Indian Current Affairs: 18.01.2007

It was alleged that there were racial comments on Shilpa Shetty, during a reality show ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ on Britain Channel 4.
There were reactions and protests from various political parties as well as people of Asian origin in Britain.

Energy efficiency rating is made mandatory on all durable products by the BEE (Bureau of Energy Efficiency) from April 1, 2007.
This is initially being mandatory for frost free refrigerators, other items like air conditioners, ceiling fans and other durable products will be brought under the purview of this rule soon.
The star rating label ranges between 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest (consuming less power) and 1 being the lowest rating.

Estimates put the area under organic farming in India at about 2 lakh hectares – mainly for growing cotton, paddy and fruits.

Apart from the film ‘Titanic’, the only two movies that grossed over $1 bn are the sequel ‘Dead Man’s Chest’ and ‘The Return of the King!’.

An operator cannot acquire more than a 10% stake in a competing company
Total market share of the combined entity cannot exceed 67% in any circle
The combined entity cannot hold spectrum of more than 15 MHz in metro and A category circles and 12.4 MHz in B and C class circles
Any combination should not reduce the number of operators to less than three

In a very good article written about the need for lateral entry for officers at senior level in government service, Prabhu Ghate points out that:

Cadre management needs and the doctrine of rotation put paid to any chances of officers with specialization being available at the right time or being of the right seniority.
This is well written article and deserves to be read at least once. Do so here.

The railways is targeting to transport 100 mn tonnes of cargo per annum through containers by 2011-2012, and privatization of container services is one of its strategies in achieving the same.
Currently, Indian Railways carries 70 mn tonnes of cargo per annum.
Railways’ PPP model is very simple: Separating rail from wheels. Under this model, an MCA (Model Concession Agreement) is drawn up. This MCA mandates that companies would buy containers from manufacturers, build inland container depots (ICDs) and find customers. The railways would run the goods trains. As owner of the rail infrastructure, the railways would charge a fixed haulage fee from these companies. These companies would be free to charge freight rates from the consignees.

Indian Current Affairs