Last week was a hectic one for me. Returning from Mumbai from my cousin's marriage, I had to complete all the formalities of exiting from the company in a span of five days - right from giving my resignation to getting my relieving letter. It wasn't too much of trouble because I had the support of my manager and my lead who were nice enough to help me complete the formalities smoothly.
I was able to complete all the formalities in time by Friday and the best part was the exit interview I had in which I again spoke out all the things which I had been saying all year round. It just feels nice to have things off your chest once in a while.
I really liked the part where my team officially gifted mt a watch and my project team (i.e only Raju and Abhinand) gifted me a parker pen set. It was really nice and I really felt very good. Apart from the time I was busy completing the formalities, most of my time in the week was spent chatting with office friends. Even on the final day, we had a sort of photo session for memories sake. I have really made some very good friends in my one year in office.
After I left office for the final time, I had a sort of a hollow feeling.I knew I was leaving for something that would take me to a better place in the future. It was not the 'I am officially berozgaar>' or 'Suck ya office guys' kinds of feeling. Maybe it was because I had really enjoyed my life in my company. Every place has some positives and some negatives. I feel that you should take the negatives in your stride constantly trying whatever you can to improve them but not become too whiny. You've always got to enjoy the positives you get and that I eel is the key to a happy life.
Now as I sit at my home doing literally nothing except meeting a couple of college friends one day, I feel that I need to have something to do because even a week of having nothing to do is very boring. I am sure the IIM-Bangalore people would never let me have that feeling for the next two years but I am really sure that its going to be one hell of a journey that I will enjoy to the fullest.
I would write a couple of things on some issues next as there is nothing else going on in my life. The next personal post would be after I get to IIM. Till then enjoy my views on IMPORTANT NATIONAL ISSUES NEXT.
Cheers!!!!!!!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Monday, June 9, 2008
The Fuel Price Hike - A different perspective
For the last week, the fuel price hike has been a keenly debated issue. There have been reports of the Oil Companies incurring daily losses to the tune of Rs.600 crores and that if they were not aided soon, they would become bankrupt in some months as they would have no cash to buy petroleum.
I agree that the duties and the taxes imposed on petroleum products are too high at about 52%(including excise and sales tax) but it is not that the rates in India are the highest in the world. Places like Turkey and Norway sell petrol at about Rs112/liter.
According to me a vehicle is a luxury and not a necessity. So, if a person is able to afford a vehicle, that person should be ready to bear the expenses to run his vehicle i.e. the fuel costs. So, I feel there should be no subsidy in fuel prices for the private vehicle owners.
But for that to take place, the government needs to strengthen the public transport system and provide the country with world class facilities. People who are willing to let go of their personal vehicles for public transport should feel the worth for it just like in the case of Delhi metro. The fuel subsidies should only lie for the public transport vehicles and the commercial goods carrying vehicles(because the goods transfer affects the prices of all the commodities and indirectly the inflation).
This would help the country on many levels. First, the traffic on the clogged roads of the cities in India would go down. The public transport system which is in shambles in most cities would be strengthened. Things like car-pooling and use of public transport which has been advised by the traffic police for generations would pick-up. The private vehicles operating as taxis would need to get an official taxi number plate to be able to run viably. The reduced number of vehicles on the road and the much improved public transport system would also help in curbing pollution and also help the global warming situation.
Another aspect is the subsidies on cooking gas. Most of the poor people do not use LPG cooking gas. They rely more on kerosene. So, here too I feel that there should be no subsidy in the LPG prices and the kerosene prices need to remain subsidized so that the economically backward sections of people are not affected.
I feel that the demanding in a cut in sales tax and excise duties would not be a very fruitful experience for a country like India where the government revenues depend a lot on the fuel sales. If India has to keep up the fast growth it has achieved over the past decade, it requires all the revenues for the various projects so that the growth can be sustained. Therefore, I am not in favor of such moves.
I know that most of the people especially those from the middle class to which I belong too would not agree with my view. They would again think that it is the middle class which has to suffer again. But I still stand by my views because I feel that it is the cream which is taking all the benefits of the subsidies and not the people who really require it.
I agree that the duties and the taxes imposed on petroleum products are too high at about 52%(including excise and sales tax) but it is not that the rates in India are the highest in the world. Places like Turkey and Norway sell petrol at about Rs112/liter.
According to me a vehicle is a luxury and not a necessity. So, if a person is able to afford a vehicle, that person should be ready to bear the expenses to run his vehicle i.e. the fuel costs. So, I feel there should be no subsidy in fuel prices for the private vehicle owners.
But for that to take place, the government needs to strengthen the public transport system and provide the country with world class facilities. People who are willing to let go of their personal vehicles for public transport should feel the worth for it just like in the case of Delhi metro. The fuel subsidies should only lie for the public transport vehicles and the commercial goods carrying vehicles(because the goods transfer affects the prices of all the commodities and indirectly the inflation).
This would help the country on many levels. First, the traffic on the clogged roads of the cities in India would go down. The public transport system which is in shambles in most cities would be strengthened. Things like car-pooling and use of public transport which has been advised by the traffic police for generations would pick-up. The private vehicles operating as taxis would need to get an official taxi number plate to be able to run viably. The reduced number of vehicles on the road and the much improved public transport system would also help in curbing pollution and also help the global warming situation.
Another aspect is the subsidies on cooking gas. Most of the poor people do not use LPG cooking gas. They rely more on kerosene. So, here too I feel that there should be no subsidy in the LPG prices and the kerosene prices need to remain subsidized so that the economically backward sections of people are not affected.
I feel that the demanding in a cut in sales tax and excise duties would not be a very fruitful experience for a country like India where the government revenues depend a lot on the fuel sales. If India has to keep up the fast growth it has achieved over the past decade, it requires all the revenues for the various projects so that the growth can be sustained. Therefore, I am not in favor of such moves.
I know that most of the people especially those from the middle class to which I belong too would not agree with my view. They would again think that it is the middle class which has to suffer again. But I still stand by my views because I feel that it is the cream which is taking all the benefits of the subsidies and not the people who really require it.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Gosh!! Is it one year already
It was a nice evening. It had just stopped raining. There was a cool breeze blowing across and I could just see the sun about to set at the horizon. I was in a very contemplating mood as I was thinking about the question my friend Paras posted on our group's googlegroup about how the past one year in the jobs has been and my first reaction to that post was "Shit, is that already that long".
Most of the replies others posted could be summarised as 'Life Sucks' and 'I hate my job'. All the people wrote that they miss college and they miss friends but I guess that was college and everybody needs to realize that job is a completely different piece of cake. This is the harsh reality of this world. You have to suck it up and move on.
Actually, even for me, life has not been like I had imagined it to be. But again, I never had a clear vision of how it should have been. The only thing I had in mind was that I wanted to something I really enjoyed but is there any 'job' in this world I would enjoy doing. Is there such a job for me? Probably Not.
I've spent the majority of last year staring for long hours at the computer screen. There's not much to write about when you are in a software company. Working for long hours when there is a project deadline and having no work at all during the other times is a very common thing. When it becomes too frustrating, the only way to vent out your anger is criticizing the software industry and how its is turning humans into robots or the HR policies of the company over the multiple coffee sessions(I guess in a public sector firm that would convert to criticizing the government and the laid-back attitude of the public sector).
I speak for myself when I say that I am a very lazy person inherently and any kind of job would be a hardship for me. Whatever amount of time I would work would be for money to secure my present and future (any maybe my future family). I just don't believe in a work that I would enjoy. But I know that I would have to constantly give my best if I want to be really successful and that is what I would aim to do in my career.
What I believe is that job would always be a part of my life. So, if I want to enjoy my life, I would have to keep all me my near and dear ones close to me as they are really the people who make your lives worth living. So, friends, keep the bonds of your friendship strong as this is what you would really cherish in the long run.
Most of the replies others posted could be summarised as 'Life Sucks' and 'I hate my job'. All the people wrote that they miss college and they miss friends but I guess that was college and everybody needs to realize that job is a completely different piece of cake. This is the harsh reality of this world. You have to suck it up and move on.
Actually, even for me, life has not been like I had imagined it to be. But again, I never had a clear vision of how it should have been. The only thing I had in mind was that I wanted to something I really enjoyed but is there any 'job' in this world I would enjoy doing. Is there such a job for me? Probably Not.
I've spent the majority of last year staring for long hours at the computer screen. There's not much to write about when you are in a software company. Working for long hours when there is a project deadline and having no work at all during the other times is a very common thing. When it becomes too frustrating, the only way to vent out your anger is criticizing the software industry and how its is turning humans into robots or the HR policies of the company over the multiple coffee sessions(I guess in a public sector firm that would convert to criticizing the government and the laid-back attitude of the public sector).
I speak for myself when I say that I am a very lazy person inherently and any kind of job would be a hardship for me. Whatever amount of time I would work would be for money to secure my present and future (any maybe my future family). I just don't believe in a work that I would enjoy. But I know that I would have to constantly give my best if I want to be really successful and that is what I would aim to do in my career.
What I believe is that job would always be a part of my life. So, if I want to enjoy my life, I would have to keep all me my near and dear ones close to me as they are really the people who make your lives worth living. So, friends, keep the bonds of your friendship strong as this is what you would really cherish in the long run.
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