Food Crisis

You guys may think “whats he talking about?!” because we all live in luxury and whats that word “food problem” mean?

If you have this kind of feeling then please read on..

India is truly developing now and it’s income , infrastructure, per capita income has also developed .

But what the major problem faced by India is “the problem food management and it’s distribution”.

As we all know , India is an agricultural country . Today, India ranks second worldwide in farm output. Agriculture and allied sectors like forestry, logging and fishing accounted for 16.6% of the GDP in 2007, employed 60% of the total workforce and despite a steady decline of its share in the GDP, is still the largest economic sector and plays a significant role in the overall socio-economic development of India.

India is the largest producer in the world of milk, cashew nuts, coconuts, tea, ginger, turmeric and black pepper.It also has the world’s largest cattle population (281 million). It is the second largest producer of wheat, rice, sugar, groundnut and inland fish. It is the third largest producer of tobacco.India accounts for 10% of the world fruit production with first rank in the production of banana and sapota.

But still India is not in the condition to meet the basic food requirements of people. There are many people in India who strive hard even for the square meals. I don’t say that people in village areas are facing this problem, but also people in major cities face the same problems!!

Lack of food supply and the nutritional deficiency causes not only a bad mark for the country’s image in the international level, but also causes adverse effect on country’s developing economic policies and it’s structure. Mismanagement of food products and it’s supply also puts country under many dreadful diseases too!

The statistical survey results of of UNICEF reveals these factors:

Why do you think Indian still faces these kind of problems and problems related to food security and distribution?

Answer is , the poor food management skills, awareness and infrastructure

Slow agricultural growth is a concern for policymakers as some two-thirds of India’s people depend on rural employment for a living. Current agricultural practices are neither economically nor environmentally sustainable and India’s yields for many agricultural commodities are low. Poorly maintained irrigation systems and almost universal lack of good extension services are among the factors responsible. Farmers’ access to markets is hampered by poor roads, rudimentary market infrastructure, and excessive regulation.

—World Bank: “India Country Overview 2008″

According to World Bank’s “India: Priorities for Agriculture and Rural Development”, India’s large agricultural subsidies are hampering productivity-enhancing investment. Over regulation of agriculture has increased costs, price risks and uncertainty. Government intervenes in labor, land, and credit markets. India has inadequate infrastructure and services. World Bank also says that the allocation of water is inefficient, unsustainable and inequitable. The irrigation infrastructure is deteriorating.

Measures undertaken by Indian Government to overcome the problem:

Even though the poor food management management skills and infrastructure in is the root cause for food problem in India, Government has undertook some programs are remedial measures to overcome it. Government introduced many schemes to over come the problem. It has also tried and still trying to create an awareness among people for overcoming the problem food management and also to attain better life.

After all we people must not blame the government because , it is our duty to co operate with the government. You can witness many issues in your day to day life that even though government has helped us we are not at all trying to get developed. It must be our aim to attain welfare. It is our requirement to get fulfilled.

Still our government has helped and trying to help us by theses plans:

Fair price shops in better regulation and management of food security and distribution:

Public Distribution System:

Fair Price Shops

PDS means distribution of essential commodities to a large number of people through a network of FPS on a recurring basis. The commodities are as follows :-
·Wheat
·Rice
·Sugar
·Kerosene
PDS evolved as a major instrument of the Government’s economic policy for ensuring availability of foodgrains to the public at affordable prices as well as for enhancing the food security for the poor. It is an important constituent of the strategy for poverty eradication and is intended to serve as a safety net for the poor whose number is more than 330 million and are nutritionally at risk. PDS with a network of about 4.99 lakh Fair Price Shops (FPS) is perhaps the largest distribution network of its type in the world.
PDS is operated under the joint responsibility of the Central and the State Governments. The Central Government has taken the responsibility for procurement, storage, transportation and bulk allocation of foodgrains, etc. The responsibility for distributing the same to the consumers through the network of Fair Price Shops (FPSs) rests with the State Governments. The operational responsibilities including allocation within the State, identification of families below poverty line, issue of ration cards, supervision and monitoring the functioning of FPSs rest with the State Governments.

Buffer stocks:

In addition to the requirements of wheat and rice under the Targetted PDS, the Central Pool is required to have sufficient stocks of these in order to meet any emergencies like drought/failures of crop, as well as to enable open market intervention in case of price rise. Therefore, the minimum stocks that should be available in the Central Pool at the beginning of the four quarters of a year are as follows:-

Storage & Research (S&R) Division of the Department: of Food & Public Distribution is carrying out research, development and training activities in the field of Post Harvest Management of Foodgrains. Monitoring of quality of foodgrains being procured by Food Corporation of India, State Governments and their agencies for Central Pool is also being carried out by S&R Division through Quality Control Cells. These activities are undertaken through:

(i) Indian Grain Storage Management & Research Institute (IGMRI)

(ii) Quality Control Cells

(iii) Central Grain Analysis Laboratory

(i) Indian Grain Storage Management and Research Institute (IGMRI)

In order to develop facilities for Applied Research and Apex Level Training in the field of Post Harvest Management of Foodgrains, a Grain Storage Research and Training Centre (GSRTC) was established at Hapur in 1958, which was later on expanded into Indian Grain Storage Institute (IGSI) and subsequently renamed as Indian Grain Storage Management and Research Institute (IGMRI). It has two field stations located at Ludhiana and Hyderabad.

IGMRI is carrying out research and development activities related to post harvest management of foodgrains. Laboratory and field testing of newer insecticides including plant product insecticides for the control of stored grain insect pests, testing the suitability of PP/HDPE bags for longer storage of foodgrains, development of code of practices for scientific storage of foodgrains, assessment of storage gain in wheat stored in PP/HDPE bags and jute bags are some of the important activities carried out by IGMRI. IGMRI also organizes long duration and short duration training programmes for the Government officers engaged in handling, storage and preservation of foodgrains including pest control operators.

Objectives

The main objectives of the Institute are:

Ø To test newer insecticides including plant product insecticides for the control of stored grain insect pests, testing the suitability of PP/HDPE bags for longer storage of foodgrains;

Ø To test the suitability of PP/HDPE bags for longer storage of foodgrains;

Ø To develop code of practices for scientific storage of foodgrains at farm and commercial level;

Ø To investigate the nature, extent and degree of losses due to various factors, such as, insects, rodents and moisture under different agro-climatic conditions;

Ø To impart training on scientific storage and preservation of foodgrains for offices of various organisations viz. FCI,CWC, SWCs, Civil Supplies Corporations etc. as well as trainees from developing countries sponsored by FAO, UNDP and Commonwealth Secretariat;

Ø To impart training to Pest Control Operators on use of various pesticides for scientific storage of foodgrains.

(ii) Save Grain Campaign (SGC)

Save Grain Campaign, which has now been closed on the recommendations of the Expenditure Reforms Commission (ERC) from 1st May, 2008 was propagating the knowledge of scientific storage of foodgrains developed by IGMRI amongst farmers including farm women through its 12 field offices which were located in different parts of the country viz. Bangalore, Bhubaneshwar, Bhopal, Kolkata, Chandigarh Ghaziabad, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Lucknow , Patna and Pune.

The main objective of the SGC was to educate, motivate and persuade the farmers and others to adopt measures at farm level to minimise the foodgrain losses through training, demonstration & publicity.

Activities of SGC:

The main activities of SGC were as under:

Ø To impart training to the farmers, traders and extension officials at the block level on the practical aspects of storage and preservation of foodgrains.

Ø To popularise scientific techniques of storage amongst farmers etc., through demonstrations and wide publicity and to develop selected villages to serve as model villages.

Ø To arrange facilities for farmers for purchase of improved types of storage structures; and

Ø To maintain liaison with State Governments and to arrange steady supply of storage structures and pesticides to the users.

The ultimate aim of the above programme was to minimize post harvest losses in foodgrains at farm level

(iii) Quality Control Cells (QCC)

Three Quality Control Cells were set up at New Delhi, Kolkata & Hyderabad to monitor the quality of foodgrains being procured by FCI and state agencies for Central Pool. During 2008, with the recommendations of ERC, the Quality Control activities in the Department of Food & PD were strengthened. Five offices of erstwhile Save Grain Campaign located at Bangalore, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Lucknow and Pune were converted into Quality Control Cells.

Activities of Quality Control Cells

Ø To monitor the quality of foodgrains at the time of procurement by inspecting procurement centres of FCI and State agencies. This is being done to ensure that foodgrains conforming to uniform specifications are procurement by these agencies.

Ø To check the preservation and maintenance of foodgrains by inspecting Food Storage Depots of FCI and State agencies to ensure that Government’s guidelines in this regard are followed by these agencies.

Ø To check the quality of wheat and paddy stored in open complexes (CAP).

Ø To inspect Fair Price Shops to ensure that foodgrains conforming to PFA standards are issued to the consumers.

Ø To investigate the complaints received from State Government, VIPs and individuals about quality of foodgrains being supplied through PDS.

Shortcomings observed by the Inspecting Officers about the quality of foodgrains or proper maintenance and preservation of food stocks are immediately brought to the notice of concerned organisations for taking remedial measures. Parliament Questions, Calling Attention Motions and Special Mentions about the quality of foodgrains are also attended by the Quality Control Cell.

(iv) Central Grain Analysis Laboratory (CGAL)

Central Grain Analysis Laboratory (CGAL) is an apex level laboratory of the Department of Food & Public Distribution situated at Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi. The main function of the laboratory is to assess the physical and chemical quality of foodgrains being procured, stored and distributed by FCI. The specifications pertaining to the physical quality of the foodgrains known as Uniform Specifications are formulated by the CGAL for different Kharif and Rabi foodgrains every year for procurement under Central Pool. These specifications are uniformly applicable throughout the country.

Some of the main Welfare Schemes undertaken by the Indian Government to overcome the problem of food requirement are:

1.Mid-Day Meal Scheme for children:

The Mid-Day Meal Scheme was launched by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (Department of Education) with effect from 15^th August, 1995 for the benefit of students in primary schools under Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS)/earlier Revamped Public Distribution System (RPDS) blocks (2368). The Scheme presently covers students of Class I-VIII in the Government Primary Schools / Upper Primary Schools/ Schools aided by Govt. and the Schools run by local bodies.

The Department of Food & Public Distribution makes allocation of annual requirement of foodgrains under the Scheme to Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Human Resource Development. Further State/UT-wise allocation of foodgrains are made by that Department. Food Corporation of India (FCI) releases foodgrains to States/UTs at BPL rates as per allocation made by Deptt. of School Education & Literacy.

Allocation /offtake of foodgrains under the scheme during the 10^th Plan and the first two years of the 11^th Plan – 2007-08 & 2008-09 are as under:-

Figures in lakh tons

Village grain banks scheme:

Village Grain Bank Scheme was earlier implemented by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs in 11 States. However, since 24.11.2004, the scheme is being implemented by the Department Food & Public Distribution.

The main objective of the scheme presently being implemented is to provide safeguard against starvation during the period of natural calamity or during lean season when the marginalized food insecure households do not have sufficient resources to purchase rations. Such people in need of foodgrains will be able to borrow foodgrains from the Village Grain Bank. The grain banks are to be set up in food scarce areas like the drought prone areas, the hot and cold desert areas, tribal areas and the inaccessible hilly areas which remain cut off because of natural calamities like floods, etc. These villages are to be notified by the concerned State Government/Union Territory. The scheme envisages inclusion of all willing BPL/AAY families in the villages to be identified by the State Government in food deficit areas. The quantity to be lent and the period of repayment is to be decided by the Group themselves. Village Panchyat/Gram Sabha, Self Help Group for NGOs etc. identified by the State Government are eligible for running the Grain Banks.

The estimated cost of setting up one grain bank is as follows:-

* Cost of VGB to be borne by Central Government :Rs.67,246 per bank say Rs.67,250 per Bank.

* Cost of Transportation to be borne by State Govt. : Rs.1800 per bank.

Details of VGBs sanctioned and expenditure incurred since 2005-06 have been as follows:

References:

The Department of Public Distribution of India

Internet

ring

Unique Aura Diamond Engagement Rings:

Like any other trend in the fashion world, the trend of diamond jewelry too is extremely vibrant and dynamic. And if it comes to choosing a diamond engagement ring, this ever changing market trend sees its peak. Definitely, one of the most important diamond jewelry can’t escape unnoticed, if the grooms are constantly looking for the best engagement ring available to impress her in the most effective manner.

Gone are those days when wedding bands and engagement ceremonies were plain, round rings made of gold or silver. These days’ couples see the beauty of creating unique engagements like three stone diamond rings that come in a few distinct and beautiful designs. These kinds of ring can be crafted by your local jeweler or can be found on a lot of online jewelry sites. You can have your own ideas for three stone diamond rings made for you or you can choose from ready made rings.

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According to western etiquette, a man presents an engagement ring to women when he proposes her marriage and the woman’s acceptance of the ring indicates her consent. Thus it is customary for a woman, who is engaged to be married, to wear the engagement ring in the finger ring of her left hand. According to old belief, the ring finger of the left hand has a vein that is vein of love, which connects directly to the heart, making perfect for the engagement ring. And in some culture the engagement ring is worn on right hand.

Let’s see the history of diamond engagement ring: The tradition is said to have started when the duke of Austria Maxmillan presented the first diamond engagement ring on record to Mary of burgundy in 1477.he had the ring delegated to unite their two houses and make their marriage a unifying symbol to the country.

Celebrities influence fashion and trends. Fancy diamond and gem stone rings adorned by rich and famous who made fashion and created trends that have a long lasting impression…. And here we have listed some famous ladies end their engagement rings.

Prince Philip u8sed the diamond from his mother’s tiara presented it in an engagement ring to his prospective bride Queen Elizabeth.

Guy Ritchie presented a vintage three stone diamond ring to Madonna.

Lady Diana was presented an 18 carat blue oval sapphire ring, encircled by 14 diamonds, by Prince Charles.

Elizabeth Taylor owned a breath taking 39 carat diamond ring to his fiancé grace Kelly.

If you are one of those who are going to get engaged this time, you need to find out some sizzling, exciting and attracting diamond engagement rings which will help to bring a pleasant and innocent smile on her face.

While you may think of diamond engagement rings of being set with a single stone, but this is not always the case. Today diamond rings come in all shapes and sizes. You can get diamond rings that are set in either platinum or white gold as well as yellow gold. Many women now a day prefer the look of white gold. While every women dreams of being surprised when it comes to getting engaged and being presented with a ring, she usually has diamond in her mind that she would like. Men who want to not to take any chances and get her something that she will love, should either pay close attention if she is talking about her engagement ring or admiring them or allow her to choose the ring herself from the many diamond engagement rings offered by the fine jewelers, thus lets see what are hottest in the block.

Solitaire diamond engagement rings: These engagement rings are found to be the most appealing diamond jewelry by the soon to be engaged ladies. The time less and simplistic shape and design of a solitaire diamond engagement ring becomes a huge factor to make special place in the hearts of women these days.

Pave diamond engagement rings: This is another classic version of diamond engagement rings which prove to be the first choice of many wives to be. Pave diamond engagement ring is more popular for the way the tiny diamonds are patterned in an artistic and decorative way on its surface.

Colored diamond engagement rings: the colorful diamond engagement rings trend is here to last for long. Such rings look bold and are being considered as the big thing in the market of engagement rings. Such rings are being bought by those who want to give their girls a hint of their bold and colorful nature.

All diamond engagement rings: Probably, this is the only engagement ring in the market which you can call a pure diamond ring in its most literal sense. You will find diamonds placed not only in the center, but this is special diamond engaged ring which has tiny diamonds placed all around the ring. You will not able to see even a fraction of metal which the ring is made of.

Triple- diamond engagement rings: this is the most unique and the latest trends of all diamond engagement rings trends. The three diamonds placed on the ring have got o philosophic connotation as each of them manifests your day before engagement,your day of engagement and your day after engagement, respectively

Looking at the rows of closely fixed diamonds with their bases wrapped with costly metals such as gold, placed within the holes made on the surface of the ring is to treat to watch.

If you want to tell her how committed you are to her don’t wait to buy her a beautiful engagement ring made of three glittering diamonds. The most important thing about an engagement ring is its symbolism. The ring optimizes love and enduring commitment of a beautiful journey of togetherness. So more then the cost of the ring the feeling attached to it matters. The ring should optimize the statements and warmth that the couple shares and it will become the most treasured piece of jewelry for a woman.

water

Health

Drink Water-The Best De-toxicator

Today, apart from consumption of junk food, irregular eating, lack of moderation on consumption, largely sedentary nature of work that provides little scope for expulsion of energy through hard, physical labour, the complexity that stress brings to our lives- all these ensure that digestion and absorption is severely hampered, leading to various forms of gastric trouble. Many times, the unhealthy state of affairs in our body is reflected on our face by way of break outs, pimples and acne.

The fad is then to go on a crash diet or detoxification programme that will help us shed the unwanted kilos, bring about equilibrium in the body and return it to its most natural state possible. Besides the fact that most such programmes involve huge expenditure in enrolling with professionals, they are often accompanied with side effects and repercussions, when undertaken without proper training, understanding and/or care and supervision of a professional. If you happen to be one of those people who are looking for the next best and easiest detoxification programme, look no further because water is the best, most natural, free and easily available detoxification agent.

Water- relationship with human body

Water is by far the most wonderful natural cleansing act that not only rejuvenates but also replenishes the body, facilitating its optimal functioning; so that one can look and feel one’s best, because it is what is being reflected by the body’s health from the inside.

Two thirds of our body or more than 60 per cent of it is made up of water, which basically means that the body cannot function without an adequate quantity of the liquid. Lack of water in the body would lead to dehydration, which even in minor quantities is potentially dangerous. With no additional water intake, the body will start using up its own reserves and thereby send the signals of an emergency situation. When lack of water is indicated, the kidneys are unable to facilitate the process of purifying the blood and therefore, the workload then gets spread further to the liver and other organs of the body. When that happens, there would be external pressure on the liver and related organs that are pressed into service, which has a negative effect on the body. The heart also suffers when dehydration spreads in the body. Cells will then employ themselves with the job of extracting water from the blood stream, which leads to additional pressure on the heart, which would also prove unhealthy.

Digestive system can be harmed

Inadequate water hampers the digestive system. Constipation and irregular bowel movements have also been attributed to consumption of water in insufficient quantities, leading to irreparable damage of the waste disposal system of the body. When we drink an insufficient quantity of water, the kidneys, instead of converting toxins into urine, will actually retain the water that was meant to be eliminated. The build up of toxins in the body can have a severely deteriorating effect on the kidneys and in turn, affect the rest of the bodily functions, even fatally in extreme cases.

Symptoms of dehydration could range from headaches, feeling of fatigue, neck and shoulder tightness, dizziness and so on.

Water primarily helps eliminate toxins from the body and performs the role of a drainage system, as it is responsible for eliminating the toxins present in the body through waste products, thus keeping it healthy. Water is also a pathway running through the body that helps maintain the systems and functions by performing the role of a transporter to ensure that the cells get their share of nutrition and the tissues receive their required amount of chemicals. It also contributes to the regulation of hormones to keep the body running in optimal condition.

We tend to consume more water in the summer because it helps to maintain the body temperature. Hence, it is useful in cooling body temperature as well as its regulation, time and again on a regular basis. Lack of exercise as well as inadequate hydration can cause the joints in the body to stiffen, leading to extreme pain on movement. Hence, consumption of lots of water is recommended to keep the joints well lubricated and in working condition.

The same would apply to the spinal cord as well, which requires additional assistance because of the way in which we tend to misuse the back and to protect it from jarring impacts. Water then forms a role not similar to a shock absorber and helps keep the fluid in the spinal cord in an optimal range and level and reduce the impact and therefore, reduce pain and further injury. Water’s role as a lubricant is greatly highlighted, especially for those who exercise excessively in order to keep the body limber, the joints flexible and to relieve muscle soreness.

Water is also considered ideal for those wishing to lose weight, as it helps to regulate our bloodstream. Water is also responsible for tracing and eliminating unnecessary fats in excess of the recommended quantity present in the body and thereby helps in weight reduction.

It is a well known fact that over 80 percent of our brain is protected by water. Hence, ensuring that the body is not dehydrated is akin to ensuring that the brain stays protected at all times. That water could be so important to our thought processes would not have been previously imagined by some people. Life cannot be sustained without water.

There is a case to support that a detox programme that involves only consumption of water on fasting has been known to cleanse and purify the body, not to mention elimination of waste and toxins from it. But precautions have to be taken, as extreme fasting that involves only water consumption over long lengths of time can also have a severely detrimental effect.

In the race to get fit, not to mention losing fat, the switch to health drinks has been dramatic. Anything that says ‘no sugar’ and something that promises to boost energy is widely in vogue. Doctors are of the opinion that people who regularly exercise require more water. But they do not necessarily require to consume health drinks laced with electrolytes. The high energy drinks, in their expert opinion, are required only for athletes and sportsmen involved in high endurance activities. Doctors recommend that people should stick to consumption of water to nourish the body, as far as possible.

Water will also ensure better concentration, greater health and vitality and increased metabolism, resulting in reduced cellulite.

planting of paddy

Agriculture under developing economies:

As we all know agriculture is the basic platform of every civilization and agriculture helped every civilization to develop it’s own economic platform.

In olden days people were only thinking of filling their stomach and were not concerned about their future. They were working hard and were earning their bread and for their children.

But as civilization grew , evaluation started there was quite changes in the human behavior. They started to think about their future and about stocking their earnings for future use.. this was the basic step of establishing an economy..

As the days passed , they were many revolutions , and that led to the further development in human life and his economic prowess. Under this evolution process some of the countries grew lot better than others. They started to discover new strategies of economics, they started use technologies ,they started to mechanize the whole process of trade and production that further led to the development of modern industries and moreover ” THEY WANTED TO EXPERIENCE BETTER LIFE”. This revolution in human era led to the birth of new classification among the nations called- developing and developed economies.

Nations so called underdeveloped/developing gave much importance to the act of agriculture rather than the industries. But agriculture had it’s own drawbacks. And more thing is ” I admit, drawbacks and disadvantages are common in every field, but in agriculture it was more than any others”

Even though there is element of risk in every type of occupation they earn lot in spite of it’s disadvantage;but it was not very much possible in agriculture.

Agriculture is effected by many factors such as, climatic changes, lack of technological factors, unscientific or faulty method of cultivation..etc..

But agriculture is still playing major role in many developing economies (not all)For all these gains agriculture had certain good elements..

Agriculture

Overview to Agriculture:

Agriculture has played a key role in the development of human civilization. Until the Industrial Revolution, the vast majority of the human population labored in agriculture. Development of agricultural techniques has steadily increased agricultural productivity, and the widespread diffusion of these techniques during a time period is often called an agricultural revolution. A remarkable shift in agricultural practices has occurred over the past century in response to new technologies. In particular, the Haber-Bosch method for synthesizing ammonium nitrate made the traditional practice of recycling nutrients with crop rotation and animal manure less necessary.

Importance of agriculture under developing economies:

1.Provides employment opportunity:In a country like India , agriculture or cultivation of crops provides large employment opportunity, because agricultural practices require no much educational qualifications and it can be even done by a uneducated person.

2.Provides food for all: Agriculture plays an important role in providing food for all under a developing economy. As agriculture is the source for the basic food materials , many people are depended on it.

3.Promotes industrial development by providing required raw materials (mainly for agro- based industries):One can witness huge number of agro-based industries in an developing economy. And all of these are dependent on agriculture and it needs constant supply of raw materials from agriculture. These type of industries feed many developing economies and also they help in providing employment opportunity for the people who are not very well educated.

4. Supports foreign trade: Agriculture also acts an a supporting rod for the process of foreign trade mainly in underdeveloped/developing economies. As many goods are produced are based on the raw materials obtained from agriculture, this effect can be witnessed.

5. Acts as the source for national revenue: As agriculture plays a major in developing nations like India , it also serves as a major producer of nation’s total revenue. Maximum amount of national revenue is earned from agricultural sector..

6. Promotes market for industrial products: When majority of total population is depended on agriculture, their earnings will also be based on the income earned from cultivation. So the industrial goods purchased by those people will indirectly relate to agriculture.

In India , because of it’s gradual development agricultural practices are gaining no scope and this will adversely effect on nation’s total and per-capita income(as the country depends more on agriculture).. But predominance of agriculture will result no much development..!!!

yeah , I am talking about Indian economy at this point. From recent times service outsourcing industries have gained more importance in Indian economy.

Outsourcing industries in Indian are gaining lot importance than the manufacturing plants, because of certain features of it.

Which type of business will be helping in exploitation of man power in India…?

The overview of Indian economy:

The economy of India is the fourth largest in the world by GDP measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis and the twelfth largest in the world by market exchange rates.

India’s per capita income (nominal) is $1016, ranked 142th in the world, while its per capita (PPP) of US$2,762 is ranked 129th. In the late 2000s, India’s growth has averaged 7.5% a year, increases which will double the average income within a decade. Unemployment rate is 7% (2008 estimate). Previously a closed economy, India’s trade has grown fast.[8] India currently accounts for 1.5% of World trade as of 2007 according to the WTO. According to the World Trade Statistics of the WTO in 2006, India’s total merchandise trade (counting exports and imports) was valued at $294 billion in 2006 and India’s services trade inclusive of export and import was $143 billion. Thus, India’s global economic engagement in 2006 covering both merchandise and services trade was of the order of $437 billion, up by a record 72% from a level of $253 billion in 2004. India’s trade has reached a still relatively moderate share 24% of GDP in 2006, up from 6% in 1985.

Despite robust economic growth, India continues to face several major problems. The recent economic development has widened the economic inequality across the country..

Industry accounts for 27.6% of the GDP and employ 17% of the total workforce.Economic reforms brought foreign competition, led to privatization of certain public sector industries, opened up sectors hitherto reserved for the public sector and led to an expansion in the production of consumer goods.

Outsourcing is subcontracting a process, such as product design or manufacturing, to a third-party company. The decision to outsource is often made in the interest of lowering cost or making better use of time and energy costs, redirecting or conserving energy directed at the competencies of a particular business, or to make more efficient use of land, labor, capital, technology and resources. Outsourcing became part of the business lexicon during the 1980s. It is essentially a division of labour.

Reasons for the development of outsourcing industries:

* Cost savings. The lowering of the overall cost of the service to the business. This will involve reducing the scope, defining quality levels, re-pricing, re-negotiation, cost re-structuring. Access to lower cost economies through offshoring called “labor arbitrage” generated by the wage gap between industrialized and developing nations.
* Focus on Core Business. Resources (for example investment, people, infrastructure) are focused on developing the core business. For example often organizations outsource their IT support to specilaised IT services companies.
* Cost restructuring. Operating leverage is a measure that compares fixed costs to variable costs. Outsourcing changes the balance of this ratio by offering a move from fixed to variable cost and also by making variable costs more predictable.
* Improve quality. Achieve a step change in quality through contracting out the service with a new service level agreement.
* Knowledge. Access to intellectual property and wider experience and knowledge.[14]
* Contract. Services will be provided to a legally binding contract with financial penalties and legal redress. This is not the case with internal services.
* Operational expertise. Access to operational best practice that would be too difficult or time consuming to develop in-house.
* Access to talent. Access to a larger talent pool and a sustainable source of skills, in particular in science and engineering.
* Capacity management. An improved method of capacity management of services and technology where the risk in providing the excess capacity is borne by the supplier.
* Catalyst for change. An organization can use an outsourcing agreement as a catalyst for major step change that can not be achieved alone. The outsourcer becomes a Change agent in the process.
* Enhance capacity for innovation. Companies increasingly use external knowledge service providers to supplement limited in-house capacity for product innovation.
* Reduce time to market. The acceleration of the development or production of a product through the additional capability brought by the supplier.
* Commodification. The trend of standardizing business processes, IT Services and application services enabling businesses to intelligently buy at the right price. Allows a wide range of businesses access to services previously only available to large corporations.
* Risk management. An approach to risk management for some types of risks is to partner with an outsourcer who is better able to provide the mitigation.
* Venture Capital. Some countries match government funds venture capital with private venture capital for startups that start businesses in their country.
* Tax Benefit. Countries offer tax incentives to move manufacturing operations to counter high corporate taxes within another country.

Under outsourcing industries ,Research & Development plays an important role…

The competitive pressures on firms to bring out new products at an ever rapid pace to meet market needs are increasing. As such, the pressures on the R&D department are increasing. In order to alleviate the pressure, firms have to either increase R&D budgets or find ways to utilize the resources in a more productive way. There are situations when a firm may consider outsourcing some of its R&D work to a contract research organizations or universities. Reasons why a firm could consider outsourcing are:

• new product design does not work
• project time and cost overruns
• loss of key staff
• competitive response
• problems of quality/yield.

The key drivers for R&D outsourcing are emerging mass markets and availability of expertise in the field. In this context, the two most populous countries in the world, China and India, provide huge pools from which to find talent. Both countries produce over 200,000 engineers and science graduates each year. Moreover both countries are low cost outsourcing  countries. Other strategic drivers for outsourcing R&D are access to expertise and intellectual property, filling gaps in the capabilities of the R&D function, managing risk better, reducing the time to market, and focusing on the core competence or activities of the firm.

Today, many markets are overpopulated with both large and small companies and overexposed with marketing messages. This has made for a difficult landscape to get a marketing message noticed. And with the rising costs of getting a new product or service ready for the market, it has become even more important to cut through this clutter. The one sure-fire way of doing this is by having a corporate branding strategy.

Powerful corporate branding can equip most any new product or service with instant credibility and value that simply can’t be reproduced with any sort of product-focused marketing campaign. That is why it is vitally important for any serious corporation that wishes its product offerings to be successful to create and protect a strong corporate brand.

How do you do that? Well, first throw away the notion that branding only involves marketing, i.e. putting an image out there. Yes, it involves that, but a huge part of it also entails relations with investors, media, competitors, government and others.

By the way, don’t confuse corporate branding with corporate identity, two completely different things. Corporate identity involves a company’s logo and design strategy only. It is merely a component of an overall brand strategy.

Successful corporate branding is all about establishing a long-term vision for a company and crafting the company’s operations to meet that objective. Some companies that do this well include Microsoft, Intel, Singapore Airlines, Disney, CNN, Samsung and Mercedes-Benz. The kind of brand strength these companies enjoy takes a long time and a lot of work to establish, and there’s a lot of research and tracking to maintain. But it’s not as difficult as it sounds. Today, a company of virtually any size can use the same sophisticated branding research tools the big boys use.

Why is it important to worry about these kinds of things?

Because a strong corporate brand adds depth and value to a company’s product offerings. It’s also a public statement of the company’s culture and values. For Eg, HSBC bank, one of the world’s largest banks, has the tagline “The World’s Local Bank,” which both represents the size of the bank, but builds on its purported focus on individual people.

A Strong Corporate Brand:

Good corporate branding can also enhance budgetary efficiency. With product development costs becoming ever higher and product life cycles shorter, it’s important for companies to recoup costs however they can without sacrificing quality or service. With creativity, a strong corporate brand can do the work of many expensive product-marketing campaigns. Apple does this very well. While offering many different products, all of them are laden with cutting-edge design and innovation hallmarks of Apple’s overall branding strategy. This model isn’t right for everyone, but if a company determines through research that this kind of consolidated brand strategy would work for them, they should do it. If not, there’s no good reason to try.

Strength of a brand is a good indicator of the strength of a company and its financial value many actually list their brands on their balance sheets. But even that estimate is probably understated. In short, in this over-populated, over-marketed business climate, having a strong brand is more than half the battle.

Brand Marketing:

Search engine rankings, usability, Flash web design and Web site stickiness have each had their time in the limelight as the most important element of web marketing. One last important piece of the web marketing pie is brand marketing.

Brand marketing is the art/science of making the right impression on prospects. It’s the active process of discovering, developing and bringing the right image or identity of your company to the marketplace. Too often, clients are focused on the later stages of the brand identity development process, such as the presentation on a Web site or advertisement in a magazine.

Effective Brand Marketing is a complete process of researching the market and developing an image for your corporate identity, and then engineering its presentation at optimal times and places. Since search engine users are looking for a specific product or service, having your well-constructed brand presented in search engine listings, is perhaps one of the best brand impressions you can make.

At Brand, we bring together all the elements of good brand development and deliver it to a specifically targeted audience who is ready and willing to see it. That’s market timing at its very best and only the Web offers that kind of high quality, measurable marketing.

What are the elements of brand marketing?
• Target market research: collecting information on prospect needs and preferences
• Features and benefits: identifying target prospects are interested in and which will move them to   purchase
• Brand presentation: designing a web page that maximizes the impact and impression of your business.
• Brand experience: creating a Web site or other advertisement that makes the users meeting with your product or service memorable, fun or useful.

Let us design your brand impression in the marketplace. We manage every face of brand development including brand name, brand design, logo design, brand communications, corporate branding, and product branding.

Let us build and shape your brand marketing campaign. A strong brand is a big asset online and offline. On the Web, creating and building a well-differentiated brand is worth the challenge. It’s not enough just to reach customers today. You have to reach them in a way that is compatible with their beliefs, language, needs and expectations.

Build a strong brand that makes both an impact at the right time and place, and you’ll have eager and loyal customers.

The use of SMS continues to expand in India with outbound SMS volumes growing by more than 200 per cent.

The importance of the service, according to the global research company Gartner, grew by 200.8 percent year-on-year to hit 7.39 billion messages in 2003. This is equivalent to 35.8 outbound SMS messages per cellular connection per month, the UNI, cited the figures.

Gartner expects that there is ample room for growth given that the usage level is still lagging behind that of other developing markets in Asia Pacific. China, for example, posted 55.9 outbound SMS messages per cellular connection per month while the Philippines recorded a massive 189.4 outbound SMS messages per cellular connection per month.

By this one can truly understand the hype created short message service in India. Use of SMS can be found in almost all parts of the world. But in India one can witness the extensive use of it. According to some predictors , majority of people in India use their cell phones just for the sake of sending short messages.

An entrepreneur must always look at people’s point of interest , so that he can take advantage of it.

Publicity is the deliberate attempt to manage the public’s perception of a subject. The advantages of publicity are low cost, and credibility (particularly if the publicity is aired in between news stories like on evening TV news casts). New technologies such as weblogs, web cameras, web affiliates, and convergence (phone-camera posting of pictures and videos to websites) are changing the cost-structure. The disadvantages are lack of control over how your releases will be used, and frustration over the low percentage of releases that are taken up by the media.

Positive remarks generally act as advertisements but what special is , theres no investment of money for it.

But just think of investing little money over the process of ‘publicity’..A manufacturer can virtually create publicity over his goods when he makes little investments over it.

But what he invests on creating positive public image must be of a low budget because one may cannot be sure about the outcome of it; i.e you may even experience negative remarks but it rarely occurs.

So using text message service as the medium or mode for creating virtual publicity will be an great idea. As mentioned before in Indian market use of this concept will surely be a great success. Nowadays informations on SMS system really moves well.

One can organize events such a : a member who forwards highest SMSs regarding firm’s positive image will be awarded.So many people will get attracted to this and there will be growth in firm’s goodwill and public image.

Demonstration: Demonstrations are one of the important methods of sales promotion. Demonstration refer to explaining and showing the actual working of a product to the buyers. Seminars: Seminars are a form of publicity. In the case of seminars, representatives from different firms may participate , if the seminars are open to many organizations. Totally seminars are nothing but an intellectual talk among the people gathered at that place. According me, through the seller’s point of view, conducting a demonstration would be lot better than seminars. As seminars are nothing but intellectual talks , they are not appealed by all. But demonstrations will be more attractive and will be more educative. Usually conducting seminars is not an easy task. It requires lot of potential and it is also more expensive than conducting demonstration of commodities or services. As demos are nothing but educative acts , it gains more public image. People can really witness the working or the nature of the products manufactured by a firm.Demos also help buyers to know how to operate products such as machines and appliances. Totally I conclude that, demos are more effective than conducting seminars as the part of sales promotion. But seminars can be considered by the firms who take part more in rendering of paid services.

e-commerce

Combination of E-commerce and Agent Middleman!

I always think of implementing something new or in other words in always like to be innovative. Today my teacher was taking classes on ‘Business Marketing and mode of distribution of commodities’.; and as I mentioned before , a crazy new concept came into my mind and thought of blogging it in here..

Before I start to write about my idea, I would like to explain some of the basic terms that I am going to mention throughout my post.

Let me start with,

E-Commerce: commonly known as (electronic marketing) e-commerce or eCommerce, consists of the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. Electronic Commerce, commonly known as (electronic marketing) e-commerce or eCommerce, consists of the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. The amount of trade conducted electronically has grown extraordinarily with widespread Internet usage. The use of commerce is conducted in this way, spurring and drawing on innovations in electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), inventory management systems, and automated data collection systems. Modern electronic commerce typically uses the World Wide Web at least at some point in the transaction’s lifecycle, although it can encompass a wider range of technologies such as e-mail as well.

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And the term “Agent Middleman ” is nothing but a third party – typically a sales agent – who acts on behalf of a company when dealing with customers..

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As the name of the post suggests I am talking about a concept where there will be a combination of e-commerce along with agent middlemen for the establishment of new mode of distribution of commodities or business marketing.

Now let me come to the point,

Channels of distribution play a very important part in the marketing of goods. They serve as a bridge between the producers and final consumers, in the sense that it is through the channels or mode of distribution that the producers deliver their goods to the ultimate consumers. At this point a producer must adopt a perfect and most efficient mode or channel for distribution of the commodities he produced or for the rendering his service to the customers.

I thought using the combination of modern day technology along with the ancient business principle called middleman system or commonly called as ‘brokers’.

It is a new industrial concept under which the outsourcing of brokering system is done. A person who involves in this type of industry must establish an electronic system that is a website supporting his business. He must sign up with some of the well know business men to market their products with the help of his e-commerce system. That is, a person under this method of brokerage business must display the commodities manufactured by the companies with whom he ties up in his website. So the ultimate consumers or the customers can purchase their necessary goods through the broker by contacting him via his website. The broker must adopt fund transferring module to his web page so that the consumers can pay for the goods purchased via broker indirectly to the producers or to the manufacturers.

working of this concept is, the broker gets consumer requirements through the portal or website he designed and corresponds those to the producers. Goods and services will be delivered / rendered to the door step of consumers.

The main objectives of this concept are:

1. Reducing the distribution cost of commodities.

2. Avoiding bearing of risks in holding large stock of goods by the middle agents or the brokers.

3. Making goods or commodities produced by different manufactures display under a single system of trade.

4. Easy and secure transfer of funds between the producers, brokers and the final consumers.

5. development of transportation, insurance, banking, middle agent systems.

6. Avoiding sale of goods through factory outlets .

7. Educating people about the new products available in the market.

8. letting consumers buy goods at whole sale prices directly from their using using internet.

9. Increasing employment opportunities.

Use of this concept in large scale will also greatly influence on the development many other economical sectors such as Insurance industry, Banks, Transportation facility and the middle agents ..

When people buy commodities from the web portals created by the sales agents they will earn their part of income as commission from the producers and they will also gain income for advertising the commodities ..

Moving or delivery of the purchased goods will help in developing private transportation firms and insuring the products will gain importance to the insurance industries. Banks will finance the whole deal and hence we can witness the development in the field of banking also, this will generally create some employment opportunities. ..

More over the work will be very easy and a person can act as a broker for the sale of products or services directly from his crib and a consumer can obtain the goods required directly from a single website delivered to his door step. The whole concept will also create publicity for the products as the information spreads like wild fire over internet …