Monday 28 May 2007
It happens only in India
The name of Governor of West Bengal appeared in the 'Below Poverty Level' list circulated by the Government of West Bengal. A person who stays in Raj Bhavan, earns a salary of Rs 28,000, after tax, every month, might be below poverty line in communist West bengal only.
The report is available here
Ciao
Saturday 26 May 2007
Facts are stranger than fiction - just that its not a fact!
Got this as a forwarded email from a friend. Couldn't wait to put this here. This is nothing short of a Forsyth thriller
"At the 1994 annual awards dinner given for Forensic Science, AAFSPresident Dr Don Harper Mills astounded his audience with the legal complications of a bizarre death.
Here is the case: On March 23, 1994 the medical examiner viewed the body of Ronald Opusand concluded that he died from a shotgun wound to the head.Mr. Opus had jumped from the top of a ten-story building intending to commit suicide. He left a note to the effect indicating his despondency.As he fell past the ninth floor his life was interrupted by a shotgun blast passing through a window, which killed him instantly. The shooter nor the deceased was aware that a safety net had been installed just below the eighth floor level to protect some building workers and that Ronald Opus would not have been able to complete his suicide the way he had planned.
Ordinarily," Dr Mills continued, "A person, who sets out to commit suicide and ultimately succeeds, even though the mechanism might not be what he intended, is still defined as committing suicide." That Mr. Opus was shot on the way to certain death, but probably would not have been successful because of the safety net, caused the medical examiner to feel that he had a homicide on his hands.
In the room on the ninth floor, where the shotgun blast emanated, was occupied by an elderly man and his wife. They were arguing vigorously and he was threatening her with a shotgun. The man was so upset that when he pulled the trigger he completely missed his wife and the pellets went through the window striking Mr.Opus. When one intends to kill subject "A" but kills subject "B" in the attempt, one is guilty of the murder of subject "B". When confronted with the murder charge the old man and his wife were both adamant and both said that they thought the shotgun was unloaded. The old man said it was a long-standing habit to threaten his wife with the unloaded shotgun. He had no intention to murder her. Therefore the killing of Mr. Opus appeared to be an accident; that is,if the gun had been accidentally loaded.
The continung investigation turned up a witness who saw the old couple's son loading the shotgun about six weeks prior to the fatal accident. It transpired that the old lady had cut off her son's financial support and the son, knowing the propensity of his father to use the shotgun threateningly, loaded the gun with the expectation that his father would shoot his mother. Since the loader of the gun was aware of this, he was guilty of the murder even though he didn't actually pull the trigger.
The case now becomes one of murder on the part of the son for the deathof Ronald Opus.Now comes the exquisite twist. Further investigation revealed that the son was, in fact, Ronald Opus. He had become increasingly despondent over the failure of his attempt to engineer his mother's murder. This led him to jump off the ten-story building on March 23rd, only to be killed by a shotgun blast passing through the ninth story window. The son had actually Murdered himself, so the medical examiner closed the case as a suicide"
Ain't this one of those once in a millenium kind of things you ever hear?
"At the 1994 annual awards dinner given for Forensic Science, AAFSPresident Dr Don Harper Mills astounded his audience with the legal complications of a bizarre death.
Here is the case: On March 23, 1994 the medical examiner viewed the body of Ronald Opusand concluded that he died from a shotgun wound to the head.Mr. Opus had jumped from the top of a ten-story building intending to commit suicide. He left a note to the effect indicating his despondency.As he fell past the ninth floor his life was interrupted by a shotgun blast passing through a window, which killed him instantly. The shooter nor the deceased was aware that a safety net had been installed just below the eighth floor level to protect some building workers and that Ronald Opus would not have been able to complete his suicide the way he had planned.
Ordinarily," Dr Mills continued, "A person, who sets out to commit suicide and ultimately succeeds, even though the mechanism might not be what he intended, is still defined as committing suicide." That Mr. Opus was shot on the way to certain death, but probably would not have been successful because of the safety net, caused the medical examiner to feel that he had a homicide on his hands.
In the room on the ninth floor, where the shotgun blast emanated, was occupied by an elderly man and his wife. They were arguing vigorously and he was threatening her with a shotgun. The man was so upset that when he pulled the trigger he completely missed his wife and the pellets went through the window striking Mr.Opus. When one intends to kill subject "A" but kills subject "B" in the attempt, one is guilty of the murder of subject "B". When confronted with the murder charge the old man and his wife were both adamant and both said that they thought the shotgun was unloaded. The old man said it was a long-standing habit to threaten his wife with the unloaded shotgun. He had no intention to murder her. Therefore the killing of Mr. Opus appeared to be an accident; that is,if the gun had been accidentally loaded.
The continung investigation turned up a witness who saw the old couple's son loading the shotgun about six weeks prior to the fatal accident. It transpired that the old lady had cut off her son's financial support and the son, knowing the propensity of his father to use the shotgun threateningly, loaded the gun with the expectation that his father would shoot his mother. Since the loader of the gun was aware of this, he was guilty of the murder even though he didn't actually pull the trigger.
The case now becomes one of murder on the part of the son for the deathof Ronald Opus.Now comes the exquisite twist. Further investigation revealed that the son was, in fact, Ronald Opus. He had become increasingly despondent over the failure of his attempt to engineer his mother's murder. This led him to jump off the ten-story building on March 23rd, only to be killed by a shotgun blast passing through the ninth story window. The son had actually Murdered himself, so the medical examiner closed the case as a suicide"
Ain't this one of those once in a millenium kind of things you ever hear?
Sunday 20 May 2007
Financing for an MBA abroad - II
Managing finances for studies abroad is a colossal task. Even more so if one is studying for an MBA that a one-year MBA, wherein the two year course work is crammed in to one. Yours truly happens to one of those unfortunate souls.
Once I had decided on the type of course (one-year MBA) I started interacting, researching and collecting information on the location of the school. Parallel to that, I started preparing a expense statement, comparing all the schools against a common expense schedule.
Once I had decided on the type of course (one-year MBA) I started interacting, researching and collecting information on the location of the school. Parallel to that, I started preparing a expense statement, comparing all the schools against a common expense schedule.
In addition to that, I also prepared a budget for all the pre-departure expenses. Just to cover all the points (and my a*se too!). Next time i'll try to make it in as detail as possible, so that I do not miss out on anything which I have done this time. Like, I didn't consider the expense for the luggage bags, soaps, deo, etc.
Also, what one needs to factor in is the opportunity cost. This is something we usually turn a blind eye to, but it can be quite a handful to ignore. It can be easily calculated by adding up your salary for the period of time you will be out of work (studying / searching for a job). It can be disheartening to leave a well-paying job in India to become a student again, saving pennies whenever possible. But the good news is that a potentially extremely high paying job is awaiting you just round the MBA corner.
You might ask me why go through all this charade? There are two reasons. One, thats what I have learned over last four years while leading teams and making decisions. Make a decision only when you have to make one and try not make one without being sure that you have all the information. This may not be possible / available everytime, but I try to practice it everytime. Second, it gives you the confidence that you have planned well and the number of exigencies will be minimal.
While doing all this, I kept in mind where this money is going to come from. Without making provisions for the expenses, these statements remain only that - a statement. So, as per my provisions, I am awaiting the loan approval from HSBC, UK. Incidentally, Cranfield had an understanding with HSBC to provide 'no collateral - no cosignor' loan to MBA students. The good news is that interest rate is less than half @ 5.50% as compared to 12.5% being charged in India (this has direct relation with the inflation rate, in UK the prevailing inflation rate is around 3%).
Wednesday 16 May 2007
Financing for an MBA abroad - I
Financing an MBA abroad is one of the biggest financial decisions for anyone. So has been the case for me. The problem is two-pronged, its not just the amount but also the means required to arrive to that amount. Today, I realize had I waken-up from my lumber in these days last year, I would had been much better off. I will try to address both in two separate posts, this one is for the latter.
First, I should had done some research on the scholarships available for an MBA abroad same time last year. Had I done that I would had been better informed and atleast applied to half a dozen scholarships. I came to know of these scholarships only recently, when their 'due date' had expired.
Second, I shouldn't had gone by the perceived notion that no funding is usually available for MBA studies abroad. Infact, I have realized now that there are a host of philanthropic organizations with more than two dozen scholarships! Many of them are listed here and in addition to that if you are willing to study in the UK, then here too.
One thing should be kept in mind that though there are a host of scholarships, its very difficult to manage the entire expenditure through scholarships alone unless you are super lucky!
Third, Save! Save!! Save!!! Though it might look far fetched to save the entire MBA expense, even a small amount goes a long way when you really think about it. A saving of Rs 2-3 lacs(approx GBP2,500) will provide for more than 6 months of living expenses! So, no matter what other say about inflation eating away your savings, its still one of the best options.
First, I should had done some research on the scholarships available for an MBA abroad same time last year. Had I done that I would had been better informed and atleast applied to half a dozen scholarships. I came to know of these scholarships only recently, when their 'due date' had expired.
Second, I shouldn't had gone by the perceived notion that no funding is usually available for MBA studies abroad. Infact, I have realized now that there are a host of philanthropic organizations with more than two dozen scholarships! Many of them are listed here and in addition to that if you are willing to study in the UK, then here too.
One thing should be kept in mind that though there are a host of scholarships, its very difficult to manage the entire expenditure through scholarships alone unless you are super lucky!
Third, Save! Save!! Save!!! Though it might look far fetched to save the entire MBA expense, even a small amount goes a long way when you really think about it. A saving of Rs 2-3 lacs(approx GBP2,500) will provide for more than 6 months of living expenses! So, no matter what other say about inflation eating away your savings, its still one of the best options.
Monday 7 May 2007
Some info about Cranfield
I thought it would be prudent to put up some fast facts about Cranfield SOM, the place where I will be studying for my MBA. Let's start with the rankings. Its ranked in the top 20 worldwide by The Economist. The Financial Times has ranked it in the Top 40 worldwide & Top 15 in Europe. Informal ratings (read as word-of-mouth) suggest that it is one of the best schools for Supply Chain Management in Europe, rivaling Warwick Operations Group.
The placements stats are quite healthy, with 97% students placed within 3 months from Graduation. There's a caveat here, the course ends by October, Graduation ceremony is in December, and then the three months start. We are looking at March next year! So, one should plan for expenses to cover six months of extra stay, just in case!
But, like in all decisions, there has been something 'intangible' about the entire 'Cranfield Experience'. The immediate & clear cut response, the admissions office's attitude and concern towards you just goes on to impress the fact that they will be taking good care of me when I land up there, making one of the most important investment my life. But ofcourse, this was my experience, it might vary for someone else. Obviously for the better!
The placements stats are quite healthy, with 97% students placed within 3 months from Graduation. There's a caveat here, the course ends by October, Graduation ceremony is in December, and then the three months start. We are looking at March next year! So, one should plan for expenses to cover six months of extra stay, just in case!
But, like in all decisions, there has been something 'intangible' about the entire 'Cranfield Experience'. The immediate & clear cut response, the admissions office's attitude and concern towards you just goes on to impress the fact that they will be taking good care of me when I land up there, making one of the most important investment my life. But ofcourse, this was my experience, it might vary for someone else. Obviously for the better!
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