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Education
How a Team of 70 is Helping People to Find Jobs …An Inspiring Story of “Mera Job “

A team of 70 based out of Delhi is helping nearly 4 lakh job seekers find their careers across sectors. This is their story.
Every year, thousands of people move from India’s villages and towns to its cities looking for employment opportunities.
They pack their bags and bid their families goodbye with no idea how their life will shape up in a city which is already crowded with people competing for every job opportunity.
On the other hand, there are companies that fall short of manpower because they struggle to find the right match.
When the supply is huge, why do companies still struggle to fill lower end white collar and skilled blue collar vacancies?
This is exactly the question Pallav Sinha, Founder and CEO of Mera Job, asked himself.
“I moved to India in 2008 and soon realised the challenge of hiring good resources. I knew from my past experience in building teams that there was plenty of talent available in the country but it missed the employer’s attention due to lack of right exposure,” shares Sinha.
He saw that no one was focusing on the mass recruitment segment and decided to tap this enormous potential and Mera Job was founded in 2012.
Mera Job is a hybrid talent acquisition startup that strikes a balance between offline and online hiring.
It offers a marketplace for lower end white collar jobs like telemarketing and sales executives, receptionist etc. and even skilled blue collar workers like drivers and delivery boys.
How is it different from similar players in the market?
Mera Job has a unique pre-screening process for jobseekers where they verify and match the skill set of the candidate with the employer’s requirement.
Jobseekers have an option to either get pre-screened online or call the tele-recruitment centre to go through the quick test.
The company plans to rely on its technology platform to gather unique data about registered candidates to analyse future behaviour.
“Once we know (through our data analysis) that a candidate is not looking for say a banking job and would prefer a company located in Ghaziabad we make a note of these preferences.
We don’t send a job recommendation to the candidate that doesn’t match his liking. This not only saves the jobseeker’s time but also helps employers screen candidate without arranging a telephonic or personal interview,” explains Girish.
Pallav, 51, co-founded Fullerton securities (now Dunia Finance) before Mera Job.
He met his co-founders Girish Phansalkar and Raman Thiagarajan at McKinsey, where the two were consulting Pallav on a project at Fullerton.
“I never thought that I would become an entrepreneur. I still feel that I might be the oldest in the startup lot in the country,” giggles Sinha with the enthusiasm of a 23 year old. Girish, in his self-assured and pragmatic style, shares the story of the bonding the founding team shares.
“Pallav, is the ‘ideas man’ in the team. He has vast understanding of consumer markets and Raman brings in high problem solving ability with global experience. I am a techie with years of technology and operational experience,” says Phansalkar, the IIM-A and IIT-B alumnus.

The initial idea of Mera Job was to make a repository of around two million profiles which can be accessed by employers through a subscription. But the team soon realised that with this model they would only burn resources in achieving scale without connecting with the employers.
They quickly pivoted and designed a systematic pre-screening process. They will soon be launching their mobile app.
During the discussion Pallav shared a very interesting trivia which changed my assumption about this market.
As many as 80 per cent of job seekers in the mass market own a smart phone.
When they come to the city they do not have a social circle hence they buy a smart phone which is their only source of entertainment.
With a team of 70 people, 400,000 job seekers, and operations in 12 cities, Mera Job raised its initial investment of $ 3 million from private investors and is looking for a series A funding by end of this year.
Their current revenues come from B2B transactions and all services for job seekers are free.
“We feel that skill development of the job seekers will become our focus in the coming months. We have sealed a partnership with NSDC and plan to add counselling and language training to our services portfolio,” adds Pallav. However, sourcing right candidates at the right time stays their biggest challenge.
Like any other businesses, managing efficiency throughout the value chain is critical to their operation.
Pallav feels that the work pressure you feel as an entrepreneur is a positive one as it helps you and your company evolve.
Girish however fears failure for a reason.
“I had an unsuccessful business before Mera Job. At that time failure did not matter much because I was bootstrapping. It was my own money at stake. Now I dread failure because my investors’ money and employees’ careers are at stake.”
The recruitment market in India is worth about $800 million and is growing at 20 per cent annually, according to data by Matrix partners.
We are seeing a second wave of online hiring firms post the Naukri, Monster era.
The new entrants in the market are targeting specific problems that exist in acquiring talent at different levels.
The Indian start-up ecosystem itself is predicted to create 300,000 new jobs in the next few years.
The recruiters however still struggle with piles of unsuitable resumes, long recruitment cycles and fleeting employee loyalties.
Ensuring retention of selected candidates in the lower end job segment is even more challenging as a hike of even a few thousand rupees leads to attrition.
Companies like Mera Job have to fight against the legends of the online hiring industry and find inventive ways of partnering with offline consultants who serve as industry insiders. But with clear focus and 40 years of collective core team experience, Mera Job has already bagged clients like HDFC Bank, Yatra, Britannia and JLL.
source::::: Reema Sathe in http://www.rediff.com
Natarajan
Solar-Powered Plane on Its First ” Round-The-World ” Flight !!!!
Solar-powered plane begins first round-the-world flight
Swiss plane Solar Impulse 2 landed Monday in Muscat, Oman, the first stopover in the attempt to fly around the world powered by the sun alone. Follow the flight.

Image credit: solarimpulse.com
A Swiss plane called Solar Impulse 2 took off from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Monday morning (March 9, 2015) and later landed at its first stopover in Muscat, Oman. Solar Impulse 2 is the first plane to attempt to fly around the world without a drop of fuel, powered by the sun alone.
Solar Impulse founder Andre Borschberg was the pilot Monday morning at take-off. Borschberg will trade piloting with Solar Impulse co-founder Bertrand Piccard during stop-overs on the months-long journey, expected to end in late July or early August.
You can track the plane’s progress on the Solar Impulse website.
You can also follow Solar Impulse on Twitter or FlightRadar 24.

The solar-powered plane Solar Impluse 2 lands at the Al-Bateen airport in Emirati capital Abu Dhabi on March 2, 2015.
The Solar Impulse 2 is made of carbon fiber and has 17,248 solar cells built into the plane’s 236-foot (72-meter) wingspan. The solar cells recharge four lithium polymer batteries. Solar Impulse’s wingspan is larger than that of the Boeing 747, but the plane weighs only around 5,070 pounds (2300 kg) – about as much as a minivan.
On Tuesday, the plane will head for Ahmedabad, India, and after India, to China and Myanmar. The next leg is across the Pacific to land in Hawaii. Then it will head to Phoenix, Arizona, and New York City. The path across the Atlantic will depend on the weather and could include a stop in southern Europe or Morocco before ending in Abu Dhabi.
SOURCE::::: http://www.earthskynews.org
Natarajan
“நீ அஞ்சாம் க்லாஸ் படிச்சியா… ? “
தாத்தா, மாடு எனக்கு தறியா?
KVK சாஸ்திரியை வளவனூரில் தெரியாதவரே கிடையாது. ஓய்வு ஊதியம் பெற்று அங்கே சொந்தமான வீடு, நிலம், மாடு, மனை என்று அடுக்கிக்கொண்டே போகலாம். அந்தக் காலத்திலே Rs 136/- பென்ஷன் ரொம்ப பெரிய தொகை. மூன்று கட்டு வீடு, இரு பிள்ளைகள. ஒருவன் வருமான வரி இலாகாவில் பணி. இன்னொருவர் ஏன் அக்காவின் கணவர், அப்பாவின் சொத்தே போதும் என்று அவரும் ஒய்வு பெற்று விட்டார். அவருக்கு ஒரு பிள்ளை, ஒரு பெண். வீட்டிலே வருவோரும், போவோருமாக ஒரு பெரிய ராஜ சமஸ்தனமாகவே இருக்கும். சிவ பூஜா விதிகளில் தேர்ச்சி பெற்றவர்.
ஒரு சமயம் பெரியவா, விழுப்புரத்தருகே உள்ளே எல்லீஸ் சத்திரம் என்ற ஊரில் கேம்ப். அன்று பிரதோஷம். சிறிய கிராமமானதால் கூட்டம் அதிகம் இல்லை. நான், ஏன் அக்கா, கே.வி.கே. சாஸ்திரி, அக்காவின் பையன் வித்யா சங்கர் பிரதோஷ பூஜைக்கு சென்றிருந்தோம். வழக்கம் போல பெரியவா, ருத்ராக்ஷம் முதலியவைகளை அணிந்து நேரே கைலாசத்திலிருந்து இறங்கி வந்த பரமேஸ்வரனைப் போல காட்சி. அனைவருக்கும் தரிசனம் ஆயிற்று.உத்தரவு பெற்று வீடு திரும்பலாம் என்று நாங்கள் பெரியவா உட்கார்ந்திருந்த கீத்து கொட்டகையில் நுழைந்தோம்.
“கிருஷ்ணசுவாமி, எப்படி இருக்கே?” ஏகாதசி புராணம் எல்லாம் நன்னா நடக்கிறதா?” என்றார் பெரியவா.
நாங்கள் அனைவரும் நமஸ்கரித்தோம். சிறுவன் போட்டனே ஒரு கேள்வி.
“பெரியவாளைப் பார்த்து “தாத்தா, நீ வெச்சிண்டு இருக்கேயே மாடு அது எனக்கு தறியா” என்றான்.
உடனே ஏன் சகோதரி, “அப்படி பேசப்படாது” என்று பிள்ளையை இழுக்க, பெரியவா கருணையுடன், “உனக்கு அந்த மாடு வேணுமா? தரேன் – ஆனா ஒரு கண்டிஷன்” என்றார்.
“நீ இப்போ என்ன படிக்கற?” என்று வினவினார்.
“மூணாம் கிளாஸ்” என்று உடனே பதில் வந்தது.
பெரியவா உடனே, “நீ ஐந்தாம் கிளாஸ் படித்திவிட்டு வா, நான் உனக்கு மாடு தருகிறேன்” என்றார்.
நாங்கள் ஸ்தம்பித்து நிற்கும் நிலையில் சங்கர் பெரியவாளை பார்த்து “சத்தியமாக?” என்று கேட்டான்.
பெரியவா, “குழந்தாய் நான் சொன்னா வார்த்தையை தவற மாட்டேன். நீ போய்விட்டு வா” என்று சிரித்துக்கொண்டே பிரசாதம் வழங்கினார்.
இரண்டு மூன்று வருடங்கள் ஓடி விட்டது. இப்போது சங்கர் ஆறாம் வகுப்பில் போர்ட் ஹைஸ்கூலில் படிக்கிறான். அப்போது பெரியவா மறுபடியும் வளவனூருக்கே வந்திருந்துந்தார். பெரியவாளை தரிசிக்க சென்றோம். வழக்கம்போல் குசலப்ப்ரச்னம் ஆன பிறகு, பெரியவா புன்முறுவல் பூத்தார். அதன் காரணம் எங்களுக்குப் புரியவில்லை.
திடீரென சங்கர் எல்லீஸ் சத்திர உரையாடலை ஞாபகப்படுத்தி, “இப்போது நான் ஆறாம் கிளாஸ் படிக்கிறேன். எனக்கு மாடு வேணும்” என்று கேட்டான். பெரியவா அதிர்ச்சி அடைந்தா மாதிரி பாவனையுடனே “என்ன படிக்கிற ஆறாம் கிளாஸா?” என்று கேட்டார்.
“ஆமாம்”
“அது சரி, அப்போ நான் என்ன சொன்னேன்?”
“அஞ்சாம் கிளாஸ் படித்துவிட்டு வந்தால் மாடு தறேன் என்று சொன்னேள். இப்போ நான் ஆறாம் கிளாஸ் படிக்கிறேன்” என்று நிறுத்தினான். நாங்கள் பயந்து விட்டோம்.
பெரியவா தொடர்ந்தார், “மறுபடியும் நான் என்ன சொன்னேன்?”
“அஞ்சாம் கிளாஸ் படித்து விட்டு வந்தால்…”
“நீ அஞ்சாம் கிளாஸ் படிச்சியா?”, பெரியவா கேட்டார்.
“எங்கம்மா எனக்கு டியூஷன் வெச்சு நாலாம் கிளாஸிலிருந்து ஆறாம் கிளாஸில் சேத்துட்டா, அப்போ நான் அஞ்சாம் கிளாஸ் படிச்சா மாதிரிதானே?”
“நீ அஞ்சாம் கிளாஸ் படிச்சுட்டு வந்தா நான் மாடு தரேன்னு சொன்னேன். நீ படிக்கலே. அதனாலே மாடு உம்மாச்சி கிட்டயே இருக்கும்” என்று கற்கண்டு பிரசாதம் குடுத்தார். மறுப்பு ஏதும் சொல்லாமல் “நீங்க சொல்வது சரி” என்று சங்கர் வீடு திரும்பினான்.
என்றோ நடக்க கூடிய ஒன்றை முன்னறிந்து கூறும் மஹா பெரியவா தீர்க்கதர்சி தானே?
SOURCE::::: http://www.periva.proboards.com
Natarajan
Read more: http://periva.proboards.com/thread/6719/thatha-maha-periva-give-cow#ixzz3TyPqGVp7
Pamban Bridge… A Fascinating One !!!
Now it is the second.
Thalaimannar in Sri Lanka and continued their onward train journey all the way to Colombo.
Since the Madras train connected to a boat at the end of the journey, it was called
Boat Mail. This train was also known as Indo Ceylon Express in very early days.











Image For The Day…. Dwarf Planet Ceres as Seen From Dawn Spacecraft Of NASA…
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NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has become the first mission to achieve orbit around a dwarf planet. The spacecraft was approximately 38,000 miles (61,000) kilometers from Ceres when it was captured by the dwarf planet’s gravity at about 4:39 a.m. PST (7:39 a.m. EST) Friday, March 6.
This image of Ceres was taken by the Dawn spacecraft on March 1, just a few days before the mission achieved orbit around the previously unexplored world. The image shows Ceres as a crescent, mostly in shadow because the spacecraft’s trajectory put it on a side of Ceres that faces away from the sun until mid-April. When Dawn emerges from Ceres’ dark side, it will deliver ever-sharper images as it spirals to lower orbits around the planet.
The image was obtained at a distance of about 30,000 miles (about 48,000 kilometers) at a sun-Ceres-spacecraft angle, or phase angle, of 123 degrees. Image scale on Ceres is 1.9 miles (2.9 kilometers) per pixel. Ceres has an average diameter of about 590 miles (950 kilometers).
Dawn’s mission is managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Dawn is a project of the directorate’s Discovery Program, managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The University of California, Los Angeles, is responsible for overall Dawn mission science. Orbital ATK Inc., in Dulles, Virginia, designed and built the spacecraft. The German Aerospace Center, the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, the Italian Space Agency and the Italian National Astrophysical Institute are international partners on the mission team. For a complete list of acknowledgments, http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA
SOURCE:::: http://www.nasa.gov
Natarajan
Image of the Day…. Smallest Full Moon On March 5 2015…

EarthSky Facebook friend Curtis Beaird in south Georgia captured the shot above.
Tonight’s full moon is the smallest full moon of the year. We’ve heard it called the micro-moon or mini-moon. This March 5, 2015 full moon lies about 50,000 kilometers (30,000 miles) farther away from Earth than will the year’s closest full moon – the full supermoon and Northern Hemisphere’s Harvest Moon – on September 28. The March 5 moon is the year’s farthest full moon because full moon and lunar apogee – the moon’s farthest point in its monthly orbit – both fall on the same date.
Every year has a closest full moon, of course. The mini-moon returns about one month and 18 days later with each passing year, meaning that, in 2016, the year’s smallest full moon will come on April 22. In 2017, it’ll come June 9. In 2018, the year’s smallest full moon will come on July 27. And so on, no doubt until our earthly calendars are long forgotten.
By the way, as an aside, mark your calendar for that September 28, 2015 full moon – the Harvest moon – and closest full moon of this year. It’ll also stage a total eclipse of the moon, which some will call a Blood Moon eclipse. It concludes a series of four straight total lunar eclipses that started on April 15, 2014.
The crest of the moon’s full phase comes on March 5, 2015 at precisely 18:05 Universal Time.
Although the full moon occurs at the same instant all around the world, our clocks read differently in different time zones. In the United States, the moon turns exactly full onThursday, March 5, at 1:05 p.m. EST, 12:05 p.m. CST, 11:05 a.m. MST or 10:05 a.m. PST. So the Americas won’t see the moon at the instant it turns full because it happens during the daytime hours, when the moon is below the horizon and under our feet.

The moon looks full for several days around full moon. William Vann submitted this shot. It’s the rising almost-full moon on March 4, 2015.
No matter where you live worldwide, look for the full moon tonight, lighting up the nighttime from Thursday nightfall until dawn Friday. As with any moon at the vicinity of full moon, tonight’s moon rises in the east at early evening, climbs highest in the sky around midnight and sets in the west in the vicinity of sunrise.
In North America, we often call the March full moon by the names of Sap Moon, Crow Moon, Worm Moon or Lenten Moon. But in recent years, we’ve also heard the term mini-moon to describe the year’s smallest full moon. It’s not a name (like Sap Moon). It’s not bound to a particular month or season. It’s just a term to describe the year’s smallest moon.
What is a mini-moon or micro-moon? Like most astronomers, we at EarthSky have always referred to the year’s smallest full moon as an apogee full moon. The terms mini-moon andmicro-moon stem from popular culture. They roll off the tongue more easily than apogee full moon. As some indication of the appellation’s growing popularity, we’ve found that theNASA Astronomy Photo of the Day and timeanddate.org sites both like to call the smallest full moon a micro-moon.

Billie C. Barb submitted this photo of the rising moon on March 4, 2015 from the state of Washington, saying it was “. . . a love affair between the moon and the evergreens.”
Bottom line: The micro-moon or mini-moon – smallest full moon of 2015 – comes on March 5, 2015 It lies about 50,000 kilometers (30,000 miles) farther away from Earth than will the full moon supermoon of September 28, 2015.
SOURCE:::: http://www.earhskynews.org
Natarajan
With Home Remedies , Feel at Home … And Relax…
Effective Home Remedies for an Aching Throat |
| The throat itches, is swollen and burning, and even the simple act of swallowing becomes a scary prospect? You’re not alone! Throat aches are some of the most common phenomenon as we move into the winter season.
Here are 10 ways you can calm that aching throat down without having to go see a doctor: |
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1. Keep your nasal passageways open
Doctors agree that two of the most common causes of throat pain are the buildup of snot and dryness, that occur mostly from breathing too much through the mouth when the nasal passageways are closed.
There are materials that fight nose congestion, especially those containing Pseudofrin (no need to doctor’s note) which will help open the nasal passageways.
Using nose sprays (with a salt water solution) may also help keep those passageways open and breathing easier.
2. Home remedies to gargle with:
Salt Water: This is the old favorite, and you can create it by mixing 1/4 teaspoon of salt in 1 cup of warm water (the warmer the better, within your tolerance levels, don’t let it get cold or loses effectiveness). If you have it at home, this is a good time to add 1 tablespoon of Listerine for its germ killing benefits. This you gargle several times a day, and will help you to rinse and neutralize acids in your throat. You will notice that the burning sensation is going down and the area will usually start to heal. Don’t let up on the gargling.
Raspberry Tea: Pour a glass of boiling water on 2 tea spoons of raspberry dried leaves, soak for 10 minutes and then filter. You can add 1 tea spoon of apple vinegar and/or honey, and then gargle 4 times a day.
Sage Leaves: Mix 1 spoon of sage leaves with 1 cup of boiling water, soak for 10 minutes and then filter. You can add 1 tea spoon of apple vinegar and/or honey, and then gargle 4 times a day.
Turmeric: For a burning sensation in your throat, mix 1 cup of boiling water with 1/2 a spoon of turmeric (anti inflammation) and 1/2 a spoon of salt. Gargle twice a day. If you hate gargling, you can also mix 1/2 a spoon of turmeric with 1 glass of hot milk, and slowly sip it.
Hot sauce and water: Hot peppers containt a material called capsicum which alleviates pain and reduce inflammation. You can prepare this by grinding a cayenne pepper and adding 5 shakes of the ground material to a cup of hot water. Warning: it WILL burn, buy try to gargle this every 15-30 minutes and see if it does the trick.
When the body is aching and weak, logic dictates that you rest. Same goes for throat ache. It’s very important to save up your energy, to allow the body to fight the infection. If the throat pain doesn’t require medical attention, resting will help cut down the healing time.
3. Horseradish Cocktail
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Natarajan

Anjili: How would you interpret the words ethics and morality?


