CURRENT EVENTS JUNE2010

International Relations (Major Issues)

What is ACTA and why is it in the news?

• An ACTA is an acronym for anti-counterfeiting trade agreement; otherwise also known as 'Trips Plus' that is reportedly being given a shape by countries such as the US, Japan, the EU, Australia and South Korea.
• The ACTA being negotiated between eleven countries (it also includes Canada, Mexico, Switzerland, NZ, Morocco and Singapore), proposes to widen the scope of protection and setting up higher standards for enforcement of intellectual property rights. It would extend to import, export and in-transit goods and includes infringement of all IPRs.
• While the negotiations for the agreement have been going on for more than three years, the international community got to know about it this April through media reports.
• It is feared that it could hamper India’s trade in a number of areas including pharmaceuticals and IT products.
• Therefore India and China have decided to rake up the issue at the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

On the predicament of Europe over its debt crisis

• The text book solution to a sovereign debt crisis and loss of competitiveness — as is the case with Greece, Spain, Portugal and Italy — is a substantial cut in government spending and a deep enough currency devaluation that makes the country's exports competitive. In addition, structural reforms to address the problem of inflexible labour markets and loss of competitiveness are needed. If there is enough appetite for the country's exports in the rest of the world, fiscal consolidation and a stable economy should be the end result. This economic prescription is difficult to follow in crisis-ridden Europe because the eurozone countries are unable to individually depreciate their currency. This robs these countries of a very potent tool to address the crisis and regaining competitiveness sans currency depreciation would be harder and more painful involving recession and deflation.

Riots in Kyrgyzstan

• Deadly riots swept through Osh and another southern city of Jalalabad,Kyrgyz news agency AKI press reported on Sunday. Kyrgyz and ethnic Uzbek groups set ablaze cars, and looted stores and markets. The Kyrgyz interim government, which imposed curfew in the entire Jalalabad region, has allowed police and troops to shoot to kill in order to control the riots.
• About 117 people have been killed over the past three days in what is being described as the worst ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan in the last two decades. The interim government in Kyrgyzstan, which took power in April after a popular revolt toppled President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, had appealed for Russian help to quell the riots.
• Media reports added that violence continued unabated with Kyrgyzs rioters torching Uzbek villages and slaughtering residents. More than 75,000 Uzbeks are said to have crossed over to Uzbekistan. Tensions between Kyrgyzs and Uzbeks have erupted earlier too, and appear to have been reignited by the ouster of the president in April. Local Uzbeks largely support the country’s new leadership in a predominantly Kyrgyz stronghold of the former president Kurmanbek Bakiyev.
• The provisional government has accused Bakiyev of provoking the violence in order to destabilise the country.
• There are about 116 Indians trapped in Osh and Jalalabad towns. For the present they are reported to be safe.

Schengen at 25

• The Schengen area, associated in this part of the world with a single travel visa — valid across several countries in the European Union (EU) and beyond — is now 25 years.
• It symbolises an arena of relative success in the grand project of regional integration. It is hard to make a similar claim with equal confidence, many would argue, with respect to the other visible sign of transnational integration — the decade-old single currency — in the wake of the handling of the impact of the financial crisis in the 16 countries that constitute the eurozone.
• The Schengen area, now comprising 22 of the 27 EU states besides Switzerland, Iceland, and Norway, entails the absence of internal barriers in a territory along a 42,673 km external sea and 7,721 km land borders.

Building a bright future with coherent effort

• The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's (SCO) annual summit ended in Tashkent with the leaders of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan agreeing to further enhance regional stability and seek common development.
• Against the backdrop of complicated regional and international situations, it is both a necessity and the collective wish of these countries and their peoples to safeguard regional stability, and cooperatively promote social and economic advancement of the entire region.
• The Tashkent declaration, issued at the end of the six-member summit, stressed the importance of constructive dialogues and cooperation among SCO member states, with a particular emphasis on countering new threats and challenges that have emerged in the security sector.

U.N. imposes sanctions on Iran

• The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has by a heavy margin imposed a fourth round of sanctions against Iran.
• Of the 15 members in the Council, 12 voted in favour of sanctions. Turkey and Brazil opposed the sanctions, while Lebanon abstained.
• However, Brazil and Turkey, both of whom had signed a nuclear swap deal with Iran last month, warned that the latest sanctions would impede diplomacy on Iran's atomic programme.
• The new sanctions include provisions that prohibit Iran from purchasing heavy weaponry, of various types, including attack helicopter and missiles.
• It recommends all countries to inspect cargo from Iran, suspected of containing banned items at their ports and airports.
• Banning licences of banks suspected of funding nuclear activities is also part of the recommendations.
• Besides, a travel ban and asset freezes for a number of individuals, including senior nuclear officials and associated firms is proposed.
• Hours before the UNSC vote, Russia, France and the United States responded to the nuclear swap deal that Iran, Turkey and Brazil had signed last month.
• While the full details of the response were still awaited, diplomats familiar with the issue said that International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head Yukiya Amano conveyed to Iran, the response of the three countries, the so-called Vienna group.
• The Vienna group apparently wants some significant changes to the Tehran document.

An analysis A needless provocation

• Driven by myopia and sheer bloody-mindedness, the United States and 11 other members of the United Nations Security Council have voted to tighten sanctions on Iran. Brazil and Turkey, which recently brokered an important fuel swap agreement with Tehran, voted against the sanctions resolution while Lebanon abstained.
• What matters is not the specific provisions contained in the latest round of sanctions but the fact that Washington insisted on pushing them through just when a small window for confidence-building and trust between Iran and the international community had been opened by the Turkish-Brazilian initiative. Under their proposal, which the International Atomic Energy Agency is now considering, Iran will promptly transfer 1,200 kg of low enriched uranium — roughly half the amount the IAEA estimates it has produced to date — to Turkey, where it would be held in escrow.
• Russia and France would then fabricate an equivalent amount of enriched uranium fuel rods suitable for use in the Tehran Research Reactor. Once these rods are ready, they will be exchanged for the Iranian LEU.
• Although the swap addresses an issue distinct from the one Iran is currently being sanctioned for, the successful implementation of the agreement would have been a major confidence-building measure. The U.S. and its allies would have succeeded in removing from the territory of Iran half its LEU stockpile — an amount that could theoretically be used to fabricate one nuclear device should Iran leave the Non-Proliferation Treaty and start weapons-grade enrichment.
• From the Iranian point of view, it would have demonstrated that the international community was capable of reasonableness and flexibility. From there, the Turks and Brazilians, perhaps supplemented by other powers, might have been able to move their engagement with Iran to a higher level, securing answers to the few remaining questions the IAEA has about the Iranian nuclear programme.
• But Wednesday's sanctions resolution changes everything. They send a signal to the diverse stakeholders in Tehran that reasonableness doesn't pay. Iran is likely to harden its attitude, thereby allowing the U.S. and its allies to take one more step down the path of confrontation.
• India, which has a major economic and strategic stake in the preservation of peace in the Persian Gulf and West Asia, should stop being a passive bystander to the crisis that is now looming large. By insisting on sanctions at this stage, the P-5 have only succeeded in scoring own goals. India may not be a member of the U.N. Security Council but that should not preclude it from actively pursuing a diplomatic end to the standoff.

The curse of Okinawa

• Japan's new Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, faces unenviable challenges. He was elected to the office by the Democratic Party of Japan following last week's sudden resignation by Yukio Hatoyama.
• Credited with fashioning the election victory of the centre-left DPJ only eight months ago, Mr. Hatoyama managed to become dramatically unpopular in record time.
• A controversy over financial irregularities during the election campaign destroyed the impression that the new government represented change from the sleazy money politics of the Liberal Democratic Party.
• But the trigger for Mr. Hatoyama's resignation was the U.S. military presence on the island of Okinawa. Of nearly 40,000 American troops in Japan under a bilateral security treaty, over two-thirds are in bases in Okinawa.
• The local population resents them. The DPJ made an election promise to reduce the number of U.S. troops in Okinawa, and specifically to move the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma off the island. The plan was fiercely opposed by the U.S., which sees its presence in Okinawa as vital; the island is located strategically close to North Korea and China. Public anger mounted when it became apparent that the U.S. carried more weight on this issue than voters, and that all Mr. Hatoyama could do was relocate the base to a less-populous area on the island. Across the rest of Japan, he was blamed for mishandling relations with an important international ally. With elections to the Diet's upper house due in less than a month, he opted to fall on his sword, leaving the mess to his successor.

Three-day “peace jirga

• Only way out is exit
• A three-day “peace jirga” in Afghanistan has given rise to more questions than answers.
• President Hamid Karzai called the jirga to win an endorsement for a peace deal with the Taliban so that it could be held out as a nationally mandated plan.
• The Taliban, the real and deadly opposition, was not invited; and the non-attendance of some heavyweight opposition politicians took away from the moment. Still, this traditional assembly, seen as a very Afghan way of taking crucial decisions, has helped the embattled Mr. Karzai put behind him some of the controversy surrounding his re-election last year.
• But the workability of the proposed peace deal is another matter. Foremost among the difficulties relates to the issue of what can be gained by negotiating with a reactionary and brutal group that rejects every way of ordering the world except its own, and Al-Qaeda's. Secondly, the Taliban has a strong card to play: it will not negotiate unless its condition that all foreign troops in Afghanistan must leave is met.
• Mr. Karzai, however, wants to implement his plan under the protective umbrella of the U.S./ NATO security forces. His game plan is to wean away ‘non-ideological' Taliban fighters with an amnesty, cash, and jobs. There is talk of offering asylum to hardline Taliban leaders in another country, possibly Saudi Arabia, and of working on the international community to have some other Taliban leaders taken off a US/UN blacklist.
• This would have made sense were the Taliban on the verge of military defeat. It is inconceivable that at this point, when the Taliban senses victory, the core leadership will opt for voluntary exile. Then there is the matter of how compatible Mr. Karzai's plan is with the interests of Pakistan and the United States.

Israel's rogue behaviour

• Tuesday's attack on an unarmed, humanitarian flotilla of activists carrying relief supplies for the besieged and blockaded people of Gaza is a reminder to the world of the lawless, outlaw nature of the Israeli state. Although the death toll is still unclear, as many as 10 activists, several of them Turkish nationals, died when Israel Defence Forces commandos swooped down on the vessels in international waters and used grossly disproportionate force to overcome the not unexpected resistance they encountered.
• The boats, their passengers, and cargo have all been illegally detained. Among those locked up by the Israelis are a number of journalists from around the world who had joined the flotilla to cover the story. The criminal Israeli response to what was intended to be a Gandhian act of solidarity with the Palestinian people is the product of the international community's failure to ensure that Tel Aviv's illegal and immoral blockade of Gaza was lifted. Israel cut off Gaza from the rest of the world in June 2007 as a means of weakening the political hold Hamas has on the territory. The rocket attacks were a pretext for the blockade, which quickly escalated into a full-scale war on the people of the territory. Gaza suffers all the evils of occupation despite the withdrawal by the Zionist forces in 2005.
• The Israeli invasion of 2008-09 led to the commission of war crimes as documented by the UN-mandated Goldstone Commission. And the blockade of Gaza and its people amounts to collective punishment of civilians, another grave breach of international humanitarian law. Any other country would have been hauled over the coals by the UN Security Council for such rogue behaviour but Israel enjoys the backing of the United States. As a presidential candidate, Barack Obama held out the faint hope of a more even-handed approach to the problems of West Asia.
• But as President, he has dismally failed to exert the kind of pressure needed to get Israel to withdraw from the territories it has illegally occupied since 1967. The crime that played out on the high seas on May 31 is very much part of the crime of occupation. There is little sense in the UNSC asking for an inquiry into the incident when previous inquiries into Israeli behaviour — notably the Goldstone report — ended in the dustbin. At the very least, the international community must ensure the immediate end of the Israeli embargo on Gaza. No goal or logic can justify subjecting an entire civilian population to an economic blockade. India has joined democratic forces round the world in condemning the attack on the flotilla. It must move beyond this now and actively work for the lifting of the inhuman blockade.

The way forward in Nepal

• A political and constitutional crisis of sorts was averted in Nepal last week when the three biggest parties — the Maoists, the Nepali Congress, and the Unified Marxists-Leninists — agreed to extend the life of the Constituent Assembly (CA) by another year.
• Under the interim statute adopted after the overthrow of the monarchy, the CA's term was set to expire on May 28, 2010, the assumption being that two years was sufficient time to write the new constitution. In the light of the interminable squabbling among the big three, that goal turned out to be hopelessly ambitious. But what guarantee is there that the new deadline of 2011 will be met? So far, at least, the outlook is not very promising.
• The three-point agreement on the basis of which the CA's life was extended spoke of forming “as soon as possible… [a] national consensus government.”

International Relations (Minor Issues)

What exactly is ailing Europe

• For example, the total debt of Greece is $226 billion while that of Spain is $1.1 trillion — almost four and a half times larger. Of that, about $220 billion is owed to French institutions, a similar number to German institutions and about $120 billion to British firms. With 20% unemployment, Spain has one of the weakest economies in Europe. Meanwhile of Italy's gross debt of $1.4 trillion, about 40% is owed to France, which amounts to almost half of the latter's GDP. The interconnectedness of these economies is such that the weakest link will determine the strength of the EU.

Asia's global responsibility

• According to a recent assessment by the International Monetary Fund, Asia will grow by 7 per cent this year, with its bigger economies, China and India, posting higher rates. But leadership in the global economic recovery casts special responsibilities on these countries.
• Their current strengths, and the policy choices they will be making from now on, will have a significant bearing on the fortunes of the global economy.
• The debt crisis in Europe has added to the problems created by financial market volatility. Economic recovery has been uneven across regions; and in many countries, it is still fragile.
• The outlook is much better for the world's most populous continent. Output in most of Asia is well above pre-crisis levels and, for the first time, its contribution to a global recovery is outstripping that of other regions. In a development that portends well for the sustainability of growth, domestic consumption rather than an overwhelming dependence on exports has become the growth driver in most Asian economies.
• There are two sets of risks the global economy faces. First, many advanced countries have practically exhausted the fiscal space available for continuing policy support. Secondly, the financial sector continues to be vulnerable to external shocks. A key concern is that political leaders in the developed countries have so far not been able to deliver on the promised bank reform packages. Adverse developments in Europe could disrupt trade in Asian economies. But fortunately the financial linkages to euro area economies are limited.
• The biggest challenge India and a few other emerging economies face relates to capital inflows. Asia's bright prospects have attracted large inflows of capital from developed countries, which have very low interest rates.

Poland arrests alleged Mossad agent

• Polish authorities have arrested an alleged Mossad spy from Israel wanted in connection with the slaying of a Hamas agent in Dubai, the German federal prosecutor's office said.
• A man using the name of Uri Brodsky is suspected of working for a foreign spy agency in Germany and helping issue a fake German passport to a member of the Mossad hit squad allegedly behind the killing of Mahmoud al—Mabhouh in January, the German spokesman told The Associated Press.
• Brodsky was arrested in early June upon his arrival in Poland because of a European arrest warrant issued by Germany and Germany is now seeking his extradition, the spokesman said, declining to be named in line with department policy.

Democracy diminished

• The failure of the United Kingdom, despite warnings from the Council of Europe, to comply with the 2004 ruling of the European Court of Human Rights that all prisoners must be allowed to vote illustrates the extent to which medieval notions of punishment colour the understanding of the canons of modern rule of law even in advanced democracies.
• The Court is the judicial arm of the Council of Europe, which comprises 47 states. Under any system of liberal constitutional government that enshrines universal adult suffrage, the deprivation of the basic democratic right of the vote to anybody undermines his or her fundamental identity as a citizen of a nation-state.
• As such, a denial of the right to felons is tantamount to a double penalty, considering that incarceration fulfils the punitive objective of curtailing their liberty. Disenfranchisement runs counter to the spirit of proportionality, deterrence, and reformation — values that are increasingly seen as underpinning the purpose of punitive measures and intended to undercut the harshness and cruelty historically associated with the administration of criminal justice.
• The Council's warnings to the British government to let prisoners vote in the 2010 general election or be in breach of their human rights came on the back of a campaign by liberal democrats and activist groups to enfranchise the country's 70,300 convicted prisoners. The court had held that a prisoner's right to vote — in addition to his or her rights to marriage, practise religion, freedom of expression and correspondence, access to legal remedy, and protection against torture — fell outside the purview of the deprivation of liberty sanctioned under a conviction.
• The United States presents a unique case of barring an estimated five million convicted felons from voting. American states have different laws relating to prisoner voting rights. While several of them permanently disenfranchise felony convicts, a couple of states allow prisoners serving a sentence to vote. Equally bizarre is the Indian case where contesting and often winning elections from within prison walls is not uncommon, although exercising the franchise is another matter. India needs to follow the European, not the U.S., example in this respect. To prevent prisoners serving a sentence from fulfilling a basic democratic duty is indeed to deny them their human rights.

Happy reunion

• Tim Coco and Genesio Oliveira married in 2005, among the throngs who wed after same-sex marriage became legal in Massachusetts. But for nearly three years, they lived apart — Mr. Coco in Haverhill and Mr. Oliveira in his native Brazil — because federal law does not recognise their union.
• On Wednesday, Mr. Oliveira returned to Massachusetts for an emotional reunion after federal immigration officials took the rare step of granting him permission to stay for one year on humanitarian grounds, clearing the way for him to try again for legal residency. His return followed personal appeals by Senator John F. Kerry, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on their behalf.

National - Social/Political (Minor Issues)

Vivek Sahai takes over as chairman of Railway Board

• Vivek Sahai, a senior railway official who earned accolades for deftly handling the suburban train operation in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks, on Monday took over as the new chairman Railway Board.
• Sahai, an Indian Railway Traffic Service officer, who was the Railway Board (member) traffic, has taken up the top job from S S Khurana upon his superannuation.

India gets help in piracy fight

• A number of developing countries from East Asia, Latin America and Africa have extended their support to India in its fight against an attempt by developed countries to narrow the difference between fake medicines and counterfeits.
• Counterfeits are drugs produced in violation of intellectual property agreements. These are different from fake medicines.
• WHO launched IMPACT in 2006 -- International Medical Products Anti-Counterfeiting Taskforce -- which allegedly represents the interest of multinational pharmaceutical firms. WHO, in partnership with IMPACT, has been actively considering using the term counterfeit to define fake and spurious medicines.
• Developing countries including India argue that if counterfeits are confused with fake medicines, it could result in more seizures across the globe and affect supply of genuine and cheap medicines to the poor.
• India had submitted that its genuine generic medicines were seized at European ports because EU followed intellectual property laws that went beyond the international Trips agreement and this should not be allowed to become the norm.

Lodha to gift Mumbai world’s tallest homes

• Lodha Developers, one of India’s biggest realtors, is taking a tall bet on Mumbai’s top-end residential property market and is reportedly negotiating with foreign as well as local financiers to fund what it claims would be the world’s tallest residential tower.
• The tower will come up on the 17.5-acre plot of the defunct Shrinivas Mill in Lower Parel, central Mumbai, that the Lodhas got control of after purchasing the shares of Shrinivas Cotton—which owned the land title— some years ago.
• The tower may have 117 floors. As and when the booking starts, the price should be around Rs 22,000 per sq ft.
• The height of the world’s tallest residential tower—Queensland Number One in Australia—is 322.5 metres. Pentominium, the supertall skyscraper that’s under construction in Dubai, will be 516 metres with 120 floors.

Delhi sends Afzal file recommending rejection of mercy plea

• Afzal Guru should be hanged, the Delhi government said in its recommendation forwarded to the Union home ministry.
• The state government’s opinion on the mercy petition of Parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guru was given to the MHA after a good four years and 16 reminders to the Sheila Dikshit regime.
• But President Pratibha Patil is said to be averse to clearing death penalties. She has informally conveyed to her aides her reluctance to clear death penalties for even the most-hardened criminals in view of her religious beliefs.

Some interesting stats relating to forest produce

• A unique study — Green accounting for Indian states and Union Territories — found the value of our forest at Rs 88,60,259 crore in 2003.
• The ILO Report 2009 estimates that the global market for environment products and services is projected to double to $2,740 billion by 2020 from the present $1,370 billion per year.
• World export market for handicraft is estimated to be worth $350 billion.

Headley spills ISI’s 26/11 beans

• The exchanges between the FBI and the Indian agencies as well as preliminary details of the NIA team’s interview with David Coleman Headley point to the ISI’s direct role in the Mumbai attacks. According to sources in the investigating agencies, Pakistan’s semi-rogue spy agency “planned and guided” the attack on Mumbai.

Irretrievable breakdown to be ground for divorce

• The Cabinet will clear amendments to the Hindu Marriage Act today by including “irretrievable breakdown of marriage” as ground for divorce.
• Under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriages Act, which provides for grant of divorce, a decree of divorces for separation can be given only on the grounds such as “cruelty”, “adultery” and “desertion”.
• The lack of this provision was recently pointed out by the Supreme Court while hearing a petition filed by Union power minister Sushilkumar Shinde’s daughter, Smriti Shinde. A 2006 judgement, too, had voiced the need for legislative intervention on the issue.
• In 1981, a Bill was introduced to give effect to “irretrievable breakdown” as a ground for divorce, but it did not find acceptance as some were of the view that unscrupulous husband would desert their wives by taking advantage of this provision.

At Rs 16.4cr, Raza Sets World Record

• A painting by SH Raza was sold at Christie's for £2.4 million (Rs 16.42 crore) on Thursday, making it a record for any modern or contemporary Indian work of art. Saurashtra, a 7-foothigh, richly-coloured abstract dating from 1983, had been expected to sell for £1.3-1.8 million.
• The London auction price broke the previous record held by Raza’s work La Terre, which sold for £1.27 million (Rs 8.56 crore) on June 30, 2008, and Souza’s Birth, which set a record on June 11, 2008, with a similar price tag of £1.27 million. The earlier Raza and Souza prices were world auction records for the artists too.

New DGH

• S K Srivastava is new director general of DGH
• Over seven months after controversial oil regulator V K Sibal demitted office, the government has appointed S K Srivastava as the new director general of the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH).
• Srivastava was Director (Operations) in state explorer Oil India when in late October last year he was given the additional charge of DGH after Sibal was denied an extension amid charges of favouring private parties.

Australia is no longer a favoured destination for Indian students

• The increasing regularity with which Indian students have been targeted in racial attacks in Australia, appears to have finally taken a toll. Many of the Indian students are no longer preferring Australia as a destination for their higher education. It’s almost certain now that the number of Indian students going to Australia will take a big hit in 2010, and some experts even see a 75% decline.
• Australia has received over 2.67 lakh global student visa applications in the fiscal year to May 31, 2010. The figure represents a fall of over 18% when compared to the record figures of 2008-09.
• Indeed, Fall 2010 will be a tad different from previous years. A combination of factors such as stricter immigration norms, changing dynamics in the global job market and incidents of racism in some georgaphies is reshaping the decisions taken by Indian students on overseas education. Some are actually putting their overseas studies on hold for a year or two, despite having got their visas stamped. Many of them prefer to stay back in India and work–at least for now.

India's first professional symphony orchestra makes international debut

• India created history by fielding its first professional symphony orchestra in the Fifth Festival of World's Symphony Orchestras here, and winning the applause of Muscovites, one of the most demanding audiences in the world.
• The Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI), during its maiden foreign trip, performed Beethoven's 9th symphony in the finale of the 10-day festival in the historical House of Columns, once the club of Russian Imperial gentry.

The SOI was formed by the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in 2006.

Science & Tech/Environment/Sports (Major/Minor Issues)

Nadal lifts his fifth French Open crown

• Rafael Nadal recaptured the French Open crown on Sunday, gaining revenge over Robin Soderling with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 win and, in so doing, he also retook the world No.1 spot from Roger Federer.
• Nadal was simply too powerful on clay for the Swede who 12 months ago ended the Spaniard's 31-match, four titles win streak in Paris in stunning fashion with a four sets, fourth round triumph.
• The win, Nadal's fifth here since 2005, put him second on the all-time list of French Open winners, one behind Bjorn Borg whose last title here came in 1981. He is now 38-1 in matches played at Roland Garros.

The World Cup football

• The 64 matches in World Cup 2010, which kicks off on June 11 in South Africa, could have a cumulative viewership of over 26 billion going by the trend in the previous tournament of 2006.
• Some 700 million viewers watched the World Cup 2006 final between Italy and France.
• Fifa sold World Cup TV rights for $2.7 billion.
• India connection to the World Cup

• Latex bladder from India is being used in the manufacture of footballs specially designed for the World Cup, incorporating eight thermally-bonded three-dimensional panels, all spherically moulded and textured with grooves to improve aerodynamics, based on inputs from researchers at the UK’s Loughborough University.
• The ball for this World Cup was designed by Adidas. It is given the name Jabulani (Zulu for ‘Bringing joy to everyone’).
• The World Cup mascot is Zakumi — an anthropomorphed leopard with green hair.

FIFA World Cup history

• From its humble beginnings in Uruguay in 1930 to a global phenomenon, the FIFA World Cup (WC) has grown as a passion for both foot-ballers and fans. With Uruguay, the football champion in the 1924 and 1928 Olympics, along with celebrating 100 years of Independence in 1930, FIFA decided to give the country the hosting rights for the first World Cup.
• Only 13 nations participated in the first World Cup and Uruguay won. FIFA then asked teams to qualify for the following World Cup, held in Italy. Uruguay did not defend its title, miffed with the non-appearance of European nations on its soil. Italy went on to win in 1934.
• The succeeding edition saw the host nation and defending champion given direct entries into the finals. Italy retained the title while many South American nations boycotted the event because of the finals staying in Europe. The next two tournaments were cancelled because of World War II.
• The 1950 World Cup in Brazil saw England participating for the first time. The competition did away with knockouts and had two group phases.
• A 17-year old Pele, displaying skills beyond his age, became the youngest player to win the WC. With the likes of Garrincha by his side, Pele and Selecao again won the World Cup in 1962.
• England hosted the 1966 event and won, and it would be remembered for many things. The Jules Rimet trophy was lost and found, South Africa was banned for apartheid, the first WC mascot was unveiled, and North Korea became the first Asian nation to enter the last eight.
• In 1970, Brazil coasted to a dominating triumph, with Pele becoming the first and till now only player to win three WCs. The team, which also had the likes of Gerson and Tostao, is widely recognised as the best ever football team.
• Now in its 80th year, the World Cup touches down in Africa. The African nation, riddled with economic strife and racial tensions, has done all the spadework for the quadrennial event.

Saina Nehwal wins Indian Open

• Saina Nehwal, the women's top seed and World No.6 overcame a stiff challenge from Choo Wong Mew of Malaysia, the second seed, to win 20-22, 21-14, 21-12 in 56 minutes in the singles final in the $1,20,000 Yonex Sunrise-India Open Grand Prix gold badminton championships.

Performance of Kyoto protocol -- an assessment

• The rich must reduce so that the poor can grow. This was the basis of the climate pact signed in Rio. This was the basis of the Kyoto Protocol that committed the industrialised world to cut emissions by 6% over 1990 levels by 2008-12.
• But the world has never been serious about this pact. Between 1990 and 2006, carbon dioxide emissions of the rich countries have increased by 14.5%. Furthermore, emissions from the growth-related energy sector have increased by 15%.

BASICs meet in July

• Ahead of the August round of negotiations at Bonn, the BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) countries will meet in Rio de Janeiro in late July.
• It is expected that the other developing countries will be invited to take part in the deliberations. This is a part of the agreement that the four countries agreed to at their May meeting in Cape Town. In a departure from practice, the Rio meeting will have technical segment followed by the high-level ministerial segment. The technical segment would focus on three issues — equity, leveraging private finance, and science and possible scenarios.
• Each of the four countries is working on a model for equity in carbon space. India has prepared a paper on a burdensharing model based on the principle of per capita emission, South Africa is working on a study which is based on the global development rights framework, China is preparing a carbon budget as well. Brazil already has an equity study, which it prepared in 1997.

Green Revolution's diet of big carbon savings

• The Green Revolution of the 1960s raised crop yields and cut hunger — and also saved decades worth of greenhouse gas emissions, a study concludes. U.S. researchers found cumulative global emissions since 1850 would have been one third as much again without the Green Revolution's higher yields.
• Although modern farming uses more energy and chemicals, much less land needs to be cleared. The study is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
• “Converting a forest or some scrubland to an agricultural area causes a lot of natural carbon in that ecosystem to be oxidised and lost to the atmosphere,” said Steven Davis, from the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology at Stanford University in California.

Rich countries accused of carbon ‘cheating'

• Some rich countries are seeking new rules under the U.N. climate convention that campaigners say would allow them to gain credit for “business as usual.” Russia, Australia, Canada and some EU countries are among the accused.
• The rules relate to land-use change, which can either release or absorb carbon, depending mainly on whether forests are planted or chopped down. Rich countries, apart from the U.S., could account for about 5 per cent of their annual emissions through this loophole.
• The U.S. is not involved in these negotiations because the proposals fall under the Kyoto Protocol, of which it — alone among developed countries — is not a part. By way of comparison, 5 per cent is roughly equal to the total emissions reduction that developed countries pledged to make between 1990 and 2012 under the Kyoto Protocol. The benefit for some countries, notably Russia, would be much greater.

• Indian Economy (Minor Issues)

  MTN rings Anil for merger with RCOM

• With the rapprochement between the two Ambani brothers making headlines all over the world, MTN is reported to be considering in its board meeting, as early as today, a merger with RCOM.
• MTN is a South Africa based telecom giant with interests in Africa. Currently, South Africa’s Public Investment Body holds 18% in MTN, Lebanon’s Mikati family holds 10, while the rest is owned by institutional and individual investors.
• In 2008 also there were merger talks between MTN and Anil Ambani. But they came to a naught with the elder brother Mukesh saying that he has the first right of refusal over RCOM and hence MTN cannot be acquiring any stake in RCOM without his refusal.
• MTN has proved to be the runaway bride for many. So far, the company has entered into nine negotiations with a stated objective to sell out.
• The last among them was Bharti Airtel. The proposed $24-billion transaction would have seen Bharti acquire a 49% stake in MTN while the South African company and its shareholders would have purchased 36% of Bharti. The deal would have created a telecom giant with the third-highest subscribers of any wireless carrier in the world.
• If the RCOM and MTN join hands, the combined entity would have annual revenues of approximately $13.4 billion, with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of $7.7 billion. The two would also have 218 million subscribers, putting it among the top five companies around the world.

GDP grew at 7.4% in FY 2010

• Indian economy expanded at a better-than-expected 7.4% in 2009-10, helped by strong growth in manufacturing and agriculture that lifted fourth quarter numbers, but faces global headwinds as it pushes for 8.5% growth in the current fiscal year.
• The country’s gross domestic output grew by 8.7% in the fourth fiscal quarter as agriculture grew 0.7% and manufacturing cruised at 16.3%, data released on Monday showed.
• The numbers emboldened finance minister Pranab Mukherjee to say the economy would grow by more than 8.5% in the current year. But his optimism is not shared by many others.
• In the three months to March 2010, gross fixed capital formation—a measure of investment activity—grew 34.6% quarter-on-quarter, indicating that investments have begun to pick up. However, analysts suspect that these investments are largely by the government in infrastructure sectors and will like to see private players stepping in.

Criteria for starting a bank?

• Under the existing regulations, the initial minimum paid-up capital for a new bank should be Rs 200 crore and the promoter’s contribution shall be at least 40% of the paid-up capital of the bank at any point of time.
• The current laws state that an individual company or its subsidiaries can only hold a maximum of 10% stake in the proposed new bank.

Bharti wraps up Zain deal

• Bharti has reportedly closed the $9 bn purchase of the African operations of Kuwait's Zain Telecom.
• This is India's second biggest overseas deal after Tata Steel's $13 bn purchase of Corus in 2007.
• The completion of the deal gives Bharti Airtel a firm foothold in a market that it has long coveted: two previous attempts to enter Africa with MTN, the continent’s largest phone firm, came to nought.
• Cash from the African operations will pay for the about $9-billion loan that Bharti has taken to fund the deal and will reportedly cost the company less than $200 million a year in interest payments.
• The combined entity will be the world’s fifth largest, with 180 million customers, 42 million of them in Africa.

On the importance of tackling inflation

• Inflation will be a nagging issue for India because: (a) We are a nation with a large population, which is underserved in terms of food, clothing, housing, etc, (b) Indian GDP is on the trajectory of high trend growth rate of over 8% and GDP per capita is growing at the rate of 7.5%. There is significantly high unsatiated demand at current level of economy, which is bound to rise significantly further as the GDP per capita increases. Hence, the managers of Indian economy have to address the issue of inflation with short-, medium- and long-term perspective.

Tribunals for economic disputes, offences likely

• The government plans to set up special dispute resolutions panels and courts to resolve economic offences and disputes, as it looks to make a clear distinction between cases of general and specialised nature.
• The proposal will now be discussed and finalised by the law ministry. It may require changes in existing legal framework.
• This initiative follows a suggestion made by the Prime Minister’s Council on Trade and Industry, which called for a special dispute resolution mechanism to administer all existing and future economic legislations.

Private funds flowing swiftly to infrastructure projects

• Private investments in India’s infrastructure projects crossed $25-billion mark in the first three quarters of 2009, as conducive government policies and liquidity in capital market opened the floodgates of corporate funds into the booming energy and transport sectors.
• An improved show by infrastructure industries helped India lead its South Asian neighbours in terms of economic performance, according to a World Bank report. India’s energy and transport sectors attracted 40% of total investment commitments worth a record $26 billion.
• Investment commitments to new infrastructure projects with private participation grew by 15% in 2009.
• This could be because of the country’s globally competitive manufacturing sector.

Basic about Pass through certificates

• A pass through certificate (PTC) is created on conversion of a loan to an investible debt instruments such as bonds and debentures. The PTC has features of any other debt instrument and earn a return to the investor. Such certificates are sold against an underlying security which is generally the loan that a bank converts into securities or bonds.
• In India, servicing of such PTCs is done by a special purpose vehicle (SPV) which is created by the issuer of such PTCs. The issuer is essentially a bank or an NBFC which benefits by converting loans to PTCs through what is known as securitisation as it generates further resources for the entity for further lending. The investor earns a fixed return like any other fixed income instrument.

RIL drawing up plans to foray into telecom space

• The board of Reliance Industries (RIL) is believed to have approved plans to enter the Indian telecommunications sector when the opportunity arises.
• India’s largest private sector company is expected to go for only the lucrative corporate bandwidth market, or the business of selling telecom and internet services to companies rather than individuals.
• It is likely that the company could unveil its intent to foray into telecom at its annual general meeting on June 18.
• The government is currently auctioning frequency spectrum for broadband wireless access, or WiMAX, a technology that speeds up internet access and RIL is likely to set up a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to acquire one of the winners.
• It is rare for a telecom company to sell only to companies, ignoring retail consumers. The only comparable initiative to what RIL seems interested in would be Tulip Telecom. But Tulip is small and has found it difficult to expand business beyond a point. Tulip offers companies wireless bandwidth solutions, including virtual private networks, on radio spectrum that is free for use. Only last month, the company announced plans to start its own overseas hubs for customers that required access globally.
• In the year ended March 2010, Tulip had revenues of Rs 1,967 crore with a net profit of Rs 275 crore. Yet, RIL’s entry into the market will set the cat among the pigeons for telecom operators. Already beleaguered by falling call rates in India, the sector can ill afford a sharp decline in leased-line rates and corporate client spends.

Broadband Wireless Airwaves auction touches record high

• The cost of pan-India broadband airwaves, which crossed Rs 12,000 crore after 14 days of bidding, has baffled analysts and stunned telecom companies participating in the auctions, many of whom concede that the price has become ‘highly irrational.’
• On Wednesday, the pan-India bid licence for BWA spectrum touched Rs 12,257 crore, after two weeks of auction, which translates into a revenue of Rs 36,772 crore for the government from the sale of three slots.
• The government had estimated to garner Rs 35,000 crore from both 3G and BWA auctions combined. This takes the total revenues for the government from 3G and BWA combined to over Rs 1 lakh crore.

No tax on retirement benefits under new draft code

• The revised draft Direct Taxes Code (DTC) proposes tax exemption on retirement benefits, the Public Provident Fund (PPF), the Government Provident Fund (GPF), the Recognised Provident Funds and the Employees Provident Fund and addresses important issues such as Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT).
• It also takes care of taxation of long-term savings, capital gains and housing loans.
• Also, a proposal to levy MAT on corporates based on their assets had been dropped. However, the DTC did not give any details on the Income-Tax structure such as the slabs or rates, which were provided in the first draft released in August 2009.
• “As of now, it is proposed to provide the EEE [exempt-exempt-exempt] method of taxation for GPF, PPF, the Employees Provident Fund and Recognised Provident Funds,” it said.