Indian Current Affairs: 11.08.2007

What could be the consequences of the US sub-prime owes? ET gave an excellent prognosis. Take a look at it here.
Hamid Ansari is the new Vice President of India

Ansari (70) has had a distinguished career as a diplomat and writer.
He became the 13^th Vice President of India on his election.
He is the second diplomat after KR Narayanan to occupy the post.
He belongs to Ghazipur in UP and is the grandson of Dr. Mukhtar Ahmad Ansari who was the President of the INC in 1927.

Mrs. Bhutto was quoted in today’s papers as saying “…my party does not want to be led up the garden path” while commenting about the efforts to revive democracy in Pakistan. What is meant by ‘led up the garden path”? It means to be deceived by someone. She was obviously referring to the possibility of being deceived by General Musharraf.

Today’s ET had an excellent graphic describing the features of the STPI scheme. Take a look at it here.
The government is thinking of extending the scheme by another 10 years.

How may entities are there in the country which are authorized to issue digital signatures:

Life insurance industry was nationalized in 1956 in the country.
About more than a 100 companies operating in that space were subsumed into LIC. One of the companies so subsumed was Lakshmi Insurance Co. Its setting up was led by Lala Lajpat Rai, the Lion of Punjab. Among its other founders were Motilal Nehru, and Raizada Bhagat Ram – a lawyer from Jalandher who was involved in the freedom struggle.

Should the Government issue fertilizer bonds a la oil bonds to help finance the subsidy on fertilizers?

No, argues an ET editorial today.
A subsidy on fertilizers, like all subsidies, is a sub-optimal solution to the basic problem of how best to make fertilizers available to farmers at an affordable cost.
A study by NIPFP (National Institute of Public Finance and Policy) showed that over the past 20 years nearly 38% fertilizer subsidy went to industry while only 62% went to farmers. That too largely to rich farmers. The net result is that the subsidy bill went from a low Rs. 500 crores in 1980’s to about Rs. 22,452 crores in 2006-07.
In spite of the recommendations made by two committees so far – Hanumantha Rao and YK Alagh committees – reform has not taken off in this regard.
Taking the route of oil bonds is nothing but fudging the accounts by taking the subsidy amount off the balance sheet of the government.
It is time the subsidy regime is reformed by making it a direct subsidy and the prices of the fertilizers are decontrolled.

Congrats to him.
It is in his 118^th test appearance and 151^st innings appearance that he is able to hit a century!!
India scored 664 in their first innings against England.
India holds the record of scoring the highest test score without there being any century – 524 against New Zealand at Kanpur in 1976-77.
Had Kumble not made his century now, India would have bettered that record.