clipped from mail.google.com1st January, 2007 to 15th January, 2007
1. The former Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein (69 years ) was buried in his home town, Awja village, near Tikrit in Iraq. Saddam belonged to the Albu Nasir Tribe.
2. The 94th Session of the Indian Science Congress held in Tamil Nadu had its focal theme as Planet Earth. The discussion related to climate change, natural disasters, monsoon, sustainable development etc. The 95th Indian Science Congress will be held in the Andhra University in Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) in the first week of January, 2008.
3. A World Bank report entitled Global Economic Prospects for 2007 : Managing the next wave of globalization focuses on the economies of India and China. The salient features of the report are : o India and China would contribute more to the global economic growth than the rich countries. o By 2030 India along with many other countries will see a sharp rise in the number of people graduate into the global middle class.
4. The SS Tarapore committee of the Reserve Bank of India has pointed out that medium term budgeting is imperative for proper fiscal planning and management of budget deficit.
The present governmental budgets cover a one year period. Medium term budgeting normally denotes a period of 3-5 years. According to the committee, a proper strategy to achieve fiscal balance and management of budget deficit is facilitated by medium term budgeting. Medium term budgeting was earlier resorted to in 1985 when V.P. Singh was the Finance Minister in the Rajiv Gandhi government. However, it was concerned with taxation alone. The Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act 2003 sets targets for reduction / elimination of Budget deficits in a medium term framework of five years (i.e.) elimination of revenue deficit by the year 2008-09. According to the committee, meeting additional Expenditure / additional Resource towards budget are not taken care of by the annual central budget ( or) by the FRBM Act 2003. FRBM Act and rules prescribe Fiscal Targets and a medium term Fiscal Policy Format ( Medium-Term Budgeting), however the act does not provide sound means to achieve these targets. Tarapore Committee fells that FRBM Act 2003 has not been fully utilized in its full exercise of genuine medium-term budgeting. Hence, the committee insists on Medium-budgeting to attain fuller convertibility of a rupee. |
5. The Sunday Times has declared Laxmi Mittal as the Business person of the year 2006. Mittal embodies the new breed of Indian Entrepreneur. After the take over of Arcelor, Arcelor Mittal is now the world's largest steel production company ( 10% of the world production). Japan's Nippon Steel and Korea's Posco, Tata Corus stand second, third and fifth respectively.
6. A team of Japanese and American Scientists claim to have engineered the World's first cattle that is immune to mad cow disease. Mad Cow disease, or Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), is caused by Prions ( a vital Protein) getting damaged and Spreading to animal's brain tissue. It causes the Collapse of Cow's nervous system.
7. The National Knowledge Commission has made the following observations : ¨ India requires 1,500 universities to attain a gross enrolment ratio of atleast 15 per cent by 2015. o Only 7% of the population in the 18-24 age group has access to higher Education. o NKC has suggested creation of an Independent Regulatory Authority for higher Education. o India not only need a larger number of universities but also smaller universities which are responsive to change and easier to manage. o NKC contends that government support for higher education should increase to at least 1.5 per cent of the GDP.
8. The Shangai port is the world's largest port in terms of Cargo handling. In the year 2006, it handled 537 metric tones of Cargo and 90 million tones more than the Singapore port which ranks second.
9. Brazil became the first developing country to guarantee free AIDS treatment to every citizen.
10. The Sensex has been buoyant after it had touched the 14000 mark in December, 2006. The reasons for the buoyancy are : ¨ Indian stocks have been performing very well even by global standards, against which they are being increasingly benchmarked. ¨ Foreign Institutional Investors have continued to favour Indian bourses. ¨ A spurt in foreign direct investment as well, strongly suggesting that the Indian economic growth story has gone down well with many other types of investors. ¨ Corporate results have been consistently impressive.
There have been wide swings in the market in the recent past. This is attributed to the following reasons: ¨ Lack of a proper debt market for attracting long term investors. ¨ Absence of a large number retail investors in the buoyant market. ¨ No significant increase in the number of Demat accounts over a decade. ¨ The dominance of foreign institutional investors and mutual funds. |
11. The transitional government of Somalia to control of the capital Mogadishu on December 29th, 2006. The first task of the new government headed by Prime Minister Ali Mohammad Gedi will be to re-establish an administrative structure.
Somalia is a patch work of tribes, clans and sub-clans that have fought one and other for 15 years. From the ouster of the dictator Mohammad Siad Barre in 1991, until the Islamists captured Mogadishu in June, 2006, there was no centralized authority. |
12. The Gangtok ( Sikkim) – Nathula road is to be widened. This road has acquired importance after the recent opening of trade with China through the Nathula Pass the July 2006. This road is to be '2 lane' to facilitate plying of heavy commercial vehicles. The 61 km long work is to be under taken by Border Roads Organisation ( BRO).
13. Democrats regained control of U.S. Congress. Nancy Pelosi was sworn in as the first woman's Speaker of the House of Representatives in USA. The democratic party has a majority in the Senate ( Upper House) as well as the House of Representatives (Lower House). Steny Hoyer is the majority leader of the House in the House of Representatives and Harry Reid is the majority leader in the Senate. In another first, Keith Ellison of Minnesota became the first Muslim to serve in Congress, taking his office on a Koran that once belonged to former President Thomas Jefferson.
14. A Journal of the American Medical Association reports that more than 2 lakh woman die from cervical cancer annually across the world. India accounts for a quarter of the world's affliction with this form of cancer and a third of the deaths. Efforts are on for developing a vaccine.
15. The Royal government of Cambodia has awarded the Sahametrei Medal to M.S. Swaminathan, agricultural scientist in recognition of his contributions to the revival of rice research and development in Cambodia in 1980s. His work also led to the establishment and strengthening of the Cambodian Agricultural Research and Development Institute.
16. The Central Sales Tax is to be phased out and has to give way to VAT. Currently, states collect and retain the entire proceeds of the cost. CST is the tax on inter-state goods. The CST phase begins from April, 2007.
17. The year 2007 has been declared as the Year of the Dolphin by the UN convention on migratory species. The year of the Dolphin will be part of the U.N. decade on education for sustainable development.
The Dolphins are aquatic animals believed to have evolved more than 10 millions years ago. They are carnivores, eating mainly fish and Squid. They are considered to be the most intelligent of all animals and are friendly to humans. Breeding appears to have seasonal peaks in spring and autumn. Major threats to their survival include entanglement in fishing nets, marine pollution, prey depletion and hunting. |
18. The National Thermal Power Corporation has signed a memorandum of agreement with the government of Sri Lanka and Ceylon Electricity Board for a Coal based power project.
NTPC is the largest power generation company in India. It has a total installed capacity of 26, 404 mw with 14 coal based, 7 gas based and 4 joint venture projects, it is 6th largest company in terms of power generation. |
19. Myzopoda Schliemani, a new bat species has been discovered in Madagascar. The previously known rare species is 'Myzopoda aurita'.
20. The book "Mohandas- A true story of a man, his people and an empire" authored by Rajmohan Gandhi ( Mahatma Gandhi's grandson) was released by Mrs. Sonia Gandhi.
21. Indians around the world have been making an impact on Public life beyond Business life. Some of them are :
| Indian-Origin Leaders | Country | Political Status |
| Bobby Jindal | U.S.A. | Representative from Louisiana State to House of Representatives. |
| Kashmir Singh Gill & Tej Mann | U.S.A. ( California) | Elected to City Council. |
| Satveer Chaudhary | USA (Minnesota) | State Legislature Representative. |
| Lord Karan Bilimoria | U.K. | Members of House of Lord. |
| Parmjit Danda | U.K. ( Glouster) | Parliamentary Under secretary of state for Children. |
| Harinder Takhar | Canada ( Ontario) | First Minister of Small Business & Entrepreneurship. |
| Ruby Dhallfa | Canada | Member of Parliament from Brampton Springdace. |
22. Hutchinson Telecommunications International Ltd. ( HTIL) has announced its intention to exit from the Indian Telecom scene. The U.K. based VODAFONE is the world's largest mobile company.
23. Foreign Investment upto 49 per cent has been allowed in the Indian Stock Exchanges ( Foreign Direct Investment 26% and Foreign Institutional Investors 23%).
24. A Special Purpose Tea Fund is to be established in June, 2007 to rejuvenate the Tea sector. The Fund will cover 1600 gardens spread over 2 lakh hectares under 800 owners.
25. The US government's move to withdraw India's Jewellery sector from the duty free access to the American market from 2007 is likely to have an adverse impact on the Gems and Jewellery Industry.
GENERAL SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES OF PROGRAMME The GSP programme is a US programme designed to promote economic growth in the developing world. It provides preferential duty free entry for more than 4650 products from 144 designed beneficiary country and territories. |
26. Recognizing the supremacy of Parliament to expel a member for misconduct, the Supreme Court upheld the termination of the membership of 11 MPs in December 2005 for their involvement in the cash-for-query scam. The court said that the powers and privileges of Parliament under Article 105 included the power of expulsion, and Parliament could use its power for protective purpose not only for acts done within the house but also upon anything that lowers the dignity of the house. The Supreme Court has also held that the actions of Parliament were subject to judicial review and no absolute immunity can be claimed to usurp the jurisdiction of the court. It also held that representing people of particular constituency was not an absolute right and their could be certain limitations.
27. The Supreme Court has declared that there cannot be any blanket immunity from judicial review of laws inserted in the IX Schedule of the Constitution.
The IX Schedule ( Article 31-B) was introduced into the Constitution by the former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, to keep certain laws particularly those on land reforms beyond the scope of Judicial Review. Any law included in the IX Schedule was not subject to judicial review to date. Now, according to the judgment of the Supreme Court, all laws included in the IX Schedule after April 24, 1973 would be tested individually for violation of Fundamental Rights or the Doctrine of basic structure. About 30 laws out of the 284 in the IX Schedule are under challenge now. Included is the Tamil Nadu Reservation Act providing for 69% quota in jobs and in education institutions. The Fundamental Rights which form a part of the basic structure of the Constitution are Article 14, 15, 19 and 21. The other features which form a part of the basic structure are Federation, Separation of powers, Secularism and Judicial review. The immediate fall out of the Supreme Court judgment would be in the area of reservation where Article 14 is often invoked on one hand and affirmative actions for the socially disadvantaged on the other. |
28. Fakhruddin Ahmed, an economist was sworn in as the new head of the non-party care taker government in Bangladesh. He is the former Governor of the Bangladesh bank.
29. The Justice Malimath committee recommendations are to be implemented, stage by stage to bring about reforms in the Criminal Justice System.
The information presented above has been collected from a variety of sources. Brain Tree exercises due care and caution in collecting the data before publication. Inspite of this, if any omission, inaccuracy or printing errors occur with regard to the data, Brain Tree will not be held responsible or liable. |
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