Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Green ideas for a clean SSN campus!

This post of mine is going to be on How to create a Greener SSN. No doubt ours is one of the most beautiful college campuses in terms of scenic beauty and greenery. But there is always room for improvement. If each individual does a little, we will have a huge impact on our stewardship of our college and thus of our earth. Here is a list of things of what students can do. For it is the individual drops that make an ocean!

Keep campus clean! One can find lots of wastes and rejects near the stores and in the grounds. College grounds crew spends a few hours a day picking up litter on campus that not only makes campus unattractive, but could otherwise harm soil quality or the "critters" that share our property! Make sure you use the “USE ME” and not litter our beautiful campus.

Be involved in "green" events on campus such as E-Week, Earth Day etc.
Start an Ecological Club.

Recycle tires, batteries, fluorescent lamps and ballasts, computers, scrap metal, concrete.
The equipment in science departments often uses the most power. Further, these equipments are often not turned off with regularity, and therefore waste a lot of energy.

Using natural light is also very simple. Instead of turning on the light, open the blinds. When arranging class rooms or hostel room, place desks and reading chairs near windows so natural light can be used as much as possible.

Ask yourself "Do I NEED it?" (i.e. the lights on, surplus office supplies, stationary)
Sometimes dried plants and shrubs are burnt in our campus. We could probably come out with a better way to get rid of them.

Establish a policy of shutting off I have myself witnessed many times the hostel TV being switched on for no reason. We should switch TV and radios when not in use. Using a screen-saver is not the same thing as a sleep mode; screen-savers do not reduce the energy use of an appliance.

Some measure can be taken to conserve water within the campus and inside the hostel like, by not allowing water to run continuously when washing dishes, brushing your teeth, washing your hands, or shaving. Take shorter showers. Showers use between 20 and 40 litres of water every minute.

I encourage all SSNites reading my blog to come out with more ‘Green Ideas’ and help create an ideal, clean and picturesque SSN college campus.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Inauguration of E-Week SSN EDC 2009

The Annual E Week Celebrations of Entrepreneurship Development Cell of SSN kick started with the speech of successful entrepreneurs like Mr.Sarath Babu-the Food King of India (Alumini of IIMA), Mr.Sunil Vishnu-cofounder of the Evam Enterprises theatre group (Alumini of MICA) and Ms.Vishnu Priya-coordinator from NEN.

Many of us say “If only, I had a few more bucks I would have become a.…”
But, Mr.Sarath says “Good that I didn’t have enough money because that made me work harder and strive longer to turn my dreams into a reality” There were thousands of hurdles in his life and those obstacles were perceived as steps of opportunities by him! This is just a tip of an iceberg.This small boy from Madipakkam in Chennai has made it big with his chain of food outlets and restaurants.

Many of us complain of power cuts and here is a man who has topped his studies amidst that. Mr.Sarath says, “For those who had electricity, they had a lot of distractions like watching television, listening to songs, or getting carried away by surroundings. I can see only my book from the light of the kerosene lamp but my friends have other things to see and that is the competitive advantage I enjoyed” he explains and chuckles. That’s the kind of positive attitude that we need to absorb from him!

In fact Mr.Sarath adopted an interesting strategy to save his energy. He reduced his communication to 10words/day which in turn increased his concentration manifold!
Mr.Sarath has conquered many hardships and it was his passion that made it all possible. When Mr.Sarath fell ill with viral fever, just one week before belling the CAT entrances, he didn’t give up and rather was working harder. ‘I have come this far not to quit’, he said to himself. That’s the kind of dedication one needs to have to succeed!

The world hardly remembers about 10 lakh personalities who walked this earth and Mr.Sarath is all set to enter that hall of fame! He dreams of a hunger free nation and soon we are going to witness his dream turn into a reality! Our best wishes for that too!

And next in the list came the enthusiast from the field of drama, full of life and energy! “Everyone here is born and studies in a good English medium school, gets into one of the top colleges, then a well paying job in a top company, later gets married and then his son or daughter carries forward the vicious cycle. So how are you going to be unique” questions Mr.Sunil who captivated his audience with his “fatafat” talks, entertained folks with his humor and exalting abundance energy levels!

Many of us have enjoyed fling kite when we were young and felt on the top of the world when we did that. What happened to us now? Where has our kite gone and why aren’t we flying it anymore? Where did the flame of doing something from the heart vanish, he expressed anguish! Feel passionate about the things you love doing and do that every time you feel doing it. This formed the base of his speech.

He also rightly pointed the flaw in our education system especially the flaw in the counseling system wherein a 12th standard student has to merely utter the name of the department he wishes to join and about which he has no clue at all. Don’t say I am being bounded by the system, change the rules, break the system, he advocates!

Mr.Sunil briefed us about the importance of grabbing opportunities and taking calculated risks with the following example. If you were on a top of a steep valley filled full of fierce sharks and you see a small wooden plank floating in it, what would you do? Who knows what will happen when you jump and hence the most important thing was to jump! Jump! And who knows you may unleash that you know to fly!!!

It was interesting to note that both the entrepreneurs pointed out that their "mothers" were a major source of inspiration in making them tread the path of entrepreneurship!
Kudos to Mr.Sarath and Mr.Sunil!

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Green IT

"The earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs,
but not every man's greed"
— Mahatma Gandhi

Every company is becoming environment conscious! When the economies are turning blue the societies are enhancing the green! With the increase in carbon emitters there is a serious concern of the environment changing into red! Carbon Emissions are one of those Eco Economy indicators and Green IT is an initiative to reduce carbon emission by IT/ITeS firms.
Every employee can contribute to Green IT by:
-Shutdown computer and other peripherals before leaving for the day.
-Set the power settings of one's computer to switch of monitor, hard disks and machine appropriately.
-Follow printing etiquettes, like double sided printing, using one sided papers for rough drafts.
Not only employees, even company’s management can try:
-Leveraging Hardware Virtualization to consolidate hardware
-Calculate Carbon foot prints - Calculator
-Purchasing ClimateSaverComputing, EnergyStar or other equivalent certified equipments.
-Encourage work from home on weekends and if possible on weekdays too.
-Design IT Strategies and Policies
-Two/four wheeler vehicle pooling

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Green Valentine

Today is a day for which millions of hearts around the globe eagerly await! The day of hearts!
For those who have proposed and waiting for a reply, I hope and wish you get a green signal soon.
For those already in love let’s see how green one can get to make this Valentine an ever green one!

Gone are the days where you bought those lavish pendants or trendy watches for your beloved ones (I agree that these were getting heavy on your pockets too). Well it’s time to take a twist, a green twist rather. Why not try giving eco friendly jewels or eco friendly solar watches?
Also anything made out of love is the best thing ever, so let your imaginations run wild and plan out and make some handicraft for your dear ones for it will stay ever green in their memories!

Plans of going in a cruise or long drives have become old fashioned so plan out something very special for just two of you. How about a long walk? You can freshen up the memories and relive them! For it is rightly said that a long journey is just like a few steps when you walk with someone who truly loves and cares for you! Guess it’s the right time for you to make your friends envy with green :-)

To wrap it up, in this valentine, irrespective of whether you are committed or single, show your love for the earth and you will find that it reciprocates with greater love!

Thursday, February 12, 2009

SSN EDC (Entrepreneurship Development Cell) Presents E-Week 09, Feb 14th to 19th

Hey friends!
Visit SSN EDC and I am sure that the opportunities that NEN and SSN together give, you are not only going to take away a lot of gifts and prizes but will also benefit from rich experiences and exposures!

The National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN) – An unabated eye opener for all mushrooming talents which is creating a paradigm shift in the field of striking innovation!

SSN group of institutions (SSN) – An esteemed institution rendering excellence and fostering talents in the field of education!

Imagine when these two forces come together what an energy they would be generating!!! Jointly they are going to be an exponent in shaping the futures of many in tapping the enormous radical green energy! Let’s join them in unleashing the power of an ENTREPRENEUR and in creating a massive GREEN awareness! "Go green, The world is our business!"
Rush in! The race is already on!

Monday, February 2, 2009

Ways to make our valley GREEN !

I happened to lay my hands on a magazine which discussed 50 ways to save our earth or 50 ways to make our valley green or 50 ways to lessen global warming; in a nutshell 50 ways to make THE difference! Just thought to share some of those with you and contribute to the difference :-)

-Come to the light
If you have not switched to compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) that uses one third of the power than the conventional bulbs then you are living in environmental darkness.

-Grow eco friendly walls
Instead of concrete compound walls which consumes loads of cement and brick which are huge carbon emitters, try raising a trend of having fences by growing bamboo trees instead. They are far more eco friendly and act as great sinks for carbon.

- Catch the bus
The principal option for reducing energy use in our cities is to ensure that mass transport is efficient, comfortable and reasonable. This would ensure that fewer people use other forms of individual transport.

- Go for electric vehicles
Looking for a new car? Go for electric vehicles like Reva which are suitable for city driving. They are emission free and give a good speed too!

- Quit the plastic covers
Planning to go for shopping? Take cloth or paper bags along as you shop so that you can avoid those plastic covers that shops offer you.

- Building codes
With large commercial buildings mushrooming, the government launched the Energy Conservation Building code (ECBC) in 2007. It was designed to optimize energy use in buildings. It is estimated that if such norms are followed than the energy consumption will be reduced as much as 30%.

- Computers off
Many people think that they save energy when they allow computers to be screen saver mode. It not only consumes power but also increases carbon emissions. So it’s better to turn off the computer when you don’t use it.

- Save paper, Use mails
Instead of penning down your thoughts on reams of paper made from felling trees, try mails instead. Its economical and reaches faster!

- Walk or Talk, Avoid to drive
With petrol prices galloping, its time to abandon those long drives. Walking a Km would not only save money but help you cut your flab around your waist. With phone calls becoming cheaper, you can try discussing the matters over the call as well.

- Plant more trees
Plant more trees in front or at the back of your house. Trees have shading effect that can make your house colder during summer. Besides, trees can absorb carbon dioxide for photosynthesis purposes. This directly reduces the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Make sure at least on your birthday you plant one!

Sunday, February 1, 2009

IN THE CREATIVE WORLD

Do you remember the mentos ad? A guy walks backward pretending to escape and eventually ends up achieving the objective. A think out of the box instance!
How about the insurance ads which makes a direct appeal to our hearts!
Why to miss the latest Madhavan and Vidhya Balan’s Airtel ad where they express themselves :-)

Advertising is the means of informing and influencing the general public to buy products or services. The need for a few things always exists and the role of advertising is to trigger the feel for the need and make people buy the products. Many are the times when we have checked out various shops and products (getting impressed with its commercials). Be it the media of print, audio or visual it is the advertising that makes a product successful.

THE MAGICAL WORD ‘FREE’: When people get additional quantity or anything in addition for the same price, it is definitely making an appealing offer. For it is rightly said that a little extra goes a long way.

THE EYE CATCHING ‘NEW’: People tend to check out anything that is new and untried and the products with this key word is able to trade much faster and better for the same reason.

THE MAGNETIC ‘BRAND AMBASSADORS’: Brand ambassadors like Shahrukh, Sachin and Amitabh are successful to pull the crowd. Ardent fans of celebrities go for a product which gets endorsed by their icons.

THE ‘POPULAR TAGLINES’: The high recall value of many products is because of their taglines. Maggi-only two minutes, Vodafone- wherever you go one network always follows, Coca-Cola- little drops of joy etc are a few of those that stick to our memory.

Advertising strikes the right chord when it attempts to create an emotional bonding, especially when it comes to sectors like Insurance, Banking and Real estates. Though companies hugely invest in advertising it is through word-of-mouth that constitute a large portion of sales. A classic case was the establishment of a 1000 Crore company started by Mr.Lakkubhai Pathak which sold food ingredients for domestic households without spending a penny on marketing strategies. Another living example is GOOGLE which has already created history in the world of searches.
So whats your favorite ad :-)

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Creating the brand "YOU"

To begin with can you find someone who is exactly like you in behavior, knowledge, talent, skills, personality and in appearance? The answer to this itself makes you one of the unique individuals in the world! You are already standing out of the crowd and now all you need to do is to make the crowd recognize you and your potentials! Make your self visible and make things happen! First and foremost- come out of your shells!!!
Here are a few points that could add a value to your life.
-See beyond visible
Dream the person whom you want to be and live your dream. Then the day is not fare when dream will turn into a reality. Remember dare to dream and dream to dare!

“All strength and force of all successful people comes from their faith in things unseen. He who BELIEVES is STRONG and he who DOUBTS is WEAK”

- Learn from the letter T
Not clear of what the above statement means? Well to understand that lets zero in on the making of the letter “T”. The horizontal bar signifies that you need to expand your horizons by acquiring knowledge about various fields. The vertical bar denotes that you need to master one of those areas by seeking in depth knowledge about it.

Pondering how to make this happen? For instance if you are an expert in area ‘A’, get yourselves surrounded by people who expertise in areas ‘B’,’C’,’D’ ie knowledge of those areas which you would prefer to get equipped with.

- Have a passion and learn continuously
The key ingredient of a high performer is his obsession and commitment to work. Keep yourself abreast by learning new things and that will keep you recognized.

- Work backwards
Take a minute or two and think what you want to be. Now take a second look thinking-doing what NOW will take you THERE? Once you are clear, start working!

- Look at the results not procedures
There is no way to create a brand called you except to start today, rather start now! Remember there is no single path to success and everything comes with sacrifice. The minutes you SAVE here will definitely help you PAVE your future!

Friday, January 16, 2009

ACHOMI -The queen of hearts !

Sharing a part with us for more than half a decade this little sweet cat is almost a part of our family. Named as Achomi it has definitely stolen a piece of heart of many! To begin with Achomi was not much welcomed by all of us but things veered when it gained our love by the way it conducted and expressed its unceasing behavior and beauty! It is definitely unlike the usual cats that you see around which jumps into your kitchen to fill its tummy. Achomi has never stolen anything except for our hearts ;-).

Everytime it enters it asks permission too (It says M-E-A-O which in hindi can be taken as mein aaoo lol). It’s very understanding too! For instance, when you are in dumps it will come to sit by your side just to listen to all your chores without talking back a word and comforts you.One can also share all your intricate secrets to Achoo -trust me for it will never be spread ;-).


Hyjkuillkljk;jh’kukhj’k-Oops wondering what that was? Well those were Achomi’s words for you(Achoo doesn’t much like us spending lot of time before computers when it has come). All I need to say is Achomi is just like you and me – full of warmth and affection!

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

TAKING A NOTE ON P-NOTES

There was a restriction on P-notes last October and this restriction came as a surprise to many. Before people could realize and get answers for all the ‘Wh’ questions (Why, where, who, what, when) he ban on the P-notes was reverted.

Participatory Notes or P-Notes are instruments issued by registered Foreign Institutional Investors (FII), who wish to invest in the Indian stock markets without registering themselves with the market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). On registration these entities can directly invest in Indian stock markets, mutual funds, government securities, derivatives and debts.

On issuing P-notes and collecting funds, FII’s invest in Indian markets on behalf of the unidentified P-note holder. Some use P note to cut the transaction and brokerage cost. This in turn paves as a short cut for investors who don’t want to go through the entire process of registering. This route also allows the participants who are not eligible to trade in Indian markets to participate. SEBI are suspicious about some illegal money coming into the Indian markets. Thus the inappropriate utilization of unlawful money which comes in, gets traded and earns huge profits is feared.

To add on the illegal money if invested in any form of terror then the entire economy will be thrown into the threat and it might shatter the whole world consecutively. To protect the Indian capital market from manipulations and for ensuring greater transparency, participatory notes are sometimes referred to as problematic notes.

Indian regulators will not have any information to know who owns the underlying securities and as a result the issue of P-notes was restricted. Due to the restriction of this there was a sharp fall in the indices. In order to break the illegal activities mentally and psychologically, it was important to break them financially and hence SEBI took a closer look on the P-notes and the restriction imposed was taken off by tightening a few policies and relaxing the other policies. As an outcome of this deed the indices went up and more money came into the economy. Ultimately Indian markets have to be watchful with P-notes.