Indian Current Affairs: 18.11.2010

Politics & the Nation

A new study by an international watchdog on the illicit flight of money from the country, perhaps the first ever attempt at shedding light on a subject steeped in secrecy, concludes that India has been drained of $462 billion ( over 20 lakh crore) between 1948 and 2008. The amount is nearly 40% of India’s gross domestic product, and nearly 12 times the size of the estimated loss to the government because of the 2G spectrum scam. The study has been authored by Dev Kar, a lead economist with the US-based Global Financial Integrity, a non-profit research body that has long crusaded against illegal capital flight.
The study has based its findings on the World Bank Residual Model that tracks illicit outflows by measuring the disparity in a country’s recorded source and use of funds. It also delves into IMF’s ‘trade-mispricing’ model that compares a country’s recorded imports to what the world says it exported to the country as well as the recorded exports against its global imports. The gaps tell the story.
Full report is available here.

Currently India imports close to 70% of its weapons requirements largely from Russia, Israel, and more recently, the United States. The country’s defence expenditure will be around $112 billion by 2016.

According to the Global Status Report on road safety published by the World Health Organisation (WHO), India recorded 30 deaths per 100,000 people in 2009. Every day, nearly 300 people die and 5,000 people sustain serious injuries.

Finance & Economy

This is an excellent op-ed that deserves to be read in full.
While it educates us a little bit about the land acquisition law of 1984, it comes out with some good suggestions on how land acquisition laws can be made misuse-proof.
First, apart from enhancing compensation, wherever possible, the affected people should be made stakeholders in the project. Depending on the context, there are several ways of doing it.
Second, whenever a company is going to use the acquired land, the acquisition should be treated as ‘acquisition for company’, regardless of whether ownership of the land is to be transferred to the company or not; whether the cost of acquisition is to be paid partly or fully using public funds or not.
Third, before acquiring land for a company, the government should be required to publish project details such as details of total area to be acquired, who will bear the cost of acquisition, how public will benefit from the project, etc.
Finally, there is a need to set up an independent and representative land acquisition regulatory authority. Approval from this authority should be a prerequisite for acquisitions for companies as defined above. Any change in land use after acquisition should also require its permission. Bestowed with suitable powers, along with checks and balances, the authority should be able to enforce the letter and intent of the law.

This is another good op-ed that presents interesting options on bringing about spectral efficiency for the benefit of all. Good one.

An excellent ET in the Classroom column that explains the concept.
There are basically two types of expectations: adaptive expectations and rational expectations.

The government has reportedly put in place a special monitoring mechanism under the Cabinet Secretariat to see that country’s capacity addition programme in the power sector proceeds smoothly. The fresh intervention comes at the behest of the Prime Minister’s Office that is concerned that delays in power projects being reported at regular intervals may again derail the country’s capacity addition programme.
The country’s Eleventh Plan (2007-12) target of generation capacity addition has already been revised downwards to 62,000 MW from 78,700 MW. Even this is unlikely to be met as just about half of the target has been achieved so far.
It has been decided that the new set up will not only identify and rectify delays but will also put in a mechanism to fix responsibility and take strict action for lapses.
The country’s currently has an installed generation capacity of about 1,60,000 MW. Even at this level, India faces high energy deficit of over 10% and equally high peaking power deficit of over 13% or close to 16,500 MW.
Capacity addition over successive five year plans: Look at this graphic.

National Aviation Company of India, or Nacil, the holding company formed after the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines, has suffered a loss of Rs. 5,552 crore in fiscal 2010.
The results are for the year ending March 31, 2010, but it has taken the unlisted airline more than six months to finalise its accounts.
The carrier had lost 5,548 crore in FY09, more than double the 2,226.16-crore loss in FY08, as it failed to control costs and initiate prudent fiscal measures. Nacil, which operates under the brand name Air India, has accumulated losses in excess of 32,000 crore.
The government has infused Rs. 800 crore of equity earlier this year and is committed to spend Rs. 1,200 crore more if the airline manages to restrict its salary bill to under 25% of its total revenues.
Air India has one of highest employees-to-aircraft ratio, a barometer of operational efficiency, at around 330.

We have all been hearing / reading about RIL's forays into shale gas prospecting. Though initially abroad, RIL is expected to be a major player in shale gas prospecting in India, when shale blocks will be put up for auction.
This article discusses the challenges that the country has to face when allowing shale prospecting. A very good read. The gist of the article is that:
India will face challenges in identifying and allocating land for shale gas prospecting. In the US, it is a success because the land density there is a meagre 9 people per square mile. In contrast, the area where shale is rich in India -- Gondwana, Cambay etc., -- the density is more than 1500 people per square mile.
The second challenge is water. A shale gas well requires about 5 million gallons of water. Half that water is left underground, the other half comes back through the well bore and can be recycled to be used in the next fracturing, or frack job, but all that water is lost to the local water supply used for drinking, bathing and cooking.

Language Lessons

Showing a lack of courage or determination; timid
synonyms: cowardly, faint-hearted, poor-spirited, recreant, chicken-hearted, weak-spirited, lily-livered, timorous

Aware of what is going on; well informed. Eg: they were au courant with the literary scene
Fashionable. Eg: light, low-fat, au courant recipes
synonym: up-to-date

a crusty irascible cantankerous old person full of stubborn ideas
crusty: brusque and surly and forbidding; "crusty remarks"; "a crusty old man"; "his curmudgeonly temper"; "gruff manner"; "a gruff reply"
Characteristic of a curmudgeon; churlish

Indian Current Affairs