Uniquetimes December 2021

Vol 11 Issue No.122 Dec 2021 - Jan 2022 USD 0.70`50AED 5BD 0.500

The Sun Sets On an Iconic American Company Shri V.P. Nandakumar, MD & CEO Manappuram Finance Ltd.

Tamil Nadu CMMK Stalin:

The Chief Executive Who Wants to Make a Difference

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Chief Mentor Mr. V.P. Nandakumar Director & CEO Jebitha Ajit Editor Jebitha Ajit Legal Advisor Latha Anand

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Editorial “I

start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers” - Ralph Nader A leader is the one who creates positive difference and in this edition, our cover story is about one of the responsible, determined, mission-driven and dutiful leader, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Mr. M K Stalin.

This month, Manappuram Finance Limited MD and CEO V P Nandakumar pens down about one of the oldest companies in the world General Electric Company which is one of the well-known names in the corporate world.

In this edition, the travel article will take the readers to a different dreamy world, an eastern Caribbean island and an independent British Commonwealth nation, Barbados which is known for its tropical beaches.

Our Auto expert in this edition introduces us to VW Taigun an Indianized version of the T-Cross where he describes its subtle details. Apart from the abovementioned articles, we have our usual contents from beauty, movie, and book reviews to business and motivational articles.

“Writing comes from reading, and reading is the finest teacher of how to write” –Annie Proulx Let’s meet your new teacher!

Hope you enjoy this edition like our previous ones.

Happy Reading!

Thank You Sd/Jebitha Ajit

Cover Photograph

Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin

Printer & publisher Pegasus Global Pvt. Ltd. Cochin (682033) on behalf of Ajit Ravi. Printed at S.T.Reddiar & Sons, P.B. No: 3627, Veekshanam Road, Cochin-18.

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CONTENTS

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Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin: The Chief Executive Who Wants to Make a Difference

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The Sun Sets on an Iconic American Company

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The Changing Perspective of Management Education

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Adolescent Dilemmas- Ways To Handle Them

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Pegasus Again Redefining Beauty in their Special Ways

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Gadgets Eat Healthy and Let Your Hair Shine Barbados: The Jewel in the Caribbean VW Taigun

UNIQUE DIARY

IMF Applauds India’s Announcement at COP26 to Achieve Net Zero Emissions by 2070

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he International Monetary Fund (IMF) applauded India's announcement at the recently concluded COP26 session in Glasgow about addressing climate change concerns. At a press conference, Gerry Rice, Director, IMF Communication Department, said, "We welcome India's declaration at the COP26 of new targets to expand reliance on renewables and lower the carbon intensity of its economy, including to adopt a net-zero aim by 2070." "As you may be aware, India is currently one of the world's major emitters, and its electricity generation is still highly dependent on coal. As a result, its actions may serve as a catalyst for action in other emerging market countries "he stated. Rice responded to a question by saying, "India's strong investment in renewables and climate change adaptation policies imply it is well-positioned to take further efforts to attain this new target."

Prime Minister Modi Has Decided to Remove Three Farm Laws

“Motivation is the catalyzing ingredient for every successful innovation.”

Clayton Christensen

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uring his speech to the nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that the government will repeal the contentious agriculture legislation. He added that the three farm laws were enacted after farmers, economists, and agricultural professionals asked that small farmers be empowered. The Prime Minister also asked the farmers who were demonstrating to return home. PM Modi stated that when he was elected in 2014, he decided to put the welfare and development of farmers first. The majority of people are unaware that 80% of farmers are small-scale farmers with less than 2 hectares of land. He stated, "This piece of land is their survival." In his speech, he emphasized the government's efforts to boost agricultural production. He claimed that rural markets had been strengthened and that many farmer-assistance programs had been implemented. Furthermore, financial allocation for farmers was boosted fivefold.

UNIQUE DIARY

PM Modi to Launch RBI’s Retail Direct and Integrated Ombudsman Initiatives

O

n Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will use video conferencing to announce the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) retail direct program and the integrated ombudsman system, both of which are innovative, customer-centric initiatives. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a statement on Thursday that the RBI Retail Direct Scheme aims to improve retail investors' access to the government securities market. It gives people a new way to invest directly in securities issued by the federal and state governments. Investors will be able to open and maintain their government securities accounts with the RBI online for free, according to the statement. The Reserve Bank-Integrated Ombudsman Scheme intends to strengthen the grievance redress procedure for customer complaints against the central bank's regulated firms.

PM Modi Prays at Kedarnath and Unveils a Statue of Adi Shankaracharya

“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.”

T.S. Eliot

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rime Minister Narendra Modi conducted prayers and performed 'aarti' at the Kedarnath temple early on 5th November. The statue of Adi Guru Shankaracharya, an 8th-century seer who reached Moksha at Kedarnath, was then unveiled.

The unveiling of Adi Guru Shankaracharya's 12-foot statue was streamed live around the country at the 12 jyotirlingas, four Shankaracharya mutts (monasteries), his birthplace, and other notable temples. In the 2013 deluge, Shankaracharya's samadhi was devastated. PM Modi will later in the day lay the foundation stone for Kedarpuri redevelopment projects costing over Rs 400 crore during his visit. On 5th November morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at Dehradun airport. Uttarakhand Governor Lt Gen Gurmit Singh (Retd) and Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami greeted him.

Paytm CEO’s Goal to Deliver India’s Largest-Ever IPO Backfires

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ijay Shekhar Sharma brushed away tears of pleasure as he recalled his climb from "commoner" to CEO of a digital payments behemoth that recently completed India's largest-ever IPO. Before striking the opening gong at the Bombay Stock Exchange at 10 a.m. local time on Thursday, the founder and CEO of One 97 Communications Ltd., operator of the Paytm service, remarked, "The ambitions of a young country are with me." Sharma's long-awaited debut had turned into one of the worst opening days for a major tech IPO since the dot-com bubble by 11 a.m. Even Paytm skeptics were stunned by the stock's 27 percent drop, putting doubt on the stock's record-breaking run and leaving Sharma — and his underwriters — facing harsh questions about what went wrong with the $2.5 billion fundraising.

HCL Tech to Train and Hire High School Graduates in the United States

“If you don’t build your dream, someone else will hire you to help them build theirs.”

Dhirubhai Ambani

H

CL Tech, an IT services provider, has announced an apprenticeship program in the United States to train and hire highschool graduates in order to boost its localization efforts in global markets. Apprentices who complete the program successfully will be offered full-time employment with HCL and will be able to pursue a debt-free college degree at the same time. With positions available in software development and testing, digital and cloud services, infrastructure delivery, and engineering at HCL's global innovation and delivery centres in California, Connecticut, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas, candidates can start their technology career with full pay and benefits. The HCL Apprenticeship is part of HCL's North American early career and training program, Rise at HCL.

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Belarus Border Crisis: Migrants Are Being Relocated to a Warehouse

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igrants camped on the Belarus-Poland border have been relocated to a nearby warehouse, according to border guards. Thousands of individuals, largely from the Middle East, have been living in the temporary camp in the hopes of gaining entry to the European Union. Belarus and the EU have de-escalated their hostilities as a result of this step. Belarus has been accused of forcing migrants to the border as a kind of retaliation for EU sanctions, which it rejects. On Thursday, more than 400 Iraqis were flown back to Iraq from Belarus on a flight organised by the Iraqi government.

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries Claims That Social Media Has Been Hacked

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eople are frightened to say what they think for fear of being "canceled," according to Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, who also claims that left-wing activists have "hijacked" social media. She stated she had no plans to "go out on a culture war struggle" in her first TV interview since taking the job. She chastised online activists for scaring young people "who genuinely want to engage" in serious debate. She also called the negative response to her new role "misogynistic."

Following her selection in September, comedian Dom Joly described it as "like the result of some drunk bet," while fellow comedian Mark Thomas claimed Dorries, who is also a successful author, had "authored more books" than he had.

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President of Portugal Has Called a Quick Election

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ortugal's president has stated that parliament would be dissolved and a snap election will be held on January 30. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa noted the national assembly's rejection of the government's draught budget for 2022, which is the first time in decades that this has happened. As Portugal seeks to recover from the pandemic and an "economic and social disaster," he said the budget will be critical. The early election comes after Prime Minister António Costa's government had a period of relative political stability. Despite his Socialist Party's lack of a majority in parliament, he has remained in power for the past six years. The Socialists forged agreements with far-left parties after the 2015 election to ensure the passage of critical legislation.

Covid: Unvaccinated Austrians Are Facing Lockdown

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fter record illnesses were reported across the country, Austrians are days away from the country's first lockdown for anyone who isn't completely vaccinated. If the federal government approves, the province of Upper Austria will implement limitations beginning Monday.

New measures are also being considered in Salzburg. A countrywide lockdown for the unvaccinated, according to Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg, is "definitely inevitable." He claimed that two-thirds of the population should not suffer because others were hesitant. Upper Austria, with a population of 1.5 million people and borders Germany and the Czech Republic, has the highest infection rate and the lowest vaccination rate in the country.

For more info: europetimes.co

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COVER STORY COVERSTORY

TAMIL NADU CM

M K STALIN:

THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE WHO WANTS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE “Koyil koodathu enru naangal sollavillai, athu kodiyavargalin koodaram agi vida koodathu enbath thaan engal nokkam (We are not against temples, but temples should not become the haven of crooks)” - M K Stalin

‘B

efore you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others. - Jack Welch’ On March 1, 1953, in Chennai, M K Stalin was born as the third son of the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and DMK strongman M. Karunanidhi and his wife Dayalu Amma.

Stalin studied at the Madras Christian College Higher Secondary School.

He completed his pre-university course at Vivekananda College and obtained a history degree from Presidency College, Chennai of the University of Madras in 1973.

His political career began in his early

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COVER STORY COVERSTORY

teens when he started the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Gopalapuram Youth Wing from a tea shop with several friends. As a 14-year-old, he campaigned for his uncle, Murasoli Maran, in the 1967 elections. In 1973, Stalin was elected to the General Committee of the DMK. Stalin formed the DMK youth wing, too. In 1982, Stalin became the youth wing secretary of DMK, a post he held for more than four decades. Stalin later became the city’s first directly elected mayor in 1996.

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Stalin’s political career has been nothing short of a roller coaster ride.

Initially, he failed to win from the Thousand Lights constituency but later he won the Assembly polls in the year 1989, and in 1996 he won the seat again. For the first time in his political career, Stalin changed his constituency in 2011 and moved to the Kolathur constituency of Chennai.

In the 2006 Assembly elections, the DMK regained control of the state Assembly, partly due to Stalin’s

efforts. Stalin became the Minister for Rural Development and Local Administration in the Government of Tamil Nadu. During his tenure, he developed his skills as an administrator, helping to strengthen selfhelp groups in the state.

Stalin was the 37th Mayor of Chennai from 1996 to 2002 and the first Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 2009 to 2011. During his tenure as Mayor, he strived to improve the standard of corporation schools in Chennai and succeeded

"I will defend you not only as a Chief Minister but also as a father," Stalin remarked on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, sending a strong message. He also advised the victims against taking extreme steps such as terminating their lives. in his efforts. When he was the Deputy Chief Minister in 2006, the development of rural areas in Tamil Nadu was one of his focus areas.

On January 3, 2013, Karunanidhi named Stalin as his successor, thus ending a long era of confusion about who would take over the party’s reins after Karunanidhi. On August 28, 2018, he was elected unanimously as the DMK chief after Karunanidhi passed away.

M.K. Stalin formed the Secular Progressive Alliance in Tamil Nadu under the National United Progressive Alliance and led the alliance in the 2019 general election in the state and won 39 out of 40 Parliament seats.

Stalin also led the campaign for the Secular Progressive Alliance in the 2021 Assembly elections. On May 7, 2021, Stalin took his oath as the Chief Minister along with the rest of his cabinet. In a survey by the Indian Express, he was placed 30th on the list of India’s Most Powerful Personalities in 2019.

Firefighting Covid-19 for over six months till now, he has shown how he is different than his predecessors. His team has hit the ground running as soon as they took charge on May 7th to contain the second wave of Covid-19. Prioritising the tackling of the pandemic over celebrations of returning to power after 10 years and giving it precedence over everything else has been a perfect sign of Stalin’s way of leadership.

Drawing on his father’s legacy of upholding the importance of mother tongue, he took oath as ‘Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin’ instead of ‘M K Stalin’ as he was introduced by Governor Banwarilal Purohit.

Able Administrator and Champion of Women’s Rights

He privatised conservancy operations in the city and constructed nine flyovers and coined a pet project called Singara Chennai (Beautiful Chennai), lauded for improving Chennai’s infrastructure. Only because of his great work, the vast city of Chennai today experiences fewer traffic jams compared to other cities.

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COVER STORY COVERSTORY

"I will defend you not only as a Chief Minister but also as a father," Stalin remarked on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, sending a strong message. He also advised the victims against taking extreme steps such as terminating their lives.

Instead, he advised, they should fight to bring the criminals to justice. He stated that criminals would be prosecuted regardless of their position, social standing, or influence. The State Child Policy 2021 was established with the goal of

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ending violence against women and children.

Even during the floods that had affected Tamil Nadu this time, Stalin worked as a common man rather than the supreme leader and worked towards people’s welfare, making sure that they got all the essential amenities, especially food.

The name Stalin always builds curiosity among people and the interesting story behind the name is that when Karunanidhi was addressing a condolence meeting for Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, who died only four days after his child

was born, he decided to name his son Stalin. M.K. Stalin tied the knot with Durga on August 25, 1975, and has two children Senthamarai and Udhayanidhi Stalin, who is an actor and politician.

The DMK's 68-year-old leader has now ushered in a healthy political culture of inclusivity by treating opposition leaders with respect and consulting them on problems, a trait not seen in Tamil Nadu politics in decades. Let's hope he will continue to fight for the common people who voted for him with hope and trust

BUSINESS

Welch succeeded because he understood that growth is what moves Wall Street even as he realized that most of the “industrial” businesses GE was operating in had modest organic growth prospects. He therefore developed a strategy of acquisitions to grow earnings.

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

THE SUN SETS ON AN ICONIC AMERICAN COMPANY

T

he General Electric company (GE), one of the oldest and most well-known names in the corporate world that counts Thomas Alva Edison as one of its founders, is breaking up. On November 9, GE announced plans to split into three separate companies for its aviation, healthcare, and energy businesses.

The news marks the end of an era.

GE was incorporated in 1892 after a merger between the Edison General Electric Company, a company founded in 1878 by Thomas Edison, and the Thomson-Houston Electric Company. The deal was arranged by the influential financier J.P. Morgan. At its peak in early

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2001, the company’s stock was worth more than $500 billion making it one of the most valuable companies in the world at that time. It was a giant global conglomerate in the true sense of the term, involved in commercial and consumer finance, infrastructure (water treatment systems, energy delivery systems such as power grids), diesel locomotives, jet engines, consumer appliances (refrigerators, washing machines, cooking ranges, etc.), lighting products, health care (mainly diagnostic and imaging products), and also, for good measure, media, and entertainment!

However, in recent years, the company has struggled, particu-

larly after the global financial crisis of 2008 left its financial services division, GE Capital, reeling. What was once an iconic American company and a Wall Street favourite, became a flat-footed giant unable to respond to or adjust to changing realities. A company that was an original constituent of the Dow Jones Industrial Average when it was launched in 1896, found itself ejected from the index in June 2018. In a way, GE’s decline is the outcome of a broader shift in the economy of the United States, which has drifted away from heavy industry and moved towards services, such as technology, finance, and health care.

Snapshot of a company in decline GE’s stock has underperformed the market since the crisis; Share price and index rebased, January 2009.

Source: https://www.ft.com/content/1ca38b2c-a9ce-4450-b156-a17a24e33976

Jack Welch, Legendary CEO

No write-up on General Electric can do without a mention of Jack Welch, its legendary CEO for 20 years from 1981 to 2001. Welch authored five bestselling books on leadership and inspired a generation of business leaders. During his tenure, the company was consistently

ranked amongst the top companies on Fortune 500 list and its market value grew from $12 billion to $410 billion. For Welch, GE was not merely a manufacturing company but a "boundary-less" business, and GE became a training ground for a growing cadre of star managers.

They were developed and moved from one business to another every

few years for better career growth through exposure to a wide range of businesses.

Welch succeeded because he understood that growth is what moves Wall Street even as he realized that most of the “industrial” businesses GE was operating in had modest organic growth prospects. He, therefore, developed a strategy of acquisitions to grow earnings. He would look for performing businesses in a dominant position in industries where there were only three or four large players, which could be counted on to contribute to profit from day one. Once a company came into the GE fold, GE’s star managers would get down to work, in the quest to improve its workings for higher growth.

Singularly determined to overcome the odds by shaking up the bureaucratic culture he had inherited, Welch earned two titles, “manager of the century,” and “Neutron Jack”, the latter for cutting back tens of thousands of jobs while acquiring, restructuring, and selling businesses. The allusion is to the neutron bomb which leaves buildings intact but decimates the population.

Welch had a no-nonsense approach to profit. A GE business that wasn't the market leader in its segment was faced with three choices.

The first was to work on the business and make it the leader. If not, it

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BUSINESS was either sold or shut down. In his first two years as CEO, 71 businesses were sold. Welch also transformed GE Capital, a division originally meant to finance client purchases of its aircraft engines and power turbines, into a financial services powerhouse involved in everything from subprime mortgages to insurance. Ironically, within a decade of his retirement, amid the global financial crisis of 2008, GE Capital would prove to be a weak link and the source of much of its troubles.

Lessons about Corporate Strategy from GE’s Failure

Not surprisingly, the story of GE’s fall from grace has been widely discussed in the media. A much-talkedabout book in this context was published in 2020 with the title, “Lights Out: Pride, Delusion, and the Fall of General Electric.” Authored by Thomas Gryta and Ted Mann who are both journalists with the Wall Street Journal, the book traces GE’s decline from the days of Welch onwards. Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, recently put out a short blog post about this book. He wrote about his key takeaways from the book and offered his own insights into what likely went wrong. (More about Gates’ thoughts shortly.)

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For this article, I would like to draw attention to an August 2019 case study authored by Dr. James E. Schrager, professor at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. The study is titled, “Three Strategy Lessons from GE’s Decline” and it explains what can happen to a conglomerate that fails to adapt quickly when its success wanes.

Dr. Shrager is of the opinion that GE never stood much of a chance once Jack Welch retired as chairman and CEO in 2001. No, it was not due to poor luck or indifferent management, it’s just that Welch’s brilliant growth strategy had run its course and ceased to be relevant.

Welch’s great mistake was to fail to plan for what happens when the golden goose stops laying. According to Dr. Schrager, the story of GE holds three powerful lessons about corporate strategy, which I quote below verbatim: 1. All growth from any single market or technology will end. Companies that endure are those that plan for this reality.

2. If you are successful, many will copy your success. Companies that continue to prosper update and adapt their strategies.

3. Smart corporate strategies are

flexible and nimble, enabling action rather than constraining it.

Having laid out the strategic lessons, here is what Dr. Shrager recommends that current and future CEOs should take care of: 1. Plan the Next Big Thing: When Jack Welch presided over GE, his long-term and short-term views were not very different. In his vision of the future, he expected GE to continue acquiring promising companies at reasonable prices, thereby delivering uninterrupted growth with profitability. But by the time Welch ceded control to Jeff Immelt in 2001, the world had become a different place. The story of Welch’s success had been shared widely and many other business leaders adopted the same strategy, making it less effective over time. The lesson here is, no matter how big or successful you are today, no matter how much you dominate your sector, you must plan for a time when your current strategy no longer works. The change will always happen and so strategies must be renewed and revised. As Dr. Shrager puts it, “Corporate leaders need to ask themselves: What is the pipeline? What is driving growth?

What are we going to run out of?”

2. Expect Competition: As men-

tioned earlier, Welch had developed a strategy of acquisitions to grow the company rapidly. However, once other companies too began to copy the same strategy, and once privateequity players emerged in the 1990s with the ability to raise huge capital and obtain funding from banks to finance their acquisitions, all the good candidates suddenly had too many interested parties looking to takeover. The bidding wars that followed pushed prices higher and higher, increasing the risk factor in the acquisition. Buying the right companies at the right prices became harder and harder. The lesson here is that market conditions change, successful companies will attract competitors, and competitors will copy your successful strategies and may even improve upon it, to make it cheaper, faster, or smarter. A good business leader should expect and plan for such competition well in advance.

3. Be Nimble: Strategies are not meant to be etched in stone and held valid for all situations and times to come, nor should they become

inflexible in ways that constrain action. Rather, strategies work best as frameworks for decision-making.

Successful corporate strategies enable companies to change direction when things don’t go according to plan, and when unexpected opportunities arise too.

Bill Gates on GE’s Decline

In a blog post of June 2021, Bill Gates talks about his two big takeaways from the book, “Lights Out: Pride, Delusion, and the Fall of General Electric,” by Thomas Gryta and Ted Mann.

Firstly, GE’s fall is a textbook case of mismanagement of an excessively complex business. As Gates explains, what seemed like one of GE’s greatest strengths was one of its biggest weaknesses. For many years, investors loved GE’s stock because the GE management team always “made their numbers,” which is to say the company would report earnings per share much in line with what Wall Street analysts predicted.

However, as it became clear later, the culture of meeting the market’s

expectations at all costs gave rise to “success theatre” and “chasing earnings.” Gates quotes an example from the book about how GE would sometimes artificially boost quarterly profits by selling an asset (e.g., a diesel locomotive) to a friendly bank on the understanding that GE would buy back the asset later. In this way, problems were brushed under the carpet for the sake of presenting a bright picture. However, it also allowed small problems to grow into big problems before they came to the attention of top management.

Gates points out that in many companies, bad news travels very slowly while good news travels fast.

He contrasts this with the culture at Microsoft where he tried hard to keep this tendency in check. As an example, he says that if a team member sent him an email saying, “We just won a software design competition,” he would typically respond with, “Why am I hearing about this one? That’s not statistically representative. How many competitions did we lose?” Gates calls it “making

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BUSINESS

bad news travel fast” all the time so that he would catch negative trends early enough for top management to take corrective measures.

Gates’ second key takeaway is that GE did not have the right managerial talent or systems to manage its wide range of complex and divergent businesses. The company liked to believe that its famous training systems made its managers more capable of avoiding the pitfalls that had brought down conglomerates in the past. The reality was not so simple as GE’s generalists often lacked in-depth knowledge about the industries they had to manage. Consequently, they were not always wellequipped to steer their way through the trends and upheavals in their industries. These limitations were severely exposed when it came to GE Capital, which almost collapsed during the global financial crisis of 2008. The failure happened because GE Capital was all along borrowing short at cheap rates (using the commercial paper route) and lending long at higher rates to boost profits.

When the crisis broke, confidence in the financial system shattered overnight halting the flow of credit, and

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GE Capital had to be bailed out by Warren Buffet.

Success Not Guaranteed

Many conglomerates have split up in recent years based on the logic of enabling the more promising businesses to focus on the opportunities within their sector. Days after GE’s announcement, another big American company, Johnson & Johnson, announced plans to split into two parts, with its consumer business separating from its pharmaceutical and medical devices business.

However, the results of such splits are not always on expected lines. A recent New York Times article cites the examples of Siemens AG and Honeywell to show how splitting a conglomerate can be a mixed bag. Siemens AG announced the spinoff of its energy business in May 2020. Since then, its shares have risen 64%, bettering the S&P 500’s 56% gain over this period.

Honeywell announced the spinoff of its home equipment business In October 2017 but the gain in the company’s shares since has been outpaced by gains in the S&P 500 (63% vs 83%).

Moreover, even after GE’s split,

the three new stand-alone companies will still be reckoned as large companies in their own right. For example, the jet engine business earned a revenue of $22 billion last year. Reportedly, there are about 36,000 GE engines fitted on commercial airliners worldwide and another 26,000 engines on military aircraft. GE’s health care business recorded revenues of $17 billion last year and hospitals and clinics globally use 4 million of its imaging and other machines. The third company coming out of the split will hold GE’s energy and power business which manufactures wind turbines and gas-fuelled power generators. Astonishing as this may seem, GE’s power plants generate one-third of the world’s electricity today!

For some years now, GE has been trying to extricate itself from its troubles by cutting down on debt and bringing more focus to its businesses. Hopefully, the split into three companies will make them nimbler (V.P. Nandakumar is MD & CEO of Manappuram Finance Ltd. Views are personal)

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Pathway to MRS Glam World

BUSINESS

Rajesh Nair Associate Partner, Ernst & Young LLP

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Integrity and ethics have been the buzzwords for too long and they exist somewhere in our lexicon. But it has enhanced meaning in today’s management context.

The Changing Perspective of Management Education

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he ongoing pandemic has become a catalyst for significant changes in every aspect of life on the planet. We were already undergoing a series of transitions, as pointed out by eminent energy expert Valclav Smil in his popular book, Grand Transitions. Valclav categorises these changes into four areas.

First is the energy transition – the move from wood to fossil fuels which perhaps remains the fundamental plinth for the other changes. One may, of course, debate the boons and ills of this transition till the cows come home, but it remains a grand transition. The second is the economic transition – where we have been powered by the innovations of abundant energy and started rethinking percentages of growth and the scale of growth is unprecedented in many walks of business.

The third transition is the demographics – different pockets of the world have an ag-

ing population ironically due to the success of birth control measures and countries like India have a large young population.

This changes habits, economics, and the way of life. The fourth is the agricultural transition – from people working in farms to the large-scale mechanisation and the advent of genomics and surge of genetically modified food, which has reduced the scale of famines and ushered in global urbanisation.

All these impact decisions, the way we think, and how the world is perceived.

While technology changes run as a fundamental theme through all these transitions, education of technology has flipped the switch and we are looking at very different engineering education. And that brings us to the management of businesses and management education. The fundamental core of management education has been to teach a student the basics of

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BUSINESS

business and build on those basics to make decisions on a daily basis.

The foundations will aid the technical, but the mindset needs to be a lot different. The world is slowly moving focus into newer areas and inclusive growth. Business leaders seek purpose, create more than just stakeholder fiscal value, participate more in society, embrace human complexities and lifestyles and do business ethically. The traditional intent of growth and money is changing into modern-day altruism that aims at responsible growth. Measures like ‘happiness’, especially at work, are linked with higher levels of autonomy, engagement, and personal development. Alex Edmans of London Business School says companies that track such non-traditional measures rake higher profits and are able to focus on a purpose to which their customers and employees align to.

The courses of today need to additionally focus on a few areas besides the foundations of business.

Finance, marketing, HR, IT, etc were adding to the basics but the students need to see the world differently from a few different lenses.

These perspectives make their decisions meaningful by embracing compassion and working towards more inclusion and growth, thereby having positive effects on the world around them and beyond.

PURPOSE: We are driven by multiple elements of distraction around us. Incessant messages, social media, emails, calls, and travails of personal and professional lives.

This takes away our ability to focus and dedicate attention to any task.

Cal Newport in his seminal book, Deep Work, says, “The ability to have a core purpose and indulge in it through our days helps us achieve better results in whatever endeavour we embark on. What also helps you focus is the core purpose. It is like a destination that gets shaped by our values, the way we work, our principles, the way we support each other and the way we serve our customers.

While companies may call it ‘vision’, ‘purpose’ et.al – a mental alignment about the direction is what differentiates meaningful progress.”

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ETHICS: Integrity and ethics have been the buzzwords for too long and they exist somewhere in our lexicon. But it has enhanced meaning in today’s management context.

We have to progressively make decisions that will incorporate the best interests of not just the stakeholders of our firm but the society at large.

We are increasingly understanding that ‘more is not necessarily better’;

our traditional views of economic efficiency have been action proxies for long. We know we have to balance this efficiency with resilience and level it on a scale that creates a greater good.

SUSTAINABILITY: How do we balance the success of today with the needs of tomorrow? Environment and sustainability are being fiercely debated in organisations today. The

The new pay-per-outcome and smart revenue models need us to delve deeper into the customers we serve and how to match their changing needs. Serving to such outcomes needs you to think very differently and that is where diversity pops in.

issue of carbon footprints and carbon neutrality is becoming increasingly important as the world sees climate changes and environmental anomalies never encountered earlier. Renewables have barely dented overall reliance on fossil fuels. It also calls for the global cooperation of nations. The consumers in the affluent nations may opt for electric cars, solar rooftop panels but they cannot deny those in the third world counties the quality of life, energy can accord.

DIVERSITY: We looked for similarities when we built societies around us in the beginning – people who looked similar, had similar habits, the same mindset, etc. But this tenet is changing. It is time we honour the uniqueness in each of us and learn to leverage the diversities that each and every one of us brings to the table. That difference in thought embellishes our decision-making process and adds more than clarity and judiciousness to our decisions and actions. The new pay-per-outcome and smart revenue models need us to delve deeper into the customers we serve and how to match their changing needs. Serving to such outcomes needs you to think very differently and that is where diversity pops in.

SELF KNOWLEDGE: We cannot speak less of the need to be mindful of ourselves. We are the ‘CEO of our wellbeing’ like what author Naz Beheshti writes in her book, Pause. Breathe. Choose.

Achieving your career goals and climbing the corporate ladder is not worth sacrificing your well-being.

Taking time to restore energy and balance is paramount. We need to learn about our personal needs as much as the professional events around us. We need to prioritise our connection with ourselves too besides all the connections around us.

All the education should focus on preparing the students for life, helping them become the best version of themselves and to seek a purpose in life. That is what management education should focus on!

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HEALTH

Your child may seem to spend more time outside than with you. Accept that your adolescents are discovering a whole new world. Just let them know you are there when they need you.

Dr Arun Oommen MBBS, MS (Gen Surg), MCh (Neurosurgery), MRCSEd,MBA Senior Consultant Neurosurgeon VPS Lakeshore Hospital NH-47, Bypass, Maradu, Nettoor PO, Kochi 682040, India.

Adolescent Dilemmas- Ways To Handle Them

A

dolescence is not an easy time for the kids or parents. Due to the hormonal changes, the kids face a lot of physical and emotional changes.

They become very vulnerable, impulsive, and face difficulty in coping with the changes around the world.

The only way to deal with needs and problems at this age is to know about them and learn to face them.

Let's discuss a few issues and understand ways to handle them.

1. Physical Changes

Physical changes happen due to change in the teenager’s hormone levels.

• The development of full breasts in girls can be awkward in the beginning. Girls may start to feel conscious about their figure. Girls start their menstrual periods.

• Change of voice and appear-

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ance of facial hair in boys is perhaps the most prominent change that takes place during adolescence.

• Acne is a major concern.

• The growth of pubic hair in girls and boys.

• Body odor becomes evident.

Solution:

Make them aware of these normal changes and help them adapt to them. Acknowledge the change and help them accept it as a normal phenomenon. Enable them to stay healthy and fit through a nutritious diet and exercise.

2. Emotional Changes and Problems

Hormones affect your teenager not only physically but also emotionally.

• Adolescence is the age between adulthood and childhood. Teenagers are often confused about their role

and are torn between their responsibilities as growing adults and their desires as children.

• Significant developmental change in the brain makes teens moody, tired, and difficult to deal with. Anything and everything can make them happy, excited, mad, or angry.

• Bodily changes result in selfconsciousness. Feelings of inferiority or superiority may arise at this time.

May try all silly gimmicks to impress the opposite sex.

• Adolescence is the age when sexual feelings arise in youngsters.

Feelings and thoughts about sex can trigger a sense of guilt.

Solution:

Puberty is an emotional rollercoaster ride. And it is normal.

• Let them talk. Listen to them without judging and avoid giving

them advice when they are not ready for it.

• Encourage them to exercise as physical activity helps keep the serotonin (creates good feelings and happiness) levels up.

• Indulging in a creative activity can help in channelizing their talents and emotions. It helps release the happiness hormones ( Endorphin) • Parents should share experiences of puberty or let them talk to an older sibling who has gone through the same.

3. Behavioral Changes

They become vulnerable to overwhelming emotions which can lead to impulsive behavior and can be harmful to themselves as well as others.

• Adolescence is the time when kids develop and exercise their in-

dependence. This can give rise to questioning the parents’ rules (seen as argumentative) and standing up for what they believe is right (seen as stubbornness).

• The raging hormones in teenage boys can even push them to get into physical confrontations. As a part of their newfound independence, adolescents may also want to try new things and take risks, resulting in careless behavior. The most troubling behavior is perhaps your teen hanging out with problem kids and adapting to a dangerous lifestyle.

• They would also want to listen to loud music.

• Sometimes, peer pressure and the need to ‘fit in’ can make them behave in a certain way or develop certain habits that are hard to break.

• Dressing, hairstyle, and sense of fashion also change which may

not be approved by parents.

• Lying is one of the common teen behavioral issues. Teens may lie to avoid confrontation with parents or out of fear.

Solution:

• Behavioral problems in adolescence can make life difficult for parents. But remember that it is a passing phase, and is entirely normal.

• Gaining your child’s trust is important. Talk to them and listen to what they have to say. Do not judge or criticize them, as it could worsen their behavior. Adolescents are very sensitive and may not take criticism well.

• You will have to intervene if you see them falling into bad company.

4. Educational Challenges

Adolescents have also had a lot of educational activities to do.

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HEALTH

• Pressure to perform academically and obtain college admission can be stressful and make your teenager moody.

• Juggling school work, extracurricular activities, and chores at home can be tiring.

• Distractions at school can result in poor academic performance, which will add to the pressure.

Solution:

• Support your kid’s aspirations for college education as what they need is encouragement to do well.

• Teaching effective learning techniques is very important.

• Household chores may be cut down to enable them to focus on their school projects. Nutrition and exercise can help them get the strength and endurance they need to get through the hectic high school period.

5. Psychological Problems

Research has revealed that around 50% of mental health disorders that adults have, begin at the age of 14. In fact, one-third of adolescent deaths are suicides triggered by depression.

• Teenagers may have self-

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esteem or confidence issues. The feelings of inferiority or superiority often arise from their appearance, and acceptance of their body – skin color, beauty, and figure.

• Poor performance in academics and low IQ can also demotivate them and develop the ‘I’m not good enough’ attitude towards life.

• Depression is one of the common psychological problems associated with adolescence.

• The stress and pressure of adolescence can create anxiety-related issues, while mood swings can lead to conduct disorder or oppositional defiant disorder.

Solution:

Identifying symptoms of psychological problems in adolescence is not easy and needs the eye of an expert.

• Most of the time, talking about the problems and maintaining a healthy lifestyle can prevent the onset of depression. Allow them to talk and listen to them.

• Talk to the child’s teachers and friends to know if they are moody and disoriented at school as well.

Never brush away their feelings, as

that can make things worse.

• If your child is overly moody and cynical, it is time to intervene and seek professional help if necessary.

6. Social and Sexual Problems – Dating and Relationships

Attraction to the opposite sex begins during puberty. Adolescence is the time when their sexual or reproductive organs start developing.

At such a vulnerable time, it is natural for kids to feel awkward in social situations.

• Teenagers want to have an identity of their own. They tend to look up to role models at home or outside.

• They need time to understand and get comfortable with their sexuality. Girls and boys start experiencing ‘weird’ feelings towards the other sex and may not know what to do about it. This is the time they start dating. Your adolescent may not be comfortable talking to you about it and may go with little information or misinformation they have about it. Sexual feelings and thoughts of sex may seem wrong to an adoles-

cent, because of which they may feel guilty • Without proper guidance, teenagers may become sexually active before they are ready. This could result in unwanted pregnancies. Unwanted pregnancy is the biggest risk that adolescent girls face.

• Unprotected sex can also lead to sexually transmitted diseases like HIV. • Adolescents may compete with their peers in about anything and everything. Their spirit of competition speaks a lot about their perception of self – whether they have positive self-esteem or a negative one.

• Their social circle expands during this time as they seem occupied interacting with friends on social media sites, through their phones, and outside.

Solution:

• Dating, romance, and sex are delicate issues that your teenager may not be comfortable talking about. Don’t make it more awkward for your child. Be confident and rational when discussing the subject.

Sharing your dating and social life experiences in school can put them at ease sometimes.

• Your child may seem to spend more time outside than with you.

Accept that your adolescents are discovering a whole new world. Just let them know you are there when they need you.

• The hormonal changes in teenagers may make them act impulsively. It is important that you talk to them about the consequences of unprotected sex and how it can change their life.

• Awareness is the only way to prevent early pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in adolescents.

7. Health problems

Without proper nutrition and healthcare, they are susceptible to illnesses as they are vulnerable emotionally and physically.

• Teenagers have a hectic schedule as they hop from one activity to another with little time to eat or rest properly. Unhealthy eating habits prevent them from getting the nutrition they need.

• Consciousness about their

body can lead to eating disorders, especially in girls. Adolescent girls who worry about their weight and appearance can develop disorders like anorexia or bulimia. Stress can also lead to loss of appetite and sleeplessness in young children.

• Unhealthy eating habits and a less active lifestyle could also lead to obesity.

Solution:

Parental guidance can help abate health problems in adolescence to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Lead by example and encourage your children to eat healthy balanced food, exercise right, and sleep on time.

8. Addiction to Cyberspace

The advent of social media has changed the way we interact with each other. It has affected teenage lifestyles the most.

• They may seem to spend hours on the phone, texting, talking, or simply playing.

• Adolescents addicted to the internet tend to have fewer friends and a less active social life. They lead solitary lives and are happily browsing the internet for hours.

• Addiction to cyberspace also cuts short their physical activities, resulting in an unhealthy and sedentary lifestyle.

• Internet addiction adversely impacts academic performance.

Solution:

• Do not say ‘no’ to the Internet.

That will only make them adamant.

Instead, talk about your concerns and help them work on other things that do not require a computer.

• Have some cyber rules and boundaries for everybody at home.

Limit the use of the mobile phone to a few hours a day, and avoid bringing the phone to the bedroom as it is likely to affect a person’s sleep.

• Enroll them in activities that encourage them to interact with oth-

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HEALTH

ers. Have family activities that will make them want to spend less time at the computer.

9. Aggression and Violence

Aggression is especially a concern with adolescent boys ( Raging bull phenomenon). Young boys start to develop muscles, grow tall, and have a coarser, manly voice. And they are moody and vulnerable and can let others get under their skin.

• Adolescent boys could start bullying others, which is a major problem that adolescent boys and girls have to deal with.

• Boys may fall into bad company and be drawn to acts of violence, vandalism, and aggression. Impulse acts of violence can lead to serious consequences, including death.

• Teenage girls are likely to suffer violence or aggression from a partner.

Solution:

Children tend to imitate what

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they see at home.

• Teach your children to be kind and considerate and the importance of compassion. Nurturing relationships at home can help them become less aggressive.

• Prevent access to firearms and alcohol early to prevent violence.

• Avoid exposing them to violent stories, games, or movies at an age when they cannot differentiate between what is right and wrong.

• Make them try alternative ways, such as going for a run, doing yoga, or music for venting out their anger.

10. Substance Use and Abuse

Teenagers are vulnerable and substance abuse is one of the biggest problems that parents of adolescents have to deal with.

• Peer pressure and the tendency to take risks is one of the significant factors that drive adolescents to

take up smoking and drinking or to do drugs.

• If there is somebody who smokes or drinks at home, they can become your teen’s role models.

• Poor self-esteem and the need to be ‘cool’ can push adolescents to smoke or drink.

Solution:

• Keep an eye on your child’s behavior. Look for erratic behavior and change in his or her appetite, sleep patterns, and moods. Do not spy on them or accuse them of any wrongdoing. Encourage them to talk and be honest.

• If your child is not willing to talk to you, the doctors can ask confidential questions to know if they are abusing any substances.

• Avoid going as far as a drug test, as that may come across as confrontational and threaten the kid. If necessary, get your adolescent the appropriate treatment

Pegasus Again Redefining Beauty

in their

Special Ways

M

rs South India 2021 is a beauty pageant for married women which is organized by Pegasus Global Pvt Ltd one of the reputed production companies in the world of the fashion industry through conducting regular beauty pageants.

Manappuram Finance Limited and DQUE are the main sponsors of the Mrs South India 2021 pageant.

Marriage is never a barrier to fulfilling the dreams it’s just a beginning and this is proved by 17 beauties from various parts of South India who walked on the ramp of Mrs South India. The competition had two rounds. In the first round, the Indian Ethnic Wear, the contestants came to the stage wearing traditional Indian wears. Along with that, the contestants faced the question round with complete confidence, the tension of the competition was actually increased among the audience. Mrs South India 2021 not only focuses on beauty but also is a symbol of confidence, social commitment, and love for one's. In the first round, each contestant was fighting head to head.

After the first round, it was the black gown round. 17 girls in black gowns lined the stage in the light of the colorful lights. 7 beauties were selected for the final round among the 17 who gave their best in the first round. Then there was the common

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Marriage is never a barrier to fulfilling the dreams it’s just a beginning and this is proved by 17 beauties from various parts of South India who walked on the ramp of Mrs South India.

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37

question round. All the seven contestants answered the question very well. As each answer was read, the audience applauded and encouraged the contestants.

Next up was the eagerly awaited result announcement. When asked by the host who would be the winner, the audience were roaring the names of their favorite contestants. The faces of the contestants holding hands were full of excitement.

When the winner was announced at the end of the tension and excitement, Kripa Dharmaraj won the Manappuram DQUE Mrs South India 2021 title. Dr. S K Thiviya was the first runner up and Seema V Shetty was the second runner up. The winner was crowned by Shri V P Nandakumar, Manappuram Finance Ltd MD, and CEO. The franchisee holder of this year’s Mrs South India contest is Shiny Justine, founder of SCAAS and owner of Juzt Shine family fitness studio.

The contestants were groomed by a team of experts and were judged by a group of renowned celebrities from the field of entertainment and fashion. Hannah Reji Koshy (actress and model) C K Kumaravel (CEO and Co-Founder of Groom India Salon & Spa Pvt Ltd) Deepa B Lal (model and beauty pageant winner) Shivani Rai (model and beauty pageant winner) were on the judging panel.

Pegasus has organized about 10 events

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during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The organizers deserve vast appreciation for the courage they had shown. Mrs. South India, like what has been mentioned earlier, is different from the rest.

It uses an entirely different parameter to gauge its contestants.

In its evaluation process, the parameters of intelligence, talent, and social commitment hold more weightage than the parameter of beauty.

Aiswarya Jayachandran from Kerala, Dyna Christopher from Kerala, Dr. Hemamalini Rajinikanth from Tamil Nadu, Kripa Dharmaraj from Tamil Nadu, Maya Menon from Kerala, Nirubha Malarkodi from Tamil Nadu, Dr. Nishanthini Arun from Tamil

Nadu, Praveena B from Tamil Nadu, Rraxshmi Tthakur from Telangana, Roohie Jaan from Kerala, Seema V Shetty from Karnataka, Shyji Praveen from Kerala, Smitha Yohannan from Kerala, Sneha from Karnataka, Sunita Davala from Andhra, Susan Sunny from Kerala And Dr. S K Thiviya from Tamil Nadu were the contestants.

The winners were crowned with a gold crown designed by Parakkat Jewellers. Apart from the main title, the regional titles and sub-titles were awarded during the function.

Aiswarya Jayachandran, Sneha, Rraxshmi Tthakur, Sunita Davala, and Kripa Dharmaraj were awarded Mrs Kerala Global,

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39

Mrs Karnataka Global, Mrs Telangana, Mrs Andhra, and Mrs Tamil Nadu respectively.

Likewise, Dr. Nishanthini Arun, Kripa Dharmaraj, Nirubha Malarkodi, Susan Sunny, Dyna Christopher, Praveena B, Dyna Christopher, Aiswarya Jayachandran, Maya Menon, and Roohie Jaan bagged the Mrs Personality, Mrs Ramp Walk, Mrs Talent, Mrs Congeniality, Mrs Popular, Mrs Photogenic, Mrs Social Media, Mrs Dazzling Smile, Mrs

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Pretty Hair and Mrs Glowing Skin subtitles respectively.

Manappuram Finance Limited and DQUE were the main partners of the event, organized by Pegasus, which has experience of around 20 years of in the fashion industry.

DQUE watches, VPS Lakeshore, and Naturals are the Powered by Partners.

Co-partners are Unique Times, Sunny Paints, Parakat Resort, Kalpana International, Times New,

UT World, Aishwarya Advertise, Absolute IAS Academy, Europe Times, UTTV, Green Media, and Juzt Shine.

Remarkably during the event, the organizer conducted the competition according to the protocol set by the government in the context of the Covid-19 spread. Winners of Mrs South India get an opportunity to represent the region in several national and international beauty contests, such as Mrs India Global

DONʼT DONʼT FEAR FEAR DIABETES. DIABETES. CONTROL CONTROL IT! IT!

FINANCE

Adv Sherry Samuel Oommen This article is authored by Adv Sherry Samuel Oommen. Adv Oommen, who specializes in constitution, tax and corporate laws has also cleared the final exams of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, the Institute of Cost Accountants of India and the Institute of Company Secretaries of India. He has also completed his Masters Degree in Commerce, apart from obtaining a Post Graduate Diploma in Business and Corporate Laws from Symbiosis Pune. The views expressly are personal and should not be construed as a legal opinion.sherryoommen@nashcp.com.

One must bear in mind that the disclosure of the information is to a private individual, who one can fairly assume has no ‘public duty’ or ‘public function’ to perform.

I

n a landmark judgment in 2017, a nine-bench jury of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in KS Puttaswamy (2017) 10 SCC 1 held that the right to privacy is protected as an intrinsic part of the right to life and personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. The Hon’ble Court further held that the right to privacy is one of the freedoms guaranteed under Part III of the Constitution of India.

In the said judgment, the Hon’ble Supreme Court upheld the following key propositions of law, which deserve mention: 1. In the Constitution, the individual is the focal point. It is in the realisation of individual rights that the collective well-being of the community is determined.

2. Privacy constitutes the foundation of all liberty because it is in privacy that the individual can decide how liberty is best exercised.

Hence, privacy thus constitutes the basic, irreducible condition necessary for the exercise of personal

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liberty and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution. It is the inarticulate major premise in Part III of the Constitution.

3. Individual dignity and privacy are inextricably linked in a pattern woven out of a thread of diversity into the fabric of a plural culture.

Thus, privacy eminently qualifies as an inalienable natural right, intimately connected to two values whose protection is a matter of universal moral agreement, namely, the innate dignity and autonomy of man.

4. Privacy involves hiding information whereas anonymity involves hiding what makes it personal. For instance, an unauthorised parting of the medical records of an individual which has been furnished to a hospital will amount to an invasion of privacy. On the other hand, the State may assert a legitimate interest in analysing data borne from hospital records to understand and deal with a public health epidemic such as malaria or dengue to obviate a serious impact on the popula-

RIGHT TO PRIVACY:IS THE GOVERNMENT DODGING THIS RIGHT?

tion. In this context, however, if the State preserves the anonymity of the individual concerned, it could legitimately assert a valid State interest in the preservation of public health to design appropriate policy interventions on the basis of the data available to it.

5. The Court also held that invasion into a person’s privacy must meet the threshold of the following 3 criteria: a. Legality, which postulates the existence of a valid law; b. Need, defined in terms of a legitimate state aim; and c. Proportionality which ensures a rational nexus between the objects

and the means adopted to achieve them.

In the recent past, one has been observing a tendency of governments and authorities invading a person’s right to privacy. The manner in which various search and seizure operations are being undertaken by authorities is clearly a violation of a person’s privacy. Such intrusion into a person’s privacy has been upheld by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in ITO Vs Seth Bros (1969) 2 SCC 324. In the said judgment, the Hon’ble Supreme Court noted as follows: “The condition for entry into and making the search of any build-

ing or place is the reason to believe that any books of account or other documents which will be useful for, or relevant to, any proceeding under the Act may be found.

If the Officer has reason to believe that any books of account or other documents would be useful for, or relevant to, any proceedings under the Act, he is authorised by law to seize those books of account or other documents, and to place marks of identification therein, to make extracts or copies therefrom and also to make a note or an inventory of any articles or other things found in the course of the search. Since by the exercise of the power a seri-

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FINANCE ous invasion is made upon the rights, privacy, and freedom of the tax-payer, the power must be exercised strictly in accordance with the law and only for the purposes for which the law authorizes it to be exercised. If the action of the officer issuing the authorization, or of the designated officer is challenged the officer concerned must satisfy the Court about the regularity of his action. If the action is maliciously taken or power under the section is exercised for a collateral purpose, it is liable to be struck down by the Court. If the conditions for the exercise of the power are not satisfied the proceeding is liable to be quashed.”

[Emphasis Supplied] A provision of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (‘IT Act’), namely, Section 138(1)(b) of the IT Act, in my view, would have a deleterious effect on taxpayers’ right to privacy. The provisions of section 138 of the IT Act deal with disclosure of information with respect to an income-tax assessee. Section 138(1)(b) of the IT Act, in the context of disclosure of information, provides as follows: “Where a person makes an application to the Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner or Principal Commissioner or Commissioner in the prescribed form for any information relating to any assessee received or obtained by any income-tax authority in the performance of his functions under this Act, the Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner or Principal Commissioner or Commissioner may, if he is satisfied that it is in the public interest so to do, furnish or cause to be furnished the information asked for and his decision in this behalf shall be final and shall not be called in question in

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any court of law.”

A mere perusal of the provision would indicate that information regarding any taxpayer can be disclosed to another taxpayer. One must bear in mind that the disclosure of the information is to a private individual, who one can fairly assume has no ‘public duty’ or ‘public function’ to perform.

My Musings

It is not in dispute that the act of filing returns is a statutory duty cast on an individual. The information that a person discloses in his tax return is not merely personal but also sensitive in nature. A return is filed on the basis that the information shared by the concerned taxpayer would be kept personal.

In the above perspective, it deserves mention that Courts have extended the protection of privacy to documents that had been given by an individual to a third party, as long as the same was given in confidence. In the present case, there lies no reason why the same protection cannot be afforded to a tax return filed by a taxpayer.

To me, the provision of section 138(1)(b) also suffers from various procedural and substantive defects, which are ineluctable. I wish to elaborate on a few in the following paragraphs: 1. As stated above, a perusal of the provisions of section 138(1) (b) would reveal that “any” person can request information regarding a particular assessee. Pertinently, the provision does not provide for a mechanism where the person whose information is proposed to be shared has a right to object. This is my view violates the principles of natural justice, especially when “personal information” or “sensitive information” is sought to be disclosed.

2. In my view, I fail to under-

stand how disclosure of “sensitive information” to a non-public authority could be viewed as being in “public interest”. To me, this is likely to turn into a quagmire where the information shared could be misused by the recipient. One cannot rule out the fact that the information shared could also be used to blackmail or harass a person.

3. In the present case, it is interesting to note that once the data is shared, the decision of the Commissioner cannot be called in question by any Court. In which case, are we concluding that the decision of the Commissioner is supreme and not even subject to judicial review by the Courts? Are we now going to see a trend where actions are initiated excluding judicial review by Courts?

In my view, this could result in pernicious effects.

4. Further, there is no requirement that the Commissioner is bound to pass a reasoned order prior to the disclosure of the sensitive information. In my view, where a statute confers power on an authority to decide on matters of a moment without laying down guidelines or principles or norms, the said power has to be struck down as being violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India. This principle has been upheld by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Canara Bank (2005) 1 SCC 496.

It is disheartening to see a trend of laws being introduced without understanding the true ramifications. To me, the provisions of section 138(1)(b) are clearly objectionable. I would urge the Government to reconsider the said provision, especially considering its arbitrariness, keeping in mind citizens are guaranteed a fundamental right to privacy. Ultimately, it is the Constitution that is supreme and not the ‘Commissioner’

MOTIVATION

Dolly Neena Dolly Neena is founder of THE IGNIST, a training company born out of a noble cause and spirit.

She holds a decade long experience being a passionate mentor and entrepreneur.

It is normal to look for something or someone to blame when something doesn’t go right, or bad happens. Most of the time, we even twist reality to conform to our misinterpretations or to protect our egos. Some people are irresponsible enough to take accountability for their own actions.

ONE THING THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING!

“C

hange The Way You Look At Things And The Things You Look At Change.” Our mind is a mysterious place, a wondrous thing. We are yet to figure out much about the gray matter and its functions. Biologically every animal has a brain, but the human brain is unique. An adult brain weighs about 3 pounds. The cerebrum makes up 85% of the brain's weight, and the brain makes up about 2% of a human's body weight. Our mind is in fact an ongoing construction of our brain, our body, and the surrounding world. And we know that as much as it constructively contributes to the success of your life, the human brain is also a master of deception.

“Our minds aren’t passive observers, simply perceiving reality as it is. Our minds actually change reality. ”The real power of the human mind is still not revealed to the human race and not tapped to the fullest. There are miraculous things

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our subconscious mind can do. The superpower of the human mind can even consider another physical object to impose new functions on it that are not part of its physical nature, using only our collective minds.

To make it simple as well as complex, you can simply makeup something, communicate it to others, and if they treat it as real, it becomes real. This can cause good or bad consequences later. When your environment feeds you with sensory data, like shutting a door or loud gunshot sound, your brain has a problem to solve, which philosophers call a ‘reverse inference problem’. Faced with ambiguous data, your brain must somehow deduct the causes of that data as it plans what to do next so that it can help you survive. There's so much going on in the world at any given moment it can be hard for the brain to take in every detail. Your brain draws conclusions with the help of past experiences or memories also.

Alas, your memory is also not sharp

as you expect it to be. Your brain’s best inference, thus, acts as your action. And this whirlwind of mental construction all happens in the blink of an eye, completely outside of your awareness. This is a good thing and a bad thing. Good thing, as it helps you fight or flight an emergency situation. Bad thing, when you misinterpret or misunderstand a situation/ person to make a worse response/reaction. Your mind likes to take shortcuts. Your brain usually doesn’t take an ‘exact’ match to infer. The keyword here is ‘similar’. The similarity is enough for your brain to survive and thrive in this world. This is exactly where you need to consciously try to analyze your sensory data for good, in order to walk past stereotypes, judgemental attitudes, and misconceptions. Confirmation bias and cognitive biases can prevent you from thinking clearly and making accurate decisions—about your finances, your health, and even the ways in which you interact in the world.

Although we still do not know all of the biological processes that explain intelligence, and even though some experts argue that there’s no such thing as “IQ” at all, being ‘smart’ definitely is a quick ticket in this highly competitive world. Highly emotionally intelligent people are known to climb the career ladder of success faster than the rest of the crowd. It all depends on how well and fast you can adapt well to the social, business world and can reap benefits with your intelligent thoughts and actions. We continuously shape and rewire our brains by how we think. We need to be very consciously aware of this. It is normal to look for something or someone to blame when something doesn’t go right, or bad happens. Most of the time, we even twist reality to conform to our misinterpretations or to protect our egos. Some people are irresponsible enough to take accountability for their own actions. You need

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MOTIVATION

to self-introspect – do you engage in blame games? Be mindful that your successes are the result of your traits, skills, efforts, and other internal characteristics. Start productive habits early in your life so that your 80-year-old brain can thank you later for using cumulative intelligence.

Social interaction, learning a new musical instrument, starting new hobbies, memory exercises, practicing simple math problems, storytelling, playing a new sport, learning a new language are all stimulants to get the brain to function better for a longer run.

Thoughts are linked to your emotions in a bidirectional way. We very well know that our mind and body are connected. Our thoughts can trigger a lot of reacts and responses in our bodies. For example, stress and anxiety can worsen physical illness, or create new illnesses. Fear

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can cause an adrenaline rush or lead to an increase in certain chemicals that prepare us through flight or fight response. Our thoughts start chain reactions in our body which follow contractions of our muscles.

Because emotions are a direct result and product of your thoughts. Optimism, negativity, depression positive attitude – all these are affected by the way you think. Our thoughts influence the neurotransmitters in our brain. This helps strengthen our immunity or the other way round.

Hence, as thoughts can influence our body and surroundings, it is imperative to analyse the train of thoughts and choose consciously.

This is important to realize because it means that what you think can affect how you feel. And by the same token, if you are feeling poorly, you can change that by changing how you think. Be aware of the triggers

of your thoughts and the usual patterns of thoughts that drive you.

Your attitude changes everything. Life is all about your attitude and perspective; it’s how you see things that make you what you are.

In this rapidly changing world, it’s inevitable that you keep changing too than to grip vainly onto the old useless beliefs that seldom serve you anymore. Regardless of the challenges and the adversities that you face today, keep yourself strong to face the storm, overcome with persistent efforts, and emerge a winner. You can change your reality by creating a new constructive pattern of thoughts for yourself. You also can build up a healthy body on yourself by having more positive thoughts. Blazing new neural pathways that have successful positive outcomes in life can definitely affect a lasting progressive change

GADGETS

Realme GT Master Edition 5G

Rs. 22,639 Approximately

Android v11

6.43 inches (16.33 cm) Display

64 MP + 8 MP + 2 MP

Primary Cameras

32 MP Front Camera

6 GB RAM

128 GB Internal Memory

4300 mAh Battery Capacity

Realme 8s 5G

Rs 17,999 (Approximately) Android v11 6.5 inches (16.51 cm) Display 64 MP + 2 MP + 2 MP Primary Cameras 16 MP Front Camera 6 GB RAM 128 GB Internal Memory 5000 mAh Battery Capacity

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Apple iPhone 13 Mini 512GB

Rs 99,900 (Approximately) iOS v15 6.5 inches (16.51 cm) Display 12 MP + 12 MP Primary Cameras 12 MP Front Camera 4 GB RAM 512 GB Internal Memory 2406 mAh Battery Capacity

iQOO 7 Legend

Rs 39,499 (Approximately) Android v11 6.62 inches (16.81 cm) Display 48 MP + 13 MP + 13 MP

Primary Cameras 16 MP Front Camera 8 GB RAM 128 GB Internal Memory 4000 mAh Battery Capacity

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BEAUTY

Eat Healthy and Let Your Hair Shine

H

air loss is a problem that is affecting a vast number of people. Dandruff is the main culprit behind hair loss. The basic cause of dandruff is the uncleanness of the scalp. In addition to external use, nutritious foods also provide some protection against health and beauty issues. Nutritious foods help in hair growth. Decreased levels of iron and protein in the diet can lead to stunted hair growth and gradual hair loss. Include nutritious foods in your daily diet. Here are some foods that can help prevent hair loss

Leafy Vegetables Leafy vegetables contain a lot of nutrients. In addition to the nutrients the body needs, leafy vegetables are an excellent source of iron and vitamins for the hair. Contains sebum which promotes healthy hair.

Include a variety of leafy vegetables in your daily routine.

Dr. Elizabath Chacko, MD-Kalpana International

Mob: 9388618112

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Egg Eggs help in getting rid of hair fall by stimulating your scalp and providing nutrition to the hair follicles. Eggs are an excellent source of protein. Eggs contain vitamin B. It strengthens hair and nails. Eggs are also rich in zinc, iron, and selenium. The nutrients strengthen the hair roots and prevent falling.

Carrots Carrots are rich in vitamin A. It improves the overall health of the hair and makes it thicker and stronger. The nutrients contained in carrots improve our blood circulation and thus promote hair growth.

Carrots also contain beta-carotene which is a vital nutrient that works to promote hair growth.

Fish Omega 3 fatty acids are important for hair growth and health.

They are abundant in fatty fish such as salmon. They can increase the

density of the hair. In addition, fish contains protein and other essential vitamins.

Legumes Legumes are high in protein, iron, zinc, and biotin. They nourish the scalp and prevent hair breakage. Include legumes in any Indian meal, you can also use them in a variety of Asian as well as Continental cuisines, thus making them a versatile and affordable option.

Nuts Almonds and walnuts are good sources of vitamins, fatty acids, omega acids, and biotin.

They strengthen and nourish the hair. Adding a healthy dose of nuts to your diet will help reduce thinning and promote hair growth.

Berries Berries contain healthy nutrients and compounds. It also has antioxidant properties that repair hair damage. They produce collagen that strengthens the hair and gives it glowing skin.

Sweet Potatoes Vitamin A is essential for hair growth. Incorporating sweet potatoes into your diet can help with hair growth. They help in combating the problems of hair loss, maintaining healthy hair, promoting growth, and producing sebum

Stay Beautiful!

Stay Healthy!

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TRAVELOGUE

Bridgetown, the nation's capital, is not only home to a plethora of attractions, but it's also a lovely spot to stroll around, shop, or eat. The downtown area is easy to explore, and most of the attractions are within walking distance.

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BARBADOS:

THE JEWEL IN THE CARIBBEAN

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his little island republic in the Lesser Antilles is a Caribbean gem. The softsand beaches and blue ocean provide picture-perfect landscapes, but it is the welcoming Barbadians who truly distinguish this island. Barbados, which has been colonised by the British, is English-speaking and has a unique British flavour. The experience includes cricket, horse racing, polo, high tea, and driving on the left side of the road.

Barbados' official language is English, however, it differs significantly from that of the United States or the United

Kingdom. Bajan Creole, often known as Barbadian Creole, is a spoken language. It means that standard English is used in general on media, official papers, and other print forms, but individuals converse with each other in Barbadian Creole. Because the language used on the island is only slightly different from regular English, it is easy to understand.

Vacationers can be as busy or as free as they want on the 432 square miles tropical paradise, and if they choose the former, there's plenty to do on the island, including fishing boat tours, snorkeling, and

scuba diving excursions among ancient shipwrecks, exploring old churches, relaxing on sandy shores, and, if you're a foodie, sampling a wide range of culinary experiences. A number of festivals take place throughout the year, including the world-famous Crop Over in August, the Barbados Food and Rum Festival in November, the Oistins Fish Festival around Easter, the Barbados Reggae Festival in April, and others.

Best Time to Visit Barbados is hot all year, with temperatures ranging from 23 to 30 degrees Celsius.

The Caribbean has a wet and

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TRAVELOGUE

dry season, with December to March being a wonderful time to visit for rain-free, sunny days. However, it tends to get packed around Christmas, so if you can visit outside of those times, you'll have a more relaxed experience.

The rainy season in the Caribbean lasts from May through October, bringing with it increased humidity.

Hurricane season, which runs from June to November, is also crucial to be aware of, though tropical storms are more likely to cause problems.

Many people consider March to May

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to be the best time to visit. Because it's shoulder season, there are fewer people around, but the weather is still pleasant and warm.

Famous Barbados Rum Barbados is the birthplace of the alcoholic beverage rum, which may be one of the surprising facts about Barbados. The people of Barbados have been making rum for over 350 years. It's one of the world's best and most powerful rums.

If you're looking for something intriguing to do in Barbados, one of the excellent rum excursions can be

the answer. Mount Gay Rum Centre, for example, is known for being the world's oldest commercial rum distillery. In 1703, this distillery began operations. You may watch the rummaking process and sample some of the world's best rum at the center.

There are several colorful rum shops all throughout the island, and you can always go up and have a shot with the locals.

Chattel Houses Chattel Houses are small, mobile wooden houses that have a long history on the island. Their origins

can be traced back to the days of the plantation when portable houses could be acquired and transported from one land to another. Homeowners who do not necessarily own the land on which they live choose chattel houses. These homes are typically built on blocks, making them easy to relocate when necessary. Years later, similar types of dwellings can still be found in various sections of Barbados, however, they are much more intricate and unique in design.

Cattlewash Beach in St Andrew Cattlewash Beach got its name from cows wading in the water at this exact place. However, there aren't any cattle around these days.

People used to travel from all over the world to Barbados to participate in healing rites on this beach, which were claimed to treat a variety of maladies. This went on for several years, and whether or not these allegations are true, a plunge in the waters of Cattlewash Beach in the Bajan heat will leave you feeling rejuvenated. Swimming into the open seas at Cattlewash beach is not recommended due to strong currents.

Downtown Bridgetown Bridgetown, the nation's capital, is not only home to a plethora

of attractions, but it's also a lovely spot to stroll around, shop, or eat.

The downtown area is easy to explore, and most of the attractions are within walking distance. The National Heroes Square and the iconic Parliament Buildings, with their neo-Gothic style architecture and clock tower, are two of the city's most important landmarks.

Animal Flower Cave The Animal Flower Cave, located on Barbados' northern edge, is a must-see attraction, not just for the cave but also for the breathtaking views from the lookout above. From February to April, you may be able to watch humpback whales from the cliff above the cave. Take a cave tour; it will only take you 15 to 20 minutes and will be led by a guide.

This interesting cave is reached via a small staircase. Large natural vistas provide views of the sea, while pools formed by wave spray serve as reflecting ponds. These apertures also let in a lot of light, which helps to alleviate the claustrophobic feeling that comes with dark caves.

Barbados Wildlife Reserve The Barbados Wildlife Reserve is a fantastic spot to observe and appreciate some of Barbados' most famous animals, such as the island's

iconic green monkeys. The monkeys are frequently seen interacting with other animals in the reserve, amusing themselves by bothering tortoises and other residents. In this tranquil park, shaded trails wind through a mahogany forest. Within the borders of the facility, agoutis, monkeys, deer, tortoises, and iguanas roam freely, providing excellent possibilities for photography and close interactions.

Parrots, caimans, maras, and snakes are among the other occupants. Plan your visit so that you arrive at the park at 2 p.m. for feeding time.

Get into the Islands Groove You'll find yourself humming, singing, or swaying along to the melodies wherever you go, from Caribbean rhythms to hip-hop, soul, and the greatest of the 1980s and 1990s!

During Happy Hour and on weekends, several beach clubs feature DJs and live bands. Locals are often enjoying the music and dancing along, so it's not difficult to get into the island spirit! It's also a convenient way to meet and socialise with the locals.

“Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller” – Ibn Battuta.

Happy and safe traveling!!

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AUTO REVIEW

Vivek Venugopal is one of India’s top automotive writers with over 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.

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The manual transmission is slick and the clutch is wellweighted, but it is best to go for the 6 speed automatic. It also masks the engine’s turbo lag below 1800rpm and makes it feel stronger than the 1.0L capacity suggests.

T

his is the most important new car for Volkswagen for many years.

It is the first VW product to be part of their new ‘India 2.0’ strategy to develop India-specific models rather than bringing a product from their global portfolio and adapting it to the Indian landscape, as they always did before.

The Taigun is an Indianized

version of the T Cross sold elsewhere. It is based on the MQB A0 platform which underpins the new Polo, Skoda Fabia, Audi A1, and other superminis. The Indiaspecific MQB A0 IN platform has been stretched to make it more spacious. The big hump in the rear floor pan has also been removed meaning that there won’t be an all-wheel-drive version of the Taigun here.

VW TAIGUN At 4.2 meters, it is about as long as a Creta and has the longest wheelbase (2651mm) in its class, but looks a size smaller because of the tighter skin. The front-end styling is similar to a Tiguan and has the characteristic VW look to it. The rear three quarters look more compact than the proportions suggest and the rear end styling has a big gloss black light strip pasted across.

There are lashings of chrome on the car which every manufacturer thinks that we Indians like.

The dashboard design is very familiar to most VW products. What is also different is the material quality that isn’t remarkable, in places.

Sure, it’s not bad for its segment, just that we are spoilt by the top quality of Skoda and VW cars over the years. The front seats are great with good support and fabric up-

holstery is great. The rear seats are good with decent legroom, offer the right support, and have a near-perfect backrest angle. But it is not wide enough to seat three adults abreast, so the near-flat floor makes no big difference here. The boot at 385 liters, is smaller than the competition.

There are two choices of engines for the Taigun, each with its own automatic and manual transmissions. The 1.0L 3cyl engine is the same as in the Polo and Vento but has 115bhp and 178Nm. It idles very smoothly for a 3 cylinder and it is only when you rev it harder do you feel the thrum. 0-100kmph comes up in 11.3 seconds and the automatic take two more seconds to hit the ton. The manual transmission is slick and the clutch is well-weighted, but it is best to go for the 6 speed automatic. It also masks the engine’s

turbo lag below 1800rpm and makes it feel stronger than the 1.0L capacity suggests. This Aisin sourced unit has an unusually fast creep that takes some getting used to. But in town, it is easy to drive the Taigun leaving the gearbox to its duties.

When you want to drive fast, it feels a bit out of its comfort zone though.

That’s where the 1.5 liters 4 cylinders Taigun fits in. The engine makes 150bhp and 250Nm and that makes it a willing performer.

0-100kmph comes up in 9.5 seconds and the DSG is a tenth of a second faster. The engine feels a bit strained near its redline but the midrange is strong and it pulls well. It also employs cylinder deactivation on two cylinders for more fuel saving. The 7 speed DQ200 dual-clutch gearbox is a bit jerky and confused at some speeds. It does its job fairly well and

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AUTO REVIEW

gives a strong surge in each gear, letting you use the paddles for some extra control. The six-speed manual is even more fun, rowing through the gears, stretching the engine a fair bit every time.

The Taigun rides well over most roads. The suspension feels taut and well-judged for the most part. There is a bit of firmness, but then it can take most potholes well and feels very composed on

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broken roads. Straight-line stability is excellent and gives you massive confidence at high speeds.

The steering has the right amount of assist and gives a decent feel.

You can hurl it through a set of corners faster than other cars in its class. Even with drum brakes at the rear, there is adequate stopping power.

The Taigun has its breadth of abilities – decent space, Eu-

ropean build, good driving dynamics, lots of safety kit – which buyers have been longing for in this segment. The features are a mixed bag and some variants are sparsely equipped. There is no diesel option which can be a dealbreaker for some. But if you want a good-to-drive, well-built, decently equipped midsize SUV that doesn’t skimp on safety features, the Taigun fits the bill perfectly

MOVIE REVIEW

Star

'S

tar' is a film directed by Domin D Silva starring Joju George and Sheelu Abraham in the lead roles and with Prithviraj coming up with a climax cameo. The film is set against a backdrop of horror with the tagline Breaking Myth. Directed by Domin D Silva, the film is scripted by Suvin Somasekaran.

This Malayalam movie has a new theme that brings to the audience an issue that has not been discussed before. This movie depicts the challenges of a middle-aged lady who is mostly unsupported by others around her as she goes through a life-changing period. The director and screenwriter focus the audience on a subject that may be misunderstood by ignorance. Photography by Tarun Bhaskar.

The songs composed by M Jayachandran, Ranjin Raj, and William Francis were par excellent. William Francis' background music gives a positive effect to the film.

Antim: The Final Truth

S

alman Khan is back with a bang after the outbreak of the pandemic. Antim: The Final Truth is a typical Bhai film. The movie is the official remake of the 2018 Marathi film Mulshi Pattern. It's the kind of notion that begs to be turned into a big-budget action film. Thankfully, there is a big storyline surprise in the first half that serves to create and maintain the excitement for the crucial second-half showdown. The story is about a man who after witnessing the pain and suffering his family went through, he rises to power as he starts his journey as a gangster and spirals into a dark game of politics and power, meanwhile, a strict cop starts following his trail to stop him before he becomes allpowerful in the city. The film is directed

by Mahesh Manjrekar. Apart from Salman, Ayush Sharma, Mahima Makwana are also seen in the movie playing pivotal roles.

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Red Notice

R

ed Notice is an American action comedy film written and directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber.

The film revolves around an Interpol agent who attempts to hunt down and capture the world's most wanted art thief. The lead roles in the movie are played by Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot.

It is a great action-packed popcorn entertainment film that provides you entertainment from the beginning to the end. Red Notice is positioned as a mash-up of beloved capers and espionage flicks, including National Treasure and James Bond and Indiana Jones films. The plot is fine, but the A-list star power and witty humor are sure to keep the mayhem entertaining.

Eternals

E

ternals is an American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics race of the same name. In the film, the Eternals, an immortal alien race, emerge from hiding after thousands of years to protect Earth from their ancient counterparts, the Deviants. It stars an ensemble cast including Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lia McHugh, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee, Harish Patel, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, and Angelina Jolie. It has a strong plot, good characters, emotions, and beautiful visuals. Everything that makes it a tight and solid blockbuster. It brings a different flavor to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and raises the bar for what’s possible in future films. Eternals is magnificent and operatic enough to keep you from squandering the 157 minutes, especially if you're tired of sitting at home watching the rain.

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BOOK REVIEW

These Precious Days Author : Ann Patchett Price : ` 1,154 (Hardcover)

T

hese Precious Days is an essay collection written by Ann Patchett. Ann Patchett is a writer who knows how her stories will turn out. Life, on the other hand, frequently takes unexpected turns. In these thoughtful writings, Patchett ponders this fact, providing a fresh and intimate look into her mind and heart. The story is wholly about Happy Marriage. The stunning, heartfelt essay is a gift of true friendship, a wonderful woman named Sookie, and the generosity and love that Ann and her husband extended to her. “These Precious Days” is deeply heartfelt while simultaneously sharply acute in its observations and understandings. Like the other essays in the collection, it is a beautiful, crystalline held in delicate handling of words; there is nothing heavy-handed or obvious here, only the strength of plain-spoken, fragile truths, hard-won and shared.

Blue-Skinned Gods Author : SJ Sindu Price : ` 1,962 (Hardcover)

B

lue-Skinned Gods is another captivating novel by SJ Sindu. This time, she tells the story of a boy with blue skin who is trying to be the god everyone tells him he is. The enthralling story of a blue-skinned boy Kalki Sami is touted by his father as the tenth incarnation of Vishnu. As he tries to make sense of a world that has been carefully constructed around him, he begins to reach for the man he might become. Kalki eventually travels to North America and his experiences there contribute a lot to who he ends up becoming in the end. His journey is both heartbreaking and exhilarating. Hinduism and the worship of Vishnu and his incarnations are an integral part of Kalki’s story. This book is Kakli’s quest to figure out who he is.

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Love in the Big City Author : Sang-Young Park Price : ` 1,735 (Hardcover)

L

ove in the Big City is an English-translated novel which is a coming of age story written by Korean writer Sang-Young Park. A funny, surprising, and touching novel that was one of the highest-selling debuts of recent years in Korea, Love in the Big City tells the story of a young gay man searching for happiness in the lonely city of Seoul. Each section of the novel focuses on a specific point in his life and a significant relationship: his best friend, the free-wheeling Jaehee; an older, angsty, anti-American boyfriend; his mother who is dying of cancer; and a man who may well be the love of Young’s life. The strength of the narrator, notably his flexibility of voice and expansiveness, carries the narrative to great heights, making this a standout among queer literature. This is a bold, sparkling novel that encompasses what it feels like to be young and in love with life itself, surrounded by strangers and yet completely, wrenchingly alone.

The Stars in My Sky: Those Who Brightened My Film Journey Author : Divya Dutta Price : ` 1,506 (Hardcover)

T

he Stars in My Sky is a biographical book penned by Bollywood actress Divya Dutta. In the book, Divya Dutta narrates her experiences with some of the staunch of Bollywood who played a significant role in her film journey. She talks about the inspiration they have been in her life through their immersive interactions, through what they did for her, and what she learned from them. The book is a collection of 32 essays, with each essay focusing on a person from the film industry who has made a significant impact on Dutta's personal and professional life. The Stars in My Sky is not only about the deep impact these experiences had on her life, but also about how they defined the track of her career. Apart from Dutta's admirers, this book will also be of interest to readers who are curious about the struggles that newcomers to Bollywood have to go through.

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EASY & BREEZY

Sujit Chandra Kumar is an independent journalist who has earlier worked with leading publications for three decades

Win some, lose most

F

ortune usually favours the brave but lottery luck has a way of finding the auto driver or head load worker, at least in Kerala. Before, we zero in on some poetic justice type otherworldly logic behind most winners coming from the working classes, let us also understand that it is these people who buy most of the tickets in the first place. The well-heeled seem firm in their belief that money usually comes after you put in some solid effort and lady luck rarely breaks into a smile on her own.

It is probably the one kind of entrepreneurship that is thriving, nay exploding in the state. If you are a late morning walker, for instance, you can’t reach your destination without knocking down one or two lottery ticket sellers. These walking salesmen have a habit of accosting you and extending the hand of luck in a way that it is difficult to shake off.

Corona means that you try to maintain social distance from all others at all times but even as you slide towards one side of the road, the salesman not only slants his direction of movement towards you but also extends his lottery hand by a foot the moment we coincide.

They even spot us from a distance and cross the road, making it impossible to miss them. Some just park

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themselves at junctions where it is already difficult to have a smooth passage and then virtually create a fortune trap. Some fit a loudspeaker onto their two wheelers and create a racket to attract attention… ’Tomorrow is the day’, they scream.

Yes, one does realise that the poor souls are simply trying to make an honourable living but they can be pesky all the same. Some are persistent, others plead and a few even beg for mercy. To think that they are trying hard to make one a millionaire!

These salesmen know their hotspots. You find them the most in front of temples, restaurants and yes, beverage outlets. It is simply a mere coincidence that these two industries -- liquor and lottery – are monopolies of the state government.

Tipplers who have just managed to collect their quota and feeling lighthearted are probably in the best mood to part with that fifty or hundred rupees to try their luck. It is another matter that many among us who give in to temptation may not even bother to remember the result date and check if the numbers are in our favour. Those who win small amounts have this habit of spending the winnings on more tickets, thus ensuring that it remains a lose-lose situation. My own mom who is get-

ting on in years once wanted me to buy a ticket on her behalf, with my money of course, and was vague about how to divide the bounty, in case ‘her ticket’ were to prove lucky!

The newspaper feature about the lucky guy who won the five crores – minus of course the steep cut by the tax department – and how he either accidentally bought the ticket or how he has been a habitual buyer helps keeps up the collective hope. But often, newspapers also do that story about most lottery winners blowing up all their prize money, on, among other things, what they sell at the beverage outlets.

The irony is stark that most of those who are trying to sell the dream of fortune are themselves from very unfortunate circumstances. They suffer the heat and dust and the irritated looks of strangers just to make a few bucks. But do they all need to sell the same product? Can’t some of them turn to other more user-friendly stuff or at least sell those along with the tickets? Kudumbashree products or the ones manufactured by the state corporations? Can they be simultaneously agents of services provided by the state-owned banks or lending institutions? Will they ever have a future that is not just on ‘paper’?

Printed On 09/ 12/ 2021

RNI Reg No. KERENG/2011/42633