25.11.2006

• Property insurance
• It is common knowledge that property developers do not insure the property they sell to residential customers. Most of the business properties are usually insured.
• Now the government is thinking of making it mandatory for the property developers to insure all kinds of properties.
• They may be asked to pay the premium for five years, even after trnasferring the property to the buyer.
• It has to be seen whether this will result in any increase in price for the buyers.
• Mullaperiyar dam issue
• We have noted earlier that the dispute is between Tamilnadu and Kerala. The former wants the dam height to be increased from 136 ft to 142 ft but the latter objects to it saying that it will inundate villages thereby dislocating tens of thousands of people.
• Another point to note is that the dam is a 111 year old dam and there is a possibility of breach argues Kerala.
• Politicking in cricket
• Our leading lady of the Left brigade (Ms. Brinda Karant) wants Dada (Sourav Ganguly) back in the team.
• And our Hon’ble Members of Parliament found time in Parliament to express their feelings that “the country is feeling let down.”!!!
• SSB – Sashastra Beema Dal
• It is the force which is dedicated for exclusively guarding the Indo-Nepal border.
• Differences over pension reforms
• Left’s position
• No market dependent returns for pension
• Government should step in to ensure guaranteed return.
• Pensioner should get 50% of the average of last three year’s monthly payment as pension.
• Government’s position
• Guaranteed return would defeat the very purpose of the scheme – shifting it from statutory to voluntary contributions.
• Differences on banking sector reforms
• Left
• Opposed to foreign banks taking over private Indian banks.
• Government
• Wants the Banking Regulation Act (BR Act) to be amended to remove the 10% cap on voting rights.
• Feels that the RBI approval needed for acquiring more than 5% of any bank would be adequate guard.
• India and Star-Wars?
• During the cold war era, we heard of the star wars programme launched by Ronald Reagan.
• In a similar vein India also for the first time will be firing two home grown missiles tomorrow (26^th Nov) to validate the capability of the weapon to achieve its design parameters. The aim of the program is to test the missile’s ability to provide an air-shield to important Indian metros against hostile attacks.
• Termed the Prithvi Air Defence Exercise (PADE), one missile will be fired from the shore-based ITR (Integrated Test Range) and the other from Inner Wheeler Island. Both these are located near Bhubaneshwar.
• Prithvi missile milestones:
• Prithvi I – 150 km range. 1988
• Prithvi II – 250 km range. 1996
• Prithvi III – 350 km range. 2004
• Telecom subscribers addition
• At present India is adding about 6.5 mln subscribers per month.
• Index of Industrial Production
• Is currently at 10.6% for the first five months of this fiscal.
• Manufacturing sector has grown by about 11.8% during this period.
• Gender Gap Index
• This is a measure of inequalities between sexes. This is studied by the World Economic Forum. Out of a total of 115 countries, India is placed at a poor 98^th position. This is worse than even our smaller neighbour – Sri Lanka.
• Our maternal mortality is a shocking 540 per 100,000 live births as against 92 in Sri Lanka.
• The Nordic countries, Sweden (1), Norway (2), Finland (3) and Iceland (4), top the latest Gender Gap Index.
• ASEAN-India FTA talks stand-off
• Asean stand:
• India to reduce the negative list from 560 to 173.
• Lower palm oil import duties from 30% - 40% within 5 years of FTA agreement.
• India’s stand
• India willing to prune the list if Asean countries also prune their list. It has already reduced the list from a 1500 items to the present offer of 560 items.
• Willing to reduce palm oil import duties to 50% within 10-12 years of FTA. Presently these duties are at 75% for crude palm oil and 80% for refined palm oil.
• London is home for global billionaires
• There are 23 of them including our own Lakshmi Mittal topping the list with about 12.27 bn pounds.
• New York houses 34 billionaires. Mostly American.
• Moscow and San Francisco have 20 billionaires each. Mostly local.
• London’s appeal lies in its accessibility, stability, low taxation and global standing of its city institutions.
• Silver kills stink in your smelly clothes
• It kills the odour causing bacteria.
• It also redistributes body heat, keeping the wearer warm in cold weather and cool in hot weather.
• Bt cotton acreage
• Bt cotton is being grown in about 8.6 mln acres in India this year as against 3.2 mln acres last year.