Week 11

Tech Space 💻

September 19, 2020

Good Morning,

Welcome! I hope you have your “Subah Kee Chai” ready and you're excited to read your weekly 10-minute digest. 

This week saw a range of news in the technology sector, with Apple releasing new products, features and the long-awaited IOS 14. In addition, Paytm faced confusion on the Google Playstore. Toyota said they're investing 2000 crores in India, and some pretty cool trade numbers were released as well. 

I hope you enjoy today's newsletter,

Now let’s get into the news.

Markets

While markets ended the week narrowly in the green, equity market performance declined from Wednesday onwards. On Friday, BSE Sensex fell 134 points, and Nifty 50 dropped 11.15 points.

were among the top losers. HDFC Bank took the spotlight as the highest loser dropping over 2% due to a US Law Firm initiating a lawsuit against the bank. On the contrary, Bharti Airtel, M&M, Sun Pharma, and Mahindra were among the top gainers at the end of the week. 

According to traders, despite the positive start to the week, equity stocks declined due to weak foreign cues and foreign fund outflows. According to reports, foreign institutional investors sold equities worth INR 249.82 crore on Thursday. Lastly, the rupee strengthened against both the US Dollar and the British Pound.      

Tech Sector 

Youtube's Tik Tok? 

Ever since the popular Chinese-made app Tik Tok got banned in India, companies are racing to fill the gap in the market with a number of technology companies implementing their own versions of Tik Tok. Google jumped on the bandwagon, as the Google-owned streaming platform Youtube is introducing the beta version of their Tik Tok clone

. Similar to Tik Tok and Instagram Reels, Youtube Shorts will allow creators to make 15-second or fewer clips with access to a range of editing features. The app is already available for Android users and is soon to be released for IOS users as well. 

  Apple 

On September 15th, Apple held its first

titled "Time Flies", in which Apple introduced the new IPad, Apple Watch, and the release of the long-awaited IOS 14. The software is currently available on all Apple devices and has some really cool features such as: 

1. Picture in Picture Facetime 

2. The stylish App Library 

3. New widgets to add to your home screen 

4. Emoji Search 

5. QuickTake video 

And so many more! If you haven't already downloaded the latest update, I highly recommend checking it out. Lastly, Apple rolled out an "all in one" subscription package titled Apple One, with the aim of helping customers push through lockdown measures. 

In separate news, Apple, on Friday, announced that it will be opening its

in India on the 23rd of September. Until now, Apple products were sold in India through third-party vendors. The online store will offer most of the apple products, and the service will be available in both Hindi and English. 

  Paytm Drama

Earlier in the week the digital payments company

was removed from the Google Playstore, after the app was accused of violating the Playstore's "sports betting" policy. In a blog post, Google mentioned that it does not allow any apps facilitating sports betting, and such apps will be removed from the Playstore.

Paytm issued a statement to its users assuring the safety of their money and stated that its service will resume soon. After removing a "cashback" feature from a recently-launched game on their application, Paytm was allowed to return to the Google Playstore. 

Economy 

Onions :(

On Monday, the Indian Government

as prices trebled in a month due to heavy rainfall affecting the crops in southern states. In numbers, the prices of onions have shot up, with a tonne of onions costing INR 30,000. India is the world's largest exporter of onions with countries such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Malaysia relying on Indian onion shipments. 

Toyota

stated that it will invest INR 2000 crore in electric components and technology for Indian customers over the next 12 months. This decision comes after worrying speculation that Toyota was halting investments in India. In a statement, the company assured investors that it is committed to its operations in the Indian market and that India is an integral part of Toyota's global strategy. 

Balance of trades

This week a number of

were released, here is a breakdown of India's trade situation: 

1. India's exports declined 12.66% to USD 22.7 billion in August, due to a decline in shipments of petroleum, leather, jewellery items, and engineering goods. 

2. India's imports declined 26% to USD 29.47 billion in August, leaving a trade deficit of USD 6.77 billion. 

3. Oil imports declined 41.62% to USD 6.42 billion. 

4. Gold imports jumped to USD 3.7 billion 

Eye-opener

: After analyzing the numbers for the month of August, is India moving towards a trade surplus or a trade deficit? (Hint: exports are reducing at a slower rate than imports). In light of COVID-19, will India aim to import raw materials or rather focus on exporting to other countries? 

Sports 

IPL! 

Get the popcorn ready, the IPL has started! Mumbai Indians faced the Chennai Super Kings yesterday, the opening day, in Abu Dhabi. 

As the tournament commences, here's a list of some of the

: 

1. Yashasvi Jaiswal (Rajasthan Royals) was bought for INR 2.4 crore in the IPL auction last year. The 19-year old youngster was named Man of the Match in the ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup in January 2020, after scoring 400 runs in 6 matches. 

2. Ruturaj Gaikwad (Chennai Super Kings) has a commendable record for his state Maharasthra scoring 2499 runs in 54 matches, with an average of 49 runs. He was bought for INR 20 lakhs in the IPL Auction 2019. 

3. Ravi Bishnol (Kings XI Punjab) is set to make his IPL debut this year having played phenomenally in the ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup. The young bowler picked up 17 wickets in 6 matches, and was bought for INR 2 Crore at the IPL Auction. 

A true test? 

As the IPL commences,

will definitely be put to the test, as the franchise has had an embarrassing performance over the last 7 seasons. Since Kohli took over as captain the team has reached the final once in 2016 but finished at the bottom of the league twice in three years. Will the powerhouse cricketer Virat Kholi be able to lead his team towards a victory this year? Time will tell... 

Similarly,

, formerly known as Delhi Daredevils, have not been a real force in the IPL despite having some world-class names on their roster. Delhi is the only team to have never made a final appearance, however, they finished 3rd last season. Will the tournament being held in the UAE, can Delhi break the curse and finally reach the final, and potentially win? Once again, time will tell as the tournament proceeds! 

The long-awaited tournament, and India's favourite sport. The IPL is back!

Other News

1. Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to India has assured Indian ex-pats that

will grant permission to fly for essential work on special repatriation flights.

2. Mumbai airport has launched an

for all passengers arriving in the city. The test report will be initiated immediately and will allow passengers to opt-out of the 14-day quarantine requirement.  

3. At least

in separate lightning strikes in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh as heavy rains affected the region. 

4. On Monday,

became the second Indian company to hold a market valuation of INR 9 lakh crore, after Reliance Industries Limited. 

5.

announced that it will buy a Czech firm GuideVision for EUR 30 million. GuideVision is an enterprise service management firm. 

Quiz

Quiz time! A bit of poem this week, try and decipher it. 

A word I know, 

Six letters it contains, 

Subtract just one, 

And twelve is what remains.

Think, Think, Think!  

See you next week!

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See you next week!

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Quiz Answer: Dozens 

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Written by: Adnan Bahrainwala (Founder of Subah Kee Chai)