WORLD WIDE MIRROR

Are you bored of your 9-to-5 job and keep fantasising about your last day at work? Here are some quirky resignations that may motivate you to quit your job and live your life the way you wish to! The monotony of 9-to-5 jobs are destroying sleep cycles and increasing anxiety levels for most of the urban youth. To beat the stress, people either switch jobs sooner than expected or quit their jobs to travel or write! Are you feeling the pressure to get out of the corporate circle too, and fantasising about different ways to quit your job? While most people hand over their resignation letters politely and leave the company on good terms, others tend to explode it on their bosses’ heads in a rather peculiar way. Remember that rogue Twitter employee who ended his last day of work by deactivating President Donald Trump ‘s Twitter account? Even though it was down for just 11 minutes, it counted as some glorious minutes for the employee.

Apple's Taiwanese contract manufacturer Wistron Corp is close to finalising a land deal in India's tech hub of Bengaluru and the firm is likely to invest about $157 million to develop the site. Apple ’s Taiwanese contract manufacturer Wistron Corp is close to finalising a land deal in India’s tech hub of Bengaluru and the firm is likely to invest about $157 million to develop the site, two government officials told Reuters. ICT Service Management Solutions, Wistron’s unit that assembles Apple’s low-cost iPhone SE in India, has been scouting for some 100 acres in and around Bengaluru, capital of the southern Indian state of Karnataka, said the sources, who are familiar with the matter but asked not to be named as they are not authorised to publicly discuss the plans. Apple and Wistron declined requests for comment. Some of Wistron’s global executives and its India head met with the industries minister of Karnataka earlier this month and a deal on the land lease may be struc

Universities cannot be made world-class if the desire doesn’t come from within That the government is aiming at having many universities with a global footprint is good. That it will itself choose them is not. The government will have to fund them. If later, we are told that the fiscal deficit is binding and funds are scarce but universities can do without much money because systems in any case need improvements and unit costs will fall, the disappointment will be crushing. For, good teachers have learnt to listen to assorted bureaucrats and netas for survival but don’t expect much change from their lectures. They know that systemic improvements can go far but while not too much money is needed, the net additional costs of incentives and disincentives will have to be met. It is true that technology has potential and is cost reducing at the output-unit level, yet somebody will have to meet the bottom line of the total rising costs. If the government pays, it will intervene, the pri

The increase of duty will have an adverse affect on the small and medium players of the sector who make products such as alloys by recycling as it will shoot up their input cost, it said. Metal Recycling Association of India (MRAI) has urged the government to remove 2.5 per cent import duty on aluminium scrap in the upcoming budget for the financial year 2018-19. “With reference to recently Aluminium Association of India (AAI) in a pre-budget recommendation to the Budget Committee has recommended increase in the Customs Duty on aluminium scrap from 2.50 to 10.00 per cent,” MRAI said in a statement. AAI does not represents the entire stake holders of the aluminium industry in the country, MRAI said, adding that it only represents the primary producers of the sector and “more than 50 per cent stake holders are in the secondary sectors, which are under MRAI. The increase of duty will have an adverse affect on the small and medium players of the sector who make products such as alloys

We have often used sentences like "We really 'clicked', you know?", "We both are best friends because our brains are so 'tuned' with each other", right? Who would have thought the sentences we use in our casual conversations could actually have real significance to them. About the research The research was conducted by the researchers, led by UCLA social psychologist Carolyn Parkinson where they put students from 42 business schools in an MRI machine and showed them a series of 14 videos. The scanner recorded the activity in their brains as they watched the clips. The recorded patterns could be used to determine which two students were friends and which were mere classmates, according to a study published in the journal Nature Communications. This phenomenon has been termed as "brain coupling" by neuroscience, and apparently is a real, measurable, research-validated phenomenon. What was in

Amid ongoing crackdown on cryptocurrencies by regulators across the world, Facebook has jumped the bandwagon by unveiling its new ads policy. The world's biggest social media network announced in a blog post that it will ban advertisements promoting initial coin offerings (ICOs) and cryptocurrency like Bitcoin on Facebook and photo-sharing app Instagram. The new rule "prohibits ads that promote financial products and services that are frequently associated with misleading or deceptive promotional practices, such as binary options, initial coin offerings and cryptocurrency." Advertisement: Replay Ad Ads by ZINC 3 "Two of our core advertising principles outline our belief that ads should be safe, and that we build for people first. Misleading or deceptive ads have no place on Facebook," Facebook's Product Management Director Rob Leathern wrote in the post. The post titled 'Improving Integrity and Se

Expectations are high from Finance Minister Arun Jaitley ahead of the government's last full Budget in Parliament tomorrow. Of the many subjects that the Finance Minister is likely to take up in his Budget speech, Arun Jaitley, many feel, should also talk about bitcoins, the cryptocurrency that has become one of the biggest buzzwords in recent times. BITCOIN TRADING A REALITY IN INDIA It will be wrong to assume that bitcoin trading is only prevalent in other countries, and is yet to hit the Indian shores. DMK MP Kanimozhi, while speaking in Parliament recently, said that India accounts for nearly 11 per cent of global trading in cryptocurrency such as bitcoins, and sought to know if government planned to regulate them. The ambivalence around cryptocurrency like bitcoins persists as people are not sure if these can be considered as an investment asset or how exactly earnings (or losses) from bitcoin trading are taxed. As of now, the gover

The interest rates on small savings schemes, a favourite among Indian household investors, have dropped to a multi-decade low. For example, interest on the ever- popular Public Provident Fund (PPF) is down to 7.6 per cent (January 2018) and on the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme to 8.3 per cent. The rate cuts have left in the lurch all those risk-averse investors, who swore by investments like the PPF which carry a government guarantee. Why have interest rates come down Interest rates on small savings schemes (SSS) are now market-linked and formulae driven. They were linked to government bond yields in 2011 but were revised once a year. Since April 2016, the reset in interest rates has been done quarterly based on the average yield on government bonds of similar maturity in the previous quarter with the government paying a mark-up on this. The mark-up on PPF is 25 basis points (100 basis points is equal to 1 per cent). The formula is meant to align all interest rates in the economy.

Total lunar eclipse 2018: Super blue blood moon 2018 takes place on January 31 and coincides with a lunar eclipse as well: So what is Super blue blood moon, total lunar eclipse and what time will this event be visible in India? Here's everything you need to know. On January 31, which is tomorrow, is a total lunar eclipse, but this is coinciding with supermoon and a blue moon as well. The event is being termed as a super blue blood moon and is a rare lunar event to watch. The celestial event, according to NASA is a lunar trifecta where three particular events are colliding. Those living in the US, Alaska and Hawaii will see a pre-dawn “super blue blood moon,” and will enjoy the best view of this lunar eclipse. Lucikly, residents in India will also be able to witness the super blue blood moon.  So what exactly is the Super blue blood moon phenomenon and what will be the timings for India? Also, why is this Super blue blood moon such a rare event? Here are all your questions about t

Sedition law has been misused by over-zealous agencies. That’s no reason to scrap it The law of sedition in India has an interesting history. Part III of the Constitution guarantees certain fundamental rights to citizens and non-citizens. No fundamental right is absolute. Freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by Article 19(1)(a) can be reasonably restricted on the grounds specified in Article 19(2). In the Draft Constitution, one of the heads of the restrictions proposed on freedom of speech and expression was “sedition”. K M Munshi opposed the inclusion of “sedition” in the Draft Constitution as a restriction on freedom of speech and expression. During the debates in the Constituent Assembly, in view of the bitter experience of the arbitrary application of the sedition law by the colonial regime against nationalist leaders, Jawaharlal Nehru amongst others, agreed with Munshi and deliberately omitted “sedition” as one of the permissible grounds of restriction under Article

The study, conducted in 2014, was designed to defend diesel following revelations that the fuel's exhaust fumes were carcinogenic. Volkswagen said the study was never discussed in any management board meetings. Volkswagen’s supervisory board called for an immediate inquiry into who commissioned tests in which monkeys were exposed to toxic diesel fumes, while the German government said such studies were unjustifiable. “I will do everything possible to ensure that this matter is investigated in detail,” Volkswagen supervisory board Chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch said in a statement on Monday. “Whoever is responsible for this must of course be held accountable,” Poetsch said in response to a New York Times report on Friday that German carmakers had used an organisation called European Research Group on Environment and Health in the Transport Sector (EUGT) to commission the tests. The study, conducted in 2014, was designed to defend diesel following revelations that the fuel’s exh

We are very excited about launching Ola in Australia and see immense potential for the ride-sharing ecosystem which embraces new technology and innovation," Ola co-founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal said Indian cab aggregator Ola is set to go international with the launch of its operations in Australia in the coming weeks, a move that will further intensify its battle with US-based rival Uber. The SoftBank-backed firm is now on boarding private hire vehicle owners onto its platform in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, Ola said in a statement. Ola plans to launch its services in Australia in early 2018, it added. It will share further details of the commencement of commercial operations — subject to necessary regulatory approvals — later. “We are very excited about launching Ola in Australia and see immense potential for the ride-sharing ecosystem which embraces new technology and innovation,” Ola co-founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal said. He added that the company aims to “create a hi

THE FOURTH MEAL Goodbye breakfast, lunch and dinner, hello fourth meal. Yes, more and more people are busy adjusting their eating schedules to suit their busy lives: be it a healthy snack, a light one between lunch and dinner or an energy-boosting salad mid-afternoon. DON'T WANT TO EAT MEAT Go for algae. It's the hottest plant-based meat substitute of the moment. It's also the ultimate source of omega-3 fatty acids and amino acids, essential in our diet. A nearly untapped resource found in both freshwater and marine aquatic systems, it can apparently solve the planet's impending food crisis. THE ALT-SWEETS With sugar topping the list of dietary watch-outs, there's a hunt for alternative sweet flavours with lower glycemic impact. Syrups made from dates, sorghum (jowar), yacon (a sweet potato-like root vegetable) and the zero-calorie monk fruit are good substitutes. Date syrup is sweeter than granulated sugar, but less swee

This piece of advice is trotted out once every year as the financial year end approaches. So here goes: it's best to plan your tax-saving investments earlier, and stagger some of the investments over the year. And if it's tax savings you seek, first count in the eligible payouts, on which tax deductions may be claimed to reduce the overall tax burden. Equity Linked Savings Schemes (year end): These mutual funds invest in equities with a lock-in period of three years. It's a good option if you want to save tax as well as grow your money as they mostly deliver the highest returns among tax saving instruments. There is no tax if you withdraw the money after the lock-in period. In the past one year, the average return of ELSS has been around 42 per cent, while the three-year return has been around 15 per cent. Unit Linked Insurance Plans (ULIPs): These insurance plans provide the benefit of both investing in equities and insurance. The lock-in period is five years and the re

Starting life as Volvo's Concept Coupe five years back, a 2+2 which was created to demonstrate Volvo's Scalable Product Architecture platform (SPA) which can be found on Volvo's current-gen models like the XC40. But there was a massive roadblock, as pointed out by Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar's new chief and also the design chief. In an interview with Autocar UK, Ingenlath had stated, "When the Polestar 1 was still the Concept Coupe, it attracted lots of attention. Everyone wanted to know if we were going to build it, but it was always clear it wouldn't work in the normal Volvo way and not just because of the business case. It also had design features that stretched Volvo too far, yet we felt its proportions ideally fitted the GT category." At launch, the Polestar 1 Coupe will get the previously mentioned electric guise alongside internal combustion as well. It will get a 379bhp, 2.0-litre, turbocharged and supercharged, 4-cylinder petrol alongside a pair

Budget 2018-19 will be one of finance minister Arun Jaitley's toughest challenges. Although this will be the NDA government's last full budget before the general elections next year, Jaitley cannot afford to be profligate to please the various constituencies as that would mean slipping on the fiscal discipline he has maintained so far. The wiggle room has further narrowed due to glitches in the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), resulting in lower-than-expected revenues from indirect tax collection. GST collections in November 2017, at Rs 80,808 crore, were the lowest since the tax regime was implemented in July 2017, compared to peak collections of over Rs 94,000 crore in July. At the same time, the clamour to pump prime growth has never been louder, thanks to demonetisation, which put the economy on the back foot, with growth for 2017-18 projected to drop to 6.5 per cent compared to 7.1 per cent the previous year. Crude oil prices have been rising, crossing t

mobile payments provider Paytm has reached a valuation of about $10 billion (approx Rs 63,537 crores), the company said on Monday. The valuation was achieved following a secondary sale where existing and former employees sold part of their ESOPs to new investors including undisclosed family offices and a few western offices for Rs 300 crores (approx $47.2 million). "Company valuation rises close to USD 10 billion in latest round," Paytm told Moneycontrol . The company was previously valued at around $7 billion in May following a funding round where Japanese investor SoftBank invested $1.4 billion (approx Rs 9,000 crores) in parent company One 97 Communications. This made Paytm the second most valuable startup in the country after Flipkart at $12 billion. Around 200 Paytm employees liquidated their employee stock options (ESOPs) for Rs 300 crores, the report added. ESOPs are benefits aside from salary offered to employees in the form of shares in the company. "Paytmer

Ed Sheeran winning the Grammy award for Shape of You over Kesha's Praying and Lady Gaga's Million Reasons has not gone down well with many, as is evident from the angry rants on the Internet that followed the decision by the Sound Academy. Ed Sheeran’s 2017 chartbuster Shape of You must have got people across the world tapping their feet and humming the tune alright, but when his song about spotting a girl at the bar won over Kesha’s Praying about surviving sexual assault and Lady Gaga’s Million Reasons — a song about a healing process, Twitter users were furious, to say the least, at the Sound Academy’s decision. “After surviving years of abuse at the hands of a man who allegedly called her a “fat fucking refrigerator,” Kesha released a beautiful, career-defining song about undeserved forgiveness. But the Grammys chose to award the song where a man sings “I’m in love with the shape of you”, “Earlier this month The Grammys described Million Reasons as “introspective and im

Thanks to the very favourable low base — Q3FY17 was the demonetisation quarter — most companies were, in any case, expected to bounce back. With no surprises and just a couple of disappointments, earnings season is turning out to be fairly predictable. Thanks to the very favourable low base — Q3FY17 was the demonetisation quarter — most companies were, in any case, expected to bounce back. That seems to have happened especially in the consumer staples space where volumes have been very strong. However, the rising prices of raw materials are beginning to drive up costs. Rallis, for example, reported an 11 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) fall in ebitda even though revenues rose a robust 18 per cent y-o-y, reflecting a sharp rise in the cost of inputs. At Maruti, too, raw material costs shot up 14 per cent but the carmaker managed to report a strong ebitda margin of 15.8 per cent, thanks to a robust revenue growth and some cost-cutting. Management commentary from the likes of Hindust

When Delhi-based artist Seema Kohli was asked by curator Tunty Chauhan to create a work reflecting her association with plants, she drew upon images of a charpai, tea pots, monkeys swinging from trees and cows feeding on plants for her 16 etchings. The works drew attention to the source of the charpai — a reed — and that tea is derived from a plant, and monkeys are hounding urban settlements due to an invasion of their green habitats. The works are displayed at Gallery Threshold in Delhi as part of a show, “Verdant Memory”. The exhibition marks 20 years of the gallery, prompting gallerist Tunty Chauhan to bring together 20 artists, such as Atul Dodiya, Jagannath Panda, GR Iranna and Manjunath Kamath, to capture their memories, experiences and imagination about plants. Using ink and gold dust on paper for his drawings, Iranna shows tree guards surrounding plants, as evident in many villages, and the process of grafting, among others. Iranna says, “I have tried to compare plants to hum