to develop and organize our thought process. One should always keep in mind that openness comes from within and not from the outside; likewise modernity comes from how one perceives things and not from what one shows from the outside. Thus, India really needs to adapt a hardworking and determined attitude to help bridge this gap between wisdom and foolishness and come out and deliver the most crucial necessity at this point of time to make a better India. As a failure to overcome this substandard thought process would lead us to a disastrous state and so I conclude that modern India is not so modern after all. Note: This post is not meant to hurt or offend anyone’s feelings, this post is just my opinion and your comments and feedbacks are welcomed.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Women Education And Media

As per Article 26, Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), “(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit. (2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace. (3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.”

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on the 10th of December 1948 at Palais de Chaillot, Paris. It consists of 30 articles which have been elaborated in subsequent international treaties, regional human rights instruments, national constitutions and laws. Out of all the 30 articles, Article 26 is the key to the foundation of securing the most basic of human rights i.e. right to education. This article sets out the social, economic and cultural rights.

To compete in today’s world in terms of employment opportunities, social status, success, etc education plays a very vital role to groom ones personality and boost self confidence. Education is very important for both girls and boys as it helps in the development of human dignity, there shall be no discrimination in the provision of education. There shall be availability of teaching and learning resources irrespective of the cost, language or location of the town/ village. The state is obliged to make available free education for women, improve the facilities and make available resources required for a better learning.

Education and Employment are interrelated. The more educated a women is the better are the employment opportunities. In the early 1980’s to late 1990’s the female work participation in India was very low as compared to other developing countries. Whereas, during 2004-2005 there was an increase in female work participation in the country. However, during 2009-2010 a gradual decline was seen. This was despite the rapid economic growth and many other changes in society. The main reason for this is low paid work and other part time work offered to women. Women workers remain stuck in low value-added but arduous work in agriculture. Around two-thirds of women workers are still employed in agriculture as their principal economic activity, while the share for men workers has fallen to less than half. The reason for this is that men are more educated than women. Thus, education is very essential to enable women to seek for better employment opportunities.

Despite the above the women in India face domestic violence, dowry demands, sexual assault, sexual violence, etc. There are so many cases reported each day regarding such crimes against women also not to forget the fact that there could be so many more unreported cases too. The role of legislators here is to maintain rule of law and to provide social and economic justice by protecting the weaker sections of the society. There shall be an awareness of law. Every women should know her rights. Educating women on legal aspects would not only make them aware but also give them strength in struggling times.

Another image of women in India that has grown in the recent years is the one that we have aped from the west and which gradually is gaining momentum. This is the portrayal of the woman as a showpiece or an icon of glamour. Many T.V. ads, T.V. Serials and Cinemas portray women as the stereotypes to increase their demand/ sales. Women are on commercials and magazine advertisements dressed in skimpy clothing selling everything from tires to pizza. All this stereotyping has a great effect on society. Children are especially vulnerable to this, since their young minds are still developing and learning about the world around them. We can stop this in one way simply by stop buying magazines that feature the sexist and damaging ads. Parents can teach their children that men are not smarter or stronger than women. Parental control should be made on T.V. channels.

Thus, Female Education is key to reduce tension between states and develop good relations. Ignorance of human rights is the ignorance of basic development of a human being and right to education is the vital element to inform individuals and groups of their rights.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Facebook, Happiness & Stock Market

Can you even imagine that Facebook sentiment has the ability to predict statistically significant and economically meaningful changes in the daily returns and trading volume in the equity market??

Well as records show it is true, it does happen so in the US equity market. A one-standard deviation increase in GNH (Gross National Happiness) predicts a statistically and economically significant average increase in next-day gross stock market return of 0.12%. This is purely a relation of the investment sentiments of the user and the stock market activity. Facebook publishes daily GNH (Gross National Happiness) which helps in analysis of the next-day stock market return. Mostly these Facebook sentiments are used to forecast returns among small-cap and growth stocks that are consistent with the noise trader models. Also another amazing fact is that, the assessment of GNH (gross national happiness) was designed in an attempt to define an indicator that measures quality of life or social progress in more holistic and psychological terms than only the economic indicator of gross domestic product (GDP).

Well in India there is a long way to go for Facebook statistical reports to predict the NSE or BSE equity levels as most of the investors don’t even use Facebook rather don’t have Facebook accounts, but nevertheless felt this topic interesting to write about so I went ahead and did it anyway... Also, keep in mind Orkut used to be the undefeated leader in the social network in India. No one came even close to challenging them until Facebook came along. Now, Google also have their own social network, which may or may not mean the end of Facebook's reign.

My study was base on the following Source : http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/business_law

Please leave down your suggestions and reviews. Thank You.


Sunday, July 31, 2011

The Science of Social Media

The Web is becoming social, and companies are jumping to capture the investment rupees. The real science of social media is about why people behave the way they do online and how we as marketers can leverage that behavior to engineer contagious ideas. Also there is a social media economics which helps us valuate business models and advertising effectiveness. It's the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of content amongst online social outlets. Thus, market research, web development, innovation, software animation, robust marketing strategies combined together form the science of social media.

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Barista

Barista Offers :
Coffee
Food
Merchandise
Music
Gift certificate

Promotions :
Zoom macha de Corner – Spot the voice contest
Barista Trump Card – 1 beverage free on 4 beverage
Classy Watches - Timex Valentines promotion
Lux-urious - Lux Body wash
Corner it - Close-up corners

Facts on Barista :
Specialty coffee retailer offering high quality beverages and food accompaniments

Pioneers in establishing the concept of "organized coffee retailing as an experience for the customer" at a national level in India

Strong brand equity - connoting "premium" experience at reasonable cost

Currently, amongst the leading food retail chains, in terms of number of outlets, and the largest specialty coffee chain

Wide presence with 130 outlets across three countries including Dubai and Sri Lanka

Key Shareholders- Sterling Group of Companies and Tata Coffee Ltd.

Coffee :
The Barista House Blend
Steaming hot espressos
Cappuccinos
Lattes made from the finest Arabica beans
Fruit smoothies
Chilled granites
Cold and frozen coffees

Facilities :
Plans to add Laptop Surfing to its Wi-Fi enabled Stores.

Will buy Laptops & Recently implemented
Intel’s Wi-Fi Solutions in 70 Outlets Across the Country.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Social Media Strategies

As buyers and consumers become more savvy with the internet, we need to be part of the conversation and be there when they are looking to buy. We need a specific strategy to reach buyers as cold-calling and traditional advertising has become less and less effective in the 21st century. We need to be there when someone asks online about our product or industry.

Consumers and companies are more savvy and have become more immune to marketing that does not meet their interests. Granted, there are changes in social consumer behavior and technology that must be accounted for, but an adaptive online marketing strategy accounts for those changes anyway. Focusing solely on social media or as an independent activity is a disadvantage. Companies of the future will need to take a hyper-niche approach to finding leads for their sales team or attracting new customers. Which means companies will need a mix of many Internet marketing technologies: Online community building, social media, SEO, SEM, reputation management and semantic web strategies.

All of us know what social media is. Social Media is simply what you use everyday to communicate with our friends and family. Social Media examples are Facebook, Twitter, Social Blogs, YouTube, etc and every other form of communication that is online. Social Media is one the most important and cost effective marketing tools for a business. Depending on your business situation, one can make the case that social media / social networking strategy could be integrated with strategies in:

HR
R&D
Product development
Brand Experience
Operations / Manufacturing
Communication
Marketing
Pricing
Advertising
Sales
Customer service
Channel management
Web / online
Logistics
Distribution
IT
Legal
Government relations
Finance

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Technology That Empowers Me

Technology is the best thing that ever happened to mankind, this was the first thing that came to my mind when I was holding this awesome Canon 20x wide angle optical image power shot camera owned by a friend in my hands. I was so mesmerized with its quality and clarity that I thought why not write a blog on this, so here I am writing about it. Nowadays, technology is a great way to escape from reality and a way to be role models of some sort. It brings you power and encouragements in the society of technology that make things work great and are possible for many things you may think it would be impossible to achieve.

Nothing empowers me more than my laptop, digital cameras, i pod, 3D HD TV's, external hard drives and Sony play station player.

My Laptop - This is the heart of my empowerment. Without it, I would never have been able to start my own business. It is the most important item in the bunch that enables me to communicate with friends, create and post new blogs (like this one), communicate via email, Skype, phone, text and chat with clients. Everything I need to do can be done in the comfort of my home office. That’s the key.

Digital camera - The digital camera provides you every thing in conditions of photograph quality, high ISO with low noise, fantastic contact lenses and trendy. The best thing about it is that is helps us preserve memories that we once cherished with our loved one's, friends and family and also relive them again.

i pod - No face time and other fancy new stuff but it still rocks! This is the best music library that one can have and flaunt. This is the one way ticket to paradise.

3D HD TV's - These are simply amazing one can watch 3D movies now from their homes itself and that to without having to turn off the lights. The upside is it can be used as a secondary screen for a laptop/ PC too.

External hard drives - What would life be without a place to store all the data like Movies, Music, Series, Pictures, Work, Documents, Install Files and so much more. Without the External hard drives we would still be using DVD's.

Sony play station player - Its simply a gift for all the gamers who love video games and want more and more new action each day.

Yes, Technology does empower me so does the internet, without it I would not know as much as I do.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Just Simply Coffee

This post is for all the Coffee Lovers... We love our coffee! Don't we...?? That goes without saying, it tastes great, perks us up and makes everyone else bearable on a Monday morning...But its real benefits make us love it even more.... I have some interesting facts about coffee explaining why we should just simply continue drinking and loving our coffee...
Here they are :

a. It helps reduce headaches... As per research studies it has been proven that the caffeine content in coffee provides relief from headaches...

b. It prevents liver diseases... It seems like the more coffee people drink, the lower their incidence of cirrhosis and other liver diseases.

c. Coffee Reduces the risk of Diabetes, mainly more in Women. Coffee has some antioxidants (chlorogenic acid and quinides, specifically) which play a role in boosting the cells sensitivity to insulin, which helps regulate blood sugar..

d. It boosts your brain power... As per some studies it shows that coffee helps reduce risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, as well as Parkinson’s disease. Coffee with the presence of antioxidants wards off brain cell damage and helps the neurotransmitters involved in cognitive function to work better.

e. It protects the heart... Moderate coffee drinkers have lower rates of stroke than non-coffee drinkers, an effect linked to coffee’s antioxidants. Coffee has more antioxidants per serving than blueberries, making it the biggest source of antioxidants in American diets. All those antioxidants may help suppress the damaging effect of inflammation on arteries. Immediately after drinking it, coffee raises your blood pressure and heart rate, but over the long term, it actually may lower blood pressure as coffee’s antioxidants activate nitric acid, widening blood vessels.

Thus, one should never give up on drinking coffee... In fact, I feel also the non-coffee drinkers should start having it now....

note: above information is based on secondary research alone... your corrections are welcomed...

Friday, June 17, 2011

Social Media at its Best when a Woman takes control....!!

Woman play a very vital role in shaping the medium (social media) as a whole. I will explain why as you read on further.... Almost everyone nowadays uses Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc where they share their info, photos, video, links, daily updates, etc .
If one would notice they would realize one striking difference between the amount of info shared by Men as compared to that shared by Women. I found it surprising so I researched more and found out that, its believed that Woman share about 40% more photos, video, links, etc than Men on the social media. Thus, Woman are likely to spend more time on these social media outlets and so can be very successful at it. Social media requires engagement and as it seems woman are good at it.
And now coming to tweets, re-tweets, status updates the Women tend to respond more and are more active than Men on the social mediums. Also, Women are also more likely to stay on topic in a channel, mostly forums and blogs (comments) in this instance. The women who post to blogs are the most actively engaged. They spend the most time online. Over 80% also participate in social networks like Facebook, and over one third of bloggers also participate in Twitter.
Social media is about human communication. It’s no secret that social media sites are dramatically changing the way we live and conduct our lives online. But, what this means to, and how this involves women is commonly overlooked. Perhaps surprisingly, women are online and interacting on social sites just as much — if not, more — than their male counterparts.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Hindi Proverbs and their English Equivalents

This post was made cause of a discussion I had with my Dad last evening during Dinner. We were debating on the differences in the original Chinese and the Indian Chinese cuisine and he kept saying to me Jaisa desh, vaisa bhes and instantaneously I replied In Rome do as the Romans do. I realized there are very fine similarities between a few Hindi and English proverbs.

So today my morning began searching the Internet for some Hindi proverbs which had some resemblance to the English one's. And I was astonished to witness such fine similarities. Thus, I thought to make a list of these few proverbs and publish it for you all to see.

Note: I could be wrong as I am no expert in either of the language but I felt it is a fun thing to do which others could also enjoy so I am sharing the same with you. Hope you enjoy reading it!

# Thota chana baje ghana - Empty vessels make more noise
# Taali ek haath se nahin bajti – It takes two to quarrel
# Ab pachatae kya jab chidiya chug gayi khet – No use crying over spilt milk
# Aage kuan peeche khaee – Between the devil and the deep sea
# Jahan chaah wahaan raha – Where there’s a will, there’s a way
# Apna Haat Jagannath - One's own hand is the Lord of universe
# Sou sonar ki ek lohar ki - A single blow of a blacksmith is equal to a hundred blows of a goldsmith
# Bhains ke aage been bajana - Reading a book to a Buffalo
# Chaar din ki chaandni phir andheri raat - Dark nights will return after these few moonlit nights
# Ek anaar, sau bimaar - There is a great demand for something in short supply
# Ghar ka bhedi lanka dhayey - Beware of the insider, for he can bring down the biggest setup
# Andhon main kana raja - Amongst calves handicapped cow is wise
# Anth bhala to sab bhala – All’s well that ends well
# Jale par namak chidakna - Rubbing salt on one’s wound
# Naach na jaane, aagan tedha – A poor worker blames his tools
# Doodh ka jala chaas bhi phook-phook kar peeta hai – Once bitten twice shy
# Garajne wale badal baraste nahin hain – Barking dogs seldom bite
# Door ke dhol suhavane lagte hain – The grass seems greener on the other side

Please leave some feedback or your corrections.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Should Pune Use Social Media?

I believe that the everyone can benefit from social media if its used responsibly. So my answer is yes. I love this topic because it gave me a fair idea of what my city of Pune, Maharshtra is doing with social media.

Social media outlets such as Facebook, twitter and YouTube help benefit the youth at large. For instance, on Facebook there’s not only a group for alumni of my high school and alumni of my YEAR in high school, but also a group of alumni of my high School Science Teacher. There are also several Schools these days that use such social media outlets to form a club or community for people to follow. Another good use of social media outlet (Twitter) would be to manage Admissions which could be also used to advertise things going on around campus or in the community, or events open to the community.

In my previous blogs about fast food chains I mentioned Pizza Hut as a good example for franchising. Well how is it so successful, here's the story. Pizza Hut has created its own community, using the internet and their website to allow people to place an order for delivery. Pizza Hut could benefit more further if they also use Twitter to post about lunch specials, daily specials, coupons, new promotions, new menu items, and so on. It could bring them more customers, or repeat customers who may not always think about going out for lunch. A coupon or special might entice me to get out to The Hut for lunch.

Most companies these days use social media and its various tools to maximize their business efforts. Social media gives people a way to connect locally which is more important now than it ever was. So returning to my question, my answer is yes Pune should use social media. I surely do want to know whats happening in Pune and get relevant updates from the social services. Social media is definitely a neat idea.

Monday, May 30, 2011

“The Modern Indian Wedding And Its Marketing”

Marriages are made in heaven but nowadays all that is changing. Marriages are becoming more of a showbiz. Marketing marriage is what the tourism industry is busy doing to attract visitors to India. All of this started with the famous Arum Nayar wedding hitting the headlines mainly because of its star power, this caught the eye of the minister Ambika Soni who officially declared that “Marriage tourism” would be used as a part of the Indian tourism to attract international visitor. This would encourage many visitors from abroad to come to India mainly to tie the knot just like how visitors visit Las Vegas mainly to get married, but unlike Las Vegas marriage in India would last more hopefully.

A foreign couple can learn more about India through marriage than anything else mainly because a wedding in India reflects Indian culture in its most vibrant colors, a colorful experience. Adding to that even the India honeymoon can be a memorable experience. India has a variety of wedding styles to choose from be it a Punjabi wedding, Rajasthan style, Gujrati wedding or the South Indian style. Also India has unlimited options in terms of food, clothing and music too.

Nowadays in India, most people seem to prefer love marriages to arranged ones. However, there are a few individuals who do prefer arranged marriages mainly due to the circumstances in their home but still would want a love marriage. The busy schedules of Individuals due to career and education do not leave sufficient time to date and find the perfect like minded partner. From my recent experience of my friends Rahul and Somya who were struggling to find a partner via the modern arranged way. Both were well settled in their careers and yet it was difficult for them to find their perfect match, then one fine day they met each other at a common friends party and exchanged numbers and decided to stay in touch and there you have it two years later the decided to get married - modern Indian wedding!

For as long as anyone can remember, weddings in India have been nothing but an occasion for the coupling of two families. Marriage tourism, therefore, has a great future. The modern Indian Wedding is the modern Indian love story.


Saturday, May 28, 2011

Fast Food Chains

Fast food chains are the most common upcoming mid-scale establishments in India and throughout the world. Fast food chains are most commonly found near shopping malls and tourist areas. We would usually find them as a set of related restaurants having the same name located at different locations and under a shared corporate ownership or under franchising agreements. These chains of restaurant are built on a standard format and offer a standard menu. Although we would see a small difference as we go from one country to another mainly as the fast food chains adapt to the change in culture of the respective country they exist in. This is one of the policies a retail chain has to follow while doing business abroad.
The fast growth of retail chains has become an increasingly controversial trend worldwide. People have mixed opinions about their working styles. Fast food chains bring to us a wide range of cuisines at a reasonable price which can be afforded by all classes of the society. Well to some people who wonder about this phenomenon, their working is fairly simple frozen food that is shipped from a central location which is reheated and served by the restaurant staff, also adding to it more often the employees are paid very low wages. Pizza Hut is a good example of an international retail industry. Pizza Hut is an emerging chain of retailing in the food and service industry. Fast food chains are thus becoming a booming part of retail industry with growing sales every year.


Sunday, May 22, 2011

FDI

Foreign direct investment combines both the aspects of international trade in goods and services and also the international financial flows, and is a phenomena more complex than either of these. As its name suggests, FDI first involves ownership of the assets of a firm: foreign direct investment is defined as the acquisition of 10% or more of the assets of a foreign enterprise. FDI involves the choice of a host country for these assets. The decision to invest depends on various conditions such as cost, professional access to local market, trade restrictions and other policies in the host country. FDI also involves the decision making activities of which to keep internal to a firm, and which to keep external: only the activities internal to a firm will be included in FDI, while other activities can be pursued by arms-length transactions between unrelated firms. A major factor of why companies look abroad for investment purposes is that domestic markets are becoming saturated and the rate of growth in these markets is slow. In order to survive companies expand internationally to increase their potential.
Foreign Direct Investment has its own Pros and Cons, I would first like to start with the Pros related to Foreign Direct Investment firstly, the country which attracts FDI as well as the country that performs FDI are both at major benefits like both are exposed to new technology and growth in their income. Secondly, direct employment as well as secondary employment is available for the people in the country where FDI takes place. Thirdly, there is reduction in imports and a growth in exports in country attracting FDI. Finally, the country attracting FDI is benefitted in terms of technology spillovers, training and competition. The Cons related to FDI are that the country attracting FDI may become a victim of dumping. FDI involves many risks like currency fluctuations, inflation risks, interest rate risks, etc. FDI can result into excess flow of foreign currency in the country attracting FDI. FDI does not translate automatically into the net foreign exchange inflows.