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How to record and screencast video using YouTube

At times it is necessary to give presentation virtually with screen sharing. Even though Microsoft provides recording option with Power Point slides it is not useful if you have created presentations in PDF using LaTeX. Screen cast refers to sharing our computer screen with audience with or without voice narration. In case of presentations, screen cast means the sharing of presentation slides on your computer with the audience. In such cases lifesaver is YouTube. Yes, one can create screen cast with simple steps in YouTube without any additional software. Only requirement is you should have a Gmail account and comparably good Internet connection.

Click on Get Started

Step 1: Go to DashBoard in your YouTube login. Click on Live Streaming. Go to get started and verify your Mobile Number by providing OTP. It is a must.

Provide mobile number and OTP to verify your account

Step 2: Then access the page “Events” under the tab Live Streaming and select Schedule a New Event. 

Access the page Events and click Live Streaming


Click on Schedule a new event

Step 3: Here you can enter the Title you would like to have for the screen cast and a brief discussion. Importantly if you want the video to be private then select private before proceeding further and select the Type Quick (using Google Hangouts on Air). Click on Go live now that will open Google Hangouts page.

Enter the event details or the video details. 

Step 4: Select the screen share option in the left tool bar, you will be asked to share your screen. Select either Your entire screen or application window if in case you are screencasting presentations. 

Google Hangouts page from where one can screencast 

Step 5: Click on Start Broadcast and you are live.

Once the screencasting is over, click on Stop Broadcast. You are done and your video with screencast will be ready to play. You can view and share your screencasted videos by accessing them at YouTube dashboard after you login similar to YouTube videos.

In addition, if you want you can enable webcam by which your face will appear in the corner of screencast. Similarly if you don’t want to record voice and just action, you can disable micro phone option in the Google Hangouts top tool bar.

A drawback of this is you require stable internet connection to do screencast video. 

How to get Permanent Account Number (PRAN) for Atal Pension Yojana (APY)

Central Government introduced Atal Pension Yojana (APY) in order to provide pension benefit for  employees of unorganized sector. In the previous post the information on opening an Atal Pension Yojana (APY) account online in State Bank of India (SBI) was mentioned. The accounts opened in this scheme will also be maintained by the Central Record Keeping Agency under National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL). In order to facilitate the users to know the status of APY account opened, one can check online through NSDL. To check the balance and other information first the users need to obtain Permanent Retirement Account Number (PRAN) from NSDL website and take a copy of it for further communication such as upgrade or downgrade of pension amount, change of personal information etc. The PRAN e-copy will also have Full Name of the individual holding the account, Permanent Retirement Account (PRAN) Number, Date of Birth, Assured Pension (which is same as Premium Amount to be paid monthly) along with the Nominee name. Also, the pension start date will also be mentioned on the e-copy of PRAN. APY service provider will be respective bank or agency from which scheme is enrolled.

One can obtain the Permanent Account Number (PRAN) for Atal Pension Yojana (APY) as follows:


2. Select the option Click to Search without PRAN and fill the following details:

    a. Provide Subscriber Name

    b. Bank Account Number where the APY account was linked while opening APY account

    c. Date of Birth of Subscriber


Enter the details and captcha in order to continue

3. Select the option e-PRAN View and provide the CAPTCHA answer. Once you click Submit, your copy of e-PRAN will be available. 

Copy of ePRAN opened in website

To print the e-PRAN details with background color while printing select the option Background Graphics. If you are using Google Chrome you can view this option of selecting Background Graphcis can be accessed from more settings in print dialogue box of Chrome. Alternatively you can save it as PDF also.

How to Open Atal Pension Yojana (APY) account online in SBI

State Bank of India (SBI), one of the top public sector banks in India providing services to customers on with the leading private sector banks has recently come up with the option of opening Atal Pension Yojana (APY)Scheme online through their internet banking account. This is one more addition to the plethora of services offered by State Bank of India online in addition to the existing services at free of cost. In this post, we learn about opening Atal Pension Yojana (APY) account online. Atal Pension Yojana Account can be opened similar to other accounts like Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY).

Atal Pension Yojana is the scheme introduced by Government of India for the benefit of employees of unorganized sectors who are not in regular service and won’t receive pension once they reach the age of 60. Based on the monthly premium paid by the customers, pension amount will be decided. Premium amount is decided on the factors of age of entry into the scheme and pension required per month after attaining the age of 60.

Customers need to have internet banking in State Bank of India to avail this facility. Follow these steps to open account online. You will receive confirmation SMS and email registered on successful registration. PRAN number will be generated and it will serve as reference number in future.

Select Social Security Schemes in 'My Accounts' section

Select Atal Pension Yojana (APY) from drop down menu and click submit

Fill the details online. Premium contribution will be automatically selected depending on your date of birth

One can enter details like Nominee, Permanent Address and Email id on which one need alerts. Select the pension amount based on which the contribution amount will be automatically selected based on age and pension amount required. Opt for SMS alert to receive details about amount contributed every month. Even option for Standing instruction will be automatically created for the balance transfer from your account to APY account every month.

Once online APY form is submitted, acknowledgment can be downloaded from Status Menu

PRAN number and further account of APY is maintained with Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). As of now balance of APY account cannot be accessed online and can only be accessed through branch. Change of premium amount in contribution can also be made by filling up the form available online at the respective branch. 

How to know Mobile Number Portability (MNP) Status

Mobile Number Portability helps in keeping you same number in spite of you change your place or operator. You can keep same number across all states in India and you can switch to any operator depending on your convenience but how to check status of port request made by you to the new operator? 
Considering the vast geographical area and large number of mobile phone users in India, department of Telecom has divided the number of states into two zones, zone 1 and zone 2. Zone 1 covers Northern and Western states of the country and Zone 2 cover the south and eastern states.

The license to provide portability technology in Zone 1 is given to Syniverse and in Zone 2 to Interconnection Telecom solutions.

The status of Zone 2 porting requests can be known through the website of Interconnection Telecom solutions.

Zone 2 includes the state of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Karnataka, Kerala, Kolkatta, Madhya Pradesh, North East, Orissa, Tamil Nadu including Chennai, Telangana and West Bengal.

To check mobile number portability status visit MNP Status

Provide necessary details

Provide your mobile number, 8 digit unique id given by your service provider and captcha code, you will get the status of your mobile number portability.

you can get the status of your SIM card's port request

How to port:
1. To get unique porting ID send message as ‘PORT <mobile number> to 1900.

2. You will receive Unique porting ID with expiry date on your mobile as SMS. Your present operator may immediately call you to retain you on their network by providing some exclusive offers only for you.

3. Visit the new operator you wish to port to anytime within that expiry date along with ID proof, Address proof and a passport size photograph. Fill in the Customer Acquisition Form (CAF) and Porting form (Some operators have single form for both CAF and porting)

4. As a porting charge, operators charge a maximum of Rs. 19.

5. You will receive new SIM card from the new operator and you will receive the time and date when your new SIM will be activated on your present SIM card only. Based on that change your old SIM card. Porting may take 7 working days usually and for the mobile users of Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and North East it will take 15 working days.

FAQs of MNP:
Q1. Can prepaid customers switch to postpaid and vice versa?
A: Yes, as long as all the conditions are met, that you have paid your postpaid bill till recently and no dues. Similarly, no dues should be pending in your present prepaid SIM card.

Q2. Can porting request be cancelled?
A: Yes, it can be cancelled within 24 hours of request made to the new operator.

Q3. Can CDMA be ported to GSM and vice versa?
A: Yes it can be done provided your handset support GSM and CDMA. As all CDMA phones are not GSM compatible and vice versa.

Q4. What about talk time, data balance and other services if I port?
A: Make sure that there is no talk time and data balance before you port as those cannot be carried forward to new network and you need to subscribe to all services as a fresh according to your new operator.

Q5. What to do with my old SIM once it is ported to new SIM card?
A: You need not return that SIM card to old operator. You can take back up of contacts and SMS in SIM card and you can destroy it.

Q6. How will I know when I need to change SIM card to new one?
A: You will get a SMS from new operator on your present working SIM card (or old SIM card) when you need to change your SIM and you will get a service disruption of 4 hours. Usually this will be done during night.

Q7. I am changing the State and can I retain the same number?
A: You can retain the same number through National Mobile Portability as long as you are in any state of India.

How to Receive Payments Online in India using PayUMoney

Are you running a website or blog or providing any service or collecting money for a cause or an event and looking for simple procedure to set up a payment gateway to receive payments via multiple payment options – debit cards, credit cards and net banking without any maintenance and setup charges?

payment button on this blog created with PayUMoney

PayUMoney is a simple way by which you can receive payments online by creating a payment button on your blog or website or by payment link. All you need to have is a PAN number in your name or in your business name to setup a merchant account on PayUMoney by which you can receive payments. Another advantage of using PayUMoney is you can setup payment gateway online itself and no documentation is required. Even you can create a web store online at free of cost to sell your products using free tools offered by PayUMoney.

sign up for PayUMoney Merchant/Seller account

complete the required details, as they are filled - on right side you can see a blue tick

You can register as a merchant on PayUMoney using this link. Provide details such as your name, email address and phone number. You will get a SMS and an email to verify and setup your account.

Create PayUButton to create HTML code with a link to your acocunt

Provide details on your business or your name, address and PAN number. Make sure that your name and PAN card name matches. Next, fill your account details such as IFSC, Account number, bank name etc., PayUMoney will deposit some money into your account to verify your account. Once you receive money in your account, you need to enter the transaction UTR number or the exact amount you received on PayUMoney website to verify your account details. You are done wait for a day and your account will be activated.

Login to your verified account, now you can get HTML code to create payment button associated to your account setup. Also, you can create an event and receive payments online.

paste the HTML code in your required website so that you can receive payments to your linked account

Go to PayUMoney tools and select PayUMoney button. Click on Create New Button. You can set fixed amount to receive or you can leave it open (so that donors can decide how much they would like to pay), fill payment details – payment name and description and set look of PayUButton you like to receive payments and then save PayUButton. Copy the HTML code of PayUButton and paste it on your website or blog using which your readers or customers can pay online. Only requirement payers or donors should have is PayUMoney buyer account which can be created in minutes and also it is helpful to track failures if any during transaction.