14.12.2007

• Information on energy conservation
• Once in a way some articles appear in papers that are simply worth a read. They give you lot of information and perspective which is very difficult to get by going through notes prepared by somebody else. I would add today’s article by Gem Paul on energy conservation that appeared in today’s ET to this category. Take a look at it here.
• To the same category I would also add an article that appeared in today’s Hindu. It is about the Palestine issue and is titled “Palestinian statehood not the fair solution.” Read it here.
• India in the top bracket when it comes to small car segment
• It has shown 18% CAGR (Compounded Annual Growth Rate) in passenger car sales over the past four years. This has placed India among the top three compact markets globally, behind Japan and Brazil.
• The DMIC control to be offered to private sector
• The government is planning to offer up to 51% stake in the $90 bn Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor to financial investors.
• About 4% equity stake in the company would be held by the six states (which are stakeholders in the project: UP, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat & Maharashtra) each and 25% would be held by the Centre.
• About NELPs
• NELP: New Exploration and Licensing Policy. It is through the NELP rounds of bidding that the government is offering various blocks in the country for oil and natural gas exploration.
• So far six rounds of NELP have been taken up. About $8 bn investments have been committed in these six rounds so far. Of this about $4 bn has been spent till March 2007 by exploration companies. A total of 162 blocks have been awarded in these six rounds. About 49 oil and gas discoveries have been reported, accreting over 600 mn tons of reserves.
• Through the currently ongoing NELP VII round of bidding an investment of $3.5 bn is being expected by the government.
• IRRI warns of global rice crisis
• A global rice shortage is possible in the short run unless cultivation is improved, says IRRI, the International Rice Research Institute based in Manila, Philippines.
• The world is already eating more rice than is harvested annually, because of rising populations and economic growth.
• Nearly half the planet’s 6.6 bn population depends on rice to survive and demand for the grain is expected to increase by 50% by 2030.
• Average rice prices have nearly doubled to around $325 per tonne in the past six years.
• More info on Bali meet
• REDD: Reduced Emissions from Deforestation in Developing countries.
• Under this scheme, preservation of forests could become a tradable commodity with the potential to earn poor nations billions of dollars from trading carbon credits.
• Comment on campus rage
• Recently a class VIII student in a Gurgaon private school has shot his classmate that resulted in the death of the latter. This brought images of the US based school/college shooting incidents that killed many people, to our minds. A couple of editorial comments in The Hindu on this incident are worth noting:
• Although the Arms Act is silent on the penalties for failing to secure a weapon, Section 340-A of the Indian Penal Code provides for punishment for causing death by negligence. This comment is in connection with the reported fact that the boy had taken his father’s revolver from home to shoot his school mate.
• The Arms Act provides for strict licensing procedures: licences are given after an inquiry, as deemed necessary by the licensing authority, and need to be renewed every three years. But there are clearly problems of implementation. Not changes in the law, but strict enforcement of existing regulations and exercise of great responsibility by gun licence holder should be the first steps if Indian schools are not to endure similar horrors in future.
• A special coin - Shahenshah
• It is a pure gold coin weighing 100 tolas (1166 gms). It was got minted by Shah Jahan and presented to the Caliph.
• He did so to get the pardon of Caliph as the latter had excommunicated his father, Jehangir and his successors as he had issued coins bearing his (Jehangir’s) portrait and violated the tenets of Islam.
• This coin has had an interesting journey. It was inherited by an Arab princess who brought it as dowry when she married the Nawab of Bahawalpur. Later, their daughter took it to London, from where it came to Mumbai. It is currently with numismatist Dinesh Mody.