Consider any Electronic. Now look back and ponder over its story. It feels no less than a person’s biography with various stages such as Infant, Childhood, Teenage, Adulthood and so on. The only difference here is that it never dies. Probably, it never will. Even though we deny it as much as we want, it does not change the fact that we are getting increasingly dependent on electronics (portable nowadays) to pass through our day. Let’s have a look at a few of those portable electronics you certainly ought to have with you:
Earphones: There is actually a generation which does not even know how is it like to travel without earphones. Travelling without heads is considered as a topmost horrific nightmare. And, it is needless to say more about the usefulness of or importance of Earphones in our lives. Recently, even earphones have turned wireless, making them look like a small string going around from one ear to another. Go online have your upgrade!
Portable Bluetooth Speakers: This has been the latest fad amongst the youngsters in recent times. Seeing the amount of freedom that it provides the craze around it seems apt, too. Play your songs wherever, whenever you wish. Party under the stars in mountains or on a road with your friends. Go on a long drive with the your loved one with soothing songs oozing through the speakers. What else would you need then? The another advantage about getting this speakers is- they are available in every price range. You can choose the one that fits your budget!
Power Banks: A backup is something that we seek for in life and more often involuntarily. And it is always good to have one indeed. Now that our lives depend majorly on phones, ‘Low Battery’ is not considered to be a pleasant sight at all. So buy a power bank that suits you and get away from that paranoia.
Hard Drives: Since the advent of social media, our lives have consistently revolved around screens, images, videos, audios etc. Ultimately, innumerable amount of data. This is what makes a hard drive one of the most important gadgets to have now. A storage for all your data is a necessity more than a luxury now!
Smart Wearables : This is the latest face of technology. Smart watches, fitness bands and so on are things that were james bond’s ultra-gadgets not long ago. They are now a reality and an affordable reality. Smartwatches wherein are available in all prices and online with ease, fitness bands are too catching up!
Devour the guilty pleasures that the technology has to offer. After all, technology is here to serve humanity and make its life better. And, these gadgets are sure to make your lives better! Have you tried on that fitness band yet? It is the motivation that you were devoid of to wake up every day and run for your health! Just Saying!
re you looking for an escape? Escape from the routine. Escape from the monotony. Escape from Reality? Well, A book is what you are looking for. A book is exactly what you need. It is not about you being a fan of reading or not. It is about finding the right book. Once you do, you will be amazed by your own ability to cherish the magic those words create. While your search for your perfect escape goes on, here is a list of 10 authors whom you should keep an eye on for their books are about to hit the market / or have already:
The man who revamped Mythology for the current generation is Devdutt Pattanaik. His work has become a bridge in the ever enlarging valley between the two generations - one that has silver coloured hair to feel proud about and another that has half-grown beards to flaunt.
What can be a better bridge than Mythology! His books which have sold like hot pancakes in India include the likes of My Gita, Seven Secrets of Shiva, Shikhandi and Other Tales They Don’t Tell You, The Leadership Sutra- An Indian Approach to Power, Myth = Mithya , his most famous work till date is a literary adaption of his famous show i.e., Devlok with Devdutt Pattanaik and many more. He is surely an author to watch out for this year as ‘Devlok with Devdutt Pattanaik-2’ is about to hit the market soon. Or has it already?
The woman behind one of the most famous novels - ‘The God of Small Things’ by any Indian in recent times is Arundhati Roy. In fact, she also won the prestigious Man Booker Prize for the same in 1997. Later the book was translated into an astounding 40 Languages! Born in Shillong, she studied architecture in Delhi which is where she currently lives. Recently, her second fiction novel - ‘The Ministry of Utmost Happiness’ has created similar buzz as his previous works that includes the likes of - ‘Things that can and cannot be said’ -co-authored with John Cusack, ‘Listening to Grasshoppers - Field Notes on Democracy’ and many more.
Dr. Mir Khalid is a general surgeon by profession residing in Sauda Arabia. He was born in a prominent civil services’ family in Srinagar, India. He first published an anthology of Urdu Poetry which was very well received by the readers. His recent venture into English Non-fiction ‘Jaffna Street’ is definitely worth noticing! This book aims at penning the trajectories of the lives of normal people swerving in the turmoils of the violence in the Valley.
Fali Sam Nariman is the most coveted Senior Advocate to the Supreme Court and the President of Bar Association India since 1991. He is one of the most distinguished constitutional lawyers in India. This former Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan award winner is coming up with his take on India’s Legal System with his book by the same name! His autobiography - ‘Before Memory Fades’ considered to be a work of finesse!
This is Vikram Bhatt’s foray into writing with his first novel - ‘A Handful of Sunshine’. He has till date directed over 35 bollywood films and written the scripts for over 15 films. He is currently the head of Loneranger Productions Pvt. ltd. producing films as well as television shows. So, Can a man with a 25-year old career as director can be an author of a great novel? Find out!
Adam Alter is Associate Professor of Marketing at New York University’s Stern School Business. He is also a renowned author with multiple number works under his name already. His latest book ‘Irresistible’ is a take on Social Media its effect on us. And what an impressive blend of stories and science it is! Have you found the internet, irresistible urge to keep going and going from one page to another from one app to another, from one status to another? You are surely going to love it!
Does this name really need an introduction? ‘Art is the gateway to immortality’ - with her books being loved all around the world, She has literally lived on to prove this phrase right. She has woven a whole new world of magic with her words. A brilliant Hogwarts library box set of her recent three books - ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’, ‘Quidditch Through the Ages’, ‘The Tales of Beedle the Bard’ is available waiting for you to grab. She can never go out of limelight can she?
Liane Moriarty is an Australian author with an endless list of books already under her name. In 2004, she wrote her first book ‘Three Wishes’ as a part of her Master’s Degree from Macquarie University, Sydney. Her recent book ‘Truly Madly Guilty’ has been an instant success and the talk of the town for all the right reasons, of course!
Have you ever felt lost in the magic of those enchanting words intricately woven to form a beautiful story? If yes, then you probably already know about Jennifer Donnelly and the reason she is on this list. She is an American Adult fiction writer who earned worldwide praise with her book - ‘A Northern Light’ which went on to win the Carnegian Medal. She is also known for her ‘The Roses Trilogy’. Now, the reason she is on the list is ‘ Beauty and The Beast’. Enough Said!
Lily Collins is a British-American Model and Actress making her debut as an author with her book ‘Unfiltered: No Shame, No Regrets, Just Me’ which contains ground-breaking essays and never-before-seen photos. She received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in A Comedy/Musical in 2017 for her performance in the movie - ‘ Rules Don’t Apply’. There is no one who can stay devoid of reading books willing throughout his/her life. It is just a matter of finding the right one! As they say - “Books are what makes humans immortal. The writers through their stories and readers through their love of reading”. Quit dabbling around in search of the right companion, hop onto the Book Stores on Infibeam and buy books online!
Infibeam plans to provide a wide range of services, including customized facilities, to educational institutions under this venture. It will be powered by DRC Systems
Infibeam Incorporation, India's first listed e-commerce entity, is preparing to venture into the fast-growing education-technology sector that it expects will be a reservoir of loyal customers.
The company plans to provide a wide range of services, including customized facilities, to educational institutions under this venture. It will be powered by DRC Systems, a provider of enterprise resource planning technology that Infibeam acquired this month.
“With India getting digitalized, education would be one of the primary sectors where digitalisation will speed up.Thus, (there exists) a huge potential to tap the burgeoning education sector during this transition phase,“ said managing director Vishal Mehta. “We will be a single vendor for educational institutions, providing them everything under one roof.“
Many educational institutions that are digitising their operations approach multiple merchants in the absence of a single vendor to cater to all their requirements, which makes digitising expensive for them, said Mehta.
By addressing this gap, Mehta expects, Infibeam will be able to tap into the ever-growing needs of parents and students. “Parents spend on their children irrespective of the economic condition as it is need-based consumption for their children's future,“ he said.
The global e-learning or education-technology market is about $100 billion, according to Infibeam's due-diligence report. India's e-learning market is a fraction of that, at $1billion, but is estimated to be increasing at an annual growth rate of about 20%, according to the report.
The education venture represents the next stage of growth for Infibeam Incorporation, the parent of online marketplace Infibeam and e-commerce enabler BuildaBazaar. The company's strategy for this phase is to focus on potential repeat customers, or need-based customers, such as students and their parents, said Mehta.
Living in the sphere where every folk, from low class to the luxurious class, desires to multiply his income, the need for the right guidance is the most sought path. Understanding all the theories, quoted by the professionals and experts, is similar to deciphering the enigma for the layman. And it isn't an option to be considered, especially when it concerns their money. Hence, acquiring the professional help and trusting them blindly was the only course of action that the investor pursued. Well, not anymore!
Realizing the need of the hour, Vinayak Sapre came up with the idea of compiling the book – 'Dohanomics'. This book is capable of educating the investing lessons to any novice. It is not one of those ordinary cliché investing books, that talk about the same old concepts. The distinctive characteristic of this book is that it provides the basis of learning for today's financial affairs with the help of ancient and time-tested couplets by Kabir and Rahim. Fascinating, isn't it? With the most unique concept, Vinayak Sapre has made his appearance in many prestigious newspapers like Hindustan Times and The Times of India.
Vinayak Sapre is a financial advisor and has been in the financial industry for more than a decade. He has completed his Master of Business Administration and has mentored many financial advisors too. When asked about the problems with the investors in our country, he answered 'According to me, it is basically due to lack of financial literacy. And I always make sure to educate my clients first and then proceed further with the investment plans.'
1. How did you come up with the idea of integrating the learnings of Sant Kabir and Rahim with that of today's financial era and compiling a book on it? Can you give us a brief example of preachings of the couplets by 'Sant Kabir and Rahim' in context to the financial market?
Vinayak Sapre: The idea of sant Kabir and Rahim came into my mind after seeing so many presentations, in which we have quoted the whole industry solely with the foreign experts. And somewhere I have realized, that the Indian investors and advisors find it very difficult to associate themselves with these foreign experts. This forced me to think that if there are so many skilled pundits in India, there has to be some kind of preaching by them which can be used in and is relevant to today's financial market, which can be easily apprehended by common people. In context to this, the two names that I found most suitable are Kabir and Rahim. Because, they are both non-controversial and respect each other's religion, in fact, Kabir never believed in religion. Also, both of them are equally loved among Hindus as well as Muslims.
Talking about the examples of preaching by Kabir and Rahim. There is one couplet of Kabir:
“Mod moday hari mile, harkoi lev modaye
Baar baar ke mod se, bhed na vaikunth jaye.”
It talks about the herd mentality in the market. Kabir says that if you could have secured your place in heaven by sacrificing your hair, then sheep would have been the first to dwell in heaven. Similarly, when you are making an investment, you are not suppose to imitate your friends or neighbours. You should invest as per your goal and need.
2. Having completed your Masters with the specialization in Sales and Marketing department, what motivated you to take a shift in the Finance sector?
Vinayak Sapre: Well, it just happened by accident, as I was into some other job. And because of a friend, who was doing well in financial industry and also wanted me to join in. Due to some mishap, I lost my job. After which he got me into Kothari Pioneer mutual fund. And that's how, I came into mutual fund and since then I have been enjoying the life.
3. Our finance minister, Arun Jaitley, claims that the Budget 2017-18 has been prepared with regards to promote higher investments. What are your views regarding the same?
Vinayak Sapre: Well, Budget definitely looks promising but instead of commenting on the budget, I would suggest that people should look at their own household budget. We need to have a ballpark figure when we are preparing our budget. We need to focus on our own incomes, expenses and expenses. Reason being, there is a vast difference between our budget and Union budget.
4. What is the biggest challenge that you face while explaining the basics of investing sutras to the novice investors? Also, according to you, what is the problem with majority of the investors in our country. Is it the lack of information or the greed to obtain higher returns without patience?
Vinayak Sapre: What has happened in our society specially in the last 20-25 years post liberalisation of economy is that the spending pattern of the society has changed a lot. Be it in smaller towns or in bigger places like Mumbai, Delhi or any other metro cities, things are available very easily on EMI and credit cards. People are not aware about the important aspect, force retirement, which is happening in private sector. Due to which people will have much longer post-retirement life. There is an additional expense called Lifestyle expense, which was not there probably 20-30 year back in the life of our parents. And despite of the dramatic increase in the lifestyle expense, people are actually ignoring it.
Not only the greed but lack of information leads to the greed. People who come to invest generally come with the idea, that they want to make a lot of money in quick time. This according to me is basically due to lack of financial literacy. And I always make sure to educate my clients first and then proceed further with the investment plans.
5. What is the one advice that you always give to your clients without failing, may it be a nascent investor or a professional one?
Vinayak Sapre: I think the mantra of the successful investing is truly explained by the Kabir's saying,
“Dheere dheere rehmana, Dheere sab kuch hoy,
Maali soche sau ghada, Ritu aaye fal hoye.”
It states that one needs to be very disciplined and patient while investing. And if you are looking at goal-oriented investing, it only makes sense to remain disciplined and have lot of patience as an investor.
Ahmedabad, March 22, 2017 :
On 17th of this month, Ahmedabad Management Association(AMA) celebrated it’s 60th anniversary. As a part of this celebration, the Annual Presentation & Felicitation Function was organized. Recognizing his deep commitment and visionary approach, Mr. Vishal Mehta was rewarded with “B.H. Jajoo- AMA Outstanding I.T. Entrepreneur of the year Award for 2015”, adding another feather into his cap as the managing director of Infibeam.com. The function was honoured by the presence of the chief guest Dr. Guruprasad Mohapatra, IAS, Chairman, Airports Authority of India. This award is instituted to recognize and felicitate outstanding contribution done by an IT-Entrepreneur in terms of growth, innovation, people management, social contribution and
sustained development.
