IPL 2016 Revenue Stream

The Indian Premier League has amassed about Rs. 2500 crore in overall revenue in its recently concluded ninth season, growing at a double digit pace over the year before. The figure includes revenue that TV and digital channels made from advertisements, as well as teams from sponsorship, ticket sales and merchandising, and BCCI from on-ground sponsorship.

The biggest chunk of revenue came from TVs as advertisers vied to grab ad spots when matches were telecast during the nearly two-month long tournament, which with its fast paced short format has become very popular in this cricket crazy nation. Official broadcaster Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) made just under Rs 1100 crore while the eight IPL franchises together earned Rs 200-230 crore from Sponsors.

The Board of control for Cricket in India generated Rs 220-250 crore from on-ground sponsorships, whereas Hotstar the digital rights holder got around Rs 40 crore. This season IPL made ticketing revenue of Rs 150-160 crore. India is a market where a lot of new brands are launching. This need to chase salience and eyeballs and IPL viewership has remained rock. IPL is celebrated like a festival that unites once a year and brings families, friends and colleagues together to enjoy the spirit of cricketainment.

IPL has developed many unique skill sets and generated lot of job opportunities that are making a difference to the larger sports and events industry in India. In terms of ticketing revenue, Royal Challengers Bangalore (Rs 25-26 crore), Mumbai Indians (Rs 24-26 crore) and Delhi Daredevils (Rs 22-24 crore) topped the charts, followed by Rising Pune Supergiants (Rs 18-20 crore), Kolkata Knight Riders (Rs 16-18 crore), Sunrisers Hyderabad (Rs 15-16 crore), Gujarat Lions (Rs 14-15 crore) and Kings XI Punjab (Rs 13-14 crore). The BCCI ended up with almost Rs 10 crore in its kitty from ticketing revenue.

IPL is progressively growing at a 10-12% rate year on year. It may not be galloping, but it is definitely not sinking either. It is going in the right direction. Another small revenue stream for the franchises was merchandising, which is estimated to have generated Rs 17-20 crore for the teams put together. While it is hard to put a definite number to it, there is substantial revenue to the broadcaster from the TV channels that are subscription based.

SPN may allocate this revenue, estimated to be anywhere from Rs 250 crore to Rs 400 crore to the three channels – Sony Max, Sony Six, and Sony ESPN, which air IPL. SPN payout to the BCCI of Rs 820 crore per year (the 10 year deal is worth Rs 8200 crore) as well as Franchises fee has not been considered for the estimates. A major chunk of this goes into a central revenue pool, from where it is distributed among the Franchises.

Ways to make Money from Blog

Over the past decade, blog monetization has gained momentum. What was once just a way of making money on the side has now become a full-fledged profession, with various revenue channels opening up. Here are few ways to make Money from Blog.

Google AdSense- Once you sign up for AdSense, you will be allotted ads to place on your blog. After this, it’s a waiting game to see if your account is approved. If it is, you can continue to receive ad placements and earn a steady, if not large, income from it. AdSense pays on the basis of clicks and views the ads receive. The two categories on offer are cost per click (CPC) and cost per 1,000 impressions (CPM), and the ads are allotted based on which category can earn more revenues for a particular blogger.

The CPC rate, for instance, can range from Rs 2 to Rs 50, depending on the niche, content, use of keywords and the traffic you receive. AdSense lets you choose where you want to place the ads on your blog, and pays you when you accrue a certain amount from clicks or views. It is a safe bet because you don’t have to screen the ads for quality or compatibility with your content. Earnings can range from a few hundred to several lakhs of rupees for different bloggers.

Affiliate Marketing- Using your blog to sell or promote another seller’s product can be one of the most profitable avenues, if you can successfully convert readers into buyers. One of the main advantages of this channel is that you will not have to deal with production, shipping and customer care. However, it also requires you to have an audience that trusts your judgment. It works best for niche audiences, especially if you have a good degree of authority in your domain, as well as great salesmanship.

You will earn a percentage of profits made by the seller from the traffic redirected by you blog. You can feature product reviews with relevant links, but too much plugging can annoy readers. It is also important to find a good offer that is credible and rewarding, and the best way to ensure this is to approach a network rather than individual brands or sellers.

Product Sales- You can market your own product by featuring photos and descriptions on your blog. You can either allow your audience to purchase the items directly through your blog or redirect them to an e-commerce portal that stocks them. You can also turn your blog into a membership site, where readers can subscribe to receive personalized services. For instance, if you specialize in handling fiancés, you can allow your audience to sign up to receive specific financial advice tailored to their needs.

Sponsorship- If your blog already attracts a significant amount of traffic, you could choose to enlist blog sponsors. Sponsorship includes selling ad space on your blog to merchants, which offers a more stable source of income. You can charge for hosting banner ads, button or links on either a one-time or a monthly basis. Ads can pay Rs 2000-15000 a month for a 2x2 space, depending on your niche and readership.

Sponsored content which blend seamlessly into your blog prevailing tone and theme can also add to your earnings. The best bet for bloggers who want to monetize is to reach out to companies or wait to be approached. Promotional posts for events or reviews can fetch you anywhere between Rs 3000 and Rs 20000, depending on the sponsor and your popularity. You can also be paid in merchandise or services, if you’re open to the idea.

Ways to find your Niche- If you are looking to start blogging; here are a few things to keep in mind when choosing your niche. Being passionate about your subject matter is crucial to creating good content. Choose a topic you love to write about it, to set yourself apart and to hold the interest of your audience. Being fond of a subject is not enough. You need to evaluate whether you have enough specialization to offer valuable content to your readers.

Like any business venture, blog monetization can only be successful if you offer something that is not easily available elsewhere. Find a gap in the content market and plug it. You must ensure that your blog is one of the top results offered by search engines when people start looking into your niche. Use SEO techniques to help your content show up in search results. For AdSense, use the Google Keyword Planner to find out which keywords rank higher, and try to choose a niche that corresponds with them. This will ultimately yield better revenues.

Digital Library of India

In early 2000, the Union Government initiated a unique project to establish the Digital Library of India (DLI). Its vision was to create a digital collection of rare books sourced from libraries in different parts of the country and make them accessible as a free online resource for research, study and of course archiving and documenting.

As a first step towards creating the DLI, a collection of one million books on a variety of subjects, including literature, science, art, culture and music were to be digitized and listed in a searchable catalogue. The project later passed into the hands of the ministry of communications and information technology. The DLI houses several rare books and publications on music in many Indian Languages, including Hindi, Urdu, Marathi, Gujarati, and Bengali. Researchers and collectors can access these at their convenience and even download and store for future reference.

The DLI also contains a scan of Musicians I Have Met by S.K. Chaubey, published in 1958 by the publications division of Uttar Pradesh information department, consisting of “pen portraits” of some of the outstanding names of in the world of Hindustani classical music. Along with several articles on music, it contains fascinating reports filed by correspondents of leading publications.

Till recently, these and thousands of other rare books could be accessed only if an intrepid researcher was willing to crawl into dusty libraries, sometimes fenced in by all manner of often unreasonable rules and red tape. Free access to DLI makes it easier and welcoming for readers and researchers. The programme in two parts, consisted of a first segment featuring presentations of instrumental music by members of Samaj, followed by a second segment of vocal music rendered by schoolchildren.

Liberalism in India

The recent incident near Delhi where a Muslim man was lynched to death on suspicion of eating and storing beef has once again underlined the lack of liberal values in our country. It is likely that the mob that carried this vigilante action was confident of escaping punishment for its actions. After all, perpetrators of many communal riots have not been punished till date in the country.

Such facts stand in sharp contrast to the fact that India is among a handful of developing countries that has maintained its track record of having free and fair elections since Independence. There can be one possible answer and it’s between two kinds of democracies. Electoral democracies can guarantee the first two sets of rights, but only a liberal democracy would ensure that civil rights are honored as well.

Chances of emergence of a liberal democracy in a country depend on the nature of dominant cleavages in the social mobilization that ushered in democracy whether it was class based or identity based. While the majority would like to transition to electoral democracy as it gives them control over policies such as taxation and provision of public goods, it might not always be interested in liberalism. This is because the majority stands to increase its gain by denying civil rights to the minority once it has captured political power through universal suffrage in an electoral democracy.

The reason why countries of Western Europe have liberal democracies is because liberalism, a product of events such as Protestant reformation and resultant acceptance of ideas of tolerance and equality despite religion, preceded a democratic transition. In contrast to this, democratic transition in most developing countries was achieved after an anti-colonial struggle in which identity rather than class occupied center stage. Liberalism must have political legs in addition to normative appeal.

Ruthless Leaders of all Time

There have been cruel leaders at all times and ages, but the ruthlessness of these leaders surpass all in human history. One man’s hero is another man’s tyrant, a popular maxim goes. No matter how a historian tries to spin it, ordering a tower to be constructed out of live men stacked and cemented together with bricks and mortar is downright brutal. Here are some of the brutal leaders of past time.

Attila the Hun, after killing his brother, Attila became the leader of the Hunnic Empire, centered in Hungary. He expanded the empire to Germany, Russia, Ukraine, and the Balkans. There, where I have passed, the grass will never grow gain, he remarked on his reign. Genghis Khan, he had spent his time as a slave during his teenage years before he united the Mongol Tribes and went on to conquer a huge part of Central Asia and China. His style is characterized as Brutal and historians say he slaughtered civilians.

Timur led military campaigns through a large part of western Asia including modern Iran and Syria. In Afghanistan he ordered the construction of a tower made out of living men, one stacked on top of another and cemented together. He also ordered a massacre to punish a rebellion and had 70,000 heads built up into minarets. Joseph Stalin, forced quick industrialization and collectivization in the 1930s that coincided with mass starvation, the imprisonment of millions of people in labor camps, and the ‘Great Purge’ of the intelligentsia, the government and the armed forces.

Queen Mary I, the only child of the King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, Mary I became queen of England in 1553 and soon reinstalled Catholicism as the main religion and married Philip II of Spain. Over the next few years, hundreds of Protestants were burned at the stake and for that she earned the nickname ‘Bloody Mary’. Vladimir Lenin, in 1917 he led the October revolution to overturn the provisional government that had overthrown the czar. During this period of revolution, war and famine, Lenin demonstrated a chilling disregard for the sufferings of his fellow countrymen and mercilessly crushed any opposition.

Adolf Hitler, German third Reich Empire included almost every country in Europe plus a large part of North Africa. He devised a plan to create his ideal ‘master race’ by eliminating Jews, Slavs, gypsies, homosexuals, and political opponents by forcefully sending them to concentration camps, where they were tortured to death. Nazis killed about 11 Million people under Hitler’s regime. Mao Zedong, under the communist leader, industry and agriculture was put under state control in China. Any opposition was swiftly suppressed. Mao’s supporters point out that he modernized China. Others point out that his policies led to the deaths of 40 Million people through starvation, forced labor and executions.

Idi Amin overthrew an elected government in Uganda via a military coup and declared himself as president. He then ruthlessly ruled for eight years, during which an estimated 300,000 civilians were massacred. He also drove out Uganda Asian population and spent large amounts on the Military, both of which led to the country economic decline. Augusto Pinochet overthrew Chile’s government in 1973 with the help of a US backed coup. Numerous people disappeared under the regime and 35,000 were tortured. Pinochet died before he could stand trial on accusations of human rights abuses. All people in article are rulers prior to 1980. No living figures are included.

Eight Technical Moguls without a Degree

In India, parents and most children give top priority to education. However, what the world of tech entrepreneurs has taught us is that one always need not have the best of education to become a millionaire. There have been numerous examples in the field of technology where geeks have managed to develop something new and taken the world by storm.

The best examples are Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg who never finished their education and dropped out of the best universities to start their companies to make not just Millions, but Billions of Dollars. Here are eight tech heads who are doing exceptionally well without a degree. Steve Jobs, dropping out at the age of 19, he made what Apple is today. Sadly cancer got the best of him, but then never stopped him to create the iPod and then the iPhone, till finally he gave up to the illness.

Bill Gates, the richest man in the world dropped out of college at the age of 20 and made Microsoft a leading PC and laptop OS brand. Michael Dell, left college at the age of 19 and worked his way to make a brand, which has supplied everything from Desktops to servers to the world. Evan Williams, left education when he was just 20 and worked hard to make billions of dollars, and a web social platform (Twitter) loved by all.

Travis Kalanick, Uber founder dropped out of college at the age of 21. Uber is not just a concept available in USA. Countries like India and Australia also have Uber. People do not call for a taxi or cab now; they call for an Uber and Travis. Larry Ellison shifted his focus from education to work when he was just 20. He successfully runs Oracle and also is as billionaire. Jan Koum dropped out of college at the age of 21 and founded Whatsapp. Mark Zuckerberg, the billionaire dropped out of college at the age of 21 and made the biggest social network in the form of Facebook.

Type of Bikes for Cycling

Cycling is a great cardiovascular exercise that even elderly people with weak bones can take up. Cycling is an open chain exercise; the activity exerts much less pressure on the joints and bones. The recovery time for cycling is much shorter compared to a sport as grueling as running, football or hockey. But before one goes out and buy a cycle, one need to figure out what kind of a cyclist he/she is the city rider, the speed king or the mountain biker. Based on geometry and purpose, cycles can be classified broadly under three broad categories road bike, mountain bike and hybrid.

Cycles don’t come cheap. The cheapest road bike starts at upwards of INR 40,000. The cost goes up depending on the material of the frame, fork and other components such as wheels and gears shifters. The aluminium frame is the cheapest option, followed by alloy, and carbon bikes are the most expensive. The advantage of using a carbon frame is that it absorbs vibrations and shocks much better than aluminium or alloy.

Road Bike, as the name suggests it is meant for road riding. It is built for speed. Its primary characteristics are aerodynamics, light frame, rigid fork, thin tyres, racing handlebar with integrated gear shifters and brake levers. A rider who intends to ride largely on roads and wants to feel the wind in the hair can consider a road bike.

Mountain Bike, popularly known as MTBs are off-road bikes. They are meant for rough riding conditions, which make them ideal for most Indian roads. A typical MTB has a front suspension fork, 2-inch wide, off-road tyres and disc brakes. A full suspension MTB would have an additional rear mounted suspension as well. MTB is great for riding in the trails.

For the most experienced riders, there are three highly specialized versions of the MTB. The cross-country/trail bike accounts for the highest number of mountain bikes sold in India. A downhill MTB is one which a biker uses to come down a steep but defined path. And finally there is the free ride, the most extreme version of downhill biking, restricted to the highly skilled riders and adrenalin Junkers.

Hybrid Bike is a mix of the MTB and road bikes. It features flat handlebars, tyres wider than those of a roadie and thinner than those of an MTB, and gear ratios that are between those of road bikes and MTBs. As most cycling is done early mornings on city roads, the hybrid is the best option for someone who is not a road biker. BMX or stunt bikes has small wheels, usually 20 inches in size, a 360 degree rotating handlebar, and stunt pegs at the front or rear, or on both hub axles. It is used purely for stunts. 

Book Review: Land of seven Rivers

India spawns ideas as vigorously as it spawns diverse populations. This is the impression conveyed by the Land of Seven Rivers, a book that good-naturedly examines a huge range of India related topics, from mitochondrial DNA to modernist architecture. Writer Sanjeev Sanyal certainly begins with the shifts of Tectonic Plates that over millions of years nudged the subcontinent up against the Asian Mainland, goes on to examine the evidence for the origin of India’s populations, and so proceeds to the partition of 1947 and the subsequent absorbing of French and Portuguese enclaves.

He also covers the drying up of the once Legendary Saraswati River, the writing of the Kamasutra, the extraordinary rule of the Mughal Emperor Akbar, the anti-British revolt of 1857, and much more. He highlights particular locations, sometimes visiting them and reporting on their current condition. It is very easy to lose interest in a book based on facts and numbers. However, this did not happen while I was reading this book, maybe also because I took my time with this one. I had to let the history and geography of our land sink in and that helped me savor the book – page by page. This book is a fantastic attempt to talk to us simply about our heritage and of the times gone by.

It is an affiliate book that meanders, rather like the rivers it describes, through the familiar landscape of the history of the Indian sub-continent. One will pass through most of the landmarks such as the Harappans, the Vedas, Ashoka, the Ramayana and Mahabharata, the various cities of Delhi, Mughals, the British and their Mapmakers, partition as well as the rise of a new India exemplified by the rapid growth of Gurgaon, a centre for the call-centre industry south of Delhi and characterized by gleaming office towers, metro stations, malls, luxury hotels and millions of jobs.  

This book is strong on unusual facts. I was astonished to read, for example, that the UK barrister, who mapped out the line of partition between India and Pakistan in 1947, in Delhi but without having time to inspect the situation on the ground, actually returned his fee of 2000 UK Pounds following the mass migration and killings that followed his work. Also of great interest is India’s estimated proportion of World GDP – a possible 33 percent in the first century AD, compared to 4 percent at Independence. The Roman Empire is estimated having 21 percent. The book positions itself very nicely between being a research based account and a leisurely stroll through Indian history.

Brands behind IPL 2016

The annual T20 cricketing extravaganza in India, the Indian Premier League (IPL) turns nine now. Over its journey, starting from 2008, the newbie has gone through many ups and downs, from controversial to financial irregularities and usage of drugs in post-match parties to betting and match fixing scandals. But its acceptance among millions of television audiences and cricket lovers has not faded.

Apart from increasing television viewership, the fact that after eight seasons, companies and brands still wants to associate with IPL is testament of that. Currently, not only are more than 80 different brands and companies are directly associated with eight IPL franchises, but companies like Cargill Foods, Mother Dairy and Kent RO have also joined pool this year. The estimated Rs. 20000 crore IPL brand is a platform that brands can leverage to reach millions of eyeballs without having to fight too much.

Through visibility in IPL, in terms of branding on team jerseys, ground etc. brands can claim a space in consumer minds over the two month period. Kent RO, Cargill Foods will be participating first time this year. Mother dairy has become the principal sponsor of the Delhi Daredevils Franchise. It is also coming up with consumer engagement programmes at select outlets in the capital. Brands from diverse fields, from hotels to health drinks, cooking oil to AIDS awareness campaigns, IPL are a preferred platform.

Major brands associated with IPL are:-

Kolkata Knight Riders: - Sponsors – Gionee, Sansui, Lux Cozi, SRMB TMT, Colors Bangla, KeoKarpin, Khadims, PepsiCO. Delhi Daredevils: - Sponsors – Daikin, Skill India, Officer’s Choice Blue, RBL Bank, KS Deos. Rising Pune Supergiants: - Spykar, Gulf, Gemini Cooking oil, Finolex, LYF Smartphone, DBS, Marriott. Gujarat Lions: - Oxigen Wallet, TVS Tyres.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: - United Spirits, Hero Cycles, 7UP, Kingfisher Premium, OLA, Fever FM, Lloyd AC, Britannia, DNA, Acer, LYF Smartphone. Mumbai Indians: - Videocon D2H, Etihad Airways, DHFL, Samsung, Deeraj. Kings XI Punjab: - Tata Motors Prima. Sunrisers Hyderabad: - Idea 4G, DTDC, Thumbs Up, UltraTech, Tyka, Red FM, DCB Bank, and Haldiram.

Best Salesman of Technology Industry

Some of the most successful tech leaders are often the greatest salespeople too. They understand you have to be able to sell your product and vision to take your company to the next level. These 7 Billionaire tech moguls are proven sales masters who could probably sell you anything.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff – Benioff was a star salesman early in his career at oracle, making him Oracle youngest VP ever. He turned his sales knowledge into Salesforce, a software maker that helps salespeople make sales more efficiently. The company now worth $50 Billion has been selling record size deals lately, worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Oracle Co-founder Larry Ellison – Ellison is known for creating a super charged sales environment at Oracle, his sales tactics are legendary which is how he turned Oracle into a $38 Billion in revenue giant today. In fact, he was even able to sell a struggling Hawaiian Airline he once bought to a VC in the area.

Apple Co-founder Steve Jobs – Jobs wasn’t just a visionary, he knew how to sell the products he created. From his presentations to small talking, every move was aimed at creating a stronger brand and popular product. iPhones have grown in sales every year, while Apple is now one of the most valuable companies in the world. Steve Jobs was even able to sell NeXT Software, a company he founded, to Apple, when he returned to the company.

LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer – Ballmer was Microsoft very first salesman. His energy and explosive sales pitches played a big role in transforming Bill Gates tiny startup into the largest software maker in the world. When Ballmer took over the Microsoft CEO role from Gates in 2000, some people saw it as the triumph of sales over technology and innovation.

Dell CEO Michael Dell – Dell showed signs of a great salesperson from an early age. In High school, he was already making $18,000 a year selling newspaper subscription. Soon, in his college freshman year, Dell started selling upgrade kits for personal computers, which became the basis for Dell Computers, once the most profitable PC manufacturer in the world.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban – Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, is now an investor, but he started his career selling computer software. He was able to make a $15,000 sale just 9 months into his job, and later started his own PC consulting business. His biggest feat is probably selling his own startup called Broadcast.com to Yahoo for over $5 Billion. One of his favorite phrases is “sales cures all.”

Zenefits CEO David Sacks – Sacks has a history of building startups and selling them for billions of dollars. He was PayPal COO when it was sold to eBay for $1.5 Billion in 2002. His next startup, Yammer was sold to Microsoft for $1.2 Billion. He is now on to his third Billion dollar startup, Zenefits, which was last valued at $4.5 Billion.

Past and Future of Internet

In December 2015, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation asked Apple to open a ‘backdoor’ to break into a phone recovered during the San Bernardino massacre. Apple refused, and is now fighting a battle to overturn a court order that went in favor of the FBI. In January 2016, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India banned the use of differential pricing by telecom companies, effectively putting an end to Facebook plan to roll out Free Basics, a scheme under which subscribers of a partner telecom companies would have free access to a subset of websites.

Both incidents appear to pitch the state versus a technology company. However, a brief history of the Internet will show, the implications to be drawn for the future of Internet governance are different in each case. In the 1990s, as the Internet grew in scope, the US government contracted the Domain Name System (DNS) registry, the task of ensuring unique identifiers for the different servers connected by the Internet, to Network Solutions Inc., creating a private monopoly of $1 Billion.

However, in 1992, the Internet society (ISOC) created a memorandum of understanding to assign governance functions, with representatives from businesses, intergovernmental organizations and ISOC itself. In 1988, the US department of commerce rejected the MoU process and recommended the DNS system be managed by a non-profit company, leading to the creation of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). The past 15 years have seen a remarkable growth of the Internet, with the number of websites increasing from 12 Million at the turn of the Millennium to over 1 Billion today.

However, traffic is heavily concentrated in websites belonging to a few corporations. The global slowdown and the decline of the BRICS have resulted in the coining of a new acronym of power – FANG, referring to Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google. Many Internet Companies are based in the US and place their servers there, thus giving the US government access to data from foreign countries while reducing the control of local governments over their information, and their ability to prosecute the managements of these companies.

So far, users have been willing to give away large amounts of information for the benefit of free services. However, the possibility that the government can gain access to their information may exercise a chilling effect on their usage and create an insurmountable obstacle for the future of the Internet Business Model. For the first time, as the Apple Episode shows, the US has specific interests which may be best served by allowing other states the freedom to pursue their own goals with respect to the Internet, thereby giving US itself similar powers, despite its diminished share of the Internet market. 

Lessons from Bhagat Singh

Eighty five years ago this month, Bhagat Singh, along with his revolutionary colleagues Shivaram Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar, were hanged to death in Lahore Jail. They were executed for the killing of Assistant Superintendent of Police John A. Saunders. Bhagat Singh was born a mere 23 years before then to a politically active Punjabi Sikh Family. His grandfather, Sardar Arjun Singh, was strongly opposed to British Government and initiated his sons and his grandson into that tradition.

Bhagat Singh learnt English, Hindi, Urdu and Sanskrit at the DAV School in Lahore. He subsequently attended National College in Lahore, which was set up by Lala Lajpat Rai in 1920. Even though seeds of Bhagat Singh Revolutionary path were sown in the early days after his visit to Jallianwala Bagh, he became a committed revolutionary after the death of Lala Lajpat Rai.

The forum for the discussion of the response to Rai death was the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA). The HSRA predecessor, the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) had been established in the immediate aftermath of the Chauri Chaura incident in which 22 policemen were burnt alive in a retaliatory incident. The most significant action of the HRA was the Kakori Train robbery undertaken in 1925 to finance its activities. Many leaders of the HRA, including Bismil, were hanged for that incident.

Bhagat Singh short and eventful life had many strands. He displayed an extraordinary commitment to his cause. He was an avowed atheist. He was a revolutionary and a socialist. He was a fearless patriot. He believed in using arms to gain self-respect and independence. He read and wrote a lot. Even though Bhagat Singh methods were wrong, his dedication to a cause is worthy of emulation. His fearlessness came from an inner determination and was reinforced by his extensive reading.

Bhagat Singh himself would have frowned upon a jingoistic, non-nuanced adoption of any of our heroes. That may be the most important lesson of all for today young. Shaheed Bhagat Singh, socialist and revolutionary himself said, “Bombs and pistols do not make revolution. The sword of revolution is sharpened on the whetting stone of ideas”.

Source: - Livemint.com, Monday Mar 7-2016.

Book Review: Into Thin Air

Jon Krakauer, an accomplished climber, joined a commercial expedition run by guides for paying clients, many of whom had little or no climbing experience. In “Into thin Air” he gives a thorough and chilling account of the ill-fated climb and reveals the complex web of decisions and circumstances that left a group of amateurs fighting for their lives in the thin air and sub-zero cold above 26000 feet, place climbers call “The Death Zone”.

Into Thin Air reveals the harsh realities of mountaineering and echoes with frantic calls of climbers lost high on the mountain and way beyond help. On May 9^th 1996, five expeditions launched an assault on the summit of Mount Everest. The conditions seemed perfect. 24 hours later one climber had died and 23 other men and women were caught in a desperate struggle for their lives as they battled against a ferocious storm that threatened to tear them from the mountain. In all eight climbers died that day in the worst tragedy Everest has ever seen.

With enough determination, any idiot can get up this hill, observed Rob Hall, the leader of a commercial expedition on his 8^th tour of Mount Everest. “The Trick is to get back down Alive”. This book covers journey of Jon’s 1996 expedition starting from Dehradun, India to top of Mt. Everest and back to Seattle, USA. Every point of stop while trekking to Everest (“Sagarmatha” in Nepal language) base camp is clearly explained with all experiences.

Using all his powers of observation and reportage, Krakauer simply takes me to Everest, to a monastery where a lama proudly shows off a picture of himself posing with Steven Seagal, to the base camp. Everest can be climbed from Nepal region and Tibet region. Experiences from both sides are shared in this non-fiction book written by Jon Krakauer. Stories and strength power of Nepalese Sherpa are also shared. Up until May 1996, Mount Everest had been climbed some 630 times and had claimed 144 lives.

Although a record 12 people died in 1996, 84 reached the summit, which actually made it a safer than average year. One who wishes to know about what it takes to climb Everest (world largest mountain) and what happened in 1996 storm which took lives of famous climbers in theoretical and picturization way, Into Thin Air is a perfect read. With this book, I finished my 25 readings of life; next book to read is “Land of the seven rivers”.

India’s top Tech Billionaires

Wipro Chairman Azim Premji leads the pack of Indian Tech Billionaires followed by HCL cofounder Shiv Nadar and Infosys chairman emeritus NR Narayana Murthy, according to Forbes 2016 list of World’s billionaires.

Azim Premji, his net worth is $15 Billion and global rank is 55. He is the founder and chairman of Wipro, India’s third largest software exporter. His family office Premji Invest has invested in companies like Snapdeal, Myntra, PolicyBazaar and Cyanogen among others. Shiv Nadar, net worth $11.1 Billion and global rank is 88. He is the founder and chairman of HCL, India’s fourth largest software services exporter. He is also a philanthropist with Shiv Nadar foundation.

NR Narayana Murthy, net worth $1.9 Billion and global rank is 959. He is cofounder of Infosys, India’s second largest software services exporter. He was the Infosys CEO from 1981 to 2002 and as chairman from 2002 to 2011. His private investment firm Catamaran Ventures has invested in Yebhi, Hector Beverages, Coverfox, and also has a joint venture with Amazon called Cloudtail which is the largest seller on Amazon India.

Kris Gopalakrishnan, net worth is $1.6 Billion and global rank is 1121. He is cofounder of Infosys and its chief executive from 2007 to 2011. He contributed 225 crore to setup the Centre for Brain Research at the IISc in Bengaluru and also backed a stem cell centered multidisciplinary programme on mental diseases and blood disorders.

Nandan Nilekani, net worth is $1.6 Billion. He is cofounder of Infosys and its chief executive from 2002 to 2007. He was the chairman of UIAI until March 2014 and is currently chairman of EkStep. He has backed companies like Team Indus, Fortigo, Mubble, LetsVenture, Power2SME and Systemantics.

Binny Bansal, net worth is $1.2 Billion and global rank is 1476. He is cofounder of India’s largest ecommerce platform Flipkart and took over as its chief executive in January 2016. He is currently responsible for operationally driving the company and overlooks all its business areas. Sachin Bansal, net worth is $1.2 Billion. He is cofounder of Flipkart and was its chief executive until January 2016, post which he assumed the role of executive chairman. Along with Binny Bansal, he has backed startups like Ather Energy, InShorts, Tracxn, and Tinystep.

K Dinesh, net worth is $1.2 Billion. He is co-founder of Infosys and was the board member from 1981 to 2011. He is retired as the Head of Quality, Information Systems and the Communication Design Group in 2011. SD Shibulal, net worth is $1.1 Billion and global rank is 1577. He is cofounder of Infosys and was its chief executive from 2011 to 2014. He setup a startup incubator Axilor Ventures with Kris Gopalakrishnan.

What’s Ailing Women Football?

FIFA estimates that more than 750 Million television viewers watched at least 60 seconds of action during the 2015 Women World Cup in Canada. The final between the US and Japan was the most watched soccer match in US Television history with 25.4 Million tuning in. The tournament also broke television viewing records in Canada, France, Japan, Australia, Brazil, China, South Korea and Norway for Women Football.

Women Football is heavily reliant on the spectacle of international tournaments to widen its popularity. The struggle has been to sustain that interest and make it bleed into Women Club Football. Women World Cup fall in the “in between” years, when there is no men’s World Cup or European Championship, which makes it ripe for strong television viewing and attendance figures.

In the US, soccer is more readily accepted as women’s sport. The sport history is not shrouded in the same patriarchal cultural baggage as it is in much of Europe. In recent years, other nations have risen to challenge the US dominance such as Japan and Germany. Lately, teams such as France and England have developed pleasingly while the Brazilian national side is no longer just 10 girls and Marta. The international picture is panning out to be more competitive, which will only serve to generate more interest.

One must be careful not to compare women’s football with top level men’s football. Women’s Football is played in a different style, for a start. But the concept of women’s football is still in its infancy. In England, women were banned from organizing themselves professionally in football until the 1970s. Women Football is bridging a gap of around 100 years of development compared to the men’s game. The tectonic plates of the domestic game in women’s football continue to collide. With the suffocating coverage of men’s football and the rolling soap opera of La Liga, the Premier League and the Champions League the women leagues struggle to be noticed.

India women national side holds a higher FIFA ranking than their male counterparts. It remains a mystery that such a populous country with a consuming passion for football continues to have such an uninspiring participative legacy. The Indian Super League was founded in 2013 with the ultimate aim of creating a flourishing domestic football scene. The women’s game in this sprawling nation requires a similar notion to put itself on the emerging map of women’s football.