Changing Features of Indian Interior Decoration Industry

Interior design and architecture have been a part of Indian civilization since a long time. But this had also been one of the unrealised aspects which has recently gained recognition and is in the process of growth.

Now the influence of our rich heritage on interior decoration is huge – especially because Indian designs are rich in ornamentation. Intricate patterns find their way in any rich Indian interior decor. Indian interior decorators have been able to merge the natural aspects of nature with the man-made idea of the construction to create a perfect blend.

The designs are executed with precision and according to the client requirements – this has helped the interior decoration industry in India have recognition and gain certain amount of credibility. Indian furniture is also of superior quality. One can spot vintage designs along with modern features. Interior decoration firms and companies in India have a lot more variety in furniture because of our antiques as well as are neo-realistic decorations. With the growth and increasing exposure of interior decoration industry in India, a lot of furniture pieces are easily available to the design firms.

Another new emerging feature in Indian interior decoration is the international taste which people are developing. So the interior decorators have to be at par with the forever changing Indian palette. Successful interior designers need to do extensive travelling worldwide to learn about the emerging themes in interior decoration throughout the world. The process also involves time to time research of upcoming trends.

Indian interior decoration is not just restricted to home decor – the industry has grown and thus includes designing of office spaces and also luxurious hotels. Indian interior decoration industry is still growing because the urban areas of Indian cities are continuously expanding. People are constantly acquiring real estate and they also have very discerning tastes so the interior decorators are kept on toes with variety of designs and themes that are continuously emerging.

Interior decoration as an industry is prospering with individual interior decorators and companies gaining recognition. Conarch India Pvt. Ltd. is a design firm that specialises in corporate designing. Revamping, renovating, expanding spaces – you name it and the firm does it all. Morph Design Corporation is another award winning organization in Bangalore which delivers fantastic designs in the country.

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Car Washer and Auto Repair Tools – A Must Have

Cars require regular cleaning and repairing so as to give optimal performance for a longer period of time. But sending your automobile regularly to the service centre or garage might hit your pocket too hard. In the long run, car maintenance is an expense which could be too high. It is better to own some important tools for car repair and car wash. This can enable car maintenance work at home and you won’t have to part with any cash regularly and complete it as per your time availability. Also during emergencies, if a car part does not function, you can easily mend it with the tools you own and save time and money in the process.

Car Repair Tools

The basic car repair tools which you must possess are air compressors, dent pullers, jack, tyre tools and engine hoists. You can also buy auto repair tool kits which usually contain wrenches, sockets etc. Apart from these primary tools there is a scan tool which recognizes the codes and faults in the engine. The dent puller is considered to be a miracle worker as it removes the surface dents and dings on the body of the car.

Car Wash Tools

Car wash tools are quite compact and handy devices which are used to reach all parts of the car and remove the existing dirt from everywhere. Low moisture steam car washer is a car wash tool which gets rid of stains from grease or oil, insects and the usual dirt. Electric pressure car washer is a popular car washer which specially offers hot and cold water operation options. The other basic car wash tools that you need to keep around are car wash brushes, sponges, cleaning solutions or detergents that are suitable for your car. If you are targeting for the overall cleaning of your automobile then you can also keep a selection of polishes or waxes, alloy wheel cleaners and upholstery cleaners.

Vehicle is a priced possession of almost every individual and therefore maintaining it with care and washing it regularly helps to keep it in a good position.

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Best Ideas to Celebrate Holi in a Good Spirit

Holi 2013 - Wednesday, March 27

Holi, the colourful festival of spring season, is celebrated with great fervour across India. The usual celebrations include bonfires (called Holika Dahan) and throwing colour powders, water and water balloons on one another. While some find the madness extremely enjoyable, others prefer to follow some sober ways to savour the festival. Here are some ideas that can make this year’s Holi celebrations truly rewarding and memorable.

Play Safe Holi

Chemicals in the synthetic Holi colours can be hazardous for eyes, skin, hair and other sensitive body parts. A good idea would be to buy natural colours or prepare them at home. Some easily available sources, like henna powder for green; turmeric powder for yellow; beet root for magenta; saffron powder for saffron and so on, can be used.

Protect your skin with oil-based creams and hairs with oil to get rid of the colour later on. Wear full body clothes to leave only small skin area exposed. Keep some important things, like moisturizers, shampoos and natural colour removers and antiseptics, ready and clean yourself immediately after the celebrations are over.

Play Eco-friendly Holi

Use water judiciously and avoid its wastage. Prefer to lit bonfires in groups to save wood and avoid the possible air pollution. Another good idea would be to use cow dung cakes and other such materials instead of wood.

Add Taste to Holi

No Indian festival is complete without tasty cuisines and sweet preparations. Mawa gujiya, gathiya, dahi bhalle and aloo poori are among the most popular Holi recipes. Thandai and bhang (prepared from cannabis leaves) are the popular drinks. However, bhang is an intoxicating drink and should be avoided in excess.

Play Generous Holi

Make the festival colourful for physically or socially deprived people. Visit an old-age home or orphanage and celebrate this amazing festival with those who need love and care. Seeing smiling faces all around will make you feel overjoyed.

Avoid being fierce or rough and don’t force colours on anyone. Alcohol and abrupt driving that are unfortunately the common practices during the festival can dilute the fun. Keep away from such things and bring out the essence of Holi by spreading happiness.

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Useful Skin Care Tips And Protection Ideas in Summer

Scorching heat and profusely sweating body during summer months can lead to numerous skin issues. Tanned skin, sunburns, lines and wrinkles and skin infections are common, especially when the skin is exposed to the blazing sun for long. While avoiding outdoor activities completely is not feasible, some good skin care tips are what you need to know.

Products You Need

Summer skin care & body care products should include moisturizers, sunscreens, skin toner, scrubs and cleansers. While moisturizers (use a water-based) can hydrate your skin, sunscreens help to retain the moisture and also to avoid damage caused by UV rays. A skin toner will keep your skin cool and a scrub will help to remove dead skin cells. Skin cleansers are useful in removing impurities and keeping the pores unplugged. Make sure to choose products with natural or organic ingredients and those prepared by the well-known brands.

Deal with Tan

A good face-pack can help you remove tan from the skin and to get back the natural glow. There are some face pack preparations that you can easily make at home. Some popular ingredients for these preparations include cucumber, yoghurt, lemon and papaya.

Choose the Right Food

What you eat can have significant influence on your skin in summer. Green leafy vegetables and fresh fruits can help in keeping the skin hydrated. You can also switch to fresh fruit juices and lemonades for this purpose. Avoid drinking aerated drinks that contain high sugar content harmful for the skin. It is recommended to keep away from spicy and oily foods and cut down the quantity of alcohol as well.

Skin-friendly Practices

• Wash your face repeatedly, but avoid using soap bars. Use organic face wash products.
• Never go out in sun without carrying sunglasses, scarves and umbrellas.
• Use a quality deodorant to avoid sweat from causing skin infections.
• Adequate sleep and regular exercising can add value to your efforts.
• Wear loose clothes that help your skin to breathe. Replace your shoes with sandals and other designs that allow exposure to air.

Make all good efforts to avoid heavy cosmetics. Pamper your skin in the natural manner to keep it healthy and glowing.

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Interesting Video - Where Good Ideas Come From

This is an interesting video by "Steven Johnson". Things are being explained by easy to understand graphic cartoons which ultimately grows from down to top making an information funnel. All the aspects related to ideas, innovation and growth have been clearly demonstrated taking real world examples like tortoise, human brain, communication mediums, entertainment products and many more.

Sometimes funny things makes it more easier to understand complex things, as demonstrated in this video. Hats off to the creator of this video.

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Evening Party Dresses Styles - Fashion Redefined

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Important Office Stationery Products Which Makes Things Easier

Office stationery plays a key role in execution of any kind of office work. For efficient execution of work, a variety of office stationery is used. Below is a list of some important office stationery items.

• Paper: Paper plays an important role for any office work. Keeping hard copies of paper documentation is essential for any business. Even though most official work is being performed on computers and stored in soft documents nowadays, it is obligatory for most office records like accounts, balance sheets and board meeting minutes, etc. to be maintained on paper records. These papers may either be ordinary hand written or typed papers or papers for computer print outs of ledger accounts, cost sheets and budgets.
• Files: Files are used to hold papers securely and for easy identification of papers. Various files are maintained with different nomenclatures to store all papers related to one particular subject in a particular file. With the help of files, it is very easy to locate papers related to a particular subject or for a particular period. They can be stored period wise, department wise and subject wise also for their easy access.
• Notepads: Notepads are widely used for taking short notes by office staff while attending to instructions of their boss or for noting down some key points while referring to reference books or work related material. Important points to be discussed at meetings and seminars are also noted on note pads.
• Letter Heads: Letter heads are mostly used for sending business letters and for making correspondence with clients. They also act as publicity for the business as they contain the name, address and logo of the company.
• Business Cards: Business cards also play an important role in any business. They are used as an identity and for impressing clients and to serve as an advertisement of your office and business.
• Envelopes: Envelopes are used for sending documents and letters. Business envelops printed with your business address and logo is used as a tool of advertisement for your company.
• Post its: Post its are very small coloured sticky notes of 3 inch square size normally with re-adhesive strip of low tack adhesive on its back allowing it to be temporarily pasted and removed easily without leaving any marks on the document or file. They are used to key mark important things in a way that they catch the attention of intended viewer.

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PC to Laptops and Notebooks to Tablets and iPads – Does the Difference Lie Only in Size

Every new technology and technological product is aimed to bring on improvement. The shift from paperwork and calculators to computers was a revolutionary step. Personal computers (PCs) started finding space not only at workplaces, but also at homes. Few years later, phrases like ‘mobile computing’ and ‘portability’ started gaining importance and products like laptops, notebooks and netbooks. And today, the use of tablets and iPads is fast building a strong niche. Do you know how to differentiate among these products?

A PC runs on electricity, whereas a laptop runs on battery. However, the biggest difference lies in the functionality, as laptops are portable and can be carried from one place to another without worrying about wires. In terms of operating systems and things you can do, PCs and laptops and palmtop computers are quite similar to each other.

Notebooks were basically introduced to further reduce the size and weight of laptops. Though they would lack all the features and functions of laptops initially, notebooks these days are self-sufficient devices used for computing as well as network connectivity. In fact, laptops are usually referred to as notebooks these days. Netbooks differ from laptops for being smaller in screen and keyboard size and also in terms of functionality, though users with basic computing and web needs can easily depend on them.

Smartphones actually helped the discovery of tablets that would find the middle path between smart mobile phones and notebooks. iPad from Apple (and running on iOS) is usually referred to as a tablet, though the term is extensively used for Android devices (popularly called tabs). There are few differences between iPad and tabs. For example, tabs have better support for Flash than iPad and multitasking is also supported well on tabs. iPads, on the other hand, are admired for their support to Apple applications.

When compared with previously mentioned products, iPad and tabs differ in terms of operating systems they use; memory space and processor capabilities. Screen resolutions and graphics are other things that differ among tablets and notebooks. Another significant difference is the use of touch technology for input in tabs which replaces physical keyboards with the virtual ones.

While PCs have started losing their meaning, laptops and notebooks are constantly shedding weight and improving in every true sense. The future of tablets is bright as many users, including office-goers, are investing their trust in these devices for tasks like checking emails, surfing websites and to work on office software packages.

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Popular Forms of Indian Ornaments and Latest Trends

Inspired by centuries old traditions and refined by the contemporary fashion, Indian ornaments are fascinating in every true sense. With intricate designs and intelligent use of ingredients like diamonds, gem stones, gold and silver, jewellery items from the country enjoy huge stature worldwide. Rural craftsmanship and topmost brands together define some striking designs in the categories like religious, wedding, fashion and everyday purpose jewellery.

Diamond Necklace

Necklaces

Decades have passed by, but the spellbinding beauty of god necklaces in India has never faded. The most amazing aspects of these necklaces are the multi-tier designs and intricacy that they showcase. Among the latest fashion necklace designs is the toggle shaped necklace made of brass and adorned by the likes of resin stones. Special mention must be made for the kundan necklaces that have rustic appeal and are among the top choices for brides. Pendants in many interesting shapes and designs with gold and silver chains are also preferred.

Diamond Ring

Rings

Finger rings, earrings and nose rings are other popular ornaments among Indian women. Diamond rings for fingers (especially the wedding rings) continues to attract women from all states and regions. Fashionable and working class women love to experiment with rings made of sterling silver and white gold. In some parts of the country, toe rings (called bichiya) are also in fashion. Apart from ring-shaped ornaments for ears; other popular options include stud earrings.

Gold Bangles

Bangles

Indian women love to wear 6-8 bangles in each wrist, especially when dressed up in traditional outfits. Fashion-conscious women are more inclined towards designer bangles, like those designed in gold and with embedded diamonds in a variety of designs. White gold bangles with semi-precious stones are also among the popular choices. For ethnic look, bangles made of lac are irresistibly attractive. One of the latest styles is bangles with zigzag design made of metals.

Other Ornaments

Anklets (usually made of silver) and bracelets (diamond being a preferred option) play significant roles in enhancing the beauty of women from India. A special kind of necklace (called mangalsutra, which is nowadays available in interesting designs) is worn by women after they get married.

Items in each of these categories range from ethnic to fashionable designs, catering to women from different age groups and backgrounds. No wonder that these ornaments are constantly inspiring women from the western world as well.

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Budget 2013 for SMEs and Industries – A Walk Through

Most was being expected from Budget 2013 by Small and Medium Scale Enterprises and other industries like increased funds availability with no interest burden, more tax benefits and other industry friendly policies. Some of these salient features are briefly narrated below.

It has been assured in Budget 2013 that all tax benefits provided to SMEs will continue up to three more years even after their growth from the SME stage to an elevated stage. This assurance removed all fears from the minds of SME entrepreneurs that they may lose their benefits and will be at risk to run the business if they grow their business from current level to a higher level. Now they can feel secured and concentrate on their growth enjoying all subsidies and tax reliefs for another 3 years.

Increased funds availability for growth of SMEs has been made possible by enhancing the refinancing capability of SIDBI from the present Rs. 5000 crores to Rs. 10000 crores per year in Budget 2013. Further, these funds are being provided free of interest to the SMEs enabling increased investments in their business leading to enhanced profits and growth. Another good factor of Budget 2013 for SMEs is that they can list their businesses on Small and Medium Exchange without going for an Initial Public Offer from this year onwards. This is in addition to the option of listing through an IPO. This new provision can reap in additional benefits through prospective investors in SMEs by tapping capital market.

SMEs felt the need for guidance in technology awareness. To address this need, special provision has been made to set up technology development centres for offering guidance to SMEs by allocating extra funds in the Budget.

In electronics sector, customs duty is waived on plant & machinery procured for semi-conductor wafer fab manufacture which in turn can benefit SMEs linked with this sector. Textile and apparel industry received much attention. Technology up gradation fund scheme period has been extended to boost modernisation of power loom sector. Additional funds granted for Apparel Parks. Handloom weavers can obtain working capital and term loans at concessional interest rate of 6%. Handmade carpets and textile floor coverings are exempted from excise duty. But auto industry has received shocks like increase of excise duty from 27% to 30% on SUVs and increased import duty on super bikes and luxury cars from the current rates of 60% and 75% up to 100%.

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