We are the least tourist friendly country...

Hi,

From my visits to Delhi, Chennai, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Kolkatta and a host of other cities including Bangalore, I have come to the conclusion that we are one of the most unfriendly country as far as tourists are concerned.

• We have all street signs in local languages, including destination boards on buses, trains and trams.
• We have the public transport operators that speak only the local language. In south India if you speak in Hindi, you will most likely not get anywhere!
• All signage is in local language, making going from one place to another very difficult.
• There is no street furniture where you can rest your sore back.

Why can't we have

• Street signs in English and our National Laugage (Hindi).
• Street Furniture.
• Decent wash-rooms, maybe air-conditioned and available on pay-per-use basis.
• Restaurants with street seating arrangements from where one can watch the local life passing one by.

Hope someone does something about this otherwise visitors will continue to say 'Incredible India!'

Outside-In Process: The New Path to Customer-Centricity

Sep. 04, 2009
By Dick Lee, High-Yield Methods

Peter Drucker famously opined that the greatest risk to organizations was neither doing the right work wrong nor doing the wrong work but not seeing or reacting to profound change occurring around us. Today, we're in such a period of transformational change, with a powerful confluence of forces driving up the power of customers in buyer-seller relationships—and correspondingly depressing the potential for sellers to stay competitive while putting their own interests ahead of customer interests. That this change is occurring is almost beyond debate. But how to effectively respond to this sea change is not only a matter for debate, but a source of great frustration for sellers. Fortunately, a growing number of companies are showing the way by proactively treating the rise in customer power as an opportunity rather than a threat—and using an approach becoming known as "Outside-In Process" or just "Outside-In" to build bridges extending out to customers.

Read rest of the article here

Read This Because the Dollar Is Doomed

From The Motley Fool Blog

By Tim Hanson
August 28, 2009
Brian Richards and I wrote back in March that we thought the dollar might be doomed. That was because:

1. The United States has a massive and growing deficit.
2. The United States continues to generate significant trade deficits.
3. The United States has become oh-so-willing to print money out of thin air to meet its increasing obligations, and to prop up the likes of AIG (NYSE: AIG) and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC).

The more things change …
Fast forward five months, and that willingness to print and spend has only increased. None other than Warren Buffett of the famously successful Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) put the nail in the dollar's coffin in a New York Times editorial last week. He wrote, "Fiscally, we are in uncharted territory" and concluded that "Unchecked greenback emissions will certainly cause the purchasing power of currency to melt. The dollar's destiny lies with Congress."

Read the story here

Is the World Losing Faith in the U.S. Dollar?

As the global economy appears headed toward recovery, concerns are growing that the United States' addiction to massive fiscal stimulus as an economic panacea could eventually lead to an even bigger crisis -- a loss of confidence in the U.S. dollar. Prominent voices are sounding dire warnings, worried that a gradual return to normalcy could undermine the political will needed to control deficit spending and prevent a disastrous long-term decline of the world's primary reserve currency.
Read rest of the article here....

Another Update on Forest Land Issue in Mumbai

Recent reports appearing in newspapers suggest that the Supreme Court has called for a list of affected parties.

The Central Empowered Committee has arrived at a formula for allowing the buildings on forest land to stay.
This is as per four categories.

1. Flats constructed before June 22, 2005 @ Rs 8 to 12 per square feet.
2. Builders who have completed construction before June 22, 2005 but have yet to get occupation certificates @ 8 to 12 per square feet x 5, that is between 40 to 60 Rs.
3. Builders who have undertaken commercial/factories and residences for redevelopment @ Rs 8 to 12 x 10, that is 80 to 120 Rs per square foot.
4. Builders with pending construction plans @ 8 to 12 per square feet x 20, that is 160 to 240 Rs per square foot.
   

Once the data is supplied to the court, people can expect relief after paying afforestation charges as the government has already accepted the recommendations of the Central Empowered Committee.