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The US is careening toward what could be a calamitous default on its debt because of political dysfunction in Washington. The US Treasury has said it will hit the nation's $16.7 trillion debt cap by 17 October. Following are some questions and answers about how and when default could happen.How could the US default?Washington takes in about 70 cents in taxes for every dollar it spends, so it must borrow to pay its bills. This would be easy as there are plenty of investors who want to lend America money. The problem: Congress put a ceiling on government debt and lawmakers haven't struck a deal to raise it.So will Washington go broke on 17 Oct?No, but it will be dangerously low on cash. The government has been scraping up against the debt ceiling since May, and now looks set to hit it around mid-month. When it does, the Treasury thinks it will have about $30 billion in the bank. Because it won't be able to add to the national debt, bills will have to be paid with incoming revenues and cash on hand.How long will the money last?Not long at all. The Congressional Budget Office thinks the United States would start missing payments on at least some of its obligations between Oct. 22 and the end of the month. No one knows the exact day because you can't know what tomorrow's tax revenues will look like.The US defaults when the money runs out, right?It depends how you define default. Historically, default is when a country misses a payment to a creditor. The Obama administration says default would include any missed payment, such as payments for public health insurance. The first really big bill due after hitting the debt ceiling is a $12 billion Social Security payment on Oct. 23.When would financial markets melt down?Markets would be alarmed if it looked like bondholders would go unpaid for an extended period, and might even panic if any government checks were delayed. Many analysts think the administration would at least try to prioritize payments on the national debt, but Treasury officials say picking and choosing which bills to pay would be impossible. The first debt payments due after hitting the debt ceiling are on Oct. 17, 24 and 31. The first of those shouldn't be a problem, according the CBO analysis. But there might not be enough money for the payments due on the 24th or the 31st.How would default affect the economy?It would sink like a stone. Once default began, the government would have to slash its spending overnight by about a third. The fiscal drag, if it lasted a full year, would be the equivalent of up to 4.2 per cent of national economic output, according to calculations by Goldman Sachs.That doesn't take into account the potential for a financial crisis. If investors lost their cool, stock markets could tumble, hitting pension funds and leading consumers to spend less of their money. Credit markets could freeze up because investors around the world might reassess the value of U.S. debt, which serves as collateral for trillions of dollars in loans and other financial transactions. The Treasury has warned a default could trigger the worst recession since the Great Depression.Is there an easy way out of this?Washington's army of policy wonks have floated all sorts of ideas that could in theory resolve a debt ceiling crisis. Treasury could mint a $1 trillion dollar coin and deposit it at the Federal Reserve, magically topping up government coffers. The Obama administration could unilaterally raise the debt ceiling by invoking the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which some scholars read as prohibiting a default.The White House has ruled out both approaches. That they are even being considered speaks to the manufactured nature of Washington's crisis. The United States isn't at risk of default because its economy is failing. Its political system is just increasingly dysfunctional, and the most plausible resolution to crisis would be a deal between the White House and Congress. (Reuters)
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The government will have to rein in spending and cut subsidies to meet its fiscal deficit target, the finance minister said on Monday, 7 October, underlining that an austerity drive will not be blown off course by an election due next year.P. Chidambaram told Reuters ahead of a trip to the US - where one stop will be to woo investors on the West Coast - that he will not allow the deficit to cross a "red line" set at 4.8 per cent of gross domestic product this fiscal year."We've issued austerity instructions, it will bring us some savings," he said.The finance minister's vow to contain the deficit means there will be little room ahead of a tough election to spur growth, which has slumped from a double-digit pace in early 2010 to below 5.0 per cent, its lowest in a decade.The government recently introduced a plan to distribute cheap food for two-thirds of the population, a step widely seen as wooing voters ahead of the election. But - without giving details - Chidambaram pointed to food subsidies as one area where spending would need to be addressed in coming months.Along with pallid growth, Asia's third-largest economy is facing stubborn inflation, companies are struggling and bank asset quality is worsening. But Chidambaram shrugged off the risk of a cut in India's sovereign credit rating, which is one precarious notch above junk status."There is no case for a downgrade," he said in an interview at North Block, the sandstone colonial building that houses the finance ministry in New Delhi. "If any rating agency is looking for candidates to downgrade there are half a dozen other countries."The Indian rupee was one of the hardest-hit emerging-market currencies recently amid alarm in financial markets about an imminent "tapering" of the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary stimulus, falling by about 20 per cent at one point from May.It has recovered somewhat recently, and Chidambaram said the central bank may now be able to consider reversing some of the liquidity tightening steps it took to shore the currency up."If the volatility of the rupee has been contained and speculation has come to an end, the central bank may want to unwind some of the measures it took earlier, he said.On Monday the Reserve Bank of India cut a key overnight interest rate, further dialling back an emergency measure it had imposed in mid-July in order to defend the rupee that had tightened market liquidity and pushed up borrowing costs.Chidambaram said there would be some impact when the Fed's tapering - which was put on hold - does eventually come, but it was now mostly factored into the market and he was confident that speculators had been put in their place."We think we have sent a message to everyone - don't speculate on the rupee," he said."Don't Write Us Off"Chidambaram said the economic downturn was no reason to think that his Congress party, which has been weakened by years of fractious coalition rule and a string of corruption scandals, would be ousted in a national election that must be held by May."Don't write us off so easily," he said, adding that the next leader of the Congress party would be Rahul Gandhi, scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty that has ruled India for most of its 66 years since independence."I am glad you acknowledge prime minister Rahul Gandhi, but that is a question you should put to him," Chidambaram said, when asked if he would serve again in a government led by the party's heir apparent if Congress wins a third straight term in office. "The time has come for the torch to be passed on to a new and younger generation."Chidambaram dismissed the dazzling emergence of opposition figurehead and candidate for prime minister Narendra Modi on the national political stage as "largely media created".He conceded that the Hindu nationalist leader had united the rank and file of the Bharatiya Janata Party and "gained some traction among urban youths", but said the rising political star was someone with a "very, very chequered track record".Modi is widely credited with bringing investment, regular electricity supplies and infrastructure to the state of Gujarat, where he has been chief minister for more than a decade.But Chidambaram downplayed the double-digit growth enjoyed by the coastal state, referring to a new national development index that gave it a middling "less developed" ranking.Modi was chief minister of Gujarat when deadly communal riots raged there in 2002. He has always vehemently denied charges that he turned a blind eye to the violence, and a Supreme Court inquiry found no evidence to prosecute him.Tackling SubsidiesAn urbane Harvard-educated lawyer now in his third stint as finance minister, Chidambaram is widely seen as a business-friendly reformer.However, the weak coalition government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has struggled to push through reforms that might correct underlying economic imbalances, such as loosening strict labour laws and implementing a goods and services tax.Chidambaram said a jump in spending on fuel and food subsidies must be tackled sooner rather than later as part of a series of steps to stabilise the economy. India imports nearly 80 per cent of its oil needs and the rupee's drop has made government fuel subsidies more costly."On the government side, sooner (rather) than later we will have to address the issue of higher subsidies than budgeted, on both fuel and food," he said.Last month, the government shied away from raising diesel prices by close to 10 per cent to offset the financial damage Of the weaker rupee. Oil subsidies are now estimated at more than 900 billion rupees - nearly 40 per cent more than budgeted - for the current fiscal year.The finance minister is unlikely to announce sweeping spending cuts, but he said he may rein in spending by some large government departments and would rigidly enforce rules that make it hard for ministries to fully utilise designated funds.(Reuters)
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Finance Minister P Chidambaram will leave for the US tomorrow to attend the annual meeting of the IMF and the World Bank, during which world leaders will deliberate on prevailing uncertainty in global economy. Discussions will also focus on the much-awaited quota reforms that will benefit emerging economies including India. Chidambaram is slated to return on October 16. Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan and Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram, among others, will also be attending the annual meetings. The main meetings are scheduled from October 11-13, 2013 in Washington, while other events will start from October 8. Sources said Chidambaram will meet US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew on October 13. The Finance Minister will, among other things, pitch for more overseas investments into India, which is facing tough economic conditions. India's economic growth fell to a decade low of 5 per cent in 2012-13 fiscal. In the April-June quarter of the current fiscal, it has expanded by only 4.4 per cent. In a bid to woo foreign investments, Chidambaram will meet Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) and hedge fund managers in San Fransisco on October 14, sources said. As per latest data, FIIs have invested USD 7 billion in the Indian equity and debt markets so far in 2013. The visit comes against the backdrop of external sector pressure with the country's foreign exchange reserves dipping by over USD 15 billion since March, 2013 to USD 276 billion as on September 27. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into India rose by 12 per cent, year-on-year, to USD 1.65 billion in July. In the same month of last year, the country had received FDI worth USD 1.47 billion. Reforms for increasing voting shares of emerging markets, including India, are also on the agenda of the global leaders. India currently has a voting share of 2.44 per cent in the Washington-based IMF. US has the highest voting share of 17.69 per cent. Some of the other key issues expected to be discussed at the IMF-World Bank meeting include world economic outlook, euro-zone crisis, poverty eradication, economic development and making aid providing efforts effective. Meanwhile, the US - world's largest economy - is grappling with government shutdown amid political slugfest, raising concerns over the possibility of the country defaulting on its debt obligations. In other parts of the world too, including India, China and many European nations, economic situation remains uncertain. Emerging markets are also gearing up to tackle the situation that will arise after the US Federal Reserve starts tapering its easy money regime. Earlier this year, IMF lowered the global growth forecast for 2013 to 3.1 per cent, from the earlier 3.3 per cent. For 2014 also, the multilateral agency has slashed growth forecast to 3.8 per cent, from 4 per cent. (PTI)
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The Kalpana Case' is an example of how an organization refuses to use it heart and how an employee refuses to use her head. The facts starting from Kalpana's inability to read the writing on the wall and going through into the organisation's inability to manage people issues, are fraught with dissonance. Here are a few questions I have for the senior managers of the bank.Why did you deal with Kalpana in this manner? What was your issue? Why such a cloak and dagger approach?Why did you allow Sundari to play games?What is the real story behind sacking Kalpana?What is your policy with regard to treating pregnancy, and medical emergencies?What are your core values which govern the way you will conduct yourself in good times and bad?I get no clear answers. Instead, I see a management that is indulging in inexplicable behaviour. Sundari's conduct is despicable and the behaviour of the Country Head and National HR head is pathetic. (All the men in this case were really disappointing in their complete lack of sensitivity and courage.)David Ogilvy once said, "Rules are for the obedience of fools and guidance of wise men." I see no evidence of adherence to policy (whatever it might be) nor evidence of any wisdom guiding the decisions. I am not surprised though. This is how most organisations, MNC or otherwise, behave. There are, of course, exceptions. It may be argued that men don't understand pregnancy or women's issues. But in this case, two senior managers (Sundari and the lady director on board) did nothing different either to show that women would have handled this situation better!Why does this happen? It is not because there are no clear policies. It is because the organisation does not have a clear set of values that guide them in good times and bad. It is probably impossible to frame policies to cover all possible situations. In such cases the organisation should be guided by values than by policy. "What we believe and how we behave".I don't believe this organisation suffered from any recession. It suffered from a bankruptcy of values.My next concern is Kalpana. She did NOT know her priorities. "What is more important? Having the baby or the career in the bank?" Right in the beginning when Sundari told her "You need to have your options clear and take a call between your professional and personal priorities", why did Kalpana keep quiet? Should she not have said "My baby first, you can keep the job"? By dithering there, she allowed herself to be pushed around. The other point is that she should have stopped to think "why did Sundari say that" instead of getting upset about "how dare she talk to me like that" or "if this is what she does to me (who is so senior), imagine what she would do to someone junior".She made this into a women's issue before exploring the various angles as to what is happening to her. She should have adopted a more strategic approach to tackling this problem.I also noticed that she reacted to situations impulsively rather than respond carefully. You could easily provoke her and get her to say the wrong things. My biggest shock is that after all the insult, unfair treatment, and being sacked - when the country head and and national HR head ask "What is it you want?", Kalpana's reply is "My job". Why would Kalpana ever want go back to such an organisation? Beats me. That is why this is a classic case where the organisation did not use its heart and the individual did not use her head.Does Geffel have a hope in hell? Can we salvage the company now? Can it rethink its approach? What should they have done, when and how? Geffel does have a hope in heaven, if they wish to be there. But much depends on what their focus is and what their genuine people philosophy is. It must stem from the top.Good companies know how to handle exceptions. In the service industry they use something called service recovery when something goes wrong. These are the broad steps they follow:1.Acknowledge that there is a problem/mistake.2.Apologise for what happened to the person affected.3.Think of ways to redress and turn the situation around. 4.Put your best foot forward to implement the solution.5.Check with the affected person if the problem has now been sorted out to their satisfaction.6.Capture learning and ensure it is part of the organisation experience, knowledge and folklore "What worked, what did not."7.Make this way of thinking and working a regular way.8.Start at the top and set an example; lead the way.9.Be tough on people who do not comply with company values (not easy). 10.Never let people forget who we are, what we are. Celebrate heroes and heroines who follow the values no matter what.The author is an innovation coach, a CEO coach, and creator of TickleMeThink (an iPhone app), an aspiring writer, a speaker, and former director Ogilvy & Mather India
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Most of the 400,000 Pentagon staff sent home amid the US government shutdown have been ordered to return to work even as the deadlock over the federal budget between Republicans and Democrats entered its sixth day on 7 October' 2013. US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said the decision to recall the Pentagon employees was based on an interpretation of the Pay Our Military Act. A budget row over President Barack Obama's showpiece 'Obamacare' healthcare reform law between Republicans and Democrats has forced the closure of federal services since Tuesday, 1 October. But both sides have now voted to approve back-pay for the 800,000 federal workers sent home without salaries. In a rare moment of bipartisan co-operation, the House of Representatives yesterday approved by 407-0 a bill to pay the federal workers once the shutdown ends. But there is still no sign of any deal on the federal budget or any measure to raise the nation's $16.7 trillion debt ceiling. Neither the House nor the Senate plans to meet again until tomorrow afternoon, meaning the shutdown will have lasted at least seven days. The shutdown has left federal employees on unpaid leave and closed national parks, tourist sites, official websites, office buildings, and more establishments. Congress must act by 17 October in order to avoid a debt default by the US government. The government will run out of cash on that day for the first time in US history unless its debt ceiling is raised. Republicans who control the House of Representatives have refused to approve the budget, saying they would only do so if the healthcare programme was delayed or stripped of funding. Obama and the Democrats have refused, noting the law was passed in 2010, subsequently approved by the Supreme Court, and was a central issue in the 2012 election which Obama won. Obama cancelled his Asia visit because of the shutdown.(PTI)
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Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram justified increase in the prices of rice from the government pool, saying the government paid more to farmers for procuring it. "We pay more for procurement of rice from farmers and naturally the price of rice will go up," he said after inaugurating the 1,459th branch of public sector Vijaya Bank at Tayamangalam near Sivaganga. "Agriculture is the poorvikam (original vocation) of the country and if the farm sector did not prosper...then the country will not prosper," he said. "There is no rule of nature that farmers should remain poor for ever. When the Government provides better price for rice and wheat, naturally their prices will go up," he said. The government was determined to give a good price for the farm produce, he said. Stressing the need to increase food production as per the requirements of the country, he claimed that the agricultural sector had seen excessive growth recently and production of wheat and rice had doubled. He also urged farmers to avail farm loans as it comes at a cheap rate of interest. The UPA government had increased the loans given to farmers from Rs 85,000 crore in 2004 to Rs 7.5 lakh crore in this fiscal to improve the farm sector. The interest on farm loan was just seven per cent and if the principal and interest were paid properly then three per cent rebate was also given, he said. (PTI)
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I’m as fierce a mum as the next milk banking ‘lactivist’ but when it comes to postnatal career calls, I believe it is solely a mother’s prerogative. I may not agree with Marissa Meyer’s cab ride to work straight from the labour room but back-fence nattering and column inches given to discussing the same are all too astounding. Either people want such women to fail or cannot get over the success of it all, haven’t a clue, but what gets me all hot and bothered is if tears, pain and joy belong to the mother, then surely the first domino tumbling in that complex trail of decisions ‘to go or not to go’ must be for her taking too. Companies have to trust that the woman they hired, to make critical decisions for the firm, can make this one soundly enough.Not that they should expect the same woman to come back to her job, breast pads under business suit and unlikely to have changed one bit. Far from it! Mothers return to work ridden with guilt, hormones, pressure, emotions, desire to prove that they are indispensible and can outdo their last stint, and sure enough they multitask and make it work with the baby compartmentalised snuggly in their mental folio. Should we not then be viewing maternity leave as a leadership development course that equips women even better for their workplace? Wouldn’t the best and most productive employers be those who see the complete person, kids and all? I am gobsmacked that an MNC bank recruiting high-flyers like Kalpana, who have taken advantage of the best education, would actually encourage them to abandon their careers (and contributions to the bottom line) in favour of changing nappies at home!Growth in aspirations, wages, average spend, lifestyle and inflation coupled with a decline in family incomes across India are all putting many more Kalpanas in this position every time they decide to take up their ovaries on the offer. Whether they go back to give meaning to their lives or simply to collect a paycheck, children are still conceived to enrich lives not enslave conscience.Kalpana’s boss reminds me of erstwhile Margaret Thatcher who was so tough on new stay-at-home mums, that she was reluctant to give them tax breaks for she thought they ‘lacked get-up-and-go and gumption’. Need I remind, that was the eighties. I for one went back to work almost a year after my child was born and still found it challenging to serve as a director across European, West-Asian and African markets whilst juggling childcare, pick-ups, flight delays and traumatic hours away from my little one. I took my call to take a sabbatical, based on my set of considerations. Neither husband nor company persuaded me into doing so, hence I am at peace with it. For Kalpana, that decision wasn’t hers – which is what makes all of this is so unfair!The issue is complex, subtle, difficult to tease apart for there may well be a rich collection of anecdotal reports or 'company policy' papers on gender diversity. There is virtually no hard data clearly outlining issues getting in the way of women’s progression. Be it structural issues (policies and work practices) that create those barriers or personal ones (values, beliefs, stereotypes, responsibility of making marriages work, having kids on time) that bias perceptions about women’s ability to lead effectively — either way qualified women often simply opt out.Sure it doesn’t apply to Kidwais, or Sandbergs, in my opinion they are outliers, and while their actions may make splashy headlines, their situation doesn’t apply to the Kalpana Dixits. They can hire cooks, nannies, nurses, drivers, dog walkers and personal trainers, or set company policy to allow infants at work or buzz back everyone early from maternity leave as Meyers just did, does it matter? 'Lean-in' all you want, the playing field is neither the same, nor as even.Kalpana, who was senior enough to manage clients, surely should have had her sense and wits about her, or have alarm bells go off long ago, based on the discussions she was constantly having. She should have known better to catalogue any discrimination, note sidelining tactics, save emails, references, dates and details of phone calls, and kept a timeline of events, should it be needed for a tribunal or case. A strongly worded letter with her timeline, for instance, could be a good start in reminding a company of their legal obligations. When a company breaches a code of trust — trust that the employee will be dealt with fairly come what may – it is asking for trouble. But it is upon the employers to challenge that culture and attitude, with the same 110 per cent that they give to their work.No wonder large reputable companies have taken to employing the services of maternity coaches to advise on family-friendly compromises and to mentor women returning from maternity leave. Business psychologist Ros Taylor, in her book Confidence at Work, suggests women can appoint an amenable peer as a "buddy" before they go on leave. "They can keep you in touch with what's going on at work and, just as important, gossip too, so that you don't feel cut off when you return." If possible, it may help to go out for occasional drinks or lunch with your colleagues or ‘buddy’ every month or two, so that you keep abreast of any management changes that could affect you. In addition, female employees can set up an informal support group and senior managers harness it to promote the recruitment, retention and progression of women. Top companies nowadays offer workshops for women about to go on maternity leave, support during their absence and mentoring on their return, to ensure most of them join back – not only does it make better business sense over employing fresh starters but is a no-brainer when it comes to higher returns. Geffel’s a leading bank but seemingly, not so good at common math.Kalpana not only faced discrimination and constructive dismissal, but also became a "victim" in the process. Where she should be enjoying motherhood or work or both, she is now consumed by the injustice of what had happened. Sometimes, a promising career elsewhere is the best way to get even and get ahead. Maybe, Sundari did Kalpana a favour who knows, but Sundari sure did herself none.The author was brand director, Hewlett-Packard, EMEA, at Publicis London. Now based in Chicago, USA, she is guest faculty at ICSC European Retail School, and an examiner at the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), UK
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As Kalpana’s story moves on, we establish without doubt that her bank is a discriminating organisation. My criticism of the individual players was explicit in my previous analysis. Let me focus on the larger issues this time.How can organisations that form a part of discriminatory societies be aloof from the reality around them? Our society is a violent and an unequal one — women are killed before they are born, women are more likely to be malnourished, women drop out from school more often than men, women are sold for sex, organs and labour, and women from middle-class families report domestic violence and sexual abuse to the extent of 50 per cent of the population. Can then Kalpana expect her organisation to be any different than her society? Can one create a value-enhanced diverse oasis? An organisation that is equitable and respects and includes all people in the larger desert of discrimination and exclusion, is a rarity.We also live in a society where very early on in his life, the male child recognises that he is the protector. The women in India have recognised that they have the right to be equal. They have also recognised that this right will be infringed upon more often than not and they will have to fight for it. Given the ongoing vulnerabilities of violence, and of being dismissed and spurned, women have learned that to survive in male bastions, they have to be like men. The culture of silence pervades and institutionalises the discrimination and violation of women. This happens to the extent that Sundari as a woman does not recognise that to please the male determined cultural norms she has become discriminatory herself.In such a stark socio-cultural reality, there is an expectation that the organisations will be able to create a world of equality. Is that possible? Is it even attempted? Is Corporate India gender friendly? Or are the women still invisible and silenced in the boardrooms? There is unfortunately limited research or evidence on the issue. The organisational effort for ensuring gender equity is not documented. The best practices are not highlighted. The human resource policy does not have measurable indicators or audit processes. This heightens the risk of organisations living under the illusion that they are ‘gender friendly’ while the discrimination continues right from recruitment to leadership succession.This affects the culture of the organisation, its productivity and its ability to retain the best people for the job. It is also a reflection of institutionalisation and normalisation of such discrimination in the larger society.Some will have you believe that it has already been achieved and no gender-based discrimination exists in India Inc. Such is the level of collective denial that one has to question the intent that allows the delusion to prevail. The Bank in the said case is definitely suffering from the delusion that it respects diversity! I hope this challenges it to question itself and its team members.Given the lack of evidence on the gender dimension in corporate India, there is need to provide tools and methods to managers in the Indian context so as to enable them to be champions of engendered and diverse processes. There is a need to build capacity among managers to identify discriminatory events or processes. There is need to develop methods to measure the impact of gender equity and also the impact of gender discrimination on the organisation and the individual manager. There is a need to develop and reward best practices that can be rolled out to the larger corporate world. The idea of gender equity has been accepted to some extent there is a need to make it behavioural and measurable.In the meanwhile, one can only hope that Kalpana finds the courage to continue to challenge those around her to treat her as an equal. The battle does not end even if you change the organisation. The characters change, rules, unfortunately, do not! The author is Senior Consultant Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist, Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi; and chairperson of an NGO named Saarthak(This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 21-10-2013)
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Indian-American Arun M Kumar has been nominated by President Barack Obama to a key administration post, giving him charge of international trade at a critical juncture when the US is looking to increase its export. Arun M Kumar, till recently a partner and member of the Board of Directors at consultancy firm KPMG, was nominated on 4 October, by Obama to be the Assistant Secretary and Director General of the US and Foreign Commercial Service, International Trade Administration in the Department of Commerce. "The extraordinary dedication these men and women bring to their new roles will greatly serve the American people," Obama said as he announced nomination to several other key administration positions. "I am grateful they have agreed to serve in this Administration and I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come," he said. Kumar joined KPMG in 1995 as a Finance Management Leader. and from 2005 until his retirement in September 2013, he led the firm's West Coast Finance Management Consulting practice. He also led the firm's US-India practice from 2007 to 2013. Kumar received a Bachelors degree in Physics from the University of Kerala in India, and an S M in Management from the Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US. From 1993 to 1995, he was the founder and CEO of Planning & Logic, Inc, a software company. Prior to that, he was co-founder and CFO of Netlabs, Inc from 1991 to 1993; the CFO of Elite Microelectronics, Inc from 1990 to 1991. He also held important positions in several organisations from 1980 to 1990. (PTI)
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In his latest book, Faster — 100 Ways To Improve Your Digital Life, ethical hacker Ankit Fadia gives tips and tricks for a smarter online presence. Here are some pointers to optimise your Gmail:Un-send An EmailMany of us have cried in dismay within seconds of hitting the “Send” button on an incomplete or impulsive email. Did you know you had a second chance? Gmail allows you to keep your emails in limbo, lest you change your mind. Go to Settings > Labs > Undo Send > Click on Enable > Save Changes. After erroneously hitting Send, Gmail displays the following message: “Your message has been Sent. Undo View message. Click on Undo. You can also go back to Settings > General > Undo Send to select the number of seconds (up to 30) for which the Undo Send option is available. Search NinjaEver found yourself wading through 10GB of email trying to find one particular gem? Yes, you know there’s a search bar, but Gmail gives you more. Here are some self-explanatory keywords you can use as prefix (no space after the ‘:’) to your searches for a more accurate outcome: “to:, from:, in:YourFolder (for custom folders), in:chats”, etc. You can also combine some of them, such as “from:a@bw.in larger:15MB”, also“before:, after:, newer_than:, older_than:”, etc.Sifting SpamIf you have an email account, you’re bound to be spammed. There’s the prominent “Report Spam” button of course, but you can also use the More section to add further filters. Open a spam mail that made it through to your Inbox, click on More > Filter messages like these. You can modify this further by clicking on the “Create filter with this search”option on the pop-up.Hack AttackWith our lives on Gmail (and that’s hardly an exaggeration), you can never be too careful from who will try and take over. At the bottom-right corner of your Gmail inbox is the Last Account Activity feature that indicates the last time your account was active. Also, the Details link below it lists the IP addresses from where your account was active. So, if you think someone’s using your Gmail account without permission, you can scout for any illegitimate logs. You can us the What Is My IP Address website to track down any suspicious logs.Chats to SMSesMiss chatting with people who’re offline? Gmail has a SMS in Chat feature in their Labs. Once enabled, you can enter any mobile number and send them an SMS. Hover the mouse over the name of the recipient. Click on More > Send Text (SMS). Now enter the mobile number and your message. This service works on a Google credits system, so every time you send a message, you lose a credit, but for every message reply, you earn five! shrutic.bw@gmail.comTwitter: @chockro(This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 21-10-2013)
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