‘It is advisable to invest in Titwala’ Answers queries on Home Buying, 2nd Homes and Property Investments

‘It is advisable to invest in Titwala’

Answers queries on Home Buying, 2nd Homes and Property Investments



I am planning to buy 1BHK flat (650 area) in Titwala at the rate of 2700 per sq ft. Currently my budget is 18 Lacs. Please advise me whether should I invest or not.
– Neelam Singh
I would advise you to invest as the rates in the far flung vicinity of Mumbai have been on the rise on the back of good demand. It will prove to be a good investment in the long run.

I have found a affordable Investment option near Panvel. It falls in the Gram Panchayat area. Are there any problems to Invest in such area and can the builder carry out work smoothly?
—Hreekanth Madhukar Sapte
Although the location may be in Gram Panchayat area, all permissions for the same have to be approved and passed by the Town Planning Department and Collector. The Gram Panchayat has no powers to approve any plan. Secondly, since its in the Gram Panchayat area the local municipal corporation is not obligated to provide utilities like water supply, sewage lines and garbage collection. You need to check the source of water supply and provisions for sewage management and garbage clearance. The ability of the developer to carry on work smoothly depends on the developers ability and financial position irrespective of where the project is located.

I am getting a very good deal in Andheri West for a 2bhk flat. However the said building is 8 years old and still does not have an occupation certificate. Is it safe to buy in such a building or what issues can I encounter? – Mr. Dhiren
Occupation Certificate is the most important document to be obtained by any developer before handing over possession of the building to residents. In fact the municipal corporation is not obligated to provide utility services for buildings without an occupation certificate. It would not be advisable to get into the transaction under such circumstances. You may check if there is any violation of building plans due to which the building has not got an occupation certificate.

Hi, I am settled in US and read your column regularly through epaper. I was looking to invest some money in Mumbai real estate. Through which medium is it possible to do so without physically having to flydown there? – Mr. Chetan
You can browse through property websites, take the help of brokers on the ground. Relatives are of great help at such times. If you are not going to come down to transact, you will certainly need a Power of Attorney holder in India to transact and sign off documents and complete the legal process on your behalf.

Funding your new home in 2012 A checklist of things to consider while taking a home loan on Installments

Funding your new home in 2012

A checklist of things to consider while taking a home loan on Installments

Buying your dream home is now easier than ever before. More and more people now are opting to buy a house when they are very young. One of the reasons for this is the fact that it is now easy to get a home loan. There are more options for home loans than ever before - over a hundred at least, if you add all the banks and housing finance companies. In such a scenario, how does one decide which home loan provider to go with? Here is a check list of factors that you must consider before making that decision.

Loan amount:
Different loan providers have different ways of determining the loan amount that they are willing to sanction to an individual. In the event that you are not able to get the loan that you need from one provider, you could check with one or two others. The loan amount, however, is limited to 80% of the value of the property being purchased.

Loan tenure
Most borrowers want to pay off their loans as soon as possible and opt for short tenure with high EMIs. However for a young borrower, it is advisable to opt for a longer tenure; the longer the tenure of the loan, the lower the monthly installment payable. One can however choose to prepay the loan whenever there are funds available. Most home loan providers today do not charge any penalty for pre-closure of home loans.

Rates, fees and charges
You should check the cost of your loan under various heads, before making your choice. These include - the interest rate payable on the loan, the one-time fee, documentation or stamping fees and prepayment fee when you close the loan.

Interest rates in the economy
Over the past year and a half the RBI has increased the policy rates several times; the home loan rates for prime borrowers have increased from 8.25% in early 2010 to 11.25% now. This has resulted in EMIs going up by 25%. Hence, at the time of availing the loan, one needs to be prepared for the possibility that interest rates may further go up and budget for the increase in EMIs.

Insure your home loan
It is advisable to insure your home loan so in the event of any unfortunate event, your family is spared the additional financial pressure of repaying the home loan.The insurance premium can be funded by the home loan provider and you can pay the same along with your monthly installments.

Tax benefits
There are tax benefits available on the interest as well as the principal repaid on a home loan. These benefits are available for self occupied as well as rented property. It is important to understand the tax benefits that you will be eligible for when you take a home loan. The tax saved could be used to plan for a higher loan amount
Over and above all these factors, you should ensure that your financial situation is comfortable enough to ensure a committed monthly repayment of your installment for an extended period of time. Wish you all the best as you make your choice.

Ghansoli Mahotsav. Mahotsavs are a fantastic community connect idea Politicians hold mahotsavs to ‘connect’ with people, artisans come to sell their ware and people come to enjoy

Mahotsavs are a fantastic community connect idea

Politicians hold mahotsavs to ‘connect’ with people, artisans come to sell their ware and people come to enjoy



The political parties of Navi Mumbai are organising Mahotsavs in order to be closer to the people. Through the various organised events, political personalities are trying to develop a ‘connection’ with their people.
The recently concluded Konkan Mahotsav at Seawoods, organised by the Shiv Sena, had set up food stalls selling lip-smacking Konkani delicacies and also included other cultural performances.
“On the birthday of Bal Thackeray on January 23, we organised an Utsav for the citizens to make them aware of the party’s social and cultural work. Our aim was also to help the Konkani people to directly sell their products in a good market.
“We also wanted to connect with the believers of Shiv Sena and new residents living in the city. We are also planning a food festival in Diwali, highlighting five regional specialties of Maharashtra,” said Sameer Ameen Bagwan, Shiv Sena Shakha Pramukh of Seawoods.
Urban Haat is known to organize various cultural fairs like Shravan mela, Vasant mela, Chaitra mela, Makar Sankrant mela, Gandhi Shilp mela, Konkan Saras mela, among others.
“The melas are organised to help artisans sell their products directly to customers, thus eliminating the middlemen. This is a good opportunity for exporters and bulk buyers to come in contact with real artisans. Moreover, these melas enable the people of Navi Mumbai to come together and interact with each other as well as revisit various cultures of our country under one roof,” says KSV Nair, the manager of Urban Haat.
The other interaction festivals are Agri Koli Mahotsav, an annual festival organised by Namdeo Bhagat in Nerul and the Chowpati Festival organised by Avinash and Pranali Lad, in December 2011. The latter involved performances of Marathi cultural and folk dances like Lavni, etc., in order to make the new generation aware of the rich and vibrant cultural heritage of the state.

“The main purpose of the Chowpati Festival was to bring together socially and financially weaker sections of society. Not everyone in the city can spend thousands of bucks to celebrate festivals and expensive parties. In the two day festival, all these people can enjoy and have a great time together; since they too have the right to rejoice. It is our duty to know our people and understand their problems, which the festival helps us to do,” said Avinash Lad, the organizer of the festival. The Ghansoli Mahotsav is just another example of the togetherness and cultural belongingness among people residing in Navi Mumbai.

“This festival is a unique effort made by us to bring all the communities residing in the village on one common platform where they can be reminded of our rich culture and heritage,” said Deepak Dagdu Patil, the founder and president of the Ghansoli Mahotsav.

Inside Apple, one of the most secretive organisations A new book lifts the lid on what it’s really like to work for it

Inside Apple, one of the most secretive organisations

A new book lifts the lid on what it’s really like to work for it


A 12,000-person mile-round glass mothership is about to land in the heart of Silicon Valley.
Futuristic, with its own self-contained electricity plant: plans for Apple’s new disc-shaped headquarters encompass the lasting legacy of the late Steve Jobs — a slick design, with an uber-efficient core.
Over the years, dozens of technophiles have made the pilgrimage to One Infinite Loop, Apple’s current base in Cupertino, in the hope of getting under the skin of the highly-secretive company.
Few make it inside the main Apple building. A throng of security guards greets them instead, escorting them back onto the sidewalk, sometimes pointing them in the direction of the on-campus shop where they can buy a token Apple T-Shirt.
But a new book, released in the UK this week, finally gives a non-partisan insight into life as an Apple employee. And it isn’t what most expect.
According to Inside Apple, Apple is a glut of windowless offices, a neutering of egos and an ethos of fear with “cultish” overtones.
“Apple doesn’t talk about Apple. Apple talks about Apple products,” Adam Lashinsky, author of the book and editor of Fortune magazine, told The Daily Telegraph.
Perhaps for good reason; the illusion of a free-spirited workforce sitting around on bean bags playing on the latest gizmos before they have their free lunch would be shattered.
Instead, a dictatorial CEO rules with an iron fist, Lashinsky said. Employees don’t ask questions and they leave their egos at the door. There is only one person who was allowed to have a public ego and that was Steve Jobs, he said.
“It is a tough place to work. It is not a joyous place the way Google presents itself,” Lashinsky said. “It’s not a particularly happy place but it breeds people who can thrive in that environment. It’s a pressure-cooker and some people like that.”
Apple employees are like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle and the only person who knows how to fit the pieces together is the CEO, a role Steve Jobs held until it was handed to Tim Cook last year.
Amid the wires, nodules and circuit board designs, is a company that is so clandestine, its own workers don’t know what they are creating, he said.
Windowless chambers, called lock-down rooms, are the only place where the next iPad or iPhone can be discussed, and even then senior vice-presidents only enter the room to discuss their part in a design before being asked to leave, he said.
Information is strictly restricted to a select 100, hand-picked by Steve Jobs himself.
When it comes to product launch day, Apple employees gather around the television in the cafeteria to find out about the new product. They will be as surprised as everyone else despite having helped build it, said Lashinsky. Daily Telegraph

Wedge gives Tablet S the edge Sony is late to the tablet market, but it has used the time well to churn out a device with a unique design,

Wedge gives Tablet S the edge

Sony is late to the tablet market, but it has used the time well to churn out a device with a unique design,

Sony launched the Tablet S, its first tablet, recently. Unlike the plain slate design of other tablets, it has a unique wedge design, one of the best features of the Tablet S. Sony has also tweaked the Android Honeycomb operating system (OS) to great effect, improving the experience significantly. I have been using the Tablet S for a week now and have grown to like it.

Design and hardware
First, the wedge design. The Tablet S feels like it has been folded back at one end, like you would fold a book. When held in landscape mode, the top edge is thicker, tapering out towards the bottom. So when you place it on a table, the screen is at a slight incline, which helps while typing. Importantly, despite being thicker on one end the Tablet S matches the iPad 2 in weight.

The design also helps in another way — the power and volume buttons as well as the microUSB and SD card slots are nicely tucked away in the fold. The speakers are mere slits on the body, and are louder than even laptop speakers.
I had expected the design to be problematic when the tablet is held in portrait mode. While reading a book from the Kindle app, however, I found the grip was good and the tablet was well balanced in my hand.
The Tablet S has a 9.4-inch screen, which is unlike most tablets that have 10.1 inch screen. I couldn’t tell if this lends any advantages while using the tablet. The display itself is bright and renders colours well. Visibility in direct sunlight, however, is poor.

Software
Sony has opted for an entirely different keyboard design. Some of the handy buttons include the right and left arrow keys, and the numpad which appears while typing a password.
Sony has replaced the default icons of apps. This I wasn’t too happy with. The icons are simply too blocky. On the plus side, there is a lot of white space between individual icons. Another tweak worth mentioning is the ‘Favourites’ page. On most Android tablets, tapping ‘Favourites’ brings up a carousel with apps. Sony has replaced the carousel with simple tiles, which I found easier to navigate.
The Tablet S does come with a few pre-installed apps. The most interesting one here is Remote Control, which, you guessed it, turns the tablet into an infra-red remote control for devices around the house.
The tablet is also Playstation-certified, which means that Playstation One and PSP games can be played online on the device. Two games, Crash Bandicoot and Pinball Heroes, come bundled with the device.
Working on the Tablet S is as smooth as the Galaxy Tab 10.1, which is one of the best Android-based tablets. But the Sony device does render some webpages rather slowly. The scrolling in such pages is jerky. I found this in one of Sony’s own webpages called SelectApp.

Verdict
On the software end, Sony has done a good job, but it definitely needs improvements, especially the browsing. Despite the few chinks, if you are considering buying an Android-based tablet, the Tablet S is worth a dekko.

Good 7-inch tablets are tough to find these days with the BlackBerry Playbook and the HTC Flyer being the only worthy options above Rs.20,000.

Bang-for-buck tab


Good 7-inch tablets are tough to find these days with the BlackBerry Playbook and the HTC Flyer being the only worthy options above Rs.20,000.
Samsung has now thrown in a third option with this recently launched Galaxy Tab 620, a second coming of the original Tab P1000. The Korean giant has noticed a gap in the market and has struck hard this time with an offering that seems really hard to beat. The 7-inch tablet takes many of the design cues from the Tab 750 and is a lot lighter and slimmer than before.
This also happens to be the only 7-inch tablet in the market to run Android Honeycomb with an ICS update on the cards. Due to this, there aren’t any capacitive buttons the front, just the volume rocker and sleep button on the side. The form factor makes it super easy to hold and carry around which is perfect if you read a lot of eBooks or watch video on the go. The screen is bright, with a good color reproduction making it easy to use indoors and out.
The tablet features Samsung’s TouchWiz UX interface which is either a love or hate thing. Other than minor lags that creep in, the interface is otherwise very smooth and fluid. You get all the little ticks like Motion Gestures and Color Tone settings for UI as well as excellent media playback in the form of FLAC and Full HD video support (MKV, AVI, etc), out-of-the-box, something that was lacking in the Tab 750. All this is possible thanks to the Exynos dual-core CPU onboard, the same one found in the Galaxy S II.
Samsung has got you covered on the connectivity front as the Tab 620 features full GSM and 3G support (HSDPA 21Mbps) including the ability to make voice calls. The Wi-Fi is also dual-band with support for Wi-Fi Direct. We also have Bluetooth 3.0 and 16 GB of built-in storage with along with a hot-swappable microSD card support up to 32GB. The camera is a bit of a letdown as its only 3MP and the sensor isn’t able to pick up a lot details and colors accurately. The flash helps a bit with close-up shots but overall, it’s pretty average. On the other hand, the Tab 620 has quite an impressive battery life and will easily last you about two days even with heavy usage.

You can find the Galaxy Tab 620 for a smidge under Rs.27,000, so it’s more expensive than the Flyer or the Playbook but you also get a lot more in return. If you’re looking for solid, good performing 7-inch tablet, then you really can’t go wrong with this one.

Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman, the best Android under Rs.15K?

Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman, the best Android under Rs.15K?

Budget Android phones of today have comes along way since they days of cheap and tacky bodies with resistive screens. These days, Tier I companies are finally opening up to the idea of budget friendly Android phones that can hold a candle to the higher-end counterparts.
Sony Ericsson has stated in the past that it plans to do away with feature phones altogether and go the smartphone route, all the way across their lineup and their new Live with Walkman is the a step in that direction. Priced below Rs.15,000, it looks like formidable on paper and gives every other phone in this range a run for their money, so let’s see what it’s like to live with.
Carrying forth the legacy of the ‘Walkman’ brand, the WT19i has a very chic look, especially in white, which will certainly fly well with the ladies. The phone is very well built and curvaceous all around so no sharp edges. It’s also quite light at 115 gram. Other than the row of shortcut buttons at the bottom, we have a volume rocker and camera shutter button on the right. The sleep/wake button and dedicated music shortcut button finds its way around the 3.5mm headphone jack on the top.
The 3.2-inch screen may be a little small if you have chubby fingers and the resolution is a tad low but not a deal breaker. The screen does not get the Bravia Engine treatment since like the other Xperia phones but the display is bright and glass is scratch-resistant. You get a 5 megapixel auto-focus snapper in the back and VGA front camera. The main cam is capable of 720p video recording which is good. Still photos are good during the day, however indoor and night shots quite a bit of noise. The LED flash helps a bit but isn’t too powerful for distant shots.

The phone is super quick and Android Gingerbread is fluid with hardly any lag. This is thanks to the 1GHz CPU onboard and ample RAM onboard. Other than quad-band, it supports 3G, Wi-Fi with DLNA and Bluetooth, so connectivity is pretty much sorted. The main feature of the WT19i is the audio and being a ‘Walkman’ branded phone, you get Sony’s xLOUD enhancement which makes the audio a lot richer, louder and the bass punchier. The effect is easily felt through headphone and the speaker. Battery Life is slightly disappointing here and although it will last you an entire day of heavy usage, we expected it to do better. The Live with walkman goes for a street price of Rs.14,500 and for this, you really can’t ask for a better phone. What’s more? You get a 4GB card, a free pair of headphones (other than the headset) and a promise for and Ice Cream Sandwich update down the road. So in a nutshell, this is ‘the’ best Android phone for this price and we give it two thumbs up!

Galaxy Nexus Ultimate Android

Galaxy Nexus Ultimate Android



For the last couple of years, Google has reserved the “Nexus” label for smartphones that provide the purest experience of its Android operating system.
Meanwhile, Samsung has used the “Galaxy” brand on its top-of-the-line mobile devices.
So what do you get when you marry the two and put the result on the best 4G network? The Galaxy Nexus, a superphone that is still somehow a little less than the sum of its considerable parts.
The Galaxy Nexus is the first device to ship with Android 4.0, or in Google’s dessert-based nomenclature, ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’. It is supposed to blend the separate cellphone (‘Froyo’, ‘Gingerbread’) and tablet (‘Honeycomb’) flavours of Android’s operating systems.
The idea is to simplify things both for developers, who otherwise have to worry that apps written for one version of Android won’t run on another, and for consumers, giving them a similar experience no matter what kind of device they’re using.
Apple, not surprisingly, set the bar here with one operating system — iOS — running iPads, iPhones and iPod Touches.
No physical buttons
The Nexus phone is mercifully free from the proprietary user interfaces and apps that manufacturers and carriers often lard atop Android. And Ice Cream Sandwich brings some welcome enhancements.
Physical buttons are out. In their place are on-screen back, home and recent-apps controls that rotate along with the display when you turn the phone into portrait mode. You can also create folders of apps by stacking them one atop the other, and — as on Honeycomb tablets — summon thumbnail images of open apps with the recent button. If you see one you don’t need, a sideways finger flick dismisses it.
One major innovation isn’t so successful: Face Unlock, which theoretically allows you to unlock your phone simply by holding it up to your face and letting it recognise you. It’s a neat trick when it works, but I repeatedly got error messages telling me I couldn’t be recognised. Take it from me: Few things in technology are as depressing as being rejected by your own phone.
Insecure
Some users, meanwhile, have reported being able to fool the feature by holding up a photo of themselves; even Google warns during the set-up process that Face Unlock is less secure than other ways of protecting your phone.
As for the Galaxy Nexus hardware, it’s handsome without being particularly distinctive. The nicest feature is the big 4.65-inch screen that, typically for Samsung devices, is absolutely gorgeous, with deep blacks and ultra-rich colors. My main complaint was the automatic-brightness level, which is supposed to adjust to ambient light but that I found consistently too dim for my tastes. Eventually, I went into the settings and disabled it.
Under the hood is a dual-core Texas Instruments processor, plus a gigabyte of memory and 32 gigs of storage. There are also 1.3-megapixel front and 5-megapixel rear-facing cameras, and it shoots video in full 1080p high-definition. The whole package is still only a third of an inch thick and weighs about 135 gram. And unlike iPhones, the Galaxy Nexus’s battery is user-replaceable, and carry a spare.
Because of Google’s open-to-all-manufacturers approach, it’s hard for any Android phone to match the seamlessness of an iPhone, Research In Motion’s BlackBerry or even devices running Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7. Perhaps, that will change after Google takes control of handset-maker Motorola Mobility Holdings.
Until then, the Galaxy Nexus comes closer than anything yet to providing the definitive Android experience. Bloomberg

Kobian launches Mercury mTab Neo


Kobian’s new Mercury mTab Neo, a seven-inch tablet, comes with a 1 GHz dual-core processor, Android OS, in-built 3G module and SIM support, which allows free access to internet anywhere, anytime. The SIM also allows voice calling through the mobile network, and supports Bluetooth 3.0 (read hands-free voice-call and file- and music-sharing). Other features include the multi-touch HD screen, 4GB internal storage, up to 32GB microSD card, HDMI video output, dual speakers, dual camera (0.3M front and 2MP rear), 4000mAh battery, I/O slots of mini-USB and TF Card. Priced `15,999; available ex-stock with one-year warranty.

चॅटिंगसाठी खुश्कीचे मार्ग! For chatting secret ways in Marathi

 चॅटिंगसाठी खुश्कीचे मार्ग!

चॅटिंग करणं, फाइल सेव्ह करणं किंवा डिलिट करणं ही कामसुद्धा सहज-सोपी करता येतात. शिवाय संभाव्य धोकेसुद्धा टाळता येतात. हे सारे करायचे कसे याचा घेतलेला वेध...
........

सध्या इंटरनेटवर काम करताना चॅटिंगवर जास्त भर दिला जातो. माहितीच्या या महाजालातूत माहिती मिळविण्याऐवजी मित्रमैत्रिणीशी जीटॉक अथवा याहू मेसंेजर अथवा एमएसएन मेसेजरवरून गप्पा मारण्यात अनेकांचा वेळ जातो. हा इंटरनेटचा दुरुपयोग आहे असे म्हटले तर काहीजणांना राग येईल. पुढेमागे 'इंटरनेट : शाप की वरदान' असा विषय निबंधासाठी शाळेत आला तर आशर्य वाटायला नको. असो.

हे चॅटिंग स्वत:च्या मालकीच्या कम्प्युटरवरून होते आहे तोपर्यंत फारसा धोका नाही. परंतु, दुसऱ्याच्या मशीनवरून करत असाल तर तुमचे संभाषण अथवा मेल पासवर्ड तिथे सेव्ह होण्याची शक्यता असते. यासाठी एक काम करा. 'मीबो डॉट कॉम'वर जा. कोणताही ब्राऊझर ओपन करा आणि 'मीबो डॉट कॉम' टाइप करा. याहू, गूगल टॉक, मायस्पेस आणि एमएसएन असे चारही मेसेंजर एकदम दिसतील. तुमचे अकाऊंट जिथे आहे तिथे लॉगऑन करा आणि चॅटिंग करा. तुम्ही एकदा का ब्राऊझर क्लोज केलात की आधीचे सर्व रेकॉर्ड निघून जाईल. मग आपल्या मागावर कोणी आहे का याची काळजी करण्याचे कारण नाही.

आपण काम करताना अनेक फाइल्स सेव्ह करत असतो. बऱ्याच काळानंतर त्या फाइल्स आपल्याला नकोशा होतात किंवा त्यांची खरोखरच आवश्यकता नसते. अशा वेळी त्या आपण डिलिट करायला जातो. परंतु असा मेसेज येतो की 'यू कॅन नॉट डिलिट धिस फाइल बिकॉज इट इज इन यूज'. आपण चक्रावतो. कारण आपण ती फाइल वापरत नाही, तरी ती वापरात आहे असे कम्प्युटर साांगतो. अशा वेळी कंट्रोल ऑल्ट डिलिट एकदम दाबून विंडोज टास्क मॅनेजर ओपन करा. ती विशिष्ट फाइल वापरात आहे का ते बघा. कारण तुमच्या नकळत बॅकग्राऊंडला शेकडो फाइल्स कार्यरत असतातच. विंडोजच्या अशा फाइल्स चालू राहणे अपरिहार्यच असते. टास्क मॅनेजर ओपन झाला तर प्रोसेसेसवर क्लिक करून कायकाय चालू आहे ते पाहा. तुम्हाला नको असणारी फाइल क्लिक करून 'एंड प्रोसेस' असे म्हणा. टास्क मॅनेजर बंद करा आणि मग तुम्हाला जी फाइल डिलिट करायची आहे ती डिलिट करा. एवढे करूनही ती डिलिट होत नसेल तर मशीन रिस्टार्ट करून पाहा. या संदर्भात 'अनलॉकर' नावाचा चकटफु प्रोग्राम डाऊनलोड करता येतो. हा प्रोग्राम तुम्हाला हवी असलेली फाइल रिलिज करतो. मात्र एक महत्त्वाची गोष्ट लक्षात ठेवा. टास्क मॅनेजरमधील कोणती प्रोसेस थांबवायची याची पक्की माहिती असल्याशिवाय ती थांबवायच्या भानगडीत पडू नका. अन्यथा विंडोज सिस्टिम बिघडण्याची शक्यता असते.

आपण एखाद्या ब्राऊझरमध्ये काम करत असताना तो अचानक स्लो चालायला लागतो आणि मग 'काल तर बरा होता', असे म्हणण्याची पाळी येते. यातले गुन्हेगार हे ब्राऊझरमधले अॅडऑन्स आहेत. हे अॅडऑन्स पी असले तरी ब्राऊझरचे वजन वाढवतात. एखाद्या वाहनात जिथे पाच माणसे बसू शकतात तिथे भरपूर वजनाची दहा माणसे बसविली की अनावश्यक वजनामुळे गाडी स्पीड घेत नाही. तसेच ब्राऊझरचे आहे. म्हणून अनावश्यक अॅडऑन्स डिलिट करणे आवश्यक आहे. तुम्ही आयई वापरत असाल तर एक काम करा. टूल्सवर क्लिक करून मॅनेज अॅडऑन्स आणि मग एनेबल ऑर डिसेबल अॅडऑन्सवर जा. तुमच्या ब्राऊझरमध्ये कोणकोणते प्लगइन्स वा इतर प्रोग्राम डाऊनलोड झाले आहेत ते पाहा. अनावश्यक प्रोग्राम डिसएबल करा. ते डिलिट करण्याची गरज नाही. मोजके आवश्यक अॅडऑन्स ठेवले तर ब्राऊझर पुन्हा वेगाने काम करायला लागेल.

Man to run from the Gateway to India Gate with tricolour in hand

Man to run from the Gateway to India Gate with tricolour in hand



Mumbai-based Khalid Qureshi has come up with a unique way to celebrate Republic Day this year.
The 40-year-old will embark upon a 1,950km run between Mumbai and New Delhi holding the national flag.
“I am hoping to subtly take the message of patriotism to every Indian, irrespective of region and religion,” says Qureshi who is urging individuals, educational and religious institutions, and business houses to display the tricolour at their homes or offices every day.
Qureshi, who works as a senior ticket collector with the Western Railway, has a packed itinerary over the next few weeks.
His journey will begin on January 26 from the Gateway of India in Mumbai and culminate at the India Gate in New Delhi. He will run across 10 cities in 80 days, covering 30km to 40km daily.
“I am proud and honoured to be a citizen of this country which is so culturally diverse and possesses a rich history. I am taking my love for India a step further through this endeavour,” said the Borivli resident who has been training for the big day for the last three months. “I carry the tricolour and run 24km every day at the national park. Most joggers can now identify with me and my cause.”
Qureshi has a team of 20 people who have volunteered their time to make his mission successful. Several members of the crew, including a cook, a helper and an engineer-cum-photographer, will be travelling along with him in a van.

‘Godrej Consumer will increase ad spend’

‘Godrej Consumer will increase ad spend’

Last Saturday, the homegrown toilet soap and hair dye major Godrej Consumer Products (GCP) decided to sell a 4.9% stake to Singapore’s Temasek Holdings through the latter’s wholly-owned subsidiary Baytree Investments for `685 crore. It plans to spend a portion of this inflow on a 60% stake in Cosmetica Nacional (2011 turnover: $36 million), the market leader in the hair colour market in Chile, South America. This will mark GCP’s tenth acquisition in the last five years. GCP will pay nine times Cosmetica’s EBIDTA of 20% (about `200 crore) for the stake. Since 2006, GCP has acquired hair colour company Rapidol and hair accessory maker Kinky in South Africa, personal care company Tura in Nigeria, household insecticide major Megasari in Indonesia, South American hair care companies Issue Group and Argencos, Indian personal and fabric care brands Swastik and Genteel, and more recently, African hair care firm Darling. For the December-ended quarter, the company reported a 36% increase in net sales at `1,344 crore, and a net profit growth of 41% at `167 crore, with volume growth of 12% in the Indian business. Adi Godrej, chairman of GCP, spoke to Shailaja Sharma while making the announcements about Temasek and Cosmetica. Excerpts from the interview: What prompted stake sale to Temasek at this stage? We have done a lot of acquisitions. We have done a major acquisition in Africa called the Darling Group. The first phase is being completed. The second phase will be done in September of this year and the third phase will be in September 2013. With the Chilean acquisition, we will need more funding in order to ensure that our balance sheet remains very healthy and the debt-equity ratio is under control. We thought this was a good time to raise equity. Temasek showed interest in a private placement at a premium. It also saves us on cost instead of raising a QIP, et cetera. So our board accepted the Temasek offer and we will go ahead with it over the next two months. You have scooped ten acquisitions in the last five years with half of them in the last year alone. What has changed at the company? Has it become more ambitious or are opportunities seen more now? There are a lot of opportunities and clearly we are fortunate that many of these possibilities arrived at the right time for us. Many of them fitted in very well with us. And the very good news is that all of them have been extremely accretive, it has helped our results. In our third quarter results, our sales increased by 36%. Our profit, after taking the cost of acquisitions into account, increased 41%. I think what has changed (at GCP) is, we have acquired a lot of very good young talent. We are a very strong management team and they have done excellent work and are able to drive very successfully the growth of the company. Normally, it’s not easy when you are growing at such a rapid pace, but our team has done a very good job. When would the actual richness of payback start coming in from the acquisitions? It’s already starting. We’re very happy with our performance and the acquisitions. Our stock price has gone up, our sales and our profits have gone up. You added a lot of new faces to the company and a lot many new people would have come under the company as a result of your recent acquisitions. Are there any challenges in managing people? Oh yes, of course many people have (joined GCP). There are always challenges. There are always a lot of learnings also. We have learnt a lot also from our acquisitions. Overall, however, we have done exceedingly well. Strong growth and a spate of acquisitions. Have you taken people by surprise? Well, I don’t want to comment. Only they can comment. But Godrej Consumer Products has had the good fortune to increase shareholder value very considerably, in terms of market capitalisation and share price over the last ten years, over the last five years as well as over the last three years. So, in the fast moving consumer goods space in India, we have been the fastest growing (company), in terms of shareholder value creation. In a highly penetrated category like toilet soaps, you have seen 18% volume growth in the third quarter. Is that sustainable? That is difficult to say. I don’t want to predict the future. But we have increased our market share very considerably over the last five years. Overall, the category hasn’t grown that much, but in soaps, we are doing extremely well because we provide really good value for money to the consumer. We produce only pure soap; a lot of our competitors add talc to soap. We don’t. I think consumers are realising the better quality of our soaps and using more of our products.   What kind of investments will go towards innovation in the near future? We have very strong teams working on innovations. We are working on product innovation; we are working on process innovation, strategy innovations. Our R&D team is extremely strong. We have a lot of innovations coming out of the international companies we have bought. For instance, in Indonesia, the company (Megasari) has developed a tremendous new household insecticide — it’s a paper which you just burn for five minutes, and it keeps the room free of mosquitoes for six-eight hours. It is very economical. It has already captured 10% of the market from coils in Indonesia. In Argentina, we are the world’s largest manufacturer of creme hair colour in sachets which is doing very well. There is a lot of innovation coming out of our Indian laboratories and marketing groups. We spend between 1-2% of our sales on R&D.   How do you see the company in the next decade? We have a ten-by-ten strategy in Godrej Consumer Products. We want to be ten times our present size in ten years’ time. Which means compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26%.   Will that also prove challenging? Yes, challenging but doable. What would be your concerns? There are challenges. Clearly, the euro zone crisis is affecting global growth. Our reform programme hasn’t moved as fast as one would have liked to see it. We’ve been growing well in spite of the situation. But if the situation improves, as I think it will, and if the Indian GDP growth improves, as I think it will in 2012, we could do even better. Most of your brands fall in the mass segment. A lot of consumer companies now are focusing on serving the ‘bottom-of-the-pyramid’ consumer. Why now? Bottom-of-the-pyramid is extremely important because a large part of the Indian population is still (in the) low-income (bracket). Every family wants to consume a lot of products. What is constraining is their income. If you can provide value-for-money products which are good in quality, which satisfy their requirements, then there is a huge market. For example, our hair colour sachets sell for `12 and they compete with international products which sell for `300 - something difficult for most Indians to even think of, leave alone buy.   Are advertising spends likely headed for moderation? No, we are increasing our advertising spends all the time. We spend about 8-10% of our revenues on it. There will not be any moderation. We will probably increase our advertising spends. Can you throw some light on the pro-gress you’ve made in the ongoing efforts to increase penetration in rural India? The Godrej Group has about 500 million consumers who use one or the other of our products each day. And there are about three million stores which stock our products. Most of them are in rural areas. Penetrating into rural India is very important. The rural consumers’ income is growing. And what’s most important is, the rural Indians’ discretionary income is growing tremendously. In other words, 20 years ago, most of them earned enough to just keep body and soul together. Now there is considerable discretionary income beyond what is just required for basic living. This discretionary income is growing for the purchase of products we make. We want to serve that both with products, delivery, distribution and an understanding of the rural consumer.

Property investment guideposts for 2012

Property investment guideposts for 2012



Investment into residential projects is currently the preferred route for investors, since the demand for homes in the metros and Tier II cities is virtually limitless. Commercial and retail spaces also present potentially lucrative investment propositions, especially in the larger cities.

The returns in the residential sector are significantly lower (4-6%) than those in commercial spaces (10-12%). Residential space investment is comparatively low risk/low return options, while retail is a moderate risk/returns option. However, capital values are higher in commercial and retail spaces, so they represent larger investments. Moreover, it is more difficult to exit in the case of commercial spaces.

In commercial spaces, it is best to invest in existing, fully-leased assets by reputed developers. The best cities for commercial space investment are Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, central Delhi and Gurgaon and Noida in the NCR region. Projects in the CBD areas of the prime cities are obviously the most lucrative in terms of ROI, but office properties in these areas are extremely cost-intensive.

For investors with more moderate budgets, the secondary business districts are more realistic options. Nevertheless, it is inadvisable to invest into any commercial property without first getting at least two expert opinions. This is especially true with under-construction projects, because many developers are cash-strapped on account of the current liquidity crunch. Projected completion dates may not materialize.

In residential, the focus should be on properties that have potential for assured rental yields and capital appreciation. This includes residential projects close to workplace catchments, industrial hubs and locations with high aspirational value. The Tier I cities of Mumbai and Delhi and Tier II cities such as Bangalore, Pune and Chennai are seeing the highest demand by investors. In broad terms, the configurations in greatest demand are 1 and 2BHK flats in the central areas as well as the suburbs, while 3BHK flats in good township projects on the outskirts are also a good option.

As with commercial real estate, investors need to take informed decisions on under-construction residential projects, regardless of location and developer. The same negative financial dynamics that are compromising completion dates of many office buildings hold true for residential projects, as well. If an investor decides to avail of the lower rates of an under-construction residential project, he should ensure that at least 50% of the available units in the project are already sold and that construction has progressed according to schedule is at least at the 50% mark.

Luxury and super luxury housing should be avoided as an investment route for at least a year, since demand for such units is at low ebb at the moment. Investors can take an informed call on certain projects in high-value locations, since there is always a core group of HNI buyers who would purchase units in such projects. However, such a call must be taken only on the basis of extensive local market research.

Non Metro Property Investment

For investors looking at non-metro and emerging cities, there are quite a few options.

Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara in Gujarat definitely hold potential. Gujarat is among the fastest growing state economies of India, and it has achieved remarkable progress in terms of industries, finance and infrastructure. It also has the highest per-capita income among the Indian states.

Kochi and Coimbatore are good cities for property investment in South India. Kochi is the commercial capital of Kerala, a major tourist destination and a major growth nexus for medical tourism and eco-tourism, along with a boom in its local IT/ITES sector. Coimbatore is the largest industrial centre in Tamil Nadu after Chennai, and has transformed into a preferred destination for IT/ITES as a result of lucrative incentives given to IT companies by the Tamil Nadu government. It offers excellent business infrastructure, quality of life, a highly skilled work force as well as low cost of living, low pollution, a rapid pace of infrastructure development and a proactive Government that is aggressively promoting the city.

Towards the North, Jaipur and Jodhpur are good property investment destinations. These two cities form a part of the golden triangle on the tourism circuit, and are major tourist destinations. Strategically located on the Golden Quadrilateral, Jaipur has excellent connectivity to Delhi NCR, Jaipur - along with Ahmedabad and Nagpur - has been identified as a very promising emerging city for the IT/ITES and BPO industry.
Construction on the Jaipur Metro project has already begun, and this will enable rapid transit within the city.
n In the East, Visakhapatnam is a promising city. A major port, it is the second largest city in Andhra Pradesh and also a major industrial centre and hub for the petroleum, steel and fertilizer industries. The city has a biotech SEZ and industrial developments like the steel and power plants in the south. The major growth corridor is northwards, along NH-5 towards Vijayanagarm. The Government of Andhra Pradesh has also started an IT SEZ in Rushikonda hills at Vizag.

Chandigarh, the capital of Punjab and Haryana, is one of the most excellently planned cities of India and has the highest per capita income in the country. The Rajiv Gandhi Chandigarh Technology Park, spread over 400 acres, has put Chandigarh on India's IT/ITES map. Major Indian firms and multinational corporations such as Quark, Infosys, Dell, IBM and Tech Mahindra have set up bases in the city and its suburbs. In 2010, Chandigarh was ranked 8th among top Indian cities identified globally as 'emerging outsourcing and IT services destinations.' The satellite towns - Mohali and Panchkula are rapidly developing and attracting a lot of investment.

Will dual regulation add to delays? A real estate act at two levels, Centre and state, could lead to confusion and possibly conflicting guidelines, more red tape and further delays in project clearances when it comes to residential property in Mumbai

Will dual regulation add to delays?

A real estate act at two levels, Centre and state, could lead to confusion and possibly conflicting guidelines, more red tape and further delays in project clearances when it comes to residential property in Mumbai



Year 2011 witnessed more discussions on the need for regulation than any other year. So it was only natural that before the year concluded, regulatory norms lined up neatly one after the other like the residential towers in a planned township project.
First the developers association MCHI came up with its own code of conduct. Then the central government put up the real estate regulatory bill for comments and at the end of December, the Maharashtra state government also 'got into the act', coming up with its own version.
The only question that arises in such a situation is whether having a real estate act at two levels, centre and state, necessary?
Would it not lead to confusion, more red tape and further delays in project clearances when it comes to residential property in Mumbai?

Initial confusion
Bikram Sen, CEO, ArthVeda Fund Management, opines that with multiple acts to regulate the same industry, there is bound to be some confusion in the initial period.
"This can be avoided if the central level act clarifies which parts of the act are mandatory and which aspects are at the discretion of the states. Also when the state level acts are proposed, if they are cognizant of what is already contained in the central level act and clearly define things which are not addressed by the central level act, then confusion can be reduced. Possibilities of delays in project clearances exist. However, most likely the benefits in terms of increased transparency and remedies for consumers will outweigh the costs in terms of delays."

Conflicting definitions
He points out that if there are conflicting definition of what is a transgression or conflicts in the remedies then this will impact the flat buyer since the some of the less customer-friendly developers might try to play regulatory arbitrage by adhering to the less stringent of the two acts. It will be best if the central act clearly defines a model act and clearly delineates the aspects which are mandatory across states and which are at the discretion of the states.

Duplication dilemma
Shrinivas Rao, CEO-Asia Pacific,Vestian Global, opines that "There will be some duplication of work and a little higher cost in terms of registration of each project. However, the benefits will out-weigh the costs and slightly longer timelines. This Act will help in increasing transparency as details of each project are available on the Authority's website. It will also help in risk mitigation for the end-users and discourage corruption in the local government as the regulatory authorities will cross-check approvals."

Increased costs
Lalit Kumar Jain, CMD, KUL & national president, CREDAI, declares "CREDAI is completely opposed to draconian licensing of projects in the regulatory bill. It will only open an additional window of corruption. Further in the present form regulatory bill will not only kill the enthusiasm of the builders but also prevent creative and visionary people from coming in to this business. It will substantially increase the cost of project whereby consumers will pay more."

Transparency required
According to him, what we need is regulation and planned development in the sector to ensure sale of immovable properties in an efficient and transparent manner.
"The Regulator should support fair practices in real estate business and should have control over all stakeholders including approval authorities, the government and financial Institution thereby achieving time bound delivery. At the first sight it will offer advantage to the consumers. However, it will also end up being a breeding ground for corruption."

Dispute redressal
Manoj Asrani, brand & marketing manager, Soham World, feels that the proposed Act will lead to better information sharing and decision making, between builders and the consumers.
Further, by seeking to establish the Regulatory Authority and Appellate Tribunal, the Model Act provides for a forum where disputes could be heard by a specialized expert body, which would result in speedy dispensation of justice. The Model Real Estate Bill seeks to bring clarity and consistency in the fast growing Indian real estate sector, he says.

Multiple legislation
Devang Varma, director, Omkar Realtors & Developers, points out that most states have existing legislation that governs the promotion of construction and the sale of real estate; as well as ownership holding structures such as condominiums, cooperative societies and other entities.
For example in Maharashtra we have Maharashtra Ownership of Flat Act (MOFA), which has been effectively safeguarding the interest of the purchasers. Instead of promulgating the new law, the Central legislators should try to adopt a mechanism to effectively implement existing laws.

Resultant problems
"There are number of problems faced by developers which have been overlooked by the legislators while drafting the proposed real estate bill. They have merely concentrated on imposing obligations and penalties on the builders. However, no mechanism has been provided for checking the delays and defaults committed by the various authorities in granting sanctions and permissions. We have to approach multiple authorities to get number of sanctions for a project.
Further more often even after getting the initial sanction, the final approval gets delayed due to change in policy by the authorities, their Chief Officers, government etc. The regulator should look into such delays which are not in the hands of developers. The government has conveniently ignored and overlooked constant demand from the developers to provide for single window clearance system which would not only expedite the process of obtaining sanctions and approvals but also reduce the cost involved in process considerably," he says.

Discussion essential
According to Varma, there are too many stringent conditions which will accentuate red tape. "The provisions of the bill will have far reaching consequences which will negatively impact the common man for whose benefit this bill has been drafted in the first place. The bill needs to be widely discussed, debated and rationalized before it goes through the legislative process.
While there are certain positive measures which should rightly put a check on the unorganized players from staking false project claims; it should not become a hindrance in terms of delay for honest and organized players. Considering that the banks and private equity funds as part of their investment process perform in-depth due diligence; the move to seek any additional legal clearances can result in project delay impacting the already wary customer."

Double impact
Jitendra Jain, MD & CEO, Neev Group, emphasises that the Real Estate Regulation Act is beneficial as it can boost transparency in the Indian real estate sector by standardizing practices & streamlining government procedure systems. However, before the implementation of the aforesaid Bill, it should be further discussed and debated amongst all stakeholders including the policy makers both at the central and state level, that will bringing a consensus keeping in mind the interests of all stakeholders. The proposed legislation, it is hoped, will lead to better information-sharing and decision making, between builders/ developers and the public/ consumers."

Inflation negates investor gains Despite an almost 7% rise in Sensex since July 2009, investors in Indian equities are still poorer by `10 lakh crore due to the impact of high inflation, argues

Inflation negates investor gains

Despite an almost 7% rise in Sensex since July 2009, investors in Indian equities are still poorer by `10 lakh crore due to the impact of high inflation, argues



It is not just the Europe woes and the market sentiment meltdown that have savaged equities over the last year. Inflation, too, has extracted its pound of flesh from an already emaciated investor.
Inflation has been on a steady rise for the last 29 months, negating whatever marginal gains the market had posted during the period. It has swatted away over `10 lakh crore in investor wealth during the period. And the marginal market gains actually turn negative if adjusted for inflation.
The benchmark Sensex, at 15670.31 at the end of July 2009, closed at 16739.01 yesterday, a rise of 6.82%. In the same period, the Wholesale Price Index has gone from 128.2 to 156.9, or up 22.38%.
This makes the real rate of returns from equities a negative 15.56%. (The real rate of return is obtained by subtracting inflation from absolute returns.)
During this period, the total value of all listed companies on the BSE rose from `48.08 lakh crore to `56.38 lakh crore. The `8.3 lakh crore rise in absolute terms, when adjusted for inflation, actually decreases by `2.46 lakh crore! In other words, inflation has eroded `10.76 lakh crore of investor wealth.
There is an inverse correlation between inflation and market returns, says Sachchidanand Shukla, economist at Enam Securities. “Real returns get hurt due to high inflation. In addition, the market is de-rated in anticipation of interest rate hikes because growth is sacrificed to control inflation,” he says.
The Reserve Bank of India has hiked interest rates 13 times since March 2010. Companies begin to trade at lower multiples to their earnings as the stock market discounts a slowdown in earnings.
The Sensex has dropped from trading at 21.77 times earnings in August 2009 to 16.23 times currently. Investors tend to switch out of rate-sensitive companies during times of high inflation, says Saibal Ghosh, chief investment officer, Aegon Religare Life Insurance Company. “They try to put their money into companies with better pricing power, those with better brands and a better sales network. This trend has already played out this time as well.”
Stock market returns still beat inflation over longer periods of time, said Chokkalingam G, executive director and chief investment officer at Centrum Wealth Management. “This has been a peculiar period because of issues in the Middle East, Europe and also the United States. If investors look at a ten- to 15-year horizon, then equities still beat inflation.”
Inflation has been at 5.62% over the last 15 years. Equities have given average returns of 18.3% in the same period. Inflation, Shukla says, is expected to moderate in the days ahead. “Barring erratic monsoons and geo-political risks, inflation is expected to be lower than the previous two years. We expect average inflation to be at 6.5% for the financial year ending March 2013.”

Rajanikant's jokes in marathi

रजनी नामा:

गणपतीच्या घरी 10 दिवस रजनीकांतची स्थापना केली जाते.

संता आणि बंता हे दोघे रजनीकांतला 999 कोटी रुपये भेट देणार आहेत. टोकन मनी म्हणून.. लोकांचं लक्ष त्यांच्यावरून उडवल्याबद्दल.

एकदा क्रिकेट खेळत असताना रजनीकांतने एक चेंडू फक्त स्थिर बॅटने नुसताच तटवला.. आज त्या चेंडूला लोक प्लुटो या नावाने ओळखतात.

अशोक चव्हाणांना का जावे लागले? ते हल्ली ब-याच भाषणांमध्ये जाहीरपणे म्हणाले होते, ‘रजनी कान्ट!’

एकटय़ाने समूहगीत कोण गाऊ शकतो?अर्थातच रावण यार! प्रत्येक गोष्ट रजनीकांत कसा करेल?

रजनीकांतने एकदा ठरवलं की आपल्याकडचं किमान एक टक्का ज्ञान तरी जगाला द्यायचं.. त्यातूनच ‘गुगल’चा जन्म झाला.

एक ईमेल पुण्याहून मुंबईला पाठवलं गेलं.. रजनीकांतने ते लोणावळय़ातच अडवलं म्हणे!

रजनीकांत एकदा चेन्नईमध्ये मॉर्निग वॉकसाठी बाहेर पडला, दुपारी त्याला अमेरिकन पोलिसांनी अटक केली.. बिना पासपोर्ट-व्हिसा अमेरिकेत प्रवेश केल्याबद्दल.

एक भूत मध्यरात्री 12 वाजताच्या ठोक्याला दुस-या भुताला म्हणालं, ‘‘उगाच थरथर कापू नकोस. वेडय़ासारखं घाबरू नकोस. हे सगळे मनाचे खेळ असतात. रजनीकांत वजनीकांत जगात काहीही नसतं!’’

एक दिवस रजनीकांत सूर्याकडे एकटक पाहात राहिला.. शेवटी सूर्याचीच पापणी लवली.

‘रोबो’ सिनेमा हिट झाला, तेव्हा रजनीकांतने ‘टाइम्स ऑफ इंडिया’ला चार स्टारचे रेटिंग दिले.

देवाला जेव्हा जेव्हा मानसिक धक्का बसतो, तेव्हा तो ‘अरे रजनीकांता’ असे उद्गारतो.

रजनीकांत घडय़ाळ घालत नाही. कोणत्याही वेळी किती वाजलेत, हे तोच ठरवतो.

त्सुनामी कशा तयार होतात.. अर्थातच, समुद्राच्या पोटात भूकंप झाल्यामुळे.. प्रत्येक गोष्ट रजनीकांत करेल की काय?

लहानपणी रजनीकांतची खेळणी एकदा हरवली.. ती जागा आज ‘एस्सेलवर्ल्ड’ म्हणून प्रसिद्ध आहे.

न्यायदेवतेने एकदा रजनीकांतकडे क्रुद्ध नजरेने रोखून पाहिले होते.. ती आजतागायत आंधळी आहे.

रजनीकांत खिडकी उघडी ठेवून एसी चालू करतो, तेव्हा देशात हिवाळा सुरू होतो.

रजनीकांतशी गप्पा मारताना.. राज ठाकरेही तामिळ बोलतात.

पॉवर ऑफ रजनीकांत! तुम्ही रजनीकांतचा जोक एका माणसाला फॉरवर्ड करता.. तो एका तासात एक कोटी माणसांपर्यंत पोहोचतो.

इजिप्तमधील पिरॅमिड हे खरेतर रजनीकांतचे चौथीतले भूगोलाचे प्रोजेक्ट्स आहेत.

रजनीकांतचा फोन व्हायब्रेटर मोडवर असला, तरी कोयना धरणाला धोका नाही.
-कार्यकारी अभियंता, कोयना धरण विभाग

मुंबईतली वीज कधी कधी अचानक थोडय़ा वेळासाठी गायब होते.. कारण, तेव्हा रजनीकांतने आपला फोन चार्जिगला लावलेला असतो.

रजनीकांतने एक दिवस शाळेला बुट्टी मारली.. शाळेने तो दिवस रविवार असल्याचे जाहीर करून टाकले.

रजनीकांतला एकदा एका रिपोर्टरने विचारले, ‘‘मोबाइल आणि इंटरनेटवर फिरणाऱ्या रजनीकांत जोक्सविषयी तुझं मत काय?’’रजनीकांतने गंभीरपणे प्रतिप्रश्न केला, ‘‘तुला खरंच वाटतं की ते काल्पनिक विनोद आहेत म्हणून?’’

संता-बंता आत्महत्या करणार आहेत. रजनीकांतमुळे आपल्याकडे कुणी लक्षच देत नाही, अशी त्यांची तक्रार आहे.

रजनीकांत एका मुलाबरोबर पत्ते खेळत होता. रजनीकांतकडे तीन एक्के होते. तरीही तो डाव हरला.. का?कारण त्या मुलाकडे तीन रजनीकांत होते.

रजनीकांतच्या घरी मादाम तुसॉचा मेणाचा पुतळा आहे.

प्रागैतिहासिक काळात डायनॉसोरांनी रजनीकांतकडून पैसे उसने घेतले होते, ते परतच केले नाहीत.. तेव्हापासून आजतागायत डायनॉसोर कोणाला दिसलेले नाहीत.

एकदा एका ट्रेनची सायकलशी टक्कर झाली आणि ट्रेन रुळावरून घसरली.. सायकलचालक रजनीकांत फरारी झाला आहे.

रजनीकांतने एकदा पाकिस्तानातल्या एका अतिरेक्याला ठार मारले.. भारतात बसून, ब्लूटुथवरून.

‘‘बेटा रजनीकांत आपल्या सोलर वॉटर हीटरमधून गार पाणी येतंय रे,’’ आईने ओरडून सांगितले.
रजनीकांत तडक छतावर गेला आणि सूर्य दुरुस्त करून आला.

रजनीकांतच्या गर्लफ्रेंडने एकदा त्याला सांगितलं, ‘‘मला सतत अशी भावना होते की कुणीतरी माझा पाठलाग करतंय.’’दुस-या दिवशी अचानक ती चित्कारली, ‘‘माय गॉड, माझी सावली कुठे गेली?’’

प्राध्यापकाने एका मुलाला विचारले, ‘‘तुला भविष्यात काय करायचे आहे?’’मुलगा उत्तरला, ‘‘एमबीबीएस झाल्यावर आयएएसची परीक्षा देऊन पोलिस फोर्समध्ये जायचंय. नंतर चांगल्या सॉफ्टवेअर कंपनीमध्ये नोकरी करता करता उत्तम वकील म्हणून नाव कमावायचंय. भव्य बिल्डिंग उभारून मॉलिक्युलर बायोलॉजीमध्ये संशोधन करून नोबेल मिळवायचंय आणि अभिनयाचं ऑस्कर.’’प्रोफेसर म्हणाले, ‘बाप रे, तुझं नाव काय?’’
‘‘सजनीकांत.. सन ऑफ रजनीकांत.’’

‘‘आई आई, तो बघ तारा तुटला!’’
‘‘नाही रे बाळा, आजकाल काही भरवसा नाही. रजनीकांतने एखादा दगड फेकून मारला असेल सूर्याला नाहीतर चंद्राला!’’

एकदा एका माणसाने रजनीकांतच्या प्रेयसीची छेड काढली.. आज जग त्याला बॉबी डार्लिग या नावाने ओळखते.

एकदा रजनीकांत पावसात क्रिकेट खेळत होता.. त्या दिवशी खेळामुळे पाऊस थांबवण्यात आला.

एकदा रजनीकांतने दोन हत्ती, दोन ऊंट, दोन घोडे पाळले आणि लष्कराकडून काही सैनिक मागवून घेतले.. त्याला बुद्धिबळ खेळण्याची हुक्की आली होती.

एकदा जेम्स बाँडने एका माणसावर गोळी झाडली आणि तो म्हणाला, ‘‘आय अ‍ॅम बाँड, जेम्स बाँड.’’ त्या माणसाने ती गोळी हातात झेलली आणि बाँडवर फेकून मारली. बाँड जागीच गतप्राण झाला, तेव्हा तो माणूस म्हणाला, ‘आय अ‍ॅम कांत, रजनीकांत. येन्ना रास्कला.’’

एकदा एका माणसाने जळती सिगारेट हवेत भिरकावली. ती एका ग्रहावर जाऊन पडली. तो ग्रह धडाडून पेटला.. त्यालाच आता आपण सूर्य म्हणतो.. सिगारेट फेकणा-या माणसाचं नाव सांगायलाच हवं का?

एकदा रजनीकांतने संतापून झाडू मारणा-या एका पो-याला लाथ मारली.. तो झाडूसह आकाशात फेकला गेला.. आज लोक एकदा रजनीकांत कपातून चहा पीत होता. तो त्याला जरा जास्त झाला. त्याने हातातल्या सुरीने चहा अर्धा कापला.. तीच जगातली पहिली ‘कटिंग चाय’ होती.

हृतिक रोशनने रजनीकांतशी स्पर्धा करण्याचा प्रयत्न केला.. ‘गुजारिश’मध्ये बिचा-यावर संपूर्ण सिनेमाभर व्हीलचेअरमध्ये बसून राहण्याची पाळी आली.

एकदा रजनीकांतने अलका कुबलला एक तास हसवले!!! तेव्हापासून तिला मराठी पिक्चर भेटने बंद झाले - बिच्चारी !

रॉजर फेडरर म्हणाला, ‘‘मला टेनिसबद्दल काहीही विचार.. मला सगळं काही ठाऊक आहे?’’ रजनीकांतने विचारलं, ‘‘नेटमध्ये भोकं किती असतात?’’

ध्वनीपेक्षा जास्त स्पीड कोणाचा असतो?.. प्रकाशाचा.. तुम्ही ‘रजनीकांत’ असं उत्तर देणार होतात, हो ना? पण, रजनीकांतचा वेग कोणत्याही मापात मोजता येत नाही.
दिवाळीत रजनीकांत फटाक्याने उदबत्ती पेटवतो.

रजनीकांत कॉलेजात शिकत होता तेव्हा प्रोफेसरच लेक्चर बंक करायचे.

कांद्याच्या किंमती इतक्या भडकल्यात की आता रजनीकांतनेही जैन व्हायचं ठरवलंय.

एकदा रजनीकांत एका खलनायकाच्या कानात काहीतरी पुटपुटला आणि तो खलनायक जागीच गतप्राण झाला.. रजनीकांत त्याच्या कानात फक्त एवढंच पुटपुटला होता, ‘ढिशक्यांव!!!!’

सुपरमॅन आणि रजनीकांत यांनी एकदा एकमेकांशी पैज लावली होती.. जो पैज हरेल, त्याने उरलेल्या संपूर्ण आयुष्यात अंडरवेअर बाहेरच्या कपडय़ांच्या वर घालायची असं ठरलं होतं..

‘मिशन इम्पॉसिबल’ हा सिनेमा टॉम क्रूझच्या आधी रजनीकांतलाच ऑफर झाला होता.. रजनीकांतने तो नाकारला.. सिनेमाचं शीर्षक त्याला फारच अवमानकारक वाटलं म्हणे!

एका हाताने पन्नास मोटारी कोण थांबवू शकतो?.. ट्रॅफिक हवालदार.. सगळय़ा गोष्टी रजनीकांतच करू शकतो की काय?

रजनीकांतने एकदा आत्मचरित्र लिहिले.. त्यालाच आपण गिनीज बुक ऑफ वर्ल्ड रेकॉर्ड्स या नावाने ओळखतो.

मानवतेवर उपकार करा आणि रजनीकांतवरचे वेडेवाकडे विनोद एकमेकांना फॉरवर्ड करणे बंद करा.. नाहीतर.. नाहीतर तो एखाददिवशी संतापून इंटरनेटच डिलिट करून टाकेल!!

नव्या वर्षाची भेट
फेकिया कंपनीचा नवीन रजनी सिरीजचा ताकदवान आर-11 मोबाइल
एकावेळी 10 सिमकार्ड सामावून घेणारा
500 जीबी मेमरी
320 मेगापिक्सल कॅमेरा
शिवाय टीव्ही, फ्रिज, एसी आणि कार.. एकाच मोबाइलमध्ये

2012 सालापर्यंत जगभरातील लोक कम्प्यूटरमध्ये अतिशय ताकदवान हार्डडिस्क वापरू लागतील.. जिची क्षमता मेगा बाइट्स, किलोबाइट्स किंवा गिगाबाइट्समध्ये नव्हे, तर रजनीबाइट्समध्ये मोजली जाईल.

आदर्श सोसायटीच्या बद्दल तेव्हाचे मुख्यमंत्री अशोक चव्हाण यांनी सोनिया गांधींना काय स्पष्टीकरण दिले?.. ‘‘ती इमारत सहाच मजल्यांची होती मॅडम. रजनीकांतने खेचून 31 मजल्यांची केली!!!’

चीन, पाकिस्तान, बांगलादेश हे सगळे भारताचे शत्रू उत्तरेलाच का आहेत?.. कारण, दक्षिणेला रजनीकांत आहे!!!

रजनीकांतचा जन्म 30 फेब्रुवारी रोजी झाला.. त्यानंतर फेब्रुवारी महिन्याने ती तारीख कोणालाही दिली नाही.

रजनीकांतने दात मजबूत व्हावेत म्हणून लहानपणी एक खास टूथ पावडर वापरली.. तिलाच आपण आज ‘अंबुजा सिमेंट’ म्हणून ओळखतो.

रजनीकांत जेव्हा ‘कौन बनेगा करोडपती’ या कार्यक्रमात आला होता, तेव्हा त्याला विचारण्याच्या योग्यतेचा प्रश्न विचारण्यासाठी कम्प्यूटरला हेल्पलाइनची मदत घ्यावी लागली होती.

गॅलिलिओने दिव्याखाली अभ्यास केला.
ग्रॅहॅम बेलने अभ्यासासाठी मेणबत्ती वापरली.
शेक्सपीयरने रस्त्यावरच्या दिव्यांखाली अभ्यास केला, हे सर्वानाच ठाऊक आहे.
रजनीकांत मात्र केवळ उदबत्तीच्या प्रकाशात अभ्यास करून शिकला, हे फारसं कोणाला माहिती नाही.
Rajanikant's jokes in marathi

Funny Girl Dances with her Eye Brows

Funny Girl Dances with her Eye Brows

Wild wild West Kachchh’s rugged beauty and fiery landscapes aren’t for the fainthearted. But its locals’ love affair with art and embroidery, and the ongoing cultural festival, the Rann Utsav, make this a special time to travel technicolour,

Wild wild West

Kachchh’s rugged beauty and fiery landscapes aren’t for the fainthearted. But its locals’ love affair with art and embroidery, and the ongoing cultural festival, the Rann Utsav, make this a special time to travel technicolour,

While driving through Kachchh’s villages, carry out a simple experiment. Allow yourself to be jaded by the unending desert-like landscape, and wonder at the nerve of the gaando baval (crazy tree in Gujarati), the wild weed of Kachchh that is destroying the grasslands at an alarming rate.
Then, try stopping any pathani-and-salwar-clad local for directions. In no time, at least four others will huddle around to make sure he guides you correctly.
Or, even if you simply take a random turn leading to a settlement, chances are that you’ll meet the tenth generation of artists specialising in embroidery or handicrafts so rich in hues, that they render Kachchh’s most colourful sunsets pale.
The people of Kachchh share a rather unusual relationship with their land, much like the way a loving family would put up with a cantankerous patriarch. They love it for all its harshness, but, in front of a guest, they make sure they balance the inhospitable dryness by warmth and colour you’d never expect, or forget.

Thoughtful tourism
Hodka, 50kms north of Bhuj is dotted with compounds that have 10-12 thatched roof huts, where almost 70 members of one family live together in relative harmony. It is like any other Kachchhi village, full of artisans, labourers and shepherds. A stark exception is the budding eco-tourism project here.
We entered Shaam-e-Sarhad, Hodka’s six-year-old rural resort, expecting basic amenities. What greeted us, instead, were three bhungas (mud huts) studded with mirrors, built just like my grandfather, who first landed in Kachchh from Pakistan after the Partition, had described to me in a bedtime story. Six large canopies of luxurious tents fluttered in the cold December wind near the bhungas. Behind each tent, another tent served as an indulgent bathroom.

Gagan, the handsome, self-conscious cook, led us to the dining area opposite the bhungas. He told us about how his Halepotra community owns and operates the resort. That explained why everything at Shaam-e-Sarhad is just like a Halepotra home would be — the thatched roof over the dining area is lined with square pieces of cloth their women use in their dresses. All surfaces, including the seating area nearby, are made of mud and adorned with cushions and quilts stitched and embroidered by the Halepotra women back home. At night, the community put up song-and-dance performances. The Muslim Halepotras, who were originally cattle herders in Sindh, Pakistan, along with the Hindu Meghwals — traditionally embroiderers and leather crafters — are chiefly responsible for the development of tourism in this area.
For lunch, Gagan served us aulu (roasted and spiced eggplant), bhindi and kadhi. I smeared the bajra rotla (millet roti) with ghee and took a bite of the food that reminded me, puzzlingly, of home. That’s when it struck me — Kachchh was the closest I would ever get to my home state of Sindh, the place my grandparents left decades ago clutching small cloth bundles of bare necessities. When I reminisced about it to Gagan — in Sindhi, no less — he told me I could get even closer to ‘home’. I could visit the Great Rann, because it shares the border with Sindh, he smiled.

On the Rann
Unlike the Little Rann in the south of Kachchh, there is no famed khur (wild ass) population on the Great Rann. But then, you don’t go there looking for ‘something’. You go there for the nothingness, the infinite stretches of slushy white salt, beautiful mirages and a phenomenon that locals call Chir Batti. At dusk, lights seem to twinkle from an unfathomable source far into the distance where the horizon should be. Eerie, that.
If you’re spooked, you can always flee to the Rann Utsav. In its sixth year, the Great Rann is decked up arts and crafts stalls. Almost 500 pristine white tents have been pitched in the desert. We worked our way through cultural exhibitions, foot courts, folk performances, camel safaris and hot-air balloon rides.

Villages painted red
You’d be mistaken if you thought that it is Kachchh’s aridness that is its most persistent quality. In the monsoons, the landscape changes its mind and turns lush. What really is permanent about this region is its devotion to age-old arts and embroidery.


Here, after every 5-10km, lies a village that specialises in an art form. In Gandhi nu dham, near Hodka, we entered Achaarbhai’s wood workshop, after we had gotten over the peacocks painted outside his home. There lay intricately carved teapoys, sofa sets and swings made of the local bahuv wood. When I wouldn’t stop touching (even smelling) the freshly carved furniture, Achaarbhai chuckled and took me to meet his wife, Veeraben, hoping to restore some sanity in his workshop.
It didn’t work. Veeraben was dressed in an exquisite kanjiri (long blouse, reaching the knees), with mirrors and pink and red threads standing out in exquisite patterns. Her home was no less magnificent. The exterior and interiors of her modest-sized bhunga were done up in mud wall paintings. Kachchhi women, traditionally, are expected to depict their dreams on the walls. Clay is mixed with camel dung and designs of peacocks, anghadi (fingers) and vinjno (fan) are traced on the walls.
Another hamlet, Khavda, is home to Abdulla Ibrahim, the only potter left in a village that once had generations of skilled potters. “I, too, would’ve packed up and become a labourer like other artists. But I was lucky that an NGO decided to support my art,” he said. NGOs like Shrujan and Khamir in Bhuj and Kala Raksha in the Sumraser Sheikh village ensure that artists aren’t forced to abandon their traditional crafts. Kala Raksha’s shop sells handicrafts with lesser-known types of embroideries. Suf embroidery, for instance, is done by the Meghwals and Sodha Rajputs. Women work with triangles as motifs and fill accent stitches. Paako, a chain and double buttonhole stitch, and Khareek, which uses geometric patterns, are indigenous to Kachchh.

After the quake
We spent the last two days of the trip in Bhuj. You have to give it to the city for resurrecting itself with resilience after the 2001 earthquake. This concrete city has its charm — but chances of finding it are rare. You may, for instance, completely miss Hotel Annapurna given its rundown appearance only made worse by its location on a cacophonic junction. Luckily, we didn’t, and were treated to the most delicious Gujarati thali – with taameta sev, mirch pakoda, raswalla batata and khichadi. A waiter stacked the dishes in a thali. We could pick what we wanted and pay only for what we ate. I joked with the waiter about a new hotel nearby that was built on an airplane theme. Guests in its Business Class-styled restaurant had to sit next to each other because, inspired by an aircraft, it didn’t build facing seats!
By my last day in the state, in Jamnagar, I thought I had left the richness of Kachchh behind. But a visit to the Narara Marine Sanctuary proved me wrong. During low tide, gigantic crabs, sea cucumbers and sea anemones swimming around your ankles prove to be slimy but vibrant reminders of just how fecund and colourful this ecosystem is. Hold a polka-dotted puffer fish till it puffs up and dives back in the water, chase a Blue Spotted Sting Ray, or have an octopus ink you in a brilliant shade of brown before it flees — all life here is technicolour.

The last of the asbestos miners In Roro, Jharkhand, pollution from an asbestos mine, which was shut down 30 years ago, continues to play havoc with the lives of people living in nearby areas,

The last of the asbestos miners

In Roro, Jharkhand, pollution from an asbestos mine, which was shut down 30 years ago, continues to play havoc with the lives of people living in nearby areas,

When miner Dansingh Bodra was asked about the people from his village who he worked with in the asbestos mines of Roro, who have all died before their time, he slowly starts counting, first to himself, and then loudly: “gyaara, Pooliya Sondi… baara, Rohto Gop… taira, Bagan Sondi… chowda, Vijay Singh Sondi… pandra, Gono Sondi… sola, Harish Sondi… sattra, Sukmon Sondi… atthra, Rahto Samadh.”
Dansingh himself suffers from cancer, a huge tumour grows out of his stomach.
It took him five minutes to remember the dead. A few seconds to denounce the company that laid them off one fine day when the mines shut down in 1983.
“They gave us nothing, no healthcare, no pension, just these illnesses.”
“I worked in the mines for 12 years, and from that day itself I used to cough, and slowly it started to get worse.”
This man with a lump growing out of his stomach remains a testament to the reality of internal colonisation, of a company that currently earns aggregate revenues of over Rs800 crore, of industrial development, and the idea that mining offers jobs.
Dansingh Bodra awaits death in a village where his three grandchildren sleep behind him suffering from fever. The mines have long but closed down, but the dust and pollution that emanates from them, still spread across the fields.
Even today, as per law, especially as per section 22 of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1981, all asbestos mines have to be closed. But Hyderabad Industry Limited, part of the CK Birla Group, did not close their mines at Roro village at Chaibasa, West Singhbhum, Jharkhand. As a result, the asbestos fibres that are blown into the wind, that seep into the fields and rivers, still exist 30 years after the mines shut down.
“So many people died before they turned forty,” said Birsingh Sondi, who points to his neighbours house, “There lived Mangalsingh Sondi, who was 25 when he died, and he never even worked in the mine. His father, Sukmon, worked there, and he died a few years ago too.”
A deadly carcinogen
Asbestos, whose use, manufacture and extraction is banned across the European Union, is still used widely across India and is part of a Rs4,000 crore industry dominated by around 18 companies who justify the use of asbestos as a substitute for affordable roofing, and claim that chrysotile asbestos can be safely manufactured and used without risks.
The companies claim that the kind of asbestos used in India isn’t carcinogenic, even as all forms of asbestos are classified as carcinogenic by the World Health Organisation, the International Labour Organisation, and the International Agency For Research On Cancer, who mention in a report that was published in 2010: ‘Epidemiological evidence has increasingly shown an association of all forms of asbestos (chrysotile, crocidolite, amosite, tremolite, actinolite, and anthophyllite) with an increased risk of lung cancer and mesothelioma.’ It goes on to mention that an estimated 125mn people are still exposed to asbestos at the workplace.
Yet, the Asbestos Cement Products Manufacturers Association, one of the main lobby groups for the continued production and use of asbestos, has repeatedly claimed, “Some five hundred other products and industrial processes are recognised as carcinogens, but this does not mean that we must prohibit their use.”
While the lobby has often reiterated that chrysotile asbestos is safe, the chairman of the Asbestos Cement Products Manufacturers Association, Abhaya Shanker, is also the managing director of Hyderabad Industries Limited. According to him, they have closed the Roro mine, and that the mountains of asbestos tailings from the mine are not carcinogenic.
“Roro is a finished chapter, a closed mine 30 years back, what’s the point of Roro? I don’t understand,” he exclaims in a telephonic interview. “That is all an old story, an old type of asbestos and that is all done. The mine is safely handed over, and closed, and handed over to the government of India, and there is no danger to the public. It’s all bullshit.”
“According to the Supreme Court directives in the CERC case, you have to monitor the health of your workers? Do you also monitor the health of your workers from Roro?” I asked.
“You can look at our world class health monitoring system, for our workers… for several years we keep calling them, for check-ups, for studying them…” responds Shanker.
“Even the Roro workers?”
“The Roro workers are all finished, we would have done them (the survey) for a couple of year, and it’s been 30 years now, nobody would be alive now,” says Shanker.
Closing the mountain
Roro Hills at Chaibasa were first mined for chromite in the early 1960s by the Tatas. The mines were sold to the CK Birla Group, as the Tatas moved onto mining chromite at Sukinda, in Odisha, which itself, aaccording to international environmental group Blacksmith Institute, is one of the 10 most polluted places in the world, where approximately 70% of the surface water is contaminated by hexavalent chromium, and 24.7% of the population living around the mines are suffering from pollution-induced diseases.
When I had visited the village of Suanla in Sukinda in 2010, an old man scoffed at the media’s ability to highlight the issue. He claimed that over 30 people have died in the past few months. Some called the deaths in Suanla an exaggeration, but in the house of Markand Hembram, four members of the household had died within a year.
Quoting the report by the Blacksmith Institute, the government itself had gone on to say: ‘It is unique, it is gigantic and it is beyond the means and purview of the [Orissa Pollution Control] Board to solve the problem.’
Back at Roro, there were attempts to close the mountain and clean up. Way back in 2003, a public hearing was held where villagers from 14 villages around the mines had spoken up about working in the mines and the health issues in their villages. The hearing was organised by Jharkhand Organisation For Human Rights, and was paneled by a group of prominent doctors and advocates.
The report of the hearing was taken to the District Collector and Chief Medical officer who were given representations for conducting medical camps, to monitor health of workers and non-workers, and to detail a scientific closure of mines and to hold Hyderabad Industries Limited accountable to pay for health and environmental damages.
Yet, till date, there have never been any attempt by any official body — from the Pollution Control Board, the Directorate General of Mines Safety, the Mining Department, the company or the local administration to remediate and clean up the mine tailings or do a proper closure.
At Roro, only three miners who worked with the Birla Group are left alive. But not everyone worked directly under the company since independent contractors had also taken on the work of disposing asbestos dust, and they paid workers Rs1.50 per day, for working from eight in the evening to eight in the morning, to clear dust.
“There was no izzat in mining, we should never have allowed them here,” says Dansingh Bodra, who had even worked underground, mining asbestos without any protective clothing. And there were accidents: Turam Sondi, Jida Sondi and Dausar Sondi were killed in the mines in a few years before the lockout and the closing of the mines.
“No one should ever have worked the way we did.”

Dead call - Telephone co. cheating डेड कॉल्स - तुम्ही फसले जाताय?

तुम्ही फसले जाताय?

भय्या दुधात पाणी मिसळून दूध वाढवतो असा संशय आहे का, रोज एक तरी डेड कॉल येतो का, वाण्याकडील वजन काटा चुकीचा वाटतो का...असा कोणताही प्रश्न मनात घिरट्या घालत असेल तर आता त्यांचा छडा लावण्याची संधी चालून आली आहे. केवळ एका फोनद्वारे ग्राहकांना आपली तक्रार नोंदवता येणार असून त्यांची सत्यता पडताळून पाहता येणार आहे.

कंझ्युमर गाइडन्स सोसायटी ऑफ इंडिया या ग्राहक क्षेत्रातील अशासकीय संस्थेने दुधाच्या दर्जाची तपासणी, फोन कॉल्सचे सवेर्क्षण आणि वजनकाट्यातील खरेपणा तपासण्याचा उपक्रम आखला असून ग्राहकांना जागरूक करण्याच्या उद्देशाने ही मोहीम आखण्यात आली आहे. ग्राहक संरक्षण कायद्याच्या रौप्य महोत्सवी वर्षानिमित्त सोसायटीने हा उपक्रम हाती घेतला असून सोसायटीच्या १८००२२२२६२ या टोल फ्री क्रमांकावर ग्राहकांना तक्रार नोंदवता येईल. त्यानंतर सोसायटीच्या स्वयंसेवकांमार्फत पुढील प्रक्रिया सुरू होईल.

दुधाची चाचपणी करायची असेल तर ग्राहकाने दुधाचे सॅम्पल चाचणीसाठी सोसायटीच्या स्वयंसेवकांकडे सुपूर्द करायचे असून त्यानंतर आठवडाभरात ग्राहकांना त्याचा रिपोर्ट घरपोच पाठवण्याची व्यवस्था होईल. सेल्फ टेस्ट किट खरेदी करून ग्राहक घरीच दुधाची तपासणी करू शकतात.

' ट्राय'कडे धाडणार तक्रारी

बरेचदा फोन घेतल्यानंतर किंवा केल्यानंतर पलीकडून काहीच आवाज ऐकू येत नाही. मात्र बॅलन्समधून पैसे वजा होतात. अशा प्रकारच्या डेड कॉल्सचीही तक्रार सोसायटीकडे वरील टोल फ्री नंबरवरून किंवा ८०८२८०८०८० या क्रमांकावर एसएमएसद्वारे नोंदवता येईल. या तक्रारी सोसायटीमार्फत 'ट्राय'कडे पाठविण्यात येणार असून त्यामागची कारणे शोधली जाणार आहेत.

इलेक्ट्रॉनिक काट्यांतही फेरफार

वजनकाट्याच्या बाबतीतही ग्राहकांना अनेक शंका असतात. इलेक्ट्रॉनिक वजनकाट्यातही दुकानदार फेरफार करीत असल्याच्या अनेक तक्रारी सोसायटीकडे आल्या. अनेक ठिकाणी फसवे वजनकाटे असल्याचे दिसून आले आहे. ग्राहकांना शंका आल्यास वरील टोल फ्री क्रमांकावर त्यांना तक्रार नोंदवता येईल. तक्रार नोंदवल्यास ग्राहकांना ज्या वजन काट्याविषयी शंका वाटत असेल त्याची चाचणी स्वत: ग्राहकांना करता येईल अशी 'सेल्फ टेस्टिंग किट'ची व्यवस्था करण्यात आली आहे.

वाईट सेवा, सदोष वस्तू पुरस्कार

कंझ्युमर गाइडन्स सोसायटी ऑफ इंडियातफेर् दरवषीर् वाईट सेवा देणाऱ्या कंपनीला 'वाईट सेवा पुरस्कार' आणि अनेक तक्रारींनी युक्त असलेल्या सदोष वस्तूला 'सदोष प्रॉडक्ट पुरस्कार' दिले जातात. या पुरस्कारांसाठी तक्रारी नोंदवून घेण्याची प्रक्रिया सुरू झाली असून ग्राहकांनी १८०० २२२२ ६२ या क्रमांकावर किंवा सीजीएसआयइंडिया डॉट ओआरजी या वेबसाइटवर कंपनीविषयी किंवा प्रॉडक्टविषयी असलेल्या तक्रारी १५ जानेवारीपर्यंत नोंदवायच्या आहेत. त्यानंतर २० जानेवारीला सोसायटीतफेर् ही नावे घोषित करण्यात येईल.

Dead call - Telephone co. cheating

CBSE Class X, XII exams to kick off on March 1

CBSE Class X, XII exams to kick off on March 1

The Class X and Class XI examinations of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will start from March 1. According to the examination timetable uploaded on the CBSE website, both the Class X and XII exams will kick off on March 1. Close to 7.5 lakh students will appear for Class XII exams, while 4.9 lakh students will appear for the Class X exams all over the country. For Class XII, the first paper will be English followed by political science and physics. The Class X exams will also commence on March 1. The first mainstream paper will be mathematics and language paper on March 2, 2012. The Class XII examinations will end on April 13, while Class X examinations will end on March 26. The weightage of marks for Class 10 students at the end of the year will be 60:40, with a 60% weightage based on the comprehensive continuous evaluation of the student during the year, and 40% on the final exam. A total of 181 papers will be taken by Class XII students, whereas 55 papers will be taken by Class X students. Aiswarya Kriplani, a Class X student of Kendriya Vidyalaya, said, “I have pulled up my socks and have started studying. I am studying for nearly seven hours everyday for the exams.”

Cabbies, automen up in arms against new ‘auto-rickcar’

Cabbies, automen up in arms against new ‘auto-rickcar’

Autorickshaw drivers and cabbies in Mumbai have rejected the new Bajaj RE60 auto-rickcar that was launched on Tuesday with taximen saying it’s “too small’’ and automen calling it “a ploy to finish off the auto trade’’. “We had seen this coming. The government had always wanted to encourage private players and all this is a ploy to finish off the auto trade,’’ said Shashank Rao of the Mumbai Automen’s Union. Thampy Kurien, another leader, said: “The Bajaj RE60 can never replace traditional autos as the basic difference is it is driven differently. Auto drivers have a three-wheeler licence and to drive this new vehicle, we would require a four-wheeler licence.’’ He said moreover, even the driving skills required are different and many auto drivers will have to learn driving four wheelers all over again. Another practical problem is the doors would mean more space for parking. Autos are sleek and small and can be easily parked in minimal space and can take easy U-turns, he added. Those who are saying that this is a replacement for autos are day-dreaming and haven’t really studied the practicalities, said Kurien. Another office bearer of the union said that the new auto-rickcar was too expensive and would also push up the fares as the fare formula includes the cost of the vehicle too. “We do not think it is a feasible idea,’’ Kurien complained. Mumbai Taximen’s Union Anthony L Quadros said that the auto-rickcar is too small. ‘’This vehicle can never replace traditional cabs. It will not be even able to ferry as many people as a normal cab. It is a match for autos not cabs,’’ he said. Cabbies in the city are now eyeing swankier models like Toyotas for a comfortable ride for Mumbaikars.

Indians to help peek into birth of universe B’lore scientists, with US & Oz, are making a radio telescope that’ll show how it happened

Indians to help peek into birth of universe

B’lore scientists, with US & Oz, are making a radio telescope that’ll show how it happened

Mysteries surrounding the birth of the universe may well come close to being unravelled starting next year, and Indian scientists will play an active role in it. Scientists from Bangalore’s Raman Research Institute (RRI) are collaborating with their counterparts from Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US, and Curtin University in Australia to build a radio telescope by early next year that will allow them to see how the universe was formed. Termed as the Murchison Wide-field Array (MWA) project, the telescope “will highlight parts of the universe that can’t be seen by conventional telescopes,” said Ravi Subrahmanyan, director, RRI. “Our goal is to build a telescope that will pick up different frequencies from the universe, and divide it in time zones to observe it. No one has done this as yet.” The telescope, with a budget of $30 million (Rs158 crore), will be able to detect radiation from the first stars in the universe. It will be used to detect hydrogen present in various cosmic structures. In this way the scientists hope to see how the universe was formed — by establishing which stars emitted hydrogen first, and from where in the universe. Designed with 128 powerful antennas, the radio telescope is being built at Boolardy Station in western Australia, about 800km from Perth, and will be ready in a year, Subrahmanyan said. This location was chosen as it is considered a ‘radio-quiet’ area, he added. The digital receivers for the telescope will be located within the radio astronomy laboratory in the RRI campus. The MWA telescope is only a precursor to a much more powerful radio telescope — the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). It’s estimated to be completed by 2020, and will be 50 times more sensitive while detecting cosmic hydrogen. It will be able to survey the universe faster than any existing radio telescope. “That will be the big one. Its location will be decided in March,” said Subrahmanyan.

Ways to beat boredom blues! Are you bored of your mundane work? Here are 5 ways to keep boredom at bay

Ways to beat boredom blues!

Are you bored of your mundane work? Here are 5 ways to keep boredom at bay

Everyone at some point or the other experiences utter boredom and aimlessly wanders on what he/she could do to make life a little more interesting. Here are a few quick ways in which you can keep boredom at bay and enjoy a much interesting and entertaining lifestyle.

Indulge in a hobby: Do not allow boredom to control your thoughts in any way. Indulge yourself in a hobby like playing an instrument, photography, knitting or drawing. Just in case you feel you are extremely good at a particular skill then you could teach the same to others also who would wish to learn from you.
Play with your pet: If you have a pet take it out for a walk and spend some lovely moments alone with it. Animals are completely non-judgmental and loving. Also animals constantly make you feel young at heart and keep you busy in some form or the other.
Visit a bookstore: If you are an ardent lover of books then go out and visit a nearby bookstore. You could just get lucky and be able to pick up your favourite book at a discounted rate. Even if there is no concession on it, books are always a great source of knowledge and a pleasure to read, so its great to invest in a new one anytime you wish too.
Watch a movie: Sit and watch the kind of movies that you like. For example, if you like comedies then get your hands on a few great slapstick movie DVDs or else watch a movie that you haven’t seen in a long time it may just seem different now. Movies are a great way for many to distress and pass time too.
Cook a meal for yourself: You don’t require being a five star hotel chef for this one. Just get into the kitchen and cook something that you have never tried before. Remember you are just keeping your boredom at bay while being an active and lively player too.
These are surely a few quick ways that will not allow you too get bored and help you remain lively, happy and stress free also. So go and indulge in one of the above activities while you think you are bored and it will surely make life more exciting!