EMERGING THOUGHTS JULY 11, 2020 · 2 days ago · 3 SURESH & CO. EMERGING THOUGHTS Foreword We, at SURESH & CO. are indeed delighted to release the series “EMERGING THOUGHTS”

“Power is gained by sharing knowledge and not hoarding it”

EMERGING THOUGHTS

JULY 11, 2020

VOLUME 3 | ISSUE 3

2

Contents Foreword ...................................................................................................................................................... 3

Update for the day #601| Kobe Bryant ......................................................................................................... 4

Update for the day #602| World has become a small place ......................................................................... 7

Update for the day #603| HAPIFork ............................................................................................................ 9

Update for the day #604| Kapil Dev ........................................................................................................... 11

Update for the day #605| Tokyo Olympics 2020 ...................................................................................... 14

Update for the day #606| One more deadly Virus ...................................................................................... 16

Update for the day #607| The Punishing Signal ........................................................................................ 17

Update for the day #608| OPC v/s Sole Proprietorship ............................................................................. 19

Update for the day #609| Memory loss linked to anxiety. ......................................................................... 22

Update for the day #610| Zomato acquires UberEATS ............................................................................. 25

Update for the day #611| Starlink Constellation......................................................................................... 27

Update for the day #612 | Building Better Mental Health .......................................................................... 30

Update for the day #613| WhatsApp Pay set to launch in India ................................................................ 33

Update for the day #614|Importance of communication ........................................................................... 36

Update for the day #615| Gold Standard .................................................................................................... 38

Update for the day #616| Bermuda Triangle .............................................................................................. 40

Update for the day #617| The Kuleshov Effect .......................................................................................... 44

Update for the day #618| Women's MMA .................................................................................................. 46

Update for the day #619| Certified Fund Specialist ................................................................................... 48

Update for the day #620| Triple Bottom Line ............................................................................................ 50

Update for the day #621| Pareto Analysis................................................................................................... 52

Update for the day #622| Zero Energy Cool Chamber .............................................................................. 54

Update for the day #623| World Thinking Day .......................................................................................... 56

Update for the day #624| Option Trading & Strategies ............................................................................. 58

Update for the day #625| PEST Analysis ................................................................................................... 61

Update for the day #626| The Akshaya Patra Foundation ......................................................................... 63

Update for the day #627| Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) .................................... 66

Update for the day #628| The World's Largest Cricket Stadium ............................................................... 68

Update for the day #629| Sidney Sheldon .................................................................................................. 71

Update for the day #630| Bespoke Tranche Opportunity .......................................................................... 73

3 SURESH & CO. EMERGING THOUGHTS

Foreword

We, at SURESH & CO. are indeed delighted to release the series “EMERGING THOUGHTS”. This publication is a compilation of constructive thoughts and amusing updates of articled assistants (Interns undergoing Chartered Accountancy course). Our main purpose is to help inculcate the essential habit of reading and update one’s knowledge bank through a continuous series of updates which services to the whole organization every morning giving them a new idea about the happenings in this diverse world. The response we receive from the readers are always overwhelming and this ongoing enlightening ritual has been a wonderful journey as the learning opportunities have never failed to enlighten us. As an organization, our main moto is to enable the articled assistants of Suresh & Co. to think out of box and be updated on recent happenings which not only helps them to enhance their knowledge but also gives them the opportunity to explore things which do not fall under the ambit of their studies. We at SURESH & CO. wanted to share these gems of infant thoughts as conceived by these young minds. It is to be noted that these updates may or may not have been reviewed by any senior or a technical expert and thus these should be used only to kindle thoughts in certain positive direction. Readers are advised to do further research and analysis on the topics which they find interesting. Professional advice should be sought before acting on any of the information contained in it. “Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival”


Update for the day #601| Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant - the “Black Mamba” of the NBA Universe. #8 and #24 Kobe Bean Bryant was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, Bryant entered the National Basketball Association (NBA) directly from high school, and played his entire 20-season professional career in the league with the Los Angeles Lakers. Bryant won five NBA championships, was an 18-time All-Star, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, 12-time member of the All-Defensive Team, was named the 2008 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), and was a two-time NBA Finals MVP winner. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, he led the NBA in scoring during two seasons, ranks fourth on the league's all-time regular season scoring, and ranks fourth on the all-time postseason scoring list.

Early life Bryant was born in Philadelphia, the youngest of three children and only son of former NBA player Joe Bryant and Pamela Cox Bryant. He was also the maternal nephew of basketball player John "Chubby" Cox. His parents named him after the famous beef of Kobe, Japan, which they saw on a restaurant menu. His middle name, Bean, was derived from his father's nickname "Jellybean". When Bryant was six, his father retired from the NBA and moved his family to Rieti in Italy to continue playing professional basketball at a lower level. Bryant started playing basketball when he was aged three, and the Lakers were his favourite team when he was growing up. Bryant's grandfather would mail him videos of NBA games for Bryant to study. At an early age, Bryant also learned to play football and his favourite team was A.C. Milan. While living in Reggio Emilia he began to play basketball in earnest. Bryant earned national recognition during a spectacular high school career at Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, located in the Philadelphia suburb of Lower Merion. He played on the varsity basketball team as a freshman. Bryant became the first freshman in decades to start for Lower Merion's varsity team, but the team finished with a 4–20 record. The following three years, the Aces compiled a 77–13 record, with Bryant playing all five positions. During his junior year, he averaged 31.1 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 5.2 assists and was named Pennsylvania Player of the Year while also earning a fourth-team Parade All-American nomination, attracting attention from college recruiters in the process. Duke, Michigan, North Carolina and Villanova were at the top of his list. However, after high schooler Kevin Garnett went in the first round of the 1995 NBA draft, Bryant also began contemplating going directly to the pros.


At Adidas ABCD Camp, Bryant earned the 1995 senior MVP award while playing alongside future NBA teammate Lamar Odom.

Basketball Legacy Bryant was called "one of the greatest players in the history of our game" by NBA commissioner Adam Silver, and The New York Times wrote that he had "one of the most decorated careers in the history of the sport." Reuters called him "arguably the best player of his generation", while both Sporting News and TNT named him their NBA player of the decade for the 2000s. In 2008 and again in 2016, ESPN ranked him the second-greatest shooting guard of all time after Jordan. Players including Kevin Durant, Dirk Nowitzki, Dwyane Wade, and Derrick Rose called Bryant their generation's version of Jordan. The Press-Enterprise described Bryant as "maybe the greatest Laker in the organization's history". He was the Lakers' all-time leading scorer, and his five titles are tied for the most in franchise history. Both numbers he wore during his career, 8 and 24, were retired by the Lakers on December 18, 2017. Even after retirement, Bryant found no substitute for hard work.

At 34 years and 104 days of age, Bryant became the youngest player in league history to reach 30,000 career points. He became the all-time leading scorer in Lakers franchise history on February 1, 2010, surpassing Jerry West. Bryant was also the first guard in NBA history to play at least 20 seasons. His 18 All-Star designations are the second most all time, while it is the record for most consecutive appearances as a starter. Bryant's four All-Star MVP Awards are tied with Bob Pettit for the most in NBA history. At the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics, he won two gold medals as a member of the U.S. national team. In 2018, he won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for his 2017 film Dear Basketball. Bryant died on January 26, 2020, in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. Eight others, including his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Bryant, and college baseball coach John Altobelli, were also killed.


He was an inspiration to the entire sporting world, a great human being and his never give attitude and his discipline were the traits which everyone admired the most. And now he is done. The tributes will continue, though eventually fade away. The legacy will be forever.

Mithun H S


Update for the day #602| World has become a small place

The coronavirus belongs to a family of viruses that spread a range of illnesses in human beings. The simplest of diseases is the common cold and more severe forms are SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) and MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome). The virus gets the name Corona because of its crown-like shape. Chinese authorities state there are more than 7,711 confirmed cases of coronavirus in China. Infections have spread to at least 15 countries. Researchers are racing against time, to bring a vaccine for the coronavirus.

The coronavirus spreads as most viruses do. Infected people coughing and sneezing, touching an infected person’s hand or face or even doorknobs touched by an infected person.

The huge reliance’s on China shall affect not all India but shall an affect all over the world. Let us

see how coronavirus shall affect India.

Coronavirus Affects Indian Metal and Mining Stocks: China is the largest metal producer and consumer in the World. There is fear in the Indian mining sector that Coronavirus could affect the

Chinese Economy. China contributes nearly half the total global demand and supply of metals. Coronavirus Affects Indian Electronics Industry:

Coronavirus in China is affecting the Indian electronics industry. The smartphone and consumer electronics industry is staring at production cuts. Component supplies from China have been disrupted. How much impact this has depends on how long the disruption continues.

China accounts for 85% of the component value in smartphones and 75% in TVs. Mobile displays, TV panels, PCBs, capacitors; LED chips are all imported from China. Air conditioner compressors and Washing Machine motors are all; Made in China. Chinese vendors have hiked component prices by 3-5% because of supply shortages. This could result in an increase in product prices in India

Coronavirus Affects the Indian Automobile Industry: It’s crucial for Chinese auto companies like BYD, Saic and Great Wall to participate in the Indian auto expo at Greater Noida. This is because top automakers like BMW, Audi, Ford, Honda, and Toyota are staying away. A large number of people are expected at the auto show and with a considerable number of Chinese present, it’s prudent to ask if thermal screenings are installed at airports. Coronavirus and the Chinese mobile industry: A number of Chinese Companies are doing business in India and have advised employees to avoid traveling to China. Traveling to Wuhan must be avoided except in urgent need. The Chinese mobile giant Xiaomi has asked employees to take precautions if they fall ill. Realme has suspended travel plans of all Chinese executives traveling to India and has issued an advisory to its Indian Team.


Drop-in Travelling to South-East Asia: Travel agencies are feeling the heat as Indians cancel leisure trips to Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore. Customers are not confirming trips to Hong Kong, Macao, and Bangkok. Ø Taiwanese tech giant Foxconn has closed Chinese units till mid-February. Ø Apple could face production delays as its supply chain remains affected. ØMcDonald and Starbucks has closed several outlets in China. Ø Swedish giant Ikea has temporarily closed many Chinese outlets. Due globalization the world has become a small village, anything affecting a small portion has an impact all over the world

SHASHANK KE


Update for the day #603| HAPIFork

In our everyday life we have to monitor our diet, and what we eat, it is very essential to keep track of what you put inside your body. This HAPIfork is a smart fork that tracks what you’re eating habits. For those who want to lose weight, this smart fork technology will help you eat healthier, and it will also determine the speed at which you eat. If you monitor the speed at which you’re eating, you will improve your digestion system and also reduce your weight. So how does this HAPIfork improve your eating habits and health?

Eating too fast leads to poor digestion and poor weight control. The HAPIfork, is an electronic fork that helps you monitor and track your eating habits. It also alerts you with the help of indicator lights and gentle vibrations when you are eating too fast. Every time you bring food from your plate to your mouth with your fork, this action is called: a "fork serving".

The HAPIfork also measures:

* How long it took to eat your meal.

* The amount of "fork servings" taken per minute. * Intervals between "fork servings".

This information is then uploaded via USB or Bluetooth to your Online Dashboard.


Why is it important to eat slowly?

• Weight gain: as during the meal, satiety is felt after about 20 minutes. The faster you eat, the more you eat

• Digestive problems: food that is eaten too quickly is often poorly chewed. The work of the digestive tract is made more difficult.

• Gastric reflux: several studies have shown that the faster one eats, the more likely the possibility of gastric reflux.

• Postoperative complications: eating more slowly lessens the stress on weakened tissues.

Karthik Kumar P


Update for the day #604| Kapil Dev

Kapil Dev Ram Lal Nikhanj (born 6 January 1959) is a former Indian cricketer. He was a fast bowler and a hard-hitting middle order batsman. Regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders to play the game, he is also regarded as one of the greatest captains in the history of cricket. He was named by Wisden as the Indian Cricketer of the Century in 2002. Dev captained the Indian cricket team that won the 1983 Cricket World Cup. He was India's national cricket coach between October 1999 and August 2000. He retired in 1994, holding the world record for the greatest number of wickets taken in Test cricket, a record subsequently broken by Courtney Walsh in 2000. At the time, he was also India's highest wicket taker in both major forms of cricket, Tests and ODIs. He is the first player to take 200 ODI wickets. He is the only player in the history of cricket to have taken more than 400 wickets (434 wickets) and scored more than 5000 runs in Tests, making him one of the greatest all-rounders to have played the game. On 11 March 2010, Dev was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.

Dev’s Cricket Skills Dev was a right-arm pace bowler noted for his graceful action and potent outswinger, and was India's main strike bowler for most of his career. He developed a fine inswinging yorker during the 1980s, which he used very effectively against tail-enders. As a batsman, he was a natural striker of the ball who could hook and drive effectively. A naturally aggressive player, he often helped India in difficult situations by taking the attack to the opposition. Nicknamed The Haryana Hurricane, he represented the Haryana cricket team in domestic cricket.

Bowling style Dev was a fast bowler. However, a fluent run-up and a gather that was perfectly side-on at the time of delivery meant that the outswinger came naturally to him. Usually bowled at a length and direction that always troubled right-handers, his delivery was the bane of most of his victims as he sought to beat the bat on the outside edge, either caught on the off-side cordon or indeed LBW and bowled in case the ball missed the edge. The side-on action meant that, for the first few years, this was the only delivery he could bowl. The deliveries that held their lines or came into the right-hander came through natural variations off the pitch. However, as he gained maturity, the action became less side-on and he developed an inswinger too. He noted in the mid-1980s that the only delivery he could not bowl at will was the leg-cutter. By the end of 1983, Dev already had about 250 Test wickets in just five years and looked well on his way to becoming one of the most prolific wicket-takers ever. However, his bowling declined


following knee surgery in 1984, as he lost some of his jump at the crease. Despite this setback, he never missed playing a single test or one-day game on fitness grounds. Though he lost some of his bite, he remained an effective bowler for another ten years and became the second bowler ever to take 400 wickets in Test cricket in 1991–92 when he took Mark Taylor's wicket in a series versus Australia in Australia. In that Australian tour he took 25 wickets.

National coach Kapil Dev was appointed coach of the Indian national cricket team in 1999, succeeding Anshuman Gaekwad. In his term, India won just one test match (at home against New Zealand) and had two major series losses in Australia (3–0) and at home against South Africa (2–0) and in general was considered a disappointment. At the height of the match fixing allegation by Manoj Prabhakar – a charge that was dismissed later, Dev resigned from his position as national coach. Stung by the betting controversy, he announced his farewell stating that "I bid adieu to the game that gave me so much and then took a great deal of it away on the mere hearsay of a third party". After a brief interval, he was succeeded as coach by former New Zealand batsman John Wright, who became India's first foreign coach. Personal life He married Romi Bhatia in 1980 and had a daughter, Amiya Dev, on 16 January 1996.

In 1994, Dev took up golf. Dev was the only Asian founding member of Laureus Foundation in 2000. Ian Botham and Viv Richards were the other two cricketers on the founding member council of 40. Steve Waugh was added to the Academy members in 2006 when it was expanded from 40 to 42. Writings He has written three autobiographical works. By God's Decree came out in 1985 and Cricket My Style in 1987. He released his most recent autobiography, titled Straight from the Heart in 2004. He pledged his organs during an event organized by Delhi Urological Society on January 31, 2014 at the Airport Authority of India, Officers Club, New Delhi. Joining Territorial Army On 24 September 2008 Dev joined the Indian Territorial Army and was commissioned as a Lieutenant Colonel by General Deepak Kapoor, Chief of the Army Staff. He joined as an honorary officer. Chancellor of University He was appointed as first chancellor of the Sports University of Haryana in 2019. University is situated in India's Haryana state which was represented by him in domestic cricket.


Movies Dev made cameo appearances in the films Dillagi... Yeh Dillagi, Iqbal, Chain Khuli ki Main Khuli and Mujhse Shaadi Karogi. Bollywood Director Kabir Khan is making a biopic on the event of India's first world cup win at Lords. The film features Ranveer Singh as Dev and Produced by Anurag Kashyap.

Kapil Dev is one of the finest cricketers India has, India has won its first world cup under his captaincy. India is proud to have a cricketer like him and he will forever be every cricketer’s inspiration. Dhanush B S


Update for the day #605| Tokyo Olympics 2020 Tokyo Olympics 2020

Tokyo 2020 announced the order of events for each sporting session at next summer’s Olympic games. Featuring a record 33 sports and 339 events, there will be more opportunities than ever to go to the games and watch world-class athletes in action. The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 will officially run between 24th July 2020 and 9th August 2020, but sporting action kicks off two days before the Opening Ceremony with preliminary women’s football matches, as well as group games in one of the thrilling new sports that have been added to the program, softball.

Candidate A (Olympics)Harmonized chequered emblem by Asao Tokolo

THE FOLLOWING EVENTS HAVE BEEN ADDED The Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee has proposed the inclusion of 18 additional events from the following five sports for inclusion in the Tokyo 2020 Games: Baseball/Softball, Karate, Skateboarding, Sport Climbing, and Surfing. GEARING UP FOR GOLD MEDALS: Rowing and archery get underway on the day of the Opening Ceremony (24 July), while gold medal activity will begin on Day 1 with the women’s 10m air rifle. There will be 11 medals in total that day, with others coming in archery, cycling, fencing, judo, taekwondo, and weightlifting. TAKING IT TO THE STREETS: Several new sports will feature upfront and early on the schedule. The Aomi and Ariake venues will be a hotspot for urban events, where a vibrant atmosphere is expected. Basketball 3x3 gets underway on the second day of the Games, as do street skateboarding events, while BMX freestyle follows on 1 and 2 August. Park skateboarding will feature on 5 and 6 August, and sport climbing will be held from 4 to 7 August.

CLEAR YOUR WEEKEND AGENDA:


Midway through the Games, you’re going to want to make sure you have cleared your weekend because the Olympic action is loaded on 1 August. Don’t miss out on “Super Saturday” when 21 medals will be awarded. From judo to triathlon and shooting, there’s something for everyone, so don’t miss out. That’ll be followed by “Golden Sunday” – featuring 26 medal events, including the women’s marathon, men’s 100m athletics final, gymnastics for both genders and the men’s tennis singles final.

A LOADED BACK HALF: Other key dates to look out for? Athletics will kick off on 31 July at the new Olympic Stadium and every session feature final – gold-medal action across multiple events. Karate, another sport making its The Olympic Games debut in Tokyo, takes place from 6 to 8 August. Saturday 8 August will be another date to note when finals in a remarkable 30 events take place, the largest number ever on a single day during the Games. Included are finals in rhythmic gymnastics, women’s golf, men’s basketball, men’s football, baseball, men’s volleyball, and the artistic swimming team competition. The curtain comes down on these historic Games on Sunday 9 August. The men’s marathon takes place in the morning, and the concluding event of Tokyo 2020 before the Closing Ceremony will be the men’s water polo final. It’s all been carefully worked out. Tokyo 2020 took a holistic approach when compiling the schedule, taking into account the rules and regulations of the various International Federations, gender balance, the popularity of sports in Japan, operational considerations, and athletes’ experience and well-being – as well as the global TV audience. Jayakumar R


Update for the day #606| One more deadly Virus

“Keep your surroundings pure and clean, this hygiene will keep you healthy physically and mentally”

We have all heard a lot about Coronavirus, let’s now know some information about H5N1 Virus

in China. Happy reading!!

A city in China's southern Hunan province reported that it had culled almost 18,000 chickens after an outbreak of a highly pathogenic strain of H5N1 bird flu virus, the Ministry of Agriculture

and Rural Affairs said.

The case occurred on a farm in Shaoyang city with 7,850 chickens, 4,500 of which have died of

the bird flu.

The ministry, in statement on its website on Saturday, did not say when the outbreak occurred, or when the cull happened. However, the authorities have culled 17,828 poultry following the

outbreak.

India has reported an outbreak of the highly contagious H5N1 bird flu virus on a poultry farm in the central state of Chhattisgarh, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) said last Wednesday, citing a report from India's fisheries and animal husbandry ministry. The virus killed 5,634 out of 21,060 birds on the farm in Baikunthpur and all of the remaining birds were slaughtered, the Paris-based OIE said in a website alert.

Since 2003, the H5N1 avian flu has killed 455 people worldwide, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The latest H5N1 outbreak comes as China and countries around the world are trying to tackle the Wuhan virus outbreak that has killed more than 300 people. More than

14,000 people across China have been infected by the virus.

According to data released by the World Health Organization (WHO), the H5N1 avian flu has killed 455 people since 2003.

WHO said: “Almost all cases of H5N1 infection in people have been associated with close contact with infected live or dead birds, or H5N1-contaminated environments?

As a remedy for the above, The Chinese Government has ordered a cull of chickens in Shaoyang city after an outbreak of H5N1 bird flu in Hunan province. Various measures have been taken to eradicate the H5N1 virus.

Vijaya Simha S


Update for the day #607| The Punishing Signal “Innovation is seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.”

-Dr. Albert, Szent- Györgyi The Punishing Signal Traffic is been a part of the daily life of all we Indians with a notion “honk your horn loud enough and the traffic lights will surely change to green” wherein driving in India is accompanied by a constant symphony of honks, toots, beeps and blares, all for different reasons. honk the horn acts as a substitute for mirrors - the passing car toots so that the car being passed doesn't randomly change lanes without looking - a friendly greeting, an angry rebuke or, well, anything really, as sometimes there seems to be no reason for it whatsoever. In an attempt to stop unnecessary honking at signals, the Mumbai police introduced a genius initiative called 'The Punishing Signal' from January 31, 2020. It has installed decibel meters at certain select but heavy traffic signals to deter the habitual honkers through a campaign named 'The Punishing Signal', where if the decibel level due to honking exceeds a certain level, then the waiting time at the traffic signal is increased automatically. The Mumbai police shared a video on Saturday evening that showed people who were honking at the red signal, even when the ticker in the signal was close to 10 seconds. However, the decibel monitors installed close to the signal also began increasing due to the noise. When the decibel level reached 85 dB, the ticker on the signal automatically reset to 90 seconds, much to everyone’s frustration, when another monitor displayed the message: “Honk more wait more.”

Also, cities like Bengaluru and Hyderabad are looking forward for implementing the Punishing Signal concept. Do watch the video to find out how it works, uploaded by the Mumbai Police on twitter. Link for the same - https://twitter.com/MumbaiPolice/status/1223090017397960705


Similar project - Dummies in police uniforms 'control' city traffic Mannequins dressed up as traffic police have been placed on roads in the southern city of Bengaluru. Donning traffic police’s khaki and white uniforms, complete with reflector jackets, boots and sunglasses., the life-size mannequins are stationed at different intersections every day giving jitters to motorists with the propensity to violate rules. They’ve been instrumental in ensuring motorists stick to the law.

The 250 mannequins dressed as traffic policemen are a huge success, admit city’s senior traffic police officers. So much so that a team of officials from Paris police department met Bengaluru top cop Bhaskar Rao last week and enquired about the results of installing mannequins. “They have taken the details and may introduce the measure in Paris too”, Rao told the Times of India.

Prarthana R Bohra


Update for the day #608| OPC v/s Sole Proprietorship

One Person Company (OPC) Vs Sole Proprietorship Which One Is Better for Your

Business?

In India the concept of "ONE MAN ARMY" in the form of traditional Sole Proprietorship form of Business Structure is the most common among any other forms of business. The reason being

it is very simple to form and close and is also free from making additional mandatory compliances. Many Shopkeepers, Professionals including Chartered Accountants, Company Secretaries, Doctors,

Advocates, Architects, Consultants, etc are running their business or profession as a Sole Proprietor. If you as an existing or aspiring entrepreneur would like to decide whether to switch to

"OPC" structure or not then this article will surely guide you the path.

BRIEF BACKGROUND BEHIND INTRODUCTION OF "ONE PERSON

COMPANY"(OPC) IN INDIA

Working as a Sole Proprietor grants you the autonomy and faster business decisions because you are not answerable to any third person. You are your own boss and can even hire assistants for

delegation of work. But Despite the fact there are certain inherent limitations of working as a Sole

Owner for instance:

• Unlimited Liability

• Lower Brand Value

• Problem of funding from Banks and financial institutions and many more.

Therefore, to overcome these shortcomings of a traditional form of sole entity form of business structure the Government of India has introduced a New Form of Business structure titled "ONE

PERSON COMPANY "more popularly known as OPC with bringing of Companies Act, 2013.

In India the Companies are mainly regulated by Ministry of Corporate Affairs by enforcing the provisions of Companies Act, 2013 which repealed the years old erstwhile Companies Act, 1956.

This innovative Concept of "OPC" was not present in the erstwhile Companies Act, 1956 it was

first introduced with the coming of new corporate legislation in the country.

The intent of the government is to bring the traditional small proprietors who are currently working

in un-organized sectors in an organized form of business to enhance Corporate governance and

inculcate a habit of formal business structure.

"OPC" provides the benefits of limited liability, brand image, access to banks funding and at the same time retaining the basic feature of "ONE MAN SHOW" because in OPC there is only one

person who controls the company and can hire directors and employees for efficient management


S.

No

Points of

Distinction

Sole

Proprietorship

One Person

Company

(Pvt Ltd)

1 Regulation General Specific i.e.

Companies

Act, 2013

2 Business

Registration

Not

mandatoryhowever

Sectoral licenses

are required as

may be applicable

to a particular

business.

Mandatory

Registration

with MCA.

3 Entity No Separate Legal

Entity.

Separate

Legal Entity

4 Liability Unlimited Limited

5 Nomination Optional Mandatory

nomination

of 1 natural

person to

form an

OPC.

6 Statutory

Audit under

Companies

Act

Not Applicable Mandatory

7 Expansion Very Less Chances

to scale up the

business.

Can convert

in to Big Pvt

Ltd or Ltd

Company

voluntary

subject to

regulations

laid down.

8 Name

Protection by

MCA

Not Protected Protected by

MCA.


CONCLUSION

Both Sole Proprietorship and OPC are forms of One-Man Organizations however as evident from

above distinction that incorporating an OPC offers several advantages over traditional proprietorship firms. But every form of business has its own merits and shortcomings and it solely

depends upon the intent of the entrepreneur like what are his objectives, the nature and size of the business. In short we can say that these are tailored.

Lavanya R


Update for the day #609| Memory loss linked to anxiety.

Most people experience stress and anxiety at some point in their lives. Depending on the level

of severity, they can detrimentally impact one’s quality of life. Although stress and anxiety share

many of the same emotional and physical symptoms – uneasiness, tension, headaches, high

blood pressure and loss of sleep – they have very different origins. It is crucial to determine the

which one a person is actually experiencing.

Stress: It is a response to an external cause, such as a tight deadline at work or having an

argument with a friend, and subsides once the situation has been resolved. Because stress is

caused by external factors, tackling these head-on can help.

Anxiety: It is a person’s specific reaction to stress; its origin is internal. Anxiety is typically

characterized by a “persistent feeling of apprehension or dread” in situations that are not actually

threatening. Unlike stress, anxiety persists even after a concern has passed.

How does anxiety affect your working memory?

There are several different memory systems in our brains that function in different capacities.

For example, our long-term memory helps us remember information and events from the distant

past, whereas something called “working memory” helps us keep things in mind as we actively

work with them.

Working memory is critical for us to solve problems effectively and manage chunks of

information in the present. When this system is not operating at normal levels, it can lead to

mistakes, difficulty completing tasks in a desirable way, difficulty concentrating on a variety of

things, and problems multitasking. Unfortunately, it is strongly influenced by worry and anxiety.

This can be a major problem in your work and personal life. General anxiety disorder can cause

your working memory to become hindered by your worry, causing you to forget important tasks

or appointments. You may make more mistakes at work or have trouble juggling everything you

need to do at home.

Excessive anxiety can exhaust your body and undermine benefits associated with the stress

response. The stress response sheds light on how repeated anxiety can lead to memory loss.

When your body reacts to real or perceived threats, electrical activity in the brain increases and

produces adrenaline and cortisol. Memory loss can result if that process occurs when fear or

anxiety is excessive or persists beyond developmentally appropriate periods. That’s because

anxiety and stress taxes the body’s resources.


Few celebrities who faced anxiety issues:

1.Mac Miller:

Late rapper, Mac Miller, was very open about his struggles with drug addiction which he had

turned to in order to combat his unhappiness. Miller had turned to drugs to try and manage his

stress and it spiralled into alcoholism and other forms of drug use. Miller lost his battle with

depression, anxiety and drug abuse in September 2018 when he died after accidentally

overdosing on a lethal cocktail of fentanyl, cocaine, and alcohol.

2. Marcus Morris:

Boston Celtics power forward, Marcus Morris, grew up in a North Philadelphia neighbourhood

rife with gang violence — a place that he says has contributed to his anxiety and depression.

Growing up, he loved playing basketball with his twin brother, Markieff. But when he joined

the NBA and started jumping from team to team, he felt increasingly anxious, turning to sleeping

pills and marijuana but not finding much relief. He says that seeing a mental health therapist

made him feel calmer, happier, and more productive. Morris also says that daily meditation

helps him feel centred.


3.Kendall Jenner:

Model, Kendall Jenner has experienced panic attacks in the middle of the night due to her

anxiety, which has been triggered by social media negativity, constant travel for work, and

traumatic moments that have impacted her family, including the armed robbery of her sister

Kim Kardashian. Flying, in particular, has also been a huge trigger. The 23-year-old model says

that she copes through various breathing techniques.

What can be done about this?

Reaching out to a therapist who specializes in anxiety disorders can be an excellent way to learn

how to best treat your anxiety. They can help you talk through your anxiety and loss, developing

coping skills so that you know how to deal with these issues in the future.

If it is not possible to reach out to a therapist, it is essential to try self-therapy, get some help

through certain self-help books and/or talk to trusted individuals about issues that are bothering

you. Anxiety must never be left untreated.

Jahnavi R S


Update for the day #610| Zomato acquires UberEATS

The chief pleasure in eating does not consist in costly seasoning, or exquisite flavor, but in yourself. ~ Horace.

Online food delivery has emerged as one of the most fast-paced developments in the e-commerce space. This sector has revolutionized the entire outlook towards the food industry as consumers now have the privilege to choose from a wide variety of cuisines, anywhere, anytime from a range of restaurants listed online. Moreover, customer flexibilities in form of no minimum order value and various payment options like internet banking, digital wallets and cash on delivery have further enhanced the convenience of all consumer categories. The growing urbanization with easy access to smartphones has accelerated the growth of online food delivery system. The online food delivery model was conventionally restricted to restaurants, enabling customers to order food online through their websites. This changed with the emergence of the concept of ‘aggregator business model’, wherein the business player provides a ‘single’ online window, facilitating the customers to order food online from a wide variety of restaurants registered on the portal. The aggregator collects a fixed margin of the order paid by the restaurant and, in turn, handles the actual delivery of food itself. However, the business model of the food delivery industry then swiftly evolved to a stage, wherein aggregators provide the delivery of food, thus causing disruption in the market. The focus shifted solely from technology to logistics as well, which act as the major cost drivers for the industry. Zomato acquires UberEats

Alibaba's Ant Financial-backed online food delivery and restaurant discovery platform Zomato has acquired UberEats, the food delivery business of ride-hailing giant Uber India for around Rs 2,485 crore ($350 million) in an all-stock deal. The deal gives the ride-hailing app a 10 per cent stake in Zomato. Notably, Zomato will not absorb UberEats employees, which means they will either be absorbed in Uber's other verticals or could face a lay-off. Zomato said UberEats in India would discontinue operations and direct restaurants, delivery partners, and users to the Zomato platform, effective immediately - a change that already reflects on the UberEats app.


Uber Technologies Inc's food delivery business UberEats struggled to take off in India after being launched in the year 2017. The main reason for this is because Swiggy and Zomato dominated the food delivery market in India. While Swiggy is little ahead of Zomato in the food delivery space, UberEats coming onboard with Zomato will surely give it more firepower to stake on Swiggy as the new entity will automatically capture 50-55% market in food delivery business. The deal is an attractive one for Zomato that has been looking to crack Swiggy's stronghold in the southern states. UberEats will seize to exist as a separate Uber brand in India now and all its customers will be automatically redirected to Zomato's app. When it comes to the Indian food delivery market, UberEats is a distant third in comparison to its rivals Zomato and Swiggy that clock around 2-2.5 million orders every day. On the other hand, UberEats only clocks 2,50,000-3,00,000 orders per day. As for the value of the order, on an average UberEats witnesses $2 per order as compared to $3-4 per order for Swiggy and Zomato.

Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal said Uber Eats India users would now become Zomato users. "I want to assure UberEats India users that their user experience won't be compromised in any way - if at all, the scale gives us higher density to make our deliveries faster. With Zomato, you'll realize that we share a common love for great food," he said. Uber, on the other hand, that saw a lacklustre IPO in May this year, had been struggling to sustain its food delivery business in India. Commenting on the development, Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, said "India remained an exceptionally important market to Uber and the company would continue to invest in growing local rides business. Our UberEats team in India has achieved an incredible amount over the last two years, and I couldn't be prouder of their ingenuity and dedication. We have been very impressed by Zomato's ability to grow rapidly in a capital-efficient manner and we wish them continued success."

Zomato's acquisition of UberEats in India is the latest example of consolidation in the global food delivery market. Though the acquisition of Uber Eats will not significantly boost Zomato’s market share, the addition of Uber as a shareholder may prove to be useful over the coming years, as a funding winter takes hold for internet start-ups. The Uber-Zomato deal also signals maturity in the food delivery market with space for new firms dwindling. Source: https://www.businesstoday.in/current/corporate/zomato-acquires-uber-eats-rs-2485-crore-100-employees-uncertainty/story/394253.html https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/zomato-buys-ubers-food-delivery-business-uber-eats-in-india-for-350-million-report-2167154 Meghana K R


Update for the day #611| Starlink Constellation SpaceX- Starlink.

Starlink is a satellite constellation being constructed by American company SpaceX to provide satellite Internet access. The constellation will consist of thousands of mass-produced small satellites, working in combination with ground transceivers. SpaceX also plans to sell some of the satellites for military, scientific or exploratory purposes. As of January 2020, SpaceX has deployed 242 satellites. They plan to deploy 60 more per Falcon 9 launch, with launches as often as every three weeks after late 2019. In total, nearly 12,000 satellites will be deployed by the mid-2020s, with a possible later extension to 42,000. The initial 12,000 satellites are planned to orbit in three orbital shells: first placing approximately 1,600 in a 550-kilometer-altitude (340 mi) shell, then approximately 2,800 Ku- and Ka-band spectrum satellites at 1,150 km (710 mi) and approximately 7,500 V-band satellites at 340 km (210 mi). The commercial operation could begin in 2020. The total cost of the decade-long project to design, build and deploy the constellation was estimated by SpaceX in May 2018 to be about US$10 billion. Product development began in 2015, with the first two prototype test-flight satellites launched in February 2018. The second set of test satellites and the first large deployment of a piece of the constellation occurred on 24 May 2019 UTC when the first 60 operational satellites were launched. The SpaceX satellite development facility in Redmond, Washington, houses the Starlink research, development, manufacturing and on-orbit control operation. Services Global broadband Internet SpaceX intends to provide broadband internet connectivity to underserved areas of the planet, as well as provide competitively priced service to urban areas. The company has stated that the positive cash flow from selling satellite internet services would be necessary to fund their Mars plans.

In early 2015, two space entrepreneurs announced Internet satellite ventures in the same week. In addition to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announcing the project that would later be named Starlink, serial-entrepreneur Richard Branson announced an investment in OneWeb, a similar constellation with approximately 700 planned satellites that had already procured communication frequency licenses for their broadcast spectrum.

After the failures of previous satellite-to-consumer space ventures, satellite industry consultant Roger Rusch said in 2015 "It's highly unlikely that you can make a successful business out of this."· Musk publicly acknowledged that business reality, and indicated in mid-2015 that while endeavoring to develop this technically complicated space-based communication system he wanted to avoid overextending the company and stated that they are being measured in their pace of development. Nevertheless, internal documents leaked in February 2017 indicated that SpaceX expected more than US$30 billion in revenue by 2025 from its satellite constellation, while revenues from its launch business were expected to reach US$5 billion in the same year.


In 2015, court documents indicate that SpaceX had engaged in collaboration with wireless chip-maker Broadcom. Five key engineers subsequently left to join SpaceX, leading to a lawsuit filed by Broadcom alleging that "SpaceX stole our best minds." In March, an Orange County judge denied Broadcom's multiple restraining order requests. With the initial launch of the first 60 satellites of the operational constellation in 2019, SpaceX indicated that it would require 420 satellites in the constellation to achieve minor broadband coverage of Earth and 780 of the first 1,600 to provide moderate coverage. How Do Starlink satellites work? Each Starlink satellite weighs 500 lbs. (227 kilograms) and is roughly the size of a table, according to Sky & Telescope magazine. Rather than sending internet signals through electric cables, which must be physically laid down to reach far-flung places, satellite internet works by beaming information through the vacuum of space, where it travels 47% faster than in fiber-optic cable, Business Insider reported. Current satellite internet works using large spacecraft that orbit 22,236 miles (35,786 km) above a particular spot on the Earth. But at that distance, there are generally significant time delays in sending and receiving data. By being closer to our planet and networking together, Starlink’s satellites are meant to carry large amounts of information rapidly to any point on Earth, even over the oceans and in extremely hard-to-reach places where fiber-optic cables would be expensive to lay down. Musk said the Starlink network would be able to provide "minor" internet coverage after 400 spacecraft were up and running, and "moderate" coverage after about 800 satellites became operational.

Criticism.

A large number of planned satellites have been met with criticism from the astronomical community. Astronomers claim that the number of visible satellites will outnumber visible stars and that their brightness in both optical and radio wavelengths will severely impact scientific observations. Because the Starlink satellites can autonomously change their orbits, observations cannot be scheduled to avoid them. The International Astronomical Union and National Radio Astronomy Observatory have released official statements expressing concern on the matter. SpaceX representatives and Musk have claimed that the satellites will have minimal impact. Many professional astronomers have disputed these claims based on initial observation of the Starlink v0.9 satellites on the first launch, shortly after their deployment from the launch vehicle. In later statements on Twitter, Musk stated that SpaceX will work on reducing the albedo of the satellites and will provide on-demand orientation adjustments for astronomical experiments, if necessary.


SpaceX has mitigated concerns about the long-term danger of space junk resulting from placing thousands of satellites in orbit in part by lowering the planned orbit of the satellites. Failed satellites are expected to deorbit within a few years.

Suhas N


Update for the day #612 | Building Better Mental Health Importance of mental health Your mental health influences how you think, feel, and behave in daily life. It also affects your ability to cope with stress, overcome challenges, build relationships, and recover from life’s setbacks and hardships. Strong mental health isn’t just the absence of mental health problems. Being mentally or emotionally healthy is much more than being free of depression, anxiety, or other psychological issues. Rather than the absence of mental illness, mental health refers to the presence of positive characteristics. People who are mentally healthy have

• A sense of contentment

• A zest for living and the ability to laugh and have fun.

• The ability to deal with stress and bounce back from adversity.

• A sense of meaning and purpose, in both their activities and their relationships.

• The flexibility to learn new skills and adapt to change.

• A balance between work and play, rest and activity, etc.

• The ability to build and maintain fulfilling relationships.

• Self-confidence and high self-esteem. - The relationship between resilience and mental health Having solid mental health doesn’t mean that you never go through bad times or experience emotional problems. We all go through disappointments, loss, and change. And while these are normal parts of life, they can still cause sadness, anxiety, and stress. But just as physically healthy people are better able to bounce back from illness or injury, people with strong mental health are better able to bounce back from adversity, trauma, and stress. This ability is called resilience. People who are emotionally and mentally resilient have the tools for coping with difficult situations and maintaining a positive outlook. They remain focused, flexible, and productive, in bad times as well as good. Their resilience also makes them less afraid of new experiences or an uncertain future. Even when they don’t immediately know how a problem will get resolved, they are hopeful that a solution will eventually be found.


Why are we often reluctant or unable to address our mental health needs? Our inability to address our mental health needs stems from a variety of reasons:

• In some societies, mental and emotional issues are seen as less legitimate than physical issues. They’re seen as a sign of weakness or somehow as being our own fault.

• Some people mistakenly see mental health problems as something we should know how to “snap out of.” Men, especially, would often rather bottle up their feelings than seek help.

• In the modern age, we’re obsessed with seeking simple answers to complex problems. We look for connection with others by compulsively checking social media instead of reaching out to people in the real world; to boost our mood and ease depression we take a pill, rather than address the underlying issues.

• Many people think that if they do seek help for mental and emotional problems, the only treatment options available are medication (which comes with unwanted side effects) or therapy (which can be lengthy and expensive). The truth is that, whatever your issues, there are steps you can take to improve the way you feel and experience greater mental and emotional well-being. And you can start today!

Find purpose and meaning in life Everyone derives meaning and purpose in different ways that involve benefiting others, as well as yourself. You may think of it as a way to feel needed, feel good about yourself, a purpose that drives you on, or simply a reason to get out of bed in the morning. In biological terms, finding meaning and purpose is essential to brain health as it can help generate new cells and create new neural pathways in the brain. It can also strengthen your immune system, alleviate pain, relieve stress, and keep you motivated to pursue the other steps to improve mental and emotional health. However, you derive meaning and purpose in life, it’s important to do it every day. What gives you meaning and purpose? Engaging work that provides meaning to yourself and others. Partake in activities that challenge your creativity and make you feel productive, whether or not you get paid for them. Some ideas are gardening, drawing, writing, playing an instrument, or building something in your workshop.


Relationships. Spending quality time where you give of yourself to people who matter to you, whether they’re friends, grandkids, or elderly relatives, can support both your health and theirs, while also providing a sense of purpose. Caring for a pet. Yes, pets are a responsibility, but caring for one makes you feel needed and loved. There’s no love quite as unconditional as the love a pet can give. Animals can also get you out of the house for exercise and expose you to new people and places. Volunteering. Just as we’re hard-wired to be social, we’re also hard-wired to give to others. The meaning and purpose derived from helping others or the community can enrich and expand your life—and make you happier. There’s no limit to the individual and group volunteer opportunities you can explore. Schools, churches, non-profits, and charitable organizations of all sorts depend on volunteers for their survival. Caregiving. Taking care of an aging parent, a handicapped spouse, or a child with a physical or mental illness is an act of kindness, love, and loyalty—and can be as rewarding and meaningful as it is challenging

Sanmathi


Update for the day #613| WhatsApp Pay set to launch in India The messaging service giant, WhatsApp is all set to launch it's payment service. Here's more about it: On February 7, 2020, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) granted permission to the California-headquartered company, Facebook ‘to roll out its digital payment service in a phased manner’, which will cater to 10 million users in India during the first phase. This rollout will allow the messaging app to grow its payment services using government's UPI scheme. WhatsApp Pay is an in-chat payment feature that allows users to make transactions via WhatsApp to their contact list. It is UPI-based payments service that allows you to both send and receive money.

WhatsApp Pay’s beta run WhatsApp Pay was launched in February, 2018 in India as part of a trial run, to a million users under a partnership with ICICI Bank as a part of beta testing., However, it couldn’t launch formally because of the delay in approval by NPCI. In October 2019, a third-party security audit, assigned by the RBI, was performed by one of the Big Four consultancies to check for security compliance of WhatsApp Pay. In the meantime, WhatsApp worked with the government and its own teams to resolve issues around data localization norms ,which was a key reason behind the delay in the company’s payment service launch. How to enable and use WhatsApp Pay?

• On WhatsApp, tap on the attachment button inside a chat window. All Android and iOS users should see a ‘Payments’ option.

• Tap on this, and new users will be prompted to accept the terms and conditions of the service.

• After agreeing to this, users will be taken to the UPI registration screen. This process will follow the same process of authentication as any existing UPI payments app.

• For first-time UPI users, you will be prompted to select your bank, following which your phone number will be validated. You will then be prompted to choose your UPI ID, and set an UPI PIN as mandated by your bank.

• Once this entire setup is complete, users will be able to invite others by sending a payment request to those who do not have the service yet. Alternately, transactions can be made with existing WhatsApp Pay users.


Scaling WhatsApp’s phased rollout of the payment service is linked to its large user base. The firm wants to scale up its payments operations once the infrastructure is equipped to handle the load of transactions. So far, Google Pay (launched in 2017 as Tez) has been the most used and growing UPI app in India, followed by Walmart-owned PhonePe, Paytm and NPCI-created BHIM. All or most of these apps have acquired users from the ground up, giving banks time and opportunity to scale up as the transaction volume rises. As for Paytm, the subscriber numbers were not as high as WhatsApp when it launched UPI. Paytm had about 280 wallet users at the time and not all of them switched to UPI. As of last May, according to news reports, Google Pay saw over 240 million UPI transactions in the month, PhonePe recorded around 230 million while Paytm numbers were pegged at 200 million. Speaking during an earnings call, Zuckerberg said WhatsApp Pay was expected to be launched in a number of countries over the next six months. "We got approval to test this (payment services) with one million people in India back in 2018. And when so many of the people kept using it week after week, we knew it was going to be big when we get to launch," Zuckerberg had said, in a sure shot indication that the big rollout was close by. Future WhatsApp Pay will however not have a smooth sail in India as there are a myriad of payments app already in the market. It will lock in for tough competition with the Ali Baba backed Paytm, Alphabet’s Google Pay app, Phone Pe and Mobiwik among others. Google Pay is currently the most used payment app in India followed by Paytm. Notably, WhatsApp Pay launch might affect the businesses of these apps that are dominating the digital payment space in India. These payment apps also come with features that allow users to book movie, train, plane tickets, recharge their metro cards, DTH etc. It would be interesting to see what services the WhatsApp Pay will provide to its users.


Once WhatsApp is able to do a full roll-out of the payment service, it’s expected to capture the lion’s share in that space since the user base is already large and a phased rollout will help ensure banks can scale up their systems as users start transacting. WhatsApp, which was bought by Mark Zuckerberg-led Facebook for $21 billion in 2014, counts India as its biggest market with more than 450 million users. Post the successful launch, WhatsApp Pay is likely to become one of the largest mobile payment’s apps in India. “One example that we've been working on is WhatsApp Payments where you're going to be able to send money as quickly and easily as sending a photo,” said Mark Zuckerberg on an earnings conference call with analysts, while talking about the growth of commerce and payments on private messaging apps. However, it may not be a clear path ahead yet for the company. Since, the Centre for Accountability and Systemic Change (CASC) has sought an immediate rollback of the WhatsApp Payments pilot project.

Source: https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/whatsapp-pay-set-for-phased-rolled-out-in-india-granted-npci-licence-120020700237_1.html https://www.pymnts.com/digital-payments/2020/whatsapp-gets-approval-for-india-rollout/ https://inc42.com/buzz/petition-filed-in-sc-seeking-ban-on-whatsapp-payments-pilot/

Chaitrashree G

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SURESH & CO. EMERGING THOUGHTS

Update for the day #614|Importance of communication

Communication is deeply intertwined with human existence. It is a very integral part of it. One cannot think of human life without communication. Can you imagine what would happen if you are not allowed to talk for a long time? You would feel suffocated. In personal life, we need to communicate to deal with various concerns and problems of daily life. In professional life also, it is communication that helps us to build healthy relations and credibility with co-workers. Communication is a process that is dynamic, continuous, and irreversible but at the same time, it is reciprocal in nature. It is an ongoing process. Roughly, we can define communication as a shared meaning between two or more individuals. The shared meaning arises out of the individual’s experiences, background, education, and training. The similarity in experiences, background, training, etc. makes communication successful between individuals. Communication helps us to understand others. The inability to communicate can lead to a lot of problems both personally and professionally. Besides, knowledge is not the sole requirement for the achievement of success. A person may possess good knowledge, but his/her performance will be evaluated largely on the basis of his/her ability to communicate. Therefore, if you are a good communicator, you have better chances of success in life and in business.

Communication for Business Businesses need people with good communication skills because communication is an essential part of the kind of work that is done in business organizations. It extends across all areas of business, including managerial, technical, clerical and social positions. In present times, several factors have contributed to the significance of communication. They are-

• Faster means of communication because of scientific and technological advancements

• Shrinking geographical boundaries because of the availability of faster means of transport

• Growth of the multinational companies that have resulted in the creation of a globalized market economy

• Generation of highly advanced management techniques as a result of the growing importance of professionalism in the management of business

• The information revolution that has brought with it highly sophisticated networking technologies

• Multiplication of systems of communication at all levels of organization because of the specialized knowledge that has lead to departmentalization

• Advancements in the field of social sciences such as in psychology and in sociology that has created an awareness about the human mind and behavior and how they influence communication

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According to R. Ludlow, “Business communication is a process of transfer of information and understanding between different parts and people of a business organization. It consists of various modes and media involved in communication interchanges.” Communication undertaken by a business organization with the purpose of achieving certain specific goals is known as business communication. In fact, business communication is a special type of communication undertaken to meet the needs of the organization. Powerful concepts in modern management like participation, motivation, involvement revolve around communication.

Naman S

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Update for the day #615| Gold Standard

What is Gold Standard?

The gold standard is a monetary system where a country's currency or paper money has a value directly linked to gold. With the gold standard, countries agreed to convert paper money into a fixed amount of gold. A country that uses the gold standard sets a fixed price for gold and buys and sells gold at that price. That fixed price is used to determine the value of the currency. For example, if the U.S. sets the price of gold at $500 an ounce, the value of the dollar would be 1/500th of an ounce of gold.

The gold standard is not currently used by any government. Britain stopped using the gold standard in 1931 and the U.S. followed suit in 1933 and abandoned the remnants of the system in 1973.1 The gold standard was completely replaced by fiat money, a term to describe currency that is used because of a government's order, or fiat, that the currency must be accepted as a means of payment. In the U.S., for instance, the dollar is fiat money, and for Nigeria, it is the naira. The appeal of a gold standard is that it arrests control of the issuance of money out of the hands of imperfect human beings. With the physical quantity of gold acting as a limit to that issuance, a society can follow a simple rule to avoid the evils of inflation. The goal of monetary policy is not just to prevent inflation, but also deflation, and to help promote a stable monetary environment in which full employment can be achieved. A brief history of the U.S. gold standard is enough to show that when such a simple rule is adopted, inflation can be avoided, but strict adherence to that rule can create economic instability, if not political unrest. The Gold Standard: A History

"We have gold because we cannot trust governments," President Herbert Hoover famously said in 1933 in his statement to Franklin D. Roosevelt. This statement foresaw one of the most draconian events in U.S. financial history: The Emergency Banking Act, which forced all Americans to convert their gold coins, bullion, and certificates into U.S. dollars.2 While the legislation successfully stopped the outflow of gold during the Great Depression, it did not change the conviction of gold bugs, people who are forever confident in gold's stability as a source of wealth. Gold has a history like that of no other asset class in that it has a unique influence on its own supply and demand. Gold bugs still cling to a past when gold was king, but gold's past also includes a fall that must be understood to properly assess its future.

The rise and fall of the gold standard By 1900, all countries, except for China and some countries in Central America, had adopted some form of gold standard. According to the World Gold Council, the widespread adoption of the gold standard was highly successful for the world economy. World trade expanded and many countries benefited from rapid growth and low instability. As such, conditions were favourable to the degree that there were substantial flows of “direct investment that opened up the 'emerging markets' of the era, such as the Americas, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.”

This lasted up until WWI, when the cost of war weighed so much on countries that they abandoned the gold standard and resorted to inflationary policies to finance the demands of war, and later,

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reconstruction. (Remember, under a true gold standard system, paper money is limited.) Despite periodic attempts in various countries to return to a gold standard after the war, most did not survive the Great Depression of the 1930s. The U.S., in particular, severed its last ties between the dollar and gold in 1971 when President Richard Nixon announced that the U.S. would officially no longer back the dollar with gold reserves. Gold prices then rose 2,330 percent that decade from $35 per ounce to $850, reports Kitco Contributor and CEO of U.S. Global Investors Frank Holmes.

Likewise, all debt (both public and private), reports Forbes, “began to soar past economic growth once the gold standard ended,” as is illustrated in the graph below.

The purchasing power of the dollar also fell severely, declining by 85 percent since the U.S. moved away from the gold standard in 1971, according to calculations by Peter Ferrara, former Associate Deputy Attorney General of the United States under President George H.W. Bush. His estimates further show that a dollar saved in 1971 was worth just 12 cents by 2012.

While governments have always had tools with which to steer the economy, the fall of the gold standard opened up wider avenues for them to do so. I have taken the contents from the following sites

https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/09/gold-standard.asp https://www.usmoneyreserve.com/blog/rise-and-fall-gold-standard/

Impana H.M

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Update for the day #616| Bermuda Triangle

“Nature Conceals her mystery by her essential grandeur” – Albert Einstein

While the mysteries of nature remain mysteries, scientists claim to have solved one of the biggest mysteries on Earth. This place is one such mysterious places in the ocean, which is in a shape of a triangle, where dozens of aircrafts and ships have disappeared and the reason for the same is not known to anyone. However, few of the ships have been found at the bed of the ocean.

The Bermuda Triangle is a mythical section of the North Atlantic Ocean roughly bounded by Miami, Bermuda and Puerto Rico, which forms a triangular shape. Due to the incidents that take place at this location, it is also known as Devil’s Triangle or Hurricane Alley.

Here are few incidents that took place at the Devil’s Triangle:

1. The U.S.S. Cyclops, 1918

In the spring of 1918, the U.S.S. Cyclops, took on a load of 10,000 tons of manganese ore in Brazil, and then sailed north to Barbados, where it was resupplied for its nine-day voyage to Baltimore harbour. But after leaving Barbados, the ship and its 309 men were never seen nor heard from again. Navy cruisers searched the ocean, but saw no sign of the ship, not even an oil slick, and the Navy eventually declared the crew lost at sea.

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2. U.S. Navy Avengers Flight 19, 1945

The story of Flight 19 is the best-known of the Bermuda Triangle disappearances. Five Avenger torpedo bombers took off from the U.S. Naval Air Station on Dec. 5, 1945. All five pilots were experienced aviators, and the planes had been checked out mechanically prior to take-off. However, after an hour, the tower got a call from the flight leader, Charles Taylor, who sounded confused and said that he couldn't see land. Within minutes, a Mariner seaplane and a 13-man crew were sent out to the Avengers' last-known position only to vanish as well. For five days, the Navy searched for the lost aircraft, covering almost 250,000 square miles of the Atlantic, but found no trace of them. 3. DC-3 Flight NC-16002, 1948

On December 28, 1948, a DC-3 passenger plane was flying on a route from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Miami. The weather was good, and when the plane was 80 kms from Miami, Captain Robert E. Linquist, contacted an air traffic control centre in New Orleans to give his coordinates, instead of Miami. That communication was the last that anyone heard from the aircraft. When the plane didn't arrive in Miami, the U.S. Coast Guard began a search, and was joined by the U.S. Navy, the Air Force. It's likely that Linquist was mistaken about his location and he might not have known about an unexpected change in the wind, which could have taken the plane off course.

4. The S.S. Marine Sulphur Queen, 1963

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On February 2, 1963, the S.S. Marine Sulphur Queen, oil tanker was bound for Norfolk, Virginia from Beaumont, Texas carrying 15,000 tons of molten sulphur in heated tanks. But it never reached its destination. Unlike some of the other vanished craft in the Bermuda Triangle, though the ship was never found, debris was recovered, including pieces of a raft, a life vest, and a broken oar. 5. SS EL FARO

On October 1, 2015, one of the most tragic Bermuda Triangle disappearances was the sinking of the SS El Faro cargo ship that departed Jacksonville, Florida heading for Puerto Rico. The ship's captain and owners made a monstrous mistake to continue sailing right into severe tropical storm Joaquin that turned into a Category 3 hurricane. The ship's equipment failed to provide current weather conditions, failing with a 21-hour lag time. The ship was found a month later 15,000 feet below the surface. None of the crew bodies were ever found. Only the ship's black box was recovered. No one knows if it was a mystery or a coincidence that all the equipment fails at the same time.

Explanations Provided Persons accepting the Bermuda Triangle as a real phenomenon have offered a number of explanatory approaches.

Paranormal Explanation Writers have used a number of supernatural concepts to explain the events. One explanation pins the blame on leftover technology from the mythical lost continent of Atlantis. Some of the writers also believe that there is some sort of Alien Activities in that area, Space Time, Time Hole or Black Hole.

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Natural Explanation 1. Compass Variations Few say that the Bermuda Triangle is one of the two places on Earth where the magnetic compass points towards true north. Normally a compass will point toward magnetic north. The difference between the two is known as compass variation.

2. Gulf Stream The Gulf Stream is a major surface currents, primarily driven by thermohaline circulation that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and then flows through the Straits of Florida into the North Atlantic. A small plane making a water landing or a boat having engine trouble can be carried away from its reported position by the current. 3.Human Error The incidents would have occurred due to human error by the officials on the ship or aircraft.

4. Violent Weather Hurricanes are powerful storms that form in tropical waters and have historically cost thousands of lives and caused billions of dollars in damage. These storms have in the past caused a number of incidents in the Triangle. However, it is questioned as to how these storms show up suddenly on a clear day.

5. Methane Gas An explanation for some of the disappearances has focused on the presence of large fields of methane hydrates (viz. a form of natural gas) on the continental shelves. Laboratory experiments carried out in Australia have proven that bubbles can sink a scale model ship by decreasing the density of the water. When the ship enters such an area could cause it to sink very rapidly and without warning. The history of the Bermuda Triangle is a trail of unsolved disappearances. Theories about why ships and planes go missing in this region are numerous with the latest explanation of underwater craters releasing methane gas build-up or high waves. But this doesn’t explain the vanishing plains and scientists have no answers for it.

“Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature. And that is because, in the last analysis, we ourselves are a part of the mystery that we are trying to solve.” - Max Planck N Yash Jain

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Update for the day #617| The Kuleshov Effect

The Kuleshov Effect is the single most important concept to editing, if not to filmmaking itself. It’s a cornerstone of visual storytelling; through this phenomenon we can suggest meaning and manipulate space, as well as time. It is a fundamental aspect of “movie magic”. Lev Kuleshov (1899-1970), was a Russian filmmaker, considered by some to be the first film theorist due to his work dating to the 1910s. Kuleshov asked the question: what made cinema a distinct art, separate from photography, literature or theatre? He found that any form of art consists of two things, the material itself and the way in which the artist organizes the material. Following this logic, Kuleshov found that the organization of individual shots, also known as montage, is what makes film stand apart. In 1921, Kuleshov set up a series of cinematic demonstrations which gave the phenomenon its name. In these experiments, he projected the face of a well-known actor, then cut to a plate of soup, he then showed another shot of the same actor, then a girl in a coffin, the final sequence was the actor’s face, then an attractive young woman.

Audiences responded that the actor seemed in the first sequence to be hungry, in the second, quite mournful and finally seemed to exude lust. In reality, all three shots of the actor were the exact same, his face was interpreted differently based on what it was put next to in the edit. Additionally, even though there was no establishing shot of the actor together with objects from the other shots, they seemed to the audience to be in close proximity to one another. Through the ordering of the shots, two separate places seemed to be one whole continuous location to the audience. Manipulating space and time was possible through the use of editing. This was a huge moment for cinema, with Kuleshov declaring montage to be the central principle that defines film as an art on its own.

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Kuleshov’s theories were instrumental in the creation of a powerful genre of filmmaking, Soviet Montage, which Stalin eventually suppressed. But the Kuleshov Effect lives on, exemplified in almost every film or video that we encounter. With this deduction in place, all of the film world moved forward as an artistic medium. Now modern filmmakers knew they could elicit anything they wanted from the watching audience just by editing new shots. And from those editing techniques grew a whole slew of different creative camera angles that could complement the editing and be used to tell stories. Filmmakers across the world were excited by the Kuleshov effect. And it kept influencing people as time passed. The biggest takeaway from this Kuleshov effect example and definition is that filmmakers are always in control of the audience. The best filmmakers exploit that control, subvert that control, and respect that control. Vishnu .M.S

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Update for the day #618| Women's MMA

What is MMA? Mixed martial arts (MMA), also known as cage fighting, is a full-contact combat sport that allows striking and grappling, both standing and on the ground, using techniques from various combat sports and martial arts. Women’s MMA.

While mixed martial arts is primarily a male dominated sport, it does have female athletes. Female competition in Japan includes promotions such as the all-female Valkyrie, and JEWELS (formerly known as Smackgirl). There has been a growing awareness of women in mixed martial arts due to popular female fighters and personalities such as Megumi Fujii, Miesha Tate, Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos, Ronda Rousey, Joanna Jędrzejczyk, Holly Holm and Gina Carano among others. In Japan, female competition has been documented since the mid-1990s. Influenced by female professional wrestling and kickboxing, the Smackgirl competition was formed in 2001 and became the only major all-female promotion in mixed martial arts. Outside Japan and the United States, female competition is almost exclusively found in minor local promotions. However, in Europe some major organizations have held select female competitions, including It's Showtime, Shooto Europe, Cage Warriors, and M-1 Global. Following Zuffa's acquisition of Strikeforce in March 2011, the UFC began promoting women's fights, with Ronda Rousey rapidly becoming one of the promotion's biggest draws. Ronda Rousey Born in Riverside County, California on February 1, 1987 to parents Ron Rousey and AnnMaria DeMars, little Ronda was born with an umbilical cord wrapped around her neck that damaged her vocal cords. She didn't speak coherently until the age of six. Ronda was a self-professed tomboy and swam from the ages of 6 to 10. She competed on the Jr. Olympic swim team where she placed in the state level. Because of her mother, a 7th degree black belt and 1984 World Judo Champion, Ronda took up the sport. At 17 she became the youngest judoka in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. The pinnacle of her Judo career was a bronze at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Rousey became the first American to win an Olympic medal in women's Judo since it became an Olympic sport in 1992.

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She made her mixed martial arts debut as an amateur in 2010. Since then she has won 12 fights out of 14, winning the majority in the first round by armbar submission UFC. President Dana White had publicly stated that women would never be allowed to fight in the UFC, but on February 23, 2013, Ronda did just that. She won the fight against Liz Carmouche in the first round with her signature armbar and became the first UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion. In 2014, Ronda appeared in her first motion picture - The Expendables 3 (2014). Other projects are Furious 7 (2015) and The Athena Project as well as Entourage (2015). Manoj kumar Y

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Update for the day #619| Certified Fund Specialist

Who is a Certified Fund Specialist (CFS)? A certified fund specialist (CFS) has received a certification from the Institute of Business and Finance (IBF) for their expertise in mutual funds and the mutual fund industry. Requirements for the designation include passing the certified fund specialist exam. The certified fund specialist exam is one of the oldest certification designations in the mutual fund industry.

Understanding Certified Fund Specialist Certified fund specialists receive training for the exam from the IBF, which is the creator and issuer of the CFS designation. The IBF was founded in 1988 and developed the CFS designation in that same year. The CFS allows professionals, such as brokers, money managers, and accountants, to offer contemporary investing advice on mutual funds. Certified financial specialist certifications are typically obtained by individuals who work in the financial industry, such as personal financial advisors, accountants, bankers, brokers, money managers, and certified financial planners. Obtaining a certified fund specialist certificate can set analysts apart by giving them an additional certification to show added expertise.

Certified Fund Specialist vs. Series 6 The CFS certification provides financial service professionals with the additional expertise needed for advising clients as to which mutual funds best suit their particular needs. The designation does not license individuals to buy or sell mutual funds. Meanwhile, the Series 6 license is a different licensing aspect that many certified fund specialists have and use in their daily business dealings. A Series 6 license allows professionals to buy and sell the funds for their clients and is helpful to have in the financial industry

Requirements for the Certified Fund Specialist The CFS exam is designed to provide specialists with current market information on mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), real estate investment trusts (REITs), closed-end funds, and other similar investment offerings. It also includes material on advanced fund analysis and fund selection, asset allocation, portfolio construction, risk management, taxes, and estate planning. Individuals must have a bachelor's degree or 2,000 hours of financial services work experience prior to taking the exam. A six-module self-study program provided by the IBF is also a prerequisite. The IBF estimates individuals can complete the certification in approximately 15 weeks, although they are given one year to complete the course once enrolled in the program. The CFS certification requires three proctored, online exams and a case study for completion.

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Certified fund specialists must also fulfill continuing education requirements. Continuing education is also presented by the IBF, which seeks to offer professionals an edge in awareness of contemporary investing tools and market practices. In order to keep up with the requirements, certified fund specialists must complete 30 hours of continuing education every two years KEY TAKEAWAYS •A certified fund specialist is a financial industry professional certified in providing mutual funds assistance. •In order to become a certified fund specialist, a certificate must be acquired from the Institute of Business and Finance (IBF). •Certified fund specialists can be accountants, bankers, brokers, money managers, personal financial advisors, and other professionals within the financial industry. •In addition to holding a certificate, certified fund specialists must fulfill 30 hours of education every two years. •Before taking the exam, a prospective CFS must have a bachelor’s degree or 2,000 hours of work experience in the financial services industry and have completed the IBF self-study program consisting of six modules.

Varsha N K

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Update for the day #620| Triple Bottom Line

What is Triple bottom line? Triple bottom line is a theory that recommends that companies should also focus on social and environmental concerns just as they do on profits. The TBL suggests that instead of one bottom line, there should be three: profit, people, and the planet. History: In 1994, John Elkington, the famed British management consultant and sustainability guru coined the phrase "triple bottom line" as his way of measuring performance in corporate America. The idea was that a company can be managed in a way that not only earns financial profits, but which also improves people's lives and the planet.

Understanding the Triple Bottom Line: In finance, when we speak of a company's bottom line, we usually mean its profits. Elkington's TBL framework advances the goal of sustainability in business practices, in which companies look beyond profits to include social and environmental issues to measure the full cost of doing business. Moreover, the TBL model holds that if a company focuses on finances only and does not examine how it interacts socially, that company cannot see the whole picture, and thus cannot account for the full cost of doing business. TBL = Profit + People + Planet According to TBL theory, companies should be working simultaneously on these three bottom lines: Profit: The traditional measure of corporate profit - the profit and loss (P&L) account. People: Measures how socially responsible an organization has been throughout its operations. The Planet: Measures how environmentally responsible a firm has been.

Benefits of Triple Bottom Line:

• Higher Sustainability in the competitive environment

• Increases revenue in long run

• Reduced the usage of energy, water resources.

• making the company seem attractive for potential investors, especially those interested in ethical investment or socially responsive investment.

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• Increase employee productivity

• Reduce staff turnover and attracts the staff.

Challenges of Triple Bottom Line: · Measuring the TBL A key challenge of the TBL, is the difficulty of measuring the social and environmental bottom lines. Profitability is inherently quantitative, so it is easy to measure. What constitutes social and environmental responsibility, however, is somewhat subjective.

· Mixing Diverse Elements It can be difficult to switch gears between priorities that are seemingly diverse, maximizing financial returns while also doing the greatest good for society. Some companies might struggle to balance deploying money and other resources.

Examples of TBL Implementation:

·LEGO Group has formed partnerships with organizations like the non-governmental organization (NGO), World Wildlife Fund. In addition, LEGO has made a commitment to reduce its carbon footprint and is working towards 100% renewable energy capacity by 2030. ·ITC in 2018 has roped in Ogilvy & Mather who created the campaign with the tag line “Sab Saath Badhein”. The campaign will specifically focus on initiatives in watershed development, afforestation and social forestry and the e-Choupal network of connecting farmers ·Tesla – Based on original electric motor design contributes style and safety for people and energy innovation for the planet. Their aim was to build sustainable means of transport which could outperform a petrol vehicle.

Shreya R Mahendrakar

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Update for the day #621| Pareto Analysis

Pareto Analysis is a technique used for business decision making based on the 80/20 rule. It is a decision-making technique that statistically separates a limited number of input factors as having the greatest impact on an outcome, either desirable or undesirable. In 1906, Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto discovered that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by just 20% of the people in the country. He extended this research and found out that the disproportionate wealth distribution was also the same across all of Europe. Pareto analysis is based on the idea that 80% of a project's benefit can be achieved by doing 20% of the work or conversely 80% of problems are traced to 20% of the causes. Today, Pareto Analysis is employed by business managers in all industries to determine which issues cause the most problems within their departments, organizations, or sectors. A good approach typically involves conducting a statistical technique, such as a cause and effect analysis, to produce a list of potential problems and the outcomes of these problems. By applying the 80/20 rule, problems can be sorted based on whether they affect profits, customer complaints, technical issues, product defects, or delays and backlogs from missed deadlines. Each of these issues is given a rating based on the amount of revenue or sales, and time lost, or the number of complaints received respectively. A basic breakdown of the steps could involve:

• Identify the problems.

• List or identify the cause of the issues or problems noting that there could be multiple causes.

• Score the problems by assigning a number to each one that prioritizes the problem based on the level of negative impact on the company.

• Organize the problems into groups such as customer service or system issues.

• Develop and implement the action plan to solve the problems by focusing on the higher scored problems first.

It's important to note that Pareto analysis does not provide solutions to issues, but only helps businesses to identify the few significant causes for majority of their problems. Once the causes have been identified, the company can create strategies to address the problems.

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A few of the 80/20 rule examples from daily practice which are often correct are:

• 80% of the customer complaints ensue from 20% of the products or services delivered.

• 20% of the products or services yield 80% of the profits.

• 20% of the people responsible for sales generate 80% of the operational income.

• 20% of the system failures are caused by 80% of the system problems. Yash M

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Update for the day #622| Zero Energy Cool Chamber

Fresh fruits and vegetables generally need proper postharvest management to reduce loss and maintain quality. Today, postharvest handling practices regarding vegetables throughout the marketing channels in most developing countries remain inadequate. The growers have no storage facilities, while the transport and marketing channels also lack storage facilities. As a result, most harvested fruits and vegetables are usually stored in the open, exposed to high temperatures and low relative humidity conditions, until a middleman, wholesaler or retailer purchases those commodities. By the time this gap is fixed there is usually a reduction in shelf life of fruits or vegetables due to loss of moisture or decay or physical deterioration. This where a Zero Energy Cool Chamber comes into play as a solution to the problem. Evaporative cooling chambers (ECCs), also known as "zero energy cool chambers" (ZECCs), are a type of evaporative cooler, which are simple and inexpensive ways to keep vegetables fresh without the use of electricity. ZECC design is composed of a double brick wall structure, supported by a base layer of brick, and covered with a straw mat. The brick ECC was originally developed in India by Susanta K. Roy and D.S. Khuridiya in the early 1980s to address fruit and vegetable post-harvest losses, especially in rural areas where electricity is non-existent.

Construction and Structure: Evaporative cooling chambers (ECCs) can be made from locally available materials including bricks, sand, wood, dry grass, gunny/burlap sack, and twine. The space in between the two brick walls is filled with sand, which retains the water that is added. The steps can be mentioned as below:

• A foundation is to be built using bricks

• Double wall at approximately a height of 67.5 cm leaving a cavity of 7.5 cm wide between the walls is to be built

• The cavity between the two walls is to be filled with wet sand. The walls of the chamber are to be then wet with water.

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• A frame from wood the same size as the foundation is to be built. It should be then covered with straw or dry grass. This shall be the cover to the structure built.

• If the evaporative cooling chamber is not built in an area that is well shaded, a shed must be constructed to provide shade.

• Fruits and vegetables can then be placed inside the chamber inside plastic baskets.

• The chamber must be watered twice a day.

Science behind the idea😉 – “Evaporative Cooling”: Evaporative cooling occurs when air, which is not already saturated with water, passes over a wet surface. Water evaporates into air raising its humidity and same time cooling the bed. As water evaporates it has a considerable cooling effect and faster the rate of evaporation greater the cooling. Efficiency of evaporative cooler depends on humidity of the surrounding air. Very dry, low humidity air can absorb a lot of moisture so considerable cooling occurs. In extreme case of air that is saturated no evaporation can take place and no cooling occurs. Benefits of ZECC:

• It does not require any electricity or power to operate.

• Materials required like bricks, sand, bamboo etc. available easily and cheaply.

• Even unskilled labour can build the chamber, as it does not require any specialized skill.

• Cool chambers can reduce temperature by 10-15°C and maintain high humidity of about 95% that can increase shelf life and retain quality of produce.

• Small and marginal farmers can store a few days' harvest to avoid middlemen

• Re-installation of the chamber is only once in 3 years – making it cost effective Difficulties faced in usage:

• ZECC may not be effective in places where there is limitation on the availability of water, exposure to wind is low.

• Frequent opening of the cover will result in loss of cool air.

• Additional costs might be incurred if a requirement arises to install a water sprinkler system to keep the chamber wet and cool or for the construction of the shed.

• Not all fruits and vegetables can be stored together because of the differences in rate of ripening or postharvest quality.

Aishwarya R

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Update for the day #623| World Thinking Day

What is World Thinking Day? World Thinking Day is celebrated on 22nd February each year. It is celebrated around the world by 10 million Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in 150 countries. Additionally, some boy-orientated organizations also celebrate this day. World Thinking Day is a global event where children are encouraged to think about their 'sisters' or 'brothers' that are in similar groups around the world.

When did World Thinking Day begin? In the USA, at the fourth world conference in 1926, it was decided that there should be a special day each year for members of the organizations to think about what it means to be part of their organization, to learn more about Girl Scouts and Guides in different parts of the world and the impact that being a member can have on people’s lives. At the 7th world conference in 1932, a Belgian delegate highlighted that birthdays typically involved gifts, and perhaps girls could show their thanks on thinking day by raising funds for the organization. In response, Olave Baden-Powell wrote a letter to all Guides and Girl Scouts asking them to do.

World Thinking Day Themes Each year, World Thinking Day has a theme attached to it, listed below are the last few years:

• 2016: Connect

• 2017: Grow

• 2018: Impact

• 2019: Leadership

In 2020, World Thinking Day will embrace the theme of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Guiding and Scouting values and respects people for who they are, during the day this year, these organizations will recognize the importance of working to build a world where everyone feels included, all around the world.

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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Theme 2020 The theme for Thinking Day in 2020 is "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion" - respecting others for who they are, regardless of race, nationality, religion, age, ability, appearance, gender, identity or experience. "We should all know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads in the tapestry are equal in value no matter what color. World Thinking Day Fund A Belgian delegate at the seventh World Conference suggested that appreciation and friendship should also be shown by gifting presents before this, organizations would send wishes to other organizations in the world. This led to a 'penny for your thoughts' being introduced, after the delegate wrote her letter, £520 was raised for all organizations, this tradition kept going and in 1971 £35,000 was raised.

Tradition / Responsibility The volunteers work hard to make their units inclusive by creating a safe environment where all girls feel an equal sense of belonging and receive tailored support to reach their maximum potential. They also want their units and members to recognize diversity by embracing the common differences that may exist among people, including social and economic background, height, weight, hobbies, and interests. It is the responsibility of all members to make sure – no matter what their identity or background is– feel supported and involved in guiding. World Thinking Day is a chance for girls and young women all over the world to connect and celebrate what makes them truly unique

Kuldeep N

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Update for the day #624| Option Trading & Strategies

An option is a contract giving the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy (in the case of a call) or sell (in the case of a put) the underlying asset at a specific price on or before a certain date. Options are known as derivatives because they derive their value from an underlying asset. A call option gives the holder the right to buy a stock and a put option gives the holder the right to sell a stock. If an investor has long positions, it means that the investor has bought and owns those shares of stocks. By contrast, if the investor has short positions, it means that the investor owes those stocks to someone but does not actually own them yet.

Why Use Options

Speculation Speculation is a wager on future price direction. A speculator might think the price of a stock will go up, perhaps based on fundamental analysis or technical analysis. A speculator might buy the stock or buy a call option on the stock. Speculating with a call option instead of buying the stock outright is attractive to some traders since options provide leverage.

Hedging Suppose you picked a stock of ABC Ltd. for Rs 100 six months back and now it is trading at Rs 125; here, you are earning a return of 25% on your investment. Now due to result season, you realize that the markets may soon enter a turbulent phase, which may also result in losing the money you earned during this time frame. In such a scenario, you can hedge your position by simply buying at the market put option for the same quantity, which will limit your downside during adverse market conditions.

Option Trading Strategies

STRADDLES With straddles (long in this example), you as a trader are expecting the asset (like a stock) to be highly volatile, but don't know the direction in which it will go (up or down). When using a straddle strategy, you as the trader are buying a call and put option at the same strike price, underlying price and expiry date. This strategy is often used when a trader is expecting the stock of a stock to plummet or skyrocket, usually following an event like an earnings report. For example , a company like Apple is getting ready to release their third quarter earnings on July 31st, an options trader could use a straddle strategy to buy a call option to expire on that date at the current Apple stock price, and also buy a put option to expire on the same day for the same price.

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STRANGLES For strangles (long in this example), an investor will buy an "out of the money" call and an "out of the money" put simultaneously for the same expiry date for the same underlying asset. Investors who use this strategy are assuming the underlying asset (like a stock) will have a dramatic price movement but don't know in which direction. What makes a long strangle a somewhat safe trade is that the investor only needs the stock to move greater than the total premium paid, but it doesn't matter in which direction. The upside of a strangle strategy is that there is less risk of loss, since the premiums are less expensive due to how the options are "out of the money" - meaning they're cheaper to buy.

Spread Spreads use two or more options positions of the same class. They combine having a market opinion (speculation) with limiting losses (hedging). Spreads often limit potential upside as well.

Vertical Spread Vertical spreads involve selling one option to buy another. Generally, the second option is the same type and same expiration, but a different strike. A bull call vertical spread, is created by buying a call and simultaneously selling another call with a higher strike price and the same expiration. The spread is profitable if the underlying asset increases in price, but the upside is limited due to the short call strike. The benefit, however, is that selling the higher strike call reduces the cost of buying the lower one. Similarly, a bear put vertical spread, involves buying a put and selling a second put with a lower strike and the same expiration. If you buy and sell options with different expirations, it is known as a calendar spread or time spread.

Butterflies Spread A butterfly consists of options at three strikes, equally spaced apart, where all options are of the same type (either all calls or all puts) and have the same expiration. In a long butterfly, the middle strike option is sold, and the outside strikes are bought in a ratio of 1:2:1 (buy one, sell two, buy one). How to benefit from options trading?

Leverage: Option trading is very attractive for small pocket traders. By taking position in options, one can reduce their cost significantly. Let’s take an example, suppose you wish to buy 12,000 shares of ABC Ltd., which is currently trading at Rs 130 level. Rs 130 call option of the same company is quoting Rs 5. Lot size for the company is 6000. In case you decide to buy stocks, your investment would be (130*12,000) = Rs 15,60,000. But if you choose to go options way, to take the same exposure, you will have to buy two lots for which your investment would come to (5*2*6000) = Rs 60,000. This means your cost of investment in options trading is just 3% to 4% of the investment required in stock trading.

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Higher potential returns: By trading in options, one will experience higher percentage returns compared to stocks. Let’s assume, the delta of ABC Ltd. is 0.80, which suggests that options price will rise by 80% of the stock price. If the stock moves up to Rs 13, you will earn a 10% return. While your option position will gain Rs 10.40 on the investment of Rs 5. Here, the return on investment is nearly 208%, which is much better than the return on stock. On the flip side, if you are on the wrong side of trade, one may end up losing the entire investment amount. Works in different market scenarios One of the key advantages of options trading is alter strategies as per different market conditions. There are various strategies for all kinds of markets, whether bullish, bearish or sideways - Long call, Bull call spread, Long Put, Bear put spread, long straddle, short straddle, etc. One can switch his strategies as per market conditions. Anarghya Suvin

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Update for the day #625| PEST Analysis

“Be a yardstick of quality” - Steve Jobs

PEST (Political, Economic, Social and Technological) Analysis is a management method whereby an organization can assess major external factors that influence its operation in order to become more competitive in the market. PEST Analysis was first introduced by Harvard professor Francis J. Aguilar in his 1967 publication named "Scanning the Business Environment”. It helps to analyse the Political, Economic, Socio-Cultural and Technological changes in your business environment. Changes in your business environment can create great opportunities or can even cause significant threats for an organization. Why do a PEST Analysis? As an entrepreneur, you can try to predict how your products or services will resonate with the public. However, there will always be factors outside of your control affecting how your business operates. A change in your business environment can either trouble your entity like pests or it may act like a pesticide which helps your entity to get rid of pests. So, let’s know the advantages of PEST Analysis.

• It helps to spot business opportunities and it gives advanced warning of significant threats.

• It reveals the direction of change in the business environment. This helps to shape activities, so that you work with change, rather than against it.

• It helps to avoid starting projects that are likely to fail for reasons that are beyond the control.

• When an entity enters a new country, region or market it helps to develop an objective view of the new business environment.

Factors to be analysed in your business environment: Political Factors:

• When is the country’s next local, state or national election? How could this change government or regional policies?

• How does government approach corporate policy, corporate social responsibility, environmental issues and customer protection legislation?

• What is the likely timescale of proposed legislative changes?

• Who are the most likely contenders for power? What are their views on business policy and on other policies that affect our organization?

Economic Factors:

• How stable is the current economy? Is it growing, stagnating, or declining?

• Are key exchange rates stable or do they tend to vary significantly?

• Are customers’ level of disposable income rising or falling? How is this likely to change in the next few years?

• What is the unemployment rate? Will it be easy to build a skilled workforce, or will it be expensive to hire skilled labour?

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Socio-Cultural Factors:

• What is the population’s growth rate and age profile? How is this likely to change?

• What social attitudes and social taboos could affect your business?

• Are generational shifts in attitude likely to affect what you’re doing?

• How do religious beliefs and lifestyle choices affect the population?

Technological Factors:

• Are there any new technologies that you could be using?

• Are there any new technologies on the horizon that could radically affect your work or your industry?

• Do any of your competitors have access to new technologies that could redefine their products?

Let’s see one practical example: Uber Technologies Inc. Political factors:

• Need to make its stand clear about drivers’ insurance.

• Must follow minimum wages rules.

• Must deal with bans in many countries

Economic Factors:

• Easily accessible.

• Affordable fare charges.

• Offers job opportunities but pay may not be convincing. Social Factors:

• User friendly.

• Quick pick up.

• Gives better ride experience than taxis.

Technological Factors:

• Excellent mobile app for users.

• Using social media and other electronic medias well for promotion. Hamsashree H.S.

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Update for the day #626| The Akshaya Patra Foundation

“The results of philanthropy are always beyond calculation.” ~ Miriam Beard

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a non-profit organization that was founded in Bengaluru, India, to fight issues like hunger and malnutrition by implementing the Mid-Day Meal Scheme in the government and government-aided schools. Aiming also to bring children to school, the organization has worked towards reaching more children with wholesome food on every single school day.

Akshaya Patra means inexhaustible vessel in Sanskrit. Akshaya Patra has grown to be the world’s largest secular school lunch program, serving 1.8 million nutritious meals every day to children aged 6-14. Starting with their humble beginnings in 2000, they began with providing meals for 1,500 underprivileged children in India. Now, their 51 ISO-standard kitchens prepare millions of meals each week that are transported to over 16000 schools during the school week. They attribute their phenomenal success to this community development approach where they empower over 7,300 employees, 30% of whom are women, to effect change within their communities.

History: Looking out of a window, one day in Mayapur, a village near Calcutta, His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada saw a group of children fighting with stray dogs over scraps of food. From this simple, yet heart-breaking incident was born a determination that no child within a radius of ten miles from our center should go hungry.

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His inspiring resolve sowed the seeds of The Akshaya Patra Foundation. With the vision: "No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger," Akshaya Patra started the Mid-Day Meal Program in June 2000 by serving mid-day meals to 1,500 children across five government schools in Bengaluru, Karnataka. A humble beginning, yet, the initial days of implementing the programme was not a smooth sail. Soon came the helping hands of Mohandas Pai, who took the initiative of donating the first vehicle to transport food to the schools; and Abhay Jain, who promised to bring in more donors to contribute for the further expansion of the programme. The Challenge: Extreme poverty frequently forces children from low-income families to leave school to earn money. India, in many ways, is a success story. It has achieved unparalleled economic growth and progressive change. However, poverty and inequality remain. Hunger and illiteracy reinforce this cycle of poverty. The Akshaya Patra Solution: In 2000, the Government of India declared that every child in government schools shall receive a meal as part of its plan to address childhood hunger. In collaboration with the government of India the Midday Meal program was created to tackle the enormous task of feeding those 120 million children. Over the past 19 years, Akshaya Patra has proudly been addressing classroom hunger with hot, delicious meals while maintaining dignity and respect for each child served. This meal is often the only meal a child receives in a day, and it serves as an additional incentive to come to school. This proposition directly addresses the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – blueprints for peace and prosperity. The three goals include:

Zero Hunger is a Sustainable Development Goal that the UN has identified to bring about a more equitable and sustainable future for all. Their organization directly tackles hunger for the world’s most vulnerable populations. By providing freshly cooked, nutritious meals, they are directly addressing the negative effects of extreme poverty and hunger but also malnutrition.

They also address a second Sustainable Development Goal as they provide a hospitable environment and the resources necessary to help children succeed at school. This program has been proven to increase the net enrolment ratio, attendance and performance levels of students in primary grades.

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Gender Equality is another Sustainable Development Goal they address. Women hired in their kitchens are empowered to become leaders while they remain respectful of culturally appropriate norms. Women come to work at 10:00 am (after sunrise) and leave by 6:30 pm (before sunset) to ensure their safety. This community development approach ensures that women are able to make their mark in the workforce by providing appropriate terms of employment. They also encourage all their children, regardless of gender, to gain a quality education and improve their nutritional health. They have a 45% female participation rate in their school lunch program. This solution provides children with a conducive environment to receive a quality education and lift their family out of poverty, within a span of only one generation. Sakshi R

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Update for the day #627| Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)

“Quality is presence of value and not absence of mistake” Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI): Background: FSSAI was established by Former Union Minister Dr Anbumani Ramadoss, Government of India on 5 August 2011 under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 which was operationalized in year 2006. Composition and Powers: The FSSAI consists of a chairperson & 22 members. The FSSAI is responsible for setting standards for food. The following are the statutory powers that the FSS Act, 2006 gives to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

• Framing of regulations to lay down food safety standards

• Laying down guidelines for accreditation of laboratories for food testing

• Providing scientific advice and technical support to the Central Government

• Contributing to the development of international technical standards in food

• Collecting and collating data regarding food consumption, contamination, emerging risks etc.

• Disseminating information and promoting awareness about food safety and nutrition in India FSSAI registration applicability: FSSAI issues three types of license based on nature of food business and turnover:

• Registration: For Turnover less than ₹12 Lakh

• State License: For Turnover between ₹12 Lakh to ₹20 Crore

• Central License: For Turnover above ₹20 Crore Other criteria like the location of the business, number of retail stores etc. is needed while evaluating the nature of license applicable. Why FSSAI registration is required? A trader, operator, businessman which is doing any food-related business, etc., food manufacturing, processing, storage, distribution, sale of food products it is mandatory for him to obtain FSSAI Registration or License. Its properly working of such business is monitored by FSSAI. Food is a very delicate issue because it directly affects the health of the consumer. Its registration means your food is completely safe for consumption. Your food product is not harmful to consume.

Verification is conducted by FSSAI officer at the time of registration. If you got the license means that your registration is successful. So the Food license is a must for food operators and traders. Its license meant your food is chemically verified. Its license makes your company reliable. At the time of marketing of your business, you can use it and show it that you are certified by FSSAI.

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Research and quality assurance: Research FSSAI has set certain guidelines for food safety research. The Research and Development division is responsible for research with the following objectives:

• Generate new knowledge that would help in continuously updating and upgrading food safety standards which are compatible with international organizations

• Carry out evidence based studies for improving or building policies. Quality Assurance FSSAI has been mandated to perform various functions related to quality and standards of food. These functions in addition to others include "Laying down procedure and guidelines for notification of the accredited laboratories as per ISO17025. The FSSAI notified laboratories that are classified as:

• FSSAI notified accredited labs- 112

• State Labs-72

• Referral Labs

Consumer outreach: Consumers can connect to FSSAI through various channels. A GAMA (Grievances Against Misleading Advertisements) portal for concerns regarding misleading claims and advertisements too is

operated.

Rakesh K

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Update for the day #628| The World's Largest Cricket Stadium

“Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday!” – Kumara Sangakkara

Ahmedabad's iconic Motera Stadium, also known as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, has been inaugurated by US President Donald Trump on Monday (February 24) and with it, will become the world's largest cricket stadium. 'Namaste Trump', the event to welcome President Donald Trump took place inside the stadium. The entire stadium is being decorated for the grand welcome of the POTUS (President of the United States). Trump was also accompanied by India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani during the inauguration. The Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium in Ahmedabad, also known as Motera Stadium, has notched up quite a few claims to fame since it arrived on the cricket map in 1983. It was here, in 1987, that cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar scored his 10,000th Test run, becoming the first batsman to reach the milestone. Around seven years later, Kapil Dev broke Richard Hadlee's world record of 431 Test wickets. That's not all. In 1999, the legendary Sachin Tendulkar scored his first double century on this very ground. And now the Motera stadium is being redeveloped to emerge as the Cricket's Largest Arena.

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Here are the few facts of the iconic stadium:

• The foundation stone of the Motera Stadium was laid in January 2018 and it is expected to be completed in 2020.

• The project's estimated cost is pegged at Rs 700 crore and it would cover approx. 63 acres of land.

• Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) handed the stadium project to Larson & Toubro (L&T), the other bidders in the race were Shapoorji Pallonji and Nagarjun Construction Company while its designing will be done by the architecture firm M/s Populous, the same firm that had designed the Melbourne stadium.

• The GCA management has also taken traffic issues into consideration while designing the layout of the new cricket ground. In the past, the whole traffic load was borne by one main road from Motera to Sabarmati. According to the new layout, the traffic will be segregated in three directions. Apart from using the Motera-Sabarmati Road, the management plans to integrate Metro Rail and Sabarmati Riverfront Road. The discussion will be held with competent authorities in the state government in this regard. The association has also taken the utmost care to keep the new stadium environment-friendly.

• Previously, the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Australia was the world's largest cricket stadium in the world. This stadium has an audience capacity of around 1,00,024 and the field size is 171 m x 146 m.

• Kolkata's Eden Gardens will be pushed to 3rd place with a capacity of 66,000.

• This new stadium will be dispersed in 63 acres. This stadium would comprise a clubhouse with over 50 rooms, 3 practice grounds for cricketers, 4 dressing rooms, 76 corporate boxes, an Olympic size swimming pool, an indoor cricket training academy, a parking area that can accommodate around 3,000 four-wheeler cars and up to 10,000 two-wheelers.

• Motera Stadium became operational in 1983 and became popular when in 1987 when Sunil Gavaskar scored his 10,000th test run on this ground.

• After the completion of this stadium, India will have a total of 5 largest stadiums from the list of top 10 largest stadiums in the world.

• The Motera cricket stadium in India can restart matches within 30 minutes of rain.

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However, it is still not clear when the newly built stadium will host its international cricket match. Earlier, it was speculated that one of the three ODI matches between India and South Africa will be held here but that didn't happen. Fans now hope that it will host a match during the IPL 2020.

Vishnu V N

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Update for the day #629| Sidney Sheldon

The topic is regarding a very popular writer and producer of Crime fiction and thriller novels. Brief introduction: Sidney Sheldon (February 11, 1917 – January 30, 2007) was an American writer and producer. Sheldon was prominent in the 1930s, first working on Broadway plays and then in motion pictures, notably writing the successful comedy The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947) which earned him an Oscar in 1948. He went on to work in television, where his works spanned a 20-year period during which he created The Patty Duke Show (1963–66), I Dream of Jeannie (1965–70) and Hart to Hart (1979–84). After turning 50, he began writing best-selling romantic suspense novels, such as Master of the Game (1982), The Other Side of Midnight (1973) and Rage of Angels (1980). His 18 novels have sold over 300 million copies in 51 languages. Sheldon is consistently cited as one of the top ten best-selling fiction writers of all time.

Early life: Sheldon was born Sidney Schechtel in Chicago, Illinois. His parents, of Russian Jewish ancestry, were Ascher "Otto" Schechtel (1894–1967), manager of a jewellery store, and Natalie Marcus. At 10, Sidney made his first sale, US$5 for a poem. During the Depression, he worked at a variety of jobs, and after graduating from East High School, he attended Northwestern University on a scholarship and contributed short plays to drama groups. He had to drop out after six months during the Depression era to help support his family. Sheldon enlisted in the military during World War II as a pilot in the War Training Service, a branch of the Army Air Corps, his unit was disbanded before he saw any action.

Career: Television When television became the new popular medium, Sheldon decided to try his hand in it. "I suppose I needed money," he remembered. "I met Patty Duke one day at lunch. So, I produced The Patty Duke Show, and I did something nobody else on TV ever did. For seven years, I wrote almost every single episode of the series. After seeing Duke's performance as Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker (1962), Sheldon had the idea to cast the actress as the two sitcom leads: identical cousins, Patty and Cathy Lane. In 1965, Sheldon created, produced and wrote I Dream of Jeannie starring Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman. He wrote all but two dozen scripts in five years, sometimes using three pseudonyms (Mark Rowane, Allan Devon, Christopher Golato) while simultaneously writing scripts for The Patty Duke Show. He later admitted that he did this because he felt his name was appearing too often in the credits as creator, producer, copyright owner and writer of these series. Production for I Dream of Jeannie ended in 1970 after five seasons. It was "During the last year of I Dream of Jeannie, I decided to try a novel," he said in 1982. "Each morning from 9 until noon, I had a secretary at the studio take all calls. I mean every single call. I wrote each morning — or rather, dictated — and then I faced the TV business. In 1970, Sheldon wrote all seventeen episodes of the short-lived series Nancy.

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In 1979, Sheldon created and wrote for the series Hart to Hart starring Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers. The show aired on ABC and ran for five seasons. Novels In 1969, Sheldon wrote his first novel, The Naked Face, which earned him a nomination for the Edgar Allan Poe Award from the Mystery Writers of America in the category of Best First Novel. His next novel, The Other Side of Midnight, climbed to #1 on The New York Times Best Seller list as did several ensuing novels, a number of which were also made into motion pictures or TV miniseries. His novels often featured determined women who persevere in a tough world run by hostile men. The novels contained a lot of suspense and devices to keep the reader turning the page: "I try to write my books so the reader can't put them down," he explained in a 1982 interview. "I try to construct them so when the reader gets to the end of it, he or she has to read just one more chapter. It's the technique of the old Saturday afternoon serial: leave the guy hanging on the edge of the cliff at the end of the chapter." Most of his readers were women. Asked why this was the case he said: "I like to write about women who are talented and capable, but most important, retain their femininity. Women have tremendous power — their femininity, because men can't do without it. Books were Sheldon's favourite medium. "I love writing books," he commented. "Movies are a collaborative medium, and everyone is second-guessing you. When you do a novel, you're on your own. It's a freedom that doesn't exist in any other medium. He was the author of 18 novels which have sold over 300 million copies. Three years before his death, The Los Angeles Times called Sheldon "Mr. Blockbuster" and "prince of potboilers."

Achievements and awards: Sheldon won an Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay (1947) for The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, a Tony Award (1959) for his musical Redhead, and was nominated for an Emmy Award for his work on I Dream of Jeannie, an NBC sitcom. Sheldon was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1988 had a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars dedicated to him in 1994. Brief information about his death: A resident of Palm Springs, California, Sheldon died on January 30, 2007 of pneumonia at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California, 12 days before his 90th birthday. His remains were cremated, the ashes interred in Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery.

Srinivasan Ananthan

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Update for the day #630| Bespoke Tranche Opportunity

Today’s update is about “Bespoke Tranche Opportunity” which is a glorified version of collateral debt obligation that caused the global financial crisis in 2008. As a matter of fact, It is estimated that over $100 billion worth of Bespoke CDO’s were sold in 2019. Introduction A bespoke CDO is a structured financial product—specifically, a collateralized debt obligation (CDO)—that a dealer creates for a specific group of investors and tailors to their needs. The investor group typically buys a single tranche of the bespoke CDO. The remaining tranches are then held by the dealer, who will usually attempt to hedge against losses. Tranches are portions of a pooled asset divided by specific characteristics. A bespoke CDO is also referred to as a bespoke tranche or a bespoke tranche opportunity. Basics Traditionally, a collateralized debt obligation (CDO) pools together a collection of cash flow-generating assets—such as mortgages, bonds and loans—and repackages this portfolio into discrete sections—called tranches. Bespoke CDOs can be structured like these traditional CDOs, pooling classes of debt with income streams. Different tranches of the CDO carry different degrees of risk, depending on the underlying asset's creditworthiness. Therefore, each tranche has a different quarterly rate of returns (RoR). Obviously, the greater the chance of default of the tranche's holdings, the higher the return it offers. The major rating agencies do not grade bespoke CDOs—the creditworthiness evaluation is done by the issuer and to some extent, market perception. Background of Bespoke CDO’s Bespoke CDOs—like CDOs in general—have faded from public view due to their prominent role in the financial crisis that followed the mortgage meltdown between 2007 and 2009. The creation of these products by Wall Street was seen as contributing to the massive market crash and eventual government bailout—as well as a lack of common sense. The products were highly structured investments that were hard to understand—both by those buying and those selling them—and difficult to value. Despite this, CDOs are a useful tool for moving risk to parties willing to shoulder it, and for freeing up capital for other uses. Wall Street is always looking for ways to transfer risk and unlock capital. So, since around 2016, the bespoke CDO has been making a comeback. In its reincarnation, it's often called a bespoke tranche opportunity (BTO). Rebranding hasn't changed the tool itself, but there is presumably a bit more scrutiny going into the pricing models. It is hoped with these new products the investors don’t find themselves once again holding obligations they don’t properly understand.

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In simple words, as stock mutual fund lets us buy small slices of lot of different stocks, CDO’s lets us buy small slices of a lot of different mortgage loans / debt instead of stocks. Then, these CDO’s are broken into classes based on risk of default. The safer one yields less return and the riskier one yields high return. Bespoke Tranche Opportunity is the same CDO that a dealer creates for a specific group of investors and tailors to their needs and risk appetite. Nagasarwesh E

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D S Vivek Udupi Vikram

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Compiled by: Priyanshi Jain and Sahana H N

Guided by: Udupi Vikram

Disclaimer -The information included above is a summary of recent developments and is not intended to be advice

on any matter. SURESH & CO. expressly disclaims liability to any person in respect of anything done in reliance of

the contents of these publications. Professional advice should be sought before acting on any of the information

contained in it.

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