ranjan

Criticism is a useful tool in any relationship - no matter whether it is business-related or otherwise which if not done correctly, can lead to confrontation.  Though many frown upon criticism and the critics who deliver it, criticism is necessary for building a successful relationship. Many of us automatically judge anything coming from a critic is of the wrong sort. It is much more valuable to look for the strength in others. One can gain nothing by criticizing their imperfections.   The world is not kind of self esteem. It takes only one ill-received piece of feedback or a bold comment to completely derail anybody's day. Being alive in 2020 means getting hit by wave after wave of criticism, both online and offline -as anyone who has ever left themselves of a You tube comments section or a Twitter pile on - will be able to testify.       Dealing with criticism positively is an important life skill. You can either use criticism in a positive way to im...

Living in the past is a sort of escapism. It relieves you of the stress of solving the present or achieving in the future. We look at the past through the lens of present which is nothing more than the present looked at through the wrong end of binoculars. We value the things in our past that we fear we lack today.  We must understand that we are -what we are- not what we were, nor what we will become. The story of time can change anytime- for better or for worse. Most often we have no control over the twists and turns. History can help us understand the context for decision making, and develop effective, even if imperfect intuition, through a study of instances, decisions and outcomes.  The past gives us courage and it protects us. We can not only see the sacrifices that have been made for us by those in the past but we can use that to protect ourselves now and in the future. It is a gift that our ancestors bestowed upon us, a great gift. The present is here and the place whe...

India faces a huge decline in Government revenues and growth of income for at least two quarters as the Coronavirus hits economic activity of the country as a whole. A fall in investor sentiment impacts privatization plans, government and industry. Economies of about 100 countries have been destroyed out of which some of them have asked for monetary help from IMF.  There is a big shift in the world economic and the share market witnessed crashes day by day. Fear of corona virus has restricted the movements of the people. They are not even going out to buy essentials thus effecting the economy of the world as a whole.  The lockdown in India have a sizable impact on the economy mainly on consumption which is the biggest component of GDP. It has disrupted the global supply chains and this is generating spill over effects throughout different levels of supplier networks. This will impact countries that are strong exporters (no output for their local companies), but also those that...

In the modern world, meditation is a word that has come to be used loosely and inaccurately. That is why there is so much confusion about how to practice it. People use the word meditate when they mean thinking or contemplating, others use it to day dreaming or fantasizing. However, meditation is not any of these.    Meditation is a precise technique for resting the mind and attaining a state of consciousness that is totally different from the normal waking state. We can fathom all levels of ourselves and finally experiencing the center of consciousness within. It is a science, not a part of religion means that the process of meditation follows a particular order, has definite principles and produces results that can be verified.  Very little of mind is cultivated by our formal education system. The part of mind that dreams and sleeps - vast realm of the unconscious which is the reservoir of all our experiences - remains unknown and undisciplined, it is not subject to any...

When I asked this question people often get confused, as to how to answer. Knowing your value is an emotional subject. It is easy to identify when you don't feel valued, respected or appreciated but knowing your value is rather different.  In my view, self worth is defined as the sense of one's own value or worth as a person. I think that is one part of it but the other aspect is being able to understand how much of a difference you have made in any given situation with the contribution you have made. Keep in mind that no one is perfect that's why pencils have erasers. In order to be clear on this, I give following seven points that can indicate to know your value - 1) Having positive self esteem - Self esteem is confidence in one's worth or abilities.  You are satisfied in the work you deliver and your sense of professionalism. You like and have a great relationship with people. I think that without positive self esteem it would be difficult to know your value.  2) Sel...

We (self and wife) visited Belgium and stayed at Brussels last year at my Daughter's place who is working as a Sr. Research Scientist there. During our stay, we had a chance to visit  Aachen, a border city of Germany, situated at the border of Belgium and  Germany (145 Kms.) away from Brussels - A very nice place for Tourists and Shopping.  On the way, I saw a very good number of Windmills revolving around in the open fields. I was told about the usage of windmills which were admirable. A view of the following will be better able to understand the working, use and benefits of Windmills  Wind turbines can turn the power of wind into electricity which we use to power our homes and businesses. They can be standalone, supplying just one or a very small number of homes or businesses, or they can be clustered to form part of a wind farm. A wind turbine uses the power of wind to create electricity.  Each turbine consists of a set of blades, a box beside them called nac...

Peace and security is an essential factor of human life. A peaceful and secure environment is critical to every society since it affects all aspects of economic and social development in a country, and is necessary to realization of Human rights. There is a plenty of authority for the view that, in a chaotic and bloodthirsty world and the threat of violence are the essential building blocks for peace and stability.  Though in the ancient world, from China to Greece to Rome, military might was regarded as essential for maintenance of international order. War is not the only way to bring peace. There are many alternative ways such as negotiating to terms which are reasonable to both the countries, hence resolving the problem. There shall always be a win-win situation. Some terms shall be accepted by one party and some by the others.  Take a look at our two world wars. They have proved that wars cause major suffering and in fact, the only reason that World War I ended was that mo...

In ancient times, the ability to memorize was a prized skill. Memory is an active, subjective, intelligent reflection process of our previous experiences.   When I started writing my blog on May 23, 2018, I never thought of recollecting my memories and write about them. With the passage of time, while I was  searching for new topics to write about, I have thought and now attempted to say something thing about self.  School Time Memories - My first memory goes back to time when my mother dropped me at the school on first day, I started crying as that was my first day which I have to spend at my own in the company of unknown children. This later got sorted out within next few days.  It was the school that made me realize that I am worth something, that I can be someone. Later,  I find it correct as the saying goes - That 'in the school learn as much as you can while you are young, since life becomes too busy later' as you don't have to be the best at everythi...

Since its foundation in 1945, United Nations was considered as an instrument to face the most relevant global challenges emerging in the international system. Its structure and foundation was designed to curtail the negative effects of globalization, like spread of transnational threats, grant peace and security.              As the world power has changed and the range of problems has increased, UN system has failed to adapt. This has left the UN without the political, financial (concerning money management) or resources needed to do enough to deal with the  issues we now face. .    It has been seen that UN cannot interfere with the internal affairs of the country in as far as the Human rights violation is concerned. Though many times UN had proved to be successful in addressing a number of global issues in he past, it has revealed some deficiencies and weaknesses thereby making member states call for reform in terms of its structu...

A timezone is a region of the globe that observes a uniform standard time for legal, social and commercial purposes.  Time zones tend to follow the boundaries of countries and their subdivisions instead of strictly following longitude because it is convenient for areas in close commercial or other communication to keep the same time.  Prior to the late nineteenth century, timekeeping was a purely local phenomenon. Each town would set their clocks to noon when the sun reached its zenith each day. A Clock maker or Town clock would be the "official"time and the citizens would set their pocket watches and clocks to the time of the town. Travel between cities meant having to change once pocket watch on arrival. However, once railroads began to operate and move people rapidly across great distances, time became much more critical. In the early years of railroads, the schedules were very confusing because each stop was based on a different local time. The standardization of time was...

A Hybrid attack is a blend of both a Dictionary attack method as well as a brute force attack. This means that while a dictionary attack method would include a word list of passwords, the brute force attack would be applied to each possible password in that list.        A hybrid cyber attack involves more than just a single threat vector. For example, it can include deceptive email to deliver malware, and then DDoS  (Distributed-denial-of-service) to complicate recovery from a malware attack, as also to disrupt normal traffic of a targeted server. This type of attack enables online criminals to carry out their crimes and then hide their tracks.   Hybrid threats incorporate a range of unique combinational threats specifically designed to target the attacked country's vulnerabilities. The instigator of a hybrid warfare is a state or a group of states that choose a non-conventional approach to warfare. The adversary selects from the whole menu of tactics ...

A setback is a time when you go 'backwards' a little in your progress against social anxiety, either because you faced too high of an anxiety situation or negative thoughts comes up in your head in an inopportune time when you weren't expecting it. Anxiety does not really vanish forever. It is just like any other feeling you have -happiness, sadness, anger, frustration, love and so on. Just like one cannot eliminate those emotions from your brain, you can't rid anxiety from your brain once and for all.       Every setback is a setup for a comeback. God wants to bring you out better than you were before. Never let a small setback ruin your future. They are important, if we pay attention to them. They provide clues that things aren't working, either because of things that we are or aren't doing, of changes outside our control but do impact us. The three common setbacks are due to - 1. Loss of motivation. 2. Self curveballs. 3. Self sabotage.      It is w...

Toxic bosses can make life miserable for even the most of resilient (able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions) of employees. How do they get -and keep- their jobs in the first place? It is all about perspective. many abusive managers can turn on the charm, especially when their superiors are near. To identify these bad apples, company leaders need to talk to these managers' current and former direct reports. When hiring these managers, leaders can include employees who will report to this new hire.  Having supportive managers can lower team quit rates and boost productivity.  In a just world, managers who mistreats their employees would face certain barriers to success. But as a spate of recent news stories, about toxic work cultures and galling executive behavior illustrates, there is no shortage of companies where bad bosses thrive. In some cases, the answer may be that the toxic culture comes from the top.  Such bosses create "yes men" by rewardin...

The impact of coronavirus pandemic in the financial year of 2020-21 would erode all the economic value that Indians have added in the last 16 months - a full fiscal year of 2019-20 and the preceding four months. Large informal sectors, weak institutional capacity and incomplete registries of the poor make it difficult to reach the needy.      The great contraction of Indian economy would affect all products and services which are not essential for a living. Government revenues would decline because of lower consumption and resultant lower profits. It would set the economy back by 28 months-country never seen such unprecedented in its recent history.  It would also effect the ability of State Governments to spend on welfare schemes, which have mushroomed since the economy was liberalized in the 1990s. Governments have limited fiscal sources to support. Though agriculture remains more or less unaffected by the coronavirus as on today, it cannot offset the slump in sect...

Cryo-electron microscopy breaks a key barrier that will allow the working of proteins to be probed in unprecedented detail. By achieving Atomic resolution using Cryogenic-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) the working of Proteins that cannot be easily examined by other imaging techniques e.g. X Ray crystallography, be understood. The number of protein structures being determined by Cryo- electron microscopy is growing at an explosive rate.  Cryo-EM is a decades old technique that determines the shape of flash-frozen samples by firing electrons at them and recording the resulting images. Advances in technology for detecting the ricocheting electrons and in image-analysis software catalysed a 'resolution revolution' that started around 2013. This led to protein structures that were sharper than ever before - and nearly as good as those obtained from X Rav crystallography, an older technique that infers structures from diffraction patterns made by protein crystals when they are bombard...

 A Super Power is a state with dominant position exercised by its extensive ability to exert influence or project power on a global scale. This is done through the means combined of economic, military, technological and cultural strength as also the diplomatic and soft power influence. Russia, France, UK, USA and and China are often referred as great powers due to their Economic and Political dominance of the global arena. These five nations are the only states with veto power on UN Security Council.    Today Indians are hoping like never before that the country is on the verge of a great turnaround. Because it remains a fact that God gives you nuts but does not crack them for you. It is also difficult to brush under the carpet a fact that Indians have great brains. Therefore, we on our own, can produce atomic bomb, created enormous telecom infrastructure and a mark in the software. There are few must-haves without which India story may not happen. These are - 1.  Pu...

As  Human being, we want to feel safe in relationships. feel physically safe in our world.   Therefore, we have developed a belief that if we are respected, we will be safe. But there is a difference in our approach when we strive for safety and we strive for respect. There is also a difference between demanding respect and commanding respect - and there are also alternatives to "respect" for feeling safe.  To demand respect is to tell others, "you will respect me" or otherwise threaten or punish those who do not act according to your wishes. To command respect is to have others observe and admire your actions of their own volition. The underlying desire of having respect feeling safe and in control.  Here are four habits which helps in commanding more respect - 1.  Be worthy of respect - This first point is obvious. This means that - Don't  miss deadlines, Show up on time, Follow through on promises. Make sure all your work is high qual...

While urban demand for consumer products remains sluggish worldwide, rural markets are growing faster than ever in some of the largest emerging economies, where rural residents report being more optimistic about future wage increases than their urban counterparts.  In some countries, rural side has already begun to outstrip demand in the cities.  India, the fastest growing economy in the world and with over 1.25 billion consumers of food and beverages is the fifth largest sector in manufacturing. What's more, rural Indians are trading up. Commodities are giving way to branded products, and more expensive goods are replacing entry-level versions, as consumers gain more disposable income. Their increased purchasing power is largely due to the steady migration of manufacturing jobs to the countryside.   Many corporations are recognizing this enormous opportunity and stepping up efforts to gain a strong foothold in India's rural markets. But they are meeting with mixed r...

Emotional intelligence helps the person in effective decision making and build relations with the society. It is a very important skill in leadership. It has five main elements - self regulation, self awareness, motivation, empathy and social skills. It is enumerated  through deep listening to oneself and  listening to others. Such emotional intelligence influences the kind of relations one shares with its environment and people.  Public servants have to deal with various situations involving tolerance, empathy, dedication, trust and compassion which require strong level of emotional intelligence to deal with the situation. Emotional intelligence matters and if  cultivated affords one the opportunity to realize a more fulfilled and happy life.  The emotional brain responds to an event more quickly than the thinking brain. People tend to become more emotionally intelligent as they age and mature.    In today's world, one has to focus on the following fo...

 This week is the 75th anniversary of the United States' nuclear attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, on 6th and 9th August, 1945. The attack on Hiroshima on 6th August, 1945 killed estimated  90,000 to 1,20,000 people who died either instantaneously or over the following weeks and months from injuries and acute radiation sickness, the result of damage to bone marrow and the intestinal tract.  The bomb leveled 3 days later on Nagasaki on 9th August, 1945 claimed another 60,000 to 70,000 lives. These estimates are rough because there were no bodies left near the hypocenter. The heat and energy literally vaporized the closest persons. Many bodies were swept out to sea with the tides,after dying burn victims sought relief in Hiroshima's rivers.  Within six weeks of the bombings, three U.S and two Japanese expert teams were at work in both cities to study the biological impact of the radiation. Their objectives differed. Japanese were trying to understand the medical effect...