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Tax relief to all in budget 2010-1011, India

alfaone — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 07:59:43

Income Tax department ready with two-page Saral-2 return forms for individual salaried assesses.

New income tax slabs announced in the new budget for 2010-2011 is as below.
Up to Rs 1.6 lakh - nil
Rs 1.6 lakh to Rs 5 lakh - 10 per cent
Rs 5 lakh to Rs 8 lakh - 20 per cent
Above Rs 8 lakh - 30 per cent.

Additional deduction of Rs 20,000 allowed on long-term infrastructure bonds for income tax payers; this is above Rs one lakh on saving instruments allowed already. Investment linked tax deductions to be allowed to two-star hotels anywhere in the country.

New tax rates would offer relief to 60 per cent of taxpayers, the finance minister said.
To get and idea how much you save, consider salary up to 8Lakh of taxable income. Above 8lakh, taxes before and now are the same.

Total tax with earlier slabs: Rs. 144000
Total tax with current slabs : Rs. 94000
Savings - Rs. 50000

Ranjan Das Passed Away

alfathree — Wed, 2 Dec 2009 12:10:04

Ranjan Das Passed Away on Wednesday, 21-October-2009

SAP India CEO Ranjan Das Dies After Gym Workout

Ranjan Das, CEO and MD of SAP Indian subcontinent
died after a massive cardiac arrest in Mumbai on Wednesday.
One of the youngest CEOs, he was 42

What killed Ranjan Das and Lessons for Corporate India

A month ago, many of us heard about the sad demise of Ranjan Das from Bandra, Mumbai. Ranjan, just 42 years of age, was the CEO of SAP-Indian Subcontinent, the youngest CEO of an MNC in India. He was very active in sports, was a fitness freak and a marathon runner. It was common to see him run on Bandra's Carter Road. Just after Diwali, on 21st Oct, he returned home from his gym after a workout, collapsed with a massive heart attack and died. He is survived by his wife and two very young kids.

It was certainly a wake-up call for corporate India. However, it was even more disastrous for runners amongst us. Since Ranjan was an avid marathoner ( in Feb 09, he ran Chennai Marathon at the same time some of us were running Pondicherry Marathon 180 km away ), the question came as to why an exceptionally active, athletic person succumb to heart attack at 42 years of age.

Was it the stress?

A couple of you called me asking about the reasons. While Ranjan had mentioned that he faced a lot of stress, that is a common element in most of our lives. We used to think that by being fit, one can conquer the bad effects of stress. So I doubted if the cause was stress.

The Real Reason

However, everyone missed out a small line in the reports that Ranjan used to make do with 4-5 hours of sleep. This is an earlier interview of Ranjan on NDTV in the program 'Boss' Day Out':

Here he himself admits that he would love to get more sleep ( and that he was not proud of his ability to manage without sleep, contrary to what others extolled ).

Some Excerpts:

· Short sleep duration ( <5 or 5-6 hours ) increased risk for high BP by 350% to 500% compared to those who slept longer than 6 hours per night. Paper published in 2009. As you know, high BP kills.

· Young people ( 25-49 years of age ) are twice as likely to get high BP if they sleep less. Paper published in 2006.

· Individuals who slept less than 5 hours a night had a 3-fold increased risk of heart attacks. Paper published in 1999.

· Complete and partial lack of sleep increased the blood concentrations of High sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-cRP), the strongest predictor of heart attacks. Even after getting adequate sleep later, the levels stayed high!!

· Just one night of sleep loss increases very toxic substances in body such as Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Tumour Necrosis Factor-Alpha (TNF-alpha) and C-reactive protein (cRP). They increase risks of many medical conditions, including cancer, arthritis and heart disease. Paper published in 2004.

· Sleeping for <=5 hours per night leads to 39% increase in heart disease. Sleeping for <=6 hours per night leads to 18% increase in heart disease. Paper published in 2006.

Ideal Sleep

For lack of space, I cannot explain here the ideal sleep architecture. But in brief, sleep is composed of two stages: REM ( Rapid Eye Movement ) and non-REM. The former helps in mental consolidation while the latter helps in physical repair and rebuilding. During the night, you alternate between REM and non-REM stages 4-5 times.

The earlier part of sleep is mostly non-REM. During that period, your pituitary gland releases growth hormones that repair your body. The latter part of sleep is more and more REM type.

For you to be mentally alert during the day, the latter part of sleep is more important. No wonder when you wake up with an alarm clock after 5-6 hours of sleep, you are mentally irritable throughout the day (lack of REM sleep). And if you have slept for less than 5 hours, your body is in a complete physical mess ( lack of non-REM sleep ), you are tired throughout the day, moving like a zombie and your immunity is way down ( I’ve been there, done that ).

Finally, as long-distance runners, you need an hour of extra sleep to repair the running related damage.

If you want to know if you are getting adequate sleep, take Epworth Sleepiness Test below.

Interpretation: Score of 0-9 is considered normal while 10 and above abnormal. Many a times, I have clocked 21 out the maximum possible 24, the only saving grace being the last situation, since I don’t like to drive ( maybe, I should ask my driver to answer that line ).

Goa trip plan.

alfaone — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:47:23

Went to goa twice from bangalore. One was 2 years ago and next was at 5th Nov. 2009. Some trips to plan

1. Plan your mode of travel. Give preference to plane as you save considerable time compared to train/bus. From airport/railway station, try the pre-paid taxy/auto so you won't get cheated.

2. Plan your time of travel. December 15 to Feb is the peak time. The whole place will get crowded with foreigners and the beaches could get less enjoyable. In my experience, travelling between the first three weeks of November would be the best. Prior to that the temperatures are too high. The first time I went, it was too early and we were swatting like hell. During November, the temperatures are very much normal pleasant. Also, the crowd is considerably less.

3. Plan your stay. Most of the viewable beaches/places in goa lie in the center/nothern side. South has lesser attractions although Palolem beach in south Goa is a must see. A one night stay in the huts at the beach is a must. So stay some where closer to the northern side. We chose Colva for our stay which is some where below the center of goa. Beautiful beach, comparatively lesser crowds, good restaurants. In Colva, we found a restaurant "MANISHA SEAFOOD" which served sea food in Indian style. Not so spicy and extremely tasty very near to Colva beach. They don't have very attractive/stylish name board, but found that the place was always crowded. People come there knowing the quality and taste.

4. Plan your site visits. There are three options available.

Go to all places by bus from a tour package.
Hire a cab with driver (> Rs.1500 per day)
Hire a self driven car (~Rs.800 + petrol per day)
Hire a bike/scooter(Rs.150-200 + petrol per day) We chose this one

Scooter/bike rentals are extremely common and you can find guys on road sides asking if you need one. Travelling in goa using a bike is very easy. Just get a map of goa and you are all set. Believe me there are very less roads you can get lost and there are sign boards almost every where. You really will not have to ask the way from any body. Travelling by local bus/auto is difficult/expensive. There are not many local buses.

5. How to schedule
A 4day/3nights plan would be more than sufficient. You could plan one day for noth goa, one for south goa and one day for middle/old goa. Most south goa tour packages include old goa. We chose to go to old goa and south goa by byke and north goa using a tour package(Rs.150 per person). Most hotels have tie ups with tour operators. So just ask at the reception and they will book one for you.
The bus trip plan was as below

Showing all north goa beaches and aguada fort
Dolfin trip where you go by boat and you can see the dolphins in the sea (Rs.200 per person)
Boat Cruise in the evening where they take you on a big boat to the open sea with entertainment(DJ, dance, songs etc) (Rs.150 per person)

In my experience, bike travel was lesser tiring than the bus. We travelled to the rest of the places (old goa and south goa by honda activa).

6. Places to visit
North goa- Lots of beaches (Anjuna, Calangute, Vagator, Baga ..etc), Aguada fort.
Central goa/Old goa - Churches (Bon jeasus church, Old goa church, museum etc), Dona Paula.
South goa - Palolem beach. Beautiful shallow beach where you can swim with out fear. Stay on the beach huts is a must.

7. Souvenir:
Cashew is very famous and cheap in goa. 1/2 kg costed us around Rs.160 only. All places have shops selling variety of items made of shells. Be sure to buy one.

IFRA gold award photo

alfathree — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:41:57

This photo won the IFRA gold award for news photography

How to reduce weight.

alfatwo — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:16:57

Weight loss and dieting are two words which people don't like to hear, overweight or not. Images of intense work out regimes and trying to stick to strict, bland diets are some of the things that come to mind when those words are spoken.

But it's not hard to loose weight and it shouldn't be. Try these simple steps and see for yourself.

1) Exercise in the morning before you eat breakfast.
Research has shown you'll burn three times more body fat working out during the morning than out at any other time of day. We are not talking about doing 100 push up with one hand behind your back, take it slow and easy. A walk or jog to the park or around your neighborhood followed by a few toe touches or arm curls with 5 pound weights each morning will do.

2) Eat Breakfast
Breakfast is not only the most important meal of the day but it will also boost your metabolism and give you the energy you need to burn fat. Eating a healthy and hearty breakfast will help put a stop to the cravings during the day so you won't find yourself snacking in between meals. Always try to have some fruites with your breakfast, especially fibrous ones. Avoid bananas or chickus as they tend to increase weight.

3) Stay hydrated by drinking water.
Drink lots of water all day long from the time you wake up to when you go to bed. Drink 8-16 glasses filtered or bottled water a day. That may sound like a lot but after your morning workout itself, you will probably drink one or two glasses of water.
Not only is water good for you, but it also flushes out harmful toxins in the body, increases your metabolism which will help you burn fat and keeps your skin complection clear.

4) Avoid junkfood
Stay away from junkfood, especially oily food, butter, ghee, fried items etc. They just choke our body with extra fat.

5) Change your mindset
People who are battling with weight (and even those who aren't) often compare themselves with others. Don't fall into this trap because you will never feel you stack up to the competition enough. Low self-esteem will lead you down the road to emotional trouble and will prevent you from reaching your goal. People are genetically different and therefore will lose weight in different amounts of time. Don't be so hard on yourself.

Be your own person and stick to your own target weight. Weight loss is not a race or a competition, the only person you're competing against is yourself.

6) Change your lifestyle
If you normally drive to work take the train and walk to the station. Take up some dancing classes or sign up some classes in a sport of your interest. This will not only get you exercising but doing these activities will also help you meet new people. Remember, loose weight easily while having fun.