Dr M Khalid's global village blog

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Planned obsolescence- How products around the world are deliberately designed to wear out in a planned duration so that the consumer has to buy a new one !!     Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bxzU1HFC7Q   From- The Economist: Planned obsolescence is a business strategy in which the obsolescence (the process of becoming obsolete—that is, unfashionable or no longer usable) of a product is planned and built into it from its conception. This is done so that in future the consumer feels a need to purchase new products and services that the manufacturer brings out as replacements for the old ones. Consumers sometimes see planned obsolescence as a sinister plot by manufacturers to fleece them. But Philip Kotler, a marketing guru (see article), says: “Much so-called planned obsolescence is the working of the competitive and technological forces in a free society—forces that lead to ever-improving goods and services.” A classic case of planned obsolescence was the nylon s

At a time when fuel conservation is becoming imperative across the world, Tata Motors is aiming to make a car, Tata Megapixel, which can deliver up to 100 kilometres from a litre of fuel (under battery only power). The company, which surprised the world with 'Rs.1 lakh car' Nano, on Tuesday unveiled the concept vehicle, which is a four-seater global range extended electric vehicle (REEV), meant for city driving. The new innovation from the house of Tatas is likely to be commercially launched in around three years from now. From:  http://www.thehindu.com/business/companies/article2967467.ece photos:  http://www.autoguide.com/gallery/gallery.php/v/main/auto-shows/2012-geneva-motor-show/tata/2013-megapixel/2013-Tata-Megapixel-8.JPG.html

Silver, the poor cousin of gold has been on a roll. Since the beginning of this year, the metal has given a whopping 61% returns. Gold in the same period has given a return of around 15%. Also, silver prices have been on all time high levels, and currently quote at `44,130 per kg. Despite these all-time high levels, buying silver seems to be catching on in India. Take the case of 58-year old Usha Joshi, who always wanted to buy silver. However, the idea of holding silver physically seemed problematic to her. While she could buy gold through exchange traded funds (ETFs), she could not do the same in case of silver, as no silver ETFs are available in India. However, now she has a solution to her problem. She buys both e-gold and e-silver through the National Spot Exchange, where it is possible to buy silver in lots of 100 grams and gold in lots of 1 gram. At the opportune time, Ms Joshi, plans to gift these precious metals to her grandchildren. "It's easier than going to

Video: Russian news channel RT news reports: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1D27l-_Jh78 From The times of India: TNN  |  Jan 26, 2012, 02.28AM IST NEW DELHI: A reputed Israeli intelligence website has claimed that India is opting for gold to repay crude oil supplies from Iran. Given the  US and EU embargo  on Iran, payment in hard currency, such as the US dollar or euro, is very difficult; hence, this barter. The website,  Debkafile , said the transaction will be routed through  UCO Bank , the Kolkata-based public sector lender. However, when contacted, a senior bank executive said he had not heard of any plans to settle  oil payments  in gold. A senior finance ministry official said he did not wish to comment on the issue. When reached over the phone, economic affairs secretary R Gopalan, who has been leading the talks with Iran, said he was busy in a meeting and did not respond to a text message. The report on the Israeli website coincides with the visit of an Indian offic

Indian markets plunged further due to aggressive selling activity seen in index heavyweights amid huge volatility after the Union Budget.      RBI credit policy dampened the market sentiment.  Realty, banking and consumer durables stock were badly hit.    At 2.46 p.m., the Sensex was trading down 209.11 points or 1.18% at 17,466.74 with 24 components falling. Meanwhile, the Nifty was trading lower by 56.35 points or 1.05% at 5,324.15 with 40 components falling. Sectors in Limelight The Oil & Gas index was at 8,235.20, down by 288.35 points or by 3.38%. The major losers were Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (5.74%), Cairn India (4.91%), Oil India (4.54%), G A I L (India) (2.24%) and Gujarat State Petronet (1.83%). The PSU index was at 7,475.51, down by 208.5 points or by 2.71%. The major losers were Bank Of Baroda(3.02%), Bank Of India (2.99%), Allahabad Bank (2.84%), Andhra Bank (1.71%) and Bank Of Maharashtra (0.77%). The Power index was at 2,201.55, down by 57.21 points or b