Current Affairs Feb 2010
12:23 AM
Politics & the Nation
Read More.... 16.02.2010
- The Karachi Project of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT)
- The LeT has been outsourcing most of its terror operations in the hinterland to IM under what David Coleman Headley had referred to as 'Karachi project'.
- Know what is a letter rogatory?
- A Letter Rogatory or Letter of Request is a formal request from a court to a foreign court for some type of judicial assistance. The most common remedies sought by Letters Rogatory are service of process and taking of evidence.
- Bharti's desire to go global hits a legal block
- It was only yesterday that we were noting about Bharti's planned acquisition of Zain Telecom's assets in all of Africa save two countries.
- That deal is reportedly facing some legal blocks. Take a look at this graphic which gives the details - just enough.
- Does making women own productive assets and giving them a differential treatment in taxation herald a better society?
- Today's ET editorial argues that it does. The arguments it advances to support its viewpoint run like this...
- Owning productive assets would enhance women's standing in such families. What happens in society's upper strata tends to influence conduct in other sections of society as well, and gradually, the standing of women across India could change for the better. Some state governments, such as Delhi's, already offer a lower rate of stamp duty on property registered in a woman's name.
- Our point is, has the lot of women in Delhi improved because of this measure? We doubt it. Besides, the trickledown that the editorial talks about is hardly likely to happen. If the tax sops are to be given only to bring about a positive change for women, then we think they may not work. They will only make for more wilier men.
- You are not remedying any gender injustice there; you are only going to add another dimension to women's torture. Let men and women sort financial things for themselves. It should not be for government to do such micromanagement. If the woman starts working and earning by going out of the household, lot of power automatically flows her way. This is what can be and should be encouraged. Not such skewed and harebrained policies. Hope the budget stays away from such imprudence.
- Inflation at 15 month high
- Inflation based on wholesale prices hit a 15-month high of 8.56% in January, stretching from food items to manufactured goods.
- Inflation in manufactured products, as measured by the wholesale price index (WPI), went up to a 13-month high of 6.55% for January 2010 from a year ago against 5.17% in December 2009.
- SBI turns seed capital provider
- State Bank of India (SBI) will provide interest-free seed capital of up to Rs 10 lakh to aspiring entreprenuers under a new scheme, SBI SMILE, which is specially targeted to encourage small and medium enterprises in the country.
- The scheme will be in place initially for one year, after which the bank could extend it, if the situation warrants.
- There will be no interest on the seed capital. The bank will offer a five year moratorium on paying the seed capital amount.
- Is it a case of the bank being flush with liquidity? Looks like so.
- Era of banking secrecy to come to an end?
- The Steering Group of Global Forum for Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purpose, a body representing 91 countries including members of G20 and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), has proclaimed that the era of banking secrecy is coming to an end.
- Interestingly, the Forum, which met in India last week, echoed the same sentiments expressed by G20 countries that met in London in April 2009. Originally an OECD offshoot, the Forum was restructured in 2009 to include non-OECD members in its pursuit for complete transparency in international taxation and banking issues.
- The Government of India also is reportedly having a re-look at the many DTAAs (Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements) it had signed with many countries. The government, reportedly, would be seeking amendments in the existing treaties to ensure better intergovernment flow of information on tax and banking matters.
- Globalization and the quantum jump in cyber communication has multiplied the opportunities for generation of wealth and cross- border transfer of income but the tax regimes of countries remain constrained by their jurisdiction limited to national boundaries. As a result, it became increasingly difficult for tax administrations to lay hands on the wealth shifted out of their jurisdiction.
- These offshore financial centers do affect the millions of people living in underdeveloped, undeveloped countries as it reduce revenues available to their governments to carry out developmental projects, such as infrastructure developments, investment in technology and education etc. Interestingly, many experts believe, such shifting of wealth to tax havens are mostly made possible by the clever manoeuvres of well established tax professionals practising in developed countries.
- Since tax evasion erodes the tax base of a country, finding effective measures for tackling this scourge has been high on the agenda of developed countries for some time.
- A study carried out by Oxfam International, a non-government organisation, has estimated that developing countries lose $124 billion annually to low tax offshore havens.
- Euro behind the ills of Europe now?
- Paul Krugman explains very convincingly that it is the adoption of single currency i.e., Euro in the EU area that lead to the present mess in which countries like Greece, Spain and Portugal are finding themselves.
- Well worth a read. Read it here.
- The difference between digital TV and mobile TV
- Digital TV, the standard that went into effect last year, was developed for stationary televisions.
- Mobile TV, which enables mobile devices to watch TV is somewhat different. The mobile devices must catch a special signal, a slice of the broadcast frequency, and software processes it to display a clear picture on the go.
- The technology will be used on new portable televisions with up to 10-inch screens, and smartphones and laptops with special adapters will also receive the signals. The devices must be within about 60 miles of a broadcast tower for a picture as clear as the television at home.
- Nokia launches mobile money transfer platform
- Nokia, the global leader in the mobile handset industry, on Monday announced the launch of the world's first money transfer platform through mobiles in India as it enjoys the market leader's hip and a wide distribution network in the world's one of the fasting growing handset market.
- Christened as Mobile Money, the service will enable a customer to transfer money to other individuals, pay utility bills as well as recharge pre-paid SIM cards by using their mobile devices. The service will also be available on non-Nokia handsets.
- Consumers will also be able to pay merchants for goods and services through their mobile devices. This is a first-of-its-kind service providing customers the ability to initiate mobile payments through multiple channels such as SMS, IVR, WAP, JAVA and FIRE.
- The potential of the service is enormous as mobile phone users outnumber the bank account holders. India has nearly 500 million mobile phone users and 200 million bank account holders. There are nearly 80,000 branches of banks across the country.
- pugilist: Noun
- Someone who fights with his fists for sport; boxer
- recce: Noun
- Reconnaissance (by shortening)
- It is also spelt reccy, recco
- dowager: Noun
- A widow holding property received from her deceased husband
- sappy: Adjective
- Ludicrous, foolish; Abounding in sap; [N. Amer] Effusively or insincerely emotional
- eg: ...It might, however, make Britons wake up to the real danger: that it is becoming a sappy nation.
- synonym: maudlin. It also means effusively or insincerely emotional
Read More.... 16.02.2010
15.02.2010
Politics & the Nation
- Know anything about Azamgarh pilgrims?
- We were a bit surprised about the phrase at first. But as we read on this story, the issue became clear.
- It is about the Congress-wallahs who are making a beeline to Sanjarpur village in Azamgarh district.
- It was visited by Digvijay Singh and he came up with a report in which he portrayed the Muslim youth as taking to the jihadi route because they were victims first. Victims because they were all coming from rural lower middle class families who have sold their assets and borrowed money to educate themselves and yet find no gainful employment.
- The jihadi-as-victim theory has been finding traction in a section of this area after Maulana Aamir Rashadi Madani, founder of the All India Ulema Council, began an agitation over "framing of Muslims in terror cases and fake encounters."
- The Congress brass in UP appear to have been taken in by this theory. But Rahul Gandhi, increasingly the poster boy of Congress, appears to have remained unimpressed by the articulation.
- Understand the issues involved in Bt Brinjal?
- This graphic gives an excellent insight into the whole issue on allowing Bt Brinjal.
- Bharti set to realize its dream of becoming an emerging market's MNC?
- Its bid for acquiring Kuwait based Zain Telecom's assets in all of Africa (except those in Sudan and Morocco) for 49,700 crore was reportedly accepted by Zain's board.
- The acceptance of the offer clears the way for Bharti to carry out a due diligence of the business before a final deal.
- If the deal fructifies, the acquisition will give Bharti a firm foothold in a relatively untapped market and pit it in direct competition with MTN, with which it has tried and failed twice to merge. The African operations in the 15 countries that Bharti is seeking to buy are grouped under an entity called Zain International.
- If it buys Zain's African operations, Bharti will be catapulted past China Unicom, Sweden's TeliaSonera, and Germany's T-Mobile to become the world's seventh-largest mobile phone company by subscribers.
- The FDI reform measures that were unveiled by Government last week
- The government has decided that the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) would need to vet and approve only proposals involving total foreign equity inflow of over Rs 1,200 crore, rather than proposals with a total project cost of Rs 600 crore, as per the rule in force since 1996. Assuming reasonable debt-equity ratios, the new rule means that FDI proposals with project cost adding up to Rs 4,800 crore, or just over $1 billion, no longer need Cabinet-level vetting.
- Another significant reform effectuated has been to dispense with the obligation on a foreign entity to obtain a no-objection certificate from its Indian partner for going it alone or tying up with other partners in the same area of business.
- The government has also brought in some procedural easing. Further approval will not be required if, after initial vetting, the activity is placed under the automatic route or where sectoral caps have been removed or increased.
- Do you have any views on the RBI's directive to the banks about disbanding BPLR and telling them how they should computer the base rate?
- If you are asked such a question in an exam, today's op-ed by Mythili Bhusnurmath offers the best answer. I would give it 100 marks out of 100.
- Take a look. An excellent read.
- What is the case for a probable high inflation in Asia?
- First, there is a risk of potential upside in domestic demand.
- Second, recent exports data have been much better than expected.
- Third, slowdown in investments over the last 18 months at the time when domestic demand has recovered sharply will imply quick rise in capacity utilization.
- Fourth, crude oil and other commodities related inflation pressures (direct and indirect impact) could be much higher during the current cycle.
- Lastly, surplus liquidity in the region remains high.
- Looked at this way, this question-answer method makes no sense at first. But if you read this article in full, the above excerpt will be meaninful for remembering your answer, if and when you are asked to offer an explanation to the question.
- Want to understand what went wrong with Greece?
- Read this story. It gives us a lowdown on the situation.
- But to put it simply, it was a case of window-dressing government accounts. With the help of consultants / advisers like Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase, the government of Greece indulged in camouflaging its loans as receipts and sold its future revenue earnings to creditors. This went on for substantially long periods of time and there came a point in time when it could no longer resort to such window-dressing. Hence the bubble burst.
- Now Greece reportedly owes more than $300 bn as debts. For a country whose GDP was $357 bn in 2008, this kind of debt is unimaginable.
- Read the story in full to understand how different players played their part in bringing Greece to its heels.
- Here is a very good essay on how we should be reforming our agriculture sector
- For some of you, agriculture may not hold that much interest. But some of the realities surrounding this sector will surely make you sit up and take notice.
- A very good essay on the whole. Strongly recommend a read. But some excerpts:
- With only 100 million hectares of agricultural land, China produces 400 million tonnes of grain while India averages only 108 million tonnes of food from 146 million hectares of agricultural land.
- The fact is that most farmers and cultivators cannot make the sort of investments needed. Yet, small farms produce 41% of the country's total grain and over 50% of total fruit and vegetables.
- India produces over 600 million tonnes of food products annually, is the second largest rice and wheat producer, and the largest producer of pulses and milk. However, only about 2% of India's fruit and vegetable output is processed. Compare this with 70% in Brazil and 60-70% in developed countries. In the foods segment, processed foods account for a mere 2% of the total production. About 30% of farm produce is wasted every year for want of storage, transportation, cold chain and other infrastructure facilities.
- What is the solution being offered by the essay?
- For the next Green Revolution to succeed, three things are critical: favourable legislation, investments in modern post-harvesting infrastructure, and post-harvest management.
- On what's wrong with the APMC Act:
- No person or agency is allowed to freely carry on wholesale marketing activities in a declared market area that falls under the jurisdiction of a market committee. This has prevented the development of a competitive marketing system.
- Consequently, while farmers get a pittance, the mafia makes a handsome profit because the state governments have not yet promulgated the model APMC Act. Till this is done, farmers will continue to be left behind even as the middleman prospers.
- certitude: Noun
- Total certainty or greater certainty than circumstances warrant
- Synonyms: cocksureness, overconfidence
- eg: Now, this might be heresy for billions of spiritual types the world over, and cause derisory certitude from our own deeply-religious millions, but those perfidious science-wallahs have come up with another explanation for belief in the ineffable.
- elide: Verb
- Leave or strike out
- eg: ...Or, as the people on the other side of the fence would aver, the fear of things retributory is yet to be elided.
- Gaia: Noun
- (Greek mythology) goddess of the earth and mother of Cronus and the Titans in ancient mythology
- cloister
- Noun: Residence that is a place of religious seclusion (such as a monastery); A courtyard with covered walks (as in religious institutions)
- Verb: Surround with a cloister, as of a garden; Surround with a cloister; Seclude from the world in or as if in a cloister
- eg: Responsible for translating, editing, proof-reading and printing the documents, these people are cloistered in the basement of the ministry for a whole week.
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