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Week 24
Embarrassing š³
Good Morning,
Welcome! I hope you have your āSubah Kee Chaiā ready and you're excited to read your weekly 10-minute digest.
Christmas is only a week away! I hope everyone is enjoying their holidays. This week saw some major default payments, a bullish Bitcoin price, a push to promote Indian goods, and an embarrassing Indian cricket performance. With only two weeks left for the New Year, send in your monthly recommendations to get featured in next week's newsletter!
I hope you enjoy today's newsletter,
Now letās get into the news.
Markets
Market News
Equity markets performed admirably this week posting a 6-day rising streak on Friday.
was the top gainer, rising by 3%, followed by Bajaj Auto, SBI, ICICI Bank, and Reliance Industries. On the contrary, however, ONGC, HDFC Bank, Maruti, and Induslnd Bank were among the top losers at the end of the week. Investors claimed that an influx in foreign fund inflows is the primary reason for positive market performances, followed by regular COVID-19 vaccination procedures. The price of Gold reported a positive figure as well due to a rise in demand in the holiday season.
In addition, data reflected a
in December 2020 as compared to the same month in the previous year. With a relaxation of lockdown measures across the nation, it is evident why the demand for petrol is on the rise. Everyone wants to leave their house now!!
Lastly, if you bought
while it was cheap, I congratulate you. The price of the popular cryptocurrency crossed the USD 20,000 mark for the first time, rising over 6% on Wednesday. Despite facing a 25% crash in March due to the pandemic, the price of Bitcoin has tripled since the start of the year making it one of the most valuable assets this year. Where do you think the price of Bitcoin is going? Should individuals hold on or sell?
COVID-19
While the year is coming to an end, unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic does not seem to be going away! More than two dozen cases of a deadly fungal infection called
were recorded among recovered COVID-19 patients, with six individuals sadly losing succumbing to the infection. The fungal disease was primarily reported in diabetic patients and those treated with steroids.
Lastly, the total number of COVID-19 cases in India crossed the 10 million mark, with reports claiming that the figure is much larger due to a number of unreported cases.
Defaulter
Tax Evasion
On Tuesday, official sources stated that the Income Tax Department detected a whopping INR 700 crore tax evasion after raiding multiple locations in
The group was also accused of foreign assets valued at INR 110 crore in the form of fixed deposits that were undisclosed in any income tax returns. Chettinad Group is involved in business activities such as cement manufacturing, logistics, and construction. The Central Board of Direct Taxes stated that further investigations will be carried out on a large number of lockers that were identified, adding that the company was also involved in a range of bogus transactions.
M&M's Subsidiary
Mahindra's (M&M) South Korean subsidiary,
defaulted on loan payments worth INR 408 crore to a range of lenders including JP Morgan, BNP Paribas, and the Bank of America. With the subsidiary missing loan payments due on the 14th of December, M&M may consider selling its dying stake in Ssangyong. The subsidiary commented on the default payments stating that the company was in talks with the banks to extend the terms of the loans and to potentially attract new investments.
Ganguly Relief
One of India's legendary cricketers
, current president of the Indian Cricket Board, won a tax relief from the tax tribunal over an INR 1.5 crore service tax claim. Ganguly raised a claim against the Service Tax Commissioner's demand to pay taxes since 2006 on band endorsements and promotion services, categories that had become taxable in July 2010.
Homemade š„°
Brand India Mission
The Indian Government is all set to launch its
focused on promoting products that are manufactured in India. This mission is similar to policies implemented in a number of countries across the world such as Switzerland, the United States of America, Germany, and France. The Quality Council of India will monitor local manufacturing by looking at the product's "country of origin certificates", which will be a voluntary self-certification form to be filled by certain entities. Manufacturers that gain this certification, which takes 6-10 days to complete, will be given preference in the market through trade agreements, reliefs, and other benefits. Following recent tensions with China, India has shifted its attention to its "Atmanirbhar Bharat Strategy" to promote Indian companies at a global level, while also ensuring their dominance in the Indian domestic markets. The Government will pay particular attention to the electronics, automobiles, and defense sectors.
Coal India
State-run
stated that is it aiming to substitute imported dry fuel with more domestic supplies in the current fiscal year. Presently, the country imports 80-85 million tonnes of coal. Coal India has requested local power plants to gradually increase their coal productions and supplies, in an attempt to reduce foreign imports. In 2019-20, India imported 248 million tonnes of coal resulting in an outflow of INR 1 lakh crore in foreign exchange. The Indian government stated that it will offer concessions to make domestic coal more attractive as compared to imported fuel.
Bullet!
Over the next few years, Indians may get to experience traveling on Indian Railways new high-speed railways traveling at a speed of 300-kilometers per hour. According to a new draft proposal by the Ministry of Railways, several cities across India will be connected via
. Here are some of the proposed routes:
1. Mumbai ---> Ahmedabad
2. Delhi ---> Agra ----> Kanpur ---> Lucknow ----> Varanasi ---> Patna ---> Kolkata
3. Delhi ---> Chandigarh ---> Amritsar ---> Jammu
4. Mumbai ---> Nasik ---> Nagpur
5. Mumbai ---> Hyderabad ---> Bengaluru
6. Chennai ---> Bengaluru ---> Mysore
India's first bullet train project is already underway between Ahmedabad and Mumbai, however, it has been delayed due to land acquisition problems. Prime Minister Modi has urged officials in both Maharashtra and Gujarat to resolve any discrepancies and to complete the project as soon as possible.
Sports
Embarrassing...
The
team, captained by veteran Virat Kohli, suffered serious embarrassment as they scored their lowest Test score (36 runs) against a rampaging Australia, who claimed an emphatic 8-wicket win inside two and a half days. The last time India performed this miserably was in 1974, where the team scored 42 runs against England. India's star batsmen fell like nine bowling pins, with each batsmen failing to cross the double-figure mark. India's next test match begins on the 26th of December in Melbourne, without Virat Kohli as the star captain is on paternity leave.
Top Sporting Moments of 2020!
In January, sports fans across the globe eagerly awaited new sporting memories, with special importance on the 4-year awaited Olympics! However, our worst nightmares struck, with COVID-19 ruining the party and canceling/postponing a majority of sporting events scheduled for the year. Despite fans missing in stadiums, and limited sporting events - here is a list of
1. Sania Mirza returned after a two-year pregnancy break to win the Tennis Doubles Title at the WTA Hobart International, partnered alongside Nadiia Kichenok.
2. India's star Hockey team beat the world No.3 Netherlands in their debut FIH Pro League tie back in January.
3. Ronaldo Singh created history by becoming the world junior No.1 sprint cyclist.
4. Sharath Kamal ended his 10-year drought after winning the Table Tennis Omar Open in March.
5. Lastly, nine Indian boxers set a historic record by booking their Olympic ticket for the postponed Tokyo Olympics 2021.
Let's hope 2021 proves to be a better year for the world of sports, with particular hope of allowing fans back into the stadiums! More historic sporting memories to come!
Other News
1. Due to fierce competition and unprecedented times, Honda Motor Cars shut its 23-year old factory in
, Uttar Pradesh.
2. Home furniture giant
welcomed customers at its newly opened store in the outskirts of Mumbai, two years after it opened its first India outlet in Hyderabad.
3. Popular video communications platform
announced that it would remove the 40-minute cap on call lengths over the Christmas Holidays for all users with free accounts.
4. According to the International Data Corporation's monthly tracker,
grew 42% in October, shipping approximately 21 million units.
5. On Monday,
suffered a global outage as users were unable to access Youtube, Gmail, and Google Drive.
Quiz
Quiz time!!!
Touched by fire, I am bright.
Constant use changes my height.
Alive at night, out all day,
Use me too much and I will disappear away.
It's easyyyyy...š„±
See you next week!
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Quiz Answer: A Candle
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Written by: Adnan Bahrainwala (Founder of Subah Kee Chai)