IAMAI Conference on National Security and Digital Technology

Ever thought about National Security seriously? Is national security a topic meant for discussion only when there’s a bomb blast/terror attack? Are we prepared for a stringent national security policy above all personal/political/religious sentiments? Are we ready to give up personal preferences, privacy and even life, in the interest of National security?
Next week, IAMAI (Internet and Mobile Association of India) is organizing a one day conference on National Security and Digital Technology. This conference will be happening at India Habitat Centre, Lodi Road New Delhi. Good thing is, I’ll be travelling to Delhi to live blog this event.
Since National Security is such an important topic, I felt it is necessary that we open up the topic to a larger audience and get their thoughts as well. As an esteemed reader of my blog, I’d request you to share your thoughts on the subject. Selected thoughts will be featured in IAMAI official Blog and I’ll also make efforts to pass your questions to panel members/speakers during the conference.
Following questions are some pointers as to what you can share.

• Are you comfortable compromising on your privacy in the interest of national security? If data monitoring is fully automated will you be more comfortable?
• Miscreants who try to create trouble need to be lucky just once, whereas to be safe we need to be lucky all the time. How do we ensure alertness and vigil all time?
• Do you feel technology is being used to the max to assist in security matters? What is not being done that should have been done? Do you have any examples?
• How can we make civilians more aware about national security and how to get them involved, in intelligence gathering, first response and other aspects?

You may submit your response as a comment, or you can write your detailed thoughts in your own blog and let me know the url or mail me at admin@enidhi.net or you can buzz me on twitter or facebook with your thoughts. Selected thoughts will be featured in IAMAI official Blog and I’ll also make efforts to pass your questions to panel members/speakers during the conference.
Alternatively, you can also take this quick survey (4 mins) and leave your response
If you’re a Delhi based blogger and if you’re free on 24th March to attend this event, let me know, we’ll get you a complementary entry to the event and you can get involved in live blogging the same.
Previous events lived blogged: Webinnovations 08, Mumbai, CII Connect 2009, Chennai

Sandhosh Kumar to climb Mount Everest

This March, when most of us will be hooked on to televisions watching IPL, complaining that it is too hot outside, one brave soul will be taking up the ultimate challenge in mountaineering- to Climb world’s highest peak, Mount Everest. In about 20 days from now, Investment Banker and Mountaineering enthusiast Sandhosh Kumar will be beginning his 65 days expedition to climb Mount Everest. 

I happened to meet him during Cerebrate where he shared some interesting insights about Everest climbing:

• The surface area on top of Mount Everest is just about that of a Table Tennis Table. The topmost point is often covered with ice which might collapse and fall off cliff any time, so any solid ground on top of the peak is considered for all practical purposes
• Compared to other mountains, its the lack of oxygen which makes climb difficult in Mount Everest
• Lack of oxygen heavily affects thinking abilities and people often end up doing stupid mistakes because of which they may have to abandon the climb or at times even risk their lives
• Climb to peak is often initiated in late evening and goes on all through the night (Reason: ice will be more solid in night with reduced risk of melting, with no sun, some energy can be conserved). Successful climbers reach the peak on wee hours of next morning and they’ll have to start declining latest by about 8 am
• The climb has to be completed within stipulated time, so that one can return safely to base camp.(reason mentioned above) At times a climber will have to abandon his climb and return-that is one of the toughest decisions to take at that altitude-seeing Mount Everest just a few hundred meters away but being asked to return-all the money, time and effort spent is wasted, but there’s assurance that one will be alive. Some people succumb to temptation and proceed with the climb, often pay with their lives.
• From the base camp experts can monitor progress of a climber (through telescopes) and by observing his rate of climb, weather condition and other stats they can assess if he can make it safely to the top and come back or he should abort and return.
• Conserving energy is important, so even when a steep climb can save time and distance, mountaineers prefer a slightly longer (circular) path which can be used without spending extra energy
• There’s no helicopter rescue possible. Often local Sherpas extend great support, but at high altitudes it is difficult task even for them. (here’s a news of a helicopter landing on top of Everest in 2005)
• Chicken is prized food at base camp, served only after a climber returns from his climb
• There’re two Everest base camps, one in Chinese land , one in Nepal
• Trekkers who trek till Base camp may not be allowed to pitch tent near the area where Everest climbers are put up. This is for hygienic reasons, as trekkers carry a lot of germs with them.

Through his climb, Sandhosh Kumar is also raising awareness about child sexual abuse. Sandhosh Kumar needs your help in raising funds for his expedition and also the cause he is supporting. One of the unique ways Sandhosh is trying to raise funds is to carry a banner to the top of Everest made of photographs and images of donors. For only US$50, you can have your picture or picture of your loved ones photographed at the summit of Mount Everest. Of course, you are welcome to buy more than one block to have a bigger picture or one block for each member of your family. Needless to say, contributions will go both towards the climb and the cause.

Below are some little ways how each one of us can help
1. Contribute to the Banner (secure credit card payment, takes 5 minutes). HURRY! ONLY A FEW DAYS LEFT TO PRINT THE SUMMIT BANNER.
http://www.climbeverestwithme.com/the_banner.php
2. Make a simple Donation through the website.
http://www.climbeverestwithme.com/donate.php
3. Spread the word to as many people as possible. Update your status on Facebook with a message along the lines of 'My friend is climbing Mount Everest in aid of prevention of Child Sexual Abuse. Please support him by contributing on his website at http://www.climbeverestwithme.com
4. Follow Sandosh's progress http://www.facebook.com/climbeverestwithme and keep him motivated. Hoping to send some live updates from the mountain including pictures of the banner at various points
5. Check out the Media coverage of "Climb Everest With Me" in Singapore and India.
http://www.climbeverestwithme.com/the_media.php
http://www.youtube.com/climbeverestwithme

I also created a wikipedia page for Sandosh Kumar. First image is taken on top of Mont Blanc. Second one is clicked by me. Check this post for a podcast interview with Sandhosh. Join me in wishing Sandhosh all the best in his climb.

Review: Marg Tapovan Rs 1 crore luxury villas

Not sure if I’ll ever buy a villa priced at Rs One Crore, but during the recently concluded Cerebrate event I stayed for a few days at one such facility, called Tapovan, built and marketed by Marg ProperTies. This post is a quick review of the Marg Tapovan campus

Marg Tapovan is a 70 acre campus in Pavanjur, a village 20kms off Kalpakkam on East Coast Road, Chennai. Tapovan hosts a series of villas- few are ready and sold, some are under construction and rest are yet to be built. Each Villa is built on a half an acre plot. As far as the building construction is concerned, I found it very simple, but spacious. Each Villa has 2 buildings-one containing a living room, kitchen and a small room and the other one housing 3 bed rooms. Back of the villa houses two tiny rooms-one is servant room and another one housing machines like pumps (for water tank and swimming pool) and electric meters and so on)

The one you see in below images-with swimming pool, is the most expensive one of the lot, costing close to 1 Crore. A stripped down version is also being built, to be sold at a lesser price of 40-50 lakhs.

These villas are not meant for cost conscious middle class buyers, but targeted at CxOs and HNIs (high net worth Individuals) who might be looking for their second or third home away from the city. Its not the building one pays for, but the ecosystem which includes serene environment, gardens, company of rich neighbours and probably status symbol of owning such a property.

At this point of time spending 1 Crore for a house 80km from city might seem expensive, but for those looking for 10-15 year horizon, this might some like a good investment. I’m told close to one third of the villas are sold already. Villa owners will also have to pay a monthly maintenance fee of Rs 9000, irrespective of usage.

A few observations: There’s no terrace or first floor, so the bungalow like feeling is missing. (Also from utility perspective terrace offers lot of space) Swimming pool looks nice on photograph, but eats up most of the open space. Villa design has been extremely simple. Those who’ve seen much grander homes (say at least in movies), may have higher expectations as to how their dream Villa should be. Unfortunately there’s no provision to customize the a villa that is under construction (customization would spoil the beauty of uniformity). Also there's no Garage for car parking near the villas.


I was talking with Arun Kumar, the manager of the property. He said right now most of the time campus is deserted as no one has started living here yet. Occasionally some corporate events happen and the venue and during such time he and his team will be on their toes all the time. “We enjoy such days”-he said. He was always a call away whenever anyone needed something.

Part of the campus is fully developed, lush green with coconut groove, mango, Sapota and guava gardens while rest of the campus is under development. The Gardens are leased to outside contractors.

Campus has a in house cook, lot of birds, (including turkey and ducks roaming around freely) Residents might be expected not to use their cars inside the campus but use electric vehicles instead. More facilities and features would come up over a period of time as people start residing in the campus.

Lot of Guava fruits were ready for consumption, while Sapota and Mango trees should be giving ripe fruits soon.
 
Marg will be linking Tapovan to Swarnabhoomi, a SEZ being developed by Marg which will house industries, residential complex as well as schools and other facilities (integrated townships). Once linked Tapovan will be 8kms from Swarnabhoomi, compared to current distance of some 30kms and can be pitched in as an ideal residence for CxOs of companies operating in Swarnabhoomi.

The access road to Tapovan has several bad patches, filing to sustain the nice driving experience one would have had on ECR. There’re plans to extend Local Trains (MMTS) towards Pondy and that can be a nice boost to Tapovan.

Some more posts about Marg Tapovan * Resort Review: Club Mahindra Binsar, Coorg *

Made a unique social investment

Yours’ truly is now a serial entrepreneur who’s invested in multiple businesses like printing press, textiles, clothing and Hotel Business and so on across India… Before you get carried away by that statement, let me clarify that all I’ve done is invest Rs 2000 each in 5 women entrepreneurs hailing from some remote villages in different states, assisting them set up their small scale business.

When I met RangDe founders at Cerebrate.in and heard their story (read more about RangDe), I decided to invest Rs 10000 in assisting some villagers who’d need some seed funding to start their own business and thereby walk towards financial freedom.

Once I came back to city, I went through RangDe website, spent about 1 hour studying various profiles of prospective borrowers and identified 5 wannable entrepreneurs  in whom I’d invest. I couldn’t find any gentlemen seeking to borrow money listed in RangDe. All were women. Also there were none from Karnataka. Hope they’ll soon extend their facilities to villages in Karnataka. A risk averse investor that I am, I split my Rs 10000 into 5 parts and invested in 5 different people, spread across geography (from Kerala to Orissa and from Maharastra to AP) and type of business-tailoring, hotel, sarees, tents and printing press.
Below is the quick profile of people and their business I’ve invested in

1. Neelaveni B,
Shanthi nagar, Andhra Pradesh, Hotel business
Neelaveni lives in a large joint family. She runs a small eatery close to her house and has many regular clients over the last five years. She wants to include more dishes in her menu especially snacks that are popular and easy to prepare. She needs to spend on more utensils and buy the ingredients in bulk. Her immediate aim is to increase her income, but is optimistic about constructing and running a good hotel some day. [read more]

2.Kalavathy Unnikrishan,
Kozhinjampara, Kerala, Tailoring
Kalavathy works with the aim of setting up a proper tailor shop. For the last 7 years she has been taking up orders from customers and is now determined on strengthening her trade. Towards this, Kalavathy needs a loan to fund the replacement of her sewing machine and purchase of supplies like cloth, threads, buttons etc. All this will certainly enhance her earning potential and Kalavathy anticipates higher returns from her trade.[Read more]

3. Parbati Harijan,
Biromal - A, Orissa, Tent Business
Four children keep Parbati on her toes all the time. She also runs a small business letting out the materials to put up marquees used at weddings and other occasions. She plans to buy some additional fabric and also add utensils to the items that can be given out on rent. She is confident of doing well and hopes to grow her business.[read more]

4. Ratnamala Dongre,
Nagpur, Maharashtra, Printing Press
Ratanmala owns a printing machine, which helps her run a small printing press. With the help of small credit support, Ratanmala will be able to purchase printing material and garner more business for her printing press. [Read More]

5. Narasamma S,
N T R colony , Andhra Pradesh, Sari Business
Narasamma plans to give her three year business a boost. She sells sarees from home and wants to improve both, the quantity and quality of her products. She knows that there is a ready market and she will get good returns. The additional income will help to provide for her large family better. Establishing a sari's shop is her pet dream.[read more]

Unsecured borrowing had been a very costly affair so far where interest rates are as high as 30-50%, which is mainly because of equally high default rate. In other words, honest people who repay the loan compensate the lender on behalf of those who take money but never return it. Micro credit facilitators like RangDe are doing good work identifying needy people and helping them with seed funds.

I don’t know anything more about these people and may never meet them. Returns are negligible but I’ll be happy if they can do well in their respective businesses. I’m trusting RangDe and its partners for disbursal of funds and mentoring of these businesswomen. I’ll keep a track of them to the extent I can and will keep you all posted. Join me in wishing them a very prosperous business ahead. (May be I should demand some equity right away…)

My early investment experiences * Fly free on Indigo * Surviving stock market crash *

RangDe Micro finance: fuelling rural entrepreneurship

I had heard of RangDe long back and had signed up at their website, but had never cared to invest. RangDe is a micro finance facilitator who cater to business needs to villagers aiming to start their own business. RangDe identifies villagers who are looking to start their own small businesses- a vegetable shop or a saree business or a kirana shop or a sweets & snacks business and so on and help them with seed funding. These village entrepreneurs will only be needing a reasonably small amounts-from Rs 5000-15000 to start their small business and traditional financial institutions like Banks will not entertain them-either because the amount is too small for any profitable lending business or these people have no collateral to offer.
Traditionally these villagers approach local money lender who would give unsecured credit, but at an abnormally high interest rate ranging between 30% to 50%, with interest amount deducted right away from the principal even before it is handed over to the borrower. Such a high interest rate meant borrowing from them and building a profitable business is a steep uphill drive.
While I’d an account in RangDe, I’d not bothered to invest so far as I thought recovery rates are very low (I knew of Bank Managers complaining how difficult it is to recover a loan given to a farmer/villager, who would take Bank’s money for granted and seldom care to repay) I met RangDe founders, Ram and Smita at Cerebrate 2010 and got to know a better insight of Micro credit concept. I was surprised to learn that RangDe has a recovery rate of 98.5% which is remarkable (it dipped from 99% due to natural calamities in some areas)
RangDe apparently doesn’t lend money to individuals. People seeking funding from RangDe are required to find a partner/form a group and then approach for investment. This way the risk is spread and there’s more responsibility/checks in place. RangDe has partners who work on ground with these villagers seeking funding and they are evaluated and constantly mentored during the course of their business.
If you care to help society, fuel entrepreneurship and assist villagers in becoming financially independent and eradicate poverty, pls try to invest a small amount in Micro finance facilitators like RangDe. The risks are minimal, return is almost at par with Saving Bank account but the satisfaction of contributing our bit to a good cause is priceless.
Compared to traditional micro creditors who give unsecured loans at 30-50%, RangDe charges only 8.5% p.a from its borrowers. Of this RangDe gets 1.5%, investor gets 2% and RangDe partners who work with villagers get 5% Most of the loans are given for a duration of one year. Refer RangDe.org for more details as to how they operate and where you can invest.
Inspired by them, I’ve invested Rs 10000 in RangDe.Read more about it here

Ram and Smita were also featured on CNBC youg turks program that was telecasted yesterday. RangDe is inspired by Nobel prize winner Mohammed Yunus. The cause they stood for, quitting high paying software jobs and taking this full time and the number of lives they’ve changed so far deserves an applause.

Similar: My early investment experiences * Cerebrate 2010 * Made a unique social investment

Cerebrate2010: an event for achievers

Cerebrate is an invite only event wherein a group of hand picked achievers from various fields are brought together and discuss and ideate. Each of the achiever who’s invited to Cerebrate has a great deal of passion in what they do. Their achievements and experiences, when shared in a group of similar achievers from other fields makes it a wonderful event, because there’s so much to learn, much more to unlearn. Special care has been taken to ensure that the event stays remarkably unique from a typical conference which tend to get boring even before they begin. To know more about the idea behind Cerebrate, you may wish to read this post by Kiruba

I had an opportunity to take part in the latest edition of Cerebrate, held at Marg Tapovan, some 80 kms off Chennai. I was involved in this more as an organizer than anything else. Previous editions of Cerebrate were held at Club Mahindra Verca beach Goa and Kumbalbagh respectively.

I’ll publish some more posts about the event, before that below is a quick introduction of invitees who spoke their heart out and made Cerebrate a wonderful experience.

Vasu Dixit, founder of Music Band Swarathma (also brother of Raghu Dixit) and S Muthiah, prominent journalist, publisher and author

Smita and Ram are founders of RangDe, the micro-credit organization which is fueling entrepreneurship among villagers and Raja Sanyal - Head of Marketing Barclays Wealth India

Aditya, Technology Enthusiast and Syed, Director, The Knowledge Foundation (TKF)
 
Christian R Fabre - CEO Christian Fabre Textiles Private Limited , Hindu Monk and Sandhosh Kumar, mountain climber for a cause, who is all set to climb mount Everest this season for the cause of Child Sexual Abuse.
 
Ramesh Manickam is an industrial designer, the man who’s designed Royal Enfield Thunderbird and several other products. Sidharth Rao works as Delivery Head – eMantras and is also National Snooker Champion and DJ

S Ramakrishnan, CEO, Marg ProperTies and also author by passion. Venkatesh Chandrasekaran (Venki) heads Mahindra Satyam’s R&D initiatives in Automobile space. He is also founder of Schools for India trust.

Rajesh Setty is a serial entrepreneur, author and speaker. Benedict (Benny) works with Children who’ve special needs

Harish Gandhi, Executive Director, Canaan Partners and Krish Venkatesh , Copy Editor and Chief Evangelist, yourstory.in and Gautham Seetharaman is an Architect, Trustee – Centre for Vernacular Architecture.
 
Alphonso and Kiruba Shankar (also on the right hand side is Sabu George, Deputy Manager, Marketing, Marg ProperTies)
 
Niladri Bose, Radio Jockey, Voice-over Artiste, Wild-Life Photographer. and Karthikeyan Vijayakumar, founder EXCEDOS and also co founder of Deepam

 Balaji, MS by research Student, IIT Madras, Robo geek and yours truly

From Cerebrate2010

It was great experience and inspiration spending 3 days in the company of so many achievers, who may not carry a high profile tag but each one had deep passion in what they did and doing. The experience they shared might take a lifetime for others to learn. Standby for more details of the event