Do you still remember the agony of you and your kid being interviewed by the school for nursery admission of your kid? Do you think it is correct on the part of these public schools to interview your kid for nursery admission?

The Delhi High Court has granted four weeks’ time to schools in the city to propose alternative procedures for nursery admissions.

The proposal is required to cater to all children in a neighborhood.

A division bench of the court had given an ultimatum to unaided public schools in December last year, asking them to stop conducting interviews for admission.

The move came in the wake of a PIL filed, seeking a ban on such interviews in the city.

I personally believe that this process of selection is not very just. How can a school determine if a child is fit for there school or not? Every child has the right to education and buy interview and testing we are denying the most crucial right. The selection process should be modified and should judge the kid as a whole and not by how good is he or she at remembering things that his parents tried to drill in his or her head. The selection process should be more qualitative then quantitative.

One of the easier way-out would be to have a draw of lots for admission. This might fail to impress teachers as it is not a very scientific and reliable way for selection but I think this could be one alternate to taxing interviews.

A few years back the National Capital Region saw the business process outsourcing companies lining up to get space to start there business here. But, the NCR region is quickly loosing its sheen and companies are opening shops in second tear towns.

Biggies like Wipro, EXL and GE have already moved out to other cities. This in turn has hit breaks on the hiring of new employee’s.

What is there reason for this movement?

“Most BPOs in the region are now hiring to just cover for the attrition rates rather than ramping up. The hiring average has declined to around a 100 per month, against the earlier monthly average of 600-700�, a human resources consultant said.

Industry experts pointed out that the dip in hiring rates was on account of a space crunch. The lack of descent office space has forced many companies to look for alternative places. The real-estate prices have increase many folds in the last few financial years.

HR consultants also feel employees in the NCR region are more expensive to come by compared with other regions in the country. This is because there are many call centers in and around NCR that would lure the candidate by offering a few more bucks. It is necessary for us to understand that eight percent of the call center employee are teenagers and are very easy to manipulate.

MaFoi consultant (ITES practice) Manoj Sharma said “The candidates are more costly due to the high salaries and perks in the North. Companies are getting comparatively cheaper employees in the southern and eastern states, making them set up new facilities in these parts,”

Furthermore the influx of candidates that used to happen from the feeder cities (Jaipur, Chandighar etc) have also drastically dropped because new players have opened there shops in these cities.

However, I believe the slowdown in hiring could be a temporary phase also since North India continues to have the biggest pool of trained manpower for the sector. But, it would be great if the government steps in throws a few subsidies so that the movement is restricted.

The quality of sports journalists are going down these days. It looks like India has a shortage of Expert Commentators and they are bound to hire someone from overseas. Do you think they understand the value of Indian Sportsmen? Or do you think there heartbeats are for India, since they are getting paid for writing.

Their skills are doubtful and need some experts who have greater contribution towards game should analyze and comment. Whatever they write will not be acceptable to all Indians as they don’t have any idea or understanding about depth of Indian cricket.

Last Friday Moin Khan a former cricketer of Pakistan wrote an article for a famous news paper in Delhi. He criticized Sachin Tendulkar, one of the greatest batsmen India ever produced. Attitude of some Pakistani Cricketers like Javed Miandad, Moin Khan etc.. towards India are well known. They are known for their immature behavior on the field. Sachin is a perfect gentleman and he respects the rules of the game. He has reached to a highest level of game. Criticizing him can give few people immense popularity, which they know and try to cash on this opportunity. Below are the excerpts from the column: Read the rest of this entry »

As the call rates fall the mobile companies are devising new ideas to get money out of the user’s pocket. These days’ people not only carry jazzy and expensive mobile set but they have latest songs set as there ring tone. Gone are the days when you used to hear the same beep beep from the cell phone and everyone carrying one used to wrestle there way to there pocket as no one know who’s phone was ringing. These days if your mobile doesn’t have the latest ring tone then you are not cool.

Downloading a special ring tone on your mobile phone so that it plays a tiny rendition of a pop song instead of ringing is a booming market in India as well as abroad. Ring tone sales were at $3.5 billion worldwide last year, up 40% from 2002, according to ARC Group consultants.

The appeal of ring tones, to teenagers in particular, is that they act as a fashion statement. Sound quality is improving fast: latest mobiles support polyphonic playback and allow actual music clips, called true tones, to be used as ring tones. Instead of a plinky-plonk rendition of Britney Spears hit Toxic as your ring tone, you could have a brief sound clip of Britney herself or you can have Gabbar Sing laughing his guts out.

An average ring tone would cost you Rs. 10 to Rs. 50 to download. The money is directly deducted from your balance once you download the ring tone. Ring tone downloading is very convenient and indulging in nature.

Mobile operators, website owners and record labels sense a huge opportunity here. Anyone can make a ring tone out of a pop song, provided they pay royalties. But true tones require record labels to license master recording. They only do so to trusted partners, such as mobile networks.

So, did you download the latest ring tone?

In a latest interview Mr. Ratan Tata, chairman of India’s second-largest and longest-established conglomerate, said he is pressing ahead with a project to bring to market a $2,000 car (Rs 1 lakh), which he believes could revolutionize personal transport in India and some other Asian countries. He conceived the idea several years ago: to use components from the region’s large scooter and motorcycle industries to create a basic four-seater, four-door car to which the region’s millions of scooter and motorcycle riders, plus 3-wheeler users could aspire.

The vehicle might not be acceptable to Western consumers but “it would not need to be a poor substitute for a car,” he said. “It will look like a car and have proper seating-stretched canvas seats would not, for example, be acceptable. It would be all right for it to be a bit noisier than an ordinary car, but it has to be both simple and safe.

Do you really thing that this is possible? Is Mr. Tata looking at government subsidiary to do so? Where would he source the vehicle parts from? These are the question’s that are yet to be answered.

However, auto analysts argue that with taxes accounting for almost half a car’s ex-factory cost. Tata will have to produce a car within Rs. 70,000 for it to be priced at Rs 1 lakh in the market after tax.

At present, it is not possible to make a car for less than Rs 1.5 lakh (Rs 150,000) and costs will only increase over the next five years (Please note TATA aims at launching the car after three years).

Jagdish Khattar, managing director of Maruti Udyog, the country’s largest car-maker, said India’s cheapest car, the Maruti 800, is produced at an ex-factory price close to Rs 1.2 lakh. “But if Euro III or IV [emission] norms or new safety standards are introduced, our cost calculations will go for a six. He further added that making a similar car for 1 Lakh is impossible.

On the contrary component manufacturer Sona Steering’s chairman Surinder Kapur, however, thinks Tata’s aim is “absolutely achievable.” He suggests that the car could be based on a three-wheeler kind of engine of, say, 600 cc capacity and the body of plastic.

Whatever may be the case I am keeping my figure’s crossed for the wonder that TATA is aspiring for.

A Shariah court in Saudi Arabia had ruled that one eye of a 30-year-old Indian salesman, from Kerala, be gouged out and donated to a Saudi national.

The ruling came after Puthan Veettil Naushad, who worked as an assistant in a shop attached to a petrol station near Dammam, allegedly hit Naif Muthef, a local resident, during an altercation two years ago. Saudi police said that in the scuffle, Naif lost his right eye.

According to the court, if Naushad doesn’t agree to have his right eye taken out, he has to remain in prison�forever. Isn’t it amazing? It is a common saying “A tooth for a tooth and an eye for an eye�. But does it really make sense to do so?

According to Saudi law, an offender can be let off if the victim pardons him. Naushad was pardoned by Saudi court today under pressure of media and India consulate.

Personally I do not agree to such kind of justice. This kind of justice is very barbarian and unjust in nature. This also raises a question as to how safe is an Indian in other countries? Many Indians go to these Saudi countries to earn a few more bucks to run there family. So, next time any of your loved one is heading to Saudi Arabia, just ask them once is that extra money worth it?

How ethical would it be to lower the age to permit drinking? The government has proposed to lower the permitted drinking age from 25 to 21.

The subject of drinking has always been a very sensitive one the world over. Countries such as UK and US have rather harsh set of laws against drinking.

In India, where law and order is not so rigid with enforcement, the problem of drinking often spills over.

Drunken driving is the main cause of accidents on the roads in India. In most cases the culprits go scot-free without being penalized. And if the age limit for drinking is reduced, it is most likely to encourage youngsters to indulge without the constraints of law.

Lowering of age limit will also lead to free availability of alcoholic drinks in public places. With such an easy access, youths will go full throttle, especially since they will have the legal blessings of the Delhi government.

But the big question is, that at mere 21 years of age, will the youngsters do full justice to that responsibility? Statistics from countries where the age limit is low give a rather dismal picture.

On the other hand the proponents of this proposal feel that if you are 21 years is old enough to vote, to marry, to start a family, then you are surely old enough to handle drinks and handle that too. But would it not be true to say that the youth that have just crossed the threshold of youth be careless enough to make a mockery this freedom.

It is very human to give way to temptation and gulp a few extra pegs that you cannot handle. Law lets you drink but it doesn’t put a tab on how much and when you can drink. In such situation lowering the age can have drastic results. It is imperative that Government have stronger and more effective rules against drinking. It’s very true that the government would loose on a lot of state revenue but would it be a wise decision to lower the age limit?

Remix is the latest trend in bollywood. Where have the good old days gone when Bollywood used to boast on melodious music? But after the wave of originality it now seems that the music industry is running low on creativity as the new order of the day is remixes.

Remix albums have been around since the early 1980s and is an album consisting mostly of re-recorded versions of a music artist’s earlier release.

Every youngster dreams of becoming the next music icon (read DJ) and opts for an easier way out by cashing in on the popularity of an already successful album.

But the age old question that remains is whether DJ remix albums spell good or bad for the music industry? Does this mixing makes the songs better or kills it? Many would argue that remixes ruin the original version of the song. Amateur artists use mixing equipments and add techno beats to age old love songs hoping to get their first break. DJ’s start mixing dialogs of the same or other movie with songs to add life to the songs.

The market is flooded with hundreds of such albums and the same songs are remixed again and again until they lose their original charm.

On the other hand there are those who have the full support of their record labels to spend as much as they need to get a mastered product. DJ Aqeel, DJ Akhtar, DJ Suketu and many others have changed the scene of Indian music.

They have sold millions of fine remix albums and MP3s, which are getting popular in the web world.

According to youngsters, old songs get an extra zing when remixed and the old songs come back to life. Old albums of the likes of Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar have been recomposed and have been given a complete makeover, thanks to the remixes.

So while the debate rages on between holding on to the past and the new wave of remix albums, the listeners now have a wider range to choose from.

Thanks to the boom in the telecom industry in India everyone now has a cell phone. You like it or not but it has become a part of you life. How many times after the party or a movie, have you checked all your pockets to fetch your cell phone?

Things that you should remember and do –

For GSM Users,

1. Call up the “Customer Care” helpline of your airtime provider and ask them to deactivate the SIM.

2. Call up the police. Submit them the IMEI number of your phone (which you should have noted before the theft .

Each GSM handset has a unique IMEI number (International Mobile Equipment Identity), a 15-digit code that identifies your instrument. You can find this by looking under the battery of your phone. You can also find this number by typing – *#06# on the keypad.

IMEI number is now being used to trace a mobile anywhere in the country. Even if the SIM card (network) is changed, it can be traced.

Whenever a phone logs onto a particular network to make or receive calls, its IMEI number is emitted and this gets registered. In case of stolen phones, the service provider can pass on the information to the police, who in turn can trace the user through the SIM card. It is possible to even track down gangs running cell phone-stealing rackets.

For CDMA Users,

There is good and bad news for CDMA users. Bad news is that there is no IMEI number in the CDMA handset. However, the good news is that these phones can not be reprogrammed and used by any other person (as is in the case of Reliance phones).

Further Reading –

What is IMEI? – http://www.gsm-security.net/faq/imei-international-mobile-equipment-identity-gsm.shtml

And

http://www.cellular.co.za/ieminumbers.htm

Lost phone CDMA (Tata Indicom) –

http://www.tataindicom.com/customercare/customercare_faqs_prepaid.asp#handset

Not long ago Indian sky was dotted with private airlines crisscrossing the Indian subcontinent. Who would have thought that he/she would be able to fly at the cost of train ticket?

In a major event Jet Airways has acquired Air Sahara for $500 million. This is the biggest ever deal in the Indian aviation sector. Bigger fish eating the smaller to grow in might.

This deal will give Jet Airways a clear advantage over the rest of the airlines operational in India.

Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal and Sahara Group Chief Subrata Roy said that an all inclusive cash deal was executed on Wednesday night. However, the deal is subject to regulatory approvals.

As part of the deal, Sahara’s assets including infrastructure and parking slot facilities in the country will now be owned by Jet.

“Jet Airways will get parking slots, infrastructure, equipment and all other facilities Air Sahara has in the country subject to regulatory approvals. Pilots, technical staff, cabin crew will also be a part of Jet Airways.
Air Sahara brand will not be retained post-acquisition. Jet does not plan to use Air Sahara planes in the growing low-cost carrier segment.

Through the deal, Jet will also get automatic access to operate flights to US and other international destinations. This will give it a clear edge over domestic carrier Indian. With Air Sahara being the main sponsor of the Indian cricket team, Jet has said it’s unwilling to take on Air Sahara’s sponsorship commitment