25th ASEAN & 12th East Asian Summit

25th ASEAN & 12th East Asian Summit

The 25th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and 9th East Asian Summit were held in the second week of November at Nay Pyi Taw in Myanmar.

It is the first time that Myanmar took the rotating ASEAN chairmanship since it joined the bloc in 1997. Leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, along with other world leaders, including US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, gathered in Myanmar's capital to discuss the establishment of an economic community within the regional bloc. 

During the Summit, ASEAN members adopted the Nay Pyi Taw Declaration for the ASEAN Community’s Post-2015 Vision. The leaders also adopted the ASEAN Joint Statement on Climate Change 2014. The two-day summit also included meetings among leaders from China, South Korea, Japan, India, New Zealand, Australia, the US and Russia. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who went on a 10-day trip to Myanmar, Australia and Fiji in mid-November, attended both the summits and met several global leaders like US President Barack Obama. The prime minister raised the issue of black money with the global leaders and held discussions o strengthen bilateral business ties.

ASEAN Summit

The ASEAN is a political and economic organisation consisting of ten countries of Southeast Asia, formed on August 8, 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Later, Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Cambodia also joined the group. In the ASEAN summit each member’s government head meets to discuss and resolve political, economic and regional issues. The member countries also do regular meetings other countries in the political and economic organization. In fact, ASEAN is known for its economic stability and GDP growth. India and ASEAN are second and third in terms of population. India and ASEAN are among the largest economies and among the three fastest growing economies in this century. 

Going ahead, the ASEAN Economic Community will be the goal of regional economic integration by 2015. The key characteristic of the community will be a single market and production base, competitive economic region, region of equitable economic development, and region fully integrated into the global economy. This is likely to transform ASEAN as there will be free movement of goods, services, investment, skilled labour, and flow of capital.  ASEAN’s commercial potential will take more concrete shape by 2015 if plans for a 10-country single-market Economic Community come to fruition. The liberalisation of trade, integration of capital markets, and visa-free intra-regional travel for ASEAN’s 600 million people are set to create major new opportunities for growth and increase the region’s overall competitiveness. 

According to the ASEAN Secretariat, 80% of required measures for the community have been implemented before the 10 member states strive to build a single ASEAN market and production base, a competitive economic region, an equitable economic development and integration into the global economy next year.

The envisaged ASEAN community will have a combined GDP of USD 2 trillion. Leaders of the 10-member ASEAN also discussed the threat of terrorism in the region and maritime disputes involving China. In Asia, the dynamic of growth story has been shifting ever since the economies of China’s and India’s began to expand in terms of GDP, rising incomes and abundant skilled workforce. Leaders of ASEAN countries have noted this fact and have extended the hand of cooperation. Also, with emerging markets around the world under renewed scrutiny as global capital movements pose fresh challenges for policy-makers, the ASEAN region has to reinforce its long-term potential as an economic and commercial powerhouse. However, many challenges remain in removing protectionist barriers, particularly in agriculture and sectors such as banking, insurance, telecoms and retail, underlining the difficulties of creating a common market among countries at widely different levels of development.

Myanmar’s President Thein Sein listed five tasks which the ASEAN nations should focus on when they enter a new level of regional integration after 2015. These include efforts in promoting compliance to established ASEAN rules and norms, a strategy to promote ASEAN's central role in existing regional mechanisms and architecture, sustaining ASEAN's economic dynamism, enhancing its resilience and competitiveness as well as improving institutional efficiency, effective decision-making and follow-up capacity. 

The free trade pact in services and investment between India and the ASEAN is expected to help the bilateral trade touch US $100 billion by 2015. The bilateral trade grew 4.6% from US $68.4 billion in 2011 to US $71.6 billion in 2012. ASEAN's exports were valued at US $43.84 billion and imports from India amounted to US $27.72 billion in 2012. The ASEAN community has the third largest population, would be the seventh largest economy in the world and the third fastest growing economic unit this century.

East Asian Summit

The East Asian Summit (EAS) is a forum held annually by leaders of 18 countries including the United States and Russia.

EAS is a forum for dialogue on broad strategic, political and economic issues of common interest with the aim of promoting peace, stability and economic prosperity in East Asia. The concept of an East Asia Grouping has significant history going back to an idea first promoted in 1991 by then Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad for an East Asia Economic Caucus. Prime Minister Modi represented India in the EAS summit in Myanmar. At the East Asia Summit, leaders discussed how to strengthen regional institutions, international norms and regional cooperation in pursuit of peace, stability and prosperity. All the members recognized the fact that the East Asia Summit could make a significant contribution to the achievement of the long-term goal of establishing an East Asian community.

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The e-retail business in India

The e-retail business in India

Online retail store Flipkart's Big billion day sale on October 6, in which the e-retailer claimed to have sold products over Rs 600 crore drew brickbats from thousands of customers.

A mega flash sale, where the company offered as much as 90% discount ran into several technological problems because of the unprecedented response it received, leading to an outcry on social media. The co-founders of the company SachinBansal and Binny Bansal apologised because of their failure to anticipate the glitches when the sales commenced which left thousands of customers frustrated and furious.

While the founders of Flipkart had tendered an apology to all its customers, various bodies have demanded regulation of e-commerce, which is just beginning to gain some toe-hold in the Indian retail space. The Minister for Commerce and Industry, Nirmala Sitaraman, has said that the government will look into the whole fiasco and regulated the e-commerce industry.

The flash sale fiasco has raised several issues, which will have far-reaching social implications. Big white goods makers like LG and Samsung have reportedly raised the issue of distorting act of offering predatory pricing. Some of them have even threatened to take legal route to stop online retailers from offering such deep discounts. Predatory pricing is when a retailer sells below the cost of production of the product to gain a large market share and eliminate competition.

Size and spread of e-retail

The e-commerce industry is pegged at around R 18,000 crore at present and is expected to touch Rs 50,000 crore by 2016. Online retail accounts for about 10% of the total organised retail sales volume in the country. The debate on online and brick-and-mortar retail has gained currency because of high levels of discounting by some of the online retail players. Any business selling at below cost is unsustainable and the predatory pricing must be stopped.

While the fiasco with Flipkart can be seen as an one off incident, the retail business is changing across the world as it was first large-format stores and malls and now it is digital platforms which brings in more efficiency at a lesser cost. Online markets have enabled small sellers, retailers, artisans and weavers to directly market their goods and services to customers at their doorstep. People sitting in smaller towns can get products which were till sometimes before only available in metros. The major strength of online retail is to provide variety and convenience to customers. Most products sold online are cheap than in physical stores as online retailers definitely enjoy a cost advantage over their offline peers because of lower overheads like lesser number of staff, lower real estate costs and no frontend store. 

Government action to curb malpractices

For the government, the Flipkart aftermath should trigger a long-overdue discussion on the policy stance on e-commerce and organised retail. While e-commerce may sell products at a much lower price than a front end store, it is equally alarming that the portals are not following the e-commerce laws of the country.

In fact, e-commerce frauds in India have significantly increased and there is an urgent need to regulate and punish such e-commerce offences and crimes. Sites like Myntra, Flipkart and many more e-commerce websites are under regulatory scanner of Enforcement Directorate (ED) of India for violating Indian laws and policies. E-commerce websites and technology companies are also under the scanner of income tax department in the country.

A case over anti-competitive practices, companies not honouring warranties of products sold online and regulatory troubles mean India's fast-growing online retailers have a problem. But various reports suggest that e-retailers often pay for most of the discounts they offer out of their own pockets and a case of predatory pricing arises from this fact. The money is funded by various private equity companies. As a result many white goods makers have stopped selling directly their products from this platform. For instance, Samsung and LG have stopped selling directly on Flipkart, because of the pricing issue, and are considering whether they should offer warranties on whatever stock is sold on such websites.

E-commerce companies are flush with funds as the fast volume growth has led foreign investors to pour in billions of dollars in these companies.

At present, foreign direct investment is allowed only in e-commerce companies that follow the marketplace model where they connect buyers and sellers and not in case where the companies stock their own inventory. While this has forced companies to adopt marketplace model, there have been many instances where the fine line has been crossed and tax and investment authorities have raised objection. For instance, Flipkart was recently judged to have violated foreign exchange regulations when the Enforcement Directorate found its earlier inventory-led model was in violation of the laws and the company may be fined Rs 1,000 crore. Similarly, Amazon India too is facing trouble with tax authorities in Karnataka as it is being alleged that the company switched from marketplace model to inventory-led model. The government will have to quickly put in place adequate rules and regulations for online retail so that customers are not fooled. In fact, e-retail has lot of potential because of young demography and that must be encouraged with proper regulations and customer protection. 

Indian online retail visitors 

Website Minutes per visitor

Myntra.com       6

Flipkart.com     16.2

Jabong.com       6.3

Amazon.com     7.6

Snapdeal.com   7.8

(Data as on August 2014) Source: Morgan Stanley

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Gender Gap Report Of 2014

Gender Gap Report Of 2014

Gender Gap is a disproportionate difference or disparity between the sexes. As per the definition of dictionary, the gender gap refers to the differences between women and men, especially as reflected in social, political, intellectual, cultural, or economic attainments or attitudes. This expression was first applied to the difference between men and women in voting preferences by social scientists .But now   it has   been extended to other areas too.To elaborate ,it is the difference that exists between males and females in access to some social good or benefit based solely on their difference in gender (a difference almost always in favor of men). For example, the gender gap in education refers to the increased likelihood of better educational opportunity and achievement for males than females in most societies.

In the workplace, gender gaps refer to job opportunities and salary differences. Statistics show that men often earn more for the same work than women. The difference may be a result of the fact that men have been at the top of their professions longer.In economic context, gender gap refers to systematic differences in the outcomes that men and women achieve in the labour market. These differences are seen in the percentages of men and women in the labor force, the types of occupations they choose, and their relative incomes or hourly wages.

The Global Gender Gap Report, introduced by the World Economic Forum in 2006, provides a framework for capturing the magnitude and scope of gender-based disparities around the world.The Global Gender Gap Report 2014 benchmarks national gender gaps of 142 countries on economic, political, education- and health-based criteria.This year is the 9th edition of the Index, allowing for time-series analysis on the changing patterns of gender equality around the world and comparisons between and within countries.The rankings are designed to create greater awareness among a global audience of the challenges posed by gender gaps and the opportunities created by reducing them. 

The  report emphasizes persisting gender gap divides across and within regions. Based on the nine years of data available for the 111 countries that have been part of the report since its inception, the world has seen only a small improvement in equality for women in the workplace. The gender gap for economic participation and opportunity now stands at 60% worldwide, having closed by 4% from 56% in 2006.The gender gap is narrowest in terms of health and survival with a gap standing at 96% globally, with 35 countries having closed the gap entirely. Despite all this, it is the only subindex which declined over the course of the past nine years.  The educational attainment gap is the next narrowest, standing at 94% globally. Here, 25 countries have closed the gap entirely. While the gender gap for economic participation and opportunity lags stubbornly behind, the gap for political empowerment, the fourth pillar measured, remains wider still, standing at 21%, although this area has seen the most improvement since 2006.

Iceland continues to be at the top of the overall rankings in The Global Gender Gap Index for the sixth consecutive year. Finland ranks in second position, and Norway holds the third place in the overall ranking. Sweden remains in fourth position and Denmark gains three places and ranks this year at the fifth position. Northern European countries dominate the top 10 with Ireland in the eighth position and Belgium (10) Nicaragua (6), Rwanda (7) and Philippines (9) complete the top 10.India has been ranked 114 with a score of 0.646 registering a steady improvement of its overall score since 2010. However, there has been slight drop in 2014 due to a drop in scores on the Economic Participation and Opportunity and Educational Attainment subindexes.India is below average on three subindexes: Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment and Health and Survival. In fact, it is the second-lowest performing country on Health and Survival, just ahead of Armenia.

Global Gender Gap report is an eye opener and should  be  be taken as torch bearer for those  who have an in-built  and ingrained bias against  their female child in home, female employees  and female  collegues  at workplaces  and should never play  the spoilsport  when it comes to the  development and progress of  women section   particulary in economic participation and  political empowerment. The man and woman are like two wheels   on which our society moves, if one  is weaker than the other , the overall progress of  all of us will be hindered. The  discrimination  must come to an end   first in our families where a  boy(say a son ) is given preference over a girl ((say a daughter) considering  her weaker sex which consequently  resulted   in the educational backwardness of  the women section .“To call woman the weaker sex is a libel; it is man's injustice to woman. If by strength is meant brute strength, then, indeed, is woman less brute than man. ‘’

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The Global Gender Gap Report 2014:A Torch Bearer Against Gender Discrimination

The Global Gender Gap Report 2014:A Torch Bearer Against Gender Discrimination

Gender Gap is a disproportionate difference or disparity between the sexes. As per the definition of dictionary, the gender gap refers to the differences between women and men, especially as reflected in social, political, intellectual, cultural, or economic attainments or attitudes. This expression was first applied to the difference between men and women in voting preferences by social scientists .But now   it has   been extended to other areas too.To elaborate ,it is the difference that exists between males and females in access to some social good or benefit based solely on their difference in gender (a difference almost always in favor of men). For example, the gender gap in education refers to the increased likelihood of better educational opportunity and achievement for males than females in most societies. In the workplace, gender gaps refer to job opportunities and salary differences. Statistics show that men often earn more for the same work than women. The difference may be a result of the fact that men have been at the top of their professions longer.In economic context, gender gap refers to systematic differences in the outcomes that men and women achieve in the labour market. These differences are seen in the percentages of men and women in the labor force, the types of occupations they choose, and their relative incomes or hourly wages.

The Global Gender Gap Report, introduced by the World Economic Forum in 2006, provides a framework for capturing the magnitude and scope of gender-based disparities around the world.The Global Gender Gap Report 2014 benchmarks national gender gaps of 142 countries on economic, political, education- and health-based criteria.This year is the 9th edition of the Index, allowing for time-series analysis on the changing patterns of gender equality around the world and comparisons between and within countries.The rankings are designed to create greater awareness among a global audience of the challenges posed by gender gaps and the opportunities created by reducing them.

The  report emphasizes persisting gender gap divides across and within regions. Based on the nine years of data available for the 111 countries that have been part of the report since its inception, the world has seen only a small improvement in equality for women in the workplace.

The gender gap for economic participation and opportunity now stands at 60% worldwide, having closed by 4% from 56% in 2006.The gender gap is narrowest in terms of health and survival with a gap standing at 96% globally, with 35 countries having closed the gap entirely. Despite all this, it is the only subindex which declined over the course of the past nine years.  The educational attainment gap is the next narrowest, standing at 94% globally. Here, 25 countries have closed the gap entirely. While the gender gap for economic participation and opportunity lags stubbornly behind, the gap for political empowerment, the fourth pillar measured, remains wider still, standing at 21%, although this area has seen the most improvement since 2006.

Iceland continues to be at the top of the overall rankings in The Global Gender Gap Index for the sixth consecutive year.

Finland ranks in second position, and Norway holds the third place in the overall ranking. Sweden remains in fourth position and Denmark gains three places and ranks this year at the fifth position. Northern European countries dominate the top 10 with Ireland in the eighth position and Belgium (10) Nicaragua (6), Rwanda (7) and Philippines (9) complete the top 10.India has been ranked 114 with a score of 0.646 registering a steady improvement of its overall score since 2010. However, there has been slight drop in 2014 due to a drop in scores on the Economic Participation and Opportunity and Educational Attainment subindexes.India is below average on three subindexes: Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment and Health and Survival. In fact, it is the second-lowest performing country on Health and Survival, just ahead of Armenia.

Global Gender Gap report is an eye opener and should  be  be taken as torch bearer for those  who have an in-built  and ingrained bias against  their female child in home, female employees  and female  collegues  at workplaces  and should never play  the spoilsport  when it comes to the  development and progress of  women section   particulary in economic participation and  political empowerment.

The man and woman are like two wheels   on which our society moves, if one  is weaker than the other , the overall progress of  all of us will be hindered. The  discrimination  must come to an end   first in our families where a  boy(say a son ) is given preference over a girl ((say a daughter) considering  her weaker sex which consequently  resulted   in the educational backwardness of  the women section .“To call woman the weaker sex is a libel; it is man's injustice to woman. If by strength is meant brute strength, then, indeed, is woman less brute than man.

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Current Affairs Power Learning

Current Affairs Power Learning

Current Affairs, as  the name suggests is the magazine that help the students of various competitive examinations in order to fulfill their quest of Current Affairs. 

Power Learning Current Affairs, helps the students in getting the latest happening in and around the world in the form of a magazine with a good number of Multiple Choice Questions along with them. Noted portions of the latest happenings like Persons in News, Places in News, Books and their Authors, Reports and Surveys, Summits, Obituaries, Appointments and Resignations and many more are there in addition to the general features to the National, International, Sports, Economy, Science & Technology, Defense, Environment, Ecology, Persons and Places are in news, Reports and Surveys held recently, Famous authors and their books, Appointments and Resignations in News, Awards and Honors that have taken place recently are also added. Daily happenings in the world can be read in a concrete form in the magazine. 

The magazine also gives students an added advantage of certain lists and multiple choice questions on various topics of General Knowledge. The magazine collects the data from all the possible sources to come up with a one store magazine for the students to prepare for their upcoming examinations. 

The magazine also gives solved question papers of the latest examinations that have just happened, along with many sets of Mock/Model Test papers of the upcoming examinations. The magazine looks is a sure success step for the students who want to have extra information at an affordable cost. With a cost of INR 20, the magazine is certainly going to make a place for itself on your study table. You can get the articles on the burning issues with a different insight and in a better form. Lists, charts, graphs and different types of pictorial representations are also given in order to make the articles look more informative. 

The magazine comes up with the descriptive portions as well which gives the reader the explanations of their queries of different topics in the subjects like Quantitative Aptitude, Reasoning Ability, English Language and Hindi Language (especially for the Hindi magazine readers). The strategies are given to help the students prepare for the examinations with an added advantage of the expected Blue print of the examination, which can help the students in preparing in a constructive manner for the examination. 

The students can also get to read the success stories of the toppers of previous years, which can motivate the other students and ensure their success in the examinations. Power Learning Current Affairs is a full package for the students who are preparing for various competitive examinations, do ensure a copy of the magazine on your study table.

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