'Captain of Blue' to 'Colonel of Olive Green'
Former Indian cricket captain Kapil Dev, who was inducted into the Territorial Army five months ago, will undergo a three-day battle efficiency test here beginning Friday.
'The orientation or familiarisation of Kapil Dev will begin Friday. The battle efficiency test as it is being called will also include firing practice,' an army official told IANS.
Kapil Dev, who scripted history by leading the Indian team to victory in the 1983 World Cup, was commissioned into the 150 TA (Infantry) battalion of the Punjab Regiment.
The 50-year-old legendary cricketer is now an honorary Lieutenant Colonel. He received his badges of rank from the Indian Army chief on Sep 24, 2008.
Having inspired thousands of youth in the country to pick up a bat and ball, Kapil Dev now hopes to inspire them to don the Olive Green to protect the nation.
The Territorial Army is a part-time citizen's force which functions as a 'vital adjunct' to the regular army.
Courtesy: Yahoo! News
Friday, February 20, 2009
India - The one stop solution for all your outsourcing needs!
Last year, Eric Weitz was turning business away. His Philadelphia law firm, Weitz Garfinkle Datz, regularly found itself pitted in court against large corporate law firms with "unlimited, incredible resources," he says. The four attorneys in his 10-person, $1 million company simply couldn't take on all the complex insurance and medical cases brought to them. Weitz's solution: outsource some of the firm's medical consulting and document management work to a company in India. "I used to have to cobble together assistance from a number of different local vendors," says Weitz. "But when you're a small firm you tend to go to the back of the list."
India is well known for its ability to handle business process outsourcing, such as call center and back-office work. But it's increasingly a venue for design and consulting jobs as well, says Anil Gupta, a professor of strategy at the University of Maryland's Smith Business School. Although the large Indian outsourcing firms cater mostly to major international firms, small U.S. companies can find partners that specialize in small to midsize businesses. Labor costs typically run a quarter of what they would in the U.S.
Weitz developed a preliminary list of potential partners by scouring legal trade journals and the Internet. Most contenders were slow to respond to his inquiries, but one, Tasks Everyday, replied immediately. The Mumbai company offered to do a test run for free, so Weitz asked it to review a stack of medical records and create a chronology of events. That worked out well, and in July Weitz started outsourcing regularly to them. Now he relies on his offshore team to do everything from researching reference materials to medical consulting. The Indian firm even hired American-trained doctors to review medical files, research, and studies for Weitz, a service it hadn't provided clients before. The two parties negotiate a fixed fee for a preset number of hours. Weitz pays up front for each contract.
If you have a complex, long-term project, Gupta recommends that you travel to India to start developing a relationship. This can be prohibitively expensive, so find out if your outsourcer will come to you. In addition to working U.S. business hours and offering local contact numbers for their clients, most reputable Indian operations have offices and account executives in the U.S.
There can be hiccups, of course. The variety of regional accents in India can create language barriers, even when all parties are speaking English. Weitz, who receives daily e-mails and weekly progress reports from his Indian team, has also found that extremely detailed instructions are necessary. "I have to be very concrete in terms of the scope of the project before even placing the call to give instructions," he says. When work does need to be corrected, says Weitz, Tasks Everyday has done so immediately, without charging extra. "If you don't set standards, you can't expect always to get a firm's best work," says Gupta. "Vendors tend to rise to the occasion."
Weitz says he'll increase his revenue about 20% because he's outsourcing to India and can now take on more cases. "My cost structure is significantly lower, so my risk tolerance is higher," Weitz says. "There's my competitive advantage"—even if it happens to be located nearly 8,000 miles away.
Courtesy - Business Week
India is well known for its ability to handle business process outsourcing, such as call center and back-office work. But it's increasingly a venue for design and consulting jobs as well, says Anil Gupta, a professor of strategy at the University of Maryland's Smith Business School. Although the large Indian outsourcing firms cater mostly to major international firms, small U.S. companies can find partners that specialize in small to midsize businesses. Labor costs typically run a quarter of what they would in the U.S.
Weitz developed a preliminary list of potential partners by scouring legal trade journals and the Internet. Most contenders were slow to respond to his inquiries, but one, Tasks Everyday, replied immediately. The Mumbai company offered to do a test run for free, so Weitz asked it to review a stack of medical records and create a chronology of events. That worked out well, and in July Weitz started outsourcing regularly to them. Now he relies on his offshore team to do everything from researching reference materials to medical consulting. The Indian firm even hired American-trained doctors to review medical files, research, and studies for Weitz, a service it hadn't provided clients before. The two parties negotiate a fixed fee for a preset number of hours. Weitz pays up front for each contract.
If you have a complex, long-term project, Gupta recommends that you travel to India to start developing a relationship. This can be prohibitively expensive, so find out if your outsourcer will come to you. In addition to working U.S. business hours and offering local contact numbers for their clients, most reputable Indian operations have offices and account executives in the U.S.
There can be hiccups, of course. The variety of regional accents in India can create language barriers, even when all parties are speaking English. Weitz, who receives daily e-mails and weekly progress reports from his Indian team, has also found that extremely detailed instructions are necessary. "I have to be very concrete in terms of the scope of the project before even placing the call to give instructions," he says. When work does need to be corrected, says Weitz, Tasks Everyday has done so immediately, without charging extra. "If you don't set standards, you can't expect always to get a firm's best work," says Gupta. "Vendors tend to rise to the occasion."
Weitz says he'll increase his revenue about 20% because he's outsourcing to India and can now take on more cases. "My cost structure is significantly lower, so my risk tolerance is higher," Weitz says. "There's my competitive advantage"—even if it happens to be located nearly 8,000 miles away.
Courtesy - Business Week
Thursday, February 19, 2009
GM - At the verge of bankruptcy
A government-backed bankruptcy reorganization remains an option for saving General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC, analysts said on Wednesday, even though the automakers have said they would rather not go down that road.
GM and Chrysler asked for billions of dollars more in federal aid on Tuesday and announced sweeping changes including capacity reductions and job cuts.
Some Wall Street analysts were disappointed that the restructuring plans submitted to the U.S. Treasury did not include key concessions from the United Auto Workers union and the automakers' bondholders.
One analyst said that taking the bankruptcy option off the table would reduce the bargaining power of the companies.
Both GM and Chrysler analyzed a possible bankruptcy filing in their restructuring plans but stressed that it was not their preferred method for reorganizing and that they hoped to avoid this scenario.
GM, which has requested $16.4 billion in additional loans from the U.S. government for a total of up to $30 billion, has said it would run out of cash as soon as March without new federal funding.
The request came shortly after smaller rival Chrysler asked for another $5 billion in aid.
GM's request that a sizable chunk of total aid come in the form of preferred equity rather than debt is a "tacit acknowledgment of the fact that GM may emerge from an out-of-court process as a still highly levered firm," JP Morgan analyst Himanshu Patel said.
David Leiker, analyst with Robert W. Baird, still sees bankruptcy as the best option for a reorganization.
"Though likely to be painful near-term, we continue to believe that the challenges to restructuring GM and Chrysler are too complicated to be met outside of a bankruptcy," Leiker said.
In its restructuring blueprint, GM estimated that if it were forced to reorganize in a traditional bankruptcy, the tab for the government could touch $100 billion in bankruptcy financing.
Chrysler estimated that the bill for its bankruptcy could hit $1,200 per taxpayer.
GM also outlined cost-reduction actions but still has to reach an agreement with its bondholders and the UAW on how to reduce the roughly $48 billion it owes both groups.
An equity-for-debt swap, which is being considered, could significantly hit stockholders.
"A substantial majority of the pro-forma equity in General Motors would be distributed to exchanging bondholders and the UAW VEBA," Credit Suisse analyst Chris Ceraso said. "The existing equity holders would largely be wiped out by the bond and VEBA exchanges."
The UAW VEBA is trust fund set up to cover employee healthcare costs.
Another issue that could crop up for auto investors is the the potential for "going concern opinions" from auditors due to the liquidity crunch, operational losses and solvency issues in the auto industry, according to Grant Thornton, a corporate advisory and restructuring services firm.
A going concern opinion is a statement that there is substantial doubt about the entity's ability to continue as a going concern, something that would be typically mentioned in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings by companies.
"It's important for the public, the supply base and all of the parties involved in restructuring the auto industry not to overreact if they start seeing 'going concern' opinions," said Kimberly Rodriguez, co-leader of Grant Thornton's global automotive team, adding that the radical restructurings GM and Chrysler are undertaking would ultimately help salvage the industry.
GM shares were down 9 cents or 4.13 percent at $2.09 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Courtesy: Yahoo! News
GM and Chrysler asked for billions of dollars more in federal aid on Tuesday and announced sweeping changes including capacity reductions and job cuts.
Some Wall Street analysts were disappointed that the restructuring plans submitted to the U.S. Treasury did not include key concessions from the United Auto Workers union and the automakers' bondholders.
One analyst said that taking the bankruptcy option off the table would reduce the bargaining power of the companies.
Both GM and Chrysler analyzed a possible bankruptcy filing in their restructuring plans but stressed that it was not their preferred method for reorganizing and that they hoped to avoid this scenario.
GM, which has requested $16.4 billion in additional loans from the U.S. government for a total of up to $30 billion, has said it would run out of cash as soon as March without new federal funding.
The request came shortly after smaller rival Chrysler asked for another $5 billion in aid.
GM's request that a sizable chunk of total aid come in the form of preferred equity rather than debt is a "tacit acknowledgment of the fact that GM may emerge from an out-of-court process as a still highly levered firm," JP Morgan analyst Himanshu Patel said.
David Leiker, analyst with Robert W. Baird, still sees bankruptcy as the best option for a reorganization.
"Though likely to be painful near-term, we continue to believe that the challenges to restructuring GM and Chrysler are too complicated to be met outside of a bankruptcy," Leiker said.
In its restructuring blueprint, GM estimated that if it were forced to reorganize in a traditional bankruptcy, the tab for the government could touch $100 billion in bankruptcy financing.
Chrysler estimated that the bill for its bankruptcy could hit $1,200 per taxpayer.
GM also outlined cost-reduction actions but still has to reach an agreement with its bondholders and the UAW on how to reduce the roughly $48 billion it owes both groups.
An equity-for-debt swap, which is being considered, could significantly hit stockholders.
"A substantial majority of the pro-forma equity in General Motors would be distributed to exchanging bondholders and the UAW VEBA," Credit Suisse analyst Chris Ceraso said. "The existing equity holders would largely be wiped out by the bond and VEBA exchanges."
The UAW VEBA is trust fund set up to cover employee healthcare costs.
Another issue that could crop up for auto investors is the the potential for "going concern opinions" from auditors due to the liquidity crunch, operational losses and solvency issues in the auto industry, according to Grant Thornton, a corporate advisory and restructuring services firm.
A going concern opinion is a statement that there is substantial doubt about the entity's ability to continue as a going concern, something that would be typically mentioned in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings by companies.
"It's important for the public, the supply base and all of the parties involved in restructuring the auto industry not to overreact if they start seeing 'going concern' opinions," said Kimberly Rodriguez, co-leader of Grant Thornton's global automotive team, adding that the radical restructurings GM and Chrysler are undertaking would ultimately help salvage the industry.
GM shares were down 9 cents or 4.13 percent at $2.09 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Courtesy: Yahoo! News
Friday, February 13, 2009
Mother of Octuplets launches a website
Nadya Suleman, who gave birth to octuplets and the mother of fourteen children, has now launched a website asking donations from people to raise her kids.
http://www.thenadyasulemanfamily.com/
http://www.thenadyasulemanfamily.com/
For some businesses, Recession is good!
The current economic picture is certainly a gloomy one, with massive layoffs, bankruptcies, the collapse of financial institutions, and a severe credit crunch. But the recession has also injected life into a slew of small businesses that are thriving either in spite of or because of the economic downturn, giving new relevance to the old adage that one man's misfortune is another's opportunity.
Among those businesses that are thriving are pawn shops and thrift stores, which have traditionally catered to those in tight financial straits and which have historically seen an uptick during economic slumps. They're reporting higher volumes of business and even a broadening of their customer bases among those who have recently found themselves with greatly diminished stock portfolios or among the unemployed. "More people are trying resale than may have done before," says Adele Meyer, executive director of the National Association for Resale & Thrift Shops, a trade association based in St. Clair Shores, Mich. "And once people shop resale they realize what value and quality they're getting for the price. They become hooked, and this becomes their way of shopping." Now, many thrift stores are finding that their inventories are running especially low: Business is booming, and goods for resale aren't being replenished as fast or as easily.
Keeping Things Running
Others who are getting a financial jolt—a positive one— are auto mechanics and other repairman, who have seen record business in some cases over the past six to nine months. With wallets stretched and credit tight, many people are hanging onto their cars, appliances, and even shoes rather than replacing them. "Our business in the last seven to nine months has been better than compared to the last four to five years," says Dick Whittington, owner of Leon's Shoe Shop in Shreveport, La.
Fear and crime has also boosted a number of businesses. Sales of home safes are on the rise, while several private detective agencies are also reporting a surge in business. Repo men across the country are doing record levels of business, thanks to the high number of loan defaults on big ticket items such as cars, boats, and motorcycles.
The record number of foreclosures and ballooning consumer debt has been a windfall for businesses that consolidate, restructure, counsel, and settle debt and foreclosures. However, an increase in fraudulent firms claiming to help consumers with their debt and mortgages has also been on the rise.
So while many businesses are shutting down or limping along, there remains a sturdy group of small firms that have found opportunity. Flip through the slide show to see nine small businesses that are booming during the recession.
Among those businesses that are thriving are pawn shops and thrift stores, which have traditionally catered to those in tight financial straits and which have historically seen an uptick during economic slumps. They're reporting higher volumes of business and even a broadening of their customer bases among those who have recently found themselves with greatly diminished stock portfolios or among the unemployed. "More people are trying resale than may have done before," says Adele Meyer, executive director of the National Association for Resale & Thrift Shops, a trade association based in St. Clair Shores, Mich. "And once people shop resale they realize what value and quality they're getting for the price. They become hooked, and this becomes their way of shopping." Now, many thrift stores are finding that their inventories are running especially low: Business is booming, and goods for resale aren't being replenished as fast or as easily.
Keeping Things Running
Others who are getting a financial jolt—a positive one— are auto mechanics and other repairman, who have seen record business in some cases over the past six to nine months. With wallets stretched and credit tight, many people are hanging onto their cars, appliances, and even shoes rather than replacing them. "Our business in the last seven to nine months has been better than compared to the last four to five years," says Dick Whittington, owner of Leon's Shoe Shop in Shreveport, La.
Fear and crime has also boosted a number of businesses. Sales of home safes are on the rise, while several private detective agencies are also reporting a surge in business. Repo men across the country are doing record levels of business, thanks to the high number of loan defaults on big ticket items such as cars, boats, and motorcycles.
The record number of foreclosures and ballooning consumer debt has been a windfall for businesses that consolidate, restructure, counsel, and settle debt and foreclosures. However, an increase in fraudulent firms claiming to help consumers with their debt and mortgages has also been on the rise.
So while many businesses are shutting down or limping along, there remains a sturdy group of small firms that have found opportunity. Flip through the slide show to see nine small businesses that are booming during the recession.
Courtesy: Business Week
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Computer Virus enter French Fighter Planes!
The aircraft were unable to download their flight plans after databases were infected by a Microsoft virus they had already been warned about several months beforehand.
At one point French naval staff were also instructed not to even open their computers.
Microsoft had warned that the "Conficker" virus, transmitted through Windows, was attacking computer systems in October last year, but according to reports the French military ignored the warning and failed to install the necessary security measures.
The French newspaper Ouest France said the virus had hit the internal computer network at the French Navy.
Jérome Erulin, French navy spokesman told the paper: "It affected exchanges of information but no information was lost. It was a security problem we had already simulated. We cut the communication links that could have transmitted the virus and 99 per cent of the network is safe."
However, the French navy admitted that during the time it took to eradicate the virus, it had to return to more traditional forms of communication: telephone, fax and post.
Naval officials said the "infection"' was probably due more to negligence than a deliberate attempt to compromise French national security. It said it suspected someone at the navy had used an infected USB key.
The Sicmar Network, on which the most sensitive documents and communications are transmitted was not touched, it said. "The computer virus problem had no effect on the availability of our forces." The virus attacked the non-secured internal French navy network called Intramar and was detected on 21 January. The whole network was affected and military staff were instructed not to start their computers.
According to Liberation newspaper, two days later the chiefs of staff decided to isolate Intramar from the military's other computer systems, but certain computers at the Villacoublay air base and in the 8th Transmissions Regiment were infected. Liberation reported that on the 15 and 16 January the Navy's Rafale aircraft were "nailed to the ground" because they were unable to "download their flight plans". The aircraft were eventually activated by "another system".
Liberation also reported that Microsoft had identified the Conficker virus in the autumn of 2008 and had advised users from October last year to update their security patches. IntelligenceOnline reports that "at the heart of the (French) military, the modifications were, for the most part, not done." It was only on the 16 January "three months later" that the navy chiefs of staffs began to act.
"At that point, the chiefs of staff and the defence ministry had no idea how many computers or military information systems were vulnerable to having been contaminated by the virus," said Liberation.
The French press also reported that the only consolation for the French Navy was that it was not the only ones to have fallen victim to the virus. It said that a report in the military review Defense Tech revealed that in the first days of January 2009 the British Defence Ministry had been attacked by a hybrid of the virus that had substantially and seriously infected the computer systems of more than 24 RAF bases and 75 per cent of the Royal Navy fleet including the aircraft carrier Ark Royal.
Source - Defence Aviation
At one point French naval staff were also instructed not to even open their computers.
Microsoft had warned that the "Conficker" virus, transmitted through Windows, was attacking computer systems in October last year, but according to reports the French military ignored the warning and failed to install the necessary security measures.
The French newspaper Ouest France said the virus had hit the internal computer network at the French Navy.
Jérome Erulin, French navy spokesman told the paper: "It affected exchanges of information but no information was lost. It was a security problem we had already simulated. We cut the communication links that could have transmitted the virus and 99 per cent of the network is safe."
However, the French navy admitted that during the time it took to eradicate the virus, it had to return to more traditional forms of communication: telephone, fax and post.
Naval officials said the "infection"' was probably due more to negligence than a deliberate attempt to compromise French national security. It said it suspected someone at the navy had used an infected USB key.
The Sicmar Network, on which the most sensitive documents and communications are transmitted was not touched, it said. "The computer virus problem had no effect on the availability of our forces." The virus attacked the non-secured internal French navy network called Intramar and was detected on 21 January. The whole network was affected and military staff were instructed not to start their computers.
According to Liberation newspaper, two days later the chiefs of staff decided to isolate Intramar from the military's other computer systems, but certain computers at the Villacoublay air base and in the 8th Transmissions Regiment were infected. Liberation reported that on the 15 and 16 January the Navy's Rafale aircraft were "nailed to the ground" because they were unable to "download their flight plans". The aircraft were eventually activated by "another system".
Liberation also reported that Microsoft had identified the Conficker virus in the autumn of 2008 and had advised users from October last year to update their security patches. IntelligenceOnline reports that "at the heart of the (French) military, the modifications were, for the most part, not done." It was only on the 16 January "three months later" that the navy chiefs of staffs began to act.
"At that point, the chiefs of staff and the defence ministry had no idea how many computers or military information systems were vulnerable to having been contaminated by the virus," said Liberation.
The French press also reported that the only consolation for the French Navy was that it was not the only ones to have fallen victim to the virus. It said that a report in the military review Defense Tech revealed that in the first days of January 2009 the British Defence Ministry had been attacked by a hybrid of the virus that had substantially and seriously infected the computer systems of more than 24 RAF bases and 75 per cent of the Royal Navy fleet including the aircraft carrier Ark Royal.
Source - Defence Aviation
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