26.11.2006

  • Perhaps the costliest vegetable/fungus in the world!!!
    • Is a type of rather ugly, odoriferous tuber of vegetable called truffle or tartufi, which is known to be harvested and eaten only for a few weeks in a year. Many people think it looks and smells aweful with a peircing odour.
    • The most prized truffles come from two places in the world:
      • White truffles – from Alba in the Peidmont region of Italy. Found between September and December.
      • Black truffles from Provence in France. Found between December and March.
    • There is an auction held in Castle Grinzane Cavour in Italy where recently a 1.51 kg white truffles fetched a whopping $1,60,406!!! At Rs. 47 a dollar, it is worth Rs. 75,39,082. Can you believe this?
  • Proposed changes in IPR regime to make scientists rich
    • The scientific community will have reasons to be happy. The Union Minsiter for Science and Technology Mr. Kapil Sibal has said that the proposed legislation would:
      • Enable a third of the value created from an intellectual property to be given to an individual/team of scientists who created the patented product.
      • Provide for ploughing back 50% of the remaining profit into the project and the rest can be kept by the institution.
    • This will be applicable to all publicly funded projects, according to him.
  • Crime and policing scene in India
    • The crime rate in India has been on the rise in the last few years.
    • The cognizable crimes in India stood at a whopping 18,32,015 cases in 2004.
    • A cognizable offence is a case where the police can arrest without a warrant. All cognizable cases involve criminal offences. Murder, robbery, theft, rioting, and counterfeiting are some examples of cognizable offences.

      Non-cognizable offences are those criminal infractions, which are relatively less serious. Examples of non-cognizable offences include public nuisance, assault and mischief. The police cannot register criminal cases or cause arrests with regard to non-cognizable offences. In all such cases, the police have to secure permission from a magistrate or judge for registration of a criminal case.
    • As against the UN recommended ratio of one police man for every 450 people, India has a poor ratio of 1:820.
    • Suggestions to improve the handling of crime scenario:
      • Better police-people ratio
      • More equipment, sophisticated gadgets for police
      • Trained scientists and forensic experts
      • Fast-track justice system
      • Steps to check laundering of crime proceeds
  • Backache in India
    • Data from AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) shows that 15-20% of population suffers from this problem and that this is assuming alarming proportions.
  • Our less known Naga music
    • Rewben Mashangwa, a 45 year old Naga folk singer based in Manipur is perhaps the only widely known Naga folk singer.
    • He plays two local instruments other than the well known guitar:
      • Yangkahui: a bamboo flute almost three feet long
      • Tigteila: a folk fiddle with a bow made from horsetail hair
  • What is Luge?
    • It is an extreme sport played on ice. Lying flat on a two-legged machine, which has no engine or brakes and sliding on a long icy stretch, this sport is one of the games played in Winter Olympics. Typically people reach 150 kmph speeds while doing this.
    • The lonely Indian represented in this game and in Olympics is Shiva Keshavan. He represented India thrice in Winter Olympics.
    • He is ranked 25th in the Luge world.

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