18.02.2007

• Tanjore Temples
• There are over 90 temples across this Tamilnadu district.
• The town is famous for its Brihadeeswara Temple built by Raja Raja Chola about 1100 years ago. This is a temple for Lord Shiva.
• Tanjore was the capital of the Chola kings.
• Indian engineering graduates
• India produces about 400,000 engineering graduates every year!! This is next only to China. China produces about 600,000 engineering graduates every year.
• Higher education
• Every year around 1,20,000 students leave India for higher education. Estimates put it that the country’s loss on account of this can easily build about 40 IIMs or 20 IITs.
• India spend on higher education is about 8% of the GDP with 3.3% coming from the government and the rest from the private participation.
• JETRO
• Japan External Trade Organization
• Its CEO is Osamu Watanabe
• It is a government-related organization that works to promote mutual trade and investment between Japan and the rest of the world. Originally established in 1958 to promote Japanese exports abroad, JETRO's core focus has shifted toward promoting foreign direct investment into Japan and helping small to medium size Japanese firms maximize their global export potential.
• What is an overheating economy?
• An overheating economy is one that has too much domestic demand for its own good. To grow, an economy needs investment. Growth achieved is a function of savings and the capital output ratio. Savings are invested and output produced for each unit of investment is the growth in the economy's output. This investment creates jobs and puts more money into the hands of more people.
  
  An economy rapidly growing over a period of time tends to run short of workers. In such a situation, employers tend to bid up wages, which leads to even more money in the hands of the people, which happened at the peak of the US information-technology boom in the late 1990s.
  
  People have a tendency to spend money they earned. So the extra money they earn creates greater demand for goods and services. Investments typically take time to bear fruit and increase supply at home, so this demand for goods is serviced by importing them. This distorts the current account (we are importing way more than we are exporting).
  
  And since services (restaurants, takeouts, bowling alleys, etc) can't be imported, they tend to become costlier, and there is inflation. Thus two big ways of telling whether an economy is overheating is to look at its current account, where it should be running a deficit, and look at the inflation it is facing.
  
  In addition to these two, the third big symptom of a heating economy is the expansion in credit extended by domestic financial institutions. As investment increases, it needs to come from people's savings or through other people's savings (aka foreign investment).
  
  These savings are typically locked up in financial institutions and banks, which lend this money to entrepreneurs, companies or government agencies that invest and create the boom. Thus for an economy to overheat, there has to be lending of money by the banks that creates a drastic growth in credit.
• Macular degeneration
• It is a leading cause of blindness in older adults in the developed world affecting nearly 25 to 30 mn people.
• Scientists have developed an implant that attaches to the retina, which can restore partial sight to those suffering from macular degeneration. This devise is in early stages of clinical testing.
• What is Mardi Gras?
• It is a carnival that is celebrated in New Orleans,, USA. New Orleans Mardi Gras began in 1837, the year of the first street parade. The first day of the Carnival season is always January 6th (which is twelve days after Christmas). This is called the Twelfth Night and marks the beginning of the private masked balls that are held until Mardi Gras Day. The Mardi Gras parades consist of floats holding the krewe members, who throw doubloons, beads and other items to the people lining the streets. Many "parade-goers" either wear a costume or purple, green and gold when attending the parades, and scream "Throw me somethin' Mister!" to the krewe members on the floats. Marching bands and celebrities on floats are also included in the parades. Mardi Gras Day (which is always Fat Tuesday), is the last day of the carnival season. Many of the largest parades are held on this day.
• What is a krewe?
• Every parade in New Orleans' Mardi Gras celebration, and there are about sixty of them each year, is sponsored by a Krewe. While there are literally dozens of Krewes, each with their own rules and traditions, there is a general framework that binds them together: each Krewe must hold a parade which includes floats or bands; they have to hold a ball; and most importantly they have to have the Mardi Gras celebration be its main purpose.
• What is a doubloon?
• The doubloon is one of the most enduring symbols of Mardi Gras. These highly detailed, brightly-colored coins are thrown from the floats and many have become collector items. Doubloons are stamped with the different carnival club logo on one side and the parade's theme on the other, so that no two clubs have doubloons that are exactly alike, and each year they are different, too. They are minted in various colors, and from different materials, like aluminum, silver, bronze and now plastic.
• What is Fat Tuesday?
• Mardi Gras (French for "Fat Tuesday") is the day before Ash Wednesday, and is also called "Shrove Tuesday", the final day of Carnival. It is a celebration that is held just before the beginning of the Christian liturgical season of Lent.
• What is Lent?
• The 40 day period immediately preceding Easter Sunday. For the Christian Church, a time of preparation and repentance prior to the celebration of Easter.