Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan have only been parents for a little over a month, but ever since their son Archie was born on May 6, there haven't been any pictures of the little fella available to the public. Until now!
For Father's Day, the royal couple released an adorable photo of baby Archie on their official Instagram account @sussexroyal, and in the spirit of the holiday he's pictured in the arms of his loving dad Prince Harry.
Every day of Pride Month, Mashable will be sharing illuminating conversations with members of the LGBTQ community who are making history right now.
Tyler Oakley isn't tired of the internet yet.
It's been more than a decade since the 30-year-old created his YouTube channel — which now has nearly 7.5 million subscribers — and over the years he's made hundreds of videos, encouraging aspiring creators to share their own experiences online, too.
One of the first openly gay YouTubers to attract a major following, Oakley uses his platform to help inspire other members of LGBTQ community to embrace their true selves. He shares everything from makeup, dating, and life tips to insightful videos on the LGBTQ activists he admires; interviews with iconic change makers like Michelle Obama; and an annual series called Chosen Family, in which Oakley highlights "stories of queer resilience" throughout the month of June. Read more...
Does your laptop or desktop take ages to boot up or do anything in general? Lucky for you, Dell has some fantastic offers at the moment. If browsing the internet and writing up documents is what you're looking for, you can get the latest model of the Dell Inspiron i5 laptop for $552.49 after coupon code.
Gaming on the go more your thing? Well, you can save 38% off this Alienware 17 R5 i7 gaming laptop after coupon code. Which usually retails for $2509.99. It features 16GB of RAM, dual storage, and GTX 1070 graphics, giving you enough juice to run any AAA titles.
TL;DR: This engaging online class on the popular data visualization software Tableau usually retails for $199.99, but you can enroll for only $9.99 during this sale.
To a certain degree, we're all visual learners: Research has shown that humans are instinctively drawn to things we find aesthetically pleasing because they're easier for our brains to process.
That's a very abbreviated version of modern philosophical and psychological notions of beauty, mind you, but you get the gist: If you're able to present information in a way that people find fun to look at, they tend to better understand it. Read more...
TL;DR: Name your price for this comprehensive set of online courses about traveling on a budget.
You don't have to wait until you win the lottery to travel anywhere you want in the world. Everyone knows it's all about finding hacked plane fares, using credit card rewards, and seeking out free pub crawls to get where you need to go on the cheap.
It's easier said than done though, and you need all the expert tips you can getThe Ultimate 2019 Travel Hacker Bundle is basically a guide to finding loopholes, hidden gems, and tricks for traveling on a budget. Your first hack? You can actually pay any price you want to download it. Read more...
TL;DR: Don't hold your breath waiting for a wireless charging pad from Apple — this one by iPM is on sale for $48.99, a savings of 62%, in the Mashable Shop.
One of the biggest drawbacks of technology is that everything requires so many wires. You need separate cables to charge your gadgets, an assortment of cords to plug in your computers and machines, and a slew of other electronic strings to connect your devices to one another.
Even if you follow every Marie Kondo-esque cord management tip in the world, cable clutter is inevitable. The best thing you can do for your sanity is to join the wireless charging revolution. Ditch the cables for your smaller gadgets and grab something like the iPM 3-in-1 Fast Wireless Charging Pad, which is now on sale for 62% off. Read more...
Congratulations on making it to another season of sweating. Your reward? A few months of sweltering heat. Whether you're the kind of person who lives for the summer or the kind who retreats to their couch, you'll definitely want to stock up on some survival gear.
Ok, so "survival" might be a bit of an exaggeration, but these products will definitely give your summer a boost no matter how you choose to spend it. And, better yet, they're all on sale.
1. For keeping your cool at the office: EvaSmart 2
The worst part about summer is being stuck in the office when you'd rather be at the pool. But at least with this EvaSmart 2 Personal Air Conditioner, you can keep your cool. It combines the functionality of an air conditioner and a humidifier, creating a comfortable personal climate for you (at work or at home). Change the temperature with the touch of a button or yell at it via Alexa, Google Home, or other smart home platforms. Read more...
TL;DR: A three-year CyberGhost VPN plan is on sale for 80 percent off, at just £2.10 a month.
We know that you've probably got big plans, and that your Sunday is normally reserved for some serious sofa time, but just give us a minute to talk to you about CyberGhost VPN. We're not asking for much here, guys.
CyberGhost VPN boasts a strong selection of features, including over 4,500 servers worldwide, around the clock live support, and the ability to connect seven devices simultaneously. That's all well and good, but the key point here is the price.
You can now sign up to a three-year CyberGhost VPN plan for just £2.10 a month. This is down by a massive 80 percent on list price, and comes with an extremely generous 45-day money-back guarantee. There's a lot to like about CyberGhost VPN, but it's the price that stands out. Read more...
On an otherwise normal, sunny day, a bird of prey rode around on the hood of a moving car near downtown Los Angeles.
The hawk, likely a red-tailed hawk common to the city, landed on the car and wouldn't budge for 15 minutes, reports The Eastsider. The bird didn't move even as the car drove through the city's palm-lined streets.
"He's staring at us like he's staring into our souls," one of the passengers says in a YouTube video documenting the incident.
It may have been a younger, immature bird, exploring its urban world. Or perhaps the predator had another, elusive agenda.
Eventually the hawk flew off. But not before thrilling Angeleno dwellers, both in the car and on the street. Read more...
The shopping social network (a kinda gross concept to start with) disappeared from the internet and Amazon's app some time in the past couple days, according to a report from TechCrunch.
Spark launched in July 2017, and was described by your friends at Mashable as "the grossest, purest thing on the internet." It attempted to bridge online shopping and authentic socializing while also bringing in sweet, sweet cash for Amazon.
The service allowed Prime users to post photos of their favorite products in an Instagram-like feed with an easy click-to-purchase option built in. Read more...
At mid-June, Arctic sea ice is now at a record low for this time of year, and melted ice is especially notable both in and around Greenland — home to the second largest ice sheet on the planet. Steffen Olsen, a climate researcher at the Danish Meteorological Institute, snapped a photo on Thursday of Greenland sea ice that had melted into a large lake of aqua water, pooled atop the icy surface.
Olsen, along with local hunters, had to sled across the flooded ice to retrieve vulnerable weather and ocean monitoring equipment. Their sled dogs splashed through the icy water. Read more...
The cute-children-turned-post-pubescent-teens of Stranger Things proved they're still the charming kids Netflix viewers flipped over when the show debuted in 2016.
Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, and Sadie Sink squeezed onto The Tonight Show sofas to talk about the on-set antics they used to pass the time while shooting Season 3. The group even taught Jimmy Fallon the "Chicken Noodle Song," a purposefully irritating tune created by McLaughlin ("Lucas" on the show) to annoy his costars.
Stranger Things Season 3 debuts July 4 on Netflix. Read more...
.....ALSO, NOT TRUE! Anything goes with our Corrupt News Media today. They will do, or say, whatever it takes, with not even the slightest thought of consequence! These are true cowards and without doubt, THE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!
* Donald Trump tweeted his denial on Saturday night * Comes after the New York Times released a report detailing the country's cyber attacks on Russia * The report also details how the Pentagon has maneuvered around the President, using a provision added to the military authorization bill last summer * 'Do you believe that the Failing New York Times just did a story stating that the United States is substantially increasing Cyber Attacks on Russia,' Trump said * He added: 'This is a virtual act of Treason by a once great paper so desperate for a story, any story, even if bad for our Country...ALSO, NOT TRUE! * The new provision comes as various officials fear the president could cancel their operations or tell other world leaders sensitive information
President Trump was in a Twitter frenzy on Saturday, denying reports that the United States has increased cyber attacks on Russia.
Donald Trump was furious at reports that the Pentagon maneuvered around him to carry out the attacks on Russia in fear he would cancel the operation or engage with talks with Vladimir Putin.
'Do you believe that the Failing New York Times just did a story stating that the United States is substantially increasing Cyber Attacks on Russia,' Trump said in the Saturday tweet thread.
The US is escalating cyber attacks on Russia's electric power grid and has placed potentially crippling malware inside the Russian system, The New York Times reported Saturday.
The placement of the malware that deep within the Russian grid had never previously been attempted, the Times reports, and is intended partly as a warning and also to put the US in a position to conduct cyber attacks should a significant conflict arise with Russia.
Two administration officials told the Times they believed President Donald Trump had not been briefed in any detail about the US computer code being implanted inside the Russian grid.
Pentagon and intelligence officials describe to the Times "broad hesitation" to tell Trump about the details of the operations against Russia. They tell the Times there was concern over how Trump would react, and the possibility that Trump might reverse the operations or discuss it with foreign officials.
DUSHANBE (Reuters) - Iran will continue scaling back compliance with a nuclear deal unless other signatories to the pact show "positive signals", the Iranian president said on Saturday as tensions with the United States escalated over tanker attacks in the Gulf region.
Iran stopped complying in May with some commitments in the 2015 nuclear deal that was agreed with global powers, after the United States unilaterally withdrew from the accord in 2018 and ratcheted up sanctions on Tehran.
"Obviously, Iran cannot stick to this agreement unilaterally," President Hassan Rouhani told Russian, Chinese and other Asian leaders at a conference in Tajikistan.
Tensions remain high as Arab League calls for restraint – and Labour warns of UK being drawn into conflict
Divisions over responsibility for last week's attack on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman deepened this weekend amid warnings over the danger of a major confrontation in the region, despite hints by Donald Trump about possible negotiations with Iran.
Politicians in Britain traded angry blows over the incident, after the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, questioned whether there was "credible evidence" that Iran had attacked the two ships as they passed by its coast on Thursday, rebuffing a Foreign Office assessment that it was "almost certain" that a "branch of the Iranian military" had carried out the strikes.
DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia called for swift action to secure Gulf energy supplies, after the United States blamed Iran for attacks on two oil tankers in a vital oil shipping route that have raised fears of broader confrontation in the region.
Thursday's tanker attacks in the Gulf of Oman exacerbated the antagonistic fallout from similar blasts in May that crippled four vessels. Washington, already embroiled in a standoff with Iran over its nuclear program, has blamed Tehran.
Iran has denied any role in the strikes on the tankers south of the Strait of Hormuz, a major transit route for oil from Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest crude exporter, and other Gulf producers.
* City leader Carrie Lam announced the debate on the bill would be suspended amid growing opposition to it * The controversial bill would have seen Hong Kong residents extradited to China to stand trial for some crimes * Hong Kong has been gripped by unprecedented protests across the city in which a million people marched * Clashes between police and protesters on Wednesday saw 81 people hurt as demonstrations turned violent * The international finance hub was rocked by the worst political violence since its 1997 handover to China
Hong Kong's leader announced the government will suspend its unpopular extradition bill after unprecedented mass protests this week.
City leader Carrie Lam was previously urged to halt discussions on the unpopular legislation which saw more than a million demonstrators take to the streets of the island territory.
Ms Lam said in a press conference that she took the decision in response to widespread public unhappiness over the measure, which would enable authorities to send some suspects to stand trial in mainland China.
DONALD TRUMP has re-launched his attack on Sadiq Khan calling the Mayor of London a "disaster" after three people were murdered in London in just 24 hours.
Large crowds of protesters began flooding back onto Hong Kong’s streets Sunday to demand that a controversial extradition bill be completely withdrawn and the city’s leader step down, a day after the government suspended the measure in response to snowballing unrest.
Postponement of the bill has not mollified its opponents. Jimmy Sham, convenor of protest organizer the Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF), told reporters Sunday morning that demonstrators would not step down until the bill was dropped entirely.
Lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan said that demonstrators were also demanding that Hong Kong’s top official, Carrie Lam, take back her characterization of the bill’s opponents as rioters.
As crowds began to gather in downtown Hong Kong, organizers announced: “We have five demands: Withdraw the extradition bill. Drop the riot charges [made against protesters earlier in the week]. Don’t charge protesters. Hold those [police] who opened fire [with rubber bullets and tear gas] accountable. Carrie Lam [must] step down.”
A minute’s silence was held for a 35-year-old man, who plunged to his death from scaffolding on the side of a shopping mall late Saturday after unfurling a banner denouncing the extradition legislation. The man’s surname was given by local media as Leung. During his hours-long standoff with police negotiators he had worn a raincoat on which were scrawled the words, “Carrie Lam is killing Hong Kong.”
Protesters hailed him as a “martyr” on social media and many on Sunday carried white flowers to commemorate him. Well-wishers formed long queues, more than a kilometer long, to leave floral tributes outside the Pacific Place mall, where bouquets were piled high and memorial services were held. Elsewhere, several florists were overwhelmed; one began handing out white flowers for free to passersby. Groups also began distributing white ribbons.
“The government has not really listened to the people, our voice has not been heard,” said bank worker Dickson Tsui, 30, who was waiting to place a bouquet on the pavement outside Pacific Place.
“I feel so sad about our government. Someone had die to tell the government how Hongkongers feel,” said 13-year-old student Yolanda Lam.
Makeshift memorials to Leung were also set up outside Hong Kong’s legislature, where activists handed out voter registration forms. Pro-Beijing parties are fearful that voters will punish them in forthcoming municipal elections for their support of the extradition bill. Local media reported that Regina Ip, a senior establishment lawmaker who had been backing the bill, was now calling for Lam to make an apology to the public.
A political crisis has spiraled over the last week into a showdown between the semi-autonomous city’s administration and its pro-democratic movement, which fears an erosion of freedoms under an ever-encroaching China.
Mass demonstrations in recent days have galvanized a broad cross-section of society, infuriated by a proposal to amend laws to allow suspects, for the first time, to be transferred to the mainland for trial. The government says the amendments are necessary to keep Hong Kong from becoming a haven for fugitives, but critics of the proposed legislation say Beijing will use it to apprehend political opponents and dissidents.
The city’s subway stations were packed Sunday with black-clad demonstrators heading to Victoria Park, the traditional staging ground for protests. One subway station near the park was overrun by the numbers of people who had arrived to march and had to be shut down.
“Myself and everyone out here today wants the bill to be completely withdrawn,” said Marco Siu, a 29-year old who works in sales.
By 14:30 local time, large numbers had gathered in the park, preparing to march on the Central Government Offices in the Admiralty neighborhood three kilometers away. Admiralty is also home to the headquarters of the People Liberation’s Army and the legislature. Many sang the hymn “Sing Hallelujah to the Lord,” which has been adopted as the unofficial anthem of the protests.
At subway exits around park, demonstrators handed out signs that read “The students didn’t riot” and demanding that police be held to account for what they saw a heavy-handed response to earlier protests. Many protesters carried umbrellas—not only as a protection from Sunday’s scorching sun but as protection from police pepper spray.
Crowds changed “Step down!” One banner read “A tiny spark can burn a whole field.” Other marchers carried banners that repeated the words on the dead man’s raincoat: “Carrie Lam is killing Hong Kong.” Some held photos of an injured schoolteacher they say was shot by police rubber bullets on Wednesday.
Pat Lee, 44, a stay at home mom, summed up the views of many, saying that if the extradition bill passes, “There will be no future for Hong Kong. It would utterly change the city.”
The Associated Press reported that demonstrators had briefly unfurled a large banner Sunday reading “Fight for Hong Kong” from the summit of Lion Rock—a distinctively shaped, 495-meter hill that is symbolic of the city.
Meanwhile, one of the city’s top news outlets, Apple Daily, reported that it had been hit by a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. The disclosure comes two days after messaging service Telegram, which is heavily used by Hong Kong protesters, reported a powerful DDoS attack that is said largely originated from within China.
For a generation of young Hongkongers, who view themselves as culturally distinct from mainland Chinese, the extradition bill is a serious threat to the freedoms they were born with. They are facing off against a Beijing-backed leader who does not want to be seen bowing to opposition, and who is supported by an authoritarian superpower that has crushed all forms of dissent at home with widespread censorship, internment of religious minorities in concentration camps, and the arbitrary detention of political activists, journalists and lawyers.
The breadth of opposition to the bill is remarkable. The business community, the legal sector and foreign governments have all spoken out against it. Teenage students, professionals and stay-at-home moms alike turned out for a march last Sunday, where protesters called for the scrapping of the bill and Lam’s resignation as they choked the city’s main streets. Organizers claim over a million people were in attendance—a huge turnout in a city of seven million.
A further protest took place outside the city’s legislature Wednesday morning, forcing the postponement of discussion of the bill. Protests turned violent late in the afternoon, when the police began deploying tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowds. Eighty-one people were injured in the clashes.
Rallies in support of the Hong Kong protests have been held as far afield as Sydney and Northern California.
—With reporting by Kamakshi Ayyar, Laignee Barron, Aria Hangyu Chen and Feliz Solomon / Hong Kong
MOGADISHU, Somalia — A pair of explosions rocked Somalia’s capital and left 11 people dead, the country’s police chief said Saturday, as the al-Qaida-linked extremist group al-Shabab claimed responsibility.
Another 25 people were wounded, Gen. Bashir Abdi Mohamed told reporters in Mogadishu. He said the first car bomb went off near a security checkpoint for the presidential palace and was responsible for nine deaths.
The second car bomb killed the driver and his accomplice near a checkpoint on the road to the heavily fortified airport, he said.
Al-Shabab, which often targets the capital, said the blasts were meant to strike the first line of security checkpoints for the airport and palace. The airport is home to a number of diplomatic offices. The palace is a frequent al-Shabab target.
“I was at a short distance from the blast and I saw several people dead including two women, a passenger and two men, some of whom were elderly,” witness Hussein Mohamed told the AP. “This is really very terrible.”
The United States military has dramatically increased the number of airstrikes against al-Shabab in the past couple of years, seeking to limit the territory the group controls in central and southern Somalia and make it more difficult for fighters to circulate.
In a report to the United Nations Security Council circulated last month, U.N. chief Antonio Guterres noted an increase in security operations “and a large number of airstrikes targeting al-Shabab training bases and assembly points” that were deemed to have degraded its operating capability and freedom of movement.
“They have also led, however, to increased al-Shabab movement into urban centers, in particular Mogadishu, where their forces are less likely to be targeted from the air,” he said.
Guterres added that Somalia is making progress toward building a functioning state after three decades of civil war, extremist attacks and famine but that insecurity, political instability and corruption remain major challenges.
The multinational African Union force in Somalia continues to gradually withdraw personnel in preparation for Somali government forces to assume responsibility for the country’s security. Those forces, however, have been described by U.S. military officials and others as not yet ready for the job.
___
Associated Press video journalist Mohamed Sheikh Nor in Mogadishu contributed.
PARIS — The archbishop wore a hard-hat helmet, burnt wood debris was still visible and only about 30 people were let inside, but Notre Dame Cathedral on Saturday held its first Mass since the devastating April 15th fire that ravaged its roof and toppled its masterpiece spire.
Exactly two months after the blaze engulfed the landmark Gothic building in the French capital, the service was celebrated by Paris Archbishop Michel Aupetit in a chapel behind the choir, a place confirmed by construction experts as safe.
French Culture Minister Franck Riester said this week the cathedral remains in a “fragile” state, especially its vaulted ceiling, which is still at risk of collapsing.
For security reasons, only about 30 people — mainly priests, canons and church employees — were admitted inside the cathedral for the service, while Aupetit and others wore construction worker’s helmets. Some of the workers rebuilding the church were also invited.
Other worshippers could watch the Mass live on a Catholic TV station. The video showed some burnt wood still in the church but a famous statue of the Virgin and Child appeared intact behind wooden construction planks.
The annual Dedication Mass commemorated the cathedral’s consecration as a place of worship.
“This cathedral is a place of worship, it is its very own and unique purpose,” Aupetit said.
One French priest called the service “a true happiness, full of hope.”
“We will rebuild this cathedral. It will take time of course — a lot of money, lot of time, lot of work — but we will succeed,” Father Pierre Vivares told The Associated Press outside the cathedral. “Today it’s a small but a true victory against the disaster we have had.”
It is still unclear when the cathedral will reopen to the public.
French President Emmanuel Macron has set a goal of rebuilding it in just five years, which many experts consider unrealistic. In the meantime, the French parliament is debating amendments to a new law that would create a public body to expedite the restoration of the cathedral and circumvent some of France’s complex labor laws.
NICOSIA, Cyprus — Crew members of the Norwegian-owned oil tanker that was attacked in the Gulf of Oman landed Saturday in Dubai after two days in Iran.
Associated Press journalists saw the crew members of the MT Front Altair after their Iran Air flight from Bandar Abbas, Iran, landed in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
The Front Altair caught fire after the attack Thursday, sending a thick cloud of black smoke visible even by satellite from space.
The U.S. has blamed Iran for the attack, saying they suspect another limpet mine attack on oil tankers by Iran. Tehran has denied being involved and accused America of promoting an “Iranophobic” campaign against it.
The suspected attacks occurred at dawn Thursday about 40 kilometers (25 miles) off the southern coast of Iran. The Front Altair, loaded with naphtha from the United Arab Emirates, radioed for help as its cargo of flammable chemicals caught fire. The Kokuka Courageous, carrying methanol from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, called for help a short time later.
The U.S. Navy sent the USS Bainbridge, which picked up 21 mariners from the Kokuka Courageous, and they stayed overnight on the destroyer, returning to their vessel Friday to help in it being towed.
Iran ended up taking the 23 mariners from the Front Altair. They initially ended up in the port city of Jask before being taken to Bandar Abbas. Its crew is comprised of 11 Russian, 11 Filipinos and one Georgian.
A 35-year-old man who died after unfurling a banner denouncing Hong Kong’s extradition bill on the side of a shopping mall is being hailed by protesters as a “martyr.”
Local media reports reports that the man plunged to his death after climbing up construction scaffolding on Saturday afternoon local time at the Pacific Place mall in the Admiralty district—scene of massive protests this week against legislation that would have allowed, for the first time, the extradition of fugitives to mainland China.
According to Apple Daily, the man strung up a banner denouncing the legislation and calling for the ouster of Hong Kong’s top official Carrie Lam. He wore a yellow raincoat bearing the words “Carrie Lam kills Hong Kong.”
He reportedly continued his protest for some hours and then abruptly climbed over the scaffolding, falling to his death on the street below after firefighters failed to restrain him.
Twitter users reported that crowds of mourners had gathered overnight at the scene, laying down flowers and saying prayers. Protesters gathering today for a large march demanding the withdrawal of the bill are being asked to wear black and bring white flowers to commemorate the deceased man.
Hong Kong legislator Ray Chan tweeted “You have blood in your hands, Carrie Lam and her administration. The people will make you pay.
Famed Chinese artist Ai Weiwei shared the news on his Instagram feed, while Chinese satirist Badiucao honored the dead man with a poignant cartoon.
【R.I.P. Raincoat Boy】 A young life passed away for HongKong tonight. I don‘t know your name my bro. But you will be known and you will be remembered, always！This drawing is for you. There is #NoChinaExtradition in heaven. 一个年轻的生命为香港陨落，我会记住，祝你安息。#反送中pic.twitter.com/suz7dzwGKO
The Hong Kong government’s bid to fast-track legislation that would allow for suspects to be extradited to mainland China has plunged the semi-autonomous enclave into political crisis. Lam was forced to suspend the bill’s passage on Saturday but opponents are not satisfied and are marching Sunday to call for the bill’s total withdrawal.
The government argues that the bill is necessary to ensure that the former British colony does not become a haven for fugitives, but critics fear that Beijing will use its provisions to come after dissidents and other political opponents, severely curtailing Hong Kong’s freedom of expression.
Opposition to the bill has united broad swathes of Hong Kong society, from teenage students to lawyers and chambers of commerce. A protest march on June 9 brought hundreds of thousands onto the streets.
Huge crowds outside the legislature on June 12 forced the adjournment of a debate on the legislation. Violent clashes with police broke out afterward that left at least 72 people injured, 2 seriously.
—With reporting by Aria Hangyu Chen / Hong Kong
If you or someone you know may be contemplating suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or text HOME to 741741 to reach the Crisis Text Line. In emergencies, call 911, or seek care from a local hospital or mental health provider.
A woman whose photo went viral after she was allegedly beaten in a homophobic attack in London this month has spoken up in a Guardian op-ed about the experience of her face being used as what she calls “cheap clickbait.”
The woman, whose name is published as “Chris,” was photographed beside her date, Dr. Melania Geymonat, after being beaten and robbed on a bus by a group of men who demanded that the two women kiss. The photo multiplied across the internet after Geymonat posted it on Facebook, writing that the pair had refused. Five men were later arrested on suspicion of attacking the women.
In her op-ed, Chris writes that looking back, what angers her the most is not the attack itself, but what came afterward.
“My persisting anger is directed not towards the idiots on the bus but the reduction of my battered face to cheap clickbait,” Chris writes.
According to Chris’s op-ed, the press coverage of the incident was strange for her to read. Many articles described her as a lesbian, while she identifies as bisexual. She also wrote that she doesn’t remember the attack very clearly, and doesn’t recall why it started.
What she said frustrates her the most, however, was the “commodification and exploitation” of her face. She expressed frustration that the image was expropriated by conservative publications and politicians – especially because she feels that people only cared about the attack because she and Geymonat were “white, feminine, draped in pretty hair.”
She wrote that while some people may find the attack surprising, it shouldn’t come as a shock, saying “people of colour, indigenous people, transgender people, disabled people, queer people, poor people, women and migrants” have long been targeted by violence.
“I have evaded much of the violence and oppression imposed on so many others by our capitalist, white supremacist, patriarchal system because of the privileges I enjoy by dint of my race, health, education and conventional gender presentation. That has nothing to do with the merit of my character,” Chris wrote.
NICOSIA, Cyprus — The United Arab Emirates’ top diplomat says evidence his country possesses indicates that recent attacks against oil tankers inside UAE waters were “state-sponsored.”
Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan didn’t name the state, but said his country wants to work with other nations to prevent a further escalation of tensions in the region.
On Friday, the U.S. military released video footage it said suggested that Iran wanted to hide evidence that it was behind the attacks. Iran has denied involvement.
Al Nahyan said after talks with Cypriot counterpart Nikos Christodoulides on Saturday that the U.A.E. presented this evidence to the U.N. Security Council in a “very technical, open and transparent” manner.
He said the UAE’s conclusion is that these were “state-sponsored attacks.”
ROME — Italian director Franco Zeffirelli, who delighted audiences around the world with his romantic vision and often extravagant productions, most famously captured in his cinematic “Romeo and Juliet,” has died in Rome at 96.
While Zeffirelli was most popularly known for his films, his name was also inextricably linked to the theater and opera. Showing great flexibility, he produced classics for the world’s most famous opera houses, from Milan’s venerable La Scala to the Metropolitan in New York, and plays for London and Italian stages.
Zeffirelli’s son Luciano said his father died at home on Saturday.
“He had suffered for a while, but he left in a peaceful way,” he said.
Zeffirelli made it his mission to make culture accessible to the masses, often seeking inspiration in Shakespeare and other literary greats for his films, and producing operas aimed at TV audiences.
Claiming no favorites, Zeffirelli once likened himself to a sultan with a harem of three: film, theater and opera.
“I am not a film director. I am a director who uses different instruments to express his dreams and his stories – to make people dream,” Zeffirelli told The Associated Press in a 2006 interview.
From his out-of-wedlock birth on the outskirts of Florence on Feb. 12, 1923, Zeffirelli rose to be one of Italy’s most prolific directors, working with such opera greats as Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and his beloved Maria Callas, as well Hollywood stars including Elizabeth Taylor, Mel Gibson, Cher and Judi Dench.
Throughout his career, Zeffirelli took risks — and his audacity paid off at the box office. His screen success in America was a rarity among Italian filmmakers, and he prided himself on knowing the tastes of modern moviegoers.
He was one of the few Italian directors close to the Vatican, and the church turned to Zeffirelli’s theatrical touch for live telecasts of the 1978 papal installation and the 1983 Holy Year opening ceremonies in St. Peter’s Basilica. Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi also tapped him to direct a few high-profile events.
But Zeffirelli was best known outside Italy for his colorful, softly-focused romantic films. His 1968 “Romeo and Juliet” brought Shakespeare”s story to a new and appreciative generation, and his “Brother Sun, Sister Moon,” told the life of St. Francis in parables involving modern and 13th-century youth.
“Romeo and Juliet” set box-office records in the United States, though it was made with two unknown actors, Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey. The film, which cost $1.5 million, grossed $52 million and became the most successful Shakespearian movie ever.
In the 1970s, Zeffirelli’s focus shifted from the romantic to the spiritual. His 1977 made-for-television “Life of Jesus” became an instant classic with its portrayal of a Christ who seemed authentic and relevant. Shown around the world, the film earned more than $300 million.
Where Zeffirelli worked, however, controversy was never far away. In 1978, he threatened to leave Italy for good because of harsh attacks against him and his art by leftist groups in his country, who saw Zeffirelli as an exponent of Hollywood.
On the other hand, piqued by American criticism of his 1981 movie “Endless Love,” starring Brooke Shields, Zeffirelli said he might never make another film in the U.S. The movie, as he predicted, was a box office success.
Zeffirelli wrote about the then-scandalous circumstances of his birth in his 2006 autobiography, recounting how his mother attended her husband’s funeral pregnant with another man’s child. Unable to give the baby either her or his father’s names, she intended to name him Zeffiretti, after an aria in Mozart’s “Cosi fan Tutti,” but a typographical error made it Zeffirelli, making him “the only person in the world with Zeffirelli as a name, thanks to my mother’s folly.”
His mother died of tuberculosis when he was 6, and Zeffirelli went to live with his father’s cousin, whom he affectionately called Zia (Aunt) Lide.
It was during this period of his childhood, living in Zia Lide’s house with weekly visits from his father, that Zeffirelli developed passions that would shape his life. The first was for opera, after seeing Wagner’s “Walkuere” at age 8 or 9 in Florence. The second was a love of English culture and literature, after his father started him on thrice weekly English lessons with a British expatriate living in Florence.
His experiences with the British expatriate community under fascism, and their staunch disbelief that they would be victimized by Benito Mussolini’s regime, were at the heart of the semi-autobiographical 1991 film “Tea with Mussolini.”
He remained ever an Anglophile, and was particularly proud when Britain conferred on him an honorary knighthood in 2004 — the only Italian citizen to have received the honor.
As a youth, Zeffirelli served with the partisans during World War II. He later acted as an interpreter for British troops.
The lifelong bachelor turned from architecture to acting at the age of 20 when he joined an experimental troupe in his native city.
After a short-lived acting career, Zeffirelli worked with Luchino Visconti’s theatrical company in Rome, where he showed a flair for dramatic staging techniques in “A Streetcar Named Desire” and “Troilus and Cressida.” He later served as assistant director under Italian film masters Michelangelo Antonioni and Vittorio De Sica.
In 1950, he began a long and fruitful association with lyric theater, working as a director, set designer and costumist, and bringing new life to works by his personal favorites — Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti and Verdi.
Over the next decade, he staged dozens of operas, romantic melodramas and contemporary works in Italian and other European theaters, eventually earning a reputation as one of the world’s best directors of musical theater.
Both La Scala and New York’s Metropolitan Opera later played host to Zeffirelli’s classic staging of “La Boheme,” which was shown nationally on American television in 1982.
Zeffirelli returned to prose theater in 1961 with an innovative interpretation of “Romeo and Juliet” at London’s Old Vic. British critics immediately termed it “revolutionary,” and the director used it as the basis of frequent later productions and the 1968 film.
His first film effort in 1958, a comedy he wrote called “Camping,” had limited success. But eight years later, he directed Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew,” and made his distinctive mark on world cinema.
When Zeffirelli decided to do “La Traviata” on film, he had already worked his stage version of the opera into a classic, performed at Milan’s La Scala with soprano Maria Callas. He had been planning the film since 1950, he said.
“In the last 30 years, I’ve done everything a lyric theater artist can do,” Zeffirelli wrote in an article for Italy’s Corriere della Sera as the film was released in 1983. “This work is the one that crowns all my hopes and gratifies all my ambitions.”
The film, with Teresa Stratas and Placido Domingo in the lead roles, found near-unanimous critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic — a rarity for Zeffirelli — and received Oscar nominations for costuming, scenography and artistic direction.
Zeffirelli worked on a new staging of La Traviata as his last project, which will open the 2019 Opera Festival on June 21 at the Verona Arena. “We’ll pay him a final tribute with one of his most loved operas,” said artistic director Cecilia Gasdia. “He’ll be with us.”
Zeffirelli often turned his talents toward his native city. In 1983, he wrote a historical portrait of Florence during the 15th and 16th centuries, what he called the “political utopia.” During the disastrous 1966 Florence floods, Zeffirelli produced a well-received documentary on the damage done to the city and its art.
“I feel more like a Florentine than an Italian,” Zeffirelli once said. “A citizen of a Florence that was once the capital of Western civilization.”
Accused by some of heavy-handedness in his staging techniques, Zeffirelli fought frequent verbal battles with others in Italian theater.
“Zeffirelli doesn’t realize that an empty stage can be more dramatic than a stage full of junk,” Carmelo Bene, an avant-garde Italian director and actor and frequent Zeffirelli critic, once said.
It was a criticism that some reserved for his lavish production of “Aida” to open La Scala’s 2006-7 season — his first return to the Milan opera house in a dozen years and the fifth “Aida” of his career. The production was a popular success, but may be remembered more for the turbulent exit of the lead tenor, Roberto Alagna, after being booed from the loggia.
“I’m 83 and I’ve really been working like mad since I was a kid. I’ve done everything, but I never really feel that I have said everything I have to say,” Zeffirelli told The Associated Press shortly before the opening of “Aida.”
Zeffirelli had trouble with his balance after contracting a life-threatening infection during hip surgery in 1999, but didn’t let that slow him down. “I always have to cling on this or that to walk … but the mind is absolutely intact,” he said in the AP interview.
___
Giada Zampano contributed from Rome.
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NHB Admit Card 2019 – National Housing Bank Interview Call Letter is Now Available. Aspirants those who completed the Examination process is only eligible to download the Interview Call Letter. However, Contenders are eagerly waiting for the final round of selection and to join in the National Housing Bank. Candidates can get the direct link of the Call Letter at the end of the section.
NHB Admit Card 2019
National Housing Bank has released the Interview Call Letter on 15th June 2019. Hence, the bank has uploaded all the Written Examination Results in the Official Website. Candidates do check with the results and download the Interview Hall Ticket from the below-provided link. And the Interview has Test Phase has been scheduled on 13th June 2019.
Candidates will receive the Call Letter for the Interview Process. NHB Assistant Manager Interview test will be held on 21st June to 27th June 2019. Thus, Candidates who have passed the Written Examination in the month of April 2019 with eligible scoring will be called for the Interview. Make sure of the Interview date in this article. Participants should appear for the Interview test at the declared time and make your presence according to the Time Schedule. Interview Call Letter Contents are listed below.
Name of the Applicant.
Exam Date, Time & Centre.
Post Applied for.
Application or Registration Number
Father Name and
Important Instructions.
NHB Assistant Manager Interview Test 2019
The NHB Bank releases the Interview Test Date in their Official Website. The Bank provided the details of Interview test Schedule along with the Roll Number. So, Candidates can easily get the update about the test. Finally, the test schedule has been published by the board for the candidate’s convenience. From the below section you can get the Interview Test Schedule released by the National Housing Bank.
Candidates who are going to attend the Interview should go through all the instructions and be at the venue of the Interview going to be conducted.
For the Morning Session, Candidates should appear at 8.45am
For the Afternoon Session, Candidates should appear at 12.30pm.
At the date of Interview, candidates should submit their followed original ID proofs for the verification process. Invigilators will get the easy identity of the candidate at the examination center. If any queries according to download the Call Letter rise a question from the call letter itself. Then you will get an idea to download the Hall Ticket without any confusion.
Aadhar Card
College ID
Ration Card
Driving License
PAN Card
Voter ID
Any Valid ID Proof Issued By Gazetted Officer
Bank Passbook
Passport
How to Download NHB Phase II Exam Admit Card 2019-20
Bagalkot DC Office Recruitment 2019 – Apply Online for 58 Village Accountant (VA) Vacancies. Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Bagalkot is offering job opportunity for candidates who have passed 12th class or intermediate. Bagalkot VA Recruitment notification was announced recently in this regard. As per this job advertisement, 58 vacancies are available for Village Accountant (ಗ್ರಾಮ ಲೆಕ್ಕಾಧಿಕಾರಿ) posts. The ONLINE application will be accepted from eligible job aspirants from 15th June 2019. You can scroll down to get apply online link.
However, application forms in a prescribed format must be submitted on or before the last date i.e. 4th July 2019. Selection of suitable aspirants is done based on applicants performance in Written examination and interview. Scroll down to check educational qualification, age limit, selection procedure, application fee and other details below.
Overview of Bagalkot District Recruitment 2019
Name of the Board
Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Bagalkot
Name of the Post
Village Accountant (ಗ್ರಾಮ ಲೆಕ್ಕಾಧಿಕಾರಿ)
DC Bagalkot Village Accountant Vacancy 2019 Details
Name of the Post
Number of Vacancies
Village Accountant (VA)
58
Total
58
Bagalkot District Village Account Category Wise Vacancy Details
Category
Others
ಮ.ಆ
ಗ್ರಾ ಆ
ಮ ಸಾ
ಕ ಮಾ ಆ
ಯೋ ನ ಯಾ
ಆ0. ವಿ
Total
SC
2
2
1
1
1
1
–
08
ST
–
1
–
–
–
–
1
02
I
–
1
1
–
–
–
–
02
2A
–
4
2
–
1
1
–
08
1B
1
–
1
–
–
–
–
02
3A
1
1
1
–
–
–
–
03
3B
1
2
1
–
–
–
–
04
ಸಾ ಆ
5
10
7
3
1
1
–
29
Total
10
21
14
04
03
03
03
58
Eligibility Criteria for Bagalkot VA Recruitment 2019
Eligibility Criteria to fill up 58 Posts of Village Accountant Recruitment in Bagalkot District are given below. Make sure you satisfy all the eligibility conditions listed below.
Educational Qualification
12th Pass/Intermediate from a recognized board
Age Limit for Bagalkot VA kar.nic.in 2019 Jobs
SC/ST Candidates – 18 to 40 Years
3A, 3B, 3C, 2A – 18 to 38 Years
General Candidates – 18 to 35 Years
Age Relaxation:
As per the Rules
Selection Process
Selection Procedure for VA Jobs in Bagalkot is done on performance in the following tests.
Written Examination/Interview
Application Fee
General/OBC Candidates – Rs.200/-
SC/ST – Rs.50/-
Online mode using Net-banking/Credit & Debit Cards.
Bagalkot District Village Accountant Salary:
Rs.21,400/- to Rs.42,000/- per month
How to apply for Bagalkot District Recruitment 2019 VA?
Firstly, click on Apply Online Link given below.
An application form is visible
Start filling the application form with all important details
Enter your name, DOB, Mother’s name, father’s name, educational qualification and other asked details.
Upload scanned copies of necessary certificates along with your signature attested on it
Make payment of your application fee
Finally, hit on submit button to complete the recruitment process.
Documents to upload:
Aadhar Card with the same Village Name
DOB as per SSC Certificate
Study Certificate
Educational Qualification details
Community Certificate
Certificate of Residence/ Nativity
Medical Certificate (PHC Candidates)
Helpline Details:
Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Bagalkot District, Bagalkot – 587103
Ph: 08354-235091
Fax: 08354-235096
E-mail: deo.bagalkot@gmail.com
Important Dates for Bagalkot VA Recruitment 2019
Notification Release Date
12th June 2019
Starting Date to Apply
15th June 2019
Last Date to Apply
4th July 2019
Examination Date
Updated Soon
Important Links for Village Accountant Recruitment 2019 Karnataka
Bagalkot is a city located in the northern part of the Indian state of Karnataka. Geographically, it is located at coordinates 16.18 ° N and 75.7 ° E and is located on the banks of the Ghataprabha River, at an average elevation of 533 meters above sea level. seat of Bagalkot district. Previously, it was under the administration of Bijapur District and in 1997 the new Bagalkot District was came to existence on occasion of the 50th anniversary of India’s independence.
The bifurcated district of Bagalkot composes of six C.D. blocks, namely Badami, Bagalkot, Bilagi, Hunugund, Jamakhandi and Mudhol. The legendary Chalukya dynasty once ruled in Bagalkot district, north of Karnataka. Occupying a distance of 6593 km2, the district of Bagalkot is flanked by Bijapur district in the north and Gadag district in the south. Raichur district is located east of Bagalkot and Koppal districts to the southeast, as is Belgaum district to the western border.
Bombay High Court Admit Card 2019 recently announces the recruitment process for 182 Clerk Posts. However, Online Registration is closing on 17th June 2019. Moreover, Candidates need to apply for the post of Clerk must attend the examination. The examination will be conducted by the Selection Committee of Bombay High Court. After the completion of Online Registration candidates will be issued with the Admit Card. The Bombay HC Hall Ticket is very important for all round of selection.
Bombay High Court Admit Card 2019
Hence, the candidates are hereby informed to download the BHC Clerk Admit Card 2019 at the earliest to avoid complications at the end moment. Many Interested Candidates Filled there Application Form and Now they are waiting for there Exam. Screening Test of shortlisted candidates for the post Clerks and Peons/Hamal will Be Conducted by the Organization at any time. So, be aware to get all the details about the BHC Exam and Admit Card from the Official Website.
Bombay High Court Clerk Admit Card 2019 – Overview
The Selection Board will release the Admit Card only if the candidates undergo the Eligibility Criteria declared by Bombay High Court 2019. Hence, the board will issue the Admit Card for each and every test conducted by the board. So, Contenders will only get the next level of Admit Card if they get qualified in the previous level. Admit Card has the following contents to be filled.
Name of the Applicant.
Exam Date, Time & Centre.
Post Applied for.
Application or Registration Number
Father Name and
Important Instructions.
Bombay High Court Exam Pattern 2019
The Exam Date will be released soon by the Conducting Board. The Exam Date will be mentioned in the Hall Ticket. To participate in the Screening Test download the Admit Card. The direct link for the Bombay High Court Hall Ticket is given at the end of the section.
The Examination will be of three parts,
Screening Test( Clerk, Peon, Hamal)
Typing Test( Stenographer& Clerk)
Interview( For All)
The following instruction carries the Exam Pattern for Screening Test.
The Screening Test will be in Objective Type Questions.
The test will be of 90 Marks with 90 Questions.
Time Duration will be of 1 hour.
Name of the Subject
Maximum Marks
Marathi
10 Marks
English
20 Marks
General Knowledge
10 Marks
General Intelligence
20 Marks
Arithmetic
20 Marks
Computer
10 Marks
Total
90 Marks
Download Bombay High Court Call Letter 2019
Candidate can see the Important Documents to be carried for the examination. Thus, Candidates must follow the general instructions instructed in the Hall Ticket.
Aadhar Card
College ID
Ration Card
Driving License
PAN Card
Voter ID
Any Valid ID Proof Issued By Gazetted Officer
Bank Passbook
Passport
How to Download Bombay High Court Admit Card 2019-20
Click on “Bombay High Court Admit Card” Link.
The home page opens.
Enter the Registration Number and Submit.
Now, the Admit Card will appear on the Screen.
Fill all the details.
Finally, Submit the Admit Card and Download it.
Take a print out and carry with you for the exam.
Direct Links to download Bombay High Court Hall Ticket 2019
Are you looking for IBPS RRB Syllabus 2019 for Office Assistant and Officer Scale – I, II, III? You will get all the details over here!!! We haveprovided all the latest and updated Bank Exam Syllabus and Exam Pattern. However, the IBPS RRB Syllabus for Officer Scale-I, II, III and Officer Assistant is given in detail in the sections below. Usually, Bank Exams are those which will be changing its exam Syllabus and Exam Patterns in the present days. Hence have a look at the latest syllabus and prepare according to the Exam Pattern. Also, we have provided IBPS RRB Syllabus Pdf download for Officer Scale-I, II, III and Assistant Pdf at the end of the article. For more details, aspirants can check the IBP official website.
IBPS RRB Office Assistant Syllabus 2019
Candidates who are applying for the Officer Scale-I, II, III and Officer Assistant will get here the complete syllabus as well as exam pattern details on this page. Also, download the syllabus pdf from the below links and start your exam preparation as soon as possible.
Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) RRB Recruitment notification 2019 is released to fill up to 8,561 Office Assistant, Officer Scale I, II & III posts vacancies. Candidates who are trying to get a job in the Banking sector can use this opportunity and start applying for the post. The last date for IBPS RRB apply online is on 4th July 2019. After applying, don’t forget to check detailed syllabus and exam pattern details given in this article. You can also visit www.ibps.in official website for much more information related to IBPS RRB exam 2019.
RRB Online Exam – Mains / Single – officer Scale- I, II & III
22nd September 2019
RRB Online Exam – Mains / Single – Office Assistant
29th September 2019
Official Website
ibps.in
The selection of Office Assistant / Officer Scale – I, II & III under IBPS RRB is based on the following stages:
Written Exam (Prelims & Mains)
Personal Interview
IBPS RRB Officer Scale-I and Assistant Exam Paper Pattern 2019
The IBPS RRB Vacancy Exam 2019 for Officer Scale-I and Officer Assistant is conducting both Prelims and Mains Examination. However, here is the Syllabus for both Prelims and Mains Examination Listed below. We have given the IBPS RRB Syllabus and Exam Pattern based on the Post and Exam. So, check the details accordingly. Also, download the Syllabus Paf at the end of the section. Furthermore, check the IBPS RRB exam papers and Material from the link provided below.
IBPS RRB Exam Pattern – Test Pattern of Officer Scale III Posts (Senior Manager)
Subject Name
No of Questions
Total Marks
Reasoning
40
50
Quantitative Aptitude & Data Interpretation
40
50
Financial Awareness
40
40
English Language
40
40
Hindi Language
40
40
Computer Knowledge
40
20
Total
200
200
For Officer Scale-II, III Exam
Candidates can opt either English Subject or Hindi subject
The duration of the exam will be 2 hours.
Download IBPS RRB Syllabus in Hindi & English Pdf
The IBPS RRB Recruitment 2019 syllabus for Office Assistant & Officer Scale-I posts is given in detail over here. The syllabus is given in subject wise from which the questions will be asked for both Prelims & Mains examination. Applicants who are appearing for the exam can go through syllabus in detail in this section.
IBPS RRB Office Assistant, Officer Scale-I Preliminary Test Syllabus
Note: There are much more important dates mentioned about IBPS RRB Interview, Call Letter, Pre Training process. For all these details visit the official site.
Are you searching for JEE Advanced AAT Syllabus 2019? Since JEE Advanced Exam is over and the result has been announced recently. The candidates who are attending JEE AAT exam 2019 for the admission into B.Arch Programme can find the relevant JEE Advanced & JEE Advanced AAT Syllabus along with exam pattern details. However, go through the below sections of the article to get the detailed JEE Advanced, AAT exam pattern, exam date & download link of syllabus pdf.
JEE Advanced Syllabus 2019 Pdf
The Joint Entrance Examination conducted by IIT is of big reputation and competition all over India. Thus, cracking IIT JEE exam 2019 is quite difficult. Thus, JEE Syllabus is available for the students who are going to attend the Advanced Joint Entrance Examination. Candidates who are preparing for the JEE Advanced Entrance Exam 2019 can start their preparation by following the JEE Advanced Syllabus provided below.
Students can check the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Advanced Exam Pattern below and prepare well for the exam. Students need to manage their time effectively. The direct link for the Advanced JEE Syllabus Pdf is given below. Candidates can download the syllabus pdf enclosed below.
Note: JEE Advanced Result 2019 declared!!! The online Counselling process will begin Soon.
JEE Advanced Exam Pattern 2019
IIT JEE Advanced Exam pattern along with AAT Test pattern given on this page. Students can prepare according to the JEE Advanced Exam by following the exam pattern given below.
Exam Pattern for the JEE Advanced 2019 Examination
Paper No
Names of the Subject
No of Q
Total No of Marks
Paper 1
Physics/ Chemistry/ Mathematics
5
15
8
32
5
15
Paper 2
Physics/ Chemistry/ Mathematics
6
18
8
32
4
12
The exam is computer Based (CBT).
The questions will be numerical and objective type questions.
The medium of exam is Hindi/English.
The duration of the exam is 3 hours each.
Paper 1 & Paper 2 questions will be mostly from 11th & 12th class syllabus.
Each correct answer marks and negative marking scheme is as follows: in both paper 1 & paper 2
IBPS RRB Recruitment 2019 Notification – Apply Online 8,400+ Officer Scale-I, Scale-II, Scale-III & Office Assistant Vacancies: The most expected job notification by Institute of Banking Personnel Selection is out now. This is an alert for candidates who are preparing to take up IBPS RRB 2019 Examination. Accordingly, 8,400+ Vacancies are available for Officer Scale-I, Scale-II, Scale-III & Office Assistant posts.
Any eligible candidate, who aspires to be a Group A & B Officer (Scale- I, II & III & Office Assistant) can register ONLINE from 18th June 2019. Apply Online Link is available in the below sections of this page. Selection Criteria involves Written Examination (Preliminary and Mains) and Final interview. Applicants must submit their IBPS CRP RRBs- VIII application forms on or before 4th July 2019 on this page.
Scroll down to check post wise vacancy details, educational qualification in details, age, age relaxation, salary, and other necessary information.
Important Dates for IBPS Recruitment 2019
Advertisement Date
15th June 2019
Starting Date
18th June 2019
Last Date
4th July 2019
Payment of Application Fees/Intimation Charges (Online)
18th June 2019 to 4th July 2019
Admit Cards for Pre- Exam Training for Officer Scale-I
July 2019
Conduct of Pre-Exam Training for Officer Scale-I
21st July 2019 to 26th July 2019
Admit Cards for Pre- Exam Training for Office Assistant
July 2019
Conduct of Pre-Exam Training for Office Assistant
27th July 2019 to 1st August 2019
Admit Cards for online examination – Preliminary
July
Online Examination – Preliminary
Officer Scale-I – 3rd, 4th, and 11th August 2019
Office Assistant- 17th, 18th, and 15th August 2019
Result of IBPS RRB Preliminary Examination
Officer Scale-I – August 2019
Office Assistant- September 2019
Admit Card for Main / Single Exam
September 2019
Main / Single Exam Date
Officers (I, II & III) – 22nd September 2019
Office Assistant – 29th September 2019
Results for Main/ Single (For Officers Scale I, II and III)
October 2019
Admit Cards for interview (For Officers Scale I, II and III)
October 2019
Interview (For Officers Scale I, II and III)
November 2019
Provisional Allotment (For Officers Scale I, II and III & Office Assistant. (Multipurpose))
Passed Bachelor's degree in any discipline from a recognized University or its equivalent
Must have Proficiency in local language as prescribed by the participating RRB/s*
Desirable: Working knowledge of Computer
2. Officer Scale-I (Assistant Manager):
Passed Bachelor's degree in any discipline from a recognized University or its equivalent
Preference will be given to the candidates having a degree in Agriculture, Horticulture, Forestry, Animal Husbandry Veterinary Science, Agricultural Engineering, Pisciculture, Agricultural Marketing and Cooperation, Information Technology, Management, Law, Economics or Accountancy
Must have Proficiency in local language as prescribed by the participating RRB/s*
Desirable: working knowledge of Computer
3.Officer Scale-II General Banking Officer (Manager):
Bachelor's degree in any discipline from a recognized University or its equivalent with a minimum of 50% marks in aggregate.
Preference will be given to the candidates having a degree in Banking, Finance, Marketing, Agriculture, Horticulture, Forestry, Animal Husbandry, Veterinary Science, Agricultural Engineering, Pisciculture, Agricultural Marketing and Cooperation, Information Technology, Management, Law, Economics and Accountancy
Experience:
02 years as an officer in a Bank or Financial Institution
Information Technology Officer – Bachelor's degree from a recognized University in Electronics / Communication / Computer Science / Information Technology or its equivalent with a minimum of 50% marks in aggregate.
Desirable: Certificate in ASP, PHP, C++, Java, VB, VC, OCP etc.
One year (in the relevant field)
Chartered Accountant –Certified Associate (CA) from Institute of Chartered Accountants of India
One Year as a Chartered Accountant.
Law Officer Degree from a recognized University in Law or its equivalent with a minimum of 50% marks in aggregate
Two years as an advocate or should have worked as Law Officer in Banks or Financial Institutions for a period of not less than two years
Treasury Manager Chartered Accountant or MBA in Finance from a recognized university/ institution
One Year (in the relevant field)
Marketing Officer MBA in Marketing from a recognized university
One Year (in the relevant field)
Agricultural Officer – Bachelor's degree in Agriculture/ Horticulture/ Dairy/ Animal Husbandry/ Forestry/ Veterinary Science/Agricultural Engineering/ Pisciculture from a recognized university or its equivalent with a minimum of 50% mark in aggregate
Two Years (in the relevant field)
5. Officer Scale-III (Senior Manager):
Passed Bachelor's degree in any discipline from a recognized University or its equivalent with a minimum of 50% marks in aggregate.
Preference will be given to the candidates having Degree/ Diploma in Banking, Finance, Marketing, Agriculture, Horticulture, Forestry, Animal Husbandry, Veterinary Science, Agricultural Engineering, Pisciculture, Agricultural Marketing and Co-operation, Information Technology, Management, Law, Economics and Accountancy
Experience:
Must have a minimum of 5 years experience as an Officer in a Bank or Financial Institutions
IBPS RRB Age Limit
Officer Scale- III (Senior Manager) – 21 to 40 Years
i.e. candidates should not have been born earlier than 03.06.1979 and later than 31.05.1998 (both dates inclusive)
For Officer Scale-II (Manager) – 21 to 32 Years
i.e. candidates should not have been born earlier than 03.06.1987 and later than 31.05.1998 (both dates inclusive)
Officer Scale- I (Assistant Manager) – 18 to 30 Years
i.e. candidates should not have been born earlier than 03.06.1989 and later than 31.05.2001 (both dates inclusive)
For Office Assistant (Multipurpose) – 18 to 28 Years
i.e. candidates should have not been born earlier than 02.06.1991 and later than 01.06.2001 (both dates inclusive
Age Relaxation:
SC/ST
05 Years
OBC
03 Years
Persons With Benchmark Disability as defined under "The Rights of Persons With Disabilities Act, 2016"
10 Years
Ex-Servicemen/ Disabled Ex-Servicemen
03 to 08 Years
Ex-Servicemen commissioned officers, including ECOs/SSCOs
05 Years
Widows, Divorced women, and women legally separated from their husbands who have not remarried
09 Years (only for the post of Office Assistant (Multipurpose) 9 years)
Persons ordinarily domiciled in the State of Jammu & Kashmir during the period 1-1-80 to 31-12-89
05 Years
Persons affected by 1984 riots
05 Years
IBPS RRB Selection Process
Preliminary Examination
Mains Examination
Interview
IBPS RRB Online Application Fee:
Application Fees/ Intimation Charges (Online payment from 18.06.2019 to 04.07.2019 both dates inclusive)
Officer (Scale I, II & III):
Rs.100/- for SC/ST/PWBD candidates.
Rs.600/- for all others
Office Assistant (Multipurpose):
Rs.100/- for SC/ST/PWBD/EXSM candidates.
Rs.600/- for all others
Bank Transaction charges for Online Payment of fees/ intimation charges will have to be borne by the candidate
IBPS RRB Salary:
For Office Assistant: Rs.7,200/- to 19,300/-
Officer Scale – I: Rs.14,500/- to 25,700/-
Officer Scale-II: Rs.19,400/- to 28,100/-
For Officer Scale – III: Rs.25,700/
How to apply for IBPS RRB Recruitment 2019
IBPS RRB Application Form 2019:
All candidates can start filling the online application form by following below steps:
Click on “CLICK HERE TO APPLY ONLINE FOR CRP- RRBsOFFICERS (Scale-I, II and III)" or "CLICK HERE TO APPLY ONLINE FOR CRP- RRBs- OFFICE ASSISTANT (Multipurpose)" to open up the On-Line Application Form
Candidates will have to click on "CLICK HERE FOR NEW REGISTRATION" to register their application by entering their basic information in the online application form.
After that a provisional registration number and password will be generated by the system and displayed on the screen. Candidate should note down the Provisional registration number and password. An Email & SMS indicating the Provisional Registration number and Password will also be sent.
They can reopen the saved data using Provisional registration number and password and edit the particulars, if needed.
Step 3: Uploading Signature and Photograph
After you enter all the necessary details, upload scanned copies of necessary documents
Upload Signature left thumb impression and hand-written declaration Image.
Upload necessary documents.
Photograph Image: (4.5cm × 3.5cm)
Photograph must be a recent passport style colour picture.
Make sure that the picture is in color, taken against a light-colored, preferably white, background.
Look straight at the camera with a relaxed face
If the picture is taken on a sunny day, have the sun behind you, or place yourself in the shade, so that you are not squinting and there are no harsh shadows
If you have to use flash, ensure there’s no “red-eye”
If you wear glasses make sure that there are no reflections and your eyes can be clearly seen.
Caps, hats and dark glasses are not acceptable. Religious headwear is allowed but it must not cover your face.
Dimensions 200 x 230 pixels (preferred)
Size of file should be between 20kb–50 kb
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Important Links for IBPS CRP RRBs VIII Recruitment 2019
For SSC Multitasking 2019 Recruitment, You can find previous year papers along with answer keys here. Candidates who have applied for the IBPS RRB Notification 2019 can get complete study material here. Interested candidates can download the IBPS RRB previous year papers pdf and prepare well for IBPS RRB 2019 Examination.
IBPS RRB Previous Papers 2019
IBPS RRB 2019 Syllabus
IBPS RRB 2019 Examination will be conducted in 2 sections. i.e. Preliminary Examination and Mains Examination.
Preliminary Examination (Objective):
Office Assistant (Multipurpose):
Reasoning
Numerical Ability
Office Scale-I:
Reasoning
Quantitative Aptitude
Mains Examination (Objective):
Office Assistant (Multipurpose):
Reasoning
Computer Knowledge
General Awareness
English Language
Hindi Language
Numerical Ability
Office Scale-I:
Reasoning
Computer Knowledge
Financial Awareness
English Language
Hindi Language
Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation
Single Level Examination (Objective):
Office Scale-II (General Banking Officer):
Reasoning
Computer Knowledge
Financial Awareness
English Language
Hindi Language
Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation
Office Scale-II (Specialist Officer):
Professional Knowledge
Reasoning
Financial Awareness
English Language
Hindi Language
Computer Knowledge
Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation
Office Scale-III:
Reasoning
Computer Knowledge
Financial Awareness
English Language
Hindi Language
Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation
IBPS RRB Syllabus 2019
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About IBPS:
The Banking Personnel Selection Institute (IBPS) is a work center created to promote the recruitment and placement of young graduates at public banks in India (excluding SBI). It also provides standardized systems for evaluation and processing of results for organizations. After being nationalized in India in 1969, Indian banks needed to expand their branch network across the country to make it more accessible to their customers. This required more personnel, but recruitment through methods such as advertising was not satisfactory. For example, the banks asked the National Bank Administration Institute (NIBM) to develop a selection process that would allow them to recruit competent candidates. In 1984, the NIBM department that performed the test became the IBPS.
The IBPS currently operates as an autonomous body, mainly involved in carrying out selection procedures for the hiring of administrative officials and senior officials in the banking sector. Previously, candidates had to write several exams, which were carried out by each bank for their vacancies. As of 2012, the hiring process has changed. Now IBPS conducts five bank recruitment exams every year. There are two exams for officials in probation, two for administrative levels and one for professionals (agriculture, law, technology). IBPS is administered by a board nominated by government organizations such as the Reserve Bank of India, the Ministry of Finance, the Government of India and India Institute of Technology Mumbai, Indian Institute of Banking and Finance, National Institute of Bank Management, Association of Indian Banks and Public Sector Banks.
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MUMBAI: Anil Ambani-led Reliance Infrastructure (RInfra) has reported a net loss of Rs 3,301 crore in the fourth quarter of 2018-19, its biggest ever, as the company undertook impairment and write-offs of over Rs 8,500 crore. The auditors have raised questions about the company's ability to continue in business. RInfra set-off exceptional losses against Rs 6,616 crore from general reserves to reduce the net impact, without which the losses would have been higher. Total consolidated income in the March quarter was Rs 4,234 crore, against Rs 3,709 crore a year ago, the company said while announcing its results after 11:30 pm on Friday, after deferring its board meeting for the financial results twice.The auditors said they do not have sufficient evidence to determine if the result gave a "true and fair" view of the losses and income. The auditors — BSR & Co LLP and Pathak HD & Associates — also said RInfra has investments and recoverable worth Rs 7,083 crore with entities that were doing engineering, procurement and construction jobs for the company. RInfra has also extended corporate guarantees during the year worth Rs 1,775 crore in favour of these entities. The auditor said they did not have sufficient and appropriate audit evidence about the relationship of these companies with RInfra, or the reason behind these transactions, and so they can't assess the implication. The company also booked losses on its investments in Reliance Power, where it owns 33.1%, after huge impairments and write-offs in the March quarter. The exceptional loss on Reliance Power also included loss on sale of shares of Reliance Power pursuant to invocation of pledge of Rs 1,261 crore. The auditors said the depreciation method adopted by Reliance Power was not in line with accounting standards.Given that the group, its associates and joint ventures incurred a net loss of Rs 2,426.82 crore during the year ended March 2019, and due to other factors, the auditors said there was "material uncertainty" that cast "significant doubt" on the group's ability to continue as a going concern.RInfra said its standalone debt was down by nearly 70% to Rs 5,960 crore in March 2019 from Rs 19,143 crore in March 2018. "The company aims to be zero debt in the next financial year or earlier based on liquidity events," it added.
NEW DELHI: India will impose higher tariffs on 28 American products including almonds, apples and walnut effective June 16, the government said in a notification on Saturday. The retaliatory tariffs, triggered by the US announcing higher duties on Indian steel and aluminium last year, were deferred multiple times in view of the trade dialogue between the two countries.The new tariffs are expected to bring in $220 million of revenue to India as the government dropped one item- artemia-from the list.New Delhi had decided to levy higher tariffs following Washington's withdrawal of preferential benefits for $6.35 billion of Indian exports early this month.The move comes ahead of meetings between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 summit on June 28-29 in Osaka. Also coming up later this month is a visit by US secretary of state Mike Pompeo to India for bilateral talks with counterpart S Jaishankar. Pompeo said on Thursday that the US was open to discussions on the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP).
The AN-32 crash in Arunachal Pradesh has become another grim reminder of the reality that flying over the mountainous state continues to be fraught with risks.For World War II pilots, this eastern Himalayan region was the "Skyway to Hell" and despite advances in flight technology since then, the stretch of deep valleys and high mountains is still one the deadliest flight routes in the world.And once a plane goes down, the dense foliage and cloudy hills make it hard to even find the wreckage, as was the case with the Indian Air Force transporter en route from Jorhat in Assam to Mechuka in Arunachal Pradesh. The plane with 13 people on board remained missing for eight days.The wreckage was finally spotted on Pari Hills in Siang district. When rescuers managed to reach the crash site, at a height of nearly 12,000 feet, they found no survivors.AVIATION CHALLENGES:Thick cloud form by 1 pm, particularly in pre-monsoon season Rapid changes in weather coupled with occasional strong winds Rugged terrain, deep gorges and steep valleys rising above 10,000 ft Low population density, poor road network hamper search operations.Crashes in Arunachal13 Air crashes since 1995* including 2 AN-32s and a Su-3010 of these are chopper crashes106 No. of deaths (including that of Arunachal CM Dorjee Khandu), due to these crashes594 No. of Allied forces' aircraft that crashed in "the Hump". The area comprises of today's Arunachal and parts of China and Myanmar81 No. of Allied aircraft that are still missing345 No. of people, mainly from the US, listed as missing in these crashes*Data for accidents between 1947 and 1995 are not available Source: Ministry of Defence, news reports, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, USOnce Upon The HumpFlying over the unforgiving eastern Himalayas has often been tragic.In April 1942, when the Japanese Army blocked Burma Road (the 1,150-km mountain highway between Lashio in present-day Myanmar and Kunming in China), US-led Allied forces had to undertake arguably the biggest airlift in aviation history. For the next three years, the C-47, C-46 and C-109 planes transported nearly 650,000 tonnes of supplies (fuel, food and ammunition) from airfields in Assam to those in Yunnan, China.The Allied pilots nicknamed the route as "the Hump" because their aircraft had to navigate deep gorges and then quickly fly over mountains rising beyond 10,000 feet. "The Hump" is none other than today's Arunachal Pradesh and parts of Myanmar and Tibet. Over 650 aircraft crashed in "the Hump", killing more than 1,000 fliers, mostly pilots, according to Lt Gen William Tunner, then commanding the US Military Air Transport Service.Also, 81 aircraft went missing in the region, with searchers failing to spot any wreckage. It took around 70 years before the debris of two such planes — a C-109 from Jorhat to Hsinching and a B-24J from Kunming to Chabua — was spotted in the hills of Arunachal by trekkers and villagers.13 Since 1995Planes may have become more advanced, but this region's rugged terrain and severe weather conditions remain the same as they were during World War II.Based on readily available data, Arunachal Pradesh has witnessed 13 air crashes since 1995. This included 10 choppers, two AN-32 transporters and a Sukhoi Su 30 fighter jet.Plane accidents in the state before the 90s were rare since there was hardly any aircraft activity in the mountainous north. After the Allied airlift ended in 1945, there was no urgency for planes to fly over "the Hump".Even the IAF, till about a decade ago, had restricted flights over this region till 1 pm because of rapid formation of thick clouds in pre-monsoon days along with other weather hiccups. But with the Chinese military aggressively strengthening its airbases on the other side of the McMahon Line that demarcates China and northern Arunachal Pradesh, New Delhi shed its complacency. The government soon handed over eight strategic airfields in Tuting, Mechuka, Aalo, Tawang, Ziro, Pasighat, Walong and Vijaynagar to IAF for upgradation. That was a decade ago.By then, the IAF also began flying in the evening and also experimented with limited night sorties.To Stay Out of Danger Commercial flights in Arunachal Pradesh first started in the mid-1980s when state-run Vayudoot Airlines (now defunct) flew 19-seater fixed wing aircraft to Pasighat and Ziro. But operations were abandoned mainly because the airline could not recover costs.Then last year, when Air India subsidiary Alliance Air started flying a passenger plane (a 46-seater ATR 42) to one of the upgraded airfields — the Advanced Landing Ground in Pasighat, the issue of safe landing was made top priority.Navigational aides were installed; some trees near the airfield were uprooted and drains along the runway were covered to enhance safety, Alliance Air CEO CS Subbiah had told this writer in May 2018.The government is now looking at expanding civilian air operations to Arunachal Pradesh's other airfields under the regional air connectivity scheme called UDAN. State capital Itanagar however does not have an airport yet.But landing in Ziro or Pasighat located near the plains of Assam is easier than landing in high-altitude Tuting, Mechuka or Walong located near China.Air Marshal Pranab Kumar Barbora, who retired as vice chief of air staff in 2010, has the distinction of piloting all types of military aircraft in Arunachal. He says flying over the state's mountains has three challenges: the weather, the terrain and technical issues. "If weather is coupled with terrain or technical (issues) is coupled with either terrain or weather, it's difficult to stay out of danger," he told ET Magazine.Due to these factors, IAF does not allow new recruits to venture into valley flying (with mountains on both sides) in Arunachal Pradesh, he says.In May 2008, Barbora flew an AN-32 to Daulat Beg Oldie airstrip located at a height of 16,614 feet in Ladakh and vouched for the technical robustness of the aircraft. But he also said that the transporter was unsuitable for flying at extreme heights."IAF has now begun to procure powerful planes," he said. "For example, the C-130 Hercules has four engines (as against two in AN-32). In case the pilot suddenly finds himself flying towards a hill, he can make a steep ascent in a C-130. An AN-32 cannot do that."We do not know yet why the AN-32 crashed on June 3 since its black box was recovered only on June 13.Siang deputy commissioner Rajeev Takuk was at the base camp of the mountain on which the plane crashed when he spoke to ET Magazine on the phone. He said: "Weather and terrain are the main challenges for the rescue team. The crash is on a hill. One has to trek for a day from the nearby village of Gate [pronounced Ga Te]. We sent five mountaineers, Tekseng — had climbed Everest last year." 69804998 Hard to Spot PlanesSince the plane was missing for days, is it not odd that no one in the villages saw it fall out of the sky since the crash occurred in the afternoon? Actually not.Arunachal Pradesh has a low population density — 17 people per square km against the national average of 382. Gate — the only village in the vicinity — has just 256 residents, according to the 2011 Census, making it unlikely that anyone noticed the crash.Then there would have been clouds. During the ongoing pre-monsoon season, ground temperature in Arunachal rises quickly to 28-30 degrees Celsius, and by noon, the sky is covered in thick clouds, say weather experts.Pilots can usually take their planes out of non-communication zone in the gorges provided there is visibility.The AN-32 went off the radar at 1 pm, never to regain connectivity. The crash site is slightly off the usual flight path.So when a plane falls off the sky on a cloudy day, there are chances that villagers would not notice. That is why it takes days and even years to find the wreckage.On April 30, 2011, when a Pawan Hans EuroCopter B8 chopper carrying Arunachal chief minister Dorjee Khandu and four others went missing, its wreckage was spotted five days later in Luguthang, also near the China border. There were no survivors. 69805049 Far Away from RoadsThis is the dilemma. While flying in Arunachal is risky, air connectivity is indispensable as road network is poor.During the recent Lok Sabha elections, as many as 434 polling stations in the state could not be reached by roads.In a booth in Cheppe village in Anini constituency, polling officials walked for five days, with night halts in Anelih, Thyee, Engalin and Awoka, chief electoral officer Kaling Tayeng told ET Magazine.No wonder so many World War II aircraft are still missing in action in the peaks and valleys of Arunachal.Memories of a Forgotten War — a 2016 documentary by Utpal Borpujari, a national award winner — ends with visuals of the wreckage of a US aircraft in the hills of Arunachal. "The story of World War II in the Northeast is not yet over. The Americans will continue searching for missing planes," he says. two of them — Taka Tamut and Kison.Lost & FoundJan. 25, 1944: B-24J bomber flies from Kunming in China on a mission to Chabua in Assam but goes missing with four other aircraft on the same route2006: An American hiker spots wreckage of an aircraft near Damro village in Arunachal 2008: Indian government grants access to US investigators who confirm the wreckage is of B-24J2009: Excavation does not lead to any conclusion about the crash2015: Remains of victims recoveredPilots Face 3 Challenges in Arunachal: Techincal, Weather & TerrainRetired Vice Chief of Air Staff Pranab Kumar Barbora achieved the rare feat of flying an AN-32 to Daulat Beg Oldie airstrip at a height of 16,614 ft in 2008, reopening the airbase after decades. Barbora, who has also flown planes in Arunachal, told Shantanu Nandan Sharma how rapid weather changes, along with gorges and mountains, challenge pilots. Edited excerpts:How robust is the AN-32 aircraft?AN-32 is the workhorse of the Indian Air Force. It's highly essential. We have more than a hundred of this aircraft which is used mainly for air-maintenance (ferrying of goods). But its load carrying capacity is on the lower side, about five tonnes or so. Yes, I flew one to Dawaltbaigh Oldi, but the aircraft is not suitable for such elevations. After all, it has only two engines. IAF has, however, started getting powerful planes now. For example, the C-130 Hercules has four engines. In case the pilot suddenly finds himself flying towards a hill, he can make a steep ascent in a C-130. An AN-32 can't do that.Having flown over Arunachal Pradesh for many years and knowing the topography well, what could be the possible reasons for the recent AN-32 crash?The reasons will be known only after an inquiry. My reading is it could be because of weather. The crash site is a little away from its flight path; so there could be other technical issues also. But there was no radio transmission about any technical problem. So, only a probe can put together all these pieces of jigsaw puzzle. So far as the 2009 crash of an AN-32 in the same area is concerned, it was found that weather and terrain lead to the crash.Why is flying over the high mountains of Arunachal considered risky, right from the days of World War II?The planes used during World War II were archaic. Those were slow-moving propeller aircraft which could not climb very high and were highly susceptible to weather. A large number of aircraft vanished. But the Americans don't forget their dead; so they try to retrieve the bodies even today. If locals or mountaineers spot any plane part, they swing into action and begin investigations.The vegetation in Arunachal Pradesh is unbelievably thick. There are many areas where sunlight does not reach the earth. The undergrowth is even worse. When we lose an aircraft, which happened many a time, we always instruct the members of a search party to fasten themselves with a rope. Otherwise, there are risks of rescuers themselves getting lost.So what is the main challenge — the terrain or the weather?In a hilly terrain like Arunachal Pradesh, there is high vegetation and high moisture. As the day gets hotter, thick cloud formation takes place. Earlier, we limited our operations to those areas till about 1 pm. If you can't see what is ahead because of clouds, flying in that terrain is very difficult. There are high mountains all around. There are mainly three constraints — weather, terrain and technical. If weather is coupled with terrain or technical (issues) is coupled with either terrain or weather, it is very difficult to get out of danger.But isn't our inability to fly anytime of the day an issue when the Chinese are so active on the other side?As communication systems and other technology had improved, we were able to fly during afternoons and even at nights in Arunachal Pradesh. We formulated stricter standard operating process. About a decade ago, we developed limited night operations capability in and around Mechuka (that borders China). We had to do that as the Chinese bases came up right on the other side.What was your first reaction when you reached Dawaltbaigh Oldi airstrip flying an AN-32?I was relaxed. I wanted to light a cigarette. But I could not. There wasn't enough oxygen for me and the cigarette.
Christie Arokiaraj, 23, is a welder who works from a small store outside the teeming Krishnarajapuram Railway Station on Bengaluru's eastern periphery. For nine to 10 hours a day, his gaunt frame is crouched over pieces of metal to meet a steady stream of orders from small businesses and homeowners in the vicinity. His life sparks up after 9 pm, when Arokiaraj gets together with four or five friends and unwinds on platform 4 of the station. Using the free WiFi on offer, the youth use their smartphones to surf the web and check out videos on YouTube, Facebook and WhatsApp, between chat sessions. The latest forwards are exchanged and jokes are sniggered. However, over the past three to four months, another app has caught their fancy: TikTok, the short-video sharing app owned by Bytedance, the world's most valuable startup that was valued at $75 billion in late 2018. For 20-30 minutes daily, Arokiaraj and his friends watch slapstick comedy, cheer strangers mimicking Tamil and Bollywood movie stars and ogle at women dancing to slow music from far away Madhya Pradesh and Mumbai — all on the app.In the last 12 months that TikTok has been operational in India — including six months when it survived a ban — the upstart has rapidly racked up some 200 million users as of June, according to its own data. The app has been downloaded over a billion times across the world. "We are enabling people from every corner of the country with a global platform that gives them unlimited opportunity to capture and share their creativity," says Sachin Sharma, director-sales and partnerships, Bytedance India. "TikTok is popular pan-India because we recognise that creativity is not just limited to audience belonging to certain towns or users speaking a particular language." 69806495 The gaiety of the group on platform 4 shows Sharma is on the mark. Arokiaraj says TikTok has become the new musthave app among his peer group. Videos on the online platform dominate latenight conversations, held between loud train whistles.But not everyone is thrilled by TikTok's explosive growth. The app's detractors say it was built in China in a walled garden — with virtually no threat from foreign rivals — funded by local investors and first launched in a familiar market. Cash-rich developers launched the app here later. Chinese companies such as vernacular content provider Helo, beauty and lifestyle app Club Factory and UC Browser have profited from this strategy. The financial muscle of American companies such as Amazon and Walmart — which acquired Flipkart — have also queered the pitch for homegrown players, who get overshadowed, they say.This, say observers, has led to a growing disquiet in the market, which has been cleaved into two — homespun entrepreneurs worrying about being muscled out by foreign investors and multinationals who claim success is determined by market forces and not financial heft. It has also forced entrepreneurs to take hard decisions. Craftsvilla, for example, had to rapidly shrink its operations over the past 12 months, says Manoj Gupta, CEO of the platform that sells ethnic apparel and fashion accessories. "It has become impossible to defend your business model with this kind of competition and the money they have. Local entrepreneurs need to be protected." 69806504 Vinay Bagri, CEO and founder of fintech startup NiYo, says: "The looming Chinese and American threat is something we consider daily when we fret over the viability of our venture."Industry watchers say shifting market dynamics have worsened the odds of success for some of these entrepreneurs. Over the past five years, even as starting up has gone mainstream, the number of early backers for these fledgling businesses have become fewer. Later-stage investors have also started hedging their bets, preferring to invest only in the top few players in each segment. "In many cases, this is a tough, winner-takes-all market," says Anand Lunia, founder of India Quotient, an early stage investor in startups. "The flush of foreign capital and ideas has only exacerbated a rough market."Foreign capital accounts for 80-90% of all investments in India's startups, according to industry estimates. Even as some companies build up their desi flavour — Vijay Shekhar Sharma of Paytm, for example, has consistently claimed his company is as local as Maruti and SBI even though Softbank and Alibaba Group are his biggest investors — the influence of overseas investors is evident. Large investors such as Softbank, which has invested $2 billion in India and plans to add $2-3 billion more, provide key (and rarely available) later stage capital to the ecosystem. After Independence, India had a protectionist economy to help domestic industries. But the economy was opened up in the 1990s and global collaborations became almost a given, especially in the tech space. The voices of protectionism seem to be returning now with local entrepreneurs starting to vocalise their pain. "American startups have market depth and Chinese startups have wallet depth. They are infiltrating the country. What do Indian startups have?" says a technology startup founder on the condition of anonymity. "We need protection the way China had. Look at how big their tech industry has grown." 69806514 Companies like TikTok have raised the bar. Its largest homespun rivals, ShareChat, started with a bang in 2015 and racked up some 50 million users by June 2019. But today, potential investors ask ShareChat tough questions about how it can tackle deep-pocketed foreign competitors.Executives at companies such as Amazon bristle at the suggestion that their growth has hobbled the odds of success of homespun entrepreneurs. A spokesperson for the firm tells ET Magazine the protectionist narrative is dated and untrue and the $200 billion behemoth is a value generator in India. "Amazon. in is a thriving marketplace with the primary role of enabling Indian small businesses for online commerce. With its continued investment in technology and infrastructure, it has enabled more than 450,000 small and medium business to scale into successful national online retailers," says a company statement. As a result, Amazon has facilitated over $1 billion in exports from sellers to the US, the UK, Japan and Persian Gulf countries. "Amazon continues to work closely with the local small business ecosystem with multiple programmes such as Launchpad, Amazon Easy, I Have Space. Amazon remains completely compliant to the laws of the land."Sharma of Bytedance says TikTok's combination of great product experience and localised and personalised content recommendations has been a hit with users. "We will continue to focus on enhancing the product experience. We recently started monetising the platform and are working closely with brands to further build our ad solutions to understand what works for their audiences, and if TikTok can collaborate to help reach their consumers across the country," he says. 69806519 Protectionist voices in India's startup ecosystem worry about some sort of colonisation of India's internet economy by foreign companies. "I think we have an opportunity to build great internet companies from India," Sachin Bansal, then the executive chairman of Flipkart, told the audience at a business conference in February this year. "At the same time we should do that by not creating an unfair playing field for some companies and instead create a level playing field across for everyone. I believe that if you create a level playing field, Indian companies will be at a great advantage and we will be able to build companies which will go global overtime."In 2018, Bansal sold his stake in the ecommerce company he cofounded from a flat in Bengaluru to Walmart. He has since become a key early investor in startups. In 2019, he invested $100 million in Ola. The CEO and cofounder of the ride-sharing giant, Bhavish Aggarwal, has recast shareholders' voting rights to keep predatory investors at bay. Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, which holds a substantial chunk of Ola, had recently wanted to invest $1 billion in the cab aggregator. But Aggarwal had reportedly turned down the offer as it would have meant diluting his shareholding rights.Regulators have reacted to some of the concerns of homegrown entrepreneurs. A notable move was the order on data localisation, which aims to protect private citizens' data. This diktat — supported by fintech firms such as Paytm and Phone Pe and opposed by multinational firms — seeks to compel companies to house the data they generate within India's geographical boundaries.Data LocalisationHowever, opponents of this move say such a seismic shift is unrealistic, with technological and operational issues likely to slow down implementation. "There are many issues to consider when you localise data," says Anirudh Rastogi, CEO of Ikigai Law, a legal outfit in Delhi that works on tech and policy law. "Where do you find enough space to build these server farms to house this mass of data? Does housing all the data in one country mitigate risk?"The boom in mobile users in India is expected to generate 2.3 million petabytes of data by 2023, from 40,000 petabytes in 2010. One petabyte is equal to 1,000 terabytes or 1,000,000 gigabytes. Parminder Jeet Singh, executive director of IT for Change, says company data generated in India should be treated as a national asset. "There is no reason to sign away our lives so easily. Let the government devise a policy that makes these companies pay to tap these resources." 69806525 69806532 It isn't the content segment alone that is attracting protectionist attention. From fintech to fashion, lobbies are hard at work trying to put homegrown entrepreneurs' interests first. For example, India Tech, a lobby that counts MakeMyTrip, Ola, and Quikr as members, wants to ensure a level playing field for the ecommerce industry, says the unit's CEO Rameesh Kailsasam. "There is a fear that foreign companies may be bending the law with regards to regulatory issues. We want to ensure Indian companies aren't at a disadvantage when it comes to critical regulatory issues."In early June, a bunch of startup investors, with around $800 million in capital, banded together under the Funders Forum Collective to take on foreign investors and to act as an advocacy platform.With India's ecommerce market expected to top $1 trillion by 2021 — according a February report from the Retailers Association of India and Deloitte — the battle is only expected to intensify. No matter who wins, the customer shouldn't lose.
NEW DELHI: A sharp rise in generation from renewable and hydel sources has kept spot power prices in check, making adequate power available at affordable rates for meeting record demand due to the heat wave sweeping across the country."There is no shortage of power. There is plenty of renewable power available. Hydel systems like Bhakra-Beas have stored adequate water. Thermal plants are doing well. We are prepared (to meet demand spike)," power minister R K Singh told TOI. A 24% increase in generation from renewable energy projects and 10% increase in supply from hydel projects in the April-May period have checked spot power prices in the region of Rs 3.40 in spite of the demand spike. This has allowed states to buy power to keep blackouts at bay.Consider: Energy supply gap during April-May declined to 0.4% of the demand from 0.7% in the same period of 2018. Similarly, peak shortage stood at 0.5% against 0.7% in the same period last year. 69798337 Higher renewable and hydel generation have also prevented faster depletion of fuel stock at coal-fired plants, which increased production by just 2.5% from a year-ago period. This will allow them to be better position to tackle additional demand due to sweltering heat seen from July onwards when rains also impact coal supply.A concerted effort by the coal and power ministries over the last few months have built fuel inventories good for 15 days operation at 112 out of 114 power plants monitored by the Central Electricity Authority. Gneration from coal-fired plants accounted for 72% of total generation in the April-May period.
In the last few years, both policy makers as well as economists have been concentrating too much on the issue of transfers and too little on the issue of growth, says Rakesh Mohan, Former Deputy Governor, RBI. In an exclusive interview with ETNOW, Mohan says like Arvind Subramaniam, he has also been raising similar issues and would be presenting a paper in end-June. It is difficult to understand some parts of what has been happening in the Indian economy because of inconsistencies and indicators, says Mohan, who is also a former Chief Economic Adviser.Edited excerpts: Let me start with the data credibility debate. Former Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian, who was an insider of sorts to say the Modi government, has said that there is a problem with the GDP methodology. This issue is something that he had raised earlier also during his tenure. He is saying, wrong methodology could have led to 2.5% overstatement of GDP growth. Does his argument hold ice with you?First let me mention that I was also the Chief Economic Advisor but almost 18 years ago now. So does the argument of the former Chief Economic Advisor hold ground?In some sense, one would hope that having been in a position like that, what he says should be well considered and needs to be looked at seriously. Having said that, issues have been raised about the new series of national accounts ever since it was introduced. I have looked at his papers, I have not really fully examined the exact methodology that he has employed and also, I do not have a good method of really coming or judging his estimates of 2.5% of GDP overstatement on a cumulative or on a compound growth rate basis but that is actually a huge. But if you reduce the growth rate by 2.5% since 2011-2012 or thereabouts, cumulatively there comes to something like 20% or thereabouts in terms of the current estimate of GDP in absolute terms. So it is a very serious issue. As I said, I do not have the methodology or the time yet in a sense to evaluate that particular number. Having said that, I have also been raising similar issues. He has particularly talked about manufacturing and I am in fact in the process of writing a paper which we will be presented in a seminar in Brookings on June 28th where I have raised this issue, saying it is difficult to understand some parts of what has been happening in the Indian economy because of inconsistencies and indicators. You are saying there are inconsistencies with respect to indicators, but MOSPI is saying that whatever we are doing here in India with respect to the methodology is in line with the global practices. It has been approved by IMF. So, between problems with the manufacturing side of data and the methodology that the former CEA has used, where do the problems lie and what is the best way to deal with it?As I have already said, I have not examined the exact methodology and what one can do is evaluate it on a numerical basis. What I am saying is that if you look at manufacturing growth, there are two-three indicators that are inconsistent with the value-added growth calculated in the GDP of National Account Statistics. If you look for example at manufacturing goods exports, these have been staggered in absolute dollar terms for six to seven years. That is number one. Number two, the indicators for capital goods production in the manufacturing sector show zero growth for the same period. If you look at capital goods imports, those are firm numbers. But those are also zero growth or slightly negative actually in the last six to seven years. Further, other indicators like the index of industrial production, the annual survey of industries for the last six-seven years, provided annual growth rate of under 4%. Whereas there is a new methodology, there is a new data source through the ministry of corporate affairs data, I do not have the privilege of knowing what exactly they are doing with the data and what the data consists of . So, I cannot contest the methodology they are using but there are inconsistencies that stare you in the face. Similarly, if you consider credit growth to industry, that has been very low for the last six-seven years. The point I am making is that there are objective indicators which are difficult to argue with and which are inconsistent with the manufacturing growth indicators in the national accounts. My view on this is, given that these inconsistencies exist, it is very important for the National Accounts Statistics or the CSO for the government to provide enough information to explain the discrepancies. What is the problem here? Should we perhaps have an independent panel looking into it?The CSO is supposed to be independent. It always has been and the point that Arvind Subramanian has made is that these inconsistencies did not exist in earlier periods. He is right there. Similarly, the indicators that I have given, those inconsistencies did not exist in the earlier period. There has always been issues with the quality of the IIP. There are some issues to do with the quality of ASI (Annual Survey of Industries), but there are no issues with the quality of import data or the export data. The simple point I am making is that given that these issues have been raised ever since the series was introduced, now he is making a further point that for the credibility of India as a whole and for Indian statistics national accounts, which have always been held with high repute domestically and internationally that it is very important for the government, for the CSO, for the statistics authorities to come out with explaining look how can we reconcile the inconsistency between different indicators and the national account statistics. Would you also say there is a need for an independent committee to look into the methodology?As I said, it is important for them to explain the discrepancy. How they do it -- whether it is through a government committee, a departmental probe, an independent committee -- is for them to decide but something that ought to provide enough data, enough analytical explanations for there to be adequate debate by professional statisticians and economists. Since you are saying that there have been inconsistencies with respect to the manufacturing side data, would you also say that perhaps this led to a faulty policy approach from the government as well as bureaucrats'end?I would not say a faulty approach but I would say that to be able to design policies to achieve the objective that you want, obviously you are handicapped if the data is not good. On the other hand, if the data are indeed good, then you have been in good shape. How damning is it for a country like India to be dealing with the entire issue on data credibility on GDP credibility?I would not say damning but I would say once again that we had a very high reputation on the overall quality of our data for a long period of time and it saddens me as someone who has worked in the government in technocratic positions in different places. I used to be part of the ministry of Economic Advisor. I used to compile the IIP data and I knew many of the problems that existed in that data but the point is that sunshine is the best policy in data. When there are issues with data, you need to make it as transparent as possible so that it can be evaluated without partisan positions. It also saddens me to see that some of the debate on this issue has now been politicised when data should not be politicised. Interpretation of data yes, there will always be different policy views, different orientations of different analysts, but not on that data itself. Let me also shift focus to the growth figures. Everybody is talking about a slowdown in the economy, the kind of numbers that we are seeing on auto sales as well as FMCG, are pointing to a large slowdown, that we had not really anticipated. What is the way out of this? First, the government must be able to actually recognise the issue that you cannot cure an ailment until you first observe that you have an ailment. Second, that you have diagnosed it and third, find the treatment, given the diagnosis. It will be very important for the new government to come to grips with what has happened and what is happening. I must say the two cabinet panels that the Prime Minister has announced on investment and employment is exactly the way to go forward. But under those cabinet committees, they must start intensive technocratic analysis of what has happened to recognise what the issues are and then start devising ways. Are we headed for a large period of slowdown or a sub 7% growth?I do not know because first of all talking about GDP statistics we need to have a cleaner understanding of what those GDP growth numbers really are and if there has been indeed a problem? However, I would make an additional general point that I have observed that during the last few years, there has been an inadequate attention to the issues of growth. One of the characteristics of the Government of India since independence has been a high focus on growth. All through the period, we always had five-year plans. Each of them had a growth target and you could then evaluate yourself against those longer term targets and which of course are annual targets as well. One of the interesting things about analysing the growth data since independence is that interestingly enough, the five year plan targets was 90% met actually. The five year plans…Well I would say we should bring back the five year plans. We may want to name it differently and you notice the Prime Minister has already asked every ministry to come up with a five-year plan, five-year roadmap. But I do not see an overall an attempt to explain how these things are going to be put together. I do believe that no country can achieve high growth on a consistent basis. By high growth I mean 7% plus. We need really to move to 8% to 9%. You cannot achieve it without the highest focus on growth. Whatever has happened over the last few years is there has been much more focus on how to distribute more efficiently, particularly through cash benefits, direct benefit transfers etc. I have nothing against either cash transfers or direct benefits transfers etc, but I believe that it ought to be a part of a broader strategy focusing on growth within growth and the kind of policy one should have for social welfare, direct benefits etc. In the last few years, both policy makers as well as economists have been concentrating too much on the issue of transfers and too little on the issue of growth.When you are saying you should focus on growth, would you say focus on certain sectors, on manufacturing to provide incentives, to help MSMEs? What would you want to see because the government is in the midst of a budget making exercise. Which are the issues that need to be addressed?Lots of fruits are low hanging or high hanging as of now. Which sectors would you say then?I want to pick only sector. I believe there has to be a huge focus on manufacturing and industry overall and particularly on labour. One of the key problems that exists and we have seen with reference to the unemployment numbers, that we have only 14 million people employed in organised sector manufacturing. In China, it is over 100 million. So it is not the case that they are 30 we are 14. They are 100 and we are 14, with similar magnitudes of population. Whenever we talk of manufacturing, you hear both the government as well as the private sector, private industry talking about artificial intelligence, high level industry etc. You almost never hear about setting up manufacturing which employs lots of people and for consumer goods clothing, textiles, shoes, furniture everything that you and I have in our homes. We have, in fact, lost our advantage to our neighbouring nations.Absolutely. Somehow I do not find private sector being interested in this. No country has grown at 7% plus on a sustained basis without high manufacturing growth -- double digit growth - and particularly no country whether it is China, Korea, Japan in its earliest stages, the southeast Asian and other countries etc. has grown without high growth in manufactured products which are labour intensive. Our per capita income is about a third or a fourth of China's. We have the labour cost advantage. It has to be utilised and then must you focus that. Would you also say that this is a long-term strategy. In the short term, everybody has been talking about the liquidity concerns owing to the NBFC crisis. The NBFCs are demanding a special liquidity window. Do you think a liquidity window is going to solve the current issues of the NBFC sector?There are two kinds of comments on that. One is that as far as liquidity issues are concerned, you had to distinguish between liquidity problems and insolvency. The central bank in any country cannot solve insolvency problems and should not. The central bank in principle can address liquidity problems. I do not have enough knowledge to know whether the NBFC problems are to do with insolvency or illiquidity. In terms of the answer to your question, it can only be given once if one knows where the insolvency problems, where the illiquidity problems. Sometimes it does happen that something that starts as an illiquidity problem becomes insolvency problem if it is not addressed. I think that is where we should look at. However, there is one other very broad general issue which is pervading the whole financial sector and that is puzzling me that from the early 1990s till the late say around 2010 or thereabouts, household sector financial savings had been in the region of around 10% of GDP. Since around 2011-2012, we saw the tide turn and from 2011-2012, they have come down around 7% of GDP. It is a huge fall. It is similar to the early 80s and if you coupled that with the fact that total government borrowing that the centre plus the states is around 7% of GDP, it is not surprising that there is a problem of liquidity because it is not high enough financial savings in the country and one recent indicator of this general problem is the artificial insemination of liquidity the Reserve Bank has done in the last couple of months in borrowing $10 billion through forex swaps from the banks to inject domestic liquidity. There is two of them…Yes, a combined amount of about $10 billion which is about Rs 70,000 crore.The Reserve Bank felt it necessary that there is not enough liquidity and then they could not inject this liquidity through open market operations (OMOs). Does that mean that there is not enough financial resources in the country? What do you do, you go out and get the banks to raise dollar resources and then swap them. You then set up a liability for the Reserve Bank for the future but temporarily you inject that here. I am just mentioning this as an indicator of a broader financial savings problem. This is one of the other issues. The government plus RBI should really set up a committee or analytical group to understand what has happened. I do not. I had some understanding between 2011 and 2013 when inflation rates have gone up to around 10% and so, many real interest rates have become negative. A lot of people had switched to gold from financial savings but that is not the case now when the interest rates are really positive. Since you are also a member of the Economic Capital framework, we are given to understand that there are differences of opinion within the panel. Is that the reason that there is going to be another meeting that the ECF panel? Does that mean the recommendations would be favouring the government a lot more?One thing I can tell you is that almost all the work is done. Some final finishing touches have to be given to the report. This is always the case when you have a committee report, particularly technical in nature.The final report has to be completely clean. We had a meeting yesterday and the report is almost ready. Can we expect it by the end of the month?Yes, I would think so. Can you give us a hint on which way the panel is headed? As I said, because the committee has not finished its work. I am not able to comment on that. I hope you talk to us after the report is submitted.Yes, once the report is submitted and I am permitted by the Chairman and the Reserve Bank, I will be very happy to.., Would you at least say that yes the RBI has enough reserves?I wouldn't like to comment on this issue at all until the committee's work is finished.
Christie Arokiaraj, 23, is a welder who works from a small store outside the teeming Krishnarajapuram Railway Station on Bengaluru's eastern periphery. For nine to 10 hours a day, his gaunt frame is crouched over pieces of metal to meet a steady stream of orders from small businesses and homeowners in the vicinity. His life sparks up after 9 pm, when Arokiaraj gets together with four or five friends and unwinds on platform 4 of the station. Using the free WiFi on offer, the youth use their smartphones to surf the web and check out videos on YouTube, Facebook and WhatsApp, between chat sessions. The latest forwards are exchanged and jokes are sniggered. However, over the past three to four months, another app has caught their fancy: TikTok, the short-video sharing app owned by Bytedance, the world's most valuable startup that was valued at $75 billion in late 2018. For 20-30 minutes daily, Arokiaraj and his friends watch slapstick comedy, cheer strangers mimicking Tamil and Bollywood movie stars and ogle at women dancing to slow music from far away Madhya Pradesh and Mumbai — all on the app.In the last 12 months that TikTok has been operational in India — including six months when it survived a ban — the upstart has rapidly racked up some 200 million users as of June, according to its own data. The app has been downloaded over a billion times across the world. "We are enabling people from every corner of the country with a global platform that gives them unlimited opportunity to capture and share their creativity," says Sachin Sharma, director-sales and partnerships, Bytedance India. "TikTok is popular pan-India because we recognise that creativity is not just limited to audience belonging to certain towns or users speaking a particular language." 69806495 The gaiety of the group on platform 4 shows Sharma is on the mark. Arokiaraj says TikTok has become the new musthave app among his peer group. Videos on the online platform dominate latenight conversations, held between loud train whistles.But not everyone is thrilled by TikTok's explosive growth. The app's detractors say it was built in China in a walled garden — with virtually no threat from foreign rivals — funded by local investors and first launched in a familiar market. Cash-rich developers launched the app here later. Chinese companies such as vernacular content provider Helo, beauty and lifestyle app Club Factory and UC Browser have profited from this strategy. The financial muscle of American companies such as Amazon and Walmart — which acquired Flipkart — have also queered the pitch for homegrown players, who get overshadowed, they say.This, say observers, has led to a growing disquiet in the market, which has been cleaved into two — homespun entrepreneurs worrying about being muscled out by foreign investors and multinationals who claim success is determined by market forces and not financial heft. It has also forced entrepreneurs to take hard decisions. Craftsvilla, for example, had to rapidly shrink its operations over the past 12 months, says Manoj Gupta, CEO of the platform that sells ethnic apparel and fashion accessories. "It has become impossible to defend your business model with this kind of competition and the money they have. Local entrepreneurs need to be protected." 69806504 Vinay Bagri, CEO and founder of fintech startup NiYo, says: "The looming Chinese and American threat is something we consider daily when we fret over the viability of our venture."Industry watchers say shifting market dynamics have worsened the odds of success for some of these entrepreneurs. Over the past five years, even as starting up has gone mainstream, the number of early backers for these fledgling businesses have become fewer. Later-stage investors have also started hedging their bets, preferring to invest only in the top few players in each segment. "In many cases, this is a tough, winner-takes-all market," says Anand Lunia, founder of India Quotient, an early stage investor in startups. "The flush of foreign capital and ideas has only exacerbated a rough market."Foreign capital accounts for 80-90% of all investments in India's startups, according to industry estimates. Even as some companies build up their desi flavour — Vijay Shekhar Sharma of Paytm, for example, has consistently claimed his company is as local as Maruti and SBI even though Softbank and Alibaba Group are his biggest investors — the influence of overseas investors is evident. Large investors such as Softbank, which has invested $2 billion in India and plans to add $2-3 billion more, provide key (and rarely available) later stage capital to the ecosystem. After Independence, India had a protectionist economy to help domestic industries. But the economy was opened up in the 1990s and global collaborations became almost a given, especially in the tech space. The voices of protectionism seem to be returning now with local entrepreneurs starting to vocalise their pain. "American startups have market depth and Chinese startups have wallet depth. They are infiltrating the country. What do Indian startups have?" says a technology startup founder on the condition of anonymity. "We need protection the way China had. Look at how big their tech industry has grown." 69806514 Companies like TikTok have raised the bar. Its largest homespun rivals, ShareChat, started with a bang in 2015 and racked up some 50 million users by June 2019. But today, potential investors ask ShareChat tough questions about how it can tackle deep-pocketed foreign competitors.Executives at companies such as Amazon bristle at the suggestion that their growth has hobbled the odds of success of homespun entrepreneurs. A spokesperson for the firm tells ET Magazine the protectionist narrative is dated and untrue and the $200 billion behemoth is a value generator in India. "Amazon. in is a thriving marketplace with the primary role of enabling Indian small businesses for online commerce. With its continued investment in technology and infrastructure, it has enabled more than 450,000 small and medium business to scale into successful national online retailers," says a company statement. As a result, Amazon has facilitated over $1 billion in exports from sellers to the US, the UK, Japan and Persian Gulf countries. "Amazon continues to work closely with the local small business ecosystem with multiple programmes such as Launchpad, Amazon Easy, I Have Space. Amazon remains completely compliant to the laws of the land."Sharma of Bytedance says TikTok's combination of great product experience and localised and personalised content recommendations has been a hit with users. "We will continue to focus on enhancing the product experience. We recently started monetising the platform and are working closely with brands to further build our ad solutions to understand what works for their audiences, and if TikTok can collaborate to help reach their consumers across the country," he says. 69806519 Protectionist voices in India's startup ecosystem worry about some sort of colonisation of India's internet economy by foreign companies. "I think we have an opportunity to build great internet companies from India," Sachin Bansal, then the executive chairman of Flipkart, told the audience at a business conference in February this year. "At the same time we should do that by not creating an unfair playing field for some companies and instead create a level playing field across for everyone. I believe that if you create a level playing field, Indian companies will be at a great advantage and we will be able to build companies which will go global overtime."In 2018, Bansal sold his stake in the ecommerce company he cofounded from a flat in Bengaluru to Walmart. He has since become a key early investor in startups. In 2019, he invested $100 million in Ola. The CEO and cofounder of the ride-sharing giant, Bhavish Aggarwal, has recast shareholders' voting rights to keep predatory investors at bay. Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, which holds a substantial chunk of Ola, had recently wanted to invest $1 billion in the cab aggregator. But Aggarwal had reportedly turned down the offer as it would have meant diluting his shareholding rights.Regulators have reacted to some of the concerns of homegrown entrepreneurs. A notable move was the order on data localisation, which aims to protect private citizens' data. This diktat — supported by fintech firms such as Paytm and Phone Pe and opposed by multinational firms — seeks to compel companies to house the data they generate within India's geographical boundaries.Data LocalisationHowever, opponents of this move say such a seismic shift is unrealistic, with technological and operational issues likely to slow down implementation. "There are many issues to consider when you localise data," says Anirudh Rastogi, CEO of Ikigai Law, a legal outfit in Delhi that works on tech and policy law. "Where do you find enough space to build these server farms to house this mass of data? Does housing all the data in one country mitigate risk?"The boom in mobile users in India is expected to generate 2.3 million petabytes of data by 2023, from 40,000 petabytes in 2010. One petabyte is equal to 1,000 terabytes or 1,000,000 gigabytes. Parminder Jeet Singh, executive director of IT for Change, says company data generated in India should be treated as a national asset. "There is no reason to sign away our lives so easily. Let the government devise a policy that makes these companies pay to tap these resources." 69806525 69806532 It isn't the content segment alone that is attracting protectionist attention. From fintech to fashion, lobbies are hard at work trying to put homegrown entrepreneurs' interests first. For example, India Tech, a lobby that counts MakeMyTrip, Ola, and Quikr as members, wants to ensure a level playing field for the ecommerce industry, says the unit's CEO Rameesh Kailsasam. "There is a fear that foreign companies may be bending the law with regards to regulatory issues. We want to ensure Indian companies aren't at a disadvantage when it comes to critical regulatory issues."In early June, a bunch of startup investors, with around $800 million in capital, banded together under the Funders Forum Collective to take on foreign investors and to act as an advocacy platform.With India's ecommerce market expected to top $1 trillion by 2021 — according a February report from the Retailers Association of India and Deloitte — the battle is only expected to intensify. No matter who wins, the customer shouldn't lose.
J&K: Centre forms body to keep terror in check The TMG has been entrusted with taking coordinated action in all registered cases that relate to terror, terror financing and terror-related activities.
'Mann ki Baat' to resume on June 30 The final episode of the last season was aired on February 24 and the program was later discontinued during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Madhya Pradesh signs MoU for smart gaushalas The state government in Madhya Pradesh is coming up with 300 "smart gaushalas" in the state and has signed a contract with a foreign company for the construction and development of these cow shelters.
West Bengal: Junior doctors refuse to end strike The Chief Minister launched a blistering attack on the junior doctors for not coming forward to end the ongoing impasse.
West Bengal doctors' strike: Mamata Banerjee rubbishes MHA advisory, opposition parties second it The MHA sought separate reports from the West Bengal government on the ongoing doctors' strike and on political violence that has left 160 people dead in the past four years.
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