Apne Dum Par...

Like bringing up a child is a big task for parents, it is also important to make children realize the importance of doing their work themselves.

When I was in school, my mother used to take me to school and take me back home like any other parent. Later on as I grew up, she allowed me to go on my own while I used to see friends' parent still coming to school. During my admission to first year of college, I used to see parents roaming around with their children to look at the notice board, get application forms, stand in queue and get details from other students. My parents gave me the freedom to take my own decision and select the college of my choice. Of course they used to check the reliability and grade of the college through other sources. But I was wondering why other parents were always with their children during admission to first year which was a simple process. Later on during my admission to Engineering college where there is a big queue to get to best of the college considering our percentage in the HSC examination, my parents came since they were very eager to get me admitted to the best of the college. After confirming on the college, my parents told me to take the necessary steps and complete the formalities while I could still see some parents coming to their college after taking a leave from their job.

While I was wondering on such a different behavior from my parents, I slowly realized that my friends are not independent. They fear traveling by train. Need rickshaws for traveling to long places. They cannot take decisions on their own. And finally develop fear at work place that requires leadership and teamwork.

This got me into thinking how my parents intentionally put me to work in developing myself without any aid or support. Unknowingly it helped me to make myself self dependent when I grew and take my own decisions.

And recently I saw an advertisement from HDFC Life #MyFamilyMyPride ad film which is quite a fact of life.

Apno Ko Apne Dum Pe Jeena Sikhao is a new initiative by HDFC Life which teaches us about how we should be using this principle of life to make our children independent. They are one of the leading life insurance company in India. It offers various range of insurance solutions that meets different customer needs. Several products and services are available and can be purchased based on  ones need. Their website gives more details on the same. 

This advertisement by HDFC Life is something that we need to teach and learn our self. It has different options and services which can help the customer to take protection for their family through investment plans based on ones need to lead life Apne Dum Par.

Make the Axis Acquaintance - The BlogAdda event

I registered an event with BlogAdda for the 'Make an Axis Acquaintance' program. It was an attempt by Axis Bank to make us familiar with Axis Mobile Application. While my objective was just to get some insights in to mobile application from Axis bank, my experience in the event was completely unexpectedly awesome.

Before the event could start we had some sandwich and coffee. Later on, we joined the conference when all the participants came in. 

We were seated in Axis bank corporate high-tech conference room. Promod Mulani (Head of digital and mobile banking) gave us a live account demo using his iPhone. While I was excited about first tech event from Blogadda, the Axis team was equally excited to give us the presentation. The demo was not a powerpoint presentation but a live account transaction demo displayed on our personal screens. 

Security in-place
 
Demo started with security features and one minute mobile on boarding of the new user. Security is of utmost importance in today’s world and it has been well taken care by Axis Bank. This important aspect of the mobile app impressed me since it is tagged to ones registered number with Axis Bank.  While keeping security aspect in mind, the time taken for on boarding in mobile was quick. This really helps the customer since I personally had faced an issue an year back with mobile app and left it half way and uninstalled it.

Minimal clicks required

Usability or the user experience is the area where in lots of research and efforts have been put by Axis bank. One example is the customers are shown the account balance upfront on login. It has been taken care that the customer uses minimal clicks to do any transaction.

Schedule Later

I always forget to pay credit card bill so I usually pay when I receive the bill which defeats the purpose of keeping a credit card and getting a 50 days credit. Axis mobile App provides a pay later i.e. schedule later button in which I can schedule on the day I receive the statement. I even have the option to make part payment. This feature is something that is most thought off to get into customers mindset.

Money Transfer made easy

Adding beneficiary name from axis account is just like syncing your Facebook account to mobile contacts. It’s as simple as adding a contact number. If we want to transfer money to a person having axis bank account, we just have to add his mobile number and the app would retrieve all other information. And money can be transferred instantly after adding beneficiary name instantly using IMPS like in other bank accounts which takes 12 hrs for activation. This also brings in doubt on security issue but it has been well taken care off.

For transferring to other bank account we would require the account number of the beneficiary. Beneficiary account holder picture can be clicked and cropped and added instantly. This adds to the security when transferring to some other person  as well adds to the emotional value. From usability perspective adding a picture quickens our transfer process while transferring to the same account again. We have experienced this in Gmail where in it shows the picture of the person to whom we are transferring. Subconsciously our mind does not read the name but sees the pictures. A very well thought user experience at the right place.

Switch off your debit card instantly

You even have option of Switching off the debit card. This is a cool feature which I had never heard off. Usually there is process in other banks to deactivate the card temporarily. Usually we have to call the call center and go through some verification process to deactivate the card. But this App gives us the feature at our finger tips.

Reward points redemption

Redemption of reward points is now a child’s play in Axis mobile app. The royalty program gives points on various transactions. All the points collected can then be redeemed on application itself. The coupon is delivered instantly in the inbox without any delivery charges which other bank charges for delivering the coupons after 20 days.

Some more...

The mobile application also provides any loan details which we have with axis. So we do not have to worry to search any details. It’s all again in the application.

The Google map gives details on nearest hotels with discounts that axis bank offers. A add-on feature where in we can decide on the restaurants while on the go.

Apart from above there are lots more. I have mentioned few of the discussed features. It’s really a application that gets bank in our pocket.

The whole idea of the application is to give customer an enriching experience and not just a way to transact in the bank. It has eased the customer’s pain of going to the bank in a world where everyone has an excuse “time nahi hai”.

After a knowledge sharing and an interactive session on the Axis mobile app we went for a lunch. Lunch was refreshing and had some good time chatting with the other bloggers.

Axis Bank mobile application is a  feature rich mobile App for enriching customers future.

This post is about 'Make the Axis Acquaintance' meet conducted by Axis Bank in association with BlogAdda.com 

Being Befikar

There are many things we wish to do if the constraints and worries are removed. These constraints are mostly created because of lack of time, limited money, intruding society and many more. We all want to be carefree and do whatever we want in life. Yes, we want the freedom. But the basic necessities like the Roti, Kapda, Makaan and some luxuries don’t give the freedom.

I found this amazing video which teaches how you can easily plan and not let your freedom and wishes be buried due to lack of time and money: http://bit.ly/BefikarUmarBhar

Here are few things which I have always wished for if given the freedom:


Get my photography skills polished by an expert
Photography has always been my hobby; lately however because of lack of time and equipment I haven't been able to practice it. A good DSLR camera and an expert to coach would anyways require me to invest time and money which if given a chance, I would love to.

Travel all around the world
First place I would love to go is Mauritius. Although I have already visited the beautiful country, but before I start my world journey, I would like revisit the same place I have visited earlier. Next priority would for the 7 wonders starting with our very own Taj Mahal. Then follows the beaches of the world and exploring the fishes swimming in the water.

Own a mansion
Being a resident of Mumbai city, small flats, crunched houses are all I have seen. Although owning a flat is difficult nowadays, it is not completely impossible. But owning a huge mansion and staying in it is like a dream for me. Numerous rooms, huge garden, enormous parking space with a dozen cars, well-equipped gymnasium, indoor sports ground, well my list will never end. But I would love to have it all :D

Freedom to eat without the fear of ill health
Too much sweet leads to diabetes, too much oily food leads to high cholesterol, too much salt leads to high blood pressure. We all know that sickness and food are directly proportional. But if given the freedom to eat anything and how much ever we want without the fear of facing those big health problems and fear of spending big money to solve the problems, I would love to do so.

Become an actor in Marathi movies
The strong storyline and characters in Marathi movies have always enticed me and urged me to join the film industry. But not just any film industry, it has to be the Marathi one. I want to create a strong base for myself in Marathi movies like some of the great actors have – Swapnil Joshi, Subodh Bhave, Priya Bapat and other great actors. But the life responsibilities never permitted me. Right since I have been pursuing my education, the only motive was to earn whereas stepping into movies needed lot of patience before I even start earning.

These were some of my wishes which I would like to pursue if the constraint of time, money and responsibilities are removed.

Quikr NXT - A new trend among buyer and seller

The name Quikr implies to do something quickly. Buying or selling old items has now become easier through online medium.

Quikr has helped me sell my old gadgets while I upgrade to new ones. After posting free ads on Quikr, the calls that come from buyers are really a pain to receive during office hours. More than the calls are the variety of people who start negotiating and getting the price down to ground.

I was trying to sell my mobile phone Samsung S2 in excellent condition. A guy called me up and started negotiating to get the price down from Rs 12,000 to Rs 5,000. Although he was good to talk, he wanted to purchase S2 at unrealistic price. Finally I came down to Rs 10,000 as the final price. He was nowhere near it but still was trying to make it to Rs 8,000. When price was not reduced, he wanted some freebies along with the mobile. I told him I am selling a used mobile, and it already has all accessories. Although this call was a long one, I finally sold it to some other decent buyer who checked the condition of the phone and paid Rs 10,000.

While I was selling my HTC mobile, a guy called me up and started explaining how HTC mobile do not have market value. He gave me some good knowledge on why I should reduce my price from Rs 10,000 to Rs 5,000.  While I was explaining him that it is not the regular Rs 15,000 phone but worth Rs 25,000, he tried to discourage me by explaining the resale value of HTC. Finally I sold it for Rs 9,000 to some other guy.

Another major problem is request coming from buyers to share WhatsApp number so that I can send pictures of the product even though its uploaded on Quikr. But even after sending pictures there seems to be no response.

My phone book is simply filled with names like HTC-Kurla, HTC-Malad,  S2-Kandivali after different buyers call from various locations. Many times real buyers are missed since I forget to save their numbers during office hours.

Now that Quikr has come up with chat called Quikr NXT, it has reduced a lot of fancy customers and has made life easier for me to sell my used gadgets.

Quikr NXT came as a savior to me with:
  • My number safeguarded against bargaining and irritating buyers
  • I can share pictures through Quikr NXT to real buyers without sharing my WhatsApp number
  • Keep track of all the buyers

Recently I got a ping from buyer regarding the price and I replied back at my convenient time. The ping came to me as an alert in email and later on I had a chat with the customer while I was travelling.

Quikr NXT seems to cater to all problems faced by sellers and buyers. It would soon become next WhatsApp for buyers and sellers.

So Quikr NXT – No fikar. Chat Quikr!

Spitting is injurious to health

"Earth is considered to be round but people still find corners to spit" - This was one of my Facebook status but it faded away as any other status message. It has become quite essential for us to be reminded of our responsibilities as a citizen.

There are different warnings at places (malls, theaters) like smoking is prohibited or outside eatables are not allowed. Such notices are well followed in malls. Security checks are done at entry and percentage of people adhering to mall rules are increasing. But warnings like 'Do Not Spit' are rarely taken into account at public places. Since alarm clocks which are in our hand are mostly snoozed. 

Dr John Moore-Gillon, a TB expert from the London Chest Hospital, said: "Spitting, like smoking, is essentially a social habit which can affect the health of others. People spit for many reasons, not just because they need to, but because it makes a statement."

In India spitting is just an accepted way of clearing the throat and getting rid of excess saliva. Chewing tobacco and spitting spreads diseases like cancer, respiratory diseases, and heart diseases. Other germs, like common cold and influenza, diseases are spread by saliva.

Although spitting in public places attracts fine of Rs 300, there is very minimal impact on people.

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is a national level campaign by the Government of India initiated by our Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It was announced by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi on Indian Independence Day & launched on 2 Oct 2014, Gandhi Jayanti.

Best thing about clean India is less of diseases. More of tourist visit, rise in economy and reduction in inflation. It is a chain reaction which most of us might not be aware of.

We did our bit by spreading the message in Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon for three consecutive years. Some pictures to share

I along with my friend had initiated a small campaign to spread awareness about cleanliness during marathon. It might have a very small impact but spreading our message was our objective and we were happy to get good response from the people.

Various organization have come up with various campaign to promote clean India. This also includes celebrities who are doing their bit by requesting their fans to follow the same.

RB and NDTV have partnered to launch “Dettol – Banega Swachh India” – a 5 year ambitious program to address the rising need of hygiene and sanitation in India. Mr Amitabh Bachchan would be the brand Ambassador who has a connect with each Indian. Banega Swachh India is a commitment towards making India healthier & cleaner by 2019. And here is the website with all the details http://swachhindia.ndtv.com/. This is really a good initiative at a very large scale. Their presence is also in Facebook and Twitter.

Lets make this a success by contributing our bit by keeping our city clean and maintaining good hygiene.

Can we start building a nation with responsible citizen?