How to stop wasting paper and save trees…….

At first, this might appear as a very common topic to write an article, but it is necessary to point out small small issues so that they don’t convert into major ones. To stop wasting paper and saving trees is the need of the hour because cutting trees is having an adverse reaction on the environment. Every year we see that heat is increasing at an increasing rate, and winter season which tends to starts from end of September, now starts much after, say mid November. These are all the changes we are doing by cutting trees, which results in global warming, which further results in climate change.

Causes of Wastage of Paper:- There is a term called ‘recycling’, which in some way or the other is replenished from our dictionaries. For example, it could be always noticed that after a child comes into a new grade, he/she needs a new set of books and notebooks. But, what about those notebooks which somehow remains untouched or some having pages left. We tend to give them to junk dealer for sure. The biggest cause of wastage of paper is that we don’t understand the value of it. If we know how much tress are cut to make papers, we’ll be shocked. Out of the 17 billion cubic feet of trees deforested each year, over 60℅ are used to make paper. This deforestation is responsible for nearly a fifth of world’s annual greenhouse gas emissions.

Cutting down paper waste along with all other waste is a major issue. We could recycle the unused notebooks by taking out those papers which remained unused and binding them, resulting into making new notebooks. We could also reuse the filled notebooks by making creative show pieces to decorate our home. There are so many DIY ideas we could do with used paper. Another important thing is to avoid using foil papers and tissue papers. These are just fancy ideas. When the sheets of aluminum are compressed to make foil paper, the smoke and gases which emits are of much greater poisonous reactions to environment.

Some Solutions to Save Trees and Stop Wasting Paper:-

1. Recycling of news papers and other papers to make decorative objects.

2. Go green, plant basic seeds from you kitchen to make a kitchen garden.

3. Don’t throw out kitchen waste, start home composting, adding kitchen waste, newspaper and some soil in aerated bin would give you ‘black gold’ for your plants.

4. Giving used books to those in need, try educating underprivileged children.

5. Switch to ‘Online News Reading’, this will not only cutdown newspaper waste but also you’ll be getting time to time news updates.

6. Use waste plastic boxes from home waste or kitchen to plant saplings and sowing seeds.

7. Planting a tree sapling on ocassions such as birthdays and anniversaries. Doing something good to nature on such special ocassions will make you feel more happy.

As businesses, we need to do more to be greener, but that doesn’t mean we should operate in the red. It’s a common misconception to assume that acting on environmental issues always costs money, even on a micro scale. By making small changes to a common issue – the costly, unmanaged reliance on paper – we can all help the environment without hurting our quarterly reports. Hence, by cutting down wastage of paper and following the above solutions we could easily get rid of the problem of paper wastage. Moreover, if we got rid of this problem automatically trees would be safe.

Refrences:-

http://www.capital-solutions.co.uk

Electric vehicles (ev’s) of future

The growing dependency of mankind on Diesel/petrol vehicles has proven to be fugacious as it is expected that the oil reserves will be vanished by 2050. But the manufacturer’s have built an alternative in the form of ELECTRIC VEHICLES.The electric effect is now in full force, with established brands committing to offering a wide range of electric cars in future. Today there are wide segments of Ev’s in the market ranging from an SUV to SPORTS CAR.
Let’s have a look over the upcoming EVs in 2020.

  1. AUDI Q4 e-Tron:
    The Audi Q4 e-Tron was unveiled at the 2019 Geneva motor show and will going on sale in late 2020 with a price tag of £40,000. The e-Tron SUV will be 4.6 meters long and will pack the following features,
  • Battery size: 82Kwh
  • Electric motors: 225Kw total (front and rear)
  • Range: about 280 miles (450Km)
  • 0-62mph: 6.3sec
  • Top speed: 112mph

The 82Kwh batteries add quite a weight to the SUV and it weighs at 510Kg. Audi is claiming 80% charge in just 30 minutes provided sufficient high-speed charging points. The fun fact is that the carpets of the Audi e-Tron are made from recycled plastic. It so packs lot’s of other features like the latest Audi touchscreen, heads up display, 22-inch alloy wheels and smart navigation system. With this the Audi pledged that it would have 12 fully electric cars by 2025.

2. FORD Mustang Mach-E:

The Ford Mustang Mach-E was unveiled in late 2019 and is the ford’s first electric car. Though it looks somewhat like Jaguar i-pace, its rivals are upcoming Tesla Model Y and VW ID. The Mustang will be available in two options that are Mustang Mach-E and Mustang Mach-E GT. It is obvious that Mach-E GT comes with better specs than the Mustang-E. The specs are as follows,

  • Mustang Mach-E: 76Kwh lithium-ion battery
  • 370-miles Range
  • 332bhp
  • 417lb ft of torque
  • Mustang Mach-E GT: 99Kwh lithium-ion battery
  • 430 miles Range
  • 459bhp
  • 612lb ft of torque

It is a relatively lightweight EV too with single motor, smaller battery model weights 1993Kg rising to 2281Kg for twin motor. The car is priced at £40,270 and is set to be launched in late 2020 in the UK, USA, GERMANY, NORWAY, FRANCE and Switzerland.

  1. MINI COOPER SE:
    The most popular Mini Hatchback around the globe is Mini Cooper. The experimentation on Mini Ev was done by BMW way back in 2008 but is now set to be launched in 2020. It will be first launched in the USA and UK. The Ev will be having a range of up to 145 miles. It will be packed with 32.5kWh battery which will take about 35 minutes to get charged up to 80% provided high-speed charging point. With the domestic charger, it will take about 12 hours to get fully charged. The other specs are,
  • 0-60 miles: 7.3sec
  • Top speed: 93mph
  • Weight: 1365Kg
  • 181bhp @ 7000rpm

The car was set to be launched by march but due to coronavirus pandemic, the launch has been delayed. It was estimated that the car will be priced at £24,400.

4. NISSAN ARYA:

Nissan Arya will be the second Ev from Nissan after Nissan Leaf. Nissan Arya will be a 4.6mtr long SUV and will get somewhat common with Mercedes EQC and Audi e-Tron. The Arya will be a handsome looking car with striking graphical face including boomerang LEDs. The interior specs are not known till now but the assumptions of specs are,

  • Battery: 63Kwh
  • Range: 290 miles
  • Top speed: 98mph

The pricing is also not mentioned yet but the launch will In late 2020 or early 2021.

5. LEXUS UX 300e:

The Lexus first Ev is all set to be launched in 2020 in china first and then globally. On paper, the car seems to work pretty well but the actual test will be on roads. The Lexus packs these specs,

  • Battery: 52Kwh
  • Range: 270Km
  • 0-62mph: 7.5sec
  • Top speed: 100mph

The charging time for batteries is 57 min for 0-80% and 10 hrs for a full charge from normal house socket. The car will be priced at £37,000.

6. TESLA ROADSTER:

The most known brand in the world of EVs is Tesla and Elon Musk is all set to provide rocket-powered performance in new Tesla Roadster 2020. Elon Musk claimed that the Roadster would use ‘SpaceX cold gas thruster system’. If the claim proves to be true then the acceleration will be at thelimit of human endurance. The rumoured specs are,

  • Top speed: 250mph
  • 0-60mph: 1.9sec
  • 0-100mph: 4.2sec
  • Torque: 7300lb ft

The specs look outstanding but the main part of any EV is the battery backup and Tesla has gone to its limit. This car will have whooping 200Kwh of battery which will provide the juice and Tesla claims a range of 500+ miles. But this all comes with a hefty price tag and the estimated price is about $200,000.

Finance Bill 2020

The Finance Bill 2020 has been passed by the Lok Sabha on 23 March 2020 and also duly returned by the Rajya Sabha. There were significant changes made to the original Finance Bill 2020 which was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 1 February 2020.

The Lok Sabha passed the Finance Bill by voice vote with 40 amendments amidst the coronavirus pandemic. On March 27, President Ram Nath Kovind gave assent to amend the Finance Bill 2020 and now it became the Finance Act 2020.

In the Union Budget 2020-2021, the government proposed to spend INR 30,42,230 crore in the next Fiscal Year which is 12.7% higher than the revised estimate of the year 2019-2020. After the Financial Bill 2020 has passed in the Lok Sabha, these proposals have been given effect.

What is a Finance Bill?

As per Article 110 of the Indian Constitution, Finance Bill is a Money Bill having a Memorandum containing explanations of the provisions included in it. The Finance Bill can only be introduced in Lok Sabha. However, Rajya Sabha can recommend amendments to be made in the Bill and it is up to Lok Sabha to accept or reject the recommendations. The bill must be passed by the Parliament within 75 days of its introduction.

Importance of Finance Bill

All the elements included in the Finance Act associated with a particular Financial Year are of course important. Even so, there are particular elements that take precedence over the others. The most important element is the rules laid down in the Act with respect to Income Tax Rates. Every year, the Act lays down in detail all the associated provisions related to Income Tax in the country. Since this applies to a large number of taxpayers, it is considered one of the most important elements.

The Finance Act is responsible for laying down the tax slabs that applies to taxpayers. The Act includes various details related to – Income through salary, agricultural income, tax slabs for senior citizens, tax slabs for very senior citizens, income Tax Surcharges, taxes chargeable to companies and advance tax.

These are a few important elements included and elaborated upon in detail in the Finance Act for a particular year.

Direct taxes

The Finance Act for a particular financial year also includes the amendments that have been made with respect to Direct Taxes. The Amendments made under various sections are noted down in this section of the Finance Act and each amendment of every section is noted down separately. Also included in the Finance Act are the details of the insertion of new sections, if any.

List of important amendments in the Finance Bill 2020

1- Additional excise duty on Petrol and Diesel by up to Rs 18 per litre and Rs 12 per litre respectively as and when required.

2- The original Finance Bill proposed to reduce the time spent in India by the Indian citizens or people of Indian origins to qualify as Indian tax resident from earlier 182 days to 120 days in 2019. Now, the Finance Act states that the 120-day rule will not apply to those citizens having Indian-sourced income less than INR 15 lakh in the relevant Fiscal Year. 

3- The Tax Deducted at Source or TDS rate on payment of dividend to non-residents and foreign companies have been set at 20% after the amendment. 

4- In the original Finance Bill, the dividend received by the shareholders was taxable. However, after the amendment, the dividends received by the shareholders will not be taxed if DDT has been paid as per the original law with effect to April 1. 

5- After the amendment, 1% of TDS has been imposed on e-commerce transactions. 

6- Finance Act, 2020 has extended reduced tax withholding rate of 2% to royalty in the nature of consideration for sale, distribution or exhibition of cinematographic films.

Why Inspiration Matters

Pic credit: @MARTIN CHRISTOPHER

In a culture obsessed with measuring talent and ability, we often overlook the important role of inspiration. Inspiration awakens us to new possibilities by allowing us to transcend our ordinary experiences and limitations. Inspiration propels a person from apathy to possibility, and transforms the way we perceive our own capabilities. Inspiration may sometimes be overlooked because of its elusive nature. Its history of being treated as supernatural or divine hasn’t helped the situation. But as recent research shows, inspiration can be activated, captured, and manipulated, and it has a major effect on important life outcomes.

Inspiration has three main qualities. Pyschologists Todd M. Thrash and Andrew J. Elliot have noted these core aspects of inspiration: evocation, transcendence, and approach motivation. First, inspiration is evoked spontaneously without intention. Inspiration is also transcendent of our more animalistic and self-serving concerns and limitations. Such transcendence often involves a moment of clarity and awareness of new possibilities. As Thrash and Elliot note, “The heights of human motivation spring from the beauty and goodness that precede us and awaken us to better possibilities.” This moment of clarity is often vivid, and can take the form of a grand vision, or a “seeing” of something one has not seen before (but that was probably always there). Finally, inspiration involves approach motivation, in which the individual strives to transmit, express, or actualize a new idea or vision. According to Thrash and Elliot, inspiration involves both being inspired by something and acting on that inspiration.

Inspired people share certain characteristics. Thrash and Elliot developed the “Inspiration Scale,” which measures the frequency with which a person experiences inspiration in their daily lives. They found that inspired people were more open to new experiences, and reported more absorption in their tasks. “Openness to Experience” often came before inspiration, suggesting that those who are more open to inspiration are more likely to experience it. Additionally, inspired individuals weren’t more conscientious, supporting the view that inspiration is something that happens to you and is not willed. Inspired individuals also reported having a stronger drive to master their work, but were less competitive, which makes sense if you think of competition as a non-transcendent desire to outperform competitors. Inspired people were more intrinsically motivated and less extrinsically motivated, variables that also strongly impact work performance. Inspiration was least related to variables that involve agency or the enhancement of resources, again demonstrating the transcendent nature of inspiration. Therefore, what makes an object inspiring is its perceived subjective intrinsic value, and not how much it’s objectively worth or how attainable it is. Inspired people also reported higher levels of important psychological resources, including belief in their own abilities, self-esteem, and optimism. Mastery of work, absorption, creativity, perceived competence, self-esteem, and optimism were all consequences of inspiration, suggesting that inspiration facilitates these important psychological resources. Interestingly, work mastery also came before inspiration, suggesting that inspiration is not purely passive, but does favor the prepared mind.

@martin_christopher

Inspiration is not the same as positive affect. Compared to the normal experiences of everyday life, inspiration involves elevated levels of positive affect and task involvement, and lower levels of negative affect. Inspiration is not the same state as positive affect, however. Compared to being in an enthusiastic and excited state, people who enter an inspired state (by thinking of a prior moment they were inspired) reported greater levels of spirituality and meaning, and lower levels of volitional control, controllability, and self-responsibility for their inspiration. Whereas positive affect is activated when someone is making progress toward their immediate, conscious goals, inspiration is more related to an awakening to something new, better, or more important: transcendence of one’s previous concerns.

Inspiration is the springboard for creativity. Inspired people view themselves as more creative and show actual increases in self-ratings of creativity over time. Patent-holding inventors report being inspired more frequently and intensely than non-patent holders, and the higher the frequency of inspiration, the higher the number of patents held. Being in a state of inspiration also predicts the creativity of writing samples across scientific writing, poetry, and fiction (as judged by a panel of fellow students) independent of SAT verbal scores, Openness to Experience, positive affect, specific behaviors (e.g., deleting prior sentences), and aspects of the product quality (e.g., technical merit). Inspired writers are more efficient and productive, and spend less time pausing and more time writing. The link between inspiration and creativity is consistent with the transcendent aspect of inspiration, since creativity involves seeing possibility beyond existing constraints. Importantly, inspiration and effort predict different aspects of an activity. Individuals who exerted more effort writing spent more of their time pausing, deleted more words, wrote more sentences per paragraph, and had better technical merit and use of rhyming in poems, but their work was not considered more creative.

Inspiration facilitates progress toward goals. In a recent study conducted by Marina Milyavskaya and her colleagues, college students were asked to report three goals they intended to accomplish throughout the course of the semester. They then reported on their progress three times a month. Those who scored higher on the Inspiration Scale displayed increased goal progress, and their progress was a result of setting more inspired goals. Therefore, people who were generally more inspired in their daily lives also tended to set inspired goals, which were then more likely to be successfully attained. Importantly, the relationship between inspiration and goal progress was reciprocal: goal progress also predicted future goal inspiration. As the researchers note, “this suggests that goal progress and goal inspiration build on each other to form a cycle of greater goal inspiration and greater goal pursuit.” Finally, inspired individuals reported experiencing more purpose in life and more gratitude.

Inspiration increases well-being. In another study, those who were exposed to Michael Jordan’s greatness experienced higher levels of positive affect, and this increase in positive affect was completely explained by their score on the Inspiration Scale. This inspiration was not transitory though, predicting positive well-being (e.g., positive affect, life satisfaction) three months later! Inspiration was more strongly related to future than to present satisfaction. The extent to which inspiration lasted was explained by self-reported levels of purpose and gratitude in life.

These findings show that inspiration matters a lot, which may cause someone to feel pressure to become inspired and helpless to do so considering the evocative and spontaneous nature of inspiration. The writer Elizabeth Gilbert rightly expresses this concern in her inspiring TED talk. I agree with Gilbert that one should not put pressure on oneself to become inspired. These key scientific findings suggest that inspiration is not willed–it happens. Knowing this should free you from the pressure to make inspiration happen.

This does not mean that inspiration is completely outside your control. Contrary to the view of inspiration as purely mythical or divine, I think inspiration is best thought of as a surprising interaction between your current knowledge and the information you receive from the world. There are things you can do to increase the likelihood of inspiration occurring. Research shows quite clearly that preparation (“work mastery”) is a key ingredient. While inspiration is not the same as effort, effort is an essential condition for inspiration, preparing the mind for an inspirational experience. Openness to Experience and positive affect are also important, as having an open mind and approach-oriented attitude will make it more likely that you will be aware of the inspiration once it arrives. Small accomplishments are also important, as they can boost inspiration, setting off a productive and creative cycle.

Must read @MARTINn

IMPRESSION OF COVID-19 ON EDUCATION IN INDIA

What our Prime Minister’s Campaign “ Digital India ”could not  achieve , the Pandemic has done it. Covid-19 has led to the closure of schools , affecting the learning of  around 230 million students. It started in the month of March, when the schools were shut down, but now owing to the present scenario there is no assurance when it would open again.

My Firsthand Experience

It was that time of the year, when my beautiful journey of two years in Institute of Management ,Nirma University  was about to end in March , 2020.With just fifteen days left  in hand for our final goodbye, we’re trying our level best  to  save our tears  for the last days.Just then when the new of increase of cases started coming , we officially received  the mail stating  our journey have come to an halt, keeping in mind the seriousness of the issue. In a span of few seconds, the memories of  last couple of  years  splashed in our minds.  Everyone  was shocked, as they ‘d no clue it would end like this. The feeling of not having been able to take the exams for probably the last time in our lives, didn’t sink much. However, the proverb, “Everything Happens For A Reason”, started  making all the more sense when  the number of  cases started rising, while all of us had reached home safely. Had it not been for the strong decision of our College authorities , we  would’ve bear the brunt.

Did The Pandemic Have A Positive Spin-Offs?

With everything  on stake, Online education  takes off the old saying  “Learning Anywhere, Anytime”. Schools and Companies  have switched to apps like Class Dojo, Zoom, Google Classroom which have made the learning experience convenient and flexible. Teacher’s at all point are making the full use of app like Whatsapp, YouTube for online tuition  classes  in order to reach out to students in their doorsteps. Machine learning has led to the calculation to data driven tools, which  is why Multiple Choice Questions(MCQs) are preferred over Fill in the Blanks for the online test assessment. Apps like Dreambox makes students abide to the subject Mathematics, at their own pace and adapts itself  to every child needs. Blended Learning will be the new cool nowadays. This would ensure transparency and openness in Academics.Collaborating teaching and learning would take new forms and would be monetized.

Let’s Have A Look At The Unfavourable Spill-Overs

The Pandemic have surely brought us to an unplanned situation, not been imagined in anyone’s worst nightmares. The students who were studying abroad in Universities of UK,US New Zealand, Canada had to suffer in terms of their invested money and time. Their careers are at stake. The cross-border movement have surely taken a hit for the next two days. Since in most of the Universities, students were specially from India and China, it would adversely effect them .In order for the education sector to have a digital revolution, it’s very important that the teachers and the students are ready to accept the change . Teacher’s refused to get used to the online methodology leading to Passive learners. Students  who studied in Govt. Schools, are the worst affected  as going to school is the best policy tool available to raise skills.

Covid-19 emergency has changed the teaching style been followed by generations. It’s time to reinvent ourselves and adopt  ourselves to digital transformation .This upgradation to e-learning would not only cut the costs, risks and efforts , but would create the need for the educational sector to invest immediately in educational app development.

India – A Developing Country

What is the difference between developed and developing country?
A developing country is a country which is still trying to create an advanced civilization. In a developed country, it has an advanced civilization.
India is a developing country and in some upcoming years, it will become developed. India’s democracy is considered as the biggest democracy in world. It is also known for the world’s second most populous country. Areawise, it is at seventh place in world.
India is developing in every field. It is economically, socially and politically better than before.
Education standards in India are still low, especially in the northern states. Education plays an important role in development. India is still struggling with the problem of illiteracy in some parts of country and low literacy is dragging the economic progress. Due to illiteracy, the problem of low income level arises. It also affects the employment level. People in many areas are unemployed. It is also a big reason for economic conditions.
Poor health facilities is also a big problem for India. India has an elaborate health system but it is not accessible to every citizen at affordable rates. It has affected the mortality rate especially in rural areas and in northern states.
India’s high population is also a great cause of development agenda. As india is at the second place in population, it’s bigger population creates challenges like hunger, mortality and many other problems and slows down its development. It’s a great need to control the increasing population to make India developed.
In the terms of technology, India holds a strong position. India has an existence of its many institutions related to science and technology which come with qualified and trained manpower.
India is developing in a good manner in field of higher education, scientific research and development, advancement of agricultural system, communication technology, various fields of engineering and many more.
To make India developed, there is a need to eliminate poverty. It is a major cause. Government of India has made several plans to improve the conditions that are not good in India. PM Narendra Modi has recently started Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan which is a best way to make India developed. It will help to reduce unemployment and will use the product of India which help in improvement of India’s economy. If economic conditions will be good, then India can become developed country, not only developed country but also a super power.

Marks Based Education System

Today, the situation is severe. Most of the Universities and colleges, schools have not conducted exams yet due to lockdown led by Corona virus. Today when i am writing this article no state ,no UT except Andaman & Nicobar in India left, which did not become victim of the world wide crisis.

Whole world is totally disturb.Doctors and Scientists have been busy in finding the solution to resolve the problem.World leaders and bureaucrats are busy in finding economy boosters.Journalists are busy in criticism of the governing bodies regarding migrant workers issue and health system.

Some alternates have been provided for the education. Online content have been provided but only limited. Webinar have been put one or two times, online classes ran to 5-10 topics and now all institutions are free, showing off the responsibilities of education stream. The only work left is to conduct exam and to give result sooner, whatever be the condition.No matter, syllabus complited is 50 % or 40. No matter, the objective of the particular education stream fulfilled or not.The only thing left is to judge an individual on marks attained by him/her.

Online content providing and online classes can be the alternate option to carry on higher studies but when we talk about primary education that has been the fundamental right of an Indian, situation gets very critical.

Primary education can not be provided using these methods as mostly villages have no connectivity of internet if there is,lack of knowledge would not let it possible.

Situation is such, no one caring for quality education and no one is running after practical knowledge. Everyone wants to pull his hands from providing the good solution to quality education.

The need of time is to get attention of governing bodies towards the matter to get the solution. Each and everyone has to be much responsible and an active worker in the field. Journalists should raise the concern.

Solution can only be found when there would be public opinion about the matter and all media houses should promote a very good planning made by any institution or person.

Thanks for reading…

RECESSION AFTER CORONA

The global economy will contract by 3% this year as countries around the world shrink at the fastest pace in decades, the International Monetary Fund says. The IMF described the global decline as the worst since the Great Depression of the 1930s. It said the pandemic had plunged the world into a “crisis like no other”. The Fund added that a prolonged outbreak would test the ability of governments and central banks to control the crisis. Gita Gopinath, the IMF’s chief economist, said the crisis could knock $9 trillion (£7.2 trillion) off global GDP over the next two years.

An economic consequence of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the first major sign of the coronavirus recession was the 2020 stock market crash on 20 February. IMF projects suggest that the coronavirus recession will be the most severe global economic downturn since the Great Depression, and that it will be “far worse” than the Great Recession of 2009. The United Nations (UN) predicted in April 2020 that global unemployment will wipe out 6.7 per cent of working hours globally in the second quarter of 2020—equivalent to 195 million full-time workers. In western nations, unemployment is expected to be at around 10%, with more severely affected nations from the COVID-19 pandemic having higher unemployment rates. The developing world is also being affected by a drop in remittances.

The recession saw the collapse of the price of oil triggered by the 2020 Russia–Saudi Arabia oil price war, the collapse of tourism, the hospitality industry, the energy industry and a significant downturn in consumer activity in comparison to the previous decade. Global stock markets crashed around 20 to 30% during late February and March 2020, respectively. During the crash, global stock markets made unprecedented and volatile swings, mainly due to extreme uncertainty in the markets.

2019 Global Economic Slowdown

During 2019, the IMF reported that the world economy was going through a “synchronized slowdown”, which entered into its slowest pace since the Great Financial Crisis. ‘Cracks’ were showing in the consumer market as global markets began to suffer through a ‘sharp deterioration’ of manufacturing activity.  Global growth was believed to have peaked in 2017, when the world’s total industrial output began to start a sustained decline in early 2018. The IMF blamed ‘heightened trade and geopolitical tensions’ as the main reason for the slowdown, citing Brexit and the China–United States trade war as primary reasons for slowdown in 2019, while other economists blamed liquidity issues.

In April 2019, the U.S yield curve inverted, which sparked fears of a 2020 recession across the world. The inverted yield curve and trade war fears prompted a sell-off in global stock markets during March 2019, which prompted more fears that a recession was imminent. Rising debt levels in the European Union and the United States had always been a concern for economists. However, in 2019, that concern was heightened during the economic slowdown, and economists began warning of a ‘debt bomb’ occurring during the next economic crisis. Debt in 2019 was 50% higher than that during the height of the Great Financial Crisis.  Economists have argued that this increased debt is what led to debt defaults in economies and businesses across the world during the recession. The first signs of trouble leading up to the recession occurred in September 2019, when the US Federal Reserve began intervening in the role of investor to provide funds in the repo markets; the overnight repo rate spiked above 6% during that time, which would play a crucial factor in triggering the events that led up to the crash.

Sino-American Trade War

The China–United States trade war occurred during 2018 to early 2020, and caused significant damage across global economies. President Donald Trump in 2018 began setting tariffs and other trade barriers on China with the goal of forcing it to make changes to what the U.S. says are “unfair trade practices”. Among those trade practices and their effects are the growing trade deficit, the alleged theft of intellectual property, and the alleged forced transfer of American technology to China.

In the United States, the trade war brought struggles for farmers and manufacturers and higher prices for consumers, which resulted in the U.S manufacturing industry entering into a ‘mild recession’ during 2019. In other countries it has also caused economic damage, including violent protests in Chile and Ecuador due to transport and energy price surges, though some countries have benefited from increased manufacturing to fill the gaps. It has also led to stock market instability. The governments of several countries, including China and the United States, have taken steps to address some of the damage caused by deterioration in China–United States relations and tit-for-tat tariffs. During the recession, the downturn of consumerism and manufacturing from the trade war is believed to have inflated the economic crisis

Financial Crisis

The global stock market crash began on 20 February 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, global markets, banks and businesses were all facing crises not seen since the Great Depression in 1929.

From 24 to 28 February, stock markets worldwide reported their largest one-week declines since the 2008 financial crisis, thus entering a correction. Global markets into early March became extremely volatile, with large swings occurring in global markets. On 9 March, most global markets reported severe contractions, mainly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and oil price war between Russia and the OPEC countries led by Saudi Arabia. This became colloquially known as Black Monday I, and at the time was the worst drop since the Great Recession in 2008.

Three days after Black Monday I there was another drop, Black Thursday, where stocks across Europe and North America fell more than 9%. Wall Street experienced its largest single-day percentage drop since Black Monday in 1987, and the FTSE MIB of the Borsa Italiana fell nearly 17%, becoming the worst-hit market during Black Thursday. Despite a temporary rally on 13 March (with markets posting their best day since 2008), all three Wall Street indexes fell more than 12% when markets re-opened on 16 March. During this time, one benchmark stock market index in all G7 countries and 14 of the G20 countries had been declared to be in Bear markets.

Conclusion

With the lockdown still in hand and the consistent fall in economy, it seems we have a tough time ahead. The recession, as predicted by the various agencies across the word, is going to be very hash upon us. A lot of people are going to lose their jobs with nowhere to go. Companies may go bankrupt and entire nations will be in debts. We all have no choice but to face the crisis.

“This too shall pass.”

CRYPTOCURRENCY

What is cryptocurrency?

A cryptocurrency (or crypto currency) is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange wherein individual coin ownership records are stored in a digital ledger or computerized database using strong cryptography to secure transaction record entries, to control the creation of additional digital coin records, and to verify the transfer of coin ownership. It typically does not exist in physical form (like paper money) and is typically not issued by a central authority. Some cryptocurrencies use decentralized control as opposed to centralized digital currency and central banking systems. When a cryptocurrency is minted or created prior to issuance or held on a centralized exchange, it is generally considered centralized. When implemented with decentralized control, each cryptocurrency works through distributed ledger technology, typically a blockchain that serves as a public financial transaction database.

Bitcoin, first released as open-source software in 2009, is the first decentralized cryptocurrency.Since the release of bitcoin, over 6,000 altcoin (alternative variants of bitcoin, or other cryptocurrencies) have been created.

Bitcoin:

Bitcoin is a digital currency created in January 2009 following the housing market crash. It follows the ideas set out in a whitepaper by the mysterious and pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto. The identity of the person or persons who created the technology is still a mystery. Bitcoin offers the promise of lower transaction fees than traditional online payment mechanisms and is operated by a decentralized authority, unlike government-issued currencies.

There are no physical bitcoins, only balances kept on a public ledger than everyone has transparent access to, that – along with all Bitcoin transactions – is verified by a massive amount of computing power. Bitcoins are not issued or backed by any banks or governments, nor are individual bitcoins valuable as a commodity. Despite it not being legal tender, Bitcoin charts high on popularity, and has triggered the launch of hundreds of other virtual currencies collectively referred to as Altcoins.

Blockchains:

If this technology is so complex, why call it “blockchain?” At its most basic level, blockchain is literally just a chain of blocks, but not in the traditional sense of those words. When we say the words “block” and “chain” in this context, we are actually talking about digital information (the “block”) stored in a public database (the “chain”).

“Blocks” on the blockchain are made up of digital pieces of information. Specifically, they have three parts:

  1. Blocks store information about transactions like the date, time, and dollar amount of your most recent purchase from Amazon. (NOTE: This Amazon example is for illustrative purchases; Amazon retail does not work on a blockchain principle as of this writing)
  2. Blocks store information about who is participating in transactions. A block for your splurge purchase from Amazon would record your name along with Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN). Instead of using your actual name, your purchase is recorded without any identifying information using a unique “digital signature,” sort of like a username.
  3. Blocks store information that distinguishes them from other blocks. Much like you and I have names to distinguish us from one another, each block stores a unique code called a “hash” that allows us to tell it apart from every other block. Hashes are cryptographic codes created by special algorithms. Let’s say you made your splurge purchase on Amazon, but while it’s in transit, you decide you just can’t resist and need a second one. Even though the details of your new transaction would look nearly identical to your earlier purchase, we can still tell the blocks apart because of their unique codes.

While the block in the example above is being used to store a single purchase from Amazon, the reality is a little different. A single block on the Bitcoin blockchain can actually store up to 1 MB of data. Depending on the size of the transactions, that means a single block can house a few thousand transactions under one roof.

Hash:

A hash algorithm turns an arbitrarily-large amount of data into a fixed-length hash. The same hash will always result from the same data, but modifying the data by even one bit will completely change the hash. Like all computer data, hashes are large numbers, and are usually written as hexadecimal.

Bitcoin uses the SHA-256 hash algorithm to generate verifiably “random” numbers in a way that requires a predictable amount of CPU effort. Generating a SHA-256 hash with a value less than the current target solves a block and wins you some coin

Distributed ledger:

A distributed ledger is a database that is consensually shared and synchronized across multiple sites, institutions, or geographies, accessible by multiple people. It allows transactions to have public “witnesses”. The participant at each node of the network can access the recordings shared across that network and can own an identical copy of it. Any changes or additions made to the ledger are reflected and copied to all participants in a matter of seconds or minutes.

A distributed ledger stands in contrast to a centralized ledger, which is the type of ledger that most companies use. A centralized ledger is more prone to cyber attacks and fraud, as it has a single point of failure.

Underlying distributed ledgers is the same technology that is used by blockchain, which is the technology that is used by bitcoin. Blockchain is a type of distributed ledger used by bitcoin

Mining:

Cryptocurrency mining, or cryptomining, is a process in which transactions for various forms of cryptocurrency are verified and added to the blockchain digital ledger. Also known as cryptocoin mining, altcoin mining, or Bitcoin mining (for the most popular form of cryptocurrency, Bitcoin), cryptocurrency mining has increased both as a topic and activity as cryptocurrency usage itself has grown exponentially in the last few years.

Each time a cryptocurrency transaction is made, a cryptocurrency miner is responsible for ensuring the authenticity of information and updating the blockchain with the transaction. The mining process itself involves competing with other cryptominers to solve complicated mathematical problems with cryptographic hash functions that are associated with a block containing the transaction data.

The first cryptocurrency miner to crack the code is rewarded by being able to authorize the transaction, and in return for the service provided, cryptominers earn small amounts of cryptocurrency of their own. In order to be competitive with other cryptominers, though, a cryptocurrency miner needs a computer with specialized hardware.

Market Capitalization:

Within the blockchain industry, the term market capitalization (or market cap) refers to a metric that measures the relative size of a cryptocurrency. It is calculated by multiplying the current market price of a particular coin or token with the total number of coins in circulation.

Market Cap = Current Price x Circulating Supply

For example, if each unit of a cryptocurrency is being traded at $10.00, and the circulating supply is equal to 50,000,000 coins, the market capitalization for this cryptocurrency would be $500,000,000.

While the market cap may offer some insights about the size and performance of a company or cryptocurrency project, it is important to note that it is not the same as money inflow. So, it does not represent how much money is in the market. This is a common misconception because the calculation of market cap is directly dependent on price, but in fact, a relatively small variation in price may affect the market cap significantly.

Considering the previous example, a few millions of dollars could potentially pump the cryptocurrency price from $10.00 to $15.00, which would cause the market cap to increase from $500,000,000 to $750,000,000. However, this doesn’t mean there was an inflow of $250,000,000 in the market. Actually, the amount of money needed to cause such an increase in price is dependent on volume and liquidity, which are distinct but related concepts. While volume relates to the number of assets exchanged within a certain period, liquidity is basically the degree to which the asset can be quickly bought or sold without causing too much impact on the price. 

Simply put, a high-volume and liquid market cannot be easily manipulated because there are many orders in the order book and possibly a big volume of orders within the different ranges of price. This would result in a less volatile market, meaning that a whale would need a lot of money to significantly manipulate the price.  In contrast, a thin order book of a low-volume market could be easily over passed with a relatively small amount of money, causing a significant impact on both the price and market cap.

Arvind Kejriwal quarantined

Arvind Kejriwal who is going through some sore throat is kept in home quarantine due to the Corona Virus scare. He would be going through the Covid testing soon so as to protect his team members from getting this harmful virus.