Category: OTHERS BLOG

With every new year, comes renewed hope & ambition.
If you’re ready for an awesome 2016, here are some ideas to help you get there.
If you follow these ideas for the coming year, you can create remarkable changes in your life:
Make habits, not resolutions. Resolutions are like wishful thinking, that fade away as the year’s newness wears off. Goals are great, but it’s hard to manage 5-10 new goals when you have a lot of other things always going on. Instead, focus on one new habit at a time, and give it your full attention, until it becomes automatic.
Commit 100%. Most people fail at their resolutions because they write them down, start taking action, and then let themselves quit when things get hard. What if you had to pay Rs 5,00 if you missed two straight days of your routine? Would you stick to the habit then? Of course you would — because you’d be fully committed. Find a way to be all in, and you’ll make your habits stick.
Focus on weekly adaptations. Most people try to focus on something that will take a year to achieve, but you lose motivation, and what if things change during that year? Instead, focus on one week at a time. That’s a doable chunk of time — you can do a week at a time, but you can’t really do a year at a time.
Find your gang. You can do great things on your own, but you’re much more likely to get them done if you have a group of friends who are holding you accountable, and who you’re holding accountable too. Hold each others’ feet to the fire. Root each other on. Hold regular meetings to make sure everyone is staying on track, and don’t let your crew fall off track.
Fill your year with curiosity and a learning attitude. Many people get discouraged if they fall off their goals or habits, but that’s because they have an all-or-nothing mindset. They see failure as evidence that they can’t do it. Far from it: failure is evidence that things need adjusting. It’s a way to learn, so that you can get better. See all your successes and failures as learning, not a sign that you are good or not good. With this flexible mindset, you’ll be able to weather out any kinds of disruptions, missteps, obstacles or changes.

On the best sunny day, the most powerful magnifying glass will not light paper if youkeep moving the glass. But if you focus and hold it, the paper will light up. That is thepower of concentration. A man was traveling and stopped at an intersection. He asked an elderly man, “Where does this road take me?” The elderly person asked, “Where do you want to go?” The man replied, “I don’t know.” The elderly person said, “Then take any road. What difference does it make?”
How true. When we don’t know where we are going, any road will take us there.Supposing you have the football eleven enthusiastically ready to play the game, all charged up, and then someone took the goal post away. What would happen to the game? There is nothing left. How do you keep score? How do you know you have arrived? Enthusiasm without direction is like wildfire and leads to frustration. Goals give asense of direction.Would you sit in a train or a plane without knowing where it was going? The obvious
answer is no. Then why do people go through life without having any goals?
Goals must be
SMART:
1. S–specific. For example, “I want to lose weight.”
This is wishful thinking. It becomes a goal when I pin myself down to “I will lose 10
pounds in 90 days.”
2. M–must be measurable. If we cannot measure it, we cannot accomplish it.
Measurement is a way of monitoring our progress.
3. A–must be achievable. Achievable means that it should be out of reach enough to be
challenging but it should not be out of sight, otherwise it becomes disheartening.
4. R–realistic. A person who wants to lose 50 pounds in~30 days is being unrealistic.
5. T–time-bound. There should be a starting date and a finishing date.
Goals Must Be Balanced
Our life is like a wheel with six spokes.
1. Family. Our loved ones are the reason to live and make a living.
2. Financial. Represents our career and the things that money can buy.
3. Physical. Our health, without which nothing makes sense.
3. Mental. Represents knowledge and wisdom.
4. Social. Every individual and organization has social responsibility without which
society
starts dying.
6. Spiritual. Our value system represents ethics and character.

Internet was envisaged around the idea of being accessible to all without any restrictions. It allows people to reach out to each other and exchange information freely, if the information or service is not illegal. Much of this is because of the idea of net neutrality. If you like the current state of the internet, you should know about net neutrality. Many web users are aware of it. But if you are not, don’t worry. We explain it here:

What is net neutrality?

Net neutrality is an idea inspired by how telephone lines have worked since the beginning of the 20th century. In case of a telephone line, you can dial any number and connect to it. It does not matter if you are calling from person A to person B.
When the internet started to take off in 1980s and 1990s, there were no specific rules that asked that internet service providers (ISPs) should follow the same principle. But, mostly because telecom operators were also ISPs, they adhered to the same principle. This principle is known as net neutrality. An ISP does not control the traffic that passes its servers. When a web user connects to a website or web service, he or she gets the same speed. Data rate for Youtube videos and Facebook photos is theoretically same. Users can access any legal website or web service without any interference from an ISP.
Some countries have rules that enforce net neutrality but most don’t. Instead, the principle is followed because that is how it has always been. It is more of a norm than a law.

What will happen if there is no net neutrality?

If there is no net neutrality, ISPs will have the power (and inclination) to shape internet traffic so that they can derive extra benefit from it.
Without net neutrality, the internet as we know it will not exist. Instead of free access, there could be “package plans” for consumers. For example, if you pay Rs 500, you will only be able to access websites based in India. To access international websites, you may have to pay. Or maybe there can be different connection speed for different type of content, depending on how much you are paying for the service and what “add-on package” you have bought.

Lack of net neutrality, will also discourage innovation on the web. It is possible that ISPs will charge web companies to enable faster access to their websites. Those who don’t pay may see that their websites will open slowly. This means bigger companies like Google will be able to pay more to make access to Youtube or Google+ faster for web users but a startup that wants to create a different and better video hosting site may not be able to do that.

Instead of an open and free internet, without net neutrality we are likely to get a web that has silos in it and to enter each silo, you will have to pay some “tax” to ISPs.

Self-renewal is preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have- you. It’s renewing the four dimensions of your nature-physical, spiritual, mental, and social. “Sharpen the saw” means excising all four dimension of our nature, regularly and consistently in wise and balanced ways. This is the single most powerful investment we can ever make in life-investment in ourselves.
The physical dimension involves caring effectively for our body-eating the right kind of food, getting sufficient rest and relaxation, exercising on a regular basis. Exercise is one of those high-leverage activities that most of us ignore because it isn’t urgent. And sooner or later we find ourselves dealing with health problems that come as natural result of our neglect. Renewing the spiritual dimension provides leadership to your life. Its a private area of life and a supremely one. It draws upon the sources that inspire and uplift you and tie you to the truth of all humanity. It may be through daily prayerful meditation on the scriptures, good literature or great music. Continuing education and expending the mind is vital mental renewal. Most of our mental development comes through mental development. Serious reading, exploring new subjects, habit of reading good literature and writing are powerful way to sharpen the mental saw. The social and the emotional dimensions of our lives are tied together because our emotional life is primarily, developed out of and manifested in our relationships with others. Renewing our social or emotional dimensions does not take time the same sense that renewing the other dimensions does. We can do it in our normal everyday interactions with other people.
The self renewal process must include balanced renewal in all four dimensions of our nature: the physical, the spiritual, the mental, and the social/emotional. Although renewal in each dimension is important, it only becomes optimally effective as we deal with all four dimensions in a wise and balanced way. To neglect any one area negatively impacts the rest.

communication is the most important skill in our life. We spend most of our waking hours communicating. We spend most of our years learning how to read, write and speak. Listening is ignored. Generally people don’t listen to understand, they listen with the intention to reply. They are either speaking or preparing to speak. They are filtering everything through their own paradigms. It happens with so many of us. We are filled with our own rightness, our own autobiography. We want to be understood. Seldom people understand what’s really going on inside other human being. Generally listening is done at one of the four levels. It may be ignoring another person, not really listening at all. People may practice pretending. “Yeah. Uh-huh. Right” Or it may be selective listening, hearing only certain parts of the conversation. It may be attentive listening, paying attention and focusing energy on the words that are being said. But very few of us practice the fifth level, the highest of listening, empathic listening. Empathic listening does not refer to an “active” or “reflective listening” which is skilled based. Here you listen with intent to reply, to control, to manipulate. Empathic listening means listening with intent to understand. It gets inside another person’s frame of reference. You look out through it, you see the world the way they see the world, and you understand how they feel. The essence of empathic listening is not that you agree with someone, it’s that you fully, deeply, understand that person, emotionally as well as intellectually. It involves much more than reflecting the words that are said. You listen with your ears, but more importantly, you listen with your eyes and with your heart. You listen for meaning. As communication expert estimate, that only 10% of our communication is represented by our sounds, 60% by our body language. Empathic listening is so powerful because it gives you accurate data to work with. Instead of projecting your own and assuming thoughts, feelings, motives and interpretation, you are dealing with the reality of other person’s heart and mind.

The word proactive is commonly used. It means more than merely taking initiative. It means that that as human being, we are responsible for our own lives. Our behavior is the reflection of our decisions, not our conditions. We have the initiative and responsibility to make things happen. Feelings can be subdued by values and ethics. The word responsibility is “response ability”- the ability to choose our response. Highly proactive people recognize that responsibility. They do not blame situations, circumstances or people for their behavior. Their behavior is the product of their own choices, based on ethics and values, rather than a product of their circumstances, based on feelings. When we choose to empower circumstances to control us, our lives become product of conditioning and conditions. In making such a choice we become reactive. Reactive people often affected by their physical environment. If the circumstances are good they feel good about their selves and the people around them. If it is not, it affects their attitude and their performance. Proactive people carry their own weather with them. Whether it rains or shines makes no difference to them. They are value and ethics driven and if their value is to provide good quality work, it is not a function of whether the weather is conducive or not. Reactive people are also affected by the social ambiance. They build their emotional lives around the behavior of others. If people treat them well, they feel well, when people don’t, they become defensive. Proactive people subordinate impulse to a value. They are driven by values and ethics, on the other hand reactive people are driven by circumstances, by situations, by conditioning, by their environment. Proactive people carefully think and select their values. Proactive people still influenced by external environment, whether physical, social, or psychological. But their response to stimuli, conscious or subconscious is a value based choice or response.

Diwali is the festival of lights. It is celebrated in India every year in the month of October and November. The goddess of wealth, Lakshmi is worshipped along with God Ganesha and goddess Sraswati. It is believed that Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya with his wife Sita and the people of Ayodhya celebrated the day by lighting the lamps of clay (Diyas). The festival is celebrated for five days and each day different rituals are performed.
The first day is Dhanteras and on this day people purchase gold, silver or any other auspicious metal and worship goddess for good wealth and prosperity.
On the second day houses and workplaces are cleaned and washed. The day is called as Roopchaudas and it is believed that women must wash their hairs and put kajal in their eyes.
The main day is the third day. On this day people worship Godess Lakshmi, Saraswati and Lord Ganesha and pray for wealth and prosperity. People decorated their house and workplaces with flowers and make rangoli. Various different sweets and dishes are made and distributed. The lamps of clay or Diyas are lit and children burn firecrackers and celebrate the festival.

The next day after diwali, Govardhan Puja is done. On this day Lord Krishna defeated Indra by lifting Govardhan parvat. This day is celebrated by preparing Annakut in which different grains are cooked.
The last day which is the fifth day, Bhaiya dooj is celebrated. On this day sisters put tilak on their brother’s forehead and pray for his good health. In return brothers give gifts and blessings to their sisters.

ISRO recently launched its first multilevel wavelength space observatory in to space.Though astrosat may be similar to NASA’s hubble space telescope the former is about 10 times smaller and can not be compared to hubble,which is versatile.Astrosat will observe universe in the optical,ultraviolet and x-ray region of the ultraviolet rays and Xrays.
Astrosat has five payloads. These payloads rely on the Visible,Ultraviolet and X-rays coming from distant celestial sources.
1.The ultraviolet imaging telescope
2.Large area X-ray proportional centre
3.Soft X-ray telescope
4.Cadmium zinc telluride imager
5.Scanning sky monitor
With the successful launch of Astrosat,India has become the member of selected group of countries that have a space telescope to study celestial objects and processs.
Since earth atsmosphere does not allow ultraviolet rays and Xrays from distant cosmic object to reach ground based telescopes, space observatory become important to unravel celestial mysteries.As in the case of chandrayan-1 and the mars orbiter mission,mangalyaan,the astrosat has social application.

India has the distinction of being a unique federal country. Ordinarily, federalism involves a two tier system – central/union government at the first level and the state/provincial government at the second level. But the Indian constitution provides for a three tier federal structure as below: – Union Government at the top State Government in the Middle Local Government i.e. Panchayats and Municipalities at Grass Root As such, in India, Local Government is the third stratum of the Government, the first two being the central and state Governments. India is known to be the world’s largest democracy. In constitutional sense, democracy is the system of Government, in the administration of which, every adult citizen of the country enjoys some direct or indirect share. Keeping in view the real spirit and high ideas of democracy, Local Government forms an indispensable part of governance and administration in India. The Local Government’s jurisdiction is limited to a specific area and its functions relate to the provision of civic amenities to the population being within its jurisdiction. A Local Government functions 39 within the provisions of the statute which has created it. It is subordinate to the state or provincial government which exercises control and supervision over it. But the activities of the Local Government are not less numerous. Local Government has been undertaking new activities which either regulated the conduct of the citizens or are in the nature of service such as provision of mass transport, construction of houses for the poor, supply of electricity, health centers, parks, play grounds etc. In fact, Local Government is today much more important in the daily life of a citizen than the state or central government.

The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will launch three ambitious Social Security Schemes pertaining to the insurance and pension sector on 9th May 2015 at Kolkata. This would be a path breaking initiative towards providing affordable universal access to essential social security protection in a convenient manner linked to auto-debit facility from the bank account of the subscriber. The two insurance schemes to be launched, namely Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) and Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) would provide insurance cover in the unfortunate event of death by any cause / death or disability due to an accident, whereas the pension scheme, Atal Pension Yojana (APY), would address old age income security needs. The convenient delivery mechanism of the schemes is expected to address the situation of very low coverage of life / accident insurance and old age income security products in the country.

PMSBY will offer a renewable one year accidental death cum disability cover of Rupees Two Lakh (Rupees One Lakh for partial permanent disability) to all savings bank account holders in the age group of 18 to 70 years for a premium of Rs. 12/- per annum per subscriber. The scheme would be offered / administered through Public Sector General Insurance Companies (PSGICs) or other General Insurance companies willing to offer the product on similar terms on the choice of the Bank / RRB / Cooperative Bank concerned.

PMJJBY on the other hand will offer a renewable one year life cover of Rupees Two Lakh to all savings bank account holders in the age group of 18 to 50 years, covering death due to any reason, for a premium of Rs.330/- per annum per subscriber. The scheme would be offered / administered through LIC or other Life Insurance companies willing to offer the product on similar terms on the choice of the Bank / RRB / Cooperative Bank concerned.

APY, the third scheme to be launched, will focus on the unorganised sector and provide subscribers a fixed minimum pension of Rs. 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000 or Rs. 5000 per month starting at the age of 60 years, depending on the contribution option exercised on entering at an age between 18 and 40 years. Thus, the period of contribution by any subscriber under APY would be 20 years or more. The fixed minimum pension would be guaranteed by the Government. While the scheme is open to back account bank account holders in the prescribed age group, the Central Government would also co-contribute 50% of the total contribution or Rs. 1000 per annum, whichever is lower, for a period of 5 years for those joining the scheme before 31st December, 2015 and are not members of any statutory social security scheme and are not income tax payers.