Public Provident Fund Scheme

RBI has clarified on Public Provident Fund Scheme that


1) in case of deposit of cheques in the PPF a/c, the date of realization of the cheque will be henceforth treated as date of deposit, as against date of tender which was hitherto considered as date of deposit;

2) PPF account can be opened in the name of minor children by either father or mother (but not both);

copy of RBI circular can be found here

tempo run - tuesday, 30th march 2010

Did a 27 minutes tempo today, good pace throughout, good rhythm.

easy run - friday, 26th march 2010

did an easy run of 67.13 minutes, good rhythm, easy pace and controlled running, experimented with high style of running for a while, looks good.

Tempo - Wednesday, 24th march 2010

Did a tempo  run of 22 minutes today, experimented with better running style, good results. Overall workout for 56.01 minutes, Completed 50 hours of running today for 2010.

Time Stops at Shamli

Just finished reading "Time Stops at Shamli" a collection of  short stories by Ruskin Bond, a reader comparable only to RK Narayan. Beautiful stories about hill town people and their lives, Bond writes with empathy about animals. All the stories are good, but the undoubted best was "Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright"

BNP - sunday, 21st march 2010 - hill sprints

Did hill sprints in Borivli National Park today, a hilly slope of about 800 metres. It keeps climbing gradually, not too steep, but manageable for more than 2 rounds that i did today, certainly 4 next time. Before that did an easy 5 km on the alternate route, which had too climbers. overall good workout today.

Aarey Forest - Saturday, 20th march 2010

Went to aarey forest today for my running, after few months, it was good effort, 1 hr 3 mins. Aarey challenges you like nothing else, there are inclines aplenty leading to a good workout.

easy run - thursday, 18th march 2010

did an easy run of 60.43 minutes today, easy pace with good rhythm, behind inorbit.

Juhu Beach Run - Tuesday, 16th March

Did a juhu beach run on tuesday, 16th march 2010 for one hour 4 minutes. the stretch from end to end is about 3 kms, great to run on a beach, good for the endurance, good for breathing.

IPL Tamasha

The IPL tamasha is back. With Sidhu back as one of the panel commentators, this is a sure shot remedy for driving away viewers from the event. Thank you Set Max, now I have a reason not to watch the matches.

easy run - saturday, 13th march 2010

Did an easy run of 30.49 minutes, basically coming back into running after one week layoff, so took it really easy. With the heat wave going on, decided to restrict my running today also in view of tomorrow's run at the BNP. A bit stiff to start with, but later on it was quite smooth and rhythmic all the way. Felt great running today.

Easy Run - Saturday, 6th March 2010

Completed an easy run of 31.38 minutes today, little stiff after yesterday's gym workout and kept it low because of evening program in greenathon. plan to do about 30 minutes in the evening.

Africa's toughest foot race

Watch Africa's toughest foot race in Cameroon here in this youtube video here

easy run - thursday, 4th march 2010

Did an easy run of 70.23 minutes today, slow and easy pace throughout though in initial stages, the legs were stiff, but still carried on. in later stages, tried to lift legs towards buttocks and was okay in the end, quite successful, to continue the experimentation.

A better India, a Better World

Just finished reading an excellent book called "A Better India, a Better World" by Narayana Murthy, mentor at Infosys. This is a collection of his speeches, but the narrative is fine and Mr. Murthy is a fine thinker with a lot of innovative thoughts and ideas for improving India. A wonderful book to read, highly recommended. Why not Narayana Murthy as PM of India for 10 years. It would be a great idea.

online settlement of PF claims

Financial Chronicle reports the government is mulling online settlement of PF claims by next year. News can be accessed here

HBR blog on gaining competitive advantage

An interesting, HBR blog on gaining competitive advantage, where it inferences from the achievements of a sportsperson from the recently concluded Winter Olympics, can be accessed here

2009's 100 most influental people in business ethics

Ethispere magazine's 2009 ranking of 100 most influental people in business ethics can be accessed here

Tempo - Tuesday, 2nd March 2010

Did a tempo of 25 minutes today, did not start the tempo very well, but later on, got better and tried variations with the foot landings, overall satisfactory. total running time 63.05 minutes

NZ Canada World cup hockey

New Zealand recovered well to overturn a 1-2 deficit at half time to post a 3-2 win over Canada in world cup hockey match. It seems half of the canadian side is of Indian origin - we have a fernandes, perreira, deol and a few singhs as usual. But where are the crowds- the stadium seems to be almost empty

NYT musical on Vancouver Winter Olympics 2010

An interesting website from NYT that looks at margins between various positions in the Winter Olympics 2010 as an Olympic musical. Click here

India beat Pak in World Cup Hockey

So India beats Pakistan in a hockey encounter in the World Cup 2010. It was a dull match with four out of the five goals coming through penalty corners. Wonder has hockey changed its mane so much that it makes for dull viewing - how many goals are field goals and what is that ridiculous rule - that if the ball touches the feet of the opposing player in the D, then it is a penalty corner. Players are becoming specialits in only putting the balls into opp players' legs!!!