22.01.2007

• The value of natural gas discovered by Reliance in KG basin
• Goldman Sachs has estimated that the 20 tcf (trillion cubic feet) of natural gas discovered by RIL in the KG basin is between $36 bn to $40 bn
• Corporate tax – some facts
• A detailed study conducted by the Finance Ministry during the run up to the budget, has revealed that though the corporate tax rate is 30% plus surcharge and education cess, the effective rate being paid by the corporate world is varying between 11.7% for IT firms to 32.5% in case of paints firms.
• There are around 3.5 lakh corporate tax assesses in India.
• Iran
• It is the world’s fourth largest oil exporter.
• Its President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been adopting a confrontationist posture with the west on its nuclear ambitions.
• Domestic textile market size
• It is estimated that the whole of Indian textile market is pegged at Rs. 100,000 crores.
• The book titled “Google Story”
• Is authored by David Vise. It is getting rave reviews across the world. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1990 for his work “Eagle on the street.”
• Indian wedding markets
• The cyber matrimony space is estimated to be about Rs. 67.5 crores.
• The whole of the marriage market in India is pegged at Rs. 1,000 crores annually.
• What is SAR?
• Specific absorption rate. It is the unit of measurement for the amount of radio frequency energy absorbed by the body when using a mobile phone.
• EPFO may propose a 0.5% cut in interest rate
• The present rate of interest of 8.5% on EPF is set to be slashed to 8% by the EPFO.
• Cashew Export Promotion Council
• Chairman is Walter D’Souza
• Third party insurance for motor vehicles
• It provides compensation to accident victims and is a mandatory cover.
• The cover for the vehicle itself is called ‘own damage’ cover.
• It is the only insurance business where the rates are dictated by the IRDA.
• The motor transporters are up in arms against the enhancement of insurance premium by 126 to 150%. They are threatening to on a pan India strike.
• In view of the concerns about rising inflation as evidenced by the increase in WPI to 6.12% what options are better pursued by India?
• While monetary tightening is likely to be unveiled by the RBI, it should also be accompanied by supply side measures like lowering of import duties.
• What is peak oil?
• It is a notion that global oil production will peak at one time and then it will start falling. This is a concept called Hubbert’s peak. There are various arguments about whether the world has witnessed peak oil.
• But the fact is today, the daily production of oil is around 86 mbpd i.e., million barrels per day.
• Why we are seeing a decline in oil prices now worldwide is not because it has reached peak oil, but because for almost a year, the output has far exceeded the demand. This has resulted in accumulation of inventories to record levels. This is the most likely reason why we are seeing a fall in prices at the current time.
• C.K. Prahalad, the world renowned Professor of Management and father of concepts like ‘core competence’, fortune at the bottom of the pyramid’ etc., works as
• The Harvey C Fruehauf Professor of Business Administration at the University of Michigan Business School, in Ann Arbor.