The A B C of Vitamin E

Someone has rightly said "Health is the greatest wealth"

When health is absent, our beauty fades, intelligence cannot be applied and wealth becomes useless. This makes it very important to ensure that we spend time in ensuring our physical health through food and exercise and mental health through meditation.

During our food intake, we need to ensure that we balance both the macro and micro nutrients in our diet. Typically the macro nutrients (Fats, Carbs and Proteins) are balance well in a typical Indian diet or our daily meals.

Image Source : Google

Such as a meal comprising of Dal + Chawal + Sabzi  - include all the macro elements - Protein (Dal) ; Carbs (Rice/Roti) and Fats (ghee in sabzi/dal).

But what about micro-nutrients - are we paying enough attention to that? Does it include all the vitamins and mineral required by the body? 

One of the most important and also the most neglected vitamin in our diet is Vitamin E. It is an antioxidant that fights the damage done through radical cells in the body and slows ageing. 

Benefits of Vitamin E : 

1. Prevents Ageing : 

Due to pollution, bad eating habits, smoking, there are free radicals generated in our body which are a source of many diseases and ageing. Vitamin E has anti-oxidant properties, which fights these free radicals and naturally slows the ageing process

2. Repairs Skin : 

Vitamin E moisturizes the skin from inside and is helpful in maintaining the youthful skin. It speeds up cell regeneration and treats acne, scars, wrinkles and sunburns on the skin

3. Healthy Hair :
Vitamin E moisturizes the scalp and makes the hair look healthier and fresh. Massaging a few drops of Vitamin E on the scalp can reduce hairfall and makes the hair look shiny.

4. Helps PMS symptoms :
This is for women who face pain and irritation during menstrual cycle. Taking a vitamin E supplement can reduce cramping, abdominal pain and reduce menstrual blood loss. It regulates the hormones in the body to ensure overall health and wellbeing

Sources of Vitamin E :
A. Fruits and Vegetables : Many green leafy vegetables and colored fruits have Vitamin E.


Image Source: Google

• Spinach Cooked (1/2 cup) : 2-4 mg
• Dandelion greens, raw (1 cup) : 2 mg
• Tomato sauce, canned (1/2 cup) : 2 mg
• Avocado (1/2 fruit) : 1-4 mg

B. Nuts : 

• Almonds (1/4 cup) : 9-10 mg
• Peanuts (1.4 cup) : 2 mg



Image Source: Google

• Sunflower seeds (1/4 cup) - 13 mg

C. Fats and Oils

• Sunflower oil (5 ml) - 2 mg
• Wheatgerm oil (5 ml) - 7 mg

D. Supplements : Provided the daily diet does not account for all the nutrition and vitamins, supplements are essential for balancing the deficiencies in the diet. 

Image Source: Google

Evion Vitamin E supplements can be taken to supplement for Vitamin E deficiency.

Topical Uses of Vitamin E:
Other than diet, Vitamin E can be topically used on the skin and hair to moisturize the skin and improve the luster of hair. 
There are creams, hair oils and capsules are available in the market but as consumer, we must check the ingredients an authenticity before purchasing a product.

Evion Vitamin E cream is a combination of 2 ingredients - Vitamin E and Aloe Vera - both of which are known for their moisturizing and healing properties. 

My Tryst with Vitamin E



My Selfie :)

Being a working woman and a parent of a young child, it was very difficult for me to manage my work-life balance and I neglected by diet needs.  When I returned to work after pregnancy, I realized that my face had lost its glow. My skin looked dull, hair looked lifeless and on top of it my eyes were puffy with dark circles due to lack of sleep. Perhaps the reasons were lack of proper diet, stress of joining work and responsibility of a young child. I realized that I had ignored by skin and I must do something to bring my glow back.
There was also no time to exercise as I was already exhausted with the sleepless nights and difficult days. My confidence had taken a hit as I was not the same as before.

I decided to focus on my health, fitness and beauty and 2 things worked in my favor.
A. Diet rich in Vitamin E : I included soaked almonds (5-6) every morning in my daily diet. I also added green leafy vegetables to my lunch box every alternate day and started cooking my meals in sunflower oil.

B. Vitamin E lotion for my skin : I bought some vitamin E capsules, pricked the capsule, mixed it with Olive oil and applied on my face and hands every night.

Me.. a big fan of Vitamin E

Very soon, my skin had its glow back and so was my confidence. I am a big fan of Vitamin E creams and oils and apply these essential oils on my skin every night to keep it going.

Everyday we are exposed to so much pollution, stress and UV rays that it has become very important to guard our skin against these.

So do you get tired easily? Do you have muscle soreness? Or are you facing dull skin and lifeless hair.. You might need to focus on your Vitamin E intake. With the right amount of Vitamin E intake in the diet and doctor-recommended supplements like Evion - India's No.1 Vitamin E Brand, one can live a healthy and well-balanced lifestyle.

To know more about #Evion Supplements, visit http://www.evion.co.in/ 

Book Review: The Bestseller She Wrote

Book Title: The Bestseller She Wrote
Author: Ravi Subramanian

Published in October 2015 by Westland
Reviewed for: BlogAdda
Someone has rightly said - Success has its own side-effects. Aditya, a successful banker cum author (popularly known as the Paperback king), falls into the trap laid out for him by a young lass (20 something trainee) who uses him to publish her first novel. His journey to romance, adultery, loss, realization and redemption is what this book is all about.
.

The Premise: "The Bestseller she wrote is a romance thriller where loyalty is traded for adultery, success is borrowed, best friends betray each other and realization comes on death bed."

Aditya, the protagonist of the story is an Alumnus of IIM Bangalore and is a very successful banker and desirable author. He visits his college for a guest lecture where he is interrupted and derided by Shreya, an ambitious student and wannabe author, over the concept that a book is not a product.

Shreya is headstrong on becoming an author like Aditya and patch up with him after the debacle so she reads his book and is absolutely impressed by him. She writes to him and plans to join his book event. Aditya is mesmerized by her young fresh beauty and pushes his best friend, Sanjay, who is also an HR at his bank to hire her as a trainee.

Adiya and Shreya cannot seem to have their eyes off each other at office and one thing leads to another, they enter a romantic relationship. Maya, Aditya's wife is a simplistic and mature woman who has been loyal to him. She has also left her job because of her family and is involved in some social work. The relationship between Aditya and Shreya grows intense and Maya is ignorant about it all the way. Soon, she comes to realize about their relationship (via phone messages) and feels broken. She then encounters Ebola, and is almost dying when Aditya realizes he loves his wife and Shreya was just a passing phase.
Their elicit affair comes of fore when media publishes their stories blatantly. Aditya wants to go back but Shreya threatens him with proof of plagiarism in Aditya's book, which she had planted when Aditya was busy fu**ing her.

Will Maya recover from death and give Aditya another chance at their relationship? Will Shreya come to terms with her relationship with Aditya? Who was the actor behind the scenes watching Aditya screw his life?
I do not want to reveal the answers as it will be a spoiler for those who want to read it.

All these questions unfurl as we reach towards the end of this novel.

My 2 cents worth: First of all, I am glad to receive an author signed copy of this book by Ravi Subramanian. Earlier I had read his book "God Is A Gamer" and became his absolute fan. He writes amazing thrillers but this is his first attempt at romance thriller genre.

The Bestseller She Wrote is a fast paced, well written book which surely is a page turner. The chapters are small (2-3 pages) which keep the reader engaged. The language is simple and easy to read and so it doesn't take too long to finish it. I started reading it one fine evening on Saturday and was done by Sunday afternoon, and I had good sleep and my kid bugged me every 10 mins. So I am sure voracious readers can finish it in few hours.

Normally in most of the books, the protagonist is the hero who want to fall in love with. However, at places I felt that I disliked the protagonist and was somehow unable to justify his actions. Attraction to a young lady in office who is your fan is understandable and even giving in to the pleasure and excitement of falling in love all over again is acceptable. But sleeping with her and thinking that it in no way reduces his love for his wife and justifying those actions in your brain - not acceptable.
Also becoming an author after you've gone through the humdrum of corporate life is okay but if someone (in this case, Shreya - lead female protagonist) is so head bent at becoming an author, why not take up some literature courses, why waste a seat at precious IIM institute.

The character sketch is very good, focusing well on the lead roles, their thoughts and emotions. Descriptions of Aditya's work life, publishing industry, Maya's work, Shreya's sex appeal are vivid and add to the overall good feel of the book. The dramatic twists as we turn chapters are engaging and fast. There are different people with small roles and they have been given due footage in the script with good descriptions and backgrounds.
 All in all this is a good, fast paced read, a little too filmy I feel, but then what good is a book which doesn't entertain to the core.

Good one time read. Keep writing and good luck.




My Rating: 4/5 stars

I am reviewing ‘The Bestseller She Wrote’ by Ravi Subramanian as a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

Fruit Custard : Frozen Sugar Free dessert

This is my favorite sweet dish, as it is chilled, yummy and has lots of fruits. Here is the recipe of my favorite Fruit custard -
This recipe makes 4 servings, but since me and my husband have a sweet tooth, we love to make this in abundance and store it in our freezer.
This is a very easy recipe, even a novice can make it. So let me start with the recipe.

Prep Time: 10 Mins
Cook Time: 15 Mins
Total time: 25 Mins

Ingredients:

• 500 ml milk
•  6-7 tbsp sugar.  If you are health conscious, then replace sugar with 4-5 SugarFree Natura tablets, as per your taste.
• 3 tbsp. custard powder
• Cut Fruits - 2 Bananas, 1 Apple, Few black grapes and Mango. Fruits can be changed based on season. In case mango is not available, you can add pineapple. Pomegranate and Strawberry can be used for garnishing.  Avoid citrus fruits such as sweet lime or oranges, these will curdle the milk.

Step by Step Instructions:

1. Take 500 ml milk in a thick bottomed pan. Take out one small cup of milk, we will use it to mix custard. Boil the rest of the milk and lessen the flame of the stove so that the milk can simmer.

2. Add 3 tbsp. custard powder to the small cup of milk we had taken out earlier. Please do not add custard powder directly to the hot milk, it will form lumps. Mix/dissolve the custard powder into the cup.

3. Slowly add the custard-milk mix into the simmering pan and keep on stirring so that no lumps are formed. Add SugarFree Natura to the mix and keep stirring.

4. Cook for 5-6 mins while stirring, you will notice that the milk will thicken.

5. Remove the pan from flame and let it cool down

6. Add the cut fruits to the custard, mix well and put it in the refrigerator for cooling.

Decorate it will slit strawberries. Serve chilled.

Here are some pics of my Sugar Free Frozen Fruit Custard.

This post has been written for the Sugar Free Dessert challenge in association with Sugar Free Natura and Indiblogger. To know more visit http://sugarfree-india.com/
 

Airtel 4G - Fastest Network Ever

I am amazed at the advancement in technology and the pace at which it touches consumer's lives. Who would have imagined a decade back that we would spend most of our day browsing on our mobile phones. Talking and texting are the basic functions and so are browsing, watching videos, listening to music, taking pictures and sharing them on social media. A Smartphone is expected to do all these as must-do functions. Even though our smartphones have the best and fastest processor along with a good internal memory, our networks do make us wait a bit. 

The scenario in our country is very different from the west where internet speeds are much much higher and buffering is an obsolete term. So this morning when I read about Airtel 4G, I was happy that we can now enjoy higher internet speeds on our mobile in India too. 

Airtel is the first operator in the country to roll out 4G services, along with great network availability across the country, isn't is awesome.

One can have the 4G experience now at the price of 3G makes it even more tempting. Now I can browse as many videos on youtube without waiting for them to buffer. 

It makes it easier for me to video call my friends and family abroad as it would be smoother. The video chats will not hang up before time and will not get stuck in between.

Not just that, I am big movie buff and prefer to download my movies and watch them. Now I will not need to wait for my wifi connection and bring my laptop for that. I can do it on my mobile with my very own Airtel 4G internet connection. 

The Airtel 4G Advert definitely strikes a chord with users and also makes me very happy to see a 4G connection at affordable rates for common man.

Apart from movies we can also browse so many serials, download different apps and be online all the time.

My husband loves sports, and doesn't afford miss even a single over for his favorite cricket matches. Many a times the cable is down or wifi isn't working. Now he can watch all his sports channels online anywhere anytime, on his mobile. He will not miss any shot or repeat shot or commentary because the speed is so good, that there is no need to buffer or get stuck. 

Now getting a 4G sim card is just a tweet away, and it will be delivered to our home. So hassle free and customer friendly approach. 

So what are we waiting for, lets all apply for the Airtel 4G sim card and enjoy the benefits of 4G internet on our very own mobile spaces.

To know more about Airtel 4G, visit http://www.airtel.in/4g/

Follow @airtelindia  for latest updates.

The Dabur Honey Diet

Honey has been known for its beneficial properties since ages. Not only is it recommended in Ayurveda for its healing properties, the west is also embracing the fact that honey is a super-food.

But with the fast pace of life, we tend to ignore our health and fall prey to the unhealthy fast food and lifestyle fads. This is the reason that obesity is on the rise and the current generation is at risk of a lot of diseases.

Honey is definitely a super-food and by adopting it in our daily diet is bound to improve our overall health and mood for the day. Not only does honey taste awesome on breads and toasts, it also provides essential minerals, vitamins, amino acids and energy. It digests slowly as compared to processed sugar, hence does not cause a spike in our blood sugar levels, rather maintains optimally throughout the day.

A tablespoon of honey has 64 calories and is free from fat, cholesterol or sodium. Honey is a natural healer and is known to soothe sore throat and cough symptoms. It is loaded with anti-oxidants which are good for the skin and act as a natural anti-ageing food. It has proven to be a boon for the weight watchers when honey is taken along with warm water early in the morning, and as a natural calming medicine for those who have sleepless nights when taken before sleeping. Not only does the intake of honey improve overall health, its benefits are also known when applied on the outside. It can help treat wounds and burns when applied on the affected area and is also a natural anti-dandruff serum for those with itchy scalp. The benefits of honey are endless and there is not doubt that this is a must have super-food on the menu.

Here are few tips on how we can incorporate honey in our daily diet. 

-Early morning warm water with a spoonful of honey will improve the effects of morning workouts and balance the blood sugar levels through the day

- Honey with cornflakes or oats is full of good health and also tastes yummy for a morning breakfast. For the lazy people like me, I love to put honey on my bread/toast instead of commercially available jams which are high on sugar and low on nutrition.

- Green tea with honey is a very soothing and better alternative to black tea with milk which we Indians are used to drinking. When I switched from my regular cuppa of Indian chai with green honey tea, I did feel the craving for regular tea for few days but later I started enjoying green tea as well

- Putting a spoonful of honey on salad instead of a serving of commercial salad dressings which include a lot of fatty substances and preservatives, proved to be beneficial and tasty at the same time

- Adding honey in my regular milk at night helped me have better sleep and a calm mind.

So embrace the Dabur Honey Diet  (#HoneyDietIsHere) and Stay fit feel young. Visit http://www.daburhoney.com/ for more such tips on Honey Diet and the benefits of honey.

My Airtel App

Airtel is always one of the preferred network provider for me as it has better coverage, lesser call drops compared to other service providers, better prepaid and postpaid plans and last but not the least the most innovative among its competitors. As they rightly say, the Smartphone network, it brings so many benefits for the smartphone users.
As an icing on the cake, they have come up the the My Airtel App which is specially designed for the smartphones and brings a host of services and privileges for users. So I decided to download this app, and explore its features. Although there are a multiple features that I would be using, let me elaborate the top 3 on my list -

1. Airtel Surprises - With every recharge, we get coupons for shopping, food, entertainment and so much more. I would login to the app and buy a recharge of say Rs. 50/-. Along with the recharge I get to choose from the various discount and free coupons across categories. They have popular brands like Cafe Coffee day, PVR for movie tickets, Myntra and Flipkart for online shoppers, VLCC for the health and skin conscious people and so much more.  For instance, I would by a coupon for Rs 50 off in CCD. The airtel app would send me the coupon code voucher on my mobile. The next time I visit CCD, I can show them my coupon and avail the discount.

2. Everything on One Screen - Not just recharge, there is a lot I can do and manage with this app. I can pay by DTH bills, buy Internet packs, view my usage, call balance, data consumed, order games, check my payment history and manage all my Airtel related bills at one place. I can select my favorite tasks in my "I Want To" screen which acts a favorites. When I login the next time, I can go the 'I want to' screen, select from one of my favorite transaction and complete it in simple steps. Hassle free and amazing application by Airtel.

3. Ease of Payments - Paying your bills has never been so easy. With safe and secure payment option on the Airtel app along with the simplicity of screens makes you want to download it and use it every time. I allows various payment options such as Credit card, Debit card, Netbanking and Airtel Money. I can save my card details for a faster checkout and in 3 simple steps, I can pay my bills, recharge my phone, buy games and do a lot more. It lets me track my bills in real time and has a user friendly interface.

All in all, this is a must download app for smartphone users as it provides a host of tasks in an easy interface.
To know more about My Airtel App, visit http://www.airtel.in/myairtel. Follow @airtelindia for latest updates.

Ek Nayi League

Lots of videos are doing rounds and the twitter is full of tweets about #EkNayiLeague but no one exactly know what it is going to be about. Videos from the Cricket Legend Kapil Dev are keeping people guessing about what this exciting league is going to be.
I saw 5 videos of Kapil Dev, which will be soon seen on television, instructing great sport achievers that this League is going to be something different and one is bound to fail if they play with their heart. So what is this Nayi League? Here are some of my guesses -

Well, from the look of it, since Kapil Dev, the man put gave India its World Cup in 1984 and who is the face of cricket since ages, is promoting the league, it seems that this is going to be a different kind of cricket where the challenges would be such that one needs brains and not heart to win the game. But when I look at other videos, my impressions about the #EkNayiLeague change.

In the second video, Kapil advises MS Dhoni, who is one of the greatest cricket captains India has seen, to never take retirement, because stars never retire. This makes me think that this is a league where age does not matter and even retired cricketers who have the spirit can participate in it. The only condition that if they play with all their heart and passion towards the game, it will be a hit wicket. Heart has no place here.

There is a third video where Kapil appreciates Sania Mirza for playing with all her passion and leaving her mark while she comes from a country where less than 300 girls play tennis. He invites her into his Nayi League but again warns against playing Dil se. This makes it clear that his league is definitely not about cricket. This is either a sport where any sportsperson can participate or a reality show format.

In another video Kapil talks about how sports persons are making so much money around the world and in India through the IPL and other formats.He is bringing a similar league but this does not need to be played with heart and passion, rather with brains. Then Kapil speaks to another Kapil (Kapil Sharma) of Comedy Nights with Kapil fame praising his talent and how Kapil calls guests on his show and throws a googly. He again warns him that this new League would be a googly if he plays it with heart.

This makes it clear that the New League will see participation from celebrities across sectors, not just cricketers or sports persons but also from television stars.
To conclude, I think this would be a celebrity reality show where players have to beat each other with their brains and not play with heart. Talking of brains, it could also be a quiz based show or may be related to stock market or trading where people loose if they play with their heart, the only way to win is brains and thinking with your head. Lets wait to hear it from Kapil itself about what this Nayi League is about.

To know more about #EkNayiLeague, visit http://www.eknayileague.com/. Follow @eknayileague for more updates.

Redefine your Smartphone Experience with Asus Zenfone 2

It is very difficult to find the best smartphone for your needs given so many options available in the market. But when we compare the specifications with phones in similar price range, Asus is a sureshot winner here. I am a big fan of Asus smartphones as they are sleek, stylish and have best specs amongst their peers in the price range.

Image Courtesy

So here are the 5 reasons why I would go for an Asus Zenfone 2 to redefine my smartphone experience -

1. Super-stylish - Zenfone 2 is a marvel of design with its super slim edges and concentric circle design it is one of the most stylish phones I have ever seen. Zing it, match it with your attires and show it off to the world, because zenfone is an incredibly sexy phone.


2. Well, this is the first smartphone with a 4GB RAM along with a 64 bit 2.3 Ghz Super Quad-Core Intel processor. Unbelievable huh!!! So, it makes playing games on this smartphone a completely different experience since they load faster and it is able to support multiple applications running simultaneously rather than being bogged down or slowed just like other smartphones with lesser RAM capacity. Also with its 72% screen to body ratio, it improves the entire display while playing games.

3. Photographs and selfies - This phone has a 13MP rear camera with a 5X Lagan lens and a dual real tone flash. This takes the best photographs, even better than some of the digicams in the market. A 5 MP front camera allows to take the best selfies and share them on instagram and facebook. This is amazing and for a person like me who loves to click pictures of every moment, this seems to be the best feature of the phone.

4. Low light mode - Zenfone has an unrivaled low light mode. It uses a pixel merging technology and algorithms to increase light sensitivity up by 400%. It also enhances noise reduction and boosts color contrast by 4 times. This is an amazing feature which will allow me to click awesome pictures of my late night parties and candle light restaurants.

5. Fast Charging - This charges superfast, 60% of battery capacity in just 39 minutes. I am playing games on my mobile all the time and who has the time to charge it for hours. Moreover, I forget to charge it everyday due to my busy lifestyle and this seems to be a perfect solution for my forgetfulness. Just plug it in for an hour and you are done.

All in all, by looking at the specifications, I have fallen in love with the Asus Zenfone 2 and this is definitely going to be my next smartphone.

To know more about Asus Zenfone 2 visit http://www.asus.com/Phones/ZenFone_2_ZE551ML/.

Share the Load with Ariel

It is nice to see men doing household chores and sharing the load with their better half. And why not, when women can work and share EMIs for family, so can husbands. 

When I came to know about the Ariel #WashBucket challenge, I immediately registered as I knew that my sweet caring husband would never say no to sharing the load for me. Infact after we had our baby, it was difficult for me to handle both home and office, and this where my husband held me a helping hand in all the household chores including washing.

My husband and baby Sharing the Load with Arial Matic

It was nice to receive a sample of Ariel Matic for completing this challenge. 

Here is a picture of my husband with the Arial matic pack with the washing machine. The interesting part is that washing with Arial has become all the more simpler. Just add water, clothes and one scoop of Arial matic into the washing machine and switch it on. 

All the stains are just gone, no need to use any brush or soaking. His formal shirts are now crisp and clean, The white ones are whiter now and the colored shine more brightly. My kurtas and sarees too are clean and shiny. And I do not need to worry about my laundry anymore. All I need is my Arial Matic and my washing machine.

This review is a part of the biggest http://blog.blogadda.com/2011/04/12/indian-blogs-sponsored-reviews-blogger" target="_blank"> Sponsored Review Program

for http://www.blogadda.com" target="_blank">Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free Products

Digital India : Empowered government... Empowered citizens

India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world today. There have been reforms targeting different sectors in each era which have led our country to the path of progress and now it is time for the government to adopt Information Technology as a key enabler for moving ahead.

Digital India is one such initiative where the government along with Intel plans to connect with the citizens on a deeper level while utilizing the benefits of Information technology.

So here are my thoughts on how technology would revolutionize governance and empower citizens.


1. (Agriculture) Elimination of middlemen - Although already some of the corporate sector are buying direct produce from the farmers, but still most of the agriculture production is handled by middlemen and farmers are cheated because they are not technologically equipped. Digital skills and Internet kiosks in villages will ensure that they know the market value of their produce and are more equipped to bargain a better price for their agricultural production.

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2. (Agriculture) Dependence on monsoons - Believe it or not, most of our farmers still depend on monsoon for irrigation. Canals, rainwater harvesting, dams do empower them to a certain extent but a daily/weekly weather report can do wonders and save a lot of our crop from spoiling. With the knowledge of weather predictions, farmer can take the right decisions at the right time.

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3. Reduce Corruption: India is ranked as 85th out of 175 countries in the list of corruption index (Source: Wikipedia) Despite of having Right to Information Act (RTI) in place, it still seems a long way to stop corruption at government offices. The reason is that simply creating laws will not help the citizens, they need to be educated about them too. With the digital skills program, people will be more aware of their rights and equipped to connect to the government directly. This would increase the transparency in the processes and reduce corruption.

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4. Elimination of the Agent-Raj : Just like the govt. did away with the license Raj in the 1990's, now is the time to get rid of the Agent-raj that is going on in this country. I remember I had gone to the RTO office to apply for my license. As soon as I entered the compound of the building, some 20 agents surrounded me. "Madam, license banvana hai?", "Gaadi transfer karani hai?", "Madam, only Rs1000, sab kaam karta hu". I decided that I am a responsible citizen and I will not fall prey to these agents, no matter what, I will apply for my license myself.

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And do you know what the result was - It took me 17 trips to the RTO, filling the same form over 10 times, waiting for more than 22 hours ("Saheb 3 bje aayenge", "Abhi nahi hai.. kal aana", "Firse form bharo, mistake hai?", "aap bangalore ke nahi hai", "Address proof valid nahi hai" etc etc etc)
and finally I got my license. I guess it would have been cheaper and much hassle free if I would have asked an agent and paid him 1000 bucks. The scenario is not much different in other govt. office.

On the contrary, the passport office seems a complete contrast to my license episode. Everything is digitally connected, smooth and transparent. Amazing what technology can do.

5. Judiciary Reforms - As per a survey, there was more than 3 crore court cases pending in the country and on a average it will 320 years for the courts sort out all these cases, which is humanly impossible. This means that there are people whose cases will be pending for their entire lifetimes or more to get justice. It may be difficult to expedite the judiciary process by digitizing it but if a person can view online the status of his appeal, the next hearing date and what is going on, it fosters hope, that someday justice will be granted.There are many people who have lost hope and do not trust the judicial system in India, a simple technology can bring hopes and optimism in so many lives.

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6. Environmental reforms - A simple carpooling app can go a long way to help people share rides along the way and not only save the precious fuel and our environment, also reduce the traffic rants of people in cities like Bangalore. When such apps are a success abroad, then why not in India?

Image Source: PickUpPal

7. Police reforms: Digitization would empower the citizens to track their complaints and their status and also empower the police to easily search history sheeters on their database and ease of maintaining records. There are cases in villages where the police simply refuses to file an FIR, these will also be minimized if the rural population is aware of their rights and empowered to raise their concerns on online forums.

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8. Education for everyone: The web, in true sense, globalizes the mindset of students. With the advertisements doing rounds on how people learn so much using the internet, it is well known that internet opens a world of opportunities which does not discriminate between the rich and poor, the urban and rural. This will be a great boom for the rural students who do not have the right infrastructure, schools or teachers to guide them. With basic internet surfing and computer skills and an internet kiosk in each village, learning can be made open to everyone.

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8. Women Safety: Much is talked about how women in our country can be made to feel safe. With so many cases coming to light from our very own capital city, it seems that no woman is safe in any corner of the country at any time of the day. A safety app on our mobile phone where a woman can message the police and intimate about the danger will make her feel safe in the city and she would walk with confidence even when she is alone. A digital skills program for women would ensure that they are at least capable of raising their voice to the govt. departments, NGOs through different channels about their concerns.

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8. Public Grievances: Urban consumers use Facebook, twitter and other social networking sites to share their grievances against a product or a service, and these complaints go viral within a matter of days. The service provider is left is no option but to oblige and rectify the problem as soon as possible since his reputation is at stake. A similar approach can be followed with a Public Grievance portal where citizens can raise their concerns, discuss, comment and communicate more openly with the government.

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Somewhere I feel that the rural population lacks in these aspects since they are not educated and do not have the digital skills to collaborate on online platform. The Digital Skill for India program will go a long way in helping them and shaping the future of the nation.

Hope to see a more empowered and digitally connected India in the coming years.

This contest is written for #DigitalIndia contest on Indiblogger in association with Intel.