Internet usage spikes 📈
India infections grow, Regional content becomes hot, and US unemployment piles on.
Hi 👋, Tanvi here.
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Let’s go ahead and get started:
Stock market summary:
US - S&P 500 up 1.31%
India - Sensex up 0.72%
Trump mulls suspending H-1B Visas 😟
The Trump administration is considering proposals on suspending employment visas, including the H-1B visa which is most sought after among Indian IT professionals.
The move comes in view of the massive unemployment in America due to the pandemic.
According to the WSJ, this proposal could go into effect with the government's new fiscal year which begins on 1 October. People who already hold visas are unlikely to be affected by the decision.
Obviously, the brunt of this decision will be faced by thousands of IT professionals. Besides the H-1B visa, H-2B visa for short term seasonal workers, J-1 visa for short term workers including camp counselors and au pairs and L-1 visa for internal company transfer could also be suspended.
WFH is adding to the expenses 🖥️
Few days ago, IT companies seemed excited about remote work.
Well, now the Chair of the Tata Group has come out saying that working from home has added to the expenses of the company as the sudden shift has required large scale upgrading of systems.
Also, the company had already signed real estate leases.
Clearly, equipping workers for full time remote work is going to be an additional cost and it's ignorant that the company did not think about that beforehand. We hope they don’t push out this additional cost to their employees.
Imagine being forced to buy a laptop if you want to continue working.
Regional content attracts global interest 🌍
Netflix is partnering with Viacom18 to source more Indian content in a bid to grow its popularity in India.
As a part of the deal, Network18 affiliates will create shows for Netflix which will help Netflix to expand its offerings in India. Shares in India’s Network18 promptly jumped 5% after Reuters published the news.
Shows in local languages are vital for Netflix’s growth in India as they help the global streaming giant tap into a regional viewer base. Also, the deal will massively help Network18, whose revenue is down on advertising cutbacks in the pandemic.
Internet usage is spiking in rural India 📈
Rural India is quickly catching up with urban citizens in internet usage as total rural users as well as the daily time spent consuming internet services are rising.
Research firm Kantar estimates about 265 Million Indians from rural areas are using the internet, a number that is expected to grow to over 500 Million by 2023. Women make 41% of rural users, and about 89% of internet users use services everyday. Nearly 40% spend more than one hour connected to the internet.
Unlike urban India where Facebook, Whatsapp and YouTube dominate, rural India is fascinated by TikTok, MxPlayer and other regional-focused services.
A slew of startups in recent years are hoping to capture the wave of this expansion inside of Bharat. Read more...
Tweet of the day -
The pandemic is a great excuse to learn something new. If you’re looking for ideas, then perhaps consider coding. Software is indispensable to the modern world today and knowing how to code can be truly powerful.
For a newbie, it has become extremely easy to learn how to code today. YouTube, Coursera, Udemy, Khan Academy etc. are some of the many resources where you could get started pretty quickly.
Also, with remote work going mainstream on the back of the pandemic, the possibilities here are endless. Feel free to reach out to us if you need any help getting started.
What else are we Snackin’ 🍿
😷 India fourth virus hit nation- crosses UK’s mark, Sees 10,000 cases in 24 Hours - the stats continue to turn disappointing. India is now deeply entrenched into its battle of fighting the virus. Testing is rapidly being ramped up and the increase in cases reported is partly due to that. But the good news is that recovery rates continue to remain high. We will keep you posted.
👎 More 1.5 Million Americans filed for first time unemployment benefits - another 1.5 million people filed for unemployment this week, bringing the total tally to 44.2 Million. That constitutes nearly 25% of the US adult workforce that is out of jobs now. The US in its 200+ year history has never seen such high levels of unemployment.
👻 Snap comes up with improved developer tools - late bloomer Snapchat is now upping the game as the company launched a series of simplifications to the product as well as opened up its platform for more independent developer creativity. Snap had been under decline as Instagram was growing in popularity, but the company has managed to make a comeback with both engagement and user base expanding rapidly.
📱 After Amazon, Microsoft now bans facial recognition tech for the police - IBM and Amazon came out earlier this week with a stand that they won’t sell facial recognition software to the Police, after over-militarization of the police became a hot topic in the US. Now Microsoft joined the pack as well. The tech companies fear that facial recognition software will lead to mass surveillance and will likely violate privacy rights of citizens. All companies actively sell this software to US military and defense buyers however.
⚽ NFL pledges $250 Million over the next 10 years to fight racism - Football (the other kind) is a religion in America. But the league (think IPL in India) had been critical of players who were opposing racial inequality during games. Now reversing its stance, the NFL has come out with a statement that it will no longer stop players from protesting actively, and that it will donate $250 million over the next 10 years to fight against racism. The league makes about $8 Billion a year in revenue.
Hope you took a thing or two away from today’s edition. 😀
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Lot of sad news today. I think the saddest is Rural Indians being fascinated by weird side of Tiktok.