Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Do we even know what exactly we are voting for???


      Over the last few months I have seen numerous debates among netizens over the issue of Net neutrality, So I ignored it as just another issues of numerous Digital India plan, People always have different views or opinions about anything or everything that is new.

     But since last few days I have been receiving regular notifications from Facebook about how my friends have voted in support of Free Basic and how I had not and that I should, making me feeling guilty about it. Facebook is urging Indians to send an email to TRAI in support of Free Basic Program by giving a Pre-filled form in our notification sections which is titled "Act Now To Save Free Basic In India", which some would say as unethical way of getting votes. Free basic is aimed at providing free basic internet facilities to the common Indian rural public, Good Idea, isn't it? but turns out it is an incomplete picture, while Facebook says we won't be charged anything for these basic internet facilities, it means for some selected sites that Facebook has approved there won't be any charges but for all other sites the charges could be doubled or tripled as telecom companies would want to recover their investments. No wonder there are some, who are openly opposing these idea.


Turns out they are both same.


     People opposing these ideas want net neutrality, where all internet sites are accessible without any favoring or blocking of any site or product which in the case of Facebook's Free basic could be compromised as Facebook will only give access to the sites that it has approved, while if we want other sites we would have to pay extra. This means any new budding business wanting to promote itself would have to bend itself in front of Facebook. 
    The arguments put forth by Net neutrality supporters are, Instead of free basic sites why don't Facebook make it free limited amount of data for each month, keeping all internet sites equally accessible. This makes more of a sense but at the end of the day, it is the consumer who has to make the right use of services instead of misuses for his own benefits.


    As TRAI has requested public response for its final verdict, Facebook has started getting the votes smartly using its consumer's habit of following everything that is free or trending, In this case both. Just like people colored their DP's in support of Paris, gay rights or other similar stuffs by click of button, they began sending notifications and getting peopled signed up and then forwarding it to theirs friend list, creating a trend. Some people would have signed up because of free internet to poor, but Most of others, because everybody else is doing.

   Such is the control of social media over us, that it can change opinions, create ones that is beneficial to them by just a click, exploiting the sentimental and sometimes greedy human emotions to its advantage.

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

5 Best Indian Special forces everyone must know.

     Being situated with hostile neighborhoods and always prone to terror attacks or Natural calamities it is thanks to these elite forces that safeguards us from any attacks or disasters, yet they go unnoticed. These are some of best Indian elite forces that every Indian could be proud of.

  1.   NSG Commandos

NSG stands for National Security Guard and comes under Ministry of Home Affairs

Active since-1984

Nicknames- Black Cats

Created for- To tackle all facets of terrorisms in country with a view to protect states from internal disturbances.

Motto- “Sarvatra Sarvottam Surakhsha (Omnipresent Omnipotent Defence)”

Engagements- Operation Black ThunderOperation Ashwamedh, Operation Black Tornado, 2013 Bangalore and Hyderabad Blasts, Etc.

Training- They have a very hard core training with a drop rate of 70-80%.
  •  Physical fitness ranges from an cross-country obstacle course to jumping from heights and across divides and scaling different kinds terrain
  •  One endurance test involves martial arts, target shooting at the end of an obstacle-ridden cross-country run.
  •  NSG commandos are trained in parkour French obstacle clearance technique 
  • Pekiti-Tirsia Kali new form of martial art from Philippines and many other advance techniques.
  2.    PARA Commandos


Para Commandos is a Special unit of the Indian Army's Parachute Regiment and among the oldest regime of Air borne units.

Active since 1 July 1966

Created for: Special operations, Direct action, Seek and Destroy, Hostage rescue, foreign internal defense, Covert operations etc.
Motto: Men apart, every man an emperor.”

Engagements- Indo-Pakistani war of 197, Operation Blue Star, Operation Rakshak, Counter-insurgency operations in Myanmar, etc.

TrainingA special Force operator has to undergo a longest but continuous training process of 3.5 years.
They are imparted with:
     ·         Specialized mode of infiltration and exfiltration , either by air(combat freefall) or by Sea(combat diving).
·         Free-fall training of up to 33500 feet.
·         HAPPS(High Altitude parachute penetration system)
·         Stealth insertion training.
·         Others include Demolition training, Linguistic skill and logistic training, Surival training, weapon handling training, etc.

  3.   Marcos


MARCOS stands for Marine Commandos, which was earlier also known as Marine Commando Force (MCF).

A unit of Indian navy specifically trained and equipped for carrying out special operations in a maritime environment.

Created for- Amphibious warfare, Counter terrorism, Special reconnaissance, Hostage rescues, ETC.

Active since- 14 Feb. 1987

Nicknames- Magarmach (Crocodile)/ Dadiwala fauj (Bearded army)

EngagementsOperations Cactus, Operations Leech, Operations Pawan, Kargil war, Operations Tornado, Counter terrorism in J & K, etc.
The MARCOS are trained in:
·         All kinds Weapons training from basic knifes to hand guns, sniper rifles, assault rifles, machine guns and also with Bare hands.
·         Open and closed circuit diving
·         Basic commando skills including advanced weapon skills, demolitions, endurance training and martial arts
·         Para training
·         Intelligence training
·         Operation of submersible craft
·         Operations from submarines
·         Sky diving
·         Parachute into open water with full combat load.



  4.   COBRA Commandos

COBRA stands for Commander Battalion for Resolute Action. A specialized unit of CRPF trained in tracking, hunting and eliminating enemies.

Active since 12 September 2008

Created - To track, hunt and eliminate small naxalite groups

Motto - “Victory or Death”

Engagements- Ops conducted in Dantewada district, Duli forests, Saranda forests, etc.

Training- Trained at Counter insurgency in Mizoram and Counter terrorists school in Silchar
Some training includes;
  •   Art of camouflage and jungle warfare
  •    Halo jump Training 
  •    Ambush and precision strikes



  5.  Garud Commandos Force


Garud is special Forces unit of Indian Air Force and derived from divine bird Garuda from Hindu mythology.

Active since- 8 Feb. 2004

Created for- Direct Action, Airfield Seizures, Airborne Operations, Disaster relief, Search and rescue, etc.

Motto- “Prahar se Suraksha(Offence is best form of defence)”

Engagements- Deployed in Congo as UN peace Keeping operations, Security during Aero India, Ongoing operations in Kashmir






Training-  
  • Phase 1 is a three month probationary training which filters candidates for the next phases of training.
  • Phase 2 is a special operations training imparted by the Special Group of the Special Frontier Force, the army, NSG and the paramilitary forces.
  • Next, qualified candidates proceed to the Parachute Training School (PTS) at Agra to complete the basic airborne phase. Trainees are trained along with paratroopers of the Indian Army.
  • Phase 3 concentrates on fields like jungle and snow survival, demolition, etc. Garuds also train at the diving school of the Indian Navy and the Army's Counter insurgency in Mizoram and Counter terrorists school in Silchar
  •  The final phase of training is active operations on being attached to Special Force Units of the Indian Army, which helps the Garuds in gaining operational experience.
  • After induction, the commandos also undergo advanced training, including anti-hijack and counter insurgency training, jungle and snow survival techniques, specialized weapon handling and advanced driving skills



Sunday, July 19, 2015

Eating with the fast paced world

Nobody likes to wait from travelling places to long distance talks the world has brought everything closer, smarter and faster. With the advent of cars, smart phones and other such technologies everything has become quicker then why not in foods. In such fast paced world, a fast food goes a long way in saving time.
White castle, America's first fast food chain

Fast food, a term popularized by Americans in early 1950’s, generally means food prepared and served quickly. And anything that is fast and good doesn’t take time to establish itself among the people. This can be seen by successful inception of White Castle America’s first fast food chain which eventually resulted in spawning new competitors. Fast food chains like McDonald's, Pizza hut and KFC are now all over the world with their unique food and its recipes.

Also being easily made they can be served everywhere from restaurants to drive through, from stadiums to gas-stations wherever people are ready with their money. What probably started as a small shop selling normal hamburger or hotdogs as now turned out to a billion dollar industry. Over the century, fast food industry has not just changed American diet, but has also brought economy and business transformation by spreading its wings all over the world.

In India too, KFC, Barista or McDonald's have hundreds of their outlets all over the country. Fast food industry in India has evolved with the changing lifestyles of the young Indian population. The sheer variety of food preferences across the regions has brought about different changes in fast foods outlet’s recipes and varieties. CCD or Café Coffee Day, an idea of Bangalore-based businessman, is the only Indian chain which boasts of hundreds of outlets across India, but it is classified more as a coffee shop than a fast food place.

The variety of fast foods offered in a food court or stall or any restaurants in India varies from region. Some of the fast food available all over the India is:


IDLI, DOSA and other south Indian Dishes.
Vada pav, Samosa pav, pav bhaji


 Pani puri, Bhel puri, chaat Etc.


Although most of these fast foods are not that harmful everything has a limit. Like every successful industry fast food chains have its fair shares of negative criticism some of them being labeled as unhealthy, alleged animal cruelty, or worker exploitation cases. According to WHO report, Deregulated food markets are one of the reasons for rise in amount of obesity among people. In response to these criticism, these food outlets have now started health friendly menu along with contribution to become more Eco-friendly by reducing packaging waste looks, like they are here to stay.

Thursday, July 16, 2015

How about a competent skill India?


     Recently our Prime minister launched a ‘Skill India’ initiative that aimed at developing people’s skill which means providing men with required knowledge to help in production of a favourable result. There is no doubt about India having large number of people unemployed and developing their skill will definitely help them but will they be able to compete? Will there be desire to the job?


     A Skill is something learned in order to carry out required job functions But Competency not just incorporates skill but also include abilities, behavior and Knowledge that is fundamental to the use of a skill. In today’s world these qualities are necessary to succeed and most of the industries all over the world are looking for such competent people with skill.

  

   It is the competency attitude that has to be developed by the people themselves. The Skill initiatives is like the holding hand for a handshake before meeting the interviewer which requires a competence attitude for a confident handshake

 “Competencies are characteristics and strengths that are valued by a company for its employees to be able to perform and excel.”

       India already has many skill full people (although a lot are still left behind), this is the reason that Indians are all over the world from Gulf countries to Europe and America. So developing of a competency attitude will definitely bring advantage to not just us but to the whole world. 

       As our prime minister has offered one hand of developing a skilled India, its time the people complete a perfect handshake in developing a competence attitude. If both these qualities is developed it won’t take long for India to be the capital of both ‘Manufacturing units and Human Resource’ of the world.

Leaders not only have the Skill which is ability, but also competence that is ability along with willingness and desire to do the job

-Shiv Khera (Author of self help books and Motivational speaker)

Sunday, July 12, 2015

My Take- Fake Internet Posts

It’s not necessary, what we see has to be true.

Well, I am talking about social media and how people tend to believe the post or Photos posted on internet is real and start sharing it forward. It may be generated by some mischievous kid, just for fun or some people with vested interest but the fact is they fail to check long term or mass affect it has on people.

Every day, there has been so many posts or pictures posted on the internet as so called news or facts, that nowadays  it’s getting much harder to separate the fake from the real ones. It’s like every day is an April Fools' Day

Few days back I came across a photo in which a man dressed as an Indian army officer is shown crying for receiving a court marshal

Description: “…this Indian soldier was court marshaled for entering the territory of Pakistan without the permission of his seniors and killing some of their soldier as a response to Pakistan’s attack on India…”

Reality:   “It is a scene from a path breaking play “Court Martial” written in 1991 by Swadesh Deepak a popular Indian play writer, novelist and short story writer.”(link for more detail)

As I looked at the comment section of the post, I saw people fighting between themselves about whether he did the right thing or not, based on their respective opinions. The post blamed the Indian government and the higher army personnel for such incident and so did the people who read the post and didn’t mind checking its reality. People didn’t even realize the facts that how can a photograph allowed to be taken inside an army court.

People who blindly follow such stuff take out their emotions about the government or any respected person or organization through such sites. This encourages the persons who start such stories to use people’s feelings to make unwanted issues or create a fear or opinion about others and sometimes this even include our leaders.


One such example of creating a misleading hatred about great leaders is Mahatma Gandhi. In recent past there has been lot of incident where Gandhi’s image tarnished using some of his pictures, but what we fail to realize is in this generation of easy Photoshop software anything can be changed.

The Fake One:
One such picture is the above one where Gandhi is shown getting intimate with a foreign lady, but the reality is the picture is edited from the one with Nehru below.

The original one:
Look at the hand, paper and the face of Gandhi in both pictures and you will see the reality

Another such instance is the one below, where it was reported that mahatma is dancing with the foreigners while his country struggled for independence.

Reality:  He is an Australian actor dressed as Gandhi in Sydney.

Some of the fake pictures include glorification of personal heroes, one such pictures is assassination of Gandhi by Nathuram godse, 


Description: The post described that this is the original picture of how Gandhi died in reality that he was begging for mercy for his mistakes.

Reality: It is just a brilliant editing and distortion of facts. A movie snapshot blurred to give original 1940’s effect.

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         Godse had his reasons and to some extent I agree with his opinion of Gandhi’s role in partition (although I don’t agree the with the extreme step he took and again it’s just my opinion) but you don't need to glorify him using fake pictures and caption


         I am not a big supporter of Gandhi; he is not the ideal person to be followed. I have read or heard lot of stories that describe his negative side, some of which may be true. But over the years I have seen a lot of such post that turned out to be a fake. Sometimes I feel it is the result of all the corruptions, scam and the ignorance of UPA government towards the people that caused them to question our leaders of over sixty years -the origin of government. Maybe sixty years from now if the present government fails to deliver there would be images describing their notoriety.

Right now there are some fake images which are going around the country praising the present government like the one where even Barack Obama is listening to Narendra Modi

But the fact is it won’t take long before this praising fake pictures turn into blaming ones and people would start believing it such is the tender nature of emotions of some people.



P.S. The last image of Abraham Lincoln with a quote is fake one

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Money vs Resources


A must read article for all those people out there with a mindset that whatever they do about their money is their business.

A Ratan Tata Tweet

Germany is a highly industrialized country. In such a country, many will think its people lead a luxurious life.

When we arrived at Hamburg , my colleagues walked into the restaurant, we noticed that a lot of tables were empty. There was a table where a young couple was having their meal. There were only two dishes and two cans of beer on the table. I wondered if such simple meal could be romantic, and whether the girl will leave this stingy guy.

There were a few old ladies on another table. When a dish is served, the waiter would distribute the food for them, and they would finish every bit of the food on their plates.
As we were hungry, our local colleague ordered more food for us.When we left, there was still about one third of un-consumed food on the table.

When we were leaving the restaurant, the old ladies spoke to us in English, we understood that they were unhappy about us wasting so much food.

"We paid for our food, it is none of your business how much food we left behind," my colleague told the old ladies. The old ladies were furious. One of them immediately took her hand phone out and made a call to someone. After a while, a man in uniform from Social Security organisation arrived. Upon knowing what the dispute was, he issued us a 50 Euro fine. We all kept quiet.


The officer told us in a stern voice, "ORDER WHAT YOU CAN CONSUME, MONEY IS YOURS BUT RESOURCES BELONG TO THE SOCIETY. THERE ARE MANY OTHERS IN THE WORLD WHO ARE FACING SHORTAGE OF RESOURCES. YOU HAVE NO REASON TO WASTE RESOURCES."

The mindset of people of this rich country put all of us to shame.


We come from a country where their is a huge gap between rich and poor, the rich fail to understand the difference between the luxury and need of resources. Even a middle class man while giving a treat to his friends or celebrating marriages, festivals etc. will order excess foods or drinks in order to save face. But they fail to realise the amount of these extra wastes importances to an hungry kid out there in streets.

Well, some may argue that it's their money and it's their choice but as the officer rightly said  'MONEY IS YOURS BUT RESOURCES BELONG TO THE SOCIETY'.

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