SWACHH BHARAT

Swachh Bharat is a national level campaign announced by the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi. This campaign aims to achieve the vision of clean India by the year 2019 (five years from now). This mission was started by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, nominating nine famous personalities for this campaign, and these nine people take up the campaign and further nominate nine persons each. Various programs and events were conducted on Swachh Bharat to educate the people of India about cleanliness. A Swachh Bharat run was also organised which was flagged of by the President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee to create awareness among the common public. This campaign launched by the Prime Minister is a very good campaign because clean India means healthy India. Rural areas and slums in the cities of India lack sanitation and are prone to many diseases. Unhygienic conditions is one of the major root cause of diseases. Any disease or illness has financial impact both in terms of expenditure and potential revenue earning. Swachh Bharat Mission will have a positive impact on India’’s health, gradual focus on cleanliness and hygiene will shift focus towards use of clean technology that is non-polluting in nature.

Focus on new technology will lead to new developments and inventions it will also help in generating employment. Swach Bharat mission is not only about cleanliness and hygiene but it also looks at technological development  for the future. A healthy body has a healthy mind, a healthy mind is directly proportional to productivity of an individual. Swachh Bharat mission will lead to healthy India which in turn will lead to increase in individual productivity which in turn will increase the GDP of our country. An ill nation can never be developed, but a healthy nation can always be on the fast track to development and the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan can help fulfill this. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan cannot be successful without the help of each and every Indian. We should not look at it as a political gimmick, but we should look at it as a necessity and every person should feel responsible and committed in maintaining cleanliness in our surroundings. In order to achieve the goal of Swachh Bharat each and every Indian should start by keeping their home, surroundings,workplace and school clean.

Dangers of Electronic Waste

E-waste or electronic waste is disposal of electronics. Discarded electronics contain hazardous materials. If disposed improperly, they pose a potential threat to human health and the environment. E-Waste accounts for 40 percent of the lead and 75 percent of the heavy metals found in landfills. Although safe when used, once electronics are discarded in a landfill, the acidic conditions provide an environment in which lead and other heavy metals may leak out. If the landfill's liner fails, the groundwater supply may become contaminated E waste is generally hazardous if not disposed in a proper way. Mercury found in fluorescent tubes, tilt switches and flat screen televisions and computers causes many health related problems like sensory impairment and muscle weakness. Sulphur found in batteries causes liver damage, kidney damage and heart damage.  Americium found in smoke alarms is radioactive and dangerous. Cadmium found in nickel batteries if not disposed properly can leach into soil, harming microorganisms and disrupting the soil ecosystem. Beryllium oxide found in CPU’s and power transistors is very dangerous and radioactive.

If a person is exposed to some chemical found in electronics, his DNA could break up which may increase the likelihood of developing cancer.  These hazards arise due to the improper recycling and disposal processes used. It can have serious repercussions for those in proximity to places where e-waste is recycled or burnt. Waste from the white and brown goods is less toxic as compared with grey goods. A computer contains highly toxic chemicals like lead, cadmium, mercury, beryllium, BFR, polyvinyl chloride and phosphor compounds. E waste should be recycled properly using proper steps and procedures otherwise they may prove hazardous.

Chrysler-Fiat

Chrysler the auto manufacturing firm is a well-known brand name in Northern America which is famous for its brand jeeps and mini-vans; it has a well-established network all over America. Chrysler was always secondary to GM and Ford; it lacked market visibility due to no strong leadership, a costly de-merger with Daimler and a limited edition of fuel-efficient cars. Due to its concentration on low cost auto requirement segments like the middle-income group it could not score well when compared to other auto manufacturers, adding further to its burdens were the entry of many Japanese manufacturers like Toyota, Nissan and Hyundai which also focused to be an attraction to the middle class by introducing many compact and fuel efficient models. The jeeps and mini-vans were a major success for Chrysler especially in North America. In the nineties it was a well-known brand name which enjoyed success in the market, but still lagged behind other manufacturers due to low quality and no customer satisfaction. Chrysler later faced many ups and downs by increasing oil prices and other problems related to post-merger, due to which it had to face high costs and layoffs, at this time it was looking for a merger with other manufacturers like Nissan, Fiat, GM and Volkswagen. Finally in 2009 it tied up with Fiat for a strategic alliance and later recovered its market visibility by 2012 due to its merger with Fiat.

Fiat the Italian car maker has its presence felt in the European car market, which is a reputed brand with good quality and enjoys great success in the small car segment in Europe. The Global auto industry is a very large industry which attracts many countries to develop new models and technologies which have an impact on every aspect of the country; Fiat did not enjoy much visibility in the global market, due to its poor marketing skills and low participation in the market. After the merger with Chrysler, Fiat was able to get a steady lead in the US auto markets. Under the leadership of Sergio Marchionne, the brand is likely to increase its global market share aggressively by introducing many new models in the market.

                         

Compared to Chrysler and Fiat, GM leads the global market share by commanding 19.1% market share, and also being the largest US exporter, followed by Toyota which holds a 16.1% of the market share, and is also aggressively expanding and found to be the strongest competitor to GM, followed by Ford with a 14.6% market share, which has a good visibility in the auto market, but lags behind in the export division, Volkswagen has a market share of 3.5% and has a strong presence in the Europe markets, Daimler has a market share of 1.6% , attributes its losses to the de-merger with Chrysler, but enjoys a strong visibility in the global market. Post the merger with Fiat, Chrysler was able to come out of bankruptcy and gave 20% share to Fiat, and Fiat after the merger with Chrysler was able to hold a 20% market share in US, and is expecting to make more than 6 million cars by 2018, and Chrysler remains to be a major success in the SUV Jeeps and mini trucks sector. Marchionne is expecting a 25% surge in production in the upcoming 4 years.