11.02.2008

• Remember anything about the OXML and ODF format debate?
• Microsoft developed the former format – Open eXtensible Markup Language – as a standard for sharing documents. There is a competing standard which is promoted by Sun Microsystems, IBM, Red Hat and others. This is called the ODF – Open Document Format. The adoption of either of these as an ISO standard is crucial for each camp. The ISO is slated to discuss the issue in Geneva later this month.
• So, both the camps are trying their best to get India vote for their document format. The Indian option is going to be for ODF, as things stand today. The BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) has raised about 82 technical issues against the OXML standard.
• On financial inclusion
• We have been noting about this subject for quite some time in our blogs. Want to get a feel with a real life example of what it means? Read today’s “Monday Mocha” column by Rajrishi Singhal. It is here.
• If you are asked to define financial inclusion, you can perhaps give this well-meaning definition:
• The process of financial inclusion consists of seeking each household and offering them options for inclusion in the banking system.
• Cyber law tightened
• Received a chain mail requesting support for a certain Lakshmana Kailash, who was wrongly booked under the IT Act for uploading pornographic content? Now consider this – the law is made more stringent.
• The revision of the law would make it comprehensive as it imports certain provisions of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
• Inclusion of the Evidence Act provisions will confer legal authority to the use of digital signatures under the cyber law.
• The revised cyber law will have provisions against financial frauds such as salami attack, phishing, spoofing and electronic data interchange.
• Patently yours
• Ever wondered how are patents filed? How much does it cost to get one? How much time does it take for obtaining a patent? Whether or not patents have to be obtained in different countries?
• If you read this article that appeared in today’s ET, you will find answers to all such questions. Take a look at it here.
• Good bacteria can prevent HIV transmission
• Lactobacillus bacteria, commonly found in the small intestine and the vagina is reported to produce hydrogen peroxide. It is believed to hinder the spread of the HIV.
• This bacterium is also stated to be widely found in yogurt.
• Life insurance penetration
• A study by NCAER says that though 78% of the households in the country are aware of life insurance products, only 24% own a life cover.
• Definition of index funds
• Index funds are mutual fund schemes that purport to invest in a basket of stocks similar to that of its benchmark index and in the same proportion. This proportion is same both for stocks as well as sector allocations. The performance of such funds is, therefore, closely linked to the performance of the underlying benchmark index.
• What is meant by product safety? How can the NCPA (National Consumer Protection Authority) that is set up by the government recently for addressing consumer grievances help in this regard? Do you have any suggestions?
• Today’s centre page article in ET provides a perfect answer for this question. While I recommend reading it once, the following excerpt will suffice for our purpose.
• Safety standards require products to comply with specified design, composition, construction, contents, manufacturing method, and performance. These standards ensure that manufacturers put only safe products on the market.
• First, support the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to develop safety standards and guidelines. While BIS is the national standards body for India, NCPA can become the rallying point for consumer bodies to get their voices heard in the standard-making process. Manufacturers often have a vested interest in reducing the numbers of standards applicable to their products. The NCPA can counterbalance this.
• Second, enforcing legislation by conducting investigations and inspections, and prosecutions if needed. It is not enough just to be a redressal body for consumer complaints. The NCPA should also be proactively doing market surveillance and field investigations to ensure that only safe products are stocked on store shelves. Throughout the world there are strict deterrents, including financial penalties, on manufacturers failing to meet safety standards, and the NCPA must have the power to enforce these.
• Third, conducting test and research on consumer products. Guidelines should be published for consumers based on these tests. For example, young children often put things in their mouths, and therefore toys for children under three years should not have any separate components, or have small components that may be detached with reasonable force.
• Fourth, publishing product advisories, warnings and recalls. Product recalls are done to minimise the risk of injury or death to consumers by removing the unsafe product from stores, and retrieving all products being used by consumers. If any product is found to be non-compliant with prescribed safety standards, they need to be recalled immediately.