29.08.2007

• National Commission for Higher Education
• The ministry of HRD has proposed setting up of this body. This would oversee the work of existing regulatory bodies of higher education. There are 13 such bodies involved in regulating higher education. Eg. Medical Council of India, ICAR, AICTE etc.
• Setting up of the UGC
• The University Education Commission headed by Dr. Radhakrishnan (1948) recommended setting up this body.
• 1956: UGC was ultimately set up by an act of Parliament.
• At present, it is concerned with central universities, academic standards in state universities and granting deemed status to aided as well as unaided educational institutions.
• Indo-China border dispute
• India says China is illegally occupying about 43,180 sq km of J&K including 5,180 sq km illegally ceded to Beijing by Islamabad under the Sino-Pakistan boundary agreement in 1963.
• China contends that India is possessing some 90,000 sq km of Chinese territory, mostly in Arunachal Pradesh.
• Junk sleep
• Sleep that is neither the length nor the quality that it should be in order to feed the brain with the rest it needs to perform its normal functions.
• Uranium deposits found in Ladakh
• Uranium and Thorium deposits were found in Udmaru, a small village situated on a volcanic rock formation in Nubra-Shyok valley in northern Ladakh.
• Vijay Kelkar committee on sugar industry problems
• The government has set up this committee to examine in detail all the problems being faced by the sugar industry. It would set out a road map for rapid expansion and growth of the sugar industry and suggest measures for developing a more transparent and open market place. It would also look into developing a more transparent system of sugar buffer stocks that takes care of market volatilities.
• Some language lessons:
• What’s a Damascene conversion?
• I was intrigued by this phrase in today’s ET. Writing about the setting up of a ‘mechanism’ by the Congress to address the Left’s concerns on the Indo-US nuclear deal, it says “It is unlikely that the proposed mechanism will bring about a Damascene conversion…”. When a persecutor becomes a follower, it is called a Damascene conversion. According to Christian lore, Saul of Tarsus was known for brutalizing and persecuting Christians; but got converted into Christianity circa 36 AD while on his campaign to Damascus. Hence the name ‘Damascene’ conversion.
• Are societies happy when equality increases?
• Not necessarily says SSSA Aiyar. You need to have people like him, to argue seemingly lost cases. It is a given that people will be a lot happier with increased equality. Governments keep proclaiming that they are doing all they can to bring in more equality. Yet we have Mr. Aiyar putting forth a strong argument in today’s centre page article. Look at the following excerpt:
• Many analysts think society is happier when inequalities fall and unhappier when inequalities rise. Really? In an economic recession, profits fall much faster than wages, so equality improves. But do the poor enjoy a recession, with its unemployment and weak wages? Not at all. They far prefer an economic boom, even though profits rise much faster than wages.
• People want more income, not better Gini coefficients. They are concerned with inequality only when they see some powerful people gaining at their expense. They don't grudge Sachin Tendulkar or Shah Rukh Khan their riches. Both these gentlemen are from families of modest means, and have become billionaires through talent. That makes them role models, not hate objects. They are examples of what ordinary Indians seek - a chance to become rich and famous themselves. They do not want a slice of Mao's China, they want a slice of Deng's China. They want the opportunity to rise.
• What is a factor driven economy?
• It is one whose competitiveness is primarily its low cost labour and exports. One of the unique features of such an economy is that they produce products that are designed and conceptualized in advanced countries.
• Banks and carbon trading
• Banks seem to have found a new business avenue in the carbon credit trading market.
• They facilitate a trade in carbon rights between local corporates and overseas buyers, serve as an escrow account between the two parties involved and even fund local corporates on behalf of the overseas buyer.
• Banks are also seen identifying CDM-enabled green-field projects with the help of consultants and financing it.
• What is a whipsaw situation in stock trading?
• It is market terminology used to explain the situation which occurs in sideways or extremely volatile trading and always results in losses for the traders.
• Lord Lieutenant of England
• Mr. Paul Chandrasekaran Sabapathy, a British national of Indian origin is appointed as such. He is the first non-white Lord Lieutenant of England.
• A Lord Lieutenant is monarch’s representative. His foremost duty is to uphold the dignity of the Crown. He manages all aspects of Royal visits, escorts Roayl Visitors, presents medals and awards on behalf of the Queen, represents the Queen at a variety of events etc.
• Turkish Heads of State
• President: Abdulla Gul (recently elected)
• PM: Tayyip Erdogan
• World’s biggest diamond
• Recently discovered in South Africa it is stated to be about 7000 carats in size.
• So far, the biggest diamond known is Cullinan diamond. It weighs about half the recent discovery and was found a century ago; also in South Africa. It was found in a place called Cullinan in 1905 and was named after the mining company’s owner.