Prospects of Tourism industry

Photo by Fuzail Ahmad on Pexels.com

India has a lot to offer to the world. Our cultural heritage is one of the richest. The remnants of the Indus valley civilisation gives a sneak peek into the lives of ancient societies. The forts and monuments of medieval India narrate the stories of the kings and their subjects. The colonial legacy left its imprint in India in the form of Victorian-style architecture and the westernisation of Indian culture. The unsurmountable Himalayas, the lush green western ghats, the islands, the deserts and a lot more is provided by nature for us to explore. All these wonders in India make for a potential tourist hub. To get the most out of it the government has taken a few steps. The tourism and hospitality industry gained impetus from initiatives mentioned as follows


Incredible India tourist facilitator certification (IITFC) portal was launched by the tourism ministry. The successful completion of the course would certify the tourist facilitated from the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.
—Visa norms were made easy to create ease in tourism. This was done by collaborative work of Ministry of tourism, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of external affairs.
Incredible India 2.0 campaign promoted tourism across the world through content creation.
—Adding Indian monuments and tourist spots to UNESCO World Heritage sites helps in the promotion of places of architectural significance or natural beauty.
—Complying with international norms and gaining recognition through various platforms like the Blue Flag certification for beaches, that can improve India’s impression while achieving sustainability goals.

The opportunities are enormous. Most of them have been left untapped for decades. Recently a significant acknowledgement of these opportunities started to take form. One such example is GI tag. Each state of India has a unique cuisine, tradition, costume, festivals and agricultural pattern. The geographical indication can mark these specialities on the map. Each state can use GI tag as a tool for protecting intellectual property. In this context, Uttar Pradesh has done a phenomenal job. One district one product initiative of the Uttar Pradesh government is a fruitful venture.


Beaches are a favorite destination for travelers. Who doesn’t want to steal a vacation on a Beach? Beautiful beaches, surrounded by vast endless ocean waters and recreational activities like swimming, boating, snorkelling, surfing can be part of the itinerary. Beaches in the west have developed into booming tourist hotspots. India too has the potential to develop a tourism industry.


Newer concepts like health tourism have emerged in the past few years. It is a term for travel with an emphasis on medical treatments and other health care services in other countries where these facilities are either available or available at a very cheaper rate with assured quality. According to some estimates, medical tourism is growing by 30% each year in India and Chennai attracts the most numbers.


The lockdown has put the tourism industry in a slump. The scars on the sector can heal only with a combined effort of government and private players. The revival of the industry is vital for the economy of the country.

Advertisement

Twin Attacks in Jammu

Two low powered bomb blasts shocked the technical area of Jammu Air Force Station early on Sunday morning. It is the first ever bombing by quadcopter drones in India. This was the first terror attack on an armed forces quarters since 2018 when Jaish-e-Mohammed operatives harmed an Indian Army camp in Sunjuwan, Jammu.

After two explosives-loaded drones collapsed into the high-security Indian Air Force station at Jammu airport, a warning was announced in Punjab’s border district of Pathankot, news agency PTI reported on Sunday.

Officials conveyed the news agency that tight security was being maintained near key systems in Pathankot. The Pathankot air base had come under terror attack in 2016. According to the report, patrolling has been increased near sensitive areas in and around Pathankot and additional forces have been arranged.

Sharing the details about the extra security measures in wake of the Jammu incident, Pathankot SSP Surendra Lamba told PTI that workforces were on our guard in view of the situation. “Whenever there is an incident of this kind, maximum alert is sounded in neighboring areas,” he said.

Details

According to information received, the explosions occurred around 1:45 am on Sunday morning, with the first one taking out the rooftop of a building while the second one, almost five minutes later, was on the ground in an open area. While there were no reports of any fatalities, two Indian Air Force (IAF) employees—License officer Arvind Singh and airman S K Singh — got minor injuries. An FIR has been recorded under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or UAPA. While a suspect has been picked up for questioning, J&K DGP Dilbagh Singh, who called the blasts as a “terror attack”, said an “IED weighing 5-6 kgs was recovered by Jammu police” which was to be implanted by an operator of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in some crowded area, he added.

The two blasts occurred hours before Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Army Chief General MM Naravane were to start a three-day visit to Ladakh, to converse with the troops and review India’s operational readiness in the background of a long standoff with China. Singh studied the situation by speaking to IAF vice chief Air Marshal H S Arora, while Delhi-based Western Air Command Chief Air Marshal V R Chaudhari flew to Jammu to take stock of the situation.

Effect

While the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has been fastened in to lead the investigation, a terror alert has also been announced at the Pathankot air force base in Punjab which was the aim of a terror attack in 2016 in which six terrorists and seven security personnel were killed. There was no loss of any equipment and flight operations were also unaffected, according to Jammu Airport Director Pravat Ranjan Beuria. However, two flights — G8 185 and SG 963 — were called off for what airport authorities said were operational reasons. While Jammu airport is a civil airport, the runway and the ATC (air traffic control) are under the IAF. Technical area of an airport is usually a high security zone used for VIP and military flight operations.

Top social media marketing blogs

The world of Social Media is probably responsible for more innovation in digital marketing over the past 5 to 10 years than nearly any other discipline. From ephemeral story based content to live video to all the things being done with data for more personalized marketing, staying in top of what’s real vs. the hype in marketing is increasingly difficult.

Top help marketers find great sources of marketing advice, we’ve curated the BIGLIST of marketing blogs and more recently a marketing blogs from martech companies. Adding to that curation effort and our own solid social media marketing advice is today’s list of social media marketing blogs.

This list focuses in on blogs covering all aspects of social media marketing including the usual suspects of platforms including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn as well as newer platforms like TikTok. From trends to strategies to tactics to analytics, this group of blogs about social media and marketing is a great mix of big names, publications, platforms and a few names that are hopefully new to you.

1. Adweek Social Pro Daily @adweek
Platform news, industry trends and plenty of brand examples.
Our favorite post: Social Networks Finally Bypassed Print Newspapers as a Primary Source of News

2. Andrea Vahl Blog @AndreaVahl
Everything you wanted to know about Facebook advertising plus a glimpse of “Grandma Mary”.
Our favorite post: Facebook Video Ads – What’s Working Now

3. Awario Blog @AwarioApp
Social media monitoring, selling, research and influencer marketing advice.
Our favorite post: 10 of the best social media marketing tools for 2019

4. Brian Solis @briansolis
One of the true pioneering thought leaders on social media that continues to offer strategic insights – including how to temper social media use for a more creative, productive and happy life ala Lifescale.
Our favorite post: The Past, Present And Future Of Social Media – How We Fell To The Dark Side And Why The Force Is With Us

5. Brand24 Blog @brand24
Social listening, marketing and industry news plus best practices on everything from hashtags to social influencers.
Our favorite post: A Complete Guide to Social Media Analysis

6. CinchShare Blog @CinchShare
Social Media Marketing tips for small business including Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and blogging advice.
Our favorite post: Grow your team on Facebook by doing these 3 things

7. Digimind Blog @digimindci
Social insight driven marketing advice, competitive social intelligence tips and soup to nuts social media campaign direction for agencies.
Our favorite post: Optimize Your Content Marketing Strategy in 13 Steps with Social Media Intelligence

8. DreamGrow Blog @dreamgrow
Social Media Marketing advice plus curated lists of resources.
Our favorite post: How To Integrate Social Media With eCommerce in 2019

9. Facebook Business Blog @facebook
Official blog from Facebook on advertising news, best practices and thought leadership.
Our favorite post: Turn Interested Shoppers Into Buyers with a Guided Shopping Experience in Messenger

10. Falcon Insights Hub @falconio
Social Media Marketing strategy, tactics and ROI measurement plus platform specific best practices.
Our favorite post: 5 Social Media Trends to Watch in 2019

11. Gary Vaynerchuk Blog @garyvee
The content machine that is Garyvee covers social media marketing thought leadership, trends, news and practical advice for specific social networks.
Our favorite post: 5 LinkedIn Marketing Strategies for 2019

12. Gleam Blog @gleamapp
A lot of how to social media marketing content, tips on using Gleam apps and advice on social contests, giveaways, coupons and product hunts.
Our favorite post: Stop Buying Likes: 25+ Tips to Drive Real Engagement on Facebook

13. Grow @markwschaefer
Mark Schaefer’s blog on the intersection of marketing, technology and humanity featuring provocative insights on industry trends, featured examples of social media and marketing in action and practical advice.
Our favorite post: What Is Your Social Media Marketing Purpose? (If You Don’t Know, This Will Help)

14. Hopper HQ Blog @hopper_hq
All things Instagram marketing ranging from trends to tips and a bit of advice on working with social influencers too.
Our favorite post: How to Measure B2B Social Media Marketing Success

15. Hot in Social Media @hotinsm
Social platform news and tips covering the gamut of social media marketing topics plus curated advice from industry experts.
Our favorite post: How to Use TikTok Like a PRO: Actionable Tips for Marketers

16. Iconosquare Blog @iconosquare
Focused information on marketing with Facebook and Instagram.
Our favorite post: Instagram Marketing Strategy: Your A-Z Guide

17. Instagram Business Blog @instagram
Official blog from Instagram sharing platform updates, features advertising advice.
Our favorite post: Creative Secrets of Instagram Stories

18. Jeff Bullas Blog @jeffbullas
Social Media Marketing best practices from Jeff and guest contributors.
Our favorite post: 9 Insider Tips For Increasing Your LinkedIn Leads

19. Jon Loomer Blog @jonloomer
This blog is Facebook marketing central – everything you ever wanted to know.
Our favorite post: How to Edit a Facebook Ad and Retain Social Proof

20. Karen’s PR & Social Media Blog @kfreberg
Dr. Karen Freberg’s take on social media marketing, PR and crisis communications.
Our favorite post: Super Bowl 2019: Trends & Takeaways from a Social Media Professor

21. Katie Lance Blog @katielance
Great example of a personal brand showcasing social media marketing advice with a slant towards the real estate audience.
Our favorite post: How to Attract Your Dream Client Through Social Media and Storytelling

22. Keyhole Blog @keyholeco
Recent attention to a variety of social media marketing tools as well as practical advice for Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and hashtag marketing.
Our favorite post: Hashtags: A Beginner’s Guide and How to Use them Effectively – Keyhole

23. Later Blog @latermedia
Instagram Marketing strategy, tips, tools, resources and guides.
Our favorite post: Real or Fake: 5 Instagram Algorithm Rumors Explained

24. LinkedIn Marketing Solutions Blog @linkedinmktg
Official blog from Linkedin offering marketing thought leadership, industry trends, news and practical advice on how to make the most of marketing and advertising on LinkedIn. (client)
Our favorite post: 10 Content Ideas for your LinkedIn Page

25. Louise Myers Visual Social Media Blog @Louise_Myers
Practice visual social media marketing tips for Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest plus advice on blogging.
Our favorite post: How to Boost Your Social Media Strategy for 2019

26. Madalyn Sklar Blog @MadalynSklar
Literally everything you would ever want to know about building and engaging a community on Twitter with plenty of attention towards tools.
Our favorite post: How to Grow Your Twitter Community: 7 Essential Tips

27. Meltwater Blog: Social Media @MeltwaterSocial
Social Media thought leadership, practical advice and featured brand social media examples.
Our favorite post: Social Sidekick: Your Monthly Guide to Social Holidays, Themes, and Noteworthy Events

28. NetBase Blog @NetBase
Advice on social media listening, analytics and practical advice plus applications for social intelligence.
Our favorite post: Social Media Monitoring vs Social Listening – Yes, There’s a Difference!

29. Planoly Blog @planoly
Stay on top of Instagram and IG Marketing with practical tips and examples.
Our favorite post: How to Stay Motivated with Your Blog and Instagram

30. Problogger @problogger
Dedicated to the art and science of blogging and no one tells that story better than Darren Rowse.
Our favorite post: How to Start a Blog When You’re Not an Expert: 11 Ways to Make it Work

31. Quintly @quintly
Social Media Marketing research and analysis, best practices, trends and news about the platform.
Our favorite post: Instagram Study: We analyzed 9 million posts and here’s what we’ve learned

32. Snapchat for Business @snapchat
Official blog from Snapchat featuring the latest launches, announcements, and insights.
Our favorite post: CPG on Snapchat: Why Gen Z and millennials make all the difference

33. Socialnomics @equalman
Erik Qualman’s long running thought leadership blog on social media and marketing.
Our favorite post: 22 Social Media Tips From The Pros To Skyrocket Your 2019 ROI

34. Social Insider Blog @socialinsiderio
A cornucopia of how to articles on social media marketing plus a fun series of interviews with industry experts called Socialinsider Insta’rviews.
Our favorite post: The Most Impactful Social Media Trend That Businesses Should Integrate It In 2019

35. Social Media Examiner @SMExaminer
Probably the most popular blog about social media marketing from Mike Stelzner and team that also run the Social Media Marketing World conference.
Our favorite post: 10 Metrics to Track When Analyzing Your Social Media Marketing

36. Social Media Explorer @smxplorer
An original social media marketing blog covering the gamut of social media topics including tips, tools, news, and case studies.
Our favorite post: Up And Coming Social Media Trends Driven By Millennials And Generation Z

37. Social Media Lab @agorapulse
A special project from the folks at Agorapulse highlighting their investment of over $15k per month to help “Crack the Code” of social media and then report those results to readers.
Our favorite post: LinkedIn Post Length: Does Data Support the Idea that Longer is Better?

38. Social Media Today @socialmedia2day
A community blog offering a comprehensive view of social media marketing including updates to social platforms, trends, strategy and tactics.
Our favorite post: Social Media Calls to Action: 19 Words & Phrases to Generate More Engagement

39. Social Media Week News & Insights @socialmediaweek
Regular updates on the famous Social Media Week events in New York and Los Angeles plus coverage of social media technologies and marketing tactics.
Our favorite post: Boost Your Instagram Stories Game for 2019 With These 10 Practices

40. Social Report Blog @thesocialreport
A collection of practical posts about marketing on all of the major social networks plus trends and examples.
Our favorite post: 10 Top Social Media Scheduling Tools to Save Time in 2019

41. Social Sorted @SociallySorted
Donna Mortiz offers awesome monthly list posts of social media marketing ideas and in between shares visual and video marketing advice for social media channels.
Our favorite post: 60+ April Social Media Ideas – Videos, GIFs and more!

42. Spiderworking @Spiderworking
Amanda Webb covers social platform updates, examples and practical advice about small business social and content marketing.
Our favorite post: Relationship Marketing With Jessika Phillips, Pots Of Gold And LinkedIn Networking

43. Sue B Zimmerman @SueBZimmerman
The guru of Instagram marketing.
Our favorite post: How To Grow Instagram Followers in 2019

44. The Social Media Hat @SocialMediaHats
Mike Allton’s blog with practical advice about blogging, social media, SEO and email marketing.
Our favorite post: How to Create 26 Pieces Of Content From A Facebook Live

45. Talkwalker Blog @Talkwalker
Social Media Marketing and analytics blog with an emphasis on social monitoring and data applications.
Our favorite post: Social media trends that will impact 2019

46. Twitter Marketing Blog @Twitter
Official blog from Twitter about product news, marketing and advertising best practices and research.
Our favorite post: 10 ways marketing changed with Twitter

47. Unmetric Blog @unmetric
Social Media Marketing strategy, industry trends, and how to articles focused on brands.
Our favorite post: Brands vie for the throne in the game of social media marketing

One trend I’ve noticed is that many individuals that have really made a name for themselves as trusted voices in the social media space during the formative years of the industry simply are not blogging as much or have diversified into other areas of marketing. At the same time, a steady drumbeat of social media marketing advice can be found amongst a smaller number of highly focused industry blogs and companies serving the social media marketing industry.

Speaking of the social media marketing industry, you may have noticed some well known social media marketing technology brands are not on the above list. That’s because we’ve already included them in the martech list, but they certainly belong in this collection, so here they are:

Hyperthyroidism Awareness

It is important to remember that hyperthyroidism can occur at any age. While most may present with a rather typical constellation of symptoms, many may present with exacerbation of pre-existing conditions which may make the diagnosis initially elusive. Worsening anxiety, insomnia, fatigue, panic attacks, palpitations, hypertension or diarrhea may not initially signal that the thyroid is involved. Clinicians must have a low threshold to check thyroid function early to rule out a component of hyperthyroidism.

Once a suppressed thyrotropin (TSH) has been detected, further investigation with serum triiodothyronine (T3) and free thyroxine (free T4) can help delineate overt from subclinical disease. A thorough history of past thyroid disease, as well as current medications and supplements, can help detect any pre-existing diagnoses or exogenous sources of thyroid hormone or over supplementation with iodine. More commonly, hyperthyroidism is due to either Graves diseasetoxic multinodular goiter or toxic adenoma. Distinction between these can usually be made with the assistance of a thyroid uptake scan, TSH receptor antibody measurement, and thyroid ultrasound. An additional physical exam finding of exophthalmos can further support the diagnosis of Graves’ disease. Understanding the etiology can help guide patient expectations. A small percentage of patients with Graves’ Disease may undergo spontaneous remission after 1 to 2 years, which may prompt patients to wait before considering a definitive treatment option.

With confirmation of the diagnosis of hyperthyroidism, focus is on hormonal control with an antithyroid medication (ATM, most commonly Methimazole in the United States). This may be augmented with beta-blockade, steroids, cholestyramine or SSKI for those who are difficult to control.

Many patients may need further consideration for definitive management with either radioactive iodine ablation (RAI) or thyroidectomy. Your local resources may also influence these options, but it is critical to understand that all three treatments (ATM, RAI and thyroidectomy) are possible options. Certain patient factors and priorities may alter the preferred definitive treatment. Smaller gland size, easy to control hormones, and lack of eye symptoms are factors that may favor continued ATM management. A large goiter with compressive symptoms, difficult to control hormones requiring high dose medications/ multiple modalities, pregnancy, severe eye disease, multiple nodules within the thyroid with or without thyroid cancer, or desire for rapid and reliable hormone control may favor thyroidectomy. RAI is a good option for patients with a smaller gland size, and a desire to pursue definitive management but avoid surgery.

There are also relative contraindications for treatment options. ATMs may have serious side effects, like agranulocytosis or liver failure, which prevent further use, or may cause skin eruptions making long term use intolerable. Additionally, high dose requirements or fluctuating doses may make long term use of ATMs not reliable. Women who are pregnant, wanting to become pregnant in the next 6 months to 1 year, breast feeding or have small children in the home will want to avoid RAI. Patients with severe eye involvement, have a large goiter with compressive symptoms, or are smokers should also avoid RAI. Thyroidectomy will be a poor option for patients with multiple previous neck operations on or around the thyroid due to internal scarring, or who are high risk for general anesthesia. Additionally, if they have a history of previous gastric bypass surgery, they are higher risk for major complications from hypocalcemia/hypoparathyroidism after thyroidectomy.

To help the patient navigate these decisions, it is important to allow them the opportunity to discuss each treatment option with respective physician experts – medical management with endocrinology, RAI with endocrinology and potentially nuclear medicine as well, and thyroidectomy with the thyroid surgeon.

In summary, patients with hyperthyroidism require medical control, as well as a clear understanding of the etiology of their hyperthyroidism. Patients with Graves disease, toxic multinodular goiter and toxic adenoma have more than one treatment option, and it is important for patients to be educated and engaged in treatment decisions.

For Further Reference:
American Thyroid Association Guidelines for Diagnosis and Management of Hyperthyroidism and other causes of Thyrotoxicosis| by the American Thyroid Association

Journey to Optometry: Rakesh Kumar Yadav

You must have your own role model and follow them. You may have got inspiration from big names and personality like Bill Gates, Einstein, Mark Zuckerberg and many more. Why do we need to go that far for the inspiration? You have so many inspirational people around you. Sometimes we need to appreciate success of nearby people.

In this article, I would discuss the journey of an optometrist who never wanted to become a doctor.

Early life

Dr. Rakesh Kumar Yadav born and brought up in Nepal had all the makings of a virtuoso since he was a youngster, and he was continually attracted to concentrating new things. He was a member of Cricket crews at the Apollo Om HSEB school. Dr. Rakesh Kumar Yadav, on the other hand, was naturally driven to athletics as he was very good player during his school and police officer since he wanted to eradicate drug and crimes, and appreciate the gratification that comes from serving people. But due to some reason he enrolled in Christian college Bangalore for Bsc. optometry.

Optometry Story

In the initial days of his college, it was so difficult for him to adjust in Bangalore that he wanted to run away from there. He couldn’t even concentrate on his study. The result was he failed his 1st semester. That was the time when he thought he should return home. By that time his teacher and friends were with him. Lately he built his self confidence. He even started giving time for his passion ie. playing cricket. Finally he was on the roll. He worked hard and passed upto 4th semester. Then he became overconfident about his study and started bunking classes in 5th semester. Due to this, he was restricted to give exam. It was the worst phase of his life. He worked hard even more and passed 5th and 6th semester.

He started internship in Narayana Netralaya where he got close with his senior doctors and optometrist. He developed his professional aptitude, strengthen personal character.

Now he works in Nepal. He runs his own clinic.

His struggle shows how our overconfidence demean us and leads us towards darkness. There is always morning after the night. Work hard and never let your life be controlled by anyone.

Self care is not selfish thing

Often times, when we do something for ourselves, it is considered selfish. Growing up it is common to be taught to take care of other people and put others first. However, when it comes to our mental and emotional health, these types of actions of neglecting yourself to put others first can have huge consequences.

Self-care can be confusing and it can make you feel like you are putting too much attention on yourself. But remember, self-care never has and never will be selfish, especially when it comes to mental health.

In order to take care of other people, you must take care of yourself first. 

Why Self-Care is Important

Self-Care is one of the most important things that a person can do for themselves. It is not only vital for your physical health, but also your emotional and mental health as well.

There are many misconceptions around self-care and what exactly it entails. However, self-care is really not that complicated. At the most basic level,

self-care is just doing good things for yourself. This could be anything from working out, to taking an hour every night to journal, anything that makes you feel good.

Self-care requires you to know and understand yourself. You are forced to listen to your body and mind, understand what resources are running low and what you have to do to replenish them. 

There are many benefits that come with performing self-care. Some of them include increased productivity, improved resistance to illnesses & better physical health are just a few. These benefits are just the beginning.  Some of the other, more personal benefits are, enhanced self-esteem, increased self-knowledge, and most importantly, you have more to give to other people.

When you are mindful about reguarily carving out time for yourself and making sure that your physical, emotional, and mental needs are being met, you will feel better in all aspects of your life.

This makes it easier for you to work with and help others in their time of need. Just like when you are on an airplane, you have to take care of yourself before you can help anyone else. 

Stigma Around Self-Care

Self-care can be hard, not only because of the stigma that surrounds it, but because it can be extremely difficult to admit that you need help or to take care of yourself when you are struggling with your own mental health.

Growing up, it is extremely common to hear that you should put others before yourself. Kids are taught that being too vain or thinking about yourself is selfish. When you take time to take care of yourself, friends and family may start to get frustrated or say that you need to spend more time thinking about others and spending time with them.

Read also: We need support, not stigma. How do we end the stigma around mental illness and start talking about it?

However, the worst stigma, is self-stigma. The voice in your head that tells you to stop focusing on yourself, saying that you don’t deserve the time or attention that you are giving yourself.

You start to think about all of the things that you are neglecting and the people who deserve your attention more. However, this self-stigma, and any outside stigma, is far from true.

By taking care of yourself you are making sure that you will be able to help and encourage others.  

How you can Take Care of Yourself 

Self-care can be difficult because of the stigma that comes with it. However, understanding how, and being able to take care of yourself is one of the strongest things that you can do.

It is also important to distinguish between the things that actually make you feel good and things that you think make you feel good, but often have the reverse effect, like drugs & alcohol, over-eating, and taking risks. 

There are many different types of self-care; the most well-known is physical self-care. When people say that they are trying to take care of themselves this is often what they mean.

Physical self-care can be helpful not only for your physical health but also to help you let off steam. This doesn’t have to be going to the gym, it can also mean dancing around the house to your favorite song, doing yoga, or going outside and going for a walk. This could also be taking a nap when you need some extra rest or giving yourself a break when you are down or unwell.

However, while physical health is important and this type of self-care can make a huge difference, it can also be harmful to your mental health if you focus on your physical self too much and too often. Working out and getting the ‘perfect’ body isn’t what self-care is all about.

It is vital to remember the other parts of yourself that need to be taken care of, make sure that you aren’t focusing on the outer-self to avoid taking care of your inner-self. 

Sensory self-care helps to calm the mind. This will help you to live in the moment, focus better, and let go of the past and forget your anxieties.

This type of self-care is all about sight, smell, touch, and sound. This could be considered sitting outside at the beach, enjoying the feeling of the water on your skin from a shower or a bath, or listening to calming music. Anything that helps you feel calm and relaxed. 

Introvert people

Putting together a large number of contemporary tests of personality, Grimes, Cheek, Julie Norem, and Courtney Brown created the STAR test to measure four kinds of introversion. To figure out your primary introverted type, take this online test:

To find out where you stand on each of the four meanings of introversion, answer the following questions by deciding to what extent each item is characteristic of your feelings and behavior. Fill in the blank next to each item by choosing a number from the following scale:

1 = very uncharacteristic or untrue, strongly disagree

2 = uncharacteristic

3 = neutral

4 = characteristic

5 = very characteristic or true, strongly agree

Social Introversion

____ 1. I like to share special occasions with just one person or a few close friends, rather than have big celebrations.

____ 2. I think it would be satisfying if I could have very close friendships with many people.

____ 3. I try to structure my day so that I always have some time to myself.

____ 4. I like to vacation in places where there are a lot of people around and a lot of activities going on.

____ 5. After spending a few hours surrounded by a lot of people, I am usually eager to get away by myself.

____ 6. I do not have a strong need to be around other people.

____ 7. Just being around others and finding out about them is one of the most interesting things I can think of doing.

____ 8. I usually prefer to do things alone.

____ 9. Other people tend to misunderstand me—forming a mistaken impression of what kind of person I am because I don’t say much about myself.

____ 10. I feel drained after social situations, even when I enjoyed myself.

Thinking Introversion

____ 1. I enjoy analyzing my own thoughts and ideas about myself.

____ 2. I have a rich, complex inner life.

____ 3. I frequently think about what kind of person I am.

____ 4. When I am reading an interesting story or novel or when I am watching a good movie, I imagine how I would feel if the events in the story were happening to me.

____ 5. I seldom think about myself.

____ 6. I generally pay attention to my inner feelings.

____ 7. I value my personal self-evaluation, that is, the private opinion I have of myself.

____ 8. I sometimes step back (in my mind) in order to examine myself from a distance.

____ 9. I daydream and fantasize, with some regularity, about things that might happen to me.

____ 10. I am inclined to be introspective, that is, to analyze myself.

Anxious Introversion

____ 1. When I enter a room I often become self-conscious and feel that the eyes of others are upon me.

____ 2. My thoughts are often focused on episodes of my life that I wish I’d stop thinking about.

____ 3. My nervous system sometimes feels so frazzled that I just have to get off by myself.

____ 4. I am confident about my social skills.

____ 5. Defeat or disappointment usually shame or anger me, but I try not to show it.

____ 6. It does not take me long to overcome my shyness in new situations.

____ 7. I feel relaxed even in unfamiliar social situations.

____ 8. Even when I am in a group of friends, I often feel very alone and uneasy.

____ 9. My secret thoughts, feelings, and actions would horrify some of my friends.

____ 10. I feel painfully self-conscious when I am around strangers.

Restrained Introversion

____ 1. I like to be off and running as soon as I wake up in the morning.

____ 2. I’ll try anything once.

____ 3. For relaxation I like to slow down and take things easy.

____ 4. I like to wear myself out with exertion.

____ 5. I often say the first thing that comes into my head.

____ 6. I generally seek new and exciting experiences and sensations.

____ 7. I like to keep busy all the time.

____ 8. I often act on the spur of the moment.

____ 9. I sometimes do “crazy” things just to be different.

____ 10. I often feel sluggish.

How’d you do?

To find out your score for each of the four kinds of introversion,RECODE the following Reverse-Worded items: (1=5) (2=4) (4=2) (5=1):

Social Introversion items: 2, 4, & 7

Thinking Introversion item: 5

Anxious Introversion items: 4, 6, & 7

Restrained Introversion items: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, & 9

Next, add together all the numbers to come up with a total score.

Here’s a guide of how you scored compared to others in the general population:

  • Social Introversion — below 24 low, around 30 average, above 36 high​
  • Thinking Introversion — below 28 low, around 34 average, above 40 high
  • Anxious Introversion — below 23 low, around 30 average, above 37 high
  • Restrained Introversion — below 25 low, around 31 average, above 37 high

This alternative way of assessing introversion is not likely to be embraced by Big Five personality researchers [6]. But if it offers you a more satisfying, personally meaningful way to glean insight into your unique personality, feel free to throw the Big Five framework out the window.

© 2014 Scott Barry Kaufman, All Rights Reserved.

Acknowledgement: Thanks to Connor Child at Qzzr for his help with the online quiz, and Jennifer Odessa Grimes and Jonathan Cheek for their help with this post.

[1] This list is adapted from Jonathan Cheek’s book review, which can be found here.

[2] As another example, take people who conceptualize themselves as highly introverted because they are very introspective and value their rich inner mental lives, but who score high in enthusiasm and assertiveness on the Big Five test. These folks are being told by modern personality psychologists: “You are really an extrovert who is also high in intellect/imagination.” For those who have spent their entire lives equating their love of thinking and fantasy with their “introversion”, they respond: “huh?” In the Big Five, imagination, fantasy, and introspection are positively associated with Extraversion. But if we do away with the label of introversion in the Big Five, then that allows a person to be introverted in the thinking/introspective sense but also be an extravert in the Big Five sense (high in enthusiasm and assertiveness).

[3] Popular writers on introversion are also not pleased with this psychological imperialism. For instance, in Sophia Sembling’s book The Introvert’s Way, she has a chapter titled “Introverts are Not Failed Extroverts”.

[4] Keep in mind, the Big Five is a descriptive model; it merely describes patterns of covariation between people. The labels used to describe the five personality dimensions are subjective. A lot of the arguments over what counts as introversion come down to a naming game. In my view, it’s really unfortunate that Big Five researchers started to use the label “introversion” to mark the lower end of extraversion. It wasn’t always this way. In fact, the original name for “extraversion” in the Big Five was “Surgency“. If it were up to me, it would have stayed that way, leaving the label “introversion” free to continue roaming the personality landscape. As Jonathan Cheek told me, “if the Big Five folks would just go back to that phrase [“Surgency”], they would not be crossing swords with folk psychology/ordinary language introverts. Perhaps introversion should *not* be used as a label in the Big Five system.” I agree.

[5] Here is the link to the research report about the new STAR scale. You might be wondering: “What about the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) test? Isn’t that good enough to measure introversion?” Well, no it isn’t. As it turns out, the MBTI extraversion-introversion scale only includes items relating to being talkative, gregarious, and sociable (vs. quiet and reserved). Since there’s not a single item on the MBTI extraversion-introversion dimension that mentions being introspective or reflective, even the MBTI doesn’t measure Jung’s original conceptualization of the term!

[6] Big Five researchers could make the case that each of these four meanings of introversion can easily be mapped onto the Big Five framework. For instance, they could argue that:

-Social introversion is really just “low enthusiasm” (part of the extraversion domain)

-Thinking introversion is not part of the extraversion-introversion domain at all, but really is “high intellect/imagination”

-Anxious introversion is really just a blend of “high neuroticism” and “low assertiveness” (part of the extraversion domain)

-Restrained introversion” is a blend of a number of lower-order extraversion-related traits, including “low sensation seeking”, “low excitement seeking”, and “low activity”.

What Kind of Introvert Are You?

Are you an introvert? It depends on which book you read. Here’s a sampling of the various conceptualizations of introversion in pop culture [1]: Preference for quiet, minimally stimulating environments: Quiet by Susan Cain Preference for concentration and solitude: The Introvert’s Way by Sophia Dembling Rechargeable battery: The Introvert Advantage by Marti Olsen Laney Thoughtful-introspective

Are you an introvert? It depends on which book you read.

Here’s a sampling of the various conceptualizations of introversion in pop culture [1]:

Historically, there has been just as much confusion in the psychological literature. Carl Jung originally defined introversion as a focus on one’s “inwardly directed psychic energy”. However, in the 30s, the psychologist J.P. Guilford showed that various attempts to measure Jung’s conceptualization of introversion resulted in multiple, distinct factors. In other words, there didn’t appear to be a single dimension of personality that captured all of introversion.

In the 60s Patricia Carrigan echoed this point, arguing that introversion was not effectively captured by a single scale. She cautioned that if the phrase introversion is to continue to be used, “care must be taken to specify its conceptual and operational referent. What appear to be minor distinctions between the various conceptions may in fact be crucial ones.” In the 70s, the heated debate continued, with a much older Guilford arguing with H.J. Eysenck over whether introversion can possibly, or even should, be captured by a single scale.

All seemed to be settled in the 90s with the emergence of the “Big Five” framework of personality. The five main factors of personality– extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and intellect/imagination– were empirically derived based on what patterns of behavior tend to go together within individuals. Under this framework, introversion is merely defined as the opposite of extraversion.

In the Big Five framework, extraversion comprises two main aspectsenthusiasm (reflecting sociability, positive emotions, and warmth) and assertiveness (reflecting the tendency to take charge, become a leader, and captivate attention). The common factor seems to be high sensitivity to rewards in the environment— which due to the highly social nature of humans throughout the course of human evolution, most prominently consists of rewards associated with social attention.

Therefore, under the dominant personality framework in modern psychology, if you score low in enthusiasm and assertiveness, you’re an introvert

Here’s the problem: the Big Five framework forces a definition of introversion onto people, many of whom do not conceptualize introversion in the same way. For instance, one study did a comparison of common-sense/everyday notions of introversion and ‘scientific’ conceptions of introversion. They found that the most prototypical characteristic of introversion, as identified by the general public, was the following item:

Clearly, many people equate introversion with introspection. In the Big Five framework, however, this item is classified as part of the intellect/imagination domain of personality, not the introversion domain. So there’s a serious mismatch between folk definitions of introversion and scientific definitions. People who view themselves as introverted because they are highly introspective are being told by scientists: “You aren’t really introverted based on patterns of covariation among the general population.” To which everyday people rightfully respond: “WTF?” [3]

As noted personality psychologist Jonathan Cheek told me, “by invalidating the ordinary language meaning of introversion by defining it solely as the opposite of Big Five Extraversion, the Big Five researchers are guilty of Psychological Imperialism [4].” Influenced by the seminal work of Jung, Guilford, and Carrigan, Cheek and his colleagues have decided to take a different approach, by focusing on the phenomenon of introversion on its own, free from having to be force-fit into one scheme or another.

As Carl Jung said, each individual is ultimately a unique crystal, but type theories can be helpful for navigating social life. Embracing this Jungian philosophy, Cheek and his colleagues argue that when people use the term “introversion”, they should never just use it by itself. Instead, they argue that researchers should put a specific modifier in front of the term. What modifiers could be used?

In her masters thesis (written under the advisement of Cheek), Jennifer Odessa Grimes defined four meanings of introversion: social, thinking, anxious, and restrained (which happens to form the positive acronym STAR). It’s possible to score high or low on either of these flavors of introversion. For instance, you could be low in social introversion by preference but not be particularly anxious in the presence of people. Or you could suffer from crippling social anxiety, but still have the desire to be highly social. Or any other combination of these four meanings of introversion.

By this point you’re probably wondering what kind of introvert you are. Well, you’re in luck. There’s a new test for that.

Best Lifestyle Blogs to Follow in 2021

Lifestyle Blog niche is one of the most competitive blogging niches around. Lifestyle bloggers are competing against digital lifestyle magazines, in a niche that is already quite saturated. So lifestyle blogs that gain a large readership are of a high standard in both design and content.

Online mags often have huge budgets, a print edition as well as digital, and content that is varied and expertly written, with professional photos. But lifestyle blogs have an edge in that they can supply new content every day if they so wish. Lifestyle blogs are free to access whereas digital magazine editions can only be accessed through paid subscriptions.

For a lifestyle blog to thrive, the authors need to provide excellent, accurate content and photos that create interest and capture the readers’ imaginations. Lifestyle bloggers have raised their standards to compete with the best of both online mags and other lifestyle blogs.

But what exactly constitutes a lifestyle blog?

Let’s find out!

Defining Lifestyle Blogs

A lifestyle blog is defined as digital content representing the author’s everyday life and interests. The word “lifestyle” according to the dictionary means “habits, attitudes, moral standards, which together constitute the way of life of a given person or group”. (source: dictionary.com)

As a result, lifestyle blogs can fall into many micro-niches. This allows bloggers to provide content for a specific target audience. Lifestyle bloggers often promote products, brands, and services to monetize their blogs. So it’s almost essential that the person behind the blog is well-versed in whatever the specific topics are.

Here’s a shortlist of typical Lifestyle Blogging niches:

  • Luxury Lifestyle Blogs
  • Foodie Lifestyle Blogs
  • Home & Garden Lifestyle Blogs
  • Fashion Blogs & Beauty Lifestyle Blogs
  • Travel Blogs & Photography Lifestyle Blogs
  • Health & Fitness Lifestyle Blogs
  • Men’s Lifestyle Blogs
  • Natural Living Lifestyle Blogs
  • Outdoor Lifestyle Blogs
  • And Lifestyle Blogs for people with children (also called mom blogs or parenting blogs.)

Sometimes even these categories get split into various combinations, depending on the blogger. So you could end up with a Fashion and Travel Blog, A Natural Living Mom Blog, or even a Foodie and Photography Lifestyle blog.

Lifestyle blog vs. personal blog

Lifestyle blogs are not personal blogs because they focus more on users (readers). The content is created here for the reader and his expectations. What’s more, lifestyle blogs focus on the author’s benefits, not just on telling stories.

In personal blogs, the most important are the author’s emotions and thoughts, who expresses his opinions, writes about his experiences, feelings, reflections. In the personal blog, the author himself is the most important, not the reader.

I can’t write about lifestyle blogs without mentioning a few from each niche. I’ve tried to give you a selection of the most captivating from each subgenre (or micro-niche). These Lifestyle blogs check all the boxes. They are fun, relevant, trendy, polished, and loaded with content that appeals to a specific target audience.

A Quick Note To Would-Be Lifestyle Bloggers

Before I launch into “Our Best Of” list, a word of caution to would-be lifestyle bloggers; even if you have many areas of interest yourself, try to whittle your content down to cover only one or two main topics. This helps when you are trying to grow a steady, loyal readership.

Male readers don’t want to read about fishing, fashion, and raising a brood of ankle snappers! A young professional will not be interested in “Ten Tips To Wean Your Child off Breast Milk”, and your Luxury Lifestyle blog will not impress our Tree Hugging friends who will recoil in horror at the decadence of luxury lifestyles! Readers who enjoy luxury will also not be impressed with Frugal Living!

On the other hand, the lifestyle blogging niche allows the most freedom for bloggers who genuinely do have a vast array of topics that pair well together. If you can create the content and maintain the variety, then you will create space for a wider readership.

Top blogs in lifestyle category

This collection of blogs showcases the variety and range of lifestyle blogs that get it right!

1. Goop.com

Goop was one of the first lifestyle blogs to hit the circuit, way back in 2008. The brainchild of actress and mother, Gwyneth Paltrow, Goop covers everything for the modern woman. She focuses on wellness and how to create a balance between parenting and work. Something all working moms know about! She has a strong team behind her and Goop is a mini-empire in its own right.

Goop covers:

  • Beauty
  • Food & Home
  • Style
  • Travel
  • Wellness

Target Audience: Women of all ages and enlightened men.

2. The Pioneer Woman (thepioneerwoman.com)

This is a lifestyle blog that stands out for me. Unlike so many lifestyle blogs, Ree Drummond blogs about a lifestyle that all Americans know and love. Pure salt of the earth, rustic ranch life. The blog packs a punch! Ree has combined recipes, style, beauty, home & life, food & cooking, news, and entertainment. And great giveaways. She started as a lone ranger but now has a team of editors assisting her in keeping the blog relevant, trendy, and homegrown.

Target Audience: People keen on ranch-style living.

*3. Brightbazaarblog.com

Bright Bazaar blog was founded in 2009 by Will Taylor. This is the place where Will blogs about his love for colorful design, travel, and fashion. This blog is recommended by esteemed publishing houses Elle Decor, Martha Stewart Living, and many others.

If you need more home inspiration, look at other famous bloggers in the article: The Best Interior Design Blogs.

Target Audience: People who love design.

4. Cup of Jo (cupofjo.com)

Joanna Goddard is a perfect example of what can be achieved through blogging. Joanna launched Cup of Jo in 2007, as a hobby. At that time her career was quite a high-powered one. She has loads of editorial experience and her resume brags the likes of Cosmo, Bene, Glamour, and New York.

Today Cup of Jo has a team of writers and is Joanna’s full-time gig. She lives in Brooklynn with her husband and two kids. The blog covers relationships, design, food, style, travel, culture, and motherhood. This is a great blog for women.

Target Audience: Women and mothers of all ages

. Say Yes (sayyes.com)

. Say Yes (sayyes.com)

Communication & it’s Process

“To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.” – Tony Robbins

Communication is fundamental to the existence and survival of humans as well as to an organization. Communication is actually the act of conveying information from one place, person, or group to another. The complexity is why great communication skills are deemed so desirable by employers around the world: accurate, effective and unambiguous communication is actually extremely hard.

Every communication involves (at least) one sender, a message, and a recipient. This may sound simple, but communication is actually a very complex subject.

The transmission of the message from sender to recipient can be affected by a huge range of things. These include our emotions, the cultural situation, the medium used to communicate, and even our location.

It is a process of creating and sharing ideas, information, views, facts, feelings, etc. among the people to reach a common understanding. Communication is the key to the Directing function of management.

A manager may be highly qualified and skilled but if he does not possess good communication skills, all his ability becomes irrelevant. A manager must communicate his directions effectively to the subordinates to get the work done from them properly.

Communication Process

Communication is a perpetual process that essentially involves three factors which are: sender, message, and receiver. The factors involved in the communication process are:

1. Sender
The sender/communicator creates the message and sends it to the receiver. He is the source and the one who starts the communication.

2. Message
The message is the idea, information, view, fact, feeling, etc. that is created by the sender and is then intended to be communicated further.

3. Encoding
The message generated by the sender is encoded symbolically such as in the form of words, pictures, gestures, etc. before it is being communicated.

4. Media
It is the manner in which the encoded message is conveyed. The message may be conveyed orally or in writing. The medium of communication includes telephone, internet, post, fax, e-mail, etc. The choice of medium is decided by the sender.

5. Decoding
It is the means of transforming the symbols encoded by the sender. The message is received by the receiver after decoding.

6. Receiver
This person is last in the chain for whom the message is sent by the sender. Once the receiver receives the message and interprets it in the proper viewpoint and acts according to the message, then the purpose of communication is successful.

7. Feedback
Once the receiver confirms to the sender that he has received the message and understood it, the process of communication is complete.

8. Noise
It refers to any hindrance caused by the sender, message, or receiver during the process of communication. For example, poor telephone connection, defective encoding, weak decoding, unmindful receiver, weak understanding of message due to bias or improper gestures, etc.

Every communication involves (at least) one sender, a message, and a recipient. This may sound easy, but communication is actually a very tricky subject. The delivery of the message from sender to recipient can be influenced by a huge range of things. These include our sentiments, the social situation, the medium used to communicate, as well as our location.

Education is life

Today the World is becoming a superficial place. Our time appoints the absurd, making social networks as a real-world by a considerable part of the younger generations.

It is a virtual reality, more precise than high-definition video games, more addictive and harmful to the mind and the body.

This fake reality indeed kills the neurons converting people into zombies led by a leader of unknown appearance.

Ignorance acts as the lock, and manipulation working as the key entering every mind. Then, it hacks and promotes war even over the most absurd topic that any influencer shares in a post.

The social network profile becomes an epicentre of empty universes, universes that conflict with the real-life, where, as in the war, leads to the destruction of entire generations.

Using actualized tools, but the same indoctrination mechanisms used in the world wars. Again, the end justifies it, annulling individuals’ conscience and making them members of the social mass.

Even though each social profile is seemingly unique, there is no perspective on what life is in its essence. The network is a game that only favours some private interests.

We know the truth: countries born from interests, wars arise, passions move. Interests motivate greed. Greed sooner or later destroys life. Life, which, without a doubt, is the only thing we have.

Blood wars are no longer an option in our time across the rich countries. New wars are too expensive and risky.

Wars are now abstract. Wars involve factual powers whose shadow is unknown and whose attacks are directed to control the terrestrial and the extraterrestrial.

The end of empires has never come. In our time, empires are mainly commercial, managing everything that allowed us to be free.

Now empires dictate what to be and how to be.

Indeed, commercial or blood, all war implies the destruction of every trace that makes us human.

Every war, directly and indirectly, destroys our soul and breaks the only thing we take when we leave.

War destroys what we have lived and what we will no longer discover for ceasing to be ourselves.

There are not strong leaders to help us. Corruption and secrets are always leaked by someone who is behind the scenes.

We are the unique leaders of our time; we are the bosses of our destiny.

We must not perish. Responding to Hamlet, the worthiest thing for the soul is to fight for our fortune, live our lives, and rebel against this wild sea of misery.

The only thing that saves us from interest, the only thing that separates us from greed, the only thing that allows us to see reality is education.

However, all education is written by the victors and not by the vanquished. Our salvation involves investigating, delving into every little remorse and lack of meaning of our multiple thoughts.

The only thing that educates us is ourselves.

What do I mean when I say “Education for Life?” I can present the problem and the solution. The problem is that people in traditional forms of education usually approach it from the standpoint of just preparing a person for a job. But one’s job isn’t the definition of one’s life—it’s only that which enables you to have enough money to meet your needs. Our lives encompass a much broader arena than one’s capacity to earn money. Any educational system that teaches only job skills or offers only intellectual information is neglecting the essential needs of human beings. The solution is a form of education that trains us in that which is most relevant to us—how to find lasting happiness in life.

We deeply need proper training in “how-to-live” skills such as how to find the right mate, how to raise our children, how to be a good employee, how to get along with our neighbors, and how to concentrate our minds so that we can draw success into all our endeavors. There are many such skills that are essential to prepare a child for adulthood, and in traditional education many of them are completely ignored. Education for Life is a system that prepares the child to face the challenges of living as a human being, and helps him to achieve balance and harmony in all he does. What we’re really talking about is preparing everyone, not just children, for true maturity. This is a much bigger concept than just coming of age. As defined it in the book, Education for Life, maturity is the ability to relate appropriately to other realities than one’s own. You’ll find that even people of advanced years are often childish and immature with regard to this definition, yet this ability to relate to others’ realities is what education should accomplish.

How important personal hygiene is to fight against Covid-19?

We know the virus is transmitted through direct contact with respiratory droplets of an infected person through coughing and sneezing, and touching surfaces contaminated with the virus. The virus may survive on surfaces for a few hours up to several days.

Taking necessary precautionary measures will help us to fight the deadly virus. Precautionary measures such as use of masks, maintaining social distance norms and sanitizing hands and  should be strictly followed.

Covid-19 case numbers and deaths were exponentially rising in India. We all have seen how effectively our corona warriors have fought the battle. The second wave was too powerful and the number of cases in a single day stretched our health community badly. Though, the cases are now in control but we are not in that environment where we can live like the normal days. This is the time when we all need to come together and have a spirit by doing our bit in fighting against the disease.

Have we ever questioned ourselves, why the second wave took this drastic shape? This happened because of not having the right attitude, taking the virus as a normal flu, not wearing the mask properly. When the cases came drastically down in January, people thought that the virus has gone and this resulted the spike in the cases. As a responsible citizen, we need to understand that our focus should be on maintaining personal hygiene not only for ourselves, but for others also. Wherever we go, we should sanitize the area properly, maintain social distance, and wash our hands properly to win the war against the deadly virus.

Keeping in mind the situation many brands stood up and launched products in hygiene and safety category at affordable prices.

The main purpose is to prevent UTI, which is becoming a common concern among women. The infection involves greater risk when one uses public washrooms that are often unclean and unhygienic. Apart from Toilet seats and toilet tops it is important to spray the disinfectant on flush, faucets, door knobs and other hard surfaces to avoid the chances of getting infected.

Increase in COVID- 19 cases saw a spike and this generated a surge in the requirement of masks, sanitisers and other COVID products as well.

The pandemic has caused tremendous disruption to the lives and work processes. Irrespective of how severely or mildly it affects a person, it is still capable of wreaking havoc with our physical and mental fitness and ability to perform various tasks. In such a scenario, using hygiene and sanitation products and adhering to cleanliness can keep us safe from illness.

People are requested to take utmost care of themselves by using mask, sanitisers and break the COVID- 19 chain which is a duty of every citizen and don’t take safety for granted. 

The Case for a New Avenger

S.H.I.E.L.D. might have missed assembling team members from India, but it is never too late to correct an oversight. Imagine our larger-than-life superhero, Rajinikanth, partnering with other Avengers in a combined mission to save the planet from dangerous predators with bad intentions. Some aliens, some familiar ones! Yes, India is far from America, and the distance seems to have increased during the pandemic, but Rajinikanth could give some worthy company to Iron Man and perhaps teach him a trick or two, too, through holographic interfaces and augmented reality. Who knows, he could also kill all the mutants of Coronaviruses in this quest!

I wish to present some facts now to give you a background of my strategic human resource and leadership plan for S.H.I.E.L.D. India has one of the largest numbers of gig workers in the world. As per a March 2021 report by consulting firm Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, the gig economy in India is expected to soar to 90 million in approximately a decade from now. Choose any vocation here and you will be spoilt for choices. Almost everyone is an expert on politics, economics, socio-cultural issues, fashion, sports, career, marriage, children, nature, animals, traffic, the dos, and don’ts … the list is endless. People can even advice others on how they should lead their lives. It’s affection, silly!

War for talent? Clearly, recruiters have not been able to explore the depth of this vast pool. To reiterate, India is a land bubbling with high potentials. Now let us go back to the topic of superpowers. There is plan B too. Rajinikanth could have a serious competition in a plain-looking community here. S.H.I.E.L.D. could consider appointing some members from this fraternity too.

You are rolling your eyes? Why? Hear me out. Presenting to you the case of beholders of the mighty pen (over a sword or a gun), and the upholders of fine speech. Their words hit no less than the missiles unleashed by Israel over the Gaza strip. Let me walk you through the innate gifts of a less publicized community with an immensely amoeba-like (plasma membrane) flexibility.

The teachers.

The extremely sturdy ones can stand the whole day, operate (teach) without a table and a chair, or, the basic infrastructure, and sometimes work even at low or no salaries for months. The strengths, struggles and coping mechanism of the privileged ones out of this lot are embedded in different realms. More on that, later! You will be astonished to learn how many hats teachers can don at the same time. They juggle between being a mentor, coach, counsellor, Devil’s advocate, friend, philosopher, or guide. Interestingly, even their DNA personifies versatility. Over the years, the mutations in their genetic material have helped them learn how to make milestones of the stones thrown at them by students unhappy with their marks, and parents unhappy with the teachers for giving those marks! Talk about heightened senses, their eyes can easily observe and sense the intention behind each greeting, smile and calls to the office. They are like Sharma ji ka beta/beti’, always expected to excel at everything and set an ideal example for the others to emulate.

Here, I would take a detour and ask you to recall the violinists who continued to play music for as long as they were alive, just to calm the passengers on the sinking Titanic ship. On similar lines, teachers continued to teach while the pandemic unleashed havoc around the world. The unlearning of years of classroom teaching was replaced by the immediate need to adopt new technological tools and re-learn the art of virtual teaching. The new and changed landscape was no less than the one post Thanos snapping his finger.

Aren’t convinced yet? Go to the polling booths and follow the polio immunization drives, you will know what I mean.

Now the final hook. Except for some teachers working with elite institutions, the rest won’t even charge much for their services. You can simply smile, appreciate their work, show some respect, and boy, see how they melt! Just watch how it lights up their faces. They are so motivated, especially on September 5 every year in India, that even Abraham Maslow bows to them from time to time from his grave. Had told you about their genetic sequencing earlier, remember? I do hope I have presented their (our) case well, S.H.I.E.L.D. Hopefully, you will have a relook at your current team now.

On a sidenote, can I be a contender too? Just saying. I can take it up as a gig assignment during the semester breaks. Imagine the newest Avenger on the block and that too a female from India! It will further boost the diversity and inclusion factors for you. If you can give equitable salary and perks, you could even find yourself on the pages of Harvard cases.

You might want to provide supplements of Vitamin T(eacher) to your team if Rajinikanth’s diary of appointments is full. Professor Hulk would not mind some more erudite company. In return, I vow to start quoting your example in my classes as a great employer brand with an excellent employee value proposition. Who knows, I might even write a research article. Told you, pen and words are the weapons here. Think about it. What say? Are you game?

P.S. I have recently bought a telescope to keep an eye on the stars and planets too. Taking my possible future role tad too seriously, eh?

Hope for the best, but expect less

I’m not in this world to live up to your expectations and you’re not in this world to live up to mine. -Bruce Lee

A friend’s status update on a social media site: ‘Who hurt you? My own expectations.’

Yes, we all have expectations in our lives: what we want out of life and who we want to become. I believe one of the keys to happiness lies within the management of your expectations of people and circumstances. If you do not have expectations, you can never be disappointed. Often we tend to believe that the way we treat others will be the way we are treated in return. But, unfortunately, this does not always happen.

The biggest disappointments in our lives are often the result of misplaced expectations. This is especially true when it comes to our relationships and interactions with others. You need to make sure you enter into relationship with someone who has as big of a heart as you do. If you do not, you may feel as if you are being taken advantage of. You need to find people who appreciate what you do for them and who will reciprocate those actions.

There are two ways to be happy: improve your reality or lower your expectations. Having realistic expectations will allow you to accept the flaws each person has. We need to learn how to take responsibility for our own lives and our own decisions before we can expect others to do the same.

One of the biggest challenges we face in life is learning to accept people for who they truly are. Once you realize that your expectations cannot change people, the better off you will be. Give without expectation, accept without reservation, and love with hesitation. Unrealistic expectations most often do lead to disappointment. Too many people are obsessed with finding the perfect career or the perfect spouse, and as a result become increasingly frustrated when this does not happen in reality.

Expectation is the root of all heartache. Try to remain confident while maintaining positive aspirations; just remember not to make the aspirations so high that they are impractical or unreachable.

Acceptance is an amazing trait that needs to be actively worked toward. When things do not work out the way we had planned, it is much more beneficial to realize that is how life works rather than becoming frustrated at the situation. Have hope rather than expectations and you will tend not to be as disappointed.

People rarely behave exactly the way you want them to. Hope for the best, but expect less. And remember, the magnitude of your happiness will be directly proportional to your thoughts and how you choose to think about things. Even if a situation or relationship doesn’t work out at all, it’s still worth it, if it made you feel something new, taught you something afresh.

FUNCTIONS OF A CENTRAL BANK

The Central Bank is the highest authority in the banking sector and it supervises, controls and regulates the monetary and financial activities of the banking sector in a country. Central Bank is also known as the apex bank in a country. In India, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is the Central Bank. One of the pivotal features of Central Bank is that it has complete or residuary monopoly over note issue in a country. The function of central bank are as follows:

ISSUER OF CURRENCY

The Central Bank has the monopoly right to issue currency in a country and control the volume of currency and credit. The currency which issued by the apex bank is the legal currency and is circulated in the country. Generally, Central Banks issues currency by having a reserve backup. As of India, RBI has a minimum reserve of Rs.200 crores in form of gold of value Rs.115 crores and Rs.85 crores in form of foreign securities.

BANKER TO THE GOVERNMENT

Just like how the commercial banks are to the public, the Central Bank acts as a banker to the government. It also accepts deposits and provide loans to the government. Central Bank accepts receipts and make payments, provides loans and advances and provide remittance services just like banks.

BANKER’S BANK AND SUPERVISOR

Central Bank acts as a banker’s bank :

  • It is a custodian of their cash reserves.
  • It is the lender of last resort.
  • It acts as a clearing house for member banks.

CONTROLLER OF CREDIT AND MONEY SUPPLY

Central Bank controls money supply and credit through monetary policy. It controls the volume of currency by restricting its issue and controls credit through various qualitative and quantitative measures.

EXCHANGHE CONTROL

The next function is to maintain the exchange value of currency. In exchange control system in India, every citizen has to deposit the foreign exchange he receives with the RBI. For securing foreign exchange, it must make an application to the RBI in the prescribed form.

LENDER OF LAST RESORT

During emergency situations where commercial banks are unable to fulfil the obligations of their depositors, they approach the Central Bank as the lender of last resort. Central Bank rediscounts its eligible securities and provide loans against these securities. It prevents the banking system from a failure or breakdown.

CUSTODIAN FOR FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES

The Central Bank is responsible for maintaining the external value of the currency and thus maintains some gold and foreign currencies so that in the event of fluctuations, Central Bank buys and sells foreign exchange in the market to minimize the effect.

CLEARING HOUSE FUNCTION

The Central Bank acts as a Clearing House for its member banks. Banks receive cheque drawn on other banks from customers which has to be realized from drawee’s bank. Cheques are also drawn and passed on to other banks which also needs to be realized from drawee bank. Central Bank allows other banks to come together to set off their cheque claims without physical movement of money through the clearance facility.

PUBLICATION OF DATA

Finally, the Central Bank also collects and publishes various statistical data relating to the banking and financial sectors of the economy.

Relevant links:https://hscprojects.com/central-bank-functions-economics-project/#:~:text=The%20main%20function%20of%20a%20central%20bank%20is,during%20times%20of%20bank%E2%80%99s%20insolvency%20or%20financial%20crisis.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reserve_Bank_of_India

Book Review : The Power of Subconscious Mind

Book – The power of your subconscious mind

Author – Dr Joseph Murphy

About the Author

Dr Joseph Murphy devoted a good part of his life studying eastern religions and was an intellectual of the book I Ching, the Chinese manuscript of insight. For 28 years, he was priest at the Los Angeles branch of the Church of Divine Science. It was a New Thought church that encourages a practical holiness, free of religious faith and dogma.

He believed he had found secrets concerning the subconscious that were beyond time and culture.

Murphy’s idea is very simple and minimal. He states that if you desire for something, just implant that idea into your non-repellent (Subconscious) mind.

How this strategy work

The author saw the subconscious mind as a shady room in which we create images that we want to live in real life. While the alert mind sees an incident happening, takes a photo of it and recollects it. Whereas the subconscious mind works in reverse, ‘seeing’ something before it happens.

The subconscious is neutral in a moral sense, so pleased to adopt any routine as ‘normal’, good or bad. We let harmful thoughts dive into the subconscious every minute of our lives, then are amazed when we find result in day-to-day experiences and relationships.

Knowledge of the subconscious means we can rule the thoughts and images we feed to our mind. This idea makes author’s book to be one of the best books ever. It has instructions and affirmations that will have the greatest effect on the subconscious, a tool of freedom. Having a perception that your subconscious mind is like a photographic mechanism which removes makes the struggle in life easy; if it is just a subject of changing current mental images with new ones, change seems easy.

Trusting your Subconscious

‘The law of your mind is the law of belief itself,’ author wrote. We should make ‘the truth’ our utmost value. The truth is weak next to the actual power of belief in shaping our lives. Whatever you feed your subconscious, it will digest it as fact.

Strength and Fortune

In the ancient times, it was the influence of recommendation and acceptance in the subconscious mind that healed. Wonders of healing, Dr Joseph said, are basically the body following the subconscious mind’s knowledge of ‘perfect health’ when the paranoid nature of the normal conscious mind is hushed.

The other feature of mental healing is the foundation that our minds are part of a larger human mind, related to ‘infinite intelligence’. This is why it is not crazy, author claimed, to believe you can heal people not actually near to you, by picturing health, energy and love for them.

As there is a belief of health and harmony in the world, so there is a principle of abundance. Those aware of this will not have a nervous breakdown if their business is lost but understand it as a message to get reacquainted with the fact of a prosperous universe.

The ‘feeling of wealth’, author said, produces wealth in reality. He shows how to indicate to the subconscious so the abundant images reproduce themselves in real life. Law of Attraction always works.

Where There Is a Will, There Is a Way

Where there is a will there is a way in one of the most widely used proverbs to date. This proverb means a lot when we think about it. Its important meaning is that if you set your mind to do something, you can easily do it. In other words, it shows us the importance of the power of the will and how it can bring about change in one’s life. The power of will is the desire to achieve something. If you have the will to do something, then nothing can stop you from doing it. This proverb is applicable in almost every aspect of life. Similarly, it is very important in a variety of ways.

The Importance of the Proverbs – Where There Is a Will, There Is a Way
This proverb is very important in helping people to push their boundaries and achieve their goals more easily. It makes them more determined and focused on achieving their goal. Moreover, this proverb emphasizes the value of hard work and energy.

In other words, people who are willing to take risks, no matter how much they cost, will achieve their goals. If you dream and dream about something and do nothing to achieve it, you may fail and be incompetent. On the other hand, if you work hard to achieve your goals, you can find a way.

So, where there is a book there is a way we teach that we are more focused and work harder. Moreover, it shows us how people who follow this proverb have reached the heights of their lives.

Real-life examples
History proves that humans who had great power would accomplish much good. It stands as proof that no matter how difficult things may have been, these people have not stopped finding their way.

First, we take the example of the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi. This famous figure is a good example of this proverb. Gandhiji was determined to free India from the shackles of British rule, and he did. What made this possible? His will is always strong and diligent. He was very weak physically but his power of will was not there. He chose the path of nonviolence and was able to contribute to the liberation of India. Like him there were many freedom fighters ftom whom you can take inspiration and are a true examplw of this proverb.

Next, we see the same will for iron in Martin Luther King. This man was responsible for bringing civil rights to the black American people. His will and determination to eradicate prejudice have paid off. It taught us that even in prison, he never gave up. He continually fought to achieve his dream.

In short, where there is a will there is a way to teach us a lot about hard work and resilience. If we all follow this saying in our lives and make it our motto, nothing can stop it. It will make us better people and more successful in life.

Climate Change

Climate change refers to the changing global environment. Climate change has become a global concern in the last few decades. Besides, these climate changes are affecting life on earth in a variety of ways. These climate changes have various impacts on the ecosystem and the environment. As a result of this change, many species of plants and animals have become extinct.

When Did It Start?
The climate began to change long ago due to human activities but we finally learned about it a century ago. During the last century, we began to see climate change and its effect on human life. We started researching climate change and finally realized that global temperatures are rising due to the so-called greenhouse effect. Global warming is causing more ozone depletion, affecting agriculture, water supply, transportation, and a host of other problems.

The Reason for Climate Change
Although there are hundreds of reasons for climate change we will discuss natural and man-made (human) causes.

Natural Causes
These include volcanic eruptions, sunlight, tectonic plate movements, orbital diversity. As a result of these activities, the environment becomes very dangerous to life for survival. Also, these activities increase global warming to a great extent causing inequality in the environment.

Personal Reasons
Man because of his need and selfishness has done many works that harm not only the environment but also himself. Many species of plants and animals are disappearing as a result of human activity. Harmful human activities include deforestation, the use of fuel, industrial waste, various forms of pollution, and more. All of these factors adversely affect the climate and the environment. And many species of animals and birds became extinct or almost extinct as a result of hunting.

The Effects of Climate Change
These climate changes are having a devastating effect on the environment. Sea level rises, glaciers melt, CO2 emissions increase, forest and wildlife declines, and water quality is also disrupted by climate change. Besides, it is calculated that if these changes continue, many species of plants and animals will die out. And there will be significant environmental losses.

What will the future hold?
If we do nothing and things continue to go on right now then the day will come when people will be wiped off the face of the earth. But instead of ignoring these problems we start working so we can save the world and our future.

Although human error has caused much damage to the climate and the environment. However, it is not too late to start over and try to fix what we have done so far to harm the environment. And if everyone begins to contribute to the environment then we can be confident of our future existence.

Conclusion

Climate change poses a major and growing challenge in the Arctic and around the world. While these emerging concerns are important now, their effects are particularly significant for future generations who will inherit current actions or inefficiencies. Strong immediate action is needed to reduce pollution in order to change the future of human temperature. Action is needed to begin to adapt to the already warming and ongoing warmth. The findings of this preliminary study of the impact of climate on the Arctic provide a scientific basis on which decision makers can look at, make, and apply appropriate measures to respond to this important and broader challenge.

DALHOUSIE AND UTILITARIANISM

Lord Dalhousie was the one who introduced railways, electric telegraph and uniform postage in India. Born and brought up in an age which ideologically belonged to Bentham and his followers,9 it was indeed difficult for Dalhousie, though essentially a conservative, to escape their influence. Dalhousie gave first proof of his utilitarianism when in I845 he joined Peel Cabinet, which had succeeded Melbourne, as President of the Board of Trade. Dalhousie laid before Peel “a sound and statesman like scheme” for placing British railways under the direct control of the state. Dalhousie scheme was not accepted, for in those days Parliament looked coldly upon any scheme which savoured of state interference with individual or class interests. But what Dalhousie could not achieve in England, he achieved in India.Bentham thought that an absolute authority would be the best machine to produce the greatest happiness to the greatest number of people and the British colonies like India appeared to the philosopher as the best fields for experimentation in reforms. It is true that Dalhousie was not the only Governor-General to wield absolute powers in India; his predecessors also did the same. But what is interesting to note here is that, unlike his predecessors, Dalhousie actually looked upon himself as an Oriental monarch, the source of all power and dispenser of all favour. Dalhousie’s modus operandi was basically the same as that of an authoritarian reformer. While in India, he acquainted himself ‘thoroughly with the system of Government and its administration, with the condition, the resources and the wants of the country’. He made a clear distinction between those functions which must be carried out by an authoritarian government and those which were to be executed by a third party. While education, the electric telegraph and the uniform postage came under the first category, railways came under the second. The first group consisted of ‘works which affect the general wellbeing of the community … and which, producing no immediate return must be executed by the Government if they are to be formed at all’. Since the second group, such as the introduction of railways, would bring immense profits to some commercial groups in England, they must be executed by them.Dalhousie approached the problems of infanticide, female education and the remarriage of Hindu Widows with the spirit of a Bentham. In the connation his appointment of the Commissioners of the Post Office to investigate the abuses of the postal system is one of the most direct proofs of his utilitarianism during his stay in India. Indeed, the way in which he sought to execute his social measures for the material improvement of the people owes much to Bentham’s ideas. In India the origin of the departments of railways, electric telegraph and post office may be traced to the same influences which were at work in Dalhousie’s mind. ‘My own opinion’, he wrote on 30 June 1854, ‘has long been decidedly in favour of placing a single authority at the head of every public department. In that form only can sustained promptitude of action be maintained and real responsibility enforced.’In the utilitarian philosophy of an authoritarian government, unity of authority is as essential as uniformity of management. Dalhousie accepted this principle and he was always careful that his social measures should be uniform, in other words, systematic. He insisted that the railway codes in one Presidency should not vary from those in another. Since the railways were an all-India enterprise, the codes to govern them should be uniform. Local Government could modify them to suit local conditions but the basic codes must be the same for the three Presidencies. It must, however, be remembered that Dalhousie never gave explicit expression to his beliefs in utilitarian principles. The classic example among some of Dalhousie’s predecessors who had accepted utilitarian-ism as their second faith was provided by Bentinck. In a farewell dinner at Grote’s house, just on the eve of his departure for India as its Governor-General, in December i827, Bentinck had said to James Mill; ‘I am going to British India; but I shall not be Governor- General. It is you that will be Governor-General.’ Viewed as a whole, Dalhousie’s regime contributed greatly to the transformation of Oriental India into Western India. The series of Western innovations he had introduced and the reforms he had carried out, Dalhousie thought, would strengthen the grip of the British Raj over India. It was perhaps the greatest limitation of Dalhousie that he failed to see the future that a modern country would give birth to a modern nation. In history things often happen which their authors do not intend to happen, and after they have happened they make them famous.

In India today, Dalhousie is remembered more as a catalyst in the growth of Indian nationalism than as a torch-bearer of British imperialism or as the man at the root of the mutiny which swept the Indian sky in I857.

unemployment

Unemployment, also referred to as joblessness, occurs when people are without work and actively seeking employment. During periods of recession, an economy usually experiences high unemployment rates. There are many proposed causes, consequences, and solutions for unemployment.

TYPES OF UNEMPLOYMENT

  1. CLASSICAL-Occurs when real wages for jobs are set above the market clearing level. It causes the number of job seekers to be higher than the number of vacancies.
  2. CYCLICAL-Occurs when there is not enough aggregate demand in the economy to provide jobs for everyone who wants to work. Demand for goods and services decreases, less production is needed, and fewer workers are needed.
  3. STRUCTURAL-Occurs when the labor market is not able to provide jobs for everyone who wants to work. There is a mismatch between the skills of the unemployed workers and the skills needed for available jobs. It differs from frictional unemployment because it lasts longer.
  4. FRICTIONAL-The time period between jobs when a worker is searching for work or transitioning from one job to another.
  5. HIDDEN-The unemployment of potential workers that is not taken into account in official unemployment statistics because of how the data is collected. Foe example, workers are only considered unemployed if they are looking for work so those without jobs who have stopped looking are no longer considered unemployed.
  6. LONG TERM-Usually defined as unemployment lasting longer than one year.

MEASURING UNEMPLOYMENT-Unemployment is calculated as a percentage by divided the number of unemployed individuals by the number of all individuals currently employed in the workplace. The final measurement is called the rate of unemployment.

EFFECTS OF UNEMPLOYMENT-When unemployment rates are high and steady, there are negative impacts on the long run economic growth. Unemployment wastes resources, generates redistributive pressures and distortions, increases poverty, limits labor mobility, and promotes social unrest and conflict. The effects of unemployment can be broken down into three types:

  1. INDIVIDUAL-People who are unemployed cannot earn money to meet their financial obligations. Unemployment can lead to homelessness, illness, and mental stress. It can also cause underemployment where workers take on jobs that are below their skill level.
  2. SOCIAL-An economy that has high unemployment is not using all of its resources efficiently, specifically labor. When individuals accept employment below their skill level the economies efficiently is reduced further. Workers lose skills which causes a loss of human capital.
  3. SOCIO-POLITICAL-High unemployment rates can cause civil unrest in a country.

REDUCING UNEMPLOYMENT-There are numerous solutions that can help reduce the amount of unemployment:

  1. DEMAND SIDE SOLUTIONS-Many countries are unemployed worker through social welfare programs. Individuals receive unemployment benefits include insurance, compensation, welfare, and subsidies to aid in retraining. An example of a demand side solution is government funded employment of the able-bodied poor.
  2. SUPPLY SIDE SOLUTIONS-The labor market is not 100% efficient. Supply side solutions remove the minimum wage and reduce the power of unions. The policies are designed to make the market more flexible in an attempt to increase long run economic growth. Examples of supply side solutions include cutting taxes on businesses, reducing regulation, and increasing education.

FULL EMPLOYMENT-Full employment is the level of employment rates where there is no cyclical or deficient demand unemployment. Mainstream economists define full employment as an acceptable level of unemployment somewhere above 0%. Full employment represents a range of possible unemployment rates based on the country, time period, and political basis.

IDEAL UNEMPLOYMENT-Full employment is often seen as an “ideal” unemployment rate. Ideal unemployment excludes types of unemployment where labor market inefficiency is reflected. Only some frictional and unemployment exists, where workers are temporarily searching for new jobs. This classifies the unemployed individuals as being without a job voluntarily. Ideal unemployment promotes the efficiency of the economy. Lord William Beveridge defined “full employment” as the situation where the number of unemployed workers equaled the number of job vacancies available. He preferred that the economy be kept above the full employment level to allow for maximum economic production.

NON-ACCELERATING INFLATION RATE OF UNEMPLOYMENT(NAIRU)-The full employment unemployment rate is also referred to as “natural” unemployment. In an effort to avoid this normative connotation, James Tobin introduced the term “Non-Accelerating Inflation Rate of Unemployment” also known as the NAIRU. It corresponds to the level of unemployment when the real GDP equals potential output. The NAIRU has been called the “inflation threshold”. The NAIRU states the inflation does not rise or fall when unemployment equals the natural rate. As an example, the United States is committed to full employment. The “Full Employment Act” was passed in 1946 and revised in 1978. It states that full employment in the United States is no more than 3% unemployment for persons 20 and older, and 4% for persons aged 16 and over.

CREDIT CREATION

Bank Building Vector Illustration.

Credit creation is one of the important functions of a commercial bank.

“A commercial bank is one that accepts deposits and lend loans and earns an income with the difference.”

Commercial banks expand the money supply in the economy through the form of credit creation. The banking structure is based on credit. Credit basically means getting the purchasing power now and promising to pay at some time in the future. Bank credit means bank loans and advances. Banks generally accept deposits but do not give the whole as loans. The banks keep a minimum reserve of the deposits for the demand of depositors and provides the remaining as loans. The deposits are generally ‘demand deposits’ which can be repayable on demand.

When providing a loan, the bank does not provide it as cash but opens a secondary depository account in the name of the borrower. Now, let us see what is primary and secondary deposits.

Primary deposits are deposits from a customer to a bank which forms the basis of credit. Secondary deposits are loans provided by bank to the borrower. The bank opens an account in the name of the borrower. In credit creation, every loan transaction happens only by opening a secondary depository account.

Let us understand the process of credit creation through the table below

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is CCr1.jpg

The table above explains the process of credit creation by a single bank. In the table, the cash reserves are kept so that the bank can meet depositor’s needs and lends the rest of the deposits. In this bank, the cash reserves are kept at 20% of the total deposits. Now, a person A deposits an amount say Rs.1000. Person A’s deposits are the initial primary deposits. Of this 20%, that is, Rs.200 is taken for cash reserves and the remaining Rs.800 is taken for lending. Another person, say person B borrows an amount of Rs.800. This money is neither given in form of cash nor straightly to his bank account. The money is given in the form of secondary deposits. This marks the Round 1 of credit creation. Since the money is given in secondary deposits, for the bank, it considers it to be a new deposit because cash at bank increases by Rs800 and by charging 20% cash reserves and give the remaining amount of Rs.640 to lending to say, person C. This process continues for several rounds until the deposits become zero. At the end of the process, the bank has managed to multiply the amount of money supply which is circulating in the economy. As of the above example, the initial deposit amount was Rs.1000 but in the end, through the Multiplier Effect the money created is Rs.5000. Multiplier Effect refers to the ability of the bank to increase money supply through the process of borrowing and lending.

MULTIPLIER EFFECT = 1/CRR = 1/20% = 5 times

where CRR is the Cash Reserve Ratio

We can see observe from the table that the deposits have been multiplied by 5 times by the bank.

Relevant links:https://www.slideshare.net/ramusakha/credit-creation-28701684

https://byjus.com/commerce/credit-creation-by-commercial-bank/

BIOGRAPHIES OF GREAT LEADERS

INDIRA GANDHI

Indira Gandhi in full Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi, (1917-1984). She was born in Allahabad. She was the Indian politician who was the first female prime minister of India, serving for three consecutive terms (1966–77) and a fourth term from 1980 until she was assassinated in 1984. Indira Gandhi was the only child of Jawaharlal Nehru.

She was a top leader of the powerful and long-dominant Indian National Congress (Congress Party), and was the first prime minister (1947–64) of independent India .On Shastri’s sudden death in January 1966, Gandhi was named leader of the Congress Party and thus also became prime minister in a compromise between the party’s right and left wings. Her leadership, however, came under continual challenge from the right wing of the party, led by former minister of finance Morarji Desai. She won a seat in the 1967 elections to the Lok Sabha, but the Congress Party managed to win only a slim majority of seats, and Gandhi had to accept Desai as deputy prime minister.

During the early 1980s Indira Gandhi was faced with threats to the political integrity of India. Several states sought a larger measure of independence from the central government, and Sikh separatists in Punjab state used violence to assert their demands for an autonomous state. Tensions between the government and the Sikhs escalated, and in June 1984 Gandhi ordered the Indian army to attack and oust the separatists from the complex. Some buildings in the shrine were badly damaged in the fighting, and at least 450 Sikhs were killed (Sikh estimates of the death toll were considerably higher). On 31 October 1984, two of Gandhi’s Sikh bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, shot her with their service weapons in the garden of the prime minister’s residence at 1 Safdarjung Road, New Delhi, allegedly in revenge for Operation Blue Star. The shooting occurred as she was walking past a wicket gate guarded by the two men. She was succeeded as prime minister by her son Rajiv, who served until 1989.

Why do we look different in photos?

No wonder we always experience that how hard we try to click a good photo for our profile picture, it is so hard for all of us to get a decent photo.

Also, when we look ourselves in the mirror we look just fine! Then why exactly we look good in mirror but bad in photos?

Reality is we do not really know how we look. The mirror gives us a reflection and the camera does not show us our accurate face.

The mirror we look in all day during brushing or combing or before going out, makes us believe that this is how we look. We are so accustomed to see ourselves in mirror that when we see ourselves in a picture we are unable to recognize ourselves.

Mirror shows us the enantiomorph version of our face in simpler terms when we see in a mirror the right becomes left and the left becomes right, and so unless you have a 100% symmetrical face, you will always find slight change in the mirror image of you and photo clicked image of you.

Scientist call this familiarity MERE EXPOSURE. This mere exposure makes us favorable to things which are familiar and unfavorable to things which are unfamiliar. Henceforth, we are more inclined towards our mirror image than the camera clicked image. We somehow find that the mirror image is good looking than the camera image.

Also, the camera pictures we see are not true image. Camera clicks 2D images and thus it somehow distorts our real look.

Putting in a nutshell, we do not really know how we look and honestly it does not even matter how we look as Margaret Hungerford says beauty lies in the eye of the beholder.

Biography – Sarojini Naidu

Early Life and Childhood

Sarojini Naidu was born on February 13, 1879 in Hyderabad, India. She was a civil activist, feminist, poet, and the first Indian woman to be president of the Indian National Congress and to be appointed an Indian state governor. She was also identified as “Nightingale of India”

Sarojini was the first daughter of Aghorenath Chattopadhyay, a Bengali Brahman. He was principal of the Nizam’s College, Hyderabad. She took admission in the University of Madras at the age of 12 and studied at King’s College, London, and later at Girton College, Cambridge.

Work

After gaining some knowledge in the suffragist campaign in England, she was pulled towards India’s Congress movement and to Mahatma Gandhi’s Non-cooperation Movement. In 1924 she moved to Eastern Africa and South Africa in the attention of Indians there She became the first Indian woman president of the National Congress in 1925 —having been headed eight years earlier by the English feminist Annie Besant. She visited North America to give lecture on the Congress movement, in 1928–29. Back in India her anti-British activity caused a number of prison sentences in her name (1930, 1932, and 1942–43). She escorted Gandhi to London for the indecisive second session of the Round Table Conference for Indian–British cooperation (1931). Upon the outburst of World War II she supported the Congress Party’s policies, first of coldness, then of affirmed interference to the Allied cause. In 1947 she became governor of the United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh), a post she preserved until her death. Sarojini Naidu was the first women Governor of Uttar Pradesh.

Sarojini Naidu also led a functioning literary life and attracted prominent Indian intellectuals to her famous salon in Bombay. Her first volume of poetry, The Golden Threshold (1905), was admired by The Bird of Time (1912), and in 1914 she was elected a member of the Royal Society of Literature. Her collected poems, all of which she wrote in English, have been published under the titles The Sceptred Flute (1928) and The Feather of the Dawn (1961).

Death

On 2nd March 1949, Sarojini Naidu passed away at Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. She lived her wonderful life by her own words, “As long as I have life, as long as blood flows through this arm of mine, I shall not leave the cause of freedom…I am only a woman, only a poet. But as a woman, I give to you the weapons of faith and courage and the shield of fortitude. And as a poet, I fling out the banner of song and sound, the bugle call to battle. How shall I kindle the flame which shall waken you men from slavery…” Her childhood residence at Nampally was given to the University of Hyderabad by her family and it was named as ‘The Golden Threshold’ after her 1905 publication. The University retitled its School of Fine Arts and Communication as ‘Sarojini Naidu School of Arts and Communication’ to honour the Nightingale of India.

Jamhuriyat and Kashmiriyat back on track

Photo by Gandhar Thakur on Pexels.com

The scenic beauty of the Kashmir valley Inspired many generations of artists. The northernmost territory of India lies in the lap of the Himalayas. It has a long history. The land saw the rule of many kings belonging to different religious sects. The colonial rule was another chapter. Post-independence the state was captured by Pakistan that became a bone of contention between the two neighbours. The Chinese interests in the region is another facet of the outstanding issues. It is a contested region and border issues with Pakistan and China Invariably made headlines after independence in 1947. The latest development took place in 2019 with the abrogation of special powers of Jammu and Kashmir (under article 370 and article 35A of the constitution of India). The presidential order brought these changes and the world saw a mix of reactions. The newly constituted union territory of Jammu and Kashmir lost its special powers and became strongly integrated with the rest of the country.

Recently it was in the news because the centre conducted an outreach program in Jammu and Kashmir. Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired an all-party meeting on June 24th in New Delhi. 14 political leaders were invited including four former chief ministers. It will be the first such gathering after the abrogation of special powers and article 370 from the constitution of India.

The meeting was a step towards strengthening the democratic structure of the region. The biggest achievement was that the government was vindicated of repealing the special status of the former state. The presence of the opposition in the meeting was a testament to this fact. Experts are sanguine about the new developments that will follow the meet. The most noticeable demand of the opposition parties was that statehood of Jammu and Kashmir should be restored. To this government has shown affirmation that statehood will be restored at some point in time in future giving assurance to the leaders and the people.

Another mooted topic about Jammu and Kashmir is the issue of migrants. In this context, Jammu is very important. Most of the migrants that left the violent stricken Kashmir valley moved to Jammu and settled there. Kashmiri pandits are one amongst them. Many Muslims also moved to this area in search of a peaceful living away from violence. Hence Jammu was able to absorb an enormous burden of migration. Till now the discussions were revolving around Kashmir. However, the new developments focus on Jammu and give a much-needed break to Kashmir centrism.

Delimitation of Jammu and Kashmir is underway. The administration is working on it. This exercise will strengthen the democratic system of the region. The voting rights will extend to the migrants who left the state but are willing to move back. The centre and the opposition needed to break the ice on matters of the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir cadre of the all India services which was merged with Arunachal, Goa, Mizoram and union territories cadre.

The meeting is a good initiative by the centre but it is a beginning. More changes are yet to come and the opinion of the opposition can help smoothen the process of transition.

Economic issues

What kinds and quantities of goods shall be produced, “how much and which of alternative goods and services shall be produced?
How shall goods be produced? ..by whom and with what resources (using what technology)…?
For whom are the goods or services produced? Who benefits? Samuelson rephrased this question as “how is the total of the national product to be distributed among different individuals and families?
Economic systems solve these problems in several ways:”… by custom and instinct; by command and centralized control (in planned economies) and in mixed economies that “…uses both market signals and government directives to allocate goods and resources.The latter is variously defined as an economic system blending elements of a market economy with elements of a planned economy, free markets with state interventionism, or private enterprise with public enterprise…

Samuelson wrote in Economics, a “canonical textbook” of mainstream economic thought[5] that “the price mechanism, working through supply and demand in competitive markets, operates to (simultaneously) answer the three fundamental problems in a mixed private enterprise system… At competitive equilibrium, the value society places on a good is equivalent to the value of the resources given up to produce it (marginal benefit equals marginal cost). This ensures allocative efficiency-the additional value society places on another unit of the good is equal to what society must give up in resources to produce it.

The solution to these problems is important because of the “fundamental fact of economic institution life” that ..

“The economic problem, “the struggle for subsistence”, always has been hitherto primary, most pressing problem of the human race- not only of the human race, but of the whole of the biological kingdom from the beginnings of life in its most primitive forms.” -Samuelson, Economics, 11th ed., 1980

Essential oils: The by-products of plant metabolism

“It doesn’t get much greener than essential oils: when used correctly, they are among Mother Nature’s most potent remedies.” ― Amy Leigh Mercree, Essential Oils Handbook: Recipes for Natural

Essential oils are also known as Volatile oils or Ethereal oils are basically plant-based aromatic components that are made up of various chemically complex mixtures of organic compounds. The chemical nature of essential oils can be extremely intricate. Generally, these are a mixture of terpenes, phenolics, and alcohol. They also include oxygenated derivatives of hydrocarbon terpenes such as aldehydes, ketones, alcohols, esters, etc. Most of the essential oils are insoluble in water but Rose and Kewra are a few of the exceptions which are soluble in water.

How are Essential oils different from regular Fatty oils?

Essential oils volatilize when in contact with air at room temperature and possess a strong pleasant aroma and taste. While fatty oil, on the other hand, does not volatilize and lacks the strong taste and aroma of essential oils.

Since these are volatile, when put on paper essential oils do not leave a greasy stain. However, fatty oil leaves a greasy mark on the paper.

 Essential oils do not become rancid like the fatty oils but some have been observed to polymerize and deposit little solid matters such as resins and gums. Fatty oils become rancid on long exposure to air.

Essential oils can be distilled without getting decomposed. Fatty oils get decomposed when distilled. 

 

All distinctly aromatic plants are known to contain some type of essential oils. They occur in more than 60 families of plants particularly Myrtaceae, Apiaceae, Lauraceae, and Lamiaceae. Essential oils are mostly secreted in internal secretory glands /ducts or cells lining the glandular hairs. 

Essential oils can either be produced throughout the plant or may be restricted to specific organs for example, in plants like Rose, Jasmine, and Lavender, the oils are produced in the flowers. Similarly, in plants like Mint, Sage, Thyme, and Basil, the oils are present in the leaves.

Applications of Essential oils

Various types of essential oils are of great importance. Some of the major applications of essential oils are in pest control products, cleaning products, medications, and personal care products such as cosmetics and bathing products. Essential oils have several benefits when it comes to wound healing, rejuvenation, and relaxation. 

Health issues, such as migraines and nausea are cured of the essential oils. It is also as preservatives foodborne pathogens against in the food industries is also used in the food industries.

Essential oil such as rose oil is largely used in perfumes, scenting soaps, flavouring soft drinks, and liqueurs. It is also used extensively in making desserts globally. Rose jam is made from flowers. A preserve called gulkand is made in India. Used as a tonic and laxative.

Essential oil from Eucalyptus is used as an antiseptic, deodorant, and in mosquito and vermin repellent preparations. To relieve cough in chronic bronchitis and asthma the vapour of essential oils is inhaled. The oil used in the refinement of mineral oils by floatation method. It is also used to manufacture thymol and menthol.

 

Conclusion

Essential oils are naturally produced compounds with loveable aroma which are isolated mostly through a method of hydro-distillation which is easier to carry out the process. This process of hydro-distillation utilizes whole parts of the plants for extraction. Essential oils have medicinal benefits and are used in the treatment of different diseases like cough and cold, depression, migraine, anxiety, fungal and microbial infections, and wound healing. They are also used in the cosmetics and perfume industries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

https://www.intechopen.com/books/essential-oils-oils-of-nature/biological-importance-of-essential-oils

https://www.verywellhealth.com/what-are-essential-oils-88807

Vesicular Arbuscular Mycorrhiza and its Role in Plant Nutrition

The term mycorrhiza comes from a Greek word that means the root of a fungus. It is a symbiotic association between higher plants and certain higher fungi. In a natural ecosystem, it is very common to find mycorrhizal associations. The fungi in mycorrhizae are associated with 80% of vascular plants which includes Angiosperms, Gymnosperm, Pteridophytes, and some Bryophytes.

In mycorrhizae, the fungi provide mineral nutrients to the plants from the soil through the absorption process to the higher plants. The fungus in return gets the sugars produced by the plants. This colonization is restricted to the root cortex of the higher plants and does not enter into the vascular cylinder.

Vesicular-Arbuscular Mycorrhiza (VAM) is a type of mycorrhiza which is also called Endomycorrhiza. Endomycorrhiza is the most common type of mycorrhizal association found in a natural ecosystem. Root of some of the major crops, tropical and temperate tree species like wheat, maize, potato, tomato, soybean, apple, orange, mango, etc. are associated with fungus. The Fungus in this symbiotic association belongs to a new phyletic group Glomeromycota. These are Glomus, Gigaspora, Archaeospora, etc. There is no morphological variation observed in the roots associated with VAM from the normal root system. There is no external sheath around the root, only inter and intracellular fungal hyphae are present within the root. In the cortical region of the root VAM form two special structures which are Arbuscules and Vesicles.

Role of Mycorrhiza in plant nutrition

Several factors are responsible for plant nutrition and its yield. Other than the plant genome itself, various environmental factors such as nutrient availability in the growing media, water availability and uptake, and the ability of the plant to properly utilize what is available in the soil all play an integral part in plant growth.

The importance of mycorrhizal colonization in higher plants has long been considered for the uptake of mineral nutrition from the soil. Among several roles of mycorrhizae in nutrition uptake, most of the studies are with phosphorous, since this element normally exists in the form of insoluble calcium phosphate or organic phosphate in soil and is therefore unavailable to plant roots.

The mycorrhizal association is also known to improve the uptake of nitrogen in plants. This happens due to the ability to transfer immobile ammonium from the soil to plant roots due to the increased absorption surface of VAM fungal hyphae. This association is even known to enhance fixation rates of nitrogen-fixing bacterial association of legumes. Therefore, symbiosis of leguminous plants with Rhizobium and VAM fungi helps the plant to acquire two vital elements-nitrogen and phosphorus.

Arbuscular Mycorrhiza develops structures called vesicles. These vesicles perform the function of storage sites within the plant roots and store the absorbed minerals and lipids. These stored nutrients act as reserves of food material and become accessible by the host plant when their supply is limited.

Mycorrhizae are known to provide other types of benefits also to the plants and the environment like:

  1. Increase plant establishment and survival at seeding or transplantation. 

  2. Increase yields and crop quality

  3. Improve drought tolerance

  4. Enhance flowering and fruiting

  5. Optimize fertilizers use, especially phosphorus

  6. Increase tolerance to soil salinity 

  7. Reduce disease occurrence

  8. Contribute to maintaining soil quality and nutrient cycling

Mycorrhiza is a truly beneficial relationship for the plant and the environment. This association not only helps in increasing water absorption, uptake of nutrients, availability of nutrients that are unavailable to the plant’s roots but also protects the plant from excess salts or harmful minerals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

https://gpnmag.com/article/the-role-of-arbuscular-mycorrhizal-fungi-in-plant-nutrition/

https://lupinepublishers.com/agriculture-journal/fulltext/mycorrhizaes-role-in-plant-nutrition-and-protection-from-pathogens.ID.000277.php

 

Dried Fruit: Good or Bad?

Information about dried fruit is very conflicting.

    Some say it is a nutritious, healthy snack, while others claim it is no better than candy.

WHAT IS DRIED FRUIT?

Dried fruit is fruit that has had almost all of the water content removed through drying methods.

The fruit shrinks during this process, leaving a small, energy-dense dried fruit.

Raisins are the most common type, followed by dates, prunes, figs and apricots.

Other varieties of dried fruit are also available, sometimes in candied form (sugar coated). These include mangoes, pineapples, cranberries, bananas and apples.

Dried fruit can be preserved for much longer than fresh fruit and can be a handy snack, particularly on long trips where refrigeration is not available.

Dried Fruit is Loaded With Micronutrients, Fiber and Antioxidants 

Dried fruit is highly nutritious.

One piece of dried fruit contains about the same amount of nutrients as the fresh fruit, but condensed in a much smaller package.

By weight, dried fruit contains up to 3.5 times the fiber, vitamins and minerals of fresh fruit.

Therefore, one serving can provide a large percentage of the daily recommended intake of many vitamins and minerals, such as folate .

However, there are some exceptions. For example, the vitamin C content is significantly reduced when the fruit is dried.

Dried fruit generally contains a lot of fiber and is a great source of antioxidants, especially polyphenols .

Raisins May Reduce the Risk of Certain Diseases 

Raisins are dried grapes.

They are packed with fiber, potassium and various health-promoting plant compounds.

Prunes are Natural Laxatives and May Help Fight Diseases

Prunes are dried plums.

They are highly nutritious, being rich in fiber, potassium, beta-carotene (vitamin A) and vitamin K.

They are known for their natural laxative effects.

This is caused by their high content of fiber and a sugar alcohol called sorbitol, which is found naturally in some fruit.

Eating prunes has been shown to help improve stool frequency and consistency. Prunes are considered to be even more effective at relieving constipation than psyllium, which is another common remedy.

Dried Fruit is High in Natural Sugar and Calories 

Fruit tend to contain significant amounts of natural sugars.Because the water has been removed from dried fruit, this concentrates all the sugar and calories in a much smaller package.For this reason, dried fruit is very high in calories and sugar, including both glucose and fructose.below are some examples of the natural sugar content of dried fruit.

Avoid Dried Fruit with Added Sugar (Candied Fruit) .

To make some dried fruit even more sweet and appealing, they are coated with added sugar or syrup before being dried.

Dried fruit with added sugar are also referred to as “candied” fruit.

Added sugar has repeatedly been shown to have harmful effects on health, increasing the risk of obesity, heart disease and even cancer.

To avoid dried fruit that contains added sugar, it is very important to read the ingredients and nutrition information found on the package.

Sulfites are added to some dried fruit to preserve color, which may cause adverse effects in sensitive individuals. Dried fruit that is improperly stored and handled may also be contaminated with fungi and toxins.

THE HEALING POWER OF MUSIC

Music as therapy has shown positive and beneficial effects in managing a host of medical conditions, like high blood pressure, as well as an effective treatment for some mental health conditions. Usually part of a multi-pronged approach to care, music therapists work with doctors, nurses, social workers, and other practitioners to alleviate depression, trauma, schizophrenia, and more. 

ANCIENT ORIGINS

While modern music therapy may be a 20th-century “invention,” it is by no means a new concept. Ancient Greek philosophers used music therapeutically, playing tranquil flute melodies to manic patients; while people with depression were treated to the soothing sounds of a dulcimer (an instrument similar to a zither).

Physicians and musicians were housed in holy healing shrines—further cementing the intertwined relationship that music and healing had in Ancient Greece. Early Ancient Egyptian medical papyrus texts describe chant-like incantations for healing the sick. And within Chinese medicine, a tradition with an ancient lineage, music is seen to correspond to the five different organ and meridian systems, which can be used to promote healing.

Music is one of the most important boons of God for all living beings. Music is the subject that classifies all the rhythmic sounds into a system and anyone may learn and practice it. Not only that but also the plants, animals can enjoy the harmony, pleasant rhythm of the musical sounds.

DIFFERENT STYLES OF THE MUSIC

The style of music has changed dramatically throughout the various ages of the time period. Mainly there are six eras in music history. These are the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Twentieth Century. Music has been and always will be a popular form of entertainment for many of us.

The dictionary defines the music as an art of sound in time which expresses ideas and emotions both significantly through the elements of rhythm, melody, and harmony.

MUSIC HAS THE POWER TO HEAL

Music is a form of a melody that soothes into our body and helping us to feel refreshed and relaxed. It helps us to get rid of the anxiety and stress of our everyday life. Music is undoubtedly a great way of healing the pain. It makes us forget about unpleasant and disturbing thoughts by taking us in the world of melody.

Music can bring the back old memories in our present time. Music therapy restores us from several problems and emotions in our daily life. When we attend music therapy it helps our brain functioning quicker and helps us keep calm.

THE MEDICINAL EFFECT OF MUSIC

Whatever problems we may have, that will flow out of our brain. Even it also helps the doctor and psychologist to identify the state of our brain and behaviors. Well, according to researchers and practitioners of music therapy is a big tool for all of us.

Indeed, music can heal people in many difficult situations. Music can make a big difference to people with brain injuries and it can activate the brain in alternative ways. It helps often bypassing the damaged areas, allowing people to regain movement as well as speech.

Therefore, music actually changes the structure of the brain, giving people new chances to move and speak. Also, various studies have shown that music therapy can regularize the heart and breathing rates. Even it can help cancer patients. In the field of psychology, music is very useful to help people suffering from depression and sadness. Also, children with developmental disabilities may get support from music in many ways.

CONCLUSION

In the end, I will say that being skilled in any component of music is a gift of God. I salute the great musicians who pacify me during my low times and let me celebrate my good times. Music as a hobby is the best alternative indeed.

Music is an effective way of healing the stress of anyone of any age. It is highly effective and supportive to relieve the person from any kind of mental or physical problem. So, we all be always live with music.

Thanks!

 

HOW DOES WATER AFFECT OUR LIVES?

Water is life, as the saying goes. We rely on water for our food, our health, our livelihoods, and for fun and leisure. But water can also take away life. And the absence of water can be even worse. Currently, 700 million people live in water-stressed areas. By 2025, this number is expected to grow 1.8 billion — about 25% of the world population.

As Number 6 on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, “Clean Water and Sanitation For All” is currently struggling. If we want to meet this goal by the deadline of 2030, the UN says we’ll need to double our current rate of progress. Only then can we ensure that there’s universal access to safe and affordable drinking water, adequate sanitation and hygiene resources, improved water quality, and restored water-related ecosystems. Here are 5 ways that water use affects our lives — and what we’re doing to help make clean water and sanitation for all a reality.

1. WATER PUTS FOOD ON THE TABLE AND MONEY IN THE BANK

According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, roughly 60–80% of severely food-insecure people rely on agriculture for their livelihoods (and their own nutrition). This includes farming of crops and raising livestock, as well as fishing. In Africa, where over half of Concern’s country programs are located, 95% of crops are rain-fed. This means that water shortages have a compound effect: As we’ve seen in areas like Somalia, just one drought can spell disaster for an entire harvest.

Concern has found solutions for many farming communities. In one Ethiopian community, for example, we provided the expertise and money needed to help build a 10-mile system of irrigation channels and reservoirs, bringing water from a nearby river across 200 acres to 140 farming families. That means bigger harvests to keep families fed — and incomes stable.

When lakes and rivers dry up, families are often forced to walk hundreds of miles to find water for their animals to drink. Or, they may lose their (literal) cash cows. A drought in the Turkana region of Kenya, that has now lasted for nearly 4 years, has meant that pastoralists like Ng’ikario Ekiru, a 37-year–old mother of 6, have gone from herds of 100 down to 5 (Ng’ikario, her family, and the flock all rely on the same source of food — a wild fruit that grows in the bush). Concern can’t refill dry rivers, but we can (and do!) truck water to the families and livestock that need it most.

2. WATER CAN HELP KILL GERMS — AND CURB PANDEMICS

Washing your hands doesn’t just get them clean — it can also save your life. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that good hygiene is the best way to prevent infections and diarrheal diseases. As we’re currently seeing with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, handwashing is also one of the best things we can all do to curb the spread of a global health crisis.

In many of the countries where Concern works, these infections are a leading cause of illness and death. But a lot of the diseases and infections that affect the communities we work with are 100% preventable, and a little bit of soap and water go a long way towards that prevention. As part of Concern’s water, sanitation, and hygiene programming (WASH) we help provide clean water and teach people good habits so they can stay healthy.

3. WATER ISN’T ALWAYS THERE

Sometimes the biggest problem water poses is when it’s not accessible. For example, drought across much of East Africa has further complicated a large-scale hunger crisis in the region, further exacerbated by conflict. In some cases, water access can even lead to conflict.

Even in peaceful countries, water that is too far away can be damaging for families. Daily water-gathering is usually the responsibility of women and girls. When rivers, lakes, and reservoirs dry up, they must travel increasingly long distances to find water. This can keep girls out of school, and keep women away from taking care of their families or earning income. In fact, collectively, women and girls spend 200 million hours fetching water every day.

 

 

 

What History’s warfare up-skill us about directing in tranquility

Outside the study hall, Harvard Business School Professor Deepak Malhotra’s withstanding revenue is war and harmony, how wars start and end, how they might have been kept away from, and what exercises can be gained from them. Alongside examining wars, Malhotra has exhorted countries with immovable outfitted contentions, “to help them discover a route forward,” he says. The previous spring, he brought those exercises into the study hall with another course, “War and Peace: The Lessons of History for Leadership, Strategy, Negotiation, Policy, and Humanity.” The course gives a point by point investigation of the victories and disappointments of initiative, technique, and arrangements in a few contentions, going from the antiquated Peloponnesian Wars among Athens and Sparta, to World War I and World War II, to the Korean War and the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. 

While it might seem like a social investigations course, these conflicts offer a variety of exercises for corporate pioneers and business visionaries. All things considered, initiative difficulties, key decisions, and high-stakes arrangements are constants in clashes among countries, however in the business world, as well, he brings up. So business pioneers would do well to consider the preventative disappointments and promising triumphs on the world’s war zones as they seek after long haul achievement.

For Malhotra, who has shown exchange and different subjects at HBS since 2002, the “War and Peace” course stands apart as a top choice. It even motivated him to compose his fourth book and his first novel, The Peacemaker’s Code, delivered for this present month. The book is a sci-fi thrill ride in which a youthful Cambridge history specialist is called to Washington to encourage the United States president to turn away a calamitous conflict. The conflicts Malhotra inspects in his “War and Peace” course represent the perils of drawing exercises from too hardly any notable encounters, of neglecting to appropriately analyze the reasons for past disappointments, and the basic significance of seeing a contention from the opposite side’s perspective. Here are a few perceptions from his course’s contextual investigations.

Battled in three stages among Athens and Sparta, the Peloponnesian War included a bombed ceasefire and finished with Sparta’s triumph and the overshadowing of Athens as a force and a popular government. For Malhotra, the conflict brings up the issue of why a few contentions appear to be unavoidable, in any event, when adversaries attempt to keep away from them, and how those worth obliterating clashes may have been deflected. He says it additionally represents the requirement for adjusting steadiness and adaptability while executing a strategy.He says this conflict likewise exhibits the expected effect of initiative change on system, and the entanglements of arranged arrangements that don’t as expected record for the interests of each side.

A political emergency started by the death of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand prompted raising assemblies, close quarters conflict, the breakdown of the Russian Empire, and a truce that rebuffed Germany.You may take the exercise that, if individuals rush to be forceful, too speedy to even think about pushing back on others, that will prompt struggle, Malhotra says.So you ought to be more tolerant, more malleable, really lenient when struggle can possibly heighten. In any case, even this apparently sensible end is perilous to apply indiscriminately in each future struggle—as turns out to be clear years and years after the fact, in the number one spot up to the subsequent World War. The Treaty of Versailles left Germany ruining for vengeance, and it additionally left its World War I foes in a financial downturn and restless to keep away from another conflict. Malhotra says that perspective and the exercises “learned” in World War I, may have driven the Allies to not be adequately forceful, along these lines neglecting to prevent Adolf Hitler and different fundamentalists. For business visionaries, he says the takeaway is that “the methodology that is effective in one endeavor doesn’t really prevail in another. Similarly,what works when driving a little association probably won’t work with a bigger one, and a system that you have depended on beneficially in past dealings may should be altogether disposed of in the following arrangement. The case additionally prompted an entrancing conversation about whether the inability to keep away from World War II was basically a disappointment of administration, procedure, or arrangement.

If I ruled the World

If I ruled the world … It’s actually quite and interesting concept. What would I do if I ruled the world. At first when I read this prompt I thought ‘Yeah, I know what I’d do … It’s obvious’, but then I realised what would I do?

      You cannot just say … oh, um, I would start world peace and uh stop poverty, because what good will that do … how will change be made? Nothing can just stop .. it has to gradually change and for it change there needs to be people willing to help make the change. Also before I begin I would like to add that this speech is purposefully idealistic, the reason why is because in order to make the solution to these problems a reality we need to make an awareness of them.

If I ruled the world … everyone would have a home and feel safe living their own lives, no one would be forced to flee from their own country in search of refuge, sacrificing every single one of life’s joys such as freedom and family in search of survival … whilst other slept easy in their beds knowing that nothing was going to happen to them as they are not part of the problem.

Well, those people sleeping in their beds may not be part of the initial problem but they are part of the resounding problem. Without taking action they are ensuring that those affected are helpless, without voice and without the right of choice and no-one would wish that upon themselves.

If I ruled the world … I would make sure that that young girl in the corner, standing all alone by herself would not be teased or spoken about as if she were something to examine, but supported and understood. I would make her worries my worries, I would do my best to see through her eyes, experience her life in her shoes and then help her to make others understand as well. I would encourage everyone not to hide from who they are … whether that’s because of sexuality, gender, body insecurity, or race .

If I were to rule the world …. bullying and discrimination would be a thing of the past. Because let’s face it picking on others is plain cowardice and living your life in insecurity is not fair.

If I ruled the world … education would be a right not a probability, children and adults all around the world would be educated in order to feel and become independent, strong minded and self sufficient. Education would be available to each and everyone and by having an education a child is encouraged to grow into a strong individual.

If I ruled the world … education would be stronger than ever.

And finally,

If I ruled the world … I would not rule the world alone. Everyone is born the same, we all have organs and senses and feelings. It’s just some are more lucky when it comes to the lottery of life than others.

If were to rule the world … everyone would have a voice as we are all equal and deserve the right to make a change.

If I ruled the world … the world would be an opportunity for everyone to make the best of.

If I were to rule the world … YOU would rule it too.

Interrupting the Waste industries with Innovation

Rubicon started with a striking thought: make a cloud-based, full-administration squander the board stage, offering productive assistance anyplace in the US. Their versatile application accomplished to squander the executives how Uber had helped taxi administration. Five years after the case’s distribution, Harvard Business School Associate Professor Shai Bernstein and Rubicon organizer and CEO Nate Morris examine how the product startup utilized innovation to disturb the waste business and other suffering exercises of educator Bill Sahlman’s case about Rubicon. Americans discard a ton of stuff. That is to say, more than individuals in different nations. Americans normal 4.5 pounds of waste each day, contrasted with the worldwide normal of about 1.6 pounds each day. Presently, four and a half pounds may not sound so awful, yet it adds up. That is 1,600 pounds for every person, and 6,500 pounds for each family throughout a year. All in, Americans created 292 million tons of waste in 2018, as per the Environmental Protection Agency.

Teacher Shai Bernstein’s exploration centers around monetary issues identified with new companies and high development firms, and the association of these issues with advancement and enterprising movement. Nate Morris is the author of Morris Industries, a Lexington, Kentucky-based aggregate that is rethinking the mechanical economy. His energy to settle the ecological dangers presented by worldwide waste drove him to establish Rubicon. Along these lines, just to give a smidgen of setting. In this way, the Rubicon case is being instructed in our pioneering finance class, which is a second year EC course in which we are essentially strolling through the life-cycle of the firm, attempting to consider various wellsprings of capital that match the organizations at the various phases of the development of the organization. Also, in the primary model of the class, we are explicitly considering various attributes of plans of action that make a few firms more alluring to financial backers than others.

Another intriguing angle here is that the business has basically been working with enormous occupants for quite a long time. Furthermore, here we have Rubicon that is carrying innovation to the business and attempting to disturb the business with altogether different plans of action and altogether different methodology, which makes this so fascinating to see the crash between totally different ways to deal with squandering the executives. And afterward the other part that I would make reference to is that, toward the day’s end, Rubicon, what Rubicon does is essentially significant for our general public. Furthermore, pondering supportability, reusing, ESG, is a subject that truly, at the core of Rubicon’s central goal, and furthermore a large number of our understudies are truly enthusiastic about this theme. Thus, I believe that likewise adds to the ubiquity of this case and to the interest of understudies for this situation.

It’s a truly fascinating combination of innovation and industry elements and this manageability issue that, if you unite them all, makes it a truly intriguing case.”Waste is a point that not very many individuals need to discuss, not to mention start a new business. What’s more, the vast majority of the setting around our industry rotates around a famous TV program, The Sopranos. A spectacular show, done. Also, many individuals scratch their head about, truly, is that the business that you picked? Also, I was quickly attracted to the business for two or three unique reasons. I’m a Kentuckian, I experienced childhood in Kentucky. Went to a government funded school there. Was raised by a single parent in a common home, and experienced childhood in an association home too. My granddad was exceptionally associated with my life, ran an association and grew up around association laborers”, says Nate Morris.

The exorbitant of the unhurried COVID Vaccine instigate.

Government authorities ought to have emptied substantially more cash into delivering and appropriating COVID-19 immunizations to save more lives and salvage the economy quicker, as per new examination co-composed by 16 analysts including Harvard Business School teacher Scott Duke Kominers. Although government authorities found ways to speed antibody advancement last year, the United States and different nations might have paid to develop a fabricating framework and shore up the production network expected to create immunizations at higher limits. That additional speculation might have saved billions or even trillions of dollars in worth, Kominers and his co-creators revealed in Market Design to Accelerate COVID-19 Vaccine Supply in the March 12 issue of Science.

The benefit of having the option to deliver antibodies at scale the moment they clear preliminaries is very high in a pandemic,says Kominers, the MBA Class of 1960 Associate Professor of Business Administration at HBS. You are losing many billions in crude monetary movement every month—and that is not in any event, representing the wide range of various types of misfortune the pandemic has caused. So you can place a great deal of cash into building plants ahead of time, just to have ones prepared to create the immunization that works.

Indeed, even as immunization endeavors acquire force all throughout the planet, hundreds keep on dieing every day. The pandemic, which shrank the worldwide economy by 4% in 2020, has additionally driven in excess of 119 million individuals into outrageous neediness, as per the World Bank. Furthermore, in the United States, the Federal Drug Administration this week instructed states to stop the utilization regarding the Johnson and Johnson antibody after six ladies fostered an uncommon blood-coagulating jumble, raising new worries about complete immunization supply.

Kominers spent the early months of the pandemic expounding on commercial center plan strategies that could offer help—for instance, by utilizing conveyance commercial centers to carry food to the old or by appropriating hand sanitizer all the more impartially. Kominers joined Accelerating Health Technologies—a gathering of scholastics investigating approaches to speed COVID-19 inoculation—to dive into the financial matters of the infection. The gathering noted in the paper that numerous nations attempted to increase antibody improvement and creation in the course of the last year. The US, specifically, dispatched Operation Warp Speed, which put resources into promising antibody competitors and resolved to purchase a huge number of portions of effective immunizations, giving an ensured market to the shots.

Government authorities likewise may have stressed they were betting a lot on antibodies that probably won’t work out. Moreover, on the off chance that you construct a creation limit far ahead of time, you may wind up not utilizing some of this on the grounds that an immunization turns out not to work, he says. The typical sense is to delay until you know which antibody works and afterward increase creation. Yet, that wasn’t the right nature here. Likewise, governments may have been careful about putting citizen cash toward building foundations for private enterprises—regardless of whether they recovered the interest as diminished immunization costs. In any case, once more, on account of COVID-19, the worth of these speculations would have far exceeded the possible expenses.

COPYWRITING VS CONTENT WRITING

When companies need written material, they typically use either a copywriter or a content writer. These types of writers specialize in creating marketing content for business. Understanding the difference between the two roles can help your company decide which one they need for your written content.

WHAT IS COPYWRITING?

Copywriting is the creation of text for the advertisement or marketing of one specific company. It aim to raise brand awareness and persuade an audience to take a particular action, such as purchase an item. To do this, copywriters make their content interesting and memorable. Copywriting highlighting a product’s features by structuring it in the best possible perspective through brainstorming creative ideas. Some forms of copywriting include brochures, billboards, email campaigns, taglines, magazine advertisements, press releases, etc. The common job responsibilities of a copywriter is writing copy to follow the brand’s voice and style, collaborating with public relations team and other professionals on marketing projects, editing and proofreading copy to ensure accuracy and speaking with stakeholders to determine their content needs and requirements.

WHAT IS CONTENT WRITING?

Content writing is the production of written materials to inform reader. These professionals strive to generate web traffic, using search engine optimization(SEO). Content writer also try to increase customer engagement with persuasive language and relevant content. They generate specialized materials for websites and other digital medium. During the process, content writers often research their topics to provide necessary facts for readers to understand topics fully and provide credibility. Some forms of content writing include blogs, newspaper articles, webpages, email newsletters, magazine feature, etc. The common job responsibility of a content writer is conducting research on industry related topics to create content, editing and proofreading content to improve readability for viewers, researching keywords and using SEO practices to improve web traffic to the company’s website, generating interesting headlines to attract readers and completing projects within designated deadlines.

COPYWRITING VS CONTENT WRITING

  1. OVERALL GOAL- A copywriter creates content to persuade their readers, whereas a content writer produces content to inform their readers. Since copywriters are trying to sell a product or service, their copy ends with a call to action. Content writers have a more subtle goal of encouraging brand loyalty through writing articles that educate and entertain.
  2. LENGTH OF CONTENT- Typically, a copywriter writes short form copy and a content writers long form. Copywriters keep their text brief to engage their readers. However, content writers often write more in depth explaining a process or topic.
  3. ROLE WITHIN A COMPANY- A copywriter is a professional whose primary job is to create copy. Content writer often have other roles beyond writing. They may be an author, blogger, executive, software engineer or other individuals.
  4. TONE OF WRITING- Copywriters use a conversational tone when speaking to their viewers. Because content writers are more informative, their tone is often more formal.
  5. DEADLINES- Copywriters work on strict deadlines to meet their client’s requests. Since copywriters write longer content, their deadlines are usually more flexible to allow time for research.
  6. WORK ENVIRONMENT- Copywriters typically work for an advertising agency marketing for a company. Content writers work for a variety of companies from various industries. copywriters often work directly with a company, whereas content writers work through a third party.

SKILLS FOR COPYWRITING-

  • Copywriters work for a variety of sectors, making it helpful to have experience writing for different fields, such as healthcare or technology.
  • To attract users, copywriters are empathetic in their writing to make their audience feel good.
  • Since copywriters work closely with marketing teams, it’s helpful for them to be a team player and work well with others.

SKILLS FOR CONTENT WRITING-

  • Since content writers are trying to generate traffic to a business’s website, they use SEO and keywords to direct users.
  • To generate informative copy, content writers conduct research from other sources to back up their claims and facts.
  • In order to attract readers, content writers produce captivating headlines that make viewers want to read their articles.

A COLONIAL READING OF Things Fall Apart

This writeup focuses on the boundaries set by the European colonists on the culture and  tradition of ‘pure’ Africans- resulting in confusion among people to choose what is ‘their own’. I will be dealing with Chinua Achebe’s first novel, Things Fall Apart – how things fall apart before  and after the arrival of missionaries, and how their ‘civilising’ mission works on the natives. They  imposed restrictions, which put forth the implications of a closed system and lack of liberty to  choose the linguistic features one wishes to inculcate in their literary work. Achebe also highlights  the oral tradition by using narrative proverbs in the structuring of the action of the novel. Achebe refuses to completely step into the refined space as imposed by the Westerners. He  chose to stick to ‘his’ culture which gave him comfort and stability. The Europeans inflicted a sense  of inferiority by setting margins, which implied that the native’s actions were wrong, and it would  only get better if they followed what had been told to do. It is nothing but the psychological impact  of colonial education. Though we believe that Achebe gave more importance to his culture, we  also cannot deny that he did get influenced by the Westerners. Elements of double consciousness  in Things Fall Apart often lead to the Identity crisis of his characters which is stemmed from the  hybrid nature of the Author himself. 

The Igbo patriarchal community always placed men on a pedestal seat. They considered women as ‘second sex’ and used them as objects for male satisfaction. ‘She’ wasn’t ‘aware’ of ‘the being oppressed process’ because of the influence of patriarchy. Inequality, lack of inheritance for  female children, women beating and feminine abuse were appreciated to a certain extent and  treated as ‘normal’. Igbo women lived their lives to deliver kids and to do domestic chores. Females  are in an inferior position throughout the novel and the idea of masculinity erased them from the  political, economical and judicial strata of the society. Women weren’t allowed to identify their  true character and the dominance above her gender and race indirectly forced her to obey the ‘male  rules’ without any objection. This suppression of the female by the male, in the Igbo tribe is similar to the oppression faced by the colonised under the coloniser. Igbo men inflicted ‘subaltern’  treatment on his family. 

The protagonist Okonkwo wishes his eldest son Nwoye to behave like a ‘real’ man – he  wanted to completely erase Nwoye’s ‘motherly’ side. Okonkwo was a man of strength and was  afraid to be called weak or a woman. He was ashamed of his father Unoka, who was a ‘coward’  and a ‘spendthrift’, by the standards of the clan. Okonkwo tried to hate everything his father had  loved but still the memories of Unoka haunted him in a very uncomfortable way. In other words,  Unoka is a representation of the past; a past that belonged to the traditional Igbo community. He  must have inherited most of the cultural traits and beliefs of their culture. Differing from the ‘real  man’ concept doesn’t mean that Unoka is an outcast of Igbo tribe. So hating Unoka signifies  that Okonkwo is not fully immersed in traditions. One of his sides always rejected Igbo traditions  while the other side always accepted them. The violence, intolerance and the passion for becoming  a respectable leader- which are the characteristic features of missionaries – clearly shows that  Okankwo is different from his peace- loving tribe. When the oldest man of the clan, Ogbuefi  Ezeudu asked Okonkwo not to kill his son-like Ikemefuna, he never listened. He did kill him with  full remorse and regret. In a sense, Okonkwo was respecting the order of Oracle, but also  disrespecting the words of a ‘living tradition’. 

Okonkwo accidentally kills Ezeudu’s son with a gun at his funeral. The old man’s death  creates a vacuum in their heritage. His son’s death is a complete wipe out of his essence with a  ‘modernised European concept’, gun. It gives a picture of a confused individual trying to erase his  ‘own’ people using the ‘european brain’. This confusion clearly states Okonkwo’s mixed nature,  which leads to his death. 

Nwoye is the binary opposite of Okonkwo. He seems more like Unoka and has an  attachment towards his mother. He tries not to be like ‘himself’ for making his father happy. He  was unable to express his true self since childhood. This traumatic experience leads to his  conversion. He is neither Igbo nor Christian; he has double identities but not even sure about who  he really is. His jumping consciousness creates nothing but confusion. 

Enoch is a character who is similar to Okonkwo in many ways. Their personalities are  comparable, they both have issues with their fathers, and they consider themselves to be above  their peers, but their belief systems are quite different from each other. He passionately accepted  Christianity without any hesitation and cut his Igbo roots by killing one of the ancestral spirits by  unmasking an egwugwu. When Mr. Brown becomes ill and is replaced by a zealot named  Reverend Smith, he uses Enoch’s ‘grown up’ fanaticism to turn against a race which once belonged  to him. The fact that Enoch is not killed for his action highlights an acceptance of colonial rule  from the local rulers and traditional elite. Mimicry appears here, when Enoch imitates the  colonised culture and makes the environment unstable. Literally speaking, he is a combination of  Okonkwo and Nwoye. 

Ikemefuna’s death signifies the eradication of a minor culture from a major culture. He  reached Umuofia as a part of sacrifice. Willingly he adjusted with the clan’s customs; but the  memories of his family is a reminder that he hasn’t fully adapted in the new world. He tried to  believe that the new clan is his family, but his beliefs end with his death. Also Okonkwo is  questioning the identity of his eldest daughter Ezinma. He wishes that she had been born a son.

Throughout the novel, we come to know how important farming is to the Igbo tribe. We  see an instance where Okonkwo plants yam seeds in his farm, given to him by Okoye. Okoye does  not belong to his family, implying that he is the ‘other’. However it does not work out due to the  drought and heavy rains. This incident can be seen as symbolic of the seeds of western ideologies  that have been planted in the natives’ mind. Thus, causing an instability in his mind, resulting in a  state of confusion. The relationship between farmer and farming is that of the coloniser planting  seeds of ideologies into the mind of the colonised.  The impact on natives due to this colonisation gives rise to the double consciousness in the  characters. They are torn between the constant dilemma to know where they belong, which culture  to follow. This dilemma is rooted from the childhood days of the author. The author, being under colonial rule himself, was influenced by the westerners. The very notion of authorisation is a  western concept, in contrast to the oral tradition, where the importance is given to the reader. The  reader is free to interpret and retell it in his/her own way. While the same cannot be implicated in  the case of an authorized text. Therefore, we can conclude that he does not fully follow the  traditions. This feature is also seen in the protagonist of his novel. Okonkwo does not fully follow  his own tribal instinct, nor does he welcome the whites. In the end, Okonkwo commits suicide,  even though he knows that it is against his own tribe. The reason for his action is his intolerance  towards the arrival of the whites. Hence, his suicide can be seen as a protest. 

World Asteroid Day 2021

Asteroid to Make Closest Flyby in History

Of late, there have been several stories about asteroids hurtling past Earth; let us first understand what asteroids are in mere words. Asteroids are the little rocky remains that orbit around the Sun. Chiefly, they are among the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, except some have more unconventional orbits. Therefore, we can tell that asteroids are rocky-metallic celestial objects which extend in size from approximately the extent of pebbles to about 600 miles across. They are small; therefore, we do not acknowledge them as planets, yet they revolve around Sun. Asteroids are also known as the remaining material of the Solar System. Do you know that numerous hundred thousand asteroids are known to endure in our Solar System, plus multiple of them are yet to get found? Some asteroids are so tiny that they are hard to detect. In December 2016, the United Nations General Assembly took a resolution to observe 30 June as world asteroid day every year; it might seem that this day does not hold much significance, yet, the roots of the history behind this day lie in great depth. Through this article, let us try to understand its importance in mere words. 30 June marks the centennial of the Tunguska impact; it was a cumbersome explosion near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River. According to NASA’s estimations that the asteroid penetrated the Earth’s atmosphere at a pace of roughly 33,500 miles per ampere-hour. This event is considered the world’s most massive asteroid impact on the Earth in recorded history. The aim behind this was to raise awareness about the consequences of Asteroids at an international level. As aimed, the organizations worked promoted awareness and provided knowledge to the general public about the importance of asteroids in the universe and the role they play in our solar system today. There is an organization called B612 that strives towards shielding the Earth from asteroid collisions, acquainting and advancing extensive decision-making on worldly defense issues. Every year, multiple performances are arranged all across the world. These functions are at NASA and other space bureau facilities, libraries, planetariums, multiversities, and many more. This year it is going to celebrate digitally. The previous year many people got to know some mind-blowing facts about our universe during the webinar. In brief, International Asteroid Day World Asteroid Day dignifies consciousness regarding the devasting impression of an asteroid meanwhile it crashes to the Earth. How the supplies can get utilized in the future, how asteroids provide the means for future investigation, and how we can preserve our planet from the consequences of asteroids. It is essential to note asteroids’ uncertain impacts. So, World Asteroid Day is observed over the globe to teach people about asteroids and their results. Make sure you discuss our solar system with your teachers and parents. You will get to know many facts about the asteroids and many other celestial bodies. It will give you immense pleasure to learn these facts and would make your day productive. If you go through social media, you would come across some interactive webinars taking place.

Communication

Definition: The communication is a dynamic process that begins with the conceptualizing of ideas by the sender who then transmits the message through a channel to the receiver, who in turn gives the feedback in the form of some message or signal within the given time frame.

Communication is a process which involves transmission of information from one point to another through a succession of processes. Effective communication is when the message conveyed by the sender is understood by the receiver in exactly the same way as it was intended. There are basically two modes of communication:

  • Point-to-Point: A point-to-point connection refers to a communications connection between two communication endpoints or nodes. An example is a telephone call, in which one telephone is connected with one other, and what is said by one caller can only be heard by the other.
  • Broadcasting: A broadcast communication network is a communication network which uses broadcasting for communication between its nodes. They take messages from a single sender and transmit to all endpoints on the network. For example, Radio, Television, etc.

There are three basic element of communication system namely transmitter, channel and reciever. The simple block diagram for communication system is given below:

Block Diagram of Communication System

Different blocks in block diagram of communication system are discussed below:

  • Sender: The sender or the communicator is the person who initiates the conversation and has conceptualized the idea that he intends to convey it to others.
  • Encoding: The sender begins with the encoding process wherein he uses certain words or non-verbal methods such as symbols, signs, body gestures, etc. to translate the information into a message. The sender’s knowledge, skills, perception, background, competencies, etc. has a great impact on the success of the message.
  • Message: Once the encoding is finished, the sender gets the message that he intends to convey. The message can be written, oral, symbolic or non-verbal such as body gestures, silence, sounds, etc. or any other signal that triggers the response of a receiver.
  • Communication Channel: The Sender chooses the medium through which he wants to convey his message to the recipient. It must be selected carefully in order to make the message effective and correctly interpreted by the recipient. The choice of medium depends on the interpersonal relationships between the sender and the receiver and also on the urgency of the message being sent. Oral, virtual, written, sound, gesture, etc. are some of the commonly used communication mediums.
  • Receiver: The receiver is the person for whom the message is intended or targeted. He tries to comprehend it in the best possible manner such that the communication objective is attained. The degree to which the receiver decodes the message depends on his knowledge of the subject matter, experience, trust and relationship with the sender.
  • Decoding: Here, the receiver interprets the sender’s message and tries to understand it in the best possible manner. An effective communication occurs only if the receiver understands the message in exactly the same way as it was intended by the sender.
  • Feedback: The Feedback is the final step of the process that ensures the receiver has received the message and interpreted it correctly as it was intended by the sender. It increases the effectiveness of the communication as it permits the sender to know the efficacy of his message. The response of the receiver can be verbal or non-verbal.
  • Noise: Noise is the unwanted disturbance present in communication which deteriorate’s the quality of message signal sent and decreases the quality of communication process. Noise can be present at any stage of communication processes.

CAG

• CAG and the Indian Audit and Accounts Department
(IAAD) – Supreme Audit Institution of India.

• Articles 148-151 of the Constitution deals with CAG.

• Article 148: There shall be a CAG of India who shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal.

• Independent and unbiased nature CA is ensured by:
 Appointed by the President of India.
 Security of tenure: special procedure for removal,
like a Supreme Court Judge.
 Salary and expenses of CAG – charged (not voted) from the Consolidated Fund of India.

 Disallowed from holding any other Govt office after his/her term expires.

Duties of the CAG :-

• Under Article 149, Parliament had enacted the CAG’s Duties, Powers and Conditions Act in 1971.

• Article 150: the accounts of the Union and of the States shall be kept in such form as the President may prescribe.
 Shall be based on the advice of CAG.

• Reports of the CAG – submitted to the President/Governor – Union/State respectively.
 They table the report before the Parliament/State legislature.
 Permanently referred to the Central and State Standing Committees on Public Accounts and Public Undertakings.

• Types of CAG reports:

 Compliance and performance audit reports –
covers revenue collection and expenditure of
Gov.
 Separate audit reports on the functioning of certain autonomous bodies.

 Reports on the financial position of Central and State Governments.
 Reports on the adherence to the Appropriation Acts passed by Parliament and Legislatures.
 Certified annual accounts of the States to the State Legislatures: the Finance and
Appropriation Accounts.

• Types of audits done by CAG: Compliance Audit, Financial Attest Audit and Performance Audit.

Effective tips for buying Twitch views and followers

Streaming things could be a hobby and an open door for opportunities. It began as a fun pastime for most and has quickly grown into a main entertainment channel for millions of people. Different platforms stream  different contents. Game streaming on Twitch is considered as the most popular one. It is a  website where PPL from all over the world can broadcast themselves or a video game that they are playing on the platform.

Setting your stream goal has primary importance. People are protective of their followers and they are not going to follow unless you have a channel that they actually want to come back to. To grow followers you need to make the channel interesting enough that people want to come back to it over and over. It is important to be respectful of your viewers’ time and attention. Instead of calling up the lurker’s name , a polite address might be enough. Telling your viewers about your goals would make them feel inspired to achieve them. Talk about the things you are going to do after you get partnered. It is necessary to motivate the viewers to take action while focusing on increasing followers. Say the exact things without the essence of artificiality. Asking for followers while you go live has a huge impact. Tell them how you want to be supported by playing on their belief system and identity. Write down a plan before you go live- like the stories  you are going to tell and the games you are going to play. It is important to make sure that you have lots of things to talk about even if your chat isn’t interactive. Get partnered and try to go full-time sometimes by streaming more and consistently on discoverable platforms. Watch other streamers and try to compare it with your style. It would be better if you are aware of different methods used by others. After your stream, spend some time to highlight the best bits. Asking other streamers for some constructive criticism on your stream helps  to get feedback from the same industry. Requesting some of your regular viewers if they want to be moderators is a great idea to make your platform active.

Social media acts as a great help for the self promotion of your stream without financial barriers. Go ahead with platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc. and share your stream and be active. There would be more people to check out your activities. As a growing community, discord servers help in self promotion by giving a high reach to the stream. YouTube is also useful in showing off your skills by helping people to learn. Focus on learning and becoming a better streamer rather than criticizing or blaming yourself. Don’t go spending more money on your streaming setup when you are brand new. Those investments can come later on if things go well. Instead start a stable live stream and have a stream schedule. Make use of the tags when you settle your title and game for your livestream on Twitch. Be patient, confident and productive.

Bismillah Khan- Shehnai God

Bismillah Khan - Wikipedia

Ustad Bismillah Khan- came into the world on March 21, 1916, in the Dumraon region as the second next son of father Paigambar Khan and mother Matthan. He was initially called Qamaruddin to rhyme with Shamsuddin, his brother. His ancestor, Rasool Baksh Khan- pronounced “Bismillah later gazing at the newborn. Therefore, he was called Bismillah Khan. His forefathers were official musicians and handled to play in Naqqar khana in the regal regions of Bhojpur, presently in Bihar. His dad was a shehnai professional in Maharaja Keshav Prasad Singh from Dumraon Estate. Despite his popularity, Khan’s life grasped its traditional Benaras charm. His main mode of transportation remained the cycle rickshaw. A fellow of tenderness, he supposed in remaining private; and that players are supposed to be heard and not seen. He was a pious Shi’a Muslim and, like many Indian musicians notwithstanding of faith, a follower of Mother Saraswati. He oftentimes performed at various temples and on the shores of the river Ganga near Varanasi, besides operating outside the great Vishwanath temple in Varanasi. He endured his training supporting his uncle, the late Ali Baksh, a shehnai player connected to Varanasi’s Vishwanath Temple. Khan signified perhaps single-handedly accountable for making the shehnai a well-known classical apparatus. He induced the shehnai to the core stage of Indian musicology with his performance at the Calcutta All India Music Conference in 1937. People started to consider Bismillah and the shehnai are nearly synonyms.
Khan is one of the best musicians and one of the best representatives of Hindu-Muslim unity in India. His theory of music was exquisite, and his foresight, excellent. He formerly remarked, “Even if the universe ceases, the melody will yet persist, and he often said, the art of music has neither caste nor religion. He has played in Afghanistan, Iran, Europe, Bangladesh, Iraq, Iran, Canada, West Africa, the USA, USSR, Japan, Hong Kong in nearly every capital town over the world.
Khan had the unique honor of performing at Delhi’s Red Fort on the night of India’s Independence in 1947. He also played the song Raga Kafi from the Red Fort at India’s first Republic Day ceremony on January 26, 1950. His recital had almost become a cultural part of the Independence Day Celebrations telecast on Doordarshan every year on Independence day. On August 17, 2006, Khan got ill and got admitted to the Heritage Hospital in Varanasi. He expired after four heydays on August 21, 2006, owing to a cardiac arrest. He was ninety years old. The Government of India announced one day of public mourning for his loss. His body was concealed on Fatemain’s funeral ground of gray Varanasi below a neem tree including a 21-gun tribute from the Indian Army. His life story inspires each person to make efforts and spend his life relishing their hard work. Bismillah Khan taught us that art and tradition have no boundaries; it acts as a binder to unite the different commodities and spread love. Khan’s demise was a shock to every person, but his story would always live in our hearts.

ROLE OF TEACHERS: SECOND PARENTS

Mother, Father, Teacher and God. This is the phrase we would have heard so many times.

Next to family, it is the teacher whom the kids look up to. There are many children who talk to teachers more freely than they do with their own parents. Teachers play an important role in shaping the life of the students under them. Students spend 6+ hours minimum daily in the school and it is the teachers who take care of them. It is more than the time they spend with their family, in fact.

So we can understand that the children look and learn not only education but how to be a better human being from a teacher. Many teachers dedicate their lives to teach through their heart and soul to the students so they would understand. Many go an extra mile and come up with many innovative way of learning.

Photo by Pavel Danilyuk on Pexels.com

From kindergarten to high school, every child is made to believe that education is an important for their life in order to be happy. There are children who fare well and bring laurels to their alma mater. But there are also some students who find it hard to concentrate, to sit at one place and study continuously. They may have other interests like sports or art. So are we to leave behind these students?

The responsibilities falls in the hands of the teachers to find the interests of the students, the hidden talents and hone them into their dream. There are many children who are shy to come out and do something they are good at. It is the teacher who supports them to come forward in front of others. But there are also some teachers who favor one student over others. But most of them are not like that.

It is sad to see violence against teachers by students because they corrected them from straying from the righteous path. Parents, too, if they don’t find their wards scoring well, they blame the teachers. Even the pay for the teachers is so low compared to the hard work they put in. imagine taking care of one or two children at home. It is hard enough. Imagine having 50 and more children in one room, minding them, and teaching them on top of it.

Especially with the current technological advancements, children have so much exposure to all the things around the world, and there is not filter on what they can or cannot see. The only time they have a quality learning time is when they come to school and depend on someone human to gain knowledge. Even with homework, some find shortcuts by copying from the internet.

The state of teachers is pathetic, especially now since the online classes, teachers have no control on children on whether they study or not. It is impossible for teachers to ensure that they grasp the concepts or not. It is easier to stay at home, yes, but the actual concept of learning is tough when we are far apart. In spite of all these difficulties, teachers are trying their level best to reach out to students.

article 21

The Constitution speaks that no person of the state shall be destitute of the right to life and personal library. The right to life was protected by the law under the fundamental right. No restrictions were on the citizen of the country, everyone has the right to life under the Constitution. The human rights provided people’s good life under the right to life and personal library. If was restricted to enjoy his freedom by some unlawful action of government the he have rights to investigate against the action.

The most important part of the constitution was fundamental rights and in it elaborates exploitation of human rights as written in the other constitution of the world. The provision constitution provided a broad declaration of fundamental rights which is necessary for the full development of personality of individual. The aimed of these fundamental rights is to establish such law to welfare of the citizen. The purpose of establishing the fundamental rights is to protect the rights and liberties of the peoples. Human development is moral basic principles that explain the standard of human and it protect their natural and legal rights.

 Article 21 [1]now safeguard the right to life and personal liberty of citizens and not only from managerial action but from the parliamentary action also.

If two conditions compiled then a person can be deprived of his life and personal liberty:-

  1. There must be a law.
  2. There must be a procedure prescribed by law, provided that the procedure is just fair and reasonable.    

Article 21[2] held to the heart of the constitution. It’s give a different way of protecting the fundamental right of life. Without the fundamental right to life we cannot live as human being and included all those aspects of life. The rights of life makes the life meaningful, complete, and worth living. The right to life and personal liberty makes the citizens life to live freely without any interference of the government. There are many fundamental rights which was making to the development or to increasing the living standard of citizens. This right was not conflict to the fullest things of humans but with the judicial action.

 In the place of the rule of man, a human being has established the rule of law of constitution to protect the right of life and liberty of citizens. The state has been very inception to protect and safeguard of such fundamental rights. These rights was accepted and adopted by the citizen of the state for development of their living life. The right to life and liberty find its place in Article 3[3] of human right that speaks “everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person”.

Under Article 21 of the constitution of India interoperated the right to life and personal liberty of citizens in Maneka Gandhi’s[4] case has explain all the perception of the right to life.

For the development of human personality it is necessary to benefit the right to life and liberty. In the democratic state it id the basic human right. The right to life and personal liberty of citizen is a back-bone of the human rights. Every citizen has a right to live freely and enjoy their freedom as there fundamental right. In the state without the laws and legal rights person cannot enjoy their freedom because in the modern era the humans was not honor each other’s action and interfere in there human rights and violate them.

So to get the solution of this problems man established some certain law which was found in the constitution. The right to life and personal liberty was the most precious fundamental right among all the human rights. The reason for this when the peoples attentive towards their right to life then there life become meaningful.


[1]Protection of life and personal liberty No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.

 

Article Three of the United States Constitution establishes the judicial branch of the federal government. Under Article Three, the judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court of the United States, as well as lower courts created by Congress.

[4]1978 AIR 597, 1978 SCR (2) 621

ARE WE READY TO ADOPT THE UNIFORM CIVIL CODE?

See the source image

The Uniform Civil Code is encoded in the Article 44 of the Directive Principles of State Policy. The Article expects state to implement a common set of rules and regulations which will replace the personal laws based on the scriptures and the customs of every religion. Recently, the subjects like marriage, divorce, inheritance come under the realms of the Personal law. If we talk about the whole, the Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and the Buddhists which were governed by the Hindu personal laws has already codified by the government ages ago, in 1956. On the other hand, the personal laws of the Muslim, Christians and the Jews are still in unmodified and traditional approach. The concept of equality which was raised by various learned persons must have led to such conditions. Or could it be the orthodox of the Muslim community? In a secular country like India, there was always a need for a common code but it was only because of few Politicians and religious scholars that every attempt for such has been in vain. The reason behind this was the majority of vote bank. And the major community who will be affected by the code is the Muslim community. This is because the Hindu code was already modified and that was well adopted by the community. The right to practice religion becomes a controversial topic in Indian politics during the controversial Shah Bano case of 1985. The predictable challenges and questions that will be raised are, it will be declared unconstitutional. This is because; Freedom of religion gets into question with the right to equality. Article 14 and Article 15 will be raised as defense. “The right to conserve distinctive culture will be infringed”, Article 29. The Indian Constitution has provided he Indian citizens all the liberty that could be exercised not infringing others’ rights. This is why the people have right to religion and no one can interfere in their personal matters. In 2018, Law Commission of India stated that the UCC was “neither necessary nor desirable at this stage”. But every coin has two sides. The government must emulate Gaon practice of common civil code; they have been living under a uniform law since ages. The concept must not be understood as a common law instead it can be a uniform law which has a modified version of personal laws. For this people should not misinterpret it and not make rumors disgracing the country and the Government of India.

India is a continuously developing country and has adopted many changes in the constitution before. There have been many changes and amendments in the constitution that the country has adapted even before. Changes are necessary for the development of the nation and they are the signs of a healthy democracy. The people objecting the civil code may say that the country is trying to impose the Hindu code over all the community but it isn’t imposing it. The Hindu community has long ago gone through this phase of changing the personal laws. There were some objections but gradually the community has adopted it. So it can be said that the Hindus will not be affected by the change. Many can argue that the Indian territory consist of many religions so copying the west positivism centered legal trajectory would not be right but in order to unify the whole nation and stop the mishaps we will have to adopt the civil code. It can be argued that personal law system violates the principle of equality of the constitution because by having different personal laws for different religions, we are going against secularism and equality. But UCC would promote equality and unity as it will implement similar laws for all citizens.[1]

The time for establishment of the UCC might have come as it may help the Muslim community to break the taboos.[2]. It would be a strong step towards gender equality and gender justice. It is a mandatory provision of the constitution and if we are not ready for it after more than 70 years of independence, how much more time the people would seek?

It has been rightly pointed that UCC will not violate the Article 25 and 26 and it will help in attaining secularism and Article 44. Further, it can be argued that marriage, succession etc. are secular matters and law can regulate them. Implementing UCC will promote monogamy. It will promote a sense of equality among the citizens and betterment of the position of women in India. It will help to remove the prejudices against women regarding personal laws on marriage and maintenance.

Though, witnessing the large amount of protests against the CAA it can be concluded that the country is in a phase of sensitive minds. The people instead of thinking about the goods peacefully prefer the violent methods. Though, it can be a healthy sign of a democracy.                Even if the Uniform Civil Code cannot be implemented the government has always been implementing the laws in public interest. Gradually the people will start adapting to the codes and thus we will adapt to the Uniform Civil Code. Although, the majority government has worked wonders and taken decisions that were almost impossible. We can never guess what could be the next step taken by the government, and that too when it was mentioned in the manifesto.


[1]Nithya NR, Uniform Civil Code for India: Prospects and Constraints, Global Research Analysis Journal Vol.2

[2]Seshadri Chari RSS

What is a “Fundamental” Purchase for an impoverished background Family? – Phone or flour?

As a general public, we assume thus, uncovering a “inauspicious twofold norm,” discovers an examination distributed for the current month, Inequality in Socially Permissible Consumption.It was composed by Kate Barasz, a Harvard Business School right hand teacher, and Serena F. Hagerty, a PhD up-and-comer in the Business Administration PhD program, an inter-faculty program between the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and Harvard Business School. Hagerty and Barasz looked to show this marvel exactly and clarify its causes. In 11 investigations, they tracked down that—comparative with higher-pay workers—individuals with lower earnings were passed judgment on more brutally for what they decided to purchase, in any event, when the two gatherings made indistinguishable buyer choices.It’s an idea Hagerty and Barasz call “admissible utilization,” or what is considered socially satisfactory (or not) for others to buy. As they discover, lower-pay individuals manage the cost of a much smaller scope of “admissibility.”

Such a thought is now unavoidable in mainstream society. For example, Syrian outcasts were disgraced via web-based media subsequent to being shot with cell phones, and government organizations have criticized how lower-pay people spend help assets after catastrophic events. Indeed, even basic foods aren’t protected, Hagerty and Barasz note in the examination. As one model, they highlight an article in the parody distribution The Onion featured, “Lady A Leading Authority On What Shouldn’t Be In Poor People’s Grocery Carts.” 

This present examination’s outcomes could have suggestions for everything from social and monetary policy-making to beneficent gifts and regular relational interactions.Such a thought is as of now unavoidable in mainstream society. For example, Syrian outcasts were disgraced via online media subsequent to being shot with cell phones, and government offices have censured how lower-pay people spend help assets after cataclysmic events. Indeed, even basic foods aren’t protected, Hagerty and Barasz note in the examination. As one model, they highlight an article in the parody distribution The Onion featured, “Lady A Leading Authority On What Shouldn’t Be In Poor People’s Grocery Carts.”

As well as showing contrasts in reason-ability, Hagerty and Barasz tried to research why this happens. They found that individuals structure mental pass-ability decisions dependent on how fundamental they think the thing is for the purchaser. The more vital they saw a thing, the more admissible it is deemed.However, even “need” is dependent upon a hazardous twofold norm, as per the analysts. In another examination, members read about the Jacksons, a speculative family searching for another home. Members appraised how vital they believed an assortment of lodging credits to be for the Jacksons including a carport, a free from any danger area, inside dividers in great condition, and regular light. Of the 20 ascribes tried, 17 of them were evaluated as essentially less important for the lower-pay family.

“The hole arose for things like a reasonable floor plan, open air space, and cooling,” Hagerty says. It shows individuals do this in all cases and even with apparently essential conveniences. We appear to accept the poor have more essential fundamental requirements. There’s been a great deal of press inclusion about how broadband web, or the deficiency in that department, has harmed a ton of provincial and lower-pay Americans since they can’t take part in an online school. They’re in a real sense cut off from the world now

MG Motor

MG Motor UK Limited (MG Motor) is a British automotive company headquartered in London, United Kingdom,and a subsidiary of SAIC Motor UK, which in turn is owned by the Shanghai-based Chinese state-owned company SAIC Motor. MG Motor designs, develops and markets cars sold under the MG marque while vehicle manufacturing takes place at its factories in China and Thailand. MG Motor is the largest importer of Chinese made cars into the United Kingdom.MG Motor UK Limited New mg

#MGmotors

logo.pngTypeSubsidiaryIndustryAutomotiveFounded12 April 2006; 15 years ago Head quarters Maryle bone, London, United Kingdom Key people William Wang (managing director)Products Automobiles Brands MG (Introduced 1923)Operating income£15.7 million (2012)[1]Net income−£4 million (2012) Owner SAIC Motor Number of employees Approx. 100ParentSAIC Motor UKWebsitemg.co.uk

History:

Following the collapse of MG Rover in 2005, the Chinese automaker Nanjing Automobile acquired the Longbridge plant and the MG marque for £53 million ($97 million). Nanjing Automobile formally established NAC MG UK Limited as a holding company for the plant and marque on 12 April 2006. In March 2007, Nanjing Automobile unveiled the first MG vehicles manufactured in China, the MG TF, MG 3 and MG 7.Assembly of cars restarted at Longbridge in August 2007, with production of the MG TF LE500.In 2007, Nanjing Automobile was acquired by SAIC Motor,and in early 2009 NAC MG UK Limited was renamed MG Motor UK Limited.The first all-new MG-branded model for 16 years, the MG 6, was officially launched on 26 June 2011 during a visit to MG Motor’s Longbridge plant by Chinese premier Wen Jiabao.By March 2012, SAIC had invested a total of £450 million in MG Motor. Sales in the UK totalled 782 vehicles in 2012.The MG3 went on sale in the United Kingdom in September 2013.MG Motor was voted third place for the ‘Best Manufacturer’ category in the Auto Express 2014 Driver Power survey. 2014 also saw MG Motor celebrate the MG brand’s 90th birthday.

They enjoyed further celebrations with a record-breaking year that saw the company lead UK car industry growth in 2014. The brand’s sales rose by 361% during 2014 part thanks to the introduction of the MG3 to the product range, with a total of 2,326 cars sold in the UK.During 2014, MG was the fastest-growing brand in Britain as shown by official figures issued by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Currently, MG Motor has the fastest-growing network of dealers in the UK.On 23 September 2016 MG Motor announced that all car production had ceased at Longbridge and henceforth MG vehicles would be imported into the UK.in 2018, SAIC Design opened a new advanced design studio in London, which deals with the advanced design of MG and Roewe vehicles.In May 2019, the company unveiled a badge engineered version of Baojun 530 SUV as MG Hector

Deep thoughts

Even if there is none to come far
Even if the night misses the moon
You nurtured a flower
Yearning for someone’s arrival
Like an anonymous flower immersed
In the fog of memories
Did you wake up to a dawn filled with golden rays?
Did it see the tears rolling down your cheeks
Without caressing you
On that path
Did it go far away?
Did it go far away?
Neither in your thoughts, nor in your dreams
Were visited
By the lonely butterfly
Did you spend sleepless nights
Swimming in an ocean of darkness
Without anyone’s notice?
Those long shadows dominated
The valley of sorrows
Dreams got melted down
Like a burning candle
The petals started falling again
And the breeze wandered aimlessly
As the moments flew by without promising a return
Are we left without any chance to meet again?
Are we left without any chance to meet again?

Butterfly

It took me a lot of trouble to become such beautiful!! Wear your pain as your pride!! – Butterfly

Never stop dreaming, Never stop chasing your dreams. Remember you are a treasure and one can never find a treasure that easily. Find yourself, Love yourself cause self is the one wolf that is not cunning in this world. Never show your pain to this world, Wear the pain as your Pride just like a butterfly.. Fly high and lead a colourful life!!

Mckinsey career progression

by Chirag Sharma on June 25

Mckinsey & company is a global management consulting firm with a revenue of $10.9 billion (as of 2019). It assists Leading Businesses, Governments and Non-government organisations. It is the largest and most prestigious of the ‘Big Three’ management consultancies (MBB), the world’s three largest strategy consulting firms by revenue. This is the result of their early and continuing success in upholding extremely high standards. Anybody aiming towards consulting and getting to join Mckinsey is a dream come true for them. 

Traditional progression at Mckinsey from bottom to top is-

1.Analyst                                                        2.Associate                                       3.Engagement manager 4.Associate partner                                      5.Partner

Every firm has a different name for the same type of role, the difference is merely in naming. In most consulting firms moving from one position to another takes 2 to 3 years. In Mckinsey, it normally takes two years. 

Responsibilities at each level

1.Analyst (McK & ATK) / Associate (BCG & Bain)                                    Undergrads enter the firm at this level. They handle smaller work fields like— gathering data/information, analysing it and delivering it via presentation and support their senior consultants. They are guided by Associates and managers. 

2. Associate (McK & ATK)/consultant (BCG & Bain)                                  MBA grads enter the firm at this level. They own a functional area of a project. They oversee the work of analysts and develop the project deliverables of their specific stream. From the associate level, consultants interview candidates. 

3. Engagement manager (McK)/case team manager (BCG)/manager( Bain)/project manager (ATK)                    They are responsible for planning, executing and delivering a project. Their work includes leading teams, coordinating with all project stakeholders (clients) and resolving issues. They are expected to participate in internal events and assist business development opportunities. 

4.Associate partner(McK)/junior partner(Bain)/principal(BCG & ATK) They are in charge of selling projects to clients. They own the project delivery and manage numerous projects at once. 

5.Partner                           They are less involved in the everyday execution of a project. Their main focus is on high-level strategy. A big part of their work is dedicated to selling consulting assignments to both existing and new partners. 

Salary of consultants at Mckinsey 

The salary of consultants depends on various factors such as— their job location, the firm they are working with and the post they are working on. 

In a huge firm like Mckinsey pay starts a little bit lower and then rises beyond the level of BCG. 

Salary at Mckinsey in the USA 

At the undergraduate level – The base salary is $83000 plus a performance bonus of $ 18000 max plus a signing bonus of $5000 plus relocation assistance up to $10000.

At MBA level and for experienced candidates – The base salary is $152500 with a performance bonus of $35000 max plus a signing bonus of $25000 plus relocation assistance up to $9000. 

Salary at Mckinsey in Europe

At the undergraduate level, the base salary is € 50000 plus a bonus ranging from €1000 to €2000.                                  At the Masters level, the base salary is €70000 plus a bonus of €12000 plus a company car. ( Mckinsey company car policy is not that great. ).  At the MBA or PhD level, the base salary is €105000 plus a bonus of €20000 plus a company car. 

Salary at McKinsey compared to a bit lower firms in terms of revenue 

In firms like Roland Berger and Simon Kucher & partner, the starting salary at the undergraduate level may be higher than that of the Mckinsey but at higher levels, Mckinsey has impressive salaries to offer.                                            In Europe, Roland Berger offers a base salary of €58000 to an undergraduate with up to a 10% bonus. At the MBA level, it offers a base salary of €80000 plus a bonus of 15% plus a company car. ( Roland Berger has the best company car policy in the industry ). Whereas Simon Kucher offers a base salary of €45000 to undergraduates with a bonus which ranges from 5 to 10 per cent. At the MBA level, it offers a base salary of €65000 with a bonus of 15% and no company car is provided.    There is no actual data of the salary provided by these companies in the US. This may be because Roland Berger and Simon Kucher do not have a strong foothold in the USA. 

(NOTE: This salary data is of 2019 and  data of salary in Europe is verified but the data of salary in the US is taken from Google and isn’t verified.)  

Salaries at Partner level 

At the level of Junior Partner/ associate partner salaries can range from $500000 to $ 1 million ( it varies a lot). At the level of Senior Partner or Partner, salary can range from 1 million dollars to 5 million dollars. At the partner level bonus varies a lot which makes the salary bracket at this level much bigger. For instance, the base salary at the partner level range from $200K to $500K, depends you are a senior or junior but the bonus can range from $200K to $ 5 million. This bonus relies on various factors such as –                                        • How much business a partner brings in.           • company’s performance and the role he played.                                                      • His/Her contribution to the firm like in the events, programmes etc.       

In the end, salaries provided by the firms at the undergraduate level doesn’t matter, what matters is that, either the firm is providing you with a long term benefit or not. Though salary is an important aspect of a job, people should also look at other aspects such as work-life balance, the lifestyle it offers and the work culture of the company. At last, it’s about what kind of life you want to make out of that job.  Mckinsey has achieved higher scores in areas of — overall rating, career opportunities, compensation & benefits, senior management, culture & values, CEO approval and positive business outlook but some firms offer better work-life balance than Mckinsey. There is no doubt Mckinsey is one of the most well-recognised brands in the world and having Mckinsey name on your resume is all someone would want.  

Frequently asked questions 

Q1. Is it faster to make it to the partner or director level at MBB?         Ans- It depends on various factors:        1. Unwavering focus & commitment        2. Your clear expertise and client network           3. Team fellowship I.e. junior people are eager to work with & for you            4. Solid channel of work and this will happen depending upon geography, demand, economy etc.                                 If you get it all right it will roughly take you 12-15 years from analyst to partner at MBB. 

Q2. What’s better for my future consulting career: masters or MBA?            Ans- There are three options after someone completes his/her bachelors –            1. Go for masters and then consulting and potentially an MBA later                                  2.Go for consulting work experience and then do an MBA and continue consulting       3. Go for a non-consulting work experience and then do an MBA   option 1 can be a great option. You can do a MIM in strategy management from a reputed university and then can apply for the consulting firms and if in future you would want to do an MBA then usually the firm you are working with will bear your expenses. Option 2 can be a bit challenging as it is very difficult to get a job in consulting after my bachelors and without prior work experience but it’s not impossible. you can try for the job if you get it you are good to go if not you can opt for masters. Option 3, however, makes it more difficult for you to join a consulting firm, as there are fewer openings for MBA’s compared to new graduates and only for top selected MBA. The cost of an MBA is also much higher than that of Masters ( like MIM or MSc in management). 

Q3. Does Mckinsey offer internships? Ans- yes Mckinsey do offer internships. There are a business analyst and associate internships among others. For those who are currently pursuing a degree. The typical timing for internships at Mckinsey is 10 weeks in summer and there are also opportunities to intern for fewer weeks during spring or fall. This timing varies around the world and based on your position as well as your current background. Interns work on a client engagement as a full member of the Mckinsey team.

Supremacy of English

In India, English is considered to be the language which gives your intelligence a justification. People should learn the language because of their interest, not because the verification you get from the society. The language is accepted world wide and have become very popular. The mother language of India is Hindi. It is a matter of great pride and honor of having our mother tongue language as in Hindi. Due to the influence of international culture, People of India tries to adapt their way of lifestyle. The languages are made to make the communication easier in between different people. It creates a connection and makes communication smoother.

Supremacy of English is reaching to its peak. People judge others from the accent they talk in, whether they do any grammatical mistake while speaking or they are fluent in speaking the language or not. The parameters to judge any individual on the basis of any language is not appropriate. Their Intelligence Quotient (IQ) level depends upon their brain and memory power. Society has set some of their own rules which are not accepted by everyone in it. It will be hard to remove the hypocrisy of the society. It is your personal life; you can decide whether you want to learn the language or not. Life will take lots of up and down but the flow should never break it.

 

Article by UNNATI ANAND

HOW TO ENJOY QUARANTINE

UNNATI ANAND

The present scenario, across the globe, is not at all appeasing. All of us are going through the most unexpected phases of our lives due to this global pandemic (COVID-19). Everyone is bound to stay in self quarantine in order to fight this situation and eradicate the virus. All the news channels and social media are consistently putting forward the updates of COVID-19 and hence we all are well acquainted with the statistics of positive cases of corona and deaths caused by it all over the world. There is indeed an universal widespread pessimism and hence there is necessity to spread pragmatic vibes. So, instead of getting caught by boredom and frustration we should think forward to utilize and enjoy this quarantine and make count. And hence, there is just need to emphasize on the second side of the coin.

In the midst of all these chaos, there are also some useful and incredible opportunities. These are; to look inwards and connect with ourselves, to discover some hidden aspects of our lives, to spend time with our families, and to do those things which we were unable to do earlier because of various reasons and mostly because of our busy lifestyles. If we will think positively, there are many ways by which we can make our quarantine interesting. Among several ways to enjoy this quarantine, the first and foremost is to relax as much as we can. During the engrossment in our daily lives, we urged to relax, but we were unable; hence this is the time when we can completely rest and set our mind free from all sorts of worries. We can fulfill all our left over hobbies; be it singing, dancing, painting, cooking, sewing, knitting, writing, reading, gardening, playing indoor games, learning instruments and many more which usually used to get neglected due to lack of pertinent time. So, this is the chance when we can do yoga and exercises, follow a balanced diet and stick to a perfectly healthy routine. The students have got a splendid opportunity to focus on their studies and gain more and more knowledge so as to leave their competitors behind. All the working people have got a golden chance to spend maximum time with their family members and relax. For all the senior citizens, it is a good time as they can cherish the company of their younger generations which used to be very rare in usual days.

And the most important fact is that in this era of social media, how can our lives get boring and futile? We can either silently enjoy things over there or we can even be a part of that. To site an example, I’m mentioning, nowadays different types of challenges and tasks are being viral on Instagram and Facebook, also many creative videos related to various aspects are being uploaded. Hence, social sites are the best cure to boredom and as well as can prove to be an auspicious platform for innovative and creative minds. People, these days, are creating their pages on social networking sites and gaining benefits by fulfilling their creative hobbies there; such as making memes and jokes, sharing new recipes and displaying other types of art and crafts and talents. If I talk about myself, I remain busy in this quarantine too. What I personally think is a person can do uncountable stuffs to keep oneself engaged. These days my family has chosen one of the best ways of recreation i.e. indoor games like cards’ game and board games (ludo, chess, carrom). And thus we don’t get time to get bored. We have also tried some activities which we never thought we could do; like I became my mother’s beautician and my brother performed barber’s job for my father. These are some of those rare memories which we will cherish forever. If a person opts to do all his/her desirable works then definitely 24 hours will also seems to be very less.

Of course, this situation is not favorable but it’s not worst as well. Although people are getting infected, losing lives, confined in their houses; the whole nation is locked down and daily lives has come to a standstill but still there should be a constant ray of hope for betterment. And the best we can do is to be sanguine and spread optimism. Because this mayhem is somehow the period where we can nourish our relationships with love and warmth, charge our mind and soul and gain more enlightenment. This is the time to grasp many lessons of life and gain enough strength and patience to deal with hardships. We should try to spend our quarantine in such manner that once it’s over we could be able to restart our normal lives with new zeal filled with heartening vibrance.

Here and now conclude my views by appealing to all that, stay home stay safe, spread love and happiness, be positive and make your quarantine interesting and worth; because maybe someday in future we gonna miss these days. So, make this nothingness productive and memorable.