08.01.2010

Politics & the Nation

• LNM (Laxmi Nivas Mittal) slams Indian governments for tardy progress
• The Indian establishment came in for a stinging attack from the London-based steel tycoon for its inability to facilitate his multi-billion-dollar steel projects at home — nearly five years after these were conceived.
• But Mr Mittal, who built his global steel empire starting off with a small steel plant in Indonesia in the 1970s, is not giving up on his ambitions in the country of his birth yet. While he lives in London, Mr Mittal continues to retain an Indian passport.
• With his efforts to kick-start greenfield projects in India not gaining traction, Mr Mittal, who has most of his assets overseas, last year sought to build up an Indian presence using another route. He has agreed to buy up a 35% stake in Uttam Galva Steels for an estimated Rs 500 crore.

Finance & Economy

• China overtakes India as the largest gold consumer
• Today, China has more than 1,000 tonnes in its official vaults, up 75% in six years. Its gold reserves are now the fifth-largest among national central banks after the US, Germany, France and Italy.
• Gold consumption would cross 430 tonnes this year, 10 tonnes more than India.

• In lifting the stimulus measures, what should receive priority? it fiscal measures or monetary measures?
• Today's ET editorial argues that it is fiscal measures that should receive top priority in lifting the stimulus. Because bank credit to the commercial sector has been decelerating for months, and a double-dip recession is still a possibility. Moreover eventhough inflation in India is very high, it is concentrated in food items after a major drought, and this situation cannot be rectified by tight money.
• Within fiscal consolidation, top priority should be given to slashing subsidies for petroleum products.
• The next priority in fiscal consolidation is to reverse, at a measured pace, the cut of 6% in excise duty and 2% in service tax as part of the financial stimulus. The government should increase excise duty by 1% and service tax by 0.5% every quarter, starting in the April-June quarter.
• Within 12 months, a decision will also have to be taken on the shift to a universal goods and services tax (GST).
• In this context, you will this article authored by Amit Mitra to be of great help in comprehending the issue further.
• Civil Aviation industry jargon
• You will find an excellent primer on various terms that keep flying around in civil aviation sector here.

• The road ahead to less polluting fuels
• Plan of automobile manufacturers to sell Euro-III compliant vehicles from April 1 in the entire country may hit a road block as local refineries are not yet ready to sell the higher quality auto fuel in Kerala, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir and the entire Northeast.
• India is set to phase out Euro-III vehicles from 13 major cities and Euro-II vehicles from rest of the country barring four regions from April 1, 2010. These would give way for Euro-IV and Euro III compliant vehicles, respectively.
• The higher grade fuels have lower emission levels of sulphur and benzene, key pollutant from fuel burned by automobiles.
• Huge investments are reportedly required for upgrading existing refineries. IOC, BPCL and HPCL have no incentive in upgrading refineries as there is no price difference between low grade and high grade fuels in the retail market.
• Ever wondered what is a black swan?
• While reading the headline of a William Pesek column in today's ET, we were scratching our heads thinking about this phrase: black swan. The column heading read: "Black Swans abound as Year of Tiger starts off on a fierce note." So, what is a black swan?
• An event that is highly improbable (and unforeseen and therefore omitted from models) that nonetheless occurs and has a significant impact.
• Not satiated? Read more about it here.

Environment

• How did India botch up its negotiating position vis-a-vis China in the recently concluded Copenhagen negotiations? Explain.
• By getting bracketed with the world’s largest polluter and being compelled to agree to national mitigations actions under undefined international monitoring, India undercut its own interests.
• First, China has little in common with India. With its carbon-intensive, manufacturing-based economy, China’s per-capita carbon emissions are four times higher than India’s. India has the lowest per-capita emissions among all important developing countries. India’s per-capita emissions are just 26% of the world average.
• Second, in the run up to Copenhagen, India gratuitously signed a five-year understanding with China to present a united front in international climate-change negotiations, with the minister of state for environment going to the extent of saying that there is no difference between the Indian and Chinese negotiating positions. What is common between the two countries when China openly rejects India’s approach that per-capita emission levels and historic contributions to the build-up of greenhouse gases should form the objective criteria for carbon mitigation? China, as the world’s back factory, wants a different formula that marks down carbon intensity linked to export industries.
• Third, the price for providing cover to China is that India got roped in to commit itself to mitigation. Instead of a deal being struck between the world’s two largest polluters, the US and China, the US was forced to cut a deal with the BASIC bloc. India, however, has little in common even with South Africa and Brazil in carbon or industrial-development level.
• China now is responsible for 24% of global carbon emissions with 19.8% of the world population, but India’s current contribution does not match even half its population size. Yet, instead of dehyphenating itself from China, India went into the negotiations as if it were joined at the hip with that adversarial neighbour.

Language Lessons

• intrepid: Adjective
• Invulnerable to fear or intimidation
• eg: That would be left for the eagle eye of Dr Franco, the intrepid professor of pathological anatomy and his system of ‘icono-diagnostics’, who ...