"Half Man-Half Price Store"- Story of Peng Shuilin

        In our life we always keep complaining. We never get satisfied with what we get in life. Fat people say,"I want to be slim".Slim people say,"I want to be Fat". Poor people want to be rich and rich are never satisfied with what they have got. Everywhere we are just complaining. But having no legs, no butts at all, can you imagine how a man  would want to live.

        PENG Shuilin is 78cms high. He was born in Hunan Province, China.In 1995, in Shenzhen, a freight truck sliced his body in half. He survived. But his lower half was beyond repair. Surgeons sewed up his torso. Skin was taken form his head to plug any gaps. He survived against all the odds; now Peng Shulin has astounded doctors by learning to walk again.

              Recently, he began exercising his arms, building up the strength to carry out everyday chores such as washing his face and brushing his teeth.Doctors at the China Rehabilitation Research Centre in Beijing found out about Mr Peng's plight late last year and devised a plan to get him up walking again.They came up with an ingenious way to allow him to walk on his own, creating a sophisticated egg cup-like casing to hold his body with two bionic legs attached to it. He has been taking his first steps around the centre with the aid of his specially adapted legs and a resized walking frame.

             Hospital vice-president Lin Liu said: "We've just given him a check up and he is fitter than most men his age. He is amazing and the only person in the world to survive having so much of his body amputated."He had good care but his secret is his cheerfulness - nothing ever gets him down."

             Peng Shuilin opened his own bargain supermarket - called the Half Man-Half Price Store.Now the inspirational 37-year-old has become a businessman and is used as a role model for other amputees.

My salutations to you Sir!!

-"Union Budget"-

These days I am trying to learn and understand our Union Budget.I always believe that "Union Budget" is a very difficult topic.So in this post I am trying to simplify our Union Budget and Budget Terms.

What does the Union Budget contain?

The Union Budget is our country's annual financial statement of receipts and expenditures for the coming financial year -- similar to an individual's personal cash flow statement but prepared on an annual basis. It contains the expected revenues (to be received) and expected expenditures (to be met) in the coming FY by the Government of India. It is supposed to be an indicator of the economic growth and the financial well being of our country.

When is the Union Budget presented?

The presentation of the Union Budget is usually done on the last working day of February. This year, however, it will be presented on February 26 as the last working day falls on a Sunday. The current budget being presented is for the coming financial year: FY 2010-11.

Who prepares Government's annual budget?

There's a separate division in the Ministry of Finance called as the 'Budget Division' to look after the preparation of the Budget.

Budget process

Here are the various stages through which the Union Budget goes through before it is passed in the lower house of Parliament (Lok Sabha) after which the President of India signs it and it becomes an Act:

• Every year, the 'Budget Division' under the Ministry of Finance is responsible for the preparation of the budget. All government ministries & departments send in their funds' proposals and requirements.
• Based on the inputs, a Draft Budget is prepared.
• The draft budget is then approved by the Finance Minister in consultation with the Prime Minister.
• A final budget is then presented in the Parliament.
• A discussion on the budget is held in the Parliament (regarding each ministry's grant proposals) and Finance Minister responds to questions. Revision of tax (direct & indirect) proposals are also discussed & voted upon here.
• Once the grants are approved, 2 bills are introduced in the Lok Sabha -- Appropriation Bill (final approval of funds to be given to each ministry) and Finance Bill (tax proposals). Union Budget is then approve

Budget Terms

1. Budget estimate

The Budget estimate is an assessment of the Government's revenues and expenses for the coming FY. The government makes an assessment of the expenditure to be incurred and revenue (or income) to be received.

2. Central plan/Annual plan

The government's Five-Year plans are split into Central Plans or Annual Plans and necessary funds are allocated every year through the Union Budget to achieve the laid-out goals (social & welfare commitments).

3. Consolidated Fund of India

This is the government's savings account. All money received by government (in any form) is placed here. All expenses are met from this account. Withdrawal is subject to Parliament's authorisation.

4. Public account

It is an account where money received through transactions not relating to consolidated fund is kept.

5. Contingency Fund of India

As the name suggests, money from this account is only for contingencies (such as floods, drought, other national calamities, disasters etc). Withdrawal is subject to Parliament's authorisation.

6. Revenue account

This is the income & expenditure statement of the government containing details of revenue spent in comparison with revenue received.

Revenue receipts: The government earns revenue in the form of taxes (direct and indirect taxes), duties (excise, custom), interest, and other fees collected.

Revenue expenditure: Any expenditure (other than for creation of capital asset) for the normal operation of the government is called revenue expenditure. Example, interest payments on government borrowing programme, salaries to government staff, subsidies etc.

The above expenditure must be financed from revenue receipts, ie revenue that the government earns.

7. Capital account

Alike Revenue Account, Capital Account is the statement containing details of capital expenditure incurred vis-a-vis capital receipts.

Capital receipts: Thye refer to the money that the government make via loans -- given to RBI, market advances, to foreign governments and other international organisations. Also, disinvestment proceeds fall into this category.

Capital expenditure: Refers to the money used up on creating capital assets (railways, express highways, airways, canals and dams, purchase of land, machinery and equipment), loans to state governments & government subsidiaries, and other investments made/incurred by the government.

8. Non-Plan expenditure

This consists of government's fixed expenditure like expenditure on defense, interest payments, subsidies and grants to states. This can be both revenue & capital in nature.

9. Plan expenditure

This consists of expenditure incurred on five-year plans and social and welfare commitments of the government (example, expenditure incurred on National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme). Funds are allocated for this periodically.

10. Fiscal deficit

When the revenue receipts of the government falls short of its total expenditure, a fiscal deficit is created. In such a case, the Government resorts to borrowing to make good this shortfall.

11. Finance Bill

This consists of the proposed amendments to taxes (example, change in income tax slabs etc) and their impact on the Government's revenue resources.

12. Direct and indirect taxes

Direct Taxes: Taxes cut directly from salary, business income or income from other sources are called direct taxes.

Indirect Taxes: Taxes added (indirectly) to the price of goods and services are called indirect taxes. Example: sales tax, excise duty and service tax.

13. Subsidies

Monetary concession given to producers or consumers of specific goods in order to control prices and manage resources for better utilisation.

“Designed by Life, Shaped by Time” - from Vision To Reality "Dynamic Architecture"

           Dr. David Fisher's revolutionary Dynamic Tower is the world's first building in motion that challenges traditional concepts of architecture and heralds a new era of architecture, becoming the symbol of a new philosophy that will change the look of our cities and our concept of living.

           Offering infinite design possibilities, each floor of the Dynamic Tower rotates independently at different speeds, in different directions, resulting in a unique and ever-evolving shape, and introducing a fourth dimension to architecture: Time.

           The Dynamic Tower is the first 100% self-powered Green building with the ability to generate electricity for itself through the use of horizontal wind turbines and solar panels.

           Dr. Fisher states, “Modern life is dynamic, so the space we are living in should be dynamic as well, adjustable to our needs that change continuously, to our concept of design and to our moods. Dynamic buildings will follow the rhythms of nature, changing their direction and shape, minute by minute, from sunrise to sunset, season to season, adjusting themselves to the environment. From now on, buildings will be alive , creating a fourth dimension of Time, to become part of New Architecture, and transforming the shape of the skylines of the world.”

Residents, if they own the entire floor, are able to control the speed and direction of the rotation by voice command. One can have breakfast watching the sunrise, lunch viewing the open sea, and dinner overlooking the lights of the city - all from the same place inside their unit. The other floors will be commanded by the architect, by the mayor or whoever will have the password to the computer program that will give the building a different shape at every glance.

Dr. David Fisher's revolutionary Dynamic Tower, the first building in motion, is the first skyscraper to be entirely assembled in a factory from pre-fabricated parts. The factory-made construction process offers many of the advantages of any modern industrial product: conserving energy, reducing construction time and dramatically cutting costs. Each individual unit is completely finished at the Factory and exported worldwide to the assembly site , ready for quick and efficient installation.

The Dynamic Tower, the world's first building in motion, takes the concept of Green buildings to the next level, generating electricity for itself with a possible surplus for other nearby buildings, making it the first skyscraper designed to be entirely powered by wind and sun.With wind turbines fitted horizontally between each rotating floor, an 80-story building will have up to 79 wind turbine systems, making it a true Green power plant. While traditional vertical wind turbines have environmental and social effects, including the need for roads to build and maintain them plus their noise and obstruction of views, the Dynamic Tower's wind turbines are practically invisible and extremely quiet due to their special shape and the carbon fiber material of which they are composed.

The Dynamic Tower was listed among "THE BEST INVENTIONS OF THE YEAR" 2008. The list was published on TIME Magazine's November 10th issue

1 single Picture 100 famous Personalities!Can you find it?

Friends 1 have found this picture while searching in the net.There are 100 famous Personalities in the picture.I have identified only 24 personalities among them.So try your  Luck..All the best.(Save the Picture 1st for better view)

Dilip Donde to become the first Indian to sail solo around the world !

          Sometimes the most quiet and unassuming people do the most amazing things. Commander Dilip Donde is one such person. Dilip Donde to become the first Indian to sail solo around the world.

          Donde, who was flagged off by Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta Aug 19, 2009, has the luxury of only four stops – Fremantle (Australia), Christchurch (New Zealand), Stanley (Falkland Islands) and Cape Town (South Africa).Donde will compass a distance of over 21,600 Nm (nautical miles) over 9 months.He will arriving back in Mumbai on or about 25 May 2010.

              The indigenously manufactured yacht – Mhadei is a 56-footer Tonga, well proven for its ability for going around the world on such expeditions. Besides, the boat is fitted with state-of-the-art navigation and communication equipments.The Yatch board was purchased from the Netherlands and many specialized parts were imported. It was constructed at the Aquarius Fibreglas Pvt Ltd in Goa and the defence ministry funded the Rs 6.5 crore project.

              For more information check his blog http://sagarparikrama.blogspot.com/

Some famous Logos and stories behind them

Logo is very importent for every organization.It is the way through which a company communicate their basic message,values to the customers. However has anyone ever thought how these brands have completed their journey, here is some insight to this.

         The American company Apple was the first computer firm not to use its name as its corporate identity.The motif – of a multicolored apple with a bite taken out of it – is reportedly a reference to the Biblical story of Adam and Eve, in which the apple represents the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge.

         However, there is another story behind the design of this logo. According to the second version once Steve Jobs was eating an apple and suddenly observed it carefully, today that eaten apple might cost you some million dollars, what might be of some cents.

The company’s first logo appeared in 1971, and represents the wing in the famous statue of the Greek goddess of victory, Nike, who was a source of inspiration for warriors. According to legends, a Greek would say, “When we go to battle and win, we say it is Nike.” Called the “Swoosh” logo.

 Amazon.com is a pioneer in the online retailing business. The company was founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 and began as an online book store. However today Amazon sells anything and everything under the sun including CDS, DVD, Baby Products, Furniture, electronics, clothes etc. You could say that they sell everything from "A to Z".The Amazon logo represents the very same message that they sell everything from A to Z and the arrow below the logo represents the smile that customers would experience by shopping on the Amazon.com website.

Have noticed a hidden symbol in the Federal Express logo?I am talking about the 'arrow' that you can see between the E and the x in this logo. The arrow was introduced to underscore speed and precision, which are part of the positioning of the company.

The Mercedes Benz logo was originally created by Gottlieb Daimler in 1909. The Mercedes Benz logo consists of a simple depiction of a three-pointed star that represents “its domination of the land, the sea, and the air.”

If you look at the diamond icon on the left of the company’s name, you will see that it spells out Sun starting from any corner. It is a wonderful example of symmetry.

If you look at the diamond icon on the left of the company’s name, you will see that it spells out Sun starting from any corner. It is a wonderful example of symmetry.

There is the Baskin Robins new logo, in where the BR also creates the number 31 for how many flavors they have. I found it very clever.



 
 
 
 
 

The Philadelphia Experiment

       Few months back I watched a movie The Philadelphia Experiment. Its a old movie(1984) Based on an "actual event" that took place in 1943. About a US Navy Destroyer Escort that disappeared from the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, and sent two men 40 years into the future to 1984.Yesterday I saw a movie in UTV Action.The name of the movie is 100 million BC.

Well the story of both the movies are alomst similar i.e "The Philadelphia Experiment " also referred to as Project Rainbow.

         The story is widely regarded as a hoax,while the U.S. Navy maintains that no such experiment occurred, and details of the story contradict well-established facts about the Eldridge.It has nonetheless caused ripples in conspiracy theory circles, and elements of the Philadelphia Experiment are featured in other government conspiracy theories.

        “Project Rainbow” was an experiment conducted upon a small destroyer escort ship during World War II while the ship was in Philadelphia Harbor at the Navy Yard and while it was at sea. The purpose of the experiment was to make the ship invisible to enemy detection. The accounts vary as to whether the original idea was to achieve invisibility to enemy radar or whether the prize sought after was more profound: optical invisibility. Either way, it is commonly believed that the mechanism involved was the generation of an incredibly intense magnetic field around the ship, which would cause refraction or bending of light or radar waves around the ship, much like a mirage created by heated air over a road on a summer day. The legend goes on to say that the experiment was a complete success ... except that the ship actually disappeared physically for a time, and then returned. They wanted to “cloak” the ship from view, but they actually achieved was apparent de-materialization and teleportation instead.

          On the 28th of October in 1943, at 17:15, the final test on the U.S.S. Eldridge was performed. The electromagnetic field generators were turned on again, and the U.S.S. Eldridge became nearly invisible. Only a faint outline of the hull remained visible in the water. Everything was fine for the first few seconds, and then, in a blinding blue flash, the ship completely vanished. Within seconds it reappeared hundreds of miles away, in Norfolk, Virginia, and was seen for several minutes. The U.S.S. Eldridge then disappeared from Norfolk as mysteriously as it had arrived, and reappeared back in Philadelphia Naval Yard. This time most of the sailors were violently sick. Some of the crew were simply “missing” never to return. Some of the crew went crazy. The strangest result of all of this experiment was that five men were found fused to the metal within the ship’s structure.

What is the Meaning of Google?

I am an Internet freak. Each day I search about 4/5 topics in the net with the help of  Google Search Engine.

Then One day suddenly one question came to my mind :"What is the meaning of Google?Where did the name google come from? What does google stand for ?". I again searched in Google and found some information. I have shared those informations in my blog.

The verb to google refers to using the Google search engine to obtain information on the Web. The American Dialect Society chose it as the "most useful word of 2002." It was officially added to the Oxford English Dictionary on June 15, 2006,and to the eleventh edition of the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary in July 2006.The first recorded usage of google used as a verb was on July 8, 1998, by Larry Page himself, who wrote on a mailing list: "Have fun and keep googling!"

Googol is the mathematical term for a 1 followed by 100 zeros. The term was coined by Milton Sirotta, nephew of American mathematician Edward Kasner, and was popularized in the book, “Mathematics and the Imagination” by Kasner and James Newman. Google’s play on the term reflects the company’s mission to organize the immense amount of information available on the web.”

Goooooooooo,oooooooooo,oooooooooo,oooooooooo,oooooooooo,

oooooooooo,oooooooooo,oooooooooo,oooooooooo,ooooooooooGle

is indeed derived from Googol
10000000000,0000000000,0000000000,0000000000,0000000000,

0000000000,0000000000,0000000000,0000000000,0000000000.

That is 100 zeros!
Keep Googling!!!!!

Machal Lalung --who spent 54 years in an Indian jail without facing trial.

       Seventy-seven year old Machang Lalung was arrested in 1951 from his native village of Silsang, 64km (40 miles) from the state's main city of Guwahati.Police said that Mr Lalung, who is from the Lalung tribe, was booked for "causing grievous hurt".The offence normally results in 10 years imprisonment.

       But police said there was no evidence to support the allegation, so within a year of his arrest, he was transferred to a psychiatric institution."It seems the police just forgot about him thereafter," says Assamese human rights activist Sanjay Borbora.

       In 1967, the authorities at the institution certified Mr Lalung as "fully fit" and said that they intended to release him.But instead of being freed, police transferred him to another jail."Even at this point, the police did not send him to court to face trial, they just kept him in prison," Mr Borbora said.Strangely, even his relatives and family members forgot about Machang Lalung.

       Lalung died on December 25, 2007. Freedom at the Edge is a short film by Aneisha Sharma, based on Lalung's story.

Tooth made out of bamboo, Bamboo bicycle made by Mr. Dodhi Pathak from Assam

Mr. Dodhi Pathak is an unique innovator of articles made out of bamboo. He was discovered in a mela (rural fair). He is around 48 years of age. He firmly believes in the adage “ necessity is the mother of invention”. Having suffered a poverty stricken childhood, he faced many difficulties in life which reinforced his faith in his ability to innovate. The seeds of the innovations were laid when Mr. Pathak had to buy a second hand cycle for himself. He was not able to buy one as it was very costly. So he thought of constructing a cycle with a locally available raw material i.e., bamboo. With this idea in his mind Mr. Pathak was able to make his dream come true. He is a very good singer of folk tunes.

Teeth made from bamboo:

He has designed artificial teeth from bamboo. The innovator has made it for own use. His two incisors on the upper jaw are the proof of the utility and feasibility of this innovation. He can chew anything and eat all types of food including mutton and fish with the bamboo teeth

Bicycle made from bamboo:

Designed and made a complete bicycle by using bamboo for all parts except the tyre and tube. Initially when he rode it through the lanes in his village, many people stared at this new bamboo bicycle.

Hand pump made from bamboo:

He has developed a working model of a hand pump, which is suitable to lift both underground water and pond water. This pump is totally made out of bamboo, even the piston, valve, barrel, handle and all the other parts.

"e-Choupal"-- By ITC

e Choupal is an initiative of ITC Limited (a large multi business conglomerate in India) to link directly with rural farmers for procurement of agricultural / aquaculture produce like soybeans, wheat, coffee, and prawns. eChoupal was conceived to tackle the challenges posed by the unique features of Indian agriculture, characterized by fragmented farms, weak infrastructure and the involvement of numerous intermediaries.
Traditionally, these commodities were procured in "mandis" (major agricultural marketing centres in rural areas of India), where the middleman used to make most of the profit. These middlemen used unscientific and sometimes outright unfair[citation needed] means to judge the quality of the product to set the price. Difference in price for good quality and inferior quality was less, and hence there was no incentive for the farmers to invest and produce good quality output. With eChoupal, the farmers have a choice and the exploitative power of the middleman is neutralised.
ITC Limited has now established computers and Internet access in rural areas across several agricultural regions of the country, where the farmers can directly negotiate the sale of their produce with ITC Limited. The PCs and Internet access at these centres enable the farmers to obtain information on mandi prices, good farming practices and place orders for agricultural inputs like seeds and fertilizers. This helps farmers in improving the quality of produce, and also helps in realizing a better price. Each ITC Limited kiosk having an access to Internet is run by a sanchalak — a trained farmer. The computer housed in the sanchalak’s house is linked to the Internet via phone lines or by a VSAT connection and serves an average of 600 farmers in the surrounding ten villages within about a 5 km radius. The sanchalak bears some operating cost but in return earns service fee for the e-transactions done through his eChoupal. The warehouse hub is managed by the same traditional middle-men, now called samyojaks, but with no exploitative power due to the reorganised role. Indeed these middlemen make up for the lack of infrastructure and fulfill critical jobs like cash disbursement, quantity aggregation and transportantion.

Due to the eChoupal services, farmers have seen a rise in their income levels because of rise in yields, improvement in quality of output and a fall in transaction costs. Even small farmers have gained from the initiative. Customized and relevant knowledge is offered to the farmers despite heterogeneous cultures, climates and scales of production. Farmers can get real-time information despite their physical distance from the "mandis". The system saves procurement costs for ITC Limited. The model is quite different from the other models, as the farmers do not pay for the information and knowledge they get from eChoupals. The principle of the eChoupals is to inform, empower and compete. At the same time ITC Limited also has extracted value in four steps to make the model sustainable and scaleable:

1.elimination of non-value added activities
2.differentiated product through identity preserved supply chains
3.value added products traceable to farm practices
4.e-market place for spot transactions and support services to futures exchange[citation needed]
One of the factors leading to eChoupal's success is ITC's managerial expertise in executing complex projects and managing costs. ITC Limited adopted a flexible project management approach called "roll out, fix it, and scale up" to deal with uncertainties in a pioneering model.[citation needed]

There are 6,500 eChoupals today. ITC Limited plans to scale up to 20,000 eChoupals by 2012 covering 100,000 villages in 15 states, servicing 15 million farmers.

For more information see my link http://www.scribd.com/doc/24936333/echoupal-case-study

"A 1000 miles journey starts with a single step"

Hello friends...today I start my own blog..rite now I dont have any Idea about how to start a blog and what to do...

But I have started my journey..