Automation – Indian IT May Profit at the Cost of Jobs, Upskilling May Deter Job Loss

In 2012, the Indian IT players were busy playing on the post-downturn reinstated burgeoning outsourcing market, and adopting business models of regional diversification. Whereas, at the same time, there were a few companies that were busy creating avenues to encroach on the IT opportunities through their technology platforms. While software players were betting on engineering freshers for profitable outsourcing projects, the other set of game changers was wagering on robots and humanoids. In fact, Frost & Sullivan predicted the automation market to grow to $2,000 Million by 2016. Three years down the line, the realization has dawned. Cost structure and change of geographical targets can no more be a special USP to augment business, instead the new model zeroes on automation and upskilling of the work force. Technology is changing fast, and with the emergence of automation of the redundant processes, the $150 billion Indian IT industry faces a daunting task of creating new USPs, wherein revenues are earned based on volumes than on FTE hours.

Once Automation took a firm root as a business model, outsourcing projects began to dwindle and top IT firms have begun witnessing single digit growths. The threat was imminent, as through robotics and humanoids, companies can deliver the IT projects at a cost that is less than one-fourth the billing rates of engineers from top IT firms. Moreover, by building robotic capabilities onshore, the need for outsourcing lost the luster. Currently, the Indian IT industry is fervently looking to automate their processes within the next five years.

Operation-Level Automation – A Key Threat to Job
at all Levels

According to the report - "Process Automation & Instrumentation Market by Instrument (Pressure, Temperature, Level and Humidity Transmitter), Solutions (PLC, DCS, SCADA, HMI, APC, MES and Safety Automation), Application, and Geography - Global Trend and Forecast to 2020" - the process automation and instrumentation market is expected to reach $81.69 Billion by 2020, at a CAGR of 4.68% between 2015 and 2020. In fact, within the next four years, as per NASSCOM’s Chairman, machines will replace one-fourth of the jobs within the Indian IT industry. New roles will emerge for man to manage the machines, but the number of machines replacing human will exceed the number of man managing machines.

Various levels of automation have found their place within the IT industry. Robotic process automation (RPA) is expected to impact 30-40% of total business process management (BPM) spend. RPA reduces 35-65% cost for onshore process operations with an investment recovery period of only six to nine months. RPA has been playing a key role in automating banking and financial services (BFS) projects and the benefit of that is its applicability without any concerns for scalability. While RPA helps the IT industry maintain the equilibrium in revenue-profit ratio, the bottom level of the pyramid will have concerns, as 20-25% of the employees currently placed within the IT services and BPO industry are employed in entry-level jobs without any analytical scope. Hence, with RPA in place, the need for the low-skilled workforce will turn obsolete.

Cognitive computing, autonomics and artificial intelligence are other models, which are increasingly adopted within the industry. For instance, IBM’s Watson will be useful in a healthcare setting. It will aggregate information, such as a patient’s history, articles or journals published, and information on various tools and best practices surrounding a particular condition, and will further analyze the vast information to deduce a remedy. However, at the same time, it will reduce the need of subject experts required for similar data aggregation. While the primary concern is the freeze or slowdown in hiring of freshers, the current scenario will influence the job market across all levels. According to NASSCOM, the IT industry needed almost 50% less engineers to generate every additional $1 billion of export revenue in 2015-16, compared to that of 2009-10.With the decline in human intervention, the mid-level managerial role too will lose its significance.

The Next Phase – Workforce Upskilling

Emily Dickinson’s thought -“Not knowing when the dawn will come, I open every door” – rightly portrays the current need of the workforce in the industry. The looming uncertainty does not clearly determine the fate of the workforce. As per a McKinsey study, people management and development has only 9% automation potential; at the same time, decision making or planning roles have just 18% automation potential. To keep up with the changing models, skill enhancement is key. One must be open to garner new skill sets and open every door of opportunity.While robots function to fulfill mundane requirements, human intervention will be more crucial to infer new possibilities and manage the automated environment. Through domain knowledge and relevant technological skills, employees will be aware of the technological usage impacts and aptly determine the appropriate application of the technologies within the processes for business benefits.

From Blackboards to Interactive Whiteboards - Journey Toward a New Normal

Like a 2MB floppy disc that retired to make way for its advanced successors, such as USBs and micro SDs, the more than a century old chalk and black board learning system too needs to pave the way for its effective new generation of experiential and digital learning environments. The continuous overwork of the black board system is only limiting possibilities within the classroom. It’s a well-known fact that a student’s attention span could at the maximum last for 15 minutes, and a teacher’s lesson plan could only extend to a certain point in the absence of any medium to engage the students. However, the inclusion of interactive white boards and online classes, and an overall digitalization of the pedagogical structure are how the student-teacher gap can be merged.

The ratio bridge

While, on the surface, the 30:1 pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) stands correct within India, a little deep digging of the education sector reveals the disparity that exists within government schools and private ones. In some government schools the ratio is as less as 20:1; however, some of their private counterparts settle the balance by maintaining a ratio that’s disparagingly high at 50:1. This is where technology can make a huge dent in the quality of education. In such a confined learning environment, attracting the attention and recognizing individual needs will be difficult. A teacher could include videos, use an interactive whiteboard or even use syllabus-based interactive learning content to keep the students interested in the class. Students too can participate in online collaborative learning platforms where everyone can share their knowledge and questions to understand the subject better or by accessing practical usage videos to help understand the context in which the subject can be used in the practical world. A win-win for both the parties.

Widening the access

As per an IAMAI-IMRB report, 48% (around 78 million) of the population in rural India uses Internet on a daily basis. Thus, a huge opportunity exists to ensure that everyone has access to the various avenues to educate themselves. The Indian government’s mission to increase enrollment in higher education by 5 percentage points is the point where digitalization will play a key role. Considering 80% of the schools are managed by the government, introduction of digital mediums will magnify the interest as well as will breakdown the limits of the four-wall academic system. For instance, in the rural side of the country a 15-year old child may have the thirst for knowledge, however, being crammed with manual work for a daily wage may not provide him the opportunity to actually be a part of the class. However, if the child has access to the daily lessons and has the flexibility to learn in accordance to his timing, he will definitely use it to learn his lessons.

With the digital classroom market being expected to grow globally at 13% CAGR from 2016-2020, it’s only a matter of time when this learning environment becomes the new normal. 

Poem: Shade of Sleaze

The CEO and the Child

Once upon a time there lived a CEO. The CEO’s childhood wasn’t rosy. A ragged house made of hay, a sick mother, and a drunkard father. And soon a fairy tale came alive when the CEO was chosen by the school to be sent to a top university utilizing the school’s trust. But alas the choice was withdrawn when a rich father donated a huge sum for the school infrastructure manipulating the prestigious offer in favor of his Child. Well that’s how the game of corruption got played with some shiny notes.

But the story doesn’t end here. The Child joined the university on the so-called scholarship to study with other brilliant students, while the CEO took up a labor job in a garment factory.  The CEO worked hard to earn two-meal a day, while the Child partied his college days away with lavish food and drinks on the bay.

Two years went by, and it was time for the Child to say goodbye to the party scene. Graduation arrived and the child donned the graduate cap though the marks were nothing colorful. Unemployed with no real skills, the father comes to the play again. Through the father’s connection, the Child gets the role of an Assistant Garment Inspector of a top cloth line. And that's how the game of favoritism began.

On the other side of the social spectrum was the CEO. His hard work was never noticed, until after a year, when a huge fiasco made the top management of the garment company to visit the manufacturing site. It was a pure corduroy garment manufacturer; however at that point 68% of its produced goods were rejected in the market due to mix of different linen in the material. The management had come to the plant to check the origin of the problem and to find a fix to it.

Days went by but no solution and the company was on a losing proposition. Half of the workers left the premises witnessing the gory chances of being jobless while the CEO stayed. Then once, the CEO after a late shift was leaving for home but saw a little girl carrying a doll wrapped in a silk robe sneaking into the premises. Curiosity gripped the CEO enough to stay back to see what she does. The little girl stealthily moved to the factory garbage dump and left her doll on top of one of the machines. Her hands explored the contents of the dump and soon a smile hits her face. A big slice of bread in her hand, she happily danced toward the exit of the plant's premises while grabbing the doll on the way. Well that's how the CEO realized the true joy of living – being content with what one can get their hands on.

The doll's dress got caught in the iron splinters of the machine and a long silk thread treaded the machine. The little girl with one tug got rid of the silk thread that was slowly unweaving the robe and left the thread dangling on the machine. The CEO lightly caught hold of the girl, and the management was informed of the cause of the linen mixture. But the revelation was done after making a deal with the management securing the little girl's education and life overall. The CEO was rewarded and was promoted to be a part-time Strategic Invigilator of the manufacturing plant, and the part-time Garment Inspector of its cloth line. Stay with a company in its bad days and earn the glory in its good days.

Stepping into the office as a Garment Inspector, the CEO recognizes the Assistant GI — the Child, who bullied the CEO even prior to the university corruption episode. Nodding with a smile the CEO greets and continues with the job demands. And that's when the Child realizes the importance of acceptance. Never take an advantage of the position to bully someone, you never know what the future holds. On the other hand, the CEO understands that a work ambience is a team work. You need to forgive and forget to co-exist together.

Today, the CEO has taken up the role of the CEO of the clothline after completing the necessary educational requirements sponsored by the company, while the Child remains the Assistant Garment Inspector. The father bought the Child's education and a career start but failed to imbibe the importance of knowledge and skills. In short, money can buy a life but not the value of life. It's not money but one's own hands that builds destiny. And the key to be happy is to co-exist and help each other in the journey called life.

It’s been a while

Since we shared a smile,

It’s been a while

Since we walked a mile.

Estranged

Chronicle of a Knotty Life

Is your sleep dreamless?

After a tiring day, we slump on the bed and the eyelids close transporting us to our dreamland — Many of us will describe the slumber period in similar ways. But does everyone reaches their dream world?

A dream could be several events patched into one and it can also be a short lived phenomenon reacting to an outside stimuli like voices or the sound of the TV. For instance, if one is thirsty while asleep and a dream shapes up about drinking water but somehow the parched throat refuses to seek relief to an extent that once the person wakes up the thirst is immediately realized.

 If one takes a notice, dreams change during the different phases of one's life as experts say it helps relieve the conscious mind from dwelling in a disturbing thought through a diversion. Although many might disagree as sometimes dreams are scarier than the real circumstances forcing one to wake up with a troubled mind. Well it is the case when the desires and troubled thoughts in the unconscious mind find their way into awareness through dreams, thus reliving the darkest emotions and fantasies.

That little dream might mean a lot.

Some people may have witnessed that as they grew up there's a gradual decrease of dreams to an extent that their sleep turns dreamless.  Well the answer lies in Sigmund Freud's famous interpretation — "dreams are '...disguised fulfillment of repressed wishes'." While one's young the ambitions and aspirations, how much ever impractical, knows no bound. And since not every one of the wishes can be fulfilled, the ideas slowly shifts to the unconscious mind making each wish a reality in the dreams. As one grows up, with maturity the thought process goes through a change and the wishes turn as practical as possible. So while some act upon their wishes and instincts, some do not; and the frequency of the dreams depends on it.

This brings in the question "Is your sleep dreamless?" If yes, you have understood the priority of your wishes and no more feel the need to dwell in any unfulfilled thoughts as you are content with the ways things have shaped in your life. If no, then you are dreamer even with open eyes. Act upon your wishes and instincts and by the time they turn real, you are creating space for more desires to set in. A life without aspirations might turn dull but don't turn to be a dreamer without any real efforts. After all, a real party can be enjoyed better than a party in your slumber.

Rolling Dice

Few dots on the cube,

Make our steps crude;

The winner takes it all,

Is what our minds recall.

Keep throwing the dice,

And run like mice;

Everyone knows it's a rat race,

So just have to keep the pace.

Sometimes it rolls wrong,

And we blame it on the fate;

But sometimes it rolls right

Then it is a trick of the hand?

The road has snakes,

The road has ladders too;

The snakes will bite,

And the ladder will take us to heights.

Be afraid of the snakes,

And the ladders will never come;

So roll the dice away,

And embrace the risk per se.

Chasing Happiness

Many had questioned about a recent survey in India, which found Indians to be the happiest and at the same time stressed in their lives. It is said that "happiness" and "stress" are two contradictory emotions that can't come together. But it can.

The happiness felt in a happy moment is directly proportionate to the effort put in pursuing it. As the physical and mental labor increases, an invisible chasm builds in to distance one from accepting happiness easily. Hence there remains no room for taking that moment, when all the labor has borne fruit, for granted as you have earned it. That blissful moment brings a sense of freedom and achievement that makes one pat one's own back saying "Yes I can." And the taste of that hard-earned bliss compels one to take another stressful road for another accomplishment as no easy route can bring in that sense of exhilaration. While they are happy in their lives for all the accomplishments they have had through continuous perseverance, they are stressed being on the road to accomplish further.

Marketing execs who are expected to connect on a deeper level are found using this concept to their products too. For instance, chocolate was always portrayed as an object to pleasure the sweet tongue, but today it is depicted as a valuable bliss which must be pursued and earned and not merely bought. Thomas Jefferson had rightly said "… that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is always the 'pursuit' of happiness that comes as a right, as there can never be true happiness without the 'pursuit.'

Embracing Sanguinity

Solitary road,

Dusty coat

All that was left

Was a heart full of hope.

The uncertain abyss

That no one cherish,

Was all we found

In search of something profound.

But it's never the end

As the ray of light,

Wait for us to

Show our might.

The might to resist

The urge to stop,

Or to desert the road,

Before reaching the spot.

So beam away and go on

Moving ahead for that ray of light,

That still hides behind the dark alley

Waiting for us to break in with a fight.

The Hope-Filled Road from 2012 to 2013

2012 — Well the world didn't end! In India, the year did have its share of late awakenings and many moments with an element of surprise.

Natural calamities like tsunami, cyclone, and hurricane took a further toll on the already wavering economy and the confidence on the developed regions continually diminished. And in all that the conviction toward the Asia Pacific and the middle east market for investment purpose saw a boost, a phenomenon aptly utilized by the government of India to steer in internal confidence toward its, by then, lackluster governance — sometimes it's surprising that the savior of India's worst economic turbulence in 1991, Dr. Manmohan Singh (though many argues that it was PV Narashimha Rao, who framed the policies that Manmohan Singh merely read out), took the country's economy back to the ultimate low, with internal and external deficit, during his own leadership.

However late, yet finally the government donned its reform hat to enact several reform Acts with the most debated and criticized reform being the 51% FDI in retail — the reform UPA avoided for eight years. The late awakening of the government is still in speculation as the continuance of progressive reforms in 2013 is still in question since it could also be a near-election stunt to gain the favor of the voters.

The discussions on the political stance on reforms reminds of the Anna Hazare–led movement toward anti-corruption. The Lokpal movement that saw all Indians throng the streets of the country gradually lost its fire and the feud between Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal only dimmed it more. But the RTI activist, Kejriwal, soon stood up in a new light sending threat vibes to the powerful lot.

And because of these strong vibes, the commoners or the public in general always wait for some political person or some activist like Hazare and Kejriwal to hold the beacon and lead a movement. But by surprise, the test of tolerance took its toll and everyone set their inhibitions to rest when the fatal assault on the girl in Delhi led everyone from a teenager to a 91 year old to street demanding capital punishment of the offenders. The results of the mass confrontation is yet to be seen, with several cases of harassment still coming to light.

It may be yet another year but unlike other years a new hope seems to be emerging. The notion of the powerful being untouched is once and again disproved with several charges of corruption against the political and industrial bigwigs being put forth. But that doesn't mean everyone took a back step and financial scandals were nowhere to be found. To everyone's dismay the year turned in more cases of scandals to an extent that it stopped being a prime focus. One may still remember the days when Satyam scandal, or the 2G auction scandal, was analyzed and discussed to the core for months; but today not many would remember the coal blocks allocation scandal, the Robert Vadra land-grab, the Sonia-Rahul takeover of Associated Journals, the Nitin Gadkari Purti scandal, and many more. But it only means that more watchful eyes are prying the industrial and political realms to disclose every instance of misfit deals.

In all in 2013, the hopeful eyes will await for new reforms and a new view that would somewhat free the country further from scandals and social stigmas.

Crumpling Paper Is Better Than Waging War

A disturbed mind is the house of conflict and rash decisions. And many a times the vent-out takes place in a wrong place at a wrong time — leading to a verbal war and sometimes physical too. But is waging war the solution?

Joseph Heller once said — Success and failure are both difficult to endure; along with success come drugs, divorce, fornication, bullying, travel, meditation, medication, depression, neurosis and suicide. With failure comes failure. However, Heller's perception of success and failure will not ring in true for the one who can control the mind.

Serenity could be hard to find amid the din, but it's the same din that one aspires to be a part of under the veil of making it big. Such aspirations know no bound — from achieving that top position with a hefty pay, or building one's entrepreneurial stint big for the world to recognize, to being the ideal parent to one's child or the best spouse for the better half. And on this journey of ambition, there comes frustration when unexpected curve balls come pouncing. Manipulations, failures, stress, recession, heartbreak, bad boss, boredom, lack of money, failed marriage, illness, troubled children, death, sadness, or fears — the rough patches on the road could be in any form. Many a times, instead of crossing the patches carefully one submits and digs deeper into them; thus the patches materialize into concrete problems. So, to keep oneself out of the habit of digging is a matter of one's mind.

Experts emphasize on having the right approach to express one's anxiety-filled emotions to keep the mind calm. Because often it is witnessed that one takes up destructive methods causing harm to oneself and the surroundings as a whole. As a positive effort some paint, some run, some read, and some even throw as many rags as they can in a dustbin. But the most effective as experts claim is to write a letter venting out all of the emotions in a paper and finally crumbling it and throwing it away, never to be found again. Or even best if one burns it up as researchers claim that the negativity burns away along with it.

However, mere doing of an action will not help unless one truly associates the action to train one's subconscious not to get obsessed with negative thoughts. The only remarkable and factual solution against negativity is to train one's mind positively. If negative thoughts are blocked forcibly, they become worse. They need not be  blocked but one must very calmly respond to them with positivity and observe the magnitude of the negative thoughts being depleted gradually.

Perseverance to make one's mind stay put despite troubles is all it takes to get the desired result, as a positive mind amidst all negativity is the key to success.

FDI Bedlam: From the Common Men's Eyes

Fear, Danger are the Instincts which are continuously haunting India's retail, all thanks to the 51% foreign direct investment (FDI) declaration for retail on 14^th September, 2012 and the political gimmicks taking the advantage of the same. Debates are many but are these instincts really from those whom everyone says will be affected?

Retail is always a buzzing sector, whether offline or online, but just three alphabets – 'F D I' – from the Economics book has fueled an unruly fire, mostly at a superficial political level as the political toddlers create a hue and cry to get their "power lollipop." Before starting the drum beats on the political debate, let's look at the "common man and the kirana stores" relationship to understand the situation.

The common men's retail life

My neighbor, a 60+ retired man (referred as Uncle M); my aunt, a 40+ housewife in Bangalore; my maid who has an unemployed husband and two kids; my friends at their twenties and thirties — I will take them as examples of how the common men dwell in their retail lives.

Uncle M is a huge fan of mushrooms and, till a few days back, was willing to travel even 6-10 kms to the marketplace just to get those. Because unfortunately, his near-by kirana shops could not tend to his demand. He would bring a packet of mushroom for Rs. 33 from the supermarket or incase its out he would lazily move to the mall and get some. After four months, one of the kirana shops got the same packet of mushrooms and put those up for sale at a price of Rs. 40. Instead of cribbing about the high price, Uncle M took in the opportunity and grabbed three packs immediately. His reasoning was – "Instead of going to the supermarket by paying an extra Rs. 40 to the auto-rickshaw driver, this deal is far better and less tiring."

Aunt loves the bulk shopping. She would move to the near-by shop, order the entire monthly ration, pay out and happily head for home. All the supplies turn to her door-step as the shopkeeper arranges for a free home delivery for her. She prefers her wholesome shopping sometimes even from outlets like Big Bazaar or Nilgiris or Spencer. But the load that she has to carry home makes her hesitant to make that a regular habit.

My maid being the sole provider of the family, her monthly income is barely enough to meet the needs of her family, with both of her children attending school. She maintains a hand to mouth living and has to buy things on a daily basis. She would go to her nearest kirana shop and buy few grams of daal (lentils), rice, and vegetables (optional) within a limited budget. She would have been able to buy the things may be at Rs.5-10 less at a supermarket, considering the changing weekly offers. But for 100gms of rice, or 50 grams of daal, she fees a trip to the "big" store is unnecessary and time consuming. It might come to one’s mind that why wouldn’t she stock up the cash till the end of the month and buy large quantities together at lesser cost. Her answer to that was just as expected – “If the money remains at home, by next day morning the cash will vanish. So, buying fragments of groceries on a daily basis is the only option left.

Moving on, all on-the-job friends will agree, month-ends are a mess. With Cash-strapped hands, one will be desperately eyeing the next month to begin. So, think about the debt sheets (khata) we maintain with our local shopkeeper, whereby one buys as many things as needed and the entire amount is paid at the beginning of the month as the salary drops into one's account. Isn't that a life savior sometimes when one is truly cash-strapped and some urgent house requirements needs to be meted. Can one think of maintaining a similar option with a Food bazaar, or the shops in the near-by mall? Leave Wall Mart.

Here is the fact. Majority of the consumers of Indian retail are more convenience conscious than cash conscious. Even if big foreign retail bodies like Wall Mart make an entry into the retail, our dear kirana shops will always be dear as none can replace the shopping ease they enable.

About the ongoing retail debate

While the ruling party opened up the retail to sneak in those into confidence, who wanted to see the economy thriving, it will be safe to say that it isn’t much of a reform. Foreign companies were permitted to invest in the back-end even earlier. They were barred only from the front end. If the main benefits of big retail are supposed to come from back-end ops, this option was always available to the Wal-Marts of the world. So putting a Wal-Mart board on the storefront, cannot be considered much of a reform. It’s more like improving the bottle shape of a drink for a better hold in the hands while drinking and claiming it to be a Big Bang reform. In reality, the FDI act is actually a minute part of all the so-called reforms being laid on a silver platter by the government, after four years of colossal mismanagement. The irony lies in the sudden interest only in the last year before the fates are sealed in a new election. Coming to the opposition, well to oppose seems to be their primary responsibility. Various points were raised, and hence here is a little glimpse of the primary ones.

Kirana shops can't close down

I asked some of the retail shops, why would they charge the extra cost while the supermarket (I haven't even touched the malls' grocery store prices) is charging less. With a long list of excuses each of them ended with the conclusion – "We cannot decrease prices." Well that's about it, and each time I ended up buying the groceries and coming home. Hence, the debate of kirana shops being impacted is baseless with they being undaunted by the supermarkets which are spreading branches at a speed more than a roots of a tree. In fact, each time you pinpoint of an advantage that the super market gives, the kirana shop too competes equally providing some real local benefits. Take for instance, food coupons that many super market accepts. When I pinpointed the same to one of the local shops, the next day I could see a board hanging 'Sodexo coupons accepted' in the same shop. And the likes of Wall Mart won't even have a branch spreadout like the supermarkets, so it would be even harder for them to get some regular loyal customers who would hop in to satisfy their daily needs. Once-in-a-while shopping spree is different from the regular day-to-day tight deals that people have with the local shops.

Jobs will be balanced

While some supermarkets might be at risk, many of the employment opportunities created in the newly built ones will almost balance the gap.

Self-made employers will thrive

The self-made employers are competitive and many would bring in diverse tactics to keep the customer loyal. Moreover, if it is said it will widen the gap between the rich and the poor – the gap is already widened. India going strong in the road to development, there are more chances of the gap being reduced than further widening. With that in mind, it will help emerge some new enthusiastic people, who would turn to entrepreneurism. However, if 7% GDP growth turns to be the new normal in Indian economy, many of the entrepreneurial ideas will be nipped in the bud. At least in the current situations some amount of new investment is essential. Though a mere FDI opening in retail may not achieve much, yet it should not be completely nullified.

Organized retail is a small fish that would neither threaten the livelihoods of “kirana” shops, as portrayed by the Opposition, nor would it dramatically restore the financial health of the nation, as hoped by the government. End of the day, the little baby steps in the name of reform needs to be accepted to ensure the country do not turn a victim of a xenophobic outlook and with a hope of witnessing future real reforms.

Bangalore - The City of Passion, Compassion, and Curses

Far from the maddening life of the metros when the aspiring eyes look at newspapers or Television, the word Bangalore is never just another name, rather it is — The Big City. Teeming with talent, this busy city arouses hope to make life large by dreaming big. The first step into this famous cosmopolitan city feels like stepping into a paradise. Not just a pensioner's paradise, but a paradise for the young minds.

The lucrative educational and career opportunities, all thanks to the IT and BPO boom, strengthen the passion more. And the money that has flowed in has expanded opportunities in art and culture too, with more sponsors for music, dance, and theatre. Many art galleries have sprung up and are flourishing, given the loosening purse strings of the affluent people of Bangalore. The support for NGOs for social causes has also seen a definite boost. In fact, this economic, social, and cultural progress has made Bangalore an internationally recognized city.

It's a city of compassion where everyone is given the chance to explore the possibilities. For instance, on 16th June, a Sunday, when most of the people took time to relax their senses, many in Bangalore gathered at Palace Ground to encourage a number of visually challenged at the Round Table India for Sight 2012, a 50-km car rally for visually impaired people. The drivers were assisted by visually challenged volunteers, who provided directions in Braille on how to reach the destination and come back. The rally was designed to be a time-speed-distance test.

The city's compassion is not just limited to mankind. In an event in April, Lets Live Together, a charitable trust for the welfare of homeless animals rescued 13 puppies and each of them found homes in a single day.

But progress has its own curses too. Bangalore, where people are more bound by the quest of money, has emerged as one of the most unfriendly cities in the country for senior citizens. From among 20 cities surveyed by HelpAge India, a nongovernmental organization, Bangalore ranks seventh. The story doesn’t end here. The experimenting teenagers in the city's schools have become an easy target of menacing addictions and as per a recent report of the daily newspaper DNA, 30% of students in Bangalore are drug addicts. And the sources for these tendencies range from near-by local shops to rave parties.

It's a place where opportunities galore for those who dare to dream, and everyone is busy in their quest to make their dreams come true. However the kids and the elderly, who stand to be the future and as the root of the city, respectively, are finding it hard to realize that they do play an important role in building up of a greater Bangalore. In all, Bangalore is a city that builds hope, and to some extent, crushes them too.

Pay to Click – Is it a good formula for a social networking startup?

The trend ‘Pay to click’, whereby one expects for good profits by paying the user, started at the time when there was the big crack in the Wall Street. The first time I noticed it in India was around 2 years back when an email hit my inbox. “Read your mails and get paid, register today with Rupeemail”. I went and got active for a day and lost interest – who would love to read mails and mails of ads that don’t really appeal to you? Well, that was the end of my experience with ‘Paid to click’ websites, though many more knocked my inbox time and again. But a recent status update by one of my friends about a social networking site got me thinking on this once again. The line said, come and join the new social network, where you can micro-blog too and get paid. It wasn’t making sense. It wasn’t a site with surveys or a site where hordes of ads are flung on you, rather it was more of an Indian Twitter named Foziy.com. How can they pay people for just posting statuses and commenting on each other?

Before I pinpoint the mistakes, take a glance at the way the site offered the monetary incentive for every activity. With just one ‘HI’, we get 0.2 cents. Some of us also have the habit of re-posting other’s comments or even commenting back at any given comment. Even for that one earns 0.1 cent. Infact, the person on whose comment you are commenting gets 0.1 cent.

Now, if you simply follow a person you get 0.1 cent per follower as well as the person whom you follow, who has actually done zero activity, gets the same amount. What is the logic behind rewarding people for no work of their own? For creating new groups you get 0.4 cents. For joining in other groups you would get 0.2 cents. There is also one referral programme. For each referral you get $0.25.

Definitely, they have retained the catch in the minimum payout which is $100. But considering their ease in distributing cash, if a person literally takes to minting money, there would be another five whom he would be helping to mint equally, as a result they would have ended up having many in the line claiming cash after a considerable period. Not sure how would they have paid it, considering they just had Google Ad sense ads displayed all over and if a website’s strategy was to run a business on Ad sense, the existence of the business would be at the mercy of the Almighty.

The e-business strategy is gaining momentum especially with too many web based businesses roping in the Venture Capital money in India. But just the word internet will not bring in any money. When a wholesome number of social networking websites teeming the internet business world, why do we add on another one.

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Afterall, there would be hardly anyone who would be comfortable with a social network which is scattered across the web in different sites and considering their ease with the present biggies, hardly anyone would be open for shifting the base. In a recent casual conversation with a Venture Capitalist, I got a better insight on the same. It’s no point redoing the same model, instead, now it’s the time to leverage on the horizontal approach. For instance, the currency providers within the Social networking games or introducing new payment models, as PayPal’s India reach is weakened considering some recent regulations. These are some of the most upfront ways to get into the social networking game and then move on with new innovations.

Now, with regards to Foziy.com, the site no longer seems to remain as it automatically directs the user to a domain name sale page. Hope, with a new entrepreneurial mindset and tactics they will be back in the game again.

Flat or 6 pack - Get the perfect abs in minutes

Sipping the morning coffee in front of the TV, and you chance upon ads, which pretend to give out the real secret learning from the experts to maintain your fitness. For instance, gulp down the wholesome figure toning cornflakes or avoid the real sugarcane sugar. Well, they count but for that right fit it’s not all. The expert tips are not meant for you to just sit in an arm chair with a bowl of the secret ingredient to make those extra pounds disappear. Rather mingling of the food habits with some exercise tips is most essential.

Going by the learning from the experts, exercises that test your resistance works the best. Relax your body with some brisk walking and hit the gym to try out the various machines as there are many benefits of resistance training. In today’s inactive life, where you spend more time in front of your system or the idiot box than on physical chores. Hence, it is important to ensure more physical activity via exercises like the lat pull down or even push-ups, as you act against the natural forces. So, tighten your spirit and race for the fit body or those 6 pack abs.

As a matter of fact, you don’t have to strain

your whole day to get the perfect abs, it’s a less than 10-minute job, yes just 8 minutes. So, for the 8 Minute Abs, all you need is a plain floor and yourself. Lay on the floor with a deep breath and set your mind for a rigorous exercise without a break for the next 8 minutes, after all to flaunt some set abs within minutes you have to really earn it through your efforts. Maintaining constant strain on your abs is the key. Begin with some basic abdominal crunches, by placing your hands behind or beside the neck or crossed over the chest. Bend your knee and slowly begin to curl your shoulders, without the support of your back, towards the pelvis. Continue the same movement for atleast 40 times to get the body accustomed to the movement and then move to the next level. The same abs movement with a twist, whereby you can start turning your torso in a way that your left elbow turns towards your right knee and your right elbow turns towards the left knee. Continue the same for atleast 25 times and just feel the difference. The perfect abs has just started to show up.

If the short exercise, a key learning from the experts, fails to lure you, there are claims of effective 6 second abs. However, there is a catch. The 6 seconds considered is just the time for you to use an abs machine to burn out the extra pounds, but those six seconds come with a tight dietary schedule and a 30-minute mandatory exercise. Keep a strict watch on your actions as fitness is a very personal affair.

I Always Thought We are in a Smart Era... Until this..

'Smart' – the word has supposedly become a part & parcel of today’s life. Smart – phone, Smart – TV, Smart – PC, ofcourse, I’m keeping the regular societal doses of being ‘Smart like him/her’ out of discussion. So, re-routing myself to the topic, I have always wondered at the way this Smart syndrome has taken its course in our daily activities. Right From, cutting down on the morning blues like - the morning alarm, that doesn’t stops till you are dead awake, or the day’s schedules, breakfast 5 mins recipes, world news being right in your palms; To connecting to the whole world within seconds through Skype, Facebook, Twitter and if you are one of those with heavy bucks to spare not to mention the tele-presence fascination. And as we return to our cosy beds in the night, even then many of us don’t let go of our smart devices like still clinging on to the iPods to listen to the melodious tunes that work as lullabies to put us across to sleep. That’s the kind of a world we are in..

So, you must be wondering, what made me think we are no more in a smart era.. Well, it’s because of a day’s experience. Recently, may be a month back, as I was running around different interviews to get the right step ahead, an interview at an MNC amazed me. MNC – the abbreviation always connoted to me a very technology proficient environment, with defined work ethics. So, as the mail of the opening for an editorial position hit my inbox, I smilingly took to it. I reached and was immediately shown to a huge room meant only for daily interviews and was asked to be seated in front of a system. I began to fiddle with the computer trying to switch it on, but all it says – ‘a video cable is disconnected’. Tried all tricks, there was a small box, seeing which I immediately recognized that it’s a shared system, and started seeing if fiddling with that helps me switch it on. But to no avail.. So, I resumed to my original position and started gazing around, and saw everyone busy filling up some papers. It felt weird, as everyone had a system. They were giving tests for some other technical jobs.

After a wait of around 2 hrs, finally my test began. And Whoa.. what do I see, the system in which I sat, was never meant to be used.. In fact, the HR promptly handed me an introduction sheet, to fill up things which I have already mentioned in my Resume, except for the CTC. Till then still it was not quite odd. But then what came, reminded me of my school/college exams. At least, in exams they gave separate answer-sheets to write, here it was not even so. As it was an editorial test, I was supposed to re-arrange certain paras and correct the sentences and include information such as statistics meaningfully in those paras. All that I was supposed to do in a limited white space provided between the paras. And if that space was not enough, they gave me enough liberty to use the backside of the page. Which meant I have to read the para lines on the first page and redo the lines on the 2^nd page.. SO SIMPLE.. ‘I’m so thankful to them!!!” There was a quarterly report to be edited, some paragraphs to be redone, some ambiguous phrases needed to be rewritten..3 sets of question papers with around 14 pages each as a whole was to be rewritten, while aptly using my editorial skills within two hours.

I was just wondering, “Does anyone here know Microsoft Office, and a little but a life-saving tool for editorial people within it called ‘MS WORD’? What would have they lost if they simply resorted to WORD?”

Soon after the test, which I had to stretch for 4 hrs, the test materials were taken, stapled along with the resume and introduction sheet, to be delivered to the people who would review it. Was this entire manual process necessary? Had the test been taken in the Word, introduction sheet too would have been filled as a separate Word Sheet, and had the resume been obtained online, all three could have been neatly attached and mailed to whoever was supposed to review it. If this too looked too burdensome, a simple in-house software could have been used, wherein one tap at the ‘Submit’ button would have directed the documents to the mail box of all, especially when the concerned person is somewhere in US. Even all that printing of more than 50 pages for each candidate could have been avoided, considering the ‘Green Revolution’ (Yes, that’s there that Go Green is more of a Fashion statement, that corporates are resorting to, to get into the good books like Forbes or Times) but still this is definitely not a good green statement. And above all, it would have definitely made a normal tech-oriented person’s life like mine much easier.

Even now I wonder