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New Regulations for Gold

Gold is not just an asset in India it holds significance in our culture. Being the symbol of the Goddess Lakshmi and considered to be auspicious.

It is part of several cultural and social events of Indian society. Not just bought on special occasions or passed down from several generations, but it also holds the great economical point. Being one of the most trusted investment all over the world even the RBI of India holds 695 tonnes of gold within it as a reserve.
The government of India had mandatory hallmarking for gold in 256 districts and plan to implement it all over India in the future.
What is a Hallmark?
It is series of marks made on the metal to clarify the content of the noble metals like gold, silver, etc.
In other words,s it lends credibility to the purity of gold. The Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS), in India, is the accreditation agency that certifies and Hallmark gold jewelry and other precious metals.

Other key terms related to gold-
Carat– It indicates the percentage of purity of the metal. Eg 24 carat means gold contains 100 pct gold. But to lend it some strength metal is mixed. Hence gold is about 18 -22 K only.
Stamp of BIS and year of the mark-
It is a triangle mark assure of purity with the year of hallmarking of jewelry.
Jewelry Identification mark-
BSI mark also carries jewellery stamps to Indicate that jewelry is certified. Its certification is cheap at Rs 2 per gram of gold.

Currently, this regulation is only imposed on jewelers having a turnover of above 40 Lakh only.

The Noises of Modern World

 While everyone is concerned about environmental issues like air pollution and deforestation, there is another issue that has arised in our modern civilization- Noise Pollution. The sound of machines during construction and most importantly the honking in traffic are all contributors of noise pollution. These loud noises have become a part of our daily life. 

Noise pollution is an undesirable sound which generates discomfort to the ears and interferes with our peace of mind. The urban population is the most affected because vehicles contribute the most to noise pollution. WHO describes it as the most hazardous pollution after air and water, and has also listed some of its impacts on health. Not only humans, it also affects the wildlife of land as well as the water bodies. 


Impact on health

Noise pollution has many negative implications on our health. Exposure to noise pollution can cause psychiatric disorders,  anxiety, hypertension, stress, hormonal dysfunction, nausea, changes in mood and makes the person argumentative. Its effect on health also depends on the duration of exposure. 

Extremely disturbing sounds created by the machines disrupt the peace of mind of the person. It can also affect the ear and in adverse conditions may also lead to hearing impairment. In a few cases, exposure to noise can also lead to cardiovascular diseases. 

Sleep disturbance is a major problem associated with noise pollution. Chronic disturbance in sleep such as difficulty in sleeping, frequent awakening, waking up too early etc.can impact the overall well being of a person. 

Not only health, but also our social behaviour gets impacted by it. It can lead to negative social behaviour because noise builds stress and annoyance. It impacts and changes our everyday behavior and causes aggressiveness and unfriendly behaviour. 

Ways to reduce noise pollution

First step is to stop honking unnecessarily on the road. Most of the noise pollution is caused by honking in the traffic. Avoid playing Radio or Television at an extremely high volume as it can cause noise pollution inside the house as well as in the nearby areas. Try to use appliances with a low noise and turn it off when not in use. 

Planting trees can help to reduce noise because they act as a natural barrier to sound. Some trees have the quality of absorbing sound from the surrounding. A study by the US Department of Energy Study report states that trees can cut the noise levels by 50%. Not only noise, the trees can help to curb other forms of pollution also. 

In the wake of modernization, we have replaced the positive sound of birds and trees swaying in the breeze with a loud morning alarm and honking in the traffic. Some minor steps can help us to reduce the noise around us and restore peace of mind.


ADDICTION


ADDICTION

Addiction is one of the complex diseases which affects the brain. A person who is exposed to a huge amount of stress gets addicted to consuming substances or looks for the methods that gives him or her the required relief. It is the compulsion of the individual to engage in the specific activity. It leads to harmful sequences  individual’s health and affects his mental state. 

Addiction is said to be the chronic disease which affects the brain and people struggling from this are unable to control their actions and sensible decisions at last which becomes very dangerous to them.


SUBSTANCE RELATED ADDICTION

Tobacco, alcohol, Street drugs(illegally sold drugs that are taken for non-medicinal uses), Prescription drugs(medicinal drugs that are misused

BEHAIOR RELATED ADDICTION

Gambling, Eating, The Internet, Video Games, Work and Sex.


ALCOHOLISM

Alcoholism is also known as alcohol dependence. It is a dabbling addictive disorder.In most of the individuals, it starts with the social drinking which eventually leads to the heavier alcohol consumption. Ethyl Alcohol or ethanol is an intoxicating ingredient found in beer, wine and liquor. It is produced by the fermentation of yeast, sugar and starch. It is a depressant that affects the CNS.

SYMPTOMS

Drinking alone, not able to remember the time, hiding alcohol, need of large quantity of alcohol to feel the effect, nausea, swelling, shaking when not drinking.

EFFECTS

It leads to mental Illness, depression and suicidal thoughts. One of the main reason of alcohol is, it starts inflame the liver and leads to liver cirrhosis. Only a healthy liver is able to regenerate its own cells, the affected liver is unable to regenerate and it becomes damaged. It is able to replace its new cells.


SMOKING CIGARETTES

Nicotine is the one of the most frequently used addictive drugs and the leading disease which causes disability and death in India. 

EFFECTS ON LUNGS

Smoking causes destruction of small hairs present in the upper respiratory truck, which is the trachea. By destruction of this, chemical substances enter into the body, causing infection, cough and lung cancer. It also increases the risk of Crohn’s diseases and formation of gall diseases.

Other effects includes, blood vessel damage in the legs, eyes and loss of eyesight. Smoking causes cancer in the oral cavity, pharynx and bladder.

These are some of the harmful effects which affect the human body due to addiction. 


TREATMENT OF ADDICTION

It involves the management of alcoholism and drug abuse.The Government and Non-Government Organizations in our country which have rehabilitation centres to treat and counsel the drug addicts and alcoholics by means of medical and psychological approaches.

BIO GEO CHEMICAL CYCLE

 

 BIO GEO CHEMICAL CYCLE

We live in the environment where there are both biotic and abiotic components. Abiotic components are the air, water, light and temperature. Biotic is the living components which include human beings. This kind of ecological complex is called as the ecosystem. It deals with the relationships between the organisms and ecology. Thus, the interaction is both dependent on the ecology.


WATER CYCLE

Water is the important source of all living beings. Oceans are the biggest storehouses of water as they evaporate for the formation of clouds. The evaporation process is also due by rivers, lakes and ponds. Condensation is a process in which the watervapour converts to rain. Now the rain water flows and fills all the water resources. 

A huge amount of water is recycled directly without the involvement of biotic components. The sun’s heat and wind movement help to evaporate water from the exposed surface of the oceans. So, the rivers and lakes act as a reservoir here, which finally collects water to the oceans.


NITROGEN CYCLE

Living organism requires both proteins and nucleic acids for their survival. The atmosphere consists of 78 percent of ammonia and plants and animals can only use in the form of ammonia, nitrates or amino acids. This conversion is called the nitrogen cycle. 

The steps involve Nitrogen fixation, assimilation, Ammonification, Nitrification and Denitrification.

Nitrogen fixation is done by Nitrogen fixing bacteria and algae that converts ammonia into nitrates. Nitrogen Assimilation is done by Nitrates that are absorbed by plants are utilized for making organic matter such as proteins and nucleic acids. The process of urea, uric acid, which is released by amines and ammonia is released by the action of bacteria or fungi and it is called ammonification. Ammonia is then converted to nitrites, it is called as Nitrification and then denitrification occurs by reducing nitrate ions into gaseous nitrogen which returns to the atmosphere.


CARBON CYCLE

All living organisms are made up of carbon. The atmospheric carbon dioxide enters into the living world followed by photosynthesis and the carbon is passed. Carbon dioxide is returned back to the atmosphere through the decomposition of dead organic materials and volcanic activities.


OXYGEN CYCLE

Oxygen is important for respiration which contributes 20% of the air in the atmosphere. Enters into the living world through respiration and produces energy. 


Now-a-days we get climatic changes quickly due to the change in one of these cycles. Burning fossil fuels, using limestone for making concrete and more things. If any one of the cycle is disrupted it would be really difficult for the humans. It is purely our responsibility to save the nature!



HOW TO CELEBRATE EAH DAY?

 

CELEBRATE EACH DAY

The only way to celebrate each day is we need to live each day to the fullest. It shows the beauty of fleeting, changing and imperfect nature of the world. Instead of searching beauty in perfection, try to find beauty in yourselves. 

THIS MOMENT WON’T COME AGAIN. This is cent per cent true statement. Whether we like or not, agree or disagree some kinds of changes is going to happen around us and that is unstoppable. Talk with strangers, travel around the world, live the moment.

Here are some inspirational statement which can eventually change your mindset.

1. DON’T WORRY

The secret to live longer is not to get worried about things. Always keep your heart young. Don’t make it old. Open your heart with the nice smile. Smiling at opposite party makes them feel good on you. Everyone has a problem, the theme is how we are going to face it with plans. There is no way to stop it. Spending tie together with like minded people or with family and friends is the only thing which you can have fun.

2. CULTIVATE GOOD HABITS

Wakeup at six in the morning. Spend time in your garden, relax, keep your mind and heart stable by getting the fresh air. Avoiding screen on your mobile or lap screen for the first one hour of your day. The key to stay sharp in older age is your fingers. If your fingers are busy, you will live to see your one hundred.

Get some energy, have tea or coffee, stretch your arms, eat a bit and that is the secret of staying healthy in the morning times. Work a lot, If you don’t do that your body is not fit. 

So, celebrate your mornings with exercise and fun. If your mornings are good, your day will absolutely fit your schedule.

3. NUTURE YOUR FRIENDSHIPS

Getting together with friends makes your time stable with happiness. Make your hobby with friends and neighbors. Taking each day with people whom you love a lot make you feel blessed and that is the way of the happy life. Celebrate the things that are behind you.

Getting together with people, socializing yourself, making your time happily are some of the secrets of the longest life.

4. RELAX

Don’t live in a hurry life. RELAX yourself, you still have time to do great things. Nothing is too late. You always live longer when you are not in a hurry. Do many things with interest, learn something new this will make you to adapt the new environment. 

Make always busy with a thing which you thought to do, but don’t get stressed.

5. BE OPTIMISTIC

Every day is precious and powerful. Live it to the fullest. A laugh everyday, because laughter is the best medicine. An Interview was taken to the ninety eight years old man for what is his secret for living longer? He replied that he considers himself as young and the old man has much more things to do. How good is to hear such kind of answers from them. And why not we?

The most important thing is always to have a smile on your face. There is nothing more than to celebrate each day. This is a trick, just play it.

Role of IBC in the credit sector

 

                                                                (Photo: SignalX)
As per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India’s banking sector is sufficiently capitalized and well – regulated. Credit, market and liquidity risk studies suggest that Indian banks are generally resilient and have withstood the global downturn well. The Indian economy is a mixed economy. It is known to be the world’s sixth largest in terms of nominal GDP. The legal environment plays a vital role in the economic development of a country.

After GST, IBC is the second most crucial reform in the legal setting of India. It was implemented through an act of Parliament. The law was necessitated due to huge pile up of non-performing loans of banks and delay in debt resolution. Insolvency resolution in India took 4.3 years on an average against other countries such as U.K (1 year) and U.S.A (1.5 years), which is sought to be reduced besides facilitating the resolution of big-ticket loan accounts. Two years on the IBC has succeeded in a large measure in preventing corporates from defaulting on their loans. The IBC process has changed the debtor-creditor relationship. A number of major cases have been resolved in two years, while some others are in advanced stages of resolution. 

With a strict 180+90 days ‘resolve-or-liquidate’ diktat, the Code has received commendation, not only from the Indian Industry, but from the global fraternity, including The World Bank and IMF, and has materially contributed to India’s 30 place jump in 2018’s Ease of Doing Business ranking. IBC truly enforces the concept of ‘creditor in control’ instead of ‘debtor in possession’, and maximize value recovery potential corporate debtors.  “Capitalism without Bankruptcy is like Catholicism without Hell,” said Frank Borman, renowned astronaut and erstwhile chairman of a failed US airline. As such, the institutions established by the state should promote freedom to start a business (entry), to run the business (level playing field) and to exit/discontinue the business. The reforms of the 1990s focused on freedom of entry (dismantling the license-quota raj) and then, from the beginning of this century, the focus shifted to freedom of continuing business. The third leg, which is freedom to exit, has now been provided in the shape of the IBC, to provide a mechanism to stressed businesses to resolve insolvency in an orderly manner.

The IBC seeks to consolidate scattered and unstructured jurisprudence on insolvency prevalent in various Acts, like the Presidency Towns Insolvency Act, 1909, Sick Industrial Companies Act, 1985, Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008, Companies Act, 2013, etc. On the positive side, we have witnessed that debtors were reconciling with the ‘creditor in control’ scenario, with the committee of creditors (CoC) becoming all- powerful in the resolution process.

It was the first time that the government and Reserve Bank of India were on the same page for effective resolution of the problem of bad debt and improving overall financial discipline in the way business is conducted in India. As Nelson Mandela said, “I never lose; I either win or I learn.” The jury is still out on the IBC even though the World Bank has acknowledged the efforts.

WHAT IS INSOLVENCY AND BANKRUPTCY CODE, 2016?

“In One line we can say that in case of a default by the equity owners to meet their debt obligations, control is transferred to the creditors and equity owners take a back seat.”

The insolvency and Bankruptcy code, 2016 (IBC) is the bankruptcy law in India and whose aim is to consolidate the existing framework by creating a single law for insolvency and bankruptcy and amend the laws relating to the entities in India with the time being enforce. The consolidation of laws in India is not a new concept like GST was framed by consolidating 17 laws into one. This code was introduced in Lok Sabha in December 2015. It was passes by Lok Sabha on 5 May 2016. 

The purpose of this act can be divided into the following two goals:

 1. Making sure that the insolvency proceedings can be completed within a minimum amount of time.

 2. Making sure that the financial risks to the foreign investors is decreased.
Its primary goal was to consolidate insolvency resolution process for LLPs. Companies, individuals and partnerships.
 That being said, the purposes of these codes, being a part of The Companies (Amendment) Act 2017, are the following:

 1.  Establishing and amending the laws associated with reorganizing and resolving the insolvency of entities like partnership firms, individuals and corporate persons.

 2.  Providing resolution in a time bound manner.

3.  Promoting entrepreneurship in India.

4.  Maximizing the availability of credit in the Indian market.

5.  Establishing Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board in India.

The four pillars of supporting institutional infrastructure, to make the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Process work efficiently are:

  1. The regulator – The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI)
  2. Adjudicating Authority (AA):
    1. National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) – For Corporate, i.e., Companies and Limited Liability Partnerships
    2. National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) will act as Appellate Authority.
    3. Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) – For Individuals and Unlimited Partnership Firms
  3. A private industry of Insolvency Professionals (IPs) with oversight by private Insolvency Professional Agencies (IPAs)
  4. A private industry of Information Utilities (Ius)

THE ROUTE TO THE IBC

The main objective of the act is to consolidate and amend the laws relating to reorganization and insolvency resolution of corporate persons, partnership firms and individuals in a time bound manner for maximization of value of assets of such persons, to promote entrepreneurship, availability of credit and balance the interests of all the stakeholders including alteration in the order of priority of payment of Government dues and to establish an Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India, and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

IBC provides for a time-bound process to resolve insolvency. When a default in repayment occurs, creditors gain control over debtor’s assets and must make decisions to resolve insolvency. When a default in repayment occurs, creditors gain control over debtor’s assets and must make decisions to resolve insolvency. Under IBC, debtor and creditor both can start ‘recovery’proceedings against each other.

 

It is a comprehensive Code enacted as the Preamble states, to

“consolidate and amend the laws relating to reorganization and insolvency resolution of corporate persons, partnership firms and individuals in a time bound manner for maximization of value of assets of such persons, to promote entrepreneurship, availability of credit and balance the interests of all the stakeholders including alteration in the order of priority of payment of Government dues and to establish an Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India, and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto”.

The Preamble clearly states that the legislative intent to incorporate this code is

Firstly, to remove the ambiguity that had been prevailing in the previous legislations;

Secondly, to prevent unnecessary delays and to ensure fast dismissal of matters, i.e., within 180 days;

Thirdly, to prevent loss to corporate creditors due to depreciation of assets of the insolvent company;

Fourthly, to establish a balance among the interests of the various stakeholders, and

Lastly, to create a common forum to deal with such matters.

IMPACT OF IBC

The Covid-19 pandemic has been driving corporate failures around the world, including in India. The global financial news reveals an increase in bankruptcies due to the Covid-19 induced global lockdowns. While the bankruptcies are unfortunate, a recognition of the bankruptcies facing companies in the face of the collapse and an efficient resolution of such bankruptcies (which will allow both the companies and creditors involved to move along) is vital to rejuvenating the economy.

 In the light of the Covid-19 pandemic and business failures globally, it is important that financially distressed companies can still access the credit market thanks to a strong bankruptcy system and survive under stressed scenarios. Using a panel of 33,845 non-financial firms for the period of 2008-19 and by exploiting a difference-in-differences analysis, a study has been undertaken revealing the impact of the IBC policy on the availability of long- and short-term financing for, and the cost of, credit of distressed firms as compared to their non-distressed counterparts. As in most emerging markets, India’s debt market is dominated by state-owned banks and the domestic credit to private sector by banks (percentage of GDP) is 50 per cent in 2019 compared to a world average of 90.5 per cent (Source: World Development Indicators). Recent statistics from World Bank’s Doing Business Data show the creditor rights index in India improving from 6 in 2014 to 9 in 2019 compared to the world average of 5.67 in 2019.

Bose et al. (2021) study shows that after the introduction of the IBC reform, the access to long-term debt increased by 6.3 per cent, short-term debt increased by 1.4 per cent, while the cost of borrowing declined for distressed firms. This is the first study that provides evidence on the impact of the IBC policy on the “credit channels” of distressed firms. The enactment of the code has helped to enforce discipline in the country’s credit culture. IBC has created a credit culture that discourages defaults. There has been a change in the business culture as well: there is now an understanding that when things go wrong, companies will not get an automatic rescue package from the taxpayer funds. The objective of IBC was to create conditions so that credit could be generated from the domestic market and investments drawn from the international market. In order to achieve those objectives, it was necessary to create a culture of deterrence against default. The practice of dragging lenders to court to delay the repayments of outstanding loans is slowly coming to an end. India’s Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code is ensuring that lenders get repaid on time and this is making India a more attractive investment destination.

IBC has played a great role in macroeconomic objectives providing India a strong stand in the global platform. After the enactment of the code, the FDI has substantially increased. In 2012-13, the FDI of India was 34298 US$ Million and just after enactment of the code it rose to 61463 US$ Million in 2017-18 which is growing by approximately 80%. There has been an increase in Mergers and Acquisitions activity in the country. It also led to the establishment of Information Utilities (IUs) which further accelerated the development of the credit market of India.

In previous, no law prevented the operational creditors but under the code, there is a provision that the operational creditors (domestic as well as international) have right to file suit against the default. Thus, the code provides right to the foreign creditors which will enhance the economic transactions of India and others.

 MEASURES TAKEN DUE TO COVID

The global COVID-19 pandemic and its consequential lockdown are having an economic ripple effect on the business of Indian citizens. To mitigate its impact, in the last tranche of economic reforms, the Central Government made numerous changes upon the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (“IBC”), and its adjudicatory processes, which will have wide-ranging ramifications. In exercise of its powers under Section 4 of the IBC, the Central Government has raised the threshold for invoking insolvency to Rs 1 crore from the existing Rs 1 lakh. This provision will relegate MSMEs to civil remedies for debt recovery and may have an effect of excluding it under the IBC. At this cost, the amendment may have successfully addressed the issue of frivolous recovery claims initiated under the grab of insolvency processes due to the seemingly low original threshold of rupees one lakh.

The government has come up with IBC 2020 to streamline the CIRP, protect last-mile funding, and boost investment in financially distressed sectors. The changes put a threshold condition for initiating CIRP by the financial creditors, who are allottees under a real estate project. It also imports safeguards for successful bidders, the corporate debtors, and its assets from the offenses of the former promoters or management.

India took decades to implement such an effective insolvency regime and improve its global ranking of doing business. It promotes entrepreneurship and tries to balance the interest of the various stakeholders.

CONCLUSION

Resolving insolvency in a strict time bound manner is an important challenge for any country to maintain a healthy and robust economic system. This study has made an attempt to understand and analyze the impact of the IBC on the credit sector of the economy. The study emphasizes the fact that IBC is a big step in the direction of resolving the issues of Non-Performing Assets and hence will act to the rescue of banks which have been facing a lot of difficulties due to corporate defaults. The number of companies that have benefitted from this law is large, there has been improvement in the speed as well as the success rate of the resolution process.

There is still a long way to go ahead and as the saying goes,

“We have to acknowledge the progress we made, but understand that we still have a long way to go. That things are better, but still not good enough.”

Media and Democracy

 A democratic system is successful only when there is extensive participation by the masses, which is not possible without people getting informed about various issues. Therefore, the media plays a vital role in a healthy democracy.


Press Freedom 

Mahatma Gandhi had said “Freedom of press is a precious privilege that no country can forgo.” In India, freedom of press is implied from the freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India. Article 19(1)(a) says that all citizens shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression. But this right is subject to reasonable restrictions under Article 19(2).

Role of media in a Democracy

Ideally, the media is the voice of the citizens, it is said to be “voice of the voiceless”. A democracy cannot function properly without free press. It acts as a bridge between the government and the citizens. It is the fourth pillar of democracy. It exposes corruption, scandals, maladministration, policy failures and promotes government transparency, accountability, & public scrutiny. 

The Right to Information Act (2005) is vital for the press in India to promote transparency. Press uses RTI as a tool to strengthen democracy and to update the citizens about implementation of the government schemes/policies and expose its loopholes. 

A healthy functioning democracy is established when the voters make informed choices and this is based on the quality of information that they receive. The Press is the main source of news and information. Information disseminated by the Press impacts and shapes the public opinion.

Democracy cannot function without public participation. People have the freedom to express their ideas, opinions, suggestions, and criticism using various media platforms. Public feedback of any policy or law reaches the government through the media. Press acts as a catalyst for democracy and development, making public participation meaningful. Press also provides a platform for public debate.

Citizens can participate in a democracy only when they are fully aware of their rights and duties. Press plays a major role in spreading awareness among the masses about fundamental rights of the citizens ,government schemes, and campaigns . The press has played a significant role in educating the rural masses through newspapers in regional languages , radio, television etc.

Challenges faced by Media in a Democracy

Press Censorship is a major challenge to freedom of press. Press censorship by political authority is an attack on free speech. For example, During the Emergency(1975) Indian media was heavily censored and it was known as the “dark period of democracy.” The Indian Express and The Statesman protested against the censorship by leaving their editorial pages blank.

Paid news hinders unbiased reporting and leads to favouritism. It diverts the coverage of real issues and suppresses information. This produces uninformed or misinformed citizens in a democracy. Corporate and political influence can also stop a particular media organization from functioning freely.  

“A free press is one of the pillars of democracy” said Nelson Mandela. A free and independent press is integral to the process of democratisation and good governance.  Ideally, the purpose of the press in a democracy is to keep in the public spotlight every decision that the government makes.  Press plays its role by reporting/informing, spreading awareness, ensuring accountability of the government, and providing a platform for public debate.


SPORTS AND GAMES

SPORTS AND GAMES

 

Games play an important role in children’s health both mentally and physically. Now-a-days they are adapted to video games rather than playing games in the real world with the real environment. It helps them to be aware of themselves by boosting their brain actions along with the hormonal balances. Indoor games help them to spend time with their family and friends with increases love between them. Outdoor games help them to improve their personality level by socializing themselves.

Here are the widely played games listed below,

GAMES – There are two types of games, indoor and Outdoor games.

INDOOR GAMES

Card games, puzzle games, Nondi, Five stones, Ludo, Rummy

OUTDOOR GAMES

Cricket, Football, Basketball, Kabbadi, Tennis 

TRADITIONAL GAMES OF INDIA

Kabadi, kho-kho, kancha or lakhoti, Nondi.    


INDOOR GAMES

 CARD GAMES:

   Cards are one of the indoor games played around the world. There are totally 52 cards. Each standard deck of cards has four suites: hearts, clubs, spades, diamonds.Each suite has 13 cards 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10, jack, king, queen.

PUZZLE GAMES:

  Puzzle video games make up a broad genre of video games that emphasize puzzle-solving. The types of puzzles can test many problem-solving skills, including logic, pattern recognition, sequence solving, spatial recognition, and word completion. 

Nondi or Pandi

  Paandi, also known as Pandi or Nondi, is a regional hopscotch game played in rural parts of India (such as Tamil Nadu), Sri Lanka and also in certain other countries with large numbers of immigrant Indians.

Five stones:

   The game of five stones is believed to have originated in Ancient Asia, during the Siege of Troy in 1184 BC.The game had been declining due to urbanization but it has been revived by the efforts made in the schools.

LUDO:

LUDO is a board game played by the players by throwing a Ludo, an ancient Indian game which Akbar was addicted to, is now a strategy game taught at business schools.

RUMMY:

‘RUMMY‘ comes from the word ‘rum’, which is British slang for odd, peculiar, strange or queer. RUMMY is game by grouping match of cards, based on similar sequence or similar matching.


OUTDOOR GAMES

CRICKET:

  Cricket is the popular game of India. It is the national game of England. England had won their first men’s world cup in 2019. England, Australia, India, Newzealnd is the challenging national teams for cricket.

FOOTBALL:

The United States is the country which plays football more. However England is called as the Father of football as it has more football associations. It is a team sport because it needs team spirit to win the goal by kicking the ball. The match has two teams with eleven of each team. It is governed by FIFA which takes part in every four years.

BASKETBALL:

  Basketball is played between two teams of five players each. Basketball is a sport of the country Lithuania. It is second most popular sport in India. The teams only have limited time to win the opponent. The offense only has five seconds bouncing the ball as per the rules.

TENNIS:

   Tennis also called as the racket sport, is either played individually with the opponent or with the double players. It is played by millions of players worldwide and is called as the spectacular sport. 

TRADITIONAL GAMES

The traditional games represent the culture which we would have played during our childhood. One of the best known games without any kind of equipment is Kabadi, which is purely based on accurate planning and some kind of strategies. While playing they give a sound kabadi kabadi and play by touching the opposite team. Next widely played game is Kho-Kho which is played in the schools. Kancha or Goli or Lakhoti is also played by children by shooting the marbles by the middle finger. Nondi or Ladder grid is also widely played game. Several other games include Gilli, lotto, Chupur are played traditionally in India.

  

What is Dogecoin? – Bitcoin vs Dogecoin (Meme Coins)

 Hello, friends! You already know about the rupee coin and Bitcoin But there’s a new coin that’s globally famous now. It’s called the Dogecoin. The value of our rupee is based on our currency. And Bitcoin is based on Blockchain that promises to revolutionize the monetary systems around the world. 

But this Dogecoin is based on a meme. Literally! This coin was made in jest. Someone took the Doge meme, this meme of the dog was quite famous at some point and made a coin out of it. It’s like someone taking the “Pawri ho rahi hai” meme and turning it into a “Pawri coin”. Or this meme of Akshay Kumar being made into “Akki coin”. It’s quite possible.

 Someone may very well make these Pawri coin and Akki coin. Because cryptocurrency is so decentralised that any person can develop their own coin. They’d need basic coding knowledge to do that. But the thing is that this Dogecoin became so famous that people like Elon Musk started buying it and promoting it. Why did it happen? Come let’s find out in today’s video on Dogecoin.

 After the popularity of Bitcoin, several people brought up its disadvantages. Like, the long transaction time of Bitcoin. Or that the whole process of Bitcoin consumes a lot of energy. And that’s not good for the environment. That’s why some people considered making their own coins. These coins are known as Alt-Coins. i.e. Alternative Coins. Because they’re the alternative to Bitcoin.

 And they try to counter the disadvantages of Bitcoin. By some method or the other. Like Ethereum, Litecoin, I talked about them in the Alt-Coins video. You can watch them as well. The link will be in the description below. But after Alt-Coins had been developed, people realized that anyone can create their own coins. So some people started creating their own coins for fun.

 There were no advantages in their coins as compared to Bitcoins. They simply changed the name and created a new coin. Some scammers made their own coins as well. And fooled people to invest in their coins to drive the value of the coin After which the scammer would take back his investment and the people will suffer heavy losses while the scammer would walk away with a significant profit.

 This is known as a Pump and Dump scheme. So many people created their coins for fun. Some for scamming people others for absolutely no reason. It was only meant as a joke. These coins which were created for no reason they are often known as Shitcoins. Because they do not add any value to the world. They aren’t bringing about any improvement in the process. So they’re Shitcoins. 

Some people believe that Dogecoin is also a Shitcoin. The only difference is that the purpose of creating Dogecoin wasn’t to scam people it was only to prank people. It was only a joke. This Doge meme was at the peak of its popularity in 2013. Jackson Palmer, an Australian marketer and Billy Markus, a software developer at IBM developed this Dogecoin then. Palmer says that he thought up this idea as a joke. to combine the two most popular trending topics on the internet. Cryptocurrency and the Doge meme. 

The code of Dogecoin is based on Litecoin. Litecoin is an Alt-Coin that does have a few advantages over Bitcoin. Like lesser processing time and lower transaction fees. But it is truly surprising that the market valuation of Dogecoin has already surpassed that of Litecoin. If you look at the largest cryptocurrencies of the world Dogecoin coin has become the fourth-largest cryptocurrency. 

After Bitcoin, Ethereum and Binance. The biggest question here is how is it possible? How did a coin made as a joke gain such popularity? Why are people buying it? The first reason is the Reddit website. People on Reddit started using it as a joke initially. Whenever someone liked a post or comment on Reddit, people would award some Dogecoins to the OP as a tip. It was known as the DogeBot tip.

 Usually, this was a tip of 5 Dogecoins. And at the time the value of Dogecoin was 0.0002¢. It was a very small amount. But using Dogecoin as a tip started gaining popularity on Reddit. And this expanded over the years. Dogecoins were used so much and exchanged so many times that their value started increasing rapidly. 

In September 2018, the CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk noticed it. Elon Musk met Jackson Palmer on the issue of Twitter scambots. The fake Twitter accounts that scam people using the guise of cryptocurrency. Elon Musk wanted to take them down because his name was being used to run these scams.

 So he asked for Jackson Palmer’s help on this. That was when Elon Musk came to know about Dogecoin. After 7 months he tweeted “Dogecoin might be my fav(ourite) cryptocurrency.” In March 2020 he tweeted “Dogs rock. They are the best coins.” So in the coming months and years he tweeted about Dogecoin several times which were indirectly or directly promoting Dogecoin. 

And because Elon Musk is so famous, perhaps the most renowned and liked billionaire in the world, every time he tweeted, it sent up the value of Dogecoin by 25% – 50%. Eventually, 2021 followed 2020. And now the value of Dogecoin has exceeded 50¢. At its peak, Dogecoin had almost touched the valuation of $80 billion. 

Though its price has fallen a bit in the last couple of days, but the supporters of Dogecoin aim to drive its value up to $1. It means that the value of 1 Dogecoin would be equal to $1. Currently, it is around 50-60¢. 

Talking about the real-life use of Dogecoin, the community of Dogecoin have donated to several charitable causes. Their first donation was to a Jamaican Bobsleigh team of $30,000 in Dogecoins so that the team could participate in the 2014 Russian Winter Olympics. After this, for some water conversation projects in Kenya and for helping some special needs children, the community of Dogecoin donated money. 

And who are the community of Dogecoin? What do I mean by this? Basically, there is a subreddit on Dogecoin where the users who buy and promote Dogecoins come together and make such donations. But overall, friends, I’d say that Dogecoin has become a cultural trend now. It does not have a value of its own. 

It isn’t bringing in any significant technological advancement neither is it unique. Only because of its circumstances Dogecoin has become so popular now. And this is needed to be understood by those people that think that if they invest in Dogecoin now and they would get 10x, 100x, 1000x returns. That Dogecoin is a good investment. 

You need to understand the cultural trends grow exponentially. And die down after their peak. There is a very high possibility that this may happen. I’m not giving you any investment advice here. You can buy Dogecoin if you want to. I’m just saying that be cautious of the huge risk. 

But higher the risk in investment, there are more chances of high returns as well. It is possible that after a few years, Dogecoin may be valued at $100 instead of a paltry $1. But it is equally possible that its value may become 0 instead of the 0.50¢ now. 

All your investment may vanish. Because predicting cultural trends on the internet is next to impossible. You’d basically be trying to predict how the world would think collectively. I believe that the same thing applies to Bitcoin as well. You should invest only that much in Bitcoin that you can afford to lose. 

If Bitcoin crashes to 0 tomorrow, you would not suffer much even after all your investment vanishes. And Dogecoin is even riskier than Bitcoin. So this is even more valid for Dogecoin than it is for Bitcoin. At least Bitcoin has some value of its own. Because it presents a revolutionary technology. I

t presents an alternative monetary system. But it is not so with Dogecoin. But at the same time, also remember this, friends, that only those things have any value in the society, in which people believe. If people think that a thing should have value, it does. 

You can see this with so many things. If people think that branded clothes have value, then their value exists and people buy them at exorbitant prices. The same thing applies to Dogecoin as well. If every one of us starts believing that Dogecoin does indeed have a value even if there really isn’t any, people would want to buy it which would drive up its value.

 And what can be the reason behind it? Absolutely any reason. If someone claims that Elon Musk’s brand is attached to Dogecoin and it has a high value the same reason as with clothes. If a cloth is marked by a brand it has a high value. For the same reason, someone may say that Dogecoin’s value should be higher. 

If society starts believing this its value will grow. And if society doesn’t, its value will fall. 

HOW TO FACE CHALLENGES WITHOUT STRESS?

 

  RESILENCE  

                      (IKIGAI REVIEW)


HOW TO FACE LIFE’S CHALLENGES WITHOUT LETTING STRESS AND WORRY YOUR AGE?




The thing Ikigai says is to pursue your passion – how hard the life goes with hurdles. No matter of giving up. Resilience is the concept which has become influential among psychologists. It is the ability to setback, things without urgency, to pick ourselves and giving meaning to our lives. 

Some people know how to adapt, stay focused on certain objectives, concentrate on things they can’t control and they are called as the resilient people. At some point of life, we all need to face the hurdles, we can’t escape the situations, so proper training for mind and body is to be given. Resilience is essential to confront life’s ups and downs. 

FALL SEVEN TIMES, RISE EIGHT.


EMOTIONAL RESILENCE THROUGH BUDDHISM AND STOICISM

The goal is to control our emotions, pleasures and desires. Though the both of the philosophies are different, both aims is to get rid of ego and control negative emotions. Our pleasures and desires are not the problem, we can enjoy and control them as they don’t take control of us. Controlling emotions have been always watchful who are trying to control themselves.

Imagining negative things and not worrying about them. As a result, you will come to the mindset of what the worst thing would happen?


MEDITATING FOR HEALTHIER EMOTIONS 

Another central theme of Stoicism is Imagining and knowing what we can control and what we can’t? Through serenity prayer.

Most commonly used mantras in Buddhism for controlling negative emotions is OM MANI PADME HUM in which OM represents ego purification, MA purifies jealously, NI purifies passion and desire, PAD purifies bias, ME purifies greed and HUM is the wisdom that purifies hatred.


CONCLUSION

Both Buddhism and Stoicism convey the message that there is nothing about worrying, but we can control  our emotions. Go through and just appreciate things because it is just NOW. The temporary things which are the impermanent ones. Keep your mind the best one to see the flow.


Pandemic's impact on Education

 The Covid-19 pandemic has altered the lifestyle of everyone completely. Laptop and Smartphone screens have replaced the chalk and blackboard of the classrooms since the announcement of lockdown in March 2020. This transition from offline to online learning was not a simple task for the students as well as the teachers. 

Online Classes: The new way of education 

Initially the task was to learn to use the online medium for education purposes. Some teachers and students faced certain difficulties in handling technology. It also increased the responsibility of the parents especially in the case of small children who could not handle online classes without guidance of their parents. As this new way of learning was being freshly introduced, some batches of students faced a delay in their academic year. This led to a lot of confusion regarding cancellation or postponement of exams. It is also extremely difficult for students to understand the practical concepts which require a lab. 

One of the major problems of online learning is Digital Divide. Every student does not have access to the digital world, which disrupts their learning process. According to a survey by the National Council of Educational Research and Training in the schools of India, 27% students don’t have access to smartphones, laptops or computers. In many remote areas, proper internet connectivity is also not available to attend the classes. 

Due to the worsening financial conditions like unemployment and low income in households, the dropout rates of school students are increasing, especially among girls. Many leave their education to support the family financially. A number of professors and teachers have expressed their concern over this issue and the main fear is that they may never rejoin school after the pandemic. 

The Mid-Day Meal scheme in the government schools was one of the important ways for the students to get nutritious food, especially for the students from the low income families. Mid day meal provision also led to an increase in the enrolment of students in schools. Due to lack of physical access to schools they are facing a loss of nutrition. 

Long exposure to screens has impacted their vision and mental health. It has increased the problems like headache and stress. Lack of face-to-face doubt clearance leaves the students confused. It has also impacted the student’s daily routine where they were physically active. According to UNICEF’s data released in March 2021, 888 million children worldwide, including 247 million in India, continue to face difficulty in learning due to closure of schools. 

But every cloud has a silver lining, and online classes too have their own benefits. It has opened up new ways of digital learning that connects people globally through webinars, online certification courses, etc. The number of webinars conducted for students in schools and colleges has increased over the last year. Initiatives such as educational programmes on television and radio were promoted to help the children learn in an easy manner. 

However, the problems faced by those who cannot access digital learning needs to be addressed. Initiatives that can help them to cope up with this loss of education needs to be promoted. Education is an integral part of development which should not be compromised.