Financial education in schools must be compulsory in India

I have been a great believer in compulsory (non-graded) courses in finance for high school students starting from Class VII and above in India. Financial literacy for students is an important tool to improve the financial capability of our youth and communities. Grasping even the most basic lessons gets students considering available options before making important monetary decisions; in turn, this careful consideration may help them avoid personal debt and improve their chances of achieving financial security. 

In India, there is hardly any school where financial literacy is taught even as an optional course. Many educationists still believe that teaching about money in school might be detrimental to the overall value system of the students. And still many believe that any course on finance could be complicated for any school going student to understand. Both these beliefs are totally incorrect. Teaching about money and financial planning to Generation Z is as important today than ever, as more and more young educated people enter the white collar jobs with five-six digit salaries. Unless they are taught to handle money and plan their future, most of them could land up in financial trouble in the later part of their lives. As for the second class of believers, teaching about finance could definitely be done in a very enjoyable fashion. Financial literacy for students should involve practical activities that introduce youth to the real world.

In short, financial literacy for students is vital to help ensure the financial well being of the students and the communities we live in as it goes a long way to future-proofing their future. It's time that our education policy includes 'financial literacy' as an important aspect while designing school curriculum 

Mohiner Ghoraguli - Bhalo Lage

A little bit of Poetry

We talked of hippies and flowers and rainbows and dope,
Of politics and art and the structure of hope.
Strange nights and days of colours in the air,
Waiting hopelessly for roses by the stair.
As the world showed its affection for those who were faking it,
We got kicked out of school for spreading love and kicked out of home for making it.
This isnt the start of a new era, there isnt even a new plan,
I just hope this one's a little better than the last one

Yes! You are in Sales!

I was recently watching a small clip from Tom Peter's Blog titled 'Yes!You Are In Sales'.As Tom mesmerizes with his talk(we all know him for such talks!),he dwells on the overuse of the word 'Marketing' making sales look like a dirty job.As he goes on to say,"no matter what skills you have,which department or company you work for,no matter your job title,we all are salespeople".As rightly coined by Tom,we are all salespeople,either selling products,services,ideas,or ourselves.Somehow,sales has always been looked down upon by most people in India.I remember my days as a salesperson in Bombay when my sister introduced me as an engineer to one of her friends as she thought that my work was despicable and didn't want me to disclose it either!Salespeople & Organizations alike should be blamed for tarnishing the image of this job.We have seen an influx of unqualified salespeople loitering around the streets selling something or the other without even having any understanding of the product or an idea about their customers

In the United States Unlike India,sales had always occupied a special place in the society as a whole.In his seminal work Walter Friedman of Harvard Business School argues in his book 'Birth of the American Salesman' that America has been the pioneer of modern sales management-salesmanship in America had flourished due to multiple reasons.The emergence of salesmanship in the U.S. depended on a stable currency, the rule of law, the protection of private property, and the availability of credit. These were all aspects of the American economic system. But what made the U.S. unique was the scale of American firms that were founded in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. These massive manufacturing concerns, which produced tremendous numbers of business machines, appliances, and cars, hired salesmen in the hundreds in some cases, and even thousands in others, to create demand for their products. These goods, all pushed by aggressive salesmanship, distinguished the American economy by their early appearance and widespread purchase'

India never had a culture of acceptance of salespeople as a respectable profession in their society(apart from a few big cities)though we all are selling in some way or the other.But having said this,we are moving toward a selling economy similar to how America did in the mid of 2oth century.And we do expect to see more acceptability in our society of salesmanship as a profession too!

Economic Downturn Indicator- Falling Handset Market

The economic downturn in Europe seems to be affecting at least one business that had seen unprecedented growth in the last few years.Though economists feel this phenomena is ephemeral in nature and growth would follow suit with introduction of newer handsets by the likes of Apple & Nokia this year

Economic data from France and Germany released Wednesday added to the recent depressing evidence that Europe is suffering from a deterioration in consumer sentiment and economic activity. French consumer confidence fell to its lowest level since 1987, in May, while in Germany, inflation rose and consumer sentiment also declined

Gartner latest data shows a marked slowdown in mobile phone handset sales in Western Europe; the research firm said Wednesday that total handset sales fell 16.0% in the region in the first quarter of 2008, from the first quarter of 2007, marking the first decline there since Gartner began tracking the mobile devices market in 2001. Strong sales in emerging markets meant global demand rose slightly

I think handset makers like Nokia or Apple is better placed to handle this downturn compared to Motorola which has failed to evoke any market sentiments due to its lack of innovation in recent times.Is this falling demand an indicator of worsening economic environment in Europe? Are we seeing a global recession with America leading the way?Only time would answer this.As Baary Asmus once said 'Economists are pessimists.They have predicted 8 of the last 3 depressions'

Check this out,thought of sharing this with my friends!

What Animal Were You In Your Past Life?
	You were a unicorn. You were mysterious and noble. You have fairytale traits, and other people can only dream in envy. Your nature is completely impossible to decipher and behind all that, you know that you shine bright, for only the luckiest people get the chance to know you.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Sam Goldman & d.light

Just came across Sam Goldman's story on Always On-someone who wants to light up the world with his concept of d.light.And guess what this initiative is to be first rolled out in India.d.light will provide a source of light that is clean and safe;something most of the household in rural hinterlands of india would love to hear.Sam claims in his blog that his source of inspiration was his neighbour's son who was badly burnt by their kerosene lamp.This incident made the 28 year old gradaute from Stanford Business School determined to look for a cheap solution that would provide safety to millions of people around the world as well as employment to many others.In fact,his company is looking for distrbutors of d.light in different parts of India.Anyone interested!

Wishing Sam all the best in his endeavour

Tribute to Alison Krauss

"Alison Krauss" the name itself espouse the feeling of admiration for this child prodigy who at the age of 14 stormed the American country music scene and redefined the acceptability of 'Bluegrass' in American mainstream music.Bluegrass is a type of music considered to be inherited from the immigrants of the British Isles.To the uninitiated it is basically played on stringed instruments using instruments like banjo, fiddle, mandolin, etc to create sound in the highest voice.Alison is considered to be one of the most prolific fiddle player and have won numerous awards at a very tender age.She released her first album"Too late to cry"when she was barely 16 that made headlines across the American country music circuit.But then she teamed up with Union Station to deliver her second album"Two Highways".This created quite a murmer and she went on releasing multiple albums teaming with Union Station.Her devotion to servicing a song is represented by her increasingly restrained approach to fiddle playing and softened vocals.

Alsion Krauss may not be so popular to mainstream Indian music lovers,though the afficianadoes of country music that I have come across (many in Bombay at least!) do surely have heard of her music.Alison is a multi Grammy award winner,winner of more Grammys than any female artist till date.She was awarded the special musical acheivement award by the Recording Industry Association of America.Alison's music is shaped by her interest in timeless songs of sadness, regret, longing and loneliness.

Check out a part of the lyric of her single "It don't matter now"

It's finally come Is that sorry on your breath?
Where were you when I was sitting back here
Missing you to death?
It don't matter now
How, I wanna know Can you tell me plain and true
How high will you fly
Without me there to be your sky?

Do check out one of her breathtaking single " When you say Nothing at All ", that won her the Single of the Year-1995 and have been re-done by many artists till date.You need a Real Player or any other music player to listen to it.So what are you waiting for..
http://www.savefile.com/files/4980908