20.05.2009

Politics & the Nation

• IT’S been a watershed election, and none more so than for Indian women. 
  
• For the first time women have breached the 10% mark in the 543 member 15th Lok Sabha with 59 of them entering the Lower House.  Nearly a third of these 59 are under 40 years of age.
  
• But take a look at women's representation abroad!
  
• Britain has over 19% women in the current House of Commons, electing 128 of them in 2005, most of them from the ruling Labour Party. 
  
• The US, Italy, Ireland and France also have approximately 14% to 16% women MPs, with the progressive Swedes setting a shining example of gender parity with 47%. 
  
• For the first time since women in Kuwait were allowed to vote and contest, of the 16 who did, four won — all professionals with doctorates from the US.
  

Finance & Economy

• SEBI roots for anchor investor
  
• SEBI is reportedly overhauling existing norms for raising funds from bourses.
  
• On the anvil is a new entity called the anchor investor, who will get 25% out of the 60% reserved for institutional investors in a public offer. This investor can be defined as “a strategic investor with a longerterm view compared to others”. This will help the company raise a lumpsum amount at one go, but there will be no special pricing for the anchor shares. 
  
• It’s also planning to cut the time between opening of an IPO and listing from 21 days to 15 days
  
• Country's aviation industry losses & debt
  
• The Indian airline industry is facing one of the worst crises with combined loss of nearly Rs 10,000 crore in 2008-09. 
• The three big carriers Air India, Kingfisher and Jet Airways are estimated to have a total debt in excess of Rs 30,000 crore on its books. 
  
• DCGI proposes to bring cancer drug pricing under NPPA
  
• The importance of the move arises from these facts:
  
• Cancer, the second-largest noncommunicable disease, accounts for 3.6% of the total deaths in India. 
  
• According to a study published in the Indian Journal of Cancer, more cases were projected in the 45-55 and 65-70 age groups for women and men, respectively. 
  
• Oral and lung cancer in males and cervix and breast cancer in women account for over half of all cancer deaths in India. 
  
• The Indian breast cancer drug market alone is expected to double from $35 million in 2007 to $64 million by 2012. 
  
• Incidentally do you the current DCGI?  It is Surinder Singh.
• The incoming Finance Minister will have his plate full
  
• With so many reform measures stalled in their tracks during the previous government, courtesy the Left parties, the incoming FM will have a lot of work to do.
  
• Read this article which explains some of the important measure that are craving attention.
  

International

• US President imposes targets for achieving fuel efficiency
  
• The US Presient is reported to have announced that automakers must meet average US fueleconomy standards of 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016, four years sooner than previously planned.  This is seen by many as a means to achieve greater cuts in green house gas emissions. 
  
• Why are American banks proposing to return the TARP money that they so eagerly took?
  
• You might be aware of the $700 bn fund established by the US government for the Troubled Asset Relief Program.  Some of the major banks, which have taken billions from out of this fund are now proposing to return the money to escape restrictions on compensation and hiring that were imposed on TARP recipients in February. 
  

Language lessons

• wangle
• Noun: An instance of accomplishing something by scheming or trickery
  
• Verb: Achieve something by means of trickery or devious methods; Tamper, with the purpose of deception
  
• eg: "Allies jostle to wangle plum portfolios"