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Politics & The Nation: in Today's ET Editorial
Politics & The Nation: in Today's ET Editorial
○ The National Solar Mission document which sets a target of 20,000 MW for
solar power by 2020 was in principle approved by Prime Minister's Council of
Climate Change in its meeting last month.
○ The solar mission sets a goal of making the country dependent on renewable
energy.
○ The other missions currently under formulationa are: the national mission
on enhanced energy efficiency that will have a target of about Rs 75,000
crore worth transactions in energy efficient systems, on water efficiency, on
sustainable habitat and afforestation and agriculture.
○ If we say Warren Buffet is taking a big gamble, chances are that many will
pooh pooh the idea. Time only should tell whether or not the investment
that he is making will yield the kind of results that his investments so far
have yielded.
• Take a look at this quirk of tax policy / administration mechanism. It ensures that
subsidy that is meant for the poor ends up in state treasuries instead.
• Is the government's intention of providing Air India (AI) with an aid of Rs. 2,000
crores going to solve the troubles of the National Carrier?
○ Take a look at these facts and figures before coming to any conclusion:
○ AI’s working capital liabilities have quadrupled to Rs 16,000 crore in under
three years. Its latest annual results show a 12% drop in revenues to Rs
13,479 crore. Besides, last year alone, its losses added up to a whopping Rs
5,548 crore. Till recently, AI was on an aircraft-buying spree despite being
thoroughly in the red. Reports say that AI plans to reduce its fleet size to
100-105 from the current 132.
○ Shale gas is natural gas produced from shale — a fine grained sedimentary
rock composed of flakes of clay and minerals like quartz and calcite.
○ The future of energy is a low-carbon regime. Shale gas is one such example.
It is somewhat like coal-bed methane and is on land. The US has made
major strides in the technology in shale gas that has made it now a
commercial proposition.
○ The cost of production of shale gas has fallen by 80% over the past five
years in the US with new technologies and fiscal incentives provided by that
country to encourage exploration.
○ The largest known reserves of this gas is found in Canada and the US
followed by Australia and some parts of Europe.
International
○ Yes there is. Between 2002 and 2007, the number of listed companies on
the Nasdaq stock market and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) dropped by
16% and 3% respectively, while the Asian markets increased significantly,
with India growing 47%, South Korea 157% and Singapore 62%.
○ Not only this, a great deal of the eastward tilt stems from the escalating
flow of capital across borders in recent years. Since the introduction of the
reform process in the early 1990s, India has witnessed a significant increase
in capital inflows — in the form of foreign direct investment, foreign portfolio
investment, external commercial borrowing and non-resident Indians’
inward remittances. The size of net capital inflows to India rose from $7.1
billion in 1990-91 to $108 billion in 2007-08. Today, India has one of the
highest net capital inflows among the emerging market economies of Asia.
○ For an explanation of the factors that is leading to this eastward shift, read
this article by Jim Quigley, the CEO of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.
○ Now it’s more or less a generic day honouring any soldiers who’ve died in
battle, in every Commonwealth country, Europe and the US.
Sport
• Sachin gets into trouble with Shiv Sena
Language lessons
• sputtering
• antsy: Adjective
• bone-dry: Adjective
• munificent: Adjective
○ Very generous
○ eg: "a munificent gift"; "his father gave him a half-dollar and his mother a
quarter and he thought them munificent"