“My success is because of the difficulties and not despite the difficulties” – Inspiring Story of Navin Gulia, 100% medically disabled person

Navin Gulia (39), from Delhi with 100% medical disability is one of the national role models and inspiration for young and old.  He has converted every challenge into an opportunity to showcase his talents.

Hailing from a family of army officers, right from his childhood, he nurtured the idea of joining Indian Army as a ‘Commando’. It is the most challenging and risky job in the Army.  Right from his early days, he was mentally preparing himself to face and overcome any challenges.

He underwent four years of rigorous training in National Defence Academy and Indian Military Academy.  In April 1995, on the final day of OT competition, as Captain of his company ‘Sangro’ took off from the starting line, within seconds he crossed the 8 feet ditch, the zig-zag balance and ran up the steps of high ramp. As he reached the top he got an accidental push from behind, due to which he fell head down at high speed. This injured his spine paralysing his whole body and medical science declared him permanently 100% disabled. After two years of hospitalization, he took on the wheel chair.

Since he was mentally prepared to take on the challenges, he started facing the new situation.  Sitting on the wheel chair, he completed PG Course in Computer Management.  He started teaching Computer science in various Institutions and is now running a coaching centre at Gurgaon.  

The 100% medical disability did not deter him from his ambition.  He focused on Adventure sports.  In September 2004 he made a Limca world record by being the first and only person to drive non-stop from Delhi to Marsimikla 18,632 feet, the highest motorable pass in the world in 55 hours without sleep or break. This place is 50 feet higher than the base camp of Mt Everest.  This record is not yet broken by anybody till date.

Navin is highly interested into adventure sports and driving of car.  He has designed controls in the car to suit his needs.  With the great difficulty, he has also got the license from the authorities.  

Besides, Navin has practised flying a microlite aircraft.  He has written two books based on his experience.  He has started an organization to support the disabled children.

As 100% disabled person, he does not want to be dependent on others.  In fact, he is supporting his family members and all others. 

He has won several awards for his achievements, including the President of India Award in 2006 as a ‘National Role model’.   He has also authored two books, sharing his experience.

He does not like anybody describing his success as ‘despite the difficulties’.  He attributes all his success and achievements only ‘because of the difficulties’.  

Please listen to his inspiring interview exclusively for our ezine in the following link.

http://youtu.be/2Jt--656jAE 

Navin Gulia may be reached through mail at navingulia@gmail.com .  Please visit his website www.navingulia.com 

Please click and listen to the inspiring interview with Navin Gulia (6 minutes)

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Hanging of Afzal Guru - Analysis of Supreme Court Judgement

Hanging of Afzal Guru

On 9th February morning, Afzal Guru, the mastermind behind the 2001 Parliament attack was hanged in secrecy after the rejection of his mercy petition by President of India.   Now some of the media and the Human Rights Activists have started glorifying the terrorist Afzal Guru and are spreading views against the hanging of Afzal Guru.

Objections raised by Human Right activists

They raise three points.  (1) Afzal Guru was not given proper legal support to defend himself; (2) the Supreme Court and other judgements were based on the 'circumstantial evidence', as he was not directly involved in the attack on Parliament' and (3) the judgements were based on 'collective conscience' and not as per law.

Process of law in India

This case has gone through Trial Court, High Court and then finally Supreme Court, before the review by President of India.  Such capital punishments are awarded in the rarest of rare cases, with due care and application of mind.  Three eminent Senior Advocates Mr Ram Jethmalani, Mr Shanti Bhushan and Mr Sushil Kumar have appeared in the Supreme Court on behalf of the accused.   The Supreme Court Judgement may be downloaded from this link.

http://www.nia.gov.in/acts/Afzal%20Guru_Parliament%20Attack.pdf

Glorification of terrorists by a section of media and activists

It is sad that the terrorists who challenged the sovereignty of the nation by attacking the Indian Parliament are glorified and defended by Indian Human Rights activists and some of the popular TV and Print media.    We can understand the anger of Terrorist groups in Pakistan against the hanging of Afzal Guru.  But, a patriotic Indian is not able to digest the arguments of these Human Right activists.  They never raised their voice when these terrorists killed hundreds of innocent citizens at Coimbatore, Mumbai, Delhi and other places. They never talk about the 20 Security officials, who died along with Rajiv Gandhi.

Terrorists do not deserve any sympathy

When the terrorists themselves do not believe in human rights and human values, why should they be given all respects as a human being.  The secret hanging of Kasab and Afzal Guru are being criticized by these activists.  These terrorists are the enemies of humanity and they do not deserve any sympathy.  It may be recalled that US killed Osama Bin Laden and threw his body in the mid sea. 

Exclusive interview with Mr Sethuraman on the SC Judgement

With this background, we conducted a telephonic interview with Mr S Sethuraman, one of the senior most  lawyers of Madras High Court on the various issues raised by these activists about Supreme Court Judgement.

In this interview, Mr Sethuraman explains clearly how the Supreme Court has gone into the various aspects of law and finally awarded the death penalty on Afzal Guru.  He explains that Afzal Guru was the mastermind and the conspirator of this attack.  According to the principle law of justice, conspiracy cannot be proved beyond doubt and it can be established only through various circumstantial evidences and links, since 'conspiracy' is hatched in 'darkness' without any eye witness or evidence.  He says that the Supreme Court has analysed this case in depth and examined all the aspects, before confirming the death sentence.

Further, Human Rights Activists demand the abolition of capital punishment, even for convicts under terrorism.  Mr Sethuraman argues that murder committed for gain and the terrorism acts are totally different and they have to be dealt with separately.  In the murders for gain, only few people are affected.  In the case of terrorism acts, besides large number of deaths, the economy, relationships in the society are strained.  These terrorism acts are to be considered as a 'war against the sovereignty of the nation' and has to be dealth with severely under law.

Please listen to the interesting and informative interview with Mr S Sethuraman.  (12 minutes).  This interview is also available in the Youtube link.

http://youtu.be/YyJ0-Xwxfhg

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“Every Challenge is an Experience" – Inspiring Story of Narendra, Manager turned Leader

M. Narendra

When the nation is celebrating the 150^th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda (original name Narendra), we feature another  Narendra, who transformed himself from a manager to a leader.  Narendra, presently the Chairman and Managing Director of the public sector, Indian Overseas Bank, has almost doubled the business within two years of his taking charge, galvanising 27000-plus employees, who lacked motivation in the past decade. 

Galvanising Indian Overseas Bank

From the day of his taking charge of the bank in November 2010, he tapped the potential of every employee, towards better business growth.  His initiatives like involving the employees in every aspect of management function, empowering women to become senior officials, large scale promotions, and communication with front line staff, created a conducive atmosphere for excellent growth and customer delight. Even today, if one checks up with any employee of Indian Overseas Bank at field level, they would proudly accept him as ‘leader’.  How did he get transformed from a ‘Manager’ to a ‘Leader’?

Parents as Role Models

Narendra, born into a middle class family in a village near Mangalore (Karnataka), converted every challenge into an opportunity for success.  According to Narendra, his parents, Shri M Shankaranarayana Ayya and Smt. M. Sumathi were his role models and they played a great role in moulding him.

“My father was a teacher.  He was the Head Master of a High School at Suratkal.  He was a Gandhian and a great admirer of Swami Vivekananda.  That is why I was named after Vivekananda’s original name” said Narendra, proudly recalling his early days.

His mother Smt M. Sumathi, besides looking after the big family, was engaged in women welfare.  She headed the Mahila Mandal for more than 25 years in that locality and devoted her time for the welfare of poor and downtrodden women.

“I learnt about the importance of knowledge, discipline, time management and perfectionism from my father, and leadership qualities and passion for service to the society from my mother.  These qualities have always helped me to become successful, braving all challenges”, Narendra says with emotion. 

Early Days – Passionate Student

Narendra completed his B.Com with a University rank.  His ambition was to become a Chartered Accountant.  He joined a Chartered Accountancy firm.  Meanwhile, in 1975, the then Private Sector Corporation Bank offered him a job as Officer-trainee, since he was a University Rank holder.  He discontinued CA and joined the Bank.  He pursued law (L.L.B) as a part-time student, attending the classes both in the mornings and in the evenings, outside the office time.  Again, he secured a University rank in law also.  He also completed his banking diploma CAIIB with a top rank at the national level.  “Though I wanted to become a Chartered Accountant, I started my journey as a banker”, says Narendra.

Tips to Manage Challenges

Narendra’s journey in the banking career was not without challenges.  After joining Corporation Bank in 1975, he rose to the level of Chief General Manager in the Bank.  Then, he was posted as Executive Director of Bank of India.  After a brief stint there, he was posted to Indian Overseas Bank in November 2010 as Chairman, which post he still continues to hold.  He will retire from the bank in less than two years. 

“To become a leader is not an easy one.  There may be a lot of frustrating moments for any person in any profession.  Your good and sincere efforts may not get recognised; your trusted close friends may ditch you; your boss may get angry without reason; your minor mistakes may get projected as major issues; there may be caste and communal politics in the organisation.  Every such moment is a testing time for us.  We need to learn to manage such challenges without getting upset. Every challenge is an experience.  Leave it to God.  Continue to do your work with all sincerity.  A time will come when you will be recognised and rewarded”, says Narendra after a deep pause.

Mentoring and Learning

Narendra recalls how his father used to review his performance frequently, even when he (Narendra) was holding the position of General Manager and mentor him to manage the challenges and to go to the next level.  Narendra emphasises the need for good parenting, and parents becoming role models for children.

Narendra says that whenever he meets the customers, he learns from their success and failure stories.  Even from the routine business meetings, he picks up  a message for life.

Though there were offers to join Private Banks at the top level with a huge salary, he refused to join them.  “Public Sector is my passion.  Public Sector banks give more opportunities to support farmers, small industries and nation building.  We should not forget the roots from where we have come” says Narendra passionately.

He wants to focus on education and social service after his retirement from the Bank. He wants to continue the initiatives his parents had started.  

Gratitude

“While my parents have played the role of the mentor, my wife is playing a supportive role throughout my banking career.” Concludes Narendra with tears rolling in his cheek as a mark of gratitude.

Within two years of his joining Indian Overseas Bank, he is able to nearly double the business and bring in a new environment galvanising the entire bank. His new slogan “Energy, energise, execute and excel” has become the new mantra to all his colleagues to continue their journey in nation-building and self-improvement. 

PodUniversal Edition 160

Please listen to his inspiring interview (13 minutes).  His interview may also be listened at 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UI-k3gt-xY 

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30 Years of Modern Internet – Legendary Dr Vinton G Cerf, Father of Internet Speaks Exclusively to PodUniversal

Emergence of modern internet

Thirty years ago, on 1st January 1983, the world entered a new era of communication with the birth of ‘Modern Internet’ which we use today.  This communication revolution was made by the TCP/IP protocol, was developed by Dr. Vinton G. Cerf and Robert E. Kahn.  They are now considered ‘Fathers of Modern Internet’.

In those days, ARPANET was the wide-area network sponsored by the US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). It went live in 1969, when Vinton Cerf was an ARPANET scientist at the Stanford University. The military became interested in a common protocol as different networks and systems using different and proprietary protocols began to hook up to ARPANET, and they found that they could not talk to each other easily.

On 1st January 1983, the new Internet Protocol TCP/IP, which replaced the older system, was accepted as the standard and the modern  Internet was born. The Internet, a revolutionary and cost-effective communication system has transformed the lives of billions of people across the world. Using data "packet-switching", the new method of linking computers and sharing information paved the way for the arrival of the World Wide Web.

Interaction with Dr Vinton G Cerf

Dr. Vinton G. Cerf (70), the main architect of Modern Internet, is presently the President and CEO of Google Special Services Inc. and Chief Internet Evangelist at Google.  He visited Chennai in mid-January 2013 to participate in the annual meeting of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) – India Council.  Dr. Vinton is the International President of ACM.  We had the opportunity of recording his inspiring interview for PodUniversal and PreSense.  (Link for his interview is given at the end of this article).

While people with less qualification and achievement pose themselves as great men, this legendary person, who revolutionalised the entire globe with his invention, looked very simple and humble.  In the 45 minutes of conversation we had with him, he spoke and came across as a very simple man. 

Awards and recognition

Dr. Vinton Cerf has received hundreds of national and international awards for his achievement.  He is also the recipient of the ‘Turing Award’ for Technology, equivalent to the Nobel Prize, in Computing.  Recently, President Obama has appointed him as a member of National Science Board in US Government.

Dr. Vinton suffered from a hearing impairment from an early age, and he later attributed some of his interest in computer networking to its promise as an alternative communications channel for the hearing impaired. His personal disability triggered a great communication revolution in the globe.

Exclusive interview with PodUniversal

In an exclusive interview with K. Srinivasan, Editor-in-Chief of PreSense and PodUniversal, Dr. Vinton said that at the time of the invention, his team had high hopes that this would become a powerful infrastructure in future.  “I think those hopes have been largely realised” he added proudly.

On computer security, he said, “There is still plenty of work to be done on the technical side and on the training side to get users to adopt safer communication practices.”  He suggested ‘two factor authentication’ for the safety of the users. 

On his passion, his achievement, and his message to the Indian youth, he said, “The simple message here is that you need to be really passionate about making something happen and you better be prepared to be patient and persistent because some ideas, the Net included, will not be widely accepted.”  In the same breath, he also appreciated Indian entrepreneurs for exporting their skill, talents and inventions to the rest of the world.

PreSense is proud to feature him as ‘Man of the month’ (though he is the Man of the Century) in the current issue, when the world celebrates the 30th year of modern Internet. 

PodUniversal Edition 161

Please listen to his inspiring interview in the following link (10 minutes).  We have also published the transcript (courtesy Esther Emil, GRI) for the benefit of those who cannot follow the American accent.

http://youtu.be/V6VOAAQEyE0

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“Arjun Ram Meghwal, MP from Bikanir – Top performing Parliamentary debater”

Arjun Ram Meghwal, Member of Parliament from Bikanir (Rajasthan) is one of the top performing MPs of the current 15th Lok Sabha.  Mr Arjun Ram Meghwal, a Rajasthan cadre IAS turned politician, hails from a poor family.  With his hard work and passion to serve the society, he became one of the law makers of the country.

No 1 for debates among all MPs

Till the end of the 12th Session of the 15th Lok Sabha, he has participated in 345 debates, introduced 20 private members’ bills and raised 543 questions.  He has participated in 99% of the sittings.  He ranks No 1 among the entire Lok Sabha Members for participation in debates.

Generally, many of the members are seen in the Central Hall of the Parliament when the Parliament business is conducted in the House.  He is one of the few MPs, who always sits inside the Lok Sabha and listens to the other members from different parties and different regions.

Preparation for debates and questions

When asked how he does the homework for all his Parliamentary speeches, he politely says that he would spend time in the Parliament Library, attend the briefing sessions of PRS India, read a lot of books and newspapers to get himself equipped with various facts.

He is also keeping a ‘Resource Panel’ consisting of doctors, lawyers, engineers, social workers and bankers to support him on the various debates he may participate in and to raise questions on.  “This method helps me to speak logically and to the point in the House”, says Mr Arjun Ram proudly to PreSense.  

His concerns

He also expresses his concern over the disruption of Question Hour.  Though the rule book permits the suspension of Question Hour to discuss any nationally important issues like gang-rape, he feels it should not be a routine one.  

“Bikanir is a tourist centre.  It is yet to be connected with other cities by air.  In 2013, I want to connect Bikanir with other cities by air.  This is my dream project for 2013.”  Arjun Ram Meghwal says with beaming confidence.  

PreSense congratulates him for his passion in his Parliamentary duties.  Please listen to his exclusive interview in the link http://youtu.be/CaLwHK6Ipk8 

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Doomsday Phobia - Whether world will end on 21st Dec 2012 as per Mayan Calendar?

PodUniversal Edition 158

World over rumours are getting spread through mainline and social media about the 'Doomsday'.   The news is getting spread that as per Mayan Calendar, the world will end on 21st December 2012.

Reports are also coming that many people in developed countries have donated their properties for  charities, to get ready for the 'Doomsday'.

Mr D K Hari, Founder of Bharath Gyan has recently authored a book  '2012 - The Real Story'.  In this book, Mr D K Hari has dealt about this phobia.  Mr Hari is a researcher in the ancient wisdom.

According to Mr Hari, Mayan Calendar has the joint origin of India and Central America.  In an exclusive and very interesting interview to PodUniversal, Mr Hari has brought out the scientific facts behind the Mayan Calendar.  He says that as per this calendar, the one era (yuga) ends on 21st December 2012 and the new era starts on the next day.  Unfortunately, few people are spreading the panic among the entire world as if the world is going to end on that day.

In this interview, he has also brought out how Maya clans had the origin from India and how they were engaging themselves in building huge cities, ships, bridges, etc. According to Mr Hari, Srilanka City, Ram Setu, Pyramnids were built by them.  

Please listen to his very interesting interview (9 minutes)

This interview may also be watched from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZxchXlIobA 

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Communication Research needed for Employee Engagement

PodUniversal Edition 157

I had the opportunity of going through the book 'Employee Engagement and Communication Research' authored by Ms Susan Walker ABC, from London.  This book was  published last month  by Kogan Page Limited at London and US.

Generally all the companies make huge noise about the employee motivation and employee satisfaction.  But in reality, they remain more in paper.  A serious research or study is not made by any company to understand the ground reality of the employee perceptions.  Whatever the surveys done in the name of 'employee satisfaction survey' serve the ISO audit purposes only.

In this book, Susan deals with the various aspects of communication research, development questionnaire,  measurement, interpretation of  data, strategies and action to be adopted.  She also explains as to how such communication research can help the companies in the employee engagement.

The author has divided the 20 chapters into three sections, viz. (a) Measurement, (b) Strategy and (c) implementation.  Even the complicated technical details have been presented in a simple manner.  She has also shared interesting and relevant case studies in these chapters.

This book will serve as a good handbook for the Communication Managers, HR Managers and Research organisations.  This book is available in UK, USA and in India.

The author Susan’s career began in the internal communications field before joining Market and Opinion Research International (MORI), the major UK research agency where she headed the employee research practice. She is now running her own engagement and communication evaluation research business.

Susan is  a Fellow of the Institute of Internal Communication and an  Accredited  Business 
Communicator (IABC). She has held various posts within IABC UK Chapter in the past and presented 
at events worldwide including IABC conferences in New York, Los Angeles and Brussels. 

The author can be contacted through mail at commevaluation@hotmail.com.

I interviewed Susan  over mobile.  Please listen to the interesting conversation.  The transcript of this conversation is also given below the YouTube flash player.  This podcast can also be listened from http://youtu.be/uIj12P8p4qQ (6 minutes)

Transcript of this conversation:

What prompted you to write this book?

I was inspired to write the book because I had looked at the market and there were books about research, and engagement and communication but there were really no books that tied all three together and looked at employee research from that point of view - that is what stimulated me to write the book.

What is employee engagement?

Well, there are all sorts of definitions of employee engagement and I think a lot if it is down to an employee who is interested in the company, understands its purpose, who feels part of it – and that feeling that they with the organization and want to help it.

Many companies conduct  conduct employee satisfaction surveys for ISO purposes. can it be considered as communication research?

Yes, I  think so, it concerns satisfaction which is really I suppose another work for engagement and especially if there are communications quests as well, I think It would be considered as engagement and communication research.

What are the areas covered by you in the book?

Three main areas: first of all measurement. This covers basis tools such as objective questionnaire design, statistical reliability, sampling. Then the second section about strategy which is engaging senior management, looking at benefits of research and linking with the business. Then the third section about action planning, defining what needs to be done from the survey results. And also a number of case studies and also interviews with leading professionals around the world: an important part of the book to have that global perspective.

What is the trend of communication research globally?

Interesting talking to people from all over the world Brazil, Russia ,China and of course India and although circumstances and cultures vary it seems that many of the challenges we face are the same The prime one being engaging senior management and convincing senior management that it is worthwhile measuring their employee engagement and communications. Also making sure that action happens as a result. So although we may come from different places, we all seem to share the same challenges.

Somewhere in your book, you have mentioned about 'Arthasastra'.  How you got impressed with Arthasastra?

What impressed me, it was written many thousands of years ago and people think things written a long time ago have nothing to teach us. In fact this is said to be the very first management book that was ever written. But what impressed me was that it did not just look at aspects like the military and the economy but it also looked at welfare. And a lot of the advice which was then said to be for the King could be said nowadays to be about the CEO of the organsiation – like the King of the organization. And I felt that a lot of what was written there was just as applicable today as it was then.

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Recent controversy over Sec 66A of IT Act - Panel discussion

PodUniversal Edition 156

Recent arrests of some of the social media users in West Bengal, Puducherry and Maharashtra under Sec 66A of the IT Act has triggered a serious controversy across the nation.  Even the Hon'ble Chief Justice of India has expressed concern over the knee-jerk reaction of the Police.  Many of the social media activists have started demanding repeal of 66A itself.

The Information Technology Act, 2000 was amended in 2008. The amended Act which received the assent of the President on February 5, 2009, contains section 66A.

What does this section say?

66A. Punishment for sending offensive messages through communication service, etc.  Any person who sends, by means of a computer resource or a communication device,— (a) any information that is grossly offensive or has menacing character; or  (b) any information which he knows to be false, but for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred or ill will, persistently by making use of such computer resource or a communication device,

(c) any electronic mail or electronic mail message for the purpose of causing annoyance or inconvenience or to deceive or to mislead the addressee or recipient about the origin of such messages,

shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and with fine. 

Explanation.— For the purpose of this section, terms “electronic mail” and “electronic mail message” means a message or information created or transmitted or received on a computer, computer system, computer resource or communication device including attachments in text, images, audio, video and any other electronic record, which may be transmitted with the message.

To discuss about this, PodUniversal recorded  a panel discussion over mobile tecon on 4th Dec 2012.  Mr V Rajendran (Cyber law advocate and Senior Vice President of Cyber Society of India) and Mr S Balu (recently retired Addl. Superintendent of Police) were the panelists.  Prime Point Srinivasan anchored the discussion.

Please watch and listen to this interesting panel discussion. (10 minutes)

This panel discussion may also be directly listened from the following link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpro-9AWDzg

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How to get rid of jet-lag in air travel

PodUniversal Edition 155

Frequent air-travellers suffer from jet-lag causing dislocation to their regular schedule.  Prof. Muralidharan of Australia gives few tips to get rid of the jet lage.  Please listen to his interview.

This interview can also be listened directly from the following link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjOiku-Ypa8

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Unidentifiable enemy wages 'cyber war' - Mr Talwant Singh,

PodUniversal Edition 154

Cyber Society of India organised a one-day workshop at Madras University on 5th October 2012 on the theme "Cyber War: Has it begun?".  Mr Talwant Singh, CBI Special Judge, Patiala Courts, Delhi delivered the key note address.  Mr Talwant Singh is one of the leading experts in India on cyber law and he has authored many articles on the various legal aspects of Information Technology Act and cyber offenses.  

During his speech, Mr Talwant Singh pointed out that Facebook had crossed 1 billion registered users and if it were to be a country, it would be the third largest country in the world, next to China and India.  He also mentioned that distinction between physical world and virtual world was diminishing.

Like 'dynamite', Internet was also invented for good use only.  Later, criminals started using for bad purposes.  Committing an offense in the virtual world was less riskier than committing an offense in the physical world, he said.  

Mr Talwant Singh also said that in the physical world, when a war was fought, the people knew who the enemy was and they could retaliate.  But in the virtual world, an unidentifiable and invisible enemy was waging cyber war.  Till date, none of the countries in the world had recognised the 'cyber war' and signed any treaties, he added.

Mr Talwant Singh suggested that NGOs like Cyber Society of India should create more awareness about the cyber risks and educate the people.  He also prescribed three point formula viz.  (a) creating awareness, (b) getting prepared for such eventuality and (c) retaliating, if needed, to protect the nation and the society to manage the attacks.

Finally, he also said that Government had already advised all the Government Departments to use only the mail ids provided by National Informatics Centre (NIC) with domain extension @nic.in.  He strongly advised all the Government Departments to use only NIC based emails for Government communication instead of web based popular mails, to avoid any data theft.

Please watch and listen to the interesting speech. (19 minutes).

This video may also be watched /listened from the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPgp45a5gJM

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International Accreditation for communication and marketing professionals

PodUniversal Edition 153

In the globalised competitive  era, the individuals and the companies have now started bench marking their knowledge, proficiency and quality to globally accepted standards.  Companies world over subject themselves to ISO or BS Standards, which are globally recognised. Unless the companies get ISO certification, they may not be able to participate in the tenders internally and globally.

In the same way, IT professionals have now started benching their individual talents through Microsoft Certification and ISACA certification.  These certifications enable the IT professionals to compete globally and succeed professionally.

In the same way, communication and marketing professionals also need to get themselves certified to the global standards, if they want to succeed in their career in future.  I have been impressing upon the need for such global accreditation for the past eight  years.  None of the professional bodies in India are able to come up with any globally accepted certification or accreditation process. We need to prepare our younger generation communication and marketing professionals to compete at global levels.  

Just like we have accepted globally recognised certification process in other areas, the communication and marketing industry also can adopt the globally recognised and accepted certification process to develop their career in future.

US, UK, Australia, South Africa, Singapore and few other countries have already started accrediting their communicaiton and marketing professionals.  The employers give priority only to such accredited professionals in the internal promotions.  Professionals can get accredited in their chosen field, only after few years of experience.

APR Accreditation by Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and FCIPR Accreditation by Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), London are highly popular in US and Europe.

International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) is one of the respected International bodies operating in more than 100 countries.  They offer ABC Accreditation (Accredited Business Communicator). All the professionals who are connected with Business Communicaiton field like Public Relations, Corporate Communication, Marketing Communication, Journalism, etc are eligible for Accreditation process. Only working professionals can apply for Accreditation.

Accreditation process involves 3 stages.  (1) Application, (2) Submission of two Portfolios (work samples), based on the applicant's own experience and (3) written and oral examination.  Senior Accredited professionals will mentor and guide the candidates.

Recently, I recorded an interview with Mr Bish Mukherjee, President of IABC's India South Chapter.  Mr Bish was earlier the Accreditation Director for Asian countries and now the Asian coordinator for the prestigious Quill Awards of IABC.  He has mentored many professionals.

I have also recorded an interview with  Dr Rajiv Kumar. He is one of the top management officials in the Tata Group handling Corporate Communication.  He is presently the Director in the Accreditation Committee of IABC.  He supervises the Accreditation process of Asia Pacific, Europe, South America and Africa.

Please watch this interesting and informative podcast (12 minutes). If anybody wants to get more information and guidance, they can send mail to Mr Bish Mukherjee at bmiabc@hotmail.com.

This podcast can also be watched in YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHYSgH0jZEk

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Space Race between Soviet Union and United States during cold war

PodUniversal 152

During the period between 1957 and 1975, erstwhile Soviet Union and the United States were engaged in Space Race to excel each other on the Space Technology.  They spent billions of amount in space education and research.  This space race ultimately benefited the mankind.

In the July 2012 edition of Social ezine PreSense, we have featured this in details.  Our written feature is also produced in the form of a Podcast.

The ezine may be downloaded from the following link.

http://www.prpoint.com/ezine/presense0712.pdf

Please watch this interesting podcast (11 minutes) with rare pictures and video clips.

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