Green school in Bali, Indonesia.

 

It provides its students with an education about the amazing environment that we live in. It is a holistic and relevant education. During the construction, only bamboo, elephant grass and clay were used. Cement was used just in some places in the foundation. The central and the most important building is the “heart of the school.” It is perhaps the largest building in the world built entirely from bamboo. Its dimensions are 18 meters high and 64 meters long. General area of the school includes a variety of structures: apartment buildings, classrooms, office building, and cafes. The school gets electricity from environmentally friendly sources of energy: hydraulic turbine generators and installed solar panels. It seems that considering the way we are polluting the earth, everyone should attend.

India has given $ 5.5 million as defence aid to Tajikistan

© Photo: RIA Novosti

India has given the Ministry of Defence of Tajikistan, a $ 5.5 million aid in military and technical spheres, said the head of the press service of the Tajik Defence Ministry, Faridun Mohamedaliev. One helicopter MI-8 and 6 motor-vehicles, including military trucks and fire engines were given to the Ministry of Defence, said Mohamedaliev .The Minister of Defence of Tajikistan, Sherali Hairulloev,pointed that the military and technical cooperation between the two countries would maintain security in the region. Mohmadaliev added that Tajikistan and India have collaborated in the military and technical field since 2002. Within the frame of this cooperation, the Indian side has reconstructed the military airbase at “Aini” situated 25km to the west of Dushanbe.

10 punch lines from #NaMo’s speech at SRCC

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday pitched the state’s model of growth and governance. Modi said that vote bank politics has spoilt the country and emphasised the need for good governance to make India globally competitive.

According to Modi all three major sectors of the economy viz., agriculture, industry and services should be given equal importance for development. This, he said, helps in overall development.

Here is a look at ten choicest punch-lines from his speech:

Nation of Mouse charmers

Mouse charmers: The youth of the nation has its finger on the mouse of computers and is changing the world. India’s journey has gone from snake charmers to mouse charmers!

Ignoring protests outside, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today used a college platform to project himself nationally saying his focus was on development politics and not that of vote-bank, which he said has “ruined” the nation.

India has a huge growth opportunity

“The ambassador of a nation asked me what major challenges India faces and I said the biggest one is that how we use opportunity. When asked what the opportunity was, I said the youth. Europe buddha ho chuka hai, China budha ho chuka hai.”

According to Modi India has a huge growth opportunity in the form of youth.

“Our country is not poor. We have vast resources, see eastern India is full of them. But we are unable to use that. We are unable to utilise the opportunity,” Modi said.

P2G2: Pro-people, good governance

“We need P2G2. Pro-People Good governance“: Pitching for the role of ‘good governance’, Modi said that the people of the country have sunk into an overwhelming state of pessimism.

“Even after six decades of freedom, the nation awaits good governance,” Modi said.

Speaking in Hindi on ‘Emerging business models in the global scenario’, Modi said the nation can progress by following ‘Gujarat model’ based on P2G2 (Pro-people good governance) principle.

Youth: New-age power

Youth ‘new-age power’, not ‘new-age voter’ alone. Youth have changed the way India is perceived today. Modi stressed the role of youth in the development of the nation.

His extempore speech was telecast live by news channels. “I am Chief Minister for a fourth term and based on my experience, with the same law, same Constitution, same rules and regulations, same officers, same people, same files, we can move forward. We can do a lot. I am confident that we can change things,” he said.

The glass is always full!

“I believe that the glass is full. One half with water and the other half with air.” There is despondency all over country but I am confident we can change the situation.

Picking up a glass of water, he said an optimist would say the glass is half full, while a pessimist would say it is half empty.

“I have a third point of view. For me the glass is always full — half with water and half with air. We can turn over the situation,” he said.

Milk in Delhi is from Gujarat

There must be no one in the audience who has chai without doodh from Gujarat in it. All the milk in Delhi is from Gujarat. Milk in Singapore is from Gujarat, Okra in Europe is from Gujarat.

Stating that the state’s agricultural sector has exhibited growth, Modi said, “If you go to Afghanistan, the people there have tomatoes that come from Gujarat.” Further talking about the development of the state, Modi said that the milk in Singapore and the ‘bhindi’ in Europe come from Gujarat.

Minimum government, maximum governance

Minimum government, maximum governance – this is my philosophy.

“This nation is being ruined by vote bank politics. This nation requires development politics. If we switch to politics of development, we will soon be in a position to bring about lasting change and progress,” Modi said.

“People feel nothing would change here. All are thieves, everything they do is waste. People consider it a curse to be born in India. They want to leave the country soon after completing their studies,” Modi said delivering the Shri Ram Memorial Oration.

Why not export teachers?

A businessman who goes abroad only captures dollars but a teacher influences a whole generation, said Modi while emphasising the need for education and promoting teaching as a vocation.

“We have created a university for teachers. I say we have so much youth and export so much, why not export teachers?”

Citing Gujarat’s mantra of success that can be emulated by the country for speedy progress, he said the focus should be on the manufacturing sector by making zero-defect products with good packaging.

Re-invent Made in India

Why shouldn’t we make the ‘Made in India’ tag a statement of quality for our manufactured products?,” he questioned.

Modi said there is a need to build the ‘Made in India’ brand. He drew a parallel between the credibility of a ‘Made in Japan’ tag and expressed the wish to have India reach such a level some day.

“The whole world says 21st century is India’s century. Some say it is Asia’s century, while some also say it is China’s century. I am confident that 21st century can be India’s century as knowledge is supreme,” he said.

Delhi’s Metro, Gujarat’s Coach!

Some years ago I launched a product which is now a part of Delhi. I launched a coach of the Delhi Metro! In Delhi all the metro coaches are coming from Gujarat.

Touting the recent ‘Vibrant Gujarat Summit’ which accepted the global relevance of Gujarat with the presence of 121 nations there, Modi said, “When the world sees this, they infuse confidence that we can do.”

PTI

Portion of global GDP contributed by river basins set to more than double by 2050.

  Economic output of the world’s ten most populous river basins will exceed that of the US, Japanese and German economies combined by 2050 – but only if water scarcity is addressed

Almost 8% of global GDP could be generated in China‘s Yangtze River basin by 2050,

but only if water shortages are dealt with.

Photograph: STR/AFP/Getty Images

The world‘s ten most populous river basins will account for almost a quarter of global GDP by 2050, according to research by Frontier Economics laid out in a new study commissioned by HSBC.

The portion of global economic output provided by these regions is projected to more than double between 2010 and 2050, with almost 8% of global GDP to be generated along China’s Yangtze River by mid-century.

In 2010 roughly one dollar in ten of global economic output came from one of the ten river basins shown below, but in 2050 this figure is predicted to be 24.7%.

Source: figures from HSBC and Frontier Economics

Publication of the report coincides with the launch of the HSBC Water Programme, a $100m, five year partnership with WWF, WaterAid and Earthwatch aimed at combatting water risks in river basins and raising awareness of broader global water issues.

The launch of the Water Programme is covered in greater detail on our environment blog here, including the following quote from Barbara Frost, CEO of WaterAid:

This partnership will result in 1.1 million people gaining access to safe water and 1.9 million to improved hygiene and sanitation in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Nigeria and Ghana.

Most of the rivers in question are located in emerging economies – the Nile in Egypt, the Ganges in India, the Niger in West Africa – and such surges in economic activity could lift millions out of poverty, but these projections will only be realised if management of these regions’ water supplies is improved significantly.

An OECD model of water usage in 2050 shows that the largest increases in consumption are expected to come among the ‘BRIICS’ group of nations – Brazil, Russia, India, Indonesia, China and South Africa.

Total water consumption across BRIICS nations is projected to increase by 78% between 2000 and 2050, from 1,827 to 3,263 cubic kilometres, whereas the corresponding global figure will rise by a more modest 53%.

According to the UN’s latest World Water Development Report, water supplies in several of the ten basins featuring in the Frontier Economics report are being over-exploited. The map below shows water scarcity across the globe, with the darkest regions representing areas where water use exceeds minimum recharge levels.

Global patterns of water exploitation, coloured according to water stress indicator (WSI). Click for larger image. Illustration: United Nations Environment Programme

The Frontier Economics study shows that water use in seven of the ten river basins will be at unsustainable levels (30% or more of natural run-off being consumed) by 2050 if resource management does not improve.

Global distribution of different indicators of water scarcity. Click for larger image including description of categories. Illustration: UNESCO

Also included in the report are calculation of the benefits that would arise from meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) targets for water, and from going one step further to achieve universal access to water.

Several Latin American and Central African countries could see annual GDP increases of 5% or more if MDG targets are met, with the economic boost rising to as much as 15% with universal access.

Even China, already a major economic power, could see an annual increase in GDP of almost 1% if its entire population had access to clean water and sanitation.

Source: figures from HSBC and Frontier Economics

According to Frontier Economics’ calculations, the investments required to achieve such levels of water access could be paid off in as few as fifteen months.

A cost-benefit analysis of implementing the changes required to achieve these targets shows projected returns ratios vary considerable by region.

Assuming a 35 year lifetime for the impacts of initial investments, every dollar spent on achieving universal access in Sub-Saharan Africa would yield $2.50, compared to a return of over $16 per dollar spent on equivalent work in Latin America.

Data summary

Economic output from top ten river basins

River	Population in 2010 (millions)	Population in 2010 (% of global)	Basin GDP in 2010 (US$bn)	Basin GDP in 2010 (% of global)	Basin GDP in 2050 (US$bn)	Basin GDP in 2050 (% of global)
Source: Frontier Economics, HSBC
Ganges	528	0.08	690	0.01	5776	0.03
Yangtze (Chang Jiang)	407	0.06	1796	0.03	14810	0.08
Indus	254	0.04	281	0	1522	0.01
Nile	207	0.03	304	0	3035	0.02
Huang He (Yellow River)	170	0.02	751	0.01	6187	0.03
Huai He	103	0.02	457	0.01	3766	0.02
Niger	100	0.01	105	0	753	0
Hai	96	0.01	426	0.01	3511	0.02
Krishna	89	0.01	126	0	1052	0.01
Danube	81	0.01	1305	0.02	6432	0.03
Total	2036	0.3	6240	0.1	46844	0.25

 

Download the data

• DATA: download the full spreadsheet

Apple iTunes Debuts In India, Songs From Rs.7/-

Apple has finally opened the gates of iTunes Store to India. Apple customers in the country can now download, stream or store legal music and video content available in the digital store.
The iTunes Store will offer over 20 million songs including international tracks. Songs can be bought individually for price ranging from 7 to 15 or can buy as a complete album, starting from 70. The store also offers ability to buy or rent the movies which comes in High Definition and standard version. HD versions of some latest bollywood flicks are available for purchase from 450, while renting the same will cost around 120

Apple has also included Indonesia into the list of iTunes Stores. Even though the company has launched its digital store in many parts of Asia in June, India and Indonesia were left out till now. The company will also offer ‘iTunes Match’ which allows users to store music purchased from sources other than iTunes in Apple’s icloud.

The Cupertino tech giant, which recently started more focusing towards India with its products and services, will face competition in the latest segment from Nokia’s Music Store and Flyte, the digital store from Flipkart.

According to a 2012 report on Media and Entertainment Industry, the Indian music industry achieved a 19% year-on-year decline in sales of physical music which was compensated by a significant jump of 24% year-on-year in digital music consumed last year. The country also has high levels of content piracy.

Apollo Tyres to set up power plant in Tamil Nadu

To meet its electricity requirements in a power-starved Tamil Nadu, tyre company Apollo Tyres Ltd is planning to set up a 15 MW thermal power plant at its factory near here, the company said on Tuesday. Two units each of 7.5 MW will be set up at the company’s factory at Oragadam, around 50 km from here. The factory has a capacity to roll out 550 tonnes of passenger vehicle and truck/bus radial tyres per day, the company said in a statement.

According to the environment impact assessment (EIA) report by Hubert Enviro Care Systems Pvt Ltd, the expected outlay will be Rs 80 crore. “Coal is easily importable through the Chennai port, 52 km from the site,” the EIA report states.

The plant will come up in an area of 2.47 acres and the flyash (100 tonnes per day) will be disposed of to brick kilns. The power plant will run for 18 hours a day, with an effluent generation of 40.98 KL per hour.

IANS

Major Overseas Acquisitions by Indian Companies

Indian companies have certainly become more ambitious and certainly adventurous. Most companies are no more the ‘frogs in the well of the license-raj era’. In today’s world, Indian companies are not only setting up their own bases overseas, they have become quite ambitious to fly out of the Indian business boundaries to find new companies and potential markets for acquisition and company investment. Even though it might take some years for them to start showing the big time profit evaluations from the acquisitions made so far.

However, this shows that Indian companies have certainly become confident about expanding their operations overseas successfully.

In the last decade itself, many Indian companies have been on a big time acquisition spree, and that has definitely added a huge value to Brand India. Indian companies (listed and unlisted) announced 1995 overseas acquisitions from the last two which involves an investment of nearly $ 116 billion – as reported by The Economics Times.

India has also come out as the world’s 21st largest overseas and foreign investor, with more than 75 billion dollars in foreign investment, just in the past 10 years. And during the financial year 2009-2010, the investment by the native companies in foreign joint ventures and self-owned subsidiaries alone come up to around 10.3 billion dollars, as per The Reserve Bank of India’s report.

1. Corus Group (U.K.)

Acquired by – Tata Group

Tata Steel, one of the leading steel producers in India, acquired Corus Group for U.S. $12.11 billion (€ 8.5 billion) on January 31, 2007. But only after nine rounds of bidding, the acquisition process was completed. The only other competitive bidder was Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN), Brazil.

This acquisition is considered to be one of the biggest foreign acquisitions by an Indian company, and after this only TATA Steel came out to be the fifth largest steel producer in the whole world.

2. Zain Africa

Acquired by – Bharti Airtel

India’s largest mobile services company, Bharti Airtel’s ambition to expand into the markets outside India was completed after this complete acquisition of the African operations of Mobile Telecommunications Company (known as Zain).

Bharti Airtel had acquired Zain Africa for a value of U.S. $10.7 billion. The acquisition gives Bharti Airtel a total customer base of 180 million, including 131 million subscribers it had in India at the end of April.

“By expanding its business outside the country, Bharti Airtel can in the long term benefit from economies of scale, including getting better deals from suppliers” says, Kamlesh Bhatia, Principal Research Analyst at Gartner.

3. Novelis (U.S.)

Acquired by – Hindalco Industries

Aditya Birla Group, one of India’s leading MNCs, acquired the entire stake in the Atlanta based aluminium company Novelis for U.S. $6 billion. This company had separated from Alcan, a global aluminium company. This deal was announced on Feb 11, 2007 by Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman of the AV Birla group.

The deal, in a way recapitulates India’s new appetite for international acquisitions, as it comes barely a fortnight after the Tata-Corus deal, which made Ratan Tata the toast of Indian industry.

4. Imperial Energy (U.K.) 

Acquired by – ONGC

Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has acquired Imperial Energy. This deal was for 1.3 billion pounds (U.S. $1.9 billion). 96.8 percent of London-listed firm’s shareholders had top accept this takeover offer, for the acquisition deal to take effect.

“The company owed the acquisition to government support, which has seen OVL in the past seven years increase its number of projects to 39 in 17 countries, from just a single project in Vietnam,” says ONGC Chairman R S Sharma

5. Jaguar Cars and Land Rover (U.K.)

Acquired by – Tata Motors

Tata Motors, one of the leading automobile MNCs in India, has acquired both Jaguar and Land Rover, which are two iconic British brands with worldwide growth prospects. This deal was for a whooping U.S. $ 2.3 billion with Ford, the previous American owners.

The deal was effective from May 2008. The deal is seen as yet another endeavor of the fast growing Indian industries, also the latest in a string of foreign acquisitions by Tata.

6. Honiton Energy Holdings (China)

Acquired by – Tanti group

Tanti group of companies jointly with Bahrain-based Arcapita Bank, has acquired Honiton Energy Holdings, a Chinese wind energy firm. The joint venture partners invested around U.S. $2 billion which help to develop a 1,650-MW portfolio of wind farms in China.

Tulsi R. Tanti, Chairman Tanti Group felt that the acquisition would reinforce their commitment towards the renewable energy sector. And also would have a potential growth of wind energy in developing countries like India and China.

7. Abbot Point Coal Terminal (Australia)

Acquired by – Adani Enterprises

Adani Enterprises completed a $2-billion deal which acquired Abbot Point Coal Terminal in Australia on the month of May, 2011.This acquisition marked the third overseas acquisition in nine months by Adani Enterprises, the country’s biggest private port and is India’s largest coal importer.

This deal one of the largest port acquisitions in the world. There have also been many Indian companies which have acquired many mines in foreign countries to secure coal supplies for Indian projects.

8. Algoma Steel (Canada)

Acquired by – Essar Steel Global

Ruias owned Essar Steel Global acquires the Canadian steel company Algoma Steel at a valuation of Canadian $1.85 billion. The arrangement must be approved by Algoma’s shareholders by the affirmative vote of at least 66 per cent (2/3rd) of the votes cast. Algoma Steel is an integrated steel producer based in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario.

Essar Steel Holding, Essar Group’s overseas investment arm made the investment possible and easy. Algoma would definitely provide Essar an excellent platform for the Canadian and North American market.

9. Marcellus Shale (U.S.)

Acquired by – Reliance Industries

India’s Reliance Industries bought a $1.7 billion stake in natural-gas properties Marcellus Shale, from Atlas Energy Inc. This acquisition made Reliance in becoming the latest international energy company to bet on growing fuel output in U.S. shale formations.

Reliance, led by Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, got the right to buy 40 percent of all new Marcellus Shale leases that Atlas acquires, after this purchase acquisition and agreement was completed. And this was one of the most lucrative deals which have been seen in the Marcellus.

10. Minnesota Steel (U.S.)

Acquired by – Essar Steel Holdings

Ruias owned Essar Steel Holdings, part of Essar Global, has acquired Minnesota Steel, a U.S. based steel company with estimated reserves of over 1.4 billion tones. Essar Global invested a sum of $1.65 billion which was used to set up a steel plant in Minnesota Steel company’s facilities.

The Essar Global chairman felt that the investment in Minnesota Steel was very benefiting as they would get good exposure in the North American market. He added that Minnesota’s iron ore reserves will help the company to be one of the low cost producers of steel in the world.

Worst Indian Government Websites

India is boasting about its growth towards an e-economy. More than anybody else it’s the Government who promote this so-called e-Governance. There is no doubt it will make our life easier. No more long queues to pay the bills, no more delays in getting the services done and so on. It sounds really nice but the bitter fact is, once you visit these government websites which are intended to provide you services, you will feel the traditional system was much better. These websites are cluttered with navigational issues, design, usability flaws and are hardly updated.

It is really shame to a country, which has uncountable number of technology talents and where even a 15 year old kid can develop websites which are far better in usability and design than these cluttered Government websites.

Here we list some of the most unfriendly websites owned by the Indian Government.  

IRCTC

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation website might be the one, which is better compared to the rest of the list. It is supposedly the first government website that launched a mobile application for easy access through the phones. But as many say, the website is not free from problems. The first thing is the content load. It will eat a considerable amount of your time for logging in, especially in the morning time. The site is not optimized for all types of internet connections, so irrespective of your connection speed, it will be difficult to effectively ‘search,’ book or cancel tickets. By the time you clear the log-in hurdles and reach the final step to book a ticket, you will have probably missed out the available seats.

BSNL

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited’s website seems to be faster than the earlier one and is comparatively clutter free. But the content in the website is poorly sorted. So if you have to get particular information, be prepared to traverse through the entire site and the countless number of tabs which keeps on increasing as you go in. And nevertheless to say, the design of the website is so poor with a wide array of color schemes and distracting BSNL flashes, which runs on top.

Indian Passport

Well, we know getting a passport is not an easy thing. But if you tried to apply for one through the Indian Passport website handled by the ministry of external affairs, you will feel it as the worst decision ever made. It is a herculean task to follow the countless instructions and fill the details so precisely. Consider the worst case scenario, if anything happens with your system during the process, you will have to repeat the lengthy process all over, whether it is for taking a new passport or renewing your old one.

MTNL

Well, do not even try to access website of the State-run MTNL network. The site usually takes more than five minutes to load and even if it’s loaded, it will surprise you with the looks of a website coming from the early 90’s.

Even though the website contains almost all the needed information, it has got serious navigational problems. The advertisements running on the site hides information and links on the drop down menu.

Environment Ministry

The environment ministry’s website seems to be fine, except the un-aligned boxes of information in the home page.  But once you go further inside the home page, you will get information which is more than five months old. It has got serious update issues, mainly the press and events section where the people usually look for information, were last updated more than a year ago.

Department of Health and Family Welfare

 

This website probably is the most shameful one. The website is run under the ministry of health and family welfare and has more than 60 active links. But the problem is most of these links lead to pages which greets you with the information “coming soon,” or will redirect you to some files or links outside the network.

National Disaster Management Authority

The Governments National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) website is itself a disaster. The website is an extreme example of poor design with the tabs and names overlapping with one other and the ill designed cursors. The top portion of the website is covered with blurry flash which has unrecognizable next and previous buttons. It looks like the government must have a disaster management authority, especially for all its websites.

Agricultural Marketing Information Network- Ministry

Of Agriculture

The website Agmarknet, of the agriculture ministry says “A step towards Globalization of Indian Agriculture.” The website allows you to check the daily prices for the anything from vegetables to cereals and also offer guidelines for agricultural projects and other information from the ministry. The interesting thing is that the website will give you same feel of entering a real market, with things spread all over the place.

Nearly Half of World’s Child Marriages Occur In India

Contemporary India continues to be plagued by social and health ills like child marriage, early motherhood and domestic violence.  More than 40 percent of the world’s child marriages still occur in India. More than 60 million women worldwide who are between 20 and 24 years were married before they turned 18. Latest records in the ‘State of the World‘s Children report 2012’ released by UNICEF revealed that almost 22 percent women in India, who are now aged between 20 and 24 years gave birth to a child before they turned 18.

Almost 45 in every 1,000 births are born to mothers in the age group of 15-19. Around 57 percent of male adolescents (age 15-19) and 53 percent of female adolescents thought a husband was justified in beating up his wife under certain circumstances.

The report revealed that only 35 percent adolescent males (aged 15-19) and 19 percent adolescent females have a comprehensive knowledge of HIV. Almost 33 percent of children under the age of five in urban India and 46 percent in rural India are underweight.

Around two in four people in urban India and one in five in rural India use improved sanitation facilities. India ranks 46 and is among the 50 worst nations with the highest under-five mortality rate.

The report suggested that school attendance is lower in slums. A survey in Delhi found a primary school attendance rate of 54.5 percent among children living in slums in 2004–2005, compared with 90 percent for the city as a whole.

The report also threw light on child trafficking. It was seen that at any given time, nearly 2.5 million people are in forced labor as a result of trafficking, 22 to 50 percent of them are children. One study indicated that most trafficked girls are put to work as sex workers in major Indian cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata.

43 percent of children under the age of five are underweight with 16 percent being severely undernourished, 20 percent are wasted and 48 percent are stunted.

It was noted that 18 percent children between the years 2000-2010 were married by the age of fifteen and 47 percent were married by the age of eighteen. 5 percent of male and 30 percent female adolescents aged 15-19 are currently married/in union.

Karin Hulshof, UNICEF representative to India said to Times of India “A child born in a slum in urban India is as likely to die before her or his first birthday, to become underweight or anemic or to be married off before her 18th, as a child in rural India. Unfortunately for the urban poor child, the situation is most of the time not as visible and gets diluted by a much rosier picture of urban life. Great inequities are found within towns and cities, where great opportunity and great deprivation exist side by side.” He added that “Child brides become mothers much before their bodies are physically mature.”

World Health Organization‘s executive board meeting in Geneva had also taken up the issue recently. As per WHO, half the girls in early marriage live in south-east Asia. According to the National Family Health Survey, about 10 million girls are married each year before the age of 18 worldwide and one third of them live in India. Child marriage is now prohibited by law in India, with the minimum age of marriage being 18 for girls and 21 for boys. Though the latest available government survey found 48 percent of women (aged 20-24) were married or are in union before the age of 18.

Ten Things You Should Never Do In India

 

India is a land of enormous internal diversity. On your journey from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, the cultures and things you encounter are lot more diverse and complicated than you think. There are many actions which seem to be normal to you but are extremely offensive in certain areas. Here we list ten things which is considered as offensive or bad throughout the country.

Religious discussions

You can freely discuss about anything in India, especially politics. Most people will have an opinion but they will not mind their opinion being contradicted. But be careful while including the religion into any of your discussions especially with the strangers since it is one of the sensitive areas in the minds of Indian people and they will feel offended for no reason!

Public display of affection

The beautiful backwater sceneries in Kerala and the story of Taj Mahal- the symbol of love may make you romantic. But think twice before performing any acts of love in public since the people around you in India is very conservative and doesn’t want to watch or do public displays of affection.

Left Hand Rule

You can give rest to your left hand while you are in India. Indian people never eat with their left hand or they won’t pass or receive anything with it. So remember – never give any gifts, money or anything with your left hand.

Feet Rule

According to Indian culture, the head is considered as the superior part of the body and feet, the inferior. So try not to touch anything important with your feet, especially books. Also never point your feet at someone and if you do, express your apologies immediately. However touching elder’s feet is considered as a sign of respect in India.

Clothing Rule

Majority of Indian people dress conservatively and it is advisable if you do the same, especially when you are in rural areas. It is better not to wear revealing or tight clothing especially when you visit places of religious significance.

Handshake rule

In India, it is generally not acceptable for men to shake hands with a woman until and unless she offers the same. If she extends her hand, you should reciprocate otherwise it is better to join your palms and wish her in Indian style.

Shoes rule

It is generally considered as good manners to remove shoes and sandals before you enter someone’s home. In some temples, people are not allowed to enter into holy areas with their shirts on.

Gift rules

The rules related to gifts vary in different parts of India. In some areas it is considered as an offence to gift white flowers since they are used in funerals. Gifting alcohol and animal-skin made products are considered as offensive in some other areas. Generally it is better to carry some sweets along with you when you are invited to someone’s home.

Smoking and drinking in Public

In India, it is offensive to consume alcohol or smoke in public. Even if you smoke, remember to ask the permission, otherwise it is considered rude. You are also not allowed to hunt or hurt animals, especially cow, which is considered as a holy animal in many areas.

Last but not the least, there are a lot of spiritually elevated people in each and every corner of India who offers magic remedies and spiritual salvation and there is no way you can distinguish the crooks. So as a traveler, it is advisable not to get into their traps and lose your money.