10.01.2007

• Secretary General of the OECD
• Mr. Angel Gurria. He is from Mexico. He started functioning in this capacity from June 1, 2006.
• Goldman Sachs CEO: Lloyd Blanfein. His last year emoluments were a record $53.4 mn.
• Morgan Stanley CEO: John Mack. His last year emoluments were $40 mn.
• SEZ clearances and policy matters
• While the Board of Approvals (BoA) for SEZs will clear the SEZ proposals, it is the EGoM (Empowered Group of Ministers) which will discuss and clear the policy related matters like the proposed ceiling on multi-product SEZs.
• Bill on Microfinance sector
• A bill on microfinance is expected to be tabled in Parliament in the forthcoming budget session.
• MFIs (Micro Finance Institutions) have justified higher interest rates as the transaction costs are very high. The government appears to be against proposing any ceiling on interest rates, as it would create artificial scarcity.
• They want the government to permit them to mobilize savings accounts by providing enabling guidelines.
• NABARD to be appointed as the regulator for the microfinance sector.
• Experts say that only 5% of the annual credit demand is met for the population living below the poverty line. Nearly 80% of the demand is met by the informal sector.
• NSE may have foreign stakeholders soon
• Goldman Sachs and NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) are expected to buy into NSE (National Stock Exchange) and buy up to 26% of it.
• RBI has allowed foreign investments up to 49% in stock exchanges, fixing FDI cap at 26% and FII cap at 23%.
• What’s the big difference between having your income treated as capital gains and as business income?
• If your income is treated as capital gains, you will pay just 10% of that as income tax.
• If, on the other hand, your income is treated as business income, it has two implications:
• The upside is that you will be able to set off all your business related expenditure against this income, to arrive at your net taxable income.
• The downside is that your net taxable income will be subjected to a higher rate of tax applicable to the individuals or corporates as the case may be.
• If you happen to be an FII, one more implication is that:
• Your business income cannot be taxed in India, unless you have a permanent establishment (PE) in India.
• Hence the income tax department would try its best to treat the income of the FIIs (who do not have a PE) from their stock investments as capital gains, so that it can tax that income.
• ULFA leaders
• There are about five leaders in the ULFA set up. Of them the widely known figure is Arabind Rajkhowa.
• Size of the Indian music industry
• About Rs. 720 crore.
• Yum! Restuarants
• It is the owner of the marquee brands such as Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell.
• It is $26 bn US based restaurant chain.
• TRAI to allow sharing of active gear
• Indian telcos are permitted to share only passive infrastructure like towers, repeaters, shelters and generators.
• Trai wants them to share optic and feeder fibre cables, radio links, network elements, backhaul, antennae etc.
• It is of the view that sharing will lead to deeper penetration and coverage and also lead to better intra-circle roaming.
• What is backhaul in this context? A terrestrial communications channel linking an earth station to a local switching network or population centre.
• What is the size of the current global economy?
• $420 trillion.
• Of this about two thirds is stated to be contributed by services.
• Private containers
• Container train business was opened to the private sector last year.
• The licence fee for operating container train business is Rs. 50 crores.
• Private container companies are required to have an annual turnover or net worth of Rs. 100 crores.
• What is an MCA? Model Concession Agreement?
• It is a legal document specifying the terms and conditions for public private partnership projects.
• Usually it is the Planning Commission which will either prepare or vet such agreements.
• What are the three books based on which the famous movie “The Ten Commandments” was made by Director Cecil B DeMille?
• “The Prince of Egypt” by Dorothy Clarke Wilson
• “Pillar of Fire” by J H Ingram
• “One Eagle’s Wings” by G E Southon
• Milk destroys benefits of tea
• Tea has complex compounds called polyphenols which are believed to help the arteries relax or dilate, thus enabling a smoother flow of blood.
• Milk contains three proteins, which adhere to polyphenols known as catechins, preventing them from carrying out their health-making work.
• Scooby Doo creator dead
• Iwao Takamoto, the animator who created Scooby-Doo died of cardiac failure.
• He was 81.