From midnight last night, Tamil nadu saw major overhauls and hikes in the prices of milk and bus fares. Government got the hike sanctioned in order to generate funds for sustenance. When times are this bad it is only normal that the Government has resorted to such drastic changes especially that the central government is reeking with inefficiency. With no way out the Government puts the people in deep shit.
With the hike in bus fares to almost double the previous ticket prices much to the plight of public transport users, there no alternative to getting place to place or to work than cough up the extra cash for the bus fare.
But there is little to blame, we elected this government so can expect only so much out of them.
But the adverse affect of such a change is saddening. Some vendors use the bus service to get their produce from the market to their shops and they plan on how much money can be spent for their travel well in advance. Such a revision in bus fares will see them suffer as they probably have to cut down their daily expenses severely.
However for us, it would just be a matter of travel costing a little more than usual, at the most it would annoy us that we have less money to spend. Some would probably care less about such a hike and continue their splurging ways as it concerns only those who use the bus service to commute. The scooties and bikes are unaffected.
Today I had to travel to Mylapore and back in the morning, it cost me 15 buck what normally would have cost me 7-8 bucks, almost twice. To add to the price hike, the whole bus was quarreling with the conductor refusing to buy tickets and the whole trip was uncomfortably noisy. Perhaps we should have thought back into how much money was spent by the parties buying us things like free color t.vs free one incandescent bulb's electricity think out from where they conjoured up enough money for such luxorious provisions while neighbouring states can't even manage one of them.
Saving up the 10,000 Cr that is required for an attaining this apparent stability could have been saved up by the Government if they had not spent precious revenue on the poverty ridden fulfilling their childish fantasies Not to put down the already down trodden, but of what use is a color t.v that runs on free electricity when one can't afford their daily staple? People have to rethink their priorities and all will sail through quietly during these hard times.
The fault is like always on the Government's side, the poverty ridden class would do anything to uplift themselves, to give their lives a little more dignity, if I may compare them with kids who want every toy available in the toy shop, the Government pose as a parental figure. The child obviously craves for more toys, but the parent should not spoil him buying him more and more but instead constrain the child to some and make sure he has maintained them well and carefully. This way the child realizes the value of what he has got hence strives to keep safe what he already has and only then should parents get him more as a reward.
Well, what the Government has done is they've spent too much on the toys so they have little money left for basic resources like food and travel and it obviously exposes the government lacking in forward thinking.
Lets hope atleast that the governments learn from their mistakes and we can expect better governance from our future leaders.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
The snack shack
Today I went over to the inauguration of a bakery opened by my friend along with some of his school mates as partners. It's a bakery shop located adjacent to the PSBB k. k nagar school campus, chennai.
I must say the pastries and cup cakes are really good and to add to that, they are homemade by an aunt he knows. Besides that, the snack shack, as what they call it, also serves a variety of sandwiches, burgers, milkshakes and mocktails.
The location they managed to get is awesome! right next to a school, they'd get good business in the evenings as children would eventually make it a hangout place just after school and in the mornings too as the heavy sandwiches offer to make great breakfasts.
The shop is open from 7am to 10pm and does offer take away facilities and they aim to pose as an equally healthy alternative to breakfast at home.
That would greatly help working parents and kids who are fussy with what breakfast they want, they can drop by at the snack shack before they get to school and pack their break and lunch boxes with food.
He's got a good business minded friends too and that's help his cause and it's a great potential step to making a good start to a business career. If all goes well, I see really good profits that they can use to comfortable establish more branches, possibly even in some of the upcoming malls in the area and get first hand info about apparent research that may go underway in choosing an ideal shop location and space, this being important as it's food related shop and quality maintenance is of utmost importance.
Anyway good luck to him and his future ventures
Do check out their facebook page as well:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.183050235120679.43066.168851219873914&type=1
I must say the pastries and cup cakes are really good and to add to that, they are homemade by an aunt he knows. Besides that, the snack shack, as what they call it, also serves a variety of sandwiches, burgers, milkshakes and mocktails.
The location they managed to get is awesome! right next to a school, they'd get good business in the evenings as children would eventually make it a hangout place just after school and in the mornings too as the heavy sandwiches offer to make great breakfasts.
 |
| Yumm! |
The shop is open from 7am to 10pm and does offer take away facilities and they aim to pose as an equally healthy alternative to breakfast at home.
That would greatly help working parents and kids who are fussy with what breakfast they want, they can drop by at the snack shack before they get to school and pack their break and lunch boxes with food.
 |
| Cupcakes! |
I see it as an amazing opportunity for my friend who sees himself owning a successful business like his father so such a venture would definitely teach him first hand what he must do to successfully start off a business and sustain it profitably. He sure would get a idea where to invest in, what risks can be taken, what not to assume, learn from mistakes, its all working out to be a practical MBA and a really cool way that too!
He's got a good business minded friends too and that's help his cause and it's a great potential step to making a good start to a business career. If all goes well, I see really good profits that they can use to comfortable establish more branches, possibly even in some of the upcoming malls in the area and get first hand info about apparent research that may go underway in choosing an ideal shop location and space, this being important as it's food related shop and quality maintenance is of utmost importance.
Anyway good luck to him and his future ventures
Do check out their facebook page as well:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.183050235120679.43066.168851219873914&type=1
Monday, November 7, 2011
At the fork
Everyone in life will or have come across situations where one has to make crucial decisions. We all tend to ask everyone around us for advice on how to go about it. Some encourage a certain decision others discourage, some end up confusing you even more. You tend to value a more learned or elderly person's advice more, but it still remains your decision to make no matter what.
Gathering all the advice you sit down and assimilate what you have heard and draw a conclusion and analyse it again and again to see whether everyone's opinion was taken into consideration.
Many a time, we consider others' advice and suggestions so much that we forget to respect our own opinion on the issue. This is quite sad. And it is as though it hardly matters. But one can be so wrong. If we look at how people resort to giving advice is by telling you how they would decide to act upon the choices they have been given or that fork on the road where they have to choose a path. At times the advice they give can be so impractical yet it value it more than ours.
I right now am faced with a situation where I have graduated from college. Got placed in a IT company that recruited me from the college campus placements but have been delaying the date of my joining for just about have a year now. I should admit I am no extraordinary student, I have decent grades but feel this is not the way to start my career, waiting indefinitely for an offer. I resorted to try other companies and have got a job at a small IT firm of just over 50 employees doing some financial sector software product business.
The company I got through college is an IT giant, offers standard pay, insurance and other benefits, stable job, not so great on the learning curve but compensates quite well with other facilities. This small firm offer, the pay probably is much lesser, can't expect a perk filled benefit package, another unprecedented recession will wipe this company out. The only advantage that has a lot of hidden potential is the fact that the office is very near where I stay so I can save on travel time and expenses.
My parents expressed disapproval and said jobs got in campus has added value and that it was best I wait, but the very same day I got a letter from the IT giant that my wait can extend over another 5 months or so. They asked me to decide upon something by myself because either way there is something to lose. But I didn't believe it was that pathetic.
Plus points in my small firm job is that, it is run by a bunch of IT veterans as you can call them, went to the US during the IT boom, made a lot of money, now settled down with an IT company within walking distance from their homes. I only see it an opportunity to grow and learn from these pioneers in the field. The company has been around for around 13 years and that didn't sound bad at all.
It is a big question, a big risk that I am taking, will I benefit from a decision of choosing David over Goliath? Will I be in a better position than my big company peers, at least at par if not more? How big is the risk that I am taking? How much can I bank upon the fact that my learning curve will be robust and steady. Obviously I'm looking at two years maximum three in this company but it is crucial as it defines how the rest of my career will be shaped in a big way. My choices will be scrutinised.
The fact that worries my parents are that small companies can be so unpredictable, they can go bust in a matter of a string of bad decisions in a week. And close down in a month. But if I take that risk and go for it then all I can do is gain, and gain in a big way considering the exposure, the experience, the responsibility and this happens to be a research and development division of it's parent branch in bangalore so that's another big plus point.
Taking chances can work both ways. If it works fine, then there is much to gain from the fact I willed to take that risk.
Since all I want to see myself do is go with flow once something has been decided. Following the path I have chosen,if into the road less taken i tread, then maybe, maybe, there may be a day several years from now, when I look back and reminisce that I saw,
two roads diverge in the wood, and I took the one less travelled by, and that made all the difference.
Many a time, we consider others' advice and suggestions so much that we forget to respect our own opinion on the issue. This is quite sad. And it is as though it hardly matters. But one can be so wrong. If we look at how people resort to giving advice is by telling you how they would decide to act upon the choices they have been given or that fork on the road where they have to choose a path. At times the advice they give can be so impractical yet it value it more than ours.
I right now am faced with a situation where I have graduated from college. Got placed in a IT company that recruited me from the college campus placements but have been delaying the date of my joining for just about have a year now. I should admit I am no extraordinary student, I have decent grades but feel this is not the way to start my career, waiting indefinitely for an offer. I resorted to try other companies and have got a job at a small IT firm of just over 50 employees doing some financial sector software product business.
The company I got through college is an IT giant, offers standard pay, insurance and other benefits, stable job, not so great on the learning curve but compensates quite well with other facilities. This small firm offer, the pay probably is much lesser, can't expect a perk filled benefit package, another unprecedented recession will wipe this company out. The only advantage that has a lot of hidden potential is the fact that the office is very near where I stay so I can save on travel time and expenses.
My parents expressed disapproval and said jobs got in campus has added value and that it was best I wait, but the very same day I got a letter from the IT giant that my wait can extend over another 5 months or so. They asked me to decide upon something by myself because either way there is something to lose. But I didn't believe it was that pathetic.
Plus points in my small firm job is that, it is run by a bunch of IT veterans as you can call them, went to the US during the IT boom, made a lot of money, now settled down with an IT company within walking distance from their homes. I only see it an opportunity to grow and learn from these pioneers in the field. The company has been around for around 13 years and that didn't sound bad at all.
It is a big question, a big risk that I am taking, will I benefit from a decision of choosing David over Goliath? Will I be in a better position than my big company peers, at least at par if not more? How big is the risk that I am taking? How much can I bank upon the fact that my learning curve will be robust and steady. Obviously I'm looking at two years maximum three in this company but it is crucial as it defines how the rest of my career will be shaped in a big way. My choices will be scrutinised.
The fact that worries my parents are that small companies can be so unpredictable, they can go bust in a matter of a string of bad decisions in a week. And close down in a month. But if I take that risk and go for it then all I can do is gain, and gain in a big way considering the exposure, the experience, the responsibility and this happens to be a research and development division of it's parent branch in bangalore so that's another big plus point.
Taking chances can work both ways. If it works fine, then there is much to gain from the fact I willed to take that risk.
Since all I want to see myself do is go with flow once something has been decided. Following the path I have chosen,if into the road less taken i tread, then maybe, maybe, there may be a day several years from now, when I look back and reminisce that I saw,
two roads diverge in the wood, and I took the one less travelled by, and that made all the difference.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
The need for reforms- Employment laws for Commercial establishments
The headlines of The Hindu newspaper 1/11/11 shows that Chennai metropolitan development authorities (CMDA) have taken the initiative to lock down illegal and unauthorized establishments in T.nagar following a court order to demolish unauthorized buildings 2 months ago. Such an extreme decision was invoked owing to the 12 year battle between the traders and government officials regarding the issue. It started off with a regularization of illegal commercial establishments for a fee which the shop owners challenged in the court. What the shop owners claim is also impractical; they request the court to condone all illegal establishments in the T. nagar area and declare the region as a special retail economic zone.
To me T. nagar is the least preferred place to travel to be it for shopping or just driving through because of the traffic congestion in the region which is perennial, this is a step which will be lauded by residents and users of the T. nagar roads as we can see slightly more free flowing traffic thanks to these developments which according to the papers will encourage bringing more shops into the scanner.
On page 2, however there was an article about the plight of the employees in these textile and jewelry firms who are hoping that they will get their end of the month salaries today being the first of the next month but the shop owners claim that they are unable to do so until the shops are opened. The people working at these firms are helpless as most of them soul bread winners of their families, need the salaries to send home money. They are desperately cling on to their jobs to feed their families. The employers I believe will smartly play their cards not paying their workers unless this issue is sorted out and this will entail employees supporting their cause.
All these issues really seem to surface only due to the fact that not much of the developments in the city are monitored. The monitoring which has started is a little too late as there was found to be too many defaulters a case such as this one where many more commercial establishments are likely to fall under the unauthorized category. They in turn will penalize their workforce until a compromise is reached and the fragile microeconomics present in running their families will be affected.
The authorities will have to deal with the encroachment issue with these issues also in mind because if the process of demolishing illegal constructions get delayed then it is going to in turn affect the government themselves as they would have to address the issues of the families of the affected employees following this.
What can really be done is that employment regulations should be brought about from the state government level itself and also educate the people working under such firms about how they will benefit from such a scheme and how to exercise their rights. These laws would enforce textile and jewelry firms to treat its employees with a little more respect for it is they who run the shop. Also such an intiative from the government would not put them in this situation where they not only have to regulate the city buildings but also keep in mind the fragile familial situation.
Now lets see how the proceedings go. I see it as a huge challenge for the CMDA officials but I also see them learning from it thereby they show more insight the next time such radical decisions are to be made.
To me T. nagar is the least preferred place to travel to be it for shopping or just driving through because of the traffic congestion in the region which is perennial, this is a step which will be lauded by residents and users of the T. nagar roads as we can see slightly more free flowing traffic thanks to these developments which according to the papers will encourage bringing more shops into the scanner.
On page 2, however there was an article about the plight of the employees in these textile and jewelry firms who are hoping that they will get their end of the month salaries today being the first of the next month but the shop owners claim that they are unable to do so until the shops are opened. The people working at these firms are helpless as most of them soul bread winners of their families, need the salaries to send home money. They are desperately cling on to their jobs to feed their families. The employers I believe will smartly play their cards not paying their workers unless this issue is sorted out and this will entail employees supporting their cause.
All these issues really seem to surface only due to the fact that not much of the developments in the city are monitored. The monitoring which has started is a little too late as there was found to be too many defaulters a case such as this one where many more commercial establishments are likely to fall under the unauthorized category. They in turn will penalize their workforce until a compromise is reached and the fragile microeconomics present in running their families will be affected.
The authorities will have to deal with the encroachment issue with these issues also in mind because if the process of demolishing illegal constructions get delayed then it is going to in turn affect the government themselves as they would have to address the issues of the families of the affected employees following this.
What can really be done is that employment regulations should be brought about from the state government level itself and also educate the people working under such firms about how they will benefit from such a scheme and how to exercise their rights. These laws would enforce textile and jewelry firms to treat its employees with a little more respect for it is they who run the shop. Also such an intiative from the government would not put them in this situation where they not only have to regulate the city buildings but also keep in mind the fragile familial situation.
Now lets see how the proceedings go. I see it as a huge challenge for the CMDA officials but I also see them learning from it thereby they show more insight the next time such radical decisions are to be made.
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