The newspapers are splattered with news of the woman whose plea for abortion of her 26-week foetus was rejected by the Bombay High court has not decided yet whether to approach the Supreme Court, as offers poured to look after the child when it is born. There are several viewpoints which have analysed this case. Unethical to deny!!! Say some... We will take care of the kid!! say others.
I dont think i can take sides with anyone since these are emotional and "what if" "But" kind of issues with both sides arguments based on future event the outcome of which is evenly poised in both directions. But looking at all this media coverage one thing does bother me. If the child were to be born and when he grows up enough to operate a keyboard he would surely know that he was an unwanted child.... what would he think. Wouldnt it kill his will to live even if he is born healthy???? That alone makes me feel that the family should have done what they wanted (perhaps aborted outside this country) but the media glare was to be avoided. I may be wrong like the zillions of others expressing there view.... but what if i am right?
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
123 Agreement: The Great Indian democracy circus Part 1
After the Arushi Murder case the Indo- US nuclear deal has been the latest entertainment act in the Great Indian Circus. Will the deal sink the govt. and a lot of taxpayers money in re-elections? -- we shall know in 24 hrs. But while the athletes of Indian parliament engage in there pole vaults and acrobatics across parties, I think it is important for we the citizens to know what the deal is all about. A random sample of people around me shows that most of us -- much like our politicians -- are "emotional' of the deal without necessarily having "factual" information on the same and that the deal has in fact taken a back seat in view of the trust vote . In this three part series I intend to make an attempt to explain the deal/ agreement, its implications on Indian power reforms and analyse the drama as it unfolds in the parliament .
The India - US Nuclear deal
What is Nuclear agreement and why is it called the 123 agreement?
The India US Nuclear deal is also called the 123 agreement in reference to Sec. 123 of the U.S. Atomic Energy Act. There is a ban on transfer of nuclear technology to other countries under this Act. The Hyde Act was passed by U.S.A to make an exception for India, to enable transfer of technology for civil nuclear energy.
So whats the whole fuss in this agreement all about?
Under the agreement India will be able to develop a strategic reserve of nuclear fuel to guard against any disruption of supply over the lifetime of its nuclear power reactors. This will mean that India can go ahead and develop Nuclear power plants adding up to 40,000 MW of Nuclear energy to reduce dependence on the depleting Coal, costlier Water and increasingly costly Oil energy. (More analysis on the power situation and how the deal changes it in next part). It will also be able to reprocess US-origin nuclear fuel at a special facility under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards. This would make India the third region unrestricted in that respect by US lawmakers - after the European Union and Japan - and the first to host such a facility under such international safeguards arrangements. Since the processed raw uranium supplied by US can be used for Nuclear weapons manufacturing as well as power generation, the US govt. has incorporated a clause which allows them to inspect the facilities where the raw material is used, so as to ensure it is used for "peaceful" purposes. Fair? I think so. Wouldn't we do the same if we have a similar treaty tomorrow with say Korea???
So the deal is not about building Nuclear plants and only about the raw material?
Correct. The deal only provides the raw material. India still needs to invest over US $ 100 billion over the next 10 years to build Nuclear reactors. The deal is however necessary since the providers of Nuclear reactors and spare parts is a closely held group - Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG) which has US stronghold -- and would not enter agreements unless mutually agreed.
Wow! So that's the underlying game of the agreement --Add to the profits of US companies from securing contracts to build these nuclear plants?
If you thought this, you could be the next candidate for the left parties. Please note that the world is not a big NGO and we live in capitalism. People work for profit and mutual gains. So while one of the elements for the deal was profit for US companies like GE Energy, USEC and Westinghouse electric, the game has not played out as well for these US companies. According to the latest buzz the Russian and French nuclear reactor producers like Areva NP SAS, Atomenergoproekt, and ZAO Atomstroyexport are already taking advantage of their long-standing ties with India's nuclear community, and the fact that India has yet to sign the Convention on Supplementary Compensation (CSC) - an international treaty that created a global pool of money to pay victims of nuclear disasters, and since India's not a party to it, any American-built reactors would have to shoulder their own civil liabilities—a cost that would likely prove prohibitive. So, if the deal were to be signed today it would be the Russians and French who would really gain. I am sure if the govt. publicised this well enough the left parties would have sought some solace in a communist nation gaining.
What is the duration of the deal?
The deal is for 40 years and can be extended by another ten years.
Where does the signing stand today?
As on date the agreement has been stalled in the Indian Parliament by opposition leaders (60% of whom have never read the agreement) . By the way India's parliamentary democratic system does not require a government to have its foreign policy decisions endorsed by parliament. Which essentially means that the opposition can ‘vote” on issues and voice concerns but the act of bringing the democracy on its knees is morally unconstitutional – especially when most of the opposition leaders have no clue of what the mechanics of Nuclear deal and care a damn about it.If and when the agreement is signed by both governments, the next step is to enter into agreement with the IAEA ( international atomic energy agency) for safeguards of the civil nuclear reactors to be set up under the 123 agreement and to enter into an agreement with the NSG ( nuclear suppliers group) for supply of nuclear fuel i.e uranium for the civil nuclear reactors. Once India completes the agreements with IAEA and NSG, then the U.S. Congress will vote on the 123 agreement. Once it is approved by the U.S. Congress, then the deal is complete and India and U.S.A can enter into nuclear commerce i.e supply of nuclear reactors, transfer of technology, supply of nuclear fuel etc.
Why do the left and opposition oppose it?
Simple answer -- That's there nature and birth right to oppose anything the ruling party proposes. However lets look at the various reasons which some "intellectuals" have used to oppose the deal.
Sure. There was only one thing which could have prevented the situation going out of hand and that was PR and Communications. The govt. has miserably failed in educating the population at large on the nitty- gritties of the deal. They should ideally have created open forums for discussions of the deal and a climate of openness. It is easy for politicians to sow the seed of dissent in absence of transparency by making statements like " The govt. is pushing us into US slavery 50 years after freedom from British" - Aka Akali dal. These statements are however difficult to defend in a forum with facts and figures. These forums should have included Corporates and media personalities including the likes of M S Dhoni and Amitabh Bachan supporting the deal. I am sure if they can sell Priya Gold biscuits and Sona chandi chawanprash they can sell a nuclear deal to a nation who thinks thru their eyes. You could win the whole south by enrolling Rajnikant to support the deal. An example of an excellent PR campaign was the voting on Lisbon treaty for Irelands accession to EU conducted earlier this year (which ultimately lead to Ireland not signing up).
Bottom line the Indo-US deal has put the govt. in a "survival mode" purely due to lack of transparency and public propaganda on the deal allowing the conspiracy theorists to leverage this issue to murder democracy.
While this post objectively analyses the "agreement", I will attempt to answer whether the deal is good enough to solve India's power situation in the next part.
The India - US Nuclear deal
What is Nuclear agreement and why is it called the 123 agreement?
The India US Nuclear deal is also called the 123 agreement in reference to Sec. 123 of the U.S. Atomic Energy Act. There is a ban on transfer of nuclear technology to other countries under this Act. The Hyde Act was passed by U.S.A to make an exception for India, to enable transfer of technology for civil nuclear energy.
So whats the whole fuss in this agreement all about?
Under the agreement India will be able to develop a strategic reserve of nuclear fuel to guard against any disruption of supply over the lifetime of its nuclear power reactors. This will mean that India can go ahead and develop Nuclear power plants adding up to 40,000 MW of Nuclear energy to reduce dependence on the depleting Coal, costlier Water and increasingly costly Oil energy. (More analysis on the power situation and how the deal changes it in next part). It will also be able to reprocess US-origin nuclear fuel at a special facility under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards. This would make India the third region unrestricted in that respect by US lawmakers - after the European Union and Japan - and the first to host such a facility under such international safeguards arrangements. Since the processed raw uranium supplied by US can be used for Nuclear weapons manufacturing as well as power generation, the US govt. has incorporated a clause which allows them to inspect the facilities where the raw material is used, so as to ensure it is used for "peaceful" purposes. Fair? I think so. Wouldn't we do the same if we have a similar treaty tomorrow with say Korea???
So the deal is not about building Nuclear plants and only about the raw material?
Correct. The deal only provides the raw material. India still needs to invest over US $ 100 billion over the next 10 years to build Nuclear reactors. The deal is however necessary since the providers of Nuclear reactors and spare parts is a closely held group - Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG) which has US stronghold -- and would not enter agreements unless mutually agreed.
Wow! So that's the underlying game of the agreement --Add to the profits of US companies from securing contracts to build these nuclear plants?
If you thought this, you could be the next candidate for the left parties. Please note that the world is not a big NGO and we live in capitalism. People work for profit and mutual gains. So while one of the elements for the deal was profit for US companies like GE Energy, USEC and Westinghouse electric, the game has not played out as well for these US companies. According to the latest buzz the Russian and French nuclear reactor producers like Areva NP SAS, Atomenergoproekt, and ZAO Atomstroyexport are already taking advantage of their long-standing ties with India's nuclear community, and the fact that India has yet to sign the Convention on Supplementary Compensation (CSC) - an international treaty that created a global pool of money to pay victims of nuclear disasters, and since India's not a party to it, any American-built reactors would have to shoulder their own civil liabilities—a cost that would likely prove prohibitive. So, if the deal were to be signed today it would be the Russians and French who would really gain. I am sure if the govt. publicised this well enough the left parties would have sought some solace in a communist nation gaining.
What is the duration of the deal?
The deal is for 40 years and can be extended by another ten years.
Where does the signing stand today?
As on date the agreement has been stalled in the Indian Parliament by opposition leaders (60% of whom have never read the agreement) . By the way India's parliamentary democratic system does not require a government to have its foreign policy decisions endorsed by parliament. Which essentially means that the opposition can ‘vote” on issues and voice concerns but the act of bringing the democracy on its knees is morally unconstitutional – especially when most of the opposition leaders have no clue of what the mechanics of Nuclear deal and care a damn about it.If and when the agreement is signed by both governments, the next step is to enter into agreement with the IAEA ( international atomic energy agency) for safeguards of the civil nuclear reactors to be set up under the 123 agreement and to enter into an agreement with the NSG ( nuclear suppliers group) for supply of nuclear fuel i.e uranium for the civil nuclear reactors. Once India completes the agreements with IAEA and NSG, then the U.S. Congress will vote on the 123 agreement. Once it is approved by the U.S. Congress, then the deal is complete and India and U.S.A can enter into nuclear commerce i.e supply of nuclear reactors, transfer of technology, supply of nuclear fuel etc.
Why do the left and opposition oppose it?
Simple answer -- That's there nature and birth right to oppose anything the ruling party proposes. However lets look at the various reasons which some "intellectuals" have used to oppose the deal.
- The deal prevents India from making any Nuclear tests akin to Pokhran II in 1998
Fact- There is nothing in any agreement India has signed that commits it to cap or reduce its weapons-grade fissile material stockpiles. The agreement does say that if India "unilaterally" detonates a nuclear device the US govt. shall have the right to terminate the agreement with one year notice. However even there under section 13 of the agreement the US govt. needs to undergo a "consultation"process before termination. Here it is important to note that -
First, India has already "bilateralised" its unilateral moratorium in a joint statement with Pakistan issued during Atal Bihari Vajpayee's visit to Lahore as Prime Minister in 1999. Any unilateral India test, therefore, would violate that agreement to begin with.
Secondly, sub-critical tests and computer simulations of the kind the U.S. conducts in order to validate weapon designs would not attract any penalty.
Thirdly, there would, in any case, still be no legal obligation on India not to conduct an explosive test. However it will make the Indian Govt. pause and think of the collateral economic damage it could have in spoling ties with the US govt. While the nuclear deal leaves intact the government's prerogative to accumulate fissile material and build bombs and even test them, it will, presumably, force policymakers to take into account these associated costs. To the extent that this has a rational effect on the size and structure of the country's nuclear weapons programme, this is not necessarily a bad thing.
Finally, the agreement says that that it will take into account the circumstances in which India conducts a nuclear test. These include a ''changed security environment'' or action, which could impact national security. Essentially what it boils down to is that the right to terminate the agreement may not be invoked if Pakistan or China conduct nuclear tests and India responds to that by conducting a test of its own. In a way, this is the first international agreement, which would justify the circumstances in which a nuclear test is conducted. So India is not giving up its right to test and right of return of nuclear fuel does not automatically comes into play.
- Even if the deal doesn't directly force India not to conduct tests, US could cause huge damage to India by terminating the treaty anytime in its duration and hence turning all its nuclear reactors into a junk pile.
Fact - The deal interestingly says that the "right of return" - basically the right to terminate the agreement and stop further supplies - that the Americans have does not automatically comes into effect. It is something the US administration chooses to do. They would have to stop cooperation with India. But whether or not they take back fuel is something they would have to choose to do. Even if, for some reason, they were to take back nuclear fuel, India retains the right to seek alternate sources of fuel for itself. US will have to ensure that it makes necessary arrangements from other third party nations like Russia and France to secure supplies for the remaining period of the agreement to ensure the smooth operation of 'peaceful use of the nuclear fuel' read - power plants. Of course they don't ensure supplies for Nuclear Bomb manufacture if that's why they decide to terminate the agreement. Logical???
There are some other reasons but they are completely bizzare and do not even merit a presence on this blog, but just to provide an example ""The nuclear deal will hamper the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project, Mayawati tells a press conference in Delhi" -- Duh!!!"
If the deal is good why doesn't the govt make the details public?
The agreement and the deal are public and available here. They have however been subject to the usual Indian 'chalta hai" attitude by we the people who care for nothing "politics" and more sinfully by the complete incompetence of the Congress PR machinery to drum up enough support and let the facts known.
Could this ruckus and Blackmail of democracy have been avoided?Sure. There was only one thing which could have prevented the situation going out of hand and that was PR and Communications. The govt. has miserably failed in educating the population at large on the nitty- gritties of the deal. They should ideally have created open forums for discussions of the deal and a climate of openness. It is easy for politicians to sow the seed of dissent in absence of transparency by making statements like " The govt. is pushing us into US slavery 50 years after freedom from British" - Aka Akali dal. These statements are however difficult to defend in a forum with facts and figures. These forums should have included Corporates and media personalities including the likes of M S Dhoni and Amitabh Bachan supporting the deal. I am sure if they can sell Priya Gold biscuits and Sona chandi chawanprash they can sell a nuclear deal to a nation who thinks thru their eyes. You could win the whole south by enrolling Rajnikant to support the deal. An example of an excellent PR campaign was the voting on Lisbon treaty for Irelands accession to EU conducted earlier this year (which ultimately lead to Ireland not signing up).
Bottom line the Indo-US deal has put the govt. in a "survival mode" purely due to lack of transparency and public propaganda on the deal allowing the conspiracy theorists to leverage this issue to murder democracy.
While this post objectively analyses the "agreement", I will attempt to answer whether the deal is good enough to solve India's power situation in the next part.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Changing face of Indian Justice
Two court decisions in the past week bring to the front the changing face of Indian Justice system.
- One is the ruling by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on petitions by two Muslim personnel of the Indian Air Force seeking permission to grow beards while in uniform.
- Two the ruling given by Supreme court on testimony of rape victims being an evidence in itself amounting to conviction of the accused without requirement on ANY other corroborative evidence including a doctors report.
Both rulings move away from the half a century old Indian Judicial rulings which have had no emotional basis and are based on purely factual knowledge (i dont claim to be an expert but atleast thats what has been in my reading till date based on the rulings in Bombay Bomb blast case, Babri Masjid case and Godhra). I consider the impact of this change as being completely diverse in both cases.
In case 1 the court commented that "growing beards at the most can be stated to be a personal choice and the same is not a compulsive requirement of a person professing Islam. Even if it is presumed to be so, it can be regulated, restricted, if public order, morality and health so requires”. This in my view is a "judgemental" ruling and not factual since the second sentence of the ruling can apply to any religion including Sikhs. I know enough Sikhs who do shave off albiet to utter disdain of their families. A factual view in this case would have been that purely based on the fact that a regulation existed to the effect that "No growing beards with the exception of Sikhs" and the person joining the Air Force knew of this regulation/ accepted the same at the point of joining, hence ruling against the Muslim youths from growing beards. Someone could have then gone and debated that such a rule was unconstitutional or against the religious sentiments but that would have been a seperate case with a different perspective and based on religious interpretations.
In case 2 on the other had the court recognises that in a closed Indian community the fact that a women comes ahead and registers a rape case at the risk of losing her dignity is in itself a proof enough to recognise the crime. There is no further need of corroborative evidence in form of "witness" (the lack of which by the way is the reason why most criminals are acquitted)or even a doctors "report" (which is often modified especially in rural areas). It is upto the presiding judge to evaluate the "credibility' of the story based on the way it is presented by the plaintiff (and not her lawyer). The ruling puts the onus on the accused to prove that there was a "motive' for the plaintiff to frame the accused by making a rape claim. This ruling provides teeth to the system to deliver a swift justice and should lead to more cases being registered and more convictions. Again based on the requirement of factual justice this is an inappropriate ruling given that its fairly judgemental and justice can be deilivered even in absence of clear evidence purely based on "Statement by plaintiff". However in this case the System is being realistic rather than emotional as in case 1.
Two different rulings both with an element of emotion and judgement but both surely will change the face of Indian Judicial system-- one for the better and other for the worse. What do u think?
P.S. - I am not a lawyer or legal professional hence none of the words above are intended to implicate the Indian Judicial System in any manner. These are purely personal views and open to debate.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Circular loop in Oil economics
Guys, reading all these oil stories is putting my brain in a circular loop over the Oil economics.
On one hand we say that the US economy will go in recession because Oil prices will go up. And then over the past few days the analysis for "drop" in crude prices suggests that the prices dropped because of expectation of drop in Oil usage due to US recession. But now that the oil prices have dropped will there be a pick up in consumption and hence no recession ... in which case will the Oil prices move up again !!!! It seems like a see-saw of expectation of oil price drop and recession. A big circular loop or Economics gone "fuzzy" !!!! HELP!!!!
On one hand we say that the US economy will go in recession because Oil prices will go up. And then over the past few days the analysis for "drop" in crude prices suggests that the prices dropped because of expectation of drop in Oil usage due to US recession. But now that the oil prices have dropped will there be a pick up in consumption and hence no recession ... in which case will the Oil prices move up again !!!! It seems like a see-saw of expectation of oil price drop and recession. A big circular loop or Economics gone "fuzzy" !!!! HELP!!!!
SecondCareer after 60
There is an interesting jab by Scott Adams on his blog on the increasing life expectancy driven by miracles of medical sciences. Scott in his usual sarcastic flair says that this increased life expectancy points to the need for voluntary "assisted suicide" or Euthanasia.
The concept of Euthanasia has been debated again and again in the context of terminally ill patients. While that issue itself has been boiling under "ethical" vs "rights" debate Scott's post brings up a completely new thought to my mind.
We have indeed been seeing progress in Medical sciences prolonging the life expectancy especially in the educated, well off segment (McCain is perhaps the most eminent example) but an interesting point to note is that retirement ages in most employments (again with the exception of politics) have not move beyond the 58-60 yrs band. Even able bodies and vast expereinces resulting from illustrious careers have not been able to overcome this age barrier. The questions raised on when Mr. Tata retires is a point in this regard. So the question remains that inspite of all these advances why hasnt the retirement ages advanced? Perhaps its because the advances in medical sciences are more physical and there are yet no sustained/proven measures to prevent mental detirioration beyond 60. There is still no medicine which after spending 60 years on earth prevents you from reflecting on the "banalities" of life and reflecting on 'what have you done" or for that matter treating Alzhiemers which perhaps everyone expereines in varying degrees. The only medicine is remaining fit by training your mind and body and challenging it. And retirement at 60 precisely ends this "crucial life force" for the brain. The forced vaccum on the brain detiriorates even the able bodied faster.
So the question for the day is --- There is a huge chunk of this population beyond 60 who are reasonably well off in monetary terms and have nothing to do-- inspite of the fact that they have vast expereince and perhaps even the will to do something , albiet different from what they have been doing all their life. Is there a business opportunity -- akin to the Tata initiative of secondcareer.com launched for women who take a break at pregnancy-- to retrain this class and use their vast experience in either entreprenual or service activities?
Cant point out what these will be, but am sure we can think of some. Any ideas?
The concept of Euthanasia has been debated again and again in the context of terminally ill patients. While that issue itself has been boiling under "ethical" vs "rights" debate Scott's post brings up a completely new thought to my mind.
We have indeed been seeing progress in Medical sciences prolonging the life expectancy especially in the educated, well off segment (McCain is perhaps the most eminent example) but an interesting point to note is that retirement ages in most employments (again with the exception of politics) have not move beyond the 58-60 yrs band. Even able bodies and vast expereinces resulting from illustrious careers have not been able to overcome this age barrier. The questions raised on when Mr. Tata retires is a point in this regard. So the question remains that inspite of all these advances why hasnt the retirement ages advanced? Perhaps its because the advances in medical sciences are more physical and there are yet no sustained/proven measures to prevent mental detirioration beyond 60. There is still no medicine which after spending 60 years on earth prevents you from reflecting on the "banalities" of life and reflecting on 'what have you done" or for that matter treating Alzhiemers which perhaps everyone expereines in varying degrees. The only medicine is remaining fit by training your mind and body and challenging it. And retirement at 60 precisely ends this "crucial life force" for the brain. The forced vaccum on the brain detiriorates even the able bodied faster.
So the question for the day is --- There is a huge chunk of this population beyond 60 who are reasonably well off in monetary terms and have nothing to do-- inspite of the fact that they have vast expereince and perhaps even the will to do something , albiet different from what they have been doing all their life. Is there a business opportunity -- akin to the Tata initiative of secondcareer.com launched for women who take a break at pregnancy-- to retrain this class and use their vast experience in either entreprenual or service activities?
Cant point out what these will be, but am sure we can think of some. Any ideas?
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Will "Public" internet surfing be crucified?
The latest article on Businessweek talks on the crackdown on Cybercafes in India. It seems that the govt. in Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat and Haryana have started to implement measures like loads of licensing requirement and permits to make life miserable for the Cyber cafe owners. At the same time there is increased onus on the owners to follow Know Your customer (KYC) norms . This all is being done under the pretext of "prevention of terrorist activities" as well as prevention of "pornography". I am not convinced by the logic here. What terorist activities are we refering to? IS it 'mails" being sent from these cybercafes by terrorist organisations caliming responsibility for activities? Shouldnt we be focussing on stopping the activity rather than the post facto "claiming' peice? Or are we referring to the "cyber" frauds? Wouldnt a cyber fraudster use much more sophiscticated means like dynamic Ip and Masking from a personal PC and a high speed personal connection rather than the snail pace of Cybercafes? And with mobile Internet making its way do we really think cracking down on cyberCafes stops Pornography? Today the highest amount of Pornography is in the form of MMS clips and images -- so do we next ask the Mobile operators to switch off the MMS option? I believe this is the same battle which music companies fought against piracy (and finally came to terms with thru iTunes model),the same battle being fought with Blackberry by the govt. Its about time that people realised from these battles that by its nature internet is ubiquitous, "location" independent and hence untraceable. So either you ban it or learn to live with it.
The article hypothesises that this could be a move to aid prroliferation of internet at home!!! Well I think the later is giving too much credit to governments thouhtfullness.
However one interesting fact is that we do notice around me cybercafes do seem to be on the downfall. They have surely dwindled from the hay old days in the early part of the century when there were more cybercafes than PCO's and even then you couldnt find a seat. This is partly driven by redcued craze for "chat rooms" and loss of novelty factor. But it is also driven by the disruption of the business model of these cybercafes. Typically these cafes operated on pirated softwares and a single 64 kbps link used for 10 terminals. However with new licensing norms they can no longer use pirated softwares. At the same time the shooting cost of real estate coupled with lowering of tariffs driven and need for higher speeds for todays casual surfing needs (youtube and downloads vs chats and mail) means they are being boxed from all ends. So will we see the end of "public" surfing? Where does this pitch the plans of Reliance webworlds and other "organised" Cybercafe chains?
In my view the Cybercafe as we know them today - both in size, ambience and utility will die. What will emerge though are "Media Immersion Pods"(MIP) so common in Japan though at different degrees. The MIPs in Japan serve are Cubicles with complete privacy and serve as "Nirvana" space wherein can download music, read novels, watch pornography, play video games, have sex, go to sleep. In fact they have a "night pack" allows use of the pod from 11 p.m. to 8 a.m. for about $10; some places sell toothbrushes and underwear too. Periodically the management needs to remind a customer that the cafe is not a hotel, but above all MIPs respects people's privacy. Though MIP's in Japan are the extreme end (just like other things in Japan telecom e.g. mobile boradband) the MIP's in India too will map them to an extent. Some day Indian cybercafes in MIP avtaar could offer the following services -
The article hypothesises that this could be a move to aid prroliferation of internet at home!!! Well I think the later is giving too much credit to governments thouhtfullness.
However one interesting fact is that we do notice around me cybercafes do seem to be on the downfall. They have surely dwindled from the hay old days in the early part of the century when there were more cybercafes than PCO's and even then you couldnt find a seat. This is partly driven by redcued craze for "chat rooms" and loss of novelty factor. But it is also driven by the disruption of the business model of these cybercafes. Typically these cafes operated on pirated softwares and a single 64 kbps link used for 10 terminals. However with new licensing norms they can no longer use pirated softwares. At the same time the shooting cost of real estate coupled with lowering of tariffs driven and need for higher speeds for todays casual surfing needs (youtube and downloads vs chats and mail) means they are being boxed from all ends. So will we see the end of "public" surfing? Where does this pitch the plans of Reliance webworlds and other "organised" Cybercafe chains?
In my view the Cybercafe as we know them today - both in size, ambience and utility will die. What will emerge though are "Media Immersion Pods"(MIP) so common in Japan though at different degrees. The MIPs in Japan serve are Cubicles with complete privacy and serve as "Nirvana" space wherein can download music, read novels, watch pornography, play video games, have sex, go to sleep. In fact they have a "night pack" allows use of the pod from 11 p.m. to 8 a.m. for about $10; some places sell toothbrushes and underwear too. Periodically the management needs to remind a customer that the cafe is not a hotel, but above all MIPs respects people's privacy. Though MIP's in Japan are the extreme end (just like other things in Japan telecom e.g. mobile boradband) the MIP's in India too will map them to an extent. Some day Indian cybercafes in MIP avtaar could offer the following services -
- Act as Hotspots for wireless BB connectivity on personal Mobile BB devices, maybe for free with some kind of click ad model paying for this cost
- Act as Gaming Zones for hard core high end '3D immersive" gaming - imagine having Wii terminals and gamers slugging out.
- Act as high end collaboration sites acting as "Public Telepresence rooms" used for "Coaching" for learning a myraid things from Yoga to languages to Karate from remote (maybe another continent)"trainers" or simply the international friends "handout adda"
- Locations for specific downloads like iTunes and eBooks
- A movie parlour wherein you obtain a code to watch streaming movies on home comp
The possibilities are unlimited. Chuck the "terrorist threats", the verdict is out "Cybercafes will be crucified- MIP's will emerge" long live Web 3.0!!!
Monday, October 22, 2007
One Afternoon at the Passport office...
Man behind Window (MBW) -"VSNL is a government entity".....
Me -"No sir it isnt, ist owned by the Tata group" ...
MBW - "No, No Its government, you need a No Objection certificate ...." (yawns)
Me (desperate) -- "Sir it WAS a government enterprise its now a listed private company...."
MBW -" Please come and meet my senior officer"
Me and MBW go to meet senior officer, the whole queue stares at us .... ready to pounce and bury me for wasting their (already long wasted) time further.....
MBW and me stand in front of officer while he signs some docs and talks on the phone.
Officer- Yes
MBW - Sir He (pointing at me) is a govt. employee and doesnt have a NOC....
Me - (cutting in between) ... I am not a govt. employee -- I work for VSNL....
Officer - VSNL ,( Duh!!!! ) -- full form kaay?
Me - Videsh San.....
MBW -- (Butting in) ... Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited .... Govt. company Sahib.... ( I think its in the MBW's KRA to reject at least one application per hour and he is desperately trying to achieve the same)
Me - No NO its listed, it has TATA group majority stake .... they bought it in 2002. ( I suddenly realise if this man can perplex me so much with 10 words.... what "third degree torture would be with Mumbai Police")
Officer --- (looking at me skeptically and then at the MBW confidently) --- Are you sure?
Me - Yes Yes !!!
Officer - (Scratches his head and considers for a while) ..... Are you ready to give it in writing
Me - ( With a cocktail feeling of Confusion, shock, amusement and desperation) Give what in writing???
Officer - That VSNL is not a govt. entity and you do not require a NOC....
Me - You want ME to write that
Officer - Yes and sign .....
Me - OK (I thought for a second the officer would also ask me to swear on Bhagwad Gita " Whatever i say is the truth and the ultimate truth")
Me and MBW walk back to the window -- once again we get stares and grunts for delay....
I scrtch out a letter on a "rough page" provided by MBW, he apporves of it (seems dejected though for not achieveing his KRA) and accepts the papers for
"Issue of Additional Passport Booklet"............
--- "This is based on a true incident at the regional Passport office Worli, Mumbai. The characters and script are totally real and any lack of resemblence to real characters is purely due to shortfalls in my writing skills."
I have a lot to say on the whole process for issue of Passports and peripheral services but specifically on the above issue. Is a letter from me good enough proof of me not being a Govt. employee?, shouldnt the govt. issue a list of companies which are govt. and require NOC?
Why should eveen grassroot level govt. employees including sweepers, Clerks, Primary Secondary school teachers etc require a No Objection Certificate from the Govt.? Is there any risk of them absconding with "secret data" and if they do want to abscond, wouldnt they make a passport first and then try to abscond? Why, why, why.........?
More on how the whole process is a "organisational process" disaster as would be classified by "Goal" famous Elihau Goldraitt in coming posts.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Death of Long queues
"why is he taking so much time" Honk Honk.... "I should have been in the other queue, It seems ot be moving faster".... "Sorry Lunch break you will have to wait for another half hour".....I am sure each one of us had had these thoughts and heard this waiting in queues -- be it at the toll plaza or at the railway ticket counter or in the world of retail boom even at the Supermarket.
Imagine if you could zoom past the Toll plaza with automatic billing to your mobile, or just wave your mobile phone at the supermarket counter..... be prepared it might happen soon in India too.
Here are some examples where this technology ---Near Field communications (NFC) for geeks -- has already started being implemented.
"From August 2007, the Nokia 6131 NFC phone has been sold to the public inseveral Chinese cities (Xiamen, Guangzhou and Beijing). The phone comes with apre-loaded transport application that can be used in the cities’ public transportsystems. The application includes a prepaid account used to pay for transporttickets, which can also be used to pay in selected shops.
Taiwan is set to become the first country in the world offering mobile debit andcredit card services based on NFC. Both announcements indicate that Taiwaneseoperators and banks are prepared to offer mobile contactless payment services ona large scale."
Imagine if you could zoom past the Toll plaza with automatic billing to your mobile, or just wave your mobile phone at the supermarket counter..... be prepared it might happen soon in India too.
Here are some examples where this technology ---Near Field communications (NFC) for geeks -- has already started being implemented.
"From August 2007, the Nokia 6131 NFC phone has been sold to the public inseveral Chinese cities (Xiamen, Guangzhou and Beijing). The phone comes with apre-loaded transport application that can be used in the cities’ public transportsystems. The application includes a prepaid account used to pay for transporttickets, which can also be used to pay in selected shops.
Taiwan is set to become the first country in the world offering mobile debit andcredit card services based on NFC. Both announcements indicate that Taiwaneseoperators and banks are prepared to offer mobile contactless payment services ona large scale."
In the era of shrinking ARPU's and increasing competition for mobile operators in India, I think this is the avenue which many mobile operators in India too would be exploring.
Lets look at the rough economics for a Toll Booth at Vashi in Mumbai. It has about 8 booths both ways. At any given point in time all booths have at least a 4 car queue and at times long snaking queues. However today given the physical nature of transaction, it takes average of 40 secs per person to pay and move -- - more if exact change is not tendered. Which means a capability of serving average 70 cars per booth per hour = 500 cars per hour or 12,000 per day. Even if the processing time can be reduced by 5 secs per car it would mean additional 1500 cars (please note demand is not an issue since the queue is omnipresent). An average of 30 Rs per car means additional revenue of Rs 45000 per day, an increase of ~13%. Imagine a product where a mobile company launches this service wherein you can SMS your car number as you approach the Toll booth so that you have a special lane wherein you can simply pass thru by holding up your mobile, the toll amount being charged to your prepaid/postpaid account This could reduce the processing time to less than 10 secs -- since the person would effectively continue to dirve past with only the number being scanned. The mobile companies could keep 1rs per transaction -either charged extra or by having osme rev share mechanism with the Toll Booth owner since their revenues are increased and costs are reduced. Assuming a ramp upp to 20% customers and increased car traffic to ~ 20000 cars per day ( 1500 additional cars/ 5 secs for a 30 sec reduction in time) there would be a revennue of 2000 rs per day per toll booth, equivalent to 5 peoples ARPU per month.
OK i agree that above is not a worked out product, but i am sure a good product team and some more brainstorming can come up with the final application. I am sure that even if the phone company were to bear the cost of infrastructure to install B-end of the application at the Toll plaza this would be a profitable venture. With added incentives like lower toll cost for paying thru mobile --- you can do this by sharing additional revenues + passing on cost savings of printing receipts to the car owners ---- there would soon be increased usage. An this is just one toll plaza imagine how many such toll booths we encounter just in and around Mumbai, imagine the number of car travellers with mobile phones (90% +), imagine the hotseller this product would be, imagine the increased ARPU's....... imagine similar such applications in Supermarkets, railway tickets, "pay N Park ", Movie tickets, ........... with NFC implemented its not hard for this imaginiation to become a reality.......
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Between the Rock & a Hard place
Let’s say your spouse decides to cook you an extra special meal. It’s your favorite. It takes him/her a lot of work. You enjoy the meal and naturally offer to do the cleaning up by yourself.
But here’s the kicker: Your spouse loves to cook, and you hate to clean up, especially after a long day and a big meal. As you wipe down the table and wash the extra-high pile of pots and pans from the extra-special meal, which thought do you have?
1. My spouse gave me something special tonight.
2. I got screwed in this deal.
--- Credited to Scott Adams
And something on related lines --
Dr. Rangel says ---
"Wine her, Dine her, Call her, Hug her, Support her, Hold her, Surprise her, Compliment her, Smile at her, Listen to her, Laugh with her, Cry with her, Romance her, Encourage her, Believe in her, Pray with her, Pray for her, Cuddle with her, Shop with her, Give her jewelry, Buy her flowers, Hold her hand, Write love letters to her, Go to the end of the Earth and back again for her."
Just imagine substituting “him” for “her” in this passage, and telling women to do it. “I want to be his girlfriend, not his slave” would be a reasonable response.
But here’s the kicker: Your spouse loves to cook, and you hate to clean up, especially after a long day and a big meal. As you wipe down the table and wash the extra-high pile of pots and pans from the extra-special meal, which thought do you have?
1. My spouse gave me something special tonight.
2. I got screwed in this deal.
--- Credited to Scott Adams
And something on related lines --
Dr. Rangel says ---
"Wine her, Dine her, Call her, Hug her, Support her, Hold her, Surprise her, Compliment her, Smile at her, Listen to her, Laugh with her, Cry with her, Romance her, Encourage her, Believe in her, Pray with her, Pray for her, Cuddle with her, Shop with her, Give her jewelry, Buy her flowers, Hold her hand, Write love letters to her, Go to the end of the Earth and back again for her."
Just imagine substituting “him” for “her” in this passage, and telling women to do it. “I want to be his girlfriend, not his slave” would be a reasonable response.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Dilemmas of "Hi-Hello" acquaintances
My aunt has diabetesYou see, that's the trouble with people you know slightly. Those you know well, you can sit and talk for hours. And those who are strangers, you can ignore completely. But those inbetween, the ones you sort-of know, as a passing acquaintance, they are the ones who are most difficult to handle. And I was stuck with one such on a train journey.She was my aunt's neighbour and I had met her a couple of times before. Very very briefly. But no sooner had I settled down in my seat than she started wondering aloud where she knew me from. Once we had established our route to acquaintanceship, we then carried on talking about our mutual link. My aunt. After I had told her about my aunt's recent widowhood (at which she tutted duly) and her ongoing struggle with diabetes and weight (more tutting), there was little to do. So I asked her about her family and if she had any aunts that I may have lived next door to. Now there was even less to discuss. We fell into a merciful though somewhat awkward silence.Later when she bought coffee from the vendor, she offered to buy me a cup. I said I didn't drink tea or coffee. And when I brought out my lunch packet, I offered to share it with her. It appeared she had already had her lunch. More silence ensued during which I wondered what to talk about next. I asked her if she had seen the latest blockbuster movie. It seems she didn't watch movies. She wondered if I listened to classical music. Only movie songs, I replied. After enquiring about interests in cricket and politics, I realised we had exhausted all possible topics of civil conversation. Religion was too personal and I didn't know her well enough to enquire if she had any illnesses she would like to discuss.Our ordeal came to an end when the train reached its destination half-an-hour later. Finally, as we got off the train, I insisted that we stay in touch. I gave her my number and she duly took it down. My number had an extra '0' in it and she jotted it on piece of scrap paper. ---- Credits to ammani's blog
I think we all run across this episode at least twice a week, either in the bus queue or in the train or now with huge towering apartments even in the building lift or in the office lift or cafetaria....... Share your episode and any suggestions to deal with this scenario
I think we all run across this episode at least twice a week, either in the bus queue or in the train or now with huge towering apartments even in the building lift or in the office lift or cafetaria....... Share your episode and any suggestions to deal with this scenario
Transformation of my Blog
After several attempts to continue postings on my blog i have realised some things,
1. My life doesnt seem to be as happening as other bloggers who have something to write everyday OR
2. I dont have the perspective to create a readable article out of the things which DO happen in my life.
3. My once in a month article is not going to get regular visitors to my blog, which makes the effort of writing in that one stroke of inspiration useless.
4. I am a voracious reader who keeps on scanning and reading blogs on topics from Hypnosis to Terorrism to Child pshycology.
In light of the above I struck upon this idea of creating a Blog where i would aggregate the "Best of my readings". This blog hereupon shall be updated frequently with articles from mutiple blogs, which i find interesting. In short this blog shall transform to " Supermarket of Blogs". Of course just like the Supermarket, the blog shall have "in house" articles written by me in that "wild burst of imagination" :-)
Actually I beleive that this way my blog shall also live up to its name in letting you know "About This and That and Everything Else"
Do let me know if you like this concept of the "blog Supermarket" and of course on the selection of articles !!!
1. My life doesnt seem to be as happening as other bloggers who have something to write everyday OR
2. I dont have the perspective to create a readable article out of the things which DO happen in my life.
3. My once in a month article is not going to get regular visitors to my blog, which makes the effort of writing in that one stroke of inspiration useless.
4. I am a voracious reader who keeps on scanning and reading blogs on topics from Hypnosis to Terorrism to Child pshycology.
In light of the above I struck upon this idea of creating a Blog where i would aggregate the "Best of my readings". This blog hereupon shall be updated frequently with articles from mutiple blogs, which i find interesting. In short this blog shall transform to " Supermarket of Blogs". Of course just like the Supermarket, the blog shall have "in house" articles written by me in that "wild burst of imagination" :-)
Actually I beleive that this way my blog shall also live up to its name in letting you know "About This and That and Everything Else"
Do let me know if you like this concept of the "blog Supermarket" and of course on the selection of articles !!!
Friday, May 11, 2007
"Electrifying" Beauties
Hot Babes, Electrifying beuty... the term now has a literal meaning.
"American designer called Andrew Schneider who has developed, as a project for the ITP Winter Show in New York, what he calls the iDrink swimwear line of solar bikinis. A concept idea has been developed by Schneider to cover it with a socket for recharging a mobile phone while you sunbathe. The iDrink’s photovoltaic film panels allow a fashionable fit while supplying 6.5 V @ 1.5 Amps needed to power a peltier junction and recharge a mobile phone. "
The Bikini also has USB connection so you can charge your iPods and Mp3 players..
Great invention with one problem..... No one wears Bikinis in India and no one sun bathes... i mean no one Sun bathes voluntarily :-).... so how do we modify this to Indian needs.
Our Indian designers must work to develop a iDrink Saree. Imagine what a wonderful use of the pallu this would be to capture solar energy and use it to charge your mobiles and iPods.. Also there shall be no need to sunbathe, all you need to do is get a saree clad woman to raom around on the road.
So imagine Mr. Vijay Shankar who stays in Mulund in Mumbai wants to charge his mobile..... Mulund being Mulund faces power cuts. Vijay is expecting an urgent call so what does he do.... he could loose a multi million deal because of the dead mobile... Bingo...idrink Saree comes to rescue... Vijay asks his wife to go for a walk in the afternoon she comes back in half an hour fully charged and ready to electrify... the mobile in mean... ;-)
Soon we could have Mobile "Mobile charging stations "-- women who shall allow you to "hook" up to them to recharge your "devices"... for a fee and guess what they will be called ..... "Bijlees"....
And guess who should be the Brand ambassador for idrink Saree ---- yes our own ravishing, cricketing, electrifying beauty Mandira bedi....... :-)
"American designer called Andrew Schneider who has developed, as a project for the ITP Winter Show in New York, what he calls the iDrink swimwear line of solar bikinis. A concept idea has been developed by Schneider to cover it with a socket for recharging a mobile phone while you sunbathe. The iDrink’s photovoltaic film panels allow a fashionable fit while supplying 6.5 V @ 1.5 Amps needed to power a peltier junction and recharge a mobile phone. "The Bikini also has USB connection so you can charge your iPods and Mp3 players..
Great invention with one problem..... No one wears Bikinis in India and no one sun bathes... i mean no one Sun bathes voluntarily :-).... so how do we modify this to Indian needs.
Our Indian designers must work to develop a iDrink Saree. Imagine what a wonderful use of the pallu this would be to capture solar energy and use it to charge your mobiles and iPods.. Also there shall be no need to sunbathe, all you need to do is get a saree clad woman to raom around on the road.
So imagine Mr. Vijay Shankar who stays in Mulund in Mumbai wants to charge his mobile..... Mulund being Mulund faces power cuts. Vijay is expecting an urgent call so what does he do.... he could loose a multi million deal because of the dead mobile... Bingo...idrink Saree comes to rescue... Vijay asks his wife to go for a walk in the afternoon she comes back in half an hour fully charged and ready to electrify... the mobile in mean... ;-)
Soon we could have Mobile "Mobile charging stations "-- women who shall allow you to "hook" up to them to recharge your "devices"... for a fee and guess what they will be called ..... "Bijlees"....
And guess who should be the Brand ambassador for idrink Saree ---- yes our own ravishing, cricketing, electrifying beauty Mandira bedi....... :-)
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Google answer to Microsoft Yahoo! merger
Microsoft To Buy out Yahoo!!! ... Goes the recent headlines in a leading Indian business daily. Media Hype or "there is no smoke without fire" only time shall tell. But Telecom pundits have been hinting of this kind of consolidation for a long time. The Google Microsoft fight has already emerged from being the David and Goliath fight to be the "Clash of the Titans" and its now a game of chess with moves and countermoves... with a difference that both continue to invent pawns with new moves :-).
Hypothetically assuming that Microsoft and Yahoo! do come together what does it mean for Google. Microsoft and Yahoo! have a common DNA -- both once virtual monopolies in their respective games are now defending champions in the telecom arena. Microsoft once the undisputed kind of OS has now to contend with increasing advances of Google who has been increasingly popularising the Software as a service model --- check out Googledocs, google spreadsheet and host of other hosted applications in Googles portfolio. Yahoo! on the other hand once an undisputed king of the mail world and IM (atleast in the world apart from US) is now contending with Skype on one hand and Gmail and Google talk on the other. Yahoo! and Microsoft both have been grapling with Googles advances in the search world and Google seems to be a step ahead with its recent purchase of Doubleclick. Both Yahoo! and Microsoft have been impacted by Googles disruptive market models....... I can go on and on about the moves and countermoves between Yahoo!, Microsoft and Google..... but then this post is not about the war-- its about alliances.
"What will be Google response to a Yahoo! Microsoft merger???"
That is the million dollar question. I am no expert but heres my answer
" Google shall merge/buy Apple"
Sounds wierd -- well it should because most of Google and Apples ideas do.....!!!!
Lets look at a basis for Google Apple merger. Google may have several things but it still lacks one thing an OS. Agreed that it is trying to popularise a SAAS model but you still need an OS till you have every computer in the world having access to an always on Broadband connection. And then too the question of security means that some will still prefer a resident OS. So Google gets an OS from Apple, why Apple you say why not Linux....well simply because the DNA of Google and Apple match ----
Google known for innovation just like Apple for its beautiful and innovative interface (Apple users will swear by it)
Google a challenger so has been Apple since its birth.
Google naming ceremony forced-- the orignal name was Googel but since the firts funding cheque came mispelled as Google they adopted this name. Apple naming ceremony forced -- Apple founder told its staff to find a name by evening or he would name it after the first thing he saw-- an Apple on his desk. ...
Hmm ok the last one is one too far. But the point is Google and Apple both have a DNA fit of Innovation, DNA fit of disruptive business model, DNA fit of challengers.
But what does Apple gain... all said and done Apple has still been a niche player in the OS space with compatibility issues, whereas Google is a master at application development and interoperability. Google could complete the job of getting Apple to mainstream.
Imagine the wild possibilities of marrying the craze of the decade "Apple ipod series" with "Googles video and search capabilities" You could soon be searching, sorting many more things using the ipod than just videos from the itunes store.....
Google is the Media on your iPod -- Google TV, Google Mobile and customised e-newspaper all through Apples mind-blowing GUI and device capabilties. Since viewers had to enter their Google IDs--the same ones they used for Gmail and other premium services--the company had already compiled a rich history of their searching and surfing habits.[3] If you spent a lot of time looking at cars on eBay on your Internet enabled Video ipod , for example, you'd be shown automotive ads the next time you watched Google TV on your iPod. Between 70 and 80 percent of the revenue from each ad went to the content provider, just as it had on the Web. Google TV on the iPod customised for you based on your interests tracked by Google and delivered by Apple.
Google is the Internet with Apple as the interface --- Free wi-fi, a faster version of the Web, the Gbrowser, and the cube transform the technology landscape and our language all delivered on the Apple device of the future which is as freindly and fast to use for video and voice as is the Video iPod.
Google- Apple is God -- Everything you do, every device you touch, every interface that you use, every communication that you do is powered by Google and enabled by Apple device.
The possibilties are unlimited.....or are they????
This is my hypothesis.... I invite the readers to add why they think Apple-Google could be "Tango-Charlie" of the Telecom world and also if you feel otherwise. Let the debate begin......
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
The Mobile Web
There is a new Internet world and its on your mobile. I see the scorns on your face and i read your thoughts..."Mobile internet is for the savvy and more importantly rich people who can afford the high end phones" " who would want to surf on the small screed" " where is the technology"... and so on. But heres a news which forecasts that the mobile internet mania is not just a "time machine" and there is actually a huge business community out there who beleives in the Mobi mania.
" Now, mobiles have their own Internet sites. Like the com and .net sites accessible through computers, .mobi sites can now be accessed through your mobiles. And the rush to register names have begun. The names that are most sought after are sex (what else) .mobi, adult, hotels, India, finance, entertainment and shop.mobi. These names were among the first 5,000 ones registered and were gone within the first 10 minutes of the opening of the registration process. One-worded less-common names like ‘scooter’ and ‘graphic’ and two-worded common names like ‘chewinggum’ and ‘dropzone’ went within the first 24 hours. According to dotMobi CEO Neil Edwards’ corporate blog, 95,000 .mobi names were bought within the first 48 hours of opening up of registrations. While the registration process for the dotmobi site was opened in last May, in India the momentum has started building of late primarily due to youngsters. Sachin, who heads Mumbai Hosting, a reseller of domain names and web hosting space to the end consumer says that the takers so far have been mostly youngsters. The websites that are accessible over a PC cannot always be opened in your mobile browser. Rich components like photographs and videos need to be removed. Most mobi-sites right now are purely text-based as it is faster to download over the mobile phone networks. Therefore, companies need to redo or optimise their websites to be made available on the mobile phone. This is also called made-for-mobile Internet."
Thus the Mobi-sites shall change the speeds and the surfing expereince on the net. And remember necessity is the mother of invention so once the content is available, the demand starts building up the devices shall re-engineer themselves to suit everyones wallets and technology shall evolve to cater to the masses. Doesnt this sound similar to the times in 1996 when mobile's were first launced? Hold your breaths and be ready to surf the mobile net.....
" Now, mobiles have their own Internet sites. Like the com and .net sites accessible through computers, .mobi sites can now be accessed through your mobiles. And the rush to register names have begun. The names that are most sought after are sex (what else) .mobi, adult, hotels, India, finance, entertainment and shop.mobi. These names were among the first 5,000 ones registered and were gone within the first 10 minutes of the opening of the registration process. One-worded less-common names like ‘scooter’ and ‘graphic’ and two-worded common names like ‘chewinggum’ and ‘dropzone’ went within the first 24 hours. According to dotMobi CEO Neil Edwards’ corporate blog, 95,000 .mobi names were bought within the first 48 hours of opening up of registrations. While the registration process for the dotmobi site was opened in last May, in India the momentum has started building of late primarily due to youngsters. Sachin, who heads Mumbai Hosting, a reseller of domain names and web hosting space to the end consumer says that the takers so far have been mostly youngsters. The websites that are accessible over a PC cannot always be opened in your mobile browser. Rich components like photographs and videos need to be removed. Most mobi-sites right now are purely text-based as it is faster to download over the mobile phone networks. Therefore, companies need to redo or optimise their websites to be made available on the mobile phone. This is also called made-for-mobile Internet."
Thus the Mobi-sites shall change the speeds and the surfing expereince on the net. And remember necessity is the mother of invention so once the content is available, the demand starts building up the devices shall re-engineer themselves to suit everyones wallets and technology shall evolve to cater to the masses. Doesnt this sound similar to the times in 1996 when mobile's were first launced? Hold your breaths and be ready to surf the mobile net.....
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
The new age a move from "Physical to Virtual "
Though this has been quoted as an example of the expanding reach of Bollywood in the global music landscape, I see this as another case in the move to "virtual" which is a norm in the new digital age. Today most of the music is heard in "virtual" format. I dont remember the last time i bought a CD including a MP3 Cd. Most music I have heard or owned by me and people around me is virtual. BY virtual i mean that its not purchased in the "physical" form of CDs. It is either downloaded on a cellphone or on an iPod or downloaded from the net (either P2P or purchased) or perhaps obtained from a peer from one device to another via bluetooth.According to this press release, last Saturday, Don became the first Bollywood movie whose music has been released on iTunes even before its CD’s hit the stores.
Hungama Mobile, which focuses on marketing Bollywood content in the form of images, videos, games and applications, has made the Don music available on iTunes.
The Don soundtrack has been featured on the ‘World’ music page of iTunes. Six reviews so far, and a rating of 4.5 out of five. Not bad, over four days.
This points to the increasing trend of virtualisation catching up with the Indian pschye. However not long ago I remember people rubbishing the concept of "pay-per-download' for music in India. The general logic was why would someone pay when the net offered tools for piracy to any soul who could use Google search. However the early piracy and non-copyright sites like Napster have infact laid the foundation for the "Pay" concept. They accustomed the user to listening to music on "downloadable" devices. And now the iTunes and other pay sites of the world enable the users to move to the next level of "customising" the music to be played on their download compatible devices. You no longer need to download or buy the entire album ut can download a single song and make your own CD's. And are we ready to pay 10 Rs for it.....Yes of course !!!!!!!!! After all, you would have spend 4 times that just to get a good quality song from a CD.
The move to virtual shall have a bigger impact on the current Microsoft models of the world. With Google office informal tie-up with Apple we could gradullay see people downloading replacements to the CD's of Microsoft office. And knowing gGoogle they would cookup an Advertisement based model to make the downloadable software free or extremely cheap for users. Also this "virtual' world could lend to an open source nature of softwares open to upgrades and useful additions by users. An exampleof this is the Zimbra mail which is an open source email platform. Its as good as the microsoft office and has a far better GUI than any of the existing biggies of the mail world like Yahoo and Gmail. And being open source, it just keeps on improving...... I am not sure if they have a commercial arrangement but the new Rediffmail Beta seems to be based on Zimbra.
Well maybe one day people would be downloading "Orgasms" tooo to get rid of the physical wife/husbands :-) ......!!!!!
Long live the New Age of "Virtualisation"
Friday, August 11, 2006
Mumbai/Delhi - Cheap Cities or Cheap Expectations
There has been recent UBS survey on Mumbai and Delhi being the "cheapest" cities in the world. OK OK dont fall off your seats yet.
Rashmi Bansal in her guest column in Business Standard proves that if we consider Purchasing power vs prices, this may not be true. The numbers speak the truth, however I believe that Mumbai, Delhi are still cheap cities. They are not cheap because of the purchasing power and cost of goods but cheap because of Peoples expectations.
Rashmi rightly points out "cheap" is a relative term --- but I would take a slightly different approach to "Relative". In Mumbai and Delhi its relative to the "Percieved value" and "expected benefit"....
I agree that the purchasing power is less in Mumbai but then there is something for everyone irrespective of his purchasing power. A daily wage worker can have a "Wada pav", a middle class guy" a pav bhaji/Chinese food" and the upmarket can gorge on the "Five-course meal"---- All of them equally tasty
The inference- everyone can gorge on tasty food irrespective of his purchasing power.
The daily worker can drink "cutting chai", Middle class can have his "cuppa" in a hotel and Upmarket have the "Coffee days/Baristas"
The inference - everyone gets an affordable cuppa through different channels.
The daily worker can have free water at road side stalls, Middle class "The Bisleri/Aquafina" and Upmarkets "Evian".
Again everyone of this fulfils thirst.
The daily wage guy when he falls sick (maybe due to the free water) has the municipal hospitals for treatment, the middle class the mid-sized general wards of pvt Nursing homes and the upmarket the Speacial rooms of Lilavati.
The inference- Everyone can get treated, how effectively and efficeintly is the trouble. But again the daily wage worker "percieved value and expected benefits" are satisfied by the Muncipal hospitals as are the upmarkets by the Lilavatis
The "percieved value"(taste) of the wadapav for the price one pays and the "expected benefit" of (filling the stomach) to the daily wage earner is the same as the five course meal to the upmarket. On the other hand in some of the countries I have visited the options are limited. Water needs to be purchased and downmarket food options are too limited.
A city becomes costly when peoples "Expectations" soar beyond their current "perceived and expected value". If the dail wage earner feels that the "wada pav" is not what he deserves and desires for a five course meal then the city becomes costly. If Bisleri is the only water desired by people then the water becomes costly, else its free. But this does not hapen in India.
Over the years we Indians are conditioned to live within our means, have low expectations and be Happy.
We dont expect good roads to be good hence even a single strech of non-potholed road (barring the ups and downs of gutter covers) makes us happy--- "Perceived value"
We dont expect good public transport, hence the 4th seat in the Mumbai local gives us a feeling of having achieved the "expected benefit" and "perceived value' of the ticket.
We dont expect to have good Public health systems for masses hence the perceived value of the floor in the Municipal hospital and whatever free medicines given seems high.
Hence Yes Mumbai Is cheap, Yes Delhi is cheap, depending on wether we "Expect" people to survive on the Wada Pav, cutting chai and potholed roads or Expect them to a have decent meal, clean water and public health benefits.
It shall remain cheap as long as we dont "Expect" more from the administration, we dont "Expect" parity in basic necessities for the masses and the classes.
YES WE ARE CHEAP NOT IN PRICES BUT IN EXPECTATIONS AND THATs NOTHING TO BE PROUD OF ......
Rashmi Bansal in her guest column in Business Standard proves that if we consider Purchasing power vs prices, this may not be true. The numbers speak the truth, however I believe that Mumbai, Delhi are still cheap cities. They are not cheap because of the purchasing power and cost of goods but cheap because of Peoples expectations.
Rashmi rightly points out "cheap" is a relative term --- but I would take a slightly different approach to "Relative". In Mumbai and Delhi its relative to the "Percieved value" and "expected benefit"....
I agree that the purchasing power is less in Mumbai but then there is something for everyone irrespective of his purchasing power. A daily wage worker can have a "Wada pav", a middle class guy" a pav bhaji/Chinese food" and the upmarket can gorge on the "Five-course meal"---- All of them equally tasty
The inference- everyone can gorge on tasty food irrespective of his purchasing power.
The daily worker can drink "cutting chai", Middle class can have his "cuppa" in a hotel and Upmarket have the "Coffee days/Baristas"
The inference - everyone gets an affordable cuppa through different channels.
The daily worker can have free water at road side stalls, Middle class "The Bisleri/Aquafina" and Upmarkets "Evian".
Again everyone of this fulfils thirst.
The daily wage guy when he falls sick (maybe due to the free water) has the municipal hospitals for treatment, the middle class the mid-sized general wards of pvt Nursing homes and the upmarket the Speacial rooms of Lilavati.
The inference- Everyone can get treated, how effectively and efficeintly is the trouble. But again the daily wage worker "percieved value and expected benefits" are satisfied by the Muncipal hospitals as are the upmarkets by the Lilavatis
The "percieved value"(taste) of the wadapav for the price one pays and the "expected benefit" of (filling the stomach) to the daily wage earner is the same as the five course meal to the upmarket. On the other hand in some of the countries I have visited the options are limited. Water needs to be purchased and downmarket food options are too limited.
A city becomes costly when peoples "Expectations" soar beyond their current "perceived and expected value". If the dail wage earner feels that the "wada pav" is not what he deserves and desires for a five course meal then the city becomes costly. If Bisleri is the only water desired by people then the water becomes costly, else its free. But this does not hapen in India.
Over the years we Indians are conditioned to live within our means, have low expectations and be Happy.
We dont expect good roads to be good hence even a single strech of non-potholed road (barring the ups and downs of gutter covers) makes us happy--- "Perceived value"
We dont expect good public transport, hence the 4th seat in the Mumbai local gives us a feeling of having achieved the "expected benefit" and "perceived value' of the ticket.
We dont expect to have good Public health systems for masses hence the perceived value of the floor in the Municipal hospital and whatever free medicines given seems high.
Hence Yes Mumbai Is cheap, Yes Delhi is cheap, depending on wether we "Expect" people to survive on the Wada Pav, cutting chai and potholed roads or Expect them to a have decent meal, clean water and public health benefits.
It shall remain cheap as long as we dont "Expect" more from the administration, we dont "Expect" parity in basic necessities for the masses and the classes.
YES WE ARE CHEAP NOT IN PRICES BUT IN EXPECTATIONS AND THATs NOTHING TO BE PROUD OF ......
Monday, August 07, 2006
Pest"In"Side Cola
"I dont know which side to take but the govt must do something about it....." Ended Barkha Dutt on "we the people" talk show on NDTV yesterday featuring the "Pesticide in Cola" controversy.
I think most people would echo her words in this controversy. Its too complicated for the common man to comment anyway - what with technical standards who themsleves are challenged, talks about Carcinogens and Water impurities......
I generally dont drink Cola by itself. I am a fitness fanatic and prefer my cuppa of tea or the carcinogenic Coffee. (Term i picked from this controversy). Now they tell me the cola has pesticides but the coffee is much more dangerous. Now dont tell me I should quit coffee tooo??? Well just day before someone also told me that Paneer is dangerous for the heart.... bad cholestrol or something... so I told my Punjabi wife about it and she said "well good, from now on You shall not get It...." Its only a day later did I realise that the "IT" in the sentence meant "any food".......
Anyway I dont want to drag my personal problems in this already hot controversy. Now i wonder why does it have to be Cola?... If I understand it properly the cola war is about cola's having pesticides in quantams higher than "Some" Standard (which by the way is itself controversial).... However the excess is itself in PPM (parts per million) why not oppose the cigarrates of these world. which are harmful as a whole? Why not ban them as promptly as the govt. of MP and Gujarat banned Colas? I am sure more poison sticks are sold than Colas and they have a faster effect than colas?
I remember someone asking a similar question on the NDTV show but he was silenced by Barkha dutt by saying that "Just because bigger evils are not banned cannot be a justification for not banning smaller evils". DO You agree?? I dont. I smell a rat here. WHy go behind Cola companies who would want to guard their image and pay compensations vs going for Smoke companies who would agree readily to their ill effects? Why I say?
Anyway... I think all this boils down to one question.. the question of choice. I as an indiviual should be made aware of what the world thinks to be right and wrong.. but the choice of what I want to do must be left to me.. as long as I dont harm anyone else in the process.
Colas are bad for health.. You dont need a Nutritionist to tell u that, But so is Liquor, Paneer, Ghee, Or for that matter 80% of anything and everything that tastes good. So what.... I always have a choice to go for them.....why force everyone to be a fitness freak?
Anyway, You shall find enough blogs with diff opinions on this all I want to ask as a layman is a simple question. I generally drink cola in some form only to mix my drinks. All i want to know is does mixing pesticide ridden cola make my Vodka and Rum dangerous tooo or does the bad effect sof alcohol negate them?.....;-) hic hic
I think most people would echo her words in this controversy. Its too complicated for the common man to comment anyway - what with technical standards who themsleves are challenged, talks about Carcinogens and Water impurities......
I generally dont drink Cola by itself. I am a fitness fanatic and prefer my cuppa of tea or the carcinogenic Coffee. (Term i picked from this controversy). Now they tell me the cola has pesticides but the coffee is much more dangerous. Now dont tell me I should quit coffee tooo??? Well just day before someone also told me that Paneer is dangerous for the heart.... bad cholestrol or something... so I told my Punjabi wife about it and she said "well good, from now on You shall not get It...." Its only a day later did I realise that the "IT" in the sentence meant "any food".......
Anyway I dont want to drag my personal problems in this already hot controversy. Now i wonder why does it have to be Cola?... If I understand it properly the cola war is about cola's having pesticides in quantams higher than "Some" Standard (which by the way is itself controversial).... However the excess is itself in PPM (parts per million) why not oppose the cigarrates of these world. which are harmful as a whole? Why not ban them as promptly as the govt. of MP and Gujarat banned Colas? I am sure more poison sticks are sold than Colas and they have a faster effect than colas?
I remember someone asking a similar question on the NDTV show but he was silenced by Barkha dutt by saying that "Just because bigger evils are not banned cannot be a justification for not banning smaller evils". DO You agree?? I dont. I smell a rat here. WHy go behind Cola companies who would want to guard their image and pay compensations vs going for Smoke companies who would agree readily to their ill effects? Why I say?
Anyway... I think all this boils down to one question.. the question of choice. I as an indiviual should be made aware of what the world thinks to be right and wrong.. but the choice of what I want to do must be left to me.. as long as I dont harm anyone else in the process.
Colas are bad for health.. You dont need a Nutritionist to tell u that, But so is Liquor, Paneer, Ghee, Or for that matter 80% of anything and everything that tastes good. So what.... I always have a choice to go for them.....why force everyone to be a fitness freak?
Anyway, You shall find enough blogs with diff opinions on this all I want to ask as a layman is a simple question. I generally drink cola in some form only to mix my drinks. All i want to know is does mixing pesticide ridden cola make my Vodka and Rum dangerous tooo or does the bad effect sof alcohol negate them?.....;-) hic hic
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
"Go back Simon" to "Tuk-Tuk Simon"
The Britishers came to India and ruled over us for 100+ years. In the process they gave India, and especially Mumbai, a lot of things. They built the drainage system prevents Mumbai from drowning and lets the Mubaikars get away with just waterlogging. They also gave us the first local train which now is the lifeline of Mumbai and the reason for some thrills in over blatant everyday lives. They also gave us almost all the tourist spots in Mumbai like the Gateway of India, Prince of wales meuseum, the entire Fort area. Above all they gave us a globally recognised and pronouncable name "Bombay" which had to be changed after a long and bloddy battle by politicians.
The government respects thier work to such great extent that any work which can be classified as"development" over and above the Britishers "great peice of art" has been condemned and thrashed over the years- apart from teh name changing ceremony. Hence we continue using the same drainage system, water system and train system without any developments.
Anyway this post is not to praise the Britishers or criticise the government as there are lots of other people actively involved in this task. This post is about "Payback" time to the Britishers. The Britishers gave us a lot of things but oppressed us 10 times more. They robbed the treasures like the Kohinoor diamond and Tipu Sultan's Sword (which Vijay Mallya got back recently for a huge amount). Their "divide and rule" policies affect us even today. I am sure every Indian wishes that he could do something similar or worst to whatever remains of the British empire and now a Keralite has finally succeeded in doing it!!!!!!!!!
How? By launching the much dreaded, feared and mentally torturous Auto-rickshaw in UK.
Yes its true- A recent Business Today article says that this man named Ponnaiah has launched Auto-rickshaw service in the seaside town of Brighton in UK. He has 12 Auto-rickshwas as of now and he plans to expand the numbers and the presence across UK. They are called "tuk-Tuks" and shall have the Unioun flag colors on them instead of the Garish yellow and black (Mumbai) or Yellow and green (Delhi). They shall also have additional side impact bars and seat belts...whoa!!!!!! The article also points out that when a bajaj Auto person was asked to comment on this he was completely stunned and just blurted "he did what!!!".. yes even the originators dont beleive that someone can themselves create an Open Jurrasic park. :-)
How did the Britishers alllow them in the country you say - well these things shall run on CNG and considering their love for cleanliness they allowed them. However what they fail to see and what I would call "payback" is the nuisance value of the tuk-tuks. I also hope that the drivers too are Indians.
Imagine a scene on a peak hour morning on a street in London. A fine lady and gentleman are waiting on the footpath and wave down a rick. The conversation in Hinglish goes as follows
Couple: Good Morning
Rickwalla:- Where go?
Couple: What ???
RW:- Aree Baba, where you go, hurry hurry...
Couple: (Finally understanding Hinglish) - Brighton avenue
RW:- 30 pounds
Couple - What..!!!!! Isn't there a meter?
RW:- There is, But Not work ..... 30 Pounds
Couple:- Thats outrageously my friend, it is your duty to ensure that the meter is in running condition to prevent any.........
RW: ayyo amma, No talk, 30 pound ......you coming ? If not take other tuk-tuk... (starts to leave)
couple- OK OK 25 pounds final (;-) they too have learnt the Indian style of bargaining)
RW- OK saab, come come
The couple shall then go for a whirlwind tour of London, careening around corners, listening to choicest abuses over and above Himesh Reshamiya bleating out in "Jhankar beat" through the ricks music system. They shall encounter some amzing traffic jams caused by Tuk-tuk's to which their own Tuk-tuk shall add some more fire.
Finally tired,battered and drained they shall get off at their destination and hand over money for the "ride of their life"
Beautiful Payback I say . We once had the slogan "Go Back SIMON" now we shall have "Tuk-TUK Simon"
Thursday, July 13, 2006
"Reselient" or "Stone hearted" Mubaikars?
Over the past few days we have seen everyone (including myself in my blog "letter to terrorist"below)
appluading the "reselience" of mumbai. I found this peculiar blog entry which raises a contarary point without any sarcasm or hatred. His point makes me confused and raises many questions. Does the writer has a point... or does he??!!.....
Your Comments invited to sort this..............
"I heard it on television, yesterday, while I was at work. It had happened again. Someone had once again seen fit to disrupt life as we know it, using force.
Running to the TV set, I simultaneously began dialling family and friends. The networks were jammed. I stayed at work until around 1.00 am before having someone come and pick me up as the taxis were all occupied. As I made my way home, I saw more ambulances than I had seen in my life. There were people in pain, angry, desperate, and searching for signs of hope from unlikely sources.
Running to the TV set, I simultaneously began dialling family and friends. The networks were jammed. I stayed at work until around 1.00 am before having someone come and pick me up as the taxis were all occupied. As I made my way home, I saw more ambulances than I had seen in my life. There were people in pain, angry, desperate, and searching for signs of hope from unlikely sources.
I saw the police struggle to curtail angry mobs stoning taxi drivers who refused to take them where they wanted to go. I admit, I silently applauded the attackers, as I believe public servants should serve the public, not hold them to ransom. I stayed clear of the station roads, where the blasts occurred. The media had descended in full force, hungry for sound bites, pictures and video footage.
The next day, it was the same journalists who applauded the fact that Mumbai was back at work. They called it our resilience and celebrated our 'spirit of courage'. But, as I made my way to work, I saw the remains of yesterday in the form of the expressions on faces, the worry, the police and overflowing hospitals with weeping relatives outside.
The next day, it was the same journalists who applauded the fact that Mumbai was back at work. They called it our resilience and celebrated our 'spirit of courage'. But, as I made my way to work, I saw the remains of yesterday in the form of the expressions on faces, the worry, the police and overflowing hospitals with weeping relatives outside.
I had to wonder.
Are we glorifying 'resilience' or 'stony heartedness'?
Have we, the white-collared, become robots that do not deviate from our routines to take time to feel other people's pain, offer help where necessary?
Does the loss of life in this country mean so little?
Why is the government silent?
Will they make their standard offer of a sweaty wad of blood money to bereaved families?
When will we learn that violence breeds violence?
And then, it hit me. The answer to all my questions was undeniably, simply, that we do not care to 'know' the depth and breath of this calamity. We worry less about the collective and more and more about ourselves and our possessions. The biggest tragedy is we are glorified for not feeling.
And they call us resilient..."
And then, it hit me. The answer to all my questions was undeniably, simply, that we do not care to 'know' the depth and breath of this calamity. We worry less about the collective and more and more about ourselves and our possessions. The biggest tragedy is we are glorified for not feeling.
And they call us resilient..."
Does the author have the correct answer? Would we "mubaikars" have bounced back so soon had someone close to us perished in the incident? Woudl we still have resumed work had the blast knocked off a Dharavi -the worlds largest slum or taken down your own building? Is this resilience actually "indifference"?
Thought provoking indeed and I dont know the right answer.....
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