A Lone Stranger

Key takeouts from CobraPost sting on HDFC, Axis and ICICI R Jagannathan The CobraPost sting operation that has uncovered alleged connivance in money laundering by three of the bluest of blue chip Indian banks – HDFC, ICICI and Axis –  is a stinging indictment of our black money culture and the Reserve Bank's ability to police the banking system.   It also raises question-marks about the advisability of giving private sector businesses banking licences at a time when there is political pressure for the same, and weak willingness to create a tough regulatory regime.   The sting – assuming its video-graphed contents are fully authenticated – is chilling for the simple reason that an unknown person claiming to represent a politician with tonnes of black money is easily able to convince bank officials that he needs  solutions for converting black money into white. Not only are the bank officials willing to oblige, but they go out of thei...

12 Fat Reducing Indian Foods   You don't have to acquire a taste for olive oil, seaweed or soya to maintain a low-fat, healthy diet. Indian cuisine can be healthy too, if it's cooked with oil and ingredients that take care of your heart and health.   Ayurveda suggests you include all tastes — sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter and astringent — in at least one meal each day, to help balance unnatural cravings. Here are 12 foods that can help you lose weight and gain health: Turmeric :  Curcumin, the active component of turmeric, is an object of research owing to its properties that suggest they may help to turn off certain genes that cause scarring and enlargement of the heart. Regular intake may help reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or bad cholesterol and high blood pressure, increase blood circulation and prevent blood clotting, helping to prevent heart attack.   Cardamom :  This is a thermogenic herb that increases metabolism and hel...

Seven Wonders of the Underwater world Many lists have been made touting the seven wonders of one thing or another but one list that still needed to be created was a list describing the Top Seven Wonders of the Underwater World. In 1989, CEDAM International, an international diving association, decided to write up their own list describing what they thought were the most spectacular underwater sites in the world. And the  7  wonders of the underwater world includes,  01.  The Galapagos Islands - Ecuador  Located in the Pacific Ocean, west of Ecuador are the Galapagos Islands. The islands sprouted from the earth’s crust from a sub oceanic lava vent on the ocean floor. The relatively new volcanic geology created a habitat rich with flora, fauna, and animal life that have been studied and admired by numerous travelers, scientists, and nature-lovers from all over the world. 02.  The Northern Red Sea - Jordan Some of the mos...