Dual citizenship to be extended to all Indians: PM

The government has decided to extend the offer of dual citizenship to almost all Indians living overseas.

"The government has decided to offer dual citizenship to all overseas Indians who have migrated from the country after January 26, 1950, as long as their home countries allow dual citizenship under their law," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in his inaugural address on Friday at the 3rd Pravasi Bharatiya Divas meet in Mumbai.

The government will simplify the procedure for registration of People of Indian Origin for granting dual citizenship, he added.

The facility was first announced at the inaugural edition of the PBD in 2003 by then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. But only Indians in select countries - mostly Western - were eligible, causing heartburn among others, especially those in West Asia.

The prime minister admitted that there had been delays in implementing the dual citizenship scheme but assured that the new ministry of overseas Indians' affairs would help speed up matters.

Singh invited young non-resident Indians to come and study in Indian institutions. He also asked NRIs to participate in the process of extending primary education.

In view of the tsunami disaster, Singh asked everyone to contribute generously to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund.

"I recall that when appealing for relief for victims of a natural disaster, Mahatma Gandhi once said: He gives twice who quickly gives. I am sure you share that sense of urgency and will be generous with your support," he said.

• Tsunami Strikes: The Complete Coverage

Earlier, the delegates observed a minute's silence in memory of those killed and affected by the December 26 disaster. Later, maestros Balamuralikrishna and Pandit Bhimsen Joshi regaled the audience will a splendid jugalbandi.

In his address, chief guest Suriname Vice-President Jules Rattankoemar Ajodhia spoke about the role of the early Indian settlers in preserving democracy in his tiny country.

Welcoming the delegates to Mumbai, Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh listed out the state's social and industrial achievements.

India is celebrating its diaspora, numbering nearly 20 million, in the three-day event. The nearly 2,000 delegates represent the diaspora from around 61 countries.

The event is being jointly organised by the Ministry of Overseas Indians' Affairs and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

It coincides with the anniversary of the return of Mahatma Gandhi to India, on January 9, 1915, after almost two decades in South Africa.

Your USP: Use it or lose it

Every day, you′re inundated with more than 1,500 advertising messages. If you′re like most people, you′re spending huge amounts of energy just trying to block out those messages.

Now, turn this issue around and ask yourself: "How do I get my message across when most people are trying hard to dismiss it?" The answer is in your USP — your Unique Selling Proposition.

USP defined

The concept of "USP" is credited to Rosser Reeves, chairman of the Ted Bates & Co. advertising agency in the 1950s. He was one of the first to develop a technique for communicating in an overcrowded marketplace. His definition of what makes a USP holds true today:

All advertising must make a proposition to the customer: Buy this, and you will receive a specified benefit.

The proposition must be unique; something competitors cannot claim, or have not chosen to emphasize in their promotions.

The proposition must be so compelling that it motivates individuals to act.

The concept of USP has evolved since Reeves′ groundbreaking work, but it remains a foundation of successful marketing. USP is nearly synonymous with positioning, and is related to branding strategy. These concepts share a common focus — making a specific offering unique and desirable to a specific audience.

Why it works

USP works because of a simple fact of cognitive behaviour. One of the ways the mind handles the barrage of advertising it receives is to pick something to believe, then hold that notion until forced to change. Snap judgments become permanent beliefs, since it is uncomfortable and difficult to change convictions once formed. The mind tends to filter out new information that doesn′t support already-held beliefs. This attribute of the mind, called "anchoring," explains why USP is an effective strategy.

Better to be first

The easiest way into a person′s memory is to be first. In the mind, second is not a unique position – it is merely the start of "the rest of the pack." The mind can remember some levels beyond "first" and "other," but divisions quickly become fuzzy among the also-rans.

Because of the "anchoring" tendency, being first is better, even if being first is not logically important. Consider the explosion of self-help books with titles like "XYZ for Dummies," "Complete Idiot′s Guide to XYZ," "Beginner′s XYZ," and so on. The first entrant, the "Dummies" series, now holds more than two-thirds of the market for self-help books. The other publishers were later entrants, and so they struggle to gain a share of the remaining market.

There is no logical reason to believe a "Dummies" book contains more useful advice for novices than other books intended for the same audience. Still, two out of three of us cast our lot with the "Dummies."

Developing your USP is the art of choosing and communicating a dimension in which you can make a compelling claim to be first — and therefore, in the marvellously illogical mind, best.

To find your USP, answer these questions:

What benefit is unique to your offering, and what is the basis of this claim?
Who is the target market for whom this benefit is of compelling interest?
What USP has been claimed by significant competitors for this target market?

Creating a USP is a matter of balancing these components, to describe a position you will hold in the target market′s minds that differentiates you from your competition. Let′s consider each of the components.

Your unique benefit

Before a purchase is likely to happen, a magical act of transformation must take place: Features must be turned into benefits. A feature is anything you have designed into the product or service. A benefit is what the customer gets out of it. A feature may be useful, but it is not of compelling interest in and of itself. A benefit is a solution to a problem, a fulfilment of a desire.

Take a camping lantern with a head-mounting strap. You designed the head-mounting strap into the product; that′s a feature. The customer gets hands-free operation of the lantern; that′s a benefit.

Even if you can′t find a completely unique feature to promote, search for one that other competitors have overlooked. When you find it, you′ve got the "U" for your USP.

Target market

To understand what will be compelling to your target market, you must know what these consumers value. Study what they buy, and how they make their purchase decisions. Consider your potential customers in terms of their demographics, lifestyle and purchase characteristics.

Competitors

Since it′s often better to be first than best, it′s important to know what beliefs the target market now holds about you and about your competitors. What might research tell you? Remember that competition can come from direct or indirect sources. For example, while all publishers of how-to books are direct competitors to the Dummies books, indirect competition also comes into play from how-to courses and seminars.

It is difficult and expensive to challenge a competitor for a position already occupied, because of the "anchoring" phenomenon. When you know your competitors′ positions, you can choose to avoid direct challenges and instead carve out your own niche, where you can be both first and best.

Finding your "first"

If I walked up to you on Main Street and asked you to name three local bookstores, the one you mentioned first would likely be your favourite. If I asked you why you named it first, you could probably rattle off a reason. What you are doing is communicating that bookstore′s USP. The fact that you know it shows they′ve focused their advertising to get their name and USP into your mind.

If your product or service has obvious and desirable points of difference from your competitors′, your USP need only emphasise that key point of difference.

"But we′re all pretty much the same," you say? There must be a compelling benefit implicit in your offering, if not necessarily your product. Even marketers of commodity products find ways to establish a USP.

Consider your strengths and your competitors′ weaknesses. Where is there an opening that you can claim? Some common attributes around which the USP can be created are:

Quality
Selection
Fashion/styling
Price
Service
Location


Consider these strategies for uncovering a unique benefit:

1. Against a competitor or category.

Remember the rental car giants Avis vs. Hertz? Avis′ "We′re No. 2. We try harder" turned a disadvantage into a memorable emphasis on service. When soft-drink leaders Coke and Seven-Up butted heads, Seven-Up promoted its "Un-cola" status to set itself apart from the whole category of cola beverages.

2. Reposition the competition.

Make your competition the villain, rather than the benchmark of good performance. When Tylenol took on conventional aspirin, it did so with ads that proclaimed, "Aspirin can irritate the stomach lining.... Fortunately, there is Tylenol."

3. Focus on the problem.

All photocopiers do pretty much the same thing – make copies. But the latest technological enhancement is an internal modem that can place a service call, even if the copier is unattended when it breaks down. Dealers for the enhanced copier stand out from their competitors by focusing on the problem of downtime.

4. Better value.

When other products deliver the same benefit as your offering, then something other than product features must set yours apart as the better value. Your convenient location, or extended warranty, or free home delivery, or lower price point may be your USP.

5. Users and usage.

If the "80/20" rule of thumb holds true, it′s likely that 80 percent of your business comes from the 20 percent who are your best customers. What are these people like? Dramatise their loyalty to your offering, and you will attract others like them. Consider using a high-profile spokesperson from this group of loyalists to get your message across.

By now you should be getting a clear idea how to give your offering a memorable USP. If you still feel like you′re in the dark, create a list of the features of your product or service. Then, rank them in order of importance as you think your best customers would rank them. Look for benefits associated with the top-ranked features. Have you perhaps heard customers comment on this feature? What got them excited about it?

How to use your USP

Once you know your USP, use it to inspire your creative approach. Incorporate it into every advertising message you publish and every marketing move you plan. Integrate your USP with your branding strategy.

The USP is the key that opens the minds of individuals. That open mind is an invitation to communicate the benefits of your offering. Use the key strategically, and sales will follow.

What to know before buying a franchise

With many people living out their dreams running franchises, there′s got to be something right with the whole concept.

Hundreds of thousands of franchise operations exist, offering some people a chance to become millionaires buying and running them. Many are willing to pay significant sums to get into a franchise — it costs about a half-million dollars to open a McDonald′s, which by some measures is the most successful franchise operation in history.

All that aside, buying a franchise is not an easy ticket to business success. For every success, there are many more failures, and the business landscape is littered with franchise fiascos due to conflicts between franchisees and franchisors.

You have to practise the same due diligence as a franchise purchaser that you would with any major investment. In fact, in some ways you have to ask even more questions than you would if you were simply opening a business — because you have to understand issues involving the franchisor, as well as the usual risks involved in opening a business.

Here are the key questions I would ask before getting involved in a franchise operation.

1. What′s my upfront cost?
This is the most obvious initial financial question. But immediate out-of-pocket costs are only one consideration in franchising.

2. What other fees should I plan on?
You may be required to lease property or equipment from the franchisor. You may also have to pay the franchisor a percentage of your annual sales. Those numbers must be cranked into your own equations when you′re trying to figure out if a franchise deal makes sense.

3. How is the franchisor making money?
Franchisors may make money by owning their own establishments, by providing services to franchisors, by simply collecting initial franchise fees from people like you or by some other combination. It′s tough to make a blanket statement about whether one model is better than another, but surely you want to know where the franchisor′s own interests lie.

4. What restrictions do I have on suppliers?
Are you going to be required to purchase certain goods or services from particular vendors and/or from the franchisor? If certain purchases are required, are they going to cost you more than you would otherwise have to pay if there were no restriction on where you could buy them?

5. What kind of regional protection am I getting?
Do you have guarantees that the franchisor isn′t going to sell other franchises or open up its own outlets in your area? If so, how long are those guarantees good for?

6. What kind of empire-building opportunities do I have?
The flip side of the previous question: Do you get first dibs on new franchises in or near the same area as your first franchise? Some successful franchisees are those who own multiple outlets in the same area and are able to develop their own economies of scale.

7. How many franchisees fail in a year?
You′d want to find out how many (or what percentage of) franchisees close their doors within the first year or two years, and how many or what percentage of all franchisees close annually.

8. How many franchisees sell out in a year?
A franchisee that gets out of the business by selling to someone else isn′t always a "failure." Indeed, he or she may be selling a successful venture. But you still need some idea of the turnover rate of franchisees.

9. What′s the value of a re-sold franchise?
Another way of looking at the prospects for franchisees is to look at what happens to those who sell their establishments. What did they get for the re-sold franchise relative to what they put into it? Was it a profitable investment, or were they simply looking to get out and cut their losses?

10. How do I get out of this deal, if necessary?
Put another way, would you be allowed to sell your franchise? Can you sell to anyone, or do you have to deal with the franchisor? Would the company charge you something to sell your franchise or otherwise restrict your ability to pull out of the business?

Hopefully, you′ll never find out what ultimately happens regarding that last question. But, as always, you need to be prepared for a worst-case scenario.

10 Common Restaurant Startup Mistakes (and how to avoid them)

In any new business venture good decision-making is vital. Opening a new restaurant requires so many decisions that it’s not hard to make some bloopers along the way.

The key is not totally missing the mark on the really important issues that can make or break your chances for success. Here are some of the more important common missteps new owners make in areas that play a big role in how well a new restaurant is likely to do.

1. Underestimating capital needs. There are many good new restaurants with excellent prospects for success that simply run out of money. It’s common for first time owners in particular, to leave out or inadequately project all the startup costs involved in opening the restaurant. Some of the reasons include construction overruns, change orders, delays, and to be blind-sided by additional costs mandated from local inspectors and building authorities.
   
   Also, soft costs like permits, liquor licenses, insurance binders and pre-opening payroll are often missed completely or grossly under-budgeted. Unless you’ve done it before, it’s usually advisable to seek some experienced, professional help in identifying and estimating, in detail, startup capital you’ll need. Even then, many pros still add a 10%-15% contingency for the host of things that can (and often do) happen to add more cost to the project than you plan on.
   
2. Believing you’ll start making money on opening day. The odds are stacked against this happening. Even the best run chain restaurants, who open restaurants for a living, factor into their startup budgets, an allowance for funding operating deficits for up to 2 to 3 months after the restaurant opens.
   
   It usually takes time to build sales volume to an adequate level. Even if your sales are strong from day 1, food and labor costs are usually sky high for the first several weeks as your managers and staff get acclimated, productive and have the time and energy to focus on anything other than just taking care of who’s at the table. In time, most things can be fixed. Run out of money and you’re done. Not factoring in an adequate reserve for initial operating deficits is another cause of undercapitalization (see #1 above).
   
3. Lack of a clear vision and purpose. This may sound somewhat vague and intangible but a successful startup requires the coordinated effort of a dedicated staff pulling together in the same direction, united by a common goal. Getting this accomplished requires some leadership skills.
   
   New operators who either don’t have or can’t communicate an underlying mission that the staff can rally around will find it difficult to create the kind of climate that supports teamwork, hard work and dedication to excellence that endures through the long hours and sometime chaotic conditions that take place during the startup phase of any new restaurant.
   
4. Lack of documented systems, procedures and training manuals. Restaurant operations involves the ongoing repetition of hundreds and even thousands of divergent tasks by many individuals and groups of individuals. Organization and consistent execution is key to creating a successful restaurant. Franchised restaurants start out with detailed recipes, checklists and procedures to do everything from prepping the lettuce, to cleaning the restrooms to closing out the cashier. In new independent restaurants, it’s often make it up as you go.
   
   There may be nothing to go by other than what’s in the owner’s head. This makes it more challenging to train employees and execute consistently so customers get a consistent level of service and food quality regardless of the server is or who’s in the kitchen. The longer the restaurant operates without a documented way of doing business, the longer the restaurant stays stuck in the often unorganized and do-what-it-takes and difficult startup phase.
   
5. Owner fails to function like an owner. Instead, the owner functions like a just another employee and ends up bussing tables, cooking in the kitchen and doing the books. Obviously this is often a necessity during the startup phase but eventually someone has to manage the business, not just run the restaurant.
   
   Managing the business includes activities like monitoring cash flow, analyzing the P&L, deciding about next month’s marketing activities, evaluating what’s working on the menu and other “strategic” functions to position the restaurant for future success. If the owner is constantly training employees or working the line, guess who’s managing the business? Nobody.
   
6. Having the grand opening on opening day. You only have to do this once and you learn to wait a month or 2 to declare your grand opening. There are few things worse than getting slammed with more business that you can possibly handle on day one. With so many restaurants, the public’s first impression can easily be their last.
   
   Blow it on opening day and chances are you won’t see most of those people again, ever. And they’ll tell their friends to stay away too. Soft, quiet openings are the way to go. Get your act together before you tell the world.
   
7. Focusing too much on what you like. What you like doesn’t matter, because you are not the customer. What matters is what your customers like. Find out what people in your area want and the price they’re willing to pay for it. Go to existing restaurants and find out what people are buying. Take formal or informal surveys, conduct focus groups, anything to get a sense of what people in your area are hungry for that they currently can’t get in your market area and what they’re willing to pay for it. Too many new restaurant concepts miss the mark by not analyzing what people want in their local market.
   
8. Deciding on a concept, then finding a location. Restaurant industry legend Phil Romono, whose biggest creations are Fuddruckers and Macaroni Grill (both national chains now) says that’s a mistake. Don’t marry yourself to a concept. Find a location in a good market with adequate parking, access, visibility and other positive traits, then determine what the local market wants that it can’t get and find a way to satisfy that unfilled desire.
   
9. Accepting a secondary location to save on rent. Don’t be too sure that your restaurant is going to be so exceptional that customers will go out of their way to find you. With all the restaurants there are today, chances are they won’t. High visibility and convenient access are more critical today than ever. Saving money on rent in a poor location often results in spending all that and more on advertising in an attempt to get noticed and bring in more business.
   
10. Trying to appeal to everyone. You can’t and if you try you’ll end up with too may items on the menu, an overly complicated kitchen, confused customers and no unique identity in the marketplace. The key to success for today’s independents is to identify an unfilled niche in your local market and being laser-beam focused on filling that particular slice of the market. This will give you a much better chance to become really good at whatever it is you do.

Essence of Leadership

A leader is an agent of change, and progress is about change. In the words of Robert F Kennedy, 'Progress is a nice word; but change is its motivator.'

Leadership is about raising the aspirations of followers and enthusing people with a desire to reach for the stars. For instance, Mahatma Gandhi created a vision for independence in India and raised the aspirations of our people.

Leadership is about making people say, 'I will walk on water for you.' It is about creating a worthy dream and helping people achieve it.

Robert Kennedy, summed up leadership best when he said, 'Others see things as they are and wonder why; I see them as they are not and say why not?'

Adversity

A leader has to raise the confidence of followers. He should make them understand that tough times are part of life and that they will come out better at the end of it. He has to sustain their hope, and their energy levels to handle the difficult days.

There is no better example of this than Winston Churchill. His courageous leadership as prime minister for Great Britain successfully led the British people from the brink of defeat during World War II. He raised his people's hopes with the words, 'These are not dark days; these are great days -- the greatest days our country has ever lived.'

Never is strong leadership more needed than in a crisis. In the words of Seneca, the Greek philosopher, 'Fire is the test of gold; adversity, of strong men.'

Values

The leader has to create hope. He has to create a plausible story about a better future for the organisation: everyone should be able to see the rainbow and catch a part of it.

This requires creating trust in people. And to create trust, the leader has to subscribe to a value system: a protocol for behavior that enhances the confidence, commitment and enthusiasm of the people.

Compliance to a value system creates the environment for people to have high aspirations, self esteem, belief in fundamental values, confidence in the future and the enthusiasm necessary to take up apparently difficult tasks. Leaders have to walk the talk and demonstrate their commitment to a value system.

As Mahatma Gandhi said, 'We must become the change we want to see in the world.' Leaders have to prove their belief in sacrifice and hard work. Such behavior will enthuse the employees to make bigger sacrifices. It will help win the team's confidence, help leaders become credible, and help create trust in their ideas.

Enhancing trust

Trust and confidence can only exist where there is a premium on transparency. The leader has to create an environment where each person feels secure enough to be able to disclose his or her mistakes, and resolves to improve.

Investors respect such organisations. Investors understand that the business will have good times and bad times. What they want you to do is to level with them at all times. They want you to disclose bad news on a proactive basis. At Infosys, our philosophy has always been, 'When in doubt, disclose.'

Governance

Good corporate governance is about maximising shareholder value on a sustainable basis while ensuring fairness to all stakeholders: customers, vendor-partners, investors, employees, government and society.

A successful organisation tides over many downturns. The best index of success is its longevity. This is predicated on adhering to the finest levels of corporate governance.

At Infosys, we have consistently adopted transparency and disclosure standards even before law mandated it. In 1995, Infosys suffered losses in the secondary market. Under Indian GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles), we were not required to make this information public. Nevertheless, we published this information in our annual report.

Fearless environment

Transparency about the organisation's operations should be accompanied by an open environment inside the organisation. You have to create an environment where any employee can disagree with you without fear of reprisal.

In such a case, everyone makes suggestions for the common good. In the end everyone will be better off.

On the other hand, at Enron, the CFO was running an empire where people were afraid to speak. In some other cases, the whistle blowers have been harassed and thrown out of the company.

Managerial remuneration

We have gone towards excessive salaries and options for senior management staff. At one company, the CEO's employment contract not only set out the model of the Mercedes the company would buy him, but also promised a monthly first-class air ticket for his mother, along with a cash bonus of $10 million and other benefits.

Not surprisingly, this company has already filed for bankruptcy.

Managerial remuneration should be based on three principles:

• Fairness with respect to the compensation of other employees;
• Transparency with respect to shareholders and employees;
• Accountability with respect to linking compensation with corporate performance.

Thus, the compensation should have a fixed component and a variable component. The variable component should be linked to achieving long-term objectives of the firm. Senior management should swim or sink with the fortunes of the company.

Senior management compensation should be reviewed by the compensation committee of the board, which should consist only of independent directors. Further, this should be approved by the shareholders.

I've been asked, 'How can I ask for limits on senior management compensation when I have made millions myself?' A fair question with a straightforward answer: two systems are at play here. One is that of the promoter, the risk taker and the capital markets; and the other is that of professional management and compensation structures.

One cannot mix these two distinct systems, otherwise entrepreneurship will be stifled, and no new companies will come up, no progress can take place. At the same time, there has to be fairness in compensation: there cannot be huge differences between the top most and the bottom rung of the ladder within an organisation.

PSPD model

A well run organisation embraces and practices a sound Predictability-Sustainability-Profitability-Derisking (we call this the PSPD model at Infosys) model. Indeed, the long-term success of an organisation depends on having a model that scales up profitably.

Further, every organisation must have a good derisking approach that recognises, measures and mitigates risk along every dimension.

Integrity

Strong leadership in adverse times helps win the trust of the stakeholders, making it more likely that they will stand by you in your hour of need. As leaders who dream of growth and progress, integrity is your most wanted attribute.

Lead your teams to fight for the truth and never compromise on your values. I am confident that our corporate leaders, through honest and desirable behaviour, will reap long-term benefits for their stakeholders.

Two mottos

In conclusion, keep in mind two Sanskrit sentences: Sathyannasti Paro Dharma (there is no dharma greater than adherence to truth); and Satyameva jayate (truth alone triumphs). Let these be your motto for good corporate leadership.

The author is Chairman and Chief Mentor, Infosys Technologies.

Wedding Planner

How much should you spend on your wedding?

t is one of�the most memorable and most important days�of your life.

No one is blaming you for wanting it to be absolutely perfect.

But that does not mean you blow up all your savings and take a loan to make it happen.

Whether your wedding is a few weeks�or a few months�or a year away, you have got to start with two things:�pen and�paper. Now you can draw up a plan and a budget.

Let's start, shall we?

The first step to "I do"...

The key is to start with a budget. Once you have that in hand, you will be able to determine how many people you can invite, where the venue should be, the type of invitations to design as well as all the other expenses.

Everything flows from the budget.

If you work the other way round, you could end up throwing the bash of a lifetime which will set you back by at least Rs 15 lakh. If that's what you want (and can afford),�great.

If not, let's get started on those figures.

How much can you cough up?

These questions should help you find the answer:

1. What are your�savings�(please don't wipe them clean)?

2. Will�you be�taking a loan (either from�family or a personal loan from a bank)?

3. Are you planning on selling your shares to finance the wedding?

4. Are any fixed deposits maturing?

5. Do you expect to get a lot of cash as wedding gifts which can offset the payments?

6. Are your parents paying for it or do you have to spend for it out of your pocket?

7. Are the costs going to be split between the two families? If yes, is it going to be equally divided or will it be based on the number of people invited by each side?�

What will you be spending on?

1. How many guests do you plan to invite?

You may want 200 guests. Your spouse-to-be is looking at�400 as a more likely figure. Your finances say 150.

Don't fight.

Start by listing�all the names of close family, far and near relatives, friends, acquaintances, neighbours and office colleagues.
It is only when�you have all these names down in front of you that you can�decide which ones to eliminate and which ones are a must. Which families will only have the couple invited and which ones will have the kids too.

2. The venue

The venue is a very�important aspect of a wedding and can be a big�bone of contention.

It�should be decided upon after you come up with a guest list. If it is a small wedding, you need not book a huge ground or hall.

When you have it in a hotel, you will be given a per person quote. This will include the food, beverages, rentals and taxes and could�start from Rs 600 upwards. This, of course, will never�include the cost of liquor, which�is always given separately.

If you have not chosen a hotel as your venue,�you will have to pay separately for the grounds/ hall and the catering.

Very few venues have the option of paying for the rent of space and then getting your own decorator or caterer. What many of them do have is an affiliated�caterer and�decorator. You have take the entire package deal.

The venue itself will�set you back by thousands, depending on how large the grounds are and where they are located.

3. The d�cor

A majority of banquet venues have a monopoly of decorators working with them. Your choice, thus, is�quite minimal.

Decor is becoming more and more extravagant at weddings and starts from Rs 50,000 upwards.

4. The entertainment

Entertainment in the form of a live�band, recorded music, a DJ or even dancers based on your theme could start�from Rs 25,000 upwards.

5. The invitation cards

Once the venue, the�number of guests and the wedding date is fixed, get cracking on the cards.

This is the first impression a guest will have of your wedding, so�give careful thought to its design.

You could even take the help of a designer who will design the invites to your taste.�S/ he will also�create your�other wedding stationery like thank you notes. They can all have a common colour theme or a design.

Designer cards start from Rs 50 upwards.

6. Your beauty regimen

The toughest thing to budget for is�personal grooming.

For the bride

How much are you willing to spend on your outfit and jewellery?�

Make-up and hair styling�could start at Rs 6,500 onwards. Not to mention the pampering one can do at a salon before the final day.

Bridal mehendi starts at a good Rs 2,500 and can go up to Rs 10,000 and even more, based on the amount applied and the kind of designs incorporated.

Over to the groom

First of all, there is your grooming at the salon.

Then, the bandwala with the ghodi (mare) for the procession will charge Rs 6,000 to 8,000 onwards.

7. The pandit

A pandit normally doesn't ask for a fee. That is to say, he will accept whatever is given to him.

Normally, they would receive between Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,000.

8. Your wedding car

What will you be driving in?�

Are you hiring a Mercedes Benz?�

Will you also be hiring cars for the rest of the family?

9. The photographer/ videographer

It is vital to choose your wedding photographer after having seen some of their work.

Photographers usually charge per roll of film used, in which they include their fee as well. This could vary from Rs 1,500 upwards.

Videographers charge on an hourly basis from Rs 6,000 to 8,000 per session of four to six hours on an average.

10.�The list goes on...

Don't forget to�look at other aspects that could cost you.

Are you planning an elaborate trousseau?

Do you want to decorate your home either with lights or flowers?

Do you want to decorate your�car?

Do you have to provide accommodation for outstation guests?

What about transport for them?

Any elaborate pre-wedding functions -- like the mehendi, sangeet, haldi, bachelor's/ spinster's party -- in mind?

What about post-wedding ceremonies/ poojas?

Do the estimates compare well?

Visit at least four suppliers in each category. For instance, check out at least four venues, four photographers and so on. This will give you a broad indication of what the market rates are.

Make sure that when they give you a price, you are aware of what is included. This way,�you won't think�Rs 500 per head is much better than Rs 700 per head for food only to realise later that beverages and a more elaborate menu were included in the latter.�

How must you tailor your budget?

Once you draw up your�list of expenses, don't panic if it is way above what you can afford.

Prioritise them.

This will enable you to figure out what you can compromise on and what you will not compromise on.

Maybe you are not willing to let go of the fabulous location (the venue is just too romantic!) but are more than willing to make your wedding very exclusive (the guest list can be slaughtered!).

Or, maybe, you want to spend more on the exclusive designer outfit than the entertainment.

Fine. It's your day after all.

Keep reviewing your budget. If you have gone a little overboard with the menu,�you may�have to cut down on the d�cor.

Ultimately, you will have to figure out where you can pinch rupees without sacrificing your vision.

Be organised

Keep a file with all the quotes, contracts, agreements, vouchers and�bills.

Make note of the cheques you issue. Note down the details: to whom, how much, the cheque number, the date.

If you are making payments in�cash, keep the signed vouchers safely.

In the excitement of the wedding, you don't want to be running all over the place looking for receipts.�