“Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands of messages and voices bombard us from the moment we wake, fighting for our attention. All we see and hear, all day long, is news. And most of it is bad.”, is more a manifestation of the infuriation of the author Joseph Prince than just a normal quote.
This expression of the author seems to be representative of the feelings and opinions of the mass about the consumption of news these days. In such a scenario, even a single piece agglomerating the latest happenings in a laconic way can be very helpful. I hope the following content adds this value to the reader:
Hello! India:
- ‘Same-same but different’ – this is how I’ll explain the wealth growth story of Indians in the past decade and a half or so. While the absolute number of billionaires and the ultra-wealthy has increased exponentially but, just like the old times, the gap between the rich and poor has only widened further.
- After a few misfired shots in its quest to allay the grave problem of air pollution in Delhi, the AAP lynchpin Arvind Kejriwal seems to have finally focused on the root cause of the problem – stubble burning in Haryana and Punjab by holding talks with the Haryana CM.
- Amidst falling retail rental rates globally, Delhi’s Khan Market has improved 4 positions to the 24th most expensive retail space in the world and of course has the numero uno position in India. It’s amazing to see how micro-markets and not malls have emerged as the most expensive retail spaces in India.
Let’s go Global:
- The military of Zimbabwe is playing the role of a vigilant by triggering a mega coup against the incumbent Mugabe government assuring the citizens that “his excellency” and the independence of the state are in safe hands.
- Chinese officials have suggested the Christian community of one of the country’s poorest provinces to deify Xi Jinping and not Jesus and replace all the photographs of Him with that of Xi’s. These anecdotes strengthen my belief of how China is very gradually moving towards being a totalitarian economy.
- Australia has overwhelmingly voted in favour of the legality of homosexuality in a recent referendum. Now, it’s in the hands of the parliament to pay their reverence to the public’s mandate.
From the World of Marketing:
- In a never-seen-before move, Future Group’s Brand factory is all set to introduce a cover charge of Rs.100-250 for entry to its store to regulate the amount and quality of the crowd that enters their store during the sales period.
- Post the recent big cuts in GST tax rates, FMCG companies are comprehending how much of the benefit should be passed on directly to the consumers and how much to the traders. The government recently reduced the number of items falling under the 28% slab from 277 to just 50.
A Peek into the Politics:
- Kerala’s transport minister Thomas Chandy has resigned from his post with an immediate effect after the state high court charged him in land-grab cases. This seems to be just another gem in India’s embarrassing crown of scandals orchestrated by ministers in power.
- Very soon, the three most powerful governmental positions of the country of Norway namely Prime Minister, Finance minister and Foreign Minister will be occupied by women. Amidst a flurry of concerning news surfacing these days, this is a welcome move in the world of politics.
This is it for this week. Happy Reading!
