Week 23

Mystery Illness! 😲

December 12, 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 covered the on-going farmers' protest once again, the scary mystery illness spreading in Andhra Pradesh, and a lot more choices on Swiggy. 

I hope you enjoy today's newsletter,

Now let’s get into the news.

Markets

Markets

Both

finished in the green this week, with BSE Sensex ending Friday 139 points higher. Increased foreign fund inflow resulted in overall positive performances at the end of the week. ONGC, NTPC, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, and Bajaj Auto were among the top gainers, with ONGC, in particular, rising 6%. On the contrary, Axis Bank, Tech Mahindra, Asian Paints, and M&M were the top losers. Investors were reluctant mid-week due to growing uncertainty surrounding a Brexit no-deal. Lastly, the price of gold and crude oil posted negative results due to falling demand in both sectors. 

COVID-19 

, 91, was the first person in the United Kingdom to receive the Pfizer-developed COVID-19 vaccine. While unrelated to India, it is a huge step towards overcoming this virus and returning to normality. 

In addition, India is also preparing to roll out the COVID-19 vaccination, as the Government tied up with Luxembourg based

to develop a specialized refrigerated vaccine transportation plant in Gujarat to ensure smooth delivery to villages across India. B Medical System is also in contact with Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech and Pune-based Serum Institute of India to provide them with cooling units for vaccine transportation. 

Lastly, on Thursday,

announced its partnership with Om Logistics to transport COVID-19 vaccines across India. This is another of many partnerships forming to create a cold-chain supply to transport the COVID-19 vaccines across the country. SpiceJet's SpiceXpress is capable of flying over 500 tonnes of cargo per day both domestically and internationally. 

Farmers Protest

Bharat Bandh 

Continuing on from last week, the on-going farmer's protest against the new farm laws introduced by the Indian Government is sparking global attention, as leaders from across the world are sharing their views and opinions on the on-going dispute. On Tuesday, farmers across India demanded a

, which was initially planned to highlight the problems with the new laws, however, violent disruptions were reported in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha. In Punjab, individuals took to the streets blocking the movement of buses and taxis, while in Kolkata, students blocked roads and 26 trains were canceled. 

Sadly, as a result of continuous protests, 11 protestors died in the last 13 days due to cardiac arrests or by committing suicide. With growing concerns, the BJP-led Government must address the issues immediately and support local farmers, to prevent any further disruptions and deaths. 

Updates

As of Friday, the Government has yet again asked the farmer unions to

the new Government proposals, however, the unions are hesitant to accept the new reforms as they protest that they only favor agricultural trade rather than supporting local farmers. Farmers are continuously putting pressure on the Unions to stay firm in front of the Government and demand the removal of the newly introduced farm laws. With the Government ready to have an open discussion, what is the best possible outcome for the farmers? Is it the removal of the new farm laws, or should the unions consider discussing new terms? Let me know what you think! 

Mystery Illness 

The last thing we need right now...

With the COVID-19 vaccine finally being approved and rolled out in a number of countries, the last thing we need is another virus shooting up from nowhere and causing wide-spread panic once again. However, an 'unknown' illness is being reported in

. The All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, on Tuesday, stated that the mystery illness is being spread due to contaminated water in the region. A private lab found high levels of pesticides, including DDT (Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane - very toxic) in drinking water. A similar report also indicated high levels of lead and nickel in blood samples collected from patients. 

In summary, the recent outbreak of this "mystery illness" in Andhra Pradesh has led to the hospitalization of 500 people in the last 3 days. Individuals reported experiencing symptoms similar to epilepsy. Most lab reports claimed the cause to be pesticides in

. 

Positively, however, the Government stated that most patients experienced a decrease in lead content in their blood after they were admitted to the hospital highlighting that the "illness" is caused due to acute exposure rather than a chronic one (for e.g. COVID-19). In simple terms, this "mystery illness" is a one-time spike in cases, or let us hope that is the case. 

Tie-up 

India - Qatar 

On Friday,

agreed to set up a task force to identify projects for Qatar Petroleum, the country's largest natural gas supplier, to invest in. Qatar is India's biggest natural gas supplier, shipping 8.5 million tonnes of LNG (liquified natural gas) per year. To develop a greater partnership between the two countries, Qatar Investment Authority is looking to invest in India, particularly in the energy and infrastructure sector. 

Swiggy

Popular food ordering platform, Swiggy, announced the expansion of its street food vendors program to 125 cities under Prime Minister Modi's "Street Vendor's AtmaNibhar Nidhi Scheme". In its first phase, Swiggy will onboard approximately

across India. At the time of onboarding, all street vendors will be registered with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India and will receive exclusive training as well. With the addition of so many restaurants...what are you going to be ordering tonight? 

Satellite-based IoT Network

Skylotech, a company backed by SoftBank, has developed a

(Narrow Band Internet of Things) solution and introduced it in India, in partnership with BSNL. This solution will allow rural areas to enjoy greater connectivity. Skylotech's NB-IoT solution will connect BSNL's satellite ground infrastructure and provide a "PAN-India coverage" (PAN = Presence Across Nation". This partnership aligns perfectly with BSNL's vision to provide affordable and innovative telecom products and services across the country. 

Tech News 

Instagram Reels is now a shop...? 

Instagram rolled out an additional

complementing its popular Reels platform. Reels is a short-video creating platform similar to competing Tik Tok. Instagram stated that the feature is rolling out globally, and will allow users to shop directly from the Instagram app. With the introduction of this feature, businesses and creators can include their 'product tags' on their Reels. What would you buy from Instagram's shop? Do you think it is a good feature? 

Apple loves taking my money! 

Adding to a large number of releases this year, Apple rolled out another product called the

. If you thought having AirPods Pro was cool, wait till people start flexing their Apple Headphones! The AirPods Max is the first over-the-ear headphones from Apple and will compete alongside popular headphone companies such as Bose, Sony, and Jabra. Here is a quick rundown of everything about the new product: 

1. It comes in five colors: space grey, silver, sky blue, green, and pink. 

2. They are available for pre-ordering now and will release on the 15th of December online. 

3. They have 20-hour battery life and have noise cancellation features. 

4. It comes with a Smart Case, which preserves battery loss, but it looks like a handbag...:/ 

5. Here is the big one, they are priced at INR 59,900! That makes it one of the most expensive headphones on the market. 

As I said, Apple loves taking my money! Will you be buying headphones worth INR 60,000? 

What did Indians search about in 2020? 

Google announced the moments that captured India's attention in 2020, in its

results. What did you think were the top searches this year? While "Coronavirus" ranked 1st in a number of countries globally, in India it sat behind the "Indian Premier League". The US Elections was of great concern to Indians, surprisingly, as it triggered significant search activity, sitting alongside the Bihar and Delhi elections. 

In addition, Dil Bechara claimed the title of the top trending movie of 2020. "How to make Paneer?" and "How to increase immunity?" were the top "How to" searches followed by "How to make Dalgona coffee?" It's been a rollercoaster year, what were you most inquisitive about? 

Other News

1. Domestic air travel demand witnessed a

in November indicating a return to pre-COVID levels. 

2. Industrial production

in October due to better performances in the manufacturing and electricity-generating sectors. 

3. On Thursday, Walmart announced that it will triple its exports of goods from India to

by 2027. 

4. The price to fill up your LPG Gas Tank increased

from INR 594 to INR 644 in November, after remaining unchanged since July. 

5. Hospitality firm

mainly from renovation and operations departments, in order to build a long-term sustainable business. 

Quiz

Ooooo it is quiz time!! 

What 5 letter English word does not change in pronunciation even when you take away 4 of its letters?

Get thinking... 

See you next week!

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Quiz Answer: Queue 

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