'Germany's favourite drink? 7Up!' The funniest tweets and memes after Germany's 7-1 win against Brazil in the World Cup

 

 

 

 

 

Brazil’s new Flag:

 

 

 

ClearTax - Easiest way to file your returns

 

Today, for the first time in 8 years since I began working, I filed my income tax returns. For Free ! And it was the easiest process I have used  for such a process.

If you are working in India, and have received your FORM 16, and wish to now file your ITR, head to ClearTax. All you need is your Form 16, the two docs, and about 10 minutes to upload them to the site.

The actual delay was due to the integration to Govt Of India Tax system, the steps before that are a cakewalk. The system automatically parses out most fields directly from the Form 16 document, you only need to enter details of other investments you might have made, so that the system can calculate the ITR amount.

At the moment, the Site is free to use, but might start charging a nominal fee soon. So …hurry !

Orkut to shut down on September 30, 2014

 

The dark past of all the Facebook users, their Orkut profile will cease to exist after 30th September 2014. In an official announcement on Orkut’s blog, Paulo Golgher, Engineering Director at Orkut confirmed the news.

In 2004, Orkut became Google’s first foray into social networking which was built as a “20 percent” project. Eventually, Orkut communities started conversations, and forged connections, before people really knew what “social networking” was . The official blog stated,

Over the past decade, YouTube, Blogger and Google+ have taken off, with communities springing up in every corner of the world. Because the growth of these communities has outpaced Orkut’s growth, we’ve decided to bid Orkut farewell (or, tchau). We’ll be focusing our energy and resources on making these other social platforms as amazing as possible for everyone who uses them.

Orkut will be shutting on September 30, 2014. It was clarified that until then, there will be no impact on current Orkut users, in order to give the community time to manage the transition. People can export their profile data, community posts and photos using Google Takeout (available until September 2016). Starting today, it will not be possible to create a new Orkut account.

We are preserving an archive of all public communities, which will be available online starting September 30, 2014. If you don’t want your posts or name to be included in the community archive, you can remove Orkut permanently from your Google account.

Paulo signed off with a heavy heart but hopes for a positive future for social networking,

It’s been a great 10 years, and we apologize to those still actively using the service. We hope people will find other online communities to spark more conversations and build even more connections for the next decade and beyond.

Vyakarnam Anjenaya Sastry: The man who donated shares worth Rs 1,850 crore to Infosys

Sastry, the first non-founder to get on the Infosys board, plays down his generosity saying that he was only returning a favour.

BANGALORE: When Infosys celebrated its 30th birthday in 2010, all employees were gifted a share each. But not many of them know that it was the benevolence of a former colleague that made such a gesture possible. Vyakarnam Anjenaya Sastry, 71, had joined Infosys in 1990 when the Bangalore-based software maker's revenue hovered at just Rs 2.5 crore.
He had bought about 2% of Infosys for Rs 1.6 lakh but donated half of his holdings to the Infosys Employee Welfare Trustwhile leaving the company in 1996. If he had held on to the shares, they would have been worth about Rs 1,850 crore (1% of Infosys).
But Sastry, the first non-founder to get on the Infosys board, plays down his generosity saying that he was only returning a favour. "I was supposed to join Infosys in April-May, but then (Infosys founder NR Narayana) Murthy said that if you take the shares before March 31, then you will be able to have bonus shares. So even
Murthy showers praise on Sastry
Murthy, who recently came back from retirement to once again head the company he founded for a brief period, is effusive in his praise of Sastry. "He (Sastry) is a wonderful professional and a thorough gentleman," Murthy said in an email. "He is a true Infoscion in every sense of the word." The admiration is mutual. Sastry said Murthy did the right thing by coming back from retirement.
"I still back him because I feel even when everyone and everything was against him, he decided to come back (to Infosys). It takes guts to do it at this age, and I think he was successful in doing both the things: finding a successor and getting company back to growth." Sastry, who now holds less than 0.5% of the company, had first met Murthy in 1989 while planning to put up a stall at the computer show CeBIT in Germany.
Both Infosys and Sastry's then employer, Macmet India, a mathematical modelling and simulation company, couldn't afford the entire amount. So they shared a stall. After coming back, Sastry asked Infosys to buy his company's simulation unit. But Nandan Nilekani, one of Infosys' cofounders, had other plans. "Nandan said 'we have decided that we won't be able to buy that particular unit but we have decided to buy you'," recalled Sastry, who became a multimillionaire when the company went public in 1993.
He was offered a seat on the Infosys board and asked to set software quality standards across development projects for clients, including Reebok. For his part, Sastry has always believed in maintaining a low profile, and staying away from the limelight. V Balakrishnan, a former Infosys board member and chief financial officer, remembers Sastry as an early champion who established Infosys' reputation globally.
According to Balakrishnan, Sastry had a major role in Infosys getting the coveted ISO 9000 certification. "I still fondly remember the glass of champagne we all had at our Koramangala office when we actually got the certification," said Balakrishnan. "It requires a very big heart to donate such a large amount of money for the welfare of employees.
Very few people can do this." Over the years, Sastry has used his wealth to fund philanthropic activities and create successful startups. He cofounded RelQ, a software testing company, which was sold to EDS in 2007 for around $40 million. As for Infosys' new CEO Vishal Sikka, Sastry has some words of advice. "The only thing I wish to happen is for Sikka to move to Bangalore and start living here.
Because unless he lives here and starts working from here, it could become a little bit of challenge," he said. "No matter how many times he comes, he will always be a visitor."

The IT Ghost Towns On OMR

 

In March 2011, the central government ended the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) scheme, which extended incentives and tax holidays to IT companies.

As a result, the last three years have seen an exodus of sorts with smaller IT firms (now forced to pay taxes up to 30 per cent) quitting the scene. This means that several buildings and IT parks built along the OMR during the scheme are now lying vacant.

Realty consultancy Knight Frank estimates about 4 million sq. ft of vacant space along the OMR, indicating vacancy levels of 18 to 20 per cent.

Builders believe that these vacant spaces can be converted into income-generating buildings. “Allowing these spaces to be used by non-IT commercial units could be a solution. During the STPI scheme, builders were allowed higher FSIs (floor space index) and given permission to build high-rises if they were for IT/ITES use.

These were incentives given to them to build high quality buildings even when the construction costs were higher than those for commercial or residential spaces,” says R. Kumar, Navins Housing.

Although the government is allowing the buildings to be converted for other commercial use, it is demanding a fee towards the extra FSI. “In Mumbai, builders were given similar extra FSI in erstwhile IT buildings but when there were no takers, the government took away the extra fee for conversion. The spaces were absorbed by the banking and finance sector. That could work here too,” says Prakash Challa, SSPDL. As of now, the rent for IT buildings that lie before the toll gate (from Taramani to Perungudi) is around Rs. 40 per sq. ft, while beyond Perungudi, rentals range from Rs. 22 to Rs. 30 per sq. ft.

One of the other proposals from the government is to allow these spaces to be converted into Special Economic Zones, which it says could ease the pressure off developers. However, P.B Balaji, Chennai-based real estate lawyer, questions the move. “Such a conversion would fall under the Special Economic Zone Act, which comes with a large number of specifications, which most of these IT buildings will be unable to fulfil. The process would take even longer than waiting for the IT industry to revive, if at all,” explains.

When neighbouring Hyderabad and Bangalore have attracted multi-million dollar office absorption from non-IT firms such as Deloitte and Flipkart, developers are asking why Chennai is lagging behind. “The government has mooted a ‘financial city’ with new buildings to attract non-IT investment, but won’t converting these large vacant spaces be ideal instead?” asks Kumar. “It will bring in a lot of income to the State and the benefits will also be passed on to the residential sector on OMR,” he points out.

Ashwin Kamdar, CMD, Prince Foundation, has a different view: “I don’t believe this is a solution. The other sectors are not in great shape either and this would only cause oversupply again. The IT buildings have large floor plates of 40,000 sq.ft or more, which is more than what most commercial companies are looking for. Apart from commercial use, I suggest demolishing them and converting them into residential spaces. IT buildings work on return on investment (RoI), and the prevailing Rs. 20 per sq. ft post-toll gate can only yield Rs. 2,800 per sq. ft whereas residential spaces sell for Rs. 6,000 per sq. ft, which is more viable than waiting for an IT revival.”

Either way, it is time the government came up with a viable and practical way to use the huge developments that are lying vacant on OMR.