Month: July 2021

How and why covid-19 hampered the mass production of automobiles?

The novel Corona Virus epidemic has had an instant and serious impact on the globally integrated automotive industry. Prodromes include a disruption in Chinese parts exports, large-scale manufacturing interruption across the world.

Due to an upset in supplying chains, a shortage of chips was created, which enforced automobile makers to drop production. A Shortage of a very critical part known as semiconductor chips has been brought up as a key reason. Both global and Indian manufacturers had announced production circulation linked to the obtainability of chips and been feigned to apply brakes on mass production.

What are the circumstances?

A conventional component across automobiles, electronic goods, medical devices, and smart appliances is the integrated circuits (IC) chips. IC’s are the foundation of all modern electronic equipment and the chip is their brain and nerve center. The circuit is a conglomeration of all electronic components — resistors, transistors, capacitors — compressed into a small silicon chip and connected all together, to perform individual or numerous tasks.

Earlier to the covid-19 pandemic, about trillions of chips were being produced on average globally every year. That is about 120 chips per person, which would appear to a great extent. All in all only a small percentage of the global population uses high-end connected equipment holding many chips. Nevertheless, the chip shortage today has a lot to do with the epidemic and how it changes customer’s actions.

After countries by countries went under lockdown people started purchasing more and more electronic equipment such as computers, mobile phones, gaming devices as they have to stay home. As a result of the lockdown in which factories were shut down, automobiles cut down on chip purchases. This affected the supply and demand throughout the world. Now as demands for automobiles appear to be on stream, chip companies are scrambling to adjust the production and distribution of the sectors such as automobiles.

Carmaking uses chips in most of the parts of the automobile, in everything from the power steering wheel, and fuel injector sensors to the navigation system, and parking cameras. As cars are also getting additional technologies and smarter and more affiliated electronic devices and equipment today, account for 40% of the cost of a new internal combustion engine car, up from less than 20% from last two decades, chips account for a scale of this escalate.

why may not carmakers hoard up?

At the last moment, the carmakers usually kept economical account holding and depended on an electronic industry contributing chain to nurture the production lines as per the opportunity. There can be two objectives behind that:-

(1) Firstly, constant reduction in the cost of production.

(2) Secondly, advancement in the processing powers of chips.

The counts of transistors going on an increase in the IC chips have doubled every year. This fact is widely known as Moore’s Law signifies the smaller device with substantial processing speeds.

Nevertheless, plenty of the evolution in chips design exists on the non-auto edge. The auto industry undergoes and large stuck to basic chips that have the same function for years.

So, what happens nowadays?

Countries’ evidence in semiconductor production is functioning to safeguard the dispense of their chips. The Indian government also started again to make an old effort for having companies build semiconductor fabrication set-up in India or get hands-on semiconductor fabs outside India. The Center’s primary effort on making India self-made for semiconductor fabs has overall been imposed severely by the company’s request to protect inevitable expenditures with different sops.

Indian navy

The Indian Navy is the naval branch of the armed forces of India. With 55,000 men and women, including 5,000 naval aviation personnel and 2,000 Marine Commandos (MARCOS), it is the world’s fifth largest navy. The Indian Navy currently operates more than 155 vessels, including the aircraft carrier INS Viraat.

India uses its navy to enhance its international relations through joint exercises, port visits, and humanitarian missions, including disaster relief. The Indian Navy is increasing its capabilities as a true blue-water navy; the Indian Navy’s doctrine states that this is for the collective good of nations.

The Indian Navy sees several principal roles for itself:In conjunction with other armed forces of the union, act to deter or defeat any threats or aggression against the territory, people or maritime interests of India, both in war and peace;

· Project influence in India’s maritime area of interest, to further the nation’s political, economic and security objectives;

· In cooperation with the Indian Coast Guard, ensure good order and stability in India’s maritime zones of responsibility.

· Provide maritime assistance (including disaster relief) in India’s maritime neighborhood.· To play a key role as part of ‘a pluralistic security order’ for a better world.

The Indian Navy is well known to provide emergency relief to the marooned due to natural cause or conflicts in and around the Indian Ocean.

Each of the three Naval Commands has an active Flag Officer Commanding in Chief. The commander of the Navy is the Chief of Naval staff (CNS).

The Indian Navy is divided into the following broad Categories:• Administration

• Logistics and Material

• Training

• The Fleets• The Naval Aviation

• The Submarine Arm

The Marine Commando Force (MCF) known as MARCOS is a Special Forces unit that was raised by the Indian Navy in 1987. Modeled after the US Navy SEAL and the Royal Marines it was created to handle reconnaissance, raids and counter-terrorism in a maritime environment. The Indian Navy conducts naval exercises with friendly navies strengthening bilateral relationships with other navies and nations.

Some such exercises take place annually like the Exercise VARUNA with the French Navy, KONKAN with the British Royal Navy, INDRA with Russian Navy, MALABAR with the U.S. Navy, and SIMBEX with Republic of Singapore Navy. The Indian Navy also conducted exercise with the Chinese PLAN in 2003 and with various other navies.India conducted TROPEX (Theatre-level Readiness Operational Exercises) 2007 in which, the new doctrine of influencing the land and air battle in support of Indian Army and the Indian Air Force was validated . Indian Navy conducted naval exercise with JMSDF and U.S Navy in the Pacific and also exercised with Chinese Navy.

The Indian Navy regularly conducts adventure expeditions, the most remarkable among the various adventures being the sailing ship and training vessel INS Tarangini circumnavigating of all the different ports belonging to different countries this was done intending to foster good relations with various other nations, she returned to India after visiting 36 ports in 18 nations. This helps to bridge gaps between nations and develop strong political and military relations.

The men in white are the ones responsible to safeguard coastal boundaries around India and are the very reason we sleep peacefully. Their never ending determination will always ensure a safe and bright future for India. No wonder there are a million Indians waiting to join the Indian Navy.

Indian army

Indian armed forces are divided into three parts – Indian army, Indian Airforce and the Indian Navy. Indian army is the land-based unit, while Indian Airforce deals in air defence and Indian Navy is the naval unit. Our Indian army is the second largest in the world with about 1.23 million personnel on active rolls and another 9.6 lakhs in reserves.

Indian army is mainly responsible to protect the country against land based attacks. It also lends a helping hand to other agencies in dealing with terrorism, tackling emergency situations in the country and also rescuing people in case of natural calamities like flood, earthquake etc.

The current chief of army staff (COAS) is General Bipin Rawat (as of 2018). As Indian army is very huge, it is divided into regiments. Some important regiments are Punjab regiment, Madras regiment, Rajputana rifles, Sikh regiment etc. It also has its own intelligence unit, known as “Military Intelligence” or “MI” in short.

Indian army before independence (under British rule) had participated in World War I and II. After independence it has also fought many full-fledged wars like the Kargil war (1999), Bangladesh liberation war (1971), India -Pakistan war (1965), India-China war (1962) and first Kashmir war (1947). Besides these, Indian army has also handled some smaller conflicts like Siachen conflict (1984), Operation Polo (1948), India-China conflict (1967) etc.

There is no doubt that our Indian army is one of the best armies in the world.

Death of Cinema Halls to Birth of Over The Top Platforms

The world has just started recovering from the deadly Covid-19 virus, even though it is a thing to be happy about, there are still sectors that are trying to rise including the entertainment industry (movie productions, theaters, film cities) from the hard hit by the pandemic.

What happened to the Cinema theaters of India?


India cinemas, with 6780 single screens and 2,100 multiplexes, is going through dark months amid the Covid-19 pandemic. This pandemic has resulted in the death of more than 40% of the single screens across the nation. Even though, the theaters nation-wide have implemented rules and regulations to minimize the danger by separated seats with 50% occupancy and encouraging digital payments. It would not be right to mention that the theater halls are full, as there are still large groups of people in the country who are hesitant to step inside cinema halls. Contrast to this, cinema lovers feel heartbroken to stare at empty cinema halls. It is predicted by many that most of the theater halls wouldn’t be able to survive the pandemic, in other words, many theaters will go missing when the pandemic comes to an end. This great fall of theaters has led many stars of the cinema industry to go for OTT release of their movies.

A cinema hall being sanitized


Rise of OTT Platforms in India


The fall of movie theater industry has led to the tremendous growth of Over The Top platforms in India. The situation has not only made top actors run behind OTT platforms but has also made cinema lovers to subscribe to OTT platforms craving for new releases. Hence making the whole movie watching experience easier and more comfortable. Just a click, would start a movie. Letting the audience themselves set the ambience for the movie watching experience at home. OTT platforms let the audience to control the volume and go back and forth in the movie, which makes the movie-watching experience being more ‘customized’. The year 2020 has seen a growth of OTT platforms by 60% followed by 20% growth in the first 4 months of 2021.In the year2020, the revenue from subscriptions for OTT platforms in India stands at 19 billion INR. “We are stuck” says Ekta Kapoor, a famous producer from the North Indian Television Industry. Producers have got no choice other than opting for an OTT release rather than releasing their movies in a half-filled screen. The business is favorable for the producer when the movie is streamed on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video or Hotstar, as the money is made with no prolonged worries. Although, top stars of the film industry are against the idea of streaming their movies on OTT Platforms they have to do it for the sake of the producer who invested crores on the project.

Major Over The Top Platforms of India


Amazon Firestick


Amazon Firestick, also known as Amazon Fire TV, is a famous Indian micro-console developed by Amazon. It is an USB-like device used to stream videos and movies via internet, connected to the HD television. The firestick includes a remote to access. With more than 50 million users currently, it was released in India on April 19, 2017. It was introduced with 1080p and 4k picture quality along with Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 Surround Sound System.
Amazon firestick created huge waves in the OTT industry by making users get access to watch their favorite movies more comfortably. The major perk of this gadget is that it is an user-friendly device which means, it can be understood and used easily by any age group. This feature made Firestick make millions in the market. As more than 70% of the elders in the country spend most of their time on watching television shows, producing a user-friendly gadget like Firestick will tempt the costumers to buy the product as easier accessibility is the important feature most of the people look forward to. Amazon firestick includes YouTube, which covers the kids and teenagers. India is currently emerging as the fastest growing market for Amazon’s firestick. As most of the content on the platforms are in Hindi and other local languages like Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada there is a stronger engagement in India than other countries. Now the next big step from the company is that Amazon Fire TV is looking forward to collaborate with local companies to have the system pre-built into televisions. This would let the audience to watch their favorite local channel shows on smart TV.

Amazon FireStick

A Discussion About Our Mobile Phones

A mobile phone, also known as a cell phone, is something that all of us are familiar with and own. When the mobile phone was initially introduced, it was used primarily for phone calls and messaging. Today, phones have a computing speed greater than even some larger technological devices like a computer or television, and are so technologically advanced that we do not have to bother with most physical actions that take up time and effort. All of it can be done through the phone and the internet available on it, whether it be banking, paying bills, ordering something, etc. Furthermore, we can stay connected through phones with friends and family on the other side of the globe, through means such as video calling and multimedia messaging. A world of social media has opened through the phone that helps us connect with people all over the planet. However, like every other device, the mobile phone also has its own disadvantages.

The Good and the Bad

Possibly the biggest advantage of the mobile phone is that it has helped us stay connected to the people in our lives. This has occurred not only in the form of voice calling, but now also through video calling and social media contacts. It makes day-to-day life so easy and efficient, and has a range of tools that are accessible to us. For example, we can check the weather, the route to our destination, and use a calculator; all on our phones. Furthermore, it is perhaps the biggest source of entertainment in today’s day and age, with a multitude of games and mass media all available on it. Apart from these, the access of internet through our phones has meant that we can perform all our functions and meet all our life’s requirements through this simple device. It acts as a source of a large amount of information about the world, access to things like YouTube and Twitter, and allows to conduct monetary transactions all through the touch of a finger. In this sense, it is an amazing multipurpose, all-in-one device which is a necessary in our lives.

However, the mobile phone can also be the source of distress and disadvantage in one’s life. People are prone to addiction to their mobile phones, and end up using them for hours on end. This means that there is a lack of real-life communication and interaction, as people get sucked into the online world of their phones. Perhaps the most pressing concern today, especially among teenagers, is social media addiction. People get addicted to social media which has wide-ranging effects on their personal health, both mental and physical. Mobile phones also may cause health hazards, as they emit blue light and radiation which can damage brain cells. Furthermore, the mobile phone has also been the primary cause for lack of privacy in today’s world, as all our personal information is available for everyone to see. It is easy to get pulled into the world inside our phones and waste countless hours of our time on it. The phones almost become our lives, and this means that losing our phones is almost equal to losing our lives.

Conclusion

The mobile phone is a fantastic and necessary invention, but we must keep in mind that it comes with its own curses. How the mobile phone affects our lives depends on how much importance we give to it and how much we use it. It is all about finding a middle-ground in such a case, where you are not addicted or living in in your phone, but also not completely neglecting it and how it can enrich your life and make it more convenient. Regardless of its shortcomings, it is impressive to see how far our society has come through the invention of the mobile phone. Now we have everything within the reach of our hands, and the mobile phone has brought about a revolution in the lives of people in this century.

Future of Indian agriculture

Agriculture in India is livelihood for a majority of the population and can never be underestimated.
Although its contribution in the gross domestic product (GDP) has reduced to less than 20 per cent and contribution of other sectors increased at a faster rate, agricultural production has grown. This has made us self-sufficient and taken us from being a begging bowl for food after independence to a net exporter of agriculture and allied products.

Total foodgrain production in the country is estimated to be a record 291.95 million tonnes, according to the second advance estimates for 2019-20. This is news to be happy about but as per the estimates of Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), demand for foodgrain would increase to 345 million tonnes by 2030.

Increasing population, increasing average income and globalisation effects in India will increase demand for quantity, quality and nutritious food, and variety of food. Therefore, pressure on decreasing available cultivable land to produce more quantity, variety and quality of food will keep on increasing.

India is blessed with large arable land with 15 agro-climatic zones as defined by ICAR, having almost all types of weather conditions, soil types and capable of growing a variety of crops. India is the top producer of milk, spices, pulses, tea, cashew and jute, and the second-largest producer of rice, wheat, oilseeds, fruits and vegetables, sugarcane and cotton.

In spite of all these facts, the average productivity of many crops in India is quite low. The country’s population in the next decade is expected to become the largest in the world and providing food for them will be a very prime issue. Farmers are still not able to earn respectable earnings.

Even after over seven decades of planning since the independence, majority of the farmers are still facing problems of poor production and/or poor returns. Major constraints in Indian agriculture are:

According to 2010-11 Agriculture Census, the total number of operational holdings was 138.35 million with average size of 1.15 hectares (ha). Of the total holdings, 85 per cent are in marginal and small farm categories of less than 2 ha (GOI, 2014).
Farming for subsistence which makes scale of economy in question with majority of small holdings.
Low-access of credit and prominent role of unorganised creditors affecting decisions of farmers in purchasing of inputs and selling of outputs
Less use of technology, mechanisation and poor productivity for which first two points are of major concern
Very less value addition as compared to developed countries and negligible primary-level processing at farmers level.
Poor infrastructure for farming making more dependence on weather, marketing and supply chain suitable for high value crops.
Future of agriculture is a very important question for the planners and all other stakeholders. Government and other organisations are trying to address the key challenges of agriculture in India, including small holdings of farmers, primary and secondary processing, supply chain, infrastructure supporting the efficient use of resources and marketing, reducing intermediaries in the market. There is a need for work on cost-effective technologies with environmental protection and on conserving our natural resources.

The reforms towards privatisation, liberalisation and globalisation affected inputs market at a faster pace. Agricultural marketing reforms after 2003 made changes in marketing of agricultural outputs by permitting private investment in developing markets, contract farming and futures trading, etc. These amendments in marketing acts have brought about some changes but the rate is less.

Along with this, the information technology revolution in India, new technologies in agriculture, private investments especially on research and development, government efforts to rejuvenate the cooperative movement to address the problems of small holdings and small produce etc are changing face of agriculture in India.

Many startups in agriculture by highly educated young ones show that they are able to understand the high potential of putting money and efforts in this sector. Cumulative effects of technology over the next decade will change the face of agriculture.

All the constraints in agriculture make the productivity and returns complex but still a high untapped potential is there in India’s agriculture sector.

Advantageous weather and soil conditions, high demand for food, untapped opportunities, various fiscal incentives given by the government for inputs, production infrastructure, availability of cheap credit facilities and for marketing and export promotion are attracting many individuals, big companies, startups and entrepreneurial ventures to do a lot of investments on innovations, inventions, research and development and on other aspects of business.

The efforts are being done to convert all the challenges in agriculture into opportunities and this process is the future of agriculture.

Key trends expected

1. Changing demand due to increase in incomes, globalisation and health consciousness is affecting and going to affect more the production in future. Demand for fruits and vegetables, dairy products, fish and meat is going to increase in future.

2. Researches, technology improvements, protected cultivation of high value greens and other vegetables will be more. There will be more demand of processed and affordable quality products.

3. More competition will be there among private companies giving innovative products, better seeds, fertilisers, plant protection chemicals, customised farm machinery and feed for animals etc in cost effective ways at competitive prices giving more returns on investment by farmers. Use of biotechnology and breeding will be very important in developing eco-friendly and disease resistant, climate resilient, more nutritious and tastier crop varieties.

4. Some technologies will be frequently and widely used in future and some will become common in a short time while some will take time to mature. For producing the same products in other way so as to use resources judiciously and using new resources also like hydroponics, use of plastics and bio-plastics in production. There will be more of vertical and urban farming and there will also be efforts in long term to find new areas for production like barren deserts and seawater.

5. Precision farming with soil testing-based decisions, automation using artificial intelligence will be focused for precise application inputs in agriculture. Sensors and drones will be used for precision, quality, environment in cost effective manner.

Small and marginal farmers will also be using these technologies with the help of private players, government or farmer producer organisations (FPO). Use of GPS technology, drones, robots etc controlled by smart phones etc can make life of farmers easy and exciting with good results. These advanced devices will make agriculture be more profitable, easy and environmentally friendly.

6. Use nano-technology for enhancement of food quality and safety, efficient use of inputs will be in near future. Nano-materials in agriculture will reduce the wastage in use of chemicals, minimise nutrient losses in fertilisation and will be used to increase yield through pest and nutrient management. IFFCO has already done successful tests in nano-fertilisers.

7. India has improved remarkably in its digital connectivity and market access has become very easy. The number of internet users is projected to reach 666.4 million in 2025. Farmers will be behaving more smartly with mobiles in hands and would be able to be more aware and connected with different stake holders. Government will be making wide use of digital technology for generating awareness among farmers, information sharing, government schemes using digital technology for direct transfers of money.

8. There will certainly be more work by government, village communities, agri startups and private players in conserving sharply depleting water resource. Use of digital technology can make revolution in this direction. There will be use of satellites, IoT, drones for better collection of data regarding soil health, crop area and yield which will make cost for insurers less with better estimations and system will be more exact and effective.

9. There will be more of niche marketers in operations, area, and crop specific small equipments which will make operations even at small farms easier and efficient.
Food wastage will be less and better use of waste materials in agriculture will be more. Number of warehouses in private sector will be more and linkages between government and private warehouses will be increasing. This will help in balancing supply with demand and stabilisation of prices of agri-outputs in the market.

10. Retailing in agriculture will largely be digitalised. A study estimates that over 90 per cent of kirana stores across the country will be digitalised by 2025 with modern traceable logistics and transparent supply chain. Many players have already taking kiranastores to the door steps of consumers like Amazon and Jio Mart.

Question arises whether farmers will be able to make use of modern technologies in a country where education, holding size, infrastructure, low level of technology adoption and many other constraints are there.

HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT THAT A MOVIE CAN ALSO TEACH A LEADERSHIP LESSON? HERE IS ONE

Breif About Movie

Lakshya is a patriotic movie launched in 2004. The movie showcase how an aimless person who under the influence of his friend joined Army Academy. He ran away due to the frequent punishments he received there but returned with an aim of joining army. Due to his efforts in the Academy he joined the army where he led a team of 12 army officers and soldiers to a successful clash to defeat the Infiltrators and re acquire the territory occupied by them.

Goal Orientation

“Lakshya” as the name of the movie suggests the movie revolves around the value of having a goal in the life. Whether it be an individual, group, organisation all requires an aim to work upon. The protagonist of this film (Karan) was a lazy and aimless young man who has no goals for his future. He joined a Military Academy under the influence of his friend and as a result he ran away from the academy due to the punishments he had to face due to his undisciplined and lazy attitude. But after he firmly decided to join the army  he returns, takes his punishment, becomes a disciplined and focused officer cadet and eventually commissions into the Army. 

Believe in Yourself

To achieve a goal a person, need to have faith in himself/herself that  he/she can achieve the goal and is ready to face all the challenges and hurdles that act as a barrier in the same. The person should follow the policy that “ I can, and I will.”

When a person builds a believe in himself/herself then this believe acts as a self motivation which plays a crucial role in achieving the individual goals and the goals of the organisation with whom he/she is associated.

 In the movie the proctor along with other team members were able to climb a 1000-foot-high rock cliff of the mountain because of the determination and the self believe they proved that nothing is impossible.

The Belief Wheel – IABC Central Oklahoma

Team Spirit

A single person can’t achieve an organisational goal on his own. He requires the support , unity and co-ordination of all his team members whether it be his senior or sub-ordinates. All the efforts are worthless if the aim is not achieved. A single person can never be expert in all the fields and requires the knowledge and experience of other members to achieve the goal. This team spirit helps to raise new and innovative ideas to make the path of achieving goal effective and efficient. It also helps to improve the interpersonal relationships between the employees of an organisation which is crucial for best output from an employee.

Henri Fayol in one of his Principles Of Management i.e. in the Principle of “Esprit De Corps” defines  that an organization must make every effort to maintain group cohesion i.e. a feeling of unity in the organization. He adds that a conflict in the team member and division of team due to conflict is a serious issue and needs to be resolved at priority to achieve the objective of an organization. 

In the movie a team of 12 army officers and soldiers had a faith in each other and had a feeling of unity which helped them to defeat the infiltrators

Daily Yoga

Yoga is an art that connects our body, mind and soul together and makes us strong and peaceful. Yoga is essential because it keeps us fit, helps in reducing stress and maintains overall health and a healthy mind can help in concentrating well.

Yoga is important because by practicing yoga, you can gain benefits at the following points:
Internal peace – Yoga helps in achieving inner peace and fighting against stress and other problems. Yoga enhances the level of peace in one person and helps to increase his self-confidence and make him happy.

Health – A healthy person can work more than an unhealthy person. Life is very tense nowadays and there is a lot of pollution around us. This is the reason for many health problems. Just 10-20 minutes of yoga can help your health to be good every day. Better health means better life.

Activism – People now feel lazy, tired or sleepy due to which they lose most of their life in fun and are not able to fulfill their work correctly. Being actively, you are more aware of things happening around you and can accomplish your work more efficiently and quickly. One way to do all this is to practice yoga on a regular basis.

Flexibility – People are suffering from various types of pain nowadays. They face difficulties during touching the toes or bending downwards. Regular practice of yoga helps relieve all these types of pain. By doing yoga, the effects of these things can be seen in a few days.

Increase blood flow – Yoga helps make your heart healthy and it works more efficiently by increasing blood flow in your body and veins. It helps keep your body oxygen rich.

Focusing power – Yoga helps calm and relax your body which means stress is low and you can concentrate on your work. This is the reason that children and teenagers are encouraged to do yoga as it helps in better concentration in their studies.

Conclusion

Thus, it can be said that yoga is a miracle and if it is done then it will guide you throughout your life. 20-30 minutes per day Yoga can change your life forever by promoting the balance between your physical, mental and spiritual health.

Time and tide wait for none

Time, is the only factor which is limited in life. Everything else you might stretch, elongate, increase since your birth but time is the only constraining factor which is extremely limited. There are only 24 hours in a day but how you spend the best part of those 24 hours is what shall determine your success or failure in life.

Have you ever stopped at a sea-shore and watched the ebb and flow of the tides of the sea? No matter, how much you want to hold it in the cusp of your hand, it shall flow back and the next tide shall return. Similarly, it is with time. The passage of time shall go on at its own pace, no matter how sad, miserable or happy and delighted you be. It is another matter altogether that moment of grief seems so prolonged and moments of ecstasy seem so transient.The essence of the proverb is then to make best use of the allotted time in creative and positive pursuits rather than in negative and time-wasting pursuits. Time once lost can never be regained. So if in the age- appropriate situation, you do not make favorable use of time, you shall have to remain in regret for the rest of your lifetime. A student who shields away his school years in idle pursuits shall always feel the pinch of lack of education, no matter how high he reaches or how far he travels. If you do not spend hours of warmth and comfort in the company of loved ones, you will always feel the pinch of it once you lose your parents or your children grow up or the love of your life walks away.

Remember that all great people who have registered their names in history or made life-changing contribution to the annals of human history also had access to same 24 hours in a day. It is the manner in which they utilised their 24 hours which made each hour of the day count. We can either while our time in idle, mindless pursuits or browsing through inane social networking sites, or indulging in gossip and back-biting or spend hours complaining or bribing about the state of our life, society, country or world or step up our game, rise up to the occasion and do something positive about it to wield constructive changes.

Whether be it learning new things, paying more attention to our physical fitness, connecting with our friends and family, putting in more productive hours at work, let us make each and every moment count in our life so that at the end of the day, we can go to sleep at peace knowing that the day has been well-spent.

Grab every opportunity that comes in your way, lead every day as the last day of your life and wake up every day as if it is the first day of your life. There can be no greater mantra for success.

Alpha Centauri, Star System Closest To Our Sun

Star Alpha Centauri very bright against a backdrop of extremely dense field of fainter stars and dust clouds.
Alpha Centauri is the third-brightest star in our night sky – a famous southern star – and the nearest star system to our sun. Through a small telescope, the single star we see as Alpha Centauri resolves into a double star. This pair is just 4.37 light-years away from us. In orbit around them is Proxima Centauri, too faint to be visible to the unaided eye. At a distance of 4.25 light years, Proxima is the closest-known star to our solar system.
Science of the Alpha Centauri system. The two stars that make up Alpha Centauri, Rigil Kentaurus and Toliman, are quite similar to our sun. Rigil Kentaurus, also known as Alpha Centauri A, is a yellowish star, slightly more massive than the sun and about 1.5 times brighter. Toliman, or Alpha Centauri B, has an orangish hue; it’s a bit less massive and half as bright as the sun. Studies of their mass and spectroscopic features indicate that both these stars are about 5 to 6 billion years old, slightly older than our sun.

Alpha Centauri A and B are gravitationally bound together, orbiting about a common center of mass every 79.9 years at a relatively close proximity, between 40 to 47 astronomical units (that is, 40 to 47 times the distance between the Earth and our sun).Must Watch Sky Events in 2021

In comparison, Proxima Centauri is a bit of an outlier. This dim reddish star, weighing in at just 12 percent of the sun’s mass, is currently about 13,000 astronomical units from Alpha Centauri A and B. Recent analysis of ground- and space-based data, published in 2017, has shown that Proxima is gravitationally bound to its bright companions, with a 550,000-year-long orbital period.

Proxima Centauri belongs to a class of low mass stars with cooler surface temperatures, known as red dwarfs. It’s also what’s know as a flare star, where it randomly displays sudden bursts of brightness due to strong magnetic activity.

In the past decade, astronomers have been searching for planets around the Alpha Centauri stars; they are, after all, the closest stars to us so the odds of detecting planets, if any existed, would be higher. So far, two planets have been found orbiting Proxima Centauri, one in 2016 and another in 2019. A paper published in February 2021 reported tantalizing evidence of a Neptune-sized planet around Alpha Centauri A, but so far, it has not been definitively confirmed.

Large-appearing bright star with 4 lens-effect bright spikes coming out from it.
Extremely dense star field with 2 brights stars and a small red circle around a much smaller one.

How to see Alpha Centauri. Unluckily for many of us in the Northern Hemisphere, Alpha Centauri is located too far to the south on the sky’s dome. Most North Americans never see it; the cut-off latitude is about 29° north, and anyone north of that is out of luck. In the U.S. that latitudinal line passes near Houston and Orlando, but even from the Florida Keys, the star never rises more than a few degrees above the southern horizon. Things are a little better in Hawaii and Puerto Rico, where it can get 10° or 11° high.

But for observers located far enough south in the Northern Hemisphere, Alpha Centauri may be visible at roughly 1 a.m. (local daylight saving time) in early May. That is when the star is highest above the southern horizon. By early July, it reaches its highest point to the south at nightfall. Even so, from these vantage points, there are no good pointer stars to Alpha Centauri. For those south of 29° N. latitude, when the bright star Arcturus is high overhead, look to the extreme south for a glimpse of Alpha Centauri.

Star chart with stars in black on white, of Centaurus with Southern Cross constellation.
The southern constellation Centaurus. Image via Wikimedia/ International Astronomical Union/ SkyandTelescope.com.

Observers in the tropical and subtropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere can find Alpha Centauri by first identifying the distinctive Southern Cross. A short line drawn through the crossbar (Delta and Beta Crucis) eastward first comes to Hadar (Beta Centauri), then Alpha Centauri. Meanwhile, in Australia and much of the Southern Hemisphere, Alpha Centauri is circumpolar, meaning that it never sets.

A telescope dome at in the foreground with Milky Way and bright stars in the sky.
In this image taken at the European Southern Observatory’s La Silla Observatory in Chile, the Southern Cross is clearly visible, with the yellowish star, closest to the dome, marking the top of the cross. Drawing a line downward through the crossbar stars takes you to the bluish star, Beta Centauri, and then to the yellowish Alpha Centauri. Image via ESO / Wikimedia Commons.

Alpha Centauri in mythology. Alpha Centauri has played a prominent role in the mythology of cultures across the Southern Hemisphere. For the Ngarrindjeri indigenous people of South Australia, Alpha and Beta Centauri were two sharks pursuing a sting ray represented by stars of the Southern Cross. Some Australian aboriginal cultures also associated stars with family relationships and marriage traditions; for instance, two stars of the Southern Cross were through to be the parents of Alpha Centauri.

Astronomy and navigation were deeply intertwined in the lives of ancient seafaring Polynesians as they sailed between islands in the vast expanse of the South Pacific. These ancient mariners navigated using the stars, with cues from nature such as bird movements, waves, and wind direction. Alpha Centauri and nearby Beta Centauri, known as Kamailehope and Kamailemua, respectively, were important signposts used for orientation in the open ocean.

For ancient Incas, a llama graced the sky, traced out by stars and dark dust lanes in the Milky Way from Scorpius to the Southern Cross, with Alpha Centauri and Beta Centauri representing its eyes.

Dark-on-light shepherd, mother llama with baby, partridge, toad, and snake.
A plaque at the Coricancha museum showing Inca constellations. Coricancha, located in Cusco, Peru, was perhaps the most important temple of the Inca empire. Image via Pi3.124 / Wikimedia Commons.

Ancient Egyptians revered Alpha Centauri, and may have built temples aligned to its rising point. In southern China, it was part of a star group known as the South Gate.

Alpha Centauri is the brightest star in the constellation Centaurus, named after the mythical half human, half horse creature. It was thought to represent an uncharacteristically wise centaur that figured in the mythology of Heracles and Jason. The centaur was accidentally wounded by Heracles, and placed into the sky after death by Zeus. Alpha Centauri marked the right front hoof of the centaur, although little is known of its mythological significance, if any.

Antique etching of half-man-half-horse in field of stars in black on white.
A depiction of the Centaur by Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius in his atlas of constellations, Firmamentum Sobiescianum, sive Uranographia. Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Alpha Centauri’s position is RA: 14h 39m 36s, Dec: -60° 50′ 02″

Bottom line: Alpha Centauri is actually two binary stars that are quite similar to our sun. A third star that’s gravitationally bound to them is Proxima Centauri, the closest star to our sun.

Html

HTML is the language in which most websites are written. HTML is used to create pages and make them functional.

The code used to make them visually appealing is known as CSS and we shall focus on this in a later tutorial. For now, we will focus on teaching you how to build rather than design.

What are Tags and Attributes?
Tags and attributes are the basis of HTML.

They work together but perform different functions – it is worth investing 2 minutes in differentiating the two.

What Are HTML Tags?
Tags are used to mark up the start of an HTML element and they are usually enclosed in angle brackets. An example of a tag is:

. Most tags must be opened

and closed

in order to function.

What are HTML Attributes?
Attributes contain additional pieces of information. Attributes take the form of an opening tag and additional info is placed inside.

An example of an attribute is:

A photo of my dog.

Golden Rules To Remember
The vast majority of tags must be opened () and closed () with the element information such as a title or text resting between the tags.
When using multiple tags, the tags must be closed in the order in which they were opened. For example:

This is really important!
HTML Editors
Now that we’ve gotten the basic theory out of the way. It’s time to learn how to build our first website.

First off, we must ensure that we have the right tools. Most important, we need an HTML editor.

There are many choices on the market. Here are a handful of the most popular:

Sublime Text 3
However, for this tutorial, we will use the Sublime Text 3 as it is free and also offers cross-platform support for Windows, Mac, and Linux users.

Sublime Text 3
Sublime Text 3 has a mini-preview window on the right.
Pros
Easily customizable
Beginner-friendly
Pleasant color schemes to choose from.
Cons
Can’t print documents or code
No toolbar or dashboard available.
Notepad ++
Another common choice for HTML and other language coders is Notepad ++. It is a tiny program to download and perform the functions you need for writing clean code.

HTML Notepad ++
This is Notepad ++. Far from glamorous but does the job.
Pros
Distraction-free interface
Auto-completion feature
Plugin options for extended functionalities.
Cons
Can be difficult to get used to for beginners
No support for Mac.

Read more: https://html.com/#ixzz70EBqcvpq

Basic Construction of an HTML Page
These tags should be placed underneath each other at the top of every HTML page that you create.

— This tag specifies the language you will write on the page. In this case, the language is HTML 5.

— This tag signals that from here on we are going to write in HTML code.

— This is where all the metadata for the page goes — stuff mostly meant for search engines and other computer programs.

— This is where the content of the page goes.

HTML Structure
This is how your average HTML page is structured visually.
Further Tags
Inside the tag, there is one tag that is always included: , but there are others that are just as important:</p> <p><title><br /> This is where we insert the page name as it will appear at the top of the browser window or tab.<br /> <meta><br /> This is where information about the document is stored: character encoding, name (page context), description.<br /> Let’s try out a basic <head> section:</p> <p><head><br /> <title>My First Webpage

.


Adding Content
Next, we will make tag.

The HTML is where we add the content which is designed for viewing by human eyes.

This includes text, images, tables, forms and everything else that we see on the internet each day.

How to Add HTML Headings To Your Web Page
In HTML, headings are written in the following elements:

Read more: https://html.com/#ixzz70EC2YJuH

SELF DIAGNOSIS : MENTAL HEALTH EDITION

WHAT IS SELF DIAGNOSIS?

Self-diagnosis is the process of diagnosing or identifying, medical conditions in oneself.

OTHER WAYS TO GET IT DONE

It can be done by using study materials such as medical dictionaries, books, and resources on the internet. Not only that but if you have had a past mental health experience then you can figure out if you need a diagnosis or not. Due to your past experience you might be able to help yourself the next time. Another way could be that if someone around you had issues with mental health before you, then you can work on yourself after noticing the symptoms and measures they had and how they dealt with it.

CHALLENGES

One of the main challenges will be Misdiagnosis. It is defines as an incorrect diagnosis of an illness or other problem.

REASONS AND CONSEQUENCES OF MISDIAGNOSIS

  • What might seem “normal” to you, might actually be something not normal.
  • And conversely, what might seem “not normal” to you, might actually be something normal.
  • You don’t know all the disorders that exist and the minute differences between them.
  • The symptoms might actually be that of a physical illness.
  • You may miss something entirely.
  • You might harm yourself if you start medications (allopathic or homeopathic) based on self-diagnosis.

WHY DO PEOPLE DO IT?

  • If there cant find proper resources.
  • If they are not able to access the resources, that could be because of un-supportive family, money issues, cultural beliefs, etc.
  • The research on psychiatric disorders is way too narrow.
  • The resources available and accessible can sometimes be dysfunctional too.
  • They might be in urgent need and want of help that they wouldn’t think of seeking help from someone else but end up doing it on their own.

WHAT DO WE LEARN AFTER THE SELF-DIAGNOSIS

After the self diagnosis we will be able to help ourselves in the future if we ever happened to face something similar. We can come up with support groups or even join one, that will help us maintain our mental health and help us in dealing with post mental health mindset. It is also learnt that after learning thoroughly about self-diagnosis we will be able to understand ourselves and even others who are going through something similar. You will see those changes in yourself and act accordingly to the situations around you.

If you are consider Self-Diagnosis, make sure you are thoroughly educated about it and work efficiently.

Article by : Haniah Mirza

Most Controversial Figure : Vinayak Damodar Savarkar

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar commonly known as Swatanryaveer or simply Veer Savarkar was born on 28 May, 1883 and died on 26th February 1966. He was an Indian independence activist, historian , poet, novelist , politician who formed the Hindu Nationalist philosophy of Hindutva. He was a leading personality in Hindu Mahasabha

Vinayak Savarkar is highly controversial figure in India because of his mercy petition he wrote to British Government when he was imprisoned in Andaman and Nicobar. But what many fails to understand is the mentality behind the mercy petition. Prisoners in Kaala Paani ( Andaman and Nicobar) were treated horribly and brutally. They were tortured to death . They were neither given good food nor good living condition. To save himself from such inhumane torture Vinayak Savarkar appealed for mercy. He was barrister and he knew his rights well. He knew sitting inside jail he will not be able to serve his country and so tried to get out by writing mercy petition.

But before judging and throwing him into the light of black or white , it is important to know why some hate him and others remark him as a patriot

Why he is loved :

1) He went to Gray’s Inn Law college in London and stayed at famous India House. At that time , India House was a hub of student politics . Savarkar founded the Free India Society to mobilise youth against the colonial rule in India

2) He burnt all foreign goods and propagated the idea of ‘Swadeshi’

3) He plotted armed revolt against the Morley- Minto reform but was arrested for it

4) He established a temple called ‘ Patit Pawan Mandir’ in Maharashtra , where people from every caste were welcomed

5) His book ‘The Indian war of Indian Independence 1857’ inspired many freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh , Chandra Shekhar Azad , Subash Chandra Bose .

6) Savarkar was one of the first writers to call for India’s first war for Independence against British. He asked for poorna swaraj ( Total independence) when people were settling for less

7) After his release from jail , he worked on the abolishment of untouchability in Ratnagiri

8) He wrote mercy petitions not only for himself but for other prisoners too.

Why He is Hated:

1) When Savarkar was 12 years old , he lead a march with his schoolmates to vandalise a mosque in order to take revenge against atrocities committed against Hindus by Muslims.

2) He was fierce critic of Indian National Congress and Mahatma Gandhi.

3) He opposed the ‘Quit India Movement and later objected to INC’s acceptance to the Indian partition

4) For his mercy petition written to British Government.

Over the years many facts have beem destroyed and twisted, so no one can ever say if Vinayak was a hero or villain. It is well known fact that there is no person with zero flaws. There is some good in evil and some evil in good.

MOTHER TERESA- THE INSPIRATIONAL WOMAN WE KNOW TODAY

Mother Teresa- the famous founder of order of the missionaries of charity devoted her life helping the poor and the needy people. It is quite inspirational to know how this little girl who lost her father at a very young age, grew to become such a powerful and influential woman known across the world.

  • Mother Teresa at the home for the Dying, Mother Teresa’s Missions of Charity, Calcutta, India, 1980

‘Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu’ was born with the name ‘Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu’ on August 26,1910 in Skopje Yugoslavia to Nicola and Johanna Bojaxhiu. She was baptized(given a nickname) a day after her birth. Teresa later considered August 27, the she was baptized as her true birthday. She would later adopt the name Mother Teresa where she was honored as Saint Teresa of Calcutta in the Roman Catholic Church. Her father Nicola was a politician and also a successful construction business worker. He was able to cater for his family with all the necessities and hence Teresa did not lack anything as a child. However nothing much was known about her early childhood experience. Teresa was the youngest of her parents three children. Her family was rich enough and was able to conveniently afford to have two houses. When Teresa was about eight years old, she lost her father. Her father’s sudden death left the family in slight financial straits. However, Teresa’s mother started a textile business which helped her to properly take care of the family. All through her childhood Teresa was influenced by her family to get involved with the Church. It was reported that Teresa completed both her elementary and high school education in Church Schools, though some believed she went to a state-run secondary school. She was an active member of the choir, literacy session and the drama session.

Teresa generally loved reading, especially articles about missionary service and life in India. This later influenced her decision to become a missionary nun. Teresa was then encouraged by her mother to help those in need and care about her religion. Teresa’s mother offered clothes, food and other necessary items to the needy people at the church. Such were her contributions that eventually people would say this about Teresa’s family- “Bojaxhiu family had long been known in Skopje for their generosity towards the town’s poor and downtrodden”. When Teresa was 12 years old during one of the annual pilgrimages to the Church of the Black Madonna in Legnica she first experienced a call to the religious life. By 1928, when Teresa was 18 years old, she was moved by a desire to become a missionary and so she joined the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary(sisters of Loreto) in Ireland where the name sister Mary Teresa was given to her. Later that year Teresa departed for India and arrived in Calcutta in January 1929. In 1931 she made her first Profession of Vows(promise made to God) and used to teach at St. Mary’s School for girls. She made her final Profession of Vows in May 1937 which supposedly made her the ‘spouse of Jesus’ for ‘all eternity’. Since then her public name changed from Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu to Mother Teresa. Teresa continued as a teacher at St. Mary’s School for girls and soon became the Principal of the school in 1944. Teresa was a woman of profound prayer and showed immense love for her students and religious sisters. Teresa spent 20 years in Loreto which was filled with intense happiness. She was noted for her courage, unselfishness, charity, hard work and natural talent for organizing.

The Man from Earth

Every culture has a form of immortality and its a concept used in almost every type of media, be it the villain’s motivation or the hero’s reward. Immortality comes in many forms and shapes like using an ancient artefact, using magic, using technology or even being a supernatural creature grants immortality in a fantasy setup. Rarely any depiction of immortality deals with the darker aspects like being detected and experimented, psychological impacts of possibly outliving everything and everyone you loved. Immortality can be as much of a curse as it would be a boon, imagine being alive more than a 1000 years from now and being the only one who cannot connect because you’ve held on the past for so long. Todays generation is a hectic and tired one, only some would dare to accept immortality.

The movie from 2007 follows Professor John Oldman who seems to have survived for almost 14000 years, the entire movie is set in and arounds Johns home and mostly contains intellectual dialogues between him and his friends. John is moving from his current location and is stopped by his friends for an impromptu Farwell party. His friends are his colleagues that are experts in their respective fields and play a crucial part in each story told by John. His friends notice some peculiar things in Johns belongings like what seems to be an original Van Gogh, a hunting bow, some historic texts and objects that could be dated back to the Magdalenian era.

Oldman reluctantly start telling his story to the others. He relocates every ten years to keep anyone from realizing that he doesn’t age. He begins by telling his friends of his origin and later life when he realised he doesn’t age, he started out as a caveman from the Magdalenian era. He later relates being a Sumerian then residing in Babylon before moving to the east to become a follower of Buddha. He then continues telling his story of apparently having sailed with Columbus and having befriended Van Gogh. All the while each of his friends questions his stories pertaining to their knowledge. John tries to leave religion out of their conversations but he has no option when asked about his beliefs, he reluctantly reveals that in trying to take buddha’s teaching to the west he inadvertently became the inspiration behind Jesus.

This revelation of John possibly being the story behind Jesus doesn’t sit right with one of the groups members who is a devout Christian, John decides to say his stories were a hoax and leave to diffuse the tension. Every member of the group has different reactions to Johns revelations, a few believe john and a few don’t. After everyone else leaves John talk to Sandy one of his colleagues who believe in the story, he tells her some of the aliases he used. Will Gruber a psychiatrist friend of John overhears the conversation and recognizes one of the pseudonyms he previously used. Will realises John had been telling the truth all along, he asks John a few questions that can only be answered by someone close to his family. John is revealed to be Wills father who left when Will was young, after the revelation Will suffers a heart attack and passes away in Johns arms.

In conclusion an amazing movie that makes you think about immortality as not just a boon. A must watch movie for a science fiction enthusiast that doesn’t mind watching a movie only for its plot. The entire movie take place in and around Johns house, has no special effects or action, the movie makes up for all of this with its intriguing plot. A sequel was released in 2018 which showed John getting older and feeling the effects of time.