My Son Shantanu Saxena’s Articles on Radicalnews.in
By: Dinesh Saxena
Tags: Shantanusaxena, Airtel, Articles, Greece, Shantanu

(My So Shantanu Saxena is an Engineer and is having keen interest in Economics, World Politics and Current Affairs He wrote these articles way back in 2015 on Radicalnews.in. I saw these articles on that platform unread so I thought I should re submit these on a platform like Medium.com. Please give some moments to read and write back)

Article №1

What is ‘Airtel Zero’?

What is ‘Airtel Zero’?

Bharti Airtel, a leading telecom company in India has recently launched a service called ‘Airtel Zero’. But the lingering question here is- ‘What is Airtel Zero?’ It’s about time we find out.

How do we feel about being able to download certain apps for which no data charges apply? That’s right; NO DATA CHARGES! Interesting, isn’t it?

Lets dive a little deeper into these unknown waters. Since the development of cost-free voice calling features, the idea of developing a certain platform where applications can be downloaded, without being charged for the data used, popped up. Bharti Airtel was the first company to pounce onto this idea and work on it. And here they are with results.

How does ‘Airtel zero’ work?

1. Mobile app makers register with ‘Airtel Zero’ to give customers

toll-free access to their apps.

2. Airtel informs customers about these toll-free apps.

3. Customers download and access these apps at zero data

charges — and enjoy their favorite online tasks

(e.g. entertainment, shopping) for free — even at zero mobile balance.

What about the cost involved in this process?

Well, for starters, the companies which sign up with the plan will have to pay for their apps to be advertised by Airtel; also, the money that they will pay is inclusive of the data costs, that in general, is the user’s to bear.

What is in it for the companies then?

The answer is simple. Every company, whether big or small will have an equal chance to reach out to their consumers. The biggest gainers will be the new and upcoming startups as they will be able to compete with the big names by spending roughly one-third of what they would have paid if they took to another mode of publicity; ranging from posters and banners to social media

And why would Airtel suddenly become so generous?

Well , Airtel is not here to compromise with their money. The money, which will come to them in bulk, will earn them more interest p.a. as compared to the interest they received when this money came in different short-lived fringes, thus skyrocketing their overall profits.

So as much as this is an attempt by Airtel to help promote companies and startups, it is also a new business strategy to inflate their profits even further. Although with all the controversy surrounding this new platform, it is yet to be seen how successful will it turn out to be for both Airtel and the companies which sign up for it.

Shantanu Saxena

A computer freak by passion and a writer by choice, I also tend to caress the outlines of poetry and fine arts. Also an avid follower of sports and a sportsman myself, I follow the principle of ‘teamwork’ very seriously.

Shantanu Saxena

Article No 2

The ‘How’ and ‘Why’ of the Greek Government debt Crisis

Post By SHANTANU SAXENA on 16-APRIL-2015

With a glorious past, vast mythological references and, most important of all, the home to the legendary Greek Gods; It is fairly hard to believe that Greece lies on the verge of bankruptcy. Come 2016, the debt Greece is in is thought to increase to roughly €320 billion; about 174% of the country’s economic output, which to say the least is dreadful for both the country and the entire European Union. But how did a country with such a dazzling past succumb to this huge a debt in the first place? The answer is indeed toe-curling.

The seeds were sown back in 2001, when Greece adopted the € as its currency. Greece had been an EU member since 1981, but its annual budget deficit was never low enough to satisfy the Eurozone’s Maastricht Criteria. All went well for the first several years; Like other Eurozone countries, Greece benefited from the power of the euro, which meant lower interest rates and an inflow of investment capital and loans. However, in 2004, Greece announced it had lied to get around the Maastricht Criteria. Surprisingly, the EU imposed no sanctions! Why not? There were three reasons.

France and Germany were also spending above the limit at the time. They’d be hypocritical to sanction Greece until they imposed their own austerity measures first.

There was uncertainty on exactly what sanctions to apply. They could expel Greece, but that would be highly disruptive and possibly weaken the euro itself, sending the entire economy into a downward spiral.

The EU wanted to strengthen, not weaken, the power of the euro in international currency markets. A strong euro would convince other EU countries, like the UK, Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland to adopt the euro.

As a result, the Greek debt kept on rising until the crisis erupted.

Another persistent reason to keep the Greek government from paying the debt is tax evasion. Every year, the estimated tax evasion in the country is almost €20 billion. The government has also been ineffective in implementing laws against it, with the government officials themselves involved in scams and corruption throughout. According to a study conducted in 2012, the Greek black market accounts for about 24.6% of the country’s GDP, which without doubt is a lot of stolen money. With that kind of money being unaccounted for, it’s no surprise that the debt kept on rising until it reached an amount that caught the entire world’s attention.

Now, under the current circumstances, there are two scenarios that could unfold. First, either the EU could expel Greece from the Eurozone; but considering the fact that the members of EU have refrained themselves from taking this step even in the past, it is a very unlikely scenario. Also, with expelling Greece comes the danger of the euro taking another dive; and with the USD already at par with the euro, this is one scenario, that if avoided, is best for the economy of the entire world.

The second scenario is even more horrifying; a Greek default. It would have a more immediate effect on the European economy. First, Greek banks, already on the brink, would go bankrupt. Next, losses would threaten the solvency of other European banks, particularly in Germany and France. Even worse, the EU’s central bank (ECB) holds a lot of Greek and other sovereign debt. If Greece defaults, it could put the future of the ECB at risk. Other indebted countries might decide, or be forced, to default. Without a central bank to bail them out, the EU itself may not survive. For these reasons, a Greek default would be even worse than the 1998 economic crisis caused by the Russian default.

So what is the best option for both the EU and Greece? Even the world’s best economists don’t have an answer to this lingering question. With €454 to be paid to the IMF by 9th of April, and many other payments accounting to about €4 billion come May, it is not surprising to watch the EU leaders meet so frequently in Brussels. The Alexis Tsapris led Greek government is doing all it can to come to terms with their payments in time. But will it be enough? Only time will tell.