FACTS ABOUT INDIA

• India never invaded any country in her last 10000 years of history. • India is the world's largest democracy. • India invented the Number System. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta. • The World's first university was established in Takshashila in 700BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century BC was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education. • Sanskrit is the mother of all the European languages. Sanskrit is the most suitable language for computer software - a report in Forbes magazine, July 1987. • Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to humans. Charaka, the father of medicine consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago. Today Ayurveda is fast regaining its rightful place in our civilization. • The art of Navigation was born in the river Sindhu 6000 years ago. The very word Navigation is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH. The word navy is also derived from Sanskrit 'Nou'. • Bhaskaracharya calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. Time taken by earth to orbit the sun: (5th century) 365.258756484 days. • Algebra, trigonometry and calculus came from India. Quadratic equations were by Sridharacharya in the 11th century. The largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas Hindus used numbers as big as 10**53(10 to the power of 53) with specific names as early as 5000 BCE during the Vedic period. Even today, the largest used number is Tera 10**12(10 to the power of 12). • Chess (Shataranja or AshtaPada) was invented in India. • Sushruta is the father of surgery. 2600 years ago he and health scientists of his time conducted complicated surgeries like cesareans, cataract, artificial limbs, fractures, urinary stones and even plastic surgery and brain surgery. Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient India. Over 125 surgical equipment were used. Deep knowledge of anatomy, physiology, etiology, embryology, digestion, metabolism, genetics and immunity is also found in many texts. • The place value system, the decimal system was developed in India in 100 BC. • India has the second largest pool of Scientists and Engineers in the World. • India is the largest English speaking nation in the world. • India is the only country other than US and Japan, to have built a super computer indigenously. • The name 'India' is derived from the River Indus, the valleys around which were the home of the early settlers. The Aryan worshippers referred to the river Indus as the Sindhu. • The Persian invaders converted it into Hindu. The name 'Hindustan' combines Sindhu and Hindu and thus refers to the land of the Hindus. • India has the largest number of Post Offices in the world. • The largest employer in India is the Indian Railways, employing over a million people. • The value of "pi" was first calculated by the Indian Mathematician Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century, long before the European mathematicians. • Until 1896, India was the only source of diamonds in the world • There are 300,000 active mosques in India, more than in any other country, including the Muslim world. • The Vishnu Temple in the city of Tirupathi built in the 10th century, is the world's largest religious pilgrimage destination. Larger than either Rome or Mecca, an average of 30,000 visitors donate $6 million (US) to the temple everyday. • Martial Arts were first created in India, and later spread to Asia by Buddhist missionaries. • Yoga has its origins in India and has existed for over 5,000 years

Product Recall

Does owning responsibility of product failure has adverse impact on brand image ? A-Star: Maruti Suzuki : In a recent development that has created quite a sensation in the Indian car market, leading Indian car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki India has decided to recall its popular A-star model. While this may not result in the company losing a lot of money it definitely can leave a scar on its image as a manufacturer of reliable and sturdy cars. (In fact, this year has brought woes for all three leading Japanese carmakers-Toyota, Honda and Suzuki. Toyota Motor is reeling under a massive global recall that can cost the company in excess of USD 2 Billion. Honda recalled 8,532 units of its Honda-City, in India because of a defective power window). The news of A-Star recall may not go down well with the prospective customers of Maruti Suzuki. While Toyota cars have been recalled owing to accelerator and break problem, the issue with the A-Star is its fuel tank. The company is replacing a faulty rubber gasket in the small car manufactured before August 22, 2009, and sold in domestic as well as overseas markets to prevent any possible fuel leak. A-star has a global recognition and is exported to around 70 countries and is sold as “Suzuki Alto” in Europe, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. In 2001, Maruti recalled nearly 76,000 Omnis made between August and December 2000 to get the fuel hose system inspected and, if found defective, have it rectified. In 2006, the company recalled 500 units of Zen. The company had also recalled some units of its hatchback Swift in 2005. “Its just not good to have recall one after the other… but one must not forget that the company is owning up to the problem. It is an exercise to build good public relations,” said auto analyst Hormazd Sorabji. “In the long run, such small things will not impact the image of the company.” Tylenol Poisonings : In 1982, McNeil Consumer Products, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, was confronted with a crisis when seven people on Chicago's West Side died mysteriously. Authorities determined that each of the people that died, had ingested an Extra-Strength Tylenol capsule laced with cyanide. The news of this incident traveled quickly and was the cause of a massive, nationwide panic. These poisonings made it necessary for Johnson & Johnson to launch a public relations program immediately, in order to save the integrity of both their product and their corporation as a whole. Johnson and Johnson's handling of the Tylenol tampering crisis is considered by public relations experts to be one of the best in the history of public relations. Johnson & Johnson's public relations campaign was executed immediately following the discovery that the deaths in Chicago were caused by Extra- Strength Tylenol capsules. As the plan was constructed, Johnson & Johnson's top management put customer safety first, before they worried about their companies profit and other financial concerns. The company immediately alerted consumers across the nation, via the media, not to consume any type of Tylenol product. They told consumers not to resume using the product until the extent of the tampering could be determined. Johnson & Johnson, along with stopping the production and advertising of Tylenol, recalled all Tylenol capsules from the market. The recall included approximately 31 million bottles of Tylenol, with a retail value of more than 100 million dollars. This was unusual for a large corporation facing a crisis. In many other similar cases, companies had put themselves first, and ended up doing more damage to their reputations than if they had immediately taken responsibility for the crisis. Johnson & Johnson, on the other hand, was praised for their actions by the media for their socially responsible actions. The Washington Post cited many incidents where public relations programs at large companies failed in crisis situations. They applauded Johnson & Johnson for being honest with the public.

Priorities in life

One day, an expert in time management was speaking to a group of business students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration those students will never forget. As he stood in front of the group of high-powered overachievers he said, “Okay, time for a quiz?”, and he pulled out a wide-mouth jar and set it on the table in front of him. He also produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, “Is this jar full?”. Everyone in the class yelled, Yes! The time management expert replied, “Really?”. He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. He dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks. He then asked the group once more, “Is the jar full?” By this time the class was on to him. “Probably not”, one of them answered. Good! he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all of the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, “Is this jar full?” “No!” the class shouted. Once again he said, Good! Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. He looked at the class and asked, “What is the point of this illustration?” One eager student raised his hand and said, “The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in it!”. “No”, the speaker replied, that’s not the point. “The truth is, this illustration teaches us that if you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all.” “What are the ‘big rocks’ in your life, time with your loved ones, your faith, your education, your dreams, a worthy cause, teaching or mentoring others. Remember to put these ‘big rocks’ in first or you’ll never get them in at all.” So, tonight, or in the morning, when you are reflecting on this short story, ask yourself this question - What are the ‘big rocks’ in my life? Then, put those in your jar first.

Way You Look At Things

One day a father and his rich family took his son to a trip to the country with the firm purpose to show him how poor people can be. They spent a day and a night in the farm of a very poor family. When they got back from their trip the father asked his son, “How was the trip?” “Very good Dad!” replied his son. “Did you see how poor people can be?” the father asked. “Yeah!” “And what did you learn?” The son answered, “I saw that we have a dog at home, and they have four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of the garden; they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lamps in the garden; they have the stars. Our patio reaches to the front yard, they have a whole horizon.” When the little boy was finishing, his father was speechless. His son added, “Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are!” Our outlook on life depends on the way you look at things. What others may think as riches, others may want. The most important things in life are your friends, family, health, good humor and a positive attitude towards life. If you have these then you have everything!