Restless ... again !!!

This is just another Saturday and this is just another me, restless all over again. 

I completed the book "How I braved Anu aunty and set up a million dollar company" by Varun Agarwal, a 25 year old bangaluru boy. The book is simple , a breezer without much ado on the language, but the message is strong. 

"Screw it, Let's do it!" is the key message in the 100 odd pages in which Vikram tells a tale of his life on how he chased his dream in spite of the numerous critics around him. The book reminded me of 3 idiots all over again in which Madhvan says "Mujhe tho unka first name bhi nahi pata". Seriously, I don't know about others but I admit i closely identify with someone who is living someone else's life, just for the sake of what some x y z would think.

Some people have always had a distinct place in my life, sometimes intentional and sometimes it just happened. But the sum and substance is that those mr and mrs invisibles do influence what I think and what I do. 

SP Jain helped me realize the futility of such relations or pressures; but I guess 2 years was too less to make me indifferent of the anu aunty's and uncles of the world.

It's not fear of criticism that makes me conform to them, it's also a contempt that I have for some of them that can't stand any criticism. I believe that they are too inferior to comment on what path i choose but at the same time i dread a situation when they pounce on me to tell me "we said, you are no use"

In-fact, when i look back, all that i did was to impress some x y z. I made it a point to prove and hell did I prove the doubting Thomas's that i am just not a good for nothing guy. But, it didn't really matter in the end, Did it? The Thomas are living their live and I don't find any sadistic pleasure in their sulking.

Yes, what does feel good is how the people who really care about me feel because of all this.It's important to see them happy, isn't it ? It feels good that they are treated well and your bits of glory has been an enabler of the same.

But someday, I need to claim this life of mine and live it on my own,the way I want it to be. The big Q is when is that day? Do I see it in the near future ?

The answer is "I don't know" and I am restless because I want to know ...

|| सरहद के उस पार ||

पल में जश्न, पल में  ग़म 

आँखों में कहीं उम्मीद  के  मोती  

गुच्छों  में उलझे सोच के  धागे 

बीखरे हुए मोतियों से वक़्त से किये वायदे

कभी किसी लम्हे  में अश्रु  की यह धार यूँही बहती है 

सरहद  के  उस  पार  भी  क्या यही  कहानी चलती  है ।

पलकें बंद  करके सपनों  में  खो जाना 

खट्टी मीठी यादों से दिल को बहलाना 

मंद मंद मुस्कान के साथ आँखों  का नम हो जाना 

कल की याद में आज  को  भूल  जाना 

क्या अक्सर यह गलतियाँ कहीं और भी होती है 

सरहद  के  उस  पार  भी  क्या  यही  कहानी  चलती  है ।

दिन बदले , मौसम बदले और गुजरे बहुतेरे  बरस 

मनं मेरे क्यूँ तू आज भी ढूंढे वही अरज ,

उन गलियों  में अब यादों  के रेत बहते हैं 

जिनमे हम अरमानों  के  फूल  सजाते  थे 

क्या  सुमन की भीनी खुसबू और कहीं भी आती है ,

सरहद के उस पार भी क्या यही कहानी चलती है 

आज कुछ  भी  कहीं  नहीं  है, फिर भी साँसें चलती हैं 

दिल अलग, धड़कन जुदा फिर भी दुनिया जीने कहती है  ....

क्या  सरहद  के  उस  पार  भी  यही  कहानी  चलती  है ||

PS : Inspired by one of my fav movie - veer zara

क्यूँ रोकूँ मैं तुझे |

क्यूँ  रोकूँ  मैं  तुझे ...

तू  निर्मल  जल  समूह  धारा प्रचंड 

मदमस्त  बलखाती  लय  पर  सवार 

नदी  नाले  वन  सजीव  विजयी 

अपनी  धुन  में  मंत्रमुघ्द अलाप  

क्यूँ  रोकूँ  मैं  तुझे ....

तुझमे  कांति  नभ  छूने  की  

व्योम  के  ध्रुव  को  प्रकाशित   करने  की  

उर्जा  तुझमे  अनंत 

दृढ़ता  तुझमे   प्रचंड 

क्यूँ  रोकूँ  मैं  तुझे ....

तू  आत्मा  विश्वास  का  जीवंत  स्वरुप  

मनुष्य  की  प्रचुर  चेष्टा  का  प्रतीक 

तुझमे  बसी  गंगा  की  धार 

गिर  के  उठी  तू  बार  बार  

क्यूँ  रोकूँ  मैं  तुझे ...

तू  निरंतर  जीवन  का  अमित  सार 

प्रकृति  के  चिरंजीवी  का  स्वरुप  साकार |

कैसे रोकूँ  मैं  तुझे ....

PS :dedicated to a father on what he is feeling for his daughter's success and the comments of the society for her travel abroad

IRCTC sucks !!!

A pathetic experience with the tatkal booking option of irctc.What were you thinking when you designed that stupid webpage , that it's for show and people wouldn't be using it for tatkal bookings or that the population of India is close to germany or france. Wake up , close to 2 lakhs are planning to book a train ticket in tatkal every day....

Being in India, you should know Indian realities. But including the railway ministry , the irctc folks either don't have technical understanding of India's needs or they are just as dumb.

Idiotic moves by Indian Railways

1. Tatkal window opens only 24 hrs before.
2. There are only 4 seats per train per class in Tatkal,
3. The site goes for a toss at 8:00 am.
4. The ajax field takes ages to load when required including server error 503
5. After all this if u r able to submit your request , a server error 200 throws up.
6. Finally at 8:30 if u r able to reach somewhere , a regret list is awaiting your request.

Guys, do us a favour , close the tatkal.

I don't know but it seems Railways has been trying to boost the Indian Airlines sector, for what else would explain the failure.

I do have face to face evidence working of the Indian railways while doing my development of corporate citizenship project in Pune. All we wanted was to estimate the feasibility of planting trees alongside railway tracks. However the department seemed to be too busy just running the trains and it seemed everything worked on jugaad.

There was a silver lining somewhere but the clouds around in Indian railways are very dark.....

I wish Laloo is back .. His being in railways improved the services and policies both for Indian railways and also for Bihar...

Regards,
Amrit

SPJIMR : Will I miss you?

Most of the answers to the questions that I ask myself find a common answer "I don't know". Bloody hell, why don't I know the answers to most of my questions. Today I asked myself a simple question , will I miss SP Jain and again stumbled upon the same futile answer " I don't know". Seriously I am fed up of this monotonous student of life, i.e me , who does not have any answer for me. 

Ok, let's probe further, what's there to miss in a college besides the usual "it's natural to miss your college". Just because you have been with something or somewhere for the last 2 years , do you miss it . Do I miss all the couplet years of my life. No I don't, I don't even remember most of my life. 

So the point is , you miss the things you like the most. For example, i missed food and family when  i was in Germany. What is that in college that I liked that I shall miss.

Like #1 : I liked the classes. Yes, I liked them. Not all, but most of them were very interactive, if u want , you learnt a lot of new ideas and lots of good things about life. The classes on what management is or the story of a boy which I forgot in the Learning Management Class were exciting. Most of the subjects that I studied ,could be very well practically applied to any business scenario. I loved the learning.

Like #2 : I loved the night canteen. I am generally awake till 3/4 , so the night canteen was something which always helped me get the fuel.Moreover, you can always find people around there to have a little chit-chat, curse some assignments ....

Like # 3 : Optimistic, that  I am, I always believe in next time.However , if there is no next time, I would miss being with 101 E , specially some people with whom I had late night discussions and anything and everything.

Like #4 : I shall miss Moments like Anandwan and PG lab , which gave u a high !

I guess that's my short list. Let the college be over and let me see what actually shall I miss .....

SJ and JS : Thanks for shaping my thoughts!! RIP

This is my first weekend in Mumbai after I started my internship in Citibank.

Pune, to me is a lot of good food, cozy home , lovely wife and sweet long drives. I missed it this time majorly for the sake of a deteriorated health which warranted travel. I didn’t just miss Pune this time but consciously avoided any other busy-ness.

It’s been long since I had a word with myself. The weather outside , the soothing sound of the rain , the lovely  breeze caressing my disheveled hair locks , the quietness of the floor and no pressing work calls for a perfect date with myself.

Well , I can talk about a lot of things , my work  - which I officially hate , my weight loss programme – which is yet to start , the future aspirations – that I am still confused about  or  the state of the MBA and engineering jobs being offered – a wholesale mandi these days.

However, I think I shall talk to myself about 2 important people in my life and about my favorite topic – my dreams.

Recently, there was sad demise of two important persons who had deeply touched my life and coincidentally their initials share the same letters: SJ and JS , i.e Steve Jobs and Jagjit Singh.The reasons though very different, their work in life has formed the pillars of my being and action.

I first got to know JS at the age of 14 , when most of the kids were lost in the cricketing fancies of Sachin. Thanks to the pathetic electricity at my hometown , I was bereft of many of those marvelous innings. However , the walkman that I had was an excellent company along with the then 60 Rs cassette of Sony Crescendo – Marasim.

I was a very thoughtful kid who had always wanted to understand and explore human emotions and JS voice and the lyrics of his ghazals were something I could relate to. My personal life was a collection of many subtle experiences, of which I had used to ponder endlessly.

With every  passing year, the  correlation between my life and the ghazals of JS became closer to the perfect  one.  Infact my first proposal to a girl in Class XIth was a result of one of the Ghazals “ yun mere khat ka jawab aaya”. Although not of JS, one can easily see the influence of Ghazals in my day to day life.

I was never a good student. However, the recipe to study which helped me work it out just fine for my IIT entrance examination was a closed room , with an airy window , a table lamp , black in colour , neatly arranged table  on which in one corner was the Philips tape recorder with JS’ s voice soothing my nerves. It was hours for which I could solve the numerical while listening to his masterpieces.

Thanks to You! The recipe worked and I could clear IITJEE.

Even then the tryst with JS continued while my life resembled a roller coaster. While it was sometimes about love , sometimes sadness , sometimes it was just for the peace of my mind. Yeah , somehow they had found me a way to be at peace.

SJ , too has affected my mind considerably and probably for the rest of my life. SJ for me is an epitome of imagination turned into reality. He is one of those original thinkers who can envision future. The  meaning of the word exciting for me is close to the bitten apple and his thoughts on how to connect the dots or how to stay hungry and foolish.

While at Infosys Services, I was selected as a research scientist in ISRO which I denied to work for Infosys R&D with the inspiration of creating something for the future, very much inspired by the Roark of my real life , SJ.

I kept following Apple closely and the protagonist SJ and his speech in Stanford about living each day was for a long time very close to my heart.

Today I am someone who wants to work on the products/services of the future, help create those, popularize them and make them reach the masses. I am an engineer from the heart , MBA from the mind and a philosopher from the soul, and I thank you both for leading me become what I am today.

Although I always thought there will be a day I could meet you, I think it shall have to wait till I give back to the world from the mind , heart and soul just as you both did !!! RIP...

Autumns Internship II

What is LIBOR?

The London Interbank Offered Rate, or LIBOR, is the European version of the federalfunds rate in the United States and represents the interest rate at which London banks charge each other on funds borrowed. This is not to be confused with the BBA LIBOR rate, which is a filtered average of inter-bank loans maturing within 1 year. BBA LIBOR is published once per day by the British Bankers Association at around 11 AM London standard time. The BBA is advised by a group of senior banking experts from at least 8 contributor banks and uses their lending activity to derive the BBA LIBOR rate.

How is it used?

LIBOR represents a benchmark for short term borrowing worldwide and is used to settle interest rate contracts in many of the world's futures and options exchanges. BBA LIBOR is created in ten different currencies and is done so by polling a new set of relevant contributor banks for each currency. BBA currency LIBOR will then provide the borrower with an interest rate to borrow a specific currency in the London cash market. You may hear the term Eurodollars or Euroyen; this defines the interest rate at which you can borrow US dollars or Japanese Yen in the London market.

BBA LIBOR is also referenced in many instruments that have a variable rate structure; such as, adjustable rate mortgages, floating rate notes, interest rate swaps, syndicated loans, and much more.

How do you calculate Interest using LIBOR?

BBA LIBOR is not a compounded rate; rather, it is calculated on the basis of the actual funding term. The formula to calculate interest using LIBOR would be done as follows:

Principal Loan Amt X BBA LIBOR rate X (Loan Term/360)

This formula would apply to the US LIBOR ; however, the GBP LIBOR is based on an ACTUAL/365 scheme and therefore you would have to adjust that formula to divide by 365.

How Do Banks Set Equilibrium Forward Rates?

Equilibrium in forward contracts occurs when the forward exchange rate of the two currencies in the contract yield equal returns. Banks calculate their equilibrium forward rates by using the current spot rate, the interest rate of the foreign currency and the interest rate of their domestic currency. Banks base their equilibrium forward rate calculations on the economic theory of interest rate parity  

Interest Rate Parity Theory

o    The interest rate parity theory is the economic theory in which the interest rate difference between two currencies is equal to the difference between the forward and spot rates of each country's respective currency. When the interest rate parity theory is violated, it disrupts equilibrium and creates arbitrage opportunities for investors. An investor takes advantage of an arbitrage opportunity when he buys and sells the same or similar financial instrument at the same time but in different markets. The investor makes a profit from exploiting the price differences that occurred due to the interest rate parity violation.

Equilibrium Forward Rate Formula Definitions

o    The forward exchange equilibrium equals the spot rate multiplied by (1 plus the domestic interest rate) divided by (1 plus the foreign interest rate). The spot rate is the immediate exchange rate between two currencies. The interest rates used in equilibrium forward rate calculations are typically based on the London Interbank Offer Rate (LIBOR). The LIBOR rate is the interest rate banks offer other banks in London's wholesale money markets.

Equilibrium Forward Rate Formula

o    To illustrate the formula, say you want to make an investment in euros (EUR). Assume that the current spot rate for EUR to United States dollar (USD) is 1.859, written as euro/USD=1.859. The one-year LIBOR interest rate is 8 percent for euro and 6 percent for USD. The equilibrium forward rate formula for this example is as follows: Forward rate=1.859*[(1+.06)/(1+.08)]. Banks have to break the formula down to: Forward rate=1.859*(1.06/1.08). This breaks down further: Forward rate=1.859*.981. This then equals 1.824.

Discounts and Premiums

o    Using that example, to obtain equilibrium, the euro would trade at a discount to the USD. Selling at a forward discount equalizes the higher LIBOR interest of the EUR against the USD and helps to prevent arbitrage. If the situation was reversed and the LIBOR for the USD was higher than the EUR, the EUR would trade a forward premium to equalize the higher LIBOR interest rate of the USD against the EUR.

Read more: How Do Banks Set Equilibrium Forward Rates? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/info_8789113_do-set-equilibrium-forward-rates.html#ixzz1Y326s7tg

 Some more links

http://www.rbnz.govt.nz/statistics/exandint/b1/3401943.pdf
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2002/wp0228.pdf
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2010-08-24/news/27574810_1_currency-futures-exchange-traded-currency-interest-rate
http://glossary.reuters.com/index.php?title=FX_Swap
http://thomsonreuters.com/content/financial/pdf/s_and_t/RTFXQuickStartGuidev2.0_2.pdf
http://thomsonreuterseikon.com/
http://thomsonreuters.com/products_services/financial/financial_products/a-z/trading_foreign_exchange/
http://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/WSSViewDetail.aspx?TYPE=Section&PARAM1=6
http://www.treasurer.ca.gov/cdiac/publications/math.pdf
http://math.nyu.edu/~alberts/spring07/Lecture1.pdf
http://www.mysmp.com/bonds/libor.html
http://math.nyu.edu/~alberts/spring07/Lecture1.pdf
http://www.ehow.com/info_8789113_do-set-equilibrium-forward-rates.html
http://www.fabiomercurio.it/booksample.pdf
http://www.oup.com/us/ppt/derivatives/DMCH10.ppt - very imp

Autumns Internship

There is a market convention that determines which is the base currency and which is the term currency. In most parts of the world, the order is: EUR – GBP – AUD – NZD – USD – others. Accordingly, a conversion from EUR to AUD, EUR is the base currency, AUD is the term currency and the exchange rate indicates how many Australian dollars would be paid or received for 1 Euro.

The relationship between spot and forward is as follows:

where:

·        F = forward rate

·        S = spot rate

·        r₁ = simple interest rate of the term currency

·        r₂ = simple interest rate of the base currency

·        T = tenor (calculated according to the appropriate day count convention)

The forward points or swap points are quoted as the difference between forward and spot, F - S, and is expressed as the following:

where r₁ and r₂ are small. Thus, the absolute value of the swap points increases when the interest rate differential gets larger, and vice versa.

A foreign exchange swap is the simultaneous borrowing and lending of one currency for another with two different value dates.

What Does Forward Premium Mean?
When dealing with foreign exchange (FX), a situation where the spot futures exchange rate, with respect to the domestic currency, is trading at a higher spot exchange rate then it is currently. A forward premium is frequently measured as the difference between the current spot rate and the forward rate, but any expected future exchange rate will suffice.

Read more: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/forwardpremium.asp#ixzz1Y2muPmBL

Investopedia explains Forward Premium
It is a reasonable assumption to make that the future spot rate will be equal to the current futures rate. According to the forward expectation's theory of exchange rates, the current spot futures rate will be the future spot rate. This theory is routed in empirical studies and is a reasonable assumption to make in the long term.

Read more: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/forwardpremium.asp#ixzz1Y2mwqHrb

What is a forward premium in the foreign exchange market?
It's the price paid for hedging by buying dollars in the forward market. Forward transactions take place at a premium or discount to the spot rate. The outright forward transactions are over-the-counter transactions undertaken by dealers. In India, it is generally the banks that transact in forward markets.
The maturity date agreed upon by the parties generally varies from months to a year or two. But maturities beyond that tend to have wider bid-ask spreads, in other words, tend to be more expensive, so are rare. The forward rate could be in premium or discount, based on the interest rate differential in case of currencies which are fully convertible and in case of partially-convertible currencies, they are determined purely on the basis of demand and supply.
The maturity date agreed upon by the parties generally varies from months to a year or two. But maturities beyond that tend to have wider bid-ask spreads, in other words, tend to be more expensive, so are rare. The forward rate could be in premium or discount, based on the interest rate differential in case of currencies which are fully convertible and in case of partially-convertible currencies, they are determined purely on the basis of demand and supply.

For example, in India, the USD/INR forward rate for six months could be in premium or at a discount over the spot rate, based on how liquid the dollar is.

What determines forward premium?
Countries that have fully-convertible currencies, the forward premium is deduced from their interest rate differentials, respectively. The premium/discount is measured in points, which represent the interest rate differential of the countries to which the currencies belong, for the period of maturity.
These points are the quantum of foreign exchange that would neutralise the interest rate differential. Points are subtracted from the spot rate, when the interest rate of the base currency is higher, since the base currency should trade at a forward discount and points are added to the spot rate, when the interest rate of the base currency is lower, since the base currency is expected to trade at a forward premium.
This is, however, only applicable to non-rupee currencies, that are fully convertible.
What are currency futures?
Exchange-traded currency forward transactions are known as currency futures. Before April 2007, only banks were allowed to trade in currency forwards market through over-the-counter deals.
But it was not a structured market, in the sense that it was not traded on an RBI-recognised exchange platform. But in 2007, RBI and Sebi allowed trading of currency futures on the National Stock Exchange.
The objective of opening up trading in currency futures on the exchanges was to deepen the futures market by allowing the small retail investors to take a view and hedge their foreign exchange risks. The regulatory authorities in India are on their way to allow trading in currency options on exchanges as well, though it is already available as a product.

Reuters Trading for Foreign Exchange

Reuters Trading for Foreign Exchange (RTFX) offers a single point of access to global FX liquidity.

Available on Reuters 3000 Xtra and Reuters Dealing 3000, RTFX provides access to multiple market makers with a single login. Together with the real-time news and prices on these Thomson Reuters platforms, RTFX’s trading capability means you can move seamlessly from price discovery to execution.

RTFX is based on Reuters Electronic Trading technology, used by more than 100 leading FX banks

With Reuters Trading for Foreign Exchange, you can:

·         Access deep liquidity – ensuring tight spreads and a competitive market

·         Trade efficiently, in real time – with ‘one click’ trading on streaming prices

·         Choose from the most influential market makers – a single sign-on gives you access to multiple institutions

·         Increase efficiency and STP – with seamless execution that minimizes time constraints

·         Trade automatically – trigger one-click ‘fast trades’ when your price is matched

Why choose Reuters Trading for Foreign Exchange?

·         Neutral platform:  We have built relationships with leading global and regional FX banks that offer prices on a wide range of currency pairs from majors, to exotics, to precious metals.

·         Thriving FX trading community:  RTFX has grown month on month since its launch.

·         Multi-bank executable prices all in one place:  Having all your liquidity together saves valuable screen real estate.

·         Secure, trader-friendly environment:  Just select the prices on offer then click to trade and automatically execute with your chosen liquidity provider.

References :
http://www.rbnz.govt.nz/statistics/exandint/b1/3401943.pdf
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2002/wp0228.pdf
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2010-08-24/news/27574810_1_currency-futures-exchange-traded-currency-interest-rate
http://glossary.reuters.com/index.php?title=FX_Swap
http://thomsonreuters.com/content/financial/pdf/s_and_t/RTFXQuickStartGuidev2.0_2.pdf
http://thomsonreuterseikon.com/
http://thomsonreuters.com/products_services/financial/financial_products/a-z/trading_foreign_exchange/

Engg College Days : Madho Ki Kahani

आजकल  अखबार  की  सुर्ख़ियों  में  गरम  है  दास्ताने  प्यार ,
cseism2k6 को  बना  रखा  है  इन्होने  प्यार का  बाज़ार ,
माँ  बाप  में  मचा  हुआ  है हाहाकार ;
सोच  रहें  होंगे  इन्हें  बनाया  इंजिनियर  बेकार ....

जैकी  ने  शुरु  किया  यह  तमाशा  ...
फिर  राज  गौरव  भी  इस्पे  खूब  नाचा ,
अर्पित  ने लिख डाला  iisc का चोथा   ..
कंप्यूटर  स्सिएंस  के  नाम  पर  किया है खूब  धोखा  ...

अब  जब  दास्ताँ  चल  चुकी  है pyaar ki,
kissa sunate hain hum bhi apne ek yaar ki,
kahat hain bhaiyya suno bhai sadho,
naam hamare dost ka hai madho

acchi bhali jindagi chal rahi thi,
bas ek modern pyaar ki kami thi,
aadhi jindagi library main katthi thi,
aur aadhi inki aakhen unki raah dekhti thi.

21 saal ke ho gaye ..par koi mili nahi..
koi moti, koi patli toh koi khali nahi,


thak haar kar doston ki salah lee,
phir hero banke mahila college ki rah lee,
socha itni saari mein ek toh milegi,
is baar moti patli , koi bhi chalegi..

style se mobile nikal kar khade ho gaye side main,
baal aise the jaise devanand hon guide main ,
intezaar kar rahe the ki koi sahi dikhe,
koi toh unse pyaar ka pehla paath seekhe,

sabr ka baandh ab toot raha tha,
apna madho kab se wahan khada tha ,
ek ladki ne uske taraf nahi dekha,
tab usne formula 420 ke baare mein socha..

apna rumaal wahan girakar,
khada ho gaya nigahen gada kar,
tabhi ek bala gujari,
jise dekh kar madho ke uthi sarsari,

rumaal utha kar peeche bhaaga,
"aapka rumaal gir gaya tha" jhat se daga,
ladki muskarayi,thodi si sharmayi,
madho ne mano mann ki murad paayi,


honton ki laalima,aakhon ki gahrai,
pehle yeh ladki uski jindagi mein kyun nahi aayi,

apna madho uske sapne mein kho gaya,
tabhi ek jhanak ki aawaz sun use hosh aaya,
thoda dard hua toh mahsoos kiya ,
yeh thapaad to uski pari ne use hi rashid diya


public bhi jhat se jut gayi
rahi sahi kasar bhi puri ho gayi
wah ri anarkali kya khub kiya ..
ekkishwin shatabdi mein salim ko chunwa diya


police bhi aa gayi manjar mein....
gujarni padi raat andar mein

dost bhi aaye sawere....
dekhkar khoob hanse saare,


wah re bhagwaan .... kya dost banaya....
wah re doston ....kya khoob pitwayaa......



abhi khatam nahi hua .... madho ka prem rog phir jaagaa...
college mein phir suru hua ..... jaanne ke liye mail karen karte rahen

IMO - Flipkart : what next

Key focus of the company is customer delight and has gone extra mile to deliver that. The numbers show more that 50% as repeat business. This customer loyalty is delightful to any firm.
The company has done lots of good things but IMO, there are still many a milestones to be achieved and I believe with these it is not a distant dream to position Flip Kart as the best e-commerce site nationally & internationally.

Books Segment
FK started off with books and should be closer to their heart still now with only 1% of the book market being captured by online segment. Moreover infibean and rediff realizing the trends are also forcing themselves into book business.
Key Customer Insight: Online reading is going up : According to Forrester research (By Sarah Rotman Epps & James McQuivey) , Dual-screen mobile phones and netbooks will eat into e-reader demand and that most readers don’t read enough.

Another Report suggests that the e-book market has a direct correlation with the internet penetration , the demographic dividend and the mobile and internet convergence

Key Inference : While I see that the ebook reader market might be dominated in sometime by the smart phones, the e-book reading market is there to stay.

Another Customer Insight : Online reading or searching is a direct replacement to books. Hence cannibalization should not be an issue.

Lack of Space, the re-location constraints, etc indicate that a personal digital library would be a better option for fast moving professionals.

Moreover, not all books are qualified/ found great to be kept with him/ her. That is precisely the reason why piracy has taken up in a big way. They just want read an throw books and that throw-away prices.

Flipkart personalized e-Library

Objective : To tie up with the publishing house/authors to publish the books online and collaborate with the High potential user community to build a online digital library for them.
“In Short : To do what i-phone has done to the music industry” ; Price the books as low as 10-20 Rs
Use Subscription model or pay per use model.

Online Publishing

Another business which seems viable is either tie-up with Online publishing house like Pothi.com or do a vertical integration into online publishing area. This shall also help them in e-book selling.

Portal to Social

FlipKart Widgets : To be placed in social networking sites .
Social community for Book Lovers supported by Flipkart where people discuss about books new releases etc , comments etc .
While reading the reviews or chatting with their circles they can buy the books
Flipkart Credits to the contributors which they can use to buy the book or read e-books.

Store to the User

Similar to the Tesco’s model , Use posters on the substations /subways for people to order books through QR code activation.(www.techi.com/2011/07/augmented-grocery-shopping/)

Good Night!

It’s 3:15 am , should call it night as I still didn’t get a chance to hit the bed. My eyelids never felt as heavy as now. However I am writing this … why ? because I want to write. This is something I have loved to do and I shall love to do this. Amidst the furore of B-school , I am missing my life, my small observations , my take away from day to day life.
I shall quickly jot down some points I want to talk about and will elaborate later..

That day I had an exam . The auto walla comment “ rick doob bhi gaya tho bhi aapko college pahunchanhunga .. aap tension mat lo” and Customer Relationship and consulting …

The GF trouble “ Push pull strategy can only give you gf’s .. To get a life long relationship , you must learn to let go”

Realize what you want from life …companies shall follow .. on the placements 

The most imp ingredient for success is value … and is common across all companies …

Focus on Non customers and understand their needs to sustain your business.


I miss my frens .. my home .. my love and my family .. I am feeling extremely sleepy
There are many more to talk about ……germany , 1st year , IM conclave .. etc