http://www.dare.co.in/ JoomGallery /photo-blogs/ideas/a-business-that-can-never-be-organised-–-carpooling-128.htm Well, one of the businesses that can never be organised is that of carpooling. Its a popular option for cost saving and reducing pollution, and there have been many efforts to make it organised but most in vain. There are a number of websites that facilitate carpooling, by giving options to car drivers and other users. A quick search will reveal names of carpool.in, commuteeasy, indimoto, carwale, carcabpool, carpoolworld, carpooling.in, poolmycar.in etc. However, the uncertainty of the availability of cars and difference of timings of office-goers, websites have not been able to do a wonderful job. There are postings by people who have a vehicle to offer, and by those who want a vehicle for carpooling. But difference in routes, timings and needs for flexibility, most of those are lying old and unanswered. However, it in no way means that carpooling is not happening. In offices, schools, neighbours etc, people do pool in vehicles, even though its to save their own money. And in a way, even the conveyance provided by companies to their employees can be called pooling, since it is done either in cabs or buses, saving time for companies and cost for employees, and some green brownies for environment. In corporate hubs like Gurgaon, there are crossings where you can find people pooling vehicles with strangers, as what we can call hitch-hiking. Each and every vehicle (which include trucks) going there is looked upon as potential time and hassle saver for the commuters. In fact, even for coming there from main city (read Delhi here), there are native-defined places where you catch the call center cabs, which are coming empty after leaving night shift employees to their homes. Commuters come to the cab 'stand' and have to wait for a willing cab driver to stop the cab, and confirm destination. Though it may financially hurt the owners of cabs as they are undergoing revenue - pilferage, those drivers are in fact doing a service to public and environment, even if they earn from it (Rs 25 for a 35 km ride is not bad at all). The unofficial cab 'stands' that I know of are Karol Bagh, Wazir Pur, Saket, Dhaula Kuan besides others. There might be mention of these in some orkut or facebook communities, but otherwise, only the natives know about these options. On the lighter side, there have been instances where innocent personal car owners have unknowingly stopped cars at such 'stands', may be to see-off some friend-relative and people standing outside (with demand more than supply of seats) just open the doors, and sit inside forcibly, as if kidnapping the driver. It happened with my own sister-in-law and her cousin. They were like what this happening!! Then the people had to be instructed to get down from the car, which is an embarrassment for the 'high-nose' commuters (sorry for poor Hindi translation). http://www.dare.co.in/joomgallery-128 /photo-blogs/ideas/an-suv-on-display-inside-a-mall-in-new-delhi-126.htm The auto sector is bouncing back after witnessing a slump during the economic slowdown. More cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles are being sold, indicating growing economic activity in the country. http://www.dare.co.in/joomgallery-126 /photo-blogs/ideas/an-e-reader-on-display-at-an-expo-in-new-delhi-125.htm Will E-Readers change the way we read? These reading devices are gaining popularity in the US, although it remains to be seen as to how many of them sell in India and how fast. http://www.dare.co.in/joomgallery-125 /photo-blogs/ideas/bottom-of-the-pyramid-women-load-wooden-logs-on-to-a-three-wheeler-in-the-outskirts-of-ranchi.-124.htm Investors including Angels, VCs and PEs are ready to put in money into startups in the social sector. Education, healthcare, sanitation, water, renewable energy are some of the hot sectors. http://www.dare.co.in/joomgallery-124 /photo-blogs/ideas/tourism-around-qutub-minar-122.htm According to Wikipedia, in 2006, Qutub Minar received more visitors than Taj Mahal itself. This footfall made it the most visited monument of India. Qutub Minar, of course, is one of the most talked about monuments in India. Most of the children know the false tale woven around it that once upon a time, it had seven storeys. The Qutub Minar complex invites lots of foreigners, India, local visitors, school children, and individuals. Catering to their various needs right from food and transport opens a host of opportunities. At the same time, micro level businesses like visitor's guide and translation also thrive on individual basis. Before the digital photography came and everybody started clicking photos through mobile phones, professional photographers made good business clicking visitors and sending them photographs through post. According to some unquoted sources, there are around 800,000 monuments in India that are unprotected. Is tourism India missing a lot of opportunities? (Photo taken at Qutub Minar complex, Delhi) http://www.dare.co.in/joomgallery-122 /photo-blogs/ideas/building-maintenance-and-cleaning-121.htm Business towers, corporate offices and buildings require maintenance/repair and cleaning. Oftentimes, builders have their own workforce who performs these tasks. If you see this picture, you will notice a tiny rope that is holding two people who are performing cleaning task for window panes. This service is required if a pane is broken--maintenance and repair. Providing these services could be an area to tap provided you have right kind of workforce, infrastructure and expertise. (Photo taken at Nehru Place, Delhi) http://www.dare.co.in/joomgallery-121 /photo-blogs/ideas/construction-industry-and-equipments-120.htm Have you seen those lengthy, sleek and almost imbalanced-looking towers cranes adjacent to buildings that are rising up in big cities? Yes, the increase in demand of constrcution projects has increased the demand of machinery to be involved. Dependence on manual power can't ensure the time-line for which these projects are meant. Often, advanced machines and equipments are imported from foreign countries and there is always an opportunity to tap this market. Are you looking to construct your business around this idea! (Photo taken at Safdarjung Railway Station, Delhi) http://www.dare.co.in/joomgallery-120 /photo-blogs/ideas/tapping-the-solar-energy-119.htm Solar energy is the call of the day--given the power shortage faced by our country, tapping solar energy for power needs is one area where opportunities can be tapped. A staff member of Barefoot College, Tilonia mentioned in his speech that the college is solar powered for 24 hours, which is an unheard remark at least for rural areas of this country. He also mentioned that they have trained women to solar power their villages almost throughout India and from countries like Afghanistan, Kenya, Cameroon and other African countries. Solar energy sounds a technical word, but the functioning and operations of using solar equipments could be taught to village folks even without making them literate. This ensures that tapping villages for this market should not be a problem because manpower and resources would be garnered from villages itself. (Photo taken at Barefoot College, Tilonia, Rajasthan) http://www.dare.co.in/joomgallery-119