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As per Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) regulation, mobile consumers will be freed from unwarranted calls and SMS from 27th Sept 2011.
This was long overdue – but now has come into effect. Accordingly, the Do Not Disturb registry has been renamed to National Consumer Preference Register. Every telemarker needs to register itself with TRAI (Check registered telemarketers in your district here). Click here to know more about the changes.
Now consumers can choose to block all calls-SMS or choose which calls-SMS they wish to receive. Further, one can change his/her preferences after 7 days compared to 3 months earlier.
People who have already added themselves to DND will be automatically treated to have blocked ALL calls and SMS.
To know your current status, go here and enter your number.
Here is a quick guide to update your preferences via SMS:
You can register your preference(s) for commercial communications by sending an SMS to 1909.
Basically, there are 7 categories of registered telemarketers:
1. Banking/Insurance/Financial products/credit cards,
2. Real Estate,
3. Education,
4. Health,
5. Consumer goods and automobiles,
6. Communication/Broadcasting/Entertainment/IT,
7. Tourism and Leisure.
To partially block, you need to simply send an SMS to 1909 in following format:
START <number of desired category from above>
For example, to receive calls/SMS from Banks and Credit Cards, send following SMS to 1909 –
START 1
You can also send the SMS in following format for multiple categories –
START 1,3,4
To block everything (which is not recommended), send following SMS to 1909 –
START 0
Remember that START 0 supercedes all other options.
Also, remember that the shipment information about items from an eCommerce website are included in category no. 5 i.e. Consumer goods and automobiles. So you may want to receive SMS from this category.
What happens after one sends the SMS?
Basically, you will receive an SMS about confirming the options you have selected. Once you confirm that by sending a confirmation SMS, your preference will be registered and you will get an SMS with a registration number (keep it safe, you may need it).
START x STOP
You can similarly, use STOP to opt put of the whole blocking thing (if you are ok with all the calls and SMS). Just replace START with STOP in above instructions to bring this into effect.
A must read article. Reminded me how the food crisis debate ended up in lobbying for FDI in retail sector. Read to know how govt is failing in the basic job – judicial allocation of resources.
Some excerpts –
In recent years, the financial markets have discovered the huge opportunities presented by agricultural commodities. The consequences are devastating, as speculators drive up food prices and plunge millions of people into poverty. But investors care little about the effects of their deals in the real world.
The problem is particularly glaring in Ethiopia, a country whose name is associated with starvation for many people. Even though 5.7 million Ethiopians are dependent on international food aid, the government sells or leases large tracts of fertile land to foreign investors. They, in turn, export most of the food they produce to other countries. Since 2007, the Ethiopian government has approved 815 foreign-funded agricultural projects. Saudi firms, multinational agricultural companies and British pension funds act as investors. Some 3.6 million hectares of land are up for grabs, much of it in the Gambela region, the proposed site of a national park. Now virgin forest is being cleared to produce food for other countries. Fifty kilometers (31 miles) outside the capital Addis Ababa, Jittu Horticulture, a subsidiary of a Spanish agricultural group, produces 180,000 kilograms (396,000 pounds) of vegetables a week. The produce is exported to the Middle East, supplying multinational oil companies and five-star hotels in Dubai, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. “We bring foreign currency into the country, enabling the government to buy wheat for the hungry,” Dutch manager Jans Brins told the Berlin daily newspaper Tagesspiegel. “It’s the government’s responsibility to feed people who are unable to buy anything for themselves.”
According to the UN assessment, what is needed is a reorientation toward a system of agriculture driven by small farmers who grow their crops at the local level, using both sustainable and environmentally compatible methods. The authors argue that through investment, these farmers must be given access to seeds, infrastructure, knowledge and markets — and thus the opportunity to feed themselves and others. In their view, this is the only way to preserve the natural basis of feeding human beings and fight world hunger.
The original article – Speculating with Lives: How Global Investors Make Money Out of Hunger
Some links which are in tune with what’s on my mind…
1. India’s Costly Culture of Corruption [Steven Pearlstein in Washington Post]
“These are all reminders that, for all its progress in recent years, India’s economy remains very much an insider’s game. A recent study by two American business school professors confirmed that much of the formal economy continues to be run by a couple dozen family-controlled groups that seem to be in just about every major industry — manufacturing, retail, energy, infrastructure, shipping, construction and telecom.”
2. India Inc is not a small crony club [Swaminathan A Aiyer in Times of India]
This is a serious and common criticism, but is mostly wrong. Consider the sensex between 1990 (just before economic liberalization) and today. The sensex comprises the 30 top stock market companies, and the Bombay Stock Exchange keeps changing companies in the list as old giants decline and new ones emerge. If indeed India was dominated by a few oligarchs, the sensex would contain much the same companies today as it did 20 years ago.
3. New India story is about flight of capital [Swapan Dasgupta in Times of India]
From sweetheart deals in telecom and offshore exploration to the ouster of reluctant farmers from their lands, corporate India is being painted the root of all evil. It has become the new juju man—the puppeteer controlling a range of subordinate players ranging from bent bureaucrats to pliant politicians.
The first story above tells what is on mind of everybody in India. Second is a repudiation of the first argument – though a flawed one in my view. The third one, like the second tries to defend big coroporates in India from the recent public outcry – again a meek attempt.
The truth is that India has become a corrupt society. Everyboy knows this. The rich and powerful benefit from it. Everybody else suffers – the biggest loss being the that of opportunity.
Carl Jung – the famous psychologist said –
“If people can be educated to see the lowly side of their own natures, it may be hoped that they will also learn to understand and to love their fellow men better. A little less hypocrisy and a little more tolerance toward oneself can only have good results in respect for our neighbors, for we are all too prone to transfer to our fellows the injustice and violence we inflict upon our own natures.”
—
I found this quote very apt about the way we deal with the not-so-bright sides of hostorical figures and leaders. Case in point is the intolerent and hasty reactions towards ‘failed-to-understand-the-cultural-tones’ claims about homoerotic relationship of Mahatma Gandhi.
He is a great inspite of such true-false discoveries. Isn’t it?
Can we trace the reason of corruption in Indian society to her culture? Is there any correlation between a highly religious society (Catholics, Hindu) and high levels of corruption?
These are some of the interesting questions asked by Aakar Patel in his piece in Mint today.
Though anybody would agree that corruption is not so simple a phenomenon, there seems to be atleast some truth in what he has hypothised in the article. Ambiguity or complexity or dogmatism in religious code can be a reason which leads to a self-deceptive individual and a similar society.
Actually Fred Riggs, an influential thinker, has a beautiful model which can be more helpful in tracing the causes of corruption. He talked about three types of societies – Agraria (primitive societies where there is little development of structures and functions), Industria (developed societies where there are clearly developed structures and respective functions), and Transitia (a society which is in transition from an agrarian society to an industrial society).
Riggs’s model was based on his observations about the third world – first world classification, to which he later added ‘Developing World’ – typified by a Transitia society.
These societies which are in transition, in some way or the other, are more susceptible to corruption. These societies are characterized by three qualities – heterogeneity (i.e. simultaneous existence of traditional as well as modern viewpoints and structures), formalism (i.e. there exists a difference between what is formally prescribed and what is actually followed.), and overlapping (i.e. modern and traditional methods/practices/structures/behaviours overlap. E.g. A court takes cognizance of a case only when there are riots).
From these characteristics of the prismatic society, it is clear why corruption is a practice in such societies. We can also see a clear picture of Indian society in the prismatic description.
Let’s hope as the Indian society evolves, as we are more transparent about ourselves, there will be a change.
Here is the link to my post on Indian media facing a dilemma. It is published on blog of MediaNext – my company.
In spite of all the controversies that preceded the Delhi Commonwealth Games, I must say that I enjoyed every moment during the last 11 days. Sometimes I even wondered where are the falling roofs? Where are the clogged toilets? What was on screen was pure sports, pure joy. Isn’t it these sports moments which shape the pride of a nation – the stock index of happiness and pride moving up or down with every medal that is won or lost?
And, all these controversies went completely into oblivion when India put a stellar performance at the Games. In India, we are raised to believe that there are only 2 games at which India can win – Cricket, and then Cricket (- add corruption and babies-making to it, might say some mockingly). So, one never expects an Indian to win in other games, more so in athletics. No way! No way, unless he or she is raised, bred or trained from childhood in US!
But in 2010, India did win some medals (a spectacular 1-2-3 in women’s discuss throw, and a gold medal in 4X400 relay – women’s, and some more).
In this context, I came across the story of the day – a story of a hero whose connection with India only a few might be knowing. His name was Otto Peltzer – a German athlete who made tremendous impact on India athletics.
Here is his story from Australian newspaper the Age –
J.S.Saini, the 83-year-old track and field guru who for two decades was India’s chief national coach, called him the father figure of Indian athletics. Norris Pritam, who ran under Peltzer as a teenager, said no one had made as big an impact on Indian athletics as the man they knew simply as ”Doc”, and no one ever would.
His story is a moving story, in the sense that he is a forgotten hero in India. Let’s hope that his efforts will find recognition as India continues on the path of more sporting glory.
Here is the link to the story.
Here is the Wikipedia entry for Otto Peltzer.
Reality Is A Farce... 