GD-PI

Compendium

The GD-PI Compendium comprises articles and essays on the most relevant and important topics from
the point-of-view of the B-school selection procedure.
Go through the compendium to get a birds eye view of the latest happenings in India and around the
world.

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 Contents
ACE?? Not so much..!
63-Year-old Virgin
Judiciary Losing Faith
Role of Social Media in Indian Elections
Indian Stock Exchanges: An Overview
General Elections in the Age of Fifth Estate
After Class 12: Quite the Pickle!
The Healthy Indian Dream
Increasing Use of Technology in Human Resources
Bhaag, India, Bhaag!
Money Havens on Earth
The Crimean BRIEF
Right to Reject: NOTA
Understanding the Anti-Competitive Agreement
Monsoon Woes!
E-Commerce: The changing face of Business
PARALLEL BLACK ECONOMY
Kingdom of Dreams, the 'Godmen' way
Budget basics
Winds of Change
Woman worth her salt: Sheryl Sandberg
Micro enterprises can play a crucial role in alleviation of rural poverty
The Greek Dilemma
Why is the indian education system in shambles?
Decoding the re-coded Apple
Understanding the Chinese Puzzle
Research and I Why?
A Philanthropic Billionaire
Wondorous Science
Monetary Fund

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 ACE?? Not So
Much!
Lawn Tennis has interested India for brief periods, often when someone from our nation has
been involved in action. But when will those periods turn longer?

BY: SHANKAR ANANTH

THE game craves attention. Well, thats not entirely true. The game draws attention. Yes, that is true. The game
deserves attention. Even more correct
It is one of the most beautiful games ever. Two people with racquets (sometimes four people with racquets), a ball,
some decent enough space to play, and a net is all that is required to play this peach of a game. Brawn plays as
large a role as finesse does. And not only is the game beautiful, it is insanely popular. Lawn tennis is watched by over
a billion people worldwide, just behind association football, cricket and hockey. The major events in tennis, the Grand
Slams, garner currency comparable to any major sporting event. Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic
are some of the mega superstars from this sphere, all comparable to the stalwarts from any other sport in the world.
In an era dominated by team sports, Lawn Tennis stands out.
Talking of standing out, lets see how our nation fares at Lawn Tennis. It is quite ironic that a nation with over 1.2
billion people, roughly 17.1% of the worlds population, does not have even 2 players in the top 100 of the world
rankings. The world of Lawn Tennis is presently, and always has been, dominated by players from the western
hemisphere. The Americans and the Europeans have traditionally been the best exploiters of the game. Right from
Bjorn Borg to Pete Sampras, Roger Federer to Rafael Nadal, Anna Kournikova to Serena Williams, it has been the
west all the way. India has hardly made a dent in this sport. True, there have been players who have got the Indian
media talking about them and the sport. There is Leander Paes, Sania Mirza, Mahesh Bhupathi, etc., but the list ends
pretty much there itself. Consider this. A country like Spain has 14 players in the top 100, 10 in the top 50 and 2 in the
top 10. And the population of Spain is, well, negligible compared to the humongous number of people we bear.
Why do Indian Tennis players generally become the non-news makers unlike their cricketing counterparts? This
story was a wee bit different some years ago. Indian players were making waves. For instance, Vijay Amritraj. He has
been Indias best tennis product till date, achieving a career best rank of 16 in July, 1980. Leander Paes, Indias
much more recent tennis hero, made it to career best rank of 73. Then there are other less popular people who made
good. There is Ramesh Krishnan who made it to a rank of 23, Anand Amritraj who made it to 74, Sashi Menon who
made it to 87 and Jasjit Singh who made it 89. But those were the rosy days when Lawn Tennis used to be very
different from its present form.
Lawn Tennis, or Tennis as it was referred to as earlier, has undergone a sea of change. A major change is the
racquet technology. Previously, racquets were wooden, did not accentuate power and depended on the finesse of the
player to guide the ball. Nowadays, the racquets are lighter, longer, wider and stronger, and allow the players the
freedom of a barrage of strokes. These racquets help the players generate power which is nothing like that seen
earlier. The trainings undergone by players have become more intense, with the objective of presenting a player in
the best mental frame and at the pinnacle of his/her fitness for a game. This has made the game a lot more
demanding, not just physically but also mentally. While the Indian players do possess the technique required to
succeed at the highest level, the common consensus is that physically, they are a far cry from the fitness levels
demanded internationally.
We currently have two budding players who have the potential to sprint up the rankings and eventually reach a
height that no Indian has yet been able to scale. First of all, there is Somdev Devvarman. The lad from Assam, who
moved to Chennai during his early years, became a sensation in 2009 when he beat the then world number 42
Carlos Moya in the Chennai Open to progress to the finals, making this his biggest win ever. But his recurring

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shoulder injury has been a hurdle. He had been out of action for most of 2012. He received the Arjuna Award from
the Indian Government for his success in Lawn Tennis in 2011. The other one has been deemed a prodigy.
Yuki Bhambri is 21, and is perhaps Indias best hope for tennis glory at present. The tall, lanky Delhi boy has been
playing since he was six. Having professional tennis players as relatives plays an important role, no doubt. Bhambri
has competed in all major junior Grand Slams and is a former junior world number 1. In 2009, Bhambri won the junior
Australian Open at the age of 16, becoming the first Indian singles winner of the junior Australian Open and the fourth
Indian in history to win a junior singles Grand Slam title. With age on his side, and with Bhambri already announcing
himself on the world stage, things certainly look promising for this young player.
But are these two players really something India, or the All India Tennis Association (AITA), should feel proud
about? Apart from the fact that these players are of Indian origin and play for India, their connection with our nation is
pretty much on the path to erosion. For instance, Somdev Devvarman has moved to the United States of America
and undertakes training from there. The case of Yuki Bhambri is pretty much similar. He is coached by the prestigious
Bollettieri coaching staff in Florida, USA. This gives a fairly certain idea of the conditions for budding tennis players in
our nation.
The world of tennis has seen a growth rate that India has simply not kept up with. The fact that Indians have
traditionally lacked the strength needed to compete with players from other parts of the world does not help the cause
either. Government support, sadly, has been conveniently out of the picture. Compare Indias case with that of China.
Since the time Lawn Tennis became an Olympic Sport, China has been making relentless efforts to push its limits.
Huge sums of money have been invested; foreign coaches have been hired to train its players. On the infrastructure
front, the efforts have been nothing short of laudable. Over 30,000 tennis courts have been constructed all over
China. And the results seem to justify the efforts. The objective of this effort was to create a Grand Slam champion,
and Li Na in the French Open 2011, achieved just that.
And in India, it is quite the polar opposite. Before the Commonwealth Games 2010, the Delhi Lawn Tennis
Association was shut down for a year and a half for refurbishment, leaving the athletes to fend for themselves.
Though India did do well in the games, both the medalists Somdev Devvarman and Sania Mirza had trained abroad.
Such lackadaisical attitude is not an encouraging sign for the future of Indias budding tennis players, and certainly
not an invitation for people to turn to tennis as a popular sport. And because of a feeble monetary support by the
government, Tennis has become a very expensive exercise. Private trainers, practice courts, equipment etc. does not
come cheap. Also, due to lack of involvement of the authorities themselves, there is no way to increase the presently
low count of the number of international tournaments in India, without which, matching global standards in tennis can
prove to be really hard.
Well, what needs to be done to improve the paltry situation is pretty much self- explanatory from the causes given
above. Lawn Tennis in India, like any other neglected sport, has a lot of potential. There have been some promising
players, who have ultimately succumbed to the lack of support.

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 63-year-old VIRGIN
The Virgin group is a name so ubiquitous that every person in his senses must have
heard it sometime or the other. A look at the how the long journey to Virginity began

BY: SANJANA CHOUDHURY

THE flamboyant British entrepreneur, Richard Branson is the son of a barrister and an airline stewardess. Born in
1950, this eldest grandson of the Right Honorable Sir George Arthur Harwin Branson, a judge of the High Court of
Justice and a Privy Councilor, studied at the at Scaitcliffe School till the age of thirteen and then moved on to the
exclusive Stowe School, where he studied until the age of sixteen. Richard, a dyslexic, had a really difficult time in
school. He struggled all through his school days and ultimately dropped out of school when he was sixteen.

CAREER
Richard went into publishing right after he quit school, that is, at the age of sixteen. He started a magazine about
youth culture, called The Student. The magazine was related to the youth, specifically to students in every possible
way. It was published for them and was even produced by them. Launched in 1966, the magazine sold $8,000 worth
of advertising in its very first edition. As Branson was able to cover all the costs from the advertising firms, he
distributed the first 50,000 copies of the magazine for free.
By 1969, Branson was living in a commune in London a large shared house music and drugs of that age.
Though admittedly, Branson was living the life of a hippie, his keen business sense came into work and he set up a
mail-order record company called to help fund his magazine efforts. This company was christened Virgin, at the
suggestion of one of Bransons workers, who felt the name was apt for them because they were all new at business.
Branson later confided that he had got into business not because he wanted to make money but because of
frustration as things had not been working properly.
I became an entrepreneur by mistake. Ever since then I've gone into business, not to make money, but because I
think I can do it better than it's been done elsewhere. And, quite often, just out of personal frustration about the way
it's been done by other people.
The mail-order record company performed modestly and enabled Branson to expand his business venture. He
added a record shop in Oxford Street, London and as his business slowly expanded, he created his own label
Virgin Music in 1972. Within a year, Branson struck gold when his first artists album became a smash hit and
remained in the charts for almost five years. Using the earnings from this, Branson went on to sign up some of the top
names of that era and helped Virgin Music to become a major player in international music. In fact, Virgin Music
eventually became one of the top six record companies in the world.

BUSINESS EXPANSION
Branson always says that the best way to grow in business is by investing the profits earned in something
new. My philosophy is that if I have any money I invest it in new ventures and not have it sitting around.
And true to this philosophy, Branson formed the Virgin Atlantic Airways in 1984. This was his biggest business
venture as of yet and with this he started competing in a market that was dominated by big national carriers, such as
British Airways. However, Bransons successful run came to an end when in 1992, Virgin was suddenly struggling to
stay financially afloat. He had to sell off Virgin records later that year for 500m to pump money into his Virgin Atlantic
in order to keep it afloat.
Branson was reportedly crushed after this loss but he vowed to stay in the music business and launched the Virgin
Radio, the first national commercial rock music station, in 1993. He went on to launch the Virgin Mobile in 1999, Virgin Blue
Airlines (now Virgin Australia Airlines) in 2000 and today, his Virgin Group holds more than 400 companies in more than 30
countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Canada, Asia, Europe and South

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Africa. He has expanded his businesses to include a train company, a luxury game preserve and a space-tourism
company, Virgin Galactic.
My interest in life comes from setting myself huge, apparently unachievable challenges and trying to rise above
them ... from the perspective of wanting to live life to the full, I felt that I had to attempt it.
Despite being immensely successful, Branson has had his fair share of flops. In fact, in one of his interviews,
Branson confided in the interviewer that he has lost count of the number of times that he has been told that one of his
business ventures was not going according to plans and is about to go bust. At those times, he would try saving his
business by looking at the problem from a different perspective and when even that wouldnt work, he would admit his
mistake and let it go.
My mother drummed into me from an early age that I should not spend much time regretting the past. I try to bring
that discipline to my business career. Over the years, my team and I have not let mistakes, failures or mishaps get us
down. Instead, even when a venture has failed, we try to look for opportunities, to see whether we can capitalize on
another gap in the market.
Branson had a series of flops, especially in the mid-90s and amongst them, his most publicized business failure is
Virgin Cola. However, Branson was never much disappointed by any failure and liked to joke about them later. This is
what he said in one of his blog posts regarding the failure of Virgin Cola,
I got to drive a tank into Times Square and also to create a cheeky bottle in the shape of Pamela Anderson."

OTHER INTERESTS
Branson says that he became concerned about the issue of global warming after his meeting with the environmental
activist, Al Gore. He has founded the Virgin fuels, which he hopes would help provide an alternative to fossil fuels. He
has also promised that he would use the profit generated from his transport business to develop fuels that are
environment friendly. In keeping with his concern for the environment, in 2006, he pledged to invest $3 billion over a
decade into the development of clean fuels and renewable energies. He also set up the Virgin Earth Challenge Award
in 2007, which offers $25 million in prize money to the individual or group who are able to find new ways of removing
greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
Branson is also part of the Ocean Elders, a group of global leaders who have come together and serve as the
voice of the ocean and their aim is to act as a catalyst in the preservation of the ocean and its wildlife. As per their
mission statement, their objective is to promote ocean conservation, pursue the protection of the oceans habitat and
wildlife, and preserve its ecosystem and species biodiversity.
Richard Branson is also a signatory of the Global Zero, which is an international group of 300 world leaders who
work towards the elimination of nuclear weapons. Their very aim is implicit in the name of their group they plan to
achieve a global zero accord of elimination of all nuclear weapons over a period of 14 years and a dismantling of all
remaining warheads in the next 7 years.

ACHIEVEMENTS
Richard Branson is known worldwide not only for his entrepreneurial qualities but also for his sporting achievements.
The most notable ones include his record breaking Atlantic crossing in in his "Virgin Atlantic Challenger II" in 1986
when he beat the world record by two hours. In 1991, he crossed the pacific in a hot air balloon and this time too, he
successfully broke the previous record. Another of his records would be the fastest crossing of the English Channel in
an amphibious vehicle. He undertook this journey in 1 hour, 40 minutes and 6 seconds and broke the previous record
that was held by two Frenchmen by almost four hours.
Richard Branson has ventured into the commercial space industry and has his own space tourism company. And if
things go according to plan, he will be the first private passenger to fly into space aboard his aircraft, the Virgin
Galactics Space Ship Two craft, along with his two children, Holly and Sam in 2014. Though a single ride would set a
person back by $250,000. Such is the excitement and thrill of being able to visualize Earth from space in the same
way that only astronauts have had been doing since the past decades, almost 700 clients have already signed up
with Virgin Galactic. The commercial director of this company promises that clients would be able to experience the
blackness of space, zero gravity, fabulous views of Earth and come back an astronaut.
Branson was knighted in 1999 by the Prince of Wales for his services to entrepreneurship. He has ranked
amongst the Time Magazine "Top 100 Most Influential People in the World" in 2007 and on Forbes' "World
Billionaires" list in 2009.
Highly impressive though his list of achievements may be, all critics would unanimously agree that his greatest
accomplishment so far would be in creating an absolutely fabulous and envious life for himself. Branson, when he
works, does so tirelessly and passionately and when he does not work, travels across the world, spending summers
at his private island in the Caribbean and winters at his South African preserves.

My general attitude to life is to enjoy every minute of every day. I never do anything with a feeling of, 'Oh God, I've
got to do this today.

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QUICK FACTS

Name: Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson

Born: 18 July 1950 (age 63)
Zodiac Sign: Cancer
Religion: None (Atheist)
Occupation: Entrepreneur
Net Worth: US$4.6 billion (2013)
Rank: 5th on the Richest Persons in the United Kingdom list
Best Known For: Being the founder of Virgin Group, which comprises more than 400 companies
Awards Won: The United Nations Correspondents Association Citizen of the World, Tony Jannus Award, German
Media Prize, ISTA Prize, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences' President's Merit Award

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 JUDICIARY
LOSING FAITH
A judiciary independent of a king or executive alone is a good thing; but independence
of the will of the nation is a solecism, atleast in republican government
Thomas Jefferson
BY: AAKANKSHA NATH

INDEPENDENCE of the judiciary is inextricably linked with judicial ethics. An independent judiciary enjoying public
confidence is a basic necessity of the rule of law. Any conduct on the part of a judge, which demonstrates a lack of
integrity and dignity, will undermine the trust reposed in the judiciary by the citizens. The conduct of a judge should,
therefore, always be above reproach.
Among various institutions in India, judiciary has been by far the least tarnished. Even after discounting the opacity
that surrounds the happenings in various courts, the judicial system has not yet become a festering disgrace. But
alas! Things are fast changing. There had been numerous issues raised against the judges ranging from allegations
of corruption to Sexual Harassment.
The success of democracy largely depends upon an impartial strong and independent judiciary endowed with
sufficient power to administer justice.
Justice Shah states that the present system of judicial appointments in the constitutional courts exemplifies the
misalignment between the core values of judicial independence and accountability. Our current appointments
system is out of step with democratic culture primarily because it lacks transparency, and provides for no oversight.
Choosing judges based on undisclosed criteria in largely unknown circumstances reflect an increasing democratic
deficit. He calls for taking lessons from other countries like the UK and South Africa where a transparent process of
appointment of judges is followed, while maintaining judicial independence. International consensus seems to favor
appointments to the higher judiciary through an independent commission.
Justice Sodhi opines that There has to be some kind of minimum standards written test, exams or interview. We
can no longer bank upon the present system as the judges selected by it have failed to meet the aspirations of the
office.
But the question remains who is going to judge the justice giving institution. Lately, there have been various
instances where certain acts of the judges have put the most reputed body to shame. The Supreme Court of India in
its Full Court Meeting held on May 7, 1997 unanimously adopted a charter called the Restatement of Values of Judicial
Life, generally known as the Code of Conduct for judges. This document gave an illustrative list of what is expected
out of a judge. The following two Resolutions were also adopted in the said Full Court Meeting of the Supreme Court
of India:

RESOLVED that an in-house procedure should be devised by the Honble Chief Justice of India to take suitable remedial action
against Judges who by their acts of omission or commission do not follow the universally accepted values of judicial life including
those indicated in the Restatement of Values of Judicial Life.

RESOLVED FURTHER THAT every Judge should make a declaration of all his/her assets in the form of real estate or
investments (held by him/her in his/her own name or in the name of his/her spouse or any person dependent on him/her) within a
reasonable time of assuming office and in the case of sitting Judges within a reasonable time of adoption of this Resolution and
thereafter whenever any acquisition of a substantial nature is made, it shall be disclosed within a reasonable time. The declaration
so made should be to the Chief Justice of the Court. The Chief Justice should make a similar declaration for the purpose of the
record. The declaration made by the Judges or the Chief Justice, as the case may be, shall be confidential.

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The Restatement of Values of Judicial Life is a comprehensive but not an exhaustive code. The need for an effective
mechanism for the enforcement of judicial accountability cannot be overemphasized. Judicial independence and
accountability should go together. So whenever any question is raised on this third wing of the government, there is
always a debate on the appointment procedure in the higher judiciary. The appointment procedure has been in
controversy for decades now. Any issue with respect to any of the judges is lead straight to the issue of choosing the
judges for the system.

APPOINTMENT OF THE JUDGES TO THE HIGHER JUDICIARY

Judicial independence and accountability should go together. Article 124 vests the power of appointment of the Chief
Justice of India (CJI) and the Judges to the Supreme Court in the President. It is stipulated that the President shall
appoint a Judge of the Supreme Court, after consultation with such of the Judges of the Supreme Court and of the
High Court as the President may deem necessary. The appointment of Judges of the High Court is also made by the
President of India. The President has to consult the CJI, the Governor of the State and the Chief Justice of the High
Court.

MUCH DEBATED COLLEGIUM SYSTEM OF APPOINTMENT OF JUDGES

In India, it is only a collegium of judges that recommends to the President names for elevation to the bench and there
is no outside advice available for this purpose. Judicial pronouncements have made the recommendation binding.
Perhaps in no other country in the world does the judiciary have a final say in its own appointments.
In UK, The Supreme Court consists of 12 judges appointed by Her Majesty by letters patent and a
recommendation in this regard is made by the Prime Minister. In USA, the President of the United States with the
advice and consent of the Senate appoints the judges. In France, President of the Republic, as per Article 65 of their
Constitution, on receipt of proposals for appointments from Conseil Superieur de la Magistrature (CSM) makes the
appointment of judges. In Germany, Court consists of two panels of 8 judges, and half of each panel is elected by the
Bundestag (Lower House of Parliament) and the Bundestrat (Federal Council). So we can see that in all major
democracies, the executive gets an equal say in the appointment process of the judges.
In India, neither the executive nor the legislature has much say in who is appointed to the Supreme Court or the
High Courts. The current system of appointments is not open to public scrutiny and thus, lacks accountability and
transparency.
The collegium- which the critics call as judges appointing themselvescomprises of four senior most judges in the
Supreme Court and the Chief Justice of India and three more senior most judges in a particular high court including
its chief justice.
The collegium system which is followed in the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and the High Courts
has been challenged in the Supreme Court. The petitioner, Rajasthan-based Suraz India Trust wanted the court to
declare the system ultra vires and unconstitutional because the constitution does not mention it anywhere and it
has been brought into existence through the judgments of the Supreme Court. The Trust questioned two significant
verdicts of the apex court in Advocate on Record Association vs. Union of India and Others (1993) and Special Reference No
1 of 1998 that have established the primacy and supremacy of the collegium system in the appointment of judges to
the higher courts.
Initially, the power to appoint judges vested in the executive. That, now, rests with the Chief Justice and the senior
judges of the court. The constitutional scheme now stands amended with the concurrence instead of consultation of
collegium being made mandatory for the President to make any appointment of judges in the apex court and the high
courts. The votaries of the present system regard it as a manifestation of the constitutional principles of separation of
power. Besides, they believe that it also reinforces the independence of judiciary.

VARIOUS RECOMMENDATIONS
The first ever National Commission to Review the Working of Constitution (NCRWC) headed by the former Chief
Justice of India (CJI), Justice MN Venkatchaliah in its report (2002) also recommended setting up of NJC headed by
CJI for appointment, transfer and dealing with errant judges. This was followed by the Fourth Report (2007) of the
Second Administrative Reforms Commission headed by the former Union Law Minister, M Veerappa Moily which
suggested the formation of the National Judicial Council proposed to be headed by the Vice-President of India and
comprising members from all three pillars of democracy, a practice which is followed in many other democratic
countries.
The then 18th Law Commission of India under Justice AR Lakshmanan in its 214th Report (2008) also
recommended reconsideration of present process of appointing higher judges. All this apart, even certain
Parliamentary Committees , noted jurists, legal intellectuals , representatives of Bar Panels as well as leaders of
leading national political parties have been urging vociferously for replacing the prevalent Collegium system with a
more broad-based and transparent mechanism.

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JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS COMMISSION BILL, 2013
After review of the pronouncements of the Supreme Court and relevant constitutional provisions, a broad based
Judicial Appointment Commission seemed to be the requirement for making recommendations for the selection of
Judges. It would provide a meaningful role to the executive and judiciary to present their view points and make the
participants accountable while introducing transparency in the selection process.
The Union Cabinet in August 2013 gave its nod for conferring constitutional status to the proposed Judicial
Appointments Commission (JAC) for appointment and transfer of judges to the higher judiciary. According to the
proposal approved by the Cabinet, while new Article 124 A of the Constitution will define the composition of the JAC,
Article 124 B will define its functions.
The Judicial Appointments Commission will be formed under the proposed Bill and will comprise of (a) the Chief
Justice of India, an ex officio Chairperson; (b) two other Judges of the Supreme Court next to the Chief Justice of
India in seniority as ex officio Members; (c) the Union Minister in charge of Law and Justice as ex officio Member; and
(d) two eminent persons, to be nominated by the collegium consisting of the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India
and the Leader of Opposition in the House of the People, as members.
The proposed Bill would enable equal participation of Judiciary and Executive, make the system of appointments
more accountable, and thereby increase the confidence of the public in the institutions.

ALL INDIA JUDICIAL SERVICE

With the proposal of the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, it is expected that the appointment procedure in the
Higher judiciary will get refined which will help in bringing more transparency to the system. But at the same time, it is
essential that the judges at the entry level should also be inducted in the most transparent manner and the best talent
should get to the courts.
The proposal of introducing an All India Judicial Service (AIJS) on the lines of the Indian Administrative Service
(IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) is under active consideration of the government. This measure was long
overdue and has been hanging fire for over five decades now. As of now, while most government departments have
all India service recruits, selected after a competitive examination by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)
every year, the judiciary is the only set up that does not have a national-level selection process of its own to attract
the best possible talent. The new scheme would be an all India service with bright prospects.
If implemented in letter and spirit, the scheme will have its own distinct advantages. Primarily, the recruitment of
the judges right from the entry level will be handled by an independent and impartial agency like the UPSC through
an open competition thereby ensuring fair selection of incumbents. It would naturally help attract bright and capable
young law graduates to the judiciary, who otherwise prefer immediate remunerative employment in the government
and the private sector.
For the subordinate judicial officers it would ensure equitable service conditions besides providing them with a
wider field to probe their mettle. As of now, the subordinate judges who are recruited from a pool of less successful
lawyers eventually become judges in higher courts, as established lawyers are rarely willing to give up their lucrative
practice to join the bench. The reform should help considerably in toning up the judicial administration by throwing
open appointments to talented persons across the country.

The National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, 2014

The National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, 2014 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 11, 2014
by the Minister of Law and Justice, Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad.

The Bill has been introduced in conjunction with the Constitutional (121st Amendment) Bill, 2014, which establishes
the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC).

The Bill provides for the procedure to be followed by the NJAC for recommending persons for appointment as Chief
Justice of India and other Judges of the Supreme Court (SC), and Chief Justice and other Judges of High Courts
(HC).

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 Role of Social Media in
Indian Elections
The social circles in India have been throbbing with news flashes and memes about the popular
politicians lately. How much does it affect us??
BY: VARUN REDDY SEVVA

FOR years, election campaigns in India have witnessed the similar content designed for mass consumption. The
campaigns have always revolved around public rallies, populist schemes and incessant advertising (print, television
or radio). People witnessed the usual channels of propaganda, which were carried out by party workers and
volunteers, but which failed to connect the public with their leaders. Digital efforts were far and few in between and
never really made news, apart from the entry of a few famous names (like Shashi Tharoor) on Twitter. And then, in
August 2012, something unprecedented happened.
Shri Narendra Modi was into his 3rd term as the CM of Gujarat, and was well set to win a 4th term. There were
calls for him to take up a bigger role on the National Stage. In August 2012, he became the 1st Indian public figure to
use Google Hangout for a 1 hour interactive session with people across the country. As the same was beamed on
many TV channels too, it is said to have reached four million viewers, including online and television, Over 20,000
questions were asked and more than 70,000 related-tweets poured in while it was in progress. It remained the
trending topic on Twitter in Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad and was witnessed by
people from 116 countries all across the world!
The popularity of this medium made everyone realize that social media could prove to be the next big thing in Indian
politics, even a game changer. A recent study by the IMRB estimates the number of social media users to have risen to 91
million by December, 2013. Even though this is only a fraction of India's total voting population (more than 700 million), it is
these people who are actively engaging in political debates and influencing opinion of about 149 million first-time voters in
2014. Since the difference of votes between the Congress and BJP was just 40 million in the 2009 elections (Source:
Election Commission of India), netizens can make a difference in influencing their opinions.

WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA

While talking about Social Media, one tends to restrict the medium to Facebook & Twitter. In the last few years,
leaders have also used platforms such as Google Hangout to connect with the public, with Prime Minister Narendra
Modi and P. Chidambaram among the early adopters.
However, the biggest user (and benefactor) of social media has to be the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which has
used it in a big way to connect with its voters directly. By not restricting itself to Facebook and Twitter, AAP even used
Google+ Hangouts and Linkedln which proved to be a major source of donations, both from those in India and the
Indian diaspora abroad! It urged NRIs to leave video messages of support for the AAP on YouTube. The AAP also
used several threads on Quora to talk about their agenda and vision.

INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON INDIAN ELECTIONS

The influence of Social Media on the Indian elections can be best summed up by the huge presence of traditional
media in the social space. The Times of India has more than 30 Lakh fans on Facebook while the Dainik Jagran, a
non-English newspaper, has more than 15 lakh fans! The Economic Times, one of Indias leading business
newspapers, has a following on Facebook that is more than twice of its circulation! With the traditional media having
such a strong following on the social media, we cannot ignore the influence that the social media will have on the
perception of the people about political parties and their candidates.
Recognizing the importance of social media and the need to regulate the same in the interest of transparency and level
playing field in the elections, the Election Commission of India (ECI), for the first time ever, issued instructions on the use of
Social Media in election campaigning by political parties. According to the new guidelines, all candidates have to declare (in
their affidavits) information about their email and social media accounts. Furthermore, all political advertisement on internet-
based websites or social media websites would need pre-certification from the ECI. The ECI also extended the
provisions of the model code of conduct to all the content posted on the internet. These guidelines were first

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implemented in the state elections of Delhi, Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan held in 2013.
The ECI also clarified to political parties that the expenditure incurred on their on-line campaigns will be seen as
expenditure and should be filed as part of their statement to the Commission.
While traditional campaigning is active only during the time of the elections, social media works beyond elections
and election results. Social media allows the parties to keep engaging (i.e. campaigning) with their supporters beyond
elections, by talking about relevant issues.

SOCIAL MEDIA - A GAME CHANGER?

Most politicians do admit the influence of Social Media and are glued in to these trends. BJP spokesperson Ravi
Shankar Prasad admitted that the power of social media cannot be denied and that political leaders are being forced
to take the demands of young India into consideration. Senior leaders of the AAP emphasize that the Internet and
social media not only enhance accountability and democratize communication but also allow new political formations
(such as theirs) to leapfrog their support base in the absence of traditional cadres. Several parties are trying to ride
the digital wave by conducting workshops to teach its leaders and foot soldiers how to improve public engagement on
websites such as Facebook and Twitter.
However, not all of them agree that it would be the game changer in the upcoming elections. Speaking at a debate
on the issue, I&B Minister Manish Tewari acknowledged that new media platforms are definitely not something that
any politician or political party can ignore, but reminded that elections are a complex exercise, and since voting
preferences depend more on regional variations, one variable may not be a game changer. Arvind Gupta, head of
BJPs IT division, says social media cannot be termed as a game changer, rather as an accelerator, to help set a
narrative and influence a lot of people. Nilotpal Basu of the CPI(M) mentions that although they remain conscious of
online linkages for a successful campaign, it is not easy to forecast which way the Indian voter may turn, and hence
physical proximity with the voter remains important as ever.
More than the online campaigns, it was the incessant debate, commentary and raising of issues that ensured a voter who
is more aware of the issues, the political atmosphere and conscious that his/her vote matters. The fact that the state of Delhi
got a higher voter turnout, with some parts voting beyond 7 pm, can be attributed to the Social Media. With increasing
internet penetration in the country, one can hope that things will only get better. Even if Social Media cannot swing voters in
one direction or the other, it is clear that it can help get the vote out of people.

ABUSE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media can also be subject to significant abuse. Some politicians have been accused of boosting their apparent
popularity on social media with legions of followers who dont exist one can recall the case of former CM of
Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot, being accused of paying users to buy likes for his Facebook page to boost his popularity
after someone discovered that a large number of Turkish nationals had liked his page. Social media has also been
used to fan violence against religious and ethnic groups the dissemination of a fraudulent video may have helped
spark the deadly clashes Muzaffarnagar riots last year.
There are also concerns that the Social Media campaign being run throughout the country targets only the thriving
middle class whilst ignoring the vast majority of Indians, those surviving on less than $2 a day, those in rural India
who would like a discussion of their genuine grievances, and those who actually end up voting in droves in an
election. There is a fear that parties are using the social media to perpetuate discord among their constituents instead
of uniting them for the good of national interests, and that a technology that is designed to bring people together may
end up tearing them apart.

CONCLUSION
Although we may not have reached a stage where social media can swing elections (like it does in the USA & other
Western nations), its influence is certainly on the rise. The quantum of its influence is a matter of debate, but there is
no denying its increasing influence on the minds on young Indian voters. Nevertheless, given the complex nature of
the elections, no political party can afford to ignore the relentless 24x7 focus of social media.

The author is an alumnus of IIM Lucknow, and works in Human Resources at a leading Indian MNC
in the Automotive Sector. You can follow him on Twitter @varun_iiml & on Facebook @varun2509

DID YOU KNOW?

In March, 2013, following the budget announcement, the then Finance Minister P. Chidambaram responded to
citizens questions about the budget, and discussed the state of the Indian economy through a 62 minute Google
Hangout, which is estimated to have reached as many as 5 million viewers in real time, including online and
television!

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 IN THEIR WORDS:
The power of social media cannot be denied and political leaders will be forced to take the demands of young India
into consideration Ravi Shankar Prasad, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

The numbers of social media users are significantly serious, already forcing accountability and personal
engagement, which will result in deepening democracy. However, in terms of impact on elections, we are one
election away from that Jay Panda, Biju Janata Dal (BJD)

Social media is already making a major impact, especially as mainstream media undergoes a credibility
crisis and social media fosters an honest discourse. It may not be a game changer just yet, but ignoring
it would be foolish Rajeev Chandrashekhar, Independent MP from Bangalore

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 Indian Stock Exchanges:
An Overview
The NSE and BSE have been around for a long time. But how are they important
to the Indian economy, and subsequently, us?
By: PRASHANT CHAUHAN

STOCK and stock shares in the financial world remedy the business persons need for reaching out for loans as well
as the economy shocks vis-a-vis the world market. In the fast changing lane of business, stock markets hold a crucial
clue to your ever ready transitions from world economy, local competition etc. You visualize dreams of IIM, IIT as
premium institutes in education. Growing from a culture of tradition, realizing important milestones in preparing for the
final examinations, most would believe the growing herd of financial biggies to be a last option. Others still carry
onwards to realize the financial manager, stock manager positions in top tier organization.
The lucrative stock market is complete with the amount of confidence, care and perks you get from trading
organization or agency at the Stock Market today. The very mention of stock exchange makes the best of trained
management graduates think over again. One is the money, second is the trust with so many scams and financial
meltdowns, one might aspire little for an outlook to crack entrance tests.
NSE is a modern, and highly automated screen trading system that has over two lakh terminals where investors
from every region of India can trade. NSE has played a pivotal role in the reforms of the Indian securities market
while also bringing an unparalleled transparency, efficiency as well as market integrity. Together with the BSE the
other exchanges have been able to render the best sufficient conditions for trade possible in the past two decades.
Also the services of the stock exchange have been able to become as effective with large number of trustees having
their development best efforts. The stock exchanges have been formed in the nascent years of turmoil in 1992, while
we would oversee many more future endeavours in the coming years.
Stock market education, myriad changing trading positions and number crunch is certain. A wiz with many skills
can get a stronger foothold. Challenging as it is, stock market can beat the blues of average traders and merchants.
Judgment might get individual through, yet a lot of homework would indeed be essential. Let us get to know the
Indian stock market, one of the most dynamic stock markets in the world.

LET US GET TO KNOW OUR STOCK MARKETS

The resurgent bourses or stocks at the markets show wider changes, so getting to know what and how they function
is a starting point. Some markets get sooner to their trades and others have more different rules. Primary and
secondary market for shares and stocks are two of the types. While primary market issues shares, initial public offer
is lucrative to the secondary market dealing with derivatives, share sell offs, capital restructuring etc.with high
performance, greater numbers, crunched everyday.
NSE and BSE, the two top stock exchanges in India hold the main industry weight with lots of trading, new issues,
and capital investments everyday. Merchant traders and other smaller day trades are important while other
organizations, under the aegis of NSE have started like NSSCL, NSDL. Securities Contract (Regulation) Act, 1956
clearly states about Stock Exchange with the sole purpose of assisting, regulating or controlling the buying, selling or
dealing in securities. The securities market enables primary issues, channels of reallocation of savings to investment
and entrepreneurship.
Stock market realizes value or worth in investments also in a time scale as per the valuation from traders,
merchants and others. These investments provide the approximate value returned in the day trades and which close
at evening. Stock speculation and activities are considerable which are led by risk of both market and non-market.
Investors are knowledgeable when they keep their investments in the right place or organization. Therefore more of
these investment strategies, patterns, updates from financial organization and much more need market educators as
well. Brokers and traders have agreements in proper order, risk disclosure agreement with acknowledgment.
Organizations need more capital and investment as the earlier loans and bank issued capital is low for operational,
growth and other development criteria. The stock exchange achieves the purpose for providing all relevant public issues.

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Where the organization lacked in recognition and money value, by registering through SEBI to stock exchange.They
subscribe to a more efficient capital based management. Public issue is an offer to public so as to subscribe to the
overall share's capital of a company.
Stock exchange in the Indian Financial System is an indispensible part of the overall smooth functioning.
Infrastructure developing in the past few years has been aided from capital that is raised through past issues and
share repurchases. There are a number of available opportunities for the average organization to take benefit from.
Usually the large part of detailed information is possible to get from share markets while traders need skilled
individuals, with better knowledge and strategic skills.
NSE as the stock exchange was formed such that there could be transparency in the markets. It would also lead
to investors gaining confidence in securing future investments. Therefore, even after the NSE was setup, there were
many more changes envisaged. Electronic depository based accounts and settlement of trades have always been
done on time. The critical change was from robust risk management system being set up in the place such that ever
more settlement guarantees are protected against broker defaults. Nowadays, broker information can be assessed by
most people as well as any qualified, experienced and minimum financial requirements could be allowed to trade.
NSE offers the three markets: debt, equity and derivatives.
The NSE was incorporated in 1992 as a tax-paying company. The organization has been recognized as a stock
exchange from the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956. Though other exchanges also exist, the vast majority
of transactions are between NSE and BSE. This was started by few leading financial institutions offering trading,
clearing and settlement services in various instruments. NSE today has a diversified shareholding. As on June 2013,
NSE has 1673 VSAT terminals and 2720 lease lines, spread over more than 2000 cities across India.
Knowing all about the latest new developments during past few years is one area you can work on. The market
function of prices and demand supply equation are some of the concepts you would need to sharpen not only the
basics of finance, corporate restructuring, and other accounting theories. The less you get in terms of opinions to your
preparation would not do. Sizing competition, taking time to prepare on theory, practicing all this and much more in
time is relevant. Skilled trader, financial investor, relationship manager are all different roles one can achieve to gain
with a pass from IIM's majoring in finance. There is also the option to choose in terms of study options and career
specializations in finance. Also one can opt for a good specialization in finance - risk manager, international business
and others.

SHARES, BONDS AND MUTUAL FUNDS

Stocks and shares as well as bonds are instruments to get more investment capital for the organization. The returns
they get can be assured for the long term. Stocks and shares can offer ownership stake in the organization while
bonds are similar to loans made for the organization. Equity stocks and shares are of bigger risk while bonds are
being offered at a lower interest rate. Stocks in commodities, and shares for organizations at the stock exchange
have been started already. Though so far there has been only 20 years in the making of the exchange, the
experience and commitment of the exchange speaks for itself.
Bonds and stocks in the market mechanism allow for a greater focus to the investing public where a diversified
portfolio, can lead to the better returns in the meanwhile. Stocks and shares of more than hundreds of organizations
are listed on the exchange. Stocks and shares confidence level with the returns is less predictable while bonds have
a more easier forecast decision. The downside risk for stocks and shares is ever high while for bonds it is still lower
though depends on the quality of bonds. There are other significant aspects to the difference between the two.
Shares and stocks would have better capital growth while this is not so similar for bonds, which give a lesser
confidence aspect given the capital gains and losses can be larger than the original investment. Bonds can be less
liquid while not so for the shares and stocks which can be liquid or also illiquid.
NSE also came up with stock simulations from software called - Learn to trade (NLT) for developing investment,
trading and portfolio management skills. The exchange has also worked with a missionary zeal to educate investors
about the opportunities in the market, the precautions they should take and their rights and obligations. In order to
educate investors and help them to invest, NSE has conducted seminars every year in the metros as well as the
smallest towns of India. The bonds and stocks offer more in terms of investment opportunities while options,
derivatives and similar new financial instruments have taken the high point in developing trade.

CONCLUSION
The recent advances in the 21st century of technology, business and growth in many sectors of economy has been
commendable with a large part of the accolade going to NSE and stock exchanges. Going along the stock exchange
inception with the history of the organization we get to know a lot of valuable information.
From a small rate of growth and development in the economy the part success of the stock exchanges had helped
a number of organizations to lead particular adherence to rules, charters and many other functions. Novel innovations
like trading bonds, options, swaps have been introduced. Similarly the stock exchanges function with precision and
commitment.

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 The need for investor education with new talent cannot be unheard. The economic downslide in 2008 across the
world had affected a number of organizations and in particular growth in India.

To get ahead we would need to fathom these changes coming after the current overhaul of the world economy has
been met. Together the stocks and bond market have been serving the Indian consumer in the past decades with
utmost of care. These aftershocks and business cycles have been met in the unknown new frontiers with confidence.
The employment scenario is already challenging in the finance domain, also with an increase in the salary packages.
Stock exchange in India have a long way to go, where our findings of the exchange indicatively have implied that
there would be a number of upheavels in future as well.

Numerous occasions when the exchange has reaffirmed their position in India growth story since then has been a
notable event in the history of the economy. We need to have more confident finance experts, managers and
successful organizations at global scale with independent systems and integrated to offer high quality. In these times
of global development and success, stock exchange growth in last decade of growth is grand in itself.

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 General Elections in the
Age of Fifth Estate
The unleashing of digital media: An overview.
BY: ABHISHEK KUMAR
BARACK Obamas 2008 election campaign illustrated the potential of a new, internet -enabled political force of fund
raisers, bloggers and social networkers who organize activities, post opinions and video clips online. The 2010 British
general- election campaign was more centered on traditional mass media, particularly Britains first TV debates
among the main political leaders. Yet thousands of individuals also played an important role, for instance through
rapid discussions and criticisms of the debates through live Twitter feeds, blogs and Facebook interactions. Research
at the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) suggests that such examples are illustrative of the emergence of a new Fifth
Estate, which both complements and challenges the traditional Fourth Estate of one-to-many mass media. The
concept of estates of the realm originally related to divisions in feudal society between the clergy, nobility and
commoners and later (in the US) to the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government. The Fifth Estate is
not just an extension or adjunct to traditional communication media. It reveals key uses of the Internet to enhance the
communicative power of individuals rather than institutions by enabling them to network locally and globally in ways
that reconfigure their access to information, people and other resources. It is widely perceived that this interplay
between ever -changing networks of networks in the Fifth Estate has the capacity to hold other estates more socially
accountable.

ROLE OF DIGITAL MEDIA IN INDIAN ELECTIONS

Political parties of India used to run their campaigns concentrated more on public rallies, television, radio advertising.
But the proliferation of Internet, computers and smartphones in the past few years has prompted politicians to look at
the potential of the online medium. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India in a recent report has stated that the
country has almost 165 million Internet users as of March 14. Though pure statistics can state that this user base is
just a fraction of Indias total voting population of 700 million but still the influence of social media users on political
debates and opinions related to policy making cannot be overlooked. Another fact that can be considered here is that
there are 149 million first time voters on the electoral rolls for election in 2014. Once we contrast this with the
difference between the votes of two major political parties, the Congress and BJP in the last general election (the
difference was just 40 million as per the data of Election Commission) one can safely draw a conclusion that this is
where the netizens would make a difference.
An independent survey conducted by market research firm MDRA across 12 cities for business today revealed
that a huge 95 percent of the respondents followed the digital campaigns of the political parties and were influenced
by their views expressed online. The survey further enunciated that the first time voters (46% of the total number of
respondents) clearly showed strong inclinations for online views. IRIS Knowledge foundation (a market research firm)
has come out with a study which states that social media had a high impact on 160 of 543 Lok Sabha seats in the
2014 polls. The study shows that the number of users of Facebook in these constituencies is more than the margin of
victory of the winner in the 2009 polls. Also striking is the figure that Facebook users account for more than 10
percent of the total population in these constituencies.
Political parties and politicians are putting their online campaigns in top gear as elections to the 543 constituencies
approach. A look at the activities of the political parties in last few weeks can throw some light on this. Indian National
Congress asked voters to share their thoughts on what to include in the partys Lok Sabha election manifestoon
Twitter before finalizing their election manifesto. Narendra Modi held the successive sessions in his Chai Pe Charcha
with NaMo series with one session focusing only on womens empowerment. Also in the race was All India Trinamool
Congress Chief Mamata Banerjees Girls are our assets post on Facebook which was liked more than 22,000 times.
Digital media strategies are now part of the overall campaign briefs, and parties are spending an increasing
amount of time and resources to mobilize netizens. There is no estimate of the amount political parties are spending
on social media campaigns. But its growing use has caught the attention of the Election Commission. The
commission has issued directives to political parties and candidates to keep account of their expenses on social
media websites, just as they do with traditional campaigning. The commission has also made it mandatory for the
parties and their candidates to declare their social media accounts and political parties and certify advertisements
before posting on these websites.

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IMPORTANCE OF THE SOCIAL MEDIA
Although it is estimated that out of a population of 1.2 billion plus, Around 160 million people in India are active users
of online services and various social media and email platforms but it careful look at the usage percentage shows that
Internet penetration in India continues to remain low.
Even after this low penetration India ranks among the top three Internet markets in the world after the US and
China. As of today, more than 71 million Indians use Facebook and there are approximately 20 million Twitter
account holders. So political parties in urban areas are increasingly becoming tech-savvy, realizing this is the only
way to reach out to the articulate young as this could change the democratic political dialogue.
The effectiveness of the use of social media on the election front was perfectly demonstrated when the Aam
Aadmi Party (AAP) or rather, the Common Man's Party won power in Delhi in December 2013. Dedicated volunteers
and coordinators, working for the party, not only raised more than 100 million rupees (1.6 million USD) online, but
also reached out to 3.5 million people ahead of the voting day with a Facebook application called Thunderclap, which
exhorts people to go vote.
ELECTION MESSAGING AND USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
A simple fact brought out by Chetan Mahajan, the Managing Director of 20:20 MSL, is that if people are consuming
content on social media it will reflect in their perception about the Political Parties or candidates and the influence of
social media on elections cannot be doubted. The large fan base of the leading newspapers like Times of India (35
Lakhs), Hindustan Times (12 lakhs), Dainik Jagran (16 lakhs) and the Economic Times (14 lakhs) on Facebook,
which is more than double of their circulation clearly illustrates the strong following of traditional media on social
media which no one can ignore.
Another expert, Mr. Yu Din (Head Digital Strategist, Genesis Burson-Marsteller,) believes that political parties
need to ensure that they are listening to their constituencies. He points out that the first thing a political party needs to
do is to ensure that they are listening to their constituencies and analyzing sentiment online. He further cautions the
political parties to concentrate on making it sure that the messaging remains consistent both online, offline and in
traditional campaigns to refrain from ambiguity in terms of an entity talking about the same thing differently in different
platforms.
One can further add to the preposition by stating that the social media gives a chance to build perpetual
conversations on issues well beyond the election results and it would be most helpful when parties are debating on
bills, deliberating on issues, or deciding on budgets.

ROLE OF WOMEN AT SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS

The IAMI study claims that vote swingers are mostly young men and non working women whose involvement in
social media is high. Less than 15% of the online opinions relating to the upcoming elections come from women
which is extremely low even when considering the skew in social media users in India (data collected by IRIS
estimates about a 3rd of all social media users in India to be women).
A recent study done by Com Score found that over 50% of the Internet is accessed via smartphones. An initiative
to disseminate targeted messages which can resonate with women in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Pune
would go a long way in engaging and bringing them on board with the electoral process. As it is always with other
things the party successful in doing this would obviously get the benefits too.

ABUSE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Even though it has a large number of positives, but still like all other good omens social media also have its stories of gross
abuses. These stories are not only related to small abuses like politicians boosting their popularity through legions of
followers who do not exist and smearing opponents but also extend to large scale abuses like the use of Facebook and
twitter to decimate hateful messages and threats to life first against innocent north eastern students and then towards the
minority community in Muzaffarnagar. In these special cases the government had to take upon the role of big brother
and block information used on the social media platforms.

CONCLUSION
Around the whole world we are known as a country with huge differences among lives of people. While a large
segment of our population has become self reliant in economic terms, we still have huge swathes of land where
people still struggle for basic amenities like water and electricity. An internet connection for these people would be
like a dream in heaven. What is needed now is a critical analysis towards the actual constructive role to be played by
social media through digital means in bringing these areas under the ambit of development. One can take support
form the fact that Chhattisgarh Government has used digital technology to plug the leakages in the Public Distribution
system and ensured 99 percent delivery to citizens even in the remote villages of the state. Novel ideas like these
can go a long way in strengthening the bond between politics and the fifth estate.

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 AFTER CLASS 12:
QUITE THE PICKLE!
A very typical Indian behavior is to submit to the dogma and take up educational
programs that hardly complement our desires. But what should we do?
BY: INDERDEEP KAUR
THE biggest dilemma that any 17 year old, these days, faces is What after class 12? With loads of career options
comes not only the freedom of choice but also a great deal of confusion. Students often find themselves standing at a
fork in the road, not knowing where to head. The confusion gets compounded by the fact that this is probably one of
the most important decisions that they have to make.
Science, Commerce or Humanities? One of the most common refrains, this is the first question that anyone trying
to guide you towards a rewarding career poses to you. The stream you complete your higher secondary education in
is, undoubtedly, of paramount importance. However, what is equally or probably a little more important and is most
often underestimated, is your area of interest. It is not uncommon to find someone choosing to do a degree in
engineering when her interest lies in fine arts. If you identify with the issue at hand and want to know some of the hot-
selling career options after standard 12, please read on

GET STARTED
There are two kinds of students one, who choose a subject for the love of it and second, the rest. If you are in the
former category, theres all probability that you already know what you want to do. The challenge lies for the second
category. Students face all kinds of confusions right from the conventional course or the college dilemma to
personal interests or market demand predicament. It is important to understand that in todays day and age, it is
quite possible for an individual to pursue three-four distinct careers spanning a work-life of over forty years. This
definitely requires one to train for protean skills coupled with an ability to adapt, unlearn and relearn.

INTEREST OR INDUSTRY
Students often find themselves torn between the head and the heart. Whether to follow their interest or take up a
course that the market demands, is probably the toughest choice that teenagers have to face. It should be borne in
mind that it is your interest that should steer your education. A successful career sprouts from the seed of passion
that you sow right in the beginning. Theres no point going in for a degree that you are least interested in, even when
it boasts of five figure salaries. What matters most is that you enjoy the work that you do because that is the only
route for a career that is successful as well as sustainable.

COURSE VS. COLLEGE

The first step to making the decision is to jot down what you dont want. Eliminate the course you definitely dont want
to pursue. This way youll be able to clear the clutter away and would easily zero in on your choices. The next
confusion that many of us face is whether to go for a good college or a course that you love. Do understand that
unless its a course that you have absolutely no interest in, a good college is always a better choice. A college that is
an established name in the industry definitely has its perks, whether it is with respect to the placement prospects or
exposure for extra-curricular activities. It is quite justified to go for a reasonably okay course from a top college versus
a great subject from an average college.

REGULAR OR PROFESSIONAL
A similar logic can also be applied to clear the confusion between a regular degree and a professional one. Unless
you are interested in going for a particular course, a professional course is the way to go. It gives you a certain skill
set that makes you industry ready right after you graduate. Of late, courses such as BMS, BBA, BIFA, etc., are filling
in for the vanilla B.Sc. and BA. Various once-considered-specialised-courses such as Bioinformatics,
Nanotechnology, Actuarial Sciences, etc. are now being offered at the undergraduate level. Such courses give the
much required definition to your career early on, and help in charting out a clear career path for the years to come.
Additionally, the job market today requires specialized professionals ready for the industry, and such a scenario

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further bolsters the need for specialized courses. This is not to say that a generalist course is not in demand. Thats
very obviously evident in the rising number of students going for BBA and/or MBA as these courses still sell like hot
cakes. However, the institute you do your course from matters a lot in this case. With most of the management
institutes doling out degrees/diplomas not worth the paper they are printed on, the decision of choosing the right
college is of paramount importance.
A lot of professional courses give you the opportunity of industrial training attuned to the latest market trends.
Taking up as many internships and training programs as you can lay your hands on will keep you in good stead. This
will ensure that at the end of your degree, you have the required qualification and much more to help you excel at the
job you take up.
For students who dont want to wait for long to land up a job and earn good money, a good course in a foreign
language is an option. Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, and University of Delhi are two top-notch universities that
offer some of the best language courses in the country. After a degree in a foreign language such as Chinese,
Japanese, French, etc., one may directly apply to embassies and consulates. The job offers a decent salary which,
after a masters degree, can go much higher.

MONEY MATTERS
Unless you are a rich scion who gives two hoots for how much is being spent on your education, in all likelihood, cost
is a prime factor that affects your decision. Though there are a number of renowned government (and government
funded) institutes that offer you industry-oriented programs without causing a dent in your pocket, the limited number
of seats in these institutes can only do so much. Come private institutes with sprawling campuses, demanding lakhs
in exchange for the degree. Majority of students who are not able to find a seat in the government institutes have only
these institutes to fall back on. This thus becomes the only available option for many and hence it becomes very
important for the students to do ample research on the value proposition of the course that they plan to take up. It is
not uncommon for many institutes to fill up their brochures with various academic activities and training programs that
never see the light of the day. Unless it is a top ranking institute with proven credentials, it pays to be a pedantic and
look at all the things that can possibly go wrong.

RECOGNITION AND RELEVANCE

Not a problem with the popular institutes, the relevance and validity of your degree is something that you should be
very concerned about. With new institutes cropping up in various nooks and crannies of the country, it is common to
read about a new course being launched very often. What is disturbing is that equally often do we read about many of
these courses falling out of favor with the industry or worse, being discontinued. So do make sure that the degree you
are going in for is acknowledged and valid.
The recognition of your institute and/or university is also equally important. Consider a case wherein you have
toiled hard for four years earning a degree that you always wanted. Five years down the line, you hear that the
institute and/or the degree are no longer recognized. Make sure that you make an informed decision and do not
compromise on your future at any cost.

OPTIONS ABROAD
Besides scouting for career options in your homeland, you can also look at various career options abroad. Various
institutes in Europe and America offer very good undergraduate programs in diverse subject areas such as Fashion,
Science, Business Management, Economics, Finance, etc. Some of these institutes might require you to take
standardized English language tests such as IELTS (International English Language Testing Service) and TOEFL
(Test of English as a Foreign Language), if English is not your first language. These tests are a mandatory
requirement for some of the institutes.
However, bear in mind that it is a costly affair and one may have to stay there for longer than the course duration.
You also may not have the liberty to fly back home as often as you would like. All said and done, studying abroad is
not just a bold decision in terms of your career path but also for the kind of finances involved.
Your education is one of the major factors that determine the kind of life you lead. A wrong decision may not
necessarily be something that will be irreversible, but it may cost you some precious years of your youth. Once you
have set your eyes on a goal, make sure you do all it takes to accomplish the goal. But first know yourself before you
decide on what you want to pursue. Only then would you have a career that you both enjoy and succeed at.

ANY MAN WHO READS TOO MUCH AND USES HIS OWN BRAIN TOO LITTLE
FALLS INTO LAZY HABITS OF THINKING.
Albert Einstein

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 THEHEALTHY
INDIAN DREAM
If you think malnutrition is the only problem our nation is dealing
with right now, think twice!
BY: SHANKAR ANANTH

IN the urban Indian milieu, I sure see quite a few people with paunches walking around and about. Go to any decent
enough place that attracts a sizeable middle-class population in India or perhaps even the lower middle-class
population for that matter, the pot-bellied people will be quite frequent amongst this crowd. And it gets only worse
from there.
The Indian growth story has so far been bombarded with many aspects. But sadly, health and fitness is not one of
them. Indians have made a mark in every field imaginable: engineering, medicine, law, acting, music, journalism and
what not. But sports and fitness, not by a long shot! Sure there have been exceptions, and we have sort of made
cricket our home sport, but even our famous cricketing stars paint a grim picture with a lot of them, to put it delicately
lets just say they are not in the best shape possible.
Perhaps the definition of fitness varies across geographies. In the more fitness-conscious cultures, it sometimes
may refer to a particular level of agility and strength that may be considered too extreme in other cultures. But the
importance of fitness cannot be overstated. And the absolute, not relative definition of fitness is more or less stoic
around the globe.
Though taken lightly, fitness and nutrition in it self is a large field. Think about it: the entire sports industry and all
related industries revolve around fit athletes competing against each other. The billions of dollars poured in to buying
various players, be it the NFL, the IPL and the numerous football leagues across Europe (and some across other
continents as well) depend on the fitness level of the players, their ability and agility. Not only the sport stars, but the
movie stars also display the fitness levels of a high-performing athlete. There are the different forms of training, types
of nutrition, strength and agility increment and body toning exercises which comprise the fitness programs. But apart
from celebrity sport stars and actors, the common man in India hardly makes an effort towards his fitness front. And
of course, the spreading culture of junk food and slouch potato attitude is doing nothing to correct the situation. As for
the malnutrition that is stigmatized to India by the international community, the growing middle-class and upwards is
now grappling with a new challenge: obesity.
During such times does the metropolitan India find itself in the midst of a revolution. Over the past five to seven
years, the gyms in India have multiplied at an unprecedented rate. Consider this: As of 2011, close 0.35 million
people were gym members in the Indian tier-1, tier-2 and tier-3 cities. Not only that, it is projected that the Indian
fitness industry will grow by an astounding factor of 20-30%. The fitness industry in India today is INR 1500-2000
crore giant. Several wellness chains like United States Golds Gym, U.K.s Fitness First, and our very own
Talwarkars have been a part of this phenomenon, and managed to capture a significant amount of the market. Not
only exercise routines, but diets as well have changed. The growing knowledge about protein drinks, fibrous foods,
low fat diets has come closer to taking centre stage. It is quite evident from these statistics that this sector very well
might be the next big thing in India.
But before we began lowering our guard, let me present you with a reality check. The number of people I just mentioned,
take that and convert it into percentage terms of the absolute population. The result is quite a shocker, isnt it? A mere
0.02% of the present Indian population has done something serious about their fitness. Sure, there must be people who do
regular yoga, workout by themselves, or follow some other form of exercise routine, but that number too is very miniscule,
and does not translate into even modest figures. Compare this with the more advanced nations. The United States has
about 12-14% of its population enrolled into a gym. Australia, always known for the love for sports it possesses, has about
16-18% of its population heading off to gyms. And countries like Canada, Denmark etc. also have a healthy percentage of
their population more engaged in fitness related activities. Yes, money is an object, but even in terms of awareness of
physical fitness amongst the urban Indian population, India loses out by far.
There are many things that can be done to spur on the awareness. One understated example is popularity given to yoga by
Baba Ramdev. The revolution he started has been a turning point in Indias health industry and also led to a fervent
increase in attention to fitness. Wellness products, herbal and organic products, homely exercises, and the

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predominantly the benefits of exercises for leading a healthy life came to the fore. Even the US Army was inspired by
Babas highly publicized Kapalbhaathis and Pranayams.
The work to be undertaken in our nations fitness situation is immense. While the poor dont have pants, the rich
are going another way and dont find pants that fit. There is a need to reach people, and to make them aware about
healthy eating and exercise. With such a humongous population to cater to, the already stressed out healthcare
system will buckle if the people dont start caring for themselves and realize that in this age and time, a healthy style
of living is not an option, it is a mandate!

TO KEEP THE BODY IN GOOD HEALTH IS A DUTY... OTHERWISE WE SHALL

NOT BE ABLE TO KEEP OUR MIND STRONG AND CLEAR.
BUDDHA

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 INCREASING ROLE
OF TECHNOLOGY
IN HUMAN RESOURCES
A look at a vital component of the HR industry

BY: VARUN REDDY SEVVA

HUMAN Resources function, although vital to the functioning of any large and medium-sized organization, has
traditionally been one of the most underappreciated departments in the Corporate World. Despite playing a crucial
role of managing the most precious resource of any organization i.e. the employee (both skilled and un-skilled), HR
Managers have been told that in order to play a significant role in the development of organizational strategies, they
must take on a more strategic role moving away from its prime focus (people and talent) to helping line management
building capabilities to grow the business.
However, while many HR leaders have become active participants in strategy sessions occurring in boardrooms
around the world, they are constantly hindered by the time-consuming administrative aspects of day-to-day HR which
they oversee. In order to maximize its contribution to business strategy, HR must find a way to relieve itself of
administrative burdens, without abdicating their administrative role. That is where technology comes into the focus.
Over the last decade, we have seen tremendous changes in the way organizations are trying to deploy HR
Technology. With mobile computing becoming more of the norm than the exception, organizations and people have
more power on their fingertips than they did before. Technology has helped increased employee engagement, and
empowered employees to manage their own personal details, freeing up the HRs time to focus on their strategic role.
We shall look at some of the HR verticals in which technology has played an important role.

PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
Personnel management refers to the various administrative and legal processes associated with employees, such as
payroll, providing health care benefits, and details associated with establishing or terminating employment contracts.
Personnel management is critical to organizational performance; however it is not seen as strategic and gets little
attention from line of business leaders unless it fails to work.
These processes require a considerable amount of paperwork, most of which may have to be kept on file for a
considerable time. The use of electronic imaging has made it possible for companies to store and retrieve files in an
electronic format. Technology also makes it possible for human resources professionals to simply print the forms that
are needed for employees. Greater access to data has enabled HR to shift from focusing on specific employee
decisions to aligning talent management processes like training and development of employees. Talking about
training

TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

Training is perhaps the most important expenditure for most organizations. As the need and scale of training increases, HR
can leverage technology and the internet to provide for lower-cost maximum-impact solutions in the form of e-learning.
Online training helps in speedy delivery of training, reduces cost of training and helps deliver training free of the constraints
of time and space. Training can now be provided to the employee anytime and anywhere!
Employees can also use online tools to assess what skills or competencies they need to move forward in their
career. This allows them to conduct a self-evaluation to understand the competency gaps they possess. Because of
the sheer number of employees who opt for training programs, online training helps HR track the performance of
individuals and aid them in understanding their shortfalls and help them utilize this training to improve their on-job
performance. Talking about performance

PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL
Enhanced performance management is another byproduct of technological improvement. HR professionals can now
use computer technology to assess employee performance and also to get employee feedback to be used for the

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betterment of the organization. There are several software programs that make it possible for HR professionals to
examine employee performance using metrics to ensure that employees are meeting performance standards.
Employees that don't measure up can be subjected to additional training or perhaps even let go in favor of an
individual that can come in and do the job. Talking about replacement

RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION

Before the Internet, HR personnel had to rely on print publications, such as newspapers, to post jobs and get
prospects for open positions. Other methods such as employee networking also were used, but not widely used. That
is why most of the advances in HR-related technology have been in the area of Recruitment creation of
sophisticated algorithms to identify available talent and match it to an organizations needs. Preliminary screening of
candidates is now taken care of by applications where in you feed your requirements get a list of matches the best
potential people matches for your job openings. Online assessment and testing has greatly reduced the time a HR
spends scanning the resume of an individual, while helping him evaluate the candidate much better. This is all the
more important in the modern day world, where companies are looking to go global. The pool of hired is now large it
is literally global! Recruiters can now post a job at one location online and have millions of people see it all at once.
Technology has made recruiting more efficient and effective for HR!
Technology has not just helped companies but also job-seekers in equal measure. I clearly recall one of the early
TVC of a premier Indian Recruitment website, which mentioned that it had thousands of jobs that one would never
find in a newspaper. Such websites have increased the choices of job-seekers, who can evaluate their options and
collect more data before making an informed choice. Thanks to current technology, recruiters can now seek even the
talent that isnt looking for an immediate job. Thanks to new software and social platforms, HR can now discover the
best and brightest, and allow them to establish dialogue with this passive job-seeker.

PROCESS AUTOMATION
New technologies have given HR the power to automate or expedite formerly manual, labour-intensive and cost-
intensive processes. For example, consider records management: more kinds of records (paper documents, text
notes, AV recordings, images, etc.) can be captured more flexibly, stored cheaper and retrieved for later use more
easily. Thats great for HR, which must maintain and reference copious records. Another example comes in the area
of Compensation and Benefits that are offered to employees. With more than 40% of the employee CTC coming
under benefits, technology has helped HR structure its CTC much better to benefit both the employee and the
company. Companies now offer employees the flexibility to administer their own benefit programs, within the
guidelines of the company which are usually set into an employee friendly portal designed for the same. Thus, the
onus is now on the employees to select the benefit plans that are more suited to them.
Technology has helped streamline and ease most of HRs administrative responsibilities: Compliance monitoring
and reporting, employee feedback surveys, payroll, benefits administration and more. Manual processes can be
automated and human error can be reduced, while personnel can be freed to spend their time and energy where it
will make the biggest difference to the company, like strategy planning.

CONCLUSION
The HR technology landscape is ever-evolving. Eventually, the very same technology that has helped reduce the burden on
HR will be responsible for eliminating most of the HR jobs in the form that they exist today. Technology, with all its self-
service and anytime-anywhere communications capabilities, coupled with outsourcing, guarantees there will be fewer HR
people in corporations. However, this is precisely the reason for HR Managers to become more strategic.
The introduction of technology into Human Resources is very exciting, but theres a caveat: While embracing the
technology, it is imperative for HR not to forget the art-side of the profession. HR has to keep in mind that technology
is not infallible. The human dimension of technology is still important, and he best HR practitioners and leaders know
their organizations and culture brand on a visceral level. Technology can make finding the right talent a lot easier, but
finding the right fit transcends even technology, and that is something no HR can afford to ignore.

The author is an alumnus of IIM Lucknow, and works in Human Resources at a leading Indian MNC in the
Automotive Sector. You can follow him on Twitter @varun_iiml & on Facebook @varun2509

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 Bhaag, India, Bhaag!
India has finally been declared polio free. A great step ahead for
India's future children!!
BY: ARGHYA CHOUDHURY

A young, mentally challenged Forrest Gump running in slow motion, egged on by Jenny, shouting Run, Forrest,
Run! The look of terror on his face turning to one of jubilation as his braces break away and he sprints like a gazelle,
easily outrunning three bullies on bicycles. Anybody who has watched this iconic scene from the movie Forrest
Gump would have, at least for the moment, believed that miracles do happen.
Cut to reality in a country 8000 miles away from Hollywood, where a similar miracle has occurred, this time with the
concerted efforts of the Indian Government, international health agencies such as the WHO, Rotary International and
UNICEF and of course, thousand of tireless volunteers. India has been unofficially declared polio free for three years as of
13th January, 2014 and the statistics confirm that polio has indeed been eradicated from the subcontinent. This is a
tremendous achievement considering that India accounted for half the worlds polio cases till 2009.
The news is splashed all over news channels, popular health blogs and medical science journals. According to the PLOS
(Public Library of Science) blog post written by Lindsay Kobayashi, the last recorded case of Polio was detected in Howrah,
West Bengal in January 2011 in an 18 month old girl. Since then nationwide surveys have not come up with a single case of
the crippling disease, referred in full as poliomyelitis. The World Health Organization is officially taking samples this month
as this article is being written and will confirm the statement after careful scrutiny for one last time.

ELSEWHERE, THE DANGER PERSISTS

This does not mean that we may lay to rest the artillery and go back to the bunkers. Our neighbors are still grappling
with the malady which poses a serious threat to the eradication of polio worldwide.
An online article in the Washington Post states that the emergence of a particularly virulent polio strain in
Peshawar, Pakistan is posing a threat to the global polio eradication initiative. Just last month, five new cases of polio
have surfaced in the country. Pakistan witnessed 92 cases of polio last year, more than that of Afghanistan and
Nigeria combined.
The geographical location of Peshawar in the Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (KPK) province, which shares the border with
Afghanistan, is a cause of serious worry for U.N. officials. They fear that the endemic may well soon spread to as far
as the Middle East if its spread is not controlled in time. The last thing we would want is a pandemic stretching across
Asia, which would spell doom for millions of children.
The presence of active militant groups in the area is proving a bane for health officials, with terrorists gunning
down polio vaccine volunteers and suicide bombers laying supply vehicles to utter ruin. A huge deployment of police
personnel is trying in earnest to ensure that the health officials give life to the affected children and not have theirs
taken away in the process. Pakistan is the largest polio reservoir in the world, and the population density in this part
of the globe will make the polio virus work easy, if this goes on unabated.
Sporadic cases of polio attributed to the Pakistani strain of the virus have been reported by UNICEF
spokeswoman Ban Khalid Al- Dhayi in Syria, Egypt and the Gaza strip. UNICEF is currently involved in an effort at
raising awareness among the tribal population living in the KPK province.
Strains from Pakistan have been infecting Afghan nationals and vice versa, with the provinces of Helmand,
Uruzgan, Badakhstan and Kandahar the worst affected owing to the lack of access to medical resources. Internal
strife and harsh living conditions have contributed to the inaccessibility issue. Two cases of Wild Type Poliovirus I
(WPV I) have been reported this year alone in Badakhstan.
We have become polio free, but viral infections can spread like a conflagration in no time. Though the mutation
rates leading to the development of new strains is comparatively slower in polio than for other viral diseases like the
flu, all it will take is a novel aggressive strain to make all known vaccines ineffective, and poor sanitary conditions in
the focal areas of spread will facilitate rapid transmission. We must hence be cautious to safeguard our polio free
status and monitor health conditions in our neighbouring countries, especially Pakistan as we share a long border
with them.

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AN INTRODUCTION TO THE CRIPPLER
The disease is by no means a new phenomenon, having been depicted in ancient art spanning thousands of years. It
took on the role of a dreaded endemic in the European Union in the 19th Century and soon after in the United States.
Afterwards it started to feature prominently as a dreaded childhood malady in the 20th Century.
The cause was identified as a virus by celebrated virologist Karl Landsteiner in 1908 and the first vaccine for polio
was developed by immunologist Hilary Koprowski in the 1950s.Four decades later, the World Health Organization,
UNICEF and Rotary International started a global campaign to eradicate this affliction which was affecting millions of
children worldwide, particularly in the summer months.
The virus is transmitted via the orofaecal route and attacks the central nervous system, specifically the spine.
There are two kinds of polio, a benign abortive type which resolves by itself and the other type which we are
concerned about, the one that causes paralysis and muscle wasting of the lower limbs. The virulent form of polio is
also referred to as infantile paralysis as it is primarily a pediatric disease. In extreme cases, the virus can infect the
brain, causing seizures and spastic paralysis.
The quest for a polio vaccine found base camp in the research of William Hammon from the University of
PittsBurgh in 1950 after he purified antibodies to the virus, which were used to passively immunize people in a large
clinical trial. In the same year, Hilary Koprowski developed the first of three vaccines for the disease, which was used
to immunize three million children in Poland and large scale trials in Belgian Congo.
The second was developed By Jonas Salk in 1952, based on an inactivated form of the virus grown in monkey
kidney cells. It confers protection to 99% of all recipients from all three types of the poliovirus after administration of
three doses.
The most widely used form of the vaccine which continues to be used today is the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV),
developed by Albert Sabin in the mid 1950s. It fought off competition from the other two vaccines and was selected
by the National Institutes of Health, the world leader in medical research for mass production. Since 1962, the Sabin
OPV has been administered to children the world over, having found favour owing to cheap production costs, oral
route of administration and the ability to confer resistance even in endemic areas.

THE GLOBAL POLIO ERADICATION INITIATIVE (PEI)

In 1988, the governing body of the World Health Organization, known as the World Health Assembly convened a
meeting of all the member nations of WHO with the objective of formulating an eradication strategy for polio. It had
two important goals in mind ensuring that no cases of poliomyelitis were to surface and that no reservoir of wild
poliovirus was to remain worldwide even after intensive efforts to find them.
The PEI was set in motion by the collaborative efforts of the WHO, Rotary International and UNICEF, with
contributions from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). A strong commitment from the Governments of the WHO
member countries and Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) was asked of as a requirement.
The primary strategies agreed upon in this meeting were to be fourfold. All infants are to be administered a
trivalent OPV conferring resistance to all three strains, consisting of three doses each at ages 6, 10 and 14 weeks. A
Pulse Polio Immunization Programme must be organized on certain days in the year designated National
Immunization Days, in order to cover as much of the community in one go as possible. The PPI is to be intensified by
door to door search and vaccinate rounds in order to ensure not a singly household with infants stays bereft of the
vaccine. Acute Flaccid Paralysis Surveillance programmes must be organized to identify all reservoirs of wild
poliovirus transmission, including stool tests of AFP (Acute Flaccid Paralysis) victims for polioviruses in specialized
laboratories. The final strategy is called Mopping Up Immunization and is aimed at execution of a final door to door
round of immunization to ensure that the virus is completely wiped out from the population.

THE PULSE POLIO PROGRAMME IN INDIA SCRIPTS SUCCESS

The origins of the polio eradication programme in the country pre-date the EPI by a decade. The first initiative of its
kind taken up by the Indian Government was called the Expanded Programme in Immunization. In a span of six
years, the programme was successful in immunizing around 40% of all infants, providing three doses of OPV to each
of them. A year later, the Universal Immunization Programme was launched as a pan-India initiative. It helped cover
the major chunk of the infant population, up to a whopping 95% by 1997.
The presence of the Global EPI was felt in 1995, when the country launched the first Pulse Polio Programme. By
this time the reported cases of polio had seen a steady downward trend, dropping from 28,757 to a mere 3,265. The
PPI was organized alongwith the UIP to ensure 100% coverage of the country. In the 19 years that have followed, the
PPI has been successful in driving down the number of reported cases to near zero.
The ride was not smooth though. Lack of awareness coupled with reservations against alleged side effects and
appearance of symptoms in children who had already been vaccinated played spoilsport to the otherwise largely
successful endeavor. In certain Muslim sections there was a reservation to such vaccines being unethical for as yet
unclear reasons.

Page | 26
 The Government was in no mood to give up. It has pumped an astronomical sum of 12000 crores into the
programme since the beginning, with 2.3 million vaccinators under the able guidance of 155,000 supervisors working
day in and day out to ensure that the 172 million children across 209 million households get their polio drops
administered in time. It has setup a National Polio Surveillance Project that is the largest of its kind in the country,
with more than 27000 centres monitoring the disease round the clock. Bollywood stars such as Amitabh Bachhan
were roped in to promote awareness about the vaccine with the tagline Do boond Zindagi ki.
The mammoth task of eradicating the dreaded affliction from a country that has poor standards of sanitation,
inadequate civic amenities and a largely rural population was thus pulled off, and the effort has been appreciated by
various world authorities, including the head of WHO Dr. Margaret Chen and ex US President Bill Clinton, who have
dubbed it the greatest medical achievement in the history of the country.
The budding Milkha Singhs and the P.T.Ushas of the country no more need fear waking up one day without
sensation in their legs. India can now run free.

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 MONEY HAVENS
ON EARTH!
What is common between Luxembourg, Switzerland, Cayman Islands and
Dubai? Yes, tax havens!
BY: SANJANA CHOUDHURY

TAX avoiders have existed as long as there have been taxes. And tax havens have also existed as long as there
have been tax avoiders. In a general sense of the term, any country that is known for helping individuals or
businesses avoid taxes can be described as a tax haven. Some of these countries are very forthcoming and proudly
advertise the tax advantages of living there, while there are others which are not so and like being discreet about their
dealings. In either case, tax havens have had a long and enduring legacy in civil society and from the current
scenario, it appears that such places are here to stay as each one has something different to offer to aspiring tax
dodgers.
More often than not, Switzerland and the Cayman Islands are the two places that immediately come to mind when
people think about the safest tax havens. Both of them are internationally known for being countries that pride
themselves on being confidential and for being able to avoid geopolitical situations.
Famously utilized by celebrities and rich people around the world, Switzerland is best known for its Swiss bank
accounts, which offer anonymity and protection from prying eyes of all kinds. Here, the privacy laws are extremely
strict and the country is very particular about confidentiality when it comes to the financial assets of its clients.
The Cayman Islands, a British Overseas Territory situated in the western part of the Caribbean Sea, comprises
three different islands. There is the Grand Cayman, the Cayman Brac, and the Little Cayman. These islands are
located to the northwest of Jamaica and to the south of Cuba. The Cayman Islands are the ideal places for people
who are looking to evade their taxes. People here do not have to pay for personal income taxes, capital gains,
corporate taxes and payroll taxes. The country does not even withhold tax on foreign clients. No wonder that hedge
fund managers and investors have grown particularly fond of the Cayman Islands, which relies solely on indirect
methods of taxation like import duties, tourist fees, and licensing fees to sustain its government and operations.
However, the growing influence of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is
putting pressure on both these nations and in fact, many others in the Caribbean to be more transparent about
earnings and interests. While these two places still stand out as the most obvious choices when it comes to hiding
your earnings, it might be wise to explore other options at a time when these places are under enormous pressure
from international communities.
Here is a list of some other tax havens in the world that offer the highest levels of financial secrecy and unique
methods of avoiding taxes.

SINGAPORE
According to a London research firm, Singapore is tipped to overtake Switzerland and become the largest tax haven
or in other words, the largest global offshore wealth center in terms of assets by 2020. As of now, it is the world's
fastest growing market with a growth of almost $500 billion in a decade. The biggest thing that goes in favor of
Singapore is the fact that almost anyone can open a bank account without experiencing any kind of hassle. Further,
increasing number of wealthy Chinese, Indians and Indonesians are shifting to Asian centers because of concerns
over Europe's debt crisis. "The European crisis undoubtedly has had a big impact on Switzerland because all the
European nations now are looking to get back as much as tax as they possibly can from anywhere, and anyone," said
Wheeler, a bank analyst with Mediobanca.
Personal income tax rates in Singapore are one of the lowest globally. A person is taxed only if his income
exceeds S$ 22,000. The maximum tax that is charged of an individual is 20 per cent for income and that too when his
income is in excess of S$320,000 per annum. Capital gains aren't taxed, nor are inheritance taxes charged, and an
interesting point to note is that individuals are taxed only on the income that they earn in Singapore.
A non-resident of Singapore is taxed 15 per cent after the deduction of expenses and donations on the income that
he has earned in Singapore. Foreigners can set up a company without any hassle with a single shareholder and a
resident director. All they need is a local address and a minimum paid up capital of S$1 within a day or two.

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 In addition to the tax benefits, a stable government, latest infrastructure, a transparent legal system, an educated
workforce and a low crime rate are added advantages that Singapore offers. Also, the fact that its first language is
English helps a lot.

DELAWARE
Delaware may not have the charm of the Swiss Alps or the beautiful beaches of the Cayman Islands, but when it
comes to being a tax haven, it sure is one of the top choices of corporates. One of the smallest states in the US, it
offers the best protection for any person who does not want to reveal his or her identity as a beneficial owner of a
company. This is one of the main reasons why this East Coast state of America hosts almost 60% of the Fortune 500
companies and more than 650,000 companies in all, which is roughly equivalent to one company per Delaware
resident!
What makes Delaware a corporate tax haven is its policy of low taxes and essentially no requirements needed for
creating a corporation, making it easy for just about anyone to set up a shell company with "no employees, no assets
and, in fact, no real business to speak of," according to the New York Times.
Corporates are specially attracted by Delaware as the state not only offers high levels of banking secrecy but it
also does not make details of trusts, company accounts and beneficial ownership a matter of public record.
Furthermore, Delaware also allows companies to re-domicile within its borders with minimal disclosure, and allows for
the existence of privacy-enhancing "protected cell" or "segregated portfolio" companies, which are useful for
protecting the identity of those who do business there.
However the state officials of Delaware have a different story when it comes to reasoning why so many corporates
prefer this place more than the traditional Switzerland and Cayman Islands. They are of the opinion that more than
the ability to protect identities of people who do business there, what attracts corporates is the state's sophisticated
judicial system, which over the years has evolved into the top corporate dispute resolution center in America.

DUBAI
Dubai, one of the seven states of the United Arab Emirates, is well-known for being a great destination for shoppers and
corporates alike because of its tax-free structure. In Muslim countries, collecting money that is not gained by work or service
(which is otherwise known as taxes) is forbidden. However, it is a misconception that Dubai is zero percent tax free. There
are a few security taxes that are levied on citizens and certain corporate taxes are imposed on firms.
Citizens of Dubai are not required to pay taxes on income, property or capital gains. Though there are no sales taxes
on goods, articles that are considered forbidden, such as alcohol, are levied with high taxes. Certain other taxes like
import duties on goods that are brought from outside the country, taxes on rental property and on the hospitality
industry are imposed.
Dubai is high on demand for all kinds of corporate firms as the emirate does not charge any corporate income tax. Only
foreign banks and oil companies are levied income taxes. An impressive feature of Dubai is the special economic free zones
that they have created. In these areas, companies are given special incentives in order to boost their economic
development. Taxes are not levied for the first 15 years, after which the firms can apply for a further 15 years of tax
exemption. Moreover, export and import taxes are also not imposed on companies in these free economic zones.

BERMUDA
Bermuda is the ideal place for those businessmen who want to float in crystal clear waters with exotic drinks in their
hands and with the knowledge that the money they earn from their businesses is shielded from taxation. No wonder
that in the recent past, entire countries have shifted their operations to Bermuda. While other tax havens are under
intense scrutiny from international agencies, a 2002 Seattle article correctly notes that Bermuda is least likely to come
under attack from such organizations because what these American companies are doing in Bermuda appears to be
perfectly legal under the tax code.
Bermudas finance minister himself agrees that though the country has never taxed the profits of any corporations
or taxed individuals on their personal profits, tax is levied on land and inheritance.

LUXEMBOURG
It is not surprising that Luxembourgs motto is We want to stay what we are. After all, the citizens of this country are
the richest in the world by some counts. The World Bank estimates their output at $107,000 per head as compared to
just $50,000 per head for Americans! And why not? According to a certain consulting firm, Luxembourg holds more
than 2 trillion euros in investment funds. And because taxes are so low on these funds, this leads to many
international companies opening their subsidiaries in Luxembourg so that they can have all their profits taxed cheaply
by this country. As a result of all this money from abroad, the citizens of Luxembourg have the highest per capita
income in the entire EU.

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 The best thing about Luxembourg is the fact that it operates fully within the law. According to Reuters, Luxembourg offers
an effective tax rate of under 6 percent by exempting "income a company earns through intellectual property." Further, its
geographical position in the European Union (Sandwiched between Germany, France and Belgium at the heart of Europe)
is also attractive to corporates or other businessmen that want to sell throughout Europe without any red tape.
There is no denying that being a tax haven does have some benefits, mutual benefits. Not only is the person
investing benefitted, but the country/state as a whole stands at an advantage vis--vis other tax-gobbling places. And
now that you potential entrepreneurs have read where to save taxes, I wont be the least bit surprised if I hear some
years later that quite a few of you have moved off to places to save your money. And if seen through the eye of a
businessman, that does make perfect sense!

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 The Crimean
BRIEF
The situation in Crimea has shook the world. What triggered it?
And what has transpired?
BY: SANDEEP DAS

THE Crimean crisis is a prominent territorial dispute to have emerged over the last few years. After the ruling
President of Ukraine was impeached and a pro-Europe leader elected, Russian troops invaded Crimea, a
strategically important and majority Russian speaking peninsula of Ukraine. As a result, the Crimean population
expressed their overwhelming desire to secede from Ukraine and be a part of Russia through a referendum. As the
United States and European nations condemn the referendum and Russias illegal use of force, they have few
options left to but to accept the Russian annexation of Crimea.

Although Crimea has been a part of Ukraine, it resembles Russia historically, culturally and politically
The Crimean peninsula, with an area of 26,000 square kilometers is Ukraines only autonomous region with
Simferopol as its capital and Sevastopol as its port city that houses Russias Black Sea naval base. It extends to
Ukraine on its western shore and to Russia on its eastern shore.
th
In the 18 century, Crimea was absorbed into the Russian empire along with most of Ukraine by Catherine the Great.
Russias Black Sea naval base at Sevastopol was founded soon. The Crimean war of 1853-56 between Russia and
the Ottomon Empire (which was backed by Britain and France) resulted in nearly half a million people dying. In 1921,
after changing hands multiple times, the Crimean peninsula, became part of the Soviet Union.
In 1954, Crimea became a part of Ukraine when Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev gave the peninsula to Ukraine.
This transition didnt matter as Ukraine was a part of the USSR. Once Soviet Union broke up in 1991, Crimea ended
up under independent Ukraine. Majority of the Crimean population is ethnic Russian (58%) with ethnic Ukrainian
(24%) and the Muslim Tatars (12%) constituting the remaining.

Impeachment of the pro-Russian Ukrainian President along with the appointment of a pro-Europe government
has triggered off Crimeas desire to secede to Russia
Pro-Russian Viktor Yanukovych was elected President of Ukraine in 2010. Shortly after he was elected, he agreed to
extend Russias military presence on its port city of Sevastopol till 2042. In return, Russia would be supplying Ukraine
with discounted gas. Prior to Viktor Yanukovychs election, pro-Europe President Viktor Yuschenko had warned
Russia that it would have to leave the port city of Sevastopol by 2017. The port city of Sevastopol is critical to Russia
as it gives it access to the Black Sea and serves as a gateway to the Mediterranean Sea.
Towards the end of 2013, protests erupted over the issue over Presidents Yanukovychs apparent gesture to side
with Russian President Putin rather than ally with Western leaders. Pro-Russian President Yanukovych had struck a
deal with Russia as part of which Russia would supply gas at a discounted price to Ukraine and buy USD 15 billion in
Ukrainian bonds. Vehement protests erupted with nearly 500,000 protestors marching through the Ukrainian capital
of Kiev demanding fresh elections.
The protests refused to be diffused in early 2014 and led to bitter clashes between protestors and the police
th th
between 18 and 20 of February, 2014. President Yanukovych and the opposition leaders signed a compromise
st
deal on February 21 but that became redundant as President Yanukovych left the capital and protestors took care
of Kiev. The protests kept continuing with protestors demanding that the Presidents powers be limited.
A motion to impeach President Yanukovych was introduced in the Ukrainian Parliament after which the opposition
leader Viktor Yuschenko was released from prison. On February 23, 2014 Oleksandr Turchynov was appointed as
interim President by the Parliament. The new government formed by the opposition leaders was immediately
recognized by the Western powers but Russia maintained that President Yanukovych was the legitimate head of
Ukraine.
th
Beginning on February 26 , 2014 local self-defense forces gradually took control of the strategically important
Crimean Peninsula. These forces seized parliament, government buildings and airports in the capital city of
Simferopol and raised the Russian flag. While the west proclaimed the forces to be the Russian army in disguise,

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Russia claimed ignorance of its troops having entered the Crimean region. US President Barrack Obama didnt seem
to agree with Putin saying that the Russian President was not fooling anybody.
The Crimean parliament voted to dismiss the Crimean government and called a referendum on Crimeas
autonomy. The proposal of a referendum was met with severe criticism from the Western leaders but was welcomed
by the majority pro-Russian population of Crimea along with Russian President Putin.

Russias interest in Ukraines Crimea was more than what meets the eye
Russian President Vladimir Putin had maintained this that his interest in Ukraine arose because Russia reserves the
right to defend its interests and the Russian speaking people who live there. Historically, Eastern Ukraine and Crimea have
had closer ties to Russia while Western Ukraine has been friendlier with Europe. However, the key consideration of
President Putins interest in the Crimean region was that the territory gives him complete access to the Mediterranean
via the strategic Black Sea peninsula.

The large Russian speaking majority in Crimea has agreed to join Russia in the recently held referendum
As part of the referendum held for Crimea, Crimean voters have overwhelmingly agreed to back the referendum and
secede from Ukraine and join Russia. Although there are mixed reports on the turnout for the referendum, Russian
news agency, Interfax said voter turnout had exceeded 80 percent. Opponents of the secession have tried to stay
away from the referendum denouncing the entire activity as a game of power and land grab by Russia.
The head of the referendum committee in Ukraines Crimean region says that more than 95% percent of voters
have approved splitting off and joining Russia. There were a flurry of fireworks and large rally of Russian flags above
jubilant crowds after the vote.

The referendum held by Crimea has been denounced globally and has been termed illegal
The referendum that pointed towards majority of Crimeans wanting to join Russia has been denounced globally. The
United States, Europe and the Ukrainian government have termed the referendum as illegal and destabilizing.
The White House released a statement saying that the United States does not recognize the Crimean referendum as it
was held under the threat of imminent violence and intimidation. The Ukrainian government called the referendum a
circus directed by Moscow leveraging on thousands of troops that currently occupy the peninsula. The Canadian
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said, the so-called referendum held today was conducted with Crimea under illegal military
occupation. Its results are a reflection of nothing more than Russian military control. The referendum is illegitimate. It has no
legal effect and we do not recognize its outcome. He also added that splitting Crimea and allowing it to join Russia would
lead to instability of the region and the isolation of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

For instance, in Donetsk, one of the cities in Eastern Ukraine, pro-Russian demonstrations asked for a similar
referendum to the one in Crimea. Most international leaders have added that any solution to the crisis must respect
the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. They have all added that Russian President
Vladimir Putins moves will lead to its economic and political isolation from the international community.
At the United Nations, Russia vetoed a Security Council resolution declaring the referendum illegal. China, its ally,
abstained and 13 of the 15 other nations on the council voted in favor; a signal of Moscows isolation. However,
Russian President Vladimir Putin has maintained that the referendum was in full accordance with international law and
the U.N. charter. Given Russias control over natural resources and United States dependence on it to make the
world nuclear power free, it is unlikely that President Obama can take any strict action other than stern lip talk.
Imposing sanctions on Russia is like undoing twenty years of hard work after the Cold War. And sanctions are a small
price to pay for Russian President Vladimir Putin for control of Crimea.
Meanwhile, as the referendum ended, there were cheers in Russian capital Moscow, outrage in Ukrainian capital
th
Kiev and bloodshed in Crimean capital Simferopol. On March 18 , 2014; President Putin told a joint session of
Russias Parliament that nearly 97% of Crimean residents had voted to join Russia as part of the referendum and is
going ahead with the annexation of Crimea.

Although the United States is vehemently condemning the military invasion by Russia and the illegal
referendum in Crimea, its own past smells of hypocrisy
Over the last few years, the United States has attacked six countries; Iran, Afghanistan and Libya through ground
troops and Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia using unmanned aircrafts. Majority of these attacks have not had support
of the local population in these countries.
Barring Afghanistan, the argument of self-defense has not been met by any of the other 5 countries. It has staged
elections in these countries (e.g. Iraq, Afghanistan) where its military (guns, tanks, war planes) has had a rampant
presence. After the military decimation and the elections, the new state of order has been hailed as ideal.

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 Meanwhile, Russia seems to have treaded a more careful path. A key difference between United States past
aggression is that majority of the local population in Crimea is pro Russia and wants to merge with them.
In conclusion, such acts of aggression and regime change are not uncommon. Although the majority of the
Crimean population has agreed to secede to Russia, there will be concerns over the fate of the Tartars and the ethnic
Ukrainians. In addition, such a move can trigger off a series of such destabilizing referendums in the area. The United
States and the European nations can do little to stop Russia; their dependence on it to drive their own international
agenda and Russias vast natural resources leaves them will little choice other than persuasion and stern lip talk at
best.

TRIVIA

1. Did you know that Crimea was occupied by the Nazis during World War 2?

2. Did you know that the Russian Red Army in 1944 forcibly deported the majority of the Crimean Tatars to Central
Asia for having collaborated with German forces?

3. Did you know that President Nikita Khrushchev gifted Crimea to Ukraine in 1954 as a gift to help the people of
Ukraine overcome the sufferings of the World War 2?

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 THE RIGHT TO REJECT:
NOTA
NOTA is the latest weapon in the voters arsenal. But will it have an impact
BY: HARSH DEO BASU
Electoral reforms as a phrase excites euphoria in the members of the civil society and sends a chill across spectrum
in the class of politicians who have vigorously made backstage efforts to stall the process and protect their vested
interests. Be it criminalization of politics, use of money and muscle power in the election process, state funding of
elections, disclosure of source of funding of political parties, applicability of right to information on political parties,
disclosure of criminal antecedents by candidates, speedy trial of legislators or any other important issue which
touches the very heart of the democratic system which we celebrate and take pride in, the initiative on the front has
come from judicial or quasi-judicial bodies not from the ruling political class. But the Indian democracy has reached a
point where restless middle class, fed up upper class and revolution bent lower class has sent clear signals that the
process can not be delayed any further. In this light, lack of political will from the Executive and Parliament has forced
the hand of judiciary to pronounce some welcome decisions aimed at sanitizing the political system. Decisions such
as providing None of the Above option to the electors, disqualifying convicted law makers immediately without giving
any time to appeal, the direction to complete the trial of lawmakers within 1 year are few examples which will have far
reaching implications for our democracy. The judgment providing None of the Above option to the voters has been
making highlights recently and also used synonymously with right to reject. A thorough analysis and understanding of
the issue is a must for an informed voter.

Before proceeding to understand the judgment of the Supreme Court, the relevant provisions of Representation of
People Act, 1951 must be analyzed which shall come into play.
S. 79(d) -(d) electoral right means the right of a person to stand or not to stand as, or to withdraw or not to
withdraw from being, a candidate, or to vote or refrain from voting at an election;
S. 128 - Maintenance of Secrecy of voting inspection of premises, etc.
(1) Every officer, clerk, agent or other person who performs any duty in connection with the recording or counting
of votes at an election shall maintain, and aid in maintaining, the secrecy of the voting and shall not (except for some
purpose authorised by or under any law) communicate to any person any information calculated to violate such
secrecy.
(2) Any person who contravenes the provisions of sub- section (1) shall be punishable with imprisonment for a
term which may extend to three months or with fine or with both.
Thus it is clear that the electoral right granted by law to a person includes right to vote or to refrain from voting.
And also the manner in which the electoral right has been exercised is subject to confidentiality. Its secrecy has to be
maintained. Any person violating the secrecy is liable for punishment.
The rule 49-O- the elector deciding not to vote, if an elector, after his electoral roll number has been duly entered in
the register of voters in Form-17A and has put his signature or thumb impression thereon as required under sub-rule
(1) of rule 49L, decided not to record his vote, a remark to this effect shall be made against the said entry in Form 17A by
the presiding officer and the signature or thumb impression of the elector shall be obtained against such remark.
Since the ballot paper / Electronic voting machine (EVM) contains only the list of candidates, a voter cannot record
his vote under Section 49-O directly. He must inform the presiding officer at the election booth. This violates the
secrecy of the ballot. However, with paper ballot a different method is used to waste ones vote, which is stamping
on multiple candidates. In fact this was the standard method of giving null votes without violating secrecy before the
advent of the EVM.
In Peoples Union for Civil Liberties v. Union of India, the Supreme Court held that EVMs must include None of the
above (NOTA) option. The Court held that although Right to vote is a statutory right, the decision taken by the voter
is a facet of Freedom of Expression under Art. 19(1)(a). Fundamental Right under 19(1)(a) and statutory right under
S. 79 of Representation of People Act, 1951 is violated if right not to vote is denied. The Court held that Rule 49-O
and Form 17 -A, of Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 which if read together allow secrecy to be violated, is ultravires
Art. 19 and S. 79(d) & 128 of the RPA, 1951. Additionally, accepting the ECs suggestion, the Court directed the
NOTA button to be included in the EVMs. Writing the judgment, the CJI said: Giving right to a voter not

Page | 34
to vote for any candidate while protecting his right of secrecy is extremely important in a democracy. Such an option gives the
voter the right to express his disapproval of the kind of candidates being put up by the parties. Gradually, there will be a systemic
change and the parties will be forced to accept the will of the people and field candidates who are known for their integrity.

Now what does the NOTA option mean on the ground? Many people have read it as providing a right to reject to
the voters. However that is not the position. As has been clarified by S.Y. Quareshi (former Chief Election
Commissioner), the judgment does not actually recognize this form of right to reject. Quareshi argues that since
right to reject will mean that a re-election will have to take place in certain cases (if the rejection option receives more
than 50% of the votes or if the number of votes is greater than the highest number of votes for any candidate), it is not
a desirable option, primarily noting the wastage/lack of resources and the rights of the contestants.
Rule 49-O of the Conduct of Election Rules 1961 is not NOTA option. It is just an official record that you decided
not to exercise your right to vote but did turn up at the voting booth.
Countries with Right to Reject: - Colombia allows the NOTA option (en blanco) and if en blanco wins, re-elections
are held with fresh candidates. Another example is the 1989 elections in Poland, which led to the fall of Communism
in Poland. In the elections, the Communists allowed elections but ensured that many of their candidates ran
unopposed. The Communists were still defeated as voters were able to vote against the only candidate by crossing
out their names. Even the Prime Minister was defeated, and the legendary Solidarity party led by the great Lech
Walesa emerged victorious. Spain also has a provision for rejection. State of Nevada in USA has it (since States form
their own electoral laws). Russia had it but abolished it in 2006. Soviet Union had it which led to defeat of many
Communist Party candidates in 1991.

Pros and Cons of Right to Reject

Why it should be adopted:
1. Right to Reject gives people power to express discontent. If citizens are dissatisfied with the background or
previous performance of the candidates, they may opt to reject all the candidates.
2. Right to Reject would check candidates with criminal records and parties would be forced to give tickets to good
candidates.
3. If almost all the candidates on whom political parties spent crores of Rupees are rejected, they would be
discouraged to spend their money.
4. Right to Reject would mean true democracy as the people will be able select their representative in true sense of
the word. The representative in all likelihood would be honest and transparent in his functions as a Member of
Parliament because he has gone through rigorous selection procedure.
5. Opinions of frustrated citizens would be known publicly as practically the entire electorate would vote and if the
rejections exceeded the votes cast in favor of candidates, all the candidates would be rejected and fresh elections
with new candidates would be scheduled. There would be initial inconveniences and setbacks like huge extra
expenses on promoting the new candidates, an additional burden on the national exchequer and the taxpayers
and the cost of manpower used on the Election Day itself but a new era of integrity would begin.
6. Every political party would regard the electorate as a formidable force to reckon with and would ensure that only
honest representatives of integrity were admitted to their party. Hence the representatives would be careful and
prudent in their conduct.
7. The Right to Reject would ensure that people with criminal records would never be able to enter politics. Scams
and scandals would decrease immensely.

The reasons why Right to Reject should not be introduced:

1. With Right to reject at their disposal, people will be able to express their opinion and cast vote rejecting all the
candidates but this wont be counted against the votes cast in the candidates favour. The number of selections of
None of the above must have maximum votes to initiate re-election.
2. On an average 60% of the voters cast their votes. More and more people are disenchanted by the politics today.
Right to reject might become a fashion statement among them which would prolong election.
3. There are around 11 million teachers, staff and other officers who assist in conducting general elections. Also,
tight security measures have to be taken by police for upholding law and order during elections. It would become
tedious and unnecessary burden for everyone to conduct the whole activity again if candidates get rejected.
4. The cost would increase manifold if re-elections would have to be conducted. Increases the burden on the tax
payers. Also, political parties would spend huge amount again to campaign for the new candidate.
5. In J&K and some Northeastern states, the right to reject may be misused to create political instability. Every
candidate presented to the people might be rejected again and again, sending a negative political message.
6. Voting in India is party oriented. Masses dont care who is representing them. Its the ruling party which matters.
Hence, the arguments for and against the Right to reject are equally strong and merit consideration. Only after a

Page | 35
wide debate a final decision on the matter could be taken. But till then, the initiative taken by the Supreme Court must
be appreciated. Even the Supreme Court has relied on the good sense of political parties while writing the judgment.
The Court was hopeful that high number of NOTA votes shall be a moral stigma on the winning candidate and parties
will be gradually forced to choose candidates who are more popular and acceptable to the voter mass. It can be said
that a humble beginning has been made towards cleaning the dirty political space pervading in India but the way
voters exercise this option and moral sensitivity of the candidates contesting will decide the fate of this electoral
experiment in Indias context.

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 Understanding the
Anti-Competitive Agreement
In an era when the India market is projected to rise, competition is inevitable. And
in order to help the market flourish, such an agreement is absolutely essential.
BY: ABHISHEK KUMAR

THE Competition Act, 2002 (the Act) was enacted to provide a more competition friendly environment in the
country was enacted. The main thrust of the act is to promote and sustain competition in markets and to prevent
practices having adverse effect on competition. The Act prohibits anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominant
position by enterprises and regulates combinations (acquisition, acquiring of control and M&A), which causes or is
likely to cause an appreciable adverse effect on competition within India. The objectives of the Act are sought to be
achieved through the Competition Commission of India (CCI), which has been established by the Central
Government w.e.f. 14th October 2003.
Non-competitive practices or Cartel under the Act can be referred to as those practices, wherein a number of
producers/sellers/service providers control or attempt to control the market. In such a situation, these market
entities act as price-setters so as to maximize profits at the expense of other market participants. Such a situation is
not only unfair but also reduces economic efficiency of the country. Hence the Act has provided an authority via CCI
to keep a check on such entities.
The Act is fairly comprehensive to cover all type of agreements or combinations controlling the market by fixing
trade terms and conditions between sellers or buyers. However, the most difficult thing while dealing with an
allegation of anti-competitive agreements under the Act is interpretation of the term Agreement.
The definition of Agreement provided under Section 2 (b) of The Act includes inter alia any arrangement or
understanding or action in concert whether or not formal or in writing or intended to be enforceable by legal
proceedings. This definition is an inclusive one as it covers agreements falling under the category of a contract in
conventional sense under the Indian Contract Act, 1872 and also any arrangement, understanding or action in concert
between two or more parties whether in writing or not and whether enforceable by law or not.

ANTI-COMPETITIVE AGREEMENT:
Section 3 of the Act provides that the any Agreement in respect of production, acquisition or control of goods or
provision of services etc. which causes or is likely to cause an appreciable adverse effect on competition within India
shall be anti-competitive and consequently be void.
Although the Act does not define appreciable adverse effect on competition and there is no thumb rule to
determine when an agreement causes or is likely to cause appreciable adverse effect on competition, still, section 19
(3) of the Act provides the following factors that the CCI must consider while determining, whether an agreement
has an appreciable adverse effect on competition-
I. creation of barriers to new entrants in the market;
II. driving existing competitors out of the market;
III. foreclosure of competition by hindering entry into the market;
IV. accrual of benefits to consumers;
V. improvements in production or distribution of goods or provision of services;
VI. promotion of technical, scientific and economic development by means of production or distribution of goods or
provision of services.
Further, Section 3(3) of the Act provides that agreements or a practice carried on by enterprises or persons
engaged in trade of identical or similar products are presumed to have appreciable adverse effect on competition in
India if they:-
Directly or indirectly fix purchase or sale prices;

Page | 37
 Limit or control production, supply, markets, technical development, investments or provision of
services; Result in sharing markets or sources of production or provision of services;
Indulge in bid-rigging or collusive bidding
But the problem is, that the word Agreement has been itself left for interpretation. One of such and the most
comprehensive interpretation of the term Agreement has been provided in Reference Case No.1 of 2012 by DG
(S&D) against M/S Puja Enterprises & Ors, which held that:
the definition of agreement under Section 2(b) of the Act, being inclusive and not exhaustive, is a wide one. The
understanding may be tacit, and the definition covers situations where the parties act on the basis of a nod or a wink. There is
rarely a direct evidence of action in concert and the Commission has to determine whether those involved in such dealings had
some form of understanding and were acting in co-operation with each other. In the light of the definition of the term
agreement, the Commission has to find sufficiency of evidence on the basis of benchmark of preponderance of probabilities.
In view of the above and further considering the fact that since the prohibition on participating in anti-competitive
agreements and the penalties the offenders may incur being well known, it is normal for the activities which those practices and
those agreements entail to take place in a clandestine fashion, for meetings to be held in secret and for the associated
documentation to be reduced to a minimum. Even if the Commission discovers evidence explicitly showing unlawful conduct
between traders, such as the minutes of a meeting, it will normally be only fragmentary and sparse, so that it is often necessary to
reconstitute certain details by deduction. In most cases, the existence of an anti-competitive practice or agreement must be
inferred from a number of coincidences and indicia which, taken together, may, in the absence of another plausible explanation,
constitute evidence of the existence of an agreement.

CONCLUSION:
Any agreement to act in concert as a market setter, in terms of prices or services or promoting any other anti-
competitive practices may be referred as anti-competitive agreement. However, due regard must be given towards
the facts of each particular case and the plausible explanation which it offers for such arrangement.

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 MONSOON WOES!
The new government already had its task cut out by inheriting an economy in
shambles and adding to the challenge is the prediction of a scanty monsoon. But
is it really that worrisome?
BY: SHANKAR ANANTH

WE all hear how badly India needs that annual downpour in order to function, and this is the time we find out how
we still are very much an agrarian economy. Newly-industrialized or any other term used to describe the new India
really needs an overhaul for the reality becomes painfully apparent during the three or so months of monsoon. The
previous decade, the nation was blessed with a genuinely good monsoon, barring a couple of years. Subsequently,
the Indian growth story was painted by everyone. But a rather poor monsoon in 2009 blatantly lambasted those ideas
and an unfortunate coincidence with the global economic slowdown, India was firmly shown that it needed some
serious introspection and reforms in order to prove that the Indian growth story is not just hype.

Why exactly is the monsoon a worry? Here is the answer:

1. WATER REQUIREMENT
The first straight forward answer is the water requirement. About 50-60% of the agricultural land is not irrigated but
is purely dependent on the monsoon rains (yes, it is that bad!). So, the chain is simple enough: Less water for crops
means low output, which translates into high prices based on low supply and ultimately, inflation.

2. OILSEEDS AND PULSES

These two commodities have a high water requirement, and consequently are only grown during the monsoon
season. With India already being the largest importer of oilseeds in the world, a below-par monsoon does not bode
well for the economy.

3. FRUIT, VEGETABLE
RESERVES
The previous government fortunately stockpiled decent amounts of rice, wheat and sugar. But the problem begins
when the shortage of fruits and vegetables comes to the fore. With these two commodities in inadequacy, the
government wont be able to control the spiralling prices for it is usually the fruits and vegetables that give price rise
a boost.

4. SCARES AWAY INVESTORS

With the raw materials getting expensive, investors, the people Modi is trusting on to play a huge part in the
economic revival of the nation, might be discouraged. And in certain essential sectors like infrastructure and power,
an external hand is an absolute necessity if we are to become somewhat close to being called a developed nation by
2020.

But are monsoons such a vital cog in the development of the nation? Or is it possible to somehow reduce our
dependence on the whims of the Rain God? It would obviously be a lot better if the economy wasnt so fickle and
the vulnerability was reduced. And here is how:

1. IRRIGATION
Wells, tube wells, canals, and drip irrigation are some common forms of irrigation that can be employed to make the
fertile land more fruitful, and also to start agriculture in the arid lands of the nation. Irrigation provides plenty of
options by ensuring the regulated usage of water and continuous but judicious use of ground water, subsequently
reducing our reliance on rainwater.

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2. COLD STORAGE
Though India is one of the largest producers of fruits and vegetables in the world, an astounding 35% of it is wasted
annually. This has been one of the major reasons food prices have been jumping higher and higher. Such inability to
preserve our produces has cost us dearly. Increased use of cold storages is perhaps one way of reducing such
magnanimous wastage.

3. BETTER ROADS AND ELECTRICITY

So far, only Gujarat has been able to successfully link its agricultural roads with maximum efficiency, and also
provide 24-hour electricity to its farmers. The wastage mentioned in the previous point can also be reduced by
providing better connectivity and better productivity methods to the farmers, so that unnecessary delays do not play
spoilsport amidst a good produce, or worse, during a poor harvest.

4. CONTINGENCY PLANS
A contingency plan, of the type directed by the new central government to the states, should always be ready. These
plans may include directives to farmers so as to sow paddy, mainly kharif, lower water requiring crops, providing
diesel supplies to augment groundwater irrigation and stimulus packages. SRI (System of rice intensification) is a
great way to improve productivity during uncertain rains for it requires almost 40% less water to grow.

The country is in for some testing times, and will test the mettle of the new government at the center, as well as those
ruling the states. This monsoon should be treated as a warning for times to come. A tough monsoon is a hard time to
get by. But an unprepared economy is even worse.

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 E-COMMERCE
THE CHANGING FACE
OF BUSINESS
Is e-commerce the next big thing that will change how the world does business? Or is it yet
another bubble waiting to burst?
BY: SUSHANT SHEOPORI

YOU may be in Mumbai or in Thanjavur, no matter which part of the country youve been living in, until and unless
you werent locked in a closed room, you would have come across the buzzword of the town, E-commerce. While
the concept is new to India, thanks to the likes of Amazon, the US diaspora is well familiarized with it since years.
The whole e-commerce industry is growing at the pace of 40-45% per year in India. US retail sales have hit the 4.5
trillion-dollar mark and the Indian market is expected to expand the comparatively minuscule-yet-impressive
benchmark of 20 billion-dollars in the near future. As we near these massive numbers, many are still wondering what
this e-commerce really means, how to benefit off it, and more. Well, if youre one of those, let this article be your
guide into the world of e-commerce, and if you are not, theres still a lot more to learn here!

WHAT IS E-COMMERCE?
Commerce can simply be defined as an exchange of goods and services, which are done usually for money. When we
buy something from a shop, we become a part of this chain. If you work for a company which produces some
product, then again you become a part of this chain of commerce.

Typically, a chain like this would include the following categories of

people: Buyer, the one who gets the product or service in exchange of money.
Seller, the one who offers these products and services for money.
Producer, the one who makes these product so that the sellers can offer it to the buyers.
Coming back to our specific niche, e-commerce, it refers to the sales/trading of products or provision of any
specific service i.e any commercial transaction done with the use of the internet. While the primary means of making
e-commerce purchases is via the use of a website, usually either a marketplace or the sellers own, there are other
alternate methods too such as mobile apps and more. There are many advantages which electronic transactions
provide over traditional methods and when implemented with great thought, e-commerce becomes faster, more
convenient and much cheaper over the traditional means of shopping and purchasing.
There are multiple sales aspect to this e-commerce system, which when combined, enables the company to
provide better services to its customer.

Business-to-Consumer (B2C)
In a Business-to-Consumer e-commerce setup, online companies allow the consumers to buy products and services
directly from them and thus make them the end users of their products. Usually, B2C online shops have an open
access i.e., the customer need not login in order to make any product related inquiry

Business-to-Business (B2B)
In a Business-to-Business e-commerce setup, companies sell their goods online to distributors, wholesalers, and
retailers, basically to people who wouldnt be the end users. Such a setup usually requires buyers to first login to
these websites.

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Consumer-to-Business (C2B)
In a Consumer-to-Business e-commerce setup, consumers post their products or services online, which can be bought
by companies via bids and similar mechanisms. A consumer can select any bid out of all the available ones, and
choose the one which he/she thinks meets the most of his/her expectations.

Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C)
In a Consumer-to-Consumer E-commerce setup, consumers sell their goods or services to other consumers online.
The most well known example of such a setup is eBay.

ADVANTAGES
1. One doesnt need to go to the store physically so as to place an order.
2. With marketplaces possessing other means of income, such as revenue from advertisements on their site, their
costs are lowered further, allowing even greater discounts.
3. It becomes easier to locate a product than to look around on the shelves and dragging around the aisle
4. No travelling time or cost is involved. Any purchase can be made with just a few clicks on your laptop while
sitting on your comfortable couch.
5. E-commerce websites are open 24x7, and one can place an order at one's convenience.

DISADVANTAGES
1. Lack of personal touch will always be noticed.
2. Lack of the ability to experience the product is a serious letdown, especially when buying non-branded products.
3. A device connected to the internet is quintessential to making an e-commerce purchase.
4. Malicious hackers have been known to use the mask of e-commerce to commit grave offenses, such as duplicating
and misusing credit cards.
5. Even with the delivery process having become quite fast, it still is unable to match the instant in-hand delivery of
brick-and-mortar stores.

ECOMMERCE IN INDIA
An infant in the decade gone, the industry is no more a kid around the block. Having risen drastically in the past 3
years, witnessing a growth of over 150%, the E-commerce Industry has expanded from a size of INR 19,300 Cr. to
INR 47,500 Cr. 75% of this is related to travel i.e. ticket bookings. Online mobile recharges and top-ups are another
major contributors to this figure. India supposedly has close to 10 million online shoppers with the number
expanding 30% annually. The industry is expected to reach a size of $675 bn by the year 2016.

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF INDIAN E-COMMERCE MARKET

1. Availability of C.O.D ( Cash on delivery) is mostly available in developing countries only. One major reason for
such an option being provided at great costs to the e-commerce players is the general lack of trust of the public on
internet-based businesses.
2. There has been a growth of 25% in broadband internet connections, enabling tens of millions of more people to
enjoy commerce every year.
3. Lower prices than brick-and-mortar stores.
4. Lack of time for shopping as people are highly engrossed in their personal and professional lives.

CHALLENGES IN FRONT OF THEM

Amidst this phenomenal growth, a couple of challenges lie in front of the e-commerce sector .
Firstly, there are only limited number of laws and limitations on e-commerce, presenting the possibility of
damaging/restricting legislation to be made in near future.
Rapidly changing and innovating business models and competitors
Perceiving this as a billion-dollar idea, there are thousands of websites aiming to be the next Amazons and eBays
of India.

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 Shortage of highly-skilled technical manpower at feasible costs

One needs to find a way or give its customer a reason to come back to them again and again.
A large portion of the population still doesn't have an internet connection.

THE MOST SUCCESSFUL E-COMMERCE COMPANY IN INDIA - FLIPKART

Flipkart was founded in 2007, by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal. It had raised around $180 million, by September 2012, i.e., the first
five years since its inception. Recently, making it the largest capital infusion for an Indian internet company, Flipkart raised $1 billion
from a group of investors.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), found flipkart in violation of FEMA provisions and is planning to send a show-cause notice to
Flipkart, alleging violation of Rs. 1,400 crore. As per the section 13 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999, if any
person or entity were found to be in contravention of the Act, after the process of adjudication, the person or entity could be liable to
face a penalty up to thrice the sum involved. There is an extremely thin line between the operations of a B2B (wholesale) company and
a B2C (retail) company, which caused the whole problem.
Flipkart has even teamed up with the Ministry of Textiles to support the handloom sector of our country, by providing the products
online. Flipkart recently opened up its first offline, and the first brick-and-mortar store in Bangalore, a few months back, called the
Fliptomania. Myntra, which was acquired by Flipkart in May this year, dominates the online fashion market. Myntra and Flipkart
together held control of over 60 per cent of the online fashion business. With Flipkart, Myntra has started selling popular local brands
such as Roadster, Dressberry, HRX, and Anouk on its own marketplace as well as that of Flipkart, in hopes of getting a combined stake
of 70% in online fashion retail.
E-commerce is increasingly emerging as the fundamental sales channel for a growing number of businesses. E-commerce has helped
us overcome the geo-physical barriers, making all the consumers and businesses around, potential customers and suppliers. E-
commerce with its perks and disadvantages is one of the fastest growing industries throughout the globe in todays time. Everything
from a hairclip to a car, from shoes to insurance policies, almost anything and everything can be bought and sold online; because of the
ever growing E-commerce. In the Indian market, Flipkart is the most visited e-commerce site and is at fierce competition, with deep-
pocketed US giant Amazon, for share in the Indian market.

So, commerce, the transaction of goods and services, made all the more convenient and at your fingertips with the usage or internet is
called e-commerce. Why stand in long queues, walk up and down the aisles for products, get drenched in sweat or just wander from
shop to shop, when everything is available on your phones, tabs, or computers. E-commerce is quick, and the most convenient way of
buying, selling or posting ads. And that people, is the mantra of this article.

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 PARALLEL
BLACK ECONOMY
A perspective on how money reaches the back pockets from the front pockets.
BY: ADDITTI MUNSHI
In medieval England, there used to be strong, hardened mercenaries/killers, who roamed the country-side and bartered their services for
some resource. Their armor turned to blackish hue as they couldnt afford the luxury of servants to polish it. They were called black
knights. In the jousting matches, which were normally won by these mercenaries, they got to keep the armor of the defeated person.
These mercenaries didnt need an extra set of armor and would sell it back to the loser immediately after the fight. The loser would be
forced to buy back their armor and this after market came to be known as the Black Market and the money thus earned Black money.

There is no specific definition for black money, but there are several terms with similar connotation in use. Illicit wealth, underground
income, black income, dirty income etc are some of them. All these terms are used for income which is not reported to the authorities and
thus on which any type of tax is not paid. Black money has both legal as well as illegal components. Black money generated from illegal
activities may include proceeds from a range of activities like trafficking, smuggling, production and trade of counterfeited goods, trade
of narcotics, illegal trade in arms, fraud, illegal mining, illegal felling of forests etc. Some of these activities are punishable under the
Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002. A considerable amount of black money is also generated through legal activities which are
not recorded or disclosed to the public authority, thereby making it black money. This is done through manipulation of accounts,
manipulation of books of accounts, out of book transactions, underreporting of production, manipulation of sale receipts etc.

Much hype had been created about the illegal wealth amassed by Indians, rich and corrupt, ever since the Bhartiya Janta Party
campaigned for the 2014 general elections promising to bring back the black money stashed outside the territories of India and that it
would distribute Rs.15 lakh to every family as a share of the spoils. Contrary to popular belief that illegal money is held abroad,
according to an article published in the Hindu, only 10 per cent of the black income generated annually accrues on foreign shores; 90 per
cent is in the country. The illicit money held within the countries territories is used for hawala and criminal funds generated in narcotic
drug trafficking, human trafficking, etc. And of the 10% held abroad only a portion of it is kept in banks the rest is either spent on goods
or invested in real estate.

Black money is a bane for any economy. Some of the main ill-effects of black money on the economy are:
1. Black money being circulated in the economy results in inflation. Since the magnitude of black money cannot be determined, the
availability of liquid assets is generally higher than the estimates of the authorities. This causes the price of the commodities to rise
above the normal.
2. Black money results in concentration of wealth in the hands of a few. Thus driving wedge between the rich and the poor.
3. When people with deep pockets are ready to pay any price for a piece of land. The price of surrounding land automatically rises.
Thus resulting in real estate inflation

Considering the black money that is stashed with foreign banks especially Swiss banks, it is estimated that one-third of all world wide
funds held outside the country of their origin (offshore funds) are kept in Swiss banks. A reason for the preference given to Swiss banks
when it comes to hiding black money is the secrecy they maintain regarding the names of their account holders and the less or zero
taxation policy for foreign citizens. The Swiss Banking Law of 1934 made it a criminal act for a Swiss bank to reveal the name of an
account holder. As a result of the secrecy maintained by Swiss banks the money deposited in these banks by foreign clients is
unaccounted in their native country. This leads to tax evasion. This is the reason why they are tax havens for foreign clients.

Switzerlands banking policy has long been a reason for discord. Member countries of the EU, America, and India have for long
sought a uniform tax regime. On extensive persuasion, in 2005 Switzerland started charging tax on all personal accounts of EU residents
and in 2003 US Treasury signed a new information-sharing agreement under the already existent U.S.-Swiss Income Tax Convention.
However, these agreements have not been of much help in tackling the problems created by black money.

Guilty of stashing over 360 billion in foreign banks, the Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax Department raided the premises
of Hasan Ali. He has also financed international arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi on several occasions. However, due to lack of evidence
the progress of case has been very slow and also the Swiss authorities have denied of having any link with Adnan Khashoggi.

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 To overcome the hindrance caused by lack of evidence, the government of India and its taxation authorities has taken measures to
facilitate the process. The responsibility of dealing with the challenge of unaccounted wealth is jointly shared by many central and state
agencies. Some of these agencies are Central Board of Direct Tax (CBDT), Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Economic Intelligence
Bureau, Central Board of Excise and Customs and Financial Intelligence Unit.

Efforts have also been made through international forums to tackle the menace of black money. After the 2008 crisis the G20 nations
(that include India) exerted pressure on countries that do not meet the international standards of transparency. At the 2010 Seoul summit
of the G20 DTAA and TIEA were suggested. The two agreements ensure information sharing between the signatory countries. India is
also the 152nd signatory of the UN Convention against Corruption. The convention requires the state parties to criminalize bribery of
national public officials, foreign public officials and officials of public international organizations, embezzlement, misappropriation or
other divisions of property by a public official, laundering of proceeds of crime, obstruction of justice and illicit enrichment. Then there is
the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime which would enable India to a get international cooperation in
tracing, seizing, freezing, and confiscation of the proceeds of crimes. India has also joined the United Nations Convention against Illicit
Traffic in Narcotic Drugs And Psychotropic Substances on 27 March 1990.The purpose of this Convention is to promote cooperation
among the parties to enable them to effectively address the various aspects of illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances
thus giving them an international dimension.
The international consensus on cooperation in the fight against the menace of black money requires parallel action at country level.
Therefore a number of measures have been taken by the government in this direction.
1. Prompt collection of information from tax authorities outside India was facilitated through the Finance Act 2011 under the
provisions of DTAAs/TIEAs.
2. The Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002 was enacted to prevent money laundering and also provided for confiscation of
property derived through, or involved in, money laundering and for matters connected with it.
3. One of the important initiatives taken by the Government is the introduction of the Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Bill 2011. It
would formalize the procedure for implementing the benami law, including the procedure for determination, confiscation, prosecution,
and miscellaneous requirements.

The aforementioned measures lay emphasis on identifying the illicit money being circulated in the economy and bringing back
whatever is stashed in the foreign bank. The estimate by the Global Financial Integrity (GFI) of the illicit outflow of funds from the
country and the interest earned on it is $462 billion for the period 1948 to 2008. When and if in case this money is retrieved by the
authorities it would have a considerable impact on our economy. Some of them would be:

1. A number of economists are of the view that the money stashed abroad would be in US Dollar. So bringing back the money held
in US currency would mean an increase in the foreign exchange reserve of the country. This takes the pressure off INR and
Excess Forex can be used as sovereign fund to invest in foreign assets thus avoiding any conversion to INR and there would be
no direct issue of inflation.

2. Availability of funds with the government would increase the money supply in the economy. However, excess money supply
causes inflation. This inflation can be checked by the availability of infrastructure to absorb funds and convert it into output, thus
keeping inflation in control. If there is enough infrastructure (of businesses and entrepreneurs) waiting for injection of capital to
convert it into products and services worth more than the capital that has been injected then inflation will be averted and the
growth in economy will ultimately support the INR. Thus the capacity of domestic businesses should determine at what rate the
black money should be injected into the market and ideally the government should help the businesses to build the appetite for
the capital beforehand.

The government issued a list containing names of 627 people who are holding black money in foreign banks. It was hoped that these
names would be made public, but the government has advised against it as it would be considered a violations of the terms of the
DTAA. It has further argued that the privacy of individuals would be violated by the revelation of data. These arguments however, are
only designed to stall the revelation of names of some favored entities because DTAA is about declared (white) incomes of entities so
that tax may be levied in one or the other country and not in both. Further there is a clause of sharing information for court
proceedings. Thus secrecy is not absolute. Such arguments by the government are an indication towards the lack commitment and that
the Ache Din are not yet round the corner.

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 Kingdom of Dreams, the
'Godmen' way
It is high time we disrobed Saffron Imposters like Asaram Bapu and Rampal ji Maharaj that wolf Indians
down behind the garb of sheep.

GODMEN or self-declared religious leaders, have been blessed with disproportionate wealth and adulation in Indian society. Their
mass appeal has often been the reason for politicians trying to cash in on their popularity. However, despite their demi-god status,
they have been regularly criticized by certain quarters, especially after the recent episodes of monetary fraud and sexual violence
against their followers. However, going forward, it is unlikely that their influence will subside.

INTRODUCTION

Godmen or religious gurus are often the charismatic rock stars in India. They have a high profile presence, thousands of devout
followers, incessant wealth and are capable of influencing mass opinion. Their followers are impressed by their Godmens
proclamations of possessing supernatural powers that have the ability to heal and influence future events.

From a business perspective, India is the best market for a Godman. No other country provides the market which India does. No
fancy degree required. Low cost of investment. No family influence. No other country has such a market for Godmen as India does.

Because of their immense following, they are often courted by the nations top politicians to leverage their influence on the
masses. Various types of government; right of center, left of center, socialists, communist have had no impact on the following and
the adulation associated with Godmen. The article looks at a brief history of the Godmen culture, the reasons for its popularity and
its future given the recent spate of controversies surrounding them.

THE ORIGIN OF RELIGIOUS LEADERS OR GODMEN IS DEEPLY INGRAINED IN INDIAN CULTURE

The origin of Godmen or religious leaders can be traced back to the guru-shishya tradition of Hinduism. As there is no centralized
established religious authority in Hinduism, people tend to follow such charismatic personalities. Many of these Godmen acknowledge,
that they have had a guru themselves. While there have been many noble religious leaders like Vivekananda, Dayananda Saraswati who
have lifted society; there have been a fair share of not so noble ones. Religious leaders, however, are not restricted to Hinduism only.
Every religion has had its fair share of religious leaders; some who have been very noble in their thought and outlook and the rest not so.

In recent times, Satya Sai Baba was a notable Godman with an immense following across the country and outside. He was known
for his miracles and was involved in many charitable works, including running a super specialty hospital and a university.

THE MASS APPEAL OF GODMEN IS SUPREME; WITH ALL AND SUNDRY RUNNING TO THEM FOR GUIDANCE AND
FULFILMENT

The mass appeal of religious leaders is unparalleled. Even the biggest movie stars might not match their fame and popularity. The most
prolific of them all, Baba Ramdev, is a television icon. A farmers son whose formal education ended at age 12, Mr. Ramdev shot to fame
through broadcasts of his yoga sessions and testimonials of devotees who swore his exercises had cured them of severe ailments. He now
presides over an herbal medicine empire and trusts whose assets apparently exceed $250 million.

Politicians have often tried to tap into this immense mass appeal to secure their own gains. Almost every political leader, is
unofficially associated with a religious leader. In the 1990s, astrologer Chandraswami, a moneylenders son, was a favorite of then
Prime Minister, P.V Narasimha Rao. With his unfettered access, the tantric Godman was accused of brokering dubious deals and
working on political black operations against the Prime Ministers rivals. He was later arrested for swindling $100,000 from a London
based businessman and was charged Rs. 9 crore for violating the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act. He was also held responsible for
involvement in the murder of Rajiv Gandhi.

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 Sometimes, this unholy alliance borders on the ridiculous. In September 2013, Shobhan Sarkar, claimed to have dreamt of gold
buried under the palace of Rao Ram Baksh Singh, a 19th-century chieftain. One of his disciples contacted Charan Das Mahant, the
then Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, who in turn convinced various other officials. Later, the
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) conducted surveys to the site on 12th October and announced an excavation on the 15th October.
On 18th November 2013, ASI stopped the excavation and began filling up the trenches

The massive fan following of religious leaders can be attributed to our social conditioning and belief in a greater supernatural
force. Hindu scriptures have often been abundantly filled with magical ceremonies and belief in the paranormal. The Vedas, for
example, have spoken about attempting to please gods with ceremonies to win wars, beget sons and acquire wealth.

Even in contemporary times, whenever there is despair or any complication, the Godman is seen as the solution to all problems.
Even in a country with over 200 million internet users. Chief Ministers look for auspicious dates for their swearing in ceremonies.
Bollywood producers seek good dates for muhurats and almost every other person wears lucky stones and constructs vaastu
compliant homes.

RELIGIOUS GODMEN HAVE THEIR FAIR SHARE OF CRITICS; THEY ARE ACCUSED OF CHEAP THEATRICALS AND
EXPLOITING THE POOREST OF THE POOR

Although religious Godmen have ruled the masses for many decades, they have their fair share of critics. Numerous NGOs and self-help
groups have often tried to expose such leaders in their areas of operation. They have often alleged the supernatural feats of Godmen to
be well packaged gimmickry. Such groups often mimic the demonstrations of supernatural power undertaken by Godmen, such as
walking on coal, producing sacred ash from thin air, exploding stones from mental power or turning water into blood.

The poorest and the helpless have been at the receiving end of such practices. In the past decade, dozens of women have been
tortured and killed for being witches in states like Jharkhand.

The media, in particular, has criticized religious Godmen for taking advantage of the poorest of the poor. The poorest of the poor,
often leading a hand to mouth existence, have donated their hard earned daily earnings to fund the business empire of many an ill-
intentioned empire of such Godmen. The media must be lauded for having exposed many an ill-intentioned religious Godman.

THERE ARE HAVE NUMEROUS EXAMPLES OF RELIGIOUS GODMEN LEADING LIVES OF LUXURY AND EMBROILED IN
NUMEROUS VICES NOT RESTRICTED TO SEXUAL VIOLENCE, RIOTING AND FINANCIAL FRAUD

In a recent incident, Sant Rampalji Maharaj, was arrested by the Indian police, after a violent 10 day standoff with his followers, with
thousands of his followers made to serve as human shields. After the standoff with the police, they found a five storey home with 24 air-
conditioned bedrooms, lift, indoor swimming pool and gym, luxury cards, a cache of firearms, cocktails and bulletproof vests.

Mr. Rampal, a former government irrigation engineer, sees himself as a reincarnation of Kabir, a 15th century poet. He also faces
charges of sedition, murder, rioting. In 2006, his followers were embroiled in a clash with villagers. He is so revered by his followers that
they eat hiskheer, made from the milk he has been bathed in.

In another incident, Asaram Bapu, the 73 year old Godman has been arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a 16 year old girl
during an exorcism. He has been embroiled in other allegations including land grabbing, womanizing and practicing black magic,
especially after the deaths of two young students whose mutilated bodies were discovered in a creek bed near his ashram. Asaram
Bapu, reported to be a bootlegger in his youth, amassed an immense business empire with hundreds of ashrams and schools.

IT IS UNLIKELY THAT SUCH A TREND WILL TAKE A DOWNWARD TREND IN THE YEARS TO COME

Given our social baggage, cultural upbringing and deep belief in religious Godmen, even amongst the intelligentsia; it is unlikely that the
trend of Godmen being put on top of a sacred pedestal will easily reverse in the years to come. However, with increasing media coverage
and scrutiny, fraudulent empires of such Godmen will not last for every long.

Either way, religious leaders have a short shelf life. They are either witch hunted by another political party or a more charismatic
religious leader has taken their place as the new power center. Their lives are like those of movie stars. They tend to try and make the
most out of life while the good times last!

In conclusion, given our society, it is unlikely that the influence of Godmen will subside in the near future. The inherent need for a
religious magician who can solve everybodys problems will proliferate more Godmen. However, with the increasing media attention
and stringency shown by the judiciary, it might get difficult for some of the ill-intentioned Godmen to blatantly rule the masses!

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 DID YOU KNOW

1. Did you know that Narendra Dabholkar, who campaigned against the practice of certain women being punished for supposedly
being witches; was assassinated?

2. Did you know that millions watch Baba Ramdevs Yoga program on television every morning?

3. Did you know that AsaramBapu commented that the Nirbhaya rape victim was equally guilty along with those who sexually
assaulted her?

4. Did you know that Amitabh Bachchans 1989 movie, Jaadugar, was based on a story of a self-declared Godman?

5. Did you know that self-styled Godman Gulzar Ahmed was recently arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir police for raping and
sexually abusing several young girls at his religious center?

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 BUDGET
Basics
A compendium of details acquainting you with the budget, who presents it and how,
the process of its approval, etc.

It is that time of the year when all eyes are on the finance minister to deliver a magic of a budget that peps up everyone, both businesses
and individuals. The challenge the finance minister faces is mind boggling. The expectations are endless. At the end of the day, there are
always going to be some who are disappointed with the budget and some others who are elated by the proposals in the budget. The
balancing act of political compulsions versus the economics imperatives is what makes this jugglery act a much awaited event for all
of us. This article tries to give you the basic understanding of the budget.

WHAT IS THE UNION BUDGET ?

Budget is the Estimate of revenues and expenses of the Government of India during a year. So the budget that is presented in
Feb2016 would be for the financial year April 2016 to March 2017. The union budget is also referred to as the Annual Financial
Statement.

WHEN IS BUDGET PRESENTED?

Budget is to be presented in the Lok Sabha on the last working day of February. It comes into effect from April 1 of the same year. This is
the start of the new financial year.
Until the year 2000, the Union Budget was announced at 5:00 pm on the last working day of the month of February. This practice was
inherited from the Colonial Era, when the British Parliament would pass the budget in the noon followed by India in the evening of
the day. The budget of 2001 was presented at 11 a.m, and this has become the tradition since then.

WHO HAS THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR MAKING AND PRESENTING THE BUDGET?
The Budget Division of the Finance Ministry has the overall responsibility. It prepares the budget after discussions with the various
departments and ministries. The finance minister has to do a balancing act between the funds available and the funds required. The final
approval is from the Prime Minister.

WHAT IF BUDGET IS NOT APPROVED BY 1ST APRIL?

The Constitution empowers Lok Sabha to grant a Vote-on-Account (Article 116). This is to ensure that the government can continue with
the necessary expenditure in the new fiscal year pending the actual passage of the Budget in the parliament. The vote-on-account
normally covers the expenditure requirement of the government for two months.

IS IT COMPULSORY TO HAVE BUDGET FOR EVERY YEAR?

Under Article 112 of the Constitution, a Statement of estimated receipts and expenditure of the Union Government has to be laid before
the Parliament in respect of every financial year running from 1st April to 31st March.

HOW IS THE BUDGET DOCUMENT ORGANIZED?

You need to carefully read the Part - A & Part - B of the Budget Speech of the Finance Minister to understand the proposals.
PART A covers the broad outlays of money for different Sectors. Introduction of new schemes; priorities of the Government and
focus areas are also indicated in this part.

PART B deals with Taxation proposals

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WHAT IS THE PROCESS OF BUDGET APPROVAL?
The Finance Minister introduces the budget of the Lok Sabha.

Then the following events take place.

Discussion and replies from the Finance Minister.
Demand of grants from various ministries is discussed.
Passage of the appropriation bill (into the money Bill) to authorize government expenses.
Introduction of Finance Bill which incorporates all taxation proposals.
Passage after amendments to become the finance act.

WHAT IS THE RAIL BUDGET?

Rail Budget is the Annual Financial Statement of the Indian Railways. It is presented every year by the Minister of Railways in the
Parliament, a few days before the Union budget of India. The tradition of a separate budget goes back to 1924. Following the
recommendation of the 10 member-Acworth Committee in 1920-2, the railway finances of India were separated from the general
government finances in 1924. This practice continues to date in independent India.

GLOSSARY OF TERMS IN THE BUDGET

Survey: It is a review document of the developments in the Indian economy over the previous 12 months. It is a summary of the
performance on major development programs, policy initiatives of the government and the prospects of the economy in the short to
medium term. It is the ministry's view on the annual economic development of the country, presented one day before the budget in
the parliament.

Capital Budget: It consists of capital receipts and payments.

Capital receipts: Receipts by way of

(a) loans raised from the market
(b) borrowing from RBI
(c) external assistance from foreign Govt.
(d) recoveries of loans and advances.

Capital expenditure: It is the expenditure incurred on

(a) assets and investments
(b) loans and advances to State Govts.

Revenue Budget: It forms the regular income and the expenditure to run the day today operations of the government.

Revenue receipts: Receipts by way of

(a) direct and indirect taxes
(b) interest
(c) dividends , profits from investments
(d) fees and other receipts from services rendered by the Govt.

Revenue expenditure: These are expenses incurred for the

(a) normal running of the Govt. departments
(b) interest charges on debt and subsidies.

Plan expenditure: It is the outlay on schemes and programmes formulated by various Ministries under the 5-years plan. Now that
the planning commission is disbanded it needs to be seen how this gets reflected in the budget.

Non- plan expenditure: It is the expenditure outside that incurred in keeping with the programmes formulate under the 5-years
plan.

Deficit: The excess of expenditure over the revenues is the deficit.

Revenue deficit: It is the excess of Govt. revenue expenditure over revenue receipts.

Budgetary deficit: It is excess of total expenditure (capital and revenue) over total receipts. This is bridged through borrowings
from the market and RBI.

Fiscal deficit: It is excess of total expenditure over revenue receipts and capital receipts after excluding borrowing

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Primary deficit: it is the fiscal deficit reduced by expenditure on interest payment.

Current Account Deficit: This deficit shows the difference between the nations exports and imports.

Consolidated Fund: It is made up of all revenues received by the government, loans raised by it, and also its receipts from
recoveries of loans granted by it. All expenditure of the government is incurred from the Consolidated Fund and no amount can be
withdrawn from the Fund without authorisation from Parliament.

Public Account: These are certain receipts and expenditure that come to the Governments account mostly as the government acts
more as a banker rather than on permanent basis. Examples are provident funds, small savings collections, other deposits etc. Such
money is kept in the Public Account and the disbursed as per rules.

Contingency fund : There are occasions when government may have to meet urgent unforeseen expenditure pending
authorization from Parliament. It is available at the disposal of the President. Parliamentary approval for such expenditure and for
withdrawal of an equivalent amount from the fund is subsequently obtained.

Corporate Tax: This is the tax paid by corporate or firms on the incomes they earn.

Countervailing Duties: This duty is levied on imports, with the intention of discouraging unfair trading practices by other
countries.

Customs Duties: These duties are levied on goods whenever they are either brought into the country or exported from the
country. The importer or the exporters pay customs duties.

Excise duty: Central Excise duty is an indirect tax levied on those goods which are manufactured in India and are meant for home
consumption.

Direct Taxes: These are taxes that are levied on the income and resources of individual or organizations. Examples are income tax,
corporate tax, capital gains tax or inheritance tax.

Indirect Taxes: These are taxes that are imposed on goods manufactured, imported or exported. Examples are Excise Duties,
Custom Duties.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) : This is the total market value of the goods and services manufactured within the country in a
financial year.

Gross National Product (GNP): This is the total market value of the finished goods and services manufactured within the country
in a given financial year, plus income earned by the local residents from investments made abroad, minus the income earned by
foreigners in the domestic market.

Disinvestment: It is used to denote the liquidation or sale of part or the whole of governments stake in public sector undertakings.

Ad Valorem Duties: These duties are calculated as a certain percentage of the price of the product.

Capital Gains Tax: A capital gains tax (CGT) is a tax on capital gains, the profit realized on the sale of an asset that was purchased
at a cost amount that was lower than the sale amount.

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 WINDS OF CHANGE
And the Wheel of fortune spun to create Business Stories
BY: SHIVA K. RAMACHANDRAN

WHAT we see as the business of today, is an end result of an evolution over time. The final model of business may take a form that
is far removed from the original intent. It is fascinating to see how businesses grow, how they die, how they are transform. The
reasons may be many market opportunities, environmental changes, customer adoption or many other reasons.
In this series Winds of Change we shall look at many such stories of companies, initiatives, business ideas that evolved into
forms that are unrecognizable now whether it be a story of growth or one of death!!

COCA COLA
The Coca Cola company started its journey in 1886 in Atlanta. It was a concoction invented by a pharmacist named John Pemberton,
otherwise known as Doc which flagged off the business. Pemberton fought in the Civil War, and at the end of the war he wanted
to invent something that would bring him commercial success. He invented many drugs, but not one was a commercial success.
Pemberton decided to try his hand in the beverage market.
In his time, the soda fountain was rising in popularity as a social gathering spot. So he wanted to create something that could be
sold at the Soda Fountain. He created a flavored syrup, took it to his neighborhood pharmacy, where it was mixed with carbonated
water and was deemed excellent by those who sampled it.
And this was when Coca-Cola was born. His partner and accountant, Frank M. Robinson gave the name Coca Cola.

What started as a modest nine servings per day, is today a business that has grown to a 1.5 billion servings a day company
globally. Before his death Dr. Pemberton sold parts of his business to various parties. The majority was bought over by an Atlanta
businessman, Asa G. Candler who saw a great potential in the business. Under his leadership, distribution of Coca-Cola expanded
to soda fountains beyond Atlanta. In 1894, impressed by the growing demand for Coca-Cola Joseph Biedenharn installed bottling
machinery in the rear of his Mississippi soda fountain, becoming the first to put Coca-Cola in bottles. This was a master stroke.
Large scale bottling was made possible just five years later in 1899 when three entrepreneurs purchased the bottling rights from
Candler for just $1. What they developed became the Coca-Cola worldwide bottling system.
In order to beat the imitators the unique contours of the coca cola bottle was arrived at in 1916. The new Coca-Cola bottle was
so distinctive it could be recognized in the dark. This became a key element of the brand. The contoured Coca-Cola bottle was
trademarked in 1977. Today the company has many more products other than just Cola, and is a worldwide behemoth with
revenues of about 50 billion dollars a year.
The first marketing efforts in Coca-Cola history were executed through coupons promoting free samples of the beverage.
Considered an innovative tactic back in 1887, couponing was followed by newspaper advertising and the distribution of
promotional items bearing the Coca-Cola script to participating pharmacies. The world is very different today. What is
unmistakable is that Coca- Cola is considered the most well-known brand across the world in many a market research study.

AMAZON
Amazon was founded in 1994, by Jeff Bezos. Bezosquit his job at D. E. Shaw & Co., a Wall Street firm, and moved to Seattle. He began to
work on a business plan for what would eventually become Amazon.com. The company was incorporated as Cadabra on July 5, 1994
which was later changed from cadabra.com to amazon.com, because the earlier name sounded like Cadaver.

The choice of Amazon was because it was a place that was exotic and different, the way Bezos wanted his store to be. Bezos
was inspired by the potential of Web commerce growth which was projected at about 2000 % in 1994. He started off with a list of 20
products that he would want to sell online. This was further narrowed down to five products: compact discs, computer hardware,
computer software, videos, and books.

The company began as an online bookstore. The online bookstore could carry several times more, since it would have an almost
unlimited virtual (not actual) warehouse, compared to the Brick and Mortar book stores. Amazons initial business plan was that it did
not expect to make a profit for four to five years. This slow growth caused stockholders to complain about the company not reaching
profitability fast enough to justify investing in or to even survive in the long-term. When the dot-com bubble burst at the start of the 21st
century, destroying many e-companies in the process, Amazon survived, and grew on past the bubble burst to become a huge player in
online sales. It finally turned its first profit in the fourth quarter of 2001: $5 million (i.e., 1 per share), on revenues of more than $1 billion.
This profit margin, though extremely modest, proved to skeptics that Bezos unconventional business model could succeed.

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 What started as a venture by Bezos who did not want to be left behind in the Internet growth story is today a 90 billion dollar
company. It has inspired many entrepreneurs worldwide to make their fortunes in the e- commerce space. It has completely changed the
way the world shops!!

ROVIO ENTERTAINMENT
Have you heard of Rovio entertainment? Ok, if you haventlet me rephrase the question. Have you heard of Angry Birds? This is a
background to the company that made Angry Birds.
A simple idea could transform a company. This is the story of Rovio Entertainment, the creators of the now ubiquitous game on the
smartphones - Angry Birds.
It all started with a simple screenshot of an unhappy-looking bird. The simple slingshot game developed by a small Finnish company,
pitting various wingless birds against smirking green pigs (the sickly pigs were the Swine flu inspiration), has become a worldwide
phenomenon. Since its release in 2009, Rovio Entertainments Angry Birds application has been downloaded by more than half a billion
people worldwide.
Rovio was started by three students in Helsinki. Its prominence today is simply because of one single gaming application in 2009.
What an idea, sirjee!! The company was struggling to find its feet in the already saturated gaming industry. Then the lucky break just
happened!!
In the initial phase the company after having received some investment survived by doing some small projects for companies. The
gaming landscape had changed significantly with the launch of the iPhone, along with their market place the Apple App store. This
served as a great distribution channel for apps. Rovio just needed one jackpot to conquer the app store.
In early 2009 Rovio found itself on the brink of bankruptcy. Thats when they hit the elusive jackpot. A game designer brought a
single screenshot of unhappy-looking round cartoon birds trudging on the ground to a meeting. It resonated well with everybody in the
room. This led the company to set out to design a game around the birds. This was to change the fortues of the company forever. The
most important part inspiration-wise for us were the characters says the CEO of the company.
The final product was very different from what was the idea at the beginning. It has evolved over time.
Angry Birds initial budget was 100,000 Euros. It would go on to cross more than 50 million Euros over time. It was released as the
52nd title of Rovio in 2009. Within a short time, it zoomed to the number one position in the Apple App store in Finland. The biggest
fillip cam ewhen Apple UK decided to feature the game soon after Angry Birds took over. It became number one in UK and the US.
This was the tipping point for the company. The rest is the story is one off leveraging smart Phones, social media, TV viewers. Over time
Rovio has morphed rapidly from a mobile game maker into an entertainment powerhouse with diversified business lines. Rovio
entertainment was valued at about $4 billion last year.

HAND HELD MOBILE PHONE

All pioneers do not necessarily become successful. When we talk of the mobile phone markets do we talk of Motorola? Maybe we did 10
years back. Today the world leaders in the smart phone game are Apple and Samsung and many other Chinese players. Motorola does
not figure anywhere in the list.

But the first handheld mobile phone was a Motorola innovation way back in 1973. Before that the mobile telephony was limited to
phones installed in cars and other vehicles. The prototype handheld phone used by Dr. Cooper weighed 1.1 kg and measured 23
cm long, 13 cm deep and 4.45 cm wide!! Would you believe it? It offered a talk time of just 30 minutes and took 10 hours to re-charge.
John F. Mitchell, who was the Motorolas chief of portable communication products and Coopers boss in 1973, played a pivotal role in
pushing the development of wireless communication products that would be small enough to use anywhere and participated in the
design of the cellular phone. The Motorola Mobility that is in the mobile device business is today a subsidiary of the Chinese major
Lenovo.

KODAKMADE CAMERAS?
Many businesses become irrelevant because of the changing environment. We have seen how the Ambassador cars have practically
disappeared from the Indian roads. Kolkata seems to be the only museum that has preserved these mean machines. Thirty years
back, you could see only those on the roads!! The same has happened to many businesses. Digital age has turned many businesses
topsy-turvy. Who would have believed thirty years back that the cameras would compete with the telecommunication equipment??
One such story is of Kodak. A company which was the market leader, missed the bus, tried catching up but
Barring a drastic turn of events, Eastman Kodak, the 131-year-old stalwart of American photography, may be headed for
bankruptcy. According to the Wall Street Journal, the company will file for Chapter 11 in the coming weeks unless it can sell off a
valuable portfolio of patents. This was a report in a leading newspaper in the US a few of years back.
Kodak fits the classic profile of a 20th-century corporate dinosaur. It built itself selling camera film, a business thats been pushed
into obsolescence by the digital revolution.
It is not as if the company stood still while the world turned. Over the past decade they tried to adapt to the changing times, often
creating innovative new products, but failing to turn them into a sustainable business. So this is the classic case of a great innovator,
who is a poor salesman.

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 Kodak first attempted to remake itself as a leading digital camera company, then as a high tech printer maker. Infact, Kodak wasnt a
late-comer to digital photography, but its inventor!! The company in 1975, unveiled the technology which they called filmless
photography. In 1991, they partnered with Nikon to market a professional-grade digital camera, and in 1996, they debuted their first
point-and-shoot. They were still slow off the blocks compared to their competitors like Fuji and Olympus. They also continued to bet on
their core business of making and selling analog camera film. The change in strategy came only at the turn of the century, when the CEO
vowed to invest two-thirds of the companys research and development budget on digital projects.
The initial results were a smashing success. By 2005, Kodak was the top selling digital camera in the US. But the profitability of the
digital camera business was not sustainable for the company. The cameras swiftly became commoditized, and it became harder to eke
out a profit. By 2006, the point of view from the company was that dealing in digital cameras was a crappy business.
Kodaks investment in digital technology wasnt a total wash, though. It had created a valuable chest of Intellectual property, which
kept it afloat for the next several years. Kodak had become a professional patent troll. According to the Wall street Journal, the company
made $1.9 billion between 2008 and 2010 through licensing and litigation over its IP.
The fight is still on. But you do not count on Kodak among the top companies of today. It is struggling with its current businesses. A
fitting metaphor for the companys recent history - Often great at innovation, but always bad at business. Hope that does not become
its epitaph soon!!

ARTHUR ANDERSEN
Arthur Andersen was one of the best in the business of accounting, till it got embroiled in a lot of unethical practices, which ultimately
led to its demise.
At Andersen U, the lush, 150-acre campus where Arthur Andersen LLP had trained tens of thousands of new recruits, there was a
shrine to ethical accounting. A display in the Andersen Heritage Center was devoted to yellowing press clippings of a long-ago
campaign to clean up the accounting industry by Leonard Spacek, who led the firm from 1947 to 1963. But it was precisely its quality
of accounting that set off an ethical crisis and ultimately the closing down of the firm.
The firm got embroiled in a host of controversies and major accounting scandals. It also had to field an obstruction-of-justice charge
in a US court. This finally led to it disintegrating into oblivion, a humiliating end to a company that once stood as the worlds largest
professional-services firm.
What you see as Accenture today is a renamed Andersen Consulting, a spin off from the Original Arthur Andersen.
Andersens descent from being one of the most ethical in the accounting industry to being accused as a felon didnt happen
overnight. It stemmed from a series of mistakes and compromises by the management for a few decades. As the firm grew from a close-
knit partnership to a globe-spanning behemoth, pressure to boost profits became intense. And with this came the push on partners to
become salesmen - upsetting the delicate balance an auditor must perform between pleasing a client and looking out for the public
investor.
The growth in revenues introduced a new twist in the partnership. All of the profits that the company earned had to be shared
among all partners, whether you were in the accounting practice or the consulting practice. The consulting side complained the
arrangement was unfair. This ultimately led the company to split into two units - Arthur Andersen and Andersen Consulting
The growth in the traditional accounting business was slowing because of competition, and audit fees were in a tailspin. So the
pressure of business govt. the accounting unit to indulge in practices which compromised the role it had to play as an auditor.
The last straw was the involvement in the Enron controversy, where Arthur Andersen was on the docks for abetment of malafide
accounting practices.
That sounded the death knell for one of the most sought after accounting organization in the world. Andersen Consulting had spun off
as a completely independent unit and was rechristened Accenture.

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 Woman worth her salt:
Sheryl Sandberg
In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders.
Sheryl Sandberg
BY: SHRADHA KAUL

SHERYL Sandberg hails from a family of doctors and educationists, a family of fighters fighting The Great Depression and also the fact
that they were Jewish. For Sheryl, there was no looking back after her family moved to Florida. Right from her high school she was
always at the top of her class, she was the sophomore class president, a member of the National Honor Society and also on the senior
class executive board. Sheryl loved aerobics and used to teach her fellow students how to work out in high school.

HER EDUCATION
Quite expectedly, after her high school, Sandberg enrolled at Harvard College and graduated summa cum laude (summa cum laude means
with praise and indicates the level of distinction with which an academic degree was earned) with a bachelors degree in economics in
1991. Sheryl was given the John H. Williams Prize for the top graduating student in economics. Her interest in Women and their
development was evident from her college days; Sandberg co-founded an organization called Women in Economics and Government
while in college.
She then went on to work for professor Larry Summers as his research assistant at the World Bank, Sheryl worked here for nearly a
year on health projects in India dealing with leprosy, AIDS, and blindness. She was back in Harvard in 1993, this time for her MBA at the
Harvard Business School. She completed her MBA with the highest distinction and in her first year of business school, she had won a
fellowship.

WORK EXPERIENCE
Sheryls first job after her graduation from the business school in 1995 was with McKinsey & Company. Sandberg worked as
a management consultant for nearly a year. In 1996, Sandberg went on to serve as Chief of Staff to the United States Secretary of
the Treasury Larry Summers, under the President, Bill Clinton, where she assisted the Treasurys work on pardoning debt in the
developing world through the Asian financial crunch. In 2001, Sheryl joined Google Inc., as its Vice President of Global Online
Sales and Operations. Here, she took on the online sales of Googles advertising and publishing products as well as the sales
operations of the companys consumer products and the Google Book Search. Sandberg was with Google until 2008, and her
tenure was noticeable by spectacular professional accomplishment and an impressive status as one of the growing top executives
of the country.

GOOGLE TO FACEBOOK
In a Christmas party in 2007; Sheryl met Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder and chief executive of Facebook. This party was being
hosted by Dan Rosensweig who was the COO of Yahoo! and was responsible for product development, marketing, international
operations and North American operations. Sheryl, at this time, was contemplating joining the The Washington Post Company.
Although, Zukerburg, was not out scouting at that time, his meeting with Sheryl left him feeling that she was a perfect fit for the
COO he was looking for. Zuckerberg and Sandburg met once again in January 2008 at the World Economic Forum in Davos,
Switzerland. By March 2008 they had finally closed the deal and Facebook announced the joining of Sheryl Sandberg while she
announced her leaving Google.

FACEBOOK
Sheryl Sandbergs first task in the company was to understand how to make Facebook profitable. Prior to Sheryls joining, Facebook was
primarily interested in building a really cool site; profits, they assumed, would follow. Shortly after Sheryls joining, Facebook slowly
introduced advertisements and had now decided to depend on advertisements, albeit with some discretion, with the ads discreetly
presented they said. Facebook became profitable by 2010 as a consequence of adopting this strategy.
Sheryl Sandberg is currently completely in-charge of the companys business processes. She handles the sales, marketing, human
resources, business development, policies and communications. Not surprisingly, Sheryl became the eighth member (and the first
female) of Facebooks board of directors in 2012.

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ASTOUNDING COMPENSATION
Sandbergs executive salary for the year 2011 was $300,000 base salary plus $30,491,613 in Facebook shares. She owns
38,122,000 stock options and restricted stock units that will be entirely bestowed by May 2022, depending on her continued
employment till the conferment date. Business Insider stated that stock units (approx. 34 million) in Sandbergs name accounted for
nearly US$790,000,000, this was in the 2012. Facebook held back around 15 million of those stocks for tax reasons, which left
Sandberg with almost US$417,000,000.
At the time of Facebooks IPO Sandberg had about 41 million shares in the company, and after a number of rounds of sales she
now has around 17.2 million shares, and a 0.5% stake in the company, worth about one billion dollars. The Facebook COO Sheryl
Sandberg is one of the wealthiest women in internet technology field with a stated net worth of $1.1 billion,

ACCOLADES
Sandberg has been working hard and has a focused mindset. She is a prolific speaker and a writer. Her persona and characteristics
have led her to numerous achievements and accolades. In 2009, Sandberg was named to the board of The Walt Disney Company.
She also serves on the boards of Women for Women International, the Center for Global Development and V-Day and has been a
board member of Starbucks, Brookings Institution and Ad Council.
In 2012 she found her way in the Time 100 and was one of the 100 most influential people in the world according
to Time magazine. On January 2014, Sandberg was reported to be worth over US$1 billion, owing to her stock holdings in several
large companies.

OTHER WORK AND SPEECHES

Speaking is Sandbergs forte and in 2008, she wrote an article for The Huffington Post supporting her mentor, Larry Summers, who was
being lambasted for his remarks on women. Sandberg was a keynote speaker at the Jewish Community Federations Business Leadership
Council in 2010. In the same year in December, she spoke at TED on Why we have too few women leaders. She delivered the
Commencement Address at the Barnard College graduation ceremony in May 2011. She was the keynote speaker at the Class Day
ceremony at the Harvard Business School in 2012. In 2013, she was invited as the main speaker for Colgate Universitys second annual
Entrepreneur Weekend.

WOMENS MOVEMENT
The place of women in the workplace has been very dear to Sheryl. Her TED speech titled Why we have too few women
leaders, in 2010 was a harbinger of the way she saw things. Sheryl is now on a crusade to change womens position in the
workforce, and shes employed famous personalities and toured around the world to make it work. At TEDWomen in 2010
Sandberg made the courageous choice to speak on the fact that she was one of very few women at the C-level of business (C-
level, also called the C-suite, an adjective to describe high-ranking executives in an organization. C stands for chief.) Sandberg
observed that many women, in expectation of having a family, lean back from leading at work.

LEAN IN TOGETHER
Lean In Together is the newest slogan in Sheryl Sandbergs movement to fetch women more power in the workplace, and its
aim is to convince men that its not only women who profit when men help women do well. Men should support their wives
and daughters at home and their female colleagues in the workplace, not just because its the right thing to do, but because its
great for men, says Sandberg. Not only work, it has other benefits too. Their marriages are stronger, their children are happier,
their work outcomes are better, Sandberg says. However you measure it, men do better themselves when they lean in for
equality.
Sandberg, in her new campaign included a social media plan that comprises videos with appearances by NBA and WNBA stars
declaring that they lean in. These will be shown on ESPN.

FIRST BOOK
After the success of her TED Talk, Sandberg wrote the book Lean In, which stayed on the New York Times Bestseller list for nearly a
year. Sheryl Sandberg released her first book co-authored by Nell Scovell, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, on March 11,
2013. Sandberg now has plans to come up with a form of the book for graduates as well. The book deliberates on business
leadership and development, concerns with the absence of women in government and business management jobs, and womens
rights. By the end of 2013, the book had sold more than one million copies. Lean In is a book for professional women to support
them in achieving their professional goals and for men who want to participate in making the society unbiased. The book
describes the obstacles preventing women from accepting leadership roles in the workplace. Hindrances like discrimination and
sexual harassment are also brought out. Sandberg also discusses the fact that women work the double day and the undervaluing
of work in the home vis--vis work outside the home. Then there are also the barriers that women create for themselves by
suppressing methodical discrimination and social gender roles. Sandberg contends that for change to take place, women have to

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overcome these social and individual barriers by pushing for and attaining leadership roles. The eventual objective is to inspire
women to lean in to positions of leadership because according to her having more female voices in positions of power will create
more and more equitable opportunities generated for everybody.

BAN BOSSY
Sandberg and Lean In sponsored the Ban Bossy campaign in March 2014. This was a television and social media censorship support
movement seeking to ban the word bossy from common usage owing to its apparent damaging effect on young girls. Numerous
videos with prominent representatives like Beyonc, Jennifer Garner, and Condoleezza Rice, and many more were presented on a web
site which provided school training material, leadership tips, and an online pledge form where visitors can endorse not using the word.

SHERYLS ADVISE
As one of the many women, Sheryl advises men that doing something nice for their partners should be doing the laundry instead of
buying flowers. A man who heard about this was asked by his wife one night to do a load of laundry. He got the laundry basket and
inquired expectantly, Is this Lean In laundry? Chore-play is now a reality. The other side is also true; sons gain rewards when their
mothers have important roles at work. Several years ago, psychologists discovered that an astonishingly large number of Americas most
creative architects were brought by distinctly autonomous mothers who were leaders in their societies or expert specialists. The
message is evolving and growing. Her message is that our realization should make us work towards equality not only since its good
for women and because its fair to women, but also because its good for men.

According to Sandberg, men must want to this. Present data shows that if women entered the workforce in the same percentages as
men, the GDP would grow by 5 percent. Thats good for everyone, women and men. Theres also data that shows that men who work
well with women outdo their peers, whether they are the most entry-level position all the way up to the CEO. Thats good for both
women and men. At home, men who do 50 percent of the chores have durable marriages and solider relationships. That is definitely
beneficial for everybody. In the past 11 years, the wage gap only closed by one penny, and that was only for the white women. Women
are still at 5 percent of Fortune 500 CEO jobs since years and years.

Of course equality is right and fair, and we will continue saying that, but if we can also teach a man that this is good for them
and that moves the needle, Im for it, says Sheryl Sandberg.
A truly equal world would be one where women ran half our countries and companies and men ran half our home, is Sheryl
Sandbergs dream.
I WANT EVERY LITTLE GIRL WHO'S TOLD SHE'S BOSSY, TO BE TOLD INSTEAD SHE HAS LEADERSHIP SKILLS
- SHERYL SANDBERG

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 MICRO ENTERPRISES CAN PLAY
A CRUCIAL ROLE IN ALLEVIATION OF
RURAL POVERTY
Mr. Jyoti Prakash Mohanty
Dr. Suprava Sahu

INTRODUCTION
Since the beginning of the 20th century unemployment (including underemployment) and poverty have been the bane of India. Many
types of self-employment programmes, including microenterprise development have been tried out.
The term Micro Enterprise refers to small businesses owned by poor individuals or groups of poor people which came into existence
on the strength of encouragement & support of sponsoring organizations? When men and women are self-employed and at times employ
some members of their families the business is called micro enterprise.
Micro enterprise development is resorted to as a strategy for the rapid alleviation or elimination of poverty. With the growth and
availability of micro finance in recent years micro enterprise development has received a shot in the arm. A report on the condition of work
(Sengupta 2007) reveals that close to 57% of the Indian labor force is self-employed. Although this figure covers a wide range of
occupations such as medicine, law, accountancy etc. a large section of the self-employed in India are engaged in menial jobs in the lowest
category of self-employment.
Micro economic enterprises play a vital role in poverty reduction in both rural and urban areas, and reinforce urban-rural linkages for
economic and social development. The linkages are essential not only for utilization of local resources but also for facilitating the flow of
goods and services between urban and rural areas. The role of Micro economic enterprises is important since they possess features like self-
employment generation, employment of the poor and women, use of local resources, meeting the basic needs of the poor, use of traditional
enterprise, craftsmanship and skill, job satisfaction, entrepreneurship and innovation (skills learned through apprenticeship method) and
fair income distribution among the poor.
Thus, Microenterprises could be the right vehicle for the rapid economic development of the country. They can help modernize the
economy, bring about regional economic balance in the country, initiate rapid exploitation of the natural resources of the country &
stimulate the flow of goods and services.
The following are some of the major programmes for the development of Micro enterprises in the country.
Prime Ministers Rojgar Yojana
Swarna Jayanti Gram/Sahari Rojgar Yojana
National Programme for Rural Industrialization
Rural Employment Generation Programme
Swayam Sidha etc.

India today has 44.35 million enterprises (NSSO Data) employing almost 80 million workers.

HINDRANCES TO THE SUCCESS OF MICRO ENTERPRISES IN FOSTERING GROWTH OF THE RURAL ECONOMY
Despite a large scale promotion of micro enterprises as an important tool in poverty alleviation programmes, there have been some
short comings such as

Lack of Beneficiary Participation

Since the programmes were often designed in a top down manner the actual beneficiaries at the bottom of the ladder had no say in
decision making or programme execution

No or little attention to building capacity and local level institutions

Coordination duties were discharged by expatriates who relied almost exclusively on central or regional government line agencys
support. Thus development of skills and capacities at the grassroots level was ignored.

Rich-Poor Divide

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Faith in the superiority of the large farmers in economic and technological terms and a corresponding belief that small holders are
inefficient and technologically backward led to resources being diverted to the large farmers who did not need help at the cost of the
genuinely needy.

Excessive emphasis on sectoral approaches

The link between farm and non-farm sectors was ignored thereby hindering income diversification.

Inadequate attention to female labour

Women constitute a large %age of our farm and non-farm labour. But the support services and credit programmes were designed
keeping only men in mind.

Approach to Rural Development and Poverty Alleviation

The following principles should be kept in mind while developing future models for microeconomic development.

Enabling Policy
An enabling Policy and legal environment is vital for the success of Microeconomic development programmes.Assets Management
Microeconomic development programmes need to ensure that the household especially the poor household has greater access to and
control over the physical economic and social assets.

Developing Social Capital

While extant development literature makes much of natural, man-made and human capital, little attention has been paid to social capital.
Social capital refers to structures, manipulating factors and agencies and the culture of societies.

Improved Participation of Self-Help Groups

Self help in its broadest sense is a process which mobilises locally coordinated collaborative action of small groups of rural (poor)
populations and establishes collaborative linkages between these groups and other local and higher level institutions.

Providing Access to Micro-Finance

Micro-finance is of the utmost importance to the success micro-economic development programmes.
Applying Five Principles fo Work for Better Productivity
The following principles make the work environment more conducive to decent work.

Rights at work
Powerlessness and vulnerability at work encourages poverty. On the other hand respect for rights at work bestows self-respect on the
workers and encourages them to greater effort.
Productive, Remunerative Engagement
Social Equity Women should be treated at per with men.
Social Protection Social security in any and every form is conducive to greater success in micro economic development
Social Dialogue

CONCLUSION
Any development initiative needs to be people friendly, area relevant and supplementary to the main stream livelihood activity.
Microenterprises make a positive contribution to poverty reduction as they provide employment and low cost goods and services used
by the poor.

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 The Greek Dilemma
This article delves into the evolution of the Greek crisis, analyses the causes
underlying the crisis and looks at possible solutions.
BY: AMITAYU SEN GUPTA

GREECE has just gone through a third nationwide democratic decision making in the form of an election this year. For a nation plagued
by economic problems and an almost bankrupt State, such expensive exercises only add to the financial burdens. However, barely 8
months after a general election that witnessed Tsipras coming to power with unprecedented majority, the Greeks are facing one of the
worst crises of modern global democracy; the collective opinion of a nation is thoroughly rejected by a larger continental community,
simple because the former is indebted to the latter.
At the core of the entire issue is the problem of Greek debt, and how to resolve the problem. Greece collectively owes the global
community large amounts of money that it is quite incapable of paying off.

The Greek crisis started as an aftermath of the financial crisis in Wallstreet in 2008. The crisis, now referred to as the subprime crisis,
was based on the problem of unreliable credit dues being passed off as assets in the form of derivatives. This meant that many of the
financial assets in the accounts of major institutions were actually liabilities based on credit/loans that were never to be repaid. As a
consequence of this crisis, the entire global financial structure had a rude shock, and institutions scrambled to clean up their accounts.
Massive bailouts by Governments to private financial institutions meant that the Governments now took over the burdens from the
private sector, and suddenly the governments were facing financial challenges.

Amidst this turmoil, it was suddenly discovered that countries like Estonia, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland etc had borrowed beyond
their means. Thus started the second wave of crisis; this time in Europe. It started with Estonia, but it is the case of Greece that has
dragged on for years and is now the focal point today.

The real problem, as is now being painfully realised by everyone, is the faulty structuring of the European Union. The European
Union sought to unite the different countries in Europe as a single economic entity. Part of the process was the European Monetary
Union, under which, the member countries follow a common currency, the Euro. Countries like Greece, Spain, etc, as part of this Union,
transacted in the same currency Euro, as did countries like France and Germany. Since, even under the Union, the respective
governments had economic autonomy, the countries could issue bonds or borrow in the form of debts, in Euros. Since the debt was being
issued in a currency backed by so many countries, that included European giants like France and Germany, lenders had confidence in
the Euro and were more willing to lend to these countries than they would perhaps have otherwise been.

Now that suddenly it was realised that these smaller countries had stretched themselves beyond their means, all countries that follow
the Euro felt threatened as the credibility of their currency was at stake. The International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank
and the European Commission, collectively known as the troika, gave Greece a series of bailout loans to help pay off its debts.
However, each of these bailout packages came with a set of austerity measures, which were supposed to help Greece improve its
financial condition and eventually pay off the debts.
The problem with this solution is twofold. First, the bailouts given to Greece were to pay off the debts, so that the money that Greece
received did not really go into the Greek economy. Second, the austerity measures that were imposed damaged the economy causing it
to shrink, so that GDP fell, unemployment rose, social securities were eroded; making it tougher for the economy to actually rebound
from the crisis.
After two rounds of bailouts and the associated austerity measures, the Greeks did not have the appetite for more austerity.
Economists started arguing that bailouts with conditions of austerity measures was a self-defeating exercise, as the austerity worsened
only worsen the economy. For example, as per the latest understanding of the troika, the Greek government is required to achieve a
primary budget surplus (gross surplus minus interest payments) of 3.5% of GDP by 2018. The target is broken up into annual the targets:
a 0.25% deficit this year, 0.5% surplus in 2016 and 1.75% surplus in 2017. The problem is, Greek economy has been under recession for
the last 7 years and is expected to shrink by 2.7% this year.

Imagine a situation where your monthly income is decreasing, and you are expected to actually save more every month because you
have debts to pay off. The only way to do it would be to reduce your consumption drastically, perhaps to the extent of starving yourself.
This is exactly what the Greeks are being forced to do, and the public resentment is understandable.

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 It was on the basis of this mass resentment that the Syriza Government in Greece got elected in January 2015 with a huge majority.
The rise of Syriza from obscurity to prominence was hinged on what was perceived as their uncompromising opposition to the austerity
impositions of the troika.

Over the next few months, the Greek government tried valiantly to hold out against the bailout conditionalities, even though
ironically they needed the bailout to survive. Despite their bravado, which accelerated to the possibility of Greece leaving the European
Union, they finally had to succumb to pressure and accept the terms and conditions of the troika. In the process, first the mercurial
finance minister of Greece resigned, followed by the Syriza Prime Minister himself resigning, which led to the 20 September poll. In
between there was a nationwide referendum, in which the Greeks unanimously opposed austerity measures. Despite that, the
government was forced to concede to the very same austerity measures. This was perceived by many as the defeat of democracy at the
hands of finance.

Much of the Greek crisis is political. One of the reasons why the government of Greece could not hold out against the European Union
imposed conditionalities was the fact that they got no political support in the international fora. Despite popular sentiments from across
the world, the Greece were cornered where it mattered most; the negotiation tables where state representatives from other European
countries sit together and vote on the issue. The issue may have been portrayed as big brother Germany bullying smaller states like
Greece; but the fact of the matter is that no other country took a stand in favour of Greece, simply because their interests are intertwined
with Greece paying off the debts. Europe, in unanimity, imposed the austerity hardships on Greece, for its own survival. What it does for
the grander project of European unity is open to debate. Many experts are rightly pointing out that there can be no union in which the
minorities are bullied persistently by their bigger counterparts. Thus, imposing the austerity conditions on Greece to safeguard the
European Union, and especially the Euro, becomes a self-defeating exercise in the long run.

The obvious question then is; why doesnt Greece simply opt out of the union? That is precisely what was being greatly speculated
during the last stand-off in August, when the notion of Grexit, the moniker for Greece Exit went viral. It was the last political card that
Syriza played, but eventually the European Union called the bluff. The problem is that no one quite understands what exactly exiting
the European Union entails, simply because the charter of the European Union has no such provisions, as the drafters never quite
thought of the possibility that any member would opt to quit. If this sounds daft, then it only reflects the weakness of the entire
European Union project, and reveals the flimsy base on which it was built. The architects of the project were so entangled in devising a
process to get all European countries onboard, that they never could think of such eventualities. This is because getting everyone on
board into one market, and then onto one currency, was indeed a daunting task. Not surprisingly, the entire EU project is fragmented,
with countries having different degrees of integration; some are part of the common market but not part of the common currency.

Any call for joining a common currency calls for forfeiting economic and political autonomies, grounds on which Great Britain
(which well understands the pain of such unions, having the individual countries like England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, and then
the different levels of unity in the form of Great Britain and United Kingdom to juggle) has consistently refused to join. Britain is one of
the biggest Euroskeptics in the continent, and the only major economic entity still holding out. In the face of the challenge to unite
Europe, the smaller nations were most wooed. They were promised that they would be on an equal footing with Germany and France
in of a common market and common currency. These economies also joined readily as the Union offered them a latitude that they
never had. It is not surprising that all the countries facing financial crisis in Europe (Spain, Portugal and the rest stated earlier) are
actually the smaller and weaker economies that joined the platform to sit with the Germany or France at the same table. The fact that
they could borrow money in a currency that was supported by economic powerhouses like Germany or France is precisely why they
could raise so much funds in the first place. The architects of the European Union had failed to foresee this aspect.

If this is one problem of the Euro project that the big countries are presently complaining about, the problems of the smaller
countries are equally valid. Under the currency union, the European Central Bank controlled the currency, while individual countries
had autonomy in framing their budget and tax policies. It is no surprise that the bigger economies like France or Germany have
greater clout in the European Central Bank. If the smaller economies were at that point of time borrowing beyond their means, the
ECB should have intervened, which it didnt. This is because the government bonds issued by these economies were valued quite
high, and a large section of the big banks of Germany and France actually held these government bonds as assets. The 2008 crisis
upset all previous estimations of value and risk, and the smaller economies cannot be blamed now for that.

The bigger question is what can these economies do now that they are in a mess given a crisis originating across the Atlantic? The
ECB controls monetary policy, and austerity measures essentially mean that the troika now determines their fiscal policies as well. This
then leaves them with very little autonomy in determining their economic recovery. And when the objective of the troika is recovering
loans, even at the expense of shrinking GDPs, rising unemployment, and greater social suffering, the smaller economies rightly feel that
they were coaxed into the EU with false promises, and now they have their hands tied and their fate forfeited to the whims of the
bigger economies that seek to protect themselves by sacrificing these smaller economies.

The real conflict is that conventional economics cannot solve the Greece problem. The dilemma is now the conflict of interests
between the creditors who want their money back or else they will be in economic crisis, and a small nation like Greece which is in no
state to repay as it is already in the worst possible crisis. How much Greece can be squeezed is the big question that no one is brave

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enough to answer. The crisis has made everyone myopic, and no one is venturing to look beyond their own interests and to think
collectively for the Union. This then is a perfect recipe for disaster, and the Greek economy is just a reflection of the bigger crisis of
Europe.

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 WHY IS THE
INDIAN EDUCATION
SYSTEM IN SHAMBLES?
Since Independence the country has been witnessing a progressive decline in the quality of education.
Even though in absolute terms quantity has improved in actual fact as a
percentage of requirement quantity has been falling too. The author looks at the scene.
BY: ADDITTI MUNSHI

SINCE Independence the country has been witnessing a progressive decline in the quality of education. Even though in absolute terms
quantity has improved in actual fact as a percentage of requirement quantity has been falling too. The author looks at the scene.
One swallow does not make a summer. Similarly one or two great IITs do not make Indian education great.
The importance of education as a means of improving opportunities and the capacity of human beings has improved the status of
education in the development paradigm. Developmental economists like Sen and Dreze have stressed on the need for participatory
growth. Amartya Sen has also explained development as the expansion of opportunities. Opportunities thus came to occupy the
centre stage in the development program. Realising the importance of education the Supreme Court ruled that a Right to Education
must be seen in conjunction with the Right to Life and hence parliament amended the constitution (86th amendment) to make the
Right to Education a fundamental right.

EDUCATION:
POST-INDEPENDENCE
Post-independence the Indian education system focused on two main points.
1. to project the Indian state as an industrially advanced state having rational and scientific paradigm of development
2. to address the issue of national integrity i.e. overcoming all local identities and regional differences; realising our shared Indianness
and strengthening the centrality of the new nation state (Pathak 2002:95).
The post-independence education agenda , whether envisaged by Jawaharlal Nehru, the Radhakrishnan Commission (1949), the
Kothari commission (1966) or the National Policy on Education (1986), all prioritised science and technological education.
Simultaneously the equality of opportunity was also stressed upon. Nehru wrote the spirit of the age is in favour of equality, though
practise denies it almost everywhere. Education was seen as an instrument of change. Time and again it was argued that the social
objective of education is to equalise opportunity, enabling backward or underprivileged classes and individuals to use education as a
lever for improvement of their condition (ibid.:97, para 6.01).
In order to ensure that education serves its purpose the state assumed the responsibility of providing education to all. Article 45 of the
Indian constitution, holds the state responsible for making education free and compulsory for all children up to 14 years of age. Further
through The Constitution (Eighty-Sixth Amendment) Act 2002, Right to Education was made a Fundamental Right, by promising free
and compulsory education to all between the ages 6 to 14.
However, even after such provisions and attempts to create an inclusive educational system, the Indian education system still remains
in shackles.

PROBLEMS WITH INDIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM

Inequality In Education
The Indian society has been caste ridden and patriarchal with inequitable distribution of resources and opportunity. Consequently,
Dalits, women, the poor and the tribal are marginalised and the deprivation of education is just a small part of this marginalisation. The
inequality is driven by both economic and social hurdles placed in the system. On one hand formal education has been made inaccessible
to some due to their lack of purchasing power, and on the other hand sociocultural norms are strengthening this further. The hierarchy of
caste system is still creating hurdles for dalits to access education of comparable quality. Even if they gain entry into a formal schooling
system they are discriminated against by the teachers, classmates.
Data has clearly highlighted the discrimination in education. There is a clear correlation between economic capacity and the access to
formal education. The NSSO report 2001 clearly shows that as per capita monthly consumption expenditure increases, the number of
illiterates goes down and the number of persons taking secondary education goes up and dropouts after primary school decreases. The

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condition of girls is even worse as in a patriarchal society they are more likely to be taken out of education than boys. In 1986 Notional
Policy on Education laid down guidelines to open schools in tribal areas. It also emphasised the need to create material in tribal
languages to facilitate learning. . Despite recommendations to educate the tribal population on a priority basis they still are unable to
avail of education.
Critics of the 86th constitutional amendment see it as abdication by the state of its responsibility to make education of good quality
accessible to all children. It has been argued that in the wake of liberalisation, the government has further neglected the social sector and
hence education.
Facing a shortage of students, the Directorate of Education has decided to close down 53 government schools, many of which are in
old Delhi. This is in addition to [the] 55 schools already closed. (Hindustan Times 2004)
Government schools in Delhi cater to 70% of the school going population. Instead of reviving such schools the authorities preferred to
shut them.

DROPOUTS
Another problem pertains to the retention of students in schools. Even when children are enrolled they dropout at a very early stage. The
dropout rates for boys in classes 1st to 5th are 39.7% and for girls the figure is 41.9%. 50% of boys and 57% of girls drop out by class 8th.
The reasons for dropping out are many, but inability to cope with the studies and economic constraints are the main ones. Economic
conditions of the family are important to meet the cost of schooling, failure of which leads to temporary or permanent dropouts of
children. Hidden costs such as travelling cost, uniform, daily expenditures, tuition fee, and exam fee are also involved. Statistical data
suggests that children from households that are economically better off are more likely to stay in school. Besides income shocks is
another determinant among poor people. The economically weaker section has no mechanism to deal with such shocks, and hence they
are forced to withdraw their children form schools. There is a significant proportion of the Indian population migrating to cities in search
of employment opportunities and those migrating back to their villages due to the high cost of living in cities. Both these cases result in
school dropouts.

LACK OF COMMON SCHOOLING SYSTEM

The Indian education scenario lacks a common schooling system. Depending on their ability to pay and social class, students are
channelled into private, government- aided and government schools. At the top of the ladder are the private English Medium
schools affiliated to the upscale CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education), CISCE (Council for the Indian Certificates
Examination) and IB (International Baccalaureate) affiliated boards. Next are the government aided schools, affiliated to state level
examination boards. And on the lowest rung are the ill managed government or municipal schools accessed by the majority of poor
people. Therefore, while education for all is guaranteed by the constitution and it is accessible to a majority of the population, the
quality varies according to their financial capabilities and the social background they belong to.

CURRICULUM CONTENT
In 2000, the National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT) issued a National Curriculum Framework under the slogan
of Indianize, Nationalize and Spiritualize. It called for the removal of all foreign elements like the British legacy the aspects of Indian
culture introduced by the Mughals, from the curriculum in the state schools. The then Human Recourse Development minister Morli
Manohar Joshi supported the changes by saying
We explained them and the NCERT made a decision to delete them Certain authors of history have tried to distort history. They
have given it a purely leftist colour. They say that India had no history of its own because they are guided by Marx. They teach the
history of a notion that was mainly defeated and conquered by foreign powers. Its a travesty of facts and an attempt to kill the morale of
a nation.
These changes attempted to ignore the contribution of the minority community in the development of the Indian society. It clearly
violated the Nehruvian idea of a secular and inclusive society.

LACK OF FUNDING TO HIGHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

Through the reforms of 1986 the independence of higher education has been reaffirmed and the flow of funds to these institutes has also
been reduced. In order to mobilise additional resources these institutions have raised the fees or have looked for private funding. As a
result of which higher education is accessible only to the privileged class. The University Grants Commission (UGC) ensures the quality
and the accessibility of higher education by giving grants to universities registered whit them. However the proportion of education
budget allocated to higher education has gone down from 24% in 1970s to 9%.

EMPHASIS ON ROTE LEARNING

73: Indias ranking, just above Kyrgyzstan, in a study of 74 countries on maths, science and reading
90%: Students in Himachal Pradesh lack baseline reading literacy, 89 per cent lag in science
60%: Students in Indias top private schools show lack of sensitivity towards AIDS victims

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10%: The drop in arithmetic ability nationally of Class V children in rural areas
These are some of the facts stated in reports by Prathams Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), the Programme for
International Students Assessment (PISA) and the Quality Education Study (QES) by Wipro and Educational Initiatives. Indian
education system is identified as one which lays more emphasis on mugging up of the text instead of trying to create innovative
thinking. As a result of this form of education the number of research papers published in a year has gone down by 50%.In 2010 china
published about 10 lakh scientific mathematical papers whereas India could muster only around 2 lakh papers. In the land of C.V.
Raman and Srinivas Ramanujan mathematical education is considered important only because it is important to get through competitive
exams like IIT JEE.

LACK OF EFFICIENT TEACHERS

19 % of the total primary schools are single teacher schools in India catering to nearly 12% of the total enrolment in primary classes (DISE
2004). The teacher absence rate, within India, range from 15% in Maharashtra to 42% in Jharkhand. Uttar Pradesh still faces difficulty in
providing even a single teacher in 921 primary schools. UP alone is short of 2.52 lakh teachers at the primary level and 55,859 teachers at the
upper primary level. Bihar has a shortfall of 1.14 lakh and 82,303 at the two levels. The average Pupil Teacher Ratio for All India is 1:42. Bihar
has the worst teacher pupil ratio at 1:83. Though enrolment rates have shot up, there has not been a corresponding increase in the number of
teachers. Teacher absence is more correlated with daily incentives to attend work: teachers are less likely to be absent at schools that have been
inspected recently, that have better infrastructure, and that are closer to a paved road. Absence rates are generally higher in low-income states.
To overcome the problem of shortage and absenteeism among teachers in India the Para teacher scheme has been introduced. Para educators
are generally members of the same community in which they teach, and therefore, share the same experiences and cultural practices of their
students, including their primary languages. In India, the state of Rajasthan has successfully overcome the problem of both teacher shortage
and teacher absenteeism through these Para teachers under the Shiksha Karmi Project which is also the origin of Para teacher scheme in the
country. A major reason for the shortage of teachers is the reluctance of the government to employ regular teachers. Since 1990 the number of
permanent teachers has been reduced.

In 2000, 147 heads of State and Government, and 189 nations pledged to work for the achievement of ten Millennium Development
Goals. One amongst them was to provide education for all. UNICEF identifies that education is important for providing an individual a
sustainable lifestyle. The MDGs were supposed to be achieved by 2015. However the Indian government is still far from realising them.
Nevertheless they must strive hard to achieve them as it is the only way in which 46% of under 25 population would have a life worth
living.

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 Decoding the re-coded
Apple
'Apple' is never out of the public gaze. Even after the demise of Steve Jobs, the company retains its
iconic status. This article leads at new offerings from the company.
BY: SUSHANT SHEOPORI

AFTER tons of hints, hours of wait and the suspense of redefining the future, Apple finally held its event during the first quarter of
September. The greybeards who've adored Apple since Steve Jobs started his journey must have had a grimaced face or at least laughed
at the scalding irony of how a product launched 3 years after its inception gets more amounts of attention and appreciation from the
world. During the event, Apple announced a flurry of new products but left open ends making everyone wonder whether it was just
"One more thing" up Siri's sleeves or was there really something thought differently. Let me take you on a short review of the whole
event and products launched.

APPLE WATCH
Contrary to the usual standard, Apple started the event by grabbing the attention of the Fashionistas and skipped the part where it brags
about the company and its current position in the market. The Apple Watch got slightly more useful and got sophisticated sharpened
looks by the addition of hand stitched wrap-around luxury strap by Hermes. The watch itself comes in Gold and Rose Gold colour
option with sports-band option available as well.
The smart device, which released during fall of April, was a success in itself and received an update "watchOS2" which now features a
little over 10,000 applications including updates from Facebook's messenger app.

IPAD PRO
When cook said, "It's the biggest news in iPad since the iPad", he literally meant it!
The 12.9inch beauty and the beast brags of 2732x2048 resolution display with around 5.6 million pixels, 64-bit A9X memory chip
which delivers a performance of 1.8 times its predecessor (A8X). A four-speaker audio system can be found along with 8Mp iSight
camera and Touch ID.
Jobs once famously said, "Who wants a stylus?" so this past month Apple presented us with the Apple Pencil because pencils are
professional and stylish but a stylus is not. In order to manifest its point and promote the $99 pencil, cook invited Microsoft's corporate
VP Kirk Koenigsbauer on the stage who demonstrated the new versions of Office for iOS with built-in support for Apple Pencil. Adobe
didn't fall short to capitalize on the opportunity by showing glimpses on the revamped Adobe Photoshop Fix and sketch having Apple
pencil support.
Apple also introduced its smart keyboard, which boasts of a keyboard unlike any other conveniently forgetting Microsoft's Surface
keyboard (which made it to the list of things never to be talked about at the Apple Office). The 32GB edition will cost $799 while $949
will fetch you 128GB edition and LTE support comes for $1079 in the 128GB version. The iPad Pro will be up from grab in November
with silver, gold, and space grey versions.

APPLE TV
The long overdue Apple TV has finally arrived with a belief that the future of television lies in apps. Apple TV features a third-party app
store, a new remote, Siri voice controls and a revamped operating system, tvOS, which is based on iOS but built for the living room. It
features a 64-bit A8 processor and supports Bluetooth 4.0.
An integration of Siri and remote seems to have gotten everyone's attention for now. It is a combination of a media control remote,
motion control, voice recognition and trackpad. It not only let users do a quick check over match scores, receive quick weather updates
but turns up with recommendation and sorts everything according to the genre.
A bigger boost came in by apple opening its door to third party developers enabling users to play multi-player games, which have
made the developers hop right back onto their workstations.
The new Apple TV will launch with a price tag of $149 for 32GB version and $199 for 64GB in October.

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IPHONE 6S AND IPHONE 6S PLUS
If the event until now was a war, then the final bomb was yet to be dropped.
"While they may look familiar, we have changed everything about these new iPhones" says cook leading the event towards its last
segment. The design looks a lot like the last-generation iPhone 6 but has been refreshed with better specs and a more complex (one of the
latest 300 synonyms for tap) "3D touch" interface.
The two updated smartphones, iPhone 6S with 4.7-inch display screen and iPhone6S plus retaining the 5.5-inch screen, will be
available in 4 different colours: Silver, Gold, Space Gray and Rose Gold. Both the upgraded iPhones have a new A9 built-in chip, which
performs 70 percent faster than the A8 at CPU tasks and 90 percent faster with graphics. A 12-megapixel rear iSight camera has a
potential of shooting video in 4K and a 5-megapixel front facing camera with Retina Flash.
3D touch feature is kindred to the Watch's simpler Force Touch, which allows users to clear all notifications with one press. 3D
Touch means the iPhone screen can discern between multiple levels of pressure. 3D Touch will require users to learn at least two new
gestures: "peek" and "pop" iPhone 6s and 6s Plus have been priced similar to the original iPhone 6 starting at $199 for 16GB iPhone 6s
and $299 for 16GB iPhone 6s Plus.
Some parts of carving the future might have been copied from its competitors, but then the justice is rarely served. The best you
can hope for is poetry and nothing sounds sweeter to the ears of a gadgeteer than the voice of crackling competition. Apple might
have grabbed all the eyeballs for now, but how many of these it can retain remains to be seen, with the ball bouncing in Google's
court now. Google is all set to release the Nexus 5 2015 on the 29th of September along with Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

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 Understanding the
Chinese Puzzle
The comparatively nascent Chinese stock exchange is closely related to the investment-centrist economy, currency
valuation and real estate, making it susceptible to volatility. What does the future bode for China
BY: AMITAYU SEN GUPTA

CHINA, for many, is the country that can do no wrong. The Chinese growth story is the benchmark for all developing countries; while
developed countries frequently cite what China is doing to analyse their policies. The world agrees that China is doing something right,
or else how do you explain the phenomenal growth that it has been witnessing over decades?
China, even while being a socialist country and one of the last bastions of a communist formation in the world, has taken the export-
led growth strategy to unforeseeable levels. The last decade was spent debating how the socialist China really is, as both socialists and
capitalists clamoured to claim the success of China as proof for their viewpoints. China is the manufacturing hub of the world, the
biggest exporter the world has ever seen, the engine of growth for much of South East Asia which is today reduced to servicing the
manufacturing sector of China, and the biggest consumer of natural resources in terms of minerals and ores, fuel, etc. In short, the global
economy is routed through China, so much so that if China sneezes, the world has the flu!
The perception about China was further strengthened after the 2008 financial crisis. When most of the developed world shook, China
stood steady like a rock. As the US lost its sheen and Europe was engulfed in internal squabbling, China was seen as the engine of
recovery for the global economy. Both the developed and developing countries looked up to China, and China seemed quite comfortable
to play the role.
One major factor that any economist agrees to is the fact that very little is actually known about what exactly happens within China,
as the regime still maintains a very strong privacy policy when it comes to revealing itself. This also helped fuel the sense of
imperviousness about China, and the Chinese authorities seem to intentionally cultivate such an image.
Thus, the recent developments in China might appear to be rude shock for many; even though some would say that all these were
bound to happen and that it was only a matter of time before the signs surfaced.
Chronologically speaking, the developments started with the Chinese stock market crash around mid-year, 2015. The Shanghai
Composite Index (SCI) peaked at 5166 in mid June 2015, a rise by 150 per cent relative to its value at the corresponding time in the
previous year, only to fall rapidly by 30 per cent over the next month to just above 3500. This send a shock wave across all major stock
markets, and suddenly everyone was reminded of the 2008 financial crisis all over again.
However, many experts soon pointed out that a stock market crash in China was very different from that in (say) USA. For starters,
Chinese stock market is still in its nascent stage, and any developments in the Chinese stock market are signs of a new market
establishing itself. In fact, even in its short history of existence (the Chinese government decided to establish the Shanghai and Shenzhen
Stock Exchanges at the end of 1990) the market had already witnessed a boom-bust cycle. During the period between end-July 2006 and
mid-October 2007, the SCI rose by 275 per cent. Thereafter, over the year ending July 2008, the market crashed, returning the SCI to its
pre-boom level. One must remember that while the rest of the global economy stuttered in 2008, the Chinese economy was largely
unaffected.
Thus, shocks in the Chinese market are supposedly just price corrections, with very little reflection of the actual economic process of
China. The Chinese economy is still much more state-controlled with its main banks still being predominantly state-owned, stock market
capitalization relative to GDP still very low as compared to most western countries, and with less than 15 per cent of household savings
invested in stocks. But perhaps the biggest factor is that the Chinese state has around $4 trillion in foreign exchange reserves, which is
enough to handle any such exigency without any major repercussions.
Indeed, the Chinese response to tackle the stock market crash was so high-handed that it could only be possible in China. It mobilised
a national team of state-controlled brokerages and institutions such as the China Securities Finance Corp (CSF). It directed controlling
shareholders, senior executives of companies and State controlled brokers not to sell their holdings. The Chinese authorities banned some
brokers from trading, and even suspended stock market activity of around 800 listed companies in order to check the rot. It sought to
infuse cheap liquidity into the system by lowering the reserve requirement for banks and cutting an already trimmed interest rate, while
the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) announced that the state-controlled CSF will be provided liquidity by the Central
Bank to finance (through brokerages) purchases of stocks. Thus, the authoritarian Chinese Government still has enough muscle to force
the market to dance to its tunes, and was willing to flex it when needed.
While the steps by the Chinese authorities managed to stem the initial rush, the measures couldnt actually erase the damage. There
was a sizeable price correction and erosion of values leading to significant if not massive losses for many.
But a bigger question emerged from the whole incidence that created greater discomfort in the global markets. How did such a boom
bust cycle come by in an economy that is otherwise so strongly regulated? How did the Chinese authorities miss out on this and not stop

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it before the bust? If the Chinese economy is prone to such crises, what does it imply about the state of affairs of the Chinese economy? Is
the real economy really that delinked to what happens in the stock markets?
The truth, as is being slowly pieced together, suggests that as in USA and Europe, there were early signs of brewing trouble that the
state authorities refused to confront, fearing that such an act would only hasten the disaster.
The fact of the matter is that the Chinese economy was actually not immune to the global crisis of 2008. For an economy heavily
depended on exports, a slowdown in the developing economies is bound to hit its fortunes. The Chinese chose to counter it by
introducing its own form of economic stimulus.
For the Chinese, investment is the prime driver of the economy; so much so that investments account for around fifty per cent of its
GDP. The secret to the Chinese success was economies of scale; where goods are produced at such massive volumes that production cost
per unit is very low, thereby ensuring that (a) final sale price is low compared to competitors, and (b) total export volumes is so high that
it can totally inundate any export market.
With the slowdown in global demands, the Chinese sought to redirect this flow of investment into infrastructure development. The
stimulus measures encouraged provincial governments and public sector enterprises to borrow heavily and invest in infrastructure, in
construction as well as in many more productive capacities.
The first fallout of this strategy was a real estate boom in China. Post 2008 financial crisis, all central banks have been extremely wary
of the real estate sector bubbles, and the Chinese too reacted very strongly to this development. Chinese banks were restricted from
putting more money into real estate loans, and there were also caps on their deposit and lending rates. However, it only paved the way
for the growth of a shadow banking sector that emerged as a form of regulatory arbitrage, where NBFCs created wealth management
products to offer higher returns to savers and provided financing for real estate and construction, fuelling the property boom. With
excess capacity in most other investment sectors at a time where global demands were weakened, there was a limit up to which the
Chinese authorities could clamp down on a real estate boom, as that was the only avenue for investment to take place.
Thus, there was an uneasy acceptance of a real estate sector boom, which was obviously speculative in nature. Unfortunately, finance
seeks out all possible routes of speculative investments, as returns promised on such investments are always higher, especially when
returns on real investments plateau out given a global recession. As the Chinese tried controlling the real estate boom, the speculative
investment was channelled into the stock market. Given the rise of shadow banking and the financial innovations they offered, the
Chinese authorities could barely catch-up with their development, leave alone control them. It is the same recipe that led to the financial
crisis in USA, although the US had lesser degree of control over the financial sector as compared to China.
The Chinese rightly realised that the biggest problem for their economy is finding avenues for real investment, and rate of returns to
be remunerative enough to encourage such investments. For that the Chinese could go for raising levels of the domestic market by
raising domestic consumption. But for that it would need to raise level of domestic wages so as to enable domestic consumers to
consume more. However, raising domestic wage levels could jeopardise its export-led model, as price differential based on low wages is
the key to its export compatibility. The Chinese figured out that they had to boost export sales. They had to revive export volumes so as
to encourage investment in the real economy. The problem was; global economy was not in a good shape, with many developed
economies showing signs of stagnation or shrinking, such that global demands presently show no signs of picking up.
Thus, the Chinese sprang the next big surprise in August, when it announced a devaluation of its currency. This move sent the global
economy in a tizzy, as it had far greater consequences than the stock market shock did.
Ever since the RMB was officially taken off the US dollar peg in 2005, the Chinese government had stringently managed the value of
the RMB so that it would change ever so slightly so as not to create any major stir. Thus, the 1.8 per cent decline on 11 August, which was
followed by two further days of decline, such that over these three days the currency fell against the US dollar by nearly 4.6 per cent, was
a big move. Only by the 14 of August did the Chinese officially announced that there was no further basis for the exchange rate to
depreciate, which in other words meant that the Chinese Government was not going to devalue further.
Officially, the Chinese suggested that this move was signs that it was allowing greater market determination of its currency, which in
other words meant that it was actually stepping down on artificially controlling the price of its currency, and was allowing market price
mechanisms to determine the prices. Thus, China was supposedly turning more market friendly.
The irony of greater market determination would not be lost on anyone who has followed the political economy of present days. In
the recent past, the Chinese currency had slowly appreciated in terms of Trade Weighted Exchange Rate (TWER) ever since 2005. For the
uninitiated, TWER refers to the modern practise of pricing currencies, where the price of a countrys currency is measured in terms of a
basket of other global currencies, where the composition of the basket (or simply, the weight of the other currencies taken into
calculation) is based on the importance of that currency in Chinese trade. Compared to 2005, the Chinese currency had appreciated by
around 50 per cent before the recent development, with the biggest jump occurring in 2009.
When the currency of a country appreciates, the exports of the country become relatively costlier, such that goods of other countries
become relatively cheaper. This allowed other economies, including the US economy, to recover slightly after the destabilising currency
crisis. It is no wonder, therefore, that USA has been crying hoarse for greater market determination of the Chinese currency, as its main
grouse was that China was not allowing its currency to appreciate as much as it normally would, by artificially controlling exchange
rates. Hence, now that the Chinese currency has been depreciated under the pretext of greater market determination, the very same
USA is now crying hoarse decrying this move! The reason for the same is quite intuitive; currency depreciation now makes Chinese
exports relatively cheaper, and makes exports from other countries relatively costly, an exact reversal of what had allowed other
economies to recover.
This is the first depreciation of the Chinese currency in over 20 years, and what scares the global economy is not the magnitude of the
present devaluation, but the fact that it could be the first of many to follow.

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 For years, China, despite having a very strong grip over its currency vis-a-vis the US Dollar, which is presently the global currency of
exchange (remember, China has the largest reserve of US Dollar as trade surplus), had allowed its currency to appreciate, even at the cost
of making its exports more expensive. This is because such small adjustments never made much difference to its growth rates. In fact,
such appreciation was a small trade-off that China was willing to make as it needed global economies to grow in order to continue its
own growth trajectory. This is precisely the reason why China actually helped stabilise the US Dollar in the initial periods of the 2008
crisis. Since China held its trade surplus in the form of US Dollars, it was important for China to maintain the stability of the Dollar. It
was this reason for which China actually allowed one of the single largest rounds of appreciation in 2009.
The present depreciation of the Chinese currency created panic amongst all developing countries. Currency wars are part of what is
known as beggar thy neighbour strategy, where one seeks to raise ones export earnings at the expense of ones neighbours. China is
such a big country that none of its neighbours could possibly survive this attack.
One can argue that much of the developing countries are reduced to supplying raw materials for the manufacturing hub of China. So,
a growth of Chinese exports would actually benefit them. However, things are never that simple. Currency depreciation means that the
exports of these countries to China will now earn less, and all these countries are already exposed to imports from China, which will now
be cheaper. Thus, all economies that trade with China will face trade balance problems vis-a-vis China.
Depreciation of the Chinese currency means that the US Dollar suddenly has gained in value. This in turn means that a section of
finance capital will now seek to hold US Dollar as an asset. Till date, much of this had been parked in primary commodities, leading to
high prices of primary commodities. A shift to Dollar holding will lead to a fall of global primary commodity prices. While high primary
commodity prices affected import dependant countries adversely (India is especially susceptible to global oil prices for example), it gives
an avenue of revival for primary commodity exporting countries. The present Chinese move affects the fortunes of countries like
Australia, Brazil, Russia, and Chile, who are significant primary commodity exporters and will now experience a collapse of their growth
rates as their export earnings fall.
Whenever prices fall, the price of repaying debt rises - be it for individuals or countries. In order to repay existing debt, one now has
to sell more assets, which triggers a second round of price fall. This is known as debt-deflation, and is perhaps the worst nightmare for
any debtor. This applies for countries like Greece, Italy, as well as for individual borrowers in stock markets around the world. The
damage potential, hence, is massive.
The present round of depreciation, which bucks the trend of over two decades, begs the question; does China feel that its growth rate
is now at stake? Is China now feeling the threat of a slowdown to such a degree that it is willing to go for an all-out currency war so as to
protect its export turf?
If the Chinese growth story is indeed levelling out, it means greater tragedy for all those countries whose fortunes depend on the
Chinese manufacturing hub. Thus, the repercussion will be greater than just the present losses in trade balance. This signals a greater
uncertainty, which is bad news for the global economy desperately looking up to China for a recovery.
The Chinese model of investment-led growth clearly has its limitations. There is a limit up to which a country can raise its productive
capacity, even if it is a country as big as China. More importantly, an export-led growth model always has an Achilles heel; demand for
its exports need to match its productive capacity. Many a country has earlier tried walking this path only to fall face-first over time.
China has been successful because the scales of its operations were unlike anything the world had ever seen. But this now raises the fear
that its fall too might be unprecedented.
Still China holds all the cards; high productive capacity, a tight central control that allows greater economic planning, a high degree of
control over the global currency, and present levels of economic growth even in difficult times that others can only dream about.
The threat to China is not from an external sector but more so from its domestic economy. How will the Chinese domestic economy
react if its present growth rate slows down? Is the stock market crash a sign that the control is actually slipping to give way to chaos?
If one were to attempt reducing all this into a single point agenda, the mother of all questions would be; can China find a way out from
its present investment-led, export-oriented growth strategy into a more sustainable trajectory where a balance between its domestic
market and its external market can be achieved without jeopardising the present balance of equations?

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 Research and I
Why?
There are many differences between our education system and those abroad, and one of the major
points to consider is the importance foreign institutes give to research. The question arises: what is
research and how does one go about it?
BY: PRAVEEN DWARAKANATH

A lot of people have asked us if writing research papers is for everyone....

The problem with Indian education is that any attempt at innovation is met with trepidation and insecurity. Think of the last time you
tried cooking a new dish, or a stunt on your bike or even a new way of saying hi to the cute girl next door....Voila!! You have done
research before in your life!!
Now that sounded way too simplistic, you would know the people in your class who typically wrote papers by going to paper
presentation competitions or spent long hours with your professors trying to come up with some hi tech result. Some would have
succeeded and the others would have failed, what one must understand is that both the results are publishable. When a hypothesis is
rejected, that is also the result of research.

Now we used a term called Hypothesis, what is that??

Hypothesis - Make an assumption about a particular situation. This is a Hypothesis. As simple as that.
Experimental Research - Proving or Disproving the Hypothesis.

Example in the real world:

Situation: The Movie Amazing Spiderman 2 has released
Hypotheis: I will like the Movie
Experiment: Watching the movie
Result: You have proved or disproved the Hypothesis!!

Now if we are to take this into the technical domain, we would need to come up with an equivalent situation, frame the hypothesis,
conduct the research and publish the result. The sections below would explain how that is done.
Theme Identification: Yes, we understand that you don't feel as comfortable calling yourself as qualified a graduate as say the guy
across the street who is acing his papers in IIT Madras. But in the time you have spent in college, there would be that one subject/topic
that interested you more than others. We would explore this with you to identify the theme of your research.
Literature Survey: To truly understand the situation (as described in the situation above), one would need to understand what is the
current level of research that has gone on in the field (ourt textbooks are a wee bit outdated... we cannot understand why students are
taught the working of the 80286 microprocessor!!).
Research Assignments: Now, eating an entire cake in a single sitting would upset your stomach, but eating it over a couple of days one
slice at a time makes it a wonderful experience. This his how we take you through the different parts of research. It is completely fine if
you do not understand something, our expert mentors will guide you through the process.

Conference Identification and Publishing: So you have seen Amazing Spiderman 2 and have made your mind up on how good/bad
the movie is; you need a place and a format in which your review is written. Similarly, we help you identify conferences/journals that
would accept your paper and help you publish it.

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 A Philanthropic
Billionaire
The USA has produced many iconic men and women in the 20th century who have revolutionized
science and technology and therewith, our everyday lives, such as Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Sergey
Brin etc. Among this pantheon, Bill gates stands tall by virtue of his technical achievements, financial
acumen and above all by his staggering philanthropy.
BY: SHRADHA KAUL

THANK god for Bill Gates! Anyone who has had the experience of working on computers in the pre-Windows era will know what I
am talking about. The complicated software, and the utter mystery of working with computers, was solved by one man and that
man is Bill Gates.
According to me, Bill Gates is to computers what the Wright brothers are to the travel industry or any other inventor in a
pioneering role.
Bill Gates started rather early; he began to show an interest in computer programming at the age of 13. His parents enrolled him
at the Lakeside School, an exclusive private school. Bill Gates aced every single exam and soon came to be known as one of the
smartest kids in Lakeside School. In the eighth grade the Mothers club bought an ASR-33 teletype terminal and a block of computer
time on a General Electric computer, (GE being synonymous with computer time for school students at the time). Gates took an
interest in programming the GE system in BASIC and was excused from math to pursue his interest. After this experience Gates
wrote his first computer program on this machine on a piece of paper, it was a game of tic-tac-toe that allowed users to play against
the computer. In 1972 Bill Gates and his best friend Paul Allen formed a venture called Traf-O-Data, to make traffic counters based
on an Intel 8008 processor. That year he made $20,000.

THE CHILD PRODIGY

Bill Gates graduated from Lakeside in 1973; he scored a 1590 out of 1600 on the SAT. He then enrolled at Harvard University in
Massachusetts, where he mostly utilized his time on the university computers. In his sophomore year, Gates developed
an algorithm for pancake sorting as a solution to one of a series of unsolved problems presented in a Combinatorics class by Harry
Lewis, one of his professors. Gatess resolution held the record as the fastest version for over thirty years; its successor is faster by
only one percent. His solution was later formalized in a published paper along with Harvard computer scientist Christos
Papadimitriou. It was here that he met his future business partner Steve Ballmer, who went on to became the CEO of Microsoft.
After a 3 year stint in college Gates decided to start a computer software company with Paul Allen. Gates dropped out of Harvard
in 1975, just one year before graduation and formed the company which certainly shocked his parents. It took him nearly a year to
bring them around.

THE WINDOWS ERA

The Microsoft era began on April 4, 1975. Founded by Bill Gates and his best friend, Paul Allen, Microsoft was based in
Albuquerque. In 1980, Microsoft formed a vital partnership with IBM that allowed them to bundle Microsofts operating system
with IBM computers, paying Microsoft a royalty for any sale. In 1985, IBM invited Microsoft to write them a new operating system
called OS/2. Microsoft wrote it but continued selling their version for their own business.
Windows 1.0 was a graphical personal computer operating environment (also known as GUI or Graphical User Interface)
developed by Microsoft. It was released on November 20, 1985 as the first version of the Microsoft Windows line. It ran as a
graphical 16-bit multi-tasking shell on top of an existing MS-DOS installation, providing an environment which could run graphical
programs designed for Windows, as well as existing MS-DOS software. This was developed by a team which was led by Bill Gates,
after seeing a demo of a similar software suite known as Visi On.
Windows 1.0 was the chief milestone for Microsoft, and for the history of computers. However, Windows 1.0 was received not
too well by critics, who felt it did not come up to their expectations. The feeling was that Windows 1.0 emphasized the mouse input
too much, at a time when mouse use was not extensive; not providing sufficient resources for first time users; and for having
performance issues, particularly on systems with lower hardware specifications.

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HERE COMES - WORD
Word was first released in 1983, and demonstration copies of the application were bundled with the November 1983 issue of PC
World, making it the first program to be dispersed on-disk with a magazine. It grew to become the most popular version of Unix,
measurable by the number of machines which were running it. However, it was DOS (Disk Operating System), the operating system
that brought the company its real success. International Business Machines (IBM) first approached Microsoft about its
upcoming IBM Personal Computer (IBM PC) in July 1980. After IBMs negotiations with Digital Research failed, IBM gave a contract
to Microsoft to deliver a version of the CP/M operating system, which was to be used in the IBM PC. For this contract, Microsoft
bought a CP/M clone called 86-DOS from Tim Paterson of Seattle Computer Products for around US$100,000, which IBM renamed
as IBM PC DOS. Microsoft did not have an operating system when they closed the deal with IBM which IBM was not aware of. Due
to probable copyright infringement complications with CP/M, IBM promoted both CP/M and PC DOS for US$240 and US$40,
separately, with PC DOS ultimately becoming the norm due to its lower price. Most of the companys employees worked on the
IBM project for more than a year. When the IBM PC launched, Microsoft was the lone company that offered operating system,
programming language, and application software for the new computer.
The PC Magazine asked if Gates were the man behind the machine? to which InfoWorld quoting an expert said, Its Gates
computer.

THE WORLD IN THE MOUSE

With the launch of Microsoft Windows, Microsoft captured 90% market share of the worlds computer business. By 2007, Microsoft
had a total of $51.12 billion dollars and nearly 79,000 employees from 102 different countries. It developed and manufactured a wide
range of software for computing devices and also provided licenses for the same. Microsoft began introducing its most prominent
office product, Microsoft Works, an integrated office program which combined features typically found in a word
processor, spreadsheet, database and other office applications, releasing it first as an application for the Apple Macintosh towards
the end of 1986. In August, 1989, Microsoft introduced its most successful office product, Microsoft Office. Unlike the model of
Microsoft Works, Microsoft Office was a bundle of separate office productivity applications, such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft
Excel. While Microsoft Word and Microsoft Office were mostly developed internally, Microsoft also continued its trend of
rebranding products from other companies, such as Microsoft SQL Server (launched on January 13, 1988), a relational database
management system for companies that was based on technology licensed from Sybase.

WINDOWS ONLY
By 1993, Windows had become the most widely used Graphical User Interface (GUI) operating system in the world. In 1993, Fortune
magazine named Microsoft as the 1993 Most Innovative Company Operating in the US. 1993 also saw the closure of a five-
year copyright infringement legal case filed by Apple Computer, which was called Apple Computer, Inc. v. Microsoft Corp., and in
which the ruling was in Microsofts favor. There was also the release of Windows for Workgroups 3.11, a new version of the
consumer line of Windows, and Windows NT 3.1, a server-based operating system with a similar user interface to consumer
versions of the operating system, but with a completely dissimilar core. As part of its strategy to broaden its business, Microsoft
released Microsoft Encarta on March 22, 1993, the first encyclopedia designed to run on a computer. Soon after, the Microsoft
Home brand was introduced encompassing Microsofts new multimedia applications for Windows. Microsoft changed its slogan
to Where do you want to go today? in 1994 as part of an attempt to appeal to nontechnical audiences in a US$100 million advertising
campaign.

THE NOKIA ACQUISITION

The completion of the Nokia Devices and Services business acquisition enabled Microsoft to accelerate its share of smartphones and
feature phones in developed and emerging markets, and increase its role as a devices and services company. The opportunity for
Microsoft to be both a devices and services company, so that it can deliver the complete proposition to its consumers, is at the heart
of this, said Stephen Elop, former Nokia CEO and now executive vice president of the Devices Group at Microsoft. This tie-up
resulted in many successful devices, including the Lumia range of smartphones, an offering of attractive and easy-to-use devices
that has brought praise from both industry and reviewers.

THE RICHEST MAN

Gates was number one on the Forbes 400 list from 1993 through to 2007, and number one on Forbes list of The Worlds Richest
People from 1995 to 2007 and 2009. In 1999, his wealth for a while exceeded $101 billion, and the media named Gates a
centibillionaire. Despite his wealth and extensive business travel Gates regularly flew coach till 1997, when he bought a private
jet. Since 2000, the nominal value of his Microsoft holdings has declined due to a fall in Microsofts stock price after the dot-com
bubble burst and the multibillion-dollar donations he has made to his charitable foundations. In an interview to a magazine in 2006,
Gates remarked that he wished that he were not the richest man in the world because he disliked the attention it brought. In March

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2010, Gates was the second wealthiest person behind Carlos Slim, but regained the top position in 2013, according to the Bloomberg
Billionaires List. Carlos Slim retook the position again in June 2014 (but then lost the top position back to Gates).
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Gates was the worlds highest-earning billionaire in 2013, as his fortune increased
by US$15.8 billion to US$78.5 billion. In 2014, Gatess assets were estimated, to be held in Cascade Investment LLC, a body through
which he owns stakes in numerous businesses, including Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, and Corbis Corp. In February, 2014,
Gates stepped down as Chair of Microsoft to become Technology Advisor alongside the now so famous, Satya Nadella.

PHILANTHROPY UNLIMITED
In 2000, Bill Gates and his wife combined three family foundations to create the charitable Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,
which was identified by the Funds for NGOs Company in 2013, as the worlds wealthiest charitable foundation, with assets
reportedly valued at more than $34.6 billion. The Foundation permits benefactors to have access to information that shows how
its money is being spent and is organized into four program areas: Global Development Division, Global Health Division, United
States Division, and Global Policy & Advocacy Division.
David Rockefeller has had a major influence on Bill Gates. Bill and his father met Rockefeller several times, and their charity work is
somewhat along the Rockefeller familys philanthropic emphasis, which includes tackling global problems that are ignored by
governments and other organizations. In the year 2007, Bill and Melinda Gates were the second-most generous philanthropists in America,
having given over $28 billion to charity; the couple has decided to ultimately donate 95 percent of their wealth to charity.

In addition, Bills wife Melinda advised that everyone should follow the philanthropic efforts of the Salwen family, which had sold its home and
given away half of its worth, as described in The Power of Half. Bill and Melinda, invited Joan Salwen to Seattle to speak about what the family had
done, and in December, 2010, Gates, Warren Buffett, and Mark Zuckerberg signed a pledge they called the Gates-Buffet Giving Pledge. This is a
commitment by them to donate at least half of their wealth over the course of time to charity.

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 Wondrous Science
Whenever anything outlandish occurs, the tendency is to ascribe it to ALIENS, like when we encounter
something stupendous like the monoliths of Easter Island or the huge accurately cut stone blocks of
Chile. In other words, whatever beats our intelligence must be the handiwork of aliens. Piyush Raina
looks at scientific inventions which are almost ready for widespread use and which are almost as mind-
boggling as the so-called feats of 'aliens'!
BY: PIYUSH RAINA

THERE are a myriad small things that are labeled innovative, and inventors are finding ever new ways to automate the existing
gadgets in our homes, but what about brand new gadgets? According to a prominent technology columnist, theres gotto be a more
efficient way to listen to music in your living room, hang a TV without killing your design aesthetic, and keep track of the goods (and
bads) in your fridge, right? Let us take a trip ahead of our times and see what futuristic devices will aid our lives in the not-so-
distant future.
Hi-Can Bed: Also known as the Canopy 3.0,this extremely modern piece of furniture is a new take on the four-poster bed. Not
only does it come with remote control blinds that let you achieve maximum darkness at any time of day, it also has a built-in HD
projector and top-of-the-range audio system. Oh, and an Xbox. Plus, you can just adjust lighting and mattress level. With these
amenities, a good nights sleep is as easily achieved as a good days gaming marathon!
Smartplate: One of the Electrolux Design finalists for 2012, the Smartplate is an intelligent dish that attaches musical notes,
harmonies, and rhythm to each ingredient on your plate so you can listen to your food while you eat it. A little on the strange side,
but definitely intriguing inusing audio innovation.
Acoustable: This coffee table doubles as a speaker. Thats right, a gigantic speaker! Described as sound furniture, the Acous-
table combines good acoustics with user-friendly ergonomics in one stylish package. Crazy or awesome, either way, it invites a
hearing!
Magic Mirror: The Cybertecture Mirror is an interactive mirror that lets you view photos, catch up on social media, and more,
reflecting narcissism and its connect to social media in a whole new way.
AGA iTotal Control: This multi-oven contraption, based on a traditional AGA, lets you control your oven via text message. The
entire interface is digital and synced with a smartphone app, and makes getting dinner ready a cinch.
Milkmaid: Easy-to-use but mind-bogglingly intricate inside, the Milkmaid monitors your milk using pH sensors, and tells you
how much milk you have via the dedicated smartphone app if youre not at home.
Self-Cleaning Auto-Ordering Fridge: No one likes to clean the fridge, so why not have your fridge do the dirty work for you?
This fridge is designed to clean itself, cut down on wasted food, scan its shelves for food and provide you with recipes, and also
shows you how to get the most out of your leftovers, and even reorders food to replenish your fridge. In a simple word, AMAZING.
The Nano Garden: The Kitchen Nano Garden by Hyundai is a super cool concept for growing a vegetable garden right in your
kitchen. The concept takes tiered metal shelving, climate controlled panels, purposefully-directed lumens, and an attachment to a
water source to make your indoor vegetable crop dreams a potential reality. Because light, water and nutrient supply is totally
controllable, its up to you how quickly you want your veggies to grow. It will alert you if youre overwatering, over-sunning, or if
your plants need more nutrients. It even works to naturally purify the air in your home.

HOME, NOT ALONE

Peeking through the curtain at more marvels technology is making possible, lets shed some more light:
The Book Light: This product with integrated LEDs in a plastic body is an interesting product for the people who read a lot and
need a discreet light over their pages. Dont worry about the light being too powerful, because you can adjust it as you please.
iQ Alarm cloc : Instead of the snooze button which you unwillingly press in the morning, this alarm clock has questions that
need your lucidity to solve them. This way, you will surely get up fast(er) in the morning.
Green Smart Glass: The Green Smart Glass leverages an interesting new technology that harnesses the heat energy from the hot
beverage and stores it to be used later, in the form of electrical charge.
Document Extractor Combi Monitor : Saving space on the desk has always been a problem for some and to solve this issue
Byeong Min Choe has come up with a marvelous idea of combining a printer and a monitor.

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 Sony Eclipse: The Sony Eclipse concept created by Hoang M Nguyen and Anh Nguyen is a media player that uses photovoltaic
cells situated on its back panels to draw in solar power. With this player, you have very rare chances of seeing the currently-
frequent battery low warning.
Transparent TV: The transparent TV, designed by Michael Friebe, is a marvelous piece of technology that combines conventional
LCD and the latest transparent organic light-emitting device (TOLED) display. This allows us to create non-transparent / solid
moving pictures with rich color reproduction and full contrast range from solid black to pristine white.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: SPLIT PERSONALITY

We have only scratched the surface as seen through the eyes of those who want to break the barriers of currently prevalent
technology. The game changer, though, lies in re-working the brains of personal computers, which, despite decades elapsing after
their invention, look roughly the same. Though theyre smaller and more portable, we still click, type and stare at flat screens, like
early Macintosh and Windows terminals.
MIT Media Labscientist David Rose believes that we really want magical objects straight out of the Harry Potter universe: flying
carpets, talking mirrors, protective cloaks, animated brooms.
Screens fall short because they dont improve our relationship with computing, he writes. The devices are passive, without
personality. The machine sits on idle waiting for your orders.
But in the meantime, well have to settle for talking garbage cans and weather-forecasting umbrellas both of which (plus eight
others listed here) are already at least in prototype phases, if not already on the consumer market:
The Copenhagen Wheel, announced at the 2009 Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change and initially developed in an MIT
lab as a research project, contains a motor that transforms a normal bike into a hybrid electric vehicle. The device consists of a motor
and battery pack that snaps onto the back of the bike. As you pedal, the wheel captures excess energy when going downhill or
braking and then helps propel you up steeper inclines or harder terrains.
The wheel can also connect to the Internet, using it to record speed and distance traveled, find friends throughout the city,
inspect air quality and even notify you if the bike starts to move when youre not in the seat. If you are in the mood to use up more
calories, you can also vary the level of powered assist.
This reinvented wheel, listed for $799, is available for pre-order and will be out by the end of this year.
The slogan A new kind of photographic memory says it all. This pedometer-sized camera, called the Narrative Clip,
attaches to a jacket or shirt or on a necklace and records high-resolution geo-tagged images every 30 seconds without prompting.
You can now track every moment of your day.
But constant self-monitoring comes at a cost. The Narrative Clip comes with a subscription service and at $279 per year, youd
better be making some worthwhile memories.
Introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2013, Hapifork made the jump from MIT research project to consumer
household item in an impressively short amount of time. Perhaps its because we all want to lose weight but we want someone or
something else to do the hard work for us.
The chunky $100 fork, which comes in five colors, alerts you with a gentle vibration when you are eating too quickly.

It also measures, using the tines of the fork, how long it took to eat your meal, the amount of fork servings taken per minute,
and the time between servings. All this information is uploaded more self-monitoring data for your own enjoyment or horror,
depending on how you eat.

PHONES: OUR NEW BFFS WILL GET MAKEOVERS

Ultrasonic fingerprint scanners, AI cameras and off-grid messaging will all be in your pocket soon. What tech is coming up next is
the perennial question for mobile devices, as Google I/O and Apple's WWDC have shown so clearly of late. The need to sell phones
to people who already have good phones already drives manufacturers to invent new things constantly.
Nothing is certain, but this isn't the distant future most of these features are running now, behind closed doors, on the chipsets
in your current phone.

Piezoelectric fingerprint scanners will read our fingers through any surface
Current fingerprint readers that you find on the Samsung Galaxy S6 and iPhone 6 use capacitive technology to read the ridges of
your finger tips. This technology works well, but has flaws the biggest being a lack of data points, which makes them somewhat
suceptible to hacking, and that's even before you get to its problematic working when your finger is wet.
Well, Qualcomm has reference hardware it doesn't sell phones, but does make prototype devices for testing and developers
that has a new type of ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, using a piezoelectric layer that creates ultrasound. This not only maps your
finger but has a much increased resolution, making it potentially more secure.
It can also work through any surface that can conduct ultrasound, so the glass that covers your phone screen can read your
fingerprint no home button sensor required.

Artificial intelligent cameras will know exactly what you're shooting

One camera demo that Qualcomm has shown off reveals a series of photos being placed in front of a smartphone camera, testing the
recognition properties and how accurately it was able to detect what it was being shown. Soon it was telling the difference between
a building and a flower and an arm wearing a wristwatch.

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 The system works by comparing objects to a reference database that's stored on the device, but it's also possible to train the software
to understand ever more things.
While this might sound utterly pointless out of context, it will enable cameras to do all sorts of clever things tied to location and
theme, even shaping how we take and store photos.

Surround sound will live on your headphones

A current DTS 7.1 prototype demo for smartphones has shown the aural effect to be almost indistinguishable from the sound of
speakers. There's a little way to go before the tech works with all source material, though, and it's still in the testing stage, but it's
eons ahead of anything else.

Cameras will recognize your handwriting to ease typing load

With the help of some third-party software, another Qualcomm advance shows that even really, really rubbish, doctor-level
handwriting can be identified by a smartphone camera in real time and turned into text - if the processor is strong enough.
This could be great if you're a student and you want to computerize your handwritten notes. For stenos, clerks and ol-fashioned
pen-and-paper aficionados, taking notes will never be the same again.

Emergency services will save you quicker with peer-to-peer off-grid chats as standard
Although we are unlikely to be prepared when we suffer an earthquake or volcano or extreme weather, new mobile networks are
being developed so that when the network gets shut down (making communicating hard for emergency services), peer-to-peer
systems will allow the creation of small networks to allows people to communicate even when they are off their main mobile
infrastructure.
If that sounds a bit humdrum and utilitarian, remember that if there's ever an emergency near you and the first-responders can
communicate better, you may be very pleased indeed, that such independent networks exist.
The utility of new technology can only be gauged when it becomes widely available and affordable. The commercial part of the technological
evolution that humanity is undergoing causes many promising technologies to fail at the concept stage, since corporate bigwigs choose not to
fund ideas that may not be very profitable, but which could have helped struggling classes of society achieve parity with the richer groups. I hope
the mindset of pioneers becomes philanthropic in the near future, so that cheap and powerful innovations can enlighten future generations
without causing economic disparity.

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 Monetary United
The Theatre of Dreams in Manchester regularly erupts in joy, and sometimes in despair, but the
machinations of the global brand that Manchester United has become are based on the glory the team
has achieved in the history of club football
BY: PRADEEP MATHUR

MANCHESTER United is one the most familiar names in world football. Its fame stems primarily from its considerable record of
accomplishments on the field of play from the mid 1960s onwards. In 1968, it created history by claiming the European Cup; and in
later years won the English Premier League nine out of fifteen times following the renaming of the top-flight domestic competition
in English football in 1992/1993.Additionally, the team won a historical treble by winning the English top-tier Premier League and
the grueling knock-out FA Cup, and going on to win the European Champions League, in 1999. The Champions League would
again decorate ManUs trophy cabinet in 2008, when they triumphed over fellow English side Chelsea.
Because of its progress from strength to strength, Manchester United enjoys an exalted status in the eyes of its supporters. The
second source of this status lies in the route which its most acclaimed supervisor, Sir Matt Busby, took to rebuild his group after a
grievous air crash at Munich Airport in 1958 left eight players dead and numerous others seriously injured. Busby's rebuilt group,
then, got to be identified with an unfettered style (of play) which symbolized the liberal social changes sweeping through Western
Europe and North America of the 1960s, and eminently embodied in the playing style of the group's ostentatious and irrepressible
forward George Best; a spirit which was reflected in the team's, the glorified Red Devils, no holds barred style of play which saw
Best bolstered by other just as phenomenal players, for example, Bobby Charlton and Denis Law. The name of Manchester United
keeps on being identified with the spirit of the group of that period, and this has turned into a basic element in the make-up of the
present-day Manchester United brand. Numerous credible analysts would contend that this is indeed one of the key reasons why it
remains an English football club with the largest fan following and with attendances in the 2006/2007 season crossing the 75,000
mark for each home game at the iconic Old Trafford.
Thirdly, since becoming the first English football club to be listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1991, Manchester United has
reliably been Europe's most inventive club as far as the advancement of its business procedures is concerned, and keeps on being
generally beneficial for its vast crowd of supporters.

GLAZING THE HONEY-BAKED-HAM

The BSkyB pay-television TV organization, now called Sky, unsuccessfully attempted to seize control of the organization in 1999. In
2005, after much infighting and speculation regarding takeover bids, it was the club's potential for growth that drove the Glazer
family, proprietors of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL American football establishment, to purchase Manchester United and de-list
it from the stock trade. For this issue of Management Compass, we inspect how this fruitful business procedure was created by the
leading body of Manchester United PLC from the mid-1990s onwards, and look at the factors that resulted in the club expanding its
horizons.
Under the ownership of the Glazers, Manchester United has moved from being sans obligation (debt-free) to carrying extremely
noteworthy borrowings on its monetary record, which require high overhauling installments each budgetary year; and has
embraced a forceful business style to deal with its association with the club's supporters, which pundits contend may disintegrate
the conventional quality of the brand in the medium term and eventually undermine incomes in the long haul.
However, these naysaying pundits ignore the fact that despite the criticism they get, one cannot help but agree that the club's
owners, the Glazer family, have utilized their experience of American football in turning Manchester United into a high-value
brand.
The United States is one of the best countries on the planet at churning games and sports into cash. The significant representation
of the American football associations seesto it that the best ability of purchasing talent goes to the top groups, combined with a
forceful redistribution of wage as an aftereffect of compensation, making it a sound venture. This is the manner of thinking that the
Glazers have brought to English football.

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THE ECONOMICS OF THE RED DEVILS
Manchester United PLC is the holding corporation, primarily controlled by the Glazer family, engaged in overseeing the
commercial interests of their mainstay the First team playing football at various levels in local, national and international levels
viz. the Football League, The Premier League, and the UEFA Champions League. It assists Manchester United with generation of
income from myriad sources, including sponsorship, merchandising, product licensing, mobile and content, broadcasting and gate
money (spectators attending games at Old Trafford). Manchester United merchandise is made available for sale through
approximately 200 licensees spread around the globe due to their presence in close to 120 countries. There are three principal sectors
that form the revenue streams of Manchester United: Commercial, Broadcasting and Matchday; these are expounded below.

COMMERCIAL
Within the Commercial revenue sector, Manchester United monetizes its brand through three revenue streams: (i) sponsorship; (ii)
retail merchandising, apparel and product licensing; and (iii) mobile and content. Manchester United monetizes the value of its
brand and community of followers through marketing and sponsorship relationships with international and regional companies
around the globe. The Companys global sponsorships include brands such as Abengoa, Adidas, Aeroflot, Aon, Bulova, Bwin,
Campari, Concha y Toro, DHL, Epson, General Motors (Chevrolet), Kansai, Nissin, Singha, Toshiba and Yanmar. In addition to its
global sponsorships, the Company also has regional sponsors, such as Apollo, Cho-A Pharm, Euro Food, Federal, Gloops, Honda,
Hong Kong Jockey Club, Kagome, Manda, Multistrada, Ottogi, Pepsi, Unilever and Wahaha, who are its sponsors across a variety of
products and categories in certain regions and local markets around the world.
The Company markets and offers gaming attire (both leisure and sportswear) and other paraphernalia,highlighting the
Manchester United brand, on a worldwide premise. Manchester United additionally offers different items, from espresso mugs to
blankets that are emblazoned with the Manchester United brand and trademarks. These items are distributed through Manchester
United marked retail channels and e-trade portals, and, additionally, wholesale appropriation channels. The Company markets
content specifically to its supporters through its site, and related e-commerce channels.

BROADCASTING
The Company creates direct income from the dissemination, mainly through the Internet and television,specifically of live football
content and in a roundabout way through its business associates. TV income is got from the worldwide TV rights of the Premier
League, Champions League and various different rivalries at every level, from grassroots football academies to the Club World
Cup. Manchester United's proprietary worldwide TV station, MUTV, conveys Manchester United programming to more than 85
nations and domains around the globe. Other income includes, at times, the winners purse that comes along with victories in
different tournaments.

MATCHDAY
The Company produces income from Old Trafford, a venue with deep historical roots and the clubs home ground. Other
Matchday income incorporates food and concessions sales, occasion-specific merchandise and souvenirs, project deals, enrollment
and travel.The Manchester United Museum income supplements earnings, and a share of the ticket income from away matches in
local derbies is also part of the revenue stream. Matchday income likewise incorporates income from different occasions facilitated
at Old Trafford, including other especially-organized once-in-a-lifetime occasions (counting football matches as a component of
the London 2012 Olympic Games and the yearly Rugby Super League Grand Final), music shows and celebration-of-
diversification occasions.

RULING THE PITCH, ON AND OFF

A year ago, the Red Devils inked a record-breaking logo sponsorship and kit manufacturing deal with Adidas, in spite of having
an off-season that saw them fail to show up for European football a situation they had not had to encounter for 25 years. Most of
the blame fell on David Moyes, the replacement for legendary club manager, Sir Alex Ferguson. Moyes successor, Louis van Gaal,
restored the team to European football subsequently.
Coming back to the Adidas deal, the red portion of Manchester did not renew its contract with Nike, and a lucrative 750m
(950m, $1.3bn) 10-year contract with the German brand to be the club's official unit supplier broke Real Madrid's past record
arrangement of 31m a year with the same sportswear firm.
Does this imply Manchester United and its plethora of offshoots are still as alluring an offer as ever, with regards to business
suitability? The numbers strongly suggest so, since the sheer count of supporters has increased, along with revenues and market
valuation.
Sponsorship arrangements were 42% of Manchester United's income a year ago, and notwithstanding the previously stated
lapse in performance standards that resulted in the red half of Manchester sitting out last season's Champions League, they
figured out how to rake in enormous sponsorship deals, with Adidas and Japanese organization Nissin buying their way on to the
board.

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 Despite winning no trophies worth speaking of in the past couple of seasons, especially considering theirhistory of high-profile
top-league successes, the Old Trafford club's brand is estimated to be worth $1.2bn (789m), according to independent reports by
Forbes and Brand Finance. It also speaks volumes of the fan following and brand value growth, the latter of which (the club's
brand value) has increased by 63% since 2014.
One of the major reasons for this growth is common to most of the top teams: there have been much more valuable TV and
sponsorship bargains. Thus, the 20 most important soccer teams on the planet are valued at an average of $1.16 billion, 11% more
than a year ago and 84% higher than five years back.
A consistent theme "uniting" these groups is their exceedingly beneficial execution in four significant territories: social
media and Internet, matchday income, broadcasting and commercial sales, which I have described earlier. The administrators
of Manchester United have made an expansive, worldwide business effort and have made sense of how to adapt it, to do what
matters most - bring glory to Manchester United.

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