Mind Speaks - Planning and execution

Planning and execution

Well, well, well. What at an exciting game of Twenty20 cricket it was. Australian team was really floored by the brilliant overall team work of Team India. Each player looked responsible and played a pre-defined plan to perfection. The exuberance of confidence and focus level in them were at its peak that some times I felt the Team forgot the art of celebrating wickets. Not many times we get to get such an occasion to execute a plan to its perfection as it was displayed on the field yesterday by the Indian Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his bunch of young heroes. Whether we win the finals against Pakistan or not, they have already captured the hearts of millions of Cricket fans, irrespective of whether they come from India, Pakistan, England, Australia or wherever.

Keeping the nerves and keeping cool is an important element, required all the time in life to achieve success and victory. Not many people practise this art or at least even attempt to learn it. Till some time ago, I myself was one who never achieved this target. It is very easy to get intimidated or distracted and lose the focus of our objectives. In life, every one has to have a smaller objective and Bigger Objective. While working short term for the smaller objectives, our prime focus should be on the Bigger version of it. The pace and methodology with which we should go about should be strategically developed for the execution of such a strategy. But many times, we tend to focus on the smaller objectives and which will totally take us out and away from our Bigger objectives. We can illustrate this situation many times by small events happening in our life. One such incident happened to me even yesterday. I was driving down the highway early morning towards Dubai from Abu Dhabi and it was a very foggy morning. With not much traffic and with music on, my concentration was to watch out for a diversion to particular place I had to go. I was almost sure that I was nearer to that diversion and at this time, I happened to watch closely in the side mirror a beautiful car approaching mine. With a passion for automobiles, I was unable to take my eyes of her, slowed down the speed and watched the beautiful Blue Rolls Royce Phantom passing me like a race horse. I took a closer look at it, the number, the model and even the driver and realised that it was owned by the most prominent businessman from Abu Dhabi. I enjoyed it and all this happened within the matter of 1 or 2 minutes at the speed of 120+ kms on the highway. In the same instance I realised, I missed my very important turning, crossing it, making me drive for a retour of about 25 kms and valuable time of almost 45 minutes in to the rush hour traffic of Dubai City.

This is just a small example, it did not cost me much as I had kept a leverage time of 45 minutes before my appointment just to explore the location I was visiting to capture the surroundings with my camera before the very important meeting. To arrive early - I do this strategy many times if time permit, because it will give me some time to relax and also familiarise myself and de-stress from the drive towards the place. While looking through the view finder of my camera, I transform myself into a positive self once again, and in the background ready myself with my plans and strategies.

This is one way of grooming towards a positive self at all times. I have found Photography as a creative pursuit which always help to improve Positive Thinking and create a Quality attitude. When we take a camera and focus on an object, we will never be satisfied until and unless the object is clear and focussed. With the newer technologies and advanced options, the modern day digital cameras aid better towards perfection. Most of the equipment comes with several controls and if we have to come out with a quality output, we always have two options. One, to use the automatic mode all the time and get the picture perfect. 2nd to study the manual and learn the nuisances of those controls and execute the options and get a perfect picture. We can use, option 1, if we do not favour risks or do not have time factor. Whereas we use option 2, if we do not mind taking risks and have fractions of seconds or minutes to change the settings before each of the shots. In reality, life and those around us, is also like the camera we use. Many times, we let them do what they are supposed to do, and wait for the result. Some other times, we take risk, talk to them, groom them and extract desired results from them. In both cases, the capacity and capability in store with them are the same, but the productivity may vary and results depends on how the machine or man were able to understand our ideas or visions and transforms them in to a wonderful product of Quality.

We saw the 2nd method very well executed by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who marshalled just ordinary resources, who were with him, and who were playing with senior captains like Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganuly before. A small amount of pep talk, his own performance and initiatives to lead from the front, and the result, Team India is now in the finals of the World Twenty20 cricket tournament in South Africa. A different approach, keeping the fundamentals in place, that’s all he did. It turned out to be Powerful and they all seemed to be the right person’s for the right job. It’s working like a magic so far. Time will tell whether Dhoni is our magician for the hour.


However, how far we keep the momentum going, we do not know? Because, Team India is prone to politics and already, in today’s news there is an article about Yuvraj Singh’s dad talking to press about his son not being made the captain of the Indian Team!

We don’t care, who the captain is. We want performance and Quality Performance. The choice is yours and those around.

GOD BLESS AND HAVE A GREAT DAY.

Ramesh Menon
23092007

Congrats - Team India

Congratulations to Team India for a fantastic win over Australia. Dhoni opted for Plan B instead of my Plan A. Yuvraj Singh was focussed, elegant and ustoppable, Dhoni and Rohit Sharma batted aggressively and all bowlers kept their cool and victory was ours. Hats of to you Joginder Sharma - now we want to see your batting and in you we have a new Mohinder Amarnath. Australia did not fit into the Twenty20 scheme of things. Now, India - Pakistan final. No comments on it. Just watch it.

Ramesh Menon
23092007

Photo Speks - Passing Shots

Mind Speaks - Playing in the mind

Playing in the mind

Watching Yuvraj Singh’s game in the match against New Zeland on 14th September 2007, I was thinking whether his relocation from Punjab to Delhi made him a docile person or not. Within 2 days, on 16th September he proved my temporary assumptions wrong and justified my faith in the belief that many time we win matches in the mindset we keep. Those 6 sixes which Yuvraj hit of England Bowler Stuart Broad were all against quality bowling from one of the best in the game today. Broad and England captain Paul Collinwood did not have any clue where to bowl and what to do. Yuvraj is a player of class, style, aggression and power in his shots. With added advantage of his height, it is always a beauty to watch him play his shots when he is focussed. It was one such day and it was obvious that Yuvraj Sing’s pride was hurt when he was hit for 30 runs in one of the matches in England which finished recently and he was nurturing his revenge and playing and practising his shots in his mind all these days. Stuart Broad happened to be the unfortunate victim to taste and transform this practise session in to a reality.

It is not only in cricket this form of preparation, calculation and background work happens. It happens in all management field. Practising the art of visualising the scenarios and improvising our action and reaction time to any particular events that happens or can happen in life, will make a person ready to respond to any eventualities in day to day life. Even in case of death, after a certain age according to me, there should be some level of preparedness to be done, so that those close ones should never be wandering and wondering of our activities and shortfalls. In reality, I know and have heard of a visionary who carried a special note of instructions, some money along with some other contact details in his handbag, in case something unfortunate happen to him somewhere. At all stages, there should be a Plan A, and Plan B, and Plan C, and if all goes wrong a special plan X, which is filled with pure common sense.


Being a Tabala enthusiast myself, I remember attending a post-performance gathering some 12 years ago by the legend Tabala player Ustad Zakir Hussain. When asked by reporters about how many hours he practise every day and how he finds time to practise even during his hectic jet setting life style, Ustad Zakir Hussain answered, by taking a small box lying down on his table, and said, “I practise all the time, every time and everywhere”. His hands were tapping on the box gently and he continued, “I play in my mind and find the rhythm composition and the placement variation within, for each of the special notes I play and I continuously practise and improvise them whenever I get an opportunity, even if it is by playing on a piece of wood or tissue box. I create a feel and then when I get to sit for real practise or performance, the natural variations will come automatically”. This was a spark of an idea for someone like me who was listening to each of the letters he spoke.

I never had an opportunity to learn Tabala till then. However, during my schooling days, my parents were kind enough to send me to a master to learn mridangam, which I used to play during the school college days initially out of force or for getting points in the arts festival for my team, and which later on developed as an interest. After college, I never got a chance to continue this form of creative talent. Additionally, there was no such venue here in the Middle East where they used mridangam for any musical events. I was stuck and after getting inspired by Ustad’s speech, I went and bought a set of Tabala and started practising on it. The nature of my job and its long hours, non-availability of an exponent to teach the intricate complexities of this form of performing art, made things much difficult in the initial days However, I did not leave the ambition there. I started listening to songs and music much more carefully, and whenever opportunity knocked, I met people who played the instrument, got to know the hand and finger placement, the initial basics required to play with a flow. Rest everything happened in the mind while driving around listening to music during my hectic life schedule. In a year or two, I was playing well and even for long hours of music for satsangs.

This again, I was able to do it, because I was given a chance by my loving parents to learn a musical instrument when I was young and thus creating an unknown (at that time) flare for an extra curricular talent in me, which became a useful tool later on in the life as a stress reliever.

How many of us have the time or patience or kindness to pass on the same to our children? Recently, I was remembering those formative days when my friend send me an invitation for his daughters dance performance. Participation in any such team events will give children a feel of what he/she can expect in different situations and will give him sufficient boldness and courage to face realities of life and opt for Plan A, B or C according to the situation. It will be his/her initial step in life to realise how team building and team work and the value of these two in day to day life. It is our duty to create an opportunity for our children to grow along and progress in all fields of life. Let it be music, performing art, or in the playground playing cricket, hockey or soccer, a child has to have multiple talents other than education from the school books and TV/Internet media which he/she is exposed to much more than we anticipate.

Coming back to Twenty20 cricket, I am very happy to see Indian team on a winning note and equally or more happy to see Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s inspiring captaincy during the 1st half when India was batting against South Africa and 2nd half of the match, when South Africa were batted. He lead from the front with determination and scored valuable runs. However, it was his move to give the wicket keeping gloves to Dinesh Karthik that made the big difference that finally ended the team on a winning note. How many of us get to get someone like Dinesh Karthik, to delegate and give a very important role to play with success as he did for Dhoni by effecting many dismissals on the field? Although, there were many extras, I felt the Indian Bowlers did an excellent job, especially R P Singh, Harbhajan and Sreesanth. R P Singh was clinically critical in the win against South Africa today. If the Indian team continue their focus and determination and game plan in the same way they played till now, I am sure, they will play well against Australia, who seems to be lost in thoughts of the Twenty20 scheme of things even though happened to win convincingly against Sri Lanka today.

So, the D-day has come and we are playing semi-finals of an important World Cup match today. I really do not want to promote cricket, but this shorter version is getting in to my scheme of things, as do many others, because of the simple reason that the match gets over just the same time as that of a football match, and there is excitement and surprise factor plenty in store. Being sensitively attached to Sreesanth and his intelligence and willingness to listen (happy to see him coming out of the Sreesanth Syndrome), I sincerely wish him to bowl just 24 unbelievable/un-playable balls of his life today. As do RP Singh and Irfan Pathan. If these 3 main bowlers hits form, line, length and accuracy, we will have a match in hand against Australia. After his game with Srilanka, in which they beat the Sri Lankans convincingly, Rickey Ponting mentioned that they still have not come to terms with this form of cricket. He is not playing today and it is an added advantage and it is up to us to capitalise this golden opportunity. Go with plenty of Fevicol in hands and hold on to all the catches that comes to us, and whenever required, remove the same glue and throw at the wickets the same way we break the glasses of our public transport, Indian team will win. My team for today will be as follows:
Virendar Shewag, Gautam Ghambir, Robin Uthappa, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Irfan Pathan, S Sreesanth, RP Singh and Harbhajan Singh. I leave out Joginder Sharma, who although bowled well was unlucky with wickets on both occasions he played and prefer India keeps Karthik in the playing eleven, where, if required Shewag, Rohit Sharma and Yuvraj can give a go at the stumps. My option if we win the toss is - we bowl first. In a few hours we will know what happens. Good to see that.

All the FM stations and regional TV channels here are playing the song Chak De India repeatedly, so much so that even my Arabic and French colleagues know the lines in full. After all, it is champion teams win matches that count. Today is one such day and we all wish Team India to win. Keep going and let the flag fly high.

GOD BLESS AND HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND.

Ramesh Menon
22092007

Abu Dhabi to Durban, Sharma on a roll

Abu Dhabi to Durban, Sharma on a roll
By K.R. Nayar, Staff Reporter GULF NEWS Published: September 21, 2007, 23:15


Dubai: Abu Dhabi was the launching pad for India's latest hero who knocked out South Africa from the Twenty20 World Championship on Thursday.

Rohit Sharma, representing India 'A', had cracked a 56 against UAE and a sparkling 62 against Pakistan at the Zayed Cricket Stadium to walk away with the Best Batsman award.

It were these knocks that fetched him a place among the probables for the Champions Trophy and later won him a place in the Indian team for the tour of Ireland in June 2007.

Speaking about Sharma's superb knock in Abu Dhabi, UAE wicketkeeper Abdul Rahman said: "Sharma exhibited his fine talent during his knock against us for the India 'A' team. I found him the most talented batsman among the youngsters that played for India 'A' in the match."

Incidentally, it was Rahman who caught him off the bowling of Zahid Shah for 56.

"Sharma possessed lovely drives. His on-drives were a treat to watch. It was evident that he would soon make it to the Indian senior team," added Rahman.

Stunning knock
On Thursday, in Durban, Sharma stunned the South Africans with a 50 off 40 balls with 7 fours and 2 sixes. He also brilliantly ran out Justin Kemp to walk away with the Man-of-the-Match award.

Speaking to Gulf News in November 2006, Kiran More, the former Indian selector, had said: "Sharma is one of the finest batsmen in the country today and will soon clinch a top spot in Indian batting line-up."

Sharma, though born in Nagpur, lives in Borivli, a Mumbai suburb. He is a product of tennis ball cricket who went on to play for the Mumbai under-14 and under-17 teams, before making it to the Indian under-19 and India 'A' teams.

Sharma is also considered as a specialist batsman for the Twenty20 format. He became the first Indian batsman to hit a century in this shortest version of the game.

In the first ever official Twenty20 match played at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, between Mumbai and Gujarat, Sharma had cracked an unbeaten 101.

Many Dimensions Of Heartfelt Satsang

Many Dimensions Of Heartfelt Satsang
21 Sep 2007, 0000 hrs IST,Aruna Jethwani for TIMES OF INDIA

A friend going through depression was advised by her family physician to join satsang. She flared up: "Why satsang?" The physician thought for a moment and said: "Because satsang will give you a community. It will give you a sense of belonging. Two, it will draw you out of your limited self and will help you bond with your higher self".

Satsang helps build up a magnetic centre of spiritual life; from such a centre flows energy which purifies and stabilises our emotions. Traditionally satsang is associated with the singing of Naam kirtan, invoking the Supreme. This is only one aspect. Satsang has many dimen-sions. It may mean a gathering of like-minded people who pray together or discuss and debate issues which are of concern to humanity. Just as any good work is worship, similarly fruitful exchange of ideas which would benefit self and society is also satsang.

In a deeper sense, satsang is fellowship with an evolved person. The presence of a holy person purifies emotions and rejuvenates body, mind and spirit. It spreads 'pure energy' which gives a sense of well-being as it washes away our mundane worries for a while. It is for these reasons that life management courses prescribe satsang, that is, group prayer or singing. Such kirtans divert negative energy, producing circles of positivism which have multiplier and cascading effects. Such gatherings purify the gross physical and help to heal body and mind as well. Little wonder the youth of today find comfort in chanting for peace or good health or just invoke higher energies for themselves.

Satsang of the Naam kirtan type can be a higher mystical and spiritual experience. Recounting his personal experiences Sadhu Vaswani writes, "Our Calcutta Satsang was vibrant. It commenced with recitation of holy verses and readings from scriptures followed by bhajans, and culminating in kirtan. The kirtan awakened the souls of many... Some became ecstatic, others fell into a swoon. This happened so often that my Gurudev had to appoint some of us to pick up those devotees who were in an unconscious state and reach them home safely."

During those times, Calcutta used to have long processions. Devotees of Chaitanya Maha-prabhu, particularly, took out a procession, chanting Haribol, Haribol and in that Masti of Mantra, they went into ecstasy that reached a crescendo of a higher kind. Speaking of his own intoxication, Sadhu Vaswani further says, "On more than one occasion I was so intoxicated with the mantra that I fell in a state of unconscious-ness. Even in that delirious state, I would continue to chant Haribol, and would fall down on the ground. The devotees would pick me up and reach me home. When I woke up, many hours later, I would ask, where am I?"

Such mystical and spiritual experiences are rare. But it goes without saying that satsang relieves us of latent mental burdens; it creates positive patterns; it roots us to our own real self; it takes away our frustrations, it provides a surface for interaction; and above all satsang generates pure energies which purify us. With so many benefits, it is worthwhile to participate in chanting groups, Reiki healing, Gita groups, Interfaith lunches, Peace prayers, and enjoy the vigour, enthusiasm and energy of positive living.

As You Breathe, So Shall You Live

As You Breathe, So Shall You Live18 Sep 2007, 0001 hrs IST,Linesh Sheth for TIMES OF INDIA

The simplest way to build a harmonious relationship with life is to develop a loving, joyful and a friendly relationship with your breath. Understand your breath, its ways of working and develop a friendly relationship with it. Breath is the carrier of vital life force within us that makes our body-mind organisation function and survive.

If you look at breath as life itself, your landscape will change. The love, sanctity and value you give to this great spontaneous phenomenon called ‘breathing’ will tend to completely change the way you breathe. Then if you breathe slowly, just 20 times with a smile, your eyes closed, you will experience deep within a feeling of joy in all those organs where you perceive the smooth touch of breath.

When you look at your breath as if it were your constant and unfailing friend, that quality of relationship brings about a profound change in any breathing method you practise. You will soon realise that the way you breathe, is the way you live. This is how complex life turns simple.

Eight factors that change your relationship to life with reference to the way you breathe are: the flow of breath you allow in your body, the pace with which you breathe, the rhythm you follow, the number of times you breathe or frequency of breath, body posture you hold while breathing, vibrations you produce, the attention and serenity with which you breathe, and finally, your sensitivity to experience the touch of breath in every organ it touches as you breathe.

The way you learn to synchronise all these aspects into one compact process of breathing is what will change your relationship with your body and mind. It is simply profound as well as profoundly simple.

You will begin to like yourself as you feel the pleasing, calming sensation deep breath brings about. You will experience a deep sense of undisturbed peace within. When you pay attention to the beauty with which life rests within you, for the first time, you will experience what it is to feel alive.

Our relationship with breath tends to be simple, direct and proportionate. So if you breathe slowly and attentively you feel the touch of breath as you breathe in and out. You will experience a deep sense of peace.

If you breathe with great satisfaction, you will feel the grace of life. When you breathe selectively into each of your organs like kidneys, intestines, heart or head and feel the touch of breath, you will experience great healing. How many times you breathe and how regularly you do it directly decides the proportion of well being you will feel.

If you think of life as a great struggle, or the world as a battlefield where you have to compete with and overcome others, you will turn yourself into a warrior who has no room for peace or reconciliation in life. Then if you seek freedom or happiness, you will look for it beyond this life, not while you are living. The world that appears outside you is in fact a reflection, a mirror image, of how you feel within.

A simple way of changing the way you feel is to learn how to change your relationship with life in your daily half-hour breathing session. You will soon experience that as you breathe, so shall you live.

Inpex rules out tie-up with Shell

Abu Dhabi plans big

Abu Dhabi plans big
By Saifur Rahman, Business News Editor GULF NEWS Published: September 21, 2007, 00:17

Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi's urban vision for 2030, announced on Wednesday, comes at a very appropriate time when the oil-rich emirate, which occupies nearly 85 per cent of the UAE, prepares for a massive surge in economic activities as part of its diversification plan.

The Urban Structure Framework Plan 2030 has been devised to cater to the needs of a structured growth agenda for the city's expanding urban landscape and offer a balanced diet to its economy as well as its environment. More than Dh600 billion worth of development works are already at various stages of completion in Abu Dhabi, which has 96 billion barrels of proven oil reserves - enough for a 100-year supply at current production rate. The emirate also hosts three cities.

The Dh55-billion Al Raha Beach Development, Dh100-billion Saadiyat Islands, the Dh30-billion Reem Island and the Dh40-billion Yas Island projects are some of the master developments taking shape in the emirate. Along with these, a large investment in downstream petrochemical sector, industries, aviation and tourism - Dh25 billion in redevelopment of Abu Dhabi International Airport and Dh30 billion in Etihad Airways - are all part of a larger plan to transform Abu Dhabi into an economic powerhouse in the Middle East.

The plan also envisages an additional Dh600 billion investment in projects that will more than triple the size of Abu Dhabi's economy and quadruple some sectors.

Once ready, they will attract new residents, tourists and businesses. But the UAE capital might become a victim of its own success with heavy traffic and inflationary pressures taking their toll on the public.

Abu Dhabi residents will begin to see the fruits of the ongoing projects from around 2010, when public facilities such as transportation, housing, recreational facilities, education and healthcare, will be in high demand. Provisions for these facilities is needed to be built-in within the urban development plan.

The public facilities in Abu Dhabi could be adequate for today, but not for tomorrow. That's why, the plan is significant. From now, all development activities will be structured in line with the broad vision that will help the UAE capital achieve a much-needed balanced growth.

Dubai Cares

Vision Abu Dhabi 2030

Bank Charges in the UAE

Help Wanted - to sort out Taxi problem

And support from unknown sources.... As long as the objective is for the betterment of the society, we don't mind who or from where the Help come.





Appreciate to see more suggestions and solutions to resolve the shortage of taxis in Abu Dhabi which is making the life of people to go to work and come back home. We need solutions and we have to give solutions to the administrative authorities rather than filling them with problems.

You may write your thoughts to letter2editor@gulfnews.com.

Abu Dhabi reveals long term urban plan

Abu Dhabi reveals long term urban plan
By Samir Salama Bureau Chief and Ahmed A. ElewaStaff Reporter Published: September 19, 2007, 15:28

Abu Dhabi: A Dh600 billion master development plan for Abu Dhabi for the next quarter of a century was announced by the emirate's Urban Development Council yesterday.

The Plan Abu Dhabi 2030: Urban Structure Framework Plan sets out a strategic approach to develop the emirate's most dynamic economic sectors and envisages a growth of the UAE capital's populations to over three million by that year.

General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, said the plan provides a strong and comprehensive foundation for the development of Abu Dhabi, in a strategic and coordinated way.


"It will ensure that future generations will continue to enjoy and be inspired by ongoing access to the desert, sea and natural assets that are integral to our national identity, while building a global capital with its own rich cultural heritage," Shaikh Mohammad said following the release of the plan.


"The execution of the plan has begun already eight months ago, and it started with the detailed study aiming at developing Abu Dhabi as one of the best international cities," commented Falah Al Ahbabi, who has been appointed general manager for UPC. The plan projects a population of three million people residing in Abu Dhabi by 2030, and sets the framework of the necessary infrastructure, housing, recreational, and business sectors to cater for such population.

The plan includes inter-city train network and metro lines, specifies land uses, building heights and transportation plans for Abu Dhabi, said Falah Al Ahbabi, director-general of the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council, authorised to oversee implementation of the plan.


Urban Planning Council set up
President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan has issued in his capacity as Ruler of Abu Dhabi, a new law setting up the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC). As per law No. 23 for 2007, the UPC shall be an independent corporate entity enjoying financial and administrative independence and full legal status to operate.


The council is to be chaired by General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. Shaikh Khalifa also issued Decree No. 22 for 2007, setting up the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, a joint-stock company, and the Masdar Science and Technology Institute. The company's shares will be completely owned by Mubadala Development, WAM reported.

Energy for sustainable growth

Energy for sustainable growth
By Francis Matthew, Editor at Large Published: September 19, 2007, 23:21

The Gulf states' profligate use of energy will have to stop if plans for larger populations and expanded economies are going to work.

Their energy reserves are some of the largest in the world, but they are not infinite, and they will certainly not support the planned growth for ever. Even if growth eventually slows to a more stable total population, the region will be much larger than at present and will finish its reserves rapidly.

The planned scale of growth is awe inspiring. The population of the Arabian Peninsula is set to double from the present 59 million in 2007 to reach 124 million by 2050, according to the Population Reference Bureau's June 2007 Bulletin.

This will be a combination of natural growth from the national populations, as well as continuing immigration from expatriates into the region.

This massive increase will have to be matched by very careful planning of water and power resources. Till now most Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states have not done well at this since growth so far has not seriously challenged their capacity to produce energy for domestic and industrial use.

All the governments have had to do is turn the taps on a bit more and they have kept pace. This cannot continue.

It is true that water has been a topic of government concern for the last decade, mainly due to the warnings sounded by the failure of traditional artesian wells which forced governments to plan alternatives and thus raised the whole question of actively planning how to allocate water resources to meet demand across the whole economy.

But this planning has remained at government level, with most solutions revolving around increased use of recycled water, and increasing desalination capacity. But wider awareness of the importance of water conservation has not happened and the population at large remains uncaring.

This is dangerous since the supply of new water depends on desalination, which uses a lot of gas to boil the sea water. All electricity in the GCC comes from generating stations which also use gas.

Both the supply of water and electricity ultimately depend on the same resource, which is gas, and as with all hydrocarbons, gas supplies are ultimately limited. They may be around for some decades or even centuries in a few areas, but they will eventually be used up.

It is startling how much the region's future plans are linked to continued and plentiful gas supplies. There is a major long term crisis in the making unless steps are taken today to address how to conserve this large but ultimately limited resource, and the answers lie in both supply and demand.

On the demand side, it lies with all authorities to enforce more rigorous standards in all spheres of life. For example it should be mandatory that new buildings meet tough energy standards.

For example, all the glass walls we see around us require large air conditioning units on the roofs of buildings, chewing up vast amounts of energy.

On the supply side, it is important that all GCC states develop effective national power grids, and link them in a future GCC grid. This involves commitment from all governments, and it also means developing a pricing mechanism within the grid so that the power hungry parts of the GCC are able to buy power from the resource rich countries.

Any pricing mechanism will have to take into account the subsidies that most GCC governments continue to offer their populations, since very few individuals or companies are able to bear the true commercial cost of a unit a power.

Power grid

Unfortunately the GCC has not been able to implement its plans for a GCC power grid, but it is exactly the kind of project that the GCC should be able to manage. It is largely technical in nature, focusing on infrastructure, and the benefits are overwhelming. All that is required is some political commitment to achieve a solution to the pricing issue.

But there another important supply of power which the GCC states have to take more seriously. It is ridiculous that in an area which has so much sun, there is so little solar energy.

For example, all buildings should have solar panels on their flat roofs, all new projects should have their solar farms, and solar energy should become part of every planner and government official's thinking.

The absence of solar energy in the GCC cannot remain a matter of concern to a few environmentalist lobbies. It has to become part of mainstream government thinking, otherwise the 54 million people due to be living in the region in 40 years time will not have enough power or water to keep going.

The continued success of the GCC states depends on getting this right.

Khalifa issues decree setting up energy firm

Khalifa issues decree setting up energy firm
WAM Last updated: September 19, 2007, 23:24

Abu Dhabi: President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in his capacity as Ruler of Abu Dhabi, issued a law setting up the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company with a capital of Dh10 million.

Law No. 22 of 2007 sets up the Abu Dhabi Future Energy company as a private joint stock company specialised in the commercialisation of alternative energies through emissions reduction, and clean development mechanism solutions as provided by the UN agreement on climate change as explained in the Kyoto Protocol.

Research
It also sets up the Masdar Science and Technology Institute with the aim of developing and supporting scientific research and technology in the emirate.

According to the law, the company will be a corporate body that enjoys full financial and administrative independence to practice its activities and achieve its targets.
The institute, a corporate body, will also enjoy complete financial and administrative with legal capacity to practice its activities.

It will be offering specialised educational programs in renewable energy and sustainability. Based in Abu Dhabi, the energy company will have a capital of Dh10 million distributed as equity shares at a value of Dh1 per share.

Shares
The new company's shares are wholly owned by the Mubadala Development, which has the right to restructure the capital. Mubadala is also permitted to sell its shares in the newly established company.

The company may set up, invest in or enter into partnerships with others in the areas of agriculture, industry, water and electricity abiding by the principles of sustainable energy.

It will also have wide ranging business activities in Abu Dhabi and outside the emirate.

Effectively executing restructuring plans

Effectively executing restructuring plans
By Sanjiv Anand, Special to Gulf News Published: September 18, 2007, 23:50

This is the kind of stuff that can grey your hair quickly. It doesn't win you popularity contest. The benefits are not immediate. The rumour mills can often beat you. Bottomline, it's not for the faint-hearted. I have been fortunate to have led a number of them over the years, and am still living to tell the story.

There are a number of ways to execute this. My style is to do it quickly and surgically.

Firstly structure follows strategy, and any transformation needs to be driven by the way forward strategy approved by the Board and the CEO.

Furthermore since new structures result in role changes, to get the management team to approve them is inappropriate - remember they are conflicted. It's all very well to say that they will take a corporate/impartial view of it - that's all theory. They tend to very much look at it from their own perspective, and also tend to think of the structure in context of the existing strategy and processes. The closest you will get to an impartial reviewer of new structure is the board, and potentially the CEO.

The CEO often also has to be reminded to wear the corporate hat, and not be swayed by his close colleagues within the management team. HR should also be involved at the appropriate point.

There is always pressure to announce it to the larger audience. The CEO is bombarded, people indicate they are nervous. My view is you only communicate when you are clear what you want to communicate and to whom.

Those who are performing well, are never nervous. The ones that are nervous tend to be ones who are unsure of their performance, and they need to be nervous. The first presentation should be a summary of the strategy to the overall senior management team. This gives them context to the organisational change that is about to come. I have never opened out a new structure to a management forum - all hell tends to break lose, and people immediately start jockeying.

Then a set of one-on-one meetings needs to happen with those to be reassigned. HR gives them a letter confirming their new position. Also have their new job description ready, and a presentation outlining the role and strategy of the unit/role they are about to take over.

Handover

These meetings need to be back-to-back and finished over a couple of days, and as much as possible the cutover date to the new position should be within four-seven days of being handed the letter. Also preferably, as many are done on the same day the better. People will also say that they need more time to handover.

My view is core handover should happen, the rest can happen when the person is in the new role, after all he/she hasn't left the organisation. On the day of the cut-over, make sure you set up a help desk, so that the employees can walk over and ask questions/clarifications once in the new position. Without delay targets need to be provided for the new position, and potential an incentive should be announced for those who will facilitate effectively the organisational change.

The above works well where you are not cutting headcount. Restructuring with a headcount reduction - well, that's another story. Get your helmets on, it' a story for another day !

- The writer is managing directorof Cedar Management Consulting International.

Easy Maths

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something really exciting Multiply 777 with ur age
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multiply it with 13 the answer will surprise u...

TAX STRUCTURE IN INDIA...

TAX STRUCTURE IN INDIA...

1) Qus. : What are you doing?
Ans.: Business.
Tax: PAY PROFESSIONAL TAX!

2) Qus. : What are you doing in Business?
Ans.: Selling the Goods.
Tax: PAY SALES TAX!!

3) Qus. : From where are you getting Goods?
Ans.: From other State/Abroad
Tax: PAY CENTRAL SALES TAX, CUSTOM DUTY & OCTROI!

4) Qus. : What are you getting in Selling Goods?
Ans.: Profit.
Tax: PAY INCOME TAX!

5) Qus. : Where you Manufacturing the Goods?
Ans.: Factory.
Tax: PAY EXCISE DUTY!

6) Qus. : Do you have Office / Warehouse/ Factory?
Ans.: Yes
Tax: PAY MUNICIPAL & FIRE TAX!

7) Qus. : Do you have Staff?
Ans.: Yes
Tax: PAY STAFF PROFESSIONAL TAX!

8) Qus. : Doing business in Millions?
Ans.: Yes
Tax: PAY TURNOVER TAX!

9) Qus. : Are you taking out over 25,000 Cash from Bank?
Ans.: Yes, for Salary.
Tax: PAY CASH HANDLING TAX!

10) Qus. : Where are you taking your client for Lunch & Dinner?
Ans.: Hotel
Tax: PAY FOOD & ENTERTAINMENT TAX!

11) Qus. : Are you going Out of Station for Business?
Ans.: Yes
Tax: PAY FRINGE BENEFIT TAX!

12) Qus. : Have you taken or given any Service/s?
Ans.: Yes
Tax : PAY SERVICE TAX!

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Ans.: Gift on birthday.
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ALTERNATIVE ENERGY - ‘Wind Stands Out As Most Competitive’

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY - ‘Wind Stands Out As Most Competitive’

Distant peak or near peak. That is one big bone energy optimists and pessimists around the world scuffle about, especially when oil prices are rising. Some say the ‘peak’ of production is not yet in sight. Others believe the terminal decline in energy resources is nearing. Daniel Yergin, one of the world’s most respected authorities on energy and its economics, dislikes the word ‘peak’ when he talks about energy.

But that does not stop the Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power from assessing the potential of renewable forms of energy. Yergin is the chairman of Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA), one of the world’s leading energy consulting firms. In an e-mail interview with BW’s Vatsala Kamat, Yergin talks about the gains and gambles in alternative energy. Excerpts:

How does the current state of energy technology appear to you?

I call it ‘the great bubbling’. We have never seen so much growth in research and innovation as now across the energy spectrum — covering both the conventional and the renewable forms. That is stimulating a good amount of growth in the latter area. But remember, as nations prosper, the consumption of conventional energy will shoot up.

Of the two, how big do you think has the sector of alternative energy grown?

Take a look at wind energy. You will see it has already become a big business across the world. The growth rate for renewable forms is high and will continue to be so. But let’s also consider the wider perspective. In terms of the overall energy mix, renewable forms are still small. CERA’s base long-term scenario, which we call the ‘Asian Phoenix’, shows the demand in world energy will grow about 50 per cent over the next 25 years. Much of that will be met with conventional energy or increased efficiency. But renewable forms will become more prevalent. Breakthroughs in renewable energy could significantly increase their market share.

Indeed, the interest and investments in renewable energy are going up. What could be the reasons?

One reason is the strong growth in energy demand, which the renewable forms can help meet. A strong global economic performance requires energy supplies to fuel it. Another reason is a drive for diversification as part of energy security. Of course, price too is a big factor. Concerns on climate changes and environmental damages loom larger every day. And the public wants renewable forms as part of the energy mix. All these are shaping policies intended to encourage renewable development. Renewable forms have particular importance in a country like India, where demand keeps growing, where supplies are inadequate and where millions are poorly served with commercial energy, or not at all.

How critical are government subsidies to renewable energy? What other kinds of government support will be required?

Call them subsidies or incentives, they have been crucial to the development of alternatives. No less important are mandates and regulations that you see in Europe and North America and elsewhere, which stipulate that a certain percentage of electric power or motor fuel or total energy be ‘renewable’ in nature. You also need infrastructure to support renewable forms. In short, development of renewable forms depends on government policies. Of course, in countries where power prices are high or where there is a shortage, renewable energy can be much more competitive.

Do you think this segment could some day become an economically viable option without subsidies?

A lot of efforts have been made to make renewable energy more competitive. Last year, $2 billion (Rs 8,000 crore) worth of venture capital in North America was invested in ‘clean energy’, which is four times what it was just two years earlier. Investors are looking for alternatives that are economically competitive. Standalone economic viability depends on factors such as the pace of technical advance, competitive economics and the pricing or shadow pricing of carbon. Remember, after 30 years of hard work, Brazilian ethanol has become competitive without subsidies.

Will alternative forms of energy become more viable if oil and coal prices increase?

In the analysis for ‘Crossing the Divide’, our study on clean energy, we found that for the most part, alternative energy is priced above conventional energy. In other words, its growth still depends upon supportive government policies. That will continue to be the case for a long time. However, costs are being reduced and competitive economics will be changed when the price of energy includes a price tag for carbon.

Which renewable energy segments would you say have the highest economic viability when adopted on a larger, commercial scale?

We looked at that question very closely in ‘Crossing the Divide’ and found that wind stands out as the most competitive. There has been a lot of advance in wind technology over the past two decades and in some locations, wind, along with biomass and geothermal, are competitive without subsidies.

Are biofuels carbon-neutral? Or can they too become worse than fossil fuels?

There is no single answer to that. Ethanol produced from sugarcane in Brazil can have a very positive energy balance. That is because the bagasse, the waste from the sugar plant, is used to generate the energy necessary for ethanol production and even to generate surplus electricity. On the other hand, the corn-based ethanol in the United States has only a modest positive energy balance.

What could be done to make biofuels environmentally acceptable?
As biofuel usage increases, it faces trade-off with food, water, fertiliser, land use as well as with logistical issues. Europeans were surprised when they learned that their biodiesel demand was causing in South-east Asia, the opening up of more land to cultivation, burning of forests, and consequently an increased production of CO2. Also, conventional biofuels are much leveraged to the costs of the agricultural products from which they are made.

Emerging nations such as India and China have to straddle between renewable energy and food security...
As I said, the advance of biofuels poses a trade-off between food and fuel. Biofuels can raise rural incomes, which is one reason for their political popularity. But over the past six months, the fuel-versus-food issue has come to the fore due to the impact of ethanol production on food availability and prices. That trade-off will put a definite limit on the market share of conventional ethanol, and that is why there is so much interest in what are called ‘second-generation’ biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol made from agricultural waste or specially-grown energy crop. But the debate is quite fierce as to when cellulosic ethanol could be made available on a commercial scale.

Is there any sector within renewable energy that India could leap ahead?


India has competitive strengths in wind energy, solar energy, and biofuels. It has advantage in terms of human capital and scientific and engineering capabilities. India also has an advantage because it has urgent needs. Need generates urgency, which generates demand, which, in turn, generates innovation. These factors create conditions for India to move ahead both at home and abroad.

And what are the bottlenecks?
Like in the rest of the energy sectors, renewable forms too face the bottlenecks arising from growth. Silicon is in short supply for solar photovoltaics. In many parts of the world, there is shortage of equipment for wind farms. Shortage of human capital also affects the whole energy industry worldwide. I think India can make a great contribution to the human capital needs of the energy industry globally. In our ‘Asian Phoenix’ scenario, we even posit that an Indian will become the CEO of one of the super major international oil companies in a decade or two!