Week 30

Crypto! 📈

January 30, 2021

Good Morning,

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

Before we dive in if you could take a moment to tell your closest friend to subscribe to Subah Kee Chai, let's get the numbers going! This week celebrated Republic Day, a day that celebrates our armed forces that are protecting our borders every single day. It saw a rising tension between the ravaged farmers and the Indian Government, market frenzies, and a new digital voter ID.

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Now let’s get into the news.

Markets

Market News

It's been a busy week for

, with the internet uniting to take on Wall Street and it's pissed off billionaires! Before diving into India's market performances, the recent surge in stocks such as GameStop (GME) and American Multi-Cinema (AMC), along with others, is something that will be written in history books 50 years down the line. For once, amateur traders united on a social media platform called Reddit to rally stocks that Wall Street hedge funds had bet against or short-sold. Short-selling, in its easest form, is when an investor attempts to make money by betting that a share price is going to fall. This unison, however, caused a lot of uproars, as online equity trading platforms such as Trading 212 and Robinhood suspended trading to prevent amateur traders from profiteering from the spike in share prices. Is this fair? Billionaires and hedge funds manipulate the market on a daily basis, but when a group of amateur traders does it, it is problematic...? A lot of debate surrounding the issue, but tell me what you think! At the end of the day, it is called the "public market", so how can you restrict the public from accessing it...? 

Okay, now back to India, equity markets slumped this week, with BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 dropping more than 4% throughout the week. The downward journey continued for the sixth day in a row on Friday, with BSE Sensex tumbling almost 505 points, due to a high volume of selling. Despite poor performances, Induslnd Bank, Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank, and HDFC Bank were among the top gainers at the end of the week. On the contrary, Maruti, Dr. Reddy's, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, and Bajaj Auto were the top losers. Market analysts claimed that investors cashed in on profits throughout the week, to prepare for the upcoming Union Budget announcement on the 1st of February. Despite Republic Day celebrations, the price of gold dropped by 1% with the price of crude oil rising lightly. 

Crypto dilemma...

Have you ever traded

? From the fancy names to the memes to the crazy prices! Cryptocurrency is growing to become one of the most valuable assets in the world! Is the train worth catching? In simple terms, a cryptocurrency is a form of digital currency that individuals trade, similar to foreign exchange trading, but what determines the price? News reports, Elon Musk tweets, Reddit pages...these have been some of the most influential causes of bull runs over the past few months. But how much longer will this crypto influx run? Seeing the rapidly growing demand, India, surprisingly, plans to introduce a new law to ban private cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and introduce a framework to introduce India's own 'official digital currency' which will be issued by the Central Bank. Does this defeat the whole purpose of cryptocurrency being a deregulated asset? What will regulation by the Central Bank serve? Is making crypto a form of official digital currency a smart move? Let me know what you think by replying to the email! 

COVID-19

With continuing vaccine roll-outs and an easing of lockdown restrictions, India is on the path to returning to the pre-COVID lifestyle. In recent news, official scientists confirmed that the

works against the new variants emerging in the United Kingdom and South Africa.   

Republic Day Protests!

United we stand! 

New Delhi, the capital of India, was on high-security alert on Tuesday, as

from across India united in the capital to peacefully protest against the newly imposed agri-laws. A few weeks ago, I highlighted the on-going farmer's protest over the new laws, but if you have forgotten, here is a quick recap: 

1. The Indian Government has proposed new agriculture laws that will allow farmers to sell their produce directly to corporate resellers, in an attempt to remove middlemen who profit by raising prices for produce. 

2. The farmers, however, oppose these new laws, as while it may seem like it will 'benefit' the farmers by creating a direct link, the Government may remove the Minimum Support Price (MSP) in the process. 

3. The MSP protects farmers from any form of price exploitation.

Okaaaaaaaaay! I think you are back up to speed now. On Republic Day, a

, which was intended to be peaceful, ended up in severe violence and uproar. A large group of protestors broke through barriers, fought police, overturned vehicles, and hoisted a religious flag at the Red Fort. Sadly, among the protestors, a farmer passed away. A few hours later, the Farmers Union, which is a union body supporting the farmer's agenda, and organized the peaceful protests, called off the protests, and urged farmers to prevent violence. Increasing tensions between farmers and the police resulted in 22 police officers sustaining serious injuries. 

Due to continued growing tension in the capital, the Indian Government ordered the

of Internet services at Delhi's border points. What do you think of the new laws? Are you with the farmers? Violence should never be the answer. 

Let's Go Digital...

Digital Voter IDs

On Monday, the Election Commission of India rolled out the new

of the voter's photo identity card, on a day that celebrates the National Voter's Day. This is one of many additions the Indian Government has made to transform the nation into a digital and modern powerhouse. The digital voter ID card cannot be edited and can be stored directly on your mobile phones and personal computers. Election polls in different cities across India will accept digital voter ID cards in upcoming elections. You can download your digital voter ID card (e-EPIC) from the 1st of February. For everyone that loses things just like me, if you somehow end up losing your digital ID card you can redownload it for free! 

With the introduction of new digital voter ID cards, do you think voting could move online as well? The removal of election booths completely to allow individuals to vote from home...but what about the risk of the elections being rigged? Also, would this increase the number of voters? Give it a think, while you continue sipping your tea...  

Or maybe not so digital...

In 2020, India temporarily banned 59 apps developed in China due to data privacy risks, and to protect Indian consumers. However, what was initially temporary, has become

, as the Indian Government issued an order to permanently ban the use of 59 apps including Tik Tok, WeChat, UC Browser, Club Factory, etc. India currently risks further adding legal challenges to the growing tensions with the Chinese government. The permanent ban came after the IT Ministry expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of response from the companies to the growing queries.  

Monthly Recommendations

One month into 2021, time is flying! Oh well, a new month, a new list of movies, tv shows, books, and music recommendations! Give it a listen/watch/read, and tell me whether you like it ;)

Movies

1. Tag (Netflix) 

2. Turbo (Netflix) 

3. The Day After Tomorrow (Amazon Prime) 

4. The Midnight Sky (Netflix) 

5. One Night in Miami (Amazon Prime) 

TV Shows/Documentaries

1. The Good Place (Netflix)

2. Wanda Vision (Disney Plus)

3. Vikings (Amazon Prime)

4. I am a Killer (Netflix)

5. Headspace: Guide to Meditation (Netflix)

Books

1. Bigger Government by Marc Robinson

2. Less is More by Jason Hickel

3. Collapse by Jared Diamonds

4. Windows of Opportunity by David Sainsbury

Music

1. Girls Love Beyoncé - Drake ft. James Fauntleroy

2. BDE Bonus - Mac Miller

3. Window Shopper - 50 Cent

4. Ride for Me - B Young

5. Time - Snoh Aalegra

6. We Come Running - Youngblood Hawke

7. Music Sounds Better With You - Stardust

8. Be Honest - Jorja Smith ft. Burna Boy  

Other News

1. With domestic aviation returning to pre-COVID levels,

stated that it delivered the highest number of aircraft, 57, to Indian carriers in 2020.

2. Indian and British airline carriers will continue operating 30 weekly flights to and from the UK till

.   

3. On Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected India to grow by an impressive

in 2021. Will it happen? 

4. India's largest software exporter Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) surpassed Reliance Industries Ltd to become India's

by market capitalization. 

5. A minor 'improvised explosive device' (IED)

took place outside the Israel Embassy in New Delhi. Thankfully, there were no casualties or injuries. 

Quiz

Quiz time! How are you finding the quizzes? Let me know by replying to the email! 

I am a protector. 

I sit on a bridge. 

One person can see right through me, while others wonder what I hide. 

What am I?

Tough one, right? Get thinking...

See you next week!

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See you next week!

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Quiz Answer: Sunglasses! (p.s. they sit on the bridge of your nose)

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