Volume 1,

Volume 2, Issue 2 JANUARY 2022- JUNE 2022

The Semi-annual newsletter of the Department of Commerce

ACHARYA NARENDRA DEV COLLEGE

COMSOC-

NI O R CH CLES THE

The Semi-annual newsletter of the Department of Commerce JULY 2022-DECEMBER 2022 | VOLUME 3 | ISSUE 1

" Be the change you want to see in the world." -MAHATMA GANDHI

Message from

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Dr. Surinder Kaur

Editor-in-Chief, The Chronicles

About Dear Readers, As editor-in-chief of the newsletter, "The Chronicles," it gives me great pleasure to present our latest edition. The Chronicles, with its rich content and insightful articles, is a perfect reflection of our college's philosophy of preparing students beyond the classroom for their future endeavors. With every issue, we strive to provide our readers with an account of the significant events and achievements in our college, as well as the thoughts and opinions of our faculty and students on various issues. In this issue, we bring you the most noteworthy happenings from July to December 2022, including academic and extracurricular achievements, cultural events, and social initiatives. The articles, reports, and stories are contributed by our talented faculty and our creative and enthusiastic students. The newsletter also features the best works of our students in the form of poems, artwork, and anecdotes. I am incredibly proud of the effort and dedication that our team has put into making this issue. I extend my heartfelt appreciation to all the contributors for their hard work and commitment. Their contributions have immensely helped make this newsletter a success. In order to improve the quality and content of our newsletter, we solicit your input and feedback. Happy Reading...

01

Message from

STUDENT EDITOR STUDENT EDITOR Aayushi Chachra

Student Editor, The Chronicles

About The power of the written word lies not in what it says, but in what it evokes. Hey readers! It is with great delight that I welcome you to the fifth edition of the semi-annual newsletter, ‘The Chronicles’ published with an aim to inform the students about current events taking place around the world, highlighting the various events organized by the Department of Commerce along with the accomplishments of our department’s students. The newsletter is an accurate representation of the work that the designing and the writing team members have put in, which enabled us to see the newsletter come to fruition. This time, we saw a staggering response for our student corner section as the students across diverse backgrounds and colleges from the University of Delhi presented their ideas and perspectives on a wide range of topics. A new section, Alumni Corner, was added, allowing our students to learn from and be inspired by their life experiences. I am also grateful to all the faculty members for their constant guidance and assistance, especially Surinder ma’am and Rupali ma’am, who provided their valuable insights and time and again refined the content for the newsletter. The pleasure and honour of serving as an editor for two editions made me appreciate the commitment and meticulousness needed at each stage to produce the finest possible writing. At last, I would like to conclude by saying that we try to provide a fascinating reading experience for our audience and we strive to continuously improve our content. Therefore, we welcome any suggestions or feedback that may help us further enhance our quality. Happy Reading...

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Training, Learning and Placement Cell, Department of Commerce, Acharya Narendra Dev College in collaboration with the Internal Quality Assurance Cell and Career Counseling and Placement Cell, Acharya Narendra Dev College organized a seminar on "Resume Building and Online Brand Management” on November 16, 2022. Dr. Prashant Sharma, Professor at Jaipuria Institute of Management was the resource person for the event. A resume is a representation of one’s identity, personality and achievements. Taking into consideration its importance, the respected speaker highlighted the key ingredients for building a good resume i.e., corporate logo, profile snapshot, skills and strengths, work experience etc. The audience was also made aware of the points that has the scope of improvement such as the use of abbreviations correctly, avoidance of spelling errors, the need to be precise and clear, etc. Unveiling of “The Chronicles”, the newsletter of Acharya Narendra Dev College took place at the event with the gracious presence of Convenor IQAC Dr. Sada Nand Prasad and respected members of the faculty. Aakriti Narula BCH 2nd Year

04

A week-long National Workshop on “Career and Skill Enhancement for Non-teaching Staff” was organized by Acharya Narendra Dev College, University of Delhi from (September 15-21, 2022) under the auspices of IQAC and the DBT Star College Scheme. The inauguration session was held on September 15, 2022 by lighting of lamp in the seminar hall by the chief guest of the event Prof. Ajay Kumar Singh, Senior Professor and Head, Department of Commerce and Dean, Faculty of Commerce and Business, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi along with other members of the department. It was followed by a welcome address delivered by Prof. Ravi Toteja, (Officiating Principal) of Acharya Narendra Dev College. Dr. Surinder Kaur (Convenor), welcomed the guests and all participants, and the topic of the workshop was introduced. Professor Ajay Kumar Singh, addressed the session and emphasized on the relevance of patience and good behavior's. Over 200 participants from various colleges of the University of Delhi joined and attended the workshop. Every day there were two sessions of 2.5 hours in which different skills were taught by learned resource persons. The workshop aimed to improve the skill set of non-teaching staff and make them efficient in their respective fields. The workshop included interactive sessions in which participants got to know about Filing of Income Tax Return, Microsoft Excel, and Financial Planning along with various career enhancement skills. The workshop was concluded on September 21, 2022 with a vote of thanks by Dr. Surinder Kaur and Dr. Shalu Mahajan (Convenors).

05

Aadya Agrawal B.Com(H) 3rd Year



Departmental Orientation

The Department of Commerce organized an orientation on November 2, 2022 to familiarize the freshers with the rules and regulations, and the academic standards of the college. The orientation began with an introduction of the teachers and their respective subjects in which they specialize. Further, students were briefed about their syllabus in accordance with the new education policy (NEP) along with the presentation of timetable by Dr. Surinder Kaur (teacher in charge). Moreover, students were given a virtual tour of the campus. Then came the most awaited part of the event, the introduction of various clubs and societies of the department and college such as Vanijya (COMSOC), The Chronicles, Entrepreneurship lab, Enactus, and Training Learning and Placement Cell (TLPC). The heads of each society gave a preview of what these societies are all about, as well as how freshman can get involved in these depending on their interests. Finally, the treasure box with the most heartfelt messages from alumni was opened along with their inspiring stories after graduation. Eventually, the event concluded with a brilliant performance by Jayant Wadhwa of the Dhun Society. Stuti Chaturvedi BCH 2nd Year

06



The Department of Commerce organized a workshop on “HOW TO WRITE RESEARCH PAPERS”

on

collaboration

September with

the

13

,2022

Internal

in

Quality

Assurance Cell (IQAC). The Resource person for the event was Prof. Sarita Kumar. The event commenced with the words of wisdom by the respected Principal Prof. Ravi Toteja and the faculty members. Dr. Surinder Kaur, TIC of the Commerce Department, introduced our guest speaker to the attendees and spoke about her achievements. Prof. Sarita Kumar talked about the

components

of

a

research

paper,

procedure and important points to remember while

writing

a

research

paper.

She

demonstrated the key points by presenting various research papers to the audience so that they can get an idea of writing a good research paper. By the end of the session, the students were given an opportunity to ask questions to clear their doubts. The session ended with the words of appreciation for the guest

speaker.

Lastly,

a

memento

was

presented to the speaker as a gesture of gratitude by Dr. Sandeep Kumar Goel. Preksha Saini

07

B.Com(H) 1st Year

Payal Kumari (Batch 2021)

09

The G20, or Group of Twenty, is an international forum made up of 19 countries and the European Union (EU) that aims to address significant global economic challenges such as international financial stability, climate change mitigation, and sustainable development. It was formed in 1999 and the G20 countries account for more than 80 per cent of the global population. The 17th annual G20 summit was held under the theme "Recover together, recover stronger" in Bali in November 2022. It is the first summit after the pandemic COVID-19. Key takeaways from G20 summit 2022: The 17th summit under Indonesia's presidency focused on the following aspects:-

G20 SUMMIT 2023

• Focus on the global economy- The G20 economies agreed to pace increase in interest rate carefully to avoid spillovers. They warned of ‘increased volatility’ in currency moves, a sea change from last year’s focus on healing the wounds of the global pandemic COVID-19. • Health -A dedicated financial intermediary fund for pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response (the ‘Pandemic Fund’) hosted by the World Bank, was established. Global health governance was also emphasized by leaders coordinated by the World Health Organization (WHO). • Criticism of Russia's aggression- Member nations issued a declaration condemning Russia's aggression towards Ukraine “in the strongest terms” and demanding an immediate and complete withdrawal. • Climate change- Reaffirming the Paris Agreement of 2015 on climate change, and maintaining the temperature goals, leaders agreed to continue their efforts to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. • Digital transformation and digital literacy- Leaders recognize the need for and importance of digital transformation in achieving sustainable goals. Globally, they advocated boosting digital literacy and skills to maximize the benefits of the digital transformation for vulnerable people, women, and girls. • Food Security - They encouraged the black sea grains initiative and decided to try and take coordinated actions to solve food security problems. There are major challenges before the members of the G20. • Rising geopolitical rifts- In the aftermath of Brexit, the UK and the euro area have seen a decrease in trade. This is due to the growing conflicts between the two largest economies in the world, the USA and China. • Impact of Russia's invasion in Ukraine- Russia’s invasion of Ukraine not only caused geopolitical ambiguity but also increased worldwide inflation, which drags down economic growth. • Impact of rising inflation- In response to an increase in inflation, central banks have increased interest rates all over the world. This has further slowed economic activity. • Expected recession- Due to the rise in inflation, some of the major economies of the world, like the US and the UK, are expected to face a recession, while others, such as those in the euro area, are likely to slow down or even come to a halt. • Slowdown of major economies- One of the major engines of global growth, China, is witnessing a sharp slowdown as it struggles with a real estate crisis.

Prospects for India in 2023Now, India has assumed the G20 presidency and will host the 18th summit in 2023 with the theme “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,” or “one earth, one family, one future,” from September 9th to 10th 2023 in New Delhi. India’s G20 chairmanship theme will be reflected in its inclusive, ambitious, definite, and action-oriented presidency. India has an opportunity to lead the global south.

10

Karuna BCH 1st year

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Prospects for India

THE FALL OF

N

The year 2022 saw a significant fall in the Indian startup ecosystem with several companies facing financial troubles, and some of the major names resorting to massive layoffs. The fall was largely due to inflation and high borrowing rates, which made it difficult for startups to sustain their cash burn rates. Another contributing factor was the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which led to a decline in investor sentiment and a slowdown in the global economy. The startup ecosystem in India has been growing rapidly in recent years, with several home grown companies achieving unicorn status and attracting significant funding from investors. However, the year 2022 was marked by a reversal of this trend, with several companies facing financial difficulties. The high borrowing rates and inflation made it challenging for startups to raise the necessary funds to sustain their cash burn rates, leading to several shutdowns and layoffs. Ola, a ride-hailing service had to lay off over 2,400 employees in a bid to cut costs. Similarly, Blinkit that had raised $100 million in funding has faced various difficulties. White Hat Jr and Vedantu, both ed-tech startups, also laid off employees as a result of the financial crisis. The situation was worsened by the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which led to a decline in investor sentiments and a slowdown of the global economy. The conflict disrupted the supply chains of several industries, and investors were cautious about investing in startups due to the uncertain economic climate. Overall, the fall of Indian startups in 2022 was a significant setback for the country's startup ecosystem. However, it also highlighted the need for startups to focus on sustainable growth and financial discipline, rather than relying solely on funding from investors. The crisis also underlined the importance of diversification and the need to reduce reliance on external factors that can impact the startup ecosystem. In conclusion, the fall of Indian startups in 2022 was a wake-up call for the startup ecosystem in the country. The crisis highlighted the need for startups to focus on sustainable growth and financial discipline, while also being mindful of external factors affecting the ecosystem. While the road ahead may be challenging, it also presents an opportunity for startups to learn from the past and build a more resilient and sustainable future.

Mhachoni Yanthan BCH 1st Year

11

s $1 trillion market capital Amazon, a major player in the e-commerce industry, has experienced a significant decline in its market capitalization. This has been attributed to various factors such as rising inflation,

shrinking

monetary

policies,

and

disappointing

earnings updates. As a result, the company's shares hit a new 52-week low on March 9, 2022, closing at $86.14, almost 48% down in 2022. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 have also experienced 35% and 22% declines respectively. In July 2021, Amazon's market value was approximately $1.9 trillion, but it has since dropped to $879 billion, resulting in an estimated loss of $1 trillion. However, other companies, such as Microsoft, have also felt the impact of a shaky economy

and

the

return

to

pre-pandemic

lifestyles.

Microsoft's market value has dropped from around $2.5 trillion to $1.84 trillion. Amazon has faced challenges adjusting to a dramatic slowdown

in

e-commerce

growth,

resulting

in

declining sales, increased costs, and rising interest rates. The company's shares have dropped roughly 50%, and co-founder Jeff Bezos' wealth has also been reducerd from $109 billion to $83 billion since the year began. Due to consumers' lower spending caused by the uncertain economy, Amazon forecasted the weakest revenue increase for a Christmas quarter in the company's history last month. This resulted in its market worth falling below $1 trillion for the first time since the tech stock rally sparked by the epidemic more than two years ago. Ayush Goyal 3rd year

12

ABOUT

CHAT CHAT GPT GPT

OpenAI released a chatbot called ChatGPT in November 2022. The ChatGPT can respond to "follow-up inquiries" and "admit mistakes, debate the false argument, and reject inadequate requests." It is based on Open AI's GPT3.5 series of language learning models (LLM). Open AI is a for-profit artificial intelligence research laboratory comprised of accessible lP and its non-profit parent company, Open AI Inc. The company conducts AI research in order to promote and develop benign AI that will benefit humanity. ChatGPT was founded in late 2015 in San Francisco by Aam Altman, Elon Musk, and others. Generative Pre-trained Transformer, also known as GPT, is a computer language model that creates humanlike text from inputs using deep learning methods. The model can communicate using ChatGPT because it has been trained to anticipate what will happen next. ChatGPT is only available through a website; the company has yet to release an official app. Be wary of duplicate or fraudulent apps that appear to be simple ChatGPT apps and are available on app stores. To use ChatGPT, go to chat.openai.com and log in or register with your phone number and email address. Its 175 billion parameters make it difficult to pinpoint what it does. The model is, as you might expect, limited to language. It cannot produce video, sound, or images like its brother Dall-E 2, but instead has a thorough understanding of the spoken and written words. This gives it a pretty broad range of abilities, from writing poems about sentient farts and cliché rom-coms in alternate universes to explaining quantum mechanics in simple terms or writing full-length research papers and articles. Although the GPT-3 software is undoubtedly impressive, that does not imply that it is flawless. You can observe some of its peculiarities using the ChatGPT feature. ChatGPT can create a well-written substitute for the hours of research, comprehension, and writing that would otherwise be required to write an article on quantum mechanics. It has its limitations, and if your prompt starts to get too complex or even if you simply take a path that narrows a bit too much, the software can become easily confused. It is also unable to handle too recent concepts. World events from the previous year will be met with a lack of understanding, and the model may occasionally produce inaccurate or muddled information. Given the near-impossibility of keeping up with current events in the world while also training the model on them, this comes as no surprise. Likewise, there are numerous factors that contribute to ChatGPT's success. It has a surprising understanding of moral and ethical issues. When given a list of ethical theories or situations, ChatGPT can provide a thoughtful answer on what to do, taking into account legality, person's thoughts and feelings, as well as the safety of everyone involved. While some businesses are considering implementing ChatGPT, it is quickly becoming illegal in others. In New York, the city's school system has ruled that the tool will be prohibited across all devices and networks in the city's public schools. This decision was made because of two reasons. First, the chat model demonstrated that it can make errors and isn't always reliable, particularly when dealing with information from the previous year. Second, students who can appoint ChatGPT to write their essays face a real risk of plagiarism. Artificial intelligence has been used for years, but it is currently experiencing a surge in popularity due to developments at Google, Meta, Microsoft, and just about every other major tech company. OpenAI and its largest investors have invested billions of dollars in creating, training, and deploying these models. It could easily be a worthwhile investment in the long run, propelling OpenAI to the forefront of AI creative tools. Akshat Mishra B.Com (H), 3rd Year

13

'S DIGITAL LAUNCH

On November 1st, 2022, the RBI launched the digital rupee for the wholesale market to settle secondary market transactions in government securities. In the initial phase of a pilot initiative, a closed user group (CUG) of participating customers and business owners will concentrate on a few particular areas and banks. As part of the test, customers and retailers will be able to use the digital rupee in Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore, and Bhubaneswar. According to the central bank, the pilot will evaluate in real-time the stability of the entire process of producing, dispersing, and employing digital rupees for retail purposes. The CBDC (Central Banks Digital Currencies) is the name of the central bank's digital equivalent of currency notes. It is issued by RBI in accordance with the country's monetary policy as a sovereign or fully independent currency. Once it isproperly issued, CBDC will be accepted as legal tender as a method of payment by citizens, governments, and enterprises. Due to its government recognition, it is freely convertible into cash or notes from any commercial bank. Though RBI is not in favour of the e-rupee. It fears that if people withdraw money from banks and convert it into digital rupees, it could result in a bank failure. Although the RBI has not yet made a decision, some aspects of the digital rupee system may be supported by the distributed ledger technology that powers cryptocurrencies. But "private" digital currencies like bitcoin and Ethereum are by nature private. However, the RBI would be in charge of creating and administering the digital rupee. 105 nations were examining CBDC in July 2022. CBDC has been legalised in eleven countries, with Jamaica's JAM-DEX being the most recent. The Bahamas Sand Dollar debuted in 2020. On the basis of how it is used, the functions it carries out, and the varied degrees of accessibility, the RBI has separated the digital rupee into two primary categories: retail and wholesale. Most retail purchases involve the digital currency known as retail e-rupee. The private sector, nonfinancial consumers, and businesses will all potentially be able to use it because it is a direct obligation of the central bank. It may provide access to safe funds for settlement and payment. Only a select few financial institutions are able to access wholesale CBDC. It can increase the operational costs, collateral use, and liquidity control of settlement systems for financial transactions made by banks in the government securities (G-Sec) segment, interbank market, and in the capital market. Users will be able to transact with e-Rupee utilising a digital wallet given by the participating banks and held on mobile phones and other devices, according to the RBI. It is possible to conduct both person-to-person (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions. Payments to retailers can be made using the QR codes that are displayed at retail locations. The e-Rupee would have attributes of real money, such as trust, safety, and finality of settlement. One of the issues with CBDC in India is cybersecurity. The same types of attacks that might affect traditional payment systems can potentially affect CBDC ecosystems as well. It is envisaged that the CBDC will generate vast amounts of data in real-time. RBI must close the knowledge and infrastructure gaps on the demand side in order to increase the adoption of CBDC in rural areas for a wide base. The RBI must proceed cautiously while considering all pertinent difficulties, design considerations, and implications as it gets ready to launch the digital currency. Samriddhi Singh BCH 1st Year

14

C O L U M N S

SHORT

15

s upskilling programme for 1,00,000 developers in India Google is a sky full of abundant stars that twinkle every time you click on its search engine. One such star is ‘Google’s upskilling program for 1 lakh developers in India.’ Google has unveiled a program to upskill 1,00,000 Indian developers and researchers in cyber security. The campaign will be part of the company’s Cyber Security Roadshow, and it will cover multiple cities across India in addition to offering tools, tutorials, and mentorship on security practices for building consumer apps, as well as enterprise programs. It is a great step towards development, invention, and innovation. Google never fails to amaze its users and to say that the introduction of this upskilling program is highly beneficial would be an understatement. The program will impact the educational aspects both directly and indirectly, eventually resulting in many more intellectual individuals. The upskilling program will cover two major program areas, Android and Google Cloud, and will be aimed at 1 lakh developers in India. The Google Cloud upskilling program will focus on commercial developers and security administrators, while the Android upskilling program will serve developers creating apps for consumer use. Malika BCH 2nd Year

, senior focused startup launched by Ratan Tata Industry titan Ratan Tata announced an investment in a startupcalled ‘Goodfellows’ which provides companionship for senior citizens by pairing them with young graduates. ‘Goodfellows’ has been founded by Mr. Shantanu Naidu, a Tata manager. India's 13.75 crore population belongs to the group of old age people. This is approximately 10-15% of the total population. In most cases, 70% of the population living in metropolitan cities feels lonely just because their families are engaged in their jobs. The feeling of loneliness coupled with loss of self worth due to retirement causes mental health issues too. In the words of Mr. Tata “You do not know what it is like to be lonely until you spend time alone wishing for companionship.” Before launching, it was in beta testing i.e., some trials were running in Mumbai. A total of 800 graduates applied for work, and 20 of them are selected to provide companionship to the elderly. Goodfellows works on a freemium subscription model i.e., the first month is free. From the second month, the company charges a base subscription of ₹5000 per month. It would be interesting to discuss the types of activities older adults and children can engage in. Some of these activities can be as simple as playing a carrom board with them or sitting and chatting with them. A key concern of the founder is the security of old people, for which he adds, "We conduct seven rounds of interviews, check with the police, and check with previous employers." Preksha Saini BCH 1st Year

16

India's Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has announced that it will start supplying petrol with 20% ethanol, up from the current 10%, from April 2023. This move is in line with the government's goal to increase the use of biofuels and reduce the country's dependence on fossil fuels. Ethanol is a type of biofuel made from sugarcane, corn, and other crops, and it is considered a more sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional gasoline. The higher blend of ethanol in petrol is expected to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality, particularly in cities with high levels of pollution. The government is also promoting the use of electric vehicles and other alternative fuels as part of its efforts to combat climate change and reduce India's dependence on imported oil. However, there are concerns that the increased use of ethanol could lead to higher food prices and affect the availability of crops for other uses. Overall, the move towards higher blends of ethanol in petrol is a significant step towards a more sustainable energy future for India. Mhachoni Yanthan BCH 1st Year

India's Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has announced that it will start supplying petrol with 20% ethanol, up from the current 10%, from April 2023. This move is in line with the government's goal to increase the use of biofuels and reduce the country's dependence on fossil fuels. Ethanol is a type of biofuel made from sugarcane, corn, and other crops, and it is considered a more sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional gasoline. The higher blend of ethanol in petrol is expected to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality, particularly in cities with high levels of pollution. The government is also promoting the use of electric vehicles and other alternative fuels as part of its efforts to combat climate change and reduce India's dependence on imported oil. However, there are concerns that the increased use of ethanol could lead to higher food prices and affect the availability of crops for other uses. Overall, the move towards higher blends of ethanol in petrol is a significant step towards a more sustainable energy future for India. Mhachoni Yanthan BCH 1st Year

17

Rupee Trade Mechanism The Rupee Trade Mechanism is a new framework that enables India to conduct bilateral trade with select countries using the Indian rupee instead of a third-party currency like the US dollar. UCO Bank has become the first bank in India to receive approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to undertake rupee trade transactions with select countries under this mechanism. The framework aims to reduce dependence on foreign currencies and facilitate trade between countries. UCO Bank will be allowed to participate in the Rupee Trade Mechanism with three countries initially - Bhutan, Nepal, and Myanmar. The bank will be able to offer a range of banking services in Indian rupees to businesses in these countries, including payment settlements, trade financing, and letter of credit (LC) facilities. The approval from the RBI is a significant achievement for UCO Bank, which has been struggling with rising bad loans and weak financial performance in recent years. The bank's participation in the Rupee Trade Mechanism is expected to increase its business opportunities and revenue streams, which could help it turn around its financial performance. Overall, the approval of UCO Bank's participation in the Rupee Trade Mechanism is a positive development for India's efforts to strengthen its economic ties with neighbouring countries and reduce dependence on foreign currencies for bilateral trade. Sushant Anand BCH 1st Year

Nirmala Sitharaman, the Union Finance Minister of India has launched Bharat Vidya, an e-learning platform, on September 21, 2022, in Pune. Bharat Vidya has been designed and developed by Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI) in Pune. It was founded in 1917 as a major research organization in Indian and Asian studies. It is a first-of-its-kind online platform, which will offer both free and paid courses covering various aspects of Indian studies pertaining to art, architecture, philosophy, language, and science. Many courses have been designed to follow the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. BORI has collaborated with Indian and foreign universities to award credits for some courses. It will offer both paid and free courses. The program will begin with six courses: “Ved Vidya”, “Bhartiya Darshanshashtra”, “Sanskrit learning”, “The 18 Parvas of the Mahabharata”, “Fundamentals of Archaeology” and “Kalidasa and Bhasha”. Karuna BCH 1st Year

Nirmala Sitharaman to launch new e-learning platform Bharat Vidya

18

COP is an annual conference that provides a chance for countries to act together to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations. In November 2022, the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt hosted the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP 27) in Sharm El-Sheikh, with a view to building on previous successes and paving the way for future ambition to effectively tackle the global challenge of climate change. COP 27 is a wonderful chance for all stakeholders to rise to the occasion and address the global crisis of climate change. Nature protection is among the five key areas for action. COP 27 was dubbed a "Make or Break" opportunity for turning goals into deeds. At the COP 27 meeting, a new global climate agreement was reached. The accord contained an unprecedented promise by the richer country to establish a "Loss and Damage" fund, in which the richer country pledged to send money to developing countries to assist them recover from the damage and economic losses caused by ongoing climate change consequences. Climate change adaptation was also high on the agenda at COP 27. It refers to modifying our lifestyle and constructing better infrastructure to cope with shifting weather patterns. Aadya Agrawal BCH 3rd Year

When

tied up with

&

Climate Networking The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Royal Enfield have established a ground-breaking partnership to promote and protect India's "intangible cultural heritage," starting with the Himalayas. As a result of this special collaboration, a four-day creative show organized by Dr. Monisha Ahmed and Mary Therese Kurkalang will be on display at the Bikaner House in Delhi. UNESCO has been promoting the identification, documentation, and preservation of India's intangible cultural heritage for decades. India is one of the 178 nations that have ratified the 2003 UNESCO Convention on the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. India's cultural heritage includes a diverse range of living traditions, including numerous traditions of music, dance, theatre, storytelling, festivals, and rituals, in addition to its gorgeous monuments. "The Himalayas are Royal Enfield's spiritual home, and we are thrilled to cooperate with UNESCO to help create a sustainable future for this region," said Siddhartha Lal, managing director and chief executive officer of EicherMotors. In this famous landscape, Royal Enfield is aiming to encourage sustainable tourism and create strong local economies. The event that will be organized will exhibit an interactive and artistic display of the traditions associated with intangible cultural heritage in the Western Himalayas and the North-eastern area. This includes an exhibition, a panel discussion, a performance, a movie screening, and a lecture with a demonstration. The program also includes some illustrious artists, designers, chefs, mixologists, musicians, actors, photographers, and figures from the field of social development. Samriddhi Singh BCH 1st Year

19

Rishi Sunak as UK's First Indian origin PM Rishi Sunak, an active politician, was born in Southampton to parents of Indian origin who later migrated to Britain from East Africa in the 1960s. He won the same seat as an MP in the 2017 general election. He was chosen by the conservatives in 2014 to succeed William Haque in the Richmond (Yorks) seat. From 2015 to 2017, he served as a member of the Environment, Road, and Rural Affairs Select Committee. On July 25, 2019, he also became a member of the Privy Council. As part of Johnson's cabinet reorganization on February 13, 2020, Sunak was given the position of chancellor. The 41-year-old Rishi Sunak was chancellor of the Exchequer from 2020 to 2022, and he vacated his position on July 5, 2022. Rishi Sunak is likely to succeed David Cameron as the next prime minister of Britain after winning the campaign to lead the Conservative Party. Liz Truss defeated him in September, but she resigned six weeks later. Following the resignation of Prime Minister Liz Truss, Sunak, as the leader of the conservatives, the majority party in parliament, became the new Prime Minister on October 25, after he accepted an invitation from King Charles III for forming a government. Rishi Sunak on Tuesday became Britain’s third prime minister of the year 2022 and the first person of colour to lead the former imperial power, vowing to mend the "mistakes" of Liz Truss’ calamitous 49-day tenure. Upon his appointment by King Charles III, Sunak addressed the country outside 10 Downing Street, capping the most recent astonishing development in U.K. politics following Boris Johnson's demise in July. Sunak, who is a Hindu, is the first British Indian prime minister. Additionally, at the age of 42, he is now the youngest leader in more than two centuries. US President Joe Biden referred to the selection as "ground-breaking" and promised to get in touch with Sunak soon. British Conservative supporting media hailed Sunak’s appointment. The Sun's headline, "The force is with you, Rishi," alluded to Sunak's enthusiasm for Star Wars movies. The Daily Mail, a British daily middlemarket tabloid newspaper and news website in London called it “a new dawn for Britain”. Sharmila Longleng BCH 1st Year

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Agnipath Scheme, a scheme launched by the Central Government in 2022, to overhaul the decades-old selection process and bring in fitter and younger troops to prepare to tackle some of the crucial future security challenges of the nation. Under this scheme, Indian youth between the age of 17.5 years to 21 years can join the Indian Army for four years and will be able to serve the country for a short term. The scheme will allow youngsters aged 17.5 to 21 to be inducted into any of the three services of the army as “Agniveers” for a period of four years. This is a pan-India scheme so any Indian youth aspiring to serve in the army can apply for this job and join the Indian Army. Amid widespread violent protests across the country against the radical new Agnipath scheme to recruit soldiers only for four years, the government increased the upper age limit for candidates to 23 from 21 as a one-time waiver for the proposed recruitment cycle for 2022 because the government was not able to undertake recruitment rallies for the last two years due to covid-19 pandemic. India’s youth is set to play a crucial role in realizing the dream of building an Aatmanirbhar and the Sashakt Bharat. Agnipath scheme will take them a step closer towards becoming responsible people and valuable assets for the nation. Agnipath Scheme provides a unique opportunity for the youth to fulfil their dream of joining the Armed Forces & serving the Nation. In addition, it will also aid in improving battle preparedness suited to the changing dynamics of geopolitical conditions. Vedant Maheshwari BCH 2nd Year

Upper Age Limit for Agnipath Scheme raised to 23 for 2022

NSE gets SEBI's in-principle nod to set up social stock exchange as seperate segment The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) has received in-principle approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to set up a social stock exchange as a separate segment. This initiative by NSE has the potential to revolutionize the way social enterprises and non-profit organizations raise capital in India. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman first proposed the concept of a social stock exchange in her budget speech in July 2019. The idea was to create a platform that would enable social enterprises to raise capital from investors who are interested in social impact. The social stock exchange would provide these investors with the opportunity to invest in organizations that are working towards solving social and environmental problems. The social stock exchange will function as a separate segment of the NSE, with its own listing and disclosure requirements. The exchange will provide a platform for social enterprises, non-profit organizations, and other impact-driven entities to raise capital through the issuance of securities such as bonds, equity, and mutual funds. The securities will be traded on the social stock exchange and will be accessible to investors who are interested in making a positive social impact. The social stock exchange will also help to promote the development of the impact investing ecosystem in India. Impact investing is a form of investing that aims to generate social and environmental impact, as well as financial returns. The social stock exchange will provide a platform for impact investors to invest in organizations that are aligned with their values and objectives. In conclusion, SEBI's approval of the social stock exchange is a significant step towards promoting social entrepreneurship and impact investing in India. The social stock exchange has the potential to unlock significant capital for social enterprises and non-profit organizations, which will enable them to have a greater impact on society and the environment. The social stock exchange will also promote transparency and accountability, which will help to build trust between investors and organizations. Overall, the social stock exchange is a positive development for India's economy and society. Malika BCH 2nd Year

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The journey of working women

Women, since time immemorial, have always had to fight for their rights. Our societies are based on specific norms, which give all the freedom and liberty to men to choose how they want to lead their lives. What comes naturally to men has always been a struggle for women.For instance, while going out to work is a given for men, women have struggled to get the freedom to do this. But, thankfully, we live in times where jobs and women go hand in hand to a considerable extent. In most countries of the world, this is no longer an issue. But what lies ahead? Once a woman starts working, how easy is it for her to move forward to progress in her work life? Does she get the same set of opportunities and facilities to move ahead as men, or are there barriers to progress? Sadly her life ahead isn’t easy at all. Though women are stepping out in large numbers, and picking up their dream jobs, progressing in those jobs is not that easy. While every individual has to work hard and prove themselves to forge their path ahead, for women, it is much more complicated and challenging than for men. Several challenges, responsibilities, duties and barriers come in the way. These primarily arise when their personal life collides with the professional. Till they are young and unmarried, they get to compete on a level playing field, but after that, things become unfair. As a result, they can only rise to a point in their work lives. After that, even with the same effort, zeal and determination, women find it challenging to cope up and scale heights. Men want to reign supreme, making the road ahead tricky and dangerous for women.Let us see how. Let’s take the example of the corporate world. We observe that up to middle management positions, women find it relatively easy to progress and move up the corporate ladder. But after that, the going gets tough for various reasons, which are a mix of societal and professional barriers.In the professional world, women face what is known as the glass ceiling, a term most of us are familiar with. The glass ceiling for women restricts their progress. A glass ceiling is an invisible barrier that prevents women from rising beyond a level. It, in many ways, either brings their career to an end or makes progress slow and painful, which may lead to their eventually giving up on their dreams and aspirations. When a working woman cannot break this ceiling, she may give up out of sheer frustration, which is only natural.But of course, there are exceptions. Some women can break this ceiling, shatter it and rise above it. However, they are still in the minority. The number is growing but still not by as much as it should. So once these hard-working women break the ceiling, then what? Does their life become easy? Is life above the glass ceiling rosy? Well, apparently not!! Of course, with an increase in responsibility, life cannot be a cakewalk. There will be challenges, difficulties and struggles. But is the number of such challenges more for women than men? The answer is a Yes! The ones who rise above this ceiling face another roadblock, which goes by the name of a glass cliff. As the dictionary says, a cliff is a steep rock face, especially at the edge of a sea. So as the meaning goes, a cliff is not the best of places to be on, but sadly, that is where women find themselves once they have shattered the ceiling. This cliff makes their dreams seem only dreams.So what exactly is a glass cliff?The term glass cliff has been coined to refer to a situation where women or those in the minority find themselves when they ascend to a leadership position. The position is fraught with challenges, and the risk of failure is very high.What has been observed is that these women are assigned leadership roles during periods of crisis and downturn when the risk of failure is the highest. They are given those positions where the likelihood of failure is very high. Since the prevailing culture is tilted towards the men who are in the majority, they all collude in a way to give these roles to the women who are in the minority. As a result, on the one hand, the organisation can tick the box of having a woman in that senior role; on the other, it is ensured that they fail.. If they succeed, the men and the organisation still win. So it is a win-win for them. It is like the outsider being tasked to ensure their failure while the insiders watch the fun from their safe spaces. So what about these women on a glass cliff? How do they take to this state of affairs? Well, to begin with, they are aware of their precarious position when they take up the role and so are under tremendous pressure from the very beginning.

TT

There is the pressure to succeed in the challenge and the pressure of knowing that your peers are waiting for you to fail. They are watching, knowing pretty well that you are likely to fail. How easy can that be for anyone? Would the men like to see themselves in that position? I guess not. So under these trying circumstances, the woman takes on the role and many times succeeds! But what if she doesn’t, which is also a likelihood? She is then labelled a failure, with it being generalised that women cannot take on demanding roles This phenomenon, in my opinion, is not typical only in the work environment; it is in every part of life. It is prevalent everywhere where a woman wants to go against the norms of society. She has to face such challenges, which increase the chances of her failure. They are a means to dissuade women from breaking the barriers and telling them to toe the line. It is something that, to my mind, is done to hold women back, to make them unsuccessful in anything they want to do, which is unconventional and against the norms. It is another way of enforcing patriarchal norms and culture. And mind you, it is not only the men who create these barriers but women themselves too. The picture painted for her is bleak and discouraging from the time a woman expresses her desire to work. She is made to believe that no matter what, she will be responsible for running the house and raising the kids. This means that she will never be able to focus only on her career. She will have to carry both the burdens; of work and her home. She will have to balance both roles with little or no help from her spouse. With such high expectations, there is a lot of pressure on women. They have to succeed in both places. It is like the home, kids are a given, and working is an option. And whenever and wherever she falls short, it will be her responsibility. Despite this, many women choose to work, taking on all the challenges that come their way. With time their responsibilities on both fronts increase, which they are expected to manage. Obviously, this isn’t easy, and many of them falter and make mistakes in some areas for which they are made to feel guilty and not worthy of the chance given to them. Will a man ever have to face a similar situation? No, definitely not! A man is facilitated and compensated to follow his dreams. A man gets all possible support and can single-mindedly focus on his career and take on challenges and opportunities that help him grow and prosper. Owing to the double burden, women tend to restrict and contain themselves. They can’t run in the race with their hands and feet tied.So many opt out, or if they continue, they end up messing up their physical and mental health. Is this fair? No, not all!Society, people and the work culture need to change. It has to facilitate women to reach a level playing ground. They have to be given the opportunity to succeed. If the spouse needs to step up the game at home or at work, facilities like child care and flexible timings have to be provided. Though we still have a lot of ground to cover, fortunately, things are looking up. On the homefront, couples are now flexible and adjusting enough to let both husband and wife pursue their dreams and passions. Responsibilities are being shared. But this is mainly in the big cities only. As far as the work culture is concerned, organisations are striving towards a diverse and equitable culture, but a lot of ground needs to be covered. Mindsets need to be changed; cultures need to be redefined to be with the times. Men have to accept that women, half the world population, cannot be relegated to the background. Instead, they must be a part of their homes, offices and every other place. Ms. Sangeeta Relan Associate Professor Department of Commerce

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Joshimath

Man-Made v/s Natural

Joshimath, often called Jyotirmath, is a municipality and a town in the Chamoli District of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. At 6,150 feet (1,875 m) above sea level, it serves as a starting point for numerous Himalayan mountain climbing adventures, trekking routes, and pilgrimage sites like Badrinath.The disputed border between India and China is only a few kilometers away, making this location crucial from a military perspective as well (LAC). There are 20 military stations and camps in this area.In a nutshell, this location is crucial for its tourism, military, and religious sectors. As a result of the area's high rains and flooding in 2021, which caused slow-moving cracks to appear on local homes, the authorities conducted an inspection and pronounced many of those structures to be dangerous.Construction continued until January 5th, 2023, and many environmental experts believe that this made the issue worse.This entire region has sunk by 2.5 inches between 2020 and 2022, a phenomenon known as land subsidence.The problem is that landslides occurred here decades ago, and this town is located in a region where landslides have occurred. To put it simply, this land was unsuitable for development due to the presence of loose sand and rocks.The world's youngest mountain range, the Himalayas are always growing taller. By pushing the Himalayan mountains by two inches per year toward the Eurasian plate, the Indian plate makes this region more unstable by causing earthquakes there. There are 395 villages in Uttarakand; Joshimath is not the subject. All of these towns are located in a disasterprone location. People need to use particular caution with regard to any projects or developments here.The Mishra Committee study from 46 years ago, in 1976, makes clear that the development taking place here is not on a stable rock.These rocks are moving as a result of earthquakes, flooding, and water proliferation. This study included a warning that excessive tree cutting will result from ongoing construction. Cultivation on slopes will make the rocks more unstable.The ground underneath us is deteriorating.If we were aware of this earlier, why wasn't anything done?Recently, ISRO published a study that used satellite photographs. Yet, there are no issues in this world that have no solutions and our close neighbor China can help with this problem. After China's significant earthquake in 2014, a study was launched in Hong Kong. Professors in Hong Kong began looking for materials that can withstand earthquakes. In earthquake-prone areas, people began using clay to build homes instead of hollow bricks and bamboo. Hence, motility rates may be lowered to some extent.While tsunamis continue to occur in Japan as well, progress has not been halted. They get the ability to adapt to natural disasters and, mostofthemarehighlysecretiveimportantly, they develop an appreciation for the environment.According to numerous analysts, India requires a disaster-resistant. When development and the environment clash, a gray area results. This area needs to be handled very carefully because, even slightly disrupting the balance, has an immediate effect on the local populace. Yet, before a problem can be solved, people must acknowledge that it exists. A mistake has been made. Environmental sensitivity exists in this area. Bringing major projects here must not be the main goal if you want development to happen quickly.Smaller projects and sustainable growth must be the focus instead.Over 50 years ago, the Mishra Committee provided us with 8 guidelines for achieving sustainability.We will be significantly impacted by climate change. Increasing water levels will cause cities likeMumbai, Kochi, Chennai Vishakhapatnam etc will started sinking.

Mr Abhay Singh Assistant Professor Department of Zoology

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studentcorner

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“Happiness is nothing but an occasional episode in the general drama of pain.”

The above-mentioned lines were quoted by Thomas Hardy, an English novelist and poet. What can we infer from them? Are those lines even relatable?

Maybe. Maybe not. Psychological issues are infamous for scepticism.

If we look up the definition of happiness, there are numerous opinions and views about it. But the thing is, those too are opinions and views; not proven theories. Happiness differs from perspective to experience. A thirsty crow can find happiness in the water of an earthen pot whereas Instagram influencers will quench their thirst after posting their Starbucks frappe story.

The aforementioned example is quite absurd for some people…*critics*. Let us take another example. Observe yourself. Take a minute and list those things you want, the goals you want to achieve, and those castles you made in the air. Now think if your goal is your dream job and you made it happen; how will you feel? How will you react?

Of course, you will be happy. But…. What after that? The answer is straightforward. You will prepare yourself for the next goal. Maslow’s need hierarchy theory fits in the context perfectly which states that the behaviour of people depends upon their needs; a satisfied need can no longer motivate a person, only the next higherlevel need can motivate him/her. The human urge for materialistic things is immortal. But, is that illicit? Is procurement of the desired things wrong? Technically, it’s not wrong; because that’s how the world works. The relationship between the producer and consumer would be deeply affected if contentment takes place, owing to the fact that it’ll ultimately ruin the human desire for materialistic stuff. The 21st-century consumer is going through consumerism disorder.

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DOES DOES

So, what exactly is Consumerism? According to Wikipedia, “Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts.” There are numerous reasons for this disorder, but the prime one is advertisement. Humans have dreams and the power to chase them. Accordingly, these advertisements are bombarded us with the ultimate vision of trapping us in the desires of those dreams; consequently, our courses of action are directed towards the attainment of those dreams. The pros of consumerism are our satisfaction and happiness only, as evident in the title itself; though that is yet not certain for the population. The cons of consumerism are underrated. This disorder may give happiness to some but what about other people? Have you ever thought about the kind of stuff that you use in your daily routine and how it is discarded? What happens to that when you throw it away? There are possible chances that more than half of the products that we use are non-biodegradable. Adding to this the constant urge of buying things, the waste accumulates more than usual which implies utter wastage of resources. Since we are humans, it is our duty to demand and produce to push our respective economies to higher levels; if only we do that in an ethical way. A bitter fact that is not acknowledged by many people, is that they will eventually be exhausted running after things and not enjoying them as a whole. Many studies have shown that people aren’t happy even after they have everything in their life. Mere possession of stuff doesn’t give pleasure, its utility does. Mehak Latwal Economics Department First year Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College

LEADS TO TO HAPPINESS HAPPINESS ? ? LEADS

THE TALE OF A

You’re like the hazy setting sun that I’m witnessing, sitting on the bank of Ganga on a spine-chilling foggy winter evening. There’s no more warmth in its existence, It’s just making my feet cold, causing pain to me by its sheer coldness, Yet I refuse to miss it and refuse even more to recognize the amount of physical pain that follows. And that’s where I draw this analogy that even though your absence will rip my heart being hollow Eventually, I’ll forget about all the numbness, and the only thing that I will remember will be the peace of its existence. Silent for the rest of the night, juggling with all the thoughts that I somehow escape in the brightness throwing myself into resistance……. I see it setting every day and sit there on the corner bench, feeling all the freezing chilled breeze on my face, until it’s completely gone, I’m left alone with all the bizarre thoughts of my own. Yes, sunsets make me sad, yet I never miss one, maybe because this throws me deep into introspection Just to warm me again about how hard the grip is, the more I’ll try to escape, The more it’ll make my soul scrape.

Aadya Agrawal B.Com (Honours) 3rd Year Acharya Narendra Dev College



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Department of Economic Affairs, Government of India defines Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) as an arrangement between a government or statutory entity or government-owned entity on one side and a private sector entity on the other for the provision of public assets or related services for public benefit through investments being made by and/or management undertaken by the private sector entity for a specified period of time. There is substantial risk sharing with the private sector and the private sector receives performance-linked payments. PPP is different from privatisation. In privatisation, the government transfers entire sector responsibility to the private sector. This then creates assets and provides services. However, in a Public Private Partnership, the government does not lose ownership. In PPPs, both the government and the public sector have their own expectations. The government aims to harness private-sector efficiencies (on time, within budget delivery and innovations), increase government resources, and facilitate improved access and service delivery while the private sector expects to get feasible business opportunities, fair distribution of risk and responsibility, and transparency in procurement.

Public Private Partnerships are used in many infrastructure sectors like education, power, transport, health, and many others. Various models of investment, ownership control, technical collaboration, and duration exist. Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT), Build-Own-Operate (BOO), Operate-MaintainTransfer (OMT), etc are included in this list. PPPs can improve value for money by optimising life cycle costs, providing an opportunity to innovate, and optimising risk allocations. However, the value for money achieved by PPPs is often debated. It has certain limitations also. It is not suitable for all projects. Instead, the private sector may be in a position to raise tolls, rates, and fees for captive consumers who may be compelled by law or a geographical natural monopoly to pay for their services. Across the globe, Public Private Partnerships are in use as well as other concepts such as globalization, privatization, etc. Madhawi Tiwari Second Year B.Sc Physical Science with Chemistry Gargi College

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A note to death

Perhaps, you are inevitable And sometimes not even believable. Chaos knocking at every door, Spreading darkness in every chore. A forgiving soul or an evil one, Their dear ones knew the body won't be able to see the sun. Every speck of life flashing in the memory, The heart knew that this life is temporary. Counting every breath now and then, No man knew you were standing at the threshold how and when. No man can beat the ravages of time, All the dreams are shattered in a moment like Dominos falling in a line.



Stuti Chaturvedi Bcom(Hons) 2nd year Acharya Narendra Dev College

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LITTLE THINGS AND SMALL MOMENTS ARE BLISSFUL In this world of social media, reels and shorts, etc., there is no doubt we do come across quotes like “Enjoy the little things in life.”, “Life is beautiful, enjoy every moment of it.”, “Life is short, and every moment is precious.” And many more in our day-to-day life. But where we can find these little things and these moments? The answer is, these little things and moments are in our short stories of everyday life. I believe life is full of these short stories. Every day is your story. Each day you could make and find a number of short stories. And you learn so much through these short stories. So, my life is also full of such short stories. I am portraying one of my most beautiful and blissful experiences. It is a story of a day when I was in college and attended lectures just like every day. That day one of my friends called me and asked me to bring A4 size ruled papers if possible. I said, ok! As it was raining so I assumed stationery shops might be closed, so I asked one of my classmates about any stationery shop near the college. She did let me know about the shop which was a few steps away from our college and I made up my mind that I would go there after attending all my classes. When I was about to leave for PG with one of my PG mates, I suddenly remembered that I had to purchase ruled papers for my friend. Then, we went to that shop. The shop was just like other stationery shops but I felt something different there. When I asked the shopkeeper for A4 size ruled paper, he didn’t understand what I wanted to convey because he was differently abled. He could neither hear nor speak. So, he tried to make me understand that if I would write my need on paper. Still, I didn’t understand and continued asking because I was experiencing that situation for the very first time. My PG mate understood and wrote my need. Then, I realised what he wanted to convey and I got a huge smile on my face. Smiling comes only when we see someone happy or when we see something beautiful and unique. Yeah! Uncle’s hard work and way of managing his shop were really inspiring. After a few minutes, a girl came and she was also not able to convey what actually she wanted to purchase. Then, I saw that he had also set up a computer with all things of the shop in pictorial form to make communication convenient between him and the customer. I was again surprised. When we had purchased papers and were about to leave, I stopped, took that piece of paper, and wrote “Thank You Uncle” on it. He smiled after reading it. Uncle’s smile made my whole day. I was so happy that day and also learned so much from him. I realized how we people keep complaining about small things. I learned that we should never complain in life, we should be satisfied with life, and we should always believe in putting in our efforts. These kinds of little things and small moments of life always prove to be so blissful for all of us.

Name: Anshika Gupta B.A.(HONS) Political Science 3rd Yr Lakshmi Bai College, University of Delhi



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India

A Global Fintech Superpower India has the highest rate of fintech adoption in the world. No doubt, it is also one of the fastest-growing fintech markets. Currently, there are over 2,000 DPIIT-approved Financial Technology (FinTech) startups in India, and this number is growing rapidly. The market size of the Indian fintech industry is expected to reach 50 billion by 2023, with assets under management (AUM) reaching US$1 trillion and revenue reaching US$200 billion. Payments, lending, and InsurTech were the most popular sectors (2021). India's fintech industry ecosystem is dominated by payments, lending, wealth technology

(WealthTech),

personal

finance

management,

insurance

technology (InsurTech), and regulatory technology along with a wide range of subsegments such as RegTech, etc. The Indian fintech market is valued at $29 billion so far (Jan 2017 to Jul 2022), accounting for 14% of global funding and the second highest in terms of transaction volume. As of July 2022, India has 23 fintech companies with unicorn status with valuations over USD 1 billion. And as of September 2022, 358 banks are participating in India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI), with over $6.8135 billion in transactions recorded. These stats are a great way to measure the effectiveness of India as a country which is leading the fintech domain.

Ishika Mishra 3rd year B.com (Hons.) Acharya Narendra Dev College

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Nanda Devi Raj Jat A crucial part of Uttarakhandi culture and tradition - Palanquin of Nanda devi carried by the villagers. Uttarakhand is glorified by the titles such as “abode of gods” or “Devbhoomi” and this holy and sacred significance of it is marked as a vital part of tourist attraction and people from all over the world visit this sacred land of gods every year. Many cultural, religious and mythological stories and practices are aligned with each and every local deity and temple among which Nanda devi raj jat or Mahakumbh of the Himalayas has its own significance, and historical and mythological connections. Nanda devi raj jat is a pilgrimage and a prosperous and sacred festival celebrated once in 12 years in the district of Chamoli, Uttarakhand on Bhadrapada Shukla Ekadashi falls roughly in the month of September. The term ‘jat’ here refers to the yatra in which the divided cultural region of the state i.e. Garhwal and Kumaon take part together. This yatra mainly includes three districts- Pithoragarh, Almora & Chamoli covering a distance of 280 km said to be the most difficult and longest pilgrimage in the world covered by foot passing the dense forests, gravel paths, snow-covered mountains and rivers. This journey starts from the village of Nauti situated in Karnaprayag mainly the Garhwal region and travels through the heights of Roopkund & Homkund accompanied by a fourhorned sheep. After reaching Homkund while performing the last ritual there i.e. havana-yajana the ornaments, clothing and other offerings are removed from the sheep and are left to cover the further distance on their own. This yatra follows two different storylines holding their own prestige and importance in both regions of Garhwal and Kumaon. In the Kumaon region, the story is linked with Nanda and Sunanda, two twin princesses who while on their way back to the palace were followed by a buffalo for their safety, they hid behind a banana tree which was eaten up by a sheep and both were killed. Because of this whole local myth, the Nanda devi yatra is mainly organized in Nainital and Almora where two idols of Nanda and Sunanda are placed in the palanquin decorated with banana trees and the sacrifice of sheep and buffalo has been performed(banned in present-day). Palanquin of Nanda and Sunanda in Kumaon region On the other side, the storyline of Garhwal got much limelight and importance compared to Kumaon where the story starts as claiming Nanda devi to be the incarnation of Goddess Parvati who came to his maternal home (main) but due to some reasons unable to go back to her in-laws and after a span of 12 years she was sent back with great reverence to her husband’s house (Sauraas) in Kailash. Patti Chandpur & Shree Guru Kshetra of Chamoli is basically considered as maternal home and Nandak Keshtra as in-laws from where Nanda comes after every 12 years, stays for weeks and goes back. According to the local tradition, everyone visits her and presents her gifts. Nanda devi also visits many god temples and at last visits the temple of her Dharam bhai i.e. brother by virtue of duty called Laatu Devta. She is placed in the holy palanquin from the ancient temple at Kurud village at Nanda nagar ghat in Shri Badrinath, Chamoli district. The first encampment at Idan Bandhan 10 km after Nauti and meets with the Kumaon yatra at Nandakeshri covering Bedini and Bugyal accompanied by Chausinghiya Khadu ( four-horned sheep) takes birth in villages on Chandpur and Dasholi belt near the maternal home of Nanda just before the yatra once in 12 years. Big bags on both sides of the sheep’s back and after Havana in Homkund, it proceeds to Himalaya, goes ahead and disappears into Himalayan mountain ranges and according to old tradition and beliefs, the sheep gets beheaded on its own and the remaining body comes down. Chausinghiya Khadu (four-horned sheep) Many beliefs are attached to this event; During the journey, a high-altitude glacial lake in the way called Roopkund is surrounded by hundreds of ancient skeletons making it a mystery lake which is 16,200 ft. above sea level. Local mythology suggests that a king took dancers to this holy sacred place and due to heavy snowfall they turned into skeletons and stones. This has been identified from the view of this whole area strewn with jewellery, Rajasthani style shoes, teeth discoloured with pan and supari, shells, and bangles. These skeletons were first discovered by forest rangers in 1942 and many scientists from different parts of the world come here to solve this ancient mystery. Roopkund- glacial lake Another myth associated with the Roopkund mystery is that King Yasodhawal’s wife was pregnant and while giving birth her placenta flowed down to this lake becoming the cause of death of many people residing there. Another belief recognised by the locals in their folk history is that the Nanda devi form of goddess Parvati was the Ishtadevi of the Katyuri dynasty of Kumaon along with kings of Garhwal and referred to as Rajarajeshwari. A belief particularly in the region of Kumaon, the two peaks of Mount Nanda and Sunanda visible from Kumaon are called abodes or representations of two goddesses. During the period of the Chand king, only one Nanda was worshipped who was believed to be the daughter of the Chand king who was blessed by Goddess Parvati. After the storyline of two twin sisters formed in Kumaon, the practice of making two sculptures began in the time of Baj Bahadur Chand and continued till the present day. Apart from the maha yatra, the annual yatra is also organised mainly in Kumaon passing through various villages having Nanda devi temples. The night stay is done in Koti where worship rituals are performed. In the Johar valley region, there is no Jat yatra but a similar kind of celebration happens where the ritual of worship, dance and gathering of Brahma kamal (Kaul Kamphu) is said to be a part of Nanda devi jat. Besides this, the Nanda devi fair is organised every year for 3 days in remote villages and Pindara valleys of Almora, Nainital, Kot, Ranikhet and Lohar which was started during the period of Kalyan Chand in the 16th century. The sacredness of the festival and the unbreakable beliefs of the people are the two vital threads which help to confluence the culture and traditions of Garhwal and Kumaon. This also shows the practice of Sanskritization mixing the local beliefs and practices with the Puranic God and Goddess i.e. Shiva and Parvati(Shakti). Also to retain this holy festival and pilgrimage, the government of Uttarakhand promotes its cultural importance by connecting it with the local folk songs such as ‘Almora ki Nanda devi’ and through creating awareness among the youth to learn and gain knowledge about the culture and traditions. Hence, one on their own should witness this prestigious and prosperous pilgrimage and should learn more about the oral versions of different beliefs in various parts of Uttarakhand.

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Jyotsana Chaudhary BA(H) History, 2nd year Indraprastha College For Women

GREEN But mindfulness or discipline OF WHAT?? Money, of course. In spite of the fact that we have mainly three types of finance, namely personal, corporate, and government, there is a new category of finance that is becoming increasingly popular- Green Finance. The climate change factor has also impacted various sectors of the economy including finance and has led to the emergence of Green Finance. The concept of green financing refers to the accumulation of funds and the redirection of their investment flows toward the development of sustainable infrastructure or the development of sustainable and clean projects. The main tools used for green financing are green bonds, carbon market instruments (carbon tax on carbon footprint or carbon emissions), and green insurance. Although India doesn’t have any carbon tax imposition rules, it does levy the same as excise duties on petrol and diesel. Green insurance is a new line instrument used to cover damages to the environment caused by the policyholder’s premium insured. The more damage occurs, the more the liability of each policyholder will increase. The finance ministry announced in its budget 2022-23 about the issue of sovereign green bonds. Likewise, the ministry has also created a “Green finance working committee” chaired by Chief Economic Advisor, Dr Venkatramanan Anantha Nageswaran. In November 2022, the government approved India’s first-ever sovereign green bonds focused on funding solar, wind, and hydropower projects. These projects are aimed at reducing the carbon emission intensity of the economy. The biggest issuers of green bonds are the U.S., China, and France. On Friday, 9th January 2022, RBI announced that it would issue sovereign green bonds worth Rs.16000 crore in two portions of Rs.8000 crore each on 25th January and 9th February respectively in the current financial year (FY' 2022-23). Prior to this, in 2015, under the green finance initiative, RBI had included the renewable energy sector under its PSL scheme (Priority Sector Lending). Citizens will be made aware of environmentally friendly products and sustainable development. Although adopting an environment-friendly lifestyle will be expensive at first, it will later benefit society and health. Following the 3Rs is on the to-do list again, mate! In the case of corporates and other institutions, they must update themselves in terms of the financial inclusion of green energy and technological innovation. By following the government's price strategy, private institutions can issue Green bonds as well. Public-private partnerships will be appreciated and CSR will also be fulfilled. It will be possible to achieve net-zero emissions, reduce carbon footprint, and obtain 50% of energy from renewable sources if everyone contributes. To take a step closer to a cleaner and greener economy, we need to accept our responsibilities and work on them accordingly.

Mehak Latwal Economics Department First Year Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College



Finance in India

We all know what finance is; if not entirely, then we all have a slight idea about it. In fact, it is an inseparable part of our lives. Think of yourself in a situation where you have no money or you have access to your father’s bank account. The first situation needs mindfulness and the second needs discipline.

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ACHIEVEMENTS

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RNER

Achievements 1st year Cleared CA foundation in the first attempt with a score of 252. Ayush Goyal CSEET qualifier 2022 Prabhnoor Kaur Sekhon Chess intra- women's 1st Pragati Arora Cleared ca foundation Ruchir khatri Cleared CA foundation Ananya Tandon Cricket tournament winner Anuj Jain Women's volleyball match (andc) Runner-up Arpana Cleared CA foundation Jia 10th senior national dragon boat racing championship 2022 Preet nagar 1st junior national dodgeball championship 2022 Preet nagar Cleared ca foundation Sakaldeep paswan Cleared ca foundation Ronit Singh Cleared cseet ( company secretary executive entrance test ) in November 2022 Deshraj Cleared Cma foundation Pammi

Achievements 2nd year MD kaifIntra college : 2nd position in relay 4*200m Inter college: Played qualify matches for college and won 2 out of 3 against Hansraj, and CVS RaktavAll India tennis rank increased to 353 Cleared the 1st stage of the Indian School of Business’s (ISB) YLP, which is their deferred mba program Hardik CA Foundation cleared- May 2022 Winner- Bollywood Biz organised by Elab Winner- vyaapar bazar organised by Elab Mannu Sharma Cleared CA group 1 and scored 2 exemptions in group 2 in nov 22 attempt Cleared CA Foundation- Shivam Singh Cleared CA Inter Group 1- Sourav Kumar Cleared SSC Stenographer exam- Manish Verma Cleared CA Foundation- Shashank Singh

Achievements 3rd year Shotput (1st position) intra college-Chaitanya Goyal Table Tennis (1st position) intra college- Pranshu Gupta Badminton 2nd prize intra college- Yashendra Singh Kushwaha Cleared CA INTER GRP- Keshav Sareen Arjun Suresh 2nd Prize in Relay (Intra college) Performed in IIT Bombay (Stage Play) Aadya Agrawal Presented a paper titled 'An Analysis of Integrated Reporting Practices of Selected Indian Banks' in 2 day Annual International Commerce Conference on bharat @ 2047 organised by Dept of Commerce, Delhi school of Economics

Fit India ANDC Sports Tournament Bcom hons kabaddi(Men) 1st prize Amit Yadav (3rd yr) Arjun Suresh (3rd yr) Vivek Nagar (2nd yr) Pankaj Yadav (2nd yr) Harshit Kumar(1st yr) Arnav Singh Chauhan(1st yr) Preet Nagar(1st yr) Vineet Panthri(1st yr) Bcom hons Cricket (Men) 1st prize Shivam Bhardwaj(3rd yr) Utkarsh Jain(3rd yr) Ravi(2nd yr) Md Kaif (2nd yr) Krish(3rd yr) Satyendra Kumar(1st yr) Piush Nagar(1st yr) Anuj Jain(1st yr) Gaurav(1st yr) Lavish Jain(1st yr) Shubham(1st yr) Thakur Shivanand Singh(1st yr) Garv Vij(1st yr)

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Ankit Kumar (Batch 2022)





Like every other college pass-out there, I was also not very thrilled of knowing about the end of my college life. As expected, life started throwing everything on me, whatever possible. I never managed to convince myself about pursuing Post Graduation or M.Com. or instantly preparing for a big entrance exam like CAT which many of my dear batchmates and known ones were preparing and also appeared for. I was not doing CA/CS/CMA, also didn’t know what to do right after writing the last exam in the campus of ANDC. Aspiring for a very meaningful twenties, full of exposures, sweet and sour experiences, I wasn’t looking for a 9-5 job either. “Par ghar pr bhi to nahi baith sakte n”, this problem of mine was solved by an old deed of mine, when I joined Delhi government’s “DESH KE MENTOR” program as a Mentor in October, 2021. As the time flew, I was already volunteering as a Mentor Leader in the program when I graduated out of college. It gave me an exposure I always looked for, possibly craved. Till now, I have visited more than 50 government schools of Delhi, met and interacted with hundreds of children, Teachers, Principals, a number of colleges of GGSIPU and multiple universities regarding orientations and interactions. These opportunities pulled me towards the side which I always wanted to work and give my services for. As the interest grew, so grew the responsibilities and I was promoted as a Youth Coordinator in the Desh Ke Mentor program by Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights who shoulders a responsibility of managing 100+ Mentors and thus ensuring that the 400+ Mentees (the students of Delhi govt. schools) under me are getting the timely guidance and mentorship. I am sure, I am not a perfect one, neither looking to be one. A lot is yet to be learnt and as they say, learning never ends. With the upcoming hustles lies all the beauty of a cheerful, enthusiastic and shining bright future. If you are reading it, please know that life is not a race, it's all about the journey “Yahan bhagna nahi bas chalte jaana hai, manzil aaj nahin to kal mil hi jayegi.”

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Faizan Nezami (Batch 2022)





ANDC is a place that will be very close to my heart and even though we couldn’t experience as much as we wanted to thanks to the pandemic, it was a short and sweet journey. It was a pleasure meeting so many hard-working individuals from different domains and our beloved professors. I was always a confused kid, but in the 3rd year, I started using LinkedIn very actively and got to attend a session with some big creators from DU itself. It was the turning point to start my own thing. I started my journey of creating content on Linkedin last November. As I am pursuing US CMA and have a keen interest in the Investment and Finance domain. I create content regarding the happenings around this industry. Even though there is still a long way to go. Currently, I have 3.5K+ followers and 0.5M + views and was even featured on Linkedin News. Everyone should be active on Linkedin. It’s a very good platform to network or to get insights from professionals working in your dream firm. In this time and age, having an image online whether small or big is crucial. Let’s face the fact, In this world of fierce competition. We need to do something different or unique to stand out from the crowd apart from the degree. Please try to explore more and do something different apart from your studies.

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EXPERIENCE AT

Rohit Yadav @Andc bcom hons 1st Year My college experience, as an undergraduate student, was the most exciting and happening, as I was filled with mixed emotions, from the fear of the unknown to the excitement of starting a new chapter in my life. As I walked towards the main building, I was struck by the beauty of the campus. The lush green lawns, towering trees, and stunning architecture of the buildings took my breath away. Once I arrived at the main building, I was directed to the orientation room where I met other freshers. At our orientation, we were welcomed by the faculty members, who introduced us to the college, its facilities, its academic programs, and its rules and regulations. Our seniors showed us around the various buildings, classrooms, labs, and other facilities. While attending lectures, doing assignments, and hustling, the first semester came to an end. The pace was fast, and I struggled to keep up with loads of information, but overall the experience was quite memorable.

Ananya

@Andc bcom hons 1st Year I clearly remember, how excited I was to attend college. When I entered the college campus, it was the beginning of new hopes, new experiences, new friendships, and new life. The college has a beautiful structure, green gardens, big playgrounds, spacious rooms, and a comfortable reading room with a wi-fi facility. The campus environment was cheerful, relaxing, and welcoming. While I attended lectures, I used my spare time to make new friends and memories. My first semester has ended with good memories, and I know these 3 years are going to be the best part of my life.

ANDC Yashi Mathur @Andc bcom hons 1st Year Being a freshman can be both exhilarating and overwhelming. It is a time of new beginnings, meeting unfamiliar faces, and discovering new concepts. I encountered this phase at ANDC, and it proved to be one of the most significant transitions of my life. During the initial few weeks of college, there were numerous orientation programs, ice-breaking sessions, and introductions. Though I was uncertain about making new friends, I soon realized that everyone was in the same boat. As we connected over shared experiences, I started feeling more at ease in my new environment. One of the striking aspects of ANDC is the diversity of individuals, ideas, and perspectives. I got the chance to interact with people from different cultures, backgrounds, and walks of life. This exposure expanded my horizons. The college has also presented many opportunities for personal growth and development. I joined various societies like Enactus and Cosmsoc whose goals aligned with my interests. These societies helped me hone my skills, develop new talents, and build lasting relationships with likeminded individuals. Academically, college is a whole new ballgame. The workload is more demanding, and the expectations are higher. However, I discovered I could balance both my academic and social life with effective time management and prioritization. Overall, my experience as a freshman till now has been a rollercoaster of emotions, but I would not trade it for anything else. It has pushed me out of my comfort zone and helped me grow into a more confident and well-rounded person.

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Mudita

Pammi @Andc bcom hons 1st Year We, as a fresher, have a lot of expectations from our college phase along with a sense of pleasure and curiosity. The same was the case with mine when I entered Acharya Narendra Dev College. It began with a smooth orientation, well managed by our seniors and the faculty. I was in a dilemma about how to make friends but as soon as I interacted with others, the issue got resolved within minutes. The best thing about college life is that it develops students not only academically but also socially and mentally through its societies, fests, sports events, lectures and every little thing associated with that. I believe, on this campus, I will also get a lot of opportunities to develop myself in various aspects in the years to come.

Himanshu Raj @Andc bcom hons 1st Year I was happy to get admission to the University of Delhi. This institute (Aacharya Narendra Dev College) was allotted to me and being a NIRF 18th, I was quite excited too. It was November 9th, the first day of college. The very first thing I observed in this college was Infrastructure. Well, it isn't something to brag about. It had an upsetting image in my brain because what I had expected and what I got were not the same. Moving forward, I was still searching for the better and wondering what surprises this place had in store for me. And all my anxiety was over soon after I met and happened to interact with my classmates. To mention, this institute has some great faculty members who are very passionate, committed, and above all, caring. One of the faculty members, herself, is the prime reason why I am writing about my experience in the college so far. I would like to sincerely appreciate her and others' help. Further, this college has numerous societies to enhance the student’s skills, which, I believe, is very fascinating. In short, I am pleased to become a part of this place and I hope for a better future ahead.

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@Andc bcom hons 1st Year My overall college experience has been really incredible. One of the most interesting stages in life that gives you an opportunity to explore is the "college phase." My experience at Acharya Narendra Dev College has taught me that life is unpredictable, as these four months of mine here, have been a perfect blend of joy and hardship. The first semester at this college has been a great learning experience. I've made many everlasting memories. Most of the time, it was really fun, but on the flip side, it was really tough and hectic. I've always enjoyed attending the seminars and workshops conducted by various societies in our college, especially, the freshers’. Moreover, I learned to socialize with new people. Until my 12th standard, I was a bookworm, but college life has taught me to maintain a perfect balance between fun and studies. I learned a lot of new information by attending seminars in college, including information on the stock market, mutual funds, and accounting rules. Apart from it, I enjoyed watching the sports events too. Not to forget the lectures and assignments, completing which on time, could be so hectic and tough. Nonetheless, this phase is truly a remarkable and essential time in a person's life, and everyone should enjoy it, as it allows you to build confidence, learn new skills, and make you ready to face the real challenges of life.

Prabhnoor

@Andc bcom hons 1st Year I was excited to start my first day at college, as it was after being at one school for a long time. I had to be around so many new faces, and it was fun and scary at the same time. It was fun as I met new people who liked me, and we got together instantly. On the other hand, it was scary, as there were people who pretty much disliked me as well. There were new professors who were going to teach me regardless of knowing my past results or my academic achievements, unlike at school. The professors treated all the students equally, which was good to see, but I also realized that there were so many good and sharp students around me. Well, to be honest, the college infrastructure did disappoint me at first glance, but I guess we all get used to it. Any space, regardless of what it looks like, could give you memories and learnings, and that’s what I am looking forward to in my next three years.

Dr. Surinder Kaur

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