Statue of Unity

There are some individuals and paid media felt that allocation of 2 Billion Rupees (33 Million US$) to construct a Statue of Unity was not required. Perhaps, after reading few facts and figures mentioned in this blog, they may change their opinion.

First of all: 2 Billion Rupees that has been allocated for 2014-15 Budget is 1/10th of total money required to complete this project. It needs 25 Billion Rupees - Roughly (410 US Million Dollars). So money allocated currently is much less than what is needed. Just to give an idea that why cost is a fair amount, we can take a look at the cost needed to build Spring Temple Buddha in China in late nineties. It took 55 US Million$ and considering the inflation 400 Million is not a big amount. Also another point to consider is that all the money is not going to be spend only on Statue but also on a memorial, visitor center buildings, a memorial garden, a hotel, a convention center, an amusement park, research centers and institutes.

Entire project span to complete the work is estimated to be of 56 months, which includes 40 months of construction work. This means a stable job for plenty of construction worker around that area for almost 4 years. After the completion of statue for maintenance and other stuff, it will require a staff of more than 500 people. So, it is another way of pumping a money in the economy by creating a stable job for years to come.

Now, About how to recover the money that is going to be spend to build a statue? Let's look at some of the numbers. Statue of Liberty in USA gets over 3 Million Visitors each year. Every visitor spends minimum of 20$ on their trip (actually it is close to 40 but let's go with lower side). This means Statue of Liberty generates 60 Million$ annually. If the same amount needs to be considered for Statue of Unity, it will be require 7 years to recover the money that has been spend. If comparison between USA - India is not fair, then let's look at the number of visitors going at Taj Mahal. Each year over 6 Million people visits Taj Mahal - that is double the number of visitors than Statue of Liberty, which means, money to recover might take actually less than 4 years. Out of 6 Million people who visits Tajmahal- 200,000 of them are foreigners. This is foreign money coming to the Indian economy through Tourism - a very big plus.

If we look at the Statue's across the world, it is generally gets tied to a Religion. Christ in Brazil or Buddha in China-Japan. Even India's best monument - Taj Mahal in a way is tied to a religion - a monument built by a Muslim ruler for his wife. Considering that aspect, a party (BJP) which believes in core Hindutva (right wings) could have selected a statue of any other Hindu God and surely not for a person who belongs to their rivals - Congress. But Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel is a right choice for statue of Unity - because he was truly the founding father of the Republic of India. Plenty of things-roads-schemes-colleges-hospitals have been build for Nehru and Gandhi but Patel has been left out and this is a fitting tribute to one of the greatest leader of India.




Even if theoretical numbers do not match to recover money in 4 years and it may take 10 years, it is totally worth building Statue of Unity for Sardar Patel. There are businesses which does not start generating profit for decades but the jobs that it creates and product that it produces is far more valuable than checks and balance.

Eye-Wash (iWatch) from Tim(e) Clock (cook):

So, Apple announced a new phone which looks very similar to Samsung Galaxy S5 with less feature in it. Apple comes to a point where other manufacturer where at least a year ago. Changes to iphone are reactionary rather than visionary. Apple Pay is copy of Google Wallet, iWatch (eye wash) is a copy of Samsung's watch. Apple was proud to introduce 1080p display while brands like LG are going with 1440p display. 8MP Camera while Sony is launching Z with 20+. Less we talk about security happier Hollywood celebrities are, as they experienced their iCloud account hacked just a while ago. It is actually very funny that apple fans were making fun of Samsung's Smart Watch and large screens earlier during their release are the same people who wants to buy Apple Smart Watch and Bigger phone.

Those who wants to argue about Apple invented smart phone, do not forget Motorola invented mobile phone but we all know where they are. Those who want to argue about Apple is known for perfecting the technology to make it worth buying, well do they remember Apple Maps? Apple's failure are their feature. Those who wants to argue about it is an American product, I wish they check ten of billions of dollars apple have stashed overseas because American tax rates are so high in the US. Also Apple itself does not make any part of the iphone, so much so that entire processor in iphone 5 where made by Samsung. As far as new payment feature is concerned, just one line: "Our ambition is to replace (read empty) this," said Cook, holding a wallet & wearing iWatch will be like carrying radiation around your body 24/7 (cancer law suits coming up).

Compliment that most people give about apple products is that it is easy to use, more like Geico ad, "even caveman (read stupid) can use it". i in iPhone stands for idiot phone. Actually, Apple should term this as downgrade your smart phone because sure it does not sound like upgrade. When people buy watches now a days that is because it looks nice and wonder others on how much it cost? unlike iWatch where world knows its (just) 350$ (very cheap comparing with current trend of watches).

It was a flop show again from Apple. Expecting them to deliver new innovation is perhaps asking too much. Simple things such as its charging ability and water resistant equipment might be the least of the expectation which was not delivered today.

India's Union Budget 2014 - Comparing BJP vs Congress

 Following official two links are used for comparison. If you find any incorrect information stated   below, please feel free to send it via comments section for correction.

http://indiabudget.nic.in/ub2014-15/bh/bh1.pdf  (BJP Budget)
http://indiabudget.nic.in/budget2013-2014/ub2013-14/bh/bh1.pdf (Congress Budget) 

1. Congress announced Fiscal Deficit of 5.3% for 2013 and hoped for 4.8 in year 2014, BJP announced it to cut to 4.5%. (so they want to cut spending compare to congress).
2. BJP mentioned in their budget about problem of black money which was missing in Congress Budget.
3. BJP has explained FDI in further details ensuring with full Indian management and control.
4. BJP's initiative of creating 100 smart cities (also in their menifesto) is included with 7060 crore in funding. This will ensure more foreign investment (NRI), more construction-infrastructure, more jobs. better economy. Needless to say it was not in Congress Budget.
5. PSU (Public Sector) investment a total sum of 247941 crore compare to 14000 crore from congress budget.
6. Incentives for Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS) to attract long term finance from foreign and domestic sources including the NRIs. (Missing in Congress budget).
7. BJP to give 1000 crore for Farmers compare to 500 from Congress.
8. Congress budget for Rural Development had 1 point: Allocate 80194 crore compare to 9 points detailed from BJP such as: 500 crore for Gram Jyoti Yojna, 14389 crore for roads in villages, bank loan for women in villages, 100 crore for entrepreneurship, 8000 crore for housing in villages, 2142 for watershed etc.
9. Congress budget used the term "increased substantially" without giving details for SC-ST compare to BJP giving figure of 50548 crore for SC and 32387 crore for TSP and 100 crore for tribals.
10. Government to print currency notes with Braille like signs for visibly challenged person. (missing in congress budget)
11. Entire section of any benefits to Senior Citizen is missing in Congress Budget including Pension increase.
12. 12 New Govt Medical Colleges to be set up along with 5 more IIT and IIM. (Missing in Congress)
13. 100 Crore for Online courses via CLICK program. (Missing in Congress).
14. 100 crore for 600 New community radio stations compare to nothing from congress but ensuring private FM Radio stations. Also new initiative to educate farmers via Kisan TV (100 crore for that).
15. 100 crore for Metro Projects in Ahemdabad and Lucknow (missing in congress).
16. Project on Ganges called “ Jal Marg Vikas’ to be developed between Allahabad and Haldia (Missing in Congress)
17. Entire section of renewable Energy section is missing in Congress Budget but present in BJP. (This includes focus on Solar energy as well). Similarly BJP is proposing investment in Mining section (missing in congress budget).
18. Kissan Vikas Patra (KVP) - my first small investment to be re-introduced (Congress stopped it).
19. 1000 crore added in Pensions. (You wont find a word Pension in Congress Budget).
20. 100 Crore for TEchnology Development for Defense. 3000 crore for state police forces.
21. 200 Crore for Statue of Unity.
22. e-Visa to be introduced in 9 airports in India.
23. 500 Crore on developing 5 tourist circuits. (Entire section of Culture and Tourism is missing in Congress Budget).
24. Congress spend 250 crore to develop one national institute of sports compare to 500 crore by BJP which includes facility in Jammy and Kashmir, Manipur and for Himalayan Region Games and training for Asian games festival.
25. 100 Crore for North East States for Organic Farming.
26. 1000 crore for connecting north east states via train (missing in congress for last 60 years).
27. To educate others on north east culture ARUN Prabha scheme is launched.
28. Personal income tax exemption limit raised to 2.5 Lakhs. (Big relief for IT workers).
29. LCD-Color TV cheaper while Cigg and Tobaco products will be expensive.
30. Excise duty on footwear reduced from 12% to 6% ; also specified food package from 10% to 6%.
31. Housing loan rebate to raised from 1.5 Lakh to 2 Lakh.

With so many differences and new schemes outlined above it is unfair to say, that BJP Budget looks like replica of Congress Budget - as states by many congress leaders.

FIFA World Cup 2014 Round of 16 Picks

World cup is perfectly placed at this moment. Four top teams: Brazil, Netherlands, Germany and Argentina are in four corners and if all goes according to the plan (FIFA Ranking) then we will have all those 4 team meeting in Semi-Finals. Brazil will play Germany and Argentina will play Netherlands and as expected by entire Latin America, we will have Brazil vs Argentina Finals with two super stars: Neymar and Messi playing in Finals. Dream sequence, isnt it? But that is not how Sports work, specially in World Cup. If ranking and desire of many had to work, then we wouldn't had teams like Spain, Italy, England getting thrown out in the first stage itself, right? So Let's look at the teams which can cause major upset by each Quarter.

Brazil Quarter: Brazil has advantage and disadvantage in their corner, reason being 4 out of 5 South American teams are part of that quarter. They know the conditions very well. They will have good crowd support (not as much as Brazil but much more than any other teams might have). Also, they will be playing stress free football. They know Brazil is favorite and for them to win, they have to play freely and score goals or more goals than what Brazil can. Brazil looked shaky earlier but later on they found their rhythm. It is highly unlikely that Chile will be able to beat but if they do, that will be a major upset. Colombia will start as favorite against Uruguay because of absence of Suarez. However, Uruguay team will be playing with more motivation to prove a point to the world and Cavani is a threatning goal scorer. Colombia vs Uruguay will be a match to watch from this quarter.

Netherlands Quarter: Netherlands have the toughest first game against Mexico. In fact, It will be a match of Round of 16. There is no way, Netherlands can underestimate Mexico. Mexico defends well and they have best goal keeper from the tournament. Mexico also counter attacks very well. Van Persie was not eligible to play last game, so he will be well rested but perhaps not in the match rhythm. However advantage for both Mexico and Netherlands is that if they win that particular game, next one will be very easy. Both Costa Rica and Greece are not good enough to beat either Mexico or Netherlands. It will be awesome game to watch if Mexico wins against Netherlands and then play their continent opponent: Costa Rica. Although convention wisdom suggests Netherlands must be able to go through, however, do not get surprise if Mexico pulls this one and comes out as a surprise semi final entry.

Germany Quarter: France may object to call this as Germany quarter as both teams were equally dominating. Both France and Germany will be playing against lower rank African teams, Nigeria and Algeria respectively. Neither of them can win against France or Germany and that means we will have easy round of 16 picks but almost next to impossible Quarter Final pick between France and Germany.

Argentina Quarter: Just like Netherlands, Argentina also has a tougher match of round of 16 but it gets easier in Quarter Finals for them. Whoever wins the game between Argentina and Switzerland should be able to win easily against USA vs Belgium winner. Argentina is winning because of Messi's magic and for any reason that magic does not arrive against Swiss, argentina will be in trouble with their not so good defense. Argentina vs Swiss will be a good game to win but most likely Argentina will go through that and next one easily. Its hard to pick between USA and Belgium but whoever wins does not matter because they will have tougher Quarter final to play.

 

My 4 Semi Finalists are: Brazil, Germany, Mexico and Switzerland.

FIFA WORLD CUP 2014: RANKING TEAM FROM 32 to 17

32: Cameroon: Samuel Eto's Cameroon came with lot of promises and great squad but they failed to deliver the promise. They performed very well against Mexico in the opening game with a loss of just 1-0 but thereafter they just did not look the team to win. They are ranked last 32 in terms of allowing 9 goals and scoring only 1 with 0 point.

31: Honduras: Apart from old veteran Costly's, goal keeper Valladares and number 7 Emilio's performance there is hardly anything for Honduras to cheer about. Scoring 1 goal and giving 8 away, Honduras is the second worst team of the World Cup 2014.

30: Japan -- At least they scored 2 goals and gave away only 6 and they were fighting for the knockout stage till the last minute. Honda was superb but height remained to be a major issue as they were unable to take advantage of any corners. Japan remains the worst team from Asia with overall rank of 30.

29: Korea: With a brilliant first game where they tied with Russia, their performance became bad against Algeria where they gave away 4 goals and eventually worst when 10 man Belgium defeated them in last game. However they were just a touch better than Japan as they scored one more goal than them and hence ranked 29.

28. Iran -- Iran drew game against Nigeria (who qualified for the next game) and almost draw against Argentina until Messi scored a goal with his magic. Iran was unable to score many goals (in fact just 1) but they defended very well and gave away only 4 goals. Reza GHOOCHANNEJAD was the stand out forward from the team. They looked better team from Asia and hence ahead of Japan and Korea but overall 28th ranked.

27. Russia: They should have won the game against Korea but they did not. They should have at least draw the game against Belgium but they could not. Then they were winning against Algeria but they blew the lead and draw the game. Highest paid coach Fabio Capello's Russia was 1 step behind in all games. They showed the promise but failed to deliver. Hopefully next time, when they host the world cup, they will be able to go pass the group stage but for now, they are ranked 27.

26. Bosnia & Herzegovina: This was their debut in World Cup and they showed nothing but great promise and talent. Safet Susic as coach and Edin Dzeko as forward along with Ivisevic were fantastic. They were in the game against Argentina till the last minute when Messi scored the decider. Had they been able to draw the game against Nigeria they would have qualified to the next round. A team who promises to shine in future is ranked 26.

25. Australia: Statistically, they have 0 points, gave away 9 goals but they showed class and fight in their 270 minute campaign. What's more their top ranked player Tim Cahill's goal may feature in the Top 5 goals of the tournament. Leckie showed brilliant speed as well mid-fielder Jedinak showed lots of heart. If they would have been in any other group such as E or H, they might have qualified to the next round but for now, they need to be happy with rank of 25.

24. England: They can blame their defeat to the heat and humidity of Manaus, tough conditions indeed for European team. After they lost to Italy in Manaus, it took away lot of energy and second defeat against Uruguay (Thanx to Suarez) just seal the deal. However England was not as worst as they showed themselves. Sturridge and Sterling gave good support to Rooney but Gerrard failed big time to provide any support from mid field. That left Coach Roy Hodgson to take the most difficult
decision: Window or Aisle seat :) England are ranked just above Australia at 24.

23. Croatia: 6 goals scored with and 6 given, 3 points with 1 win, Croatia had more than decent tournament. They were placed in comparatively tough group with Brazil and Mexico both playing very good football and hence did not qualify for the next round. Olic was the man of the tournament for them. Hopefully, they will improve going forward but currently their rank is 23.

22. Spain: Defending champions played two most horrible games ever and hence they got knocked out of the tournament. They showed their class in the third game, particularly Villa but that was just academical performance. Their defense was weak and hence Holand scored 5 goals and Chile scored twice. Their offense was even more horrible as they could not score any. Their strength mid-field and triangular passes worked fine but with lack of offense and defense they had to go out. What's more their goal keeper Casillas was the worst goal keeper from all teams making too many errors. They are ranked 22.

21. Italy: No team has won any game in the tournament after playing in Manaus and that was the big factor for Italy. Although they won in Manaus against England, Azzurries did not recover enough and lost in next two games against North and South American teams. Pirlo was fantastic but Ballotelli did not had any partner at the front to score goals. Cassano, Insigne, Immobile were all not good enough and no score no win in football. Chiellini will be remembered more for bite from Suarez rather than his defensive skills. Perhaps if they were in the group of Switzerland or Belgium they might have made it through but not in the group of Costa Rica and Uruguay and hence rank of 21.

20. Ghana: Other teams may win the World cup but Ghana won the hearts of millions. They played with great consistency and commitment. They were placed in the group of death so statistically they are the bottom most team, but as far as 270 minutes are concerned, they scared the best of the world. Had they not given a goal in the first 2 minute against USA, result and tournament might have looked different. Their high point was a draw against strong Germany team. Gyan was magnificent, A.Ayew
scored when mattered and Muntari was extremely unlucky to hit the poll and not the goal posts in couple of occasions. They are ranked 20.

19. Ivory Coast: All their results were 2:1 with 1 in their favor and 2 in others. It shows all their matches were interesting, exciting and thrilling, including the last one which took Greece inside Top 16 but not Ivory Coast. Chelsea striker Drogba is household name but tournament will be remembered for W.Bony, Yaya and Gervinho's amazing goal for this African team. Apart from Bosnia and Croatia, Ivory coast is another team who reached top 16 and then their position was snatched away in last few minutes. A very deserving team and hence inside the Top 20.

18. Ecuador: Only team from Latin America which did not went pass group stage is Ecuador. They were better known for A.Valencia because he plays for Manchester United but this world cup gave them a new star: Enner Valencia who scored all their 3 goals. France and Switzerland two teams who went through from this group were just slight better than Ecuador and hence the rank of 19. Ecuador also need to thank the playing conditions and crowd support which helped them to do very well in the
tournament. They along with Portugal are the only two teams which are going out of the tournament with 4 points. (1 win and 1 draw and only 1 loss).

17. Portugal: First match and first half of the tournament ruined Portugal. 3 goals scored and 1 red card for Pepe's huge error and no matter what Portugal does from that point onwards, it is not going to be enough in group of death. They draw against USA by scoring in last minute and won against Ghana but that first half against Germany ensure they take no part in knock out stage. C.Ronaldo was better but he did not got much support from his team mates. Portugal had 4 points, same as USA but those 3 goals in first half by Germany was the reason of USA being in next stage and not Portugal.

Website Based Business

A lot has been printed on the web on why online presence benefits any business or having a website to promote business, but lot less has been said about the benefits of having a business based on web revenue. When we started the website based business (www.ratemovieshere.com), our goal was based on following key attributes:

1.    It is 365 Days a year, revenue generating idea.
2.    It has no limitation of “AGE” Bar; From 5 year olds to 95 year olds, all are our potential customers.
3.    It has no time limit; we are selling the content all the time.
4.    Everything we produce is “FREE”, absolutely no cost associated.
5.    It is accessible across the World in many formats; in fact it even works from space, provided they have the Internet.

So, Basically, It is “Free”, everyone around the world can get it at any point of time. So, “Technically” speaking, this is the best business you can ever think of. However, any business you start, demands your absolute attendance especially initially. There are challenges but then there are solutions. Rule of thumb is, if it is easy, everyone will be doing it. Hence, you have millions of websites based on movies and sports and it is a challenge to stand out among the crowd and be the best. Content is the King and Devil is in the details. Hence following are the key attributes required to be successful.

1.    Your dedicated time and vision on what needs to be done and when.
2.    Your website needs a stand out feature, something unique which can bring people again and again.
3.    Website needs to load quickly. Layout needs to be catchy. Rule of Thumb: Do not let visitor think. Information should be available without a blink of an eye.
4.    If customer base has no age bar, that means, it should have enough information for everyone, from 12 year old teen to 55 year old tired professional.
5.    Good Marketing makes you a winner. You may have the best of everything but what is the use of no one is aware of it.

Website based business is a good idea, provided you are determined to work on it!!!

Decoding Modi’s Mind on Cabinet Posts

At a historical event today on 26th of May at 6.00 p.m, India got her 15th Prime Minister- Shri Narendra Damodardas Modi.  Leaders of all South Asian regions attended the ceremony.  Namo government got elected by the people with huge majority on the promise of more growth-employment, better infrastructure and lower inflation.

On the first day at office, Narendra Modi made many unspoken statements with his gesture and actions. Let’s look at some of them as following:

1.    Invitation to the SAARC Leaders including prime minister of Pakistan was a major statement, which shows willingness to talk with the neighbor with whom relationship is somewhat shady in the past.
2.    Invitation to the Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa despite the protest from Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalitha and protests from ally Vaiko.  It shows new PM is not going to bog down by the state politics and will do things with national interest in mind.
3.    Not a single cabinet minister said in media on which posts they got, even after the ceremony got over. This ensures that new government will have very disciplined cabinet members, unlike the previous government which lost control in the second term.
4.    75 Years was the limit put by Narendra Modi(No posts to Advani & Murli Manohar Joshi), ensuring that older generation does not slow things down.
5.    Defeat at Loksabha does not de-value the capability of able ministers and hence Arun Jaitley got Finance as well as Defense department and Smriti Irani got the HRD. Both of them were defeated in recently concluded Lok Sabha Elections.
6.    Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj and Nitin Gadkari got the other three key portfolios to ensure chief leaders from the Party get what they deserve along with Arun Jaitley.
7.    With Uma Bharti’s saffron, Najma Heptulla’s green and Modi’s white showing tricolor of India.
8.    25% of cabinet members are women, ensuring Women Empowerment.
9.    There is not a single cabinet minister from Modi’s home state: Gujarat, ensuring there is no game of favoritism including his right hand man, Amit Shah.
10.    Even though BJP got the clear majority, they ensured cabinet posts for allies from Akali Dal (Punjab), TDP (AP) and Shiv Sena (Maharashtra). This makes certain the promise of growing together and keeping their friends close.
11.    No Dynastic politics will be preferred. No posts for Vasundra Raje, Jaswant Singh, Yashwant Sinha and BS Yeddyiuruppa’s sons.
12.     Delhi’s 7-0 victory was well rewarded by giving Dr.Harshwardhan a fitting cabinet post of Health.
13.    Ceremony attended by dignified guests from across country including Salman Khan & Vivek Oberoi (rivals), Mukesh and Anil Ambani, Gavaskar and Bishen Bedi and many more.
14.    Sense of joy on May 16th and sound responsibility on May 26th was clearly visible on PM and all cabinet ministers.
15.    Visit to two key people (Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi) prior to sworn in, ensures he does not forget the lesson from history and respects the elders.

It is an astounding achievement on Day 0, with brighter and better things to come from PMO Office on a regular basis.