07.06.2007

• G8 agenda on global warming
• The host of the summit viz., German Chancellor hopes to get fellow G8 leaders to agree to limit global warming, and not let temperatures rise more than two degrees Celcius, a plan which would require halving greenhouse gases by 2050. But the US is not likely to toe the line.
• India’s expectations from the summit would be:
• Showcase to them that the rate of growth in GDP has exceeded 8% only at a marginal growth in energy consumption of 2.76%.
• Freer access to energy saving technology that the developed nations have and which are protected by patents.
• One argument is that with 3.5 times the US population and three times the population of EU, India has, since 2002 delivered more than twice their growth while consuming lower amounts of fossil fuels on an incremental basis in absolute terms. India is sharing the climate burden well beyond its legitimate responsibility and capacity.
• What do you understand by the phrase “read the riot act”?
• It means reprimand rowdy characters and warn them to stop behaving badly.
• Example: The total ban on road-side parking contemplated by the officers could be part of the urgent measures to be initiated after the CM read the riot act to officials of different departments to improve traffic situation.
• Farm sector revival measures?
• The Centre is working on a new Rs. 25,000 crore programme to be implemented by States for increasing agricultural production and productivity.
• Quality of seeds being used is poor in the country. This is due to low seed replacement that is pegged at just 10% as against the required rate of 30%.
• While such required seed replacement may enhance input costs by about 4%, it could enhance agricultural output by 10 to 12%.
• The Taj Corridor
• The project relates to construction of commercial buildings on a 2 km stretch behind the Taj Mahal without appropriate environmental and other clearances.
• “India Now” festival
• Is to be held in London to mark the 60^th anniversary of India’s independence.
• India’s candidate for Commonwealth Secretary General post
• Is Kamlesh Sharma, the present envoy to Britain.
• The present incumbent’s term ends in March 2008. The new incumbent is to be chosen at the CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting) to be held in Kampala, Uganda in November, 2007.
• Dark matter
• It is the mysterious material that makes up about a quarter of the Universe. Most of it is in the form of subatomic particles that don’t interact with regular atoms.
• MACHOs: Massive Compact Halo Objects.
• Tearing paper
• When folded, paper can be torn easily along folds. This is due to a property of the fibers making up the paper called hydrogen bonding.
• What is cyclical overheating of an economy?
• It is one that occurs when existing capacity gets fully utilized and demand is still increasing.
• Dr. Rangarajan says that the Indian economy is experiencing cyclical overheating.
• Budhia Singh stopped in his tracks
• The child prodigy who ran the 65 km distance non-stop from Puri to Bhubaneshwar on May 2, 2006 is stopped from performing a 500 km walk from Bhubaneshwar to Kolkata. He is all of 6 years.
• Elephants use their feet to listen!!
• They can use their feet to ‘hear’ calls from other herds they know.
• They are known to emit low frequency sounds to communicate with herds up to several kilometers away.
• Dollar trading on Indian bourses to be allowed?
• RBI has formed an internal committee headed by Salim Gangadharan to look into the issue.
• What does a dollar trade mean? Traders and FIIs will be able to go ‘long’ or ‘short’ on dollar based on rupee’s moves against the dollar.
• Currency futures (the means through which the dollar can be traded) will offer more flexibility in hedging their currency risks.
• Currency futures offer more transparency and liquidity over forward contracts, the method through which hedging takes place now in the Indian market place.
• Reason for opposing stem cell research
• To produce human embryonic stem cells, embryos have to be destroyed, an action that is opposed by many people. New research has shown that stem cells can be formed without killing the embryo.
• Embryonic stem cells give rise to all types of tissues. So it is believed that they can be used to create transplant therapies for people who are paralyzed or have illnesses like diabetes or Parkinson’s disease.
• New Chairman of the FMC
• BC Khatua is the new Chairman of the Forward Markets Commission.
• Why is raising sovereign bonds abroad a bad idea?
• Today’s ET editorial has an excellent take on the subject.
• Presently the return on reserves is way below the cost of holding them, since they are funded out of rupee securities on which the government pays a much higher rate of interest than what it gets by deploying the foreign currency in other government bonds. The government’s fiscal position also is satisfactory. Consequently there is no, need for sovereign overseas borrowing.
• Indeed, given the proclivity of our political class for fiscal imprudence, the last thing we need is create a precedent by tapping overseas markets. The argument that it sets a benchmark for borrowing by corporates does not hold water. Blue chip companies like Reliance, ONGC or IOC have never been constrained by the country’s sovereign rating. If the idea is to make it cheaper for less rated companies to borrow abroad, why should the ECB guidelines be tightened? There is a clear case of contradiction in this.
• Who coined the phrase “Jai Jawan Jai Kisan”?
• Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. This was done to celebrate the contribution made by the soldier and the farmer.
• US Treasury Secretary
• Henry Paulson