I updated my .bash_profile in my ubuntu instance but the changes were not getting reflected in my shell.
A bit of searching revealed that I have to instead add a new .sh file in /etc/profile.d/ that contained the necessary aliases and updates to my PATH etc. It appears like Ubuntu auto runs all .sh files in /etc/profile.d/ whenever a login session is created.
.bash_profile was a lot more personal customization. Wonder how I could this personal customization in ubuntu. Any one any ideas? Let us know via comments.
@update: Thanks to manoj for pointing out .bashrc (had forgotton about it). .bashrc does help with personalizing the environment.