While the world awaits Gurupurab tomorrow, farmers from Punjab are protesting against the reformed farm bill 2020. Farmers have taken the protest to roads and are rallying from Punjab/Haryana to Delhi in order to make the union government listen to them. The three laws-The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, The Farmers’ Produce Trade And Commerce (Production And Facilitation) Bill and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services-that have faced criticism from both the farmers and the opposition were passed in monsoon session of parliament in 2020. In fact, following this Harsimrat Kaur Badal, an MP of the Shiromani Akali Dal resigned from the BJP cabinet stating that the bills were against the farmers and would vanish the agriculture sector in Punjab. Opposition parties like Congress, TMC, DMK and BSP also opposed the bill stating that it was against the interests of marginal farmers. Gaurav Gogoi from Congress said that the government has been acquiring the lands of the farmers to help their capitalist friends and has termed it a ‘three-pronged’ attack on the farmers of this nation.

The government has said that these reforms will help the small farmers and accelerate the growth of the sector as private investors would be welcomed who would further build infrastructure and form supply chains for the farm produce. The government ensures that the laws will cut the prices of transportation and will be given better prices.

On the other hand, under the bill associated to commodities the protestors and opposition argue that big companies would be allowed to stock commodities which gives them an opportunity to make an upper hand on farmers making less prices for the cultivators. Then the bill relating to contract farming, the opposition says the sponsors might not be interested in dealing with farmers that are marginal and also that farmers will eventually be at a weaker position in negotiating what they need. And in the case of dispute, the advantage would like to exporters, huge companies, sponsors etc as the law provide a legal framework that requires farmers to be under a written contract with the big companies and also to produce for them. While the most important bill that is the agri market bill, protestors argue that without collecting ‘mandi fees’ the states will not be able to collect the revenue and there is a huge question mark about what will happen to the commission agents. The same bill seeks to remove various commodities from the essential commodities list like edible oils, onions, potatoes, cereals and pulses. All in all, what frightens the farmers the most is that this will end minimum support prices regime while the middlemen will also be adversely affected and mandis will lose their relevance and the farmers will also might not be able to bargain with the companies.

Now to make this a little more clear we need to understand that the bill is ultimately for the farmers of India and if they only are not satisfied then the bill deviates from its value.

With the advancement of the technologies people are also becoming advanced. They are adapting new technologies, trends and innovations and utilizing it to their best. Most of the people are now fully depended on phones and laptops. Especially in this covid-19 pandemic when people are stuck at their homes, they are spending more time on their phones or laptops as now we can find anything digitally like entertainment, informational and variety of content, songs, pictures, videos, etc. Now we can even buy almost everything from our homes only through ‘Digital Marketing’.

Digital marketing refers to the marketing where products and services are promoted or sold online with the help of internet through digital technologies like phones, laptops, computers, tablets or any other digital device. It was first used in 1990’s when the Archie search engine was developed. It can be also called as Internet marketing. Most of the marketers replaced their traditional marketing to digital marketing because they are more interested to do their business digitally as they know that most of the people use digital content daily. 

Advantages of Digital Marketing:

In today’s world Digital Marketing is the best and the most advantageous method of marketing than any other method.

• Global Reach: Digital marketing helps us to reach to the larger number of customers. You can easily promote and sell our products or services to our target audience from all over the country or even outside of the country.
• Time Saving: It’s a best time saver as we can reach to larger number of audiences with no or lesser time as compared to traditional marketing method.
•  Cost- effective:  when we promote our products digitally, it saves transportation, travelling and many other expenses. It’s affordable or less expensive option as compared to other option.
• Quick Responses: You can immediately track the responses you get on your product or services. You have the flexibility to measure your performance through your responses and taking actions for improving your campaigns in real time.
• Interaction: You can easily interact with your audience and solve their problems related to the products or services they purchased from you and can exactly know their choices.
• Multimedia: You can engage audience by adding different types of content like photos, videos and audios to your marketing material.
• Expansion: By expanding your brand recognition your sales will be boosted and that will help you to reach global markets.
• Variety: Customers can access large variety of products and services according to their preference as compared to the traditional marketing method. 

There are many other advantages of Digital marketing which also states its importance in today’s world.

Challenges:

• Marketers face many problems in adapting new and advances technologies as they get used to the traditional marketing.
• There is a lack of knowledge as many marketers or business man does not use any social media or digital channels for their business.
• Marketers face many problems in generating relevant traffic (visitors) to the website.
• Markets face problems in creating an attractive and awesome website and content.
• They also face challenges in promoting their campaigns through any digital or social media channels.

There are many other challenges that marketers face in digital marketing.   

Forms of Digital Marketing:

1. Social Media Marketing (SMM): Social media is one of the main reasons which instigate people to use their phones or laptops. About 170 million of people use their social media account regularly. So, marketers taking this as an advantage to grow their businesses online by promoting their products or services on social media apps like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, WhatsApp etc.

• Digital Advertising: It can be called as online advertising through digital channels like phones, laptops, desktop etc.

• Content Marketing: it involves creating, publishing and distribution of content to the target audience.

• Search Engine Optimization: Optimization means improving your website so that customers can easily your products or services online by one search only. It helps in attracting potential customers too.

• Email Marketing: It’s the act of sending a commercial message to the customers about new products, discounts and other details of marketing campaign through email.

• Marketing Automation: Marketing activities done through any particular software.

• Search Engine Marketing: Practice of marketing using paid advertisements.

So, as we discussed earlier Digital Marketing is one of the important industries which is rapidly growing day by day especially in this pandemic where many people are avoiding to step out from their homes. They are now preferring to shop digitally only. So, it provides lots of opportunities to the marketers and business man for growing their business digitally. But it also contains many problems and challenged. So, those who are interested in digital marketing, have to learn to cope up with these challenges by developing their knowledge and abilities in relevant areas.

Driving your car with the radio on, jamming and listening to the programmes, making your journey smoother? Well, radio wasn’t always for the entertainment. With the advent of radio came serial programmes which were replaced by serious reportage or playing music resonating to that time. or as a must in households. Before 1920, radio was used to contact ships or were based on morse codes. In world war I, the significance of the radio grew and it became more useful as armies started using radios as a way of communication amongst themselves to send out messages. Post 1920(s) civilians started purchasing radios for private use especially in European countries and USA. During the World War II radio was used as news outlet and was often used by politicians or governments to reach out to public. Today, with the fast-paced developing technology, radio has so much more to offer while just not being restricted t homes but also as a staple in the cars. Radio has music, talk shows, storytelling etc. One such example in India is storytelling by Neelesh Misra                                                                                                                         

BADLAAV

Neelesh Misra also known as the storywallahhas never failed in bringing excellent storytelling on radio. He has made audiobooks fashionable again. One such story is ‘Badlaav’ where the story not only made audiences experience the challenges faced by women in workplace but also commented on the social hypocrisy and different reactions of different personalities in the same situation. The audio starts with Neelesh’s gripping voice and is beautifully supported by the background music of the birds chirping. As the story progresses, Neelesh plays every character of the story and never disappoints the audience with his oration and skills of transition to a new character. The music changes according to the situation like birds chirping in the morning, the voice of the crowd while they walk on the street. The story is set up in a typical middle-class environment where there is an old uncle who lost his daughter, a young neighbour called Piya and her mother. The story emphasis on the specificity like ‘3 doorbells’, ‘9pm ritual to come in the balcony’ etc. the language used is proportional to the character’s age. For instance, Piya had certain dialogues in English and the uncle spoke a mixture of Hindi and Urdu dialect. The story has a philosophical angle to it and Neelesh rightly sends the audience on a guilt trip in lives like ‘jo maan nan ahi chahte, vo dekhte tak nahi’ and ‘jinke mann shor karte hain. Unki xubaan shaant rehti hai’. At last, the story also brings the societal hypocrisy which can be seen in the police station’s scene where the officer asks the uncle to warn the daughter to be in her limits since she is a girl, totally disregarding the fact that the accused had 20 cases filed against them already and also, Piya was portrayed as a modern young girl but due to eve teasing switched to Indian outfit perfectly showing our shallow mindsets as a society. This rightly portrays the corrupted minds of our developing society.

When you hear the words silent film what pops in the mind? Definitely not any sound. A silent film is a film that does not have any pre-recorded sound and has no audible dialogues. Earlier silent films were accompanied by live sounds such as that of a piano, instrument organ or orchestra etc. It may also consist of a short narration to set up a scene. The silent fil era that was the mid 1980(s) to the late 1920(s) many musicians like a theatre organist or a pianist could also be seen to add the theatrical effect. Earlier films used a device called magic lens that had a glass lens, an adamant light source and a shutter. The legends who laid the foundation of silent films were Muybridge, Marey and Le Prince which further paved the way to the cinema we see today. The myth that silent films also came across was that the films were primitive and were not watched by many individuals.

PUSHPAAK

Pushpaak is a 1987 Indian silent, comedy film starring Kamal Hassan and Amala in leading role. The movie revolves around the story of an unemployed youth, Kamal Hassan, a man who searches for a job in a destroy and hopeless manner. After a chance encounter with a millionaire who is on a self-destructive bender. Hassan kidnaps the man and replaces him at Pushpaak, a five-star hotel that the latter is booked into. The movie then introduces Tinnu Anand, an ice-pick wielding contract killer hired by the old man’s wife. The killer mistakes Kamal Hassan to be the drunk businessman and what follows is a series of humorous events. The movie has a humanitarian appeal which laments upon the human attachment to the to the materialistic world. In the end, the protagonist ends up in his previous life searching for employment and meaning.

What makes this movie an evergreen classic is the fact that despite being a silent movie, it was way ahead of its time. The nonverbal modes of communication such as symbolism, gestures, body language are visible throughout the movie. For instance, the hotel’s name, Pushpaak is symbolic of their chariot owned by the god of wealth, Kuber. Gestures have been used throughout the movie for one-to-one communication, like the silent balcony conversation between the couple. The background score keeps the viewers engrossed, creating an aura of the character on screen. The comic timing of the actors was well depicted with their facial expressions. Last but not the least, the movie leaves a moral message that materialistic love has no end, this is specifically portrayed in the scene where the people leave the beggar’s corpse for his money and Kamal Hassan realises that a poor man couldn’t take the money, he was so boastful about it with him. Even the riches of the businessman couldn’t buy him love or loyalty from his wife. The movie leaves an impact on the mind from the viewers and that is what it makes evergreen classic.

Weddings are considered as one of the most auspicious and important moment of life.  It’s a very common ceremony as almost every day there is wedding happenings. But corona has largely affected these wedding ceremonies. Almost every wedding requires gatherings of large amount of people and this near to impossible in this pandemic as it increases the risk of getting affected by covid-19. Event managers, caterers, wedding photographers, labours, other people related to these wedding ceremonies and their customers are facing problems in this pandemic.

But considering these problems government have issued certain guidelines for the marriages to curb the spread of diseases during ceremonies. Guidelines, rules and regulation related to marriages differ from state to state. Marriages and other functions are allowed in all areas except the containment zones but with limited capacity of people.

Some guidelines issued in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and other states of India are:

Number of guests for a wedding should be only 50% of a wedding hall capacity. But the maximum number of people allowed in a wedding are only 100.

• Guests have to mandatorily maintain social distancing.
• Event organisers have to arrange face masks, sanitizers and thermal scanners at the venue.
• Everyone have to mandatorily wear their masks
• Use of sanitizers or handwash is must.
• Rs 25000 fine will be charged for wedding containing more than 100 people.  

If anyone violates these rules, regulations or guidelines then F.I.R will be registered against that party. But according to some wedding photographers only few people are taking properly following these guidelines issued by the government but the rest are taking this pandemic casually. There are many cases in India where many people are getting infected by corona as they were gathered in marriage together.

But some people are also finding new and innovative ways or precautions for marrying in this pandemic. In a marriage guests maintained social distancing and to prevent any personal contact with bride and groom, transparent plastic curtains were hanged in front of their sofa.  New trends according to the weddings in this pandemic are also introduced in the market. Digital wedding is one of the new trends as people are inviting their guests at the online meeting apps and some are even marrying through zoom or any other meeting apps. In some wedding guests, bride and groom are seen wearing matching masks with their dresses. Changes in makeup, hairstyles and accessories are also the new trends. Many more fashion trends are introduced in market which makes wedding more interesting even in this pandemic.

Event management industry have to face a major due to this pandemic in India. The Events and Entertainment Management Association (EEMA) have recently conducted a survey of with 170 companies that are affected by the pandemic. The survey result shows that many problems like loss of business orders, lack of funds, lack of labours, unavailability of advanced technologies and other resources, loss of revenue etc are currently faced by the companies. Organisers also have the pressure of arranging for digital weddings which can’t be possible without funds. Webinar, online meetings and live chats are going on between the organisers to solve these issues. Labours and small wage workers have lost their jobs, people are avoiding the outside food and maintaining social distancing which has largely affected Caterers or catering services as they are getting less order for serving food in marriages. Not only organisers and caterers but wedding photographers, DJs and many other people related to the event management are also struggling in this phase.

Some of the organisers have already resolved these issues and trying to give their best for making the marriages perfect as they can, even in this pandemic.

As we discussed earlier, marriages are one of the most important and auspicious ceremonies of all. They are celebrated like festivals in India. And Indians can’t stop celebrating their festivals. So, even corona couldn’t stop weddings in India.    

I’m here because like every other 14 year old I thought becoming a doctor only takes considerable amount of studying and good amount of heart to serve others. Well, it turns out to be totally opposite. Number of hours spent in mugging up how deoxygenated and oxygenated blood are separated, I realised perhaps ‘heart’ isn’t really for me. So I asked my brain what else I can manage to do, so it brought back certain memories of me fighting ( Indians don’t debate, we fight- for proof, kindly switch on republic TV) on political issues, ill-informed policies, general miss guided physical and mental health, education and not to forget my all time favourite Modi ji.

I have always been an all rounder ( that’s what my relatives and I believe mutually for the first time), always been in top 5 of the batch till I changed my school in 9^th standard ( I was earlier in Xavier’s School and changed to Jesus And Mary- this was a dream school for my parents and thank god at least I completed one). After 9^th, my academic graph is not less than a roller coaster or perhaps just like India’s employment rate.  I remember changing school and this whole swapping affecting grades but it turns out I found myself in the process. I became outspoken and put my views without any hesitation of criticism. Once, there came an interschool event and we had to prepare a debate for it. I was one of the few students who actually prepared one. I, at that time, didn’t know being a new student and participating in interschool activity was a big deal until I got applauded for not only the effort but also the substance of the debate. I remember my class teacher telling my father ‘ I’m proud to have her in class’. Coming this from a teacher who is known for her strictness was a huge compliment for me. I felt like a warrior that day. Soon I realised life can teach you well in a day because when I went for the final round the teacher had already selected her favourite student and didn’t even let me audition. I literally walked away from there feeling how congress must have felt like in 2014 but I don’t know what I had eaten that day I wasn’t ready to give up just yet. I walked back and asked her to at least listen to me and even then if she still feels I’m not worth it then have to accept it. I guess I didn’t make a comeback like congress and was selected by the majority (she made her favourite student and me present in front of a class. Teacher chose the other student and the class chose me). That day I realised two things :- 1. Never give up 2. Majority wins

To conclude, I want to make a change. Not a change our politicians promise but actual change that I want to see in society. I want my views to be neutral and unbiased. I wish to change how people think about politics and elections. I want to inspire youth. It’s cliché but I really do want to make my parents proud.

The growing number of young people worldwide seems to be one of the sources of future economic growth in India. However, the number of Indian youth in labor has been declining. The paper says the problem of youth unemployment and unemployment will remain a major policy issue for many years to come in India. In this context, it highlights the issues and problems of the youth by looking at trends in the youth labor market and people outside the workforce.

The report notes that unemployment among Indian youths is three times higher than among adults in general. In addition, youth income levels are lower than those of adults. With regard to education, the authors note that 89% of young people have not yet undergone any kind of skills training, and among the rest almost half of them have received an education in heritage practices. As a result, this reflects the neglected level of formal vocational training among young people.

The Global Employment Trend for Youth 2020 noted that there has been a steady decline in youth participation in the global workforce. The number of young people increased from 1 million to 1.3 million in the period between 1999 and 2019, but the number of young people involved in labor (whether employed or unemployed) saw a decline from 568 million to 497 million over the same period. The most disturbing pattern for young people worldwide, one in five young people (20%) of young people, and 30% of women and 13% of men – those between the ages of 15 and 24 (the global definition of youth) – is currently classified as NEET. In total, 267 million of the 1.3 billion people worldwide do not have access to the labor market, or earn money from work, or improve their education and skills – suggesting that their work remains unused.

India, at present, is home to the world’s largest population. ‘Indian National Youth Policy’ (2014) defines youth in the country as people aged 15-29 years. According to Census data (2011), young people make up 28% of the country’s population and contribute more than 34% of the national income. Recent estimates show that about 27% of the 1.3 billion people by 2020 are young.

A positive development has been the enrollment of young people in higher education and higher education, which has resulted in better skilled workers and an increase in decent work in many countries. However, the Periodic Labor Force Survey for the period 2017-18, reported a dramatic increase in unemployment rates in the youth population. Of particular concern is the increase in unemployment among educated youth (15-29 years), which has almost tripled from 6.1% in 2011-12 to 17.8% in 2017-18. In particular, technical graduates are known to go the extra mile with an unemployment rate of 37.3%, followed closely by graduates and above (36.2%), graduates (35.2%), and young people with skills (33%). For young women, the unemployment rate is worse in terms of employee participation as well as unemployment. Women are out of work in large numbers, but among those who remain, unemployment rates are higher than among men. This is true even of women who are educated or trained, and the situation has worsened during the COVID-19 epidemic.

Television plays a very important role in human’s life. It is one of the main and the common source of entertainment. TNS consultancy report says that mostly people stay loyal to television every day. Television is considered as a main source of entertainment because it contains variety of channels related to news, music, sports, entertainment, movies, multilingual, bhakti, informational, cartoon, reality shows and many more. So, it’s suitable for every age group whether a child, youngster or an adult. Anyone can watch it according to their preference from anywhere.

Earlier in 1959 when television was introduced in India it was very heavy in weight with a small screen inside it. Everyone can’t afford it at that time so then it was only found in some rich houses. People has to adjust their antenna to find signal for watching T.V. That time it came with only one national channel named as ‘Doordarshan’ which was introduced by government. Colour of the screens were black and white so it was also considered as black and white T.V. People have to adjust volumes with the regulator that was fitted with T.V. as that time remotes were not invented to operate T.V. Later Doordarshan channel was the combination of all the news programmes, fictional or non-fictional shows or drama and many other categories of programmes. Then many shows like ‘Yeh toh hai zindigi’, ‘Buniyaad’, ‘Vikram Betal’, ‘Mahabharat’, ‘Ramayana’ etc. were telecasted on T.V. These shows gained so much of popularity among the people. That age was considered as the golden age of Television as all the family members sit together to watch it.

With new innovations in technology, television industry also changed slowly and gradually by the time. Many people started affording T.V. at their homes. Now we can find T.V. almost in every house. Black and white T.V. were converted to the colour T.V. and its content quality also enhanced by the time. Afterwards, remote was invented, remote is the device by which we can operate our television we can adjust volumes or channels easily by sitting at one place. Antenna T.V. has been replaced by DTH (Direct-to-home) T.V. DTH is a digital satellite service through which variety of channels are broadcasted on television. We can enjoy approximately 800+ channels in one set top box. T.V screens became bigger by the time and now variety of brands (Panasonic, L.G, Videocon d2h, Sony etc.) of television are available in market. Anyone can afford television according to their choice or preferences related to brands, resolutions (3D, OLED, LCD, LED, 4K etc), size or DTH services (Tata sky, Dish T.V., Videocon d2h, etc.)

In India the new age of Television is more advanced and innovative. Now we can choose our favourite channels according to our preferences as it is a cost and time saving option. We can easily choose/deduct the channel we want/ remove from our DTH packs just by just calling our cable operator or through a particular DTH app. Smart T.V. are newly introduced in market. These televisions come with advanced features, technology and better resolutions. Now we can access over thousands of web series, movies, shows and cartoon through internet on television. Android apps like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, twitter, Netflix, Amazon prime, Voot and many more apps can be accessed on T.V. Smart T.V. are really big in their size and screens and it also gives 3D picture quality. Some Smart T.V.’s even contains web cam in it through which we can easily connect with anyone by just sitting at our homes or at any other place.

So, in coming years Television will be introduced with more such advanced and interesting features and innovations like Wifi, increased piracy etc. And social media trends like Facebook, Instagram, twitter etc will provide inputs for marketing, pricing and story trends too and many more. These features will make life easier as it will save more time and cost too with full entertainment in return.      

Kerala’s proactive reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic was made conceivable as a result of the solid establishment set somewhere around the Kerala Model of Development also. Directly from the first communist government in 1957, social mobilizations by Left and progressive associations and the reactions to them by the state governments now and again, have made an additional people – focused and responsive majority rules system in the state. This, thusly, has fortified open interests in health and education, making ready for Kerala to accomplish social records that are at standard with the most developed countries on the planet.

The Kerala Model weaves in a rights-based methodology in the formative and government assistance activities embraced by the state. This methodology has been maintained in the state’s battle against COVID-19, as well.

COVID-19 shows itself not just as a health crisis, yet in addition as a financial emergency. The way that Kerala declared a far reaching COVID-19 monetary help bundle of Rs. 20,000 crore on March 19, much before reporting a lockdown on March 23, is an unmistakable marker that directly from its onset, Kerala has been tending to the two sides of this test. It was a far reaching measure which accommodated welfare annuities, ration and basic supplies, interest free credits, salary through the rural job guarantee schemes MGNREGS, relaxation in taxes and pay of utilities and a healthcare package.

Indeed, even amidst this pandemic, the state government’s methodology was rights-based and individuals focused. This guaranteed the overall population, including migrant laborers, was dealt with. What’s more, since they were guaranteed of the help because of them well ahead of time, they didn’t need to come out of their homes looking for help, or damage lockdown conventions for their survival It is this blend of arrangement ahead of time and doling out of relief measures that encouraged Kerala to continue with its healthcare intercessions in an issue free way.

Kerala’s emphasis on general wellbeing began directly from the times of the EMS Namboodiripad-drove Left government of 1957–1959. The methodology was clear in those days, to give general wellbeing administrations to all, with no distinction based on money related capacity or societal position. Likewise, present day offices and administrations were to be set up in District Hospitals, Local Fund Dispensaries were to be taken over by the government and research was to be led on transferable illnesses in order to take up preventive measures.

Thusly, to guarantee general wellbeing all around, logical and network intercessions were depended on in healthcare, undertaking mass crusades for immunization, etc. Measures of general wellbeing were step by step raised through centered intercessions directly from the low base, at the degree of Primary Health Centers or PHCs.

In spite of progression, Kerala’s general wellbeing part has stayed hearty on the grounds that, when health was looked to be made a ‘trade in services’ under the World Trade Organization’s GAT or General Agreement on Trade and Services, Kerala immovably opposed it.

The Left and progressive movements in the state took a harsh remain against it, saying that general health services can’t be changed into a profit-making sector for private entities. General health services  ought to be available to the whole society, as a right; this was the view that was advanced by  Kerala’s progressive sections when that debate was raging.

Remaining consistent with that convention, the current Left Democratic Front (LDF) government has additionally significantly put resources into the general health frameworks in Kerala, especially through the Aardram Mission, planned for making government hospitals human inviting. It has improved infrastructural offices and services in government hospitals and health focuses.

PHCs have been moved up to Family Health Centers with the goal that way of life sicknesses and third gen medical issues can be tended to. Super-specialty treatment – for heart and kidney ailments –  is presently accessible at District and Taluka Hospitals. Special treatment is given to handling second and third world medical issues and lifestyle diseases.