Friday 30 March 2012

MOTIVATION



We have all heard about motivation. Motivation in literal terms means willingness to do. It is an inner urge which triggers an action within us. We all need motivation at different phases. We may be down with confidence, moral and so on. At these times we all need to uplift ourselves and perform better.



I always believed that determination, motivation & will power go hand in hand. Determination is your goal. It is what you want to achieve. Your path to achievement may not be easy. There will be obstacles, both big & small in your path. When you see an obstacle on your way, one shouldn’t be demoralized or feel that it is difficult to cross the obstacle. This is where motivation comes in to play. We always need to be motivated that we can, we can. Once we believe that we can, our perception changes.  We need tremendous amount of will power to achieve what we want. Will power is required to work/study day in and day out. We must be able to perform to the best of our abilities everyday in our life.

I would like to say a few things about how I moved about during my study leave and used determination, motivation & will power to sail me through. When I went in to my study leave the first question I asked myself am I game for this? I got an answer within saying no. But I didn’t feel letdown just because of one answer. I wanted to turn the table around and say yes, maybe a few days before the exam.

As my studies progressed I started to feel good and confident. But whenever I was down and negative thought came in to my mind saying that I can’t do it. I closed my books and for a moment I thought of good things in my life. I had thoughts about my class 10, class 12, B Com, CA foundation and CA inter. Thinking about how I managed to sail through this made me feel good.  When I studied I believed if I can’t do this then no one else can. Every day I used to visualize and dream about being a Chartered Accountant. I used to think about the number of opportunities I ll have being a CA. Also the amount of pleasure we ll get by adding CA before our name. This attitude and line of thinking helped me a great deal during my study holidays.

The greatest motivation one can have is the willingness to do well not only for yourself but for your parents. I always believe that hard work pays off.  As long as a person has a desire/ Hunger to know what he/she wants, one can surely achieve it. It all depends on how hungry you are to achieve what you want. One must always remain focused in what he/she wants and must not divert from it. Consistency and hard work is the order of the day.

Happiest moment for me in the past two years is when I saw the happiness in my parents face when I cleared the exam.  All of us really work hard to make our parents feel proud. We must always make our parents proud in things we do and we must do it in the right way. Today whatever we are is because of our parents. We have an identity today because of our parents. Today we are known as son/daughter of so & so. We do not have an identity of our own at this point of time in life. But it is essential that all of us have an identity of our own. Now people tell my parents that they are parents of a Chartered Accountant. What else can we ask for?  These are the moments which will be cherished for life time. Small things can sometimes make big differences. This is possible only if we achieve our goals in life. The society looks up to us. That can be the greatest motivation ever.


People should take steps to create a branding for themselves. This can be done through acquiring knowledge, work ethics, and good social life and over and above a good national citizen of the country. This branding takes time to build and once created it can leave tremendous amount of goodwill.

These 3 words assume great significance on our journey in life. Be determined to achieve what you want. To achieve one must always be motivated and must have the will to do it. The following words assume great significance in life


I will
I can
I want to do it


At the same time always remember maintain the highest standard of professional ethics and never compromise it in life. Once you compromise on ethics, it will haunt lifetime. Friends nothing is impossible in life as long as one has the desire & will to achieve what he/she wants to achieve.

Friday 16 March 2012

WHY SHOULD I PAY TAXES ?




Income tax is what crosses our mind when we start earning. We normally plan for our funds and accordingly try to reduce our taxes. However despite all the efforts we cannot escape from taxes. We pay taxes for the development of country as a whole such as infrastructure, rural development, industrial development, social development, security and in many other areas.

But the question that arises is the tax which we are paying for the aforesaid areas above is being actually utilized effectively. The answer to this is not a difficult one.  Taxpayer’s money is not being utilized by both central and state governments for the development of country as a whole. It’s very disheartening to see our very own hard earned income go down the drains.

The money is spent by the government for increasing their vote banks by giving free rice, TVs, mobile phones and so on.  This is a very unfortunate situation of our country. Over the past couple of years we have seen many scams erupt in the country such as the commonwealth games, 2G spectrum scam, INSAT spectrum scam, mining scam and on and on. The list seems never to end. The parliament disruption leads to chaos and costs the ex chequer. 

Any scheme launched by the government, only 16% of it reaches the ultimate beneficiary. The remaining amount is siphoned off by the bureaucrats and corrupted middlemen. This is a very sad state of affairs in India. India, undoubtedly is one of the most corrupted countries in the world and the taxpayers as well as India as a country suffers it the most.

The income tax department of the country works in a very unusual way. A person who pays very minute amount as tax, is sent a show cause notice as to why an action should not be taken against him for a small error in the total income statement which may not even have an impact on the tax liability. On the other hand we have people like Hasan ali, raja, kalmadi and many others who have managed to siphon off huge amounts of money from India to tax heavens. Despite having sufficient proof against them, no action is taken. This is income tax department.


The government of India is no different. GoI is aware of the illegal mining happening in the states of Goa, Karnataka and various other places across the country. However no action is taken by it to protect the interest of the country. 26/11 Terrorist Ajmal Kasab is still alive even after 3 years of the brutal terror attack India has ever seen.  A huge amount is incurred everyday for his protection. Why a person like him should be given security who has taken lives of so many ? This is ridiculous as the taxpayer’s money is being spent to protect a terrorist. Remember all the tax payers are contributing a small portion towards his protection.





We have also seen innumerable delays in various projects the government has undertaken in construction of over bridges, railways, highways, other infrastructure projects, loss making PSU such as Air India, oil marketing companies, rising fiscal deficits and inflation is leading to escalation in cost thereby increasing the cost to ex chequer.

Despite all the negative on utilization of taxpayers’ money, being citizen of the country, we must pay taxes because after all it’s our India, My India.  I want to see India rise to the top very soon. For this we must contribute in our own very way by paying taxes honestly and do things which bring laurels for our country. Undoubtedly corruption, bureaucracy are few of the major factors which lead to misutilisation of our tax money.  In some way we have also contributed to this since we let it happen and did not stop the same.


As Mahatma Gandhi said “be the change you want to see in the world”. We must change and pay taxes to see our country reach on the top.  A small change in each one of us can bring about changes in many others. Also paying taxes helps our health since one can have a very good sleep night not worrying at all.  Pay taxes and all is well my friends.

Saturday 10 March 2012

INDIA’S UNUTILISED WEALTH?






India is a country which was or is being exploited by empires from different parts of the world. Be it the Mughals, Portuguese, British or today’s politicians.  People have ruled us. We have been slaves to the colonial regime.  We still haven’t learnt our lessons today. People across the world say that we are a poor country. A country with 1.2 Billion people and over 40% of them do not have access to basic needs. Why is that we have such a situation today?
First of all we have got to realize that we are not a poor country. Our country is very rich. A country rich in diversity, culture, history, heritage, population, minerals and of course wealth.
India has amazing amount of wealth. Corrupt people, institutions are exploiting it or rather not using it in the way it should be used for the development of the country. According to several economists and financial experts, bank deposits in the territory of Switzerland by nationals of India total upwards of $1.4 billion. That is close to the nominal GDP of India today. It kind of gives credence to the widely held belief that $1.456 trillion of Indian money is parked in Swiss bank vaults. This is only in Switzerland. What about the other Tax heavens.  We do not have a count of it, neither is the government willing to bring back those money to India because it knows if the details are obtained, then the government would fall the very next day.
Padmanabhaswamy temple Trivandrum
Over Rs 1, 00,000 crore worth of wealth is accumulated in Padmanabhaswamy temple in Trivandrum, unknown amount of wealth in Tirupati temple which is the richest temple in India, Baba Ramdevs trust which has again added over thousands of crores to its kitty. We must also consider amount of unutilized wealth lying in different temples, churches, institutions across the country. All the amounts mentioned above are estimates. Nobody knows the actual figures. To add to this the hard earned tax payers money is also not being properly channelized by the government. We have seen this in 2G mess, CWG mess, space spectrum mess and so many other such misappropriations.



Imagine if all this money was properly utilized by the Indian government. There would be no stopping India. India would be one of the richest countries in the world. Take a look at the situation by yourself.

With the amount of this wealth, our fiscal deficit would be completely wiped off. What it means is that as a country we will be free from all debts and interest payments.  The wealth would take care of our country’s, defence budget, railways, social budget such as food including malnutrition, scientific research, electricity, water, fertilizers, agriculture, infrastructure, education and so many others. The cost of oil, LPG would decrease. The rates of Income tax and indirect taxes could also be further reduced.


When the money is added to the kitty of GoI, the spending by the government will increase. This in turn will generate employment opportunities, world class infrastructure, increase the earnings of people, who in turn will spend and lead to growth of GDP. Our GDP will touch double digits without any difficulty. We would emerge as powerhouse in the world.  The money is also enough to feed 45 crore poor people in India. The wealth would also enable India to create a strong military base and protect its people from rising threat of its neighbors.


The total amount of this wealth contributes nearly 40-50% of Indias GDP. This means even if we don’t pay tax for next 15 years, Indian government can still run efficiently. Over 15,000 new education institutions can be opened like the IIMs or IITs. There wouldn’t be a requirement to pay electricity bill, India will be financially very strong, 2000 hospitals with all facilities can be made and services can be provided at free of cost. Our GDP growth is now 6.1% as per the latest report and our economy is slowing down. But if the wealth is properly utilized, then our economy will never ever slowdown.


At the same time what I don’t understand is what are individuals who are having lot of money are going to do with it. Or even for the matter Padmanabhaswamy temple/ Tirupati temple will do with so much of wealth.  There is no point accumulating such massive wealth and not spending on a noble cause. People, government have to wake up. There is no point locking the gold back in to the vault. Use it. Use it for the welfare of people. Padmanabhaswamy temples wealth if properly used can change the face of Kerala or even southern India.


Should the temple now repay this charity by encashing some of the precious stuff to do something good for society? Or should it hold on to what it has because it's all too ancient and holy to be measured, valued and sold? Consider the second option first: the gold, diamonds and so on that have been discovered will eventually have some number pasted on them, only to be thrown back into the dungeons and locked up for a couple of centuries more.

My humble request is that it is time for the government realizes the magnitude of the situation and act upon sooner than never. So till the government actually swings into action, which is highly unlikely, all this is entirely in the realm of speculative fantasy. But just because our government fails to fulfill our wishes, we should not stop having them.

Sunday 4 March 2012

INDIA’S HOLY CITY TRULY UNHOLY?




Recently I have been on a pilgrimage tour to Haridwar, Neelkand and Banaras.  The city where lot of pilgrims visit every year. For me, it was for an all a different tour. Start of a new beginning for me after clearing my CA finals. It was my second visit and not everybody is lucky enough to go more than once to these places. But thanks to god I was there. I had a good darshan in the various temples I had been there.


Ganga aarti @ Haridwar
My first stop was Haridwar- Famous for the Ganges and the Ganga aarti.  Any person who comes to Haridwar takes a dip in the holy Ganga. It is believed that if one takes a dip in the river, all sins are washed away. So did me. I took a dip in the mighty Ganges and it was a great feeling. At a time when the temperature is 15C, and the water is as cold as ice, it was simply amazing.  At the same time I have seen many people who come on the banks of the river and have bath, do their pooja, rituals and so on. I have noticed people have blind faith. They have a belief that Ganga will take care of everything. They put the pooja waste, plastics and other items in to the river. Will the river still be clean even after all that waste put in to the river?  No, it won’t. People have got to realize that though river is a very holy river and goes back to over 1000 of years and is deeply attached with the belief of Indian people, it cannot just be polluted and made dirty by blind belief.  The river has to be kept clean.



The same river provides water in their houses, water for agriculture, maintains the ground water level, fertile soil which is essential for a good harvest, water for animals and for hundreds of other reasons. By polluting the river, it is affecting bio diversity, humans, animals and the very flow of nature.
Tourist smoking in Banaras



It was astonishing for me to see the same river in Banaras- over 800 kms from Haridwar. The colour of water- you can’t see anything below your feet. It was that dark. The river is only flowing at its 50% capacity in Banaras. 50 % of the actual flow is dry. Also the water level in the river has reduced. A portion of Ganga river has gone completely dry. It’s a sad state of affairs. I have not taken more photos, because I could not see the sorry state of affair of the mighty river.


Banaras City view from the river banks
While walking on the streets of Banaras, there was cow dung, food waste, plastics, cows and so on all over the road. The roads were in a mess. The traffic is chaotic. You have cycle rickshaws blocking the road. When I was walking along the banks of the river that is in the ghats, I could see people drinking, smoking, prostitution taking drugs and so on. The pundits there too are also involved in this. I was completely devastated to see and hear all this. People from across the country come to this holy city and we find such kind of activities going on over there. But this is the truth.  People in the pilgrimage centre take the tourist and pilgrims for a ride. Government – both at centre and state is turning a blind eye to this.


Similarly on our way to Neelkand, we had to go through the forest as a shorter route. We had been walking holding the kawad. Though the climate was fantastic, but at the same time we could see lot of plastic waste lying around mainly thrown away by the pilgrims, tourist and the local people residing in the forest.  As we know plastic is a non degradable item and it is only hurting the forest and animals out there.

Haridwar









Dry part of the actual river flow
When I was in Delhi and was crossing an over bridge where Yamuna was flowing below, it was stinking very badly.  Windows had to be pulled up because the smell was unbearable. The same river joins Ganga in Allahabad. The river is polluted because of toxic waste put in to the river. Something has to be done about all of this not only by the government but also at our level.






 To conclude I only hope when we are there next time, authorities take steps to inform people, educate them about such blind folded beliefs. People should realize it’s for their own good, for the good of crores of humans, agriculture and all different kind of life forms dependent on it. A good clean river is the need for the hour not only environmentally but also economically. How do we change? Its Simple. Throwing the waste into the dustbin instead into the river. All of us can be part of the change. It is not a complex issue. The problem can be solved in simple terms by better education, awareness, advertisement and so on. Local authorities, government and most importantly we can play a crucial role in this. Incredible India- an Incredible nation for Incredible people.  Let us all change the tag from India’s holy city truly unholy to India’s holy city truly Holy.


It is difficult process but not an impossible one. Time is running and there is an urgent need to save India’s holy city.

MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS


Merger and acquisitions in simple terms means where one company takes over another or where two companies join together to form one single company. The process of mergers and acquisitions has gained substantial importance in today’s world. The process is extensively used for restructuring business process. It has become popular because of enhanced competition, breaking of trade barriers, free flow of capital across countries, buoyancy in economy, liquidity in corporate sector, dynamic attitude of entrepreneurs and most of all Globalization of business.

India’s growth story has been no different. Since NEP 1991 the economic reform has put a whole lot of challenges both in domestic as well as in international arena. The Indian Corporate has been handed over a platter to showcase to the entire world its ability to withstand competition. Our beloved country has arrived in global arena- A Country not to be trifled with, but to be looked up to with respect and admiration.

Mergers and Acquisition have more positives than negatives and hence it is one of the hottest topics among the top CEOs of India. Before we move on to the advantages of amalgamation we must know the motives behind the same: They are

Economies of Scale: The average costs of product decreases since fixed cost are shared over a large number of goods thereby lowering the cost to the company and increasing profits.

Increased Revenue:  Company absorbs one of its major competitors and thus is able to command a price in the market.

Corporate Synergy:  Better use of complimentary resources may take form of revenue enhancement and cost savings.

Tax Planing: A Profitable company may buy a sick company to set off its income.

Resource transfer: Resources are unevenly distributed across firms and interaction of target and acquiring firm resources can create value by combining scarce resources.

These are few and motives differ from company to company and from industry to industry.

Advantages of Merger and Acquisitions:

 Access to new markets: When a company acquires another company it opens up an entirely new market. A domestic company acquiring a foreign company gives exposure to international markets. An international brand is created for the company. Eg: Tata- Chorus.

Taking on Global Competition: Any company to survive in the industry needs to grow. Growth must be reasonable enough not only to compete against other companies but also strive better than them. One way by which company may look to perform better is by acquiring another company equivalent to its size or even bigger. Eg: Tata Motors- Jaguar Land rover.

Financial Aspects: Mergers also help in increased market share, improve profitability, EPS, financial leveraging, access to cheaper international finance, market capitalization and so on.

Other advantages of mergers and acquisitions are
  • Buying cutting edge technology rather than buying it.
  • Improving operating margins and efficiencies.
  • Developing new product mixes.
  • Maintaining growth momentum
  • Product innovation through R&D.
  • Goodwill and brand building


However corporate require huge cash balances to buy the company which is one of the major constraints. However with effective long term planning the same can be overcome. The benefits of acquisitions will not be realized immediately as most of the shareholders would want. It is a process which is long term in nature. Benefits of such takeovers would take 5years to yield actual benefits.  But at the same time we must not forget the current situation of the economy and the industry growth aspects.


 Indian companies are buying international companies rapidly and thus expanding their business beyond the national boundaries.

Major Takeovers

Some of the major takeover by Indian Companies is

Tata Steel acquired chorus to become one of the largest steel company in the world and also the biggest takeover by an Indian Company for a whopping $12.1 Billion.

Tata Motors acquires Jaguar Land rover for $2.3 billion.

Vodafone takes over Hutch Essar for $10 Billion for a 52% stake in the company.

NTT Docomo Tata tele service deal for $2.7 billion. The second biggest deal after Vodafone- Hutch.
ONGC Acquisition of Russia based imperial energy for $2.8 billion. This marked a turnaround of India s hunt for natural reserves to compete with China.

Suzlon Energy acquies Repower. Hindalco acquires Novellis for $6billion. Reliance industries takes over Reliance Petroleum limited for $1.6 billion.

Also more recently Reliance power took over RNRL.



These are some of the big takeovers in India. But at the same time India have missed lot of opportunities in this field.  SBI should have merged with its subsidiaries such as SBH, SBT and others. This would have given SBI a wide access to markets and at the same time to capital.  It would have helped the bank to consolidate and grow at a rapid rate and thus be the leading bank not only in India, but also in the world. During recession in 2008 & 2009, at a point of time Citibank shares were trading at $1/ Share.   Home Minister P Chidambaram then asked the SBI Chairman to buy the shares of Citibank as it would have a global market. However SBI could not take over Citibank because it was a small bank and also due to lack of strong capital base. Merger of Main bank and its subsidiaries would have helped the bank to overcome the obstacles. Also the Bharti- MTN deal didn’t go ahead due to certain constraints. It would have put India on the world map. But alas an opportunity goes begging.

India is a young country with high aspirations. India is already an economic powerhouse. It is one of the very few countries to raise a positive GDP growth during the economic slowdown. With huge profits and surplus cash in the hands of corporate’s, day is not far when India will acquire some of the biggest companies in the world and make its presence felt in all the countries.