Resignation letters.. !

Short but not formal....

 

 

 

A bit formal.....

 

 

 

Formal One......

 

 

 

Or this Deadly one ?

Questions You Can Never Answer..

- Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard? 

- Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are flat? 

- Why do banks charge a fee on 'insufficient funds' when they know there is not enough? 

- What is the speed of darkness? 

- Why is it that people say they 'slept like a baby' when babies wake up every two hours? 

- If the temperature is zero outside today and it's going to be twice as cold tomorrow, how cold will it be? 

- Do married people live longer than single ones or does it only seem longer? 

- How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage? 

- Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground? 

Did you ever stop and wonder... 
- Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, 'I think I'll squeeze these pink dangly things here, and drink whatever comes out?'

Be Careful While Buying a Cake

A man wants to celebrate his wife's Birthday by throwing a party. So he goes to order a birthday cake.

 

The salesman asks him what message he wants to put on the cake.

 

Well he thinks for a while and says:

 

Let's put, "you are not getting older you are getting better".

 

The salesman asks, "How do you want me to put it?"

 

The man says, Well put "You are not getting older", at the top and "! You are getting better" at the bottom.

 

The real fun didn't start until the cake was opened the entire party watched the message decorated on the cake:

 

"You are not getting older at the top, you are getting better at the bottom".

Guardian Angel

A man was walking in the street when he heard a voice. "Stop! Stand still! If you take one more step, a brick will fall down on your head and kill you."

 

The man stopped and a big brick fell right in front of him. The man was astonished.

 

He went on, and after awhile he was going to cross the road. Once again the voice shouted: "Stop! Stand still! If you take one more step a car will run over you and you will die."

 

The man did as he was instructed, just as a car came careening around the corner, barely missing him. "Where are you?" the man asked. "Who are you?"

 

"I am your guardian angel," the voice answered.

 

"Oh yeah?" the man asked. "And where the hell were you when I got married?"

 

Natural Home Remedies for Acidity

Having too much acid in your body can cause you to feel generally not as well as you could, make you more susceptible to illness and cause ailments like irritable bowel syndrome and acid reflux.

While it's important to have some acid in your body, you can get rid of too much acid by eating more alkalizing foods to help neutralize the pH in your body. Keeping your pH around 7.35 and 7.45 keeps you primed for optimum health, and simply changing your diet to include more alkaline foods can help get you there.

1) Start each morning off with fruit to help balance the acid in your body. Even fruits that seem acidic, like citrus fruits, lemons, oranges and grapefruits, have alkalizing properties once consumed and digested. Other good fruit choices include cherries, avocados, berries and watermelon.


2) Choose leafy green vegetables for lunch. Studies published in a 2008 Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition found that a diet rich in green vegetables helped to alkalize the body, neutralize acids and result in a decreased chance of osteoporosis. Brightly colored vegetables like carrots, beets, peppers and sweet potatoes are all highly alkalizing and can restore the pH balance in your body and blood to result in less acid in the body.


3) Avoid eating meat with your dinner. While most American meals center around some kind of meat, animal products introduce acid into your body, especially beef and pork products. If you feel like you need an extra boost in your protein level around dinner, try tofu, textured vegetable protein or soy products as a healthy and low-acid substitution.


4) Drink freshly prepared juices and smoothies to get as many alkalizing foods into your system as possible. You can add leafy greens to fruit juice to sweeten them up and make them more enjoyable. This ensures that you get at least five servings of fruits and vegetables every day to keep your pH at an optimum level.


5) Utilize spices in your cooking to help perk up otherwise bland eating. Cinnamon, nutmeg and paprika are all examples of spices that won't introduce new acid into your body. Prepare the food in different ways to alter the flavor. Roasting or grilling fruits and vegetables can give them new and interesting flavors so that you're mroe apt to enjoy them as you get rid of too much acid in your body naturally.

Can a man and a woman ever be best friends?

CAN a man and a woman ever be best friends? This is one pertinent question that keeps popping up over and over again. It was first put out perhaps for public scrutiny in When Harry Met Sally. The hugely popular hit was then followed by My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997) and Hum Tum in India (a desi remake of When Harry Met Sally) in 2004.

India’s GenNow got introduced to the question with the Imran Khan-Genelia D’Souza starrer Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Naa (2009). This year we have Friends With Benefits claiming friendship is a four- letter word. In short, they say a man and a woman can never be friends — as for being best friends, that’s a distant dream.

Yet outside the celluloid world, relationships are far more complicated. The roles being played out in the real world are not bound by a script. Real people fail to understand what movies preach and confuse love with friendship and vice versa. Relationship experts say having a best friend from the opposite sex is one of the main reasons marriages are failing these days.

"When two people from the opposite sex get emotionally close to each other, at least one of them is bound to get attracted to the other and this can cause problems if they are married to different people,” says Dr Kamal Khurana, relationship counsellor, Purple Alley.

MY WIFE’S BEST FRIEND

EDWIN Fernandes ( name changed), a creative director with an advertising agency, is right now going through a divorce and has only himself to blame for it. His story got complicated after his best friend became his wife’s best friend: “ I used to run to my best friend for every problem in my marriage. Consequently, my wife started doing the same. Slowly she got dependant on him emotionally and then she fell in love with him.” With society opening up to having friends from the opposite sex, are we emotionally intelligent enough to handle all these relationships? Not quite, says Dr Rachna Singh, lifestyle expert, Artemis Hospital. “The real problem starts when you are married and have a best friend from the opposite sex. The definition of a best friend overlaps into the definition of a spouse. And then there is a conflict,” says Singh.

A friendship is about companionship, trust and love. And a marriage is about companionship, trust, love and sex. The Sword is the only distinguishing factor. “ In such triangular relationships jealousy creeps causing a conflict,” says Singh.

WHEN TO LET GO

MANISHA Dhar, 28, an account manager with a PR firm, was puzzled when her college buddy and best friend stopped taking her calls or replying to her text messages. All she got after two months of silence was an email invitation for his wedding – that too a day before the wedding.

“A common friend told me his fiancée felt insecure when she found him even talking to someone from the opposite sex. Obviously she wasn’t too comfortable with him discussing his life and sharing all his secrets with me,” says Dhar, who couldn’t make it to the wedding after all. “ I was very happy for him. After all he was one of my best friends. We used to talk over the phone for hours in college discussing everything under the sun. And when I say everything it included sex lives.” Dhar admits if the two hadn’t fallen in love with different people, they might have ended up marrying each other. “ We had a sort of a back- up pact like in My Best Friend’s Wedding .” But unlike Julia Roberts in the film, Dhar isn’t much perturbed though. “I have found a new best friend in my husband. But I hope my friend grows up soon,” she says. Relationship therapists term Dhar’s ‘ letting go’ act to be the wisest thing to do.

Dr Khurana says such situations should be dealt with maturity.

“Equations change after marriage. Your spouse becomes your 24x7 best friend. If you are seeking emotional support from another best friend from the opposite sex outside your marriage you are not being fair to your partner,” he says.

THE BALANCING ART

MARRIAGE counsellor, Anu Goel, who counselled Fernandes says married people can afford to have best friends from the opposite sex but there’s a rider attached. “ The relationship with the spouse should be very strong. The trust level between the partners should be high.

And both the husband and wife should know where to draw the line. Otherwise it’s not too difficult to have an extra marital affair these days. It’s as easy as blinking!” says Goel.

Ujjawal Suri, 28, a Delhi- based software professional, who is single in the city has many close male friends who are married. “ If you’re a good friend you will take care not to ruin your friend’s marriage,” says Suri, admitting that equations change after marriage.

“You can’t call up your friend in the middle of the night any more, for instance,” he says.

The best way out is to befriend the spouse as well. “ I make sure I have a good equation with the husband too. That way I have two people to turn to, and to get a female as well as male point of view,” says Suri.

GENDER DOES MATTER

Interestingly, Dr Khurana feels discussing marital problems with your best friend amounts to emotional cheating.

“You should first sort it out with your partner. The moment you start giving precedence to your best friend over your spouse, you should know there is something wrong. I consider it emotional cheating,” says Khurana.

Primacy does lie with your spouse — your pillar of support in good times and bad.

Top 25 reasons to get running

Running is one of the best forms of exercise, not only for getting fit but for weight control too. A 30-minute run, three to four times a week, trims your waistline, strengthens the cardiovascular system, improves muscle tone and definition and helps foster a positive mental attitude. Running can also be a great social activity. Here are the top 25 tips on why you should start running today.

1. Running is the quickest way to cardiovascular fitness. You get fitter faster by running regularly.

2. Running is one of the cheapest forms of exercising. You only need a pair of running shoes and shorts and T-shirt to get started.

3. Running is easy to learn. Most people have run at some point in their life, either competitively or at school/college, so there is no steep learning curve involved.

4. Running makes you feel good, not only physically, but mentally as well.

5. Running is excellent for reducing stress levels. There is nothing better than a run to clear your head and concentrate the mind. Many great ideas have been formulated on training runs.

6. Running is one of the most flexible methods of training around. Wherever you are in the world, it is nearly always possible to get out for a run. You can jog, steady run or sprint depending on how you feel that particular day.

7. Running is good for your heart. It not only strengthens the heart but also reduces the actual resting heart rate.

8. Running is accessible to all. As long as you are physically able, you can go for a run virtually anytime and anywhere. There are no race barriers to running.

9. Running helps you to lose weight and tone muscles. The more your train and run, the more weight you will lose. Also by toning up, you are getting rid of the excess fat and converting it to muscle.

10. Running is for people of all ages. Old or young, everyone can benefit from running.

11. It is good for your sex life! By being more physically active you increase your sex drive.

12. When run training, you can get away with eating chocolate and legitimately say it is part of yourtraining program.

13. Running is a great way to recover from a hangover. A run will help clear your head faster than sitting around feeling terrible.

14. Running is a great safety aid. Being able to run away from people puts you in a much better position if you are chased.

15. You can use running to change other people's lives. Run for a charity and raise money to help the needy or less able.

16. Running with friends gives you time to catch up on gossip and get fit at the same time.

17. Running is a time-efficient way to get fit and lose weight so you have more free time after exercising to enjoy yourself.

18. Running is a challenge that can be motivational and bring great personal satisfaction.

19. Running is a great way to see a new place if you have limited time available for sightseeing. Just think how much more of a place you can see when running around it compared to walking.

20. Running improves your concentration as you are forced to concentrate more when running. This in turn improves your concentration when you have to focus in other areas of life.

21. You nearly always work better after a run because you are still on a runner's high and feel ready for anything.

22. Running is a great way to meet people, especially if you join a club or enter a race.

23. There are no monthly subscriptions with running. You just put your running shoes on and go.

24. Endurance built-up through running can be transferred to other sports.

25. If you drink alcohol you can just run a little bit further the next day to work off the extra calories.

Diabetic? Forget pills, pop almonds

IANS Jun 29, 2011, 12.00am IST

Tags:

• diabetes

As India grapples with a major public health problem, being home to an estimated 50.8 million diabetic population, the largest in the world, experts say "consuming a few almonds daily can help combat the lifestyle disease."

"Eating almonds has a positive effect on reducing low density cholesterol and also improves insulin sensitivity; so it does help in pushing diabetes away," says Ritesh Gupta, head of clinical operation at Fortis C-Doc Hospital.

"It is a healthy source of fibre, protein and calories and has been found to have a positive effect in reducing bad cholesterol and improved insulin sensitivity," Gupta told.

Diabetes is caused when there is deficiency of insulin hormone, which controls blood sugar level. Its symptoms include fatigue, excessive thirst and frequent urination.

"With an estimated 50.8 million people living with the disease, India has the world's largest population of diabetics in the world, followed by China with 43.2 million," says the World Health Organisation(WHO).

The number in India is expected to go up to 87 million - 8.4 per cent of the country's adult population - by 2030.

With India staring at a major public health threat due to diabetes and other lifestyle diseases, almond is now being hailed as the health nut.

"Indians are more prone to lifestyle diseases like diabetes. The increasingly sedentary lifestyle and fast food double up the risk. Almond, which has traditionally been part of our diet, is a high source of nutrition and helps push these diseases away," says Anoop Misra, director of Diabetes Foundation (India).

"A handful of almonds contain 164 calories and 7 gm of protein, which helps in fighting hunger pangs and helps you control what you eat. Almonds also help growing children in developing strong bones," he adds.

A study done by scholars from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, West Chester University, Pennsylvania, and Loma Linda University of California, all in the US, and published in theJournal of the American College of Nutrition also confirms that the nut can control diabetes if consumed regularly.

"A diet consisting of 20 per cent of calories as almonds over a 16-week period is effective in improving markers of insulin sensitivity and yields clinically significant improvements in LDL-C (low density lipoprotein cholesterol) in adults with pre-diabetes," the study said.

MIRA: World's fastest supercomputer

Mira. That is her name. She is the supercomputer IBM Corp is building for US department of energy's Argonne National Lab. IBM says, Mira will make more than 10 quadrillion (1 quadrillion = 1,000 trillion) calculations a second, four times faster than China's Tianhe-1A, currently considered the fastest. The world's fastest supercomputer-tobe will make its debut next year.

According to reports, if the entire population of the US does one calculation per second, it will take them a year to run as many calculations as Mira can do in one second. Named after the Latin root to wonder or marvel, Mira is expected to cost roughly $50 million, according to reports. But IBM doesn't comment on the price of its client's systems, says Herb Schultz, market manager for IBM Deep Computing. Neither has Argonne National Lab made that information available to date. Argonne's current supercomputer Intrepid makes more than 500 trillion calculations a second. Mira will be 20 times faster.

Schultz told The Economic Times on Sunday: "Many systems can do the same calculations, but Mira can do them faster and do more per unit time. Because of that, a scientist on Mira can gain greater insight by virtue of examining more time steps in models and simulations." IBM expects Mira to help department of energy (DOE) to do several complex calculations and be a "strong science and technology engine that will fuel national innovation". "Our goal is not to develop a system that is number one on a list. Our goal is to help Argonne advance its research, which will contribute significantly to society," says Schultz. Argonne National Lab is one of USDOE's oldest and largest labs for science and engineering research.

The 10-petaflop Mira, which falls under IBM's "Blue Gene/Q" series of supercomputers, will be made available to scientists from industry, academia and government research facilities around the world, according to reports. It will mean a lot to businesses, too. Says Dan Olds, an analyst at Gabriel Consulting Group in Beaverton, Oregon: "Wall Street will use those computers to analyse their portfolios to see what will happen if interest rates do this or that. [Pharmaceutical] retailers can use them to track cold and flu season, so they know how much tissue or Nyquil to stock in particular stores at particular times."

ISRO builds India's fastest supercomputer

BANGALORE: Indian Space Research Organisation has built a supercomputer, which is to be India's fastest in terms of theoretical peak performance of 220 TeraFLOPS (220 Trillion Floating Point Operations per second). 

The supercomputer "SAGA-220", built by the Satish Dhawan Supercomputing Facility located at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram at a cost of about Rs 14 crore was inaugurated by K Radhakrishnan, Chairman ISRO at VSSC today, ISRO said in a statement. 

The new Graphic Processing Unit (GPU) based supercomputer, "SAGA-220" (Supercomputer for Aerospace with GPU Architecture-220 TeraFLOPS) is being used by space scientists for solving complex aerospace problems. 

"SAGA-220" is fully designed and built by Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre using commercially available hardware, open source software components and in house developments. 

The system uses 400 NVIDIA Tesla 2070 GPUs and 400 Intel Quad Core Xeon CPUs supplied by WIPROwith a high speed interconnect. 

With each GPU and CPU providing a performance of 500 GigaFLOPS and 50 GigaFLOPS respectively, the theoretical peak performance of the system amounts to 220 TeraFLOPS, the statement said. 

The present GPU system offers significant advantage over the conventional CPU based system in terms of cost, power and space requirements, it said. 

The system is environmentally green and consumes a power of only 150 KW. This system can also be easily scaled to many PetaFLOPS (1000 TeraFLOPS).

Superfoods for the stomach

Ginger: Ginger contains an active constituent gingerol, which is responsible for its hot, pungent taste, as well as its stimulating and healing properties. Ginger is often used as a therapeutic spice, working on the digestive system by encouraging secretion of digestive enzymes.

Fennel: (SAUNF) Fennel contains anethole, which stimulates secretion of digestive and gastric juices. Fennel also contains aspartic acid, which acts as an anti-flatulent.

It is no wonder, many of us are in the habit of chewing fennel seeds after meals. Fennel is a digestive herb with many medicinal and culinary uses. It acts as a popular "after mint".

Yoghurt : Yoghurt contains probiotics which are responsible for several activities in the gut; such as producing lactase; killing harmful bacteria and improving digestive tract function.

Fenugreek: (METHI) I Fenugreek leaves and seeds assist digestion, help relieve constipation and help overcome flatulence.

Tip: You can soak fenugreek seedsovernight and eat them next morning tohelp relieve you from digestive disorders.

Mint: Mint is used as a treatment for indigestion, colic, heartburn and flatulence. It also can stimulate the appetite and cure nausea and headaches.

Peppermint tea can help soothe a dry throat.

Bay leaf: Bay leaves are used to treat migraines, stressand anxiety. They also improve digestion and help detoxifythe system.

Virtualised disaster recovery holds benefits

While the first wave of virtualisation has consolidated server hardware into virtual hosts and recognized significant savings in physical machines, small and midsized organisations must now consider the impact of this consolidation on their backup and disaster recovery plans, according to a report from QuorumSoft. By encapsulating workloads that can be shifted between physical hosts and clouds, new options for performance, redundancy and disaster recovery exist for companies that have implemented virtualisation, the report noted.

A formal disaster recovery plan can enable an organisation to survive a serious event by eliminating confusion during a disaster, and setting clear expectations for what systems and services will be brought online when and how. Many factors go into the creation and maintenance of a DR plan, including the systems, network, budget, staff, resources and, of course, business requirements, the report explained.

QuorumSoft researchers explained disaster recovery encompasses a broad set of practices within the broader discipline of business continuity. From an IT perspective, disaster recovery concerns itself with the processes needed to provision for and recover from incapacitation of IT capabilities at a primary site. Incapacitation could result from a natural disaster, terrorism or intentional sabotage, massive hardware failure, and any other adverse event.

“The process of developing a DR plan is complex. Of the many books and professionals dedicated to the topic, most recommend starting with a simple audit of your environment. Itemizing and documenting your services, systems and their dependencies can be a big help in understanding your environment, and paves the way for the rest of the work,” the report said. “Identifying the 'fragile artifacts' within an organisation allows you to plan for their protection,” it added.

The report also pointed out that for organisations on a tight budget, price is a crucial factor when introducing new backup products and solutions, and IT organisations with a broader mandate and bigger budget to pursue business continuity objectives should consider the total cost of the solution over time, in addition to the up-front sticker price.

“It is now possible for small and midsized organisations to access and use many of the same powerful IT capabilities once available only to larger organisations with more resources. Implementing virtualised IT environments is one area. As smaller organisations leverage the potential of virtualisation, it is critical they consider the implications on their disaster recovery planning,” the report concluded. “By gaining an in-depth understanding of specific strategies for disaster recovery, small and mid-sized organizations can leverage the potential of virtualization without creating a hidden, potentially costly, risk to their systems and data if a major disruption to their IT systems occurs,” it said.

Cloud service sourcing immature & risky: Gartner

The $820 billion IT services market is changing quickly and dramatically, as cloud computing and offshoring become mainstream, and senior IT managers should take steps to manage inherent risks and unexpected costs during the cloud services revolution, according to Gartner.

During the next few years, market dynamics will determine whether cloud-enabled outsourcing will be the demise of traditional outsourcing, if it will lead to the convergence of services and products currently marketed "as a service," or if it will result in next-generation outsourcing.

Cloud-driven business and IT services include all types of solution that are developed, bundled and packaged as outsourcing service offerings for which the business or IT service provider uses one or more cloud computing technologies within the solution's overall architecture. Gartner refers to these services as "cloud-enabled outsourcing service offerings." These services can be delivered directly by a cloud provider or via a service aggregator for the delivery of pre-engineered and configurable business solutions in a timely and cost-effective manner.

"Cloud service sourcing is immature and fraught with potential hazards. The hype around cloud computing services has increased interest, as well as caution, for IT managers trying to determine where, when and if cloud services can provide valuable outcomes for their businesses," said Frank Ridder, Research Vice President at Gartner. "Cloud computing is driving discontinuity that introduces exciting opportunities and costly challenges. Organisations need to understand these changes and develop realistic cloud sourcing strategies and contracts that can reduce risk," he added.

Ridder said that traditional IT services often find organisations locked in, fighting with rigid delivery or hesitation to change when engaged in traditional IT services deals. Innovation seldom materializes and solutions fail to scale, and service providers often struggle with their profits.

In the new cloud services scenario, however, flexibility, agility and innovation are design principles and, over time, service providers will succeed in delivering on these principles. The market also expects scalability, cost-efficiency and pay-per-use pricing models from cloud services solutions. Although cloud services already provide these, service providers manage their risks through terms and conditions that are still immature. However, Gartner believes that solutions and their commercial terms are maturing quickly.

To avoid the potential pitfalls and hidden costs of cloud sourcing, Ridder said that organisations need to ensure they understand the short- and long-term implications of cloud services, on the demand and supply side, as well as on the sourcing life cycle itself. The services sourcing life cycle includes four crucial elements: sourcing strategy, vendor selection, contracting, and management and governance.

"The life cycle is a critical area to plan and manage, regardless of whether organizations source their IT services through internal or external resources. Our forecasts indicate that organisations spend 53% of their IT services budget on external services, and that spending is growing 3.9% per year, while new categories of services are experiencing double-digit growth," said Ridder. "Organisations can use Gartner's extensive analysis of changes in delivery, pricing, investment and cost to more effectively develop their cloud sourcing strategies, negotiate their cloud services contracts and manage the performance of their providers," he added.

AC causes more harm than good

A room where an air conditioner is running, is as dry and arid as a desert. This is because air conditioners pull out humidity from the air in a room and ACs are not selective about the moisture that they pull. "ACs pull out moisture from the skin as well and leave it feeling dry and stretched. If your skin is not sufficiently protected to combat it, constant dryness will affect the inner layer of the skin. When skin becomes dry and stretched, it feels itchy. Those who have a dry skin will notice that their skin becomes flaky. Air conditioners aggravate skin disorders," says cosmetologist and skin specialist, Dr Rajan T D. 

AC removes water i.e. humidity from indoor air and robs the outer layer of the epidermis of skin. This constant loss of water and lack of replacement of water from the skin tissues below result in flaking, dry and chapped skin. Water is essential to keep the blood flowing. It performs the same function for the skin and maintains elasticity. It is important for keeping the skin's elasticity intact. When ACs remove the water or humidity content from a room, skin starts shrivelling. Skin also becomes prone to developing creases and wrinkles. All this hastens the ageing process and there is hardly anyone in this world who would like to have skin that has aged a lot more than their actual years. 

To worsen the situation, people often step out from an air conditioned office or car into the blazing hot sun or walk into an air conditioned place from a hot, outdoor environ. This sudden shift from one extreme climate to another extreme is very stressful for the body. Facial skin is also greatly battered by this abrupt change in temperature. As such, pollution, changing weather conditions, dietary habits, lifestyle stresses cause degeneration of the skin. It seems like skin is constantly struggling to maintain its health against the blows meted out by both, nature and technology. All this stress can be unhealthy and damaging. 

Remedies: 

Since you can't turn off the air conditioners in your office, try not to become dependent on them. Live without the AC while you are at home. Switch on the air conditioners only during the summers. 

Limit the use of soap and water to areas where skin is prone to get dry. Dr Kshama Vibhakar, a consultant dermatologist suggests, "Use moisture rich lotions, not creams to enrich the skin on your face, neck, hands, elbows, knees and wherever else you feel it is necessary. Lotions are water based and add moisture to the skin. 

You can use creams after applying the lotion as creams are oil based and help to seal in the moisture." 

Hydrate your skin by constantly sipping water. It is easy to forget to have water when you are sitting in an air conditioned room. But don't wait to feel thirsty, sip water at constant intervals. Set reminders if needed. Replenish your skin for the lost water. 

Since ACs pull out moisture from a room, place bowls of water in the area. This is a simple way to combat the drying effects of the air conditioner because the AC will pull out water from the bowl of water first instead of the facial skin. 

It is true that air conditioners are a technological comfort. But without proper and consistent care, ACs have the potential to damage skin. Those who have a poor diet, underlying illness or skin that is not well-maintained, will not be able to adjust going from a boiling hot environment to an air conditioned on and their skin may suffer from structural damage, which cannot be treated with over the counter drugs. Hence it is better to be safe than sorry. 

Financial planning: Benefit from the likely dip in interest rates

The high interest rates in the short-term debt market have been the focus of investor attention in the recent past. The traditional bank depositors are being lured by the spiked rates, making most other bonds unattractive, while the wholesale deposits are being offered on even more attractive terms, leading to a slew of fixed maturity plans (FMPs). Based on the assumption that such steep rates may not persist, a tactical investment opportunity may be present in the short-term debt markets. 

What has led to this spike in interest rates? There are three primary reasons. First, the high inflation rate has sparked a hike in policy rates by the Reserve Bank of India. The rate at which the central bank is currently willing to lend to banks is 6.75%, as opposed to 3.25% a little over a year ago. This was the time when banks were primarily lending to the RBI at that rate as there was a slowdown in the demand for loans. 

The second reason is that while the demand for bank loans has moved up sharply, the growth in deposits has not kept pace. Investors have mostly held currency in hand since the rates offered by banks had been too low for too long. Third, there have been frictional pressures on short-term rates, especially due to the high level of unspent current account balances of the government that are held with the RBI. 

The current market view is that there will be a correction in interest rates after the seasonal demand (at the end of March) comes down. Investors want to look beyond the FMP in a rising interest rate market, when a new plan offers a higher rate than the older one. Locking into high-rate, fixed-tenure instruments requires a strategic call to stay invested for the long term. Those who have chosen to buy high interest deposits and FMPs have decided to stay invested till maturity and may not care about the various changes in interest rates in the interim. 

The investors who want to play the short-term debt market are being plagued by two questions: Is a correction likely in the short-term rates? If yes, which product will help capture this gain the most? The gains that investors make from short-term debt funds can come from two sources-interest income and capital gains from a fall in market interest rates. If the rates have gone up by 3-4% in the past six months, they are unlikely to fall to the same extent. This is because a majority of this increase was due to the rise in policy rates by the RBI, and given the inflation levels, the central bank is unlikely to let the interest rates fall. The government's balance with the RBI has already returned to normal levels. The only correction then is likely to be in bank deposit rates, provided the banks have managed to mobilise the volume of deposits that they had planned through aggressive pricing. The correction in deposit rates is likely to be about 1%, or even less. 

For a tactical play on this possible turn in rates, an open-ended, short-term plan could be a good bet. However, two caveats are in order. First, the gain from falling rates in short-term debt funds could be small. This is because they all offer very low average tenures to capitalise on the rising interest rates by re-investing in instruments that are rated higher. The low tenure, along with low rate change, results in low gains. 

Second, reduced rates will mean lower interest income in the future, so the overall return may be lesser than that being currently offered by these funds. The funds that have enhanced their tenures in anticipation of a drop in rates may be under-performing their peers, but if the prediction about the short-term interest rate plays out as expected, they may gain the most. Tactical rebalancing is about taking a risk by positioning your portfolio based on a particular view, rather than waiting for performance numbers to play out.

Bank auditors to detail financial impact of pension & gratuity liability of PSBs

The accounting regulator has asked bank auditors to detail the financial impact of the pension and gratuity liability of public sector banks in their audit of 2010-11 accounts.

The move will provide clarity on the contingent liabilities of banks, which have risen sharply after the government hiked the gratuity limit and changed pension rules. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed banks to adjust the liability over five years.

The accounting regulator has issued guidelines for treating these liabilities, but said the outgo needs to be quantified even if it is spread over five years. "Highlighting the overall impact will help in properly assessing the financial strength of a bank in the long-term," said an official at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), requesting anonymity.

In May last year, the government amended the Gratuity Act to raise the limit on gratuity an employee would receive on retirement to 10 lakh from 3.5 lakh. It also re-opened the pension option for existing employees who had not opted for it earlier and had instead decided in favour of a lump sum on retirement.

State-run banks had estimated the outgo on pension to be around 4,000 crore and had sought relief from the RBI and the regulator saying the total outgo could be as high as 10,000 crore.

The RBI allowed banks to spread the financial impact of the total liability incurred in the previous fiscal over a period of five years. But the amortised amount could not be less than a fifth of the total liability.

The move has insulated the financials of banks from being impacted severely in the current fiscal. But the disclosure will give stakeholders clarity on the financial impact of the increase in gratuity benefits.

The I CAI has asked its member auditors to clearly disclose the financial impact of such liabilities had they been provided in the current year itself.

The matter was discussed at a recent meeting of the governing council of the ICAI, which then circulated a detailed reporting format to all members. It has asked auditors to disclose the impact as part of notes to accounts and not make them a part of their qualifications.