The Crescendo May Edition

THE ECONOMY STANDS ON COHESION CRESCENDO COVID-19 Agrarian Vaccine? Crisis Is it here? Hot Take! Oil Crisis: Liquor Matters?! explained! ENTREPRENEUR OF THE MONTH JULIA CHEEK ISSUE# II // VOLUME 1 // MAY 2020

THFROM EDITOR

EDITOR'S NOTE I have always loved magazines. I read the articles, stared at the photos and studied how text and image combined to create in my imagination stories, people and news events. I noticed the headlines and white space and typography, and savored the whole experience found in those pages that carried me into the wider world. It was different from TV and the movies, different from books. The right mix of edification and entertainment. The right depth of intellectual engagement. The right amount of time sitting still. Pictures that could speak a thousand words, pictures that could say what words could not. All of us here at The Crescendo have this same affection for the print media, the value of good writing, the matching of art and text. Typography, heart, wisdom and thought laid out onto the pages of a magazine. I am here to promise that every month we'll be pulling together bundle of stories from all around the world in the space of economics and entrepreneurship. It's also fulfilling as this institute allows us to cover and convey the range and richness. the spectrum of human experience that India embraces. ~ Navneet Shah Editor, The Crescendo ED Cell MNIT Jaipur

06 ENTREPRENUERIAL TIMES by Shruti Gupta EUSSI SIHT NI 08 OIL CRISIS: EXPLAINED by Adamya Kaushik 10 FINMIN'S RESPONSE TO FORCE by Sadhya Singh 12 TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS by Shreeansh Agarwal 14 ENTREPRENEUR OF THE MONTH by Shruti Gupta 16 LIQUOR MATTERS?! by Preeti 18 THE FALL OF TOURISM AMID COVID - 19 by Shreeansh Agrawal 21 A LITTLE BIRD, SHAKES UP TESLA by Sadhya Singh VIZAG GAS TRAGEDY 22 by Adamya Kaushik

24 A GUIDE TO STOCK MARKETING by Anish Singh 26 INDIA'S NEW FDI RULES ODNECSERC EHT by Gaurav Luhariwala 28 AGRARIAN CRISIS by Gaurav Luhariwala 30 COVID - 19 VACCINE by Shruti Gupta 32 GLOBALISATION: DEAD/ALIVE by Preeti 36 IS AAROGYA SETU APP SAFE? by Navneet Shah 38 TOOL TO TUNE SEO by Aryan Srivastava 40 VINCE & WINCE by Aryan Srivastava 42 LET'S SOLVE EM! by Navneet Shah

PAGE 06 THE CRESCENDO ISSUE #2 ENTREPRENUERIAL TIMES SAUDI, AMERICAN FIRMS EYE STAKES IN RELIANCE'S JIO: Three deals in three weeks injected a combined $8 billion in the group and help it pare its debt. Two more firms are eyeing a share of Reliance industries Ltd's $65 billion digital unit Jio Platforms, according to Bloomberg news. US private equity firm General Atlantic is considering investing about $850 million to $950 million in the Mumbai-based company, a Bloomberg report said. The deal could be completed as soon as this month, though no agreement has been finalized and plans may change, it added. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund(PIF) is also Facebook recently considering to buy a minority stake in Jio. bought a heavy stake of Hours earlier on Friday, Reliance Industries 9.99% in JIO for a announced a $1.5 billion stake sale in Jio to Vista whopping 43, 574 Crores Equity Partners, the third deal in just over two weeks. INR UN ECONOMIC EXPERTS HAIL INDIA'S 'IMPRESSIVE' STIMULUS PACKAGE TO REVIVE ECONOMY HIT BY CORONAVIRUS Top UN economic experts have hailed as 20000 “impressive” the Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package, the largest so far among developing countries, announced by India to revive the country's economy, which has been severely hit 00000 by the coronavirus-triggered lockdown. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced massive new financial incentives on top of the previously announced packages for a combined stimulus of Rs 20 lakh crore ($260 0000 billion). While launching the World Economic Situation and Prospect (WESP) report update on Wednesday, Chief of the Global Economic INR Monitoring Branch Hamid Rashid told reporters in response to a question that the stimulus package announced by the Indian government on Tuesday “is a very welcome development.”

PAGE 07 THE CRESCENDO ISSUE #2 CUT IN EMPLOYER'S EPF CONTRIBUTION MAY MEAN NET LOSS FOR THE EMPLOYEES: TThe government has reduced both employer BAD and employee contribution to the latter's EPF NE ?? account from 12% of employee's salary to 10% WS for next 3 months as part of coronavirus relief measures. Thus, employers will save money due to the 2% reduction in their contribution to EPF. As per the finance minister announcement: \" Business need support to ramp up production over the next quarter. It is necessary to provide more take home salary to employees and also give relief to employers in payment of Provident Fund dues.\" This appears to indicate that the reduction in EPF contribution by the employer is not meant to be transferred/added to the take home salaries of the employees because if this were to happen then there would be no net 'relief' for the employer organizations. However, the final word on the above will be known only once the notification clarifying this step in legal terms is issued. INDIA NEEDS TO FIRE MORE BULLETS NOW, AIM LATER! HOW BIG INDIA'S ANTI-VIRAL PACKAGE, AND HOW EFFECTIVE WILL IT BE? The flashy $265 billion figure Prime Minister Narendra \"ये सकं ट इतना बड़ा ह,ै Modi announced in his televised address on Tuesday क बड़ी से बड़ी व ाएं हल wasn't all new spending. It includes the $22.5 billion of fiscal support- mainly cash payment for the poor- गई ह। announced in March as the country was entering total ले कन इ ह प र तय म lockdown. The central bank's funding-for-lending and other liquidity measures have also been counted to pad हमने, the headline number. देश ने हमारे गरीब भाई-बहन क संघष-श , All told, Modi's coronavirus package adds up to 10% of उनक सयं म-श का भी India's gross domestic product. Roughly half of it is already in the rear view mirror, while victory over the pandemic दशन कया ह\"ै and a full reopening of the economy remain elusive. : Another $10 billion would be government guaranteed credit to small firms. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman PM @NARENDRAMODI rolled out Wednesday. Add the $12 billion she promised for power utilities to clear their bills to producers, and it appears that India is trying to relate a shrinking $2.7 billion economy with only $62 billion in freshly committed resources. This could yet double, as roughly a quarter of Modi's package is still to be unveiled. More steps are on their way, the finance minister said.

PAGE 08 THE CRESCENDO ISSUE #2 OIL CRISIS explained The current times are extremely tough for any considered sector of society. One of the hardest hits is on the economy. Transactions of almost all commodities have been destroyed, to put it subtly, except a countable few which are medical, food related etc. Transport and commute industries are among the worst, which has exacerbated the market for already over- supplied “black gold”. The crude oil market has already been weak for the last year with an excess supply and declined demand. The prices already hovered at descendo. Tensions between Saudi Arabia and Russia made it worse. The spread of this pandemic just initiated the downfall. The Free Fall (The prices mentioned correspond to one barrel of crude oil for the May contracts) West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is traded on a monthly-contract basis. On 20 april, At 7 AM, the prices for the benchmark WTI was down by 28% standing at a mere $13.07. By 10 AM, the price reached $11. In the next 20 minutes, the world saw one of the biggest falls in the international market with WTI closing at a trading price of -$37.63 after a small recovery from -$40.32. Even the june contracts plunged to lower than $10 by the end of april. Even Brent futures, which is another type of oil, sourced to Russia, Middle eastern and West African countries reached a 20 year low with price at $15.98. India is one of the biggest consumers of Brent futures. What Caused It? This is pretty basic to understand. The crude oil was already facing an excess of supply, and almost-global lockdown like conditions had a huge impact on oil consumption which meant excess oil in the storage.

PAGE 09 THE CRESCENDO ISSUE #2 In the march-april period, the storage capacity of the WTI was almost ?aidnI rof 80% occupied making it tough to store it further, which made the oil a liability which consumes resources (storage in this case) with no output. Thus anyone willing to take it off their responsibility will receive the trading price as incentive. India is the third largest oil importer and third largest energy consumer as well. As mentioned, India imports Brent oil which is trading at a 20 years low. We can use the current stock to fill up our future reserves, thus avoiding the extra expense in the future. Currently our Strategic Petroleum Reserves holds 87 days of supply through 65 refineries and underground salt caverns managed by ISPRL. Without proper storage strategy excess importing now will only contribute to the farrago. There is a serious lack of transparency in the working of refineries, which are mostly public-owned companies. Utilization for oil in India always sees a slump. How Is This An opport unity The general trends show us enough evidence of economies over performing, for around a couple of Post years, in post catastrophe situations. Such a rise is Lock powered by production, processing, transactions the Down whole process is literally fueled by crude oil. The demand ought to show a rise but there should of course be conscious decisions from the producers. In Fact a rise is already observable with Brent futures topping at $30 and US benchmark rising to double of the previous sub $10 price. This is a result of supply break which, though lately, was implemented and consistently regulated by OPEC countries. Though it is not all very cheery because the market is still expected to remain oversupplied for the weeks to come. India has filled 32 mn tonnes of commercial oil storage amidst the low prices.

PAGE 10 THE CRESCENDO ISSUE #2 On April 23rd, a team consisting of 50 IRS officers had submitted a recommendation paper to the Central Board of Direct Tax, on behalf of the Indian Revenue Services Association. The paper, titled “Fiscal Options & Response to the COVID-19 Epidemic (FORCE),” has put forth fiscal measures to help revive the economy from the adverse impact of the novel coronavirus. FINMIN'S RESPONSE TO FORCE: Permanent Dismissal or Delayed Consideration? The paper noted that the super rich have a higher moral obligation towards ensuring the larger public good, and hence most of the key suggestions revolved around the introduction or reintroduction of certain taxes on taxpayers above a certain income threshold. These include raising the rate of income tax to 40% from the existing 30% on those with an annual income exceeding ₹1 crore, the reimposition of wealth tax on people with a minimum net wealth of ₹5 crore. From those with a taxable annual income higher than ₹10 lakh, the paper proposed to levy a one-time covid relief cess of 4%.It also proposed a three-year tax exemption for all corporate and businesses in the healthcare sector, and facilitation of direct cash transfer of ₹5,000 for the poor.

PAGE 11 THE CRESCENDO ISSUE #2 A tweet by the IRSA reads, “The paper FORCE by 50 young IRS officers suggesting policy measures had been forwarded by IRSA to CBDT for consideration. It does not purport to represent the official views of the entire IRS, or the IT Dept.” On April 27th, the CBDT issued three charge sheets against the senior officers involved in the drafting of the report which clearly indicate that the report was not well received by the Finance Ministry. Despite the Ministry’s early objection to the provisions of the report per se, it remains a popular opinion held by economists that the possibility of the wealthier sections of the country to have to bear an increased tax liability cannot be stricken off of the list entirely. The ongoing country-wide lockdown has congested most of the major trails of revenue influx for the country and this impact has been doubled by the burgeoning expenditure to resist and contain the outbreak. The government is hence strongly driven to devise and employ both regular and imaginative policies to resuscitate the economic machinery of the country which has already been illustrated by the recent hiking of excise duties and the enforcement of an elevated tax on alcohol and fuels. Collection of higher tax percentages from the upper economic classes is not completely an unorthodox step either, having proved its effectiveness in ensuring uninterrupted access to basic necessities for everyone in countries like Belgium, Sweden, Japan, Denmark, France and the Netherlands. In the times of crisis, it often becomes necessary to venture into unfamiliar grounds to look for measures of defense. As the virus continues to contribute to the rising economic unrest in the country, a higher tax liability starts to look less and less distant into the future.

Tragedy Comomf ons • CONCEPT • THE TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS IS AN ECONOMIC PROBLEM IN WHICH EVERY INDIVIDUAL HAS AN INCENTIVE TO CONSUME A RESOURCE AT THE EXPENSE OF EVERY OTHER INDIVIDUAL WITH NO WAY TO EXCLUDE ANYONE FROM CONSUMING. IT RESULTS IN OVERCONSUMPTION WHICH LEADS TO DEPLETION OF THE RESOURCE. AS THE DEMAND FOR THE RESOURCE OVERWHELMS THE SUPPLY, EVERY INDIVIDUAL WHO CONSUMES AN ADDITIONAL UNIT DIRECTLY HARMS OTHERS WHO CAN NO LONGER ENJOY THE BENEFITS. GENERALLY, THE RESOURCE OF INTEREST IS EASILY AVAILABLE TO ALL INDIVIDUALS; THE TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS OCCURS WHEN INDIVIDUALS NEGLECT THE WELL-BEING OF SOCIETY IN THE PURSUIT OF PERSONAL GAIN.

PAGE 13 THE CRESCENDO ISSUE #2 • Why is it relevant now? • In the times of COVID-19 pandemic, what is the need to discuss about this concept? To understand this lets go back in time when it all just started. When we all were about to go under quarantines and lockdown; there was a sudden panic among the people. Many started stockpiling necessary stuff like flour, sanitizers, face masks, packed food items, etc. Its peak was seen in the United States of America where the supermarkets went empty and people witnessed the shortage of the most basic utility: the toilet paper.In India there was news of the shortage of hand sanitizers. Some people also hoarded large quantities of necessary items and later on sold them at higher prices and others having no choice had to buy them at those rates. • The Difference between Stockpiling and Self-preserving • People argue they were buying stuff in large quantities just for their families and to think about their families before anyone else in this difficult time is not wrong. Thinking about our families before anyone else is not wrong but the real question is what is the need to hoard the basic utilities when the government ensured that there will not be any shortage of them? What people were and are doing is not self-preserving; it is stockpiling. In the name of Self-preserving people are buying sacks of flours and kilos of cereals and pulses which will last up to more than 2-3 months for their families but what they are not thinking is that it could have fed other 10 families for 3-4 weeks who are now unable to buy them or are doing so at higher price. • The economic angle and the Interference of the government • Shopkeepers thought of earning profits from it. Many started charging more than the regular prices for the items until the government interfered. Government interfered by restricted the quantity and fixed the prices of the basic utilities. It was a necessary step but what government did was against the market forces of supply and demand. India like any other country in the modern world do not offer complete free market so this act of government was not unlawful but fires the age old topic of debate that what is more important public welfare or economic freedom.

PAGE 14 THE CRESCENDO ISSUE #2 ENTREPRENEUR OF THE MONTH Founder & CEO EverlyWell EverlyWell Networth: $55MIL. Awarded by: TechCrunch, Rock Health, Inc. Landed largest Shark Tank deal, For a Female Entrepreneur

PAGE 15 THE CRESCENDO ISSUE #2 \"Our mission since the Total Net Worth: beginning has been about 55 Million Dollars access to affordable, easy lab testing. We work with \"While we customize with our lab partners, certified labs and a we didn't create new virtual physician tests or technologies. network to provide that testing in a home-kit Instead, we've built technology that experience.\" - Julia Cheek empowers people to get tests more easily.\" - Julia Cheek Julia Taylor Cheek is an American entrepreneur based in Austin, Texas. She is the founder and chief executive officer of EverlyWell, a direct-to-consumer health testing company. Cheek graduated summa cum laude from Vanderbilt University in 2005, where she studied economics and psychology. She later went on to attend Harvard Business School, graduating with a Master of Business Administration. She began her career as a consultant at Deloitte Consulting in July 2006. Cheek performed analysis, created and implemented executive recommendations, and developed high-level client relationships. In July 2011, she was the Director of Strategy and Operations at the George W. Bush Presidential Centre. In March 2013, Cheek joined MoneyGram as Vice President of Corporate strategy. In February 2016, she joined NextGen Venture Partners as a partner.

PAGE 16 THE CRESCENDO ISSUE #2 Liquor Matters?! After the ease in restrictions in the third phase of the national lockdown, alcohol stores, closed nationwide on March 25, were allowed to re-open owing to the current economic slump. Chief Ministers of different states of India approached the Union Minister to seek permissions for the same since roughly one-fifth of most state government budgets are funded by liquor manufacture and sales. the tax to control the demand however in the current situation it is hardly affecting anyone, the demand is still high.The revenue from the hike is simply a golden chance for the state governments which have been affected bitterly due to lockdown. What the government is ignoring is that every hike in the price of alcohol leads to a reduction in the household income of the poor and middle class which eventually becomes a cut in the nutritional level of the children and denial to health care. HOT At a time when the states are trying to fill back their treasury after a month long shutdown, the liquor sale opens with announcements of hikes in prices. The Delhi government announced a 70% hike in liquor prices, followed by 75% in Andhra Pradesh, 30% in West Bengal and 10% in Rajasthan. The price hikes had absolutely no effect on the alarmingly high sales with Tamil Nadu recording whopping INR 170 Cr revenue on relaxation day one breaking all past single day records. The sales also boosted the low on revenue, the epicenter of Corona, Maharashtra’s revenue bags with INR 150 Cr in four days. Liquor shops everywhere have seen unprecedented long queues and crowds at public places making a mockery of the social distancing norms which could cause another wave of social transmission of Corona in various parts of the country. So, halfway through, do you think, LIQUOR MATTERS?!!

As we head to the end of lockdown, the economy has to resume. Consumption is crucial to kick start an economy as it will lead to an increase in demand which would be an incentive that will boost the companies to manufacture more goods that means firms will hire more people or at least will not lay off the employees.  Due to lockdown, many people have lost their jobs and many have only received a partial income thus people have little money in their hands which must be spent on essential commodities. Government’s dependence on alcohol is as unhealthy as it's addiction although it creates a lot of revenue for the government, it is simply a lazy way of finding revenue sources because asking a daily wage worker to pay 75% more is cruel plus the argument that it is to discourage people from drinking is absurd, habitual drinkers will choose alcohol over everything else, we have seen those photos of people standing in long queues flouting social distancing rules. This hike will simply empty the pockets of the poor and middle class which comprise the majority of the drinking population. TAKE Other policy changes like cutting taxes, increasing foreign investment will take time to show any noticeable change, these might help in the long run but currently, the healthy and efficient way to boost consumption is giving relief packages in the form of direct cash, transferred to poor households but if the poor choose to spend that money on alcohol the government is indirectly increasing consumer spending but on the wrong commodity that can have some serious consequences, inflation is one of them. The price of commodities is increasing; inflation is on its way. Government’s armory of weapons like fiscal and monetary policy is not going to be that effective because this inflation is due to a Pandemic lockdown and not very natural.  The government needs to give direct money in people's hands so that they can spend; now the government has that kind of money or not is debatable.  Charging 75% on liquor is a terrific way to boost government revenue but alcohol does more harm than it does any good, huge money involved in it, In fact, the liquor lobby in India is so strong that it demanded that States allow the sale of alcohol amid this crisis. The huge revenue collected will not go straight to health care and relief packages because the government has numerous other expenditures like paying salaries, interest payment, purchase of goods, and public investment. The Liquor revenue alone is not going to restart the economy also this hike looks like a temporary step, it should get back to normal in a couple of weeks with a slight upswing in the original price.

PAGE 18 THE CRESCENDO ISSUE #2 THE FALL OF TOURISM INDUSTRY AMID COVID-19 Since the outbreak of COVID-19 virus, governments all over the world have enforced lockdowns, travel bans and sealing of borders, severely restricting international as well as domestic flights. Owing to these necessary measures, the travel and tourism industry has been the worst affected. This is a devastating blow since the travel and tourism industry accounts for about 10% of world’s GDP and jobs. IMPACT ON INDIAN TOURISM INDUSTRY India is among the fastest emerging tourist destinations in the world.Travel and tourism is one of the largest industries in India, with a total contribution of over 247 billion U.S. dollars to the country’s GDP in 2018.   India attracted 10.5 million foreign visitors last year; 5 million NRIs travelled back home to be with family and friends; 1.8 billion Indians travelled within the country for holidays, pleasure and leisure; 26 million Indians travelled overseas for tourism. But the onset and spread of the coronavirus has not only stopped this growth but has reversed it.The Indian tourism industry is projected to book a revenue loss of Rs 1.25 trillion in 2020 as a consequence of the shutdown of hotels and suspension in flight operations due to Covid-19. FUTURE TRENDS The following are some future trends which we may witness after the pandemic which are unfortunately not hopeful for the tourism industry: Some countries like Italy, Spain, and France etc. which are tourist hotspots and were among the worst affected might not be able to attract tourists in the near future. It is expected that big sporting and cultural events are likely to be postponed or cancelled, thus reducing mass travel. In light of the quick spread of the pandemic and wariness towards foreign nationals, governments may choose to revise student-visa and immigration policies which may further limit international travel. Popularization of online platforms will result in decline in travel for business purposes.

PAGE 19 THE CRESCENDO ISSUE #2 2020 FORECAST - INTERNATIONAL TOURISM RECEIPTS, WORLD (US$ BILLION-REAL CHANGE IN PERCENTAGE) According to the experts around 50 million jobs in travel and tourism industry are at risk due the COVID-19 virus around the globe.

PAGE 20 THE CRESCENDO ISSUE #2 Some SOME STATS “According to research carried out for the new report, as of April 6, 96% of all worldwide destinations stats of has introduced travel restrictions in response to the pandemic\" UNWTO said. Based on the latest developments (quarantine measures, travel bans & impact border closures in most of Europe), the evolutions in Asia and the Pacific and the patterns of previous crises (2003 SARS and 2009 global on economic crisis), UNWTO estimates international tourist arrivals could decline by 20% to 30% in 2020. This would translate into a loss of 300 to 450 US$ billion in travel international tourism receipts (exports) – almost one third of the US$ 1.5 trillion generated globally in the worst-case scenario industry As per experts, around 50 million jobs in travel and tourism industry are at risk due the pandemic around the globe. “According to research carried out for the new report, as of April 6, 96% of all worldwide destinations has introduced travel restrictions in response to the pandemic. Around 90 destinations have completely or partially closed their borders to tourists, while a further 44 are closed to certain tourists depending on country of origin,\" ~UNWTO said.

PAGE 21 THE CRESCENDO ISSUE #2 A Little Birdie Shakes Up Tesla again! On the morning of May 11th, Elon Musk took to twitter and tweeted that “Tesla stock price is too high imo.” “imo” is shorthand for “in my opinion.” What immediately followed was a deep plunge in Tesla’s stock price. By noon, the stock price was down by over 11%. In total, the tweet cost Tesla about $14 billion and Musk himself $3 billion. This might just be marking the beginning to another turbulent ride for him. This would not be the first time he let twitter cash in on him, with his 2018 antic costing both Tesla and him about $20 billion each. He had tweeted about possibly having arranged for funding to take Tesla off the stock market and privatise it at about $420 a stock, which obviously led to a series of quakes in share prices. The Securities and Exchange Commission condemned his callousness. He was fined and Tesla was commanded to ensure that something like this does not happen again.

PAGE 22 THE CRESCENDO ISSUE #2 VIZAG GAS TRAGEDY! The morning of 7 May saw suffocation, air out of breath and life under threat from invisible mass weighing us all down. The sad part is that these lines do not symbolize. This is exactly what happened in a relatively distant (fortunately) Visakhapatnam neighborhood with styrene leakage from LG polymers factory. The affected area houses thousands of people disrupting some villages and minor neighborhoods drastically. The unfortunate incident claimed 11 lives within hours, the final figures have not been released, as of now but more than 1000 have been said to fall ill. According to a report from King George’s hospital which saw a surge with 306 patients, 10 have already recovered with the rest under treatment. The figures mentioned have the sole intention to establish factual grounds. Figures tend to undermine the seriousness of such issues and the effect and devastation caused are underplayed because of figures. The truth is that lives were affected, long term and short term, people have died, livelihoods have been destroyed and neighborhoods and villages are demolished. This incident brought back the horrors of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy. Which by official figures claimed 4000 lives and affected around a million lives? Not only this, the area is still facing the consequences socially, economically and by health factors. Not just the city or the state but the disaster still scars the nation even after 36 years. Economical Political Impact on the economy is immense in a On paper, the cases were all settled post-catastrophic scenario. The hit is not by 2010 but satisfaction and justice uni-dimensional hence there is no one way lacks even now. There are constant to look at it or assess the stress on the cases of rehabilitation funds economy. One direct factor is considering vanishing or being used in other the aid and rehabilitation funds. We may portfolios and people are still add in other expenditures and losses and at suffering even after 36 years. last market losses to the company and due This is the saddest part of to loss of trust. After that, there comes a catastrophic affairs. The people possibility of relocation of industry. Now under pressure are crushed by trying to give a number to such losses is those under power, exploited for not very viable and too complicated. And benefits, and ignored. The reality is trying to give it the time and resources it sad and hitting but it is what it is. requires, the numbers are inaccurate at And you can’t be sure of justice best being delivered when you are The cry for help is still very much audible; punished for crime by someone it's just layered and too politicized now. else. The money has still not reached the masses and 4 billion rupees have already been spent.

PAGE 23 THE CRESCENDO ISSUE #2 Social: We are going to cover a wide spectrum under the garb of social impacts we will divide them into immediate and long term. The numbers of deaths registered 1000+ affected 11 Dead at 4000 are optimistic figures with some Environmental estimates predicting double the figures. There was of course suddenly an The number of lives impacted is a figure I alarmingly high amount of this methyl find vaguely described but for the isocyanate and also chloroform, essence, this figure stood at 6, 00, 000. dichloromethane, hydrogen chloride, The factory was situated in proximity to a methylamine, dimethylamine, densely populated urban neighborhood trimethylamine and carbon dioxide. These which made the impact so large when are all very toxic air pollutants which have compared to the Vizag incident. immediate and long time degrading effects The impacts cannot be confined to a time on health and the environment. The soil, interval as well. They are long-lasting. groundwater and hence surface water still They keep on scratching the wounds constitutes harmful toxins. Land pollution time and again which never healed or is widespread. The local population has to rather never properly given notice to. suffer both immediate and long-time Some experts believe that the Bhopal effects which in turn increases the disaster retarded the state’s chances of environmental cost of the disaster growth. A disaster cannot be really prevented. A variety of errors may slip in any bit of a system or operation. Disasters are not planned, they don’t come with heads up. That leads us in two ways. First is to tighten the system which can never be perfect. The second is to have a concrete, confident system to deal with post- catastrophic conditions. The steps to be taken should be rethought about, both with immediate and long-standing effects. Emergency services are seeing constant improvement with new measures and technological improvements.

PAGE 24 THE CRESCENDO ISSUE #2 A guide to Stock Marketing “Rule number one: Don’t lose money. Rule number two: Don’t forget rule number one.” ~Warren Buffett Around 55% of Americans invest in stock Sensex shows the trend of top 30 market and only 2% Indians! Why do you companies of BSE and Nifty shows the think so? trend of top fifty companies. This is an The reason is lack of financial education in average trend will the companies India. If you save your money instead of follow although it may vary from investing it then you are actually becoming company to company. These trends poor! One can quote Robert T. Kiyosaki help you to decide in which company here who is author of bestseller Rich Dad to invest. This helps the risk averse Poor Dad to prove it but you can actually investors to make better decisions. prove it mathematically. If the inflation rate New investors should either contact a is 7 % and if you save your money in bank financial advisor of try to learn to read instead of investing this offers you interest the markets before investing as you rate of around 3 %. Since you money is not can loss serious chunk of money if you growing by more than 7 % it is depleting. enter markets without any prior So, it is always best to invest your money in knowledge. one form or the other. One of the best options for investing is in stock market. This article will guide you through the process. Stock market simply means buying and selling of shares i.e. making you a small stockholder/owner in the company All the companies are listed on Bombay stock exchange (BSE) and National stock exchange (NSE) which can be traded in Indian markets. BSE has over 5700+ companies registered and NSE has over 1500+ companies registered. When a company goes public which is officially known as initial public offering (IPO) it offers its shares to the common public to buy it. Both these bodies are regulated by securities and exchange board of India (SEBI) which helps and protects the small and retail investors from frauds and stock market failures.

PAGE 25 THE CRESCENDO ISSUE #2 Marketing Day Stock Swing Position Technical How can you start investing or trading? Step 1: Documents You need various documents like PAN card, identity proof, address proof, D.O.B. etc. NOW, THERE ARE TWO TERMS YOU SHOULD BE FAMILIAR WITH! Step 2: account You need 3 types of account: 1. Bank account 2. Trading account 3. DMAT account Although, now many banks offer 3 in 1 account for your use. You may take help of broker which acts as a medium between you and your market. They may charge some commission accordingly. There are many online platforms which help you to trade with minimum or even zero brokerage fees. This is beneficial when you trade because if saves your money on each transition. DMAT account is where you keep you shares in a digital form for future use. You can easily make your own account online on platforms like Zerodha. No one can actually teach you stock marketing. It is a skill which is build with experience. But if you start young, you will have a great advantage over others! There are many online courses which will help you in the process. Starting to invest is just a tip of an ice berg. Happy investing :)

PAGE 26 THE CRESCENDO ISSUE #2 India's New FDI rules Many countries around the world have now decided to either restrict China’s companies or in some cases like in that of India, which amended its FDI Policy after which the norms got more strict, it was done in order to curb China from opportunistic takeovers/ acquisition of Hostile Indian companies amidst the ongoing COVID-19 problem. FDI in India is allowed under two modes – either through an automatic route, for which companies don’t need government’s approval or the government route, for which the company needs a go-ahead from government. Under the amended norms, a company in any country that shares a border with India, will now have to go via government route for any investment in any sector in India. There are 17 sectors including defence, telecom and pharmaceuticals that now need the government’s approval, if any company from the countries want to buy more that 10 percent of a company’s shares and the proposals involving FDI exceeding Rs 5000 crore will be placed before the cabinet committee on economic affairs. Also, a transfer of ownership in a FDI deal that benefits any country will also require government’s approval. Earlier, these norms were applied to Pakistan and Bangladesh only. All this began with China’s Central Bank - “People’s Bank of China” bought 1.01% stakes in HDFC LTD i.e roughly around 1,75,00,000 crore shares of HDFC. Immediately after that, the next day i.e April 13th the share price of HDFC fell by 2.8% lower than the day prior to it. This alerted the Indian government with Rahul Gandhi, Former president of Indian National Congress too warning and suggesting the Indian Government in a tweet on the very day the transaction was done for a need of amendments in the then FDI Policy, following which new curbs were decided in a cabinet meeting, which were mainly designed to restrict Chinese investment and takeovers. China called India’s new FDI policy “discriminatory ” and said that these changes violates the WTO’s principle of non- discrimination and goes against the general trend of liberalization and facilitation of Trade and Investment.

PAGE 27 THE CRESCENDO ISSUE #2 Many would that this should have had been done earlier only, on which I wouldn’t really agree upon as 2/3 of FDI from China is invested in Indian Startups with Paytm, Big basket, Ola, Oyo, Hike being major big giants out of them. In India, a large amount of Startups (especially Unicorns which are privately owned companies and are valued at over one billion dollars or more) are suffering huge losses over the years. In order to keep them running, they need to take a new equity after every month or a year and that’s why the need to go in the markets but the problem with our domestic market (investors) is that they simply don’t have the capability to invest such a large chunk of money in a private equity/ singly- owned private company and this results into unicorns constrainedly going into foreign markets for investment where there are majorly only four types of players/foreign investors available to them.- with one being Japan’s Softbank group- Hike (25.8.%), Snapdeal (30%), Paytm(20%),Oyo (42%). The other being South Africa’s Naspers – Swiggy(23%), Byju’s(38%), MakeMytrip(42%) and the list goes on. Then third type is US’s big companies like Facebook, Google, Apple, Amazon, Walmart, CVS health, IBM and many more and their multi billionaire investors. Then finally comes the 4th player that are Chinese companies which unlike the previously mentioned companies are directly or indirectly are majorly controlled by the Chinese government, with investments made by nearly two dozen of these tech companies and funds, led by giants like Alibaba, ByteDance and Tencet which have funded 92 Indian start-ups till now, including the unicorns mentioned earlier. Without all of these companies, the Unicorns and the rest of the companies couldn’t have been valued to the extent to which they are today. But also we just cannot wish away China at a time when we are trying to revive our economy amidst this COVID-19 situation by simply taking China of the equation. China is now heavily embedded in our society, the economy and the technology ecosystem and thus we have to cautiously think off on our each step related to China, be that being towards them or away from them.

PAGE 28 THE CRESCENDO ISSUE #2 AGRARIAN CRISIS In November 2018, over a lakh of farmers from across the nation highlighted their plight by marching towards the national capital with their key demands of debt relief, Better efficacy of minimum support price system, farmer suicides, a 21- day special parliament session and passage of two bills- the freedom of indebtedness Bill and a bill to generate remunerative MSP. Let’s understand in a nutshell that why do the farmers go into debts ? One is that the cost of inputs for agriculture- seeds, fertilizers, insecticide, diesel, water is going up and it’s because the government has cut the subsidy on them and second is that the big corporate companies have entered the agricultural sector and there is a lot of profiteering going on and eventually the farmers are not getting prices of their crops in the consonance of their input price and thus now for years, they are being looted in markets. The Ultimate gap between the poor and the rich that we have been seeing today is a result of complete devastating transfer of resources from the poor to the rich and that is as reflective as in our agrarian crisis as anything else. The crisis is far beyond then agrarian, it is not anymore just about the loss of life and the productivity, it's also now a measure of our loss of humanity that in the past three decades four lakh farmers have committed suicide, and we have been ok with that as a society and not be concerned with that. It's not just farmers economy that has broken, it's their universe that has collapsed. Take an example of cotton farmers from 1973, the prosperity of those farmers was such that cotton at that time cootton was called ‘white gold’, take a cue from a fact that a cotton farmer at that time could sell one quintal of cotton and get 15gms of gold, today which is probably the other way around where he has to sell 15 quintal of cotton to get 1 gm of gold, that is how much it has collapsed. The fact that as a society we do not give respect to those who create food for us and for themselves and until we do, not much is going to happen. 2017 and 2018 figures show that in India on an daily-average more than 10 farmers commit suicide. All those delightful images that come into our mind on hearing of a Punjab's Farmer are nothing but delusional whereas the reality is harsh to look at, consider a report by Punjab's Government which says 86% of farmers are in debt, 80% of agricultural labours are in debt. The debt gets more severe as you go down the ladder, the smaller the farmer the deeper the debt. In last few years, people have been hit with so many things, one is the wanton devastation of Cattle economy, and our current government is full of small town people who don't know which end of a cow is rich, and they go and make laws that have been devastating for our rural economy. Cows are a central figure to our rural economy and a major sign of distress in rural economy is directly indicated by a fall of 30% or worse in cattle market prices. Cattle markets has fallen 70-80% uniformly across India's rural areas, and then you hit them with demonetization and with your concept of GST.

PAGE 29 THE CRESCENDO ISSUE #2 The first ever National Commission farmers also known as the Swaminathan reports (A set of 5 volumes of recommendations and reports), the first of those reports were submitted in December 2004 and the last of those were submitted in December 2006. 14 years down the line, the Indian Parliament has not found the time to discuss that report even for 1 hour. Why a special session for GST but for not for farmers? Finance ministers from the past have said that they have either doubled or tripled the agricultural credit, they were right in saying so, except the money isn’t really going to the agriculturists i.e in the process of last 30 years, we have substantially shifted agricultural credit out of the hands of agriculturists into the hands of Agro- Businesses. To support this, here is a fact which is rather amusing in its manner that in the State of Maharashtra, 53% of its agricultural credit flow went to Mumbai city and its suburbs, now Mumbai city has no agriculturist, but it has plenty of ago-businesses. Note that the 75% of the NPAs are from businesses and large corporations. Farmers’ loans have never really been a major part of that. With loan waivers nothing have really ever happened. Loan waiver is not the solution, it's just a temporary relief, it really can not be, because there are much bigger problems. Unless the government nip the problem in the bud and faces the flawed credit structure head on, the farmers will return to the situation year after year. In Mumbai, Maharashtra, the state which claims to have its worst drought in the century, builders have come with advertisements of having swimming pools in each Apartment's balconies , the construction labourers who have built those swimming pools are the same disposed farmers who have left their village because they don't have water there for farming. We need to address water crisis, we need to discuss the Swaminathan recommendations, adivasis and women farmers issues, and at the end which is extremely important is that we need to discuss in reverse the decline of public Investment in Agriculture. Just do remember that a nation's health is heavily indicated by its farmers' health.

PAGE 30 THE CRESCENDO ISSUE #2 COVVIaDccine A Goal Within Reach, or a Distant Holy-Grail? While a vaccine ending the coronavirus threat once and for all is In this regard, PM Narendra Modi still a major question, numerous research laboratories are already on reviewed the progress in the the race for coming out with one. Amidst plethora of scientists and development of vaccine for researchers across the globe working on the development of a COVID-19 and encouraged vaccine to fight the corona virus, a WHO envoy cautions that there may potential progress in this never be one. Dr David Nabarro, professor of global health at direction to lead our scientists Imperial College London, in an interview with CNN gave startling cross the finishing line. With more signs while agreeing to the WHO conclusion. than 30 vaccines in different As reports suggest, nearly 70 \"vaccine candidates\" are being stages of development and a few tested globally and at least three have moved to the human clinical going to trial stages, India makes trial stage, but given the complexities, a vaccine is unlikely to it to one of the many countries be ready for mass use before 2021. trying to make evident medical breakthroughs. Leading pharmaceutica companies namely Zydus Calida, Serum Institute, Biological E, Bharat Biotech, Indian Immunologicals and Mynvax are working to develop a vaccine in India following the guidelines of Drug Controller General of India(DCGI).

PAGE 31 THE CRESCENDO ISSUE #2 This infection is not going to disappear...without science leading us to vaccines, we will get second and third waves of this. ~Jeremy Farrar, British Medical “ Researcher & Director, Wellcome Trust HOW IS THE WORLD FIGHTING CORONA? Italian scientists claim to have developed five test vaccines, two of which have been approved for further trials after successful tests on mice. Israeli Defence Minister announced the development of a monoclonal neutralising antibody, which will effectively neutralize novel coronavirus in the body of the carriers by Israel's Institute for Biological Research (IIBR). Oxford University initiated a phase-1 human clinical trial of its vaccine injecting it into two volunteers. It uses a weakened strain of common cold virus(adenovirus) that causes infection in chimpanzees and took the genetic material of the novel coronavirus present in its surface and put it in. Plasma therapy, another complementary treatment to help the COVID-19 patients recover involves transfusing plasma from the blood from the body of people who have recovered from the virus attack to the severely ill patients. The therapy has been greatly effective at some places but can't be used as the ultimate solution due to its skeptical consequences. The United States is relying on drug trials with a major trial conclusion on Remdesivir, an anti-Ebola drug to have proven benefits and the US president claiming Hydroxychloroquine to be a potential game changer.

PAGE 32 THE CRESCENDO ISSUE #2 GLOBALISATION: DEAD/ALIVE Factory closures and production suspensions are disrupting supply chains all over the world. Automakers face shortages of parts, business in the service sector has dwindled and luxury goods retailers have been starved of customers. Yet, as late as the end of February, most policymakers wrongly assumed that the Covid-19 virus would have only a brief, China-specific impact.  All of that has changed. The pandemic has generated a shock to global supply chains and sourcing strategies. It's as if we suddenly lowered the level of the ocean and exposed all kinds of risks that were hidden from view. This crisis could even be the nail in the coffin for the current era of globalization. Due to the recent However, it is likely to pandemic, the have a lasting impact, downsides of extensive international integration especially when it have been highlighted. reinforces other trends Many ostensibly liberal governments have that are already slapped restrictions on undermining travel and trade; additional visa globalization. It may requirements and deal a blow to export constraints are fragmented leading to a decline in economies. They have international supply also barred the flow of chains, reduce the people. Much of this disruption may be hyper mobility of global temporary. business travelers, and provide political fodder for nationalists who favor greater protectionism and immigration controls. The risks of depending on complex global supply chains are dawning upon people. The outbreak has shown that supply-chain disruptions can wreck great havoc on national security and the global economy. An estimated cost of $1-2 trillion is being expected in 2020 on the global economy as declared by the UN Conference on Trade and Development due to the outbreak. The impact on India is still unknown but it can be safely estimated that the airline industry will be worse hit than most as it was already heavily impacted by the falling rupee. Therefore, airlines need to be prepared for rough times ahead. According to the Ministry of Commerce, India’s export business of garments was very good in 2018-2019, earning over Rs. 1 Lakh Crore. Exports which bring in large revenues are now suffering. Oil production is shutting down, global storage is filling up quickly and oil demand has decreased by 30%, which isn’t sufficient to rebalance the market. China which runs the global supply chain on which so many western companies depend is at great risk.

This pandemic is a strong impetus to glance inwards and focus on provincial groups such as SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), in Asia to make economies self-reliant, tolerant of short-term run crises and supply chain disorders without stumbling. Nations should yearn for contracting their external reliance and domestic potency and consumption. While such blanket bans may be warranted on public health grounds, they provide greater legitimacy for those who view closing borders as the solution to every ill. Even within the European Union’s seemingly barrier-free single market, France and Germany banned the export of face masks. So much for the liberal internationalism and commitment to the EU of President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Angela Merkel. More shocking still is that none of the 26 other EU governments responded to Italy’s urgent appeal for medical assistance—through China did and Italy was forced to buy back its own coronavirus face masks from China despite donating them weeks earlier. The crisis has heightened perceptions that foreigners are a threat. It underscores that countries in crisis can’t always count on their neighbors and allies for aid. With India limiting exports of life-saving drugs from its vast pharmaceutical sector, it provides ammunition to those trying to localize production on grounds of national security. It may strengthen those who believe in a strong government, prioritizing societal needs over individual freedom and national action over international cooperation. This crisis is a political gift for nationalists and protectionists. The speed and scope of the virus’s spread across the globe have spotlighted people’s vulnerability to seemingly distant foreign threats. Pandemics are not just passing tragedies of illness and death. The world economy will take time to outgrow the shadow of Covid-19 once the pandemic and panic abate. Globalization, at least in the form that people have come to enjoy it, is at risk. One dangerous scenario is that we witness the outright end of globalization in much the same manner as the first period of globalization collapsed in 1913 or the emergence of new world order.

ECONOMY STANDS ON COHESION THE CRESCENDO TECH

HOW TECHNOLOGY TICKLES ECONOMY! HOP IN! TO KNOW.

PAGE 36 THE CRESCENDO ISSUE #2 IS AAROGYA SETU APP SAFE? Aarogya Setu continuously collects The application, already downloaded data on the location of the user and over 90 million times, asks for the cross-references it with the Central name, phone number, profession, government database to understand gender, age and a list of countries whether the user has come into visited in the past 30 days.  It asks contact with an infected person. whether the user wants to be The Union Home Ministry said the informed if they have crossed paths mobile app will be must for people with someone who has tested COVID- living in COVID-19 containment 19 positive. The app uses Bluetooth zones. Use of Aarogya Setu app shall and GPS tracking to provide be made mandatory for all information. The app also requires you employees, both private and public. It to keep your Bluetooth and GPS shall be the responsibility of the head Location sharing turned on at all of the respective organisations to times.  If one phone user tests COVID- ensure 100% coverage of this app 19 positive, all his details are cross- among the employees referenced with those that he came into close proximity with, pinpointed by digital ID and GPS information.  \"Being on the frontline exposes our The application allows users to self- delivery partners to catching the assess their symptoms, and the infection. By mandating its entire application compartmentalizes them into different groups based on their delivery staff to use Aarogya Setu, the COVID-19 risk. idea is to keep individuals as well as authorities informed in case they have crossed paths with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus to prevent further spread.\" ~ Deepinder Goyal OR

PAGE 37 THE CRESCENDO ISSUE #2 The country lacks a proper data There are other concerns about the protection law and, in addition, way the data is collected by the the application would be useless for the low-income non- application, unlike some of its international counterparts. Smartphone users. Singapore monitors people’s The Internet Freedom Foundation  said in a statement interactions through Bluetooth beacons. MIT does it through GPS, \"India lacks a comprehensive data and  then there’s India which uses protection law, outdated surveillance and interception both. Other apps just collect one data point which is subsequently laws, or any meaningful proposals replaced with a scrubbed device for meaningful reform. In domains like disaster relief, most apps identifier. India’s Aarogya Setu collects multiple data points for which are purported as ‘contact personal and sensitive personal tracing’ technologies, they often devolve into systems of information which increases privacy movement control and lockdown enforcement,\" risks. They also stated \"Such systems Abhishek Singh, CEO of MyGovIndia, inadvertently discriminate against regions which have fewer the organisation behind Arogya Setu, said  that the Government of India concentrations of Smart phones. will use the users’ data only for The Arogya Setu app is a certain critical purposes such as sophisticated surveillance medical emergencies and that the system, outsourced to a private data will not be used for any other operator, with no institutional work.  “The app will not reveal oversight - raising serious anyone’s personal details. data security & privacy Information of any Covid-19 patient concerns. Technology can help will not be shared with anyone. keep us safe; but fear must not User’s data in the app is completely be leveraged to track citizens secure. In case of normal people, we delete the data from the server after without their consent. 45 days. In case of a corona-infected -Rahul Gandhi patient, the limit to remove the data is 60 days.” It is a good step but lacks appropriate technical backing. The process should more transparent as it is in other countries and this app doesn’t provide a wholesome solution as people still doubt the data safety. Instead of making the app installation mandatory, people should be given a choice and the government should try to make the system safer so that people download it.

PAGE 38 THE CRESCENDO ISSUE #2 Tool to tune Search Engine Optimization: INTRODUCTION. When internet was cured of its need An Ally to Business. Today, having a visibility over the for better interface, search engines internet is as important as offline existence of a firm. Constructing a were born. Although their algorithms website according to a sound structure and consistent themes, being fairly basic, they were still an recommended by SEO professionals or by Google’s own emerging market for advertisement guidelines, can lead to better advertisement and better and doorways of legitimizing a utilization of resources invested in online presence. Better online business. The earlier ill practices to presence also guarantees better credibility of a business as a get a page on the first page of results website with a structured and user-friendly theme signifies for a particular keyword, included involvement of professionals. SEO has proven itself to be an ally loopholes such as repetition of the to firms when the constantly improving algorithms of search keyword in the background in white, engines were costing significant number of visits. Needless to say, referred to as “invisible text”. As the SEO may be another industry which will revolutionize the sector earlier search engines worked on of online marketing in future if it has not been done already. algorithms basic enough to put the page containing maximum occurrences of the keyword on first page of search results. However, over the years many significant updates were made to the algorithms, which made it fairly difficult to get good rank of a page based on these ill practices. Thus, a new study emerged known as Search Engine Optimization, which focused on using recommended methods for better management and advertisement of a webpage.

PAGE 39 THE CRESCENDO ISSUE #2 SEO to the rescue. As was the situation, the methods to gain visits unfairly were linked to many websites, either knowingly or unknowingly. Through consecutive updates targeting specific malpractices, search engines, mainly google, left many websites with significantly less visits and even lesser credibility. Search engine Optimization presented guidelines to follow and professionals to implement them, to gain ‘organic’ visits to a webpage. The sector grew popular and became one of the main ingredients for a successful web campaign of a firm. SEO professionals keep themselves updated with the latest updates in algorithms of a search engine, which may happen over 500 times a year. Algorithms are a set of instructions search engines follow, to rank a page in the search results according to its credibility, content and presence. SEO professionals then study and formulate the effects of these updates and guide their clients accordingly. Though sometimes people tend to over-optimize their web page, according to the latest update which may be beneficial for a short run, but if over-optimizing according to an update gives unfair advantages to some webpages, search engines may refine the algorithms in future updates to neutralize the benefits of over-optimization, thus rendering the page in need of optimization again. Repeated changes in the structure of a page can make it lose viewership. Experienced SEO professionals can predict the targets of future updates and can ensure organic popularity over a much longer run. SEO, professionals can also point out the causes of decreasing popularity of a page and may issue guidelines to get the page back on a surge of organic visits.

PAGE 40 THE CRESCENDO ISSUE #2 “The internet is fast becoming a cesspool where false information thrives; brands are the solution, not the problem. Brands are how you sort out the pool.” SATCHEL PAIGE Vince or Wince What is Vince? Vince, regarded as one of the most controversial policies and algorithm updates ever implemented by a search engine, was rolled out in 2009, but had a lasting effect. In 2009, Google CEO, Eric Schmidt reflected upon the need of brands to differentiate between legitimate information and content that may not be up to the mark. Vince started a revolution that ensured better ranking of big brands in the results of wide-variety keywords, the update was implemented without a prior notice but the before mentioned words of Eric Schmidt had hinted some changes. Reasons for Vince. Google issued a statement that Vince was necessary to stop the malpractices used to get better ranking by non-credible websites and emerging non-established businesses. Another reason for implementation of Vince was that people liked seeing a genuine and familiar brand in results over unknown WebPages that may or may not present them with the required information.

PAGE 41 THE CRESCENDO ISSUE #2 The Two Sides. Vince may have been successful in stopping the ill usage of internet to some extent although a popular belief voiced the plight of emerging firms who were striving to establish a strong online presence by offering actual quality content but never reached the doors of breakthrough because of this update. Has it been Google’s policy to favor those who pay? Because major contributions to the advertisement section of the search engine are made by big brands who have the resources and planning required for extensive online advertisement. With countless allegations of favoritism regarding Google+, android apps and priority advertisement of selected services, Google came out, not as selfless as many believed. Do people really prefer brands over content? Or Google is either knowingly or unknowingly contributing towards the success of already established organizations or crushing the start-ups yet to make a name for them? Although studies suggest that people are will to indulge more with a known brand as compared to inexperienced businesses, but will this policy prevent the emergence of new brands? The Alternative. Countless blogs have created a rift in opinions, some stating that Vince is solving a problem that may have led to online scams and fraud, while another sect dwells on the scary scenario for emerging businesses in the market of organic search. As Mark Jackson popularly said “Big Brands starting to get it- or is Google starting to get Big Brands?” while another article by Chris Chum reads “Brands and relevance should have been the factors of ranking since the beginning. This has been a face-off between opinions for years now, and is expected to continue for many years in future, a decision is to be made does internet follow Survival of the most relevant or survival of the wealthiest?

LET'S SOLVE 'EM! A message was incepted by secret agency but 1 2 1 they were not able to 3 4 1 decode it. Do you have it what it takes to save 1 1 1 our country ? Can you solve it ? 477 645 279 552 773 330 332 485 268 517 730 323 477 692 247 473 694 253 536 746 314 551 767 321 473 694 253 Hint: The message has great importance in current times especially for our country India. Send us your answers to [email protected]

ni.ca.tinm@llecde ta su hcaeR OUR ED CELL TEAM AAYUSHI JOSHI MANDEEP SINGH ADAMYA KAUSHIK MOHIT JAISWAL ADITYA AMBAWANI NAVNEET SHAH ADITYA SINGH NEELMANI ADITYA TULSIAN NEERAJ AKSHITA AGRAWAL NIKHIL RAVISHANKAR ANANT JAIN NILAY MOHOD ANKITA TULSYAN PRATIKSHA GUPTA ANURAG TRIVEDI PREETI RAJDEEP ANUSHKA JOSHI CHATTOPADHYAY ARPAN JAIN RESHAM CHAWRA ARYAN SRIVASTAVA RIYA NATH BHUVAN GUPTA ROLLIN FERNANDES DEEPAK GUPTA GAURAV LUHARIWALA SADHYA SINGH GUNJAN SHEKHAWAT SAKET SAI HARDIK PANDYA SAMYAK JAIN HEMANT PARETA SANATAN SHRIVASTAVA HEMANT CHAUDHARY SHREEANSH AGRAWAL HIMANSHU LAL SHRUTI GUPTA ISHIKA BANSAL SHUBH SINGHAL KANIKA MITTAL SHUSHANTH KARTIKEYA TIWARI SHWETA RAJPUT KARVY MOHNOT SRAVANI KOWTHA KEERTHI SRISHA GUPTA KSHITIJ VIJAYVERGIYA SRIVIDYA LEENA CHAUDHARY TAPAN GOYAL MANASWITA SHEKHAR VANDITA GOYAL An Initiative

Take a look inside: EDITORIAL TEAM Tragedy of AKSHITA AGRAWAL Commons NAVNEET SHAH Globalization SANATAN SHRIVASTAVA Dead or Alive ? ANUSHKA JOSHI ARYAN SRIVASTAVA ADAMYA KAUSHIK SADHYA SINGH SHRUTI GUPTA GAURAV LUHARIWALA SHREEANSH AGARWAL FORCE: “Whether you think Permanent you can or whether Dismissal you think you can’t, or you’re right!” Delayed Consideration? – Henry Ford An Initiative Reach us at [email protected]