What is Chaos Theory?

Chaos is the science of surprises, of the nonlinear and the unpredictable. It teaches us to expect the unexpected. While most traditional science deals with supposedly predictable phenomena like gravity, electricity, or chemical reactions, Chaos Theory deals with nonlinear things that are effectively impossible to predict or control, like turbulence, weather, the stock market, our brain states, and so on. These phenomena are often described by fractal mathematics, which captures the infinite complexity of nature. Many natural objects exhibit fractal properties, including landscapes, clouds, trees, organs, rivers etc, and many of the systems in which we live exhibit complex, chaotic behavior. Recognizing the chaotic, fractal nature of our world can give us new insight, power, and wisdom. For example, by understanding the complex, chaotic dynamics of the atmosphere, a balloon pilot can “steer” a balloon to a desired location. By understanding that our ecosystems, our social systems, and our economic systems are interconnected, we can hope to avoid actions which may end up being detrimental to our long-term well-being.

Principles of Chaos

• The Butterfly Effect: This effect grants the power to cause a hurricane in China to a butterfly flapping its wings in New Mexico. It may take a very long time, but the connection is real. If the butterfly had not flapped its wings at just the right point in space/time, the hurricane would not have happened. A more rigorous way to express this is that small changes in the initial conditions lead to drastic changes in the results. Our lives are an ongoing demonstration of this principle. Who knows what the long-term effects of teaching millions of kids about chaos and fractals will be?

• Unpredictability: Because we can never know all the initial conditions of a complex system in sufficient (i.e. perfect) detail, we cannot hope to predict the ultimate fate of a complex system. Even slight errors in measuring the state of a system will be amplified dramatically, rendering any prediction useless. Since it is impossible to measure the effects of all the butterflies (etc) in the World, accurate long-range weather prediction will always remain impossible.

• Order / Disorder Chaos is not simply disorder. Chaos explores the transitions between order and disorder, which often occur in surprising ways.

• Mixing: Turbulence ensures that two adjacent points in a complex system will eventually end up in very different positions after some time has elapsed. Examples: Two neighboring water molecules may end up in different parts of the ocean or even in different oceans. A group of helium balloons that launch together will eventually land in drastically different places. Mixing is thorough because turbulence occurs at all scales. It is also nonlinear: fluids cannot be unmixed.

• Feedback: Systems often become chaotic when there is feedback present. A good example is the behavior of the stock market. As the value of a stock rises or falls, people are inclined to buy or sell that stock. This in turn further affects the price of the stock, causing it to rise or fall chaotically.

• Fractals: A fractal is a never-ending pattern. Fractals are infinitely complex patterns that are self-similar across different scales. They are created by repeating a simple process over and over in an ongoing feedback loop. Driven by recursion, fractals are images of dynamic systems – the pictures of Chaos. Geometrically, they exist in between our familiar dimensions. Fractal patterns are extremely familiar, since nature is full of fractals. For instance: trees, rivers, coastlines, mountains, clouds, seashells, hurricanes, etc.

“As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain, and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality.”

-Albert Einstein

BY ANSHU PANWAR

                                     GOODS AND SERVICE TAX

What is the Goods and Services Tax?

As the name suggests, it is a tax levied when a consumer buys a good or service. It is meant to be a single, comprehensive tax that will subsume all the other smaller indirect taxes on consumption like service tax, etc. This is how it is done in most developed countries.

What is preventing GST from being a reality?

A major change like GST requires a constitutional amendment, which requires a bill to passed in both houses of Parliament. The GST constitutional amendment bill was passed in the Lok Sabha in May this year.

It has been held up in the Rajya Sabha due to objections being raised by the Opposition regarding the Bill as well as issues with no direct connection to GST.

The Bill was also placed before a Rajya Sabha select committee, which made its recommendations regarding changes to the Bill. The Cabinet cleared these changes in July.

What are the Opposition’s objections?

The Congress wants a provision capping the GST rate at 18 per cent to be added to the Bill itself.

It also wants to scrap the proposed 1 per cent additional levy (over and above the GST) for manufacturing states.

This levy was demanded by manufacturing states who argued that they needed to be compensated for the investment they had made in improving their manufacturing capabilities. The Centre had agreed to this demand to encourage the states to support the GST Bill.

The third demand by the Congress was to change the composition of the GST council—the body that decides the various nitty-gritty’s like rates of tax, period of levy of additional tax, principles of supply, special provisions to certain states, etc. The proposed composition is for the Council to be two-thirds comprised from states and one-third from the Centre.

The Congress wants the Centre’s share to be reduced to one-fourth.

This demand, however, was rejected by even the Rajya Sabha Standing Committee.

***

Ten things to know about the GST Bill

Source: prsindia.org

1	Officially, the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Second Amendment) Bill 2014.
2	It was introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 19, 2014 by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
3	The Bill seeks to amend the Constitution to introduce a goods and services tax (GST) which will subsumes various Central indirect taxes, including the Central Excise Duty, Countervailing Duty, Service Tax, etc. It also subsumes State value added tax (VAT), octroi and entry tax, luxury tax, etc.
4	The Bill inserts a new Article in the Constitution make legislation on the taxation of goods and services a concurrent power of the Centre and the States.
5	The Bill seeks to shift the restriction on States for taxing the sale or purchase of goods to the supply of goods or services.
6	The Bill seeks to establish a GST Council tasked with optimising tax collection for goods and services by the State and Centre. The Council will consist of the Union Finance Minister (as Chairman), the Union Minister of State in charge of revenue or Finance, and the Minister in charge of Finance or Taxation or any other, nominated by each State government.
7	The GST Council will be the body that decides which taxes levied by the Centre, States and local bodies will go into the GST; which goods and services will be subjected to GST; and the basis and the rates at which GST will be applied.
8	Under the Bill, alcoholic liquor for human consumption is exempted from GST. Also, it will be up to the GST Council to decide when GST would be levied on various categories of fuel, including crude oil and petrol.
9	The Centre will levy an additional one per cent tax on the supply of goods in the course of inter-State trade, which will go to the States for two years or till when the GST Council decides.
10	Parliament can decide on compensating States for up to a five-year period if States incur losses by implementation of GST. BY ANKIT PAL

India Needs Good Cyber Security Team to handle Cyber threats

Three financial institutions, including the BSE, have faced cyber attacks in the last three months. Several banks have faced an increase in some form of cyber attack or security breach in recent times.

Axis Bank recently informed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that it had experienced a cyber attack, while the State Bank of India said it was re-issuing over 600,000 debit cards because of a potential security breach.

In some of these, a virus or malware blocks the system, which can be accessed only after a ransom is paid.

“Software viruses were found in three personal computers at the BSE in August, which were identified, separated and quarantined immediately,” said the exchange.

“The viruses did not have any impact on the working of theBSE or any of its departments. The viruses have also not been found to have affected other PCs. The incident was reported to regulatory agencies as part of routine compliance reporting,” the exchange added.

Sources said similar attacks had occurred at the National Payments Corporation and HDFC Bank. However, HDFC Bank and NPCI said that they had not experienced any specific ransom malware threat.

Axis Bank has hired EY to investigate the cyber attack that it had experienced.

There have also been reports that ATM card details of several account holders may have been compromised. Several banks have asked their customers to change their card security details and to stick to their own ATM networks.

A survey on fraud in the financial sector by Assocham and PwC found these caused $20 billion (Rs 1.26 lakh crore) in direct losses annually. The RBI has said the number, frequency and impact of cyber attacks have increased manifold in the past few months. However, experts said in none of these cases has any financial loss been reported.

“The level of preparedness for cyber crime in India is very basic. Companies need to improve their response and detection capabilities,” said a cyber security consultant. The RBI has asked banks to increase focus on cyber security and is checking their preparedness to handle cyber fraud.

About 30 lakh bank debit cards have come under threat after a security breach at a private bank's ATM raised fears of potential fraud, according to media reports. Though this is just about half a percent of total cards issued in the country, this could be the biggest security breach in the Indian banking industry, say reports.

About 30-32 lakh debit cards are learnt to have come under threat of potential fraud after a ATM security breach through malware infestation. According to media reports, the payment systems of Hitachi Payment Services were infested with malware that helped miscreants to steal personal information and do fraudulent transactions.The problem

Banks, cards affected

A report in The Economic Times says citing sources that cards issued by State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, YES Bank and Axis Bank as "worst affected". The cards, as per the report, include 2.6 million of Visa and MasterCard and 6 lakh of RuPay cards.

How the breach happened

The breach might have happened at YES Bank as Hitachi manages the bank's ATMs, says a report in The Times of India. The reason why other banks became vulnerable is because YES Bank ATMs see many third party transactions, says the report. What is worrisome is that the breach was effected in such a way that anyone using the bank's ATMs in the region would risk having data compromised, a PTI report said citing bankers.

"Data processes of one private bank was compromised which affected other banks' customers well. Customers who used that bank's ATM stand to get potentially affected," the PTI report quoted a banker as saying without naming the bank. Though the bankers claim the breach has not led to any monetary losses to anyone, the ET report says some customers have complained of unauthorized usage from China.

YES Bank on its part has "proactively undertaken a comprehensive audit of ATMs". "There is no evidence of a breach or compromise on ATMs. We continue to work with relevant stakeholders, including other public sector and private banks, and NPCI, to ensure utmost safety and security of ATM network and payment services which are completely safe to use," a bank spokesperson told the PTI.

Hitachi too has denied that its systems have been compromised. "I do not think it is necessary for any bank to reissue cards," Loney Antony, MD, Hitachi Payment Services, has been quoted as saying in the ToI report.

Steps taken by banks

The breach happened sometime between May and July. Banks have been alerting customers to change the security PIN or even replacing the cards. Bankers have told PTI that all measures being taken are to safeguard the system against any potential threat.

RBI steps

The PTI quotes an RBI official as saying that the central bank is seized of the matter and is looking into the issue. According to the Times of India, the infested systems have been quarantined and inspected, the affected cards have been spotted. The RBI has also asked banks to inform it about any suspected fraud immediately, the report said.


BY SAURABH GULATI

Internet of Things (IoT)

The “Internet of things” (IoT) is becoming an increasingly growing topic of conversation both in the workplace and outside of it. It’s a concept that not only has the potential to impact how we live but also how we work. But what exactly is the “Internet of things” and what impact is it going to have on you, if any? There are a lot of complexities around the “Internet of things” but I want to stick to the basics. Lots of technical and policy-related conversations are being had but many people are still just trying to grasp the foundation of what the heck these conversations are about.

Let’s start with understanding a few things.

Broadband Internet is become more widely available, the cost of connecting is decreasing, more devices are being created with Wi-Fi capabilities and sensors built into them, technology costs are going down, and smartphone penetration is sky-rocketing.  All of these things are creating a “perfect storm” for the IoT.

So What Is The Internet Of Things?

Simply put, this is the concept of basically connecting any device with an on and off switch to the Internet (and/or to each other). This includes everything from cellphones, coffee makers, washing machines, headphones, lamps, wearable devices and almost anything else you can think of.  This also applies to components of machines, for example a jet engine of an airplane or the drill of an oil rig. As I mentioned, if it has an on and off switch then chances are it can be a part of the IoT.  The analyst firm Gartner says that by 2020 there will be over 26 billion connected devices… That’s a lot of connections (some even estimate this number to be much higher, over 100 billion).  The IoT is a giant network of connected “things” (which also includes people).  The relationship will be between people-people, people-things, and things-things.

How Does This Impact You?

The new rule for the future is going to be, “Anything that can be connected, will be connected.” But why on earth would you want so many connected devices talking to each other? There are many examples for what this might look like or what the potential value might be. Say for example you are on your way to a meeting; your car could have access to your calendar and already know the best route to take. If the traffic is heavy your car might send a text to the other party notifying them that you will be late. What if your alarm clock wakes up you at 6 a.m. and then notifies your coffee maker to start brewing coffee for you? What if your office equipment knew when it was running low on supplies and automatically re-ordered more?  What if the wearable device you used in the workplace could tell you when and where you were most active and productive and shared that information with other devices that you used while working?

HoneywellVoice: Why We Need Smart Buildings

On a broader scale, the IoT can be applied to things like transportation networks: “smart cities” which can help us reduce waste and improve efficiency for things such as energy use; this helping us understand and improve how we work and live. Take a look at the visual below to see what something like that can look likeThe reality is that the IoT allows for virtually endless opportunities and connections to take place, many of which we can’t even think of or fully understand the impact of today. It’s not hard to see how and why the IoT is such a hot topic today; it certainly opens the door to a lot of opportunities but also to many challenges. Security is a big issue that is oftentimes brought up. With billions of devices being connected together, what can people do to make sure that their information stays secure? Will someone be able to hack into your toaster and thereby get access to your entire network? The IoT also opens up companies all over the world to more security threats. Then we have the issue of privacy and data sharing. This is a hot-button topic even today, so one can only imagine how the conversation and concerns will escalate when we are talking about many billions of devices being connected. Another issue that many companies specifically are going to be faced with is around the massive amounts of data that all of these devices are going to produce. Companies need to figure out a way to store, track, analyze and make sense of the vast amounts of data that will be gener

Pixel, new phone made by Google

This month, google announced for the first time a family of products that brings people the best of Google through hardware and software made by Google. Google is excited that the lineup features the first phone made by Google inside and out — Pixel.

For those of you who have followed Google closely, that name may sound familiar to you because google used the Pixel name in the past for consumer hardware products that represented an overall premium Google experience. Many of you may also be familiar with the Nexus program. Since 2010, google partnered closely with mobile handset partners around the world to bring you the best of Android. Through Nexus, the goal was to work with these various partners to push the boundaries of what’s possible with a smartphone. Google now decided to take the next step and provide our take on the best Google experience, by bringing hardware and software design together under one roof.

With Pixel, google obsessed over every detail, from the industrial design to the user experience. Google carefully sculpted the surfaces of the phone, and rounded the edges to make it easy to grip. Google used 2.5D Corning® Gorilla® Glass 4 on the front display and back glass to accent the aerospace grade aluminum body. The glass on the back also features Pixel Imprint, our fingerprint sensor, which is placed on the back of the phone where your finger expects it. You can even swipe it to access your notifications. And no matter what you’re using your phone for, you’ll need a battery that lasts all day and charges fast — up to seven hours in 15 minutes.

BY ANSHU PANWAR

Supply Chain Activities & Latest technology Used

A supply chain is a network between a company and its suppliers to produce and distribute a specific product, and the supply chain represents the steps it takes to get the product or service to the customer. Supply chain management is a crucial process, because an optimized supply chain results in lower costs and a faster production cycle.

Company's Supply Chain Management department functions: ·

 Inventory management · Transportation service procurement · Materials handling · Inbound transportation · Transportation operations management · Warehousing management

BY SAURABH GULATI

Knowledge management (KM) is the process of creating, sharing, using and managing the knowledge and information of an organization. It refers to a multi-disciplinary approach to achieving organizational objectives by making the best use of knowledge.

An established discipline since 1991, KM includes courses taught in the fields of business administration, information systems, management, library, and information sciences. Other fields may contribute to KM research, including information and media, computer science, public health, and public policy.

Many large companies, public institutions, and non-profit organisations have resources dedicated to internal KM efforts, often as a part of their business strategy, information technology, or human resource management departments. Several consulting companies provide advice regarding KM to these organisations.

Knowledge management efforts typically focus on organizational objectives such as improved performance, competitive advantage, innovation, the sharing of lessons learned, integration, and continuous improvement of the organisation. These efforts overlap with organisational learning and may be distinguished from that by a greater focus on the management of knowledge as a strategic asset and a focus on encouraging the sharing of knowledge. KM is an enabler of organisational learning.

So, this is just the intro to what a knowledge management is..We will share and discuss of this interesting subject in coming days.

Discussions via comments would be appreciated. 

Will PATANJALI be able to survive in market for longer duration

Even as Indian FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) companies battle an industry-wide slowdown in growth, many are hitching their wagons to the herbal-organic consumer products category, following in the footsteps of the Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurved. The yoga guru-cum-business czar is not only among the highest advertiser on television today, but by doubling up as brand ambassador for his company, he is increasing awareness for all ayurvedic-herbal products and further opening up the space. And companies such as Emami, Hindustan Unilever (HUL), Dabur and Humalaya Drug Company are rebooting their category strategies and investing in new products and making new acquisitions to reap in the promise of the herbal age.


“While lower price tags may help them gain market share in the short-term,  that in the medium to long term, entry of these new players will help expand the market pie and will be beneficial for all"

Providing a wide range of products may decrease core competency!!!!
Will they be able to  survive for longer in market!!!!