Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2016 i India Today

The world is changing fas ter than we think. Could we have imagined a world even three years ago where Indians would be buying groceries on their cell phones, and not only in the metros but even in smaller towns which are now the focus areas for e-commerce firms? Or a scenario where a company would actively seek a social media manager? Or a time when bulging wallets would be replaced by sleek digital ones? Or the fact that Tesla Motors, the company that jumpstarted the 21st century electric car industry, is now fighting over technology and design with Apple, the company that has reinvented and conquered every segment it has ventured into? Technology is changing the way we live and work and will determine the jobs of tomorrow. There…

Retired IPS officer D.G. Vanzara may blame “dirty politicians” for the nine years he spent in jail, but in Rajasthan, Dinesh M.N., inspector general of police with the anti-corruption bureau (ACB), has decided to put the past firmly behind him. He is concentrating instead on the future, and that lies in ensuring Rajasthan is rid of corruption. On April 4, he arrested Bharat Bhushan Goyal, sub-divisional magistrate of Shahpura, located on the Delhi-Jaipur highway, for accepting Rs 3.5 lakh as first instalment of a Rs 25 lakh bribe an entrepreneur was giving him to set up a manufacturing unit for ayurvedic medicines. Goyal’s predecessor Gopal Singh Shekhawat too was booked, for demanding Rs 3.8 lakh more after having pocketed Rs 13 lakh earlier. Every day, Dinesh and his team get…

The norm so far has been that banks reduce lending rate after the Reserve Bank of India announces its monetary policy. It was different this time, as a few banks announced rate cuts even before the RBI had announced its monetary policy on April 5. This is because of the marginal cost of funds-based lending rate or MCLR, to which all new loans, sanctioned on or after April 1, 2016, will now be linked. It is a welcome move as the new interest rate calculation is expected to be more sensitive to policy changes. Under the earlier base rate method, despite the frequent rate cuts by the RBI, banks were unable to transmit the entire benefit to borrowers. HOW IS THE NEW FORMULA DIFFERENT? Earlier, banks used to calculate the…

Do you have more than two bank accounts but do not use them often? If yes, then you must ensure that you either reactivate or close the account. As per the Reserve Bank of India guidelines, any savings or current account which has seen no transactions for two years, will be deemed inoperative or dormant. Here are a few tips on how to reactivate your account. WHY DOES YOUR BANK ACCOUNT BECOME INOPERATIVE OR DORMANT? If there has been no transaction in the account over a one year or more, then it becomes inactive However, if there has been no transaction for two whole years, then the account automatically becomes dormant Only a savings or current account can become dormant HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOUR ACCOUNT IS DORMANT? When…

viral video A toddler using a pipe to defend his grandma from China’s management force wowed 3.5 million Over 4.5 million loved Uber’s prank to pick up riders in a Lamborghini driven by ‘Batman’ Over seven lakh were intrigued by a video from North Korea under a media blackout for years web lol Desi Dating Tinder for Desi Men is a comic from a web series called Inedible India. Created by Chennai-based Rajesh Rajamani, the drawings parody the dating app while putting the spotlight on Indian society’s two-faced attitude towards relationships. net fail Crass Code A 2015 Tamil film song Selfie Pulla went viral in Romania. Netizens were surprised when Romanians started posting comments on the song’s video, until a Google search showed that ‘pulla’ is the Romanian word for…

VERDANT ESCAPE Mansi and Suhani Mahajan, 34 and 30, Owners, House of Kapaali Madly in love with life, with a penchant for yoga, travel, dance and design, sisters Mansi and Suhani are the creative minds behind House of Kaapali—a beautifully done up B&B amidst the verdant greens of Greater Noida. In 2007, when Mansi came back to India from Australia with a masters degree in film, she decided to convert the spare bedrooms in her new home into a B&B. She then applied for a license from the Ministry of Tourism and that’s how House of Kapaali was born. Soon after, her younger sister Suhani quit her job as a freelance production coordinator with a leading sports channel to join House of Kapaali as well. During its conception, the sisters…

Ask her what’s cooking, and food blogger Arundati Rao, 38, will put together a full class on what you’d like to cook, instead. Her salad classes are booked much in advance—way before the onset of summer. And like her other classes, these are not a quiet affair. Her culinary studio—the first of its kind in town—bustles with knives striking chopping boards, her self-confessed “200 words per minute” instructions and detailed explanations to the occasional nutrition tidbit and some humour as garnish. Previously a corporate trainer by profession, she used to be a far cry from the ‘kitchen queen’ that she’s turned into over the last seven years. “My interest in food back then was mostly about the eating bit,” she says, tossing spinach to make her version of the Lebanese…

RESTAURANTREVIEW / WHITEBOARD CAFÉ 1 HEALTHY TRYST Pair a slim and trim salad, made with seasonal fruits and vegetables and a dash of yogurt, with a protein-packed smoothie or pick a book off the shelf for company. At Whiteboard Café, it’s all about eating healthy and grabbing some food for thought too. Everything from the ‘dosas and parathas’ section is filling and easy on the stomach, with the calories in check. Sample Robin Uthapa, for instance —besides the sense of humour, it is packed with semolina and coconut. Or snack on the light as heaven bhel puri sans the heartburn. The main course has a couple of surprises too, like the Chapati chowmein or strips of chapati tossed with vegetables and parmesan cheese topped parathas, besides the very safe dahi…

While opinions may differ on the NDA government’s performance on the economy and social reforms front, one area where there has been a sea change is the citadel of power in South Block, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). Led by tech-savvy Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s online push, the office is now more in touch with the common man, and more efficiently dealing with personal petitions, than ever before. The transformation is perhaps best reflected in the surge in representations to the PMO’s public grievance wing. Against an average of about one lakh petitions per year when the UPA was in power, it’s now up to nearly 6 lakh petitions annually over the last two years. The principal reason behind this: the public grievance wing is now only a few mouse-clicks…

THE TRIP METER RJD at the hustings over the years ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS LOK SABHA ELECTIONS The group of a dozen Musahar women, the lowest of the low among the scheduled castes, had travelled over 230 km from Bairia block of West Champaran district. Now they were here at Lalu Prasad’s sprawling 10, Circular Road residence in Patna, being ushered in for an audience with the Rashtriya Janata Dal boss. But there’s little time for pleasantries—the women unleash a volley of demands: “We don’t have land”; “We haven’t got a house under Indira Awaas”; “Where are the job cards?”; “We want schools for our children... please talk to collector sahib”. Seated on a rattan chair, Lalu teases them for a while. “But why come to me? This is an administrative issue.…

Confusion seems to be the byword when it comes to tax filing. Last year, there was considerable delay in the finalising of the ITR form. From a 14-page document that required filling in details of foreign travel and dormant back accounts, it was renotified after being pared down to three pages. This year, even though the forms have been notified in time, there is confusion regarding mandatory disclosures for taxpayers with an annual income of more than Rs 50 lakh. Besides, here are some of the other points to keep in mind this return filing season. DECLARE INTEREST INCOME EARNED Income tax (IT) department has asked taxpayers to declare income earned from interest on various deposits in their returns. Such income cannot be hidden from taxmen, as banks, financial institutions,…

Along with basic cover, a life insurance policy also offers additional benefits to widen protection. Comprehensive coverage is important for people who have taken loans, so that their families do not have to struggle to repay them in the event of an unforeseen mishap. Among the many riders on offer, the three most popular ones are: term rider, accidental death benefit rider and critical illness rider. Here is a lowdown on what these are and whether one should buy them as riders on a life insurance policy or as separate policies from a general insurer. TERM RIDER A pure protection plan, it offers additional risk coverage in case of death You can pay a onetime premium or regular premiums ACCIDENTAL DEATH BENEFIT RIDER Provides additional sum assured on death due…

5 WIDELY USED NATURAL REMEDIES Ayurveda texts and research literature have long documented these plant-based products as useful in controlling blood sugar. A lot of manufacturers today call these products safer than modern medicines. It’s critical to know the research behind them and how they are made 1 FENUGREEK May help reduce blood sugar in diabetics The key compounds Saponins, believed to slow down carbohydrate absorption after meals and improve insulin sensitivity Potential side-effects May cause gas, bloating and diarrhoea. It may also interact with blood-thinning drugs 2 CINNAMON Emerging as an effective add-on therapy for blood sugar control The key compound Hydroxychalcone, which is said to improve insulin sensitivity, the key metabolic defect leading to Type 2 diabetes Potential side-effects Coumarin, also found in cinnamon, may worsen liver damage…

In Conversation BRATYA BASU Q. What made you take up Sri Aurobindo’s life for a play? Boma is a deconstruction and an intimate observation of a revolutionary. There are two aspects to a revolutionary—who the state calls revolutionary or a terrorist. Another thing is that when we talk about our past, our tendency is to glorify it. In this saga I have kept it absolutely objective. Nobody is beyond the truth. There was no intent to glorify and Aurobindo is not the main focus of the play. This is more about the interrelation between the Jugantar Samiti and all the hardcore revolutionaries. Though it is their inner conflicts and those of the Bengali middle class that come to the surface—which are relevant even today. For me it was a way…

Binging on ice cream this summer could be absolutely guilt-free and Madhulika Jajodia, 48, shows how. Completely vegan and with a sugarless option for each, these ice creams are made with healthy ingredients, “So an extra helping or two will only help rather than hurt,” she assures. Soft skills trainer turned animal rescuer, Jajodia took to being vegan several years ago but dabbled into her venture of home-churned vegan ice creams in 2015. “This was after much experimenting while trying to get my teenage sons to switch to vegan ice creams,” she says. Made with coconut milk, soy milk and cashew, the ice creams are flavoured using fresh seasonal fruits or the usual butterscotch and chocolate for people who prefer the tried and tested. Jajodia also makes several of her…

KERALA’S POWDER TRAIL Potassium chlorate is banned from fireworks as it is a dangerous substance; only matchstick industries are permitted to import it Fireworks asaans (master craftsmen) use it to boost displays, with spectacular pyrotechnics. 253 places of worship, both Christian and Hindu, stage elaborate fireworks displays The firecracker industry in Kerala is worth Rs 4,000 crore and is the largest in the country Nearly 1.5 tonnes of potassium chlorate was used at the Puttingal festival, where the blasts killed 114 people and injured 353 others Investigations by the Kerala police into the April 9 Puttingal temple tragedy that killed 114 persons have zeroed in on the use of a banned explosive, potassium chlorate, as the prime reason for the magnitude of the tragedy. “The pyrotechnic workers we arrested admitted…

The interest rate landscape in India has seen some several developments since the start of this year. Interest rates on fixed deposits have been going down rapidly, but the major jolt has been the reduced rates on small savings schemes. Popular with retail investors, particularly retired individuals, they have been useful for meeting longterm needs. Given below are the changes that one should know about: WHAT’S CHANGED On March 18, the government announced interest rate cuts ranging from 60 to 130 basis points (bps) for small savings schemes, effective from April 1, 2016 The schemes include public provident fund (PPF), post office schemes, recurring and term deposits, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, Senior Citizen’s Saving Scheme, KisanVikas Patra and national savings certificate. Starting this financial year, these rates will be revised every…

ROWED IN Fun Kayaking It’s no big deal that Hyderabad doesn’t have a beach, since a sunny afternoon can turn into a fun day of kayaking at the Hussainsagar Lake. So move overbrunches for there’s a better way to spend a fun weekend—kayaking with friends, while finding an adrenaline rush too. “It is indeed about adrenaline and fitness besides fun,” says Suheim Sheikh, 51, founder president of the Yacht Club of Hyderabad, who started the kayaking sessions last year. And while knowing how to swim is good, it is not a criterion if you’d like to kayak, since lifejackets are given to everyone and you go into the water under proper supervision. The session starts with a few minutes of training outside the water on maneuvering the kayak by trained…

It’s an ‘age-no-bar, weight-no-bar’ deal at her aqua zumba classes and Vijaya Tupurani, 38, gets a high motivating people perform energetic moves, especially in the water. “The body tends to work more in water and you don’t even realise it till some time after you’ve stepped out of the pool and feel the crunch,” she says. But aqua zumba is not just a water version of floor zumba. “Instead, the choreography is altered to factor in the instability of standing in water,” Tupurani says. Chubbier women who can’t lift their weight up and jump normally would find it easier to do so in water. “During my first aqua zumba class three years ago, we had a hundred participants inside the pool, several of whom were on the obese side. Another…