12.04.2007

• Bond ratings
• Loans by banks are unrated.
• A loan or a company rating would require the borrowing company to share data with a credit rating agency on a regular basis and meeting the expense.
• Mrs. Ela Bhatt
• She is a leading light of the NGO movement in the country.
• She is the founder of SEWA (Self Employed Women’s Association) and a crusader of human rights.
• Signs of water on Jupiter like planet
• Water vapour has been found in the atmosphere of a large, Jupiter like gaseous planet located 150 light years away from Earth in the Pegasus constellation. The planet is known as HD 209458b.
• Mashelkar report controversy
• We all know that the RA Mashelkar report on intellectual property rights is dogged by reports of plagiarism. Where from were portions of the report plagiarized?
• From a paper published by Shamnad Basheer of the Oxford University which has been published in November 2005.
• Who is James W Laine?
• He authored a book titled “Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India”.
• Soon after this book was published there was vandalism in Maharashtra in the year 2003. The Maharashtra government registered an FIR against the author in 2004. Recently, the Supreme Court has restrained the Maharashtra government from going ahead with the case.
• Securitization of loans; what is it?
• Suppose a bank has advanced loans of about Rs. 10 lakhs for 20 years. If it is converted into 1000 bonds of Rs. 1000 each, each bond offering Rs. 120 every year and redeemable for Rs .1000 at the end of 20 years; that is called securitization.
• The bank then usually sells these bonds and the bond holders get an instrument that offers them an interest rate of 12%. The bank would have unlocked the Rs. 10 lakh loan it has made to a home-owner and is free to lend this amount once again to someone else. Ofcourse, the bank would charge a little over 12% on its home loans to cover the costs of securitization and make a profit.
• Why is private sector not finding it attractive to invest in our power sector?
• Private sector accounts for just 11% of the country’s total generation capacity of 1,28,182 MW.
• The country faces a peak shortage of more than 12%. Even then, why is that private sector not investing in the sector?
• The merchandise – electricity, does not follow the normal market route. It is not governed by the laws of market. It is governed by the laws of physics.
• Distribution sector is reeling under losses – AT&C losses, which are in the region of 35% to 40%.
• Government’s continued control over the sector.
• Land acquisition is still a problem. Investor need to rush to Central Government for land.
• Fuel is another big issue. Coal linkages or blocks are not available, gas is consumed in the coastal area where available. For both these, the investors have to run to the Central Government.
• Viability issue in generation. The problem of “Will I be able to recoup the money I invest?”
• Mustafa Kemal Ataturk – the founder of modern Turkey
• He enjoys heroic status in Turkey due to his battlefield successes against occupying forces during the fall of Ottoman Empire after World War I. Independence in 1923 and a series of radical social reforms aimed at turning Turkey into a European style democracy guaranteed a unique place for him in Turkish hearts. He died in 1938.