Sheroes weekly news-capsule

From making small talk at social gatherings to sounding smarter in interviews, this quick update on trending news helps you start conversations and also join in with all that’s buzzing!

Read up and get set to talk the talk!

NEWS THAT MADE HEADLINES 

Tamil Nadu bid farewell to revolutionary leader Jayalalithaa - The 68-year-old Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu passed away in the mid-night of December 5th, after suffering a cardiac arrest. She had been admitted in Chennai’s Apollo hospital since September. Known as Amma and Puratchi Thalaivi (revolutionary leader), Jayalalithaa will go one of India's most powerful, controversial and popular politicians. A former actress in Tamil cinema, she had risen to political power backed by her mentor M.G Ramachandran or MGR (also an actor and ex-CM of Tamil Nadu). Although her career had its ups and downs as she was arrested twice on corruption charges, Amma commanded immense loyalty across Tamil Nadu.  Jayalalithaa’s trusted deputy O Panneerselvam has been sworn in as the next Chief Minister, but the future of the ruling AIADMK party remains shaky without Amma’s charm.

The campaign against black money continued – As the Government tried keeping pace with the cash crunch created by the demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes, a number of new significant measures were taken to catch black money:  

• The Parliament passed an amendment to the Income Tax Act to facilitate levy of nearly 50% tax on income that was till now undisclosed. Defaulters will pay 85% as tax if caught in future

• A deal was signed with Switzerland to enable the Indian Tax authorities to receive financial information of accounts held by Indian residents in Swiss banks from 2018.  

• All government purchases, from paper clips to power plant turbines, will be moved to an Amazon-like online marketplace called the Government e-market (www. gem.gov.in). Online transactions will ensure openness and transparency.  

You can read more in our cheat-sheet on demonetisation.

STORIES THAT INSPIRED US

Women in sports continue to make us proud - The Indian women’s cricket team clinched the Women's Twenty20 Asia Cup by beating Pakistan. In fact, they’ve won six out of six editions of the tournament, all under 34-year-old Captain Mithali Raj.

Also, teenage Golfer Aditi Ashok won yet tournament in the year by winning the Qatar Ladies Open Championship. Read up this sports cheat-sheet if you want more updates.

A viral Facebook post  -   A Mumbai girl’s note about her experience of saving an Uber taxi driver from the police when another co-passenger (a lady) tried to get him falsely accused.  Shows that it’s not the drivers who are always bad, passengers are trouble too.

Relaxation of traditional restrictions on women in holy places - For instance, an ancient temple in Kerala (Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple) decided to break away from tradition and allowed women wearing churidars or salwars to enter the premises. Until now, the dress code allowed women to wear only sarees, long skirt or a dhoti while entering the temple.

In a separate case, women finally entered the Haji Ali dargah in Mumbai after five years and a series of legal battles and agitations. The dargah had banned women from entering the mosque.
 

A QUOTE TO QUOTE

“Michelle will never run for office. ..You can see the incredible resonance she has with the American people. But I joke that she’s too sensible to want to be in politics!” said US President Barack Obama about his wife Michelle Obama who a lot of people want to see as a future President.

TALK THE TALK

What to ask your friend who is a mobile app developer

About the state of cyber security and how easy is it for hackers to get into digital platforms and mobile apps. Like how the official twitter handle of Rahul Gandhi got hacked this week by someone who managed to send out derogatory tweets in his name. Or how a 22-year-old boy hacked into Prime Minister Narendra Modi's app, just to show that the app was very weak on security and he was able access the private data of the 7 million users, including email ids and even mobile numbers of union ministers.  Earlier in the month, it was reported that hackers have been able to steel passwords of more than 1 million Google accounts by getting people to download malicious apps on their phones. Similarly, Yahoo had reported theft of passwords of more than 500 million emails!

Get a roundup of more techy news here

When someone wants to know how the Indians economy is doing

Tell her it appears to be doing quite well, since the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) received this year has already crossed US$ 300 billion. This indicates that global investors think India is a safe investment destination. Policy initiatives to liberalise the FDI policy framework as well as programmes like Make in India, Digital India and Skill India could be the major investment pullers.

Read up the cheat-sheet on the Indian economy to know more.

What to tell your colleague who has her own start-up

Check out Amazon’s new Launchpad program that help start-ups launch, market and distribute their products to Amazon customers across India and around the world through a dedicated store. The store, which can be found on Amazon’s website, features over 400 innovative products ranging across categories like wearable technology, health monitoring, food and beverages, educational toys, and others.

Know the feeling of uncertainty when there’s a change of management in a rival company

That’s how Indians are feeling after Pakistan has got a new Army Chief. General Qamar Javed Bajwa was announced as the successor of General Raheel Sharif (who’s regime saw an increased crackdown on terrorists). Since the Army Chief is the most powerful and influential figure in Pakistan, Indians are carefully waiting and watching to see what his stance will be, at a time when bilateral relations are at an all-time low.

An example of where people parked their black money after demonetisation?

In iPhones! A month end report shows that nearly 1 lakh pieces of the expensive iPhone 7 models (costing Rs 60,000-90,000) were sold in just three days after the November 8th demonetisation! How come? It seems many people with black money converted their cash by buying several high-value goods like iPhones, since shopkeepers were selling them with backdated bills that they’ll show to legally exchange or deposit the old notes in banks. Reportedly. iPhone sales were up by 20-30% percent this month.

What to say to your friend waiting for his H1-B to go onsite to the US

He may have to wait for now, as visa regulations could get tighter and IT companies are looking for alternatives. Anticipating tighter visa regulations for temporary skilled workers when new President Donald Trump joins office in January 2017, major IT Indian firms have instead started hiring locals in the US. They are also acquiring smaller American companies to increase their on-ground presence.

When you meet a book lover

Ask her what her thoughts are about the hashtag #ShilpaShettyReviews trending on Twitter. People started writing hilarious one line book reviews after reading Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty’s quote in a newspaper saying the book “Animal farm teaches children to love and care for animals” ( a book about political satires). Follow to read brilliant one liners like “The Hunger Games is a great series on Karwa Chauth” pr “Catcher in the Rye is a must read for anyone who wants to know how Abhishek Bachchan got married” or "Fifty Shades of Grey is an amazing colouring book. Children will love it”.

When someone criticises the Indian education system a lot

You can joke that maybe she should just sue the schools for their teaching methods! Just like Indian origin student, Faiz Siddiqui, who sued Oxford University in England for "boring" teaching. He said the boring and "negligent" teaching resulted in him getting a second-class degree in the year 2000, which was responsible for the lower-earnings in his career as a lawyer. Judgement awaited – one where we all want to know what happens!

What to say to your boss worried about a sudden increase in number of resignations in office

Seems like it’s the season for change. Even at the country level. In recent developments, the Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi resigned after he lost bigtime in a referendum vote on reforming the constitution. It is being seen as a similar sign of populist sentiment like the UK’s Brexit vote. Then, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key put down his paper after eight years in power. He says he wants to spend more time with his family and leave when he’s still on top.  

When you talk to your cousin in America

Tell her if knows that she can now buy her favourite Amul dairy products on Amazon itself! Amul has entered the American market using e-commerce giant Amazons Global Selling Programme. Initially, Amul is only selling Ghee and Gulab Jamun but butter, cheese and other Indian favourites will also be their soon!

When someone is talking about changing with the times

You can give the example of McDonald’s! The fast-food chain is revamping the way it serves customers – a way to make fast food delivered even faster using new technology, to improve customer experience. The company recently announced that its 14,000 outlets in America will now have self-service kiosks with touch screens showing the menu, where customers will place their order. After ordering, they’ll get a “digital location device” and can take a seat at a table where they’ll be served. Signs of changing times all right!

A NEW BOOK TO READ AND DISCUSS

Things to Leave Behind by Namita Gokhale. The book is a part of the author’s ‘Himalayan series’ and is being loved by readers. Set in the 1840-1912 era in the enchanting landscape of Kumaon, the story depicts the fascinating life of 2 indomitable hill women. 

A BUZZ WORD TO USE

Xenophobia - It has been named the Dictionary.com’s word of the year. Although it’s not a new word, people looked it up 1000% more number of times this year.
 

Xenophobia, as you many know, refers to the “fear or hatred of foreigners, people from different cultures, or strangers.” So, it seems that in 2016, people appear to hate foreigners a lot more! The possible reasons being developments like the Brexit vote, police violence against black people in the US, EU’s immigrant crisis because of the War in Syria and Donald Trump’s public expression of hatred against migrants during the U.S. presidential race.


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