No civilization, no nation, no society, no individual, can function without energy. Energy use is a chain that begins with;

1. Sources, like coal, crude oil
2. Conversion, from source to forms like electricity, petrol
3. Consumption by society through industries, vehicles

The constant consumption of these fossils over the years, has resulted in, it being on the verge of extinction today, ultimately leading to an energy crisis; a situation when a country has a great need for fuel or electricity but does not have enough of either to provide for its citizens, as a result, energy becomes very expensive or in the extreme case, not available to everyone. Although energy crisis can be observed as a result of many factors; overconsumption, overpopulation, bad infrastructure, untapped renewable energy opportunities, wastage of energy etc.…… but, the truth of the matter is, we live in a world where there is little time for details and distinctions and its high time that we change our modus operandi and switch to renewable sources of energy.

Among the low-carbon energy supply options, the three with the biggest potential are wind power, nuclear power, and most importantly solar power. You might think that even if we imagine strong efficiency measures and smart technology-switches that halved our energy consumption, we should not kid ourselves about the challenge of supplying 60 kWh per day without fossil fuels. But as it is said that the power of thinking is more about knowing what the right way to think is and about what, a step in the right direction will always nurture fruitful results.

Around 4.5 billion years ago a star was born. We call it Sun. The solar energy that hits the earth every second is equivalent to 4 trillion 100-watt light bulbs. Solar is the prime inexhaustible energy available to all and India is one of the sun’s most favoured nations, blessed with about 10 months of sunshine in most parts of the county, receiving 4-7 kwh per square per metre per day . This is a huge number. Thus, investment in solar energy is a natural choice for India.

As of 2014, the installed capacity of solar power in India was 2,208.36 MW and it aims for 20,000 MW by 2022. In a revamped National Solar Mission programme, the union ministry of new and renewable energy has now come up with draft guidelines for setting up of 3000 MW of solar PV projects. The proposed project will be developed through association of central and state agencies along with a solar park being developed in Andhra Pradesh, as a part of this project. Recently, Tata Power Delhi, by incentivizing rooftop solar generation has also pooled in to produce 400 MW of solar electricity in the next three years with the aim of transforming the power scenario. As a cherry on the cake, the land on which solar panel towers are installed can also be used for grazing and agricultural purposes.

Although Solar farms are the way to go and India has abundant sunshine, however, there is immense competition for land resources – to harness this energy, India would need solar power stations in deserts covering an area twice the size of Greater London(about 1700 km square) but India cannot be allotting acres and acres of land just for creating solar farms, which can indeed create “a strong thermal flux” and thereby disturb biodiversity.

As a substitute to this land problem and risks associated with it, in 2015 i.e. this year, a floating solar power plant conceptualized by Kolkata based Arka Renewable Energy College will go live. This pilot project will create 10KW of electricity and requires an area of around 100 sq metres. Thus, With the solar panels being set afloat in Bengal and water canals being covered with solar panels in Gujarat, India has definitely leapfrogged.

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The Goods and Service Tax (GST) is a comprehensive tax which will subsume excise, service tax, state vat, entry octroi etc., and will replace all other indirect levies on goods and services by the indian central and state government. The idea of GST was first brought up by the Vajpayee government in the year 2000. One of the biggest tax reforms in India, it will break the tax barriers between the states and unite India by a uniform tax rate by building a transparent and corruption free tax administration.

Under GST, with the cascading taxes gone, over a period of time the lower tax burden would translate into lower prices for goods. Since the burden will be divided equitably between manufacturing and services, the whole process will be at ease for manufacturers. It is estimated that GST will raise Dollar 15 billion each year and elevate employment and exports. On a negative note, the enforcement of GST will hit the state’s tax collection due to subsuming of state levies but as a remedy, centre is coming up with a provision on compensation for a period of 3 years on losses arising out of GST to state.

Although the implementation of GST had missed several deadlines, a ray of hope is being witnessed with the rolling out of this tax and clearing the first hurdle, being passed by Lok sabha on 6th May 2015. But for this acceleration to turn into execution, the bill needs to be cleared by the Rajya Sabha and has to be endorsed by the state legislatures. Subsequently, centre and states will decide on the tax rates and a GST bill has to be approved by parliament.

The Modi government has set April 1, 2016 as the latest deadline for the implementation of GST. Although this new concept of including all goods and services under the GST is a welcome one, with BJP and its allies in minority in the Rajya Sabha and congress’s determination to send it to a parliamentary standing committee, the bill is expected to face quite a few blockades.

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Although, we all aspire to buy a diamond studded jewellery, and we often do purchase it from our trusted jewellers, but for the fact, have we ever thought that the diamond we get so easily, is it real ? May be not.

The diamond that we bought may be a MOISSANITE – far cheaper than the real thing, but with properties that could fool an expert. A diamond lookalike, moissanite ( silicon carbide), has been in India for two years now. Even after couple of checks by well known jewellers of Delhi, they declared it to be a diamond. So, finding that perfect solitaire is no easy task. Unlike Gold, for which we know the daily price almost to the fourth decimal point, with solitaires we may find ourselves quite clueless. The various different parameters can seem mind boggling and most jewellers take advantage of this lack of knowledge.

So for your insight, here are a few parameters, a diamond’s price is decided upon ….

CUT, POLISH AND SYMMETRY – These specifications are used to judge the brilliance and sparkle of a diamond. Keeping all other parameters same, a diamond with excellent grades across all three is likely to be 50% – 60% more expensive than a diamond with lower grade cut, polish and symmetry.

COLOUR – It is the measure of colourlessness in a diamond. Nearly colourless (classified as F grade) diamonds will cost significantly less (15%-30%) than colourless diamonds (D grade) . However, the difference is not even visible to an expert’s naked eye.

CLARITY – Clarity is the measure of flawlessness in a diamond. Most diamonds have inclusions- natural imperfections visible to the naked eye. A flawless (IF grade) diamond is likely to be twice as expensive as a similar diamond with minor inclusions.

FLUORESCENCE – It is the light a diamond emits when examined under UV light. Light to medium fluorescence in diamonds is not noticeable, whereas strong fluorescence can give diamonds a hazy appearance. A diamond with very strong fluorescence can be up to 20% cheaper than a diamond with no fluorescence.

CERTIFICATION – Insists on certificate only from reputed labs like GIA, HRD and IGI, which follows stringent guidelines. Also ask for certificate number to verify the same online.

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Life, as we say, is the greatest gift of nature found on this earth in several   hues, shapes, and sizes and above all is  , human existence.

But the main aspect of this human life which comes into the picture is, Is it worth living, a long life of idleness or a short life of glorious deeds ?

Accordingly, life is not measured by the number of years we live in the world, but, by the amount of work that we do in this ever sparkling vivacious life. Everyone aspires to live long, but that long life is useless if spent in idleness. As to say, to burn for a moment is better than throwing smoke for hours. The very great people, Jesus Christ, Alexander, Kennedy and Keats lived for a short time frame but they sparkled like gems. They did something great which others could not have even imagine doing in a long life of a hundred years.

Facing hardships is the key source to outshine in this world full of actions. Avoiding a life of ease and comfort and working actively towards an altruistic approach is all what constitutes to be a responsible citizen of society. Life without ideals is totally useless. As to remind, Gandhi and Lenin had the ideal of serving their countries, Keats ideals inspired him to pan out in the field of English poetry and many more…

As it is remarked that ” Men make their own history “, and we live in a world where there is little time for details and distinctions; so HISTORY AWAITS US .

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Am I creative ? As we ask ourselves this question we will realize that this is perhaps the best exercise we could have to rejuvenate our energies. Yes, everyone of us is creative. ” It comes with the territory of being a human being “. Whether one labels us as creative or not, we have the urge and need to be creative. And we certainly are not talking of creating a flying machine or an atom bomb, the reference here is to simple everyday Creativity that involves novelty, fun, and happiness.

Fundamentally, creativity is an aesthetic concept, an idea that can be seen, heard and felt. It is the spark of imagination. As to remind, it was the creativity inside the Spanish artist Picasso that made him remove the seat of his bicycle, and place the handlebars above it and call it ‘the bull’s head’ . It appears very simple but in reality, it is not. It is only a great stroke of imagination that could have achieved something beyond excellence .

For instance, if we recall how as children we often used to look at clouds, imagining them as strange faces, the tree barks and mountains resembling human forms etc. These are part of creative imagination at the basic level. So Creativity in its initial stage is just a thought. When the thought evolves into an idea and when the idea is executed, it becomes a creation. But what is essential then for creating is originality. This originality lies in looking at the same thing as everyone else but thinking differently as Picasso did.

While all of us have the basic creative urge, only some of us succeed in truly being one. How is it that some are more creative than others ? Some people act on their ideas immediately while others ignore them, some have a tendency to act only when motivated and many times a talent in a person goes unrecognized. These acts hamper us from doing anything creative. Also, the fear of rejection, stress and routine, preconceived notions and self criticism are few factors that curtail our creative behaviour.

But as a matter of fact, a person who is creative in his profession can also be creative in other areas. The best example being that of the great renaissance Leonardo Da Vinci, who tried his hand at everything. He was famous for his scientific theories, modern discoveries, artistic innovations, discoveries in meteorology and geology and many more…

Just as an artist assigns a form to the material according to his idea as a means of expression, each one of us have emotions, feelings and experiences to act and feel differently and to express our emotions in any manner we like and feel we are good at. When people empathising with our emotions accept our expressions we are called creative. The process of creativity then becomes an experience of joy.

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In this banal, mundane life, we all look for inspiring stories that energise us,  make issues that we fight everyday look pretty and which leaves an indispensable mark on our lives.

Nirmal’s story, a man who went on to start his own auto-rickshaw rightly known as G-Auto and slowly and steadily transformed it into a sustainable, friendly and secure means of transport, is a great example of how some MBA grads showcase their entrepreneurial leadership early on in their careers.

Nirmal, born In a humble farming family, in the hinterland of Bihar has been afflicted by polio at the age of three. He has done his schooling from the village school in the Hindi medium. His first brush with the alphabets of English happened when he moved to Patna after class 10, for want of a better education. Being a bright student, after his graduation, he worked hard and gave everything to get into IIM’s with the motive of  having a respectful and secure job prospect. Eventually, having got into IIMA , a life changing experience when he had to deal with a rude auto rickshaw driver in his second year at IIMA set him off on a altogether different trajectory. He started thinking. “why cannot we have a safe, secure, comfortable and delightful public transportation. Why not world class Tuk Tuk Service! His idea went into introspection and brainstorming mode to come out with an auto rickshaw service, started back in 2009 in Ahmadabad.

Being inaugurated by then CM of Gujarat, Mr Narendra Modi, in a very short time the auto rickshaw drivers started looking at G Auto as the God send. What is so special about this auto is that the drivers are trained in English and Hindi to interact and also trained to provide customer delight. They also are trained to be heritage ambassadors of the city. G Autos have newspapers/mags, mobile chargers, PCO, and water, above all safety and security with a contact number for immediate action on any complaints. You get the receipt for your payments with all the details and numbers whenever you board a G Auto.

After the spate of highly publicized cases of harassment and rape if women, Delhi government had thought of doing something more to its public transportation system, especially Auto service. Nirma foundation had made a presentation to the government of Delhi to provide services in the capital. And it was given approval to operate in the city of Delhi. Since G Auto has become a brand associated with reliability and security, Nirmal’s target is to create 10 Lakh auto rickshaw power by 2020!

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Vocabulary is an intrinsic part of the verbal section of many important tests. On the other hand, vocabulary usage is not limited to merely writing tests; it forms an integral part of our speech, writing and even thinking. The way we think is the way we express ourselves both in the written as well the spoken mode. Therefore, it pays to enrich your vocabulary!

Conventionally, we learn words through dictionary, which is by far the best methodology; however the task is a little daunting, its better if some fun is incorporated to remove the tedium. The best way to go about this is, just spend 15-20 minutes everyday playing word games. This will help in two ways. First, it will bring in some relief in the approach to prepare for entrance tests and second, it will help to learn through an interactive medium which helps to enhance retention.

RUZZLE – It is a fun and fast paced word game where you can challenge your friends or allow an opponent to be chose randomly who can find the most words in two minutes. Find as many words as possible. The letters may form words as long as they are connected to each other. The matches are played in 3 rounds and the highest total number of score wins. The rounds can be played when it suits you. You can get going as soon as you have 2 minutes to spare!

HANGMAN  – It is a very interesting word game which us available across all levels and a variety of subjects. In this game , the word to be guessed is represented by a row of dashes, giving the number of letters and category of the word. The game is over when the diagram, designed to look like a hanging man, is complete.

BOGGLE – Boggle is a board based word game and is played using a plastic grid of lettered dice, in which players try to find words in sequences of adjacent letters. The game starts by shaking an enclosed tray of 16 cube dice, all with a different letter printed on each of its sides. The dice are placed into a 4by 4 tray so that only the top letter of each cube is seen. A 3 minute sand timer is started and all players hunt for words that can be built from the letters of successively adjacent cubes. After three minutes have passed, all players stop writing and papers scored.

WORD MOLE – This game has been described as fun and educational. The object of the word mole fame is to form words using the letters in the garden. If you form a word using letters that are directly above, below, or beside each other in the garden, you receive new letters which you can use to form new words. Otherwise, holes appear in the garden, making it harder to form new words. You can substitute a hole with a new letter that is alongside the hole.

So what are you waiting for, GET SET GO ! Fancy your chances and improve your vocabulary.

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‘Godmen’ or religious gurus are often the charismatic rock stars in India. They have a high profile presence, thousands of devout followers, incessant wealth and are capable of influencing mass opinion. Their followers are impressed by their Godmen proclamations of possession super natural powers that have the ability to heal and influence future events. From a business perspective, India is the best market for a Godman. No other country provides the market which India does. No fancy degree required, low cost investment and no family influence. Because of their immense following, they are often courted by the nation’s top politicians to leverage their influence on the masses. However, despite their demi-god status, they have been regularly criticized by certain quarters. Especially after the recent episodes of monetary fraud and sexual violence against their followers. However, going forward, it is unlikely that their influence will subside.

The origin of Godmen or religious leaders can be traced back to the guru-shishya tradition of Hinduism. As there is no centralized established religious authority, people tend to follow such personalities. Many of these Godmen acknowledge, that they have had a Guru themselves. While there have been noble religious leaders like Vivekananda, Dayandasaraswati who have lifted society, there have been a fair share of not so noble ones. Taking in consideration, the most prolific of all, Baba Ramdev, is a television icon. A farmer’s son whose formal education ended at age 12, Mr Ramdev shot to fame through broadcasts of his yoga sessions and testimonials of devotees who swore his exercises had cured them of several ailments. He now presides over a herbal medicine empires and trusts whose assets apparently exceed dollar 250 million.

The massive fan following of these religious leaders can be attributed to our social conditioning and belief in a greater supernatural force. Hindu scriptures have often been filled with magical ceremonies and belief in paranormal. Even in contemporary times, whenever their is despair or any complication, the Godman is seen as the solution to all problems. Even in a country with over 200 million internet users.

Although religious Godmen have ruled the masses fir many decades, they have their fare share of critics. Numerous NGO’S and self help groups have often tried to expose such leaders in their areas of operation. Such groups often mimic the demonstrations of supernatural power undertaken by Godmen, such as walking on coal, producing sacred ash from thin air, exploding stones from mental power or turning water into blood. The poorest and the helpless have been at the receiving end of such practices. The media, in particular has criticized religious Godmen for taking advantage of poorest of poor or torturing and killing of women.

In a recent incident, Asaram Bapu, the 73 year old Godmen has been arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a 16 year old girl during an exorcism. He has been embroiled in other allegations including land grabbing, womanizing and practising black magic, especially after the deaths of two young students whose bodies were discovered in a creek bed near his ashram.

Therefore, given our social Babbage, cultural upbringing and deep belief in religious Godmen, it is unlikely that the trend of Godmen being put in the top of a sacred pedestal will easily reverse in the years to come, but with the increasing media attention and stringency shown by the judiciary, it might get difficult for some of the ill intentioned Godmen to blatantly rule the masses.

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Like fire, stream or electricity, nuclear energy is also a source of power. But the use of this powerful energy depends upon man, whether to use it constructively or destructively. Over the years, scientists and researchers have been toiling hard to make this energy useful in agriculture, industry, and transport etc., with the aim of revamping an entirely new world.

Since the world has already begun to feel the shortage of coal, petrol, and other sources of fuel, the concept of nuclear energy has very much started to frame its roots into the picture. Presently, there are about 400 operating nuclear power reactors in the world and that number is likely to cross 500 by 2030. As of 2013, India had 21 nuclear reactors generating about 5000MW of power.

Electric power from nuclear energy has indubitable advantages from running machines and industries, increasing production manifold, lowering of prices to achieving a higher standard of living. Not a surprise then, that India has chosen to go the nuclear power way, big time – but there are some risks too. Nuclear disasters are messy disasters – their impact stays for a long time. As to remind, the tsunami that hit Japan on 11th March 2011, struck the Fukushima Daiich nuclear power plant with three of its six nuclear reactors underwent meltdown and leakage of radioactive isotopes, thus creating a havoc with its effect everywhere, on and below the ground, in water and in air.

Although the use of nuclear power has galvanised since our Prime Minister has signed the nuclear deal with the US, with the aim of providing a reliable 24 hours a day, 365 days a year base load electricity, the bottom line is; at the end of the day, nuclear disasters can happen. Thus India must remain vigilant and prepared, always .

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“In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders” – Sheryl Sandberg

Sheryl Sandberg, The COO of Facebook, hails from a family of doctors and educationalists, a family of fighters fighting the great depression. Right from her high school she was always at the top of her class, from being the sophomore class president to a member of the National Honor Society and also on the senior class executive board.

After her high school, Sandberg enrolled at Harvard college and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Economics in 1991. She was given the John H. Williams prize for the top graduating student in Economics. Her interests in woman and their development was evident from her college days; she co-founded an organization called Women in Economics and Government while in college. She also dealt with leprosy, AIDS, and blindness health projects in India under assistance of her professor Larry Summers. In 1993 back in Harvard, she completed her MBA with the highest distinction.

Sheryl’s first job after her graduation in 1995 was with McKinsey & Company. In 1996, she went on to serve as Chief of staff to the US secretary of the Treasury Larry Summers, under the president, Bill Clinton. In 2001, she joined Google Inc., as its vice president of global online sales and operations. Sandberg was with google until 2008, and her tenure was noticeable by spectacular professional accomplishments and an impressive status as one of the growing top executives of the country.

Sheryl met Mark Zuckerberg, the co founder and chief executive of Facebook in a Christmas party in 2007. The party was hosted by Dan Rosenweig who was the COO of yahoo! . Zuckerberg’s meeting with Sheryl left him a feeling that she was a perfect fit for the COO he was looking for. By March 2008 they had finally closed the deal and Facebook announced the joining of Sheryl Sandberg while she announced her leaving Google. Sheryl’s first task in the company was to understand how to make Facebook profitable. Shortly after her joining, Facebook introduced advertisements and had now decided to depend on advertisements, albeit with some discretion. Facebook became profitable by 2010 as a consequence of adoption this strategy, taking Sandberg to new heights.

Although Sandberg has been working hard and has a focused mindset, she has a special place for women. Acting as a crusade to change women’s position in the workforce, she has employed famous personalities and toured around the world to make it happen. “A truly equal world would be one where women ran half our countries and companies and men ran half our homes,” is Sheryl Sandberg’s dream .

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