MY TAKE ON CHINESE SMARTPHONES (PART II) and DJT '24

Before reading this blog, I suggest you to read part one of this blog, if you have not already. I believe in presenting a balanced and unbiased viewpoint regarding anything and everything. So, you should definitely read Part I before proceeding to this one.

Let's just acknowledge one thing for once and all - Chinese smartphones have revolutionized the Indian retail smartphone market ever since they first started appearing on the horizon in 2017. They shattered the prospects of Indian smartphones and reduced their market share from 68% in 2015 to less than 1% in 2021. This is a remarkable feat to achieve within a span of 6 years. People went from using Lava and Micromax to craving and always talking about the OnePlus phones within a few years. They certainly have provided the smartphone experience to hundreds of millions for the first time by introducing cheap sub 10,000 Rs phones.

As much as I hate to say it, Chinese phones have actually been the reason why India is now a global tech manufacturing hub and is constantly growing. We've received billions in funding from foreign investors to conduct R&D and set up mega manufacturing plants because of our cheaply sourced but highly skilled labor. Chinese smartphones have also provided fast internet access to over 500 million people in India alone. There's no simple way to say it but it's crazy what they have been able to achieve. It's not uncommon to hear of one Chinese company or the other bringing in record revenue and unit sales every other month. That's just how good they are at what they do.

And it is not just that they are cheap and thus sell well. What they offer for that low price is actually pretty worth it. The sub 20,000 Rs hemisphere is so competitive that everybody tries to build a better yet cheaper phone and that prompts the other companies to do the same. This is good for both the industry and the consumer as they get a better piece of technology for cheaper and competitiveness leads to better business production and management. The sale of Chinese phones skyrockets during the Amazon and Flipkart sale season. I have talked to a lot of smartphone users who have no technical know-how and they generally say that their experience with Samsung was not outstanding as the phone starts to hang and lag after 3 years.

Most people do not have the patience of a saint and that exacerbates the sale of Chinese phones. We surely should commend them for figuring out the right mixture for a perfect smartphone that sells well. It is astonishing how much they have achieved within 6-7 years. You can take any sub 15,000 Rs Xiaomi, Vivo, or Oppo smartphone and you'd be surprised with how far we've come. Just 4 years back (which honestly feels like yesterday) notches, LCD displays, and 2 camera setups were the norms but that's completely changed now. It is easy to find phones with FHD+, 120Hz, 5000mah battery, and 5 camera phones in the ballpark. It’s absolutely outrageous what they have done. Bringing a premium-level smartphone experience to the middle-class man has been truly revolutionizing.

You can argue that a lot of what they have done was not necessarily innovative as they almost copied features from the iPhones and tried to make look-alike versions of it using cheaper components. That was frankly their main aim as they knew that the average Indian wants an iPhone but cannot afford one because of the steep price exacerbated by the high import duty and taxes. People wanted to see the cake but Chinese companies let them eat it too.

Chinese smartphones certainly have a lot going for them and their demand and popularity are showing no signs of subsiding soon. They are receiving support from the Government because they bring in a lot of Foreign Direct Investment(FDI). It is not just India where they have struck the decisive blow. This is the case in almost all developing countries but it is just that because of the sheer size of the population and market that exists in India, it is a lot more apparent and profitable. These Chinese smartphones have also truly changed the way people think and perceive things.

It would be accurate to say that teenagers today have a hunger for phones and not so much for education. I have seen rickshaw pullers having smartphones but struggling to pay the food bills and feed their families. It is also because of the technology integration that people of more age groups are buying smartphones. As much as it should not be the case, it is almost impossible not to give a 14-year-old phone a personal smartphone because of the simple fact that everything happens online. Teachers themselves are relying more and more on WhatsApp messages to spread the word. Students have a school Microsoft account of their own, they need a device of their own for the projects and daily tasks.

Smartphones have become a necessity of life and they hold more information and data about us than our homes and all files combined. The ability to store information in a compressed form just wows me. Honestly, there is nothing wrong with using a Chinese phone that costs less than 15K. Most people are not going to use the features that come with expensive phones. They are just a means to get a job done and they do that blisteringly well.

I am interested to know what you guys think about the recent escalation between India and China. Do you think it is good for the economy? Do you like the assertive stance India has been taking ever since 2014 on international issues? Would you want this to continue?

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The eccentric billionaire Republican just announced his bid to run for the world’s most powerful office. He seeks to return to the White House after his slim defeat in 2020 to Joe Biden. He claims that the elections were rigged but this is just one of his assertions that have been proven false. For someone who was born to billionaire parents, Donald Trump seems to care a lot for the working class and the poorest of Americans (white Americans only to be specific). His 4 years as President were tumultuous, to say the least. America became more divided and polarized than ever, there was an insurgency of discrimination against Blacks, Asian Americans, and Latinos.

In an increasingly diverse America, Mr. Trump was the President of only 66% of the population. His immigration policies were some of the most inhumane in modern times and he frequently resorted to derogatory rhetoric which is very un-Presidential. He spewed hate, attacked female journalists, and had countless rape allegations against him. Like every US Presidential election, the battle is for the soul of America. Do we want to push back and become narrow-minded or become more accepting of people? Should we allow women to make decisions independently about their bodies or impose barbaric restrictions on them?

Mr. Trump appointed some of the most conservative judges to the Supreme Court who intend to push the world backward and overturn so much of the progress that has been made in the last 4 decades in terms of liberty and free personal expression. His management of Covid and frivolous remarks are a testimony to the fact that the man does not think through before speaking. He is known for having a bias against people of color and against women in positions of authority. He feels threatened and "unmanned". Do we really want someone with an ego the size of the Trump tower to be at the helm of the world’s biggest economy? Tensions soared all around the globe when DJT was the President and even many world leaders expressed grave concerns about the declining freedom of the press in the US. I have never been able to wrap my head around the fact that 2 of his 3 wives were immigrants to the US but he is still on a crusade to drive out immigrants who actually run America. As Barack Obama put it "All of us in this nation (white, black and brown) are immigrants except for the Native Americans". So, white supremacists have no right to call the US their land because they themselves are descendants of Europeans and the US is basically the land of immigrants. Plain and simple.

He may claim to care about the working class but gave multi-billion-dollar tax breaks to cash-rich corporations. He considered climate change a hoax, pulled out of the Paris Agreement, and fracked more fuel than ever. He also poured fuel on riots and never tried to calm tensions when riots and mass shootings were rampant across the country. He made it easier to own weapons in a country that witnesses more than 600 mass shootings every year. America’s allies grew distant under his tenure and forged a relationship with China. He could do little to get Xi Jinping to back down and kept raising import taxes that had almost no effect and instead hurt the American consumers who rely heavily on China for everything.

His single biggest argument against Joe Biden was his age but is 76 years old and will be 78 in 2024 and 83 by mid-2029. Do we really want old and ineffective politicians to run countries in an age when the world needs young blood and enthusiasm and dynamism? The world is not what it used to be. We need a strong leader perhaps like Barack Obama, Abraham Lincoln, FDR or Ronald Reagan who can turn around a struggling economy and makes sure that America thrives but the rest of the world also shares its riches.

BRAIN DRAIN IS A RECIPE FOR POVERTY

Brain drain can quite literally be defined as a large-scale migration of skilled and talented labour from developing/under-developed countries to developed ones. This way the developing country loses on vital human resources which is crucial for its all round improvement {in economy, life quality and overall development while the already developed country gains more of it. Some might even link this situation to being a case of “ the rich getting richer while the poor get poorer “ which is partially true as well. If a country gives away a resource it desperately needs itself its not an intelligent economic decision but its an invitation to slowed growth In my eyes as a student of sociology, the brain drain phenomenon is much like the rural to urban migration surges that we see in recent history across indian villages and town : the place of destination or permanent settlement has more facilities, more amenities and more positives that are attractive, for this they are called “pull factors”. Some very obvious pull factors for the destination(developed) countries are - Better economic conditions - Job opportunities - Better quality of living - Relative political stability - Better education systems All of these things amongst many others may drive a person’s interests towards the first world countries. There are more and more opportunities that await those who settle into first world economics and they chrome with better chances of advancement. The developing or underdeveloped countries on the other hand, have factors or situations that are un appealing and unappetising for the diaspora of people who strive to get better and grow more : these countries have significant “push factors “ which tend to sir deep disinterests in people - Political instability - Regressed economic growth - Less or no higher educational systems - Under-employment of people with high-level education - Very few opportunities - Inconsistent basic facilities Are all push factors. In India we see a lot more push factors than pull factors, the biggest ones being with regards to the under employment situation we face even with a potential social dividend. The brain drain leads to the best of our skilled labour either being physically taken away or their income not contributing to the national economy & development.The country needs intellectual resources to flourish as much as any other resources because intelligence and intellect can substantially change society over just a single generation. We see today the world is being lead by some of the most skilled individuals who came fom our own country and though we might take pride in their cultural identities, we cannot claim their success or the benefit it reaps and such is the case with many other developing countries as well.The rigour it requires for us to develop important things like transparent politics and investment in human resource or jobs in the country and for that to happen we need exceptional people with skills that point towards growth. Without the rising importance of the human resource staying in the country, we may never beat poverty. ‘People change people’ and in this case many developing countries like india, south africa and the arab countries need their talented and skillful people to help change the entire population.

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