It is that time of the elections when the pollsters take over... television channels are oudoing each other in analysing exit poll results... and the political parties are crying hoarse that these polls do not reflect the true character of the indian voter.
anyway I guess it is too early to make any predictions about the outcome of this election. even some months back the pollsters had got it terribly wrong on the assembly elections in MP & Rajasthan. there is no evidence to suggest that such a thing will not repeat again that too for a national level poll.
better to wait till May 13..
Wednesday, April 28, 2004
GMAIL
started using the google's much hyped email service, which could usurp yahoo's position as a leading provider of free email service.
the service is good.. no worry about mail storage space etc.. over 100 MB free space..
looks good maybe i might shift completely to this in some more days..!
the service is good.. no worry about mail storage space etc.. over 100 MB free space..
looks good maybe i might shift completely to this in some more days..!
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
India goes to polls
India today Apr 20 went to polls to elect its MPs to the 14th Lok Sabha. These elections will be spread over 4 phases and the counting will begin on May 13. It is a long drawn affair and will test the EC to its core.
As Indians most of us are waiting for these results. Will NDA repeat its performance of 1999? Will it get a reduced majority as some opinion polls are suggesting? Will Mulayam or Laloo become king makers? All these answers will get answered partially today when the results of exit polls start coming in. Anyway the polls are yet to begin in other parts of the country like UP etc which are more crucial to the NDA.
This is probably the first poll to have development as its core agenda and a good majority to NDA will help the reform process greatly.
As Indians most of us are waiting for these results. Will NDA repeat its performance of 1999? Will it get a reduced majority as some opinion polls are suggesting? Will Mulayam or Laloo become king makers? All these answers will get answered partially today when the results of exit polls start coming in. Anyway the polls are yet to begin in other parts of the country like UP etc which are more crucial to the NDA.
This is probably the first poll to have development as its core agenda and a good majority to NDA will help the reform process greatly.
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
Nikhil Shembekar & his blog
Picked up from gautam's blog.
This is Martin Bower's memo on behaviors he wanted to be admired in McKinsey
I want the newcomers to know what kind of behavior we admire, and what kind of behavior we deplore:
1. First, we admire people who work hard. We dislike passengers who don't pull their weight in the boat.
2. We admire people with first-class brains, because you cannot run a great (organization) without brainy people.
3. We admire people who avoid politics--office politics, I mean.
4. We despise toadies who suck up to their bosses; they are generally the same people who bully their subordinates.
5. We admire the great professionals, the craftsmen who do their jobs with superlative excellence. We notice that these people always respect the professional expertise of their colleagues in other departments.
6. We admire people who hire subordinates who are good enough to succeed them. We pity people who are so insecure that they feel compelled to hire inferior specimens as their subordinates.
7. We admire people who build up and develop their subordinates, because this is the only way we can promote from within the ranks. We detest having to go outside to fill important jobs, and I look forward to the day when that will never be necessary.
8. We admire people who practice delegation. The more you delegate, the more responsibility will be loaded upon you.
9. We admire kindly people with gentle manners who treat other people as human beings--particularly the people who sell things to us. We abhor quarrelsome people. We abhor people who wage paper warfare. We abhor buck passers and people who don't tell the truth.
10. We admire well-organized people who keep their offices ship-shape, and deliver their work on time.
11. We admire people who are good citizens in their communities--people who work for their local hospitals, their church, the PTA, the Community Chest, and so on. In this connection, I am proud of the example set by some of my colleagues during the year."
This is Martin Bower's memo on behaviors he wanted to be admired in McKinsey
I want the newcomers to know what kind of behavior we admire, and what kind of behavior we deplore:
1. First, we admire people who work hard. We dislike passengers who don't pull their weight in the boat.
2. We admire people with first-class brains, because you cannot run a great (organization) without brainy people.
3. We admire people who avoid politics--office politics, I mean.
4. We despise toadies who suck up to their bosses; they are generally the same people who bully their subordinates.
5. We admire the great professionals, the craftsmen who do their jobs with superlative excellence. We notice that these people always respect the professional expertise of their colleagues in other departments.
6. We admire people who hire subordinates who are good enough to succeed them. We pity people who are so insecure that they feel compelled to hire inferior specimens as their subordinates.
7. We admire people who build up and develop their subordinates, because this is the only way we can promote from within the ranks. We detest having to go outside to fill important jobs, and I look forward to the day when that will never be necessary.
8. We admire people who practice delegation. The more you delegate, the more responsibility will be loaded upon you.
9. We admire kindly people with gentle manners who treat other people as human beings--particularly the people who sell things to us. We abhor quarrelsome people. We abhor people who wage paper warfare. We abhor buck passers and people who don't tell the truth.
10. We admire well-organized people who keep their offices ship-shape, and deliver their work on time.
11. We admire people who are good citizens in their communities--people who work for their local hospitals, their church, the PTA, the Community Chest, and so on. In this connection, I am proud of the example set by some of my colleagues during the year."
Infy crosses 1 billion
Infy declared its results today & as expected crossed 1 billion in revenues.. it is a great achievement for an Indian company. consider that for a company which was just 250 mn 4 years back. & you can see that the growth has been tremendous. When i joined last year I was told that it might take 6 quarters for it to cross.. but it has taken just four. so it has been excellent progress.
Of course challenges remain for the company:
1. managing career aspirations of an ever increasing workforce. (last year was particularly bad when attrition reached flashpoint)
2. managing salaries of workforce due to competition from MNC's who have set up shop in India
3. to develop a different (consulting?) kind of mindset in the employees to take on challenges from MNC's
4. managing a rising rupee and dipping margins
5. creating that top of the mind recall for CXO's in the US
6. creating a scalable & efficient global delivey model & offering not only cost effectiveness but also great quality "solutions" to client. As Nandan said " we want to be active business solution providers not reactive problem solvers"
Of course Infy will benefit with an ever increasing interest in Outsourcing and the future looks good for a great company.
Of course challenges remain for the company:
1. managing career aspirations of an ever increasing workforce. (last year was particularly bad when attrition reached flashpoint)
2. managing salaries of workforce due to competition from MNC's who have set up shop in India
3. to develop a different (consulting?) kind of mindset in the employees to take on challenges from MNC's
4. managing a rising rupee and dipping margins
5. creating that top of the mind recall for CXO's in the US
6. creating a scalable & efficient global delivey model & offering not only cost effectiveness but also great quality "solutions" to client. As Nandan said " we want to be active business solution providers not reactive problem solvers"
Of course Infy will benefit with an ever increasing interest in Outsourcing and the future looks good for a great company.
Thursday, April 01, 2004
Mitti map recasts farm future
Mitti map recasts farm future
National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (NBSS&LUP), under special mandate from the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR).
Following exhaustive work spanning three decades, the bureau has created a databank guided by 40 different parameters — including pH level, water holding capacity, texture, depth, stoniness, microbe content, salinity, minerology, irrigability — to determine the quality of various kinds of soils in the country. If intelligently used, the inventory can revolutionise the way agriculture is managed in the country.
excellent work done by the ICAR.. and this should revolutionised Indian agriculture.. sort of news which should make headlines..
National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (NBSS&LUP), under special mandate from the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR).
Following exhaustive work spanning three decades, the bureau has created a databank guided by 40 different parameters — including pH level, water holding capacity, texture, depth, stoniness, microbe content, salinity, minerology, irrigability — to determine the quality of various kinds of soils in the country. If intelligently used, the inventory can revolutionise the way agriculture is managed in the country.
excellent work done by the ICAR.. and this should revolutionised Indian agriculture.. sort of news which should make headlines..
Outsourcing: Long-term gains for all
BBC NEWS | South Asia | Outsourcing: Long-term gains for all
an article by economist kaushik basu who raises important points for the opponents of outsourcing
also a letter to this article sums up everything..
Outsourcing frees up resources which should, in theory at least, allow those resources to become more productive in other or new areas of the economy. The governments of those countries being adversely affected by outsourcing (with the loss of jobs in the short term) should focus on creating an environment that fosters and promotes an innovative, entrepreneurial culture to enable this migration to better jobs in the long term. Better tax incentives, funding channels, start up promotion and less red tape - all these and more will help to combat job losses.
an article by economist kaushik basu who raises important points for the opponents of outsourcing
also a letter to this article sums up everything..
Outsourcing frees up resources which should, in theory at least, allow those resources to become more productive in other or new areas of the economy. The governments of those countries being adversely affected by outsourcing (with the loss of jobs in the short term) should focus on creating an environment that fosters and promotes an innovative, entrepreneurial culture to enable this migration to better jobs in the long term. Better tax incentives, funding channels, start up promotion and less red tape - all these and more will help to combat job losses.
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