Indian Current Affairs: 20.12.2007

India’s multi-target medium range missile with a strike range of 25 kms and capable of carrying warheads of 50 kgs was test fired successfully again.
In these trials Lakshya, the PTA (Pilotless Target Aircraft) was used as the support system for the target.

TMT stands for thermo-mechanical treatment process, used in making the steel.
What goes on in this manufacturing process is quenching and tempering of the steel. In this process, steel bars are passed through a specially designed water-cooling system where they are kept till the outer surface of the bars cools down while the core remains hot. When the bars are withdrawn from the cooling system, heat flows from the core to the outer surface, further tempering the bars, which helps them attain higher yield strength. The resulting heat treated structure has superior strength and toughness.

This technology patented by HSE (Hennigsdorfer Stahl Engineering) Gmbh, a German company.
Earlier to this CTD (Cold Twisted Deformed) bars, a technology developed sometime in 1970 was being used in Europe. But it fell into quick disuse there. But in India this was being used.
A transition from CTD to TMT is considered a sign of progress for a country. Nowadays TMT bars are widely being used in the construction industry.

They are upset with airlines and the government. They are losing about Rs. 25 crores per month which is not paid by airlines to them. This is due to the fact that airlines are excluding fuel and congestion surcharge (Rs. 1800) from the airfare. It is only on airfare that commission (about 5%) is paid by airlines to the travel agents.

SEBI is planning to make the life of the retail investor easier by coming up with a database of certified market participants. This certificate is issued by its NISM – National Institute of Securities Management after the participants clear exams conducted by it.
SEBI is also stated to be having plans of grading these market participants to give some additional comfort level for the retail investors.
Don’t get confused by the phrase market participants. It is nothing but stock brokers.

This is due to the fact that banks need to raise about Rs. 30,000 crore to meet their Basel II commitments.

The mean delinquency figure, 12 months after securitization, stands at 4.92% for loans originated in 2006. This is double the figure of 2.10% for loans that originated in 2003.

Can you reel out two problems with the issue of establishing ‘market value’ of the land that is about to be acquired for an SEZ?
In an article on the subject Prabhu Ghate gives two of them. Take a look:

First is not knowing the counterfactual – what would the value of the land have been in the absence of the project? Large projects affect land prices for miles around. A mechanical tying up of the land price to the stamp duties assessed on sales at the time of mooting the project is unfair, because it penalizes persons for land undervalued by others so as to save on stamp duty.
Secondly, it understates the increase in land in values that would have taken place even without the project, especially in areas which are nearer to large cities.

Writer after writer keeps surprising me with a new angle or twist to the problem. Look at today’s beautiful article by TK Arun here.
He argues that the subprime fiasco has taught some socialistic lessons to us. In the process he also gives a very neat account of the how the mess unfolded itself. Does help us get a clearer picture of what (or how it) went wrong.
His argument is that the unfolding mess has added lot of housing stock to the market. This has resulted in some people getting highly cross subsidized housing at the expense of the government and shareholders of banks which have burnt their fingers in the mess. He wonders whether or not this is a kind of socialism.
Confusing? Read on here.

Morgan Stanley reported its first every quarterly loss in 73 years!!!
Led by a $9.4 bn writedown, it lost $3.61 bn in the fourth quarter.
Though John Mack, its CEO is still retaining his job, it may be a matter of time before there will be calls for his resignation.
Morgan Stanley is the second largest investment bank in the US.

With the external sector accounting for almost 40% of GDP, the country cannot be immune to international developments, he feels.

According our FM, the centre spends Rs. 3.65 to transfer Rs. 1 to the poor in subsidies.

TMB (Tamilnadu Mercantile Bank) will be perhaps the first bank to launch these mobile branches. It is essentially a van which will have a computer connected to the bank’s server through a VSAT, two staff and a security guard. It could cover about 6 to 7 villages in a day.
Looks like a perfect solution for making headway in banking penetration.
Only about 59% of adult population in India has bank accounts. In rural areas, this is just 39%.

The Centre gives this status to a language which is 1000 years old. Recently it seems to have revised this qualifying period to 1500 to 2000 years.
But Telugu, according to ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) studies is now about 2400 years old.
Three inscriptions recovered in Bhattiprolu (Guntur District) contained several Telugu roots or words. These inscriptions date back to 400 BC.
Telugu language was found in a more refined form in Kantamnenivarigudem (West Godavari District) and Gummadidurru and Ghantasala (Krishna District), dating back to 2nd century AD.

One of the important pests of this crop is spindle bug.
These bugs feed on the top most regions of the leaf axils by injecting toxic saliva, producing elongated necrotic lesions, shredding and short holes in the leaves.

Indian Current Affairs