02.02.2008

• Microsoft makes a bid for Yahoo!
• Microsoft has launched a hostile takeover bid for Yahoo! In 2006, Microsoft wooed Yahoo! for partnership. But Yahoo! rejected the bid made by Microsoft a year ago. The bid, if successful, will be the largest in the technology space globally. It will be worth about $44 bn.
• The acquisition is expected to help Microsoft challenge Google’s dominance in the internet space.
• Google enjoys 56% share in US web queries. This is almost double the combined share of both Microsoft and Yahoo!
• Google and Gmail enjoy 32.3% of web usage in India. Yahoo’s share is 26.6% while MSN (Microsoft’s web platform) has 1.9%.
• Is there a difference between accrediting and regulation? I am asking you this in the context of higher education in India.
• There is. Accreditation is about guaranteeing the quality of educational institutions which are already up and running. Regulating is about enabling the establishment of institutions.
• Scientists make progress in detecting HIV hideouts in the body
• The AIDS virus has hideouts deep in the immune system that today’s drugs cannot reach. Scientists from University of Rochester (USA) say that they have discovered how HIV builds these fortresses. They further say it is possible to attack these reservoirs – blood cells called macrophages that HIV hijacks and turns into virtual hideaways – with the help of a long used medication for leishmaniasis called miltefosine.
• About scratching
• Scratching a stubborn itch brings relief. I know you know that. But why does scratching give such relief, which is very hard to stop?
• Researchers seem to have a clue. They say that scratching is linked to suppression of unpleasant feelings inside the brain, which actually helps in relieving the itch.
• Commentary on Fiscal deficit reporting
• In 2006-07, the fiscal deficit was contained at 3.4% of the GDP against the 3.7% that was targeted.
• In 2007-08, it is targeted at 3.1%. It is quite likely that this will be achieved with the current methods of non-transparent accounting.
• It is the issue of off-budget bonds for oil and fertilizer sectors that is making the fiscal deficit accounting non-transparent. Some guesstimates put that off-budget expenditure in the current year may be as high as 2% of the GDP. If such expenditures are included, the deficit would be much higher than the reported Rs. 96,274 crores for the nine months ended December 2007.
• Should the tax concessions on SEZs be scrapped?
• The finance ministry has been strongly opposing the tax give-aways on SEZs. Its main contention is that such give-aways result in revenue foregone to the tune of thousands of crores.
• Under the SEZ Act, developers receive a 10 year exemption within a block of 15 years. The units located within the SEZs enjoy total tax exemption for 5 years, 50% for the next five and tax breaks on profits which are reinvested for another five.
• Ever since the SEZ Act was enacted in 2005, about 193 SEZs have been notified and another 404 SEZs have been given formal approval. With most of the formalities including land acquisition having been completed, it would be unfair now to say that the exemption will not be available.
• Sethusamudram fracas
• Now the Navy also has joined the issue. Coast Guard chief Vice Admiral RF Contractor said that the proposed shipping canal would lead to ‘more security problems’ for India.
• On farm suicides
• The suicide figures over the years:
• 1997: Under 14,000
• 2002 to 2006: More than 17,000 per year.
• In spite of the Rs. 5,000 crore package announced for the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, the suicides figure recorded during that year was the worst ever for any state.
• It is agreed that suicides are only symptom of a deeper crisis that needs to be addressed. In spite of such recognition, the government seems unable to come up with a clear strategy to tackle the issue.
• For its part, the National Commission on Farmers headed by M.S. Swaminathan has called for urgency in steps such as a price stabilisation fund. Want to look at this report? Look here.
• Do you have any innovative idea?
• Saving the rhinoceros
• Whenever you hear about rhinoceros, you remember the Kaziranga National Park; right?
• Historically the rhino population came under pressure in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries owing to the demand for cultivable land and from hunting. Because its numbers dropped to precipitous levels, the colonial rulers created reserve forests as far back as 1908 in the vicinity of Kaziranga.
• The rhino population is estimated to be 1855 in 2006. Recently there is a spurt in the killing of the rhinos, dealing a huge blow to the UNESCO world heritage site that Kaziranga is.
• The solution probably lies in strengthening the forest guards – age-wise (recruit more youngsters), materially (give more arms and ammunition) and training-wise.
• What is meant by pulling all stops in the run up to the conduct of Olympic games?
• You all know that Beijing is the host for the 2008 Olympics in August; right? Let’s get a taste of answer to the question I posed, by these facts:
• The total cost of hosting the games is estimated to be $40 bn. This is almost 4 times the cost of last Olympics in Athens.
• China is alive to the possibility of some protests being launched against its human rights record. But it is determined to ensure that they don’t degenerate or assume a scale where they can spark wider social unrest.
• In a bid to ensure low pollution during the games it has mandated that:
• Factories will be closed down for several weeks leading up to the games;
• A large number of vehicles are taken off the road.
• Even thunderclouds will not be allowed to rain on Beijing’s parade with the city’s ‘weather modification burearu’ working overtime to ensure clear skies.
• I think they may even try to ensure that Yama (Lord of Death) will not accept any incoming deaths from Beijing during the period, to ensure that the games get the tag of successful conduct. Just kidding.