Villagers in rural parts of Southern India have come up with an alternate source of power to light up their homes – the sun. Thousands of homes in these areas are always devoid of good drinking water, transport facilities and minimal or even no electricity. But the one thing that they have in abundance is the sun. With the advent of solar energy, people living in these rural areas have realized the importance of harnessing solar power. Thanks to continuing efforts of organizations like SELCO, they have installed solar panels atop their roofs. These solar cells collect maximum energy from the sun during the day. The energy is stored in a battery. The charged batteries are later used during the night to power lights and fans and also in agriculture to power motors for irrigation. Solar energy has not only proved to be a boon for the villagers but also for young technicians and entrepreneurs alike. SELCO hires youth who are qualified technicians and electricians and they are responsible for installation of these solar panels in homes. Some have also found scope for business by selling solar batteries from door to door. Even street vendors rejoice as their business soars at night with the help of this new-found light that has replaced precious kerosene and fuel. Says Sarah Alexander from SELCO, “We would like to be called as an organization between an NGO and a Corporate. If we were asked to choose between installing a setup for an institution and doing the same for 300 homes, we would always go for the latter as that is our cause”. A few years ago, these villages had no electricity. Even now, they don’t have power lines from the Indian Government. However, Rural India now has light thanks to the Sun-God!

The USA created history in the Winter Olympics held at Vancouver, Canada this year by topping the overall medal count with a grand total of 37 medals. This is the first time that the Americans have given a record performance since the 1932 games at Lake Placid. They peaked the games with 9 gold, 15 silver and 13 bronze medals. This was also an Olympic record as the Americans surpassed the previous medal count of 36 made by Germany in the 2002 games at Salt Lake City. In 2002, the USA team grabbed 34 medals. The previous American best on foreign grounds was 25 in Torino in 2006. Vancouver has given Americans many a reason to celebrate as their national flag went up the podium so many times. Although Canada topped the gold medal count with a total of 14 (living up to their avowed goal of “Owning the Podium”), the Americans established their position as a major Winter Olympics power by sweeping the most number of medals. Their momentum was in full swing right from the start of the games by winning performances from Hannah Kearney and Shannon Bahrke. They were followed by memorable wins by fellow Americans Evan Lysacek, Lindsey Vonn, Seth Wescott and the most decorated of them all, Apolo Ohno. After the Salt Lake City games, the USOC set up the Center of excellence in Park City, Utah for the ski team to train. Their efforts have finally paid off as out of the 37 medals, 21 are ski and snowboard medals. An American win in the Olympics is always beneficial for all and sundry as this may create corporate interest in the games and the IOC stands more chances of financial prospects from American Broadcasters and sponsors. It is time for celebrations but Team USA is already making preparations of peaking the next Winter Olympics at Sochi in 2014.

Marketing plan is pivotal to all business ventures and corporate trade. It is the latest update on business and an important aspect of business communication that deals with promotion, advertisement, buying and selling. It requires intelligence and skills and is crucial for business endeavors as some policy makers would put it. Here are a few tips on how to draft a successful marketing plan. The first and foremost comes time management. Marketing plans are either short-term or long-term. Accurate decision making and marketing comes with time management. The next thing is the ability to grab your opportunities. Yes! Think of marketing as Real Estate. Good communication, trust and excellent output are the key points that help you grab deals from third-party buyers. Always be on the lookout. Thirdly, chart out marketing activities and map them to the responsible spheres. The sooner this is done, the more lucrative is your business. The next thing would be considering deadlines devoutly. Any task that has a deadline will inspire work and save time for the marketer. A strong delegation that backs up your business venture will prove fruitful in the long run. Personnel working under you must be punctual, precise, discreet, and hardworking. Only a compounded effort will yield good results. If the product or the output is good, then you begin to gain a strong foothold in the business world. Once you gain the trust of your buyers and the corporate world, then marketing should be carried out on a regular basis. There must be no laxity, especially in financial matters. High-level marketing requires much foresight and long-term profit anticipation. Low level business deals require day-to-day completion of successful transactions and marginal profits.  Then comes conscious and unconscious marketing plans. This is based on the marketer’s cognitive behavior. Instincts, gut feeling, and intuition do play a major role in deciding your marketing steps and may sometimes supersede your well planned-out conventional marketing ideas. Finally, aesthetic sense is essential. Promotions need the right kind of people who wear the right attitude. Celebrities and beauty may also come in handy but are not a must. The upshot of it all is that a marketer must have a good marketing plan that is not only made with a good deal of integrity, foresight, goal-oriented mindset, punctuality and hard work, but is also flexible to change with intuition and market ups and downs.

Disney’s Alice in Wonderland adapted from Lewis Carroll’s original masterpiece, directed by Tim Burton boasts of the who’s who of Hollywood such as Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman. The wildly imaginative protagonist Alice is played by willowy beauty Mia Wasikowska. The film is Disneyland through and through than being Carroll’s Wonderland. Although it draws heavily from the original, it is a spin-off of both “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”(1865) and “Through the Looking Glass” (1871). The plot is slightly skewed and Disney’s Alice is a 19 year old teen and not a 11 year old girl.  The movie opens with little Alice waking up from a nightmare and questioning her father “Do you think I have gone ‘round the bend?” to which he replies “All the best people are”. Then fast-forward 13 years later, Alice is a 19 year old of the Victorian era dominated by her widowed mother (Lindsay Duncan) who plans an arranged marriage for her daughter with a fatuous Aristocratic lad. At the engagement party, she is asked to accept his proposal in front of thousands of guests. Impudent Alice opens her mouth to say “I think I need a moment!” and promptly follows a white rabbit down a hole. The rest of the movie has Carroll’s beguiling characters such as the Mad hatter (Depp), Red Queen(Carter), White Queen(Anne Hathway), Tweedledum and Tweedledee( Matt Lucas). Thus, it is Alice’s second trip to ‘Underland’. The movie does have its moments of enchantment and humor. The 3D visuals, make up and technicalities are of the commendable highest order. However, “curiouser and curiouser” the movie progresses to a conventional climax. The leading stars have given incredible performances and characters such as Bayard the Dog (Timothy Spall) and the Elusive Cheshire Cat( Stephen Fry) are truly memorable. The hype about the 3D visual treat, promotional ads, witty dialogues and great ensemble of stars sure will rake in big numbers at the Box Office. However, it is like any other Walt Disney movie, reminiscent of Avatar, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. 

Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey was severely injured in Saturday’s football game while playing against Stoke City. The entire sporting world was shocked by the ankle-wrecking tackle inflicted on the 19 year-old by Ryan Shawcross. Saying that Ramsey was injured would be an understatement. His ankle was dangling in a horrendous way. Shawcross was given a red card and a 3 match ban and was seen leaving the field in tears after watching the damage that he had caused. Ramsay’s team mates as well as his opponents were shocked by the injury.  Captain Cesc Fabregas and Sol Campbell turned away, unable to watch their mate’s agony. It was déjà vu for the gunners as the injury brought back memories of Diaby and Eduardo, 2 Arsenal players wrecked in their prime. However the gunners battled through adversity this time. The injury happened when the scores were level at 1-1. Although they took a long time to regain composure after Ramsey was stretchered off, they were back in the game thanks to captain Cesc who was later named Man of the Match. Stoke struggled after Shawcross’ departure. On a ground that has always proved unlucky to them, the gunners fought their way to pull off a spectacular 3-1 win over Stoke City. The team pulled together to show great character and resilience. Arsenal’s manager Wenger was not jubilant. His verdict was “On a mathematical point of view, it was a good day. But it is hard to enjoy the win.” Ramsey will be out of the game for a long term and this saddens his manager, team and his fans as the 19 year old was “fantastic talent” to quote Wenger. Neutrals and Stoke fans say that Shawcross’ tackle was unintentional. The centre-back was defended by his manager and that he was genuinely broken-hearted by what happened. However, many feel that an upcoming talent was crushed by an unfair and over-physical challenge. A shocking moment for the football world, nonetheless Ramsay’s injury has galvanized Arsenal and its fans who are praying for him and have strengthened their cause to fight on.