OPERATING SYSTEMS

 Operating system (OS) is the most essential software that runs in our computers. It is a collection of software that controls the computer hardware and provides services to the computer programs (also called as applications). OS is the first software that is installed into the computer and without it; the computer is of no use as it will not be able to communicate with the hardware. Once the OS has started up, it manages all of the software and hardware on the computer. Sometimes, there are many different programs running all at the same time, and they all need to access the computer’s central processing unit (CPU), memory, and storage. The OS manages all of this to make sure each program gets what it needs and do not interfere with each other. It performs various operations like taking input from keyboard, displaying output on the screen, working of monitor, mouse, scanner, printer and other external (hardware) devices. OS is also responsible for security of the computers, ensuring that unauthorized users do not access the computer data. Some of the most common OS are Microsoft Windows, Linux and Apple Mac OS. Most operating systems use Graphical User Interface (GUI) which allows the user to click on icons on the screen and give commands to the computer. All OS may not have the same GUI, like Windows 7 has a different GUI than Apple Mac OS. 

Nowadays, OS is present in mobile phones, video games etc. The different types of mobile OS are Symbian, Android and Apple iOS.

WHAT IS A DATABASE ?

A database or data bank is a large collection of data stored in a computer, organized so that it can be expanded, updated, and desired data can be recalled rapidly for various uses. It can be viewed as an electronic filing machine. This data could be in the form of tables, graphics, reports, text, etc representing almost every kind of information. Databases also provides improved security. Traditional databases are organized by fields, records and files. A field is a single piece of information; a record is one complete set of fields and a file is a collection of records. For example, a telephone book is similar to a database. It is a large electronic file containing a list of records, each of which may consist of three fields: name of the contact, address of the contact, and telephone number.

In recent years, database management systems (DBMS), a collection of software programs allowing users to not only enter information located in a database but to select particular information of interest, has gained more prominence. Thus, increasingly, the term database has come to stand for DBMS. Previously, flat-file database systems were in use which only allowed simple rows and columns like spreadsheets. Today, most DBMSs can manage any form of data including images, text, video and sound. On the negative side,database systems are very complex, time-consuming and initial training is required for all programmers and users which subsequently increases the costs.

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

Strategic management refers to a continuous process of planning, decision making, implementing and evaluating for an organization according to the changing environment in order to achieve its objectives. The high level of dynamic nature of the external environment in today's era gives a call to strategic management on regular basis and hence making it an ongoing process. The term had been widely used in politics, economics and business. It is an art of planning in order to gain the optimal benefits out of what the current internal and external environment is offering.

But the question is what exactly strategy is? A strategy is always needed to be successful or win in a competition be it a market or in an event or on playing field. Strategy is about knowing yourself and leveraging your skills and competencies to deliver the best. A business strategy is all about analyzing organization's market, competitors moves and creating plans for better competitive moves and business approaches so as to grow, make profits and create value for its customers.

Example: IKEA

 IKEA Swedish Furniture giant when entered in Chine with almost the same strategy as it was following in European and north American markets failed initially. But soon it analyzed the market and altered its products, marketing strategy and even the target market and came up with a strategy to hold a better position in the Chinese market.

http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/how-ikea-adapted-its-strategies-to-expand-in-china/1/196322.html

TARGET MARKET AND MARKET SEGMENTATION

      Target market is a small subset of the large population of the market you are present in. Not everyone in the market will be interested in your product. So why would you spend your time and money to tell about your products to them? And this is where the need for looking for an appropriate target audience/ target market comes. 

Target market is a subset of the larger set of population that may be interested in your product be it because of the similarity between their interest and the product you are offering, may be its because of their need and the ability of your product to fulfill the same. For example, an educational portal will have its target market as school students, college students, teachers, institutes, might be readers etc. Now here all these people are looking for some educational information and that is the Point of Parity. You are offering something which is of interest to them and hence they become their target market.

     Now once your target market is set, you need to step forward for something that is called market segmentation. Target market may be a subset of a large population but it itself is large enough with varying needs, requirements, desire, mentality, age, groups, region etc. and they all will be looking on for value with different perspectives. Market segmentation is the solution to this particular problem which divides your target market into further smaller groups on the basis of one of the factors like demographics, psycho-graphics or any other suitable factor. For example, in the above case the target audience can be segmented based on the field of education, interest. And hence segments can be formed such as IT, Engineering, Finance etc.  

COMPUTER NETWORKS.

Computer network is a group of computers and other associated devices, connected to each other in such a way to enable significant communication such as exchange of data and information between them. To set up a computer network, an appropriate medium is necessary between the computers. These could be different types of network cables like co-axial cable, optical fibre cable, twisted pair cable, etc. Network cables are decided based on the size, topology and protocol of the computer network. Topology refers to the way in which the communicating devices are linked to each other.Nowadays, wireless media is gaining prominence over cable media. Wireless media could be bluetooth, infrared, radiowaves, micro-waves, etc.Thus; a computer network doesn’t necessarily require a direct connection.

 Computer network enables multiple users to share a single hardware device like a scanner or a printer, allow sharing of files amongst them, make accessing of information easier to users, enable communication via e-mail, instant messaging, etc. Networks are differentiated based on their characteristics. The different types of computer networks are Local area network (LAN), Metropolitan area networks (MAN), Wide area network (WAN), Global Area Network (GAN), Internet, etc. The best known and the largest network amongst them is the Internet. Most operating systems including Microsoft Windows, Linux, etc use TCP/IP for networking.

DEFINING LAN.

Local Area Network (LAN) is a group of computers within a small radius, interconnected to each other through cable or a wireless medium. Amongst all computer networks, LAN covers comparatively small range of distance. They are confined to a single building or a group of buildings like a home, school, college or an office building. Mostly,LANs are used in personal computers and work cubicles. LANs enable multiple users to use a single hardware device like a printer or a scanner, allows file-sharing between users, enables communication through e-mail, instant messaging, etc. There are different kinds of LANs. They can be segregated from one another on the basis of topology, protocol and media used. Topology refers to the way in which the communicating devices are linked to each other such as ring(ring like structure) topology, star(star like structure) topology, etc.

The different cable media used in LANs are Co-axial cable, Optical fibre cable,twisted type cable, etc. Nowadays, wireless media known as wireless LAN (WLAN) is also used. It uses high frequency radio waves. Ethernet is the most common type of LAN for PCs. It can be linked to the communicating devices ,both through cables and wireless media. LANs possess high data transfer rates but are bounded by distance. Also, there is a curb on the number of computers that can be attached to a single LAN.

DEFINE COMPILER.

A Compiler is a set of programs which are used to convert any high-level programming language into a machine code. A machine code is a language which the computer understands.A high-level programming language could be C, C++, Java etc; which is also called as a source code  Thus, a compiler becomes very important from programming point of view. 

The primary use of a compiler is to enable the computer to execute any program by converting the source code into binary code (machine code). The computer executes the machine code one by one. Each language have different compilers for different type of computer machines. A compiler for a IBM computer will be different from a Apple macintosh computer. Java,which is a type of object-oriented programming language; has a compiler which can run in any computer system platform available.This serves as one of the major advantage of Java programming language.


HIGH LEVEL PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE SOURCE CODE --> COMPILER--> MACHINE CODE

DEFINING OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

Operations management is the science and art that deals with successful completions and delivery of goods and services to its end user.

It can also be defined as effective and efficient method for utilization of the resources available, in order to design and produce goods and services for customers.

Operations management is a very essential part of every organization be it manufacturing or service. But different organization calls it with different names but the aim of the activities remains efficiency and effectiveness.

Operation can be widely categorized into:

       1. Production of goods/ creating of services: It includes production of goods when talked in concern of manufacturing industries and creation of services when talked in concern of service providing industries. Ex: Farming, Mining, manufacturing, generating power, creating software, films, shows etc.

     2. Storage/Transportation:The goods once produced are either stored and maintained in warehouses or are transported in the form of trucking, mailing, moving, supplying etc.

     3. Exchange:This includes retailing, wholesaling, renting, stock exchanges etc.

INTRODUCING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ENGINEERING

Engineering is one of the most desired professional courses in India. Every branch in engineering relates with certain technological field. 

Information Technology (IT) is a branch of engineering which concentrates on both software and hardware sectors. 

IT students are exposed to programming, databases, networking, and system administration and also learn to utilize telecommunications. IT usually provides skills and knowledge which covers more of practical aspects. Often students are confused between Computer Science (CS) and IT. IT is more about applications of computing whereas CS is all about the science behind these applications, programming and requires a certain proficiency in mathematics. If we compare the curriculum for both the branches in the top engineering colleges, it can be safely said there doesn't seem to be much difference between them. Information Technology is a vastly undermined course and often given lesser importance than the coveted CS course. But nothing more could be farther than the truth. IT isn't a diluted version of CS. Both the courses have their own requirements and one’s interest is all that matters.

Technology sector is a field which is quite lucrative in the job arena and is expected to be so for the next decade and more. The computer industry has been growing with leaps and bounds. Many Indian companies require talented IT engineers every year. So deserving job-aspirants shouldn’t find any difficulty in finding their dream job as well as their dream pay-package. Well, of course it also depends on your grades and the reputation of the college you are graduating from. Post-graduation in IT is also offered in India and abroad and further opens up a wide array of opportunities.

FINANCE

 Finance can be defined as the field that largely deals with the science of managing large volume of money associated with large business organizations and government bodies. The key aspect of finance is time value of money. The time value of money speaks about the changing power of a unit of currency and what it can buy for you over a period of time.

Finance can be categorized into three major subcategories:

      1.Personal Finance: The term personal finance is used in terms of an individual or a family which manages its finances in order to take care of their budget, savings, spending etc taking into considerations various risk factors and future events.

      2. Corporate Finance: All Financial activities that primarily deals with maximizing the value for the shareholders of a company through implementation of various short term and long term plans and strategies. Ex- Capital investment decisions, management of current liabilities and assets, inventory control, new capital purchases etc.

      

      3. Public Finance; The financial management dealing with the government expenditures and the ways of paying these expenses through borrowing and taxes.

Finance also provides a clear view of the actual price of the assets based on the risk associated with it and the expected rate of returns.

INVESTMENT OPTIONS IN INDIA: RISKY ASSETS

Every human being falls several times before he/she learns how to walk. Similarly the investment and its cold, chaotic and confusing world cannot be understood until you get into it with some real hard cash in your pocket.

India, one of the fastest growing economies in the world is attracting a lot of foreign investors today. Today, Indian economy is growing with a good pace and with it is linked the Investment opportunities growth. Most of the investors have an eye on the markets that have a higher growth rate than the developed economies. India today is one of the top choices for investment for various investors. But the question is where to invest in India?

INVESTMENT AVENUES

Investment in India can be classified into 2 classes:

1. Risky assets class

Risky assets refer to assets that have a significant degree of price volatility. This class contains investment options that offer unguaranteed return. Risky Assets carry a varying level of risks with them. Some of the risky assets are commodities, equities, high-yield bonds, real estate and currencies. In the banking context, risk assets generally referred as an asset owned by a bank or financial institute whose value may fluctuate due to changes in interest rates, credit quality and repayment risk and so on. The term may also refer to equity capital in a financially stretched or near-bankrupt company, as its shareholders’ claims would rank below those of the firm’s bondholders’ and other lenders.

2. Risk free assets class

Risky assets class contains assets that have certain future return for sure. Different people say it differently, some says that there’s no asset that can be called as risk free because all financial assets carry along with them some sort of risk. It’s a different point of view if the risk associated with an asset was very small and can be neglected by the owner, but it still exists. Government bonds are generally not considered risky assets. Let’s start off with the Risky assets in this article with the Risk free assets covered in the next article.

RISKY ASSETS

1. MUTUAL FUNDS:

Mutual fund, an option to get your money managed professionally. The investment avenues offers

• Cost efficiency
• Professional management
• Risk – diversion
• Good regularity body

It allows investors to start with a minimum of just Rs. 500. NRI can easily invest into mutual funds. What it requires is just a bank account in India & KYC (Know Your Client) to invest in Indian mutual funds.

2. DIRECT EQUITIES

A type of security which offers the investors the ownership of a company. Equities are bought & sold in the Stock Exchanges. It is one of the good investment options for a long term horizons. It beats all the asset class in terms of returns over a longer time frame. With good return comes in greater risk and hence can be considered as one of the riskiest asset class as well. Equities are highly risky. The risk of loss of capital is very high. NRI can also explore this avenue for Investment by opening up a bank account and trading account in India. They can choose the option of repatriation of non- repatriation at the time of opening an account.

3. COMMODITIES

Having emerged as one of risky assets class in recent time commodity trading is still in its nascent stage in India. The Government has allowed investment into listed commodities. Currently, commodity trading is available in bullions, base metals and Agri-commodities. Investor needs to open an account with the broker to trade in a commodity market. Commodity market is very risky. Only investors with sound knowledge are suggested to invest in commodities. As of now, NRIs are not allowed to trade in commodity market in India.

4. LIFE INSURANCE

Life Insurance is a legal contract between a buyer and the insurance company. Insurance company is liable to pay a predominant amount to the nominee in case of death of a buyer. The primary focus of life insurance is to protect the family (financially) in case of an event of death of the earning member of the family. Until the introduction of Unit Linked Insurance Plan (ULIP), Life insurance was a traditional product and it was giving fix returns of 6%- 7%. ULIP gives the benefit of risk cover as well as the returns of equity market as it invest the premium into equity linked instruments. Now, Insurance is also open for NRI investment. To buy insurance in India, NRI has to go through few formalities. NRI needs to submit Proposal from (available in prescribed format), Medical Report, and Proof of age and Income etc.

5. REAL ESTATE

The most profitable and an evergreen investment option toady in India is Real Estate. Whether a residential or commercial property most of the investor today prefers investment into real-estate. Look at the property available at 15-20 Km away from the city with the time frame of 5- 7 Yrs if you want to invest in Real Estate and that’s the Guru Mantra today. Real estate investment offers very low level of liquidity and generate higher rate of returns. NRI’s are fee to invest into Indian real estate. They can buy and own property in India, however, few Real estate Investment Trust are not open for NRI investment.

TAX EVASION AND ITS TYPES

Today everyone is looking for options to increase money in their pockets for a better living. With these objectives when some of us put all our heart and soul to get our pocket loaded with some good money on the other side there are lot others who are going through some illegal approaches to do the same. With a no. of such practices available let us discuss one of them i.e. TAX EVASION.

Tax evasion is a common practice by the people for saving their taxes. Whether a celebrity, a business man or a common man nobody is left from this practice. Under income tax slab under some sections it has been made certain conditions to pay certain amount of money of their income to the government as tax. Directly or indirectly these taxes are used by the government for society.Government makes certain plans for the benefit of the society.

Tax evasion is an illegal practice through which a person avoid paying taxes imposed on him/ her, whether it’s a corporate, trust, celebrity or a common person. Through this practice they get involve in misappropriation of taxes. Financial accounts i.e. profit and loss accounts and the balance sheet depicts the true and fair picture of the firm. Therefore, tax payers ask their auditor to misappropriate their financial accounts and hide the true status of their firm so that they will have to pay minimum tax. Tax evasion is a crime in all developed countries and the guilty party is liable to imprisonment and fine as well.Tax evasion describes a range of activities that intend to destroy a state’s tax system.

TYPES OF TAX EVASIONS

(1)  Income tax evasion

(2)  Sales tax evasion

(3)  Value added tax evasion (VAT)

1. INCOME TAX EVASION

Income tax are tax over financial income of an individual of a country, state imposed by its government. As per the rule and law by the constitution it has been made mandatory to every citizen, businesses of a country to file an income tax refund every financial year. This is done to see whether the individual owe any taxes or they are eligible for tax return. Income tax is the main source of revenue or fund for the government. Through these funds government take out various activities to serve and facilitate public. In most of the countries there is system made under which the higher earners or income individuals are liable to pay higher tax compared to relatively lower income people. The main purpose and benefit of paying income tax is the repayment of the amount of debt occurred due to any valid prescribed reason. Income tax evasion is done by undervaluing the amount of total income of a person. This practice does not show the real income of the person and only the shown income are presented as taxable income as the real picture of the financial statements are hidden. People follow this practice to show that they do not fall under heavy income group.

2. SALES TAX EVASION

Sale by a person engaged in retail is liable to pay sales tax over the amount of sales rendered. The seller is ultimately responsible for paying the amount of total sales tax. Sales tax is paid on the amount of sales on a particular fixed rate in the sales tax office. Though the rate of taxes varies state wise Tax rates are higher at the locations where the voters have approved additional taxes. Generally the base rate at present is 7.50 per cent. Under the Indian revenue and taxation code it has been made fine and imprisonment if a person found guilty evading the taxes. Sale tax evasion is a common practice done by the retailer. Retailers charge sale tax to the customers on the goods sold by them but they intentionally do not make any report about the same and make tax evasion. Sales tax evasion can be harmful to the country or a state as it is a major source of revenue for the state or a country. Sales tax evasion reduces the availability of funds available for various services. It supports various services in an economy. Sales tax is not charged on the exported products but imported products are taxable.

3. VALUE ADDED TAX EVASION

Whenever there is an added value at the any stage of production or at final sale of a product a consumption tax is placed on that particular product, this is considered as value added tax (VAT) for that product. In common terms, it is a consumption tax from a buyer perspective. In many countries including India value added tax is applicable and charged. The uniform rate of VAT in allover India is 5 per cent to 12.5 per cent. The whole purpose of charging the value added tax is same as the income tax i.e. generating revenue for the government. The value added tax is calculated by deducting the the cost of materials and other taxable inputs from a particular product or service from the sale price charged to a customer. It is like the sales tax only, the only difference is that value added tax are charged to the end customers only and are collected and remitted to the government after the purchase by a customer. VAT is also charged on the products which are to be exported. VAT evasion is generally done by the producers or sellers who collect VAT from the customers by under-reporting the amount of sales or by not reporting. This causes less number of sale units and amount and ultimately saves tax.

INVESTMENT OPTIONS IN INDIA: RISK FREE ASSETS

Having already discussed about the risky assets investment options in India we will be moving towards the risk free investment options in this article. We all know various investment options available that gives good return. But believe me there are “n” no. of things that a good investor will look upon before putting his hard earned cash.

Let’s look upon the risk free assets investment options and some key factors that an investor should look upon to get what his money deserves.

NSC: National Savings Certificate (NSC)

• National savings certificate offers a fixed amount of interest.
• The Department of Post, Government of India issues NSC.
• NSC can be availed at various authorized post offices.
• The maturity period of NSCs is 6 years.
• The rate of return offered NSC is 8% per annum.
• NSC gives tax benefit under section 80 C. Minimum valid investment amount in NSC is Rs. 500.

If we talk practically, then NSCs can be considered as a risk free avenue of investment because of the reason that they are backed by the Government of India. The option is not available for NRI’s Investment.

Fixed Deposit

A fixed deposit is nothing but a risk free investment into the bank /corporate for a specific period of time and earns some interest as return. The rate of returns offered in fixed deposit is higher than what is offered by banks savings account.

• An investment into 5 year fix deposit is eligible for tax benefit under section 80 C maximum of Rs. 1, 00,000.
• The benefits under this investment option are open for NRIs as well. NRI can invest in Fixed deposits offered by national as well as private banks in India.

PPF

Started with the objective of providing income security to the workers in the unorganized sector and self employed individuals in their old age, PPF is a government backed, long-term small savings scheme initiated by the Central Government.

• It offers an interest rate of 8% per annum and offers tax benefit under section 80 C of up to Rs. 70,000.
• PPF has a lock in tenure of maximum 15 Yrs. However, it provides facility to withdraw 50% of the balance at the end of the fourth year, proceeding the year in which the amount is withdrawn or the end of the preceding year whichever is lower.
• However, with no benefits for foreign investors, the option is not available for NRI’s Investment.

Post office – MIS

• MIS – monthly income Scheme made especially for the purpose of providing regular pension to the investors.
• Under Post office MIS, the investor can enjoy 8% per annum interest paid on monthly basis. Post office MIS limits an investment of maximum Rs. 4.5 lakh and a maturity period is 6 years.
• It provides the facility to prematurely enchase after 1 year but before 3 years at the discount of 2% and after 3 years at the discount of 1%.
• The Post office MIS option is not open for NRI’s Investment.

Bonds

• Bonds is a form of financial instrument used for lending money to government or company and in return, enjoy a fix amount of interest on principal paid by the government or company.
• A bond is a debt instrument which is issued for a period of more than one year.
• The return offered by the corporate bonds is much higher than those paid on government bonds, backed by the risk factor.
• The company or the government borrows money and promises to pay a stated rate of interest for a defined period and then to repay the principal at a given date of maturity to the investor.
• The important note that must be taken care of by every investor before investing into bonds is the rating and the interest rate offered by the bond. The option is open for the NRI’s who can also invest into Bonds and can enjoy a good return.
• However, it also depends from issuer to issuer and the terms and condition varies. The eligibility criteria for the investors are clearly mentioned by the bond issuer. NRI’s can always refer to the offer document and invest into bond accordingly.

POINTS TO REMEMBER BEFORE YOU TAKE AN INVESTMENT DECISION

The key points that an investor must always keep in mind before putting his money for a good return includes the following:

Liquidity

One of the most important criteria for selection of Investment Avenue is Liquidity.

An investor must look upon the liquidity option according to the need for the return. An investor needing money in a time frame of 3-4 years should not invest into PPF since it comes with a minimum lock in of 5 Years. 

Risk Profile

The investor must choose the investment option based on the risk profile.

E.g. Equities is not a good option for a low risk investor. If looking for a safe investment option the government backed options should be preferred, which may offers a low return but involves a low risk at the same time. Risky asset class may cause a loss of principal amount.

Taxation

Looking at the tax treatment of any investment avenue before investing is really important. Since taxation can kill your real return on investment, it becomes really very important to keep in mind the taxation treatment at the time of investment.

E.g. A investor invests into fix deposit at 9% and falls under 30% tax bracket. The real yield will be just 6.22% which is equivalent to current inflation rate. In actual, the investor is not earning any returns post inflation.

Time Frame

As liquidity the time horizon is another important factor to look upon before Investment in any of the asset class.

E.g. Mutual fund or Fix deposit : could be a good option for short term investment debt;

where as real estate and regular investment into equities can be a good option for long term investment.