Author: Srishti Jain

The world economies trembled, on May 2020, with the news coming from the US senate regarding the imposition of greater disclosure rules on New York listed companies (NASDAQ and NYSE). Some experts recognized this move by Trump as especially projected towards Chinese companies.

Donald Trump, aggressively moving towards its ‘America First’ policy, is keen on forcing the Chinese companies to comply with American accounting rules stating it essential pertaining to the national security of the investors and investment. The law would delist any company which does not comply with PCOAB audit for 3 consecutive years or is administered by the foreign government.

The rise in the cases of accounting dispute within Chinese companies; for instance, fabrication of transactions by Luckin coffee, the Chinese rival to Starbucks, lead to the evaporation of $5billion, some of the other reasons include presidential elections and covid-19 which served as a catalyst in taking this step.
The bill advanced with speed and unanimity by both the republicans and democrats, which is not normally seen in Washington, stressing the depth of conviction in both parties about confronting China.
India is not interested in making a choice between the two superpowers of the world; rather it proposes that countries should focus on their own economies and promote local manufacturing instead of boycotts and blame games.

Some pathbreaking steps that US can incorporate may include:

a) It should stop compelling its allies and instead should work towards providing better alternatives to what China is already providing them by strengthening its own capabilities.

b) It should encourage participation of institutional investors instead of retail investors which can help in making prudent decisions regarding allocation of funds. As the Chances of increase in fraud increase only when the investors make hasty decisions hence the investors should do speculation only after researching the track record of the company.

Some Suggestions for china include:

a) China should remove unfair subsidies from Chinese parent companies so as to ensure fair competition.
b) Relax its policy regarding imports and undergo a reform process in its stock exchange markets giving them greater role in financial corporate investment.
c) The Chinese government should amend its policy that require foreign companies in China to share their technologies with the state which leads to tech-transfers and IP theft.

Political calculations, public health fears, economic recession, broken trust, and rising nationalistic hatreds are a combustible mix that rarely produce enlightened policy decisions. But this is the very situation we find ourselves today in. we can’t expect constructive dialogue and substantive progress until the two leaders rise above their narrow political agendas and act for the greater welfare of the masses.

Cross-border listings are equally valuable for the companies, investors, and exchanges. Hence congress should continue to pressure for transparency but should not threaten to delist: as it can turn counterproductive since many U.S. investors – both individual and institutional — own stakes in them. Also most U.S. pension firms and money managers are the biggest holders of these stocks hence it could hurt returns on U.S. household savings, financial-sector profits, and the global competitiveness of U.S stock exchanges.
The timings could hardly be worse than this, with both natural and biological disasters taking a toll altogether, forcing the already trembling economy to tatter. Earlier trade war, then Covid allegations, now capital war and the upcoming ideological war because of the recent Hong Kong issue between US and China; would put a lot of pressure on all the economies. What the current situation requires is coordination-cooperation and collaborative management of the crisis by all the economies.

Reduction Of Air Pollution Is The Responsibility Of Not Only The Elected Government But Also Of The Citizens Of The Nation:

Smoke rises from those tall, cylindrical beasts, filling the air with swirls of mercury, lead, sulphur and what not. These metals taint the air as they corrupt the pureness that breathes life into the world. Large, chunky monsters glide down the road, loudly roaring or softly purring as they present exhaust from the pipe to the earth.

Pollution, no matter in the air, water, or on land poses a huge problem for the world. It accounts for around eight million premature deaths annually across the globe. According to a joint study by ICMR in 2017, in India, air pollution is linked to a child’s death every three minutes, and every eighth death in the country is linked to exposure to poor quality of air.

Oft the question of its origin bothers my being, on a closer analysis I could gather the industrial and manufacturing emissions, burning of fossil fuels, home and farming chemicals (stubble burning), etc. as some of its causes. Breathing poor quality of air acts as a silent killer; which unlike Carona that claims its existence to China; takes some time to manifest it’s effects. While India’s capital, Delhi continues to debate the ‘tough’ anti-pollution measures announced by the city government, China’s capital, Beijing issued its first “red alert” on air pollution since 2013, taking tougher and immediate measures to deal with a problem which appears to be comparable to what Delhiites face at the moment. This is what is highly condemnable. Enough of discussions and deliberations; India ought to have a strong footing and take actions in real time. The list of to-dos not only includes engagements from the side of the government but also of the people at large. The ongoing pandemic has taught us that there could be a different way to live. We ought to cut down on our consumption level sooner and adopt a sustainable approach instead of the materialistic one, or else mankind would be forced to sacrifice a huge cost in order to realise that we might not need as much as we earlier thought we would.

The main issue with air pollution is that it is nobody’s baby. Yes, the environment ministry and pollution control boards do make a difference. But to curb air pollution, one has to transform the sources at the grass root level which are associated with poverty and underdevelopment such as solid fuel use in households and waste management practices. Solid fuel, including biomass combustion for residential cooking, is the largest contributor in the major states of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. This can be attributed to lack of awareness and resources. Although I do appreciate the current government’s ‘Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana’ but its implementation on the ground level is quite questionable. what India needs is an umbrella policy for air pollution that is at the core of our industrial, transport, energy, urban and rural planning. This needs to be complemented by an inter-state and inter-ministerial body that can keep a track of compliance as well as a nudge in people’s behavioural patterns is essential. This nudge can be brought about by stringent and novel government policies; for instance a taxation policy based on personal carbon footprint can do wonders.

Put your whole spirit in accomplishing your goal, then what is it that cannot be achieved?

Our little acts of kindness that elate us provide bliss beyond measure and serves as a thing of beauty that can act as a joy forever. Recently amidst lockdown in the nation; I also experienced this joy by helping a creation of the almighty. One of these days I was glancing through my balcony window and chanced upon a little bird perching on my window sill. It looked thirsty and hungry. No wonder temperatures above 40 degrees celsius in Delhi NCR made it look almost on the verge of death. I immediately hurried towards my mother and returned with my first aid box, water, and some food supplies. Mumma helped me in feeding her. On a closer glance; we noticed a stab probably caused because of kite string (Manjha which is quoted with glass powder to make it sharp). Flying kites has probably turned into the most sort after sport especially during these days but it is highly fatal for the flying angles. The little baggage of life had to stay for some days in our home as it was unable to fly. I felt sorry for her state. This incident served as a turning point in my life for self-reflection and introspection. ‘Mitthu’; as we fondly started to call her; gave me numerous life lessons. I was now able to sense life’s preciousness, worth, and dearness even for a small creature like Mitthu and could now realize my duty as a human entity. There onwards, I started putting food and water on my rooftop and also advised my father as well as all my friends to use cotton kite thread instead of the glass quoted one. Although it was a tough deal explaining them to sacrifice their competitiveness; but finally they had to kneel down in front of my zeal to save thousands like Mitthu and others. I am glad that I was able to make a difference and save the life of one of the omnipresence’s creations. Truly; giving expands our state of being or in Jesus Christ’s words storing treasures in heaven is far more enriching than storing gems on Earth.