http://www.goimonitor.com/story/working-staying-out
While big cities offer job opportunities for some professions and better infrastructure, a lot of time is often spent commuting.
Mar
16
Mutual fund and FII investment trends
The Securities and Exchange Board of India website has interesting graphs indicating the Mutual fund and FII investment trends on a daily basis. Equity and debt investments are tracked separately.
http://www.sebi.gov.in/sebiweb/
If there is a lot of uncertainty, an investor is unlikely to invest time and money.
Dec
15
PIPA, SOPA and the internet firewall
Protect IP Act, Stop Online Piracy Act (Sopa) could affect the growth of the internet.
Relevant links
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16195344
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main51.asp?filename=Op171211proscons.asp
http://www.wired.com/beyond_the_beyond/2011/12/internet-engineers-dont-like-pipa-and-sopa/
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/12/internet-inventors-warn-against-sopa-and-pipa
Nov
6
Bills introduced in Parliament
Rajya Sabha
http://164.100.47.4/newbios_search/intsessionreport3.aspx
Lok Sabha
http://164.100.47.4/newlsbios_search/sessionreport3.aspx
Some of the bills are very interesting and well researched.
Aug
23
Big Companies offering work at home / telecommuting jobs in India
Some news stories on big companies offering work at home / telecommuting jobs in India
http://www.expresscomputeronline.com/20080324/technologylife01.shtml
http://www.thehindubusinessline.in/ew/2008/04/21/stories/2008042150020100.htm
http://www.i4donline.net/articles/current-article.asp?articleid=2041&typ=Features
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1051011/asp/atleisure/story_5342890.asp
http://www.omamconsultants.com/milestones_detail5.htm
Jul
4
NEFT transfer
Information on NEFT transfer can be found at
http://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/FAQView.aspx?Id=60
NEFT transfers are disabled by banks on certain days of a month.
It takes 12-14 hours for the transfer to be completed, and a longer time if there is a backlog due to a bank holiday.
May
9
Liberal education
The Indian education system is geared towards passing exams with high marks, not in teaching students to think independently. This article
throws some light on why there is so little innovation in India, why many people do not keep an open mind , think beyond stereotypes. If people are treated fairly and there is little exploitation, they are far more productive.
Apr
11
Policy, government and legal websites
Some websites for reference are
http://governancenow.com/ - government operation
http://www.observerindia.com/ – policy
http://www.akosha.com/ - legal assistance for consumers
Mar
31
View credit card statement online
You can view your ICICI credit card statement online at
https://infinity.icicibank.co.in/web/cards/creditcardNLI/jsp/ccNonLoginPage.jsp
For generating a 3D secure code for online transactions (Visa /Mastercard), use
If your computer is hacked or ISP connection is insecure, the hacker may use the credit / debit card number entered to generate the 3D secure code himself and you will not be able to use the debit card for online transactions. In such cases, the card will have to be blocked to prevent misuse online.
Mar
17
Paypal India changes from March 1, 2011
For a few days after March 1, 2011, Paypal users in India got the following notification after logging in to their Paypal account.
Notification for PayPal users in India
With effect from 1 March 2011, you are required to comply with the requirements set out in the notification of the Reserve Bank of India governing the processing and settlement of export-related receipts facilitated by online payment gateways (“RBI Guidelines”).
1.Any balance in and all future payments into your PayPal account may not be used to buy goods or services and must be transferred to your bank account in India within 7 days from the receipt of confirmation from the buyer in respect of the goods or services; and
2.Export-related payments for goods and services into your PayPal account may not exceed US$500 per transaction. Click here to learn more.
Go to My Account
The notification did not appear for a few days, but it is now again visible.
Other than blocking mass payments , no other major changes have appeared in Paypal site for Indian users. Many personal and premier account holders have been able to send money from their account and receive money, though some Paypal business account holders have had the $500 restriction implemented and accounts limited. Paypal users who have written to Paypal support have been told that their accounts are being monitored. A similar rule seems to be implemented in Turkey without advance notification with users unable to pay from Paypal balance.
Till January 2010, any Paypal user could have one business and one personal account as per Paypal’s Terms of Service. After Paypal wanted users to associate a PAN number with each account, some users had to choose between the business and personal account, since a PAN number could be associated with one account only. With the new changes users now face the following disadvantages:
1. They are forced to withdraw at the prevailing exchange rate, earlier they could time their withdrawals to get the best exchange rate.
2. Higher exchange rates for payments in US$ - Visa/ Mastercard charge around Rs 47/$ , Paypal charges approx. Rs 46/$ .