Ban on rs.500 and rs.1000 notes a good move! Well, what about the planning and foreseeing consequences?

There was a realm of patriotism and praises of Narendra Modi in cats and dogs when he stepped out of the Union Cabinet meeting declaring the ban of 500 and 1000 notes from midnight on 8th November, 2016. Without a pinch of doubt, its a clear fact that is measure was a bold one and the sole motive was to curb the black money corruption. The better counterpart was when he did not allow the black money holders a stance to convert their black money to white through conversions and franchise. Post declarations, there were predictions around property prices going down and terrorism from Pakistan coming down to zero. Indians have full fledgedly kept on supporting and still hold the same stand with full might.

But now comes the real issue! There was a sigh of relief when there was a counter declaration that ATMs and banks would be closed for one and two days and then things would be back to normal. The PM and RBI has consistently promised the citizens that things would get back to normal from 11th November and have declared banks to be open. Now if we move out and check the current scenario of the country, there is something abnormal about it! ATMs and Banks are running cashless and they have been running out of cash for the past 6 days. We as middle class people have got access to online transactions and purchases, but what about the poor people? They have no other modes of expenses other than cash transactions. The banks are getting cashless after 1-2 hrs of opening daily and then all they are left with is the newly launched rs, 2000 notes! This is another big issue now. No one in this country has got changes of Rs. 2000 and even if they have, people are not deemed to risk up and give the change. So common people are left with no other option than to hold that amount in hand and hover hopelessly. The fruit and vegetable vendors are not being able to sell their stuffs since people have no cash and they dont have access to ATMs and Bank accounts. They somehow make their living. Shops have no supply in the market since cash transactions have come to a hault. People standing outside the ATMs and Banks fighting and crying! Guards in banks and ATMs comes out after 1-2 hours daily notifying that they are left with no cash.

Now lets evaluate the other side of the wall! 3 deaths and suicides have occurred in 3 days since the Doctors have refused to accept the old currencies and the woman was pregnant. The child died first and then the woman committed suicide. There must be a query, why cant people suffer a bit for a better India? A quite valid question and all of us looks for a better India with tremendous growth in terms of GDP but the question is will this plan really succeed? Its very easily comprehended that this bold step was declared and decided without any effective planning. The consequences were not taken into consideration and no measures were taken to combat the harsh part of it. Everyone would like to foresee a better India but can i see it at the cost of lives of the poor people at present? What if they completely run out of cash sometime? A plethora of thefts and suicides will follow and this will lead to outrage and protests. We still do not have a written statement by the PM or RBI governer regarding the exact tenure of this inconvinience. People in this country are still in darkness with no assurance of how much time will they have to remain cashless! So summing up every aspect, what i can foresee right now and conclude is that, this step is indeed the bold and best one to make a better India but if the situation at present is not bought under control, the consequences will turn out to be severeand uncontrollable. To question again, can we see a better India at the cost of the lives of poor people at present?

Importance of Cost Monitoring Solution for Airlines

The airline industry is a service industry with a low level of profitability because it is labor, capital, and technology expenses. It is also affected by external environmental changes as well as internal operations. Among other things, jet fuel is a major component of commercial airlines’ operational costs. Therefore, airline companies must always exercise cost control, especially after having experienced the extreme crude oil price increases. According to International Air Transport Association (IATA) statistics, in 2008 the global airline industry’s fuel bill in 2008 grew somewhere between $31 and 165 billion USD, and lost about $16.8 billion USD, which accounted for 31% of operating expenses at $99USD/barrel Brent of oil. Thus, improving fuel-efficiency continues to top the agenda of the airline industry. Under this challenging economic environment, operation cost control is of the utmost importance to the airline industry.

When we discuss about Operational costs, it includes a plethora of expenses that needs to be cut short. During a flight operation, there are multiple costs that needs to be pulled down in order to assure maximum profitability. These costs includes Fuel, Parking charges, covering air space charges, maintenance cost particularly. This not only helps an airline to reduce their operational costs but also helps them to attain a competitive edge in the domestic as well as International Market. This in turn plays a major role in the Revenue Management also since it helps the airlines to provide a competitive pricing to the Travel Agents through different GDS. Lets discuss few points that could help airlines reduce their cost of Operations and Manage their expenses in an organized manner:-

1)     Manage the cost of Project:-

                                                         Managing the cost of Project is one of the most important project management activities that would help us to complete the task within the estimated cost that suits the airlines. A proper guidance along with effective management objective is required by the Project Manager and the team who plays a major role in effective planning.

2)     Deciding on the Budget:-

                                         Budget planning is one of the most crucial and difficult activity to be executed. This requires a lot of Strategic planning and research. Now planning and research doesn’t necessarily mean only data available to determine the expenses as per the revenue and capital but also going back to previous expenses and experiences in terms of cost reduction and profitability. We need to keep a close eye at the competitors and understand their strategy, make comparisons and gain something out of it.

3)     Tracking the Expenses:-

                                       There should be an effective IT tool with effective resources to keep a track of the costs that is being incurred at every phase. This would help in tracking the actual cost against the estimated cost and with tracking the cost at every phase, it will help to stimulate the upcoming costs and help to manage them accordingly. This would infact allow us to take a decision if a new work can be adjusted within the objected cost.

4)     Time Management:-

                                  Although most airlines take this quite casually but it’s a fact that managing time effectively is equivalent to reducing cost. There are different phases of a Project/Operation. If there is a delay in any of the phase, it will highly affect the cost of the entire project since we need to meet the deadlines. In that case, we might need deploy more resources and make more expenses in the tools to meet the deadlines. Again this will definitely increase the cost.

This could only be attained if Airlines opt for an effective Cost Monitoring Framework which would not only be helpful to them on an internal expense perspective but it would also lead to reduction of ticket pricing for the customer and the Airline can accommodated additional services for their customers which would satisfy them more and help increase Loyal Customer base

Terrorism and Evil had their roots since 11th Century

We all are aware of the term 'Jihad'. This is the term used by the Muslim community to justify their evil deeds and proclaiming themselves to be messengers of Allah. Jihad has a clear denotation that goes on to say that they need to kill people to save their religion. If they return alive they will be contemplated as veracious towards their religion, if not their Martyrs. Now, we all feel that Jihad is the root of terrorism. 

How many of us are well versed with the term 'Crusades'? This was something that was intercepted in the 11th century by Pope Urban II. Crusades is something which is actually quite in-depth knowledge and to talk about that would consume the entire article. So lets not get into in-depth details and just get the cursory understanding of it. We all know the realm of hatred that flew among the Jews and Christians for each other since the Crucification of Jesus. Millions of lives lost, properties damaged leading to an entire massacre. Before the Christians had to finally forgive the Jews since they couldn't deny the fact that their God was also a Jew and hating Jews would be equivalent to hating their own God.  But in the 11th Century, there was a religious war that was called by Pope Urban II which clearly meant that any one who goes to Jerusalem, kills the Jews and takes the city captive would be considered true follower of Messiah and would be sent to heaven after death. Following the belief, there was a series of Religious wars that was witnessed from 11th-15th Century. Now lets understand why people know more about Jihad and not crusades. Its simply because of lack of Digitalization in the 11th Century. We didn't have media, internet, to get access to the evil that was occurring then. People considered it to be holy without being eloquent about the fact that any movement which is a reason of killing millions of people is nothing but evil. Since we are in the 21st century now and we have high access to media and internet, we know what Jihad is and curse the Muslim community. However, i am not in support of any religion and talk in terms of humanity. But if Jihad is something that makes us curse the Muslims, i guess we should be sensitive enough to curse the Christians for Crusades. There has always been hatred in this world. We used to feel that in the early days commoners used to forge a peaceful living. But studying facts in depth proves that 11th century marks the beginning of Evil and Terrorism. Never to forget the evil which was committed by the Jews, Crusades was a revenge. But understanding the manifest, reason of all terrorism is envy and revenge.

How long will this continue? Revenge is an unending affair. Honest people are being mutiliated, new born children are found dead on roads, people in Syria have no gurantee of making a living tomorrow for themselves and their families, commoners dying out of hunger and thirst. Are we becoming so selfish that we are blindfolded with the notion of revenge that we are least bothered for the lives of honest people? Remembering few lines from the song 'Heal The World' by Michael Jackson, 'There are people dying, if you care enough for the living, make a better place for you and for me'.

India's obsession towards sports

We have always been under the dillema as to why Indians have not been successful in presenting the world sportsmen or sportswomen. We have always passed the buck to Indian families who have always had been the victim of the typical stereotyping of educating their children to become Doctors, Engineers, MBA's and other reputed departments to make an earning. But today its time to break the ice and get the facts cleared.

India has always been successful in producing the best sportsperson in various sports, be it Cricket, Hockey, Badminton, Lawn Tennis, Table Tennis, Boxing, Wrestling and many others. Our childhood has always been accompanied by the memories of Sachin Tendulkar and the way he used to play with his magic wand. This Maestro has proved himself to be the best cricketer in the history and has left no stones unturned to change the entire history of cricket. Even now the champion who is on his way to break the record of Sachin is another Indian who we know as Virat Kohli. Moving towards hockey which is still considered to be the National Sports of our country, we simply cannot ignore the contributions of Dhanraj Pillay and Dhyan Chand. They were the members of 3 Olympic Gold Medals that India has won in 1928, 1932 and 1936, Unfortunately now Indian Hockey team has slightly degraded. The sole reason of mine using the terminology 'Slightly' has risen from the fact that in Rio Olympics 2016, Indian hockey team is presenting a mesmerizing performance defeating the champions. There are many more to speak about and their feathers on the cap has always proved that Indians has never lagged behind to give the universe masters of different sports. To speak about some more examples, lets take a bow to salute Sania Mirza, Saina Nehwal, PT Usha, Vijender Singh, Sushil Kumar, PV Sindhu, Sakshi Malik, Abhinav Bindra, Milkha Singh, Mary Kom and many more. Had not they been supported by their family, they would have just been some engineers, professors, Management Trainee in the market leading a simple life.

To be unbiased, yes there are many from the past and even in the present that many sportsperson and athletes are not being recognized for their talents. But should we held the parents solely responsible for this? Doesn't the Government and sport bodies have no role to play? One of the biggest drawback in India is Dirty politics that has been a reason for Lakhs of sportsmen being left as vagabond. They have not been rewarded for their talent and have always been showed the door. This doesn't go on to say that there should be a reservation system in Sports but its utterly vague to ignore the real talents just because of politics and money making. We got to understand the reason for not considering sports to be as respectable as that of an Engineer, Doctor, MBA? This is one of the fields where we lag behind China and USA. They have equally accredited sports in their school and university curriculam as they have done with the other theoritical subjects. In China there is a compulsion in every school for a minimum of 2 years training in Marshal arts just to ensure that in case there is any attack bestowed on China, every family has army men ready to defend! In USA as well, athletics have been made a compulsion. Then why in India has sports been given least importance in schools and colleges? Why do Indians have to think twice to become a sportsperson? I believe its high time that Indians should be inspired by their own countrymen who has mastered in various sports and pledge sports and athletics to be given equal consideration as Btech, MBA, MBBS, LLB, M. com and other courses. 

Dhanak- Taking Bollywood to the next level

Our obsession towards Bollywood movies has always been growing and garnishing the interest to the next level. Movies are now not just a mode of entertainment but something which represents the culture and mentality of a nation. Its always a pride for any nation to get their movies represented and premiered in the International Film festivals in Los Angeles and Torronto. One of the movies that has bought absolute pride for the Indian cinema is 'Dhanak' which is a tale about two siblings from a small village in Rajasthan, moving against all odds to achieve their mission.

Its a story about a sister who is desperate about gifting her brother his lost vision before his 9th Birthday. She is a big fan of Shahrukh Khan, the famous Bollywood actor. They have lost their parents long back and was taken care by their uncle and aunt who couldn't afford the amount required to operate his eyes and get his vision back, One fine day, Pari, the elder sister saw a poster where she came to know that Shahrukh Khan was running a campaign for eye donation to poor people. Since then she has been stern to meet SRK and request him to help his brother out. Chalking out the fact that she wouldn't be supported by her uncle and aunt, she decided to carry his brother and cover a long distance to meet SRK who was about to come down to Jaisalmer for a shoot. The best part about the movie was the audience getting involved along with getting carried away by the flow of the movie. The long journey of the siblings were accompanied by multiple situations which they had to deal with. The love of the siblings was so intense that it didn't allow them to perceive the difficulty of travelling such a long distance through the Rajasthan deserts. They came across numerous people who has either helped them or tried to take some criminal advantage but somewhere down the line they had guts and blessings of God that made them achieve what they desired for.

The siblings seemed to enjoy the journey surpassing all tensions and hard times. This movie also depicts the actual meaning of love. Love has nothing to do with relations. Love is all about caring for someone and breaking all barriers to remain partners and overcome all obstacles. Love is all about desperation towards taking the best care of the other person. Love is all about staying together and facing all odds together and breaking barriers. This message was clearly depicted in this movie and it couldn't be casted in a better way. Filled with emotions, i feel that this movie is a must watch and till now it has been underrated. I would rate this movie 4/5.

Udta Punjab Censored! Shameful strategy...

We Indians have always been obsessed with our nation and claim ourselves to be the largest democracy. We have innumerable religions and every sentiments are crucial for the welfare of the nation. We have also gathered numerous fame through our movies that forecast varied cultures and then there are movies which are based on realities. There movies are which are solely focused on cutting the bush to expose the hidden truths. It could be about an individual, or it could be about an incident of bravery or it could be something negative about a group of people or nation. But the actual concern here is, if there is a truth that is being revealed about an individual or a community or a nation for that matter, is it logical enough to ban or censor that movie?

This discussion is in reference to the Censoring of the to be released movie named 'Udta Punjab'. Starring Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor and Diljit Dosanjh, this movie is all about the issues catering to drug abuse and how this is harshly corrupting the youth of the nation. But again our too patriotic people and politicians have laid their offense to go on proving the fact that this movie is losing its harness on maintaining the reputation of the state. They claim that Punjab's name should not be there in the movie. This is a proven fact that Punjab has the largest drug addicts in the world. It is Punjab that makes North India a hub for drug addicts and drug abuse. We have never intended to defame Punjab as Punjab has motored a huge sum of security and goodness in our country, We always have immense respect and love for the Jawans and have always appreciated their diverse nature and culture. But on the contrary if there is a negative issue with the state, is it suggested that we should ignore that, specially when it is about one of the nastiest crime in the world? I think people needs to be more open and broad minded and analyse the fact that every coin has two sides. On one hand the politicians condemns that their sentiments are hurt whereas on the other hand they do not analyse the fact that this movie would also act as a mode to spread awareness and this could enhance the goodwill of Punjab as the youth would not entertain such gross acts of consumption.

I think we should understand that corruption cannot be eradicated by patriarchy. We have to expose certain negative aspects of a state in order to make the environment better and worth living. It has something to do with the reputation but the point is if the Government are not actively participating to eradicate this, then movies should not be censored in this manner to save your State. 

Importance of Predictive Analytics for the Travel Industry

It’s not a cake walk to predict the future trend for any industry. With upgradation of technologies and resources and the rate at which advancements are occurring in every domain, it’s really a tough job to forecast the changes that’s going to happen in the near future. However, a prediction can definitely be organized by keeping a close watch on the past trends and how has things been changing at various frequencies. We can get the prediction by making the best use of both Primary and secondary data that is available with us at any time. We always try to predict the forecasts based on the available data, be it the revenue of an organization or trying to figure out the best strategies to increase sales as well as easing out tactics for our customers.

Now let’s try to analyze this on a travelers point of view. There was a time when business travelers used to just travel to a particular destination for their meetings or conferences and after their purpose is fulfilled, they take the flight back to their native place. But now, with change in time, people have got more indulged into exploring. They don’t mind spending some extra time in a particular place post work to explore the culture and beauty of that destination. Now with the beauty of Predictive Analytics, you might receive an exclusive offer from your favorite airline (the one you fly most often) for the ideal route (you tend to fly late morning and like non-stops) along with an option to include a hotel (where you have a loyalty account) at a significant discount (from a brand you’re not familiar with but desperately wants you to be). How can this be attained. The travel companies and the big data specialists who help them are getting better and better at divining the needs of their customers based on prior booking patterns. This is how the predictions can be done and ideas can be carved out for better brand positioning for the organization.

1)     Track the Travel Trends closely:-

                                                                 Demand for different travel destinations keeps changing rapidly. If we start comparing the top travel destinations for customers in a span of one year, we can witness that most of the same destinations find their way to the top of the list. Proper research if carried out can also give us a lumsome idea of some unexpected blips that might turn up in the near future for some destinations depending upon the demand and supply ratio, customer expectations and willingness to try out something new. This analytics can help the travel companies to customize their marketing strategies and align their 4P’s accordingly to increase profits.

2)     Aligning your own data with the data of the 3^rd party:-

                                                                                                            It’s not wise to rely completely on the data or research that has been carried out by your organization. Sometimes we might not have a clear picture of the consumer behavior which might land us to an illusion of our analysis to be right. Let’s take an example of an Airline which considers a passenger travelling with them twice in six months to be a Loyal customer. But we never know, that same customer might prefer some other airline for his further travels depending on the rates and availability. So these can be clarified and viewed better with matching up with a 3^rd party data analysis.

3)     Keeping yourself updated:-

                                                       Predictive Analytics in a trending technique and rigorous improvements and enhancements are being carried out to ensure better and effective analysis. We should also be aware that along with us, our competitors are also using the same technique to improve their marketing plans. It’s crucial to stay updated for all the latest advancements and stay competitive in the market. In travel, predictive analytics brings the dual promise of greater yield for suppliers (air, car, cruise, hotel companies) and at the same time a greater travel experiences for their customers

Mobility for Airports

There is an emerging importance of Mobility in the travel industry and one of the major attributes for mobility solution is to transform the Airport operational efficiency and push them towards the next level enabling better customer experience and getting things enabled at one go. For a moment lets imagine ourselves at an airport. The images that flash our mind are that of crowded lines, flight delays, people scrambling for their luggage and uncertainty on taxis. This is not a happy situation for both the passenger and the airport authorities.

Airports need to change fast and adopt the latest technology to fulfill the security issues without causing inconvenience to the passengers. Mobile technology can go a long way in providing better experience at the airport and improve processes leading to cost reduction. However, the initial investment would need to be made by the airports and the return on investments may look low initially but if the strategy is played well, then it can soon lead to substantial cost savings or additional revenues for the airports.

1. Flight and Airport Information : The first aim of any airport should be to develop a mobile application that provides basic features like real time flight information, terminal maps and check-in facility. The flight information needs to be personalized and timely. The application can also help in booking the taxi at the destination.

• Terminal Check
• Comparison of travel options – directions, fares, parking, etc.
• View the latest airport security guide
• Mobile-friendly terminal maps
• Full shop and restaurant listings
• Live flight updates on demand

The application can also have a destination guide so that the passengers can browse important information at leisure.

2. Indoor Positioning: One of the main advantages of using mobile technology is that the mobile phones can provide location. However, in the last couple of years reliable indoor positioning mechanisms have emerged that can provide accurate location of the users. The airline/airport staff is always looking for the missing passengers and make continuous announcements on the PA systems. Delayed check-ins sometimes result in delay of flights. With the help of indoor positioning, it would be possible for the airline staff to locate the passenger and ping him to board the flight. Automatic alarms can be set so that passengers are reminded to start moving towards the gate some time before the boarding time. 

The approach of airport authorities towards use of mobile technology at airport is very critical towards success of the mobile initiative. There is a general tendency to approach mobile application development the same way as website development. However, this approach is a sure shot recipe for disaster. Mobile technology offers so much more than an average website due to features like location, camera, accelerometer, etc. On top of this, the mobile phone is very personal as is always “ON” unlike any website accessing device like laptop. The involvement of any user on a website is much lower than that on mobile phones and hence it is imperative from the brand and facilities perspective that the airport authorities either hire mobile experts or hire consultants who can program manage the implementation of mobile technology for the aurthorities.

A short trip to Switzerland

I always had a passion towards travelling and my Dad has left no stones unturned to ensure that our family gets a taste of diversified culture all across the globe which was only possible if we got the opportunity to travel all across the Globe. We have visited a lot of countries, tasted their food, tried to gel up with their culture and met as many people as possible who are still in touch with us. Out of the many countries we have hovered around, my personal favorite of all time was Switzerland as this country has all the features which match up to my dream country to live in. In no way i am trying to put my country down as it has a lot in store and undiscovered and there is no question around its beauty and varied culture. But i also feel that we should respect the culture and tradition of other countries and every country has something or the other to learn from each other.

We came up with a plan to visit Paris and Switzerland after one of our relatives narrated their experience to us after they have visited and adored these countries but they were running short of words while talking about Switzerland. It was not very late after that we have decided to spend 3 nights and  4 days in Switzerland and on our way back we planned to hold up in Paris for 2 nights. So eventually we took the flight from Delhi to Paris and then we boarded a bus which took 10 hours to reach Switzerland. It was a tiring journey but to our surprise, all the tiredness and fatigue were sentenced the moment we arrived Zurich. The first thing we all noticed was the pure green pastures and the valley surroundings with the sun set gleaming up the pastures. It was truly a treat to the eyes and pleasing to the senses to witness such a beauty which we have always seen in our Book covers and PC icons. The streets were broad, pollution was near to null and streams flowing after every 2nd lane in the country. Most houses and hotels, including where we lodged was made up of wood to maintain the temperature in the interiors. The weather is always amazing there 12 months and the most surprising point for all of us was the daylight till 9 pm and begins at 5 am. It was later when i discovered the sun revolving theory due to which there are short and long day lights in different regions. There is nothing called slum there and it seemed that Almighty has been so satisfied with this country that it has decided to put up here and gift it utmost purity. It would definitely not be justified if i dont credit the Swiss government for maintaining the country's goodwill in terms of natural beauty, curbing pollution and put a full stop to crime.

After we have witnessed the scenic beauty, we have decided to explore more about the country. So we have decided to taste the food of this country and also get a feel of its culture. It was equally mesmerizing to understand that their food and culture was equally fabulous like their scenic beauty. You dont have to know a person to smile and wave your hands. Every person in this country is helpful. You dont have to fear to ask for some aid to a stranger. People love walking by the beaches and they are quite free minded. People there are always calm and do not allow their tensions and worry to get it displayed on their face. Or might be, they always have a positive attitude towards life. They have their own cuisines that excites the taste buds, They have their special sausages which they prepare in a very exotic manner. They have their own wines which are the best i have ever had in my life. If there are people who are extremely habituated towards their country food are not left apart. There is everything in store for them as there are varieties of food and cuisines which are a summation of dishes all across the globe. We even had samosas and kachoris there nearby our hotel in a food market. Our Italian friends did dine Pizzas and Margharettas. The Swiss chocolates were so amazing that no words would be enough to explain how good they taste. People there arnt car crazy. They love cycling and even the CEO and Directors of the companies ride cycles to their office which is a real pleasure to watch which is a symbol of their CSR and how much grounded these people are. I have a dream to visit Switzerland once again with my family and not to mention if i get a job in that country, i would love to get settled there. Again let me repeat myself, i do love my country and would love to do anything for it. Switzerland is just a matter of choice for me.

Importance of E-commerce for Travel Industry

There was a time when customers used to rely completely on Travel agents and airline offices to book their tickets if they had to travel somewhere. I remember when I was a kid, my dad used to drives kilometers to an airline office to book tickets for our vacations. And sometimes their server was slow, sometimes the officials were on leave so we had to travel multiple times to book a ticket. But now it’s a real treat watching how the Travel industry has coped up with the rise of E-commerce business. They have also moulded their marketing techniques accordingly and now every activity done with the purpose of travelling is just few clicks away on smart phones and Desktops. There are a lot of companies that has created multi- lingual e-commerce website that helps customers to views the page in the language they are convenient with.

But there is no stand still point for any industry. With swift adoption of the E-commerce technologies and easing the customer experience, most of the companies in the Travel industry has ensured to update themselves to stay competitive. There doesn't exist an oligopoly market for the travel industry. In this case, its equally important to stay updated, competitive and come up with new techniques to ease the customer experience. Travellers typically conduct an extensive amount of research when creating travel plans and making bookings. They want to read about destinations, hotel ambiance and amenities, possible excursions, and details of flights they’re considering. If possible, many travellers want insights from a local expert or access to honest, same-language reviews from other travellers. So the companies should take care of the fact that their website content should also have a tab of providing information around destinations, places to visit and the best plan of action. This is certainly going to be customer centric and will ease the customer experience hence increasing the customer base.

The Hospitality industry should focus on creating multi lingual and responsive websites which will help the customers surf their information in a more effective and casual manner. Customers today have the intention to dodge the middleman and do everything by themselves. So the Travel companies should take due care of this and make their contents easily searched and accessed also taking care of the security

Outsourcing.... An act of intelligence for Airlines!

Why has outsourcing become one of the most important aspect for an industry to ensure efficiency? The airline industry plays an important role in connecting the world. Every day, millions of people travel thousands of miles across all continents to different parts of the globe.  It’s a well-known fact that airplanes are made from parts manufactured from different countries around the world.  While outsourced manufacturing has been the key to the airplane manufacturers’ success, airline companies are now using outsourcing for their business services.

Outsourcing is a strategic move that enables airlines to service their pool of loyal customers.  Let’s take a look at some areas of airline operations where outsourcing can make a difference.

Booking, Reservations, and Ticketing

Innovations in e-commerce have made flight booking, reservations, and ticket purchases a mostly hassle-free experience.  However, these booking systems are not perfect.  When someone has a specific question before booking a flight, a booking agent is available to walk the customer through the booking process over the phone.  While most airlines currently offer these services, outsourcing can reduce their overhead costs enabling them to retain a higher return on investment.

Customer Service and Assistance

Whether it is online or through a customer helpdesk booth located somewhere in an airport, airlines need to provide 24/7 excellent customer support, considering their customers come from all possible time zones.  By outsourcing their customer service team, airlines can meet this customer demand by offering 24/7 support at a fraction of the in-country cost.  Satisfied travelers will naturally become the airline’s loyal and frequent-flyers.

Airlines need to build 'Social' Pace in order to create Brand Equity

Its a noted fact that most airlines all across the globe has been into the Profit stage for a long time where as some airlines, specially the low cost ones are trying to match the pace of competition by converging their entire focus on Customer Relationship. Yes, it does mean stepping out of the corporate comfort zone and engaging real-time with the customer, but that's a feat airlines will have to achieve if they want to enhance brand equity and get a mind share of today's customer.

As social media takes precedence in the overall customer relationship management pie, airlines will need to look at building a large and robust resource pool that can respond to customer queries, complaints, posts and tweets round the clock.

As studies indicate, today the volume of social media communication for some of the world's leading airlines, ranges between 15,000 – 200,000 tweets and between 60,000 – 1,000,000 Facebook fans, but in the near future, the numbers will increase phenomenally. 

It will thus, make strategic sense for airlines to partner with providers that can provide them with a readymade resource pool of social media experts and technology platforms that help enhance brand equity on social media.

How Legacy Airlines can compete against LCCs

Fundamentally, Legacy Airlines can match what the low-cost airlines do. That means cutting costs and improving efficiency. Or they can differentiate with the product they offer. But above all they must remain competitive on price.

A successful business means a tight operation where every penny counts. Legacy airlines can tighten up by increasing aircraft utilization and reducing turnaround times. That creates the possibility of reducing the workforce in line with reduced manpower need in the area of pilots, cabin crew, ground staff, catering, maintenance and overhaul. They must also consider more outsourcing of functions if it helps reduce costs.

Internet distribution, self check-in for passengers and charges for onboard meals and drinks will all add to the cost-cutting effort. Fares can be simplified to match the competition and stimulate travel. Revenue management systems can be used to compete on fares rather than to simply protect yields, and non-ticket revenues can be generated by selling all kinds of innovative products to the passenger via the Internet site, at check-in, and on board. There should also be scope to close downtown ticket offices, reduce call centre activity and staffing, change the relationship with the travel trade as more and more sales and ticketing switch to direct over internet.

Legacy airlines, in order to compete with the low-cost carriers, have got to make some crucial and urgent business decisions. Most important of these are dealing with costs, increasing staff efficiency, improving asset utilization, differentiating their product. Above all, airlines must learn to compete wisely on a head to head basis and stop complaining.

Customer Loyalty- Prior Aspect for any Industry

Brand name and exclusive offers did win customer base at a certain point of time but now its all about Loyalty. Creating customer base did lead to business attrition but along side Customer Retention programme was parallely important to pace up with the ongoing rapid competition. To resolve this issue, marketing gurus introduced customer loyalty programs with the intention to reap rewards and benefits for customers and boost loyal buying behavior. To ensure if customer loyalty programs get the desired results, they must be well executed.

Airlines and retail chains were the earliest industries to adopt the practice of rewarding their customer through loyalty incentives. They brought in different card systems such as loyalty cards, reward cards, points and advantage cards. These cards often have barcodes which aid in further identifying the buying behavior of the customers. Some companies even promote membership programs to reward customers with consistent buying patterns.

As the average customers are becoming smarter and aware, it’s becoming difficult to cater to all their demands. Customers expect value for money, at all costs. They expect a polite approach from sales and service representatives. Moreover, they want to be appreciated for their patronage! Keeping these smart customers in mind, loyalty programs are designed to test customer retention strategies. These programmes keep the competition at bay and act as motivators for customers to continue using the same service or product. Moreover, customer loyalty programs also provides database for further customer relationship management.

The whole point of rewarding a customer with better prices or services is to encourage them to repeat their behavior. If rightly executed, a customer loyalty program can dramatically increase profitability.  Retaining existing customers is relatively easy on the budget than targeting new ones. In the final analysis, costs incurred on any loyalty program that promises to retain customers is money well spent.

Importance of Hotels to engage Guests via Social Media

In the hospitality industry, guest experience is key. With more and more guests starting to share their experiences on social media, good or bad, hotels recognize the user-generated content as opportunities to leverage for lead generation, marketing, and guest engagement. So how can hotels get the guests to keep driving positive content creation throughout the guests’ stay?  This is where social hubs and social walls come in!

1) Display User. Generated Contents on Screen:-

Social walls on a centrally located display screen throughout lobbies or each individual guest rooms enable hotels to promote their guests’ photos/tweets! For example, hotels can display a social hub with all their guests check-in photos from Instagram or tweets of their experiences to get new guests excited. Guests would love to contribute to get their 15 seconds of fame on the screen! As more content comes in from your guests, you as a hotel now have a lot of content to leverage for future marketing materials.

2) Increase Conversions on Websites with Authentic Social Content:-

Potential guests are not only researching online before they book, but are also heavily influenced by reviews and recommendations. Hotels can take advantage of social walls to drive traffic by aggregating positive social posts about their location and brand right next to the reservation page. Using social hubs, your hotel can aggregate your own branded Facebook Page to keep your visitors up to date with the latest news/discounts directly on your site or even positive Instagram hashtagged photos and display them on your site, or better yet, your checkout page.

3) Generate More Online Bookings with Guest Photos and a Call to Action:-

The path can be long and tedious for a potential customer to go from seeing content to making a reservation. That’s why social walls can enable hotels to add a “Book Now” call to action button on each social media post to increase conversion and online bookings.  Less clicks for the guest means a higher chance of booking

Importance of Mobile Application for the Hospitality Industry

Hotel and destination mobile apps are a great way to create space for travellers to learn more about where they’re going and plan their vacations accordingly.  Exploring an actual site on a smart phone can be burdensome when it’s not mobile-optimized as the user is forced to zoom in, read tiny print, then attempt to click on tiny links with big fat fingers.

With more and more people accessing data from their smartphones, this is a great maneuver in making vacation-planning easy for travellers. User-friendly capabilities include click-to-call dialing, Google map directions, “What’s Near Me” features, general maps and photos.

In fact, many claim that mobile apps are opening up a whole new field by enabling bookings at the press of a button, especially for same-day stays. Such apps are an easy way for customers to book a stay, get directions using GPS navigation, check hotel facilities and can even be used to promote special offers using push notifications. With smartphone penetration reaching 10 million last year and Indian research company, IMRB suggesting that one out of three urban Indian internet user has access to a mobile phone application, the hospitality sector is eager to cash in on these latest technologies.

Is committing suicide the ultimate solution?

There has always been a trend of certain actions and ideologies which has been surpassing the nation at frequent intervals. There are days and months where people are speaking about intolerance and then just the next flip is patriotism and the thread is unfurled eventually. At this juncture, we have witnessed the activity which is a crime, a murder. But the thin line lies here where there is no 2nd person involved. Its murdering oneself, which we categorically term as Suicide.

We have been witnessing innumerable cases of Suicide by celebrities, farmers and many other personalities. Few years back we were informed about the suicide case of Jiya Khan, a struggling actress who has also worked in few Bollywood movies, Nishabd to name one of them where she was acting opposite to Mr. Amitabh Bachchan and Ghajini with Aamir Khan. Then we had witnessed farmers of Maharashtra committing suicide due to drought conditions for years. That was the point when Nana Patekar and Akshay Kumar came to their rescue. And again, now we have come across the Pratyusha Banerjee Incident. These cases have extreme differences in terms of background but unfortunately they have been united by the term 'Suicide'. Not going into depth of the reason and background (As we all are aware of it), is it really logical and the last resort to end up your life? Who is benefiting out of it? I dont remember any particular issue which has been resolved after ending your own life. Infact things got worse. The saddest part is people find it too easy to give up their life instead of living and fighting for yourself and your family. I sternly believe that drought stricken farmer's family would be way more upset and saddened by their family member committing suicide than really staying hungry. There are no problems that last forever. Every problem comes with a solution until we stay with sheer pessimists who find a problem for every solution. Had the soldiers and Freedom fighters committed suicide during the time of Independence where they were brutally tortured by the Britishers, we wouldn't have been independent. A proper approach needs to be made to solve issues. Just to mention, there are saviours like Akshay Kumar and Nana Patekar who has ceased the suicide of farmers by assisting them out financially and creating an environment of trust. If there was a no way solution, the farmers could have moved to some other place to make a living until the state of Maharashtra wasn't drought stricken any more. These would have been way better than leaving your family all in vain.

Speaking about the celebrities, how lame is it? They have been successful in their life which has got them into limelight. Breakups are quite common and people should take this as a learning, rather than considering suicide as the last option. The kind of lifestyle they lead, people die for it. They do not lack those things which most people lack. People are always on their toes to pamper them. Against one person who has left you or assaulted you, you have several people in your life who loves you unconditionally. For few, their motive of living is your life and success. How can these earthlings be so self obsessed that they do not even consider the presence of those people who love them and respect them. I wish these people would have thought once about how they would have felt if their parents or brother committed suicide. How would their life go on post that. So what if there is a breakup or you are not being loved by your partner any more. There are ways to get out of it. Spend maximum time with your parents and those people who will never stop loving you. Spend time with your close friends who will always be there to support you. Visit a counsellor and take his/her advise. Get involved into multiple activities which are solely condemned to help the people. This will undoubtedly be a mode of self happiness as well.

Gifting the MLA's: What about the cricis in Bihar??

Every state in India has Assembly elections and i dont find it to be something to celebrate. Its a meet where people elect the best person to care of various departments and needs and ensure the the common people in that state doesn't witness scarcity of the basic needs. But recently, in the state of Bihar, there was an assembly election held and to everyone's surprise, the MLA's were gifted Microwave Ovens, costly watches (Rs.26,000 each), Trolleys and many others. Gifts aint bad at all but not at the cost of the common people in that state.

We as the citizens of India are all aware of what Bihar has been upto. It has always been into a bubble of Electricity and water crisis, lack of education and lack of employment. Who will take care of the situation? Who will take care of the public funds and allocate it accordingly in order to manage the crisis that the state is into? I truly find it baseless to spend Lakhs and Crores for the welfare and luxury for the MLA's, that too where 142+ out of 246 are millionaires, where as the common people in that state are lacking basic amenities. In a state where school teachers are not being paid for months and commoners are not being able to satisfy their hunger and shelter! I have recently watched a debate where one of the MLA's said that they need microwave oven as they need to warm their eatables and then have their meals in order to work more efficiently. This is absolutely Bizarre!!! How can the MLA even make this comment? Just to get their food warm, they are ignoring the crisis at which their state is leading to? Another point was debated where they were trying to explain the difference between public fund and party fund. Doesn't the Party has any responsibility towards the welfare of the state? Are the party funds used to gift expensive items to the MLA's and let the poor people live the way they are living? If they are making use of their party funds, then why isn't the Public funds being used effectively to ensure betterment and glory to the state of Bihar?

According to me the gifts should be returned or the Market value of these items should be paid back so that the deed can be justified and those monetary asset could be materialised for the betterment of the people in the state. 

Extremism v/s Patriotism

There has been an ideology that has been well portrayed in the current scenario these days. A plethora of events has occurred which has placed this ideology as its base. The ideology is 'Patriotism'. The love for one's nation and the readiness to sacrifice any asset for the sake of it. But in the recent times, there has been such incidents which has got this prestigious ideology succumbed into violence.

Its an unpleasant sight to view few political parties who are always into an urge of creating violence and communal-ism by keeping the Patriotism ideology as its periphery. Recently three Muslim students in Delhi were brutally beaten up by people for not saying 'Jai Bharat'. I completely agree with the fact that its offensive if someone doesn't chant slogans which are respecting the nation but that doesn't mean that they should be a victim of violence. We are not intolerant and there has been endless debates and innumerable slams against this notion. But by enacting these deeds, we are again making it feasible for those who think that our country is intolerant to be supportive. We live in a democratic country and also this fact is not unseen that democracy is never above national interest. But it doesn't allow violence to stand a chance. If we have a complaint against any individual or a group, there should be a proper set of procedures that should be followed. We have the Indian Penal Court (IPC) in place which deals with all the complaints and issues complying with the laws of the various sections. We should never take the law in our hands and get indulged into violence and riots.
This is not only affecting the citizens of the country but also its harming the tourism which attracts the foreign visitors. Its also has its adverse effects on companies that are planning to set up FDI around various sectors as these incidents wont create a good environment for them to settle down and they would prefer giving a second thought on this.

Few days back another incident took place in this country where students were arrested for consuming meat inside a hostel campus. This is also another stereotyping presenting similar concern. Consuming Non veg isn't a crime and people should be set free to do so. There has been a long on going debate around consumption of Veg and Non veg and lets not get indulged in that debate and deviate from the topic. We might have issues and complaints regarding various acts and incidents and that is why we have our Law in place. Lets make the best use of it and allow it to resolve the issues rather that strangling ourselves into making decisions. Patriotism is truly a respected ideology and lets not disrespect it by being extremists.

Has Europe become a favourite destination for Indian Frauds?

We have always been presented with news of multiple frauds taking place in the India. To name few of them, lets wrought upon the IPL Scam where Lalit Modi was the persona involved and he found it feasible to flee away to London. Once again, in the recent week we had the Kingfisher scam where Mr. Vijay Mallya was involved for not being able to pay a huge debt. He also, wisely flew away to London and then started showering us with his tweets condemning to be on a business trip and not finding it suitable to return back to India now.

Not to mention, we all are well acquainted with the Swiss bank issues which has now become the favourite bank of millionaires and billionaires in India (Not because of interest rate though!). The actual point of concern is why things are seeming to get haywire when any such compliances are getting overseas involved. Are the overseas policies too weak to get things back to track? Why have there always been a back log when either some person or their assets are fled away to London or Switzerland? There must be a strict agenda towards this and i feel a separate investigation body should be accomplished with members from both the countries who would be capable enough to go into the depth of this matter and get the roots of crime out. No matter if its within the country or its overseas, crime should always pay off. We should not create an impression in the minds of the criminals or frauds that fleeing away is a good option to escape.

Now another crucial point which is to be noted is the involvement of other bodies in these activities. Its not a cake walk for any person to simply flee away without the help of few concerned bodies. Politicians, immigration and emmigration department officials and the security bodies of countries are definitely involved and a major support is being provided. We all are not unaware of the fact the Mrs. Sushma Swaraj was the one who has helped Mr. Lalit Modi to escape to the United Kingdom. In case of Mr. Vijay Mallya, who was the one involved? I am hopeful that the security body in India is investigating the case well. So summing up everything, i would like to put some light on the fact that for every millionaires and billionaires who prefer playing with the national income and debts, there are millions craving for food and shelter. Lets not take the inequality for granted!

Shameless JNU!

India has always taken pride on its culture and diversity and its a well known fact that we dwell in one of the largest secular and democracy in the world. As a faithful citizen of the nation, its our prime responsibility to safeguard the democracy and wrap it under a protective layer of patriotism and nationalism. But its truly a punishment to watch few people who starts taking undue advantage of it and showcases their un-patriotic nature claiming it be using their freedom of speech.

There are few bulletins which I would like to bring forward. Is Democracy above the national interest? Does democracy gives any individual or groups the right to post anti- national comments and slogans which possess harm to the goodwill of a nation? Does democracy gives the power to support a terrorist who once killed innumerable innocent lives of people who were citizens of our very own nation? That too from students of an university that runs on the Tax Payer's hard earned money. There is no reason to condemn with kind of shallow attitude of people who raises their voice and utilize their vocabulary against the nation. I find every reason to put these people behind the bars. And according to Section 124- A of IPC, ‘Whoever, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards, the Government established by law in India, One al be punished with imprisonment for life, to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment which may extend to three years, to which fine may be added, or with fine’. If those nerds consider this to be a freedom of expression, the Government considers to be a potential threat to the country and has complete freedom to take strict action in due course. They might be against the decision of hanging an individual and a decisive action can be taken against that once it’s put forward on a round table conference. Every point to be made to the Government has a manner in which it needs to be executed. But this was completely obnoxious and lame on the part of JNU students and it’s ridiculous the watch how the other JNU Students are supporting this. Captain Pawan Kumar, who was one of the Martyrs in the J&K assassination held recently was an alumni of JNU and he was a Jatt. He sacrificed his life for the sake of the nation and this sick people have no respect for him. They condemn it to be a cultural fest where they have raised slogans like ‘Bharat ki barbadi tak jung rahegi’ and came out with posters claiming ‘Bharat Ki Barbadi’. Its an utmost shame to the prejudice of the nation and an act of sheer negativity which is being potrayed and aired all across the globe about our country.

More light has been shred on this fact when few senior management people of renowed universities like JU and JNU stood against the decision of Government for hoisting the national flag of India in every Central universities with baseless excuses like disrespecting their own university flag and imperfect timing of hosting the flag. I don’t feel anything wrong is hoisting the national flag as it’s a matter of pride and something that gives Goosebumps to a true citizen of any country. These people claim it to be extreme nationalism. I just want to ask, what is extreme nationalism? Are we harming any other nation or its people for the sake of something good for the nation? Does hoisting the national flag possess any harm? Does it risk anyone’s life even by a spine. These facts only goes on to prove that literacy not only comes from education but its about the mentality and logical view people holds for something.

Fitness should be considered priority

We always accuse ourselves for staying occupied in something or the other. During student life, we blame the education, during job life we blame our job and personal tasks. There lies an absolute truth against the fact that the competition in today's world is at peak at everything sums up to the theory of survival of the fittest. This goes on to say that we all have to be hard and smart workers in order to remain competitive and stay focused. But at the same point of time, its always admirable to get involved into few external activities which are something different from our daily task. Varying from person to person according to their choices and preferences, people chose their own hobby and interests. But there is an activity which i feel everyone should work upon, be it a student or have immersed themselves into the cacaphona of work life. All these activities converge to make a person Fit.

Fitness is definitely an important aspect which people should realize in the long run. I hold no offense for unfit and obese people as i completely believe that a person must be known for his work and nature rather that determining and creating an image about the person based on solely his/her external looks. But considering the fact that every coin has two sides, there are multiple cons for being unfit. Now before proceeding further into this discussion, i must mention that being fit doesn't necessarily mean a zero figure or six packs. Those should be the forte of those individuals who have chosen their career which requires possessing those aspects. Even if its not a component of your career, having them doesn't store any harm. But when i speak about minimum fitness requirement, i mean getting the aura of fitness into yourself. You must retain a good stamina and reasonable physical strength that will assist you in your future endeavors for both physical and mental activities. Getting involved into either workout/ Yoga/ Marshal Arts/ Free Hand Exercise/ Jogging, it not only helps you staying fit physically but also increases your mental strength to handle issues and enhance creativity through intelligence. Alongside a proper diet which includes fruits, basic protein diets, vegetables also adds catalyses your fitness. The major setback to work on fitness is lethargy. Most of us feel lazy to go for a workout as the body is always busy romancing with leisure! There is no doubt to the fact that morning is the best time for work out but working out on any other time holds no harm. Moreover its also not a compulsion to work out for at least one or one and a half hours. Even if you work out for half an hour to forty five minutes daily, its enough to sustain the fitness. Equally important is to take care of proper diet without which its like a plant without leaves.

In this world we find people who are quite obsessed when it comes to fitness, some are totally fitness freak whereas few people tend to ignore the importance of fitness and prefer to stay home bound. Along with diet and work out, i feel its also important to avoid junk food and carbohydrates as much as possible, Although its difficult to follow that as we are always bounded by relatives and friends but too much of them doesn't hold anything good. Even if we keep the obesity prospect aside, these also leads to multiple diseases that caters to the digestive system and vascular system, sometimes respiratory system also, So lets dedicate atleast half an hour daily to work on our fitness and feel good all the time. It isn't that difficult, is it?

Airlift, the best Bollywood movie

We have often come across few heroic mission being either appraised or criticized by the Media. Be it the Kargil Mission or the 26/11 attack mission where the Indian army did showcase patriotism in true sense and proved their forte. But unfortunately there are certain heroic missions whose stories are yet untold by the media. Neither have they been appraised ever and most people are not aquainted with those mission. Never too late to know, but today a lot of people all across the globe are aware of one such heroic mission which is considered to be the largest evacuation mission till date. All credit goes to Mr. Raja Menon (Director), Mr. Nikhil Advani, Mr. Bhushan Kumar and Mr. Vikram Malhotra (Producers) who has summarized their efforts to come up with a movie named 'Airlift'.

The Akshay Kumar starrer movie has potrayed the heroism showed by a rich and influential Indian Business Man in Kuwait who had no shortcomings in terms of happiness, fame and money. Yet he decided to evacuate 170,000 Indians in Kuwait when the Iraq army led by the then Iraq Prime Minister, Saddam Hussain invaded Kuwait. Iraq always had an intention to rule Kuwait as they used to be one of the Major Oil Producing country in the world. Iraq had been in debts for a long time and Kuwait had been a victim of Iraq's coercion towards reducing the production of oil so that their market value increases in the International market and Iraq can gain profit out of it. Mr. Ranjit Katyal (Akshay Kumar), met one of the Major Generals of Iraq who has offered him to leave the country with his family at the cost of $1 lakh/person as the value of Iraqi Dinar at that time was quite diminished. He was stern at a time to leave Kuwait along with his family but then later decided to take responsibility of all 1,70,000 Indians from Kuwait to some other country.

During the entire mission, there were times when things were turning completely haywire and Mr. Katyal was directionless. Yet he did not lose hope and continued to portray and endurance and dedication and did not give up. This movie is a clear framework of Patriotism, Heroism and Dedication toward one's own countrymen. This movie definitely goes on to prove that you dont need to be a Police office or an army personnel to fight for your nation. Even a common man can take a step ahead and the road carves itself to success. This movie depicts multiple emotions at any given point of time and every plot has goosebumps in store for us. This movie makes us feel proud to be a citizen of our own country and somewhere i also felt that this movie was a tight slap to Mr. Aamir Khan and his wife, Kirron who once thought to leave India as they felt that India was becoming so called 'Intolerant'. There is no doubt in the fact that Akshay Kumar was at his best in this movie but it would also be unfair if i dont credit the other co- workers for their acting. I feel this to be the best movie in Bollywood till date and i would rate this movie 5/5 as i dont find any flaw!

Being a brand ambassador, isnt a joke!

Every brand trusts a particular individual to decide him/her to be the brand ambassador of their product/s. At a glance we normally witness a politician/ Film star/ cricketer or any other well known celebrity to be elected as the ambassador for most of the brands all across the globe. For the past one decade, we have seen Mr. Aamir Khan to be the brand ambassador for a Brand which has a lot of emotions and sentiments attached to it.

Yes i am taking about India, as a brand. We as citizens of India have a sense of patriotism and emotions when it is something about the nation We get goosebumps while singing the national anthem and are always at our toes when we are told to do something for the nation. India has been branded as Incredible India, and Mr. Aamir Khan has been elected to be its Brand ambassador. Now, as a Brand Ambassador, its important for a person to promote the brand, work immensely on its welfare and protect its essence and beauty. But Mr.Khan seems to odd the evens by speaking out something which is absolutely obnoxious. I totally agree that there are certain incidents which are happening in India which is a matter of concern and it needs to be resolved. But commenting on the nation by naming it to be an Intolerant nation is something which is not accepted. I am not against the freedom of speech but Mr. Khan should also understand that he is the brand ambassador. It would be wiser on his part to first resign as the Brand ambassador of the country and then comment on such notions. Being the brand ambassador and commenting such statements, he has made a mockery of himself. Now, people say that Aamir Khans wife has stated this and he was against it but as a responsible ambassador he should have kept those discussions home bound. If he was seriously concerned about this, he could have spoken to the PM and come up with certain solutions to this issue rather than addressing a press conference and stating his household discussions in public. Things are getting better. Now people are not willing to leave the country for education or job. India has developed a lot during the recent times and this has retained our youngsters and citizens hence getting better opportunities served in a platter.

A movie like PK wouldnt have been a successful one in an intolerant nation. The three Khans wouldnt have ruled an industry in the Hindu dominated country if India was intolerant. Mr. Khan never spoke about the 26/11 issue. He never spoke about Salman khan being bailed. These are few instances which pops up in mind but not to ignore there are even more incidents which are to be mentioned in the due course. I think the government has taken the right decision to not renew his contract as the brand ambassador of India and they would also be wise enough to elect the right person to be the Brand Ambassador of Incredible India.

Dial D for Don

Corruption and Terrorism has been one of the foremost concern for India. Every now and then some part of this nation unfortunately turns out to be a victim of terrorism. Most of the time its by few Terrorist groups dwelling across the globe and sometimes its a game ruthlessly played by the political parties. At time this plan proves out to be a joint strategy of both. Recently i have read a book which i found quite interesting and informative and it has outcasted the mentality and how some terrorists who were a vital member in one of the massive terrorism phenomenon in India and worldwide has strategised the destruction.

This book has spoken about terrorists like Omar Sheikh, Aftab Ansari and the world known and the most wanted terrorist for decades, Dawood Ibrahim. We have always held the Police and Judiciary system responsible for the terrorist activities and have always praised the Indian Army for their sacrificial nature and always on their toes to protect the nation against foreign terrorism. The author of this book is Neeraj Kumar, who is the former commissioner of Delhi Police. We have always known him for his honesty and bravery and he has well summarized the Mumbai Underworld deeds which were hampering India as well as the major countries in the world for breaking their peace. He has provided us enough information around a lot of unknown facts which took all readers in surprise. This book has structurally depicted a lot of so called gentle and honest people who has been exposed for being associated with these terrorists. I wont prefer taking their names as it would eventually break the interest levels of few readers and some information freaks. This book has also co-related a lot of small level crimes like kidnapping and extortion which were eventually used in aiding big terrorist activities like the 9/11 attack in the United States which also has a lot of information and surprise in store.

Neeraj has also portrayed the planned action of the Police and the CBI to get hold of the terrorists without letting the Media know about it as it could create a hype and the terrorists would have got the awareness and make plans to escape. He has also exposed the chain of terrorists which the Police and the other Civil bodies worked in a planned manner by initiating the arrest of one terrorist and getting information about the following ones. This is infact one of the best books i have ever read and this book has created a suspense at every moment which encourages the readers to read this book without pause.