Nick's Blog

Blog on Mr. U.N. Mehta’s Life

2009-12-22T06:36:00.003-05:00

Several of my past blogs have been devoted to pay tribute to the people who have devoted their entire life providing humanitarian services. There may be thousands and thousands of such people, but my concentration will be only for the people I have known, or heard about, providing such services for a number of years. I intend to cover activities which could help hundreds or thousands of people who may not have known about these individuals or services provided by them.

In the 1^st Humanitarian Services blog, I covered services provided by Mr. Ramesh Shah and his wife Dr. Jayaben Shah. The 2^nd blog was devoted to the services provided by Dr. N.K. Shah of London, UK. The 3^rd blog was devoted to the services provided, not by only one individual but, by a group of dedicated doctors who have been providing much needed care for hundreds of people every year. The 4^th blog was devoted to the services provided by Dr. Ashwin Pandya and his late wife Dr. Anjuben Pandya. This blog covers life stories of Mr. U. N. Mehta, founder of Torrent Pharmaceuticals.

Mr. U. N. Mehta’s (Hereafter referred to as Mehta) life story is so intriguing that I decided to divide this blog in two parts. In this first blog I will give some highlights of his life and the second blog will cover humanitarian services provided by him and continued by his family members after his death.

Mehta was a very enterprising individual. His life journey passed through a series of ups and downs. As you read through the following, I am sure you would not believe that one person can pass through such ups and downs and still create unimaginable history in the Indian pharmaceutical industry, diversify in to various fields, and gain a strong foothold in many parts of the world. I would strongly recommend you to analyze how such success could be achieved by a person who fought through life and death scenarios all through his life.

Mehta was born (Birth date- Jan. 14, 1924) and raised in a small village called Mahemadpur (approximately 10 miles from Palanpur, Gujarat, India). His mother passed away when he was only one and a half years old. Mehta was a brilliant student right from childhood. However, coming from a poor family, he had to pass through many hardships to go through primary, secondary and higher education. Despite many road blocks he graduated with a B.Sc. degree from Wilson College in Bombay. He scored very high in chemistry. He used this strength in chemistry to shape his future life.

Kumarpal Desai has written a wonderful book on Mehta’s life. A 235 page hard covered book covers vivid details of Mehta’s life. He went through ups and downs all along, but at the end he was able to attain his goal. This blog will cover only a fraction of the highlights of his life.

After completing his education, Mehta initially took up temporary jobs at a very low salary. He could not make a living on this salary, so he cut corners where ever he could. He ate in lodges where they served very inferior quality food. This affected his digestive system. At the age of 20 he suffered from diarrhea after which digestion related problems lingered with him the rest of his life.

He kept searching for a good job. He approached several local and European companies for an interview, but wasn’t successful. One day he went to a world famous pharmaceutical company, Sandoz. After waiting for a long time he was able to meet their managing director Mr. Sindhal. During the interview Mehta was drilled with several pertinent questions. He was also asked if he was familiar with the city of Ahmadabad. Even though he had not seen that city and was not familiar with what went on in that city, he showed confidence in handling work. Mr. Sindhal was impressed with the answers Mehta provided and asked him to start work at Sandoz. At this point Mehta did not know whether it was a reality or a dream. Sindhal offered him a job with a salary of 235 rupees (approximately $ 50 at present exchange rate) per month including expenses. Today we may feel it was a very poor salary, but at the time it was impossible to get such a job without influence.

Sandoz had just introduced an injection in place of a tablet which was being used to treat tuberculosis. Mehta’s job was to meet doctors in different parts of Gujarat State to introduce this injection. For this work, he had to travel days and nights in various parts of the state. He travelled for days by train, bus, camel, bicycle and even by foot, from one corner of the state to the other. During these travels, many a times he would not get proper food or sleep; however he did not give up and kept on working. There were occasions when he was on the road for over two months. Even though his health suffered, he was very successful in promoting Sandoz’s injection in the market.

One time while travelling through the city of Bhavnagar he came down with a severe cold. He went to see a doctor who gave him several tablets and told him these tablets will take care of the cold immediately. To his surprise he got rid of his cold quickly. When he returned to that city again he went to see the doctor and told him that the medication he gave was very effective in getting rid of his cold quickly. He asked him the name of the tablets he had given him. Doctor reluctantly told him that he had given him Amphetamine tablets. This tablet was like a magic pill. As soon as he took this tablet he felt fresh and energetic. He got hooked on this tablet and started taking a quarter or half a pill every day to enable him to work long hours. As soon as the effect of the pill wore off he became very quiet. Prolonged use of this pill had a bad effect on his health. He just continued to convince himself that there was no harm in taking a small dose of this medication. This tablet, in the long run, created a lot of problems for him and his family. His family tried hard to keep him away from these pills, but could not succeed.

He worked for Sandoz for 15 years and made tremendous progress for the company. His continued use of amphetamine tablets finally affected his work and the company appointed a supervisor to look after his work. He asked himself how could a company, for which he had worked day and night and sacrificed his health and family life for, think of doing this. Mehta did not appreciate this and wanted to quit. One of his doctor friends advised him not to resign and ask for a leave of absence instead. He presented his case to the company to take a leave of absence, but the company turned around and asked him to report to a different city. Mehta did not like the approach the company took and he quit the service. At that point he decided that he was not going to work for anyone else and decided to work for himself.

He started researching several fields to decide which field to enter into. After talking to several pharmacists, doctors and conducting his own research he decided to make two separate medicines: Tinipayrin for arthritis and Tinispazmin for stomach ache. Not having enough money to manufacture these drugs, he struggled to bring these drugs to the market. A lot of people praised these medicines; but the shortage of money and having poor health, made it very difficult to promote these medicines. Everyone who knew him had lost confidence in him by this time. Poor health and the addiction to amphetamines did not help either. This episode lasted for about seven years. People who followed him decided that even though he was educated, he did not have any business sense.

But nothing deterred Mehta from pursuing his dream. He kept on working day and night thinking of the right medicine to bring to the market. He had spent all the money he could get his hands on. Finally to cut down costs, a good friend recommended moving his family to a small, nearby, family home town Chhapi (approximately 50 miles from Ahmadabad). Even though Mehta was against it, his family convinced him to shift to Chhapi. During all these difficulties, his wife Sardaben stood by him and made sure her two daughters and two sons got a good education.

Mehta did not lose confidence in him and kept on promoting the medicines he had put out in the market. After repeated contacts and persistence, several doctors started giving him small orders. Many of these doctors were really impressed with Mehta’s approach, persistence and manner in which he handled his job.

Mehta started visiting doctors all over the Gujarat State carrying a heavy load of medical samples. At times, he even traveled over 100 kilometers a day by train, bus and camel. One by one he started giving up to one thousand pills, as a sample, to the doctors he visited. He even paid attention to what every doctor liked and took with him small token gift items of interest to them. In return for his hard work, he started getting small orders which gave him encouragement to continue working.

One time he asked a close friend Dr. K. H. Mehta if he could get introduced to a District Health Officer. Dr. K. H. Mehta took him to see the health officer who was impressed by Mehta and in turn introduced him to Banaskantha Medical Officers Association. This opened up a new source of contacts. In the meantime he got permission to manufacture drugs on loan license in Bombay. Because of his poor health, travelling to Bombay was getting difficult for him. Slowly his business started improving but his health deteriorated even further. One of his friends Jesingbhai joined him in a partnership in order to help out. After travelling to Bombay several times and not seeing enough prospects, Jesingbhai decided to leave the partnership too. Even after leaving, Jesingbhai did not give up helping Mehta.

In his brother-in-law’s office Mehta established an office by the name Trinity. Mehta started visiting doctors in distant villages, wearing pants, a shirt and tie. Doctors were really impressed by seeing a well dressed company representative visiting them. Doctors started liking Trinity medicines. Slowly he started manufacturing vitamins and other type of pills by the name Trinipayrin, Irgapayrin and Trinihamin. His medicines were priced at fifty percent less than the price of comparable foreign medicines. His medicines started getting recognition in the market. Several doctors from Ahmadabad started giving him big orders.

Through research, he found out that there was a tremendous markup in prescription drugs and those drugs had captured a big market share. He devoted all of his energy in researching this field. To attract a large pool of poor people in India, he started offering prescription drugs in the market at a very low price.

Now that the business was improving and he had also overcome his amphetamine addiction, he started concentrating on the business. His wife and he together decided to move back to Ahmadabad to promote his business. He rented a small 14 feet by 10 feet room. His wife helped him package his medicines which doctors from Visnagar, Patan and Ahmadabad started prescribing. The business started to expand and he rented a small place for his factory. The very same day he contracted for the factory space, a businessman from Madras filed a claim against him for violation of their trade name. This created another problem. Now in order to defend his case he had to hire a lawyer. Even with his ill health, every two weeks he traveled to Madras along with his lawyer. After a long battle in 1975, both companies got exhausted and together decided to settle the case when Mehta agreed to change Trinity name to Torrent. Now Mehta had to start advertising the Torrent name in place of well recognized Trinity name.

Mehta kept on reading about various medications and became successful in bringing out newer medications which no one else had. His company’s name started getting recognition in the Indian market.

Two of his tablets Trinibiyam and Trinispazmin also started selling in the market. One doctor from Ahmadabad was so happy with these medicines that he ordered 200,000 tablets. In 1970, in competition with a French firm, Mehta also put out a new pill named Trinicam tablet for psychotic disorders, which included paranoid schizophrenia. This tablet was priced at one third the cost of a similar drug from a French firm. This move gave his firm a name for psychic drugs in the market. Previously he had to visit all the doctors to promote his business. Now with the specialization in psychic drugs, he had to visit only specialists for mental disorders. Trinicam was very effective, but had a side effect which made the body to shake. To stop this side effect doctors were prescribing another pill named Pesitan along with Trinicam. Patients had to take two tablets which increased the cost.

By extensive research Mehta figured out the composition for Pesitan and made a pill that included both the medicines and named it Trinicam Plus. Trinicam plus came in the market in the year 1972. Within a year its sale increased fourfold. In 1973-1974 sales increased to 780,000 rupees. In 1974-75 sales reached to 1,100,000 rupees. Just about this time his older son Sudhir joined the company after finishing his education. It is hard to even imagine the success Mehta achieved in the following years. This Trinicam plus tablet changed his fortune. This was the beginning of good days for Torrent. Trinicam plus became well known all over India. He did not stop there. One after the other he put out medications to treat various diseases. His marketing skill was superb. He started visiting most famous doctors in various states. One by one he convinced these doctors to write prescriptions for his medications. His medicines gained ground in various states.

His life took another turn at the time he started becoming very successful. In 1977 his health started deteriorating further. He met several well known doctors. Some said he had tuberculosis and some said he had hodgkin's disease. Tata Hospital in Bombay called it a type of cancer which is first of a kind disease in India. Mehta wrote over 250 letters to well known doctors and hospitals all over the world. Along with the letter he sent slides prepared by his doctors as reference. Some doctors even told him that he had six months to live. But Mehta did not give up hope. Upon receipt of Mehta’s letter New England Journal of Medicine replied back indicating that there are two well renowned specialists for his disease in Los Angeles and their names are Robert Luks and Henry Rapa Port. Soon after he found out that Henry Rapa Port was coming to Tata Hospital in Bombay for only six hours. Mehta thought this was a miracle. He contacted all his acquaintances at Tata Hospital and made sure he was able to meet this well known doctor. Incidentally, just before going to Bombay he got a telegram from Rapa Port asking him to see him in Bombay. All the doctors at Tata Hospital were surprised to find out that such a well known doctor had sent a telegram to Mehta. Rapa Port, after thorough examination, also agreed that he had a unique type of cancer and recommended him to visit America. Soon after he came down with Jaundice and did not have any hope to recover. But to everyone’s, surprise he recovered within a month and after some time went to America to visit these famous doctors. It is hard to believe but these famous doctors spent days to examine Mehta’s condition.

From 1977 to 1992 his cancer condition was in remission. In 1992, when he went to Bombay to attend a wedding at a relative’s house, he got some tests done and found out that multiple cancerous lymph nodes had shown up again. In his life time, he had gone through all kind of illnesses, but nothing kept him down from achieving his goal. Even though day by day his health was deteriorating he did not leave anything unfinished. One by one he had appointed his sons and other capable people to handle each and every activity of the company. By this time Torrent had branched into many other fields and had established business ventures along with the state government. This unusual person passed away on 31^st of March, 1998. During his life time he was involved in lot of charitable activities. Because there are so many charitable activities to cover this entire topic will be covered in a separate blog.

Today over and above extensive investments in India Torrent Pharma has wholly owned subsidiaries in Brazil, Germany, Philippines, Russia, Japan, Mexico, Australia and USA. It has a modern and well-equipped state-of-the –art R&D Centre, built with an initial investment of US $40 million and manned by more than 630 highly qualified scientists. In the International operations arena, Torrent Pharmaceutical exports to more than 50 countries around the world with over 1000 products. Torrent Power, the power brand of the Torrent Group, is one of the leading power utilities in India with an integrated presence in the entire value chain of the power business viz. generation, transmission and distribution. It has a generation capacity of 1647 MW and distributes power to over 2 million customers in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat and Bhiwandi in Western India. In the year 2008-09, the Group recorded a turnover of USD 1.41 billion of which Torrent Pharma constituted $363 million and Torrent Power constituted USD 1.02 billion.

Mehta and his family have spent millions of dollars for charitable activities. Details of this charitable work will be covered in the future blog.

My future blogs will cover the humanitarian services provided by the following individuals. They are not listed in any particular order.

1. Dr. Rajanibhai Shah, who built a one of a kind Jain-Temple and a community facility in Queens, NY

2. Details of Mr. U.N. Mehta and his family’s charitable activities.

3. Health Fair conducted in Cleveland, Ohio on Sept. 13, 2009. Dr. Harish Gatha was the chairperson of this event.

If you know about other such individuals please let me know. My telephone number is 516-705-8758. You can view my blogs by clicking either http://www.nickshelpinghand.com/ or http://nickshahblog.blogspot.com/. My email address is: nshah@optonline.net.

For further details about Torrent pharmaceuticals visit- http://www.torrentpharma.com/

Humanitarian Services- Blog #4

2009-10-12T09:24:00.000-04:00

Several of my past blogs have been devoted to pay tribute to the people who have devoted their entire life providing humanitarian services. There may be thousands and thousands of such people, but my concentration will be only for the people I have known, or heard about, providing such services for a number of years. I intend to cover only those activities which could help hundreds or thousands of people who may not have known about these individuals or services provided by them.

In the 1^st Humanitarian Services blog I covered services provided by Mr. Ramesh Shah and his wife Dr. Jayaben Shah. 2^nd blog was devoted to the services provided by Dr. N.K. Shah of London, UK. 3^rd blog was devoted to the services provided, not by only one individual but, by a group of dedicated doctors who have been providing much needed care for hundreds of people every year. In this blog I plan to write about another dedicated couple Dr. Ashwin Pandya and his late wife Dr. Anjuben Pandya (here after referred to as Pandyas). Anjuben passed away on November 2, 2006. Up until the end Anjuben was right next to her husband every step of the way.

Pandyas are involved in a variety of humanitarian services. In this article I will cover some of those dedicated services.

In 1960’s, Pandyas graduated with M.B.B.S. Degree from B.J. Medical College in Ahmedabad. Soon after graduation they decided to move to USA. To complete his residency in Child Psychiatry Dr. Pandya moved to Utica Psychiatric Center in Utica, NY.

Seeds to help people were implanted in him from his early childhood. His father was born in a small town in India. He believed in education and graduated with a law degree. In 1930’s he took a group of Boy Scouts to England. In his home town Dahod he joined a charitable organization to help lower class ‘Bhil’ community. As a freedom- fighter he fought for independence of India to aid Mahatma Gandhi. For his freedom-fighter activity, on several occasions, he was locked up in jail along with Mr. Morarji Desai, Past Prime Minister of India. His mother fought to eliminate the use of alcohol (Daru Bandhi satyagrah) and the problems it created among poor people of India. She was also arrested on several occasions and released after a temporary stay.

Dr. Pandya served his new country for two years in the U.S. Army Medical Corps.

At Brooks Army Medical Center, he held the positions of Chief of Psychiatry and Lieutenant Colonel. At Brooks, he treated soldiers returning from Vietnam by providing psychiatric services. This service provided him a great deal of satisfaction.

At Creedmoor Psychiatric Center where he worked for more than 30 years, holding several responsible positions including specialized unit for mentally ill with criminal history. At the Bronx Alcoholism Treatment Center he provided services for substance abuse and related problems through psychiatric assessment and delineating treatment.

The Pandyas were founding -members of American Association of Psychiatrists from India. Dr. Pandya served as president and treasurer of that association. Mrs. Pandya handled most needed managerial duties. Pandyas were active participants in Nav Nirman Foundation for a period of 10 years. This is where they provided services to battered women and treated patients suffering from alcohol abuse.

The Pandyas were also the founding- members of ‘Indo--American Senior Citizen Center of New York’. Mrs. Pandya was on the Board of Director for a period of 5 years and Dr. Pandya has been very active since the inception in 1995. Since 1989, the Pandyas, along with several other well- known physicians, has organized and participated in an annual Health- Fair in New York. During this fair, hundreds of patients are provided free of charge service for a variety of ailment.

Anyone who has come in contact with Pandyas knows full well that the door to their home is always open to give help to anyone who needed it. To help start, and to control cost, several initial meetings of senor citizens were arranged at the Panyas residence.

After meeting with many older, retired seniors from India, the Pandyas saw a need to start a new senior program. For these older Indians, who left their social and professional life behind in India, and with limited opportunities or ability to interact in this country, America was “a golden cage”. The goal was to make a comforting place that these people would have to socialize and to end their social isolation. Programs started in 1995 at Gujarati Samaj Hall, and after a short break have continued at Vaishnav Temple until today. Sixty to eighty people meet there twice a month, giving them a place to meet with their peers and connect. Based on this experience, Dr. Pandya has enabled several other senior programs in the tri-state area. In Long Island senior programs are taking place in both the counties of Nassau and Suffolk.

If you desire to start any humanitarian service, I am certain that Dr. Pandya may be able to guide you in the right direction. Do not procrastinate. Pick out any area you can provide services in, and get the full satisfaction in providing services to a mankind. It does not matter which area you are willing to provide services in. If nothing else make sure to at least get five of your friends involved in providing humanitarian services.

My future blogs will cover the humanitarian services provided by the following individuals. They are not listed in any particular order.

1. Dr. Rajanibhai Shah, who built a one of a kind Jain-Temple and a community facility in Queens, NY

2. Mr. U.N. Mehta, founder of world famous “Torrent Pharmaceuticals” and various other industries in Ahmadabad, India. Mr. U.N. Mehta passed away in 1998, but his wife Sardaben, son Sudhirbhai and the other family members have continued tremendous contributions in providing humanitarian services.

3. Health Fair conducted in Cleveland, Ohio on Sept. 13, 2009. Dr. Harish Gatha was the chairperson of this event.

If you know about other such individuals please let me know. Before you mention their name make sure they have helped thousands of people with their dedicated service.

My telephone number is 516-705-8758. You can view my blogs by clicking either http://www.nickshelpinghand.com/ or http://nickshahblog.blogspot.com/. My email address isnshah@optonline.net.

Dr. Pandya could be contacted at: apandya880@yahoo.com

Free Swine Flu Shot

2009-10-12T07:17:00.001-04:00

While talking to Dr. Kirit Dharia I came to know that they have arranged for a free Swine Flu Shot to be given at Guajarati Samaj Hall. He also told me to contact Dr. Ashwin Pandya for a flyer with all the details. Even before I contacted Dr. Pandya, he had already emailed flyer to all of the friends. I must say that Dr. Pandya is very punctual in keeping all of his friends informed. Here is the information about the Swine Flu Shot.

Gujarati Samaj of New York

And

Kirit Dharia M.D.

Chairman of Health committee

Has arranged

Through New York Hospital Staff

Swine Flu Vaccination

(Free)

On October 28, 2009, Wednesday

From 2 PM. To 7 PM

No registration or phone call necessary

We expect to provide this free Vaccination hundreds of people.

It is on First come first serve basis, so come early

If you need additional information you can send an email to Dr. Pandya at apandya880@yahoo.com

My telephone number is 516-705-8758. You can view my blogs by clicking either http://www.nickshelpinghand.com/ or http://nickshahblog.blogspot.com/. My email address is nshah@optonline.net.

Follow up Blog on Humanitarian Services- Blog #3

2009-10-06T09:49:00.001-04:00

This blog is to explain the results of the “Health Awareness Expo” which took place in New York on September 13, 2009. On the very same day a similar event took place in Cleveland, Ohio. I am sure other cities may be holding such events some other times during the year. I would love to find out if any one knows about such events in other cities.

Along with my wife Kanta I visited this event which took place at Gujarati Samaj located in Queens, New York. I was impressed with the organized effort required in conducting such an event. I congratulate all the physicians and volunteers including the chairman of the event Dr. Kirit Dharia for conducting such a smooth operation. More than 300 people attended the event on Sunday and additional 50 took mammography test on the following Tuesday.

A continental breakfast and an appetizing lunch were provided during the event. Volunteers were extremely busy at the booths conducting blood tests and EKG’s. Some of the other booths providing equally needed care were: dental, social service, yoga, diet, allergy, GYN, eye, blood pressure and several other services.

A Health Education Seminar moderated by Dr. Chandravadan Shah during the noon hour was well attended and was well received. Dr. Charu Sharma spoke on hypertension and heart attacks. Dr. Nilesh Soni spoke on arthritis and exercise. He also got the seminar attendees involved in the exercises. Dr. Chandravadan Shah spoke on diabetes and obesity. These subjects were of utmost importance to the elderly who were the majority of all the attendees.

Details about the health fair conducted in Cleveland, Ohio will be covered in the future blog. This health fair used some innovative ideas to attract people. Make sure to read contents of this blog to get some fresh ideas.

If you desire to start such humanitarian service, I am certain that above mentioned dedicated doctors may be able to guide you in the right direction. Do not procrastinate. Pick out any area you can provide services in, and get the full satisfaction in providing services to a mankind.

My future blogs will cover the humanitarian services provided by the following individuals. They are not listed in any particular

1. Dr. Ashwin Pandya and his deceased wife Dr. Anjuben Pandya

2. Dr. Rajanibhai Shah who provided funds and services to build a Jain Temple and a community facility in Queens, NY (one of the five boroughs of New York City).

3. Mr. U.N. Mehta, founder of world famous “Torrent Pharmaceuticals” and various other industries in Ahmadabad, India. Mr. U.N. Mehta passed away in 1998, but his wife Sardaben, son Sudhirbhai and the other family members have continued tremendous contributions in providing humanitarian services.

4. Health Fair conducted in Cleveland, Ohio on Sept. 13, 2009. Dr. Harish Gatha was the chairperson of this event.

If you know about other such individuals please let me know. Please make sure your introduction is very short. My telephone number is 516-705-8758. Address of this blog is nickshahblog.blogspot.com and my email address is nshah@optonline.net

Humanitarian Services- Blog # 3

2009-08-27T07:31:00.002-04:00

Humanitarian Services- Blog #3

Several of my past blogs have been devoted to pay tribute to the people who have devoted their entire life providing humanitarian services. There may be thousands of such people, however my concentration will be only on the people I have known, or heard about, providing such services for a number of years. I intend to cover only those activities which could help hundreds or thousands of people who may not have known about these individuals or services provided by them.

In the 1^st Humanitarian Services blog I covered services provided by Mr. Ramesh Shah and his wife Dr. Jayaben Shah. The 2^nd blog was devoted to the services provided by Dr. N.K. Shah of London, UK. In this blog I will cover services provided, not by only one individual but, by a group of dedicated doctors who have been providing much needed care for hundreds of people every year.

In the beginning years this service offered by the group was known as “Health Fair”. It is currently known as “Health Awareness Expo”. This service started in the 1980’s. Please forgive me if, by mistake, I inadvertently omit any names of doctors or volunteers who participated in this service during the years it has been in operation. I could not get the full list of all the members who originated this service. Some of the physicians involved right from the beginning years are: Dr. Kirit Dharia (present chairman), Dr. Chandravadan C. Shah, Dr. Ashwin Pandya, Dr. Anjuben Pandya, Dr. Thakor Rana, and Dr. Bhupendra Tolia.

This year the Expo is going to be held on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009 from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM at the address noted at the bottom of this article. Some of the tests conducted on site will be Blood Tests (8 hours prior fasting required), Mammograms (by prior telephone appointments only. Call Jyotindra Patel at 718-591-1398 for appointment), Eye Related Tests and Blood Pressure Readings. Various Seminars also will be conducted on subjects such as Hyper Tension & Heart Attack, Diabetes & Obesity, and Arthritis & Exercise.

You can also get information on subjects such as Cardiology, OB/GYN, Internal Medicine, Orthopedics, Oral Cancer, Podiatry, Surgery, Urology, Nutrition, Dentistry, Gastroenterology, Pulmonary, Allergy, Respiratory Therapy, Colorectal Screening, Yoga, Social Services, Health Insurance, Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Physical Therapy, Pain Management and Prostate Cancer Screening. All the above services are provided free of charge. We should be thankful to all the physicians and management staff providing such valuable services year after year.

Present Health Committee Members include:

1. Dr. Kirit Dharia- Chairman (Surgeon)

2. Dr. Sunil Patel (Internist)

3. Dr. Chandravadan C Shah - Moderator of Seminars (Cardiologist)

4. Dr. Shyam Rao (E.R. Physician)

5. Dr. Jyoti Gandhi (Pediatrician)

6. Mr. R. D. Patel

7. Dr. Ashwin Pandya (psychiatrist)

8. Miss Jagruti Patel

9. Mr. Jyotindra Patel

10. Mr. Manikant Patel

11. Dr. Nilesh Soni (Physical Therapy)

12. Mr. Jatin Upadhyaya

I would also like to salute many Sponsors who have borne the costs of these Expos. Without their help this endeavor would not be possible:

1. New York Hospital of Queens

2. North Shore University Hospital at Forest Hills

3. American Italian Cancer Foundation

4. American Indian Dental Association

5. Enzo Clinical Labs

6. Friends of the Congressional Glaucoma Caucus Foundation

Can you imagine the impact it would have in the well being of people if other physicians in other cities started such operation to help out everyone who needed their help? Let us hope that the newly graduated and senior physicians join in starting such volunteer service in each and every city. This would help all of those who have neglected to get tested for medical care and also those who could not get such medical help because they could not afford medical insurance.

My future blogs will cover the humanitarian services provided by the following individuals. They are not listed in any particular order.

1. Dr. Ashwin Pandya and his deceased wife Dr. Anjuben Pandya

2. Dr. Rajanibhai Shah who provided funds and services to build a Jain Temple and a community facility in Queens, NY (one of the five boroughs of New York City).

3. Mr. U.N. Mehta, founder of world famous “Torrent Pharmaceuticals” and various other industries inAhmadabad, India. Mr. U.N. Mehta passed away in 1998, but his wife Sardaben, son Sudhirbhai and the other family members have continued tremendous contributions in providing humanitarian services.

Address where Health Expo will take place: Gujrati Samaj of New York, 173-15 Horace Harding Expressway, Fresh Meadows, NY 11365. For further information call 718-713-2170.

Humanitarian Services- Blog #2

2009-06-19T14:15:00.007-04:00

In the last blog I covered humanitarian services provided by Mr. Ramesh Shah and his wife Dr. Jaya Shah. Here I am going to cover different kinds of services provided by another distinguished individual Dr. Natubhai Shah (also known as Dr. N.K. Shah) from London, U.K. I have known Dr. Shah since my childhood. He happens to be my wife Kanta’s cousin brother.

Let me give you some background information about Dr. Shah (here after referred to as Shah). He practiced general medicine in India from 1957 to 1968 and in Leicester UK from 1968 to 1996. He retired in 1996 and moved to London to devote full time to promote Jain Religion, and bring Jain awareness and its values to the Western World. Before moving to London he left his mark in Leister by establishing a Jain Center, Jain Museum and a Jain Academy. Jain Center was the first of its kind in the Western World. Jain Center is a symbol of unity, has traditional architecture, museum and community facility that it is open to all. Shah found a creative way to get support from local community, a substantial grant from U.K. Government and support from Jains all over the World.

The center has become a place of pilgrimage for Jains, a major tourist attraction for the City of Leister and has been visited by many tourists and dignitaries, including the British Prime Minister John Major. The wider community also benefits from this Center as an educational and tourist resource.

After retirement Shah got his PhD in Jainism. Shah is the author of 2 outstanding volumes on Jainism. He has also written sections of Jainism in the Readers Digest World Religions, in the Times Encyclopedia of World Religions, and in the Philips Hand Book of World Religions. . He is also the Fellow in Jain Studies at University of Birmingham and School of Oriental and African Studies in London. He is the main force to start the Department of Jain Studies in Mumbai University and Faculty of Comparative Religions in Antwerp, Belgium.

He is recipient of many honors: in 1987 Vice president of India gave him an award in Delhi on behalf of Jain Mahasabha and in 2001 the Prime Minister of India awarded him the highest Jain award the ‘Jain Ratna’ for contribution in promoting Jain religion. He has been frequently invited at Buckingham Palace, including a private luncheon with the Queen in 2000. In 1990 he was honored as ‘An International Leader in Achievement’ by the Biographical Centre Cambridge UK and in 1991 was chosen as the ‘Man of the Year’ by the American Biographical Institute.

Apart from his community and academic activities he has involved himself in humanitarian activities to promote the Quality of Life and Human Dignity for the people. His main humanitarian works are very visible in Bihar and Gujarat India.

Over and above his outstanding achievements, one thing he has not lost is his focus on involving young people in each any every activity he gets involved in. In Leister Temple he added museum to educate and involve young people. It is very clear to him that youth of today and tomorrow is the only one who is going to carry on our message for the years to come. Addition of museum was also instrumental in securing grant from U.K. Government.

At present he is deeply involved in promoting a multi faith facility which will include separate worshiping areas for people of different religions. The facility will also include restaurants and entertainment facilities to attract youngsters. Shah is working on this concept to bring to a reality right in the middle of London. He has researched ways of acquiring government grant and subsidy from the developers.

Shah knows that nothing comes easy. He is working day and night to help youngsters from all walks of life. Even though his focus is on promoting Jain Religion, he never loses sight of helping people of all casts, creed, color or gender. He believes in the philosophy ‘the charity starts at home’ and always donates generously to whichever project he starts. He is the rare individual who is a leading community worker, academic and philanthropist

If you desire to start any humanitarian service, I am certain that Shah may be able to guide you in the right direction. Do not procrastinate. Pick out any area you can provide services in, and get the full satisfaction in providing services to a mankind.

My future blogs will cover the humanitarian services provided by the following individuals. They are not listed in any particular order.

1. Dr. Ashwin Pandya and his deceased wife Dr. Anjuben Pandya

2. Group of doctors who started health-fair and are providing free consultation services, to the people of all communities, at a pre-determined time during summer months

3. Dr. Rajanibhai Shah who built, a One of a kind, Jain Temple and a community facility in Queens, NY (one of the five boroughs of New York City).

4. Mr. U.N. Mehta, founder of world famous “Torrent Pharmaceuticals” and various other industries in Ahmadabad, India.

If you know about other such individuals please let me know. Before you mention their name make sure they have helped thousands of people with their dedicated service. Please make sure your introduction is very short. Do not send any attachments. My telephone number is 516-705-8758. Address of this blog is nickshahblog.blogspot.com and my email address is nick.m.shah@gmail.com

Dr. N.K. Shah could be contacted at: natubhaishah@aol.co.uk

Humanitarian Services- Blog #1

2009-06-08T07:17:00.009-04:00

Several future blogs will be devoted to pay tribute to the people who have devoted their entire life for providing humanitarian services. There may be thousands and thousands of such people, but I will write about only the people I have known, or heard about, providing such services for a number of years. I intend to cover only those activities which could help hundreds or thousands of people who may not have known about these individuals or services provided by them.

Today I am going to write about one such couple whom I have known for the last 55 years. This couple is involved in several different kinds of humanitarian services. In this article I will cover only one such activity. Other activities will be covered one by one in the future blogs. Mr. Ramesh Shah and Dr. Jaya Shah of Cleveland, Ohio is a unique couple providing humanitarian services for a number of years.

Let me give you a little background about these two individuals. Mr. Ramesh Shah is an electrical engineer. He graduated in 1959 being number one from V.J.T.I. in Mumbai. He got his masters degree from University of Illinois in 1960. He also got his Masters of Business Administration degree from Marquette University located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Dr. Jaya Shah graduated from Grand Medical College, University of Mumbai. She has practiced pediatrics in Cleveland, Ohio for a period of 36 years.

The topic which we are going to review here is “Medical Camps (also known as Medical yatra)”. These camps are arranged by Shah’s for the last 7 years. They started with a small group of doctors and now about 40 medical professionals & volunteers service these medical camps. These camps took place at Bidada, Kutch; Chennai, Tamil Nadu; Kochi, Kerala; Jamnagar, Gujrat; Balighat, Orissa; Mt. Abu, Rajasthan; Surat, Gujrat and several other locations. The purpose behind these camps is to provide free service to all the people in need. Hundreds of villagers come to these camps where medical doctors provide all kind of free services. Services cover: Infections, malnutrition, hyper tension, pneumonia, eye diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, anemia, thyroid and many water borne diseases. Services also include bone density and checking blood/sugar for diabetes. Free medications are also provided to treat these diseases.

For doctors there is a very good incentive to join these camps.

Their service could benefit hundreds of poor and needy villagers, save lot of lives and provide an economic and social benefit for them selves as a bonus. Trip can be tax deductible at the same time they can visit their parents or loved ones, attend a wedding or go on a tour to India. Can you imagine the kind of satisfaction you will get when the person getting this service gives you blessing and hugs you whole heartily? I am sure all of us want to do some charitable work, but do not know how to. Many a time we procrastinate and never do the work which we desire to do. Shah’s who have hands on experience will be able to help you or any of your doctor friends who have a desire to help others at the same time help themselves by taking a tax deductible trip. Make it a point to at least introduce this article to 5 of your doctor friends. Even if you do not join this camp you will get satisfaction if any one doctor, who you introduced, joins this camp.

LET ME SUMMARISE WHY YOU WOULD NOT WANT TO MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY

1. Tax deductible trip to India or the place where the camp is held

2. Visit parents, relatives or friends

3. Attend a wedding or any other occasion

4. Visit a pilgrimage or places of interest

5. Provide services to the needy people

6. Get the satisfaction by providing free services

7. Get the blessing from the people who got an eye sight or other medical help

8. Find out for yourself the pleasure of giving.

You can also arrange such camps in other countries too. Also you do not have to be from U.S.A. to join these camps. Many doctors from England, Canada and India have joined these groups from U.S.A.

“Hands that Help are Holier than Hands that Pray”- Vivekanand

In a near future I intend to write about another couple Dr. Ashwin Pandya and his deceased wife Dr. Anjuben Pandya from East Meadow, New York. Future blogs will also cover Dr. Natvar Shah (also known as Dr. N.K. Shah) from London, U.K. I will cover only those aspects of their life which directly or indirectly help to achieve the needs of thousand of people who are eager and waiting for such help. If you know about other such individuals please let me know. Before you mention their name make sure they have helped thousands of people with their dedicated service. Please make sure your introduction is very short. Do not send any attachments. My telephone number is 516-705-8758 and my email address is nick.m.shah@gmail.com

Please do not include my email address or Mr. Ramesh Shah’s email address in your general email group which you are sending to all of your friends. Mr. Ramesh Shah and Dr. Jaya Shah can be contacted at 440-460-1037. Their email address is jayashahmd@sbcglobal.net

How to Reduce Your Weight in Two Months

2009-05-12T07:20:00.014-04:00

Important note: I am not a doctor or a dietitian. Information provided here is from practical experience and individual research.

HOW TO REDUCE YOUR WEIGHT IN TWO MONTHS

While eating food which tastes good

Mark your starting date & weight

This is a vegetarian diet

Most Important:

Never try to eat food prepared in a way that does not taste good.

Try to include the following in your daily diet:

1. Minimum two half cups (or one full cup) of assorted green vegetables

2. Minimum one cup of beans

3. For lunch cucumber and tomato salad with salt and pepper or lettuce tomato and cucumber salad with vinegar and very little oil (you can add green pepper, yellow pepper, radish and carrots too)

4. Along with salad you can have one slice of whole wheat bread using “total control” spread

5. For breakfast have cold cereal or hot oatmeal and a slice of whole wheat bread along with half a glass of juice

6. For mid morning snack have any fruit with two pieces of crackers

7. For afternoon snack have a fruit with 8 to 10 pieces of various nuts

8. For dinner take two rotalis or bhakharis with dal, vegetables and beans. You can add rice once in a while. You can alternate dinner items with thepala, khichadi, dal dhokali and other varieties. Make sure to add very little oil and no ghee.

9. For breakfast or lunch you can substitute grit for other items. Make sure to balance carbohydrates with protein

10. Always remain little hungry. Never over eat

11. For lunch you can also substitute with 100 calorie soup

12. Make sure to have minimum one and a half cup of vegetables, fruit and one cup of beans daily

13. Drink at least 6 to 8 glasses of water

14. If you drink alcohol, add one glass of wine

15. Try to add vinegar and flax seeds in your diet along with 20 pieces of almonds or other nuts in your daily diet

16. Try to eat at least half a cup of low fat yogurt daily

17. Always eat very slowly. Note that it takes twenty minutes to register the amount of food you have eaten. If you eat fast then you will eat more food than required because before the twenty minutes are over you would have consumed lot of food.

18. There is a saying “eat your liquids and drink your food”. It is better for the health if we chew all of our food to mix with saliva and if we drink our liquids very slowly.

ITEMS TO EAT IN LIMIT

Subway sandwich when ever desired ( use very little cheese)
South Indian idly ok to eat, but dosa should be eaten less. Appetizer and deserts of any kind should be avoided at any cost
Italian food to be eaten in limit. Avoid eggplant and dishes with lot of cheese and cream. Instead select dishes with tomato sauce without cheese
In Chinese food avoid dishes with lot of sweet sauce like broccoli with garlic sauce. Also avoid plain flower noodles. Include vegetables if you must eat
Bagels, pizza, donuts, cookies should be eaten in a very limited quantity.
Indian fried snacks to be totally avoided
Items like crackers should be eaten in limit
Avoid, soda or any other sweet drink
Before going to a party at least eat a little so you are not too hungry to eat snakes and appetizer

OTHER PROGRAMS TO FOLLOW

Exercise minimum 45 min./day (minimum 5 days/week)
Meditation &/or prayer (half an hour per day, 5 days/week)
Walking (half an hour per day, 5 days /week)
Sleep minimum 6 to 7 hours at night ( if possible have 15 minute sleep break in the afternoon)
Add some exhausting sport like basket ball in your routine (15 minutes/day)

SUMMARY OF IMPORTANT POINTS

Always keep yourself little hungry (never over eat)
Eat items low in calories
Eat fiber rich foods.
Get calories from healthy food instead of from junk
During this trial of two months avoid eating junk foods such as: cheese, donuts, cookies, cake, bagels, pizza, fried foods and Indian snacks
Eat at least one cup of vegetables, one cup of beans and 2 fruits per day
Eat salad at least once a day
Take multi vitamin and omega 3 pills
Eat at least one half cup of low fat yogurt per day
Add vinegar to your salad
Take wine if you prefer (one glass per day)
Try to eat 100 calorie soups or dal
drink 6 to 8 glasses of water
Exercise & walk one and a half hour/day
Do not be afraid of making tasty food (but limit quantity)
Use oil as little as possible
To reduce weight do not consume more than 1200 to 1600 calories/day
Try to cut down sugar, fried foods, oil and cheese as much as possible
Try to balance carbohydrates and protein. That is the reason dal and beans are very important
Sleep minimum of 6 to 7 hours/day

APPROXIMATE CALORIES IN VARIOUS FOOD ITEMS

FOOD ITEM CALORIES/100 GRAMS

Apple 56

Avocado 190

Banana 95

Cherries 70

Dates 281

Grapes (black) 45

Mangoes 70

Orange 53

Peach 50

Pears 51

Pineapple 46

Plums 56

Strawberries 77

Watermelon 26

Broccoli 25

Cabbage 45

Carrot 48

Cauliflower 30

French Beans 26

Lettuce 21

Mushroom 18

Onion 50

Peas 93

Potato 97

Rice 325

Wheat Flower 341

CALORIES PER PIECE

Chapatti 119

Slice of white bread 60

Plain Paratha 280

CALORIES PER CUP

Butter milk 19

Cheese 315

Cream (100 gram) 210

Buffalo milk 115

Cow milk 100

Skim milk 45

FOOD ITEM CALORIES

Sugar (1tbsp) 48

Honey (1tb sp) 90

Coffee (cup) 40

Tea (cup) 30

ICE CREAMS PER HALF CUP

Chocolate 143

Butter Pecan 310

Strawberry 127

Vanilla 178

Income Statement

2009-05-12T07:02:00.002-04:00

As I explained previously in the Balance Sheet (part 1), once a year publicly listed companies are required to provide an Annual Report to its share holders. This report contains all the pertinent information to inform the share holders about the health of the company. In the beginning of the annual report we find charts followed by a message from the Chief Executive Officer. For the share holders two most important statements in the annual report are 'Balance Sheet" and “Income Statement". Income statement is also known as Profit and Loss Statement". Here I will try to explain some of the items included in the Income Statement.

We will start with an Income Statement of any one public company. Here I am going to present an Income Statement of Google.

Income Statement	Get Income Statement for:

View: Annual Data | Quarterly Data

All numbers in thousands

PERIOD ENDING		31-Dec-08	31-Dec-07	31-Dec-06
Total Revenue		21,795,550	16,593,986	10,604,917
Cost of Revenue		8,621,506	6,649,085	4,225,027

Gross Profit		13,174,044	9,944,901	6,379,890

	Operating Expenses
	Research Development	2,793,192	2,119,985	1,228,589
	Selling General and Administrative	3,748,883	2,740,516	1,601,305
	Non Recurring	-	-	-
	Others	-	-	-

	Total Operating Expenses	-	-	-


Operating Income or Loss		6,631,969	5,084,400	3,549,996

	Income from Continuing Operations
	Total Other Income/Expenses Net	(778,373)	590,783	461,301
	Earnings Before Interest And Taxes	5,853,596	5,675,183	4,011,297
	Interest Expense	-	1,203	257
	Income Before Tax	5,853,596	5,673,980	4,011,040
	Income Tax Expense	1,626,738	1,470,260	933,594
	Minority Interest	-	-	-

	Net Income From Continuing Ops	4,226,858	4,203,720	3,077,446

	Non-recurring Events
	Discontinued Operations	-	-	-
	Extraordinary Items	-	-	-
	Effect Of Accounting Changes	-	-	-
	Other Items	-	-	-


Net Income		4,226,858	4,203,720	3,077,446
Preferred Stock And Other Adjustments		-	-	-

Net Income Applicable To Common Shares		$4,226,858	$4,203,720	$3,077,446

All the numbers shown above are in thousands.

Let us look at individual items in the income statement. In this blog I will give you details only about the main items. Additional details will be discussed in the future blogs. Look at the second line in the income statement under the heading Period Ending. Here the numbers are shown for the years ending in December of 2006, 2007 and 2008.

Right after period ending line we see a line showing “Total Revenue” for the years 2008, 2007 and 2006. This total revenue line is also referred to as ‘Top Line”. Near the bottom of the income statement we see a line showing “Net Income”. This net income line is also referred to as “Bottom Line”. I am sure you have heard people talking about being interested in the bottom line only. It is true that we are interested in the bottom line which gives the profit picture, but if the top line keeps declining, sooner or later bottom line will suffer too.

Now let us look at the details of total revenue for all the three years. Note that the total revenue for the year 2008 was approximately $21 billion, which is more than $16 billion for the year 2007 and $10 billion for the year 2006. This indicates that the company’s results are improving.

Now let us look at the line showing Gross Profit. Here too we see the results improving from $6 billion in 2006 to $13 billion in 2008. In just two years gross profit more than doubled. Note that the gross profit could be increased by controlling “cost of revenue”, which is a direct cost incurred to support server farms and costs related to drive traffic to Google’s web site.

Now let us look at the line showing Operating Income or Loss. Here too an operating income went up from approximately $3 billion to $6 billion (roughly 86 %). Here the result is arrived at after deducting general, administrative and research costs.

Net Income (bottom line) improved nicely from 2006 to 2007, but did not improve much from 2007 to 2008. Everyone knows that the year 2008 was a year of recession and majority of the companies lost money instead of any profit. Even after paying $156 million more in taxes, Google improved its earnings by about $23 million. They did this by cutting labor force and cutting costs wherever they could. Overall this company performed well.

Whether to invest or not to invest money in any company is your own decision. I am just trying to explain several items included in the income statement.

Balance Sheet (Part 1)

2009-04-23T15:38:00.002-04:00

Once a year publicly listed companies are required to provide an Annual Report to its share holders. This report contains all the pertinent information to inform the share holders about the health of the company. In the beginning of the annual report we find charts followed by a message from the Chief Executive Officer. For the share holders two most important statements in the annual report are 'Balance Sheet" and “Income Statement". Income statement is also known as Profit and Loss Statement". Here I will try to explain some of the items included in the balance sheet.

We will start with a balance sheet of any one public company. Here I am going to present balance sheet of Google.


Balance Sheet

View: Annual Data Quarterly Data

All numbers in thousands

PERIOD ENDING		31-Dec-08	31-Dec-07	31-Dec-06

Assets
Current Assets
	Cash And Cash Equivalents	8,656,672	6,081,593	3,544,671
	Short Term Investments	7,189,099	8,137,020	7,699,243
	Net Receivables	2,928,297	2,376,312	1,352,053
	Inventory	-	-	-
	Other Current Assets	1,404,114	694,213	443,880

Total Current Assets		20,178,182	17,289,138	13,039,847
Long Term Investments		85,160	1,059,694	1,031,850
Property Plant and Equipment		5,233,843	4,039,261	2,395,239
Goodwill		4,839,854	2,299,368	1,545,119
Intangible Assets		996,690	446,596	346,841
Accumulated Amortization		-	-	-
Other Assets		433,846	168,530	114,455
Deferred Long Term Asset Charges		-	33,219	-

Total Assets		31,767,575	25,335,806	18,473,351

Liabilities
Current Liabilities
	Accounts Payable	2,084,006	1,857,529	1,199,451
	Short/Current Long Term Debt	-	-	-
	Other Current Liabilities	218,084	178,073	105,136

Total Current Liabilities		2,302,090	2,035,602	1,304,587
Long Term Debt		890,115	-	-
Other Liabilities		294,175	580,276	68,497
Deferred Long Term Liability Charges		42,333	30,249	60,427
Minority Interest		-	-	-
Negative Goodwill		-	-	-

Total Liabilities		3,528,713	2,646,127	1,433,511

Stockholders' Equity
Misc Stocks Options Warrants		-	-	-
Redeemable Preferred Stock		-	-	-
Preferred Stock		-	-	-
Common Stock		315	313	309
Retained Earnings		13,561,630	9,334,772	5,133,314
Treasury Stock		-	-	-
Capital Surplus		14,450,338	13,241,221	11,882,906
Other Stockholder Equity		226,579	113,373	23,311

Total Stockholder Equity		28,238,862	22,689,679	17,039,840

Net Tangible Assets		$22,402,318	$19,943,715	$15,147,880

All the numbers shown above are in thousands.
In this blog I will give you details only about the main items. Additional details will be discussed in the future blogs. Look at the second line in the balance sheet under the heading Period Ending. Here the numbers are shown for the years ending in December of 2006, 2007 and 2008.

Let us look at the 10th line with the heading Total Current Assets. Note that the total current assets for the year 2008 were approximately $20 billion, which is more than $17 billion for the year 2007 and $13 billion for the year 2006. This indicates that the company’s results are improving.

Fifth line from the top shows Cash And Cash equivalents. Here also we see $8 billion for the year 2008 which is more than $6 billion for the year 2007 and $3 billion for the year 2006. These numbers also show that the company has good amount of cash to take care of unforeseen circumstances.

Balance Sheet (Part 2)

2009-04-23T15:37:00.004-04:00

Now look at the 18th line from the top under the heading Total Assets. For the year 2008 total assets were approximately $31 billion which is more than the prior years of 2007 and 2006. At first glance these numbers show an improvement too, but without looking at individual numbers under this heading we cannot say for sure. Note that the amounts for "Property Plant and Equipment" and "Goodwill" have increased from prior years. If we needed to raise cash in a short period of time then we may not be able to get even half of the amounts shown.

Now let us go to the 24th line from the top under the heading Total Liabilities. Total liabilities are close to $2 billion or less for all the three years. In comparison to total current assets of $20 billion for the year 2008, the total current liability of $2 billion is negligible. That shows the company is in a solid footing to overcome any difficulties.

Now let us turn to the 30th line from the top under the heading of Total Liabilities. Here the total liabilities are approximately $3 billion or less for all the three years, so there is nothing to worry.

Now let us look at the 41st line from the top under the heading Total Stockholder Equity. Corresponding numbers in these columns are arrived at by subtracting the total liabilities from the total assets. What this means is that the total assets are equal to the sum of total liabilities and the total stockholder equity.

If we look at "key statistics" in "yahoo Finance" we find that Google has 315.29 million "outstanding shares". Dividing the total stock holder equity in the year 2008 by the outstanding shares, we arrive at share holder equity to be $89.56/share. Closing price of one share of Google on April 16 2009 was $388.74/share. Now if we divide closing price of $388.74 by $89.56 per share holder equity we get a value of 4.34. This indicates that people are willing to pay more than 4 times the equity in the company for a share of Google. At the end of 2007 this number was close to 8, almost double the value of 4.34. Even if the economy is not in any worst shape compared to the end of 2007, people’s perception is that the economy is in a very bad shape, so they are willing to pay only half the value.

Now let us look at the last line in the balance sheet under the heading Net Tangible Assets. For the year 2008 this number was $22 billion. Net tangible assets is calculated as the total assets of a company, minus any intangible assets such as goodwill, patents and trademarks, less all liabilities and the par value of preferred stock. Net asset value is also known as Book Value.

Posted by Nick M. Shah at 9:37 PM 0 comments

Price Earning Ratio (P/E Ratio) explained in layman's language

2009-04-12T17:13:00.036-04:00

Price Earning Ratio is a ratio of price divided by earnings. Price is the published value of one share. Earning applies to the earning per share. P/E value is also available in Google finance or Yahoo finance. Why is P/E ratio an important ratio? We always look in our past and many a times make decisions based on our past experience. In our mind we have stored past information about these ratios. For different industries and sectors we assign different number for this ratio. For example we do not assign the same number for financial industry as we do for technology industry. We may be comfortable with a price earning ratio of 20 or 30 in technology. In the past these ratios have even reached 100 and 200 as it happened in the year 2000. In financial this kind of ratios will be troubling and we may be comfortable with a ratio of 7 to 15.

Generally speaking we are looking for a lower P/E ratio. What happens if all of a sudden the earnings disappear and becomes zero. If a price is 20 and earning is zero then the ratio will be 20 divided by zero which is an infinite number. In this case should we decide to dump the stock of this company? Not necessarily. We have to look for the other factors before we make such a decision. Price earning ratio is not the only factor we should rely on to make our decisions.

In a troubling economy like the one we have now, price earning ratio for each and every industry and sector has come down. If the economy improves and people feel more confident about the economy then even without earning going up we would be ready to assign a higher number for this ratio as we did in 1999 and 2000. In this case even without earning going up price of the stock will go up.

Now let us look at the financial companies like J P Morgan, Wells Fargo, Bank of America or Citibank which have really suffered in this economy. Assuming that these banks are not nationalized, billions of dollars our government has poured in these companies along with the refinancing boom at a very low interest rate would be a real boom to the earnings of these financial institutions. Banks are on the mend, with the help from low interest rates, fat lending margins, dwindling competition and lending in the financial markets.

As I mentioned previously if all of these factors improve the earning power of these banks, then the P/E will go down and the price of the stock will go up. Earning could still suffer because of credit card defaults, commercial borrowers default and write down of toxic assets which would require banks to borrow money from the government or private sources.

Please note that P/E is an important factor in your decision but is not the only factor.

Where can you find a P/E ratio? You can go either at www. googlefinance.com or www.finance.yahoo.com and type in the symbol of the company to find a P/E ratio.