Unique Times May 2019

Vol 8 Issue No.91 May-June 2019

Easing liquidity is the top priority of RBI Shri V.P. Nandakumar, MD & CEO Manappuram Finance Ltd.

Mercedes

GLC

THE SHINING STAR OF V STAR:

SHEELA KOCHOUSEPH

Editorial

Chief Mentor Mr. V.P. Nandakumar Director & CEO Jebitha Ajit enry Ford, the founder of the Editor Jebitha Ajit Ford Motor Company, and the Legal Advisor Latha Anand sponsor of the development of the

B.S.Krishnan Associates assembly line technique of mass pro bskrishnanassociates@gmail.com duction, once said: “Quality means Sub-Editor Vignesh S.G doing it right when no one is looking.”

Associate Editor Ravi Saini When you ask SheelaKoCorrespondents Dr. Thomas Nechupadam chouseph, who has popularised the

Vivek Venugopal- Quarter Mile promising brand of V Star and carved a unique space

Amrutha V Kumar in the Kerala, about the secret of success, she comes Creative Design PEGASUS with one-liner: ‘Quality is our prime asset’. This manCover Photographer Ashique Hassan tra of quality turned her company from less than ten Marketing UAE customers to one with over 100 crore of turnover. Read

Phygicart.com her success story.

P.O. Box: 92546, Al Karama Dubai In the regular column, V.P. Nandakumar, the ChairMr. Anish K Joy

man and Managing Director of Manappuram Finance,

Mob: +971528946999 gives the reasons behind RBI’s motive to infuse liquidity info@phygicart.com

Plot No 19A, 9th Floor, in the economy via OMO and Forex swap.

Green Building, Film City, Why does the Mercedes GLC fit right in the crowded

Sector - 16A, Noida - 201301 luxury midsize SUV segment which has a lot of playTamil Nadu

ers like the Audi Q5, BMW X3, Volvo XC60, Lexus NX,

Vice president Land Rover Discovery Sport, Jaguar F Pace etc. Our Uma Riyas Khan

Auto expert team finds the answer. In Travel, know

chennai, Mob: 9841072955 about Abkhazia: The Land of Darkness.

Unique Times, No.6/31, Regular staples on, gadgets, GST, movie review, and

Arunachalam main road, book review are there. I sincerely hope you find as much Saligramam, joy in this issue as it brings me.

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Printed at St. Reddiar & Sons, P.B. No: 3627, Veekshanam Road, Cochin Published at Pegasus Global Pvt. Ltd. L5-106, Changampuzha Nagar Kalamassery, Ernakulam-682 033 e-mail: editor@uniquetimes.org uniquetimesindia@gmail.com Ph:0484 2532040, 2532080 Mob:+91 98460 50283, 94470 50283

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CONTENTS

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Easing liquidity is the top priority of RBI

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The fall and rise of the middle manager

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The Shining Star of V Star: Sheela Kochouseph

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Crowned Princess

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Emerging disclosure norms for companiesWould this help in a fiscally cleaner India

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44

48

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58

42

Gadgets

44

Recipes

48

Natural ways to make your nails shiny and healthy

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Abkhazia: The Land of Darkness

58

Mercedes GLC

UNIQUE DIARY

India requests extra oil from major producers to overcome ‘the US sanction on Iran’ issue

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ndia has requested the major oil producers to provide extra oil to help the country overcome the crisis formed after the United States refused to extend the exemption provided to its sanction policy against Iran. When the US walked out of the treaty reached during the Obama era and imposed sanction over Iran, it provided a six month waiver for certain Iranian oil importers like India. Recently, the US clearly indicated that it would not let the countries enjoying the benefit of the exemption policy to continue to enjoy it for long. A senior central minister assures that the country will get additional supplies to compensate for the loss caused by the US policy.

India’s coal import rises from 214 MT to 233 MT

"What do you need to start a business? Three simple things: know your product better than anyone, know your customer, and have a burning desire to succeed."

Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy’s

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ontrary to the country’s declared policy to considerably reduce the import of dry fuel and to make the country self sufficient to meet its demands for dry fuel, the coal import in India has steeply increased in the financial year 2018-19 from 214 million tonnes to 233 million tonnes. The development has been publicised by a report developed by a B2B e-commerce company. From the statistics data appeared in the report, it can be assumed that a steep hike of nearly 9 percent has happened in the said fiscal as compared to the fiscal 2017-18. The statistical data indicates that no significant increase has occurred in the import of coking coal. The data clearly shows that the sharp increase in the import of non coking coal is the actual reason for the steep increase in the country’s overall coal import.

Pharmaceutical export increases in the fiscal 2018-19

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he export of pharmaceutical products from India has marked a sharp increase in the fiscal 2018-19. The positive development is the result of the increase in the demand of the Indian pharmaceutical products in North America and Europe. The Indian pharmaceutical export has increased from USD 17.3 billion (in the fiscal 201718) to USD 19.2 billion (in the fiscal 2018-19). This data indicates that an increase of eleven per cent has happened in the sector in this fiscal as compared to the previous fiscal. It is important to note here that in the fiscal 2016-17 the export was just around USD 16.7 billion.

India’s copper export decreases almost 70 per cent

"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time."

Thomas Edison

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he export of Indian copper products has decreased sharply by at least seventy percent in the financial year 2018-19. The report regarding the decrease has been released by the India’s Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC). The decrease has been attributed to the closure the Vedanta Ltd copper smelter.

Few months before, the Tamil Nadu government closed down the copper smelter located in Thoothukudi, as a protest, organised against the company over its pollution management system by those around the locality where the company is located, ended up in ending around 13 innocent lives. The company accounts for at least 40 per cent of the total copper products produced in the country.

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UNIQUE DIARY

Jet Airways’ fleet strength continues to move down

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he total strength of the fleet of Jet Airways has been reduced almost to the half of what it was before it met the crisis. Recently, around 44 aircrafts with the company have been de-registered. At least 11 more aircrafts is likely to be deregistered in the near future. Once the process ends, the total deregistered may cross the mark of 55, which is almost half of the total strength of the fleet of the company.

Once a plane is de-registered, its lessors can withdraw the plane and lease out to any company of their choice. The company owes around 9000 crore to various banks. It owns around 16 aircrafts. It relies heavily on the rented aircrafts to carry out its operation smoothly.

Uber replaces Asia Pacific business head Amit with Pierre-Dimitri

“If you can't fly then run. If you can't run, then walk. If you can't walk, then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.”

Conrad Hilton

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U

ber has made some serious changes in its management lately.

It has replaced its Asia Pacific business head Amit Jain with its senior leader Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, who leads the company’s rides business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It was in the year 2015 Mr Jain joined the company as the head of its Indian business sector. Later, he was handed over the charge of the Asia Pacific region, in recognition of the contribution he made as the India head. It remains unclear why the man has resigned from the company – particularly at the time the company is going through an important phase of its business expansion.

BUSINESS

The rising crude price may impact India’s balance of payment adversely. In FY19, India’s trade deficit reached $95.98 billion. Oil imports had increased by 29% to $140 Billion, as compared to $109 billion, last year.

Shri V.P.Nandakumar MD & CEO Manappuram Finance Ltd.

A

dequate and swift monetary transmission remains a key policy challenge for RBI. To induce credit growth and reignite the economy, RBI has, in recent months, reduced policy rates by 50 basis points (bps).

(1 basis point is 1/100th of 1 percent).

However, very few banks have passed on the benefit of lower interest rate to borrowers. Even those that announced reductions in interest rates did so only cosmetically, with a token reduction of five bps at best. Banks blame liquidity constraints as a significant factor preventing them from passing on the benefits of the policy rate cuts. Easing systemic liquidity is therefore the focus of the RBI.

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RBI has increased its durable liquidity infusion in the market via a slew of measures, like USD/INR buy/sell swap auction, open market operation (OMO), and direct market intervention to move the liquidity from deficit to surplus, to induce banks to reduce lending rates. Also, in addition to the regular monetary tool to address cash shortages such as OMO, the RBI also started conducting the medium-term foreign exchange buy/sell swaps. RBI bought $ 10 billion for a tenor of 3 years, last month. The swap enables banks to sell USD to RBI for INR and simultaneously agree to buy back the USD at a higher price at the end of the swap period. During FY19, the total infusion of liquidity through OMOs amounted to `2.9

trillion.

RBI’s choice of instrument (USD/INR swap) for infusing liquidity is essentially about targeting two birds with one stone. RBI has provided $10 billion worth cash currency in the economy in the past two months and all indications suggest further swaps in the coming months. While the exchange increased cash supply in the system, the inflow of US dollars allows RBI to enhance its forex reserves, especially welcome when the trade deficit is higher than the normal, and when a risk-off scenario (i.e. global investors becoming averse to emerging market risks) could result in a sharp fall in USD/INR. Larger forex reserve would not only act as a deterrent in such a situation, it also

Easing liquidity is the top priority of RBI

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signals the strength of the economy and its financial systems.

India’s trade deficit has increased over the past two years, mainly on account of higher crude prices. As can be seen from the chart here, trade deficit averaged at $30billion per quarter in during FY15-FY17, where as it is averaging at nearly $40 billion in FY18-FY19, pushing the exchange rate from average 65/$ (during FY15-FY17) to over 67/$ (FY15-FY17), even though the average reserves during the same period increased from $350 billion to $400billion.

Liquidity infusion measures become even more critical when crude oil prices run high. Crude oil prices have jumped after the US denied the extension of waiver to buyers of Iranian Oil, which includes India.

We are the world’s third-biggest oil consumer (imports meet more 80%

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of India’s oil demand), and Iran was our third largest supplier. The US sanction on Iranian oil resulted in a tighter oil market, pushing prices over $75/barrel. Further increases in crude oil prices are likely, following US sanctions on Venezuela and Iran’s threat to close a key shipping route.

The rising crude price may impact India’s balance of payment adversely. In FY19, India’s trade deficit reached $95.98 billion. Oil imports had increased by 29% to $140 Billion, as compared to $109 billion, last year. The higher trade deficit exerts negative pressure on the exchange rate. The Indian rupee depreciated by 9% last year, labelled as worst performing currency in Asia, after a gap of over eight years. The rupee managed to regain its sheen only in 2019. It is therefore imperative for the RBI to ensure enough

forex reserves to address the concerns on our financial system, while addressing the problem of cash shortages in the economy.

It is expected that RBI would continue its path of liquidity infusion in the economy via OMO and Forex swap to support the economic recovery. It is also expected that after the elections some of the liquidity concerns would ease, as cash spent during the elections comes back into the financial system.The RBI’s liquidity operations will remain focused on achieving the stated policy objective of aligning the market rate with the policy repo rate

(V.P. Nandakumar is MD & CEO of Manappuram Finance Ltd. Views are personal)

BUSINESS

Rajesh Nair Partner-Emerge Ventures Pte Rajesh is also the President of the Kerala Chapter of TiE Global

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rganisational dynamics presents a wide panorama of phenomena which baffle even the best of psychologists and workplace behavioural experts. Trends and headlines change every decade and in recent years, the pace of change has been blinding. While technology and the digital revolution has made exponential changes, the change from the career perspective has come to the ‘middle manager’.

In the hierarchical, box shaped organisation structures of the past, there has often been the rampant debate of the neglect of the officers who were between their tenth and twentieth years of their career journey. The logic proffered was that the young professional traverses a plateau after the initial vibrant years in the organisation and moves into a phase where she loses the zest to innovate and learn and moves into a role where their primary role is to keep the lights burning. The monotonous phase ends with some of them progressing into the senior management phase, running organisations and making critical business decisions, where they need to summon their experience and shoulder immense responsibility and accountability. As an organisational pundit averred “Middle Management phase is a necessary evil!” It has also been identified as a phase of life where the professional is sufficiently torn between making work – life choices and endlessly tries to find the fine balance of professional and personal life. It is also a phase in life

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In the hierarchical, box shaped organisation structures of the past, there has often been the rampant debate of the neglect of officers who were between their tenth and twentieth years of their career journey.

d n a l l a f The f the r e o g e s a n ri a m e l d d i m

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when there is large mind share of activities of setting up families and managing social equations. Dilbert cartoons portray middle managers as the bored executive indulging in multiple repetitive tasks.

We have a leadership capacity problem in every walk of life. It is also the nature of the animal – in today’s world and there is no one who can potentially be an expert in everything. Distributed skills and competencies necessitate the emergence of a pride or caucus of leaders. And there is nothing wrong with that.

My experience as a professional leads me to doubt that one person can definitively “figure things out”.

All kinds of things get in the way: we see patterns, but don’t recognize; we listen to the tunes, but don’t comprehend; insights are garbled in transmission; or there is simply too much noise in the environment. Maybe the best we can aspire for is an approximation of true understanding, like the curve that asymptotically approaches but never touches the

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ray. In this context, the best bet is to learn collectively as an organisation. What matters therefore is the process of questioning by which one tries to figure things out.

What is needed is not just a strong team and the ability to delegate, but Critical Leader Relationships - a handful of trusted confidants who can be eyes and ears, helpers and advisers, and sources of support and honest feedback for various initiatives. There is the need for professionals not just to respond to the forces around them but to shape them. This can only be achieved through collective leadership in today’s world. George Bernard Shaw said “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable men”. This is easier said than done. It is only when he or she is part of the flock or the herd, does this become increasing practical.

There is a latent leader in all of

us. What we seek is a ‘high touch’ issue – something we feel close to and warms our heart, a ‘high tone’ topic which engages our mind and a ‘high octane’ movement which brings out a transformational experience in us that is energizing and collaborative.

The need for inclusive discussions within organisations and outside, has necessitated the birth of a new leadership role – that of a facilitator.

Facilitative leadership, which also needs the middle management maturity, is quickly gaining traction and mindshare in organisations across sectors.

The new ‘Mecca’ of information Wikipedia describes the facilitator as ‘someone who helps a group of people understand their common objectives and assists them to achieve them, without taking a particular position in the discussion’. The role of a facilitator in many a business context is that of someone who will drive consensus and direction in a group and often, without wielding a position of power or authority.

Such a role finds larger meaning in the changing look of ‘competition’, these days. The word competition is increasingly being replaced by coopetition. The discussions are not just about improving the playfield for you, but also brining the larger focus on the development of the industry or the sector.

At times, we expect them to not just perform magic at conflict resolution, pose as a conduit for great ideas, keep the focus of the group on the ball which traverses from subject to subject, but also play God! It is a very interesting melange of roles that we expect them to play. When we think more deeply, it is, at times, more important to understand what are the roles they should not be playing.

But, this is changing and so is the dynamics of the workplace of the future. There are several changes which has brought the spotlight back

on the middle manager.

Changing organisation structures

The hierarchical organisations have been broadly restructured into manageable chinks of business units with flatter structures. The need to be closer to the fickle customer and reduction of the multiple ‘touchpoints’ for decision making has necessitated the emergence flat matrix structures. With this structure decisions are cascaded down much faster and every employee plays more engaged roles.

Changing pace of transformation

Every industry changing and the fine line between industries are also quick becoming more invisible with each of them having a digital core.

There is no IT company anywhere because diverse industries have also embraced the digital platform. This change has also put the middle man-

ager on the pedestal since they come with an interesting blend of business understanding and change maturity.

Changing leader profile

The average age of the CEO is rapidly reducing. The emergence ‘boss baby’ is also evident in the emerging technology companies.

The quintessential middle manager is closer to the top management seat than any time in the last several decades. Organisations clearly understand that youth is no guarantee for innovation nor is age a clear marker for maturity. Placement specialists place a premium on the blend of both profiles.

Gone are the days when we considered the middle managers as the ‘also rans’ in organisations. Today a strong middle management pipeline is an indicator of the ability of the firm to embrace change, take the digital leap, expand and take organisations to the next orbit of growth

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The Shining Star of V Star: Sheela Kochouseph

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ur sub-editor Sheeja Nair talks to a successful businesswoman Sheela Kochouseph, who has popularised the promising brand of V Star, and who has carved a unique space in the Kerala business sector with her confidence and hard work.

Your company has grown from less than ten customers to over 100 crore turnover.

How do you see this growth, especially as a woman entrepreneur?

In the initial days, it was not easy.

Churidar was our initial product. In those days, we only made less than

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fifteen churidars a day. Our plan was to increase our production capacity rapidly.

I never dreamt of becoming a business tycoon. It was our workers who played a key role in the success of our company. Our 230-member team always encouraged me to execute new ideas.

Around seven years after we had entered into the production of churidar, we ventured into the production of bra, panties, camisole, men’s innerwear, leggings and men’s tshirt. Later, we started our kids wear production.

Our main customers are women.

I never dreamt of becoming a business tycoon. It was our workers who played a key role in the success of our company. Our 230member team always encouraged me to execute new ideas.

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They are the ones who have helped the brand to become this much successful.

The men’s wear sector is a very competitive field. It is hoped that in the near future we will come first in that sector also.

How did you overcome the ‘shame factor’ surrounding women’s undergarments?

I do not think that women’s undergarments are bad things. When I started the production of bra, it was just another product for me. It those days, there were no quality undergarments available in the market for women.

With the support of our expert team, we developed new models and introduced them to the market.

In the initial days, no publishing companies were ready to advertise the product. A renowned womencentred magazine rejected our advertisement proposal. Even, our hoardings were damaged. But, the confidence in me remained intact.

I used cable TV networks to advertise the product. I got an excellent response from our customers and dealers. It was our victory.

Now, there is no restriction in advertising the product through any medium. We see at least two or three women’s undergarments advertisements in every magazine these days.

Have you faced any serious challenges in your busi-

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The system governs the state does not support the business community. It often discourages those come forward to do business in the state. In contrary, the system encourages the foreigners who wish to do business in the state.

ness as a woman entrepreneur?

Personally, I have not faced any serious challenges. It does not mean that all women entrepreneurs do business in the state without the fear of challenges.

I have received all required support from the V Guard. So, I cannot say that I have faced all challenges myself.

The system governs the state does not support the business community. It often discourages those come forward to do business in the state. In contrary, the system encourages the foreigners who wish to do business in the state.

Does anyone have the courage to start a big business in Kerala? Definitely, I do not have.

People here want to earn more but does less work. They are least bothered about the fact that if the production is not increased their benefits will not increase. The political situation in the state is also a huge problem.

What difference has been made in the market when your company has brought in a North Indian product like Salwar Kameez to the state?

V Star is the first Salwar Kameez brand in Kerala. The products brought from Bombay were not perfect in terms of its quality. Now also, the products from Mumbai are not perfect. We ceased our churidar production sector, which was a very profitable business, around ten years ago. It was the unavailability of certain technical facilities necessary for the production of the product in the state, such as dyeing unit and printing unit, was what that prompted the company to close down the production of churidar. The facilities were only available in Jaipur and Delhi.

It was costly and less comfortable to rely on the facilities located in those regions, as it was not always easy to get our design ideas executed through the facilities.

What gives us happiness is that still many use our churidars. It is our sincere adherence to the quality that helps our churidars stay long without damage.

How do you manage your work life and personal life simultaneously?

Only a woman can do that. It is not easy to do that. Not many men support women to do their house-

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hold responsibilities.

When I got married, V Guard was in its preliminary state. I have seen each and every stages of its growth carefully.

I enjoy my household responsibilities, as well as my business responsibilities.

How do you overcome the growing competition in the sector?

There is competition now.

When I entered the sector, there were not many regional competitors.

The imported products are very costly. We have many sincere customers. Our customers are happy with our product. We are going to introduce a high quality innerwear brand, named as Persian Purple.

Quality is our prime asset.

The main part of a bra is its elastic. The cost of our product was at least ten rupees higher than similar products available in the market when we first launched our product, as we used a kind of elastic much better than what other products offered at that time.

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I, as a woman, know better what a woman really wants. It reflects in our designs too.

What would you become if you were not a highly successful entrepreneur?

I have never thought about it. I do not like to sit lazy. I don’t like to waste a single minute in my life. I might have become an artist. I cannot live without creativity.

I never had a specific goal in my life. In those days, women were not encouraged to go for work. I was interested to do bank job.

When I stated my company, I never expected any huge profit out of it. In the beginning, the company was running on loss. In those days, V Guard supported us extensively.

How do you see your husband Kochouseph Chittilappily’s social interventions?

I fully support it. I never hesitate to react against injustice. In fact, it is the duty of every human being to react against injustice fearlessly whenever he/she confronts it in their life. In this topic, we both think in the same direction.

How did your husband support the business woman in you?

He is a great support. Since our marriage, all household affairs have been handled by me. It has helped him to give enormous concentration in his business. He is a loving father and a caring husband. His decision making skill is worth commendable. If he takes a decision, he will not step back from it. Sometimes, I only know about it when it is implemented. Exactly, it is what happened in the matter of his kidney donation issue.

Say about your strengths and weaknesses The inability to say ‘no’ is my weakness. Now, I am slowly recovering from that weakness. My confidence is my biggest strength.

What are your hobbies?

Painting, gardening, interior decoration, cooking, stitching and singing are my main hobbies. I used to play hockey. All those paintings seen in my house is made by me.

As I already said, I cannot sit lazy

CROWNED

PRINCESS

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t is difficult to define beauty.

No two persons see an object in a same way. There are many parameters available to evaluate beauty. Yet, the fact is that no parameters are perfect. Some tell that beauty is physical. Others say beauty is internal. Brilliant are the ones who know beauty is the combination of both.

Recently, an exceptional beauty contest was organised in the Gods Own Country: the Miss Glam World 2019. It was conceptualised by Pegasus, which is run by a brilliant young man Dr. Ajit Ravi, and which owns several popular beauty contest brands including the Miss South India, Mrs South India, Miss Asia Global, Miss Tamil Nadu, Miss Asia and the Miss Queen India. Gokulam Convention Centre, located in Kochi (Ernakulam) was where the program was organised. Several renowned personalities from various

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sectors from media to film participated in the program.

The Miss Glam World 2019 was an International beauty contest. Around 37 beauties from different countries across the globe competed for its title. In that way, it was the meeting point of 37 different cultures.

The program, in which there were three different brilliantly designed rounds, including the national costume round, red cocktail round and the white gown round, to evaluate the talent of the contestants, was presented by Manappuram Finance Ltd and Mahindra. SAJ Earth Resorts and Convention Centre, Medimix and DQUE Watches were the pow-

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ered by partners of the event.

Tight competition was evident in all three rounds. Not a single contestant was unprofessional in her attitude or dressing. There was an enormous confidence in the face of every contestant.

Actually, that confidence was not unexpected. Prior to the event, each and every contestant was thoroughly trained by a group of highly qualified trainers of yoga, meditation, personality development, beauty care, catwalk, photo shoot and talent search. The training session had commenced at SAJ Earth Resort & Convention Centre, in Kochi, several days before the commencement of the event.

The prize declaration was the most exciting part of the program.

The judging panel unanimously selected Rachel Leigh Stacy (USA) as the year’s Miss Glam World. The second and third positions were awarded to Reshma R K Nambiar (India) and Daria Shapovalova (Tatarstan) respectively.

It was the excellence and experience of the judging team that helped it to find the final winners without giving even a small room for suspicion to act. Hari Anand, Christine Huang, Anjali Raut Gill, S Sreesanth and Estefania Chavez Garcia were

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the prominent figures in the panel.

The same judging panel also selected several sub-title winners. The title winner wrested two sub-titles: Miss Beautiful Smile and Miss Catwalk.

Likewise, the second runner-up won two subtitles: Miss Talent and Miss Fitness. The contest who won the most number of sub-titles were Canada’s Erin Chapman.

She won three sub-titles: Miss Beautiful Skin, Miss Congeniality and Gourmet Queen. Another contest who gained more than one sub-title was Indonesia’s Ratih Ayu Syafriza. She got two subtitles: Miss Beautiful Hair and Miss Social Media.

Other sub-title winners were France’s Depaepe Charlotte (Miss Beautiful Face), Sri Lanka’s Welikatiyage Sarangi Sangeetha (Miss Beautiful Eyes), Gambia’s Kaddy Samateh (Miss Personal-

ity), Cameroon’s Enanga Ndolo Mbesa (Miss Perfect Ten), Montenegro’s Gluscevic Natalija (Miss Photogenic), Russia’s Karina Serazetdinova (Miss Viewer’s Choice), and Myanmar’s Ma Han Thu San (Miss National Costume).

Pa u l i n e Justine Chapman (Australia), Mukhariamova Zukhra (Bashkortostan), Shyian Iryna (Belarus), Wydooghe Aimie (Belgium), Lilli Vanhoolst (Benelux), Enanga Ndolo Mbesa (Cameroon), Erin Chapman (Canada), Zhao Chen (China), Depaepe Charlotte (France), Kaddy Samateh (Gambia), Agneta Dzane (Ghana), Maria Bolosi (Greece), Jia ming Ju (Hong Kong), Reshma RK Nambiar (India), Ratih Ayu Syafriza (Indonesia), Shizue Ohnuma (Japan), Julija Locmele (Latvia), LiuNana (Macau), Dolessawree Charun (Mau-

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ritius), Melissa del Carmen Payró de la O (Mexico), Gluščević Natalija (Montenegro), Ma Han Thu San (Myanmar), Minsozi Kompeli (Namibia), Ekaterina Aleksandrovna (Netherlands), Jenewari Damiete Cynthia (Nigeria), Clara Jazmin Berni Prette (Paraguay), Xandra Loi De Ramos (Philippines), Karina Serazetdinova (Russia), Anna Stepanova (Siberia), Chu Se Yeung (South Korea), Welikatiyage Sarangi Sangeetha (Sri Lanka), Kai-Lin Ning (Taiwan), Daria Shapovalova (Tatarstan), Wichida Nuamsorn (Thailand), Fassinou Laetitia (Togo), Rachel Leigh Stacy (USA), and

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Juliett Iriarte (Venezuela) were the ones who got the opportunity to compete in the prestigious International beauty contest.

The Miss Glam World 2019 was an excellent event. The black or red dress code prescribed also enhanced the appeal of the event. The program was not open to public. Still, it was fairly crowded with its invited guests.

The winners were not only appreciated with loud cheers, but also with several exciting gifts. The golden crowns used to crown the winners were designed by Parakkat Jewellers.

The event partners of the program were Kalpana Family Salon & Spa, Kanyaka, Neo Tour Ex, UT TV, Unique Times, Sanjeevanam, Gokulam Park, B & B Memorial Hospital, Fitness 4 Ever, Vee Kay Vees, Parakkat Resorts, and Aiswarya Advertising.

The program stood out different from similar beauty contests. In this program, there was no bikini round.

Dr Ajit Ravi does not support the idea of objectification of women’s body. In fact, in none of his beauty contests, there is a round called bikini round or anything similar to that.

It is hoped that the legends like him will redefine the concept of beauty for better

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Vinod Kumar

E

verybody is seeking but then, they are not searching. Seeking is perhaps a desire or even a wish.

But the search and research, and then the collection of information are all an intellectual combat. Yes, you must have the capacity to collate the intelligence, or also called as the data. To collect and procure intelligence, you must get curiosity and interest. You are interested into things that you like. You may want to know more about these things that seems to give to you, comfort and conveniences. But then all these comforts and convenience that you have accumulated, has a shelf life.

Yes, they are perishable. But if you calibrate your fixations on these objects, then what do you learn? Did you learn that this a trivial pursuit?

Because, your fixations are disproportionate. The ratio of your intensity and intimacy, to these perishable, is very lopsided. Are you unnecessarily immersed and embedded into activities? Into such activities with the only objective to enhance your personal comforts and conveniences? These objects and entanglements, are perishables. These items, bring along with it, much stress, to you. You have three types of stress.

One, is the pressure and toil that you do to procure. And the next stress is, that to protect and defend that what you have. Then there is the third and inevitable stress. A pain when you witness that all that you possess as precious, will be disrupted.

All that you considered valuable will be lost from you. So now, we have

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In effect, all must arrive at the level of freedom. Fixations and extreme attention to low priority events, must be compromised. Only then will you generate adequate bandwidth in your brain. Get more energy, that you can utilize for noble activities. Stop the brain drain.

categorised the three states of stress and strain.

Some people, simply walk away from all activities. They avoid any indulgences into transactions. They may justify their lethargy and apathy to sincere work output. May be they are lazy. Simply depriving yourself, objects of comforts and conveniences, does not amount to austerity. Simply denying to yourself a good living, this ignorant denial, does not show any sacrifice. To be charitable, then you must first procure, and then distribute. Then, how to come to the correct balance? We must know to downgrade, some of our extreme fixations. You configure it out, by doing, this worksheet. Answer these indicators.

But you are aware to disruptions.

Many things are simply erratic and impulsive. How do you respond to such behaviours in people? The environment and circumstances can be uncertain. Results or consequences are not predictable. Then we need, much endurance to deal with it. You have had situations, when the wait for some relief, was almost an eternal wait. Or even infinite number of challenges to handle. These are your aversions. But yet, such crisis and chaos also demand your attention.

Sometimes to drain your resources, or at other times, to teach to you, valuable lessons. You have now dealt with your fixations and then your aversions. A third section is to encounter people who are wily and cunning. You may know to combat with wicked people. But how will you neutralize these shrewd and dishon-

est cheats? Have you met unreasonable people who can tell lies and also steal? They have no logic and are treacherous. Betrayed and backstabbing are also existing. Now, we need to learn new skill and talents to be free from stress, strain, pressures and burdens. Therefore, your worksheet that is attached herewith. Recalibrate your fixations, with a goal to arrive at freedom. Some fixations that you can decide to downgrade.

And some others, that you can choose to procure.

In effect, all must arrive at the level of freedom. Fixations and extreme attention to low priority events, must be compromised. Only then will you generate adequate bandwidth in your brain. Get more energy, that you can utilize for noble activities. Stop the brain drain.

On a scale from One to Ten, Ten is an indicator of maximum fixation and One is the indicator of minimum fixation. Grade and rate your fixations on the following.

1.Identity: Individual and personal identity, social, academic and religious or even a geographic identity. Or any other things that you strongly identify with.

2.Achievements: Acknowledgments and recognitions. Your need for accreditations and certification.

Or even awards and rewards.

3.Profits: Gains and Benefits.

4.Saving of Resources: Deposits of wealth and other accumulations.

5.Generation of revenue.

6.Ownership: Registration papers of all property. And production

Fixations of evidences and proofs. Creation of evidences. The reinforcement of entitlement and deeds.

7.Bureaucracy: Documentation, legalities, reporting and administration, checks and balances, audit and accounts and bookkeeping.

8.Dominate and control.

9.Comforts and conveniences.

10.Incentives: Perks and privileges.

11.Protection of your rights and personal interests.

12.Increase your options and choices and varieties.

13.Adamancy: Rigidity and stubbornness to stick to a specific standpoint. No compromise or a climb down.

14.Standard operating procedure: Your confinement into a set

goal and previous targets. An obsession with your deliberate plans.

15.Revenge: Disseminating and destroying your rivals. Demolishing your adversary. Ensuring the collapse of your rivals.

16.Fixations of skills and talents: Career, work and job and duty.

17.Orderliness: Organized and stickiness to routine.

18.Anxiety: Fear of loss and failure. Fear of damage.

19.Fear: Fear of humiliation and embarrassment and ridicule.

20.Fortification: Excessive addition of security and safety systems.

21.Relationship: Family, friends and other network.

22.Analysis: Extremities of scrutiny, assessment and calculations.

“Rate your fixations” and, the

twenty two items can be classified as ‘Group One’. Then, let’s move on to the next step or the Group Two. So, now, you are familiar and accustomed to your stickiness and adamancy. Yes, they are known to you from the work sheet of twenty two items. In the list of your identities, you learnt, there is a list called ‘ Rate your fixations’ Now, you must know those fears and traumas. Can you deal with the following behaviours? When you come face to face with the following, how do you rate your ability to move through them?

Group 2 1.Erratic 2.Impulsive 3.Sporadic 4.Random 5.Chaos

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6.Eternal 7.Infinite 8.Unreasonable 9.Irrational 10.Illogical 11.Disruption 12.Distortion.

The above are twelve behaviours that can stare at you, which throws you out of balance. But the world has such people who have sinister plans, to deceive you. What if some people want to hurt you? How do you handle and neutralize those behaviours?

Group 3: 1.Cheats 2.Liars 3.Deceptive 4.Betrayal 5.Traitors 6.Cruel 7.Brutal 8.Backstabbing 9.Thiefs 10.Treacherous 11.Wicked 12.Cunning 13.Heinous 14.Torturous.

Is it enough and sufficient to simply categorize these behaviours as wrong doers and sinners? To get relief, you have accountability.

Explore the possibilities to rescue yourself from the onslaught. Get excellence in the craft of transactions. Market place is the destination. Product quality is the ammunition. Transaction is the method.

Recovering of the proceeds of sale

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is paramount. Protect and defend, your existing resources. Ensure that any harm towards you is eliminated.

Be safe and secure. Make thorough study and learn the profile of the consumers. What relief does the consumer enjoy, every time that they buy your products?

Group 4: You cannot escape from the group three of transaction.

We have a group four. Once you know the method to rate your fixations, as in group one, then can you discard some of them. To increase your bandwidth you must subtract or delete, some of your fixations. You can pick and choose. But then, that group one must become lighter. Are you averse to being isolated? What if you are confined to be in solitude?

Or if you can be ostracised? In a trade war, it is normal punishment to put sanctions upon your products. Can you survive loneliness, confinement and boredom? This is the group four. Inside a captivity, you are denied rights and options.

All alone and destitute. With no relevance and isolated. How will you survive when all others have boycotted and banned your products?

When all others have distanced themselves and proclaimed their hostilities towards you.

Now, you may do a revision and review. Study through group one and two and three and then group four, as described. You will know, the route and path, that brought you to where you are today. Today, are you experiencing confinements and

suffocation? Or do you experience being liberated and freedom? The destination is to be free to do what you want to do. Your accountability is to discover solutions. Manufacture the method to discard, the tightness and burdens. You cannot outsource to other people, that actions, that you should do by yourself.

Now, is the opportunity. Enliven and embolden your character. Embark on adventure. Get out of all the groups. Enrich your personality.

Enable your liberty and freedom.

Measure your fixations. Take charge and march forward and onwards.

Decide to dart towards freedom. Get fixed into freedom and be natural.

Are they pranksters? All your environment and your circumstances have played their pranks upon you?

Or are these situations, all part of mischievousness? You can develop the skills to play on and stay on with conflicting adversaries, only when you open up to these pranksters.

The prank is decided. You assume that there is a damage and loss, in current status, when you do a counter action. Every action has a contrast. But you have a hallucination of a damage and loss, in case you choose to exit the confines. So, re-calibrate. Only residues will linger on. That too temporarily. Move on to your goal, which is ‘freedom’.

But when you discard, your fixation and then arrive at freedom”, then the correct permanence may become visible

FINANCE

Adv Sherry Samuel Oommen is a practising lawyer at High Court of Kerala who specialises in tax and Corporate Laws.

Presently he heads the tax and corporate law practice of Nash Capital Partners. Apart from being a qualified lawyer, he is also a chartered accountant, cost accountant and a company secretary. He is currently pursuing his Doctorate Degree and is reachable at sherryoommen@nashcp.com.

T

he Government of India has introduced a sleuth of measures with a view to ring in transparency. In this article, I intend to share some of my thoughts on the recent changes that would have an impact on Corporate India. The article also covers some of the emerging compliance requirements that corporates would need to undertake.

Disclosure on deposits

Section 73 of the Companies Act, 2013, amongst other mandates that a company can accept deposits from the public subject to complying with the provisions of the Companies (Acceptance of Deposit) Rules, 2014 (hereinafter referred to as “Deposit Rules”). Rule 16 of Deposit Rules provides that every Company to which this Rule apply, shall on or before 30th June of every year file with the Registrar, a return of deposit in Form DPT-3 along with fees and furnish information as on 31st March of that year duly audited by the Auditor of the Company. Thus, it was extremely clear that Form DPT-

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Section 73 of the Companies Act, 2013, amongst other mandates that a company can accept deposits from the public subject to complying with the provisions of the Companies (Acceptance of Deposit) Rules, 2014 (hereinafter referred to as “Deposit Rules”).

3 was required to be filed only if a company accepted a deposit and not in other cases.

With a view to ensure disclosure, certain amendments were effected to the Deposit Rules. Based on the amended Deposit Rules, it has now been clarified that Form DPT-3 shall be used for filing return of deposit or particulars of transaction not considered as a deposit or both by every company other than Government company. Thus, a company is now required to disclose the sums received which do not partake the nature of “deposit” as well. For instance, Rule 2(1)(c) of the Deposit reckons the following as not being in the nature of “deposits”, which would now need to be disclosed as part of the Form DPT-3, which include: • Sum received as security deposit for the performance of the contract for supply of goods or provision of services; • Any non-interest bearing amount received and held in trust; • Any amount received from

an employee of the company not exceeding his annual salary under a contract of employment with the company in the nature of non-interest bearing security deposit.

Hence, the following aspects would now need to be borne in mind/be required to be disclosed in the financial statements: • Every company, other than a private company, shall disclose in its financial statement, by way of notes, about the money received from the director in Form DPT-3.

• Every private company shall disclose in its financial statement, by way of notes, about the money received from the directors, or relatives of directors in Form DPT-3.

• Filing is required to be done for both secured & unsecured outstanding money/loan not considered as deposits.

• The period of outstanding loan/ money shall from 01.04.2014 till 31.03.2019.

• The form shall also be filed in case the loan/money outstanding is taken from its holding/subsidiary or

Emerging disclosure norms for companiesWould this help in a fiscally cleaner India

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associate companies.

• Every Company other than Government Company need to file Form DPT-3 within 90 days from the Date of Notification, having an outstanding balance on account of receipt of Money or Loan which have not considered as a deposit as per Rule 2(1)(c) of the Deposit Rules as on 31.03.2019 including deposit or both. Hence, the Form DPT-3 would need to be filed by 29 June 2019.

Proof of active business

Every company incorporated on or before 31.12.2017 is required to file a notified form, i.e, Form INC 22A furnishing certain information/ documentation before 15.06.2019.

The information required to be furnished include: • A photograph of the registered office of the Company showing the external building; • A photo showing inside the office of the building with one Director/Key Management Person (“KMP”) as part of the photograph; • The said individual is also required to sign the e-form INC 22A; • Longitude and Latitude of the registered office address;

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• Details of statutory auditors of the Company; • Details of cost auditors of the Company; • Details of Directors and KMP.

Other compliances

• Every Director/ Designated Partner having a valid DIN need to file Form DIR 3 KYC by 30th June 2019.

• Companies are now required to file a declaration of the beneficial owner in Form BEN-1 along with proof of such ownership. The said form is required to be filed not later than 07.05.2019. Pertinently, there are onerous penal consequences, which could extend to the imposition of penalty of INR 50 Lakhs.

• Specified companies are also required to disclose outstanding amount dues to MSMEs (i.e, amounts due to MSMEs for a period of more than 45 days) during the period 01.10.2018 to 31.03.2019.

The said details are required to be furnished in Form MSME. • A company would need to file its audited financial statements along with the Audit Report and Board Report for the period FY 2018-19 within 30 days of the

date of Annual General Meeting (“AGM”). The Companies Act mandates that the AGM shall be held within 6 months, from the date of closure of financial year or within fifteen months from the date of last AGM, whichever is earlier. The said filings would need to be effected in Form AOC-4.

• Where a company is required to file consolidated financial statements, the adopted consolidated financial statements along with audit report of the company for the FY 2018-19 and the Adopted Board Report of the company for the period FY 2018-19 would need to be filed within 30 days of the AGM. The said filing would need to be effected in Form AOC-4 (CFS).

It is imperative that India Inc pays close attention to the various compliances to be effected. The penal consequences on account of failure to file or a delay in filing could have serious monetary implications, which are best avoidable. In our experience, the regulators have in the recent past got tougher in dealing with non-compliances, which the Courts have also upheld

GADGETS

Oppo Reno

` 30,900 (approximately)

Android v9.0 (Pie) OS

6.4 inches Display

48 MP + 5 MP Dual Primary Cameras

16 MP Secondary Camera

6 GB RAM

128 GB Internal Memory

256 GB Expandable Memory

3765 mAh Battery Capacity

Nubia Red Magic Mars

` 27,490 (approximately) Android v9.0 (Pie) OS 6.0 inches Display 16 MP Primary Camera 8 MP Secondary Camera 6 GB RAM 64 GB Internal Memory 3800 mAh Battery Capacity

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Xiaomi Poco F2

` 26, 990 (approximately) Android v9.0 (Pie) OS 6.3 inches Display 16 MP + 8 MP +

5 MP Primary Cameras 20 MP Secondary Camera 6 GB RAM 128 GB Internal Memory 256 GB Expandable Memory 4100 mAh Battery Capacity

Xiaomi Black Shark 2

` 32, 790 (approximately) Android v9.0 (Pie) OS 6.39 inches Display 48 MP + 12 MP Primary Cameras 20 MP Secondary Camera 6 GB RAM 128 GB Internal Memory 4000 mAh Battery Capacity

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COOKERY

Toshma Biju

Creamy Veg Pasta Ingredients

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

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Chopped onions - 4 nos Chopped tomatoes - 2 nos Crushed garlic cloves - 2 - 3 Fresh milk cream - 1 cup Mixed herbs - 1 teaspoon Sliced onion - 1 nos Bell pepper (red, yellow, green) - 1 cup Boiled corns - ½ cup Coriander leaves Dry Pasta Salt Black pepper powder Olive oil - 1 tablespoon

May-June 2019

Method

Boil the pasta till al dente or according to packet instructions. Drain and rinse under cold water.

Heat oil in a pan and saute the garlic. Add the chopped onions and saute till they turn pink. Add tomatoes and cover till cooked. Add salt and black pepper powder along with the herbs and fry till cooked. Once cool, grind the sauce mix and strain the pulp. To this, stir in the cream. Heat oil in a pan and saute the sliced onions till pink. Add bell peppers and cook till slightly soft. Add sweet corn, olives and seasoning. Adjust salt. In a pan, mix the vegetables, pasta and sauce. Heat it just a little and toss well to mix properly. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Easy Veg Pasta Ingredients

• • • • • • •

Uncooked pasta - 1/2 cup Peas - 1 tablespoon Corn - 1 tablespoon Grated carrot - 1 tablespoon Grated zucchini - 1 tablespoon Thickened cream - 1 tablespoon Grated parmesan cheese - 2 tablespoons

Method

Boil the pasta till al dente or according to packet instructions.

Drain and rinse under cold water. Steam veggies until it turns tender. Once pasta is cooked, strain and return to pot. Mix veggies through. Add cream and parmesan. Return to heat, stirring, until cheese is melted

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Masala Pasta Ingredients

• • • • • • • • • • • •

Macaroni - 2 cups Olive oil - 2 tablespoons Cumin - ½ cup Garlic cloves – 3 nos Onion – 1 nos Chopped carrots – 2 nos Green peas - ½ cup Chopped tomatoes - 1 cup Red chilli powder - ½ teaspoon Garam masala - ½ teaspoon Kasuri methi - ½ cup Cream

Method

Boil the pasta till al dente or according to packet instructions. Drain and rinse under cold water. Heat the oil in a separate pan and add cumin.

Fry them till the aroma appears. Add onions and fry till they’re brown.

Add the chopped vegetables and cook for two minutes. Mash the tomatoes and add it to the pan. Cook until the tomatoes are soft and the raw smell disappears. Add the kasuri methi, red chilli and masala powders.

Stir them well and let it fry for a minute before turning off the flame. Add the cooked pasta and whatever oil is remaining before adding salt and coriander leaves.

Healthy Chicken Pasta Ingredients

• • • • • •

Penne pasta – 1 cup Cooked shredded chicken - 1 cup Baby spinach - 2 tablespoons Cherry tomatoes (halved) - 1 cup Crumbled cheese - 1/3 cup Toasted almonds - 1/3 cup

For Dressing

• • • • • • • •

Orange Zest and juice - 1 large Lemon Zest and juice - 1 large Honey - 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard - 2 teaspoons Salt Olive oil - 1/2 cup Freshly ground black pepper Chopped fresh parsley

Method

Cook the pasta. Drain and then rinse with cold water.

Place the pasta in a large bowl. Add in the spinach and the tomatoes. Briefly warm up and then coarsely chop the chicken. Add to salad and toss to combine. Lightly toast the almonds over a skillet on medium heat until fragrant.

Sprinkle the almonds and feta cheese over the salad. For the dressing, combine all of the ingredients together except for the oil in a blender. Blend until all ingredients are well incorporated. Slowly add in the oil in a steady stream and pulse until combined.

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BEAUTY

Natural ways to make your nails shiny and healthy N ails often define the beauty of people. It is a delicate part of the human body. It is important to give good care to this part of body. The reality is that people often forget the actual relevance of this part.

Experts say that all major textbooks dealing with beauty and health highlight the significance of nails. They add that in some of those textbooks it is advised that nails should be given more importance than any other part of the human body.

There are several natural methods available to improve the beauty and health of nails.

Olive Oil

It is a proven fact that olive oil has many medicinal properties. A beauty expert says that it can be used to improve the beauty and health of nails.

Take a glass of warm water. Pour few drops of olive oil into it and mix them well. Dip your nails in that mixture. After few minutes, take out your nails and carefully polish your nails gently with a cotton cloth soaked in olive oil. Perform it daily for better result.

Rose Water

Nails are normally pink in colour.

Women use nail polish to enhance its attractiveness. The natural colour of nails sometimes fades due to various reasons. Women can hide that with nail polish. But, men cannot as they do not normally use it.

It is identified that rose water can retain the natural colour of nails. Actually, it is a good news for men who are worried about their fading nail colour.

Take a few spoons of rose water and pour a drop of lemon juice into it. Dip a clear cotton cloth into the mixture. Wipe your nails gently with the cotton. Do it at least three days a week for better result.

Lemon Juice

It is a rich source of various minerals and vitamins. It is a natural bleaching agent. It not only enhances the beauty of nails, but also removes dirt and stains.

Take a glass of water, pour few drops of lime juice into it, and mix them well. Dip your nails into that mixture. Keep it there for few minutes.

Dr. Elizabath Chacko, MD-Kalpana International

Mob: 9388618112

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Later, remove your hands carefully and gently clean it with a tooth brush. Do it at least once a week, if you want to get a good result.

Cucumber

It is a mineral rich vegetable. It is commonly known as beauty vegetable. Cucumber is widely used to remove black marks form around the eyes. A new study identifies that it can also be used to improve the beauty of nails.

Take a slice of cucumber. Rub it over your nail slowly. You can do anything and everything you come across with this vegetable. The more you do, the better your nail will become.

Water

It can be used in two ways. First, you should make sure that you drink an adequate amount of water each and every day. Second, you should make sure that you clean your nails carefully with clean water regularly.

The aforesaid tips alone cannot help you gain beautiful nails. It is necessary to give adequate care to your daily diet. Include hydrochloric acid rich food and vitamin E rich food in your daily diet for better result.

Stay Healthy!

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TRAVELOGUE

It is a beautiful country located in the banks of Black Sea. Russia and Georgia are the two prime neighbours of the country. It has excellent beaches, exceptional mountains, extra-ordinary rivers and exciting caves.

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Abkhazia: The Land of Darkness

D

o you know anything about the land of darkness? The myth regarding the land of darkness is seen in several travelogues written during the medieval period. This mysterious land is said to be situated somewhere near Abkhazia. Still, it remains largely unclear where exactly this land exists.

Many believe it is the forests of Abkhazia that is known by this name.

There is an interesting story about this land.

The Dark Story

Several centuries ago, a Persian emperor decided to kill all Christians living in Abkhazia. For that, he surrounded the land with his army.

Frightened due to the presence of a terrifying army at their doorsteps, the entrapped people of Abkhazia prayed to the God for help. Convinced by the depth of the faith the people of the land put over the almighty, the God appeared to help his people. He created darkness around the place where the army was sta-

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tioned. The darkness prevented the army from stepping out of the place.

It is believed that the descendants of the army still live inside the darkness. For that reason, many local Abkhazians still do not enter the forest of the land. Don’t you think it’s interesting?

A Bit of History

Abkhazia was an autonomous region situated under the Soviet Union’s Georgian republic. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the things changed. What Abkhazians feared the most happened. The Georgian republic attempted to eliminate the autonomous status enjoyed by the region. In the early 1990s, it annexed the region and toppled the regional government forcefully. The action was not without any reaction.

The Abkhazians too reacted violently.

They sought the support of Russia.

In the year 1993, the Abkhazians, with the support of Russian paramilitary forces, almost completely eliminated all Georgian elements from the region mercilessly. The elements that remained post the action were eliminated a few years later.

The Present

Abkhazia is an independent country at present. But, not all countries agree that it is an independent country. The version of Georgia is slightly different from the version of Russia. Russia recognises Abkhazia as an independent country while Georgia considers it as a Georgian territory illegally controlled by a separatist government with the sup-

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port of a great power. The dispute regarding the status of Abkhazia is still pending in the United Nations.

A Quick Voyage

It is a beautiful country located on the banks of the Black Sea. Russia and Georgia are the two prime neighbours of the country. It has excellent beaches, exceptional mountains, extra-ordinary rivers and exciting caves. Its climate is better than those countries situated near the country. Its average annual temperature is not more than 15 degrees Celsius. The majority of the people in the country are Abkhazians. They are very friendly people. The Abkhazian cuisine is the fine blend of both Russian and Mediterranean cuisines. Over all, the country is a best place to spend a peaceful vacation.

About its Politics and Economy

The country is almost entirely depended on Russia for its political and economic stability. The economic and political sovereignty of Abkhazia rely solely on Russia. Moscow

gives military protection as well as economic support to Sokhumi. Georgia always poses a serious threat to the political sovereignty of Abkhazia as it does not recognise it as an independent nation. It is Abkhazia’s inability to expand its economy beyond the traditional sources is what makes the things worst.

Why Should One Visit this Land

The country is blessed with several beautiful locations. Novi Afon, the Village of Moqua, Lake Ritsa, Lake Msui, Pskhu and Veryovkina Cave are the popular tourist locations in this small country.

Novi Afon or New Athos is a town located around 22 KM away from Sukhumi, the capital of Abkhazia. It is where one of the oldest Christian Orthodox Cathedrals is located. New Athos cave is another major attraction of this region.

The village of Moqua is a historic village located in the country. There are several beautiful churches in this village.

Lake Ritsa is an amazing lake situated in the Caucasus Mountains, which is a mountain system located at the intersection of Europe and Asia. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin had a summer house on the banks of this lake: Stalin’s Dacha.

Lake Msui is another wonderful lake situated above the mountains.

The lake is not properly connected with the connection infrastructure.

Many tour operators provide trekking trips to this lake.

Pskhu is a remote village located in the capital of Abkhazia. The River Bzyb and its tributaries are what that enhances the natural beauty of the region. It is home to the ruins of several stunning fortresses.

Abkhazia is popular for its astounding caves. Veryovkina Cave is the deepest cave in the Earth known till date. It is located in Gagra. Interestingly, the entrance of the cave is located around 2309 meters above the sea level.

It is a beautiful country. Plan your trip now

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RECIPES

Teznim Aziz

Potato Stuffed Idli Ingredients

• • • • • • • • •

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Boiled Potatoes - 4 Nos Green Chilli - 2 Nos Chopped Onion - 1 Nos Curry leaves - 10 Nos Coriander leaves (Chopped) - 2 Tablespoon Turmeric powder - ¼ Teaspoon Ginger garlic paste - 1 Teaspoon Oil and Salt - As much as required Idli Batter

May-June 2019

Method

Heat a pan and add oil. Add Onion, green chillies, ginger, garlic paste and curry leaves into the pan.

Stir it well. Add turmeric powder, grated potatoes, salt and chopped coriander leaves and mix well. Turn off stove. Take small quantity of potato mix and make small tikki shape. Pour some idli batter in each idly moulds. Now, place one potato tikki in idli batter and fill mould. Pour batter on the top of the potato tikki.

Steam idli.

Coriander Idli

Ingredients

• • • • • •

Coriander leaves - 1 Cup Garlic - 3 Nos Green Chilli - 2 Nos Lime juice - 4 Teaspoons Cumin powder - ½ Teaspoon Salt - As much as required

Method

Grind all the ingredients. Mix the paste to the idli batter and make idli.

Doughnut Idli Ingredients

• • •

56

Melted chocolate - 1 Cup White Chocolate (grated) - As much as required Idli - 5 Nos

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Method

Put a hole in the idil and dip it in tempered chocolate. Garnish it with grated white chocolate and serve.

Green Chutney Stuffed Idli Ingredients

•

Idli Batter

• • • • • • • • • • •

Grated Coconut - 1 Cup Coriander leaves - Half Cup Ginger - 1 piece Garlic - 2 cloves Green Chillies - 3 Nos Curry leaves - 4 Nos Lime juice - 1 Teaspoon Sugar - ¼ Teaspoon Cumin - 1 Pinch Ghee - 1 Tablespoon Salt & Water - As much as required

For Green Chutney

For Stuff

Grind all chutney ingredients together.

Method

Pour a little batter into the idli mould. Put a spoon of chutney over it. Pour the idli batter on the chutney and steam well.

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AUTO REVIEW

Vivek Venugopal is one of India’s top automotivewriterswithover a decade’s experience in road-testing and reviewing cars.

He is currently the Editor of Quarter Mile magazine and a columnist in several leading magazines and newspapers. He is also a highly sought after consulting engineer and market analyst for many automobile manufacturers.

T

he Mercedes Benz GLC has been in our market since 2016, but still remains a very competent offering despite newer entrants in its class. The simple clean lines give it a timeless look that will remain in fashion for many years while the family friendly size makes it easy to live with every day.

Internationally, the GLC is the replacement for the GLK. India never got the GLK and there was a big gap between the compact GLA and full size GLE that needed to be plugged. The Mercedes GLC fits right in the crowded luxury midsize SUV segment which has a lot of players like the Audi Q5, BMW X3, Volvo XC60, Lexus NX, Land Rover Discovery Sport, Jaguar F Pace etc.

The GLC is based on the C class and is all the better for it. The family resemblance is strong and you get the same front end that is typical of Merc SUVs. The styling is on the conservative side, but it is what most people want in an SUV. The rear gets a bit more interesting with the rakish D pillar and a wider look, giving it a sporting intent. The 18-inch wheels are simple, yet look proportionate

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Mercedes GLC

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enough for the body, with suitably high profile rubber on them.

Get inside and it is the same cabin as the C class. We were blown away when we first saw the C class cabin in 2014 and it still continues to amaze even today. Mercedes took a giant quality leap in this era and it shows with the high quality cabin, layered dashboard, double stitching, metal finish buttons and those lovely chrome vents that click into place.

The GLC also gets ambient lighting, a panoramic sunroof which adds to the cabin’s feel. The 7-inch touch screen is a bit small, but it shows front and rear wide angle views plus a 360 degree aerial view which is useful for parking and when going off-road. The 550 litre boot can be

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expanded to 1600 litres with the rear seats folded. The seat fold and boot close are electric. The front seats are comfortable and you get good all round visibility. The rear seat has a smaller squab although not much short on thigh support. You sit higher and are much more comfortable than in a C class with ingress and egress getting bonus points.

The GLC 220d that we tested uses a 2.1 litre four cylinder diesel with 170bhp and 400Nm. There is also a petrol variant GLC 300 which gets a 2.0 litre turbo petrol with 245bhp and 370Nm that we drove earlier, but we would still have the diesel. It is very refined at idle, which may have you mistake it for a petrol variant and is very fuel ef-

The GLC isn’t set up to be very sporty, but the steering is sharp and has good feel.

ficient in a way only a diesel variant can be.

The 170bhp may look modest on paper, but the 9 speed automatic that it is mated to, more than makes up for it. The ratios are well chosen and it always puts the engine in the power band. The acceleration is strong and it is quite responsive making it is an enjoyable car to drive. The gearbox in its sportiest setting even gives a tiny AMG-like jolt when upshifting.

The GLC isn’t set up to be very sporty, but the steering is sharp and has good feel. The suspension is derived from the C class but is both softer and raised for this application.

This, along with the tall profile tyres, gives

it good ride quality. The suspension does hit the bump stops easily and the setup gets a bit bouncy at the rear, but not to the point it is uncomfortable. There is sufficient grip thanks to the 4 Matic all-wheel drive system, but interestingly it is always the front that gives up first, despite it being a rear biased one.

If you are after a mid-size luxury SUV, the GLC is certainly worth a look. With looks that please everyone, interiors that are classy and practical, an engine that is adequately fast and frugal, and road manners that are neutral and comfortable, the GLC has the makings of the best all-rounder in its class

May-June 2019

61

MOVIE REVIEW

Setters

I

t is a crime thriller directed by experienced filmmaker Ashwini Chaudhary. The film tells us the story of a criminal network operates in the sector of education.

What it addresses is a very sensitive topic, which requires the immediate attention of public.

Ishita Dutta, Aftab Shivdasani, Sonnalli Seygall, Vijay Raaz, and Shreyas Talpade appear in the lead roles. The film has earned mixed reviews. The director deserves special appreciation for the way he narrates the sensitive topic. He has managed to touch each and every aspect of the topic rightly. What makes the film a must watch is its direction and its placement of characters.

Kalank

I

t is a romantic thriller directed by talented filmmaker Abhishek Verman. The film is produced by Karan Johar and Sajid Nadiadwala. The film takes us to the period of 1945. The film is about a buried secret. It shows how that buried secret comes to light when romance blossoms between a daredevil and a young woman. The film has earned mixed reviews. The film comes with a huge star cast.

Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Madhuri Dixit, Aditya Roy Kapur, Sonakshi Sinha, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, and Kiara Advani appear in the lead roles. Around 150 crores Indian Rupees have been invested to make this movie.

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May-June 2019

Aladdin

I

t is a fantasy movie directed by filmmaker-cum-businessman Guy Ritchie. As what the name suggests, the film is based on an Arabian fantasy story popular across the world, especially in Asia. The film tells us the story of a young Arabian man Aladdin, who finds a lamp which possesses many magical powers due to the presence of a genie inside it.

There are several comedy sequences in the movie. The scenes showing the interaction between the young man and the genie are very funny. Will Smith acts as the genie, and Mena Massoud appears as Aladdin. Apart from the two actors, Naomi Scott, Nasim Pedrad, and Marwan Kenzari act in the movie.

Avengers: Endgame

I

t is a science fiction movie directed jointly by popular filmmakers Anthony Russo and Joe Russo. It is a big budget movie. Around 35.6 crores US dollars have been invested to bring out this movie. There are several excellent action sequences in the movie.

The film is supported by a huge star cast. Chris Evans, Brie Larson, Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Holland, Jeremy Renner, Josh Brolin, Karen Gillan, Paul Rudd, Sebastian Stan, Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston, Vin Diesel and Dave Bautista appear in the lead roles. The film has earned good reviews.

May-June 2019

63

BOOK REVIEW

India Positive: New Essays and Selected Columns Author Price

: Chetan Bhagat : Rs 168 (Paperback)

N

o governments can bring positive changes to their societies if their citizens themselves are not aware whether they want those changes or not. In this book, the writer addresses many questions hunting a common person in Indian today. Does a regime change matters? How a progress in the country’s employment index can be achieved? How the quality of the country’s education system can be improved? The book is a collection of essays which contains solution to several hunting questions like those mentioned above. It is one of the most brilliant nonfictions the writer, who is popular for his fiction writings, has written in his career.

The Young and the Restless: Youth and Politics in India Author Price

T

: Gurmehar Kaur : Rs 224 (Paperback)

hough the Indian electorate is young, their representatives are not so young. It is evident from the average age of the Indian parliamentarians itself. Why there is a huge disparity between the average age of the Indian electorate and the average age of the country’s parliamentarians? It is high time to open up a thorough debate around this topic.

What this book does is it triggers that much-needed debate. The book introduces around eight young leaders and explains how an average Indian youth leader thinks. The writer deservers a special appreciation for the effort that has been put to address the topic with compete sincerity.

It is evident that the writer’s experience as a student activist has helped her enormously to understand the pulse of the topic accurately.

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BOOK REVIEW

Trillion Dollar Coach: The Leadership Handbook of Silicon Valley’s Bill Campbell Author

Price

: Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg, and Alan Eagle : Rs 419 (Hardcover)

T

he book is an attempt made by some prominent business leaders like Jonathan Rosenberg to codify the wisdom of one of the most promising mentors the Silicon Valley has ever seen, Bill Campbell. The writers have done several personal interviews with those who were close to the renowned mentor to pay complete justice to the task they have undertaken. Like what the title of the book suggests, the book projects itself as the handbook of business leaders. The writers believe that the book will help the coming generation to benefit from the guidance of the legendary man who passed away at least two years before.

What the Economy Needs Now Author

Price

I

: Abhijit Banerjee, Gita Gopinath, Raghuram Rajan, and Mihir S Sharma : Rs 499 (Hardcover)

t is a well known fact that the Indian economy is not in a perfect state at this juncture of time. Among several problems the economy faces, there are unemployment, farmers’ unrest, bank crisis, and GDP issue. It is high time to find a solution to the threats the economy confronts. This solution is what the book gives. The book is the work of some of the finest economists in the country –in fact, in the world. The book suggests the methods that can be used to bring the economy back to the track of stability and progress. The book is suitable for all those who are interested to understand what the Indian economy needs now.

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Printed On 01/ 05/ 2019

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