Author

Saumya Kalia

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A page in CB Gupta’s book, Basic Business Communication, for Semester VI for B.Com (Hons.), University of Delhi recently sparked debate, as it unequivocally equated certain gender norms and misogynistic views with the acceptable rules of the business world. The text seemed to put forward an undertone of ‘casual sexism,’ brimming with what a woman should and shouldn’t do.

The content in the textbook

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On this page, highlighted is a text about how email etiquette should be followed. Under brief, it has been stated that- EMAILS SHOULD BE LIKE SKIRTS- Short enough to be interesting, long enough to cover all the valid points.   

  1. Long skirts: Covers all valid points but doesn’t arouse interest of people.
  2. Miniskirts: Arouses interest but doesn’t cover all the valid points.
  3. School skirts: We have them as a part of our school uniform. Are they short enough to keep things interesting, sir?

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Here is a line in a passage in the book about Inattention:

A clerk does not listen to his boss’ instructions attentively as his attention is distracted by the attractive make-up of the lady typist, who has just entered the office.

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And, the following lines in the passage about Silence are reeking of fallacies:

Sometimes, silence can most effectively express the response or reaction to a communication. For instance, a youngman proposes to his beloved. The girl says nothing but blushes or smiles. She has accepted the proposal without uttering a word. Nothing can express her reply more effectively than her silence.

Let’s break down the erroneous tone of this text

The benign field of education, in its absolute existence devoid of any corrupting dynamics, is magnificent. A generation of children, teenagers, young adults, and adults brimming with ideas, questions, visions, and passion should ideally channelise a rewarding avenue of knowledge exchange. Cut to 2017, where the realms of knowledge are most strategically ruled by numerical competition and an increasingly myopic vision. How did we come about this transition to value the disadvantageous ways of rote-learning is a question for another day; what perturbs me is a matter graver. Fact #1: Everything which occupies a position in the social, cultural, and political milieu is greatly dependent on the functioning of other spheres. Why? Societal construct, nothing takes place in a vacuum environment, and is influenced by innumerable issues.

This finally brings us to answering why education is the way it is today. The minds which write, the minds which teach are the product of centuries of learnings and ideologies interpreted by them in a particular manner. Fancy a shade of idea to be a white light, which passes through a prism only to emerge in seven different shades of meaning. Only in reality, the nuances of meaning and understanding spill into a number more than seven. While some literature can thus be termed to be progressive, others might still be grappling with regressive norms which flourish without any rhyme or reason.

The apparent power dynamics riddling gender relations is a cyclic truth which presents itself in waves and instances; often denied and disguised by those who are in possession of a greater degree of power. Nevertheless, the rhetoric of ‘because you’re a girl/boy’ or ‘girls/boys are supposed to act in an xyz manner’ have been iterated and reiterated over time, with a growing consciousness of their extremely problematic nature. We’ve been told what to say, what to eat, how to act, how to react, how not to express, how not to behave, how to accept the century-old pieces of undermining texts as tradition, and how to fool ourselves into believing that the choice remains to be ours.

Returning to the idea which the text seems to propagate, who is equipped to answer the shortness of a miniskirt or the longitude of a decent skirt? By preaching that miniskirts only serve the purpose of arousing interest but fail to cover the moral quotients of importance, why is this noble tool of education being turned into yet another way of repressing and subservience? In the last example, there is only one thing that can more succinctly express her reply: a ‘yes.’ This snippet of a romantic tale needs to be seen in a different light. It marks the harmless spawning of an erroneous culture. The very idea that it is acceptable for a woman not to utter a word about matters concerning her marriage bears a semblance of the stark reality.

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The book is riddled with inconsistent instances, experienced personally, but aimed to showcase it for the students to read and deliberately conform.

The author’s say

When speaking to a popular national daily, Professor CB Gupta expressed regret and commented, “I have already deleted the statement from my book. I will also advise the publisher to remove the content before publishing a latest edition.”

“It was not to hurt anyone. I took the analogy from an article written by a foreign author,” Gupta said, when asked about the basis where this analogy stemmed from.

“A textbook should be neutral and provide balanced viewpoints and leave the rest to the student to form an opinion. Such controversies will create more awareness among textbook authors,” said a DU professor who wished to remain anonymous.

The road ahead

The distinguished Greek philosopher, Socrates, has a plethora of teachings to interest the readers of today. The one which stands out starkly opines, “People can arrive at the truth through questioning.” And this is the revival today’s educational milieu needs. The text preached a deeply contentious idea and floated it to be assimilated by thousands of impressionable minds. The counter action fairly calls for a profound manner of learning, one which seeks to question and contest. We ask anyone who proudly propagates this deceptively innocent theory: which orthodox and misogynistic repartee do you seek to disseminate by equating the length of our skirts with the appropriateness of an email?

Ask, and only then you can arrive at the culturally biased and prejudice-tainted ambit of truth. This is the misogyny-riddled education of today, welcome.

 

Feature Image Credits: Allbooksonline

 

Saumya Kalia

[email protected]

The world observed an ambivalent irony on June 4th, 2017. The benign platform of cricket induced us to ruminate over a political reflection with the India-Pakistan match in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 taking place in Edgbaston, United Kingdom. Surreal remembrance of divide and rule strategy, yes? But as the Indian team emerged victorious and we could see evidence on the Internet of how cricket continues to bind us in friendship and more, on Monday pro-Kashmiri elements hacked the official website of the premier National Institute of Technology (NIT), Srinagar.

The defeat of Pakistan in the match led the hackers to take control of the website on Sunday evening and post hate messages. In the offline scenario, the nation woke up to a terrorist attack on a CRPF station at Sumbal in the Bandipora district of Kashmir. Interestingly, NIT Srinagar got marked in the political scenario after a clash last year between Kashmiri and non-Kashmiri students in the T20 World Cup match against West Indies.

The posters were uploaded by ‘All Pak Cyber Skullz Members.’ The content was as follows:

“We shall fight till the last breath. What shall a man not pay for living? Everyday 100s of innocent people are abused, raped and even killed in Kashmir by Indian army, a third of the deaths are children. We don’t want war. Take back your guns and go back to where you came from.”

“Giving up is not an option.”

“Go Modi Go.”

To a rhetorical question – “You know why you got hacked” – which the hackers obviously wanted to answer, the poster said:

“Free Kashmir. Freedom is our goal. Kashmir does not want militarised governance. Stop killing children, raping women and imprisoning the men! They just want freedom! Freedom from the evil of the Indian Military!”

Similar attacks were carried out in the month of April this year, with the official websites of over 10 educational institutions being hacked by a pro-Pakistani group. Websites of educational institutions including the University of Delhi, University of Kerala, IIT Delhi, and Aligarh Muslim University were hacked, wherein the group barred public access to them by putting up a page displaying pro-Pakistan slogans. The page also displayed videos showing the alleged brutality of Indian soldiers towards Kashmiri residents.

One of the students, when speaking to a national daily, said, “We saw that the website had been hacked when some students tried to access it to see a few articles of the syllabus. We were shocked to see that the website bore anti-India literature, anti-Indian Armed Force propaganda, and a call to leave Kashmir and give it freedom.”

 

Feature Image Credits: India Today

Saumya Kalia
[email protected]

If the multi-spheres of pollution are humanity’s most significant survival battle today, then the planting of trees is claimed to be the biggest contributor in cleaning the air which serves as the life valve of every species. Daily reports allude to the deteriorating air, aquatic, and land quality owing to a multitude of reasons. Luckily, this World Environment Day, new research about countering air pollution has been discovered.

A team of researchers from the University of Delhi has identified five trees which might be instrumental in tackling the plight of the degraded quality of air. Plants are known to act as air purifiers by sucking up and trapping harmful gases and particulate matter. The team comprises of 16 members – three assistant professors and 13 students – who collected data on air pollution and the dominant tree colonies from five areas – Mandir Marg, Civil Lines, Anand Vihar, RK Puram, and Punjabi Bagh – over a period of a year from September 2015 to September 2016.

According to their research, certain trees with inherent qualities contribute in cleaning the city’s air more than others. Dr. Vijay Thakur, Assistant Professor of Botany at Shivaji College, comments, “But not all plants have the same ability to bring down pollution and clean the air. Our research shows that there are some trees such as peepal, saptaparni, and jamun which help to clean the city’s air more than others.”

“We compared the levels of five pollutants — PM2.5, PM10, NOx, SOx, and ozone — in these areas as measured by the monitoring stations and then studied the dominant tree colonies,” he added, when speaking to a popular national daily. The parameters considered for the study included the tree’s height, canopy size, leaf size, shape and orientation of leaves, leaf characteristics, dust accumulation, and other factors that were studied in the laboratories.

The results found that areas such as Mandir Marg and RK Puram have lower pollution levels as compared to Anand Vihar and Civil Lines, which are highly polluted areas. These findings conformed to their hypothesis wherein areas which were dominated by trees such as peepal, jamun, devdar, champa, and saptaparni registered lower levels of pollution. Civil Lines, which has trees such as Vilayti Kikar, on the other hand, observed high pollution levels.

“We found that these five trees were able to trap more pollutants, including PM2.5 and PM10, than others. Their leaf structures were such that they helped to trap more dust and other pollutants,” said Dr. Kumar.

Concretisation, infrastructural toll, falling groundwater, termites, bugs, and ageing continue to be the biggest threats to the health of trees occupying the Delhi region. According to statistics, 15,000 trees were felled in Delhi in the last three years for development projects, and there is currently 299.77 sq. kms. of green cover in the national capital.

The project, in addition to testing the ability of a tree to absorb pollution, also studied the presence of birds as bio-indicators of a healthy tree. “It was found that some trees, such as the peepal, not just helped to bring down pollution levels but also supported a wide range of bird species. The grey hornbill and brown-headed barbet were found in large numbers in areas which were dominated by trees such as peepal,” said Dr. Virat Jolli, Assistant Professor of Zoology at Shivaji College.

The project titled “Amelioration of Air Quality in Urban Ecosystem of Delhi – Role of Avenue Trees” was mentored by the ecologist and emeritus professor of Centre for Environmental Management of Degraded Ecosystems, CR Babu. Funded by the University of Delhi, the findings will soon be published in a peer-reviewed journal.

 

Feature Image Credits: TheHealthSite

Saumya Kalia
[email protected]

The University of Delhi, through its policies and activities, acts as a hub of opportunities for all sectors of the society. One such endeavour to facilitate women empowerment is the Non-Collegiate Women’s Education Board (NCWEB), which allows thousands of young women who are unable to join a regular college to obtain an undergraduate and postgraduate degree in the varsity. These students can attend classes during the weekends or academic breaks, and the Board allows them to appear for the DU examinations without attending the regular scheduled classes.

The foundation of NCWEB lies in the vision of enlightening women through academic and skill training. The holistic development offered stems from a desire to enforce social change, and thus presents itself as a platform of women’s education. The Board’s initiative is a significant step in the construction of an egalitarian society. Established in 26 UG courses and one PG centre, NCWEB has cropped up as a significant academic horizon with 23,000 students growing under its umbrella.

The admission in NCWEB is merit-based, and is administered through the declaration of cut-offs in July end. The schedule this year’s admission cycle is as follows:

schedule

Image Credits: UG Bulletin 2017-18

Interested applicants residing in NCT Delhi are automatically considered for NCWEB on selection of programmes, either B.A. (Prog.) or B.Com (Prog.) or both. The Board provides library facilities and financial aid to those candidates who are deprived of these facilities. The candidates are permitted to utilise the infrastructure of educational platforms at a low cost, thus allowing them to overcome their barriers. Through the convergence of cultural and extracurricular activities, NCWEB offers a holistic education arena to the students.

Details of the Programme

  1. Students are expected to attend classes regularly as the minimum 66% attendance has been made mandatory to appear in the University Examinations, which are held annually in the month of May.
  2. The NCWEB UG students are permitted to finish their B.A./B.Com. three-year degree programme within 6 years, of taking admission, i.e. span period for UG is 6 years.
  3. The classes are held either on Saturdays or on Sundays and during the academic breaks of the University of Delhi. There are 50 teaching days in a year.
  4. At the Under-graduate centres, classes are held from 9.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. There are 5 periods in a day, each of 60 min duration.
  5. Teachers of the University of Delhi and affiliated Colleges are deputed as guest faculty to teach the Non-Collegiate students. The pass percentage of these students is as good as the regular students.

Admission Procedure to B.A. (Prog.)/B.Com Programmes:

  1. Total no. of Seats in B.A. (Prog.) in each of teaching centres: 284

Total no. of Seats in B.Com. in each of teaching centres: 184

Number of seats in B.A. (Prog.) subject combinations are fixed. Reservation for SC/ST/OBC/PwD/CW will apply as per University rules.

  1. The percentage for cut-off will be decided on the basis of marks obtained in the best four subjects in 10+2.
  2. The cut-off list shall be displayed at 9:30 a.m. at all centres and the NCWEB website ncweb.du.ac.in
  3. Any student who takes admission in any one NCWEB centre, will not be allowed to change the centre at any later stage during the admission process
  4. After approval of admission, the applicant has to log on to the undergraduate admission portal to make online admission fee payment. This may be done till 12:00 noon of the next day of the given admission list deadline.

Requirements at the time of admission:

  1. The applicants will have to submit their original certificates at the time of admission.
  2. The annual fee would be approximately around Rs. 3500/-.
  3. No fee will be charged from PwD students.
  4. The Non-Collegiate students are not allowed to pursue any other full-time/degree programme.
  5. It is suggested that the students may take admission in a college near their residence, if possible.
  6. Residence proof of NCT Delhi (i.e. Aadhaar card/ Passport/ voter Id card/ Driving license/ Ration card) in original will have to be submitted.

Feature Image Credits: University of Delhi

Saumya Kalia

[email protected]

The University of Delhi on Friday inaugurated the Wall of Heroes to honour the warriors who have been conferred with the Param Veer Chakra, aligning with the central government’s Vidya Veerta Abhiyan campaign. Yogesh K Tyagi, Vice-Chancellor of the varsity, along with the Chief Guest Hari Om Panwar, a renowned poet, unveiled 21 photographs of the award winners on the Wall. The Wall has been set up at the varsity’s Conference Centre, with the title ‘Our Heroes.’

The Vidya Veerta Abhiyan is an initiative undertaken by the Ministry of Human Resource Development which directs over 1,000 educational institutions across India to set up walls measuring 15×20 feet, adorned with portraits of 21 soldiers who are the recipients of the highest wartime bravery award. The campaign seeks to embed a nationalistic spirit in the educational arena and pay homage to the gallant martyrs.

The occasion was graced by several veterans, families of many war heroes, faculty, staff, and students. Hari Om Panwar, the Chief Guest, remarked, “Today, we are celebrating Holi, Diwali, and other festivities because our soldiers with guns are guarding the border and paying tribute to them is the biggest festival. If students can discuss and debate peacefully, it is only because of their sacrifices.”

Mr. Panwar believes the wall is synonymous to a temple, as it marvels at the wonders of our nation’s heroes. “Through this initiative, we hope to reflect on somebody’s contributions. Different people can draw different kinds of lessons and inspirations,” said the DU Vice-Chancellor, Yogesh K. Tyagi. The objective of the setting up of the wall also takes into account an awareness-creation model in the younger generations, to acquaint them with the soldiers’ accounts of valour.

The Wall was also inaugurated at the Jawaharlal Nehru University on May 17th.

 

 

Feature Image Credits: The Hindu

 

Saumya Kalia

[email protected]

The Class 12th Board Results have been declared by the Central Board of Secondary Education on May 28th, 2017 in the forenoon. The examinations were conducted between March 9 and April 29 of this year. The results can be checked on the Board’s online portal (www.cbseresults.nic.in). The CBSE announced the results of more than 11 lakh students today.

Steps to check your result:

1. Log in here

2. Add your Board roll number, school code, and centre code

3. Result will be displayed on the screen

4. Take a printout or a screenshot for future use

This year the results have been embroiled in chaos due to the Board’s decision to scrap off the marks moderation policy, which invited a contending ruling by the Delhi High Court on May 23rd. The MHRD, after consultation with the Board, declared that the policy would be upheld and implemented on May 26th. However, there would be no spiking of marks, and the five-point policy would be followed.

The Board results are decisive for candidates aspiring to enroll in the University of Delhi, as the Best of Four percentage is used as the foundational criteria to check the cut-off applicability for various college and courses.

The varsity commenced the registration process of its merit-based courses from May 22nd, which are slated to close on June 12th. Applicants can register themselves at https://ug.du.ac.in/app/ and proceed to submit their applications after filling in all the sections.

The schedule for admissions can be viewed on our portal here, and the guide to the varsity’s process can be viewed here.

You can view the Best of Four calculation guide here, the ECA Quota categories here, and the Sports Quota categories here.

We wish all the applicants good luck for the new journey which awaits them eagerly.

 

Feature Image Credits: AglaSem Admission

Saumya Kalia
[email protected]

After the uncertainty, which stemmed from the Delhi High Court’s ruling regarding the marks moderation policy, the Class XII Board Results will be announced on Sunday, May 28th in the forenoon by the Central Board of Secondary Education.

Previously, the results were scheduled to be declared on May 24th. However, in lieu of the divisive ruling of the High Court on Tuesday which directed the Board to continue with the marking policy, the CBSE results were inevitably delayed.

After a meeting called by the Human Resource Development Minister, the Board discussed and deliberated on the legal aspects of the High Court’s ruling. It has decided to adhere to the five-point moderation policy for this year, without spiking the marks and following the resolution undertaken in the April 24th meeting. “Results will be declared on Sunday. We will follow the moderation policy as enshrined in Rule number 59 of examination bylaws of CBSE,” said RK Chaturvedi, the chairman of CBSE.

Post the announcement of the results, the process of marks verification will be intimated on the website, allowing students to appeal for the re-evaluation of marks. Conforming to the decision taken in the meeting, a dip in the scores is anticipated. However, an official said, “This also depends on the performance of the students too. In case they have performed well, it might not dip as such.”

The candidates can check their scores on www.cbseresults.nic.in on May 28th.

 

 

Feature Image Credits: Central Board of Secondary Education

 

Saumya Kalia

[email protected]

The admissions for the University of Delhi’s merit-based courses commenced from May 22nd, receiving more than 6000 applications on the first day of the process. The application forms for the undergraduate entrance-based courses will be released on May 31st, along with the forms for postgraduate courses. The admissions procedure is expected to be completed on June 12th, post which the cut-off cycle will highlight the DU website from June 20th onwards.

While the majority of colleges consider applications under the umbrella of the varsity’s common admission form, St.Stephen’s College in North Campus and Jesus and Mary College in South Campus also require a college-specific form. The application timeline for both the colleges will follow the same schedule, with the application process culminating on June 12th. However, the candidate is required to fill the application form available on the college’s respective websites. Admissions will be done in conformity with the rules and regulations of the varsity, and the cut-off lists will be released by both the colleges as per the University’s schedule on their websites.

Admission Procedure: St. Stephen’s College

Image Credits: St. Stephen's College
Image Credits: St. Stephen’s College

Click here for the prospectus and here for the admission form.

Registration period: May 22nd, 2017 – June 12th, 2017

The candidate is expected to apply at the University of Delhi’s centralised admissions portal (https://ug.du.ac.in/app/). The registration number thus obtained should be used to fill up the online admission form to complete the application process. The application remains incomplete until both the forms are submitted.

An applicant can submit only one form. No changes and additions can be made after the submission of the application and payment of fees.

The shortlisted candidates on the basis of the Best of Four subjects will be called for a test and interview. The 30-minutes written aptitude test will be followed by an interview. The weightage of the selection procedure is as follows:

Class XII Marks: 85%

Aptitude Test: 5%

Interview: 10%

Sports quota candidates are required to upload scanned copies of certificates of their highest representation in the past three years. They will have to appear for trials and present the original documents/certificates according to the schedule intimated on the college website.

Admission Procedure: Jesus and Mary College

Image Credits: DU Beat
Image Credits: DU Beat

Click here for the prospectus and here for the admission form.

The eligibility criteria for courses is explained here.

Registration period: May 22nd, 2017 – June 12th, 2017

The candidate is expected to apply at the University of Delhi’s centralised admissions portal (https://ug.du.ac.in/app/). The registration number thus obtained should be used to fill up the JMC online admission form to complete the application process. The application remains incomplete until both the forms are submitted.

An applicant can fill only one form; 3 preferences can be marked on one form. If a candidate applies for B.A. (Programme), she will be provided three choices of discipline combinations in order of preference.

Students appearing for sports quota will have to appear for trials and present the original documents/certificates according to the schedule intimated on the college website. The minimum eligibility for appearing in trials is I/II/III position at the interzonal level or I/II/III position at the state level.

Students appearing for the ECA quota will have to appear for trials and present the original documents/certificates according to the schedule intimated on the college website.

 

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat

Saumya Kalia
[email protected]

The Central Board of Secondary Education, which was anticipated to declare the Class XII Board results on May 24th, has announced that the results will not be released today. However, the results are not likely to be delayed indefinitely.

The Delhi High Court ruling by Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Judge Pratibha M. Singh on May 23rd, 2017 was passed on a PIL filed by a parent and a lawyer, directing the CBSE to restore the marks moderation policy for this examination cycle. The petition sought to contend the decision on the grounds that the alteration in marking policy was executed through a notification by the CBSE only after the culmination of exams. The decision would have a “drastic effect on the students.”

Until now, ‘moderation’ has been a common practice undertaken by school boards to maintain uniformity in the evaluation procedure. This is done considering the variances in difficulty level and other factors.

The Board sources have confirmed that the results will not be declared today. “The results are not likely to be delayed. Even if we have to apply the moderation policy, it will not cause a lot of delay because everything is done scientifically,” a source said.

A meeting has been called by the Human Resource Development Minister, Prakash Javadekar, to deliberate and act upon the High Court ruling. The meeting is expected to witness the presence of the CBSE Chairman, Rakesh Kumar Chaturvedi, and the Department of School Education and Literacy Secretary, Anil Swarup, amongst other officials.

 

Feature Image Credits: The Indian Express

Saumya Kalia
[email protected]

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the Central Board of Secondary Education to continue awarding grace marks to students to maintain parity in the evaluation process. The CBSE Board exam results which were scheduled to be announced tomorrow, i.e. May 24th, 2017, are now likely to be postponed considering the order.

A PIL was filed by a parent and a lawyer challenging the change in marking policy which was to be implemented by the board this cycle onwards. The interim order was passed by Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Pratibha M Singh on May 23rd, 2017. The scrapping of moderation policy was deliberated and brought to a consensus in a meeting held in April, which witnessed the presence of 32 school boards. The petition sought to contend the decision on the grounds that the alteration in marking policy was executed through a notification by the CBSE after the culmination of exams. Hence, it would have a severe impact on students.

Until now, ‘moderation’ has been a common practice undertaken by school boards to maintain uniformity in the evaluation procedure. This is done considering the variances in difficulty level and other factors. However, its erroneous usage has also been cited as the foundational reason for the percentage spike, leading to cut-offs of 100% for a few courses by various colleges in the varsity since the last few years.

Last week, the CBSE appealed to the University of Delhi’s Vice Chancellor to grant appropriate weightage to the CBSE students for the undergraduate admissions, as it removed the moderation policy and anticipated a drop in scores. The students might face a disadvantage due to the practice still being adhered to by the other state boards. DU, however, rejected this plea.

The Delhi High Court regarded CBSE’s decision as “unfair and irresponsible,” and questioned the implementation of the change in policy from this year onwards, considering the results for the academic session 2016-17 are to be announced soon. The decision is said to have a “drastic effect on the students.”

Kirti Wadhwa, a recent pass-out, comments, “Moderation or no moderation, CBSE students continue to be the potential victims of flawed policies. Sadly, the ones at the highest disadvantage are the ones most deserving. Moderation means getting but not deserving, hence a hike in the competition. No moderation only in CBSE means no Delhites in the University of Delhi.”

“It would have been better had we been informed earlier about the alteration in the marking policy. Undoubtedly, the students are at an evident loss here,” says Aditya Subramaniam, a DU aspirant aiming to gain admission in the varsity.

Due to the order, the Board results are likely to be affected and delayed. The University of Delhi’s online undergraduate admissions portal became operational yesterday, with the last date for registration decided as June 12th, 2017.

 

Image Credits: The Financial Express

 

Saumya Kalia

[email protected]