LAMPS

BREXIT
• Brexit is a term used to define United Kingdom coming out of EU. Recently in a referendum conducted in United Kingdom, UK voted by a narrow margin in favour of Brexit. Negotiations are undergoing currently between United Kingdom and European Parliament to negotiate the terms of the exit deal.
About EU-
• European Union or EU is an experiment to transform the relations between nations based on functionalist ideology. It envisages to transform the relations between nations by enmeshing them in economic, social, cultural, political partnership. EU is currently a block of 28 countries and 19 countries have formed Eurozone.
• Formation of European Union is an outcome of Single European Act, 1991.
• Maastricht Treaty converted the EU into a monetary union.
• Lisbon Treaty strengthened political, foreign affairs and security integration of policies of countries of European Union
Constitutional Provision of Brexit-
• Lisbon Treaty (Article 50) provides for exit of member countries from European Union. For any country to come out of European Union, it has to negotiate a deal with EU. The deal will provide for a settlement between EU and UK
Why the clamour for Brexit-
• Economic reasons – The primary contention was that economically, Britain loses more than what it gains.
• The first issue being that of membership fees paid – about 340 pounds per year per household
• Secondly, it was said that EU’s policies were too protectionist and did not favour competitiveness to the extent that would be beneficial for the British economy
• Post the Sovereign Debt Crisis, EU introduced Fiscal Compact and tighter control on national budgets. Britain was not comfortable with these ideas
• Germany’s proposal to impose taxes on financial transactions (Tobin Tax) also did not find favour with London, which is an important financial hub
Immigration issues-
• Half of British legal migrants come from EU. There is this feeling that they have a negative impact on UK born workers. Adding credence to local fears was the fact that since 1997, 3/4th of jobs created are taken up by EU immigrants
• EU’s obligation on its members to accommodate more refugees also did not find favour with UK. Especially at a time when the refugee influx in Europe is at an all-time high in light of multiple crisis in Middle East and Africa
• There is also this perception that immigrants pose a threat to national security
Sovereignty Issue-
• EU is a transformative idea in many senses. One of the things that it leads to is the weakening of national sovereignty. EU has been pushing for creation of an Ever Closer Union which would accord greater decision making powers to European Parliament, while, limiting the authority of British Parliament.
BRICS-
• BRICS is the acronym for an association of five major emerging national economies-
• Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
• Originally the first four were grouped as "BRIC" before the induction of South Africa in 2010.
• The BRICS members are all leading developing or newly industrialized countries, but they are distinguished by their large, sometimes fast-growing economies and significant influence on regional affairs; all five are G-20 members.
• Since 2009, the BRICS nations have met annually at formal summits. China will host the 9th BRICS summit in Xiamen in September 2017.
BRICS Economy-
• As of 2015, the five BRICS countries represent over 3.6 billion people, or about 40% of the world population; all five members are in the top 25 of the world by population, and four are in the top 10.
• The five nations have a combined nominal GDP of US$16.6 trillion, equivalent to approximately 22% of the gross world product, combined GDP (PPP) of around US$37 trillion and an estimated US$4 trillion in combined foreign reserves.
Financial Structure-
• Currently, there are two components that make up the financial architecture of BRICS, namely, the New Development Bank (NDB) and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA). Both of these components were signed into treaty in 2014 and became active in 2015.
New Development Bank
• The New Development Bank (NDB) is based in Shanghai.
• The New Development Bank (NDB), formerly referred to as the BRICS Development Bank, is a multilateral development bank operated by the BRICS states.
• The bank's primary focus of lending will be infrastructure projects with authorized lending of up to $34 billion annually. South Africa will be the African Headquarters of the Bank named the "New Development Bank Africa Regional Centre".
• The bank will have starting capital of $50 billion, with capital increased to $100 billion over time.
• Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will initially contribute $10 billion each to bring the total to $50 billion.
BRICS CRA
• The New Development Bank (NDB) and Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) were signed into treaty at the 2014 BRICS summit in Brazil.
• The BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) is a framework for providing protection against global liquidity pressures.
• This includes currency issues where members' national currencies are being adversely affected by global financial pressures. It is found that emerging economies that experienced rapid economic liberalization went through increased economic volatility, bringing uncertain macroeconomic environment.
• The CRA is generally seen as a competitor to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and along with the New Development Bank is viewed as an example of increasing South-South cooperation.
• It was established in 2015 by the BRICS countries Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The legal basis is formed by the Treaty for the Establishment of a BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement, signed at Fortaleza, Brazil on 15 July 2014.
• With its inaugural meetings of the BRICS CRA Governing Council and Standing Committee, held on September 4, 2015, in Ankara, Turkey
• It entered into force upon ratification by all BRICS states, announced at the 7th BRICS summit in July 2015.


Source : gradeup

China – Pakistan Economic Corridor
About CPEC
CPEC is a collection of infrastructure projects currently under construction throughout Pakistan. Originally valued at $46 billion, the value of CPEC projects is now worth $54 billion. the project seeks to expand and upgrade infrastructure across the length and breadth of Pakistan, and to widen and deepen economic ties with its “all-weather friend”, China.
CPEC is intended to rapidly modernize Pakistani infrastructure and strengthen its economy by the construction of:
• modern transportation networks,
• numerous energy projects,
• special economic zones.
Impact on Pakistan:
• The total investment of $ 46 bn that is promised by china is almost three times the total FDI Pakistan has received in the last decade. The project is estimated to directly create some 700,000 jobs up to 2030, and speed up GDP growth significantly.
• The bulk of the investment will be in energy. $ 15.5 bn worth of coal, wind, solar and hydro energy projects will come online by 2017 and add 10,400 megawatts to the national grid. Pakistan is expected to add 16 GW of power by 2021 and reduce its power shortage by about 5GW. This is important because power shortage has been a huge issue in Pakistan and even sparked violent protest.
• The CPEC deal also includes $ 5.9 bn for road projects and $ 3.7 bn for railway projects, all to be developed by 2017. A $ 44 million optical fibre cable between China and Pakistan will be built too.
• Besides the potential for growth, power and jobs, Pakistan also expects the CPEC to bind it in an even tighter embrace with close friend China, giving it greater strategic leverage with both India and the United States in the Indian Ocean region.
Benefits for China from CPEC:
• Gwadar lies close to the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil shipping lane. It could open up an energy and trade corridor from the Gulf across Pakistan to western China, that could also be used by the Chinese Navy.
• CPEC will help china bypass the major choke point like Strait of Malacca, where there is heavy patrolling by USA’s navy.
• The CPEC will give China land access to the Indian Ocean. It will reduce the distance by sea voyage from Tianjin to Persian gulf via Strait of Malacca from about 13000 km to about 2000 km.
• It will also help in the development of the relatively backward Xinjiang region of china. The development of Kashgar as a trade terminus will reduce the isolation of the restive Xinjiang province, deepen its engagement with the rest of China, and raise its potential for tourism and investment.
• For Chinese companies, the massive scale of the CPEC provides investment opportunities for several years to come.


Critical Issues in the project:
• Fragile security situation, especially in Gwadar and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, is a major concern for the CPEC. Pakistan has deployed 15,000 special security forces for Chinese nationals and companies along the corridor. There is some concern about the Uighur militants in Xinjiang as well.
• There has also been argument that it will lead to a situation of “debt trap” for Pakistan.
• Voices in Balochistan, where the strategic Gwadar port is located, have been demanding that Chinese investors spell out exactly how they would be benefitted by this corridor.
India’s stand:
• The Government of India, objects to the CPEC project as upgrade works to the Karakoram Highway are taking place in Gilgit Baltistan; territory that India claims as its own.

• India’s External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj, told Parliament in December 2014 that “Government is aware that China is involved in the construction of or assistance to infrastructure projects… including… hydroelectric & nuclear projects, highways, motorways, export processing zones and economic corridors in Pakistan. Government has seen reports with regard to China and Pakistan being involved in infrastructure building activities in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, including construction of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Government has conveyed its concerns to China about their activities…, and asked them to cease such activities.”
• The Indian Ministry of External Affairs in May 2015 also summoned the Chinese envoy in New Delhi to lodge India's opposition to the project. The Chinese Premier dismissed the concerns, describing CPEC as a "commercial project" that would not target any third party.
• India did not support the Belt and Road Strategy of China, as the CPEC which is a part of Belt and Road strategy pass through the Indian territory of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). Hence it undermines the sovereignty of India. India also did not participate in the Belt and Road Forum organised by china in Beijing.


Source: gradeup

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It's not your MBA. It's YOU. Having an MBA from a top business school had always been my biggest dream. A 6-year long project initiated on a given Sunday, back in 2010. A very tortuous road, which almost made me quit my dream

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H T D O Mathews, a hotshot sales manager, on a Sunday evening, was in the parking lot of a shopping mall The parking lot was packed. Cars were crawling with anxious drivers looking for that one vacant slot.

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This woman impressed CEOs with a resume that will blow your mind Have you been frustrated by employees rejecting your work application…

Hermann Ebbinghaus, a German Psychologist who pioneered the experimental study of memory, studied the process of learning and forgetting. His studies showed that people usually forget 80% of what they learn in class within 30 days. And the majority of forgetting occurs within the first few hours after class.

Traditional classroom training doesn't make any impact in the long term, as most participants will not retain any information after the class. No wonder most learning programs don't deliver the desired result of improvement on the job performance.

The fast pace of the workplace requires a new approach that steps outside the traditional methods of training and harness a more real-time approach with immediate access to learning resources.

Knowledge is not power anymore!It's the application of knowledge what really matter.In 21st century we have access to world's best resources on any subject at our fingertips. A trainer's role is no longer to share information/knowledge with participants. Today, thanks to technology we are drowning in information while starving for wisdom.

As learning and development professionals we have to come up with innovative learning methodologies to make our learning programs effective.

Let me share with you some learning strategies which really worked for me,

Gamification - Game based learning methodology to balance subject matter with game play and the ability of participant to retain and apply training concepts to the real world.Application of typical elements of game playing ( e.g.point scoring, competition with others, rules of play) in training

Learntainment - Engage them in challenging tasks which involves lot of fun and laughter. Each Activity will be followed by a debriefing by the facilitator.

Microlearning - No one wants to sit for an 8 hour training program any more. Microlearning is a way of teaching and delivering content to learners in a small, very specific bursts. The learners are in control of what and when they're learning.

Experiential learning - Design your programs like a movie, let it have all the elements of a movie, emotions, fun, challenge and victory. Activate all their senses using music, videos and activities. Share personal stories and move them emotionally. We retain information which are emotional in nature.

Outdoor learning - A range of organized activities that take place in a variety of ways in outdoor environment. One of the oldest form of education, Yes our Gurukul system was an effective model. Strong bond between participant and trainer will enhance the learning process.

Research proves that our learning and retention is strong in an informal environment. Let us create more informal learning platforms to make our learning interventions effective.