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Saturday, January 22, 2011
Government of India Ministries, Departments and other Agencies
Monday, January 10, 2011
Inflation is killing us (kamar tod mehangai)
Given the high inflation (kamar tod mehangai) prevalent in the country for 2-3 years now, this is an appropriate song depicting the people's situation
Sakhi saiyan toh khoob hi kamaat hai ... Mehngai dayain khaye jaat hai
Inflation numbers can be seen at http://eaindustry.nic.in
Sakhi saiyan toh khoob hi kamaat hai ... Mehngai dayain khaye jaat hai
Inflation numbers can be seen at http://eaindustry.nic.in
Friday, December 31, 2010
Sunday, December 05, 2010
Not sure which disease is actually dangerous
Given the importance that the institute was paying to this particular disease - mind you, of all the prevalent diseases - I thought this is important. So, I approached a doctor for the vaccination required. He told me that it is a two stage process - one injection now, and another 6 months later. I thought that I will start the process here and the institute will definitely ensure that I get the second dose 6 months hence, when I will be in a place that care about this particular disease so much.
To my dismay, it was costly affair. The injection was for around Rs. 2,000/- at that time. However, I went ahead and got the injection as well as the form filled from the doctor. I submitted it along with other documents to the institute.
The expectation was that there will be many like me who will have had only the first injection by doctors at their place. The second part will have to happen at the institute for all of them. So, there will be a camp one day to ensure that we fight this dangerous disease and it does not proliferate.
There was not even a single word on this for the 2 years I spent at my B-School. The institute might have just been following government orders around this, and did not seriously care about Hepatitis B as a disease. On some research, I found that this disease suddenly gained prominence in the country and did not seem to be much of a threat for Indians - neither were there cases. But this fear of the disease was suddenly all prevalent. I am sure more of my batchmates would have been affected by diseases like malaria etc.
Some diseases seem to get prominence quickly, even though they might not be too much relevant. Not sure why this happens. Is there some conspiracy behind this? I believe we need to think about these issues more. Have we started taking all these things for granted?
Shri Rajiv Bhai - An Inspiration
You know how there are a few people that make a strong dent in your life - if not in your actions, but atleast in your thoughts. While some of them are the usual suspects - parents, teachers etc. - some others are a little hard to imagine.
One such person for me has been Swargiya Shri Rajiv Dixitji. I became aware about him and his thoughts, may be around 10 years back. His ideas were something which none of the kids of my age/generation would have come across. It was not something that you can get from your teachers, parents etc - in fact many of them might want to keep you as far from them as possible.
I met him once when he was in Mumbai. I had heard his speeches through cassettes, but wanted to hear him in person. So, me and my brother went to this place in Mumbai where he was supposed to be part of a cultural function. Though he did not get much time to speak on that occasion, as always he influenced the audience, even within the short span of time.
Whoever knew Rajiv bhai said one thing for sure - His life followed exactly what his preachings were. He was one of the greatest patriots that I have known of in the last few decades.
What made Rajiv bhai's lectures appeal to everyone was the extensive background research that he used to do and at the same time, the simplicity in the way he used to explain these things to the audience. His knowledge was unmatched and he was inquisitive enough to get to the reason for why things happened, before he can form an opinion.
I do not follow most of his teachings, but hope to bring atleast some of the things in my life and thoughts.
I will encourage you to listed to the thoughts of Rajiv Bhai by downloading his speeches. If you have time to listen to just one of them, then this is something which is highly recommended.
He always preached (and followed) to use one's native language as much as possible. I try to do that on a daily basis for verbal communication, but I have been too lazy to make it an important part of my written communication. I should have ideally written atleast this post in Hindi, my mother tongue. Rajiv bhai, mujhe shama kar dena.
One such person for me has been Swargiya Shri Rajiv Dixitji. I became aware about him and his thoughts, may be around 10 years back. His ideas were something which none of the kids of my age/generation would have come across. It was not something that you can get from your teachers, parents etc - in fact many of them might want to keep you as far from them as possible.
I met him once when he was in Mumbai. I had heard his speeches through cassettes, but wanted to hear him in person. So, me and my brother went to this place in Mumbai where he was supposed to be part of a cultural function. Though he did not get much time to speak on that occasion, as always he influenced the audience, even within the short span of time.
Whoever knew Rajiv bhai said one thing for sure - His life followed exactly what his preachings were. He was one of the greatest patriots that I have known of in the last few decades.
What made Rajiv bhai's lectures appeal to everyone was the extensive background research that he used to do and at the same time, the simplicity in the way he used to explain these things to the audience. His knowledge was unmatched and he was inquisitive enough to get to the reason for why things happened, before he can form an opinion.
I do not follow most of his teachings, but hope to bring atleast some of the things in my life and thoughts.
I will encourage you to listed to the thoughts of Rajiv Bhai by downloading his speeches. If you have time to listen to just one of them, then this is something which is highly recommended.
He always preached (and followed) to use one's native language as much as possible. I try to do that on a daily basis for verbal communication, but I have been too lazy to make it an important part of my written communication. I should have ideally written atleast this post in Hindi, my mother tongue. Rajiv bhai, mujhe shama kar dena.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Of Healthcare, And Insurance
The last month has been somewhat of a challenge for our family. There were some medical emergencies that had to be tackled. It not only involved dealing with doctors, hospitals, but following that it meant dealing with the insurance agents, TPAs etc.
Here are some observations about the experience:
1. There is a general sense of arrogance that one can perceive in the medical community. Be it the person who does the admission in the hospital to the highest personnel. I somehow was reminded of 'MunnaBhai M.B.B.S' many times during these interactions.
2. Either the medical practitioners really do not have enough time to give to their patients, or they create this perception. You do not get enough time to talk satisfactorily with a doctor. They just come and swoop by as soon as they can. May be it is required to not disclose everything to the relatives of patients. But I am not sure at the point where the line has been drawn currently. And maybe, if we consider the number of patients (and their relatives) vying for their attention, it is probably not their fault.
3. It has become so difficult to diagnose diseases these days. I am certain that it is of primary importance. But though, the number of tests that get conducted before and after patients are treated, have increased substantially over recent times, diagnosis continues to remain a challenge.
4. Speaking with doctors / nurses is an art. One is dependent on them to take care of the patient, and so has to be very careful about how to deal with them
5. One word of caution while buying mediclaim / health insurance - Be proactive, and ask your agent details about the policy. Some of the things that are conveniently left to be fetched by the policy holder are:
- The agent should be strong enough to explain the policy intricacies, guide you through the entire claims process, and have a "will-do" attitude. He/She should ideally lead the claims process, for it is his/her duty - otherwise, what is their use as an agent. Else for what reason is this person earning from your premiums that get paid to the insurers
- It is extremely important to intimate the TPA or the insurance company of any medical emergency / hospitalization that will lead to a potential claim ASAP. That ways there is no chance for them to use that as an excuse to reject your claim
- When taking a policy, one needs to check what the cooling-off period is. Cooling-off period is the duration from the start of the policy, during which time, pre-existing diseases are not covered in the policy. Now, the definition of the pre-existing diseases is very wide. It is not limited to diseases that you have been diagnosed or treated for before taking the policy. It includes even those that you have but might not be aware of. The insurance companies and TPAs have a long list of such diseases. If you suffer from any of these, during the cooling-off period, there is no convincing that will work, to claim that this was not something that you already had while taking the policy
- Ensure that all originals (prescriptions, bills, test reports etc.) are with you. These will have to be submitted in original to the insurers.
- Ensure that everything in the medical process gets recorded. For e.g. due to emergency conditions, if you have to be shifted to a bigger hospital, ensure that proper reasons are written in the discharge card of the first hospital
The entire thing reminded me of Michael Moore's Sicko.
Here are some observations about the experience:
1. There is a general sense of arrogance that one can perceive in the medical community. Be it the person who does the admission in the hospital to the highest personnel. I somehow was reminded of 'MunnaBhai M.B.B.S' many times during these interactions.
2. Either the medical practitioners really do not have enough time to give to their patients, or they create this perception. You do not get enough time to talk satisfactorily with a doctor. They just come and swoop by as soon as they can. May be it is required to not disclose everything to the relatives of patients. But I am not sure at the point where the line has been drawn currently. And maybe, if we consider the number of patients (and their relatives) vying for their attention, it is probably not their fault.
3. It has become so difficult to diagnose diseases these days. I am certain that it is of primary importance. But though, the number of tests that get conducted before and after patients are treated, have increased substantially over recent times, diagnosis continues to remain a challenge.
4. Speaking with doctors / nurses is an art. One is dependent on them to take care of the patient, and so has to be very careful about how to deal with them
5. One word of caution while buying mediclaim / health insurance - Be proactive, and ask your agent details about the policy. Some of the things that are conveniently left to be fetched by the policy holder are:
- The agent should be strong enough to explain the policy intricacies, guide you through the entire claims process, and have a "will-do" attitude. He/She should ideally lead the claims process, for it is his/her duty - otherwise, what is their use as an agent. Else for what reason is this person earning from your premiums that get paid to the insurers
- It is extremely important to intimate the TPA or the insurance company of any medical emergency / hospitalization that will lead to a potential claim ASAP. That ways there is no chance for them to use that as an excuse to reject your claim
- When taking a policy, one needs to check what the cooling-off period is. Cooling-off period is the duration from the start of the policy, during which time, pre-existing diseases are not covered in the policy. Now, the definition of the pre-existing diseases is very wide. It is not limited to diseases that you have been diagnosed or treated for before taking the policy. It includes even those that you have but might not be aware of. The insurance companies and TPAs have a long list of such diseases. If you suffer from any of these, during the cooling-off period, there is no convincing that will work, to claim that this was not something that you already had while taking the policy
- Ensure that all originals (prescriptions, bills, test reports etc.) are with you. These will have to be submitted in original to the insurers.
- Ensure that everything in the medical process gets recorded. For e.g. due to emergency conditions, if you have to be shifted to a bigger hospital, ensure that proper reasons are written in the discharge card of the first hospital
The entire thing reminded me of Michael Moore's Sicko.
Monday, September 06, 2010
I Like it
A Facebook application involving a Virtual Rakhi
I was in Delhi (on account of work) on the day of Rakhi. The good part was that most of my relatives are in and around Delhi and so there was a gathering planned. I do not have a real sister and my cousin sisters send me Rakhis every year. This year I got a chance to have them tie Rakhis, in person. Many of my relatives gathered at one location, though only for a few hours.
One of the things that was surprising for me was the amount of discussion that happened on the topic of Facebook. And the biggest participants of this discussion were not people of my age group or younger to me. But my uncles and aunts. Some were inquisitive about the whole concept / site, others wanted to know what was the utility.
People discussed each others' status updates and inquired about who all among other relatives / former-batchmates were registered on the site.They exchanged stories about how their children and acquaintances used it to stay in touch and gather information about some person.
No wonder Facebook has reached 500 million registrations. There is also a movie coming about the website, The Social Network. I like it's (intentional use!) tagline
"You don't get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies"
I have seen usage of Facebook in determination of people's fates lately. There is another interesting view about Facebook (via anshumans). And another.
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
Thanks for doing this
Dear Friend,
Thanks for taking up drinking, social as it may be. I know how hard it is to keep away from it for long. And with all the pressures from friends / colleagues and the tension in office, this was bound to happen.
I am sure you would have resisted it to the best of your capabilities. But now that you have started, why keep it to the realm of office gatherings / occasional meets with friends? You should plan in a way that every other night, you get an opportunity to have atleast some of it. I am sure you have enough acquaintances that will give you company, and would encourage this behaviour.
I was extremely happy to have heard of this new habit of yours from someone. I see that you have changed, and we all know that change is good. As they say, this is something not to be missed in life.
In case you care, I can't say if our friendship has strengthened now, but I will hope and try that the status quo remains.
Your friend.
Thanks for taking up drinking, social as it may be. I know how hard it is to keep away from it for long. And with all the pressures from friends / colleagues and the tension in office, this was bound to happen.
I am sure you would have resisted it to the best of your capabilities. But now that you have started, why keep it to the realm of office gatherings / occasional meets with friends? You should plan in a way that every other night, you get an opportunity to have atleast some of it. I am sure you have enough acquaintances that will give you company, and would encourage this behaviour.
I was extremely happy to have heard of this new habit of yours from someone. I see that you have changed, and we all know that change is good. As they say, this is something not to be missed in life.
In case you care, I can't say if our friendship has strengthened now, but I will hope and try that the status quo remains.
Your friend.
Saturday, July 03, 2010
Last evening
Me and one of my friends from office went to TGIF last evening. I was about to write about the happenings, when I realized he has already done so. And in a way that precisely conveys what I wanted to say. So, instead of writing about the same, I am just posting the link to his post.
Here it is: Friday encounters ...
Here it is: Friday encounters ...
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