13.09.2007

• The Ram Sethu issue
• Hindus believe that the stretch of limestone shoals between Dhanushkodi near Rameshwaram in Southern India and Mannar in Northwest Sri Lanka are the remains of an ancient bridge built by Lord Rama, as described in the holy epic, Ramayana.
• The Centre has unnecessarily raked up a non-issue by stating in its affidavit that Ram Sethu is a myth.
• The issue arose out of a PIL filed by Janata Party Chief Subramanian Swamy asking the court to direct the Centre and the Sethusamudram Corporation not to destroy the Ram Sethu while building the canal.
• The ASI has said that Ram Sethu is not a ‘man made’ structure but rather a natural formation made up of shoals/sand bars with a shape and form brought about by several millennia of wave action.
• Japanese PM Shinzo Abe resigns
• In a surprise move, the Japanese PM has resigned. The only reason appears to be his falling popularity in public opinion polls.
• His tenure was dogged by many scandals, an election rout and crisis over Japan’s support for US-led operations in Afghanistan.
• Dr. Edward de Bono
• He is the originator of the concepts like ‘lateral thinking’ and ‘six thinking hats’.
• He is in India recently on a lecture tour and was quoted as saying that even intelligent people must hone thinking skills.
• Harry Potter grosses the biggest box office collections to date
• James Bond was deposed as the most money spinning movie by this film. It has so far grossed over $4.47 bn world-wide, compared to the $4.44 bn that the James Bond series generated since its beginning with Dr. No in 1962.
• Textile companies set for hire & fire
• Textile ministry has moved a Cabinet note to amend the IDA (Industrial Disputes Act) to improve competitiveness of export units.
• The move comes in the backdrop of an appreciating rupee.
• They have proposed flexibilities in labour laws for textile exporting units that guarantee minimum employment of 100 days a year.
• The note seeks to put an end to wildcat strikes by putting in a clause of longer notice period before any strike.
• Let’s see whether the Centre can withstand the Left’s onslaught on this.
• SGSY gone sour?
• The Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana scheme, which was in vogue since 1999 envisaged a one time financial assistance of Rs. 25,000/- to individuals living below poverty line. Of this Rs. 7,500/- was to come in the form of subsidy while the remaining comes as credit from banks.
• But this scheme has been facing criticism on a few counts, the chief among them being:
• That thousands of incidents where bank credit has not been disbursed at all, even after the release of the Central subsidy.
• In many cases, the subsidy amount has been used for conspicuous consumption instead of productive purposes.
• Chairman of rubber board
• Sajen Peter
• Indian economy cooling down?
• The IIP (Index of Industrial Production) figures released for July 2007 showed that industrial growth recorded only 7.1% compared with 13.2% in July 2006. For June 2007, it was 9%. So can we say that the boom time is over? No, argues an ET editorial for two reasons:
• One is the base effect caused by robust growth in July 2006.
• Second is that the slowdown is possibly the result of conscious attempts by the RBI to moderate the pace of growth. Till a few months ago there were fears that the economy was in danger of over-heating. Hence the RBI launched a slew of measures to moderate the pace of growth – raising interest rates and tightening liquidity. Possibly what we are seeing is a recalibration of the growth process; and no more.
• But let’s wait the see before we can take a call on this.
• What are gated communities?
• I am sure you would have heard about them. These refer to houses built with campuses of their own and security etc.
• But a conceptual level when you read a statement like ‘conceptual gated community’, what it refers to is ‘close-minded’ people interacting only with like people.
• Bhairavi Patel
• An Indian American settled in the US, she has emerged as the champion of cab drivers in the US. She is spearheading the New York taxi stir.
• The stir arose out of a couple of regulations that the local Taxi & Limousine Commission passed. It included:
• Introduction of a credit card system, which entailed the cab drivers paying commission to the credit card processing companies every time somebody paid through credit cards.
• Installation of a satellite tracking system in their cars for the safety of passengers. But the drivers were opposing it on the grounds of invasion of their privacy as their movements on personal account also will be easily monitored through such a system.
• Bank for International Settlements Chief
• Mr. Malcom Knight
• Want to know everything about short-selling in shares?
• Can’t get a better explanation than the one recorded in today’s Simply Speaking column of the ET.
• Take a look here.
• Short selling basically refers to the practice of selling shares that the seller does not own at the time of the sale. He sells them first and then buys them later to affect delivery/squaring off the transaction.
• Executive cannot act independently of Parliament on nuclear deal
• In a statement released to the Press, three eminent persons have said so. Their arguments are worth a look. Look here.
• One point they made was this: while the US is obliged to approach their Congress to get their present laws amended to assure continual fuel supplies to India, Indian government unfortunately is rushing through the deal even before the US has amended its laws. As it stands, the 123 agreement does not in any way provide binding fuel supply assurances.
• Jasraj Chopra panel
• It was appointed by the Rajasthan government to look into the demand of Gujjars for inclusion in the Scheduled Tribe category.
• The government extended its tenure by another three months, as it could not make its recommendations.
• Interpol Secretary General
• We have heard about Interpol a number of times. But its Secretary General? Rarely.
• He is Ronald K. Noble.
• Joseph Estrada gets life term
• Former Philippine President was sentenced to life after an anti-graft court found him guilty of plunder.
• Father of all bombs
• While the US had ‘the mother of all bombs’, Russia came out with a counterpart. These are non-nuclear bombs. More specifically vacuum bombs. The US used them to clear jungle for helicopter landings in the Vietnam War. A vacuum bomb is also known as a fuel-air bomb.
• Russia’s thermobaric bomb is four times more powerful than the US version. A thermobaric bomb uses oxygen from the atmosphere, rather than carrying oxidizing agents in their explosives. They produce more energy than normal weapons but are hard to control.
• Russia’s Prime Minister
• Viktor Zubkov