Week 25

Happy New Year! 💕

December 26, 2020

Good Morning,

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

A day late, but Merry Christmas to all my Subah Kee Chai readers! I hoped you had an amazing Christmas with your loved ones! Keep the celebrations running, it's the New Year soon! 2021 is the year for greater achievements, more goals, more memories, and greater happiness! Hopefully, our uninvited guest COVID-19 leaves soon 😅. The last newsletter for 2020 features some boosting economic stats, a look back at the tech that ran 2020, Messi's impressive stats, and your December monthly recommendations! 

Happy New Year, in advance, here is to 2021! 

I hope you enjoy today's newsletter,

Now let’s get into the news.

Markets

Market News

finished positively mirroring the reduced but joyful Christmas celebrations at the end of the week. Both markets recorded a positive performance in the banking and financial services sectors. Axis Bank, ONGC, Sun Pharma, Reliance, and HDFC were among the top gainers rising as much as 2.94% on Thursday. On the contrary, Infosys, Nestle India, Tech Mahindra, and Induslnd Bank were among the top laggards dropping by a staggering 1.32%. Following the announcement of a confirmed Brexit trade deal between the United Kingdom and the European Union, Asian markets performed admirably due to greater stabilization in the global market. However, the rise of a new COVID-19 strain in the United Kingdom sparked fear in a few weary traders. Lastly, the price of gold and crude oil slumped due to a drop in global demand. 

COVID-19:

Yes, you are reading correctly! With everyone hoping for an end to this dreadful pandemic, unfortunately, a

has been identified in the United Kingdom, with health officials claiming a 70% greater transmission rate. While depressing news for the entire world, the memes surrounding the announcement lightened the mood slightly. Luckily, the Health Ministry of India, on Tuesday, stated that the new strain has not been detected in India as yet, as the Indian Government immediately announced the suspension of flights from the United Kingdom until the 31st of December, 2020. In addition, the new strain, while having a greater transmission rate, is not increasing the case fatalities as per the health officials in India. Putting the information in numbers, in the last seven days, India has reported 124 cases per million and 2 COVID-19 deaths per million. In comparison, the global figures, for the same period, stand at 588 cases per million and 10 deaths per million. With positive Christmas spirits, I am praying the new year proves to be better than the last! 

Economic boost 💸

Maybe China needs us after all...? 

According to Government sources, since April, the Indian Government has received 120

(FDI) proposals, worth INR 12,000 crore, from China. Most investments were towards brownfield projects or in other world pre-existing companies. Sour tensions between the two nations disregarded any form of investment opportunities, however, the rise in FDI proposals indicates a potential partnership in the future...? While India may have banned a number of Chinese made goods to protect domestic sellers and consumers, there are no restrictions on Chinese firms bidding in Indian projects funded by multilateral institutions. 

Fast-paced economic recovery! 

As per an RBI article, the Indian economy is escaping the sorrows of the COVID-19 pandemic at a

than predicted earlier. As a result of the pandemic, the Indian economy had dipped a historic -23.9% in the first quarter of the current financial year. In the second quarter, and with the easing of lockdown measures, the contraction narrowed to -7.5%. According to the report, the economy is said to push into positive territory at a minuscule 0.1% increase in the third quarter. There is light at the end of the long dark tunnel, economic activity in India is starting to pick up again. In time, it will return to normality. 

The 5th largest...😳

Following an impressive RBI forecast, a think tank, on Saturday, claimed that based on extensive research, they believe India will become the

in the world surpassing the United Kingdom by 2025. In addition, they also stated that India will grow exponentially to claim the third spot by 2030. Currently, India is the 6th largest economy in the world! Mind-blowing, but not surprising for the second most populated nation. In numbers, the CEBR predicts the Indian economy to expand 9% in 2021, followed by a 7% expansion in 2022, with a lower growth rate predicted as India becomes more developed. Where do you think India will sit in the next 10 years? Let me know through your feedback! 

The A-Z of Tech! 📱

A year of Tech! 

With COVID-19 forcing everyone inside, 2020 brought us a plethora of new technologies, applications, and games! Here is a list of

: 

1. Among Us: Picking up traction in the latter half of 2020, Among Us became one of the most downloaded games in the world, with 15% downloads coming from India. 

2. Apple released an entire catalog of products this year, with the new iPhone 12, new Macbooks, new disgustingly expensive headphones, a bold looking iOS 14, and the M1 chip, which is supposedly the most powerful computer chip ever. 

3. India's decision to ban over 200 Chinese-made applications led to great controversy, however it shed light on the budding home-grown platforms that gained major traction. The likes of Mitron, Chingari, Fau-G, and Josh made their presence felt in the Indian market. 

4. If there was one popular online game Indians played over lockdown, it was Ludo. Ludo Online was the game of the year on the Apple App Store, with people connecting across continents to play daily Ludo games. 

5. How can I forget, the most important tool of them all, Zoom! Meetings, weddings, birthdays, classes, and every other event took place virtually on Zoom. The video-conferencing platform was the most popular application in 2020, and it has become a norm in our daily lives... 

What a crazy year in the tech world, and there were many runner-ups as well. The likes of Microsoft Teams, Coursera and Udemy, QR Codes, and the PS5! 

An Apple Tesla? 

Interestingly rejecting Musk's proposal of electric cars in the early 2015's, Apple controversially announced that it is moving forward with self-driving car technology and is estimating 2024 as the year it releases it's very first

with ground-breaking battery technology. Competing directly with Musk's Tesla, and Alphabet Inc's Waymo, Apple's new technology is hoping to dominate the electric car market with a battery that can last longer and cost way lesser. What seemed like dreams as children are coming to fruition, self-driving cars are becoming popular, are flying cars next?  

Sports

A much better start... 

Saturday saw India take on Australia for the

after a humiliating defeat last week. With Virat Kohli absent on parental leave, the Indian team was put to a real test. However, with impressive performances from Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin, Australia was shot out for a sub-par total score of 195. India opened their batting performance with a shocker as Mayank Agarwal got out for 0 runs by inform Mitchell Starc. However, youngster Shubham Gill survived a hostile spell and currently sits on 28 runs. India has ended the day with a score of 36/1 in 11 overs. Can India cover up the humiliating performance from last week, and tie the series up 1-1? Time shall tell...The match resumes at 5:00 AM IST on Sunday, the 27th of December. 

  🐐

Arguably one of the best footballers in the World,

has done it again breaking another record. On Wednesday, Messi surpassed Pele's record as the highest goalscorer ever for a single club as he led Barcelona to a cruising 3-0 win over Valladolid. In numbers, the Argentinian legend has scored 644 goals for Barcelona across 17 seasons (749 games). What an incredible achievement! When it comes to the greatest player of all time, there is a lot of debate between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi? Who do you think takes that position? Who is the true greatest football player of all time? 

Monthly Recommendations

Wow! We are finally here, at the end of the year! What a rollercoaster. Here is a round-up of December's music, movies, and books to keep you entertained as we enter 2021! 

Movies:

1. The Midnight Sky (Netflix) 

2. The Christmas Chronicles 1 and 2 (Netflix) 

3. Iron Man (Disney Plus) 

4. Soul (Disney Plus) 

5. Die Harder (Die Hard 2) (Amazon Prime) 

TV Shows/Documentaries:

1. The Queen's Gambit (Netflix) 

2. The Fabulous lives of Bollywood Wives (Netflix) 

3. Excuse me, I love you (Arianna Grande) (Netflix) 

4. Mandalorian (Disney Plus) 

5. Mismatched (Netflix) 

Books:

1. The Secret by Rhona Byrne 

2. Inside Broadmoor by Jonathan Levi 

3. Invisible Women by Caroline Criado-Perez 

Music:

1. Train to Pluton - M83 

2. Smoked Out - A2 

3. My Love - Ashton Mallory ft MIA GLADSTONE 

4. Imagine (Remastered 2010) - John Lennon 

5. Mood - 24kGoldn ft iann dior 

6. Tequilla Shots - Kid Cudi 

Other News

1. On Tuesday, the Indian Government invited bids to sell its 63.75% stake in the

to a private investor. The deadline for submitting initial bids is the 13th of February, 2021. 

2. After the closure of their plant last week, Honda is discontinuing its production of the veteran

3. India's

is experiencing an influx in demand, as sales were up 51% between October to December. A total of 21,832 houses were sold in the said period. 

4. An arbitration ruling unanimously ruled in favour of Cairn Energy Plc, on Friday, forcing the Indian Government to

to the company. 

5. India's home-grown Tik Tok,

received over USD 100 million in funding from big tech companies such as Google and Microsoft over the last 4 months. 

Quiz

Quiz, Quiz, Quiz! 

One hundred feet in the air, it lies with its back on the ground. What is it? 🧐

Get thinking!

See you next week!

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Quiz Answer: A dead centipede 

😜

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