SunCorp

1. The nicest thing about the future is that it always starts tomorrow.

2. Money will buy a fine dog, but only kindness will make him wag his tail.

3. If you don't have a sense of humor, you probably don't have any sense at all.

4. Seat belts are not as confining as wheelchairs.

5. A good time to keep your mouth shut is when you're in deep water.

6. How come it takes so little time for a child who is afraid of the dark to become a teenager who wants to stay out all night?

7. Business conventions are important because they demonstrate how many people a company can operate without.

8. Why is it that at class reunions you feel younger than everyone else looks?

9. Scratch a dog and you'll find a permanent job.

10. No one has more driving ambition than the boy who wants to buy a car.

11. There are no new sins; the old ones just get more publicity.

12. There are worse things than getting a call for a wrong number at 4 AM. It could be a right number.

13. Think about this..., No one ever says "It's only a game." when his team is winning.

14. I've reached the age where the happy hour is a nap.

15. Be careful reading the fine print. There's no way you're going to like it.

16. The trouble with bucket seats is that not everybody has the same size bucket.

17. Do you realize that in about 40 years, we'll have thousands of OLD LADIES running around with tattoos? (And RAP music will be the Golden Oldies!)

18. Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Toyota than in a Fiat.

19. After a certain age, if you don't wake up aching in every joint, you are probably dead.

A Billion On The Move

India story far more complex than China

India is on the radar screens of international corporations: The economy is now growing at over 8 per cent; Indian stock markets are outperforming markets elsewhere; and Indian companies are buying companies abroad. Earlier this month, 450 strategy advisors to boards of companies in 50 countries arrived in Delhi to check out the India story for their clients. Last year they had visited China.

China makes a much better first impression. Indian airports and roads are chaotic in comparison to the marvels of Chinese infrastructure. The next impression of India for the consultants was further chaos. The morning papers were filled with stories of demolitions in Delhi, traders’ protests and the ongoing tussle between the courts and government. Nevertheless, further encounters during the week, beginning with a candid meeting with the finance minister, changed their minds. By the end of the week, they said they were truly impressed, and would recommend to their clients that India may be emerging as a better long-term bet than China.

The FM admitted that the infrastructure was falling short of the booming economy’s requirements, and that democratic political processes made progress less orderly than in China. However, he pointed out that India, with its enormous diversity, could not work without democracy. A delegate pointed out the loss in economic efficiency by the clumsy diversion he saw of an Indian highway to avoid a small Muslim tomb that came in its path — something not seen on China’s super highways. The minister replied that if the tomb was sacred to some people, then it had to be respected, regardless of the inconvenience to others. That, he said, was the Indian way — the international audience applauded.
During the week, the consultants broke up into smaller groups and visited manufacturing companies and numerous service companies around Delhi.

They returned from these visits convinced that Indian manufacturing companies are equal to the best in the world, and that Indian service companies are ahead of the best, creating new business models and setting new standards. Several speakers from the corporate world and government, candidly answered questions regarding regulations of foreign companies, the tangled judicial system, and corruption, and also explained the country’s agenda to make development more inclusive. They confirmed that India had miles to go but also painted a vivid picture of a nation on the move
— not merely an economy but also a society. Thus, in the minds of the delegates, the picture of the nation went beyond physical impressions; it went beneath the numbers of economic growth; and looked behind international rankings of competitiveness in which India does not do well. By going deeper, India’s real strengths could be touched.

A nation is not merely an economy, and the well-being of its citizens cannot be improved only with better infrastructure. This was revealed in a recent survey by Gallup of citizens’ perceptions of well-being across countries. Surprisingly, the survey reveals that Singapore, which is the richest country in Asia after Japan and one of the most efficient and least corrupt societies in the world, scores the lowest in the well-being index. People in Singapore are less satisfied with their lives than people in much poorer and less efficient countries. Evidently, according to the survey, to be respected as a capable and free human being and to have the freedom to make personal choices, parameters on which Singaporeans give their society a low score, contribute much more to people’s feelings of well-being than economists seem to realise.

At the same conference in Cleveland, in which Gallup presented their survey, another speaker described a story of Indian women changing the world around them. In Andhra Pradesh, 8 million women are members of self-help groups at the grass-roots level. The groups function autonomously. They determine what help they need from a level of organisation above them. In turn that level, in the village or mandal, determines what it needs from a level above it to fulfil its own role. Thus, from the bottom-up, empowered women are scaling up an organisation that presently engages 8 million women, which is many times larger than Singapore’s total population.

India is a story of a billion people on the move, from which some insights may be emerging for economists and business managers. First, large and complex systems can be, and perhaps must be, moved bottom-up rather than top-down for the movement to be sustainable. Second, if components of the system are human beings who seek dignity and freedom, then they must be agents of change and not merely beneficiaries of change produced by people above. Third, the question to ask is not merely what people want as consumers, but what they want as citizens. Finally, the foundations of a democracy must not be built only upon people spiritedly defending their own rights — which in individualistic societies is often the case — but as the FM eloquently explained in his answer to the query about the highway, it lies in respect for the rights of others.
 

so much that you just want to pick them from
your dreams and hug them for real!

 
When the door of happiness closes, another opens;
But often times we look so long at the
Closed door that we don't see the one,
Which has been opened for us

 
Don't go for looks; they can deceive.
Don't go for wealth; even that fades away.
Go for someone who makes you smile,
Because it takes only a smile to
Make a dark day seem bright.
Find the one that makes your heart smile.

 
Dream what you want to dream;
Go where you want to go;
Be what you want to be,
Because you have only one life
And one chance to do all the things
You want to do.

 
May you have enough happiness to make you sweet
Enough trials to make you strong,
Enough sorrow to keep you human and
Enough hope to make you happy.

 
The happiest of people don't necessarily
Have the best of everything;
They just make the most of
Everything that comes along their way.

 
The brightest future will always
Be based on a forgotten past;
You can't go forward in life until
You let go of your past failures and heartaches.

 
When you were born, you were crying
And everyone around you was smiling.
Live your life so at the end,
You’re the one who is smiling and everyone
Around you is crying.

 
Don't count the years - count the memories!

Increase awareness of your business, event, or product with SUNCORP reusable bags. You can have your company logo, brand name or message printed on these bags for use as a promotional product, a gift with a purchase, a retail product or for any other application you may have in mind. To view other models please visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/suncorp or write to us at info@suncorp.in

Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress and working together is Success

Along with the booming growth that makes Dubai one of the most rapidly growing cities in the world, the emirate also has the dubious distinction of generating high amounts of waste. Statistics show that, at 1.676 kilograms (3.69 lbs) per capita per day, Dubai is one of the world's largest producers of waste.
At present, Dubai generates 7,000 tons of waste daily, dumped in various landfills located at Al Ghusais, Jebel Ali, Lehbab and Hatta, with the Al Ghusais landfill the largest. On average, 6,000 tons of waste is taken to Al Ghusais for disposal every day.

The waste is likely to increase by 16 percent in the next few years, posing a major challenge to Dubai Municipality to minimize the effects of waste on the environment.

Is there a plan to deal with this growing waste?

Dubai Municipality has started the Middle East's largest material recovery facility, Tadweer, which went into operation at Warsan in March and can recycle 4,000 tons of municipal solid waste per day.
Lina Chaaban, envirocare manager of Tadweer, says that a proper management system is needed to tackle the growing waste in the emirate. "Dubai is expanding rapidly, and the emirate has to seriously design new ways to minimize the waste. Apart from establishing new recycling plants, there is also a need to educate people about sorting out their waste before they throw it into the dustbin, something widely practiced in developed Western countries," says Chaaban.

Landfills are not a viable solution, she says. "We have to think about reducing the use of landfills. People have the notion that plenty of land is available that can be converted into landfills. If we go on transforming empty land into landfills, we might soon run out of land, considering the fact Dubai generates an enormous amount of waste every day," she warns.

"The only alternative is to set up waste recycling plants that can sort the waste for recycling in an effective way," she adds.

"More efforts need to be made by the government to promote recycling, but this is made difficult by the fact that a large percentage of the city's residents represent a 'floating population.' People leave after only a few years and are in the UAE only temporarily. This makes creating awareness even more difficult than it already is," says Chaaban.

Tadweer, the new recycling plant at Warsan, is helping a lot to minimize the waste, recycling paper, plastic, metal and glass objects for reuse as raw material to manufacture other things, such as plastic balls and synthetic boards.

The residues from sorting and recycling will be treated further, using high technology to produce enough electrical power to cover the requirements of the project.

The civic body has spent AED 500 million (US$27.2 million) in building the facility, which was inaugurated in March by Hussain Lootah, acting director general of Dubai Municipality.

Naji Alradhi, head of the waste treatment section of Dubai Municipality, said that the civic body is immediately covering waste disposed on dry land with sand so as to minimize the emission of gases and the absorption of humidity. He ruled out environmental degradation due to landfills, however. "We have recently carried out a pollution study to determine the impact of landfills on air, soil and groundwater. We have not found any evidence of contamination due to landfills," added Alradhi. "We are taking all measures, like covering the waste with sand, to ensure that landfills do not create any pollution of the surroundings."

In the last 10 years Dubai has made some efforts to deal with the excessive amounts of waste generated by the city. In 2005, 46,000 tons of recyclable material, representing only three percent of total general waste, was collected from 42 recycling centers by Dubai Municipality and by private companies. Compared with other emirates, Dubai has the most recycling centers, but not enough residents are making use of them.

Recently, the emirate has installed recycling systems in various service centers and encourages their use through their "recycle and win" campaign. Every time an individual utilizes these units, he/she automatically obtains coupons that would entitle him/her to participate in special offers and receive discounts for products at the emirate's retail outlets. Dubai will also hold the first exhibition of waste management technologies in November 2006, entitled "Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle."

"The private sector has a big role in reducing waste, as it is their corporate social responsibility to do so," said Habiba Al-Marashi, chair of the Emirates' Environmental Group, a non-governmental organization striving to protect the environment in the UAE.

She said that in a market-driven society, the private sector has a dominant role in almost all aspects of growth, including the environment.

"Environmental protection should be included as a key feature of well rounded growth. In fact there are certain standards the private sector should adhere to with regard to environmental protection," she says.

"Some of these mechanisms include clean-up reduction strategies, establishment of environmental management systems (EMS) and volunteerism in environmental activities by their employees," she adds.

She says that environment consciousness among people is low in the country. "Apathy is the biggest problem in the UAE. It is the attitude of people that should be changed. The best recycling facilities will be useless if the community will not do its share in recycling its waste," she points out.

She says that by following the three R's -- Reduce, Reuse and Recycle -- one can help protect the environment and minimize waste, reduce the country's ecological degradation and protect the environment.

"Recycling also lessens our demand for new materials. For instance, a ton of recycled paper saves around 17 full-grown trees from being cut. By following simple recycling methods, many individuals and companies can contribute to saving our precious natural resources."

Reducing, Reusing and Recycling saves the environment from deteriorating, to know more about our reusable bags in cotton and other fabrics do visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/suncorp or write to us at info@suncorp.in 

Authorities in India Tuesday geared up to enforce a complete ban on hazardous child labour and free thousands of children working as domestic servants and in the hospitality sector, officials said. India's Labour Ministry which previously banned employment of children under 14 in factories, mines as well as other hazardous jobs, had in August announced new rules to broaden the definition of hazardous work.

The ministry declared that the ban on child labour was being extended to include children working as domestic help and at roadside eateries, hotels, resorts and recreational centres and would be implemented from October 10.

"State governments would start identifying and rescuing child workers from today. Many employers would voluntarily release such children," Labour Ministry spokesman ML Dhar said.

"We also expect that people would complain about such workers to the police and local authorities," Dhar added.

The penalty for flouting the law is a jail term ranging from three months to two years with or without a fine of up to 20,000 rupees (437 dollars).

According to the UNICEF, India has about 44 million child labourers, between the ages of 4 and 14, the largest child workforce in the world.

But government puts the figure at 12 million. According to official data, 185,000 children are working as domestic servants while another 71,000 are employed at road-side eateries.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has already appealed to people to support the government's endeavour in ensuring the law is implemented.

He also urged people to stop employing children as workers and actively encourage children to join schools.

Singh said arrangements had been made by state governments to accommodate children freed from such bondage in the government's universal elementary education programme.

But NGO activists said the new ban wouldn't work in the absence of a complete rehabilitation plan.

The activists said scores of children were still working in hazardous industries such as fire-works and match-stick factories showing that the earlier law was poorly implemented.

There was no deterrent effect on employers because of low conviction rates and impoverished families continue to send children to work in absence of any rehabilitation package.

"I've been told to leave work..I do not know what's going to happen now. I am my family's main breadwinner, how will we survive?" asked Binod Mahato, a 13-year old boy, who works at a tea-stall at New Delhi's main bus terminus near Kashmere Gate.

Dhar maintained that the state governments had made adequate rehabilitation arrangements and would ensure that the children join schools.

"At the same time, the Labour Ministry is also expanding its National Child Labour Programme, that covers 250 child labour endemic districts, to rehabilitate them and prepare them for joining schools," he added.

 At SunCorp we stand against child labour and never employ children in our manufacturing process.