scuss the variety of dramatic effects achieved in the three speeches :: English Literature

Discuss the variety of dramatic effects achieved in the three speeches of your choice, and consider what they reveal about the characters of each speaker In his plays, Pinter uses long speeches quite frequently, aiming to achieve numerous forms of emotional effects. In The Caretaker, a play about down-and-outs in a flat in West London, the characters often speak at length, relating their opinions, thoughts and random events from their pasts. The three individuals in this play are very different in their styles of discourse. Despite the fact that they are all in a motivational rut, they all have different approaches to their ambitions. Davies, the itinerant tramp, is the hate icon. He represents all the deficiencies of human nature, in that he is conniving, backstabbing, scheming and, where he can get away with it, obnoxious. Although he is only accommodated because of Aston’s generosity, he quickly tries to assume as much power in the flat as possible. He makes several monologues, each revealing some new unpleasant trait about his character. The audience are increasingly appalled by the complete lack of scruples he displays. On page 95, he demonstrates a capacity for abuse that very exaggerated. He is alone in the room with Mick, and perversely angry about what he sees as a lack of generosity in Aston. â€Å"He don’t give me no knife!† he whines, selfishly, as though any host is obliged to provide their guests with a bread-knife. Later on in the play, he rants at Aston for failing to â€Å"slip me a few bob,† despite the fact that Aston gives him five shillings. At the start, he displays such a degree of ignorance and paranoia that the audience have to laugh at just what an absurd character he is. â€Å"What about this gas stove? He tells me it’s not connected. How do I know it’s not connected? Here I am, I’m sleeping right with it, I wake up in the middle of the night, I’m looking right into the oven, man!...I could be lying there in bed, it might blow up, it might do me harm!† Despite his boastful fabrication of a former life of luxury and comfort – â€Å"I’m no stranger to beds† – he is ridiculously afraid of a disconnected gas stove. The fact that he ignores Aston’s reassurances indicates that he is also very stubborn. He then launches into one of his typical, vague invectives. â€Å"I told him about them Blacks using the lavatory. I told him, it was all dirty in there, all the banisters were dirty, they were all black, all the lavatory was black.† For all his racist bravado, and hateful,

Prenatal Screening :: essays research papers

Prenatal screening Screening for Down syndrome is available to about 53.5% of mothers on a maternal age basis, and the remaining 46.5% of health boards provide serum screening for all ages. There are several methods used in prenatal screening, these are usually used separately, and a number of factors are taken into account to determine which method should be used. Amniocentesis has been around for 20 years and is probably the most well known screening method. It involves testing a sample of the amniotic fluid surrounding the foetus, ultrasound is used to guide a needle through the abdomen, into the womb and a small amount of amniotic fluid (20ml) is removed. The procedure is usually carried out at 14-16 weeks. Amniocentesis tests for chromosome disorders, and is 99.8% reliable for chromosome number, there is however a risk of miscarriage (usually 1/250 or less) after the procedure. This is one of the reasons why amniocentesis has only been offered to over 35's (since they have a much higher risk of having a Down syndrome child)(Webb 1990). Previous studies on amniocentesis concentrated on problems that might arise during pregnancy or immediately after, these studies found that children whose mothers had amniocentesis are more likely to have breathing problems in the first few days after birth. A study performed by Jo-Anne Finegan in Toronto followed 88 women who had, had amniocentesis, there was an increased incidence of ear infection in this group. Finegan tested the stiffness of the eardrum and found children in the amniocentesis group were more than three times as likely to have abnormal readings. It is thought that there is a disruption of the delicate balance of pressure across the eardrum when the amniotic fluid is removed, which could cause the problems(Webb 1990). Chorionic villus sampling is another form of sampling, it involves taking a small piece of placenta and genetic testing is carried out on it, there is a slightly higher chance of foetal loss with this procedure (Dick 1996). A more recent form of prenatal testing involves serum markers. Blood is taken from the pregnant women and the maternal blood is tested for three hormones, this test is called the 'triple screen' test. The three hormones tested are alpha foeto-protein (AFP), human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) and oestradiol (E3). AFP is based on the fact that Down syndrome foetuses tend to be smaller on average, have smaller placentas and thus secrete less AFP.

The Character of Dounia in Dostoevskys Crime and Punishment :: Dostoevsky Crime and Punishment

The Character of Dounia Crime and Punishment  Ã‚     Dounia's commitment to her brother is unfaltering. Even when she is presented with the ultimatum of Luzhin, she continues to endure in her dedication and loyalty to her irritable and rascally brother. She realizes that making sure Raskolnikov is there will probably secure her fate in that she will not marry Luzhin. She refuses to do so though if he does not accept his brother. Dounia's commitment and loyalty can be seen in her calm nature about the letter, her loyal response to it, and her actions when she goes to visit her brother--she regards his gestures and words with guarded skepticism, but realizes that he is at least "unfeigned" when grasping her hand. When Pulcheria shows Dounia the letter she doesn't let her emotions go awry, but she reads the letter like a military sergeant on the battle field, simply carrying out the next order in an entire chain. She decides that she must talk to Raskolnikov before answering Luzhin or making her decision. She stands calm and collected in face of the massive divide and rift that has now been created in her life--she has been presented with a dilemma, she is going to be forced to choose between the one she loves and the one she feels "esteems her". In the small garret of Raskolnikov, Pulcheria and Advotya go to see and confer with the now "well" Rodya. Dounia's main purpose is to give Raskolnikov the option of whether he would like to come to their house when Luzhin is there. When her brother responds that it is essentially the women's choice, Dounia is firm in her commitment that he must be there. She wishes to convince him that she is not doing it purely for his sake--but rather for her own. Raskolnikov's chastising of her is ironic because she is only doing less blatant forms of actions he has already committed. Dounia, even after admitting that her marriage to Luzhin will help her very much, still loyally insists that Raskolnikov must be present for th e meeting. She is willing to risk what she has professed is simply for her own sake. Her physical actions when she goes to visit her brother are an amalgam of compassion and skepticism. She is intelligent enough to realize that the things Raskolnikov is saying seem feigned, as if he had a script written for him.

Early Childhood Education Past and Present Essay

In order to decide how past philosophies, theories and educational models have influenced present ideas and practices related to early childhood education, we must first decide where we would like to begin. I will start with the ideas of Aristotle, because I believe his ideas on â€Å"mimesis† or imitations are evident in the evolution of early education, and will always be an integral part of effective learning. Once we understand that children learn and practice what they see in others, we begin to realize the need for dedication and devotion from parents and teachers. Aristotle was a student of Plato who argued for the early removal of children from their parents so that they could be cared for in a school like setting. (Schwartz 1997) As we look back at history itself, we can see that the role of childhood education has been dependent upon the immediate needs and beliefs of a particular society. There have also been many individuals in the past 200 years who are responsible for creating theories and philosophies based on their observations of children and what is vital to them as they develop into adults. However, it is important that we recognize how new ideas are not formed independently, but built upon old ones. As educators, we must utilize what we notice to be effective, as well as the things that impacted us most as children in an educational setting. The strategies and philosophies that I’ve implemented in particular are borrowed from several individuals including Erikson, Vygotsky and Gardiner. Erikson’s psychosocial theory covers eight stages, each one built upon, and reliant on its predecessor. The first four are of greatest relevance, but the remaining four are worthy of a close look because it is important to know where you’re going when deciding upon the best way to get there. These stages also remind me of the importance of satisfying basic need, and of considering children as little people who need to believe in success before they can achieve it. It’s one of the reasons why I would occasionally go to recess with my students. I was able to observe how they treated and responded to others in a seemingly more relaxed, social setting. For some children, recess is by far the most stressful twenty minutes of the day. The incredibly minimal amount of time given to my students was another reason I felt it was necessary to attend. I could get a kick ball game set up so they could make the best of what little time they had. However, I must be honest, I still love to play, and demonstrating good sportsmanship and a competitive spirit to my kids was as important as the preparation for any test we had to look forward to. Lastly, I had a sixth grade teacher who used to do the same thing and I remember it vividly and extremely fondly. I find Gardiners’ theory of multiple intelligence extremely helpful while building confidence in kids whose gifts were not overly apparent on the field at recess. I have and will always encourage students to recognize and display these gifts while still maintaining a certain degree of humility. (Hyson 2004) I’ve always kept examples of completed activities inside and outside my classroom and anywhere else I could find space in order to, among other things, initiate discussions about pride as well as humility. Our classroom clearly demonstrated the fact that comfort and familiarity were held in high regard. An equal emphasis was placed on respect, and this is the word that was constantly spelled out on the board. As my class or one of my students showed an obvious lack of respect, one of the letters would be erased. They would be put back as we were respectful of one another, and if the word was entirely spelled out on Friday afternoon, we would have a â€Å"social gathering† for the last half hour of the day. If we were to walk into most, if not all early childhood educational settings, we would find many things that were initiated or influenced by past theorists or philosophers. We would notice blocks or other creative building materials. There would be areas to encourage cooperative learning, and most would reflect what is thought to be developmentally appropriate for the range of members in the class. When determining what types of play are developmentally appropriate, we need to consider all individuals, and the fact that differences will exist. Members of a class who are either gifted or struggling should not have to suffer because of what is thought to be developmentally appropriate. These differences should be expected, utilized and appreciated. Computers, for example, will run programs with varying degrees of difficulty depending upon what is developmentally appropriate for an individual. As concerns continue to grow over bridging the gap between early education students, government intervention has and will continue to grow. An increase in assessments is inevitable, and even smaller amounts of time will be devoted to active learning, exploration and play. The changes that in fact need to be made are those that reflect the ideas of the great minds of theorists who dedicated their lives in order to determine the most effective methods of early childhood education.

Comparison and Criticism

Countee Cullen is one of the most famous African-American poets who has won more literary prizes and recognitions than any black American has ever won before. He came into prominence quite early in his life. Becoming quite famous already in the high school he has been recognized as an outstanding poet before he was 25 when he published such poems as â€Å"I Have a Rendezvous with Life† and â€Å"The Ballad of the Brown Girl† (Johnson). So, â€Å"The Medea† and â€Å"The Lost Zoo† which I am going to compare and criticize in this paper are during his late period (in the age of 37 and 31 respectively).I am going to argue that both poems are still valuable today because of their didactic nature. By writing them Cullen attempted to express and somehow summarize his ideas of that what is good and what is bad, as well as about morals and proper behavior. They are all written for children, even if those children believe themselves to be adults. Since 1934 Cullen taught English and French at the Frederick Douglas Junior High School. He has been offered a position of a lecturer at the Fisk University in Nashville which he declined. Thus he has chosen a career of a teacher, not a lecturer and scientist.His interest to work with children and writing for children later clearly revealed when he wrote â€Å"The Lost Zoo†, yet it can be traced already in the â€Å"Medea and other poems†. Why among numerous Greek tragedies has Cullen chosen to translate exactly â€Å"The Medea†, and why has the translation been accompanied by a set of Cullen’s own verses? The answers can be found after reading this poetry collection and comparing its themes and motifs to the ones of Euripides. The original myth of Medea, as it has been told by Euripides, is a story of an aggrieved woman who has been driven to a disastrous path by her passion and despair.Cullen provided a modern translation of Euripides story (Corti 202) and the other poem s included to the collection can be viewed as Cullen’s commentary to the problem. Medea’s fate is reflected in â€Å"The Magnets† in which Cullen writes of â€Å"The straight, the swift, the debonair† who â€Å"are targets on the thoroughfare†. This passage can be viewed as a personal reflection, yet in the light of â€Å"Scottsboro, Too, Is Worth Its Song†, another Cullen’s poem, it can be interpreted in a broader social context, as a vision of an entire nation driven to the wrong pass.Cullen begins the poem by imagining poets who will sing and their cries â€Å"Their cries go thundering Like blood and tears†. The period when Cullen wrote this poem was marked by a deep spiritual crisis following the Great Depression, so Cullen observes that in the world â€Å"Is all disgrace And epic wrong† and wonders why the poets have not eventually risen their voices against this wrong. This poems is to put a rhetoric question but n ot to give an answer. Cullen attempts to make his readers themselves concerned with the moral descent, to awaken their own minds and conscience.Otherwise they are likely to repeat Medea’s mistake. This was Cullen’s teaching method: he has not expressly developed own philosophy and preferred to teach through parallels and comparison (Nelson 91). It can be observed that Cullen’s teaching and moralization is not only for children, but for adults as well, perhaps more for adults than children. His â€Å"The Lost Zoo† published in 1940 is for the â€Å"young but not too young†. Although this writing may seem childish, in it Cullen once again (after â€Å"Black Christ†) rises to the Biblical heights in his poetry (Nelson 90).In â€Å"The Lost Zoo† Cullen tells tales of animals that for some reasons could not get onto Noah’s Arc thusly teaching his readers certain life lessons (Silvey 3). Squilililigee’s story is a warning both against teasing and against excessive susceptibility, while the story of a Snake-That-Walked-Upon-His-Tale is a warning against arrogance and false vanity (See: Cullen, Pinknee 1991). In fact, neither of the lost animals was fated and each of them could be saved in case they themselves behaved in a proper way. The conduct of the lost animals ruins them because they attempt to be that what they are not. This is a typical mistake of all times.Cullen is a man of his time, yet his verses are of universal everlasting value. They are topical in our days same as in the days of Cullen. When Cullen wrote both â€Å"Medea† and â€Å"The Lost Zoo† he played a role of a teacher rather than a poet and he was able to teach not only children but adults as well. Human passions never change, and so Cullen’s poems will never lose their importance, just like â€Å"Medea† by Euripide and the Biblical story of an Arc have not lost theirs. Each generation understands and inte rprets them in their own manner just as Cullen interpreted the Bible and Medea. Works Cited: 1. Cullen Countee. The Medea and Some Poems.New York: Harper & Bros. , 1935; 2. Cullen, Countee; Pinknee, Brian J. The Lost Zoo. Silver Burdett Pr. , 1991; 3. Corti, Lillian. The Myth of Medea and the Murder of Children. Greenwood Press, 1998; 4. Nelson, Emmanuel Sampath. African American authors, 1745-1945. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2000; 5. Silvey, Anita. The essential guide to children's books and their creators, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2002; 6. Johnson, Clifton H. About Countee Cullen's Life and Career. 27 May 2009 http://www. english. illinois. edu/MAPS/poets/a_f/cullen/life. htm 7. Countee Cullen 27 May 2009 http://www. harvardsquarelibrary. org/poets/cullen. php

Claudine Ly

International OrganizationAfter the inception of the United Nations, the world viewed the United Nations as the impetus of a new global order. Nations states succumbed to peaceful concessions rather than having allowed interstate problems to culminate into a third world war. The United Nations was different from the League of Nations in that it reintegrated WWII victors as well as losers and formed them into a coalition that worked towards global peace and security.However, as decolonization began to manifest in the 1960’s, the increase in the number of sovereign states expanded membership in the United Nations.  Ã‚   As the numbers of member nations grew, the United Nations reflected more diversified interests.   The major shift in interests was notably observed in one of the principal organs of the United Nations, the General Assembly.   It granted all member nations the right to one equal vote and resolutions could be passed with a two-thirds majority.   With this i n mind, the United Nations widened its scope to reflect the interests of smaller nation states such as in the areas of economic development and health.However, small state ambitions have coincided with the interests of the great power states.   For example, countries such as Rwanda or Burkina Faso would have preferred to form U.N. initiatives to aid their countries’ sustainable development rather than having spent the U.N. budget to support the U.S. aim to counter the war on terrorism.   In addition, because of this growing disparity between national interests, the United Nations has not been able to adhere to its proposed principles. In recent years, one has observed one of the greatest human rights violators, Libya, elected to chair the Human Rights Commission.   Another deplorable undertaking was Syria, a global supporter of terrorism, elected to Security Council.Today, the image of UN has suffered greatly due to repeated scandals that left the image of a corrupted a nd dysfunctional organization, incapable of performing its attributions in the new world order.UN is facing a new world order to which it must adapt in order to maintain its position and its role on the international arena. Recent years’ crisis have found UN incapable of having a firm and prompt reaction and somehow stuck in the attitudes adopted in its beginnings. UN seems unable to rise to the expectations and unable to assume a leading role in world politics. Instead of having the means to impose its position in the world, UN is faced recently with on of its worst periods, when its position on different subjects has no importance or influence.The distribution of power in today’s international order is inclining more and more towards the West, especially towards the only world power remaining – the US. The relations between UN and US are more and more deteriorated due to the differences in opinion over the war in Iraq and this inconsistency in the relation wit h US had a great cost on UN. However, UN is still seen by Washington as having an important role in the international arena on both security and humanitarian levels.This is why the US is trying to find out solutions for a reform of UN by trying to involve the organization in the ongoing crisis in the world. The challenge is therefore even greater with UN having to face a new leadership starting in 2007, and having to face the nuclear crisis in Iran and North Korea. Perhaps the only reason why UN is still supported by US is that it is still seen as â€Å"a valuable forum and tool for advancing U.S. interests on the international stage† (Gardiner, 2007). Despite the shown support for UN reform, there is little trust in US that it might succeed.UN, although seen as a strong organization that regulates upon the world order, no longer has the power to enforce its sanctions and dictate in crisis. It is very unlikely that UN will be able to impose its sanctions on Iran or North Kore a in what regards the nuclear crisis, so the role of the organization is becoming more and more insignificant. This is why the gap between the capabilities of UN and its position is getting wider.The most important role of UN has been played in the past decades in humanitarian actions, as the involvement of UN in third world crisis has gained a very valuable reputation. In contemporary humanitarian crisis UN seems unable to perform its role and intervene in such a serious matter as the genocide in Sudan. Due to this incapability, the role of UN is more and more contested at the international level, as the UN proves to be as incapable of dealing with humanitarian crisis as it was with Rwanda and Bosnia. This is why there is a need for reform in the UN Human Rights Council (Gardiner, 2007).  The challenge that lies ahead of UN through the nuclear crisis in Iran and North Korea is going to define the future of the organization and its role in the international arena. This is why it i s so important for UN to regain its position and influence. But in order to do so, UN must go through institutional and managerial reforms that will reinforce the organization’s role in world politics.In the actual shift in power in the international arena, UN’s decisions seem unlikely to have much influence on particular actors. Countries such as Iran or North Korea are very unlikely to be affected too much by the sanctions imposed by UN as the power of the organization is rapidly decreasing.There is an increasing opinion that UN is an illegitimate organization, incapable of facing the current international order and no longer able to impose its position in the international arena. This situation was caused by several scandals and crisis that the organization faced in the past twelve years (Gardiner, 2007). UN’s poor interfere in Rwanda, Bosnia, or Sudan, as well as cases of corruption exposed inside the UN have affected the image of the organization greatly, m aking it unable to stand up for its cause in international crisis. If UN is no longer respected and seen as the moral protector of human rights and of peace, then it cannot perform its role. As UN proved unable or unwilling to stand up for its humanitarian believes in genocides or against dictatorship, its influence and its role decreased considerably.UN’s actions have been intensively critiqued and its credibility suffered greatly after 2005, when UNESCO gave the Josà © Martà ­ International Prize to Venezuelan president Hugo Chà ¡vez, awarding the Latin American leader for his â€Å"struggle for liberty† (Gardiner, 2007). This award was clearly against the position held by the world powers and it stands as a proof of the gap created between the formal rules of UN and the international powers.Perhaps the only way in which the UN can save its credibility and perform the role it was created for is by not expanding the membership in the Security Council. In the new in ternational military context, the role of UN can be significant and by paying its cards right the organization has a chance of regaining its influential role.In order for UN to continue its work and re-impose itself it must adapt to the new world order – it must follow the leadership of US and Western forces. By increasing the number of members in the Security Council, UN would be forced to take stands against the US as the vote will likely be against US on key issues. An enlarged Security Council would be against the US, which would widen the gap between UN and world leadership (Gardiner, 2007).One of the reasons for UN’s inability to respond promptly and efficiently to world crisis such as the war in Iraq is that its operational system is far too slow and ineffective. The members of the Security Council have far too different views in order to reach an efficient agreement in time. This institutional framework of the UN proves to be inefficient in today’s chang ing world order. UN’s ability to respond in crisis will only decrease in a larger Security Council, since it already faces serious difficulty.If UN wants to reinforce its position in the international arena, it must face some very much needed reforms that are intended to shape up the organization and make it reinstate a leading role. But such reforms are very unlikely to be achieved as the influence of opposing members is quite considerable.A significant number of member states, especially those leading the G-77 group of developing countries view the reform of UN as threatening to their influence in the organization and therefore they use all their power to prevent the reform of UN. Particularly this kind of influence that some member states have upon the UN decision making process is the kind of influence that is widening the gap between the actual world powers and UN (Schaefer, 2006).In order for UN to actively participate in international relations, it must reform its inst itutional framework. But in order for UN to reform, it must have the vote of several countries that are against reformation and strengthening the role of the West. This vicious circle is the one that is stopping UN from evolving and adapting.The influence of today’s great powers in the UN decision making process is low and this is one of the reasons why UN is losing its legitimacy. Instead of being an important actor in security matters, the institutional framework of UN makes it impossible for the organization to reach a consensus in an effective time framework, leading the organization not interfering or not taking a strong enough position in important issues.Today’s international actors seem to ignore the UN and seem to take decisions disregarding the position of UN particularly because the influence of UN has decreased severely in the past decade or so. More and more voices see the UN as a future failure that will follow its predecessor, the League of Nations.In re cent years, the role of UN is more and more challenged and its decisions have less and less impact in the international arena. Designed to promote peace and worldwide security, the UN proves to be a failure 62 years later due to its incapability to evolve and develop in time. UN’s incapability to adapt to the new world order and its inability to promote its goals makes the organization seem dysfunctional and illegitimate. The major change that is needed for the future of UN lays in its ability to face the challenges of today and to aggressively take action in the matters concerning today’s threats.Bibliography:1.Gardiner, Nile, The Decline and Fall of the United Nations: Why the U.N. Has Failed and How It Can Be Reformed, February 7, 2007, available at http://www.heritage.org/Research/InternationalOrganizations/hl991.cfm;

Creativity and Innovation in Indian Banks

Topic: Innovative products by Indian organizations in the Banking Sector Akshita Shetty Student K J Somaiya Institute of management studies and research PGDM (RM) Roll no: 56 Email id:[email  protected] com Abstract During the past one decade, one of the sectors which underwent visible sea-change through innovative strategies is undoubtedly the banking sector. The sector has been growing at a fast pace in India and is challenged with several aspects like new regulations from time to time, changing customer needs and perceptions, changing technology and changing operations.Technology has been playing a crucial role in the tremendous improvement of banking services and operations. Indian banking industry has moved way ahead both in terms of offering value added services and delivering quality service. It was thought that the world financial crisis would impact the Indian banking sector in a serious manner. But, because of the strong foundations of Indian banking system with the suppo rt from well structured financial systems, the anticipated impact of the world crisis was almost insignificant. Instead, it helped the banks to get strengthened further and become closer to the customer with innovative approaches.Banks appear to be on the path of achieving sustainability and a long-term survival because of innovation. Keywords: Innovation in banking, technology in banking, changes in banking, transformation in banking, IT in banking, Indian banking. Introduction Technology has brought about a complete paradigm shift in the functioning of banks and delivery of banking services. Gone are the days when every banking transaction required a visit to the bank branch. Today, most of the transactions can be done from the comforts of one’s home and customers need not visit the bank branch for anything.Technology is no longer an enabler, but a business driver. The growth of the internet, mobiles and communication technology has added a different dimension to banking. T he information technology (IT) available today is being leveraged in customer acquisitions, driving automation and process efficiency, delivering ease and efficiency to customers. Many of the IT initiatives of banks started in the late 1990s or early 2000 with an emphasis on the adoption of core banking solutions (CBS), automation of branches and centralization of operations in the CBS.Over the last decade, most of the banks completed the transformation to technology-driven organizations. Moving from a manual, scale-constrained environment to a global presence with automated systems and processes, it is difficult to envisage the adverse scenario the sector was in the era before the reforms, when a simple deposit or withdrawal of cash would require a day. ATMs, mobile banking and online bill payments facilities to vendors and utility service providers have almost obviated the need for customers to visit a branch.Branches are also transforming from operating as transaction processing points into relationship management hubs. The change has been very productive for banks bringing in an increase in productivity and operational efficiency to be more competitive. Better risk management due to centralization of information and real time availability of critical data for decision making. With most of the banks being technology-enabled, the focus is shifting to computerizing regional rural banks (RRBs).In addition, banks are moving toward decision making and business intelligence software and trying to optimize the IT infrastructure created The banking system in India has created a niche for itself in the current competitive global arena where adoption of new and innovative technological developments carries the key to expansion of business and its future development. The Indian banking system has come a long way from being a player restricted to domestic boundaries to a leading giant in the world of financial services across the globe.Credit for this progress goes to a mix of factors like, the introduction of various economic reforms which gave a boost to the banking sector, adoption of new technology by banks in order to streamline their line of businesses and increasing profits by improving cost efficiency and offering doorstep banking convenience to their customers. Banking ‘Then' and ‘Now' Indian villages were deprived of various financial products like mutual funds, insurance and equity trading hitherto, which are now accessible through proxy banking in the form of Internet kiosks and ATMs.The alias given to banking which is not routed through branches is ‘Channel Migration'. Through this route, a bouquet of services is at the customers' disposal in today's banking system. This is possible because banking transactions are stored in a centrally located server with which all other branches of a bank are connected. The technological systems in India are considered far more advanced than those of Russian and Chinese banking sy stems but are lagging far behind the UK, USA and Singapore.Connectivity takes root Today almost all scheduled commercial banks are connected to all the branches on a real time basis extending the anywhere banking facility to the customers, which means that it is not necessary for a customer now to visit the branch personally in order to conduct transactions. Now a customer has various other options available with him like internet banking, mobile banking, ATMs (automated teller machines), phone banking which offers 24 X 7 banking, etc.Whenever and wherever a transaction is done in a bank account, the updated status is reflected in all the branches, thus making anywhere banking possible. ATMs have revolutionalized the banking sector by making cash and other banking services available to customers at all times. Future Outlook The future of Indian banking lies in increased investment in technology platforms and a greater focus on end-to-end solutions provided by IT majors like core ban king products, vertical specific CRM and risk management software. Body scopeInnovation by Indian banks in aspects such as: Service banking ATMS’s Net banking Mobile banking ECS/RTGS/NEFT Debit card/credit cards CRM (customer service) Case studies: (for example) South Indian Bank: The salary disbursement of corporates , firms and such others who maintain accounts with any of the 511 CBS branches would be managed by the Bank, hassle-free and free of any bank charges. The employer would be benefited in that the salary could be disbursed to any employees/any single employee who are/is working even in far-off places where SIB has no presence.Dr. V. A. Joseph ,Chairman & CEO of the Bank and Mr. M. P. Gopalakrishnan,President ,CMS Trust jointly launched the product . In his inaugural address Dr. Joseph said, †This convenience banking product, which is designed for the convenience of both employers and employees, leverages the bank's strong technology platform, which connects all the 511 branches and 26 extension counters of the Bank under Core Banking Solutions network offering anytime banking to its customers. GSSA can be opened with zero balance†.The Chairman and CEO of the Bank also stated, â€Å"South Indian Bank, being a customer – oriented Bank is striving hard to render personalized customer service using the latest technological capabilities. The technological capability of the Bank was recognised when the Bank could bag the banking technology excellence award from IDRBT which is the technical arm of RBI. The service quality of the Bank has also been recognized when the Bank was selected in the ‘Outlook Money – C Fore’ survey as the best private sector Bank in India in the service quality segment. . Dr. Joseph also referred to the facility recently started for online booking of offerings, free of bank charges , through South Indian Bank payment gateway-the first bank to go online booking -by the customers of the bank who are devotees of Guruvayur Sreekrishna Temple which is described as the Dwaraka of South India. This facility is being utilized by the NRIs also to effect offerings, hassle –free with greater transparency and security at the click of a button ,either for themselves or their aged parents resident in India.. South Indian Bank had completed on 26. 03. 07 the project ‘SIBertech’ by introducing a centralised Core Banking Solution in technology partnership with Infosys Technologies when many banks had not even started implementation of CBS . SIB, had started this project in 2001 to render personalized customer service. The new product now launched would confirm this belief†, the Chairman concluded his inaugural address.With the following carefully thought-out value additions of this innovative convenience banking product , banking for employers and their employees, is made extremely easy and comfortable: – * ;Free International ATM-cum-Debit Card for which annual maintenance charges are not collected * Online booking of offerings for Lord Sri Guruvayurappan, free of bank charges * O  Withdrawal of cash from the ATMs of other Banks free of bank charges (As charges would be borne by SIB) * O  Free utility payment and e-commerce services * ;No stipulation on minimum balance ;The depositor enjoying many freebies can earn the usual SB interest * ;The depositor can operate his SB account –during his travel/temporary transfer /transfer- hassle-free * ;The account can be closed /transferred to another branch with out any charge * ;Free of cost cheque leaves (subject to limits in each category ) * ;Free fund transfer facility through RTGS/NEFT/Fast Money /DD Customers of this feature-rich Savings Bank account are also provided with facilities to open Depository account and also enjoy mobile banking facility. Indian bank:Indian Bank has won the ‘Golden Peacock Innovative Products/Service Award' for 2011. The award was received by the bank's Chairman and Managing Director, Mr T. M. Bhasin, at the World Congress on Total Quality, held in Bengaluru on Saturday. The award was given to the bank â€Å"in recognition of its contribution to promotion of self help groups (SHGs)†. SHGs have turned out to be major vehicles of women empowerment. In the current year, Indian Bank has so far disbursed Rs 1,360 crore to 55,391 SHGs, taking the total exposure under the SHG portfolio to Rs 2,336 crore, benefiting 175,390 SHGs, says a press release from the bank.State Bank of India: State bank of India, the largest public sector bank in India, offers the following innovative services. 1. SMS Unhappy This innovative idea was initiated by Mr. Siva Kumar, Dy. Managing Director of SBI. Any customer who wants to lodge a complaint sends the message â€Å"Unhappy† to a specified number (8008202020). The Happy Room then calls the customer and records the details of the complaint. The complaint is then forwar ded. SBI has received thousands of such messages since its commencement and this service is a great success.Other banks have also started imitating this service. 2. Crorepati Only Branch SBI has launched first of its kind branch for High Networth Individuals (HNI) where it takes minimum Rs 1 crore to open an account, and that too on invitation only. This branch offers specialized banking facilities like relationship managers, 24/7 lockers, extended banking hours, doorstep pick-up and drop facilities, in addition to pampering customers five-star amenities at the branch. â€Å"We have opened as many as 50 accounts so far.We are confident of opening another 150 by the end of the current fiscal,† as per Mr. Shiva Kumar, Chief General Manager, SBI4. According to SBI, an attractive feature of the branch is 24 hour open lockers. The bank also is providing special dressing rooms for customers to cater to the needs of late night function goers segment. References -Y. Ramakrishna, Serv ice Innovation in Banks for Sustainability, IJMBS Vol. 2, Issue 2, April – June 2012 -Indian banking System: Epitome of continuous innovation, 2008. -Process innovation in the Indian banking industry, 2009 Indian Banking Sector: Challenges and Opportunities -Keertiman Sharma, Innovations in rural financial products and services, VOL. 2(1) – 2011: 35-37 -Outsourcing in the Indian banking sector: gaining momentum, 2008 -Innovation in retail banking -India PRWIRE, South Indian bank launches another innovative convenience product, 2008 -Vortex engineering, Solar power to enable banking and ATM facilities for rural india, 2011 -J U Ahmed, Services Rendered by Commercial Bank: A Customer Oriented empirical Evidence from State Bank of India, Vol. I No. – 2, Jan-2011 ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Service Innovation in Banks for Sustainability [ 2 ]. technology in banking: I nsight and foresight [ 3 ]. Indian banking system: epitome of continuous improvement [ 4 ]. Solar power to enable banking and ATM facilities for Rural  India [ 5 ]. Y. Ramakrishna, Service Innovation in Banks for Sustainability, IJMBS Vol. 2, Issue 2, April – June 2012