Quarantine Days

Hi all, how are you? There is no simple answer to this question anymore. We have to think multiple times before saying 'I am fine' and then even if we say it, the other person knows we are faking. Because nobody is fine in this quarantined world.

We all are at home all day, looks like we have a lot of free time. Wrong. Because more than half of our time is spent on checking coronavirus updates daily. And in the other half, we have to work from home, cook, eat, again cook, again eat, wash dishes, wash clothes, clean the house, and so on, long list! Phew! And in between all this, we pretend to have free time to watch half a movie (Contagion!) or couple of stand-ups or read few pages of a book we planned to finish during lockdown. Yeah, good life! 

Frankly speaking, I love staying at home and working. I hate daily travel to workplace and getting stuck in traffic. Who doesn't, right? Every morning when you get up and realize, no matter how much the workload, you can do all of it from the comfort of your home, wow, nothing can beat that feeling! Nice quarantine days! Hmm, something positive about this whole arrangement.

Actually there is a lot of positivity out there as well. The sky is clear, the birds are chirping and roaming around happily and we are living only on essentials letting away all the luxury. A different, hardly expected, back to basics life. Sounds interesting! It is. Because staying away from mom and deprived of all the household help, I am doing everything right from cooking to cleaning, on my own, which I never ever did before. Learning every other thing and trying to find a way in limited resources. I am sure everyone in this world is going through this daily struggle. It's a global struggle. We are all together in this. And if we stay together(but physically distant), we will get through this.

It is funny though, every person's daily routine is so similar now irrespective of which part of the world you are, what profession you are in (except for doctors and state administrators), what position you hold, nothing matters anymore. Coronavirus does not discriminate. Which is why, we all are equally scared too! Too much similarity! Yeah it's scary, both the virus and the future. But evolution will continue no matter how much we try to stick to what we want. And we will have to change our plans accordingly. I think it's better to live in the moment and not worry about the future. That's the best thing to do now. Wait, am I being too preachy? Possibly. Circumstances bring out the philosopher in you. In quarantine times, when we are spending half of our time reading about the spread of virus, we are also simultaneously thinking about what is going to happen next or where are we heading and that's when philosophy kicks in. I feel, we should just go with the flow, think positive and stay put. And when the future unfolds, be ready to embrace it with a smile. That's my time guys!(Last line stolen from stand-ups. Now you know what I do in my free time). Happy Quarantine to all! 

Mineral water!

I was watching a talk show on an entertainment channel. The guest was great social-worker Medha Patkar. The host was asking her about her work. In between he asked why did she refused to drink mineral water before the show? She said, I hate the mineral water! Then she started explaining what she meant. This mineral water companies get water from underground. They soak the underground water which is the reason it is decreasing day by day. The government charges them only 50 paise per litre of water and how much do they take from us? Rs. 10 per half litre that means around Rs.18-20 per litre. Whats the percentage of profit? Just calculate. This was the explanation given by her.
I had once been to a mineral water plant in my school days. There I had seen the purifying and the filling process. There was a very big metal purifier and there there where small cabins where the packaging was done. I saw how the plastic bottles were made. There was small plastic test tube. Air was filled in that test-tube and given the shape of the bottle. It happened in minutes. From this we can actually make out that it costs so less to prepare these bottles. There is more than 100% profit in this business.
Medha Patkar had also said that actually water should be sold free. Even if not free it should be sold at minimal rate. Even at home, we get water 24*7 for very less price. So why do these companies charge so much? Time to think! 

The hospital bill......

When it comes to the hospital, people become emotionally and doctors and nurses gets a chance to loot them. Yes thats what i said! Loot them! Don't get emotional and think practically about what I am going to say. When my grandfather was in the hospital, I always used to be there, I used to see the medical of the hospital giving bills twice, thrice a day. And the amount on every bill used to exceed beyond Rs.300. One day on seeing the bill, one of my aunt said, two businesses in this world are very profitable-one is hotel business and second is hospital. I started thinking. Its true that in both the places, hotel or hospital, whatever the amount might be, we just pay it without thinking.
When we left the hospital, there came in front of us a huge bill of about Rs. 70,000 for just 15 days and Rs. 17,000 of medication. No operations had taken place. My grandfather just laid on the bed for whole 15 days. Seeing the bill we were really surprised. Its not that we didn't had money to pay, we could have paid more than that for the life of my grandfather but we didn't wanted to get looted. So we asked for the break-up of the bill. My dad, my uncle wanted to know for what all we have been charged. The room called the special room with just an additional bed and no toilet and wash-basin in the room cost Rs. 1500 everyday. They had done many tests. (God knows when. They had hardly taken his blood) We asked for the reports of all the tests and found out that they had doubled the money. They said it was by-mistake and decreased the amount. There were many other things where we could see that they had charged much like the ICU room, doctor's visiting charges extra. But could not say anything about them. I felt that instead of giving the money to the doctor who visited once in the whole day, give them to the nurses and other staff because they had really worked hard and done much more than their job throughout 15 days. But they got very little share. When we bought the medicines from a medical outside the hospital, we came to know that the hospital had charged more than the actual price in medicines too.
From all these experiences, i learnt a lot. I learnt that doctors practice for money and not to provide service. Then I realized that its a circle. When the fees of medical colleges are Rs. 4,00,000, why the doctor would not try to retrieve his fees. As he tries to do so, he earns lot and ultimately doctors children land up becoming doctors! This may not be the case in each hospital but it can be in coming future. So be aware and think practically while paying hospital bills!

The Dairy Budget!

Finally i got the interview of the shopkeeper. The article based on his interview follows:-

How much do you think would be a shopkeeper having a milk dairy, earning? We know that the prices of milk are continuously rising. So it can be a profitable business! Or is it not? The answers to these questions are not as simple as we think. I got to learn this from the shopkeeper named Mr. Milind Mangesh Parulekar. He has a dairy shop in Dombivli named Swastik Dairy. It was started by his father in 1988. When started, it was just a dairy where they used to sell only milk and curd. But now, bread, butter, biscuits, chocolates are available as Swastik  Dairy and it has become a general store too. He even has mobile recharge of every available service provider.
What made Mr. Parulekar increase no.of items in the shop? Yes, the increasing demand is the right answer. As the area around the store started flourishing, Parulekar father-son recognized the need of the people and started providing them with basic eateries.
As the items increased, business increased, income also increased but along with that inflation increased too. So apart from demand it became a need of the family to earn more. Earlier, the milk used to come from Chalisgaon. There were no private companies. The government used to supply milk. Also he used to buy milk from 'Arey'. Then as private companies entered the market, he started buying milk from private companies. Now he gets the milk from Vashi and Bhiwandi.
When talking about the income from milk, he said, milk business is very much risky. Today he buys 150 litres of milk everyday. Out of 150, 70 litres is delivered to households directly. And remaining 80 litres of milk is kept in the store. He says everyday the dealer comes at about 7-8pm to take money. Everyday he has to pay Rs. 4500. He has a delivery boy who delivers 30 litres of milk. Remaining 40 litres is delivered by himself before coming to the store. The people who get the home delivery, pay him the complete amount once in a month and he has to pay the dealer everyday, so he says for about 30-40 days he has pay all the money from his pockets. Then between 1st and 10th of every month he gets the money back from the households. The other 80 litres that he keeps at store should also get sold. If they don't the dealer don't replace them or take them back. Mr. Milind has to pay for the left out and also take all the milk home or just throw it away if it gets spoiled. So there is a loss if the milk doesn't get sold. Also he has to pay to the delivery boy. He says that if the boy keeps the milk outside some-one's house and rings the bell and goes away and if nobody in the house hears the bell, then there is a possibility that some outsider might pickup the milk and go away. Then the customer comes to Mr. Milind complaining that we didnt get the milk, the boy says he put and rang the bell, so this is again the loss. When asked about his margin in milk business, he says, we get Rs.1.50 behind every litre. It is very less.
The prices of milk are continuously rising. When asked about its effect, he said, when prices rise, for 2-3 days  the customers are less but then again their number increases because even though the prices rise people need milk. But even if the prices rise we don't get much profit.
He narrated an incident. He was delivering the milk when he came to know that his uncle expired, still he had to complete his round, make someone sit at the store and then leave. He says, its a daily business and he cannot give any excuse. But he doesn't want to quit it because its going on since 22 years. He says, its not all that bad. There are many other items that he sells and gains good profit out of it. Other items are replaceable. The mobile recharge is a profitable business where he gets Rs.25 on recharge of Rs.1000.
Overall his GDP remains steady. There is no fiscal deficit but fiscal 'profit'! Hence he lives a nice life and though he shuts the shop every-night at 10pm, in the morning it gets closed before 12noon everyday when others start theirs'!

Want to be a shareholder??

Want to invest in share-market? Want to be a stake-holder? Here's some tips....... Okay! I got this tips, not tips actually but some info, about investing in stock-market from my uncle who on regular basis invests in stocks. I don't know what all sir taught us because i wasn't present for the lecture when sir taught stock market. So, this is what my uncle explained to me... First of all we need to open a De-mat account, we all know this. The De-mat account can be open in two types of banks, one who act as brokerage firms themselves and second who don't have broking system, they tie up with others. It is better to 2 open in 1st type of bank, he said. There are many brokerage firms, as we have learnt from sir. On every share, the brokerage charges are 0.1 to 0.5. They vary from firm to firm. They also depend what type of exchange you want to have. Do you want to buy the shares and keep them for long time or do you want to have an intra-day exchange. What is intra-day? Intra-day means you buy and sell the shares within a day. You buy the shares when the stock market open and sell by the time it closes. But if do not sell the shares by the specific time which is 2.45pm, your shares are squared-off which means the bank sells your shares and you may be at the loss because share are sold at the price which the share has at 2.45pm. So this might be less than the original price you bought the share at. So it is better that you sell the share when the price rises and do not wait till the time of square off if you are not sure of the further price-rise. In intra-day you don't have to pay the complete amount of the shares. For example, if you have Rs.10,000 to invest, the bank allows you to buy shares of Rs.40,000. It allows you shares of 30% extra money. This happens only in intra-day because you immediately sell the shares. Yes, but the brokerage is taken on the shares worth complete Rs.40,000. This is how the intra-day exchange works. Yes, there is one more type of intra-day exchange. You can first sell the shares and then you buy! I know this is a bit confusing. See, in the morning, even though you don't have shares, you sell shares worth Rs. 40,000 and then you have to buy the shares worth Rs. 40,000. Though it is the other way round, one transaction gets complete! And here also there is square-off. If you don't buy till the specific time, the bank buys the shares for at the then current price of shares. Here also you can have a loss, if the buying amount of shares is more than that at which you sold in the morning. So it is advisable to buy at lower price, that will add profit to your account. And at the normal intra-day exchange you have to sell at greater price which will add paisa to your account. And remember, every-time you trade(both buying and selling), the brokerage charges get cut. Though they seem to be minimal, they are quiet big. When you gain profits you don't realize them, but when you have a loss, you suffer. But don't get afraid. Its not a matter of luck, its a matter of knowledge, says my uncle. If you are well informed about the happenings in the world, no-one can stop you from gaining laurels!! Its a very interesting game! Start cracking........ All the best!!!

The game changer!

I know one month passed and not a single post came up. But its better late then never! Okay! All these posts are a part of my assignment. So as promised i'll talk about the 2nd half of the book 'Ha tel navacha itihas ahe' and something more about oil. The 2nd part clearly mentions that every economic up-down that happens in the world is because of Oil. The 2nd half also talks about how the oil industry in India developed. It talks about every upstream and downstream company, their initial stage, mergers, finding oil and gas in India. It was very much difficult to take out oil and gas from beneath the sea but ONGC did it. India has more gas than oil. We have to buy crude oil from the Arabian countries. All this is mentioned in the book. You really have to read it. Its a very interesting book. Okay talking about current status of oil, I just now read that the price of oil is $116 per barrel. The cost is continuously increasing because of the unrest in Libya, which is one of the major oil producing country and it will continue to rise till everything settles down. As the price of oil increases, the prices of gold and silver also rises and as Kuber sir has said in his book, this directly affects the economy of each and every country.
Oil is so required by each of us. For every thing we need oil. Kuber Sir says, the oil companies know this. So they gain huge profit out of it. Apart from the huge cost per barrel, they levy their charges as well. And hence the petrol and diesel rates are high.
Overall, oil is the game-changer and those who have it change the game!

It is the history called OIL!

Hiii.... I know its not good to keep the blog rukha-suka ie without adding any post 4 days... The thing is, this blog actually is a project of the subject 'Business Journalism'. Our professor has asked us to create a blog and post assignments on it.... Dont worry! The assignments are surely interesting and you will enjoy reading them. But but but, the blog is not jst 4 assignments kyun ki assignments toh khatam honge par blog toh chalu hi rahega naaaa!! Anyway enough of the background now i really want to share something wid u ppl. I am reading a marathi book 'Ha tel navacha itihaas ahe' (It is a history called Oil) by Girish Kuber, a well-known economist and currently the executive editor of Loksatta. Now u will say what this book has to do with a business blog. But guys, come on, Oil is the biggest ever business in the world! It has been the most important business right from the invention of oil. According to Mr. Kuber every political and economic activities that took place in the world were directly or indirectly related to oil. Even the two world wars took place because of oil! In the first world war England, France and other allies used oil in the trucks, tankers and so on while Germany didnt and this is why Germany lost the war. The second world war took place because of oil. Being the winners of first world, the allies got various oil reserves in different parts of the world espacially in west Asia. Germany felt left out and it started capturing countries having oil reserves. And then the second war started. I cannot explain everything on the blog but the book tells about the history of oil. Mr. Kuber says the one who has most oil reserves, rule the world. It can be the richest country and the superpower in the world. And that is wat America is. So after knowing this u wont be surprised that George Bush waged a war against Saddam Hussain and brought Iraq under their control. Till the part I have read, I came to know that the American oil companies where established all over west Asia ie Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and so on after the 2nd world war. The first half, which is till the 2nd world war, states these facts. Now i'll be reading the second half n let u knw wat author want to say about post-world war status of oil in world economics. I had read another book about oil prior to this book. It was fictional but the facts and the situations were somewhat true. It said that India is going to have oil pipeline where oil will be cmin thru it to India from west Asian countries. But the terrorist organisations in Pak are against this pipeline as the pipeline will tremendously help in the economic progress of India. So they are continuously planning various destructive actions like bombing or making the oil containing boats to crash wid each other and hence resulting into economic loss of India. The recent incident of oil-spill near Mumbai might be an example of this but u cannot say it is, confidently. All such things were mentioned in that book. Soo, i'll read wats Kuber Sir's take on oil business and  let u knw asap. Before that i'll b putting some interesting post related to my projects. Do read them. Take Care. 

Helloooo, Welcome to my brand new blog "Paisaa Vasoooll !!!" where everything's for and about MONEY! YES! It is a business blog jahan pe sirf paisa bolega...... So get ready to learn about and make money with me! After all, its Paisaa Vasoooll !!!