MOTHER: THE TRUE WARRIOR

One-person on the frontline may have different names. When the entire universe bows down and love that person from the bottom of the heart, even if someone criticizes or tries to create rumors, still the word “mother” won’t fade away. The only person who loves without expecting anything in return, there’s nothing; comparatively, it’s priceless and cannot be quantified. She is the person who survives the aftermath of sequences of struggles in her entire life, beginning from discarded as a female child from birth itself.

A newborn in the caring hands of a mother.

Let us talk about the reality of a patriarchal society. Where the voices get suppressed, but now it’s reflected in the reports. According to the World Population 2020 Report released by UNPFA (United Nations Population Fund) conveys that in India, almost one-third of the total missing females in the world accounts for an estimated figure of 45.8 million people. The children below the age of 5 years, where one out of nine females foresees death due to early gender detection.

A girl child with this mother in a rural village in India.

This pandemic may heal nature, but not the people surviving in the nation, an increase in violence and discrimination is likely to be seen as a consequence of no income source. The practice of child marriage may have vanished, but there are still traces of such incidents where they tried to flout the laws. The technology may have been a boon, but when undauntedly used by the culprits to gender bias by ultrasound, it has crashed their compassion and dreams before it ignites.

A proud mother with her three daughters.

The developing countries are already trying to fight problems like reducing poverty, boosting literacy rate, abandoning illegal trade. Additionally, other matter of concern arises like child trafficking and drug abuse are acting as barriers to the roadmap to success. An abundant investment in terms of money as well as time from renowned leaders, influencers can save the lives of the hapless fate of being such a victim of unfortunate events.

One inspirational story I can share is about a small family where a baby girl enters their life. This incident may sound as a non-fictitious story, but in Mumbai, India, where after three years of marriage, god showers happiness as a unique member enters their life. A 32-year old father was happy to see his baby after ten days free of the contamination. The mother was a patient in the COVID ward in Nowrosjee Wadia Maternity Hospital. They are safe now and returned thanking the efforts taken by the hospital. These doctors and parents who abide by the guidelines do deserve appreciation rather than criticizing uselessly on the health system. The slow curve can take steady growth any day when we won’t be able to see each other, and the day isn’t too far.

Two mothers in a single frame. Such a beauty.

Even a mother can fall into depression; after all, she is a person like all of us. On a positive note, motherhood is seen over drugs while parenting their children. After testing it on rats, contributes the information in the research related to the infralimbic cortex, which is responsible for emotions, preferred the acceptance towards maternal behavior over other addictions. This action shows immense love for their offspring. We as a part of the nourishing society, we can pledge that we will never let their name die, and forever keeping her head upraised in pride.

Ayurveda Medicines

Herbs have been known and used for many centuries for their healthily beneficial properties. The people of Sumer (one of the earliest civilizations of the world) used medicinal herbs such as mulethi and mint. This is evident from the tablets made of clay obtained around 4000 BCE.
The Chinese literature ‘Pen Sao’, written around 3000 BCE, had about 1000 herb formulas and these formulas would date back thousands of years. History recorded in Egypt in 1700 BCE shows that herbs such as hapusha (thorny leaves and bush with poisonous fruits like plum) and garlic were known to them and were used for treatment since 4000 BCE.
The Egyptians also knew about the marvelous qualities of the blossom flower. Women like Cleopatra grinded the petals of the flowers and used them for the beauty of their skin to protect the skin from dry, dry weather. These ancient truths depended on herbs to maintain health and beauty. They knew a lot about which we do not know anything.
The word botany has included many things in it, such as roots, leaves, bark and berry. You must have found that we also use the terms herb and vegetable interchangeably. Today, herbs are commonly called the plant or part of a plant, which is used for its medicinal properties, flavors or fragrance properties.
Even today the nutrients found in vegetation are unmatched and very important for our health. But in today’s modern times we also have the option of taking a herb supplement.
This undesirable use of drugs is praiseworthy and should be done in other countries as well. Germany is the only country where an active substance in the St. John’s Wart – Hypericum is certified for medical use.
While many countries, such as China, Japan, Korea, France and Germany are diagnosing various types of health problems with herbal medicine, on the other hand the medical community in North America is still skeptical about herbs. And is often in favor of allopathic medicine or surgery except for the treatment of diseases.
One problem is that making herbal medicines is not as profitable as allopathic medicines. A modern medicine can be patented, giving the manufacturer company its exclusive rights. Whereas, herbs are readily available to most consumers and there are very few patents.
If a company spends millions of dollars doing research and validating its effects on an herb and another company, which has spent no money, brings the same product to market at a lower price, then the first company This will be a loss deal.
Since there is not much benefit in this, the companies making herbal medicines are not able to cheat the doctors like allopathic medicine companies do. As a result, modern medicine increases the inclination to treat diseases. Instead of treating it slowly with healthy herbs or by using them already, diseases should be avoided.
In more than 25 percent of medicines recommended by a physician, active substances are obtained from plants. Many medicines available in stores are also made from plant compounds.
The white bark is the fundamental source of salicin, which forms the basis of aspirin. Selisin was first artificially synthesized in 1852. Later in 1899, it was further enhanced to make it less irritable to the stomach and brought to the attention of a well-known pharmaceutical company called acetylsalicylic end, called aspirin.
Long before all these incidents, the white bark was used to relieve general aches and pains. The ancient Egyptian, Assyrian, and Greek manuscript mentions white bark, and this effective herb was used by ancient physicians, Galen, Hippocrates, and Dioscorides, to treat pain and fever.
It was used by Native American Indians for headaches, fevers, injured muscles, arthritis, and colds. We started taking herbs, taking medicines made from them and now we have started using the herb in its pure form.

Climate Forcing

Climate “forcing” are factors in the climate system that either increase or decrease the effects to the climate system.

• Positive forcing such as excess greenhouse gases warm the earth while negative forcing, such as the effects of most aerosols and volcanic eruptions, actually cool the earth.

• Atmospheric aerosols include volcanic dust, soot from the combustion of fossil fuels, particles from burning forests and mineral dust.

• Dark carbon-rich particles such as soot from diesel engines absorb sunlight and warm the atmosphere.

• Conversely, exhaust from high-sulphur coal or oil produce light aerosols that reflect sunlight back to space, producing a cooling effect. Aerosols that form naturally during volcanic eruptions cool the atmosphere. Large volcanic eruptions can eject enough ash into the atmosphere to lower temperature for a year or more until the sulfate particles settle out of the atmosphere.

Altering the Energy Balance

• The power of a process to alter the climate is estimated by its “radiative forcing,” the change in the Earth’s energy balance due to that process.

• Some climate forcings are positive, causing globally averaged warming, and some are negative, causing cooling. Some, such as from increased CO₂ concentration, are well known; others, such as from aerosols, are more uncertain.

Natural Forcing:

• Natural forcing include changes in the amount of energy emitted by the Sun, very slow variations in Earth’s orbit, and volcanic eruptions.

• Since the start of the industrial revolution, the only natural forcing with any long-term significance has been a small increase in solar energy reaching Earth. However, this change is not nearly enough to account for the current warming.

Human-Induced Forcing

• Climate forcing can also be caused by human activities. These activities include greenhouse gas and aerosol emissions from burning fossil fuels and modifications of the land surface, such as deforestation.

Human-Generated Greenhouse Gases

• Greenhouse gases are a positive climate forcing; that is, they have a warming effect. Carbon dioxide emitted from the burning of fossil fuel is presently the largest single climate forcing agent, accounting for more than half of the total positive forcing since 1750.

Human-Generated Aerosols

• Burning fossil fuels adds aerosols to the atmosphere. Aerosols are tiny particles in the atmosphere composed of many things, including water, ice, ash, mineral dust, or acidic droplets. Aerosols can deflect the Sun’s energy and impact the formation and lifetime of clouds. Aerosols are a negative forcing; that is, they have a cooling effect.

Causes of Climate Change

• While natural forcing do exist, they are not significant enough to explain the recent global warming. Human activities are very likely responsible for most of the recent warming.

Estimation of Each Gas

Each gas’s effect on climate change depends on

three main factors:

Concentration of each gas

Concentration, or abundance, is the amount of a particular gas in the air. Greenhouse gas concentrations are measured in parts per million, parts per billion, and even parts per trillion.

One part per million is equivalent to one drop of water diluted into about 13 gallons of liquid (roughly the fuel tank of a compact car).

Amount of time they stay in atmosphere

Each of these gases can remain in the atmosphere for different amounts of time, ranging from a few years to thousands of years.

All of these gases remain in the atmosphere long enough to become well mixed, meaning that the amount that is measured in the atmosphere

is roughly the same all over the world, regardless of the source of the emissions.

Strength of their impact

Some gases are more effective than others at making the planet warmer and “thickening the Earth’s blanket (green house gas)”.

 For each greenhouse gases Global Warming Potential (GWP) has been calculated to reflect how long it remains in the atmosphere, on average, and how strongly it absorbs energy.

FISCHER BLACK AWARD

FISCHER BLACK

Fischer Black prize is awarded to a person to a financial scientist for a body of work that demonstrates significant original research that is relevant to finance practice.

Fischer Black Prize is a memorial prize awarded in honor of Fischer Black that rewards individual financial research. The prize was established in 2002 and first awarded in 2003. Eligible scholars must either be below 40 years in age, or under age 45 but not have been awarded a Ph.D. (or equivalent) by age 35. The prize is awarded biennially at the American Finance Association’s Annual Meeting.This award to honor a leading young finance scholar is analogous to the John Bates Clark Medal in economics and the Fields Medal in mathematics.

The award honors Fischer Black, a former General Partner at Goldman Sachs and Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Among Black’s notable research accomplishments was the development (with Myron Scholes) of the Black–Scholes option pricing model. The awardee is chosen for having a body of research that embodies the Fischer Black hallmark of developing original research In years where no such candidate meets the rigorous standards, as was the case in 2005, no award is presented.

The Fischer Black Prize is one of two biennial awards presented by the American Finance Association (the other is the Morgan Stanley-American Finance Association Award For Excellence In Finance) in alternating years at its annual conference to scholars for bodies of research. The Association also awards two annual awards for individual research publications at its conference (Smith Breeden Prize and Brattle Prize).

The American Finance Association’s 2019 Fischer Black Prize is awarded to Professor Ralph Koijen of the University of Chicago. The prize is awarded to the person under 40 whose work best exemplifies the Fischer Black hallmark of developing original research that is relevant to finance practice.

Raghuram Rajan, the Joseph L. Gidwitz Professor of Finance in the Graduate School of Business, has been awarded the inaugural Fischer Black Prize from the American Finance Association.

Rajan’s Ph.D. thesis pointed out the downside to cozy bank-firm relationships long before these became apparent in detailed studies of systems like Japan’s. His recent theoretical work with Douglas Diamond, the Merton H. Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance in the GSB, knits together the microtheory of banking with macroeconomic theory. Their research promotes greater understanding of the role banks play in the provision of liquidity, why this function makes banks so prone to systemic crises, and why changes in monetary policy have such a significant effect on bank lending.

The largest manufacturer of iron and steel in the global economy: Can India ACHIEVE this peak position?

The iron and steel enterprises are among the most significant enterprises in India. During 2014 through 2016, India was the third biggest manufacturer of crude steel. In 2019 India turned into the second-biggest steel producer on the globe after China and the biggest manufacturer of steel and iron in the world.The Indian steel industry is at a precipice in its growth journey. The industry delivered 82.68 million tons of absolute finished steel and 9.7 million tons of crude iron. Generally, iron and steel in India are processed from iron metal.

Fast increase underway has brought about India turning into the second-biggest producer of rough steel during 2018, from its third-biggest status in 2017. The nation is additionally the biggest manufacturer of Sponge Iron or DRI on the globe and the third biggest completed steel customer on the planet after China and the USA.

With the vision of a $ 5 Trillion economy by 2024-25 and the Rs 100 Lakh Crores arranged interest in framework, it is essential to shape the steel business to fulfil the need that is probably going to increment over the coming years. Guaranteeing that the country is set up to deal with this envisioned increment will require purposeful exertion over different approaches including limit extensions, value expansion, trade balance enhancement, coordination foundation upgrade, and R&D. This will involve close cooperation among the different partners in the steel esteem chain – Government (Central and State), steel makers, steel clients, the scholarly world, and lenders.

India’s per capita steel expenditure is as of now at a normal of 74 Kgs for every capita versus a worldwide normal of ~255 Kgs per annum. With the push on steel used in all going sectors, for example, framework and construction, the utilization is relied upon to increment in an accelerated trajectory. Government plans like Housing for all, Jal Shakti, and the subsequent ventures they will drive into streets, railroads, and other foundations will be significant drivers for the development of the steel division in India. Steel is and will keep on being significant for the country working regarding esteem creation and generating employment. The Indian steel industry should be set up to meet the prerequisites that will emerge out of this vision.

India’s steel industry: Journey so far

  • 1875 Bengal Iron and Steel Company in Barakar
  • 1907 Establishment of Tata Iron & Steel Company (TISCO)
  •  
  •  1954 Set-up of Hindustan Steel Pvt. Ltd. 1962 Completion of Durgapur, Bhilai and Rourkela steel plants 1973 New model for managing the steel industry presented to the Parliament; set-up of SAIL
  • 1991 Government of India liberalizes the steel sector by removing iron and steel industries from the reserve list 2005 India becomes one of the top 10 steel producers in the world.
  • 2018 India becomes the world’s second-largest producer of crude steel 1937 Establishment of Steel Corporation

NSP (National Steel Policy) – Vision, Mission & Aim

Vision: To make a creatively advanced and all around competitive steel industry that progresses monetary development.

Mission: condition for accomplishing –

  • Self-adequacy in steel creation by giving strategy support and direction to private producers, MSME steel manufacturer, CPSEs, and encourage satisfactory limit augmentations.
  • Development of all-around competitive steel-producing abilities.
  • Cost-proficient creation and household accessibility of iron metal, coking coal, and petroleum gas.
  • Facilitate interest in abroad resource acquisitions of crude materials.
  • Enhance domestic steel orders.

Aim: The National Steel Policy targets accomplishing the accompanying goals –

  • Build an all-around competitive industry
  • Increase per Capita Steel Consumption to 160 Kgs by 2030-31
  • To locally fulfil the whole need of high evaluation car steel, electrical steel, unique prepares and composites for vital applications by 2030-31
  • Increase private accessibility of washed coking coal to decrease import reliance on coking coal from ~85% to ~65% by 2030-31
  • To have a more extensive nearness all around in esteem included/high evaluation steel
  • Encourage industry to be a world chief in vitality effective steel creation in a naturally supportable way.
  • Establish local industry as a savvy and quality steelmaker
  • Attain worldwide norms in Industrial Safety and Health
  • To considerably lessen the carbon impression of the steel business

Export Promotion of Iron & Steel Products

  • The conspire empowers exporters to import pertinent crude material and different contributions to the required amounts, obligation-free for the creation of the export item.
  • Quantities of import are permitted according to standard info yield standards (SION) endorsed by DGFT or according to self-pronounced standards by the exporters subject to confirmation of the DGFT.
  • Ministry of Steel (Technical Wing) helps the Advance Authorization Committee/Norms Committee in DGFT/in the endorsement of the self-revelation standards or something else.
  • Service of Steel additionally encourages DGFT to fix new standards (Standard Input-Output Norms) and additionally to audit existing standards in meeting with industry/specialists/advisors.

The direction towards a boost

  • The iron and steel industry required extensive arrangements for modernization, up-degree of innovations, the substitution of out of date gear and evacuation of mechanical awkward nature.
  • Presently, the administration is attempting to help the business through the RBI’s vital obligation rebuilding plan. Be that as it may, it needs long haul money, for example, benefits reserves, investment funds and so forth which can withstand repeating instability of benefits not at all like financing from banks or capital markets.
  • Anti-dumping obligations on modest import to secure local makers.
  • More centre around the framework and vehicle industry to expand residential interest and occupation creation to offset worldwide log jam.
  • Servicing of awful credits by the government to give capital and looking into the validity before dispatching the advances.
  • Increased outside speculation.
  • More accentuation on Green Climate Fund to acquire condition inviting innovation.
  • Decrease iron mineral fares to guarantee crude material supply.

Chintan Shivir: towards a Vibrant, systematic and Globally Competitive Indian Steel Sector

  • The Chintan Shivir occasion hung on 23rd Sept. 2019 at New Delhi and was conceptualized with a reasonable topic under the vision and targets “Towards a Vibrant, systematic and Globally Competitive Indian Steel Sector” and included support from more than 900 members across Government (Center, State), CPSEs, private division, research foundations, counselling and banking parts. The short brief is as under:

Domestic Capacity Expansion with Special Reference to Secondary Steel Sector: The auxiliary steel division in India right now contributes over 40% of the all-out limit and it should assume an essential role for India to arrive at 300 MT limit. This conversation accordingly planned to recognize difficulties to limit extension in the nation with a unique spotlight on optional steel and to correspondingly talk about on proposals on lightening these.

  • Demand Generation: Despite being the third biggest steel customer on the globe, India has per capita steel utilization that is just a single-third of the world’s normal. This meeting accordingly meant to talk about, consider and distinguish proposals to build the per capita utilization of steel in the nation.
  • High-Grade Steel Production: Despite being a little portion of imports by quantity, alloys and tempered steel contribute lopsidedly to the import bill by esteem. Henceforth, this meeting dove into interesting difficulties for the unique steel division and laid out possible proposals to empower India to rise as a key player in high evaluation steel.

India overtook Japan

India has supplanted Japan as the world’s second-biggest steel-producing nation, while China is the biggest producer of unrefined steel representing more than 51 per cent of production, as stated by the World Steel Association (world steel).

The worldwide steel body in its most recent report noticed that China’s crude steel yield bounced 6.6 per cent to 928.3 million tons (MT) in 2018 from 870.9 MT in 2017. China’s share expanded from 50.3 per cent in 2017 to 51.3 per cent in 2018.

“India’s unrefined steel production in 2018 was at 106.5 MT, up by 4.9 per cent from 101.5 MT in 2017, which means India has supplanted Japan as the world’s second-biggest steel-producing nation. Japan created 104.3 MT in 2018, down 0.3 per cent contrasted with 2017,” world steel said. Worldwide unrefined steel creation arrived at 1,808.6 MT for the year 2018 from 1,729.8 MT in 2017, an ascent of 4.6 per cent, it said

Kobalt vs. Ridgid

 Talking of power tool brands, there are a couple of brands that everyone is well aware of. These brands are worth considering.

Two such brands are Kobalt and Ridgid.

We will take a look at how the brands compare their quality and products. It will help you decide which of the two you should go with.

 Kobalt and Ridgid are by origin, American companies. Kobalt started as a private label of the high-rated Lowe’s hardware store. Ridgid was a tool company from start itself.

None is better than the other.

Both brands are well-worth considering. While one can’t go wrong with either brand. One should go with Kobalt if you are looking for regular cordless tools. Go with Ridgid if you are looking for lighter- 12-volt tools.

 Both brands are in a fierce marketing battle. Each terming that their brand manufactures the better 18V cordless drill driver.

Product Comparisons

·       Miter Saw

Kobalt 

Kobalt SM3055LW Specifications

Kobalt’s value-priced has the sliding compound feature, which is a win-win deal at a price DIYers can reach. Kobalt has put the bevel adjustor to the front. Most miter saws place the lock on the back, It is good to make it a little bit easier by placing it in front. Though, Kobalt does not list the specific miter and bevel positive stops. The trade-off in accuracy pushes through tough cuts. It’s a great option for DIY projects. Professionals, who need perfection in their angles, may get disappointed.

Ridgid

Ridgid flagship, a 12-inch miter saw is a decent package. It is a heavy model thanks to oversize base, but that base offers a lot of cutting support. It’s also one of the most generous saws with miter angles going about 60 degrees to the left and right. If you’re not in a hurry, wait for a coming holiday offer. This saw offers great value at its current price.

·         Circular saw

Kobalt K 15 CS – 06 AB

Weight: 9.5 lbs Cost: $90.

This Kobalt saw has a big outboard height-adjust lever. It also has a depth scale on the side of the blade cover. The saw has a 12-foot cord approximately 2 feet longer than others. The saw also has work light and onboard blade wrench storage. 

Ridgid R-3205

Weight: 11 lbs Cost: $99.

One of the best feature Ridgid power tools is the lifetime warranty. This saw includes easy-to-read bevel and height-adjust scales. It also has an onboard wrench along with a sawdust blower. It’s very heavy, but if you don’t mind the extra weight, it’s an excellent saw for the price.

·         Compact drill drivers

Kobalt KT200A

The Kobalt KT200A’s weight and size place it among the biggest and bulkiest of the drivers. This tool tapped out in lag screw competition. The results were very underwhelming. , Kobalt has this driver priced at $149, which is in line with the others. 

R86008

Ridgid’s latest offering is very compact, yet it is quite heavy. The R86008 performs well in a time test with 203 screws driven and placed first in lag screw power test. While not an important faction the Ridgid has a great feature set and best grip feel of the line-up. It also has the best warranty.

·         Table saw comparison: Kobalt v/s Ridgid 

Kobalt 7-Inch Tabletop Sliding Table Saw With Stand

 The Kobalt 7-Inch Tile saw is a great DIY table saw with a helpful inbuilt laser guide for best accuracy. It includes AAA batteries needed to power the laser guide.

Kobalt offers extenders on both sides of the cutting deck for support on large tiles. The physical tile guide or rail is capable of moving on either side of the blade. The 45-degree angle miter guide slides making the work cleaner.

The top of the Kobalt tilts from 22.5 to 45 degrees for the best cuts no matter the angle you need.

As an extra safety feature, the Kobalt has a covered power switch, making it impossible to turn this saw on.

Ridgid 7-Inch Tile Saw With Stand

 The Ridgid 7 inch saw has a quality fit for angled cuts, a tilting top, and plenty of power. The power switch turns on by lifting up, so there is no risk of accidental start.

This saw offers a clear splash hood for good visibility as you cut. You’ve got space for 18″ of straight cutting and 12″ of diagonal alignment.

The miter guide on this tool has a lifting handle which is of die-cast aluminum, not plastic. You won’t have any flexing or bowing issues as you work through long cuts.

Kobalt and Ridgid: History

Kobalt is the brand of a line of hand and power tools by the American hardware store chain Lowe’s. Launched in 1998, this brand is new compared to some of the big names out there. Lowe’s has a campus in Mooresville, North Carolina with over 10,000 employees. Kobalt started producing cordless power tools in 2011.

Ridgid is much older, established in 1923, in Ohio. Ridgid Tool Company manufactured hand tools. Later it got popular because of their durability and ease of use. The company shifted to Elyria, Ohio, in 1943, and became a sub-brand of Emerson Electric in 1966.

Techtronic Industries, headquartered in Hong Kong produces Ridgid power tools.

 Which Brand Has a Better Product Portfolio?

Kobalt offers a single 18V cordless drill. It also includes around forty 24V cordless tools including 

* Jigsaws 

* Reciprocating saws

* Circular saws

* Impact wrenches

* Hammer drills 

Kobalt also offers blowers, grinders, rotary cutting tools, and combo kits. The Kobalt product catalog is quite wide.

 But note, Ridgid offers over thirty different 18V power tools, including 

* Nailers

* Circular saws

* Impact drivers 

* Rotary hammers 

* Blowers

* Radios 

* Fans

Ridgid has a greater variety of 18V power tools compared to Kobalt.

Though the difference between 18V and 24V tools is not as large as it seems.

Which Brand Offers a Better Warranty?

Ridgid power tools come with an automatic 3-year manufacturer warranty. Ridgid offers an industry-Leading Lifetime Service Agreement for its power tools. Ridgid LSA includes cordless power tools, corded power tools, tile saws among others.

The LSA offers its consumers free parts, service, and batteries for life. 

Parts covered in this warranty include 

* Chucks 

* Motors

* Switches

* Gears

* Piston stops

* Driver blades.

Getting these parts replaced is simple. Call their helpline and register a service request is to get parts replaced. You can also get your power tools repaired at the nearest service center.

 Kobalt offers solid warranties for its power tools. Handheld power tools and lights have a 5-year tool and a 3-year battery guarantee. 

Always keep in mind that this guarantee does not cover the following 

* Damage due to abuse

* Improper maintenance

* Neglect

* Unauthorized repair

* Alteration.

Kobalt power tool accessories come with a satisfaction guarantee. The 24V Max brushless power tools have a 1-year risk free guarantee and a 5-year limited guarantee.

 Both manufacturers offer decent warranties. If anything fails or breaks down in the future, you can rest assured of its repair or replacement.

 Which Brand Offers Better Quality?

Kobalt and Ridgid, both are well known for their high-quality products. Although the former is a new brand. Ridgid is a renowned name in hand tools. Though it started manufacturing power tools recently.

Chevrons, a Chinese OEM manufactures most of Kobalt’s power tools. Sunrise Global and Greenwork Tools produce Kobalt’s cordless 80-volt outdoor power equipment. In general, Emerson in the US makes the red Ridgid tools, and TTI produces orange Ridgid tools in China.

Which Company Offers a Better Selection of 12V Tools?

Earlier, Kobalt offered a limited selection of 12-volt tools; it is not the case anymore. At present Kobalt focuses on promoting its 12-volt cordless power tools.

Ridgid only offers two 12-volt power tools – an impact driver and a drill/driver.

 Which Company Offers a Better Selection of Impact Drivers and Drills?

 Kobalt has various products in its lineup of 24V cordless tools. These are powerful tools. They can handle the routine home improvement task and even professional jobs.

One of Kobalt’s top hammer drills delivers 26,000 BPM. It has a two-speed gearbox and variable-speed trigger that delivers well.

Ridgid has a smaller variety of hammer drills, impact wrenches, and drills. Their top 18V hammer drill output is about 1,300 inch-pounds of torque.

Which Brand Should You Choose?

If you’re a professional and are looking for a set of durable and high-performance tools, go with Ridgid. Especially if L.S.A covers the products you wish to buy.

 Ridgid has a smaller selection of 24V power tools and more 18V tools.

 If you’re a casual user, Kobalt is a good choice, especially if you need lots of options to pick from.

CRYPTOCURRENCY : -A PROMISING FUTURE ?

Crypto currency is something that everyone wants to talk about but very few have the idea about how it works.

Since human civilization has emerged, the currency has been a very crucial part of their lives. In the caveman era, they used to exchange their things which are famously termed as “barter system”. Suppose, Ram has seven mangoes and his friend has seven apples but Ram needs seven apples. What can Ram do now? He can exchange his goods with his friend via the barter system. But there were various flaws in barter system like lack of a common measure of value (seven apples may not have the same value as seven mangoes), lack of double coincidence of wants, unable to divide into smaller units etc.

After realizing that the barter system did not work very well, and thus currency went through a few recurrences in 110 BC; later “Currency” was coined officially. Thousands of 250 AD gold plated Florence was introduced which was only used in limited countries. From 1680-1980, the paper currency gained significant popularity and was used across the world. This is how modern currency came into existence.

Modern currency included paper currency, coins and credit cards and digital wallets like Amazon Pay, PhonePe and so on.

WHAT IS CRYPTO CURRENCY?

It is a new form of digital resource or virtual currency based on a network that is distributed across a huge number of devices.

The word “crypto currency” is derived from the encryption technique which is used to secure the end to end networks.

All the digital wallets (PhonePe, PayPal, Paytm etc.) are controlled by banks and governments. This means it is regulated by authorities and it may increase some hazards like a technical issue at the bank while transferring money, limited transaction and so on. This is why the future with currency lies with crypto currency. There are more than 1600 crypto currencies are available. Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Z-cash are some popular ones.

PERKS OF CRYPTO CURRENCY:

  1. Self-governed and well organized.
  2. Payment can be processed within a few minutes.
  3. Authentication of users’ identity.
  4. Removes all the problems of modern banking.
  5. The unlimited fund can be transferred.
  6. Cost-effective mode of transaction.
  7. Decentralized and secure.

CRYPTO CURRENCY VS BITCOIN:

Bitcoin is also a digital currency that utilizes crypto currency and it is regulated by decentralized authority unlike government-issued currency whereas the crypto currency uses encryption technique which acts as an intermediate for the different financial transactions all over the world.

DRAWBACKS OF CRYPTO CURRENCY:

  1. There is no restriction to illegal transactions.
  2.  More prone to hacks.
  3. Limited crypto currencies can be traded only in one or a few fiat currencies.

CRYPTOCURRENCY AND TODAY’S WOLRD:

The whole world is distinctly divided when it makes headway to crypto currency. On one side, there are supporters like Bill Gates, Richard Branson who believe that crypto currencies are better than regular. And on another side, people like Warren Buffet, Paul Krugman who are absolutely against the crypto currency. They both are Nobel Prize winners in Economics and they think it is a fraudulent investing scam and means for criminal activities.

It can be assumed that in the future there is going to be a conflict between regulation and anonymity as crypto currencies ensure that its users are kept anonymous. Despite having some disputes, the use of crypto currencies in the merchant’s navy is increasing, which carries a positive vibe.

By the year 2030, crypto currency would captivate 25% of national currencies which is a notable chunk of the globe and that would be a remarkable step in economical evolution.

FAILURE IN THE START-UPS

India is struggling for becoming third largest startup ecosystem in the world for which it has provided the ground for many new startups in last few years still 90% of startup fails within 5 years, the main reason behind this failure is lack of uniqueness and also 98 out 100 young entrepreneurs copy the western ideas they have lack of information and knowledge about new technical innovative ideas for their business.

According to the study of IBM institute of business value (IBV) conduct the survey in collaboration with Oxford Economics to know about India startup ecosystem and the main reason behind the failures in Startups is lack of innovation, non-availability of skilled workforce and insufficient funding. As India is giving a chance to many new startups and a young businessman still there is a high rate of unemployment in India also the main reason is an increase in the population and lack of proper knowledge about work.

IBM said that “77% venture capitalist surveys believe that many Indian startups lack pioneering innovation based on new technologies or unique business models. Indian startups are prone to emulate already successful global idea”.

According to experts, India is follower market however, artificial intelligence machine is mainly restored in retail and banking.

Through the global study, it has been found that India comes in the bottom-most countries in terms of global innovation and the report state the reason behind this is a poor education system. On the Global Invitation Index (GII) India comes on the 66th rank also there is no doubt about India can become a global driver because we have potential to do work, a pool of talent and cultural innovation.

Also, IBM states that 70% venture capitalist claim that the main problem faced by the Indian startups are an investment of talent and there is limited availability of important skills.

Another report suggests that there were around 6’000 IT companies in the year 2016 which came down to 800 in just nine-month of 2017 this means there is a big loss in startups and also many people are getting unemployed

Head of marketing intelligence firm Rishabh Lawania also shared his view by saying “Since 2015 as many as 1,503 startups have closed down in India. The major reason is due to the replication of western ideas and not lack of subsequent funding from investor”

The main failure is being faced by eCommerce and food technology.

The chief digital officer of IBM India/South Asia Nipun Mehrotra said “the Indian startup community ranked third globally in terms of the number of startups, has been creating new job opportunities and attracting capital investment. We believe that startups need to focus on Societal Problem, including health care, sanitation, education, transportation alternate energy management and others which would help deal with the issue that India and world face. These require investment in deep technology and product which are built to scale globally”.

Now, due to pandemic situation, India’s economy is facing crucial time and for stabling, these new young entrepreneurs should come up with innovative ideas and skilled workforce which will help India to regain its economy and also soon it will be the third-largest startup country in the world and for all this hard work and creative mind is required.       

The $5 Trillion economy : reality or distant dream

The economy of India, a developing market economy as considered by many, is the 5th largest economy by nominal GDP and the 3rd largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). The IMF ranked India in 139th by GDP (nominal) and 118th by GDP (PPP). The protectionist economic policies adopted since independence and consecutively the acute payment crisis post-Cold War led to the adoption of various policies for economic liberalisation in 1991.  The 21st century has witnessed an annual average GDP growth of 6% to 7%. The years of 2014-2018 saw the unfolding of India as the world’s fastest-growing major economy, surpassing China.India’s GDP is driven by domestic private consumption making it the world’s sixth-largest consumer market at nearly 60%.  However, apart from this, the Indian economy is also stimulated by government spending, investment, and exports. India emerged as world 10th largest importer and 19th largest exporter in 2018. Statistically speaking, India ranked 63rd on ‘ease of doing business’ index and 68th on the Global Competitiveness Report. By 2019 India emerged as the world’s 2nd largest in terms of the labour force. A 2017 PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report, India’s GDP at purchasing power parity could overtake that of the United States by 2050. India has young demography which results in a low dependency ratio, healthy savings and investments that have helped the economy to steadily grow over the years. Moreover, the incorporation of the Indian economy with the world economy has also aided this process.

The economic growth, however, slowed in response to ‘Demonetisation’ and ‘Goods and Services Tax (GST)’. Let us look at how these two measures actually impacted the economy in the beginning:

Demonetisation:                                                   

This move was announced on November 8, 2016, by the government in light of turning the economy into a “cashless economy”. This move was intended to put a dent on the practices by black money hoarders. Elimination of terror funding or fake money haunting the economy would, in turn, make it more transparent. However, pieces of evidence have shown that as time passed by, the idea behind demonetization might have failed miserably and did not achieve any significant change in the spheres of economic growth or transparency. “Let us ignore the temporary hardship, let us join this festival of integrity and credibility, let us enable coming generations to live their lives with dignity, let us fight corruption and black money,” said Modi in his speech regarding demonetisation. The government’s move caused the elimination of all Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes and made them invalid. These notes constituted 86.4% of total currency in circulation in the Indian markets. Disordered 3 months followed after demonetization triggering serious monetary issues for most of the Indian populace. Gabriel Chodorow-Reich of Harvard and Gita Gopinath of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in their research paper, “Cash and the Economy: Evidence from India’s Demonetisation“, claimed that this move brought down the Indian economic growth. Along with this, another unintended outcome was 2-3% reduction in jobs in the quarter of note ban. Economic activity had already deteriorated by 2.2% in November and December 2016 revealed the research. “About 1.5 million jobs were lost during January-April 2017. The estimated total employment during the period was 405 million compared to 406.5 million during the preceding four months, September-December 2017,” a report by Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) stated. In 2018, former RBI governor, Raghuram Rajan said, “The two successive shocks of demonetisation and the GST had a serious impact on growth in India. Growth has fallen off interestingly at a time when growth in the global economy has been peaking up.”

Goods and Service Tax:        

The government’s decision to implement Goods and Services Tax (GST) has attracted mixed reviews. The principle of “one nation, one tax, and one market” is aimed at unifying this large economy although acted as a catalyst towards the worsening situation of the economy. The inflation rate has increased from 1.79 % to 5.11 % since July 2017 and continued till January 2018. This was a result directly related to the changing demand and consumption level of the poor people in India. India’s economic growth that was 8.4% in 2015 dropped sharply to 5.7% in July 2017. This complex system of indirect tax is finally recovered from consumers of goods and services increasing in sale price. Thus, irrespective of the consumer’s financial standing pays the same amount of GST for one unit of any product or service he avails in the market and here in India. This has acted as something counter-productive to the economy. Furthermore, GST increased tax appropriated by the government, making it the second-highest tax rate in the world (28%). This has had a negative impact as 29.9% population of India lies under Below Poverty Line (BPL) and 20% of India’s population dominates 47.7% of the total wealth of the nation giving rise to high-income inequality. Also, the implementation of the scheme of GST escalated unemployment rate (3.39-6.06 %) during the period of July 2017 to February 2018 in India.

Nevertheless,Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019 declared that he would like India to become a $5 trillion economy by 2024. This vision has been claimed as “challenging, but achievable” by the finance minister, Nirmala Sitharam. Several scholars and researchers have claimed that for the Indian economy to grow into a $5 trillion one by 2024, it will need to grow at a rate of 12% per year. Former RBI governor, C. Rangarajan said, “$5 trillion is a good aspirational goal. But please understand that a $5 trillion economy in a matter of 5 to 6 years cannot be achieved unless the economy grows in a sustained way between 8 and 9 per cent.It has to be closer to 9 per cent because today the Indian economy is $2.7 trillion. So, $5 trillion means almost doubling the size of the economy. And that is possible only if the economy grows at 9 per cent per annum in a sustained way for 5 to 6 years.” He opined that to qualify a country as one having a developed economy, the per capita income needs to be around USD 12,000. This level of growth was pegged to be possible solely at a steady rate of 9% per annum. The blow to the economy by Demonetisation and the implementation of GST was worsened by the crisis of COVID-19. The pandemic wreaking havoc around the globe in 2020 has successfully harmed the economy of India in an unprecedented way and thwarted its plan to become a $5 trillion economy by 2024. “My own estimate is that the 21-day countrywide lockdown which has been enforced, itself will result in shaving off at least 1 percentage point of GDP. And if you take earlier problems created by the coronavirus pandemic before the lockdown and the uncertainties of the future, then a 2 percentage points decline in growth rate (for 2020-21) is not unlikely at all,” said former finance minister Sinha. The economy took a hard hit as a result of the nation-wide lockdown to curb the pandemic. People are unable to work, supply chains have been gravely affected, and the labour has been forced to migrate back. The revised Gross Domestic Product (GDP) estimates for India downwards by 0.2-4.8% for the fiscal year 2020 and by 0.5-6% for the fiscal year 2021. Another major barrier to India’s economic growth is that it relies heavily on Chinese imports. Electronic imports to India account for 45%, automotive parts and fertilizers are pegged at 25%, active pharmaceutical ingredients range from 65-70%, and there is around 90% import of mobile phone from China to India. The discontinuation of these imports has given rise to several issues in the market which most probably will lead to an increase in the prices. Moreover, the recent clash between India and China will also have a serious impact on the economy. Furthermore, data reveals that 72% of the Indian companies are located in China (Shanghai, Beijing, provinces of Guangdong, Jiangsu, and Shandong). These provinces were the first to get the hit by a coronavirus. Thereby, leading to a complete stop at their activity. The effect of the pandemic has been felt by almost all business sectors. This hit will lead to a decrease in the GDP of 2021 and thus, we can bid goodbye to the dream of the emergence of the Indian economy as a $5 trillion giant. In addition to this, the MSME sector accounts for 30% of our country’s GDP which is at the moment at a vulnerable position due to the restrictions imposed. Statistics have shown that the dependence of Indian economy on three major contributors to GDP, namely,‘private consumption’, ‘investment’, and ‘external trade’ will all be affected immensely and thus, will cause a great deal of damage to the economy. In the backdrop of all these issues, the growth of the Indian economy into $5 trillion seems to be something impossible. The target set by Prime Minister Modi to make India a $5 trillion economy by 2024-25 might be delayed by 2 years even if the economy grows at a steady rate of 7.5% a year on average post current financial year. This is rate is, however, based on the 4.5% inflation rate that the economic survey for 2019-20 explained to achieve the target. To push the economy towards the goal, an increase of investments are required. Hence, infrastructure development is considered to be a critical aspect for achieving a $5 trillion economy as it can kick start a cycle of investments. However, the prevailing situation impedes any such measure that might help the economic situation and aidin the further realization of the dream.

Interstellar- Movie Review

Do not go gentle in the good night- Prof. Brand- character of the movie directed by Christopher Nolan.

Interstellar is 2014’s ambitious movie with good space drama  . It is a complicated film with layers of real world science mixed with a mind-bobbling fictional narrative . The movie portrays our planet at some unspecified time in future running out of food, and public is starving for food. Professor Brand (Michael Claine), in the meantine, starts devising plans to save humanity. He has two plans.

Plan A comprises harnessing fifth dimensional physics and using gravity in order to launch a  space station or stations big enough ,to transport the entire earth’s population safely away from the dirt and dying crops.

Plan B – to shoot a bunch of embryos into space in order to start a new colony from scratch- requires the first generation to be raised by an astronaut ,second by third and so on .

A team of explorers travel beyond this galaxy through a newly discovered warmhole to discover whether mankind has future among the stars.

Christopher Nolan – Director of the movie- has really played well with the camera. His films are imaginative , fun, exciting and big. There are  moments of brilliance , for long stretches  my eyes remain glued to the screen and mouth dropped open. I got goosebumps at a couple of times. The space  sequence was just mind blowing and some visuals actually made me feel I’m in space, but at some point of time, I felt  like there were huge ideas in the minds of filmmaker that conveyed relevant messege; rest, hwever, just mixed up.

I genuinely liked Cooper’s (Mathew McConaughey) character. He was terrific ,his family life  ,the entire setup was well set-up .The father-daughter emotional connection was so real that it kept me engaged in the whole movie. If that were not there, this would would have been a soul-less space exploration movie. That relationship gives the film much required warmth and humanity. The launch into space, CGI and entire mission was seamlessly incredible .

The music, on the other hand, was so intense that at some point I felt like I’m a part of the movie out there.

It was really engrossing to see a robot character- TRASH- that was clever as well as entertaining .

The themes of the movie are:-

What our place in life is!

What are existence is!

and what our purposes is !

which is really well depicted.

It would be really fun and exciting to know that which of the Professor Brand’s plan would work- Plan A or B?