Do it yourself

Thought for the day "Men are strong so long as they represent a strong idea they become powerless when they oppose it." — Sigmund Freud (Austrian, 1956-1939) Word for the day Turpitude (n) Vile, shameful, or base character; depravity. Malice towards none How valid is the argument of "potential job losses" against banning socially harmful and economically unproductive industries like fire crackers, tobacco products, etc? First random thought this morning Investors in ecommerce ventures like Flipkart, Jabong, Zomato, Housing.com, etc. have noted serious erosion in their valuations. Should RBI be worried about bank's exposure to these companies' working capital funding? Also do the loans to fund fancy houses and cars of the executives of these startups need any red flag? Does government need to review their "Startup India" model? Or let it be! We'll cross the bridge when...

Thought for the day "A man who has been the indisputable favorite of his mother keeps for life the feeling of a conqueror." — Sigmund Freud (Austrian, 1956-1939) Word for the day Flivver (n) Something of unsatisfactory quality or inferior grade. (Source: Dictionary.com) Malice towards none Outside the Islamic nations, two largest democracies - USA and India - are perhaps the most racist and sexist. Why so? First random thought this morning As per reports India aims to create an additional 190 mtpa capacity by 2025-26. Approximately $1 billion investment is required to develop 1 mtpa steel capacity, implying a need for US$190bn investment requirement for the struggling industry. Has someone examined leasing massive global idle capacities under 25-30yrs contracts. Nifty: Gathering momentum to make a "move" Last week I had mentioned that benchmark indices are close to an i...

Thought for the day "What we see depends mainly on what we look for." —John Lubbock (British, 1834-1913) Word for the day Prink (v) To fuss over one's dress, especially before the mirror. Malice towards none Instead of urging his MPs to engage more with society, PM has urged them to engage more with social media! Are means becoming goals? First random thought this morning Last week Priyanka Chopra (PC) took a strong objection to some views of the GoP's presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump. Some friends are debating if she did commit a mistake. The debate is twofold - (a) whether artists should take strong partisan political positions; and (b) whether PC has unwittingly hampered her budding international career. Personally, I do not see any wrong in PC, or any artist for that matter, taking a strong position for a cause, ideology, party or person - like any other common person. But being a...

Thought for the day "If we are ever in doubt about what to do, it is a good rule to ask ourselves what we shall wish on the morrow that we had done." —John Lubbock (British, 1834-1913) Word for the day Amanuensis (n) A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another; secretary. Malice towards none Want to get into IIT - preserve virginity and believe in God! A survey finds that 95% new entrant in IIT-B are virgins and only 18% are atheist. First random thought this morning Reports suggest that many residents of the State of Bihar are crossing borders to Uttar Pradesh just to consume alcohol. A similar practice is seen in Gujarat, where people cross borders to Maharashtra, Daman and Diu just to drink. I do not subscribe to the idea of legal prohibition at all. But since some states have already implemented, I feel the prohibition should be on people and not the pl...

Thought for the day "A day of worry is more exhausting than a week of work." —John Lubbock (British, 1834-1913) Word for the day Woodnote (n) A wild or natural musical tone, as that of a forest bird. Malice towards none Someone advised a PM aspirant that India has already had prime ministers from north, west and south. Only eastern India is so far unrepresented. Did other leaders in eastern states also eavesdrop to the conversation? First random thought this morning Arvind Kejriwal led AAP has been successful in capturing some mind space of urban populace in the country, at public expense. In many areas, AAP might have an edge, whenever a need for an alternative to the established parties is felt by the citizens. Paradoxically, the party has not been able to make much inroads in rural mind space where the quintessential Aam Aadmi lives. Punjab villages, which are arguably most urbanized in the cou...

Thought for the day "Our duty is to believe that for which we have sufficient evidence, and to suspend our judgment when we have not." —John Lubbock (British, 1834-1913) Word for the day Puckish (Adj) Mischievous; impish. Malice towards none The massive forest fire in Uttrakhand proves three things: (a) Nero still does not care if Rome is burning. (b) Our disaster management has not improved much after 2013 Uttrakhand floods. (c) Environment is not a priority for anyone, till it becomes a prime time news.   First random thought this morning BJP has nominated Subramaniam Swamy to the Rajya Sabha, like a cat amongst pigeons. He seems to be taking the principal opposition Congress Party head on since the day one. BJP might score some quixotic points here. But is it only about BJP and Congress or the people of this country also matter to someone? Some random thoughts In past couple...

Thought for the day "Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time." — John Lubbock (British, 1834-1913) Word for the day Gonzo (Adj) (of journalism, reportage, etc.) filled with bizarre or subjective ideas, commentary, or the like. (Source: Dictionary.com) Malice towards none For the sake of argument assume PM Modi is a school dropout and Rahul Gandhi's foreign degrees are all genuine and hard earned.. So what's the point? First random thought this morning A report suggests that only 4% Indian file income tax return. This number may be low but is not ridiculous. If all those liable to pay income tax under current law, do actually file their IT return, the number may actually not go up materially. Over 90% Indians may still be earning less than t...