Penalising an honest bureaucrat, not a single chargesheet been filed against Chief Secretary ..

The people of the state of Kerala in India are at a loss to understand the following issues :

1. Why has the opposition in the Kerala legislative assembly, in spite of being ruling for two terms since the Palmolein case in 1991, not cared to file a single chargesheet against the Chief Secretary in the same case ?

2. The allegation is that Kerala govt under K. Karunakaran bought palmoil for $ 405/quintal from the Malaysian firm. When the same palmoil has been bought by West Bengal govt under Jyoti Basu for $407/quintal, has the hon. leader of opposition in Kerala cared to find out why no allegation of corruption has been raised against Jyoti Basu in West Bengal ?

3. Even when the CS made the observation that he had made notings on the file that the purchase of Palmoil at $405/quintal was high and should be looked into, even when the two top bureacrats were being taken out of the case by the intervention of the court, why did hon. LoO Achuthanandan still want to create a smokescreen and retail them in the loop as if these senior bureaucrats were responsible for the loss of Rs 2.5 crores and need to be punished ? 

4. Having understood the delay in filing the chargesheet for a case that has been politically dragged over the past 25 years, why has the public not been given a chance to understand the truth about the case and get it settled once for all ? 

I am sure one day all these issues will be brought to the open and the opposition in the state will be taken to task by the people themselves. I am very confident the people of Kerala will see through this ploy of opposition parties to charge an innocent person and not permit him to lead a peaceful retired life.

Former CS till then continues to give his best to the state for its development and rapid progress.

There has never been a golden period for Kerala than when the duo of CM Oommen Chandy and CS Jiji Thomson worked together for the growth, progress and development of the state. 

george.

Kannur International PPP airport becoming a reality ..

Kannur International airport, another great success in
commercial aviation history like CIAL being repeated ?

It was a pleasant surprise to have the first plane, a Dornier land at Kannur's new 3 km long runway at the new international airport being constructed in 2200 acres of land near Mattannur, 25 kms from Kannur town,  this morning. The flight was from Bangalore.

See the video of the first landing here ..

 Kannur airport presently is expecting to handle about 1.5 million international and 0.6 million domestic passengers annually, improving access to air travel for people from the northern parts of Kerala.

When the runway gets extended to four kms, it will be one among the four airports from the country having such a long runway making it a hub airport. 

Oommen Chandy, CM of Kerala,
man with a mission !!

Hub airports are used by airline as as a transfer point to get passengers to their intended destination. It is part of a hub and spoke model, as opposed to the Point to Point model. Presently only New Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore are hub airports in the country. 

It is hoped that over the years annual exports worth Rs 300 crore of handloom materials, Rs 400 crore of agricultural produce and Rs 300 cr. of small sale goods will be exported through this international airport to international destinations

Another event of great importance is that on the lines of Kochi international airport, a 1 MW solar plant is also established in the airport at a cost of Rs 5 crore.

When the West is fumbling to get even one of their international airports go energy-neutral and run on solar energy, (Jacksonville Atlanta US is a 95 million annual passenger traffic airport and the largest in the world) India is proudly marching with this second international airport in Kannur in Kerala after the first one in Kochi, Kerala ( at 7 million annual passengers). To start with Kannur international airport will have a 1 MW solar plant, which over time will be extended to meet the complete energy requirements of the airport in future.

The state holds 35 per cent stake in the airport while public sector entities hold a stake of 25 percent, Airport authority 10 percent and private the rest 30 percent.


Given the propensity of Malayalees or Keralites to work abroad, Kerala being a money order economy presently, this fourth international airport in Kerala is definitely bound to be another success like Kochi international airport. 

Full credit goes to the Chairman of the airport, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who is on a spree to change the face of Kerala from an industry-hostile economy to an industry-friendly economy in just five years. In the coming elections if he is re-elected as CM for another five years, I am sure Kerala would be transformed to from the present status of New York state in US (on economic, social and health indicators), to much better level in economic. social and health indicators.

Impact of Muziris on global trade by 500 BC ..

Continuing the series to know our rich heritage, pl read the link for details ..

How rich was the trade between Kerala and the rest of the world, around 500 BC through Muziris in Malabar ..

Earthenware at least 2000 year old from the Pattanam, Cranganore  site
on display at exhibition in Delhi ..

"Gold coins, topaz, coral, copper, glass, wine and wheat were imported from Rome, while pearl, diamonds, sapphire, ivory, silk, pepper and precious stones were exported from the west coast. Casson estimates that a 500-ton ship could have carried goods equivalent to the price of 2,400 acres of fertile farmlands in Egypt. While another archaeologist, Federico Romanis, estimates that one ship carried nothing less than 68,000 gold coins worth of goods."

http://m.thehindu.com/features/magazine/in-search-of-muziris/article418904.ece

The Muziris Heritage Project phase I, inaugurated by the President of India on Saturday 27 Feb, 2016 can catapult Kerala to world trade annals and throw more light on how prosperous and culturally superior were our forefathers then !

Another link here ..

George ..

Muziris, ancient culture being revealed today 27 Feb 2016

The great history of Muchiri or Muziris or Cranganore being opened up to the world ..

Muziris, image courtesy www.manorama.com

2500 years before Christ walked in Palestine, India already had inherited a great culture, heritage and civilization which was rich in knowledge, respect of other cultures, mutual understanding and material prosperity..

The Indian President today opens up Kerala heritage in Cranganore that enriched this coast 2500 years before Christ ..

Click here for the video link 

Click here  .. www.muzirisheritage.org

India rising intellectually and culturally from the past ! The Muziris heritage project . Click this link for the news item .

The fact that India had a rich culture and civilization even 2000 years before Aristotle or any of the Greek philosophers walked on our planet, forget Christ, (Christ pales into insignificance), surprises even we Indians. It took a socially responsive and responsible govt in kerala to bring the first phase of this project to the world.  

The fact that during Christ' time, 75% of global GDP was controlled by South Asia and China, with Rome and Egypt, in all their glory and pride  controlling barely 10 -20 % of global GDP, makes me feel pity for the Pharoahs, Jews and the Middle east culture.

From such economically weak setup, Jesus philosophy on life and salvation, to spread around the world and get converts is indeed remarkable.

George..

Alice Vaidyan, Harvard trained Indian CMD, women empowerment gaining acceptance in India ..

The Harvard Business School trained Chairman cum Managing
Director of GIC of India ..

It is indeed a matter of great pride for all women of the country, app 640 million of them, almost twice the population of US, that a woman, Mrs. Alice Vaidyan, is heading the third largest profit-making Public Sector Undertaking in the country, General Insurance Corp of India (GIC), after SBI and LIC.

GIC made more than Rs 600 crore profit last year.

She had to work really hard to reach this position.  Taking care of three kids, touring around the world and by sheer perseverance and ability, pursued her academics at Harvard Business School, one of the oldest, respected and world's top academic institution in Boston US. The HBS stint helped to make her dream a reality.

She is a great example of determination and steadfastness to goals and purpose. Women empowerment is finally getting to be a reality in our country ! It came as a real surprise for me when Alice was voted by Times of India newspaper as one among the top five most powerful woman business leaders in India. Only she and Arundhati of SBI, chair the board of their respective organisations, rest all women leaders in the top 5 ranks are MD or CEO, with a Chairman above them.

The fact that she is my sibling is the topping of the pudding !

George.

Kerala felicitation for Mrs Alice Vaidyan. .

Chief Secretary of Kerala, Shri. Jiji Thomson
felicitating my sister Alice .. 

It was a good day last Monday to be in Trivanrdum Mascot Hotel to attend the felicitation function of my sister Alice Vaidyan by the Kerala govt on her assuming the charge as the Chairman and Managing Director of General Insurance Corporation of India in Mumbai.

From St. Josephs Irinjalakuda, Kerala to the Harvard Business School in Boston, it was a very challenging and enjoyable journey for Alice and she managed throughout to balance her work and family life well.

The Kerala govt felicitation was the topping of the pudding and she is looking for all possible opportunities to do effective CSR activities for the state of Kerala through her long tenure of almost 4 years at the helm of GIC.

Another link ..

george.

View of the dais at Mascot Hotel, Trivandrum, Kerala.

CS (second from right) and wife, Sheelu (ext. right, my 
cousin sister) with Prof. Kurien Issac and madam (formerly with 
IIT Bombay and now with  IIST, Trivandrum). Prof. Kurien Issac is 
3 yrs junior to CS at Govt. Model School, TVM in std X SSLC 

View of the audience and the stage ....

Is your body alkaline or acidic.. ??

How to make alkaline water in order to fight fatigue, digestive issues and cancer?

Dec 28, 2015

A healthy body should always be a little bit alkaline. Many people nowadays tend to be more acidic. This is caused by stress, environmental factors and diet.

Why is this important? It's very simple. The more acidic your body is, the more likely you are to experience fatigue, digestive issues and weight gain.

So, if the environment in our bodies is too acidic for a long time, our otherwise healthy cells become toxic and in the worst case scenario, they can become cancerous.

How This Works?

The pH scale goes from 0 to 14 (0 is the most acidic, 14 the most alkaline and 7 neutral).

Our bodies are designed to thrive in a slightly alkaline environment of 7.4.

Nevertheless, various organs and systems thrive with different pH levels. For example, your saliva has a pH range from 6.5-7.0 (more acidic in order to help digest foods), your skin typically has a pH of 5 (although, according to a 2006 study published in the International Journal of Cosmetic Science, it should actually be lower – 4-4.5 – as this allows the bacteria required to help heal and fight off infections, live on your skin).

The pH of your digestive tract can vary anywhere from 1.5-7.0 which depends on many things, especially the food you eat.

Why Is Alkaline So Important?

We know for centuries that food can determine our overall pH levels and of course our overall health. In 1931, d-r Otto Warburg won the Nobel Prize in Psychology or Medicine for his discovery that 90-95% of all types of cancer are caused by an acidic environment and that cancer simply cannot grow or survive in an alkaline environment (your body) when your pH is around 7.36.

Since then, studies have been trying to determine the various pH levels of food and drinks and how they react inside the human body, either contributing to its alkalinity or acidity. As Warburg said 100 years ago, acidosis (over-acidity) is linked not only to the formation of cancer but heart disease as well, diabetes and osteoporosis and almost every chronic disease people typically suffer from today.

How Can You Know If Your Body Is Too Acidic?

There are two simple ways to help you determine this: you can use regular pH paper to do a saliva test or if you have any of these chronic symptoms:

·                     Muscle pain or cramps after walking short distances

·                     Constant fatigue

·                     Easily running out of breath

·                     Often feeling like you can't get enough air

When your pH level falls, your body attempts to regulate itself in a natural way (to create homeostasis) by capturing and storing some excessively acidic substances in your organs such as your kidneys, liver and lungs, thereby maintaining an optimal pH of between 7.35-7.45.

These acidic substances ultimately begin to attack your healthy cells, causing them to be toxic, damaged and sick. In time, if the issue isn't addressed these cells can metastasize – grow uncontrollably and spread to other parts or organs in your body.

Your Diet Is Too Acidic

One of the biggest reasons for chronic acidosis is the 21-st century diet consisting of sugar, caffeine, highly processed food and alcohol. Additives, pesticides and growth hormones used to make and grow our food are also highly acidic to our bodies.

One of the best ways for this, besides changing your diet is to flush your body with alkaline water. Your body is 70% water, so when you ensure that this water is alkaline, you are helping it to create homeostasis.

How To Make Alkaline Water?

Ingredients:

·                     1 organic lemon (they are pesticide-free)

·                     2 liters of purified water (it's good to have an osmosis filter)

·                     1 tablespoon of Himalayan salt (you can find it at most health food stores)

·                     1 large glass jar (it must be glass because plastic contains chemicals and impurities that are acidic to your body).

Directions:

Fill the glass with water. Slice the lemon and add it inside the water (don't squeeze the juice). Add the salt. Cover the jar and leave it at room temperature for 12-24 hours. After that time passes, take 3 glasses of this alkaline water on an empty stomach. It's always best to do this first thing in the morning before you start your day or put anything else inside your body. You can also drink alkaline water throughout the day. In time, you'll see a difference in how you feel (more energetic), your skin will become clearer and your brain more alert, so you'll generally feel more alive.

If you combine this with a health diet, where you avoid processed food, sugar and additives, it won't take long before you begin to see a healthier (more alkaline) you!

Career Guidance ..

I have been getting request from many quarters on how to choose a great career ..

I have compiled a set of images that can help to give a good idea on how to help the youngsters when they are confused with what to take for their higher studies and to help them build a career.

Here is a good link ..

http://www.shiksha.com/career-options-after-12th

george..

Iran, oil prices and the Arab world ..

Having suffered all this while under a West imposed oil embargo, is it even remotely fair to expect Iran to cut it's crude oil output?

Let Iran flood the market with its high quality crude, causing a loss of share of other oil producing countries and subsequent crash in global oil prices.

It is but natural for the lazy Arab countries who have exploited since '72 unfairly the global energy boom and caused great hardship to the people of the world, now to suffer consequences of its ill-advised actions.

What one sows, so will he reap !

US and Canada are the world's largest oil producers as of now. Low oil prices, more than forcing the lazy oil shiek to spend less, will energise Indian and Chinese economy and trigger global growth..

After all, why should the world help Islamic State sympathisers from Saudi and Qatar murder more of their countrymen and destabilise that part of the world ?

http://mini.iol.co.za/business/markets/iran-takes-tough-stance-on-oil-talks-1985899

Is it fair for Arab countries to expect other nations to be fair to them, when all along they have been unfair to the world for 40 years by jacking up prices ?

We are free to choose our paths, but we can't choose the consequences that come with them. - Sean Covey

If economies collapse, if people lose jobs, if global power equations get rewritten, so be it ! After 9/11, US has learnt it the hard way and in seven years have rewritten geopolitical equations ..

Human selfish designs are the cause of all pain and suffering on planet earth. But we humans never learn ..

George

Pazhankanji .. Fermented rice ..

Pazhankanji - it is the best breakfast for the hard working tropical climate individual ..

Read the link to know about the health benefits of fermented rice / soaked rice porridge ..

http://www.yokibu.com/communityspeak/2015/the-goodness-pazhankanji-why-is-it-the-best-breakfast-deal/

Quote :

FACT FILE - American Nutrition Association has listed the following health benefits of consuming soaked rice:

• Consuming this rice for breakfast keeps the body light and energetic.
• Beneficial bacteria for the body get produced in abundance.
• Stomach ailments disappear, as excessive and harmful heat trapped in the body is neutralized.
• Being high in fiber, it cures constipation and dullness in the body.
• Blood pressure is normalized and hypertension subsides appreciably.
• Body feels less tired as a result of which one feels fresh throughout the day.
• Removes allergy-induced problems and skin-related ailments.
• Removes all types of ulcers in the body.
• Fresh infections are kept at bay.
• It helps in maintaining youthful and radiant look.

So, do not throw away that extra rice you had cooked. It could be the healthiest breakfast you will ever have.

: unquote
george..

(Fasle) Cries of a malayali .. what a pity !!

Malayali's main occupation within Kerala ..
How will he ever improve ??

Here are the cries of a malayali, who does not want to work in his own land, loves to work for others !!  does not use his hand to scratch his body even ..

Even now he wants oil price to rise and blames the entire world except himself.. What a shame !!

Click on this link for the Malayalam copy of letter from a malayali ..

In his good times he never pays tax in India and in his hard times, he expects help from India as his birthright ! Mother India is not that harsh, it is ready to give a helping hand, but it has to assess many other things and situations before taking a stand. |The hungry millions in this country are more important than the rich and selfish malayali NRI returning after a job loss..

Even after all this trouble, our gulf returnees will still not use their brains to work in Kerala, out of false ego and pride.

Bengali and Oriya casual workers will still send back upto Rs. 50,000 every month, when our own people, the most enterprising tribe in the world, will not work within Kerala and will only keep whining and  complaining !

Let this crisis force malayalis to do a rethink on the virtue and value of hard intelligent work within Kerala like entrepreneurship, organic farming etc..

Malayalis will once again come out of this crisis with flying colours, because they are hard working and have lot of self respect ! 🙏🙏

Click on this link for the Malayalam copy of letter from a malayali ..

ge..

Best motivational talk .. Srikanth ..

Srikanth, visually challenged, but great dreams and a strong willpower !!

What better motivation for us than his life ..

https://youtu.be/Fioc9ctiiDI

Definitely a great story for all youngsters in the country .. 

ge..

India's TOP 5 bank defaulters .. Topped by Reliance, Vedanta, Essar, Adani and Jaypee ..

Here is the list of top ten "bank defaulter" companies from India .. It is a pity and matter of great shame that all the shady companies of this country are on this top ten list !! Together they owe the banks of this country ( and lets not forget, they are playing with our tax money...) Rs. 300,000 crores ..

What shall we do with these defaulters .. ? When small businesses default to the tune of lakhs of rupees, the banks immediately spring to action, good enough, and start legal proceedings against them. These same banks and its officials are toothless, hand-in-hand, silent and inactive when it comes to taking action against these big sharks.

What great day-light corruption !!  Somewhere this loot should end..

Click on link here ..

These companies are repeatedly blessed by our banks and politicians by being advanced more loans as a gift for criminal neglect of non-repayment of loans of Rs 300,000 crores to banks.

This list is topped by Reliance, Vedanta, Essar,  Adani and Jaypee .. Do we have the guts to boycott these companies and get them liquidated and put under the hammer ? 

Will proponents of free market economy in the country endorse winding up these operators ?
-----------

Click on link here ..

Here's a financial tip no one gives you. If you owe money to the banks, make sure the amount is huge. Then you won't need to worry about paying it back on time. Or, indeed, in some cases, paying it back at all. 

This is not a joke. Several top business houses in India owe banks astronomical amounts and have defaulted in repayment. But instead of facing pressure to pay back these loans, companies are routinely given sweet deals: either their loans are 'restructured' in a way that allows a moratorium on interest payments, or their repayment schedule is extended generously.

In December 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that under RTI, and in the interest of transparency, banks must reveal the names of companies who default. Until now, banks have refused to share this information easily. Why ?? Aren't banks funded from the common man's tax money and his sweat ?

In absolute terms, the gross non-performing assets - loans not repaid by borrowers - owed just to state-owned banks was reported at Rs 3.04 lakh crore. That's four times the entire budget for education in India. A large part of these loans will never be repaid by the companies.

Compare this with the farm loan waiver of Rs 70,000 crore given by the government in 2009 that faced huge criticism from free market economists who start beating their chests at the mention of subsidy to the poor in the country. The farmers are the real prime-movers of our economy, they employ 55% of our people, and only the rest 45%, is employed by the manufacturing and service industry.

The respectable names of Tata Group, Aditya Birla group, Mukesh Ambani group have been contributing to the country's growth. It is really unfortunate that the modern defaulter companies listed in the pictorial and the Credit Suisse list, are taking the citizens of this country for a ride.

Somewhere this loot should stop.  

Though the service industry is doing well, contributing to 59% of our GDP, manufacturing and project management, infrastructure companies like these have been a drain on the country and will continue to remain so, if we have operators like these in the market. 

The Reserve Bank of India so far has not released the details of individual borrowers who have defaulted on repayment of their loans. It is a big mystery, why ? Is it due to the fear that the economy will collapse ? Better collapse and recover fast early than a major collapse later with no recovery possible at all ( or after a very long and painful recovery for the whole economy).

Localise the impact, don't wait to globalise it !!

In the absence of a proactive action from RBI to expose these deviants, here is a list of the 10 most indebted companies of India, reported by Credit Suisse in its October 2015 report. The debt shown on their balance sheets was till March 2015.

One expects that debt on these 10 companies comprise a major chunk of the non-performing assets of the banks. Though it is unclear how much is the exact amount of non-performing assets against each company, however, just their outstandings make for staggering reading.

01 The Reliance Group
The Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group is in the business of power, insurance, wealth management, telecommunication infrastructure and entertainment. In March 2015, the company had a debt of Rs 1.25 lakh crore on its balance sheet.

The amount is equivalent to the special package announced for Bihar by Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of state elections in August this year.

02 The Vedanta Group
Anil Agarwal's company is the second-most indebted company. According to Credit Suisse, the company, which is into metals and mining, had a debt of Rs 1.03 lakh crore.

This is equivalent to the amount raised by the Government of India in March 2015 through its biggest-ever auction of telecom spectrum.

03 Essar Group
Managed by the Ruia Brothers (Shashi Ruia and Ravi Ruia) the company, with operations in 25 countries, owes Rs 1.01 lakh crore.

That's what the Centre plans to spend on building smart cities until 2020.

04 Adani Group
Gautam Adani, the chairman of the Adani Group of companies is known for his proximity with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His business house owes Rs 96,031 crore to the banking system. The amount is a little less than the Budget for building the bullet train network between Mumbai and Ahmadabad proposed by the government.

Earlier this year, the State Bank of India reportedly approved a loan of around $1 billion (Rs 6,600 crore ) for the company's coal mine in Australia. However, after much hue and cry in the media due to the highly stressed balance sheet of the public sector bank, the approval was withdrawn.

05 Jaypee Group
Manoj Gaur-run Jaypee Group has a debt of Rs 75,163 crore on its balance sheet. Jaypee Group had a golden time during the Mayawati rule in Uttar Pradesh between 2007 and 2012.

The debt is eight times the allocation for mid-day meals in 2015 that feeds 12 crore school going children in the country.

06 JSW Group
Sajjan Jindal is the chairman of JSW group and he was recently in headlines for reportedly organising the meeting between Pakistan Prime minister Nawaaz Sharif and Narendra Modi.

Big connections allow you big credit lines. As per the Credit Suisse report, the group has a debt of Rs 58,171 crore. The amount is equivalent to the cost of 26 Rafale fighter aircrafts that India plans to buy from France.

07 GMR Group
Named after its promoter GM Rao, the group is known for building Delhi's T3 International Airport terminal.

The group has a debt of Rs 47,976 crore on its balance sheet. The amount can be used to build to coal-based power plants with a generation capacity of 4,000 MW each - enough to provide electricity to the state of Haryana during peak summers.

08 Lanco Group
Headed By L Madhusudan Rao, the company runs solar and thermal power plants. It has a debt of Rs 47,102 crore.

09 Videocon Group
Venugopal Dhoot's company, the group once famous for making televisions, owes Rs 45,405 crore to banks. This amount can be used to 93 missions to Mars by India.

10 GVK Group
Founded by GVK Reddy, the group has interests in energy, infrastructure and hospitality sectors. The company has a debt of Rs 33,933 crore. The amount is just a little less than government's allocation under the MNREGA scheme (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) of Rs 34,000 crore in 2015.

(Source- Catchnews)

Click on link here ..

Most of these companies we know are having a very rough run in the economy, often being mentioned for the wrong reasons. Bringing back these companies to good health should be the first priority of the government. If that does not happen, due to the poor attitude and wrong intention of the promoters, the companies should be wound up. Tax money is waiting to be deployed in many beneficial operations in the economy and in sectors like education, public health, infrastructure like roads, bridges etc, that can bring better social returns and help the economy grow in the long run. 

Path breaking research from Cambridge U on Lithium air batteries.

Lithium air batteries have ten times more power carrying capacity than Li ion batteries.

http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/new-design-points-a-path-to-the-ultimate-battery

Great path breaking invention .

We find that the volumetric energy density (Wh/litre) and the gravimetric energy density (Wh/kg) of the Lithium air batteries are of the tune of 1500 + and 400 + respectively..

BBC news report 

This news item from Forbes says how the game is actually over for gasolene and gasolene producing countries of the world. The greatest beneficiary is going to be India which imports 70% of its energy requirements as oil from OPEC, Iran and other countries.

Having understood that their game is over and totally exposed, the OPEC nations should think of other plans to survive.

George

How deeply are our e-commerce cos. bleeding .. a plain analysis ..

For how long can our e-commerce giants keep bleeding and live off the funding of the venture capitalists ? 

Top 3 E-tailers have bled by almost rs.3900 crores last year .. Others in classifieds, foodtech and real estate have bled by almost rs. 800 crores last year. See graphic ..

Let us realise there is nothing like a free lunch .. We will one day pay for all these through our nose !! 😊

How and to whom is the question !!

The reason why cos are ready to bleed initially is to claim the market share.  Amazon India bleeding can be understood as its parent organisation can handhold it for another ten years before it gets wiped out, by which it can expect to capture customers and marketshare.

We need to understand some basic facts regarding Indian e-commerce companies and can classify them as below.

A) Transaction related, B2B or B2C
B) Transportation / storage infrastructure private/public related
C) Value related
D) profitability related

Trying to answer the following questions will give a better understanding of the e-commerce sector in the country. 

1. Is e-commerce B2C the only way to profitably transact business ? Looking at profits, can B2B save these companies ? Looking at losses of the companies, can we get data as to what, B2B or B2C, contributes more to losses as percentage of sales ?

2. Is B2C e-commerce as profitable as it is expected to be ?

3. Are e-commerce companies able to provide value and reach to the Indian masses who are looking for a new shopping experience ?

4. Other than the basic reasons of variety, convenience and reach thru logistics operators, can the e-commerce industry extract / provide more value / benefits by means of reduced costs / improved profitability to other stake holders ?

5. Will better logistics and transportation infrastructure in the country improve their profitability and bring e-commerce companies once again to the limelight ?

6. What are the basic reasons why the costs of e-commerce companies are increasing ? or has an analysis been done as to what are the pain spots in Indian e-commerce industry ?

7. Why is it that 'economies of scope' is not as lucrative to B2C customers as is 'economies of scale' ?

8. What is the minimum threshold transaction value per transaction or during a fixed time period that can help sustain e-commerce operations both for B2C and B2B transactions ?

9. Should e-commerce companies collaborate to have a common shared logistics partner to bring down logistics costs ?

10. Has any study gone to understand by what scale are the costs of distribution larger than the costs of acquisition and supply in B2B and B2C transactions ?

These are some interesting questions which the e-commerce companies need to attend to very urgently, which will keep propping every now and then for which answers keep evolving over time..

If India is not able to come up with a native indigenous and cost-effective solution to this issue of gallopping losses, I am sure the e-commerce industry in the country will not last long.

george.

Quotes on silence ..

You will love all of these !!

India adopts the truest uncorrupted form of net neutrality.

          Net neutrality  ( definition from Google)

nounthe principle that Internet service providers should enable access to all content and applications regardless of the source, and without favouring or blocking particular products or websites.

By rejecting the version of net propounded by Facebook, India has ensured net neutrality in its most free, stringent, incorruptible  and equitable form. 

India has shamed the western world of how shabbily have they have been duping their own public into accepting and believing their own version of democracy as the final one. 

The world turns over to India once again to give global moral and ethical leadership in the digital domain - an action India has been doing for millennia and is again asked to render for the world. 

Click here for the Forbes story .. 

Net neutrality in its truest form is that which has been embraced by Google. It is hoped the Internet will now continue to grow to its fullest potential reaching the masses at the best cost in the shortest time possible, where everybody is free compete to offer whatever content and grab as many customers as possible.

Even though I respect Mark Andreseen as the developer of the commercial Internet browser, Netscape Navigator, I am amazed at his lack of knowledge on world hitory and his twisted racial mindset  !

As Mark expresses concern that only approximately twenty percent of Indian population has access to the Internet in India, (being fair to Mark as he was more concerned about increasing access to net, he forgot the concept of free and fair access to internet), allowing people access to Facebook sites and blocking other sites is not the right way to initiate the other unfortunate 80% of Indian population to the Internet.

Freedom is not only ensuring access and availability, it is also ensuring unrestricted and open access to resources ( especially here the Internet ) .. A concept which the western world may not yet be ready to accept and may take some more years to accept in its entirety !

'Silence is a source of great strength - Lao Tzu' ..

ge.. 

Philanthropy and Mark Zuckerberg ..

Zuckerberg giving away 99% of his wealth to for-profit philanthropy charity initiatives, in a controlled phased manner can ensure a greater accountability of how the charity money is spent and ensure greater control on philanthropy.

A hard lesson Mark learnt when his earlier philanthropy initiative of $100 million was wasted, mostly eaten away by the consultants instead of reaching the intended beneficiary. 

Different people have come with different models, for eg. Rockefeller focused on directed philanthropy, focusing on a single cause ensuring greater  success .. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation ensued greater control on fund spending, Warren Buffet believes in the reach to intended beneficiaries ..

Great lesson on what effective philanthropy could be in future for future billionaires of the world... !

http://fortune.com/2015/12/02/zuckerberg-charity/

Directed philanthropy and John D. Rockefeller. .

A true life story ..

The first billionaire of the world, around 1897 AD, the first oil prospector and owner of Standard Oil, John D. Rockefeller, at 58 years of age had all the riches of the world at his command, ie. more than a hundred years ago. But at middle age, he found that he had developed a strange disease. His skin started crumpling up and hair falling. How could this ever have happened to a handsome young man  who had a great future and lot of dreams to accomplish. 

Young and handsome John ..

John consulted with all the great, renowned medical doctors around the world, who travelled across the seas to go to US to meet him and offer treatment. Nothing worked.

Having lost all hope, he was destined to die any time and was on his deathbed. His local pastor came around for his daily visit and prayers and one day confided with him of a possible remedy - give back to society.

a bust of John D Rockefeller ..

John found it very difficult to let go of his riches. But he called his children to his bed side and gave each of them a quarter million dollars each and donated the rest of his wealth, say $999 million to the Rockefeller Trust.

He felt he had let go of a great weight off his mind. He felt gratified seeing how his riches could be productively pumped back to the well being of society and the world while he was ready to face death ..

Days passed by to weeks and months, John started observing a strange change in his body. His hair started growing back on his head, his skin started regaining its youthful charm !! John got out of bed and spent the rest of his life administering the Rockefeller Trust he had set up ! The Trust focused on directed philanthropy than shared philanthropy, on eradicating diseases from the face of planet earth. Eradication of hookworm from South US is a case at point.  

Rockefeller, at mid age .. Directed philanthropy ..

When India was threatened with famine in the late sixties and seventies, it was the Rockefeller Foundation that held the nation together and saved millions of lives by helping donate thousands of tonnes of wheat to the people of India !

The Trusts' contribution to the setting up of Medical Colleges and Institutes in Asia and Africa, saving humanity from the scourge of communicable diseases cannot be forgotten. The power of giving back to society and directed philanthropy by a single individual, still presently remains the strongest motivator for the present day billionaires to give back to society. Zuckerberg donating 99% of this wealth is an instance to point.

A contented , happy Rockefeller in old age ..

Rockefeller lived a full healthy life and died at a ripe age of 98 in 1937 as a very satisfied, contented and happy person !! It is not the riches you have, but how it can bring relief and succour to the people of the world that is important and gratifying !!

It is said, if Rockefeller had kept the billion dollars to himself, it would have accumulated to app $860 billion dollars at present rates, which is ten times the worth of the present richest man, Bill Gates, but planet earth would have been a hollow, more painful and less pleasant place for humanity to survive !! 

Click on this link for the Rockefeller timeline ..

George Easaw.

Quotes on success .