Week 32

Launch! 🚀

February 13, 2021

Good Morning,

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

Did you get a chance to check out my podcast? It is called Off-Topic, and I would appreciate it if you could take a second to share it with your friend. If you haven't checked it out, the link is below! Anyways, this week saw a major glacier burst in Uttarakhand, a new electric-two-wheeler, a Rohit Sharma masterclass, and positive markets! Lastly, I hope everyone has an amazing Valentine's Day! Shout out to the single-gang, I feel your pain :(  

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Now let’s get into the news.

Markets

Markets

experienced minimal growth this week after IT stocks gained on Friday, after crumbling at the start of the week. However, India has been progressing, as stock benchmarks rose more than 11% this month after the positive Budget release, strong corporate earnings, and rapid progress on COVID-19 vaccinations. AK Prabhakar, head of research at IDBI Capital, stated that the markets are currently witnessing 'sectoral rotation', which is a key part of a bullish market. In simpler terms, each sector experiences a rise in stock prices at different times, however, each sectoral gain collectively promotes the bullish market. In addition, India and China withdrew troops from a highly contested border area, which added to the positive market sentiment amongst economists. Infosys was a top gainer rising 1.8%. On the contrary, however, Bayer Cropscience and ITC were the top losers dropping approximately 4-6% on Friday. Lastly, the price of gold remained fairly unchanged, and the price of crude oil shot up 2%. 

In

news, the price of Bitcoin grew significantly after Tesla CEO, Elon Musk announced a USD 1.5 billion investment into the cryptocurrency. The crypto market is booming, and some claim this is only the start! What do you think of it? Is it going to come crumbling down? Or continue flying 'to the moon'? 🚀

COVID-19

With COVID-19 vaccinations continuing, India is slowly returning to pre-COVID living! Let's hope it continues and we get back to our normal lives as soon as possible. India's vaccination rollout has been commendable, with the country vaccinating

people in 28 days. As a statistic, that is close to 286,000 people per day! A reminder to congratulate and celebrate our brave healthcare workers, and their efforts to vaccinate individuals rapidly. 👏

Melted :(

Uttarakhand

A rescue operation is currently underway after a glacier in Chamoli,

'burst' causing a major flood. A glacier burst is when excessive water pressure causes a burst or when weak ice structures collapse causing a major flood. Sadly, 37 bodies have been recovered from different areas that were affected by the glacier burst, and over 150 people are still missing. In particular, the viral video released by a tunnel worker

highlighted the rescue operation and shared his story of being trapped alongside 11 other workers in a flooded tunnel. While all 12 workers survived, the casualties are still rising. 

The cause of the glacier burst is unknown, but it is likely a natural disaster. Does this event highlight the growing climate change concerns? Glacier bursts, melting icebergs, rising sea levels...are all signs of changes to our natural climate. However, these changes are a major detriment to our livelihood, as seen through Uttarakhand! What are your thoughts on climate change? 

In addition, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, on Thursday, approved INR 2.38 crore for the

of five villages out of another 385 villages situated in 'disaster-prone' areas in Uttarakhand. Rising natural disaster threats are forcing this relocation project, which is estimated to cost the State Government over INR 10,000 crore. Uttarakhand is no stranger to natural disasters, as in July 2020, a landslide damaged six houses and farming fields in Dhapa and Munsyari. Though no deaths were reported, 52 out of 136 families were affected. 

Where are all these people going to go!?

Launch! 

Pi Beam 

IIT Madras, a technology-focused university in Chennai, is proud to present a new start-up named

. Pi Beam is a tech start-up that recently launched an electric two-wheeler "PiMo" that can reportedly charge faster than a smartphone! The start-up hopes to sell 10,000 vehicles by the end of the next financial year (2021-22). In addition, Pi Beam's electric two-wheeler is 90% manufactured in India, sitting well with Prime Minister Modi's "Make in India" campaign. The electric scooter will offer a max speed of 25 km/h, and will also offer "battery swapping" technology. This technology will allow customers to easily exchange drained batteries for fully charged ones at designated locations. If you are considering buying this new scooter, the price is INR 30,000. A scooter that charges faster than your phone...crazy!

Kris+

Singapore Airlines launched its very own lifestyle app called

which offers lifestyle and reward services together under one umbrella. The lifestyle app can be used to claim discounts at select dining, retail and entertainment facilities across India. The app has partnered with over 32 Indian companies spreading to over 1500 outlets across India. KrisPay is the world's first blockchain-based airline loyalty digital wallet and is integrated with Kris+ to allow KrisFly members to earn and redeem miles instantly at over 750 Kris+ merchants in Singapore, and across the world. In the future, the airline will enhance its application to allow other in-app payment options to allow users to simultaneously earn miles with each purchase. Are you a Kris+ member? But where are you flying to in a global pandemic!?

Luxury

On Wednesday,

announced the launch of new Economy AC 3-tier train coaches that will offer luxury seating and services, matching airline-style benefits. Personalised AC vents, reading lights, USB charging ports and cool other features are said to feature on new Economy AC coaches on Indian Railways. The Railways Board has given a nod for manufacturing 100 Economy AC coached in the ongoing financial year. 

Sports 

Test 2

saw our veteran cricket hero Rohit Sharma score 161 runs, helping India secure a solid opening score of 300/6. Ajinkya Rahane played fantastically as well, with the all-rounder picking up 67 runs off 149 balls. The Indian team is hoping for a quick bounce back after a crushing 227 run-loss in the first Test. While Rohit Sharma was able to battle through the tough pitch conditions, Indian skipper Virat Kohli struggled, as the batsman went out for 0 runs after a classical off-spin delivery from England bowler Moeen Ali.

With the poor performance, a number of cricket fans questioned the captain's ability to manage the Indian team and focus on delivering a good individual batting performance. Is it time for

to hand the Indian captaincy to his deputy Ajinkya Rahane? Or is this just another roadblock that Virat Kohli will overcome? In numbers, as captain, Virat Kohli has lost 4 successive Test match defeats (2 against New Zealand, 1 against Australia, 1 against England). In addition, India lost 5 successive ODI's in the past year (3 against New Zealand, 2 against Australia) under Virat Kohli's captaincy.

Is it time to change? Cricket fans, let me know in your feedback!   

Other News

1. India's first

will be built in Ladakh, creating a new shift towards renewable energy use. 

2. Growing tensions between farmers and the Government continues. The protesting farmers announced a nationwide

on the 18th of February.

3. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) said it will buyout Oman Oil Company's shares in the

project for INR 2,400 crore.

4. The National Highways Authority of India said it will remove the

requirement for FASTag users.

5. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport aka Mumbai International Airport has been awarded

recognition by the Airports Council International (ACI). 

Quiz

Quiz time! 

At noon, you look at the clock in your bedroom. The big hand is on the five and the little hand is in between the 3 and the 4. What time is it?

Think carefully...

See you next week!

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Quiz Answer: Noon (p.s. if you said you need a new clock, you're correct!) 

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