05.02.

06:

• MICE – meetings, incentives, conventions and events – market all over the
world is in excess of $300 bln. Indian inbound MICE market is about $35
million in the first 9 months of the current year, which is 30% more than the
same period last year. The paper carries a guide (special report) on the
business capitals of the world.
• EPFO corpus figures as of October 2005:

Central govt. securities 22,471 crs.

State govt. securities 16,860
Special deposit schemes 53,534
Financial institutions 29,494
Public account 30,012
Total corpus 1,52,643 crs.

06.02.06:

• In any initial public offer of shares, retail investors enjoy a quota of 35%,
QIBs enjoy a quota of 50% and the rest 15% is reserved for HNIs ie., high
networth individuals.
• Iranian foreign minister Manoucher Mottaki.
• India’s consumer durables market is of the size of Rs. 20,000 crores. Colour
TV market occupies the largest chunk of this to the extent of about 60-70%.
• India’s luggage market is of the size of Rs. 600 crores. Soft luggage segment
is growing at 25% as against hard luggage segment which is growing at 5%.
• BSNL and MTNL put together have 4 crore fixed line subscribers. IPTV
subscribers globally are likely to cross 120 million by 2010 and Asia Pacific
will comprise 47% of it, with India being a major market.
• India will be a fab market for semiconductors by 2015 accounting for about
11% of global consumption from around 1.8% now according to an ISA India
Semiconductor Association report. The Indian electronics equipment
manufacturing is growing at a rate 5.5 times more than the rest of the world.
• India as of today has only about 130 qualified actuaries and most of them are
over 60 years of age. In paper dated 09/03/06, the figure is stated as 207
actuaries with 95 of them being over the age of 60. Hence IRDA is
considering allowing the actuaries to work till 65.
• Upto 300 planes are expected to be acquired by Indian carriers over 5-7 years.
• LIC chairman AK Shukla. LIC assets 500,000 crores. Largest FI in India.
• Education cess introduced in 2004-05 budget. The basic principle of levying
any cess is to earmark the proceeds for a specific purpose and treat it as
additionality to existing resources.
• Inward reinsurance is the business of reinsuring risks of foreign insurance
companies.
• SK Jain, NPCIL CMD.
• Gujarat’s ports are expected to handle close to 90 mln tones of crude oil in the
next five years, which would go up to 130 MT in 2015-16 and nearly 153 MT
by 2020 from the current 69 MT.

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 • Area under wheat and rice cultivation is estimated to come down from 170
mln hectares to 100 mln hectares by 2020. India needs to double its food grain
output from 200 mln tones in the next 14 years.
• India is currently importing half a million tones of wheat to beef up domestic
supplies. Only about a third of the total food grain production is procured by
the government at the fixed support price of Rs. 640 per tonne this rabi.
• Pinctada margaritifera is a species of oyster used in pearl culture in Andaman
and Nicobar and it has the potential to produce the most expensive and rare
black pearls.

07.02.06:

• Atomic Energy Commission Chairman is Anil Kakodkar. He opposes putting

fast breeder programme under safeguards by IAEA.
• The market size of industrial air fans is about 350 to 400 crores. 50% of it is
in unorganized sector.
• Domestic beer market is projected to be 100 mln cases this year.
• MCX daily average turnover is about Rs. 4000 crores currently.
• Centre’s tax collection target in 2005-06 is 2,73,466 crores. Education cess
target is 6,975 crores
• India has 349 universities, 16000 colleges. Only 9% of the population in the
18-23 years age bracket are enrolled in any of these institutes. Enrollment
ratio in higher education is 83.2 in US and 15.8 in China.
• US consumer currently accounts for 25% of the global economy.
• Current savings rate in Indian economy is 29.1% of GDP.
• The states in India have spent three times what was spent by the Centre on 5th
Pay Commission implementation.
• Wheat stocks are only 5.1 mln tones at February 2006 beginning. Well below
the buffer stock norm. Wheat production is estimated to be 74-75 mln tones as
against 72.11 mln tones last year.
• Local retail market is of Rs. 40,000 crores size. In India retail is growing @
35-40%.
• 51% FDI in single brand retail is allowed recently. Domestic clothing market
is about 1.5 times the export market. Clothing market size is 35,000 crores.
India’s clothing exports account for 30% of all total exports.

08.02.06:

• Economy growth:
o Manufacturing sector is expected to grow at 9.4% and
o Agriculture sector is expected to grow at 2.3% in 2005-06.
o Services sector – 9.9%
• GDP figures:
o Total GDP at constant prices for the year is expected to be Rs.
25,86,587 crores
o Per capita income is expected to be Rs. 20,813 – up 5.9% from last
year’s Rs. 19,649.

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 o NNP – Net National Product is likely to be Rs. 23,04,043 crores up
7.6% from last year’s 21,41,776 crores
• There are about 40 tax havens all over the world.
• Election Commissioner Navin Chawla is in the eye of storm for accepting
donations from a few Congress MPs for trusts run by him and his wife.
• DK Mehrotra is Managing Director of LIC. Chairman is AK Shukla. Total
assets of LIC are of 500,000 crores.
• This year 52 lakh PAN numbers were issued – of which 99% were issued in 10
days.
• Committees on updating insurance laws – Law Commission and KP
Narasimhan committees. At present insurers have to bring in a minimum
capital of Rs. 100 crores and have a maximum 26% FDI for their ventures in
India.
• In India’s bourses algorithmic trading accounts for about 40% of the total
volume.
• Infrastructure news:
o According to official estimates, India has an annual funding
requirement of $15bn for developing its infrastructure.
o Takeout financing: Banks could extend long term loans for
infrastructure projects for 10-15 years. Banks keep this loan in their
books for a certain maturity (say 5 years) and then transfer it to the FI
which had the risk appetite to take longer tenor loans in its books.
o The Golden Quadrilateral – the country’s largest expressway project,
aims to connect Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata through four to
six lane expressways running 6000 kms.
o Centre approved five mega power projects: of 4000 MW each
 Sasan in MP
 Akaltara in Chattisgarh
 Karwar in Karnataka
 Mundra in Gujarat
 Ratnagiri in Maharashtra
o Country-wise transmission losses are about 40% of the total power
produced in the country.
o Cell phone subscriber base is 62 mn.
• As per section 80-1A of the IT Act, companies in infrastructure sectors like
power, roads, energy get a 100% tax exemption for a period of 10 years in
succession.
• IBM’s Power6 chip, due in mid 2007, will run at speeds between 4 and 5 GHz,
at least double the speed of current power chips found in server computers.

09.02.06:

• Tariff Commission is for capping LNG margins at 1%. Currently this margin
stands at 2.5%.
• IOC Chairman is S. Behuria
• In case of Delhi and Mumbai, the government allowed 74% private equity
participation with 49% foreign equity. In the case of green field airports
foreign equity is permitted upto 100%.

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 • Under the new guidelines on phone tapping, the telecom companies will be
required to formally acknowledge an interception request from law
enforcement agencies within two hours.
• Alang and Sosiya ship breaking yards in Gujarat are considered the biggest
among the ship breaking units in the world. Currently under the threat of
losing out to neighbouring countries. 5 % customs duty and 16% excise duty.
• GAIL and NTPC have not been able to tie up gas supply for the Dabhol power
project. 2184 MW plant size.
• Indian Banks Association Chief Executive is HN Sinor. The system of single
benchmark PLR for every bank was introduced in 2003.
• APGENCO is taking up two mega power projects – one at Krishnapattanam
(2400 MW) and another at somewhere on the Hyderabad-Karimnagar
highway (2100 MW). The proposed gas trunk line from Kakinada to Gujarat
is expected to pass through the Hyderabad-Karimnagar highway somewhere.

10.02.06:

• SEZ policy: Exports from the SEZs are projected at $5 bln in 2005-06 from
the 948 units operating out of them. Setting up of SEZs is made simple. SEZs
will get 100% tax exemption for 10 years within a block of 15 years. The
rules provide for up to 100% sale of SEZ products in domestic tariff areas
after payment of customs duty. So far approvals have been given for setting
up of 117 zones spread over 15 states and two union territories.
• Railways’ net internal revenue generation is expected to be Rs. 11,500 crores
in 2005-06. This is nearly 65% more than Rs. 6,393 crore fund balance in
2004-05.
• Govt. to setup defence offset agency:
o An offset is a mechanism to partially compensate (offset) the
significant outflow of a buying country’s resources in large purchases
of foreign goods and services by either re-investing a part of the money
or placing orders locally.
o The offset clause will apply to all capital acquisitions of Rs. 300 crores
and above across three categories – buy, buy and make and buy-make
and transfer technology by Indian defence establishments.
o Initially 30% of the indicative cost of acquisition will be the minimum
value of the offset. What this implies is any vendor supplying
equipment of munitions worth Rs. 300 crores or more will have to
either invest Rs. 90 crore in the country or purchase stuff worth the
same amount from local suppliers.
• Farm panel for Indian Trade Organization:
o National Commission on Farmers (NCF) headed by MS Swaminathan
has suggested setting up the ITO.
o It has strongly recommended the segregation of subsidies to farmers
into two categories – those meant for providing life and livelihood
saving support to small farmers and those which could be deemed as
trade-distorting in the global market.
o The NCF was setup in November 2004 to go into various issues
related to food, agriculture and allied fields.

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 o Total exports of agricultural products is estimated at Rs. 34,654 crores
in terms of value in 2002-03, constituted only a small proportion about
6.18% of the total output of this sector which was reckoned at Rs.
5,60,516 crores in that year.
• Rural power scheme (Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana) unviable:
Plan Panel
o The ambitious Rs. 16,000 crore plan is unviable economically.
o Out of 10,846 villages scheduled to be covered in 2005-06 only 1941
villages have been covered so far.
o The plan targets for 2005-06 under the yojana aim at electrification of
60 lak households, including 17.88 lakh below poverty line
households.
o Scheme launched in April 2005 to provide electricity access to 7.8
crore rural households in five years and electrify all 2.34 crore BPL
households.
• Interesting facts and figures about shipping industry in India:
o Repair and maintenance of ships on foreign shores is known as dry
docking – is essential every 2.5 years
o The world’s sea-borne trade expanded from about 3.3 bln tones in 1986
to almost 6 bln tones in 2004.
o The share of India’s international trade carried by Indian vessels fell
from 35.5 % in 1990-91 to just 13.8% in 2003-04.
o For nearly two decades India’s gross tonnage (GT) has been
languishing at around 7 million tones. It surged to 8.31 million tones
between Jan and December 2005, due in large measure to the new
tonnage tax system. Under this system, the shipping companies are
mandated to maintain 20% of their profits for vessel purchases.
o Over 37% of the vessels are more than 20 years old; another 19% are
between 15 and 19 years old.
o Indian shipping industry will need $3 bln at current prices in the next
five years to replace its ageing fleet.
• We are presently consuming about 0.4 bln tones of coal every year for energy
consumption.
• India’s share of renewable energy is just 6%. Total renewable energy in India
will be 8000 MW by the end of March 2008.
• Germany has come out with an Energy Act in 2000 that mandates generation
of 50% of total requirement from wind by the year 2030.

11.02.06:

• The STT (Securities Transaction Tax) was applied in lieu of long term capital
gains tax.
• The mutual fund industry has over Rs. 200,000 crores in total assets as on
January 2006.
• BSNL Chairman: AK Sinha
• MTNL Chairman: RSP Sinha
• 1995-96 deposit of Rs. 3000 crores in Post Office Monthly Income Account

-5-
 • 2005-06 deposits of over Rs. 30,000 crores despite the decline in interest rates
from 13% to 8% during the period.
• India levies 70% import duty on wheat to curb wheat imports.
• Opec oil capacity to climb as demand gains, says IEA:
o The Internal Energy Agency is Paris based and represents OECD
nations.
o World oil demand of 1.78 mln barrels a day – growth 2.1%
o Total 2006 consumption is expected to be 85.1 mln barrel a day
o Effective OPEC spare capacity is only 1.4 mln barrels a day
• Net savings in Asia currently at $400 bln are being used to finance deficits in
the US and EU countries. UNESCAP – UN Economic and Social
Commission for Asia and Pacific is exploring ways to utilize the savings in the
region for financing infrastructure projects which require about $500 bln a
year.
• India’s current share of 0.5% in global tourist traffic is expected to double to
1% in the next five years.
o Inbound tourism has been growing at 15% to 17% in the past two
years.
o India’s foreign exchange earnings from overseas tourists rose 20% in
2005 to $5.73 bln, up from $4.76 bln a year earlier.
o Overseas tourist arrivals during the year rose 13.2% to 3.91 mln.
• Non residential energy consumption in India grew thrice as fast as China’s
during the 1990s, although the latter’s economic growth distinctly higher.
Chinese govt. has already announced a program for all their cities to reduce
their buildings’ energy use by 50% by 2010 and by 65% by 2020. There is no
such program in India.

13.02.06:

• FRBM Act mandates reduction in the level of public debt to 0.5% of the GDP.
• At present the Govt. guarantees the payment of the sum assured and bonuses
on LIC policies.
• All derivative trades routed through the recognized stock exchanges will not
be treated as speculative transactions. This was announced in the previous
budget – 2005-06.
• While subsidies on cooking gas are proposed to be phased out through gradual
hike in retail prices, it would be restricted to only target consumers for
kerosene.
• At present subsidies on LPG are about Rs. 220 a cylinder, kerosene is sold at a
subsidy of Rs. 12 a litre.
• Retirement funds:
o Unlike PFs, superannuation (SA) and gratuity funds are not governed
by the Union Labour Ministry.
o A year ago, PFs along with SA and gratuity funds were alloed to invest
5% of their new inflow in stocks.
o SA funds, unlike PFs are not compulsory.
o The total size of the SA and gratuity funds in the country would be 10-
15% of the Rs. 2,50,000 crore PF sector.

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• Army Chief: General JJ Singh
• Navy Chief: Admiral Arun Prakash
• Airforce Chief: Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi
• France already depends on nuclear power for nearly 80% of its requirements.
• It is predicted that 100 million new urban middle class consumers will become
potential air travelers by 2010.
• Power Trading Corporation CMD: TN Thakur
• India and China signed a historic agreement to enable their public sector oil
giants to work together to maximize existing energy potential in their domestic
oil and gas market, and also that they don’t end up competing among
themselves in a third country.
• Digital imaging market is of the size of Rs. 1000 crores – 2.5 lakh units. The
old analog film based market is of Rs. 200 crores size.
• Service tax collections:
o Expected to be 23,500 crores in 2005-06
o Target in the next year could be 40-50% over revised estimates.
o The services sector in the economy accounts for more than 50% of the
GDP; is estimated to have grown at 10% during the current year.
o At present there are 81 services in the tax net.
• Customs duty on fuel is 5%.
• Nearly 4000 MW of gas based power production capacity remains unutilized
due to fuel crunch. Another 6500 MW of gas based power projects hang in
limbo for the same reason.
• Over the last year LNG prices in the international markets have risen from $4
per mmbtu to $12 per mmbtu.
• In the current year over 15 MT of coal had to be imported to avert a power
crisis. The power sector will face a coal shortage of 30 MT; to meet which at
least 20 MT of coal has to be imported.
• The Chennai-Trichy-Madurai oil pipeline spanning a distance of 683 KM is
the longest petroleum products pipeline in a single state.
• The GDP figures this year have been revised – partly due to the fact that the
base year has been shifted from 1993-94 to 1999-2000
• Securitization: is a two stage process in which a bank sells its asset or a pool
of assets to a special purpose vehicle. The SPV in turn issues tradable
securities that represent claims on the cash flows of the assets. Such asset
sales enable banks to transact more business without augmenting their
regulatory capital, as they would not have to maintain capital for the assets so
disposed of.
• Credit enhancement: is the support provided including through cash
collaterals, to enhance the credit rating of the securitized assets.
• Indo US trade:
o Growth rate of India’s trade with US is 23.5%; the same as that of
China’s, albeit on a much smaller base.
o NASSCOM estimates – more than 70% of the India’s software service
exports of $12 bln in 2004-05 were directed to North America –
primarily US.
o China’s trade with US is $285 bln; while India’s is $26 bln.

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 o In 2005 while China’s imports from the US grew around 20%, India’s
imports grew around 30%.
o US has a share of more than 12% in India’s total trade; while India’s
trade with US is 1%, against China’s 12%.

14.02.06:

• VSNL owns about 770 acres surplus land in various metros.

• Clemenceau: the controversial French ship which is headed for India for
dismantling.
• The Army Chief Gen. JJ Singh opposed the Central Govt. proposal for a
census on communal lines in the armed forces. The Centre’s plans to address
the grievances of hard-line Muslims by ordering a community specific survey
of the armed forces and other secular professions ran into stiff weather with
this stand of the Army Chief.
• Aviation scene in India:
o It is estimated that India will have 300 more aircraft by 2014
o Last year nearly 19 mln seats were sold by domestic airlines.
o The booking statistics indicate a 36% increase in domestic travel in the
first three quarters this fiscal. The full year may end with a 45-48%
growth.
o Domestic traffic is growing at about 15-18% per annum.
o Aviation Turbine Fuel accounts for about 35% of the operating
expenses of airlines.
o Delhi and Mumbai account for nearly 50% of the total airline traffic.
o For flying aircraft abroad, a company has to be at least 5 years old.
o Each minute of additional flying costs nearly Rs. 2,100 for an Airbus
320 plane.
• The PM is talking of adding an additional 1,50,000 MW of power capacity in
the next seven years.
• India’s largest retail mall is going to come up in Delhi (NCR) by DLF with
about 4 mln sft. On completion it would be one of the top 10 largest malls in
the world.
• Readymade garments market is Rs. 43,000 crore in size. Children’s wear
constitutes about 17%, pegged at 7,310 crores. Organized retail of kidswear
accounts for only Rs. 500 crores. 30% of India’s population is below the age
of 15 years.
• There are about 17000 Indian students in Britain as against 80,000 in US.
• Mobile markets:
o India is set to become the world’s fastest growing mobile market.
o India will add a whopping 358 mln mobile subscribers between 2006
and 2011.
o By 2011, Asia-Pacific region will account for 50% of the world’s entire
mobile subscriber base, with a staggering 1.067 bln subscribers.
o China has been adding about 4-5 mln mobile users per month, a figure
India achieved in December 2005.
o China began mobile services in 1988.

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 • India is expected to import about $3.5 bln IT hardware in the current fiscal.
• The total value of computers and peripherals sold in the country is expected to
be about $6.5 bln (Rs. 29,250 crore).
• The software and ITES sector account for 10-15% of the total computer
hardware sales in India.
• Electronics production is pegged at $11.2 bln (Rs. 50,000 crore) and accounts
for 1.7% of India’s GDP.
• At present the cash reserve ratio is at 5%.
• Combined fiscal deficit of the Centre and States is about 8%.

15.02.06:

• Mauritius wants currency for Indian Rupee – considering the strong links
between the two countries and the recently concluded FTA. The average
spend of tourists visiting Mauritius is estimated to be around $1000. The
Indian Rupee is accepted in Nepal and is traded by bankers in HongKong.
• Amortization rules for Mutual Funds: Under the current regulations, asset
management companies can spend upto 6% of the income generated from an
initial fund offering for expenses related to the issue – to be amortized over
three to five years. The move is to make the funds charge these expenses
upfront.
• Mukesh Ambani’s RIL has plans to invest upto Rs. 30,000 crore in retail
sector.
• Colgate is India’s number 1 brand. Followed by Lux and Dettol.
• The Supreme Court has asked the Central and State govts. To compulsorily
register marriages – even by amending the rules and procedures within three
months.
• The seven member committee headed by Justice (Retd.) Rajindar Sachar; its
mandate is to prepare a report on the current “social, economic and
educational status of Muslim community in India”.
• Broiler chicken production in Kerala is about 40,000 tonnes a year and almost
the same quantity is imported from other states to meet the poultry meat
demand in Kerala.
• About 67% -- that is $12 bln – of the total Indian IT services and BPO exports
are accounted for by the US. 35,000 Indian professionals are working in the
US. They pay about $500 mln in social security cuts every year. As they
never use the benefit – because of the rule that an individual has to stay in the
country for 40 quarters i.e., 10 years – the US gets to keep the money. US has
Totalization Agreements with 21 countries whereby it refunds such
contributions to the countries irrespective of the period of stay of the
professionals. So far the US has refused to sign such an agreement with India.
• Almost half of the total GDP of Rs. 32,00,000 crore comes from rural
economy in India.
• Countries such as Namibia and Egypt have productivity three times that of
India.
• Employers in India have a corpus of about Rs. 90,000 crore in superannuation
funds which are predominantly invested in government bonds.

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 • Currently foreigners and non-residents are not allowed to invest directly in the
Indian stock markets. Their investments are carried out via a participatory
note, or p-note, through a foreign institution which is registered with SEBI.
• INTUC has suggested the formation of workers’ capital trust to channelize the
Rs. 6.5 lakh crore savings made by workers in the form of contributions.
• For every 1000 kg of freight, Indian Railways on an average carries 450 kg of
dead weight. For the same freight trains In many western countries carry less
than 200 kg dead weight.
• US accounts for nearly half the consumption of world oil and natural gas.
• Insurance companies in India must invest 75% of their funds in fixed income
securities.
• Banks have to park 25% of their net demand and time liabilities in government
bonds as SLR.

16.02.06:

• Indo-French ties:
o India’s own uranium deposits are too limited to permit nuclear power
capacity of more than 10,000 MW.
o France’s Areva has standardized nuclear plants of 1,350 MW capacity
as against Japanese, Russian and American standardization of 1000
MW. Areva has now moved up to 1600 MW capacity.
o In the 1990’s Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG) decided not to sell any
nuclear power plant or materials to countries that did not accept full
scope safeguards.
o Mittal’s bid for Arcelor of France is €18.6 bln– against the troika of
France, Luxembourg and Spain. Arcelor is Luxemburg based while
Mittal Steel is Netherlands based.
o Since 1991, India received about $36.7 bln in FDI. Of this France has
invested a paltry 2.67% of $768 mln.
o Groupe Pernod Ricard, the world’s second largest wine and spirits
company – is French.
o World wide market of 151 mln Colour Picture Tubes. Videocon
acquired Thomson to become a CPT biggie in the world.
o Defence:
 India bought six Franco-Spanish Scorpene submarines last year
 MICA – short range air defence system
 Mistral class – amphibious landing ship. US has a competing
USS Trenton for a lower price.
o Clemenceau – the asbestos laden ship being proposed for dismantling
in India. It is supposed to be highly polluting in nature. A raging
controversy in India now.
o India’s exports to France are estimated at €3 bln. Imports are even
lower and hence India has trade surplus with France.
• Last year the Railways ferried over 600 mln tones of cargo across India –
including a tenth of it through containers. Railways is targeting to attain 100
mln cargo movement through containers in the next five years.

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 • The overall travel market in India is growing by over 20%. Last year nearly
19 mln domestic air trips were taken, and about 6.2 mln international tickets
were issued. This year the domestic numbers are expected to surge by at least
50% and international air travel is tipped to touch the 7 mln mark.
• There are 7 law universities in India. Three of them are stated to be reputed.
• The new age management guru Deepak Chopra says – “ You need to run the
business like a family and nurture emotional bonding”
• Iran-Pakinstan-India gas pipeline is $7 bln project. 2100 KM long.
• The gross enrolment ratio in elementary education was 82.5% in 2002-03.
• Indian software market:
o Software services generated over $17.2 bln in exports in 2004-05.
o The industry contributes over 4% of India’s GDP and nearly 20% of its
exports.
o Global market for software products is pegged at $180 bln.
o 346 Indian companies are engaged in product development.
o S/w product development has the potential of generating revenues to
the tune of $7 bln and creating 1 mln jobs by 2010.
• The range of the discounts for selling NPAs of banks in India is 10 to 50%.
• 2005 saw an unprecedented spurt in global crude prices – 45%
• On cooking fuels alone the subsidy is estimated to increase to Rs. 26,000 cr.
ONGC doled out Rs. 12,000 cr towards the subsidy bill while the GoI has
issued Rs. 11,000 cr worth of oil bonds to cover the subsidy.
• Palayamkotan in Tamilnadu and Njalipoovan in Kerala – famed for bananas.
• Kerala has three international airports – Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and
Kozhikode.
• Iron and Zinc deficiency – a very serious health problem for India.
• India is believed to have the world’s largest conglomeration of malnourished
people – with half the country’s children reporting underweight.

17.02.06:

• Gargil-Mukherjee formula: Distribution of plan assistance to states is

governed by this formula. According to this formula, 60% weightage is given
to population of a state. Now the indication is that this weightage should be
brought down to 25%.
• National highway are proposed to be developed in the next 7 years with an
investment of Rs. 1,75,000 cr.
• Women consumer:
o Women account for 80% of total gearless scooter market which is
estimated at about 1 mln units per annum.
o Only 3% of entire women population is on roads i.e., coming out of
home on work.
o Women account for 18% of the workforce.
• Hector Ruiz is CEO of AMD.
• ADM, USA’s largest biodiesel manufacturer has become the first MNC to
setup a $2 mln biofuel plant in India. What is biofuel? Gas or liquid fuel
made from plant material i.e., biomass.

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 • Hyderabad gets the $3 bln fab city promoted by SemIndia a consortium.
Jurong of Singapore is the master planner of the fab city. Project produces
different kind of chips from silicon wafers to solar power and display panels.
• The top 5 large Indian IT players account for 44% of the country’s total
software exports; 16% comes from tier II firms.
• BCSBI – Banking Codes and Standards Board of India is promoted by RBI to
ensure that banks follow the standard set by the banking industry.
• The ratio of judges for million population is the lowest in India. The Law
Commission in its 120th report had recommended 50 judges per million
population.
• In the calendar year 2005, M&A activity in India reached Rs. 1,04,202 cr.
• Customs duty exemption is currently available for mega power projects i.e.,
1000 MW or more.
• Implementation of energy conservation measures has the potential to save
23,000 MW leading to a saving of Rs. 100,000 cr in fresh investments.
• There are about 7,242 companies listed in BSE – of which only about 2,500
are actively traded.
• Reverse book building process: A floor price is fixed by the company and the
remaining shareholders are asked to bid at a price at which they want to tender
their shares.
• The Indian equities markets rose 42% in the calendar year 2005.

18.02.06:

• BCCI telecasting rights:

o Nimbus Communications (lead by Harish Thewani) has bagged all
terrestrial and global satellite broadcasting rights of BBCI for the next
four years – 2006 to 2010 for a bid of $612 mln (Rs. 2,775 cr).
o The TV advertising revenue per annum in India is in the range of Rs.
5,500 cr.
o Every year 165 days of cricketing would be there -- 55 ODIs and 22
tests
o To recover its bid price, the company would have to have a $4.84 mln
ad revenue per day.
• Karnataka has attracted an investment of about Rs. 2,127 cr in IT in the first
nine months of this fiscal.
• IT exports are expected to touch Rs. 37,000 cr ($8.2 bln) this fiscal by March
2006.
• Printing industry generally grows at twice the rate of the GDP growth. In
India thus it is expected to grow at about 14-15% annually. In digital printing,
an image is created directly from the digital media. Offset has an intermediate
cylinder to transfer the ink.
• Investments in US debt by various countries:
o India $12.6 bln
o China $257 bln
o Japan $685 bln
o UK $234 bln

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 • Texas Power Generation (TPG) is planning to setup a 1600 MW coal based
power station in Chhattisgarh.
• Prashanto Banerjee – CMD of GAIL
• C. Ranagarajan Committee on fuel pricing is pitching for trade-parity model
for fuel pricing instead of the current import-parity model in place.
• Special Coffee Term Loans – over 30% of the borrowers have not been able to
avail the Coffee Relief Package (CRP) announced in May 2005 by the GoI.
The cumulative indebtedness of the growers is about Rs.626 cr for the last
three years. Coffee market faces a glut globally. The CRP says that borrowers
have to pay 33% of the interest burden while government and banks would
shoulder two thirds interest burden.
• Coffee Board Chairman – G.V. Krishna Rau
• H5N1 virus causes avian flu. Spreads to humans also. Killed or forced the
culling of 200 mln birds across the Asia, Middle East, Europe and Africa.
Infected 169 people, killing 91 and is steadily mutating.
• Linolenic acid found in vegetable oils is the cause food to become stale or
rancid. The less acid content the better.

19.02.06:

• Bird flu in the recent attacks is reported for the first time in India at Nawapur,
Maharashtra.
o India produces 50 bln eggs annually.
o The poultry industry in the country (including egg production) is
estimated to be over Rs. 10,000 cr.
o AP has the largest poultry industry in India accounting for Rs. 2700 cr.
Almost 4 cr eggs per day and 2 cr broilers are sold every month.
o High Security Animal Disease Laboratory is in Bhopal.
• Retail markets:
o Unorganized retail market is pegged at Rs. 5,83,000 cr.
o Organized market is Rs. 5000 cr.
o Worldwide total retail market $225 bln of which only $7 bln is in
organized sector.
o The sector is set to grow at a rate of 25-30% in the next couple of
years.
o Returns in the sector in India range from 12-15% while in developed
countries it is 3-4%.
o The urban population in the country will grow by 85 mln in the next 10
years.
o The demand for skilled manpower in this sector is pegged at 2.5 mln
by 2010.
o Retail industry accounts for 11% of India’s GDP of which only 3% is
organized.
o The GoI permitted 51% FDI in retail trade of single brand stores under
the Govt. Approval route.
o India is the second most populous country in the world and fourth
largest economy in terms of purchasing power.
• The attrition rate among employees of BPO sector is:

- 13 -
 o 30-40% front-end employees
o 20-25% for middle level management
o 15-20% for top management
• Investments by ITES sector in tier II cities has exceeded Rs. 2,500 cr and
growing at 40%, according Nasscom
• Biotech industry is of the size Rs. 4,745 cr. Growing at 37%.
• Nutrine holds about 28% of the market share in the sugar-boiled confectionery
market estimated at Rs. 800 cr annually.
• At present only 25% of the water of Yamuna is being used.
• Bharat Nirman: The agenda of the GoI to spend Rs. 1,74,000 cr to:
o Provide safe drinking water to 55,067 villages by 2009
o Connect every village by telephone by Nov 2007
o Provide 60 lk houses for rural poor
o Provide all-weather roads to remaining 66,802 habitations by 2009
o Provide irrigation to an additional 1 cr hectares by 2009
o Provide electricity to the remaining 1,25,000 villages by 2009
• After a review of the progress made by Bharat Nirman, PMO concluded that it
is not possible to achieve the last two of the above targets.
• Detariffing in insurance: what this means is that the general insurers will be at
liberty to fix their own premium for any insurance policies they sell.
• Generating more loans for the small and marginal farmers: The GoI with a
view to do this is likely to announce a fund of the size of Rs. 10,000-15,000 cr.
The idea is to help NABARD provide low-cost refinance support, specially to
cooperative banks and RRBs.
• In the recent Palestinian Authority elections, Hamas won 74 of the 132
parliament seats. Ismail Haniyeh – Hamas Prime Ministerial candidate.
President is Mahmoud Abbas of Al Fatah party.
• Mr. Harsha Chawda is India’s first officially recognized test tube baby.

20.02.06:

• ADC – Access Deficit Charge is a cess imposed on long distance and mobile
calls and passed on to BSNL to subsidize its services in rural areas. Under the
new regime ADC will be about 2% of the adjusted gross revenue (ARG) and
will be applicable on all fixed lines and mo bile calls.
• Coffee:
o India allows 100% FDI in coffee processing and warehousing.
o Over 75% of India’s coffee crop is presently shipped out, essentially in
green bean form.
o Domestic coffee consumption is estimated at 75,000 tonnes which is
less than 20% of the country’s crop.
o Tamilnadu alone consumes 4/5th of the country’s offtake.
• E-Bay:
o Has 181 mln users worldwide
o It has 1.7 mln users from India.
o In 2005 over $44 bln goods were traded and revenues were $4.55 bln

- 14 -
 • Best bakery case:
o On March 1, 2002 a mob attacked Best Bakery in Vadodara and killed
14 people in post-Godhra riots in Gujarat.
o All the 21 accused in the case were acquitted in the case.
o NHRC filed SLP in SC for retrial and SC ordered retrial outside
Gujarat.
o Additional Sessions judge Abhay Thipsay of Mumbai is conducting the
trial.
• Indian private airlines:
o Air Deccan – Captain GR Gopinath
o Kingfisher Airlines – Vijay Mallya
o Go Air – Wadia group promoted
o Indigo – Rahul Bhatia
o Jagson Airlines – UK Bose
o Jet airways – Naresh Goyal
o Sahara Airlines
• Denim manufacturers in India:
o Arvind Mills 110 mln metres
o Arvee Denim 60 mln metres
o Raymond 40 mln metres
o With Raymond now merging with Belgian denim maker UCO NV, it
becomes an 80 mln metres business.
• PC market in India:
o Has grown by 26% year on year to cross 4.3 mln units.
o Overall desktop market grew by 19%.
o Notebooks grew by 148% to reach 4,74,000 units
• Drugs for curing avian flu:
o Oseltamivir Ranbaxy
o Tamiflu (oseltamivir) – Roche | only these two are effective against
the H5N1
o Relenza (zanamivir) - - GSK | strain of influenza.
• Company Law Board Chairman : S. Subramaniam
• Loss Prevention Association, the country’s premier risk management service
provider is getting merged with GIC. With the opening up of the insurance
sector, LPA lost its relevance and has not been performing its original
functions for quite some time now.
• India’s share in world trade is only 4%.
• World GDP has risen from $40.7 trln in 1999 to $55.5 trln in 2004
• FRBM Act envisages a reduction in the GOI budget deficit of 0.3% annually,
prospectively reducing the deficit to 3% of the GDP by 2008/09. In addition it
mandates an annual reduction of 0.5% in the revenue deficit with a view to
eliminating it by 2008/09.
• Reliance Petroleum Limited operates Asia’s largest oil refinery with 33 MTPA
capacity at Jamnagar in Gujarat. With a new project for 27 MTPA envisaged it
will become the biggest refinery in the world.

21.02.06:

- 15 -
• FCCB issues:
o Total FCCB issuance from India in calendar year 2005 is estimated to
be at around $4 bln out of a total of $10.25 bln from Asia excluding
Japan.
o In the first two months of 2006, corporates have already raised $1.4 bln
out of total Asia Pacific region’s $1.9 bln
o In 2004, cumulative Indian FCCB issuances stood at $2.28 bln.
• India signed nuclear pact with France for civilian nuclear cooperation by
agreeing to place its nuclear facilities acquired in future through international
cooperation under IAEA safeguards.
• IT & ITES exports from the country would touch $26 bln for the current fiscal
up from the $17.8 bln achieved last fiscal. The industry is targeting $60 bln in
exports by the year 2010 which would involve creation of 9 mln jobs.
• Domestic beer consumption is placed at 100 mln cases (of 7.8 litre each) this
yer.
• InBev the world’s largest brewer by volume.
• ISRO’s commercial arm is ANTRIX
• The semiconductor market in India is estimated to be around $1.2 bln in 2005.
• Warren Buffet is Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway.
• IIM-A Director is Bakul H. Dholakia
• CST collections in 2005-06 are estimated to be Rs. 18,000 crore
• Service tax is part of the divisible pool of taxes. States get 30.5% share in the
divisible pool.
• As of now there are 11 SEZs in operation in 9 states and UTs; new approvals
for setting up SEZs have been given forf over 40 projects in 13 states;
proposals have been received in 11 cases for establishing SEZs.
• The overall public sector savings have become positive at 2.2% of GDP in
2004-05. The savings by PSUs is actually over 4% of GDP. The figure is
2.2% is arrived at after netting out Centre’s revenue deficit.
• The effective average tax rate paid by corporates is at 20-22%.
• The gross fiscal deficit of the Centre and States combines is down to 7.5% of
GDP as compared with 10% GDP just a few years ago.
• The current subsidy on kerosene has been estimated at abour Rs. 15,000 cr
while that on LPG is Rs. 11,000 cr.
• 76% of the LPG subsidy goes to urban consumers and 40% of the total LPG
subsidy benefits the top 6.75% fo the population by income.
• Domestic credit is growing nearly by 30%.
• Banking: Deposits comprising over 75% of lendable resources have gone up
only 16% (Rs. 2,71,890 cr) so far in the current fiscal year. The incremental
credit deposit ration is well over 100 with loan growth far exceeding the
deposit growth at 25.6% (Rs. 2,82,072 cr)
• SBI Chairman: A.K. Purwar
• India’s tax GDP ratio was below 10% in 2004-05.
• India’s entertainment industry size is Rs. 22,200 cr
• Piracy and downloads have reduced the music buying resulting in industry
shrinking to Rs. 100 cr from Rs. 130 cr three years ago.

- 16 -
 • Entertainment industry is likely to grow at 18% annually to reach Rs. 58,800
cr by 2010 according to a KPMG report.
• A Rs. 13,000 cr program is being drawn up to restructure co-operatives in the
country.
• There are about 20 co-operative management institutes in the country.
• Mutual Funds manage over Rs. 75000 cr of equity assets which is 35% of the
Rs. 2 lakh cr managed by the MF industry.
• STT is 0.075% on delivery based transactions and 0.015% on non-delivery
based transactions.

22.02.06:

• BCTT – Banking Cash Transaction Tax. Govt. expects a little over Rs .300 cr
from the levy this fiscal. Banks impose a 0.1% cash withdrawal tax on
individuals and businesses withdrawing amounts exceeding Rs. 25,000 and
Rs. 100,000 respectively on a single day from their accounts.
• There are over 40 cr savings bank accounts.
• UB Group of Vijay Mallya controls over 60% of the country’s spirit and beer
market.
• The size of M&A deals in 2005 is about $20,165 mln compared to $9,840 mln
in 2004.
• From 2009 foreign banks would be allowed to buy into Indian banks.
• Bank deposits growth averaged about 15% so far this fiscal.
• Bad loans in the system aggregate to over Rs. 1,35,000 cr.
• At present tax is deducted at source if interest pay out is more than Rs. 5,000.
• Inflows from FIIs average a billion dollars a month.
• Regulations require banks to compulsorily invest 25% of deposits in
government bonds and additional 5% in cash reserves.
• Banks this year have lent more than Rs. 78,154 cr more than their deposits
allow.
• Bank deposits have grown over four and half times – from Rs. 4,21,000 cr in
1996 to Rs. 20,00,000 cr this month.
• Ben Bernanke is the Federal Reserve Chairman of the US.
• The World Economic Forum ranks India’s private sector competitiveness at 31
out of 117 countries; its public institutions come 52.
• India’s foreign debt comes at less than 20% of GDP.
• World Bank survey ranks India on ‘ease of doing business” at 116 out of 155
countries.

23.02.06:

• Beer market: UB and SAB Miller account for 80-85% share of the domestic
consumption.
• The market for instant mixes is pegged at around Rs. 155 cr.
• The MFA Multi Fibre Agreement that came to an end on January 1st 2005 has
opened up a plethora of opportunities for the Indian textile industry.

- 17 -
• The current penetration of laser printers in India is about 5% in unit terms in
the total printer market.
• NASSCOM has estimated the Indian mobile gaming market to grow at a
CAGR of 89.1% to touch %205m in ’09 from $16m in ’05.
• Effective corporate tax liability is about 20-22%. Corporate book profits are
estimated to be about Rs.300,000 cr.
• Karnataka is the first state in the country to offer agriculture loans to farmers
at a rate of 6%.
• After the 1998 Pokran tests the nuclear powers led by US imposed sanctions
against India.
• Negative protection: When the import duty on a product is lower than the
VAT/Sales Tax applicable on domestic sales of that product, its indigenous
producers face negative protection.
• Coffee: 25% of the average annual crop of 275,000 tonnes is consumed in
India. Rest is exported. India’s per capita consumption is 54 gm a year. In
south India it is 240 gm. A Coffee Board study estimates that each of tonne of
beans consumed in Indai generates at least 10 semi-skilled jobs.
• Technical education and IT:
o Karnataka 46,000 graduates per year 118 colleges
o Andhra 83,000 236 colleges
o TN 80,000 250 colleges
o Maharashtra 48,000 155
• IT exports:
o Karnataka Rs. 27,000 cr
o TN Rs. 11,000 cr
o AP Rs. 8,270 cr
• NASSCOM McKinsey study projects IT exports to reach $60 bln by 2010.
• Currently only 25% of the technical graduates are suitable for employment in
the offshore IT industry.
• Bangalore has about 35% of the s/w service professional in the country.
• In FY ’06, the mobilization of small savings is projected at Rs. 94,000 cr.
• India currently has about 1 mln online investors.
• RBI guidelines say that a domestic scheduled bank has to lend to the priority
sector (including agriculture, weaker sections and SSI) about 40% of their net
bank credit.
• Livestock insurance scheme: Cabinet cleared the scheme targeting to insure
15 lk animals with an estimated expenditure of Rs. 120 cr. GoI will subsidize
50% of the premium. Subsidy restricted to two animals per beneficiary.
• Allontoic acid: the crucial element in providing chicken with the resistance
against bird flu.
• MCX exchange turnover is Rs. 5500 cr per day.
• Gold:
o Global consumption of gold dropped by 25% in the last quarter of
2005.
o Total supply of gold in 2005 hovered around the 4000 tonne mark.
o India imported close to 650 tonnes of gold while Dubai imported
around 520 tonnes in 2005.

- 18 -
24.02.06:

• Cairn Energy: Scotland based. Has assets in Bangladesh, Nepal and India.
• India’s internet penetration is kept at 6.7 mln users.
• The e-recruitment industry is estimated to be worth Rs. 200 cr. The total
recruitment market is pegged at Rs. 1300-1400 cr.
• Philips curve: seeks to highlight the trade-off between inflation and
unemployment.
• Iraqi President: Jalal Talabani
• US has 64 nuclear reactors spread across 34 states.
• Lebanese President: Emile Lahoud
• Lebanese Premier: Fuad Saniora
• Leasing charge for an A320 ranges between $200,000 to 2,50,000 a month.
A321 comes for about $250,000 to 300,000.
• An A320 costs about $70 mln a piece.
• The CRD in CRDi stands for common rail direct injection
• DIAGEO is the world’s largest spirits company – UK based
• The IMFL led Indian spirits market is estimated at 125 mln cases annually.
• The ISD calls are going to be cheaper because TRAI has reduced the ADC
from March 1. ADC on outgoing calls kept at 80 ps from Rs. 2.50 ps while
the ADC on incoming calls is kept at Rs. 1.60 ps from Rs. 3.25 ps per minute.
• The move to a revenue share form of ADC will help remove the distinction
between local and long distance calls, enabling even private players to move
towards a One-India tariff regime. ADC unnecessarily complicates the
funding mechanism for rural services – it is primarily meant to compensate
BSNL for its below cost services in rural areas.
• Indian Railways is stated to be six times more energy efficient than road
transport.
• LNG prices in the last one year have gone up from $4 per mmbtu to $12 per
mmbtu.
• This year some 15 mt of coal had to be imported to avert a power crisis and
projections are that next year we may have to import about 20 mt of coal to
avert a crisis.
• Currently dividend distribution tax is at 14.07%.
• All companies seeking listing on any of the US bourses have to be SOX
(Sarbanes Oxley Act) compliant.
• National Institute of Virology is in Pune
• National Institute of Communicable Diseases is in Delhi.
• Gold:
o India’s consumer demand for retail investments in gold has jumped
34% to touch 134.7 tonnes in 2005
o India’s demand for gold jewellery stood at 589 tonnes in 2005.
o Total global gold consumption stood at 3,754 tonnes in 2005.
• Foodgrain production:
o 209.3 mln tones in 2005-06 as against 204.6 mln tones in 2004-05

- 19 -
 o Wheat 73.1 mln tones from 72 mln tones.
o Rice 87.9 mln tones from 85.3 mln tones.
o Oil seed production is at 26.4 mln tones.

25.02.06:

• Railways Budget:
o Against a target of 635 mln tones for the year, IR may transport about
668 mln tones for the current year earning Rs. 36,490 cr.
o Gross traffic receipts for the current year would touch Rs. 54,600 cr
exceeding the budget estimates by 7%.
o IR is likely to set up a 22000 cr SPV for the construction of the freight
corridor
o Freight traffic is expected to get Rs. 40,320 cr in 2006-07 out of a total
of Rs. 59,978 cr projected from the traffic receipts.
o Passenger traffic revenue is expected to touch Rs. 19,658 cr in 2006-07
from Rs. 18,210 cr
o IR has achieved good performance by loading an additional 4-8 tonne
/wagon to overcome wagon shortage and thus carry 18.5% more
freight than last year, yielding about Rs. 5000 cr additional revenue.
o Estimated to clock a gross traffic receipts of Rs. 54,600 cr in 2005-06.
o Freight loading target of 726 mn tones for 2006-07
• RBI guidelines say that no foreign bank can have more than 5% stake in a
domestic bank.
• Present rate of interest on income tax refunds is 8%. Refunds have to be made
within four months of filing returns.
• J & K factions:
o Hurriyat lead by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq
o JKLF Yasin Malik
o People’s conference Sajjad Lone
• Bhagalpur communal riots: Happened in 1989 when more than 1000 people
died. Nitish Kumar, CM of Bihar has ordered a judicial commission to look
into the incident.
• BSNL:
o With the new ADC regime, BSNL is set to see the ADC amount
coming down to Rs. 3,335 cr in 2006-07 from the current 5,340 cr
o BSNL revenues are at Rs. 33,450 cr in 2004-05
o Has 40 mln fixed lines and over 17 mln mobile subscribers
o Broadband customers are about 4.5 lakh
o It is adding over one million mobile subscribers every month.
o One India offers STD calls from fixed line phones to anywhere in the
country at Rs. 1 per minute while local calls are charged at Rs. 1 for
three minutes. Monthly rental for this being Rs. 299.
• Disk storage systems and storage software market is about $115 mln in India.
• Indian animation market is around Rs. 1,270 cr in 2005.
• Subsidies in Indian economy:
o Oil Rs. 3,644 cr

- 20 -
 o Fertilizer Rs. 16,000 cr
o Food Rs. 26,200 cr
o Total Rs. 47,432 cr
• Centre’s borrowings in 2005-06 are expected to be Rs. 1,10,291 cr as
compared to Rs. 90,365 cr in 2004-05.
• Wheat imports:
o Govt. may import an additional 1.5 to 2 mt in the current year
o Wheat consumption pegged at 74.5 mt in 06-07 while the harvest is
pegged at 73 mt.
o Ration shops and government schemes require about 18 mt of wheat
every year
o NSSO survey shows a declining trend in per capita consumption of
cereals and rise in per capita consumption of high-value products.
Even then demand for wheat is high because of growing population
and urbanization.
• Indian broiler market accounts for 30 mln broilers a week, translating to Rs.
8000 cr to 9000 cr.
• The five proposed mega power projects would require about Rs. 70,000 cr
investment. That means a debt component of about Rs. 45,000 to 50,000 cr.
• SBI has about 35 mln transaction per day of which about 1 mln have shifted to
alternative channels like ATMs. SBI is seeing a growth of 15% every motnh
in ATM transactions.
• Daily turnover in commodity futures market is touching Rs. 10,000 cr.
• Indian traders in commodity markets still cannot hedge risks with regard to
weather and freight – two of the most popular financial hedging instruments in
the world.
• POSCO and Mittal steel have planned 12 MT steel plants in India. Former in
Orissa and latter in Chattisgarh.
• IOC turnover is about $35 bln.
• Cumulative loss of oil marketing companies is about Rs. 18,000 cr.
• India is third fastest growing domestic aviation market in the world. Our
domestic and international markets are expected to expand by 30% to around
20 mln passengers each.
• India consumes nearly 3.5 mln tones of ATF annually. ATF consumption is
growing 15% in comparison to petroleum products which typically grow at 2-
3%.

26.02.06:

• The Government intends to build 276 ports and 111 shipping units with an
investment of Rs. 55,000 spread over 20 years.
• SAIL Chairman: VS Jain
• SAIL has five integrated steel plants: Bhilai, Bokaro, Durgapur, Rourkela and
Visakhapatnam
• Telephones:

- 21 -
 o During the first 10 months of this current fiscal a total of 31.41 mln
subscribers were added by all the players.
o Gross subscriber base for the fixed and mobile telephony is currently at
130 mln including 80.61 mln mobile subscribers at the end of January
2006.
o Whenever tariffs are reduced, traffic increases by 30%.
o Projections are that India will have about 250 mln subscribers by the
year 2007.
• Highway sector:
o New programs for highway sector envisaged at $40 bln. This will be
done through PPP route.
o Chairman NHAI: Santosh Nautiyal
o Govt. decided to construct expressways of about 1000 km at an
estimated cost of $5.7 bln in the next six years.
• Kolkata is going to get the country’s first book mall “Barnaparichoy” at an
estimated investment of about Rs. 200 cr. Jointly being developed by Bengal
Shelter Housing Development and Kolkata Municipal Corporation.
• Forex reserves:
o Total forex reserves are at $141.2 bln as of February 17.
o Foreign currency assets at $134.8 bln
o Value of gold reserves at $5.6 bln
o Value of SDR reserves at $3 mln
o Outstanding stock of CDs (Certificate of Deposits) Rs. 34,432 cr
o Outstanding stock of CP (Commerical Papers) Rs. 16,173 cr.
o WMA: Ways and Means Advances – a temporary borrowing facility
with the central bank to meet the government’s revenue mismatches.
Central govt. has not been resorting to WMA at all for the last one
year.
o Centre’s surplus cash balances parked with the RBI are at Rs. 20,900
cr.
• Power sector: 11th plan:
o Envisaged to add 62,000 MW capacity including
o 5000 MW from NCE sector
o 16000 MW from Hydro
o 38,000 MW from Coal based thermal
o 3000 MW nuclear
o 6000 MW from LNG or gas
• At present India’s adult literacy rate is at 61.3%
• H5N1 virus was first detected in Republic of Korea in December 2003.
• Brazil’s official news agency: Agencia Brasil

27.02.02:

• Subsidy for cooking fuel is estimated to be Rs. 26,000 cr. It is over Rs. 200
per cylinder and almost Rs. 12 per litre of kerosene.
• The floods in Mumbai, MP and Gujarat in July 2005 have caused an insurance
loss of Rs. 3,800 cr and total damages of Rs. 15,000 cr.

- 22 -
 • The insured losses in India on account of natural catastrophes amount to
nearly 1% of the total insured catastrophic losses of $83 bln worldwide. India
accounts for 0.67% of the total non-life premium worldwide but has never had
any major catastrophic insurance loss.
• US which accounts for 43% of the non-life premium generated worldwide has
catastrophic losses amounting to $65 bln i.e., 78% of the total losses of $83
bln.
• Boeing and Airbus sold a total of 2057 planes in 2005 may get combined
orders probably for 800 planes this year.
• According to Boeing estimates, India will need close to 500 planes over the
next 20 years.
• Car markets worldwide in 2005:
o US 16 mln units
o Western Europe 14.5 mln
o East Europe 2.98 mln
o Japan 5.89 mln
o China 5.7 mln
o India 1.11 mln
• Indian pharma industry size in 2005 was Rs. 23,000 cr
• A Doctor in US creates 13 papers for every patient he sees.
• There are 34.6 lakh posts in GoI. Only 31 lakh posts are filled.
• The GoI announced that for designated BPL families across rural India free
electricity connections (not free power) would be supplied to provide power
for all by 2012. This will be done under the Rs. 4000 cr Rajiv Gandhi
Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana.
• Chemicals sector contributes to 17% of the country’s industrial production.
• A second Palace on Wheels train is given in principle approval by the GoI. It
costs Rs. 24 crs to build that train. It will be operational in 2007.
• As of June 2005, out of 648 live projects, 79 projects had both time and cost
overruns.
• FBT collections till January were Rs. 2,744 cr.
• BCTT collection till January were Rs. 221 cr
• In terms of MER (Market Exchange Rate) India is the 11th larget defence
spender. In PPP (Purchase Power Parity) terms India comes in third, right
behind China and the US.
• NREGP: National Rural Employment Guarantee Program aims to provide
100 days of guaranteed paid employment every year to every household
whose adult members come forward to do unskilled manual work. Initial
allocation Rs. 11,000 cr. Estimates for the total cost are anywhere between
20,000 to 40,000 cr annually.
• Banking industry in India is saddled with Rs. 60,000 cr of NPAs. Out of this
only $500 mln worth of NPA are brought by investors.
• Small cars priced in the range of Rs. 2.5 lakh to 4.5 lakh now account for over
75% of car sales in the country.
• Passenger vehicles are taxed at the peak excise duty of 24%.

28.02.06:

- 23 -
 • Nuclear deal with US: The deal entailed identifying in phases, a number of
thermal reactors as civilian facilities to be placed under IAEA safeguards,
amounting to roughtly 65% of the total installed thermal capacity.
• Mullaperiyar dam height: Supreme Court has allowed raising the water level
of this dam in Kerala from 136 ft to 142 ft. Kerala has persistently opposed
raising the dam’s water level located in Idukki district on the ground that it
would endanger five downstream districts on Kerala side. Also on
environmental concerns for the Periyar Tiger Reserve. The SC allowed the
TN govt to carry out the necessary repairs of the dam before the water level is
raised to the maximum of 152 ft.
• Hyderabad has currently about 1100+ four/five star rooms. Likely to grow to
4,450 during the mid-term.
• Viva carnival: Goa’s most colourful and celebrated festival.
• If Mittal Steels bid for Arcelor of France succeeds, it will create a 135 mln
tonne steel giant dominating markets across Americas, Europe and Africa.
• China is the largest steel market in the world.
• There are about 10,000 ATM’s in the country?
• Primary capital markets raised Rs. 90,000 cr during April-January 2005-06.
Of this 62,000 cr was from domestic market while 28,000 cr was from
overseas markets.
• The MSS (Market Stabilization Scheme) and LAF (Liquidity Adjustment
Facility) are the instruments with RBI to pump liquidity into the system, with
auctions and sale and repurchase of government bonds.
• The number of CFL (Compact Fluorescent Lamps) consumption has gone up
from 7 mln units to 50 mln units in the last four years. Estimates reveal that
energy conservation measures have the potential of saving 23,000 MW leading
to a saving of Rs. 100,000 cr in fresh investments. CFL lamps have long life
8000 to 15000 hours instead of 750 to 1000 hours of normal lamps.
• India is the largest exporter of castor oil in the world. Produces about 3.65 lk
tonnes of castor oil a year. China exports value added products from castor
oil; India has not been able to do so, content with exporting castor oil to
China.
• Local procurement price of wheat is Rs. 650 per quintal; while the import
price of wheat is Rs. 900 per quintal.

Economic Survey:

• Bank credit to industry has skyrocketed 45.7% in the current year. There is
huge increase in agricultural credit – 30%.
• Goal is to raise the tax-GDP ratio to 13% by 2008-09. Budgeted tax-GDP
ratio for 2005-06 is 10.5%.
• The economic survey highlights three risks for the rather rosy forecast of 8%
growth: inflation, interest rates and fiscal stance.
• Food grain production is estimated at 209.32 mln tonnes this year.
• Capital formation (investment in the sector as a percentage of GDP) in the
farm sector went down from 2.2% in the late 90s to only 1.7% in 2004-05.

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• There has been a sharp fall in irrigated area under food crops. The annual
growth rate in agriculture is pegged at 2.3% in 2005-06 down from 10% in
2003-04.
• There are only 7500 regulated mandis in the country.
• The index of crop yields was lower overall dropping from 160 in 2003-04 to
156 in 2004-05.
• Targeted flow of institutional flow of credit into agriculture for the current
year is Rs. 1,41,000 cr.
• Vaidyanathan Committee recommended a package of Rs. 13,596 cr for the
revival of the cooperative sector.
• SHGs cover only 242 lk familities at an average loan disbursement of Rs.
3,044.
• India has the second largest number of HIV/AIDS patients.
• At any time there are 25 lk cancer cases in India.
• Govt. is committed to increase public spending on health to 2-3% of the GDP.
• There is a sharp fall in mandays lost due to strikes and lockouts – from 30.26
mln in 2003 to 23.87 mln 2004. In the first 9 months of 2005-06 industrial
strife claimed only 7.3 mln mandays.
• Combined expenditure of Centre and States on education has come down from
3.74% of the GDP in 2003-04 to 3.49% of the GDP in 2004-05 despite a
commitment by government to gradually increase expenditure to 6% of the
GDP.
• Elementary education system meets the needs of 20.9 cr children in the age
group of 6 to 14.
• Enrollment in tertiary education system (university and college system) is 99
lks.
• Number of schools as at 2003-04 is 1.45 lks.
• India’s milk production is above 90 mln tonnes 2004-05. Egg production
45,201 mln. Fish output 6.304 mln tonnes.
• India consumes 15 mln tonnes of pulses annually but grows only 12-14 mt.
• Combined fiscal deficit of the Centre and States is 8% of GDP.
• High gross domestic savings 29.1% in 2004-05. Goss domestic investment
32%. The balance would be met from current account deficit of 2.9% of GDP.
• Cumulative indirect tax burden on goods is over 30%, including a 12.5% VAT
rate and 16.32% excise duty.
• Average annual growth of 22% in tax revenue.
• Number of assessees whose annual income is more than Rs. 10 lk are around
80,000!!!
• Inflation as on February 11, 2006 is 4.02%.
• The combined revenue deficit of all states is likely to shrink to 0.7% of the
GDP this year from 1.4%, while fiscal deficit is expected to decline to 3.1%.
• Outstanding liabilities of the states at 33.3% of the GDP or Rs. 10,40,834 cr as
per RE 2004-05 are estimated to be 32.7% of the GDP at Rs. 11,52,530 cr this
year.
• Current account deficit now stands at 3% of the GDP. Exports are expected to
touch $150 bln by 2009. Merchandise exports are expected to touch $92 bln
by this fiscal end .

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• So far the 8% sell-off of government stake in Maruti is the only divestment
done this fiscal.
• VAT is not implemented by 8 states and UTs.
• Commodity markets in India:
o NCDEX
o MCX
o NBOT – Indore based.
o NMCE – (National Multi Commodity Exchange) Ahmadabad based.
• Indian equity market capitalization is – 2540 companies with 24.7 lk cr.
• Primary debt issuances were abysmally low at 66 cr in 2005 calendar year. In
contrast bonds of Rs. 50,000 cr were placed in the private placement market.
• Companies raised over Rs. 30,325 cr in equities markets in 2005.
• TFP Total Factor Productivity is the ratio of real output to a weighted sum of
the inputs used in the production process. Survey says that there is a decrease
in the growth rate of TFP.
• In January 2006, cabinet approved 100% FDI through the automatic route for
captive coal mining in the iron, steel and cement sectors apart from power
sector which has always enjoyed this benefit.
• Computer penetration rate in India is 7 per 1000, a fourth of what it is in
China.
• The infrastructure sector alone requires about $150 bln investments by 2010.
• National Maritime Development Program seeks to up the capacity of major
ports from the present level of 397.5 mt per annum to 650 mt per annum by
2008-09.
• Cargo handled at major ports registered a 12.4% growth in the current fiscal.
• Customs and excise duties on petroleum products constitute 40% of the total
customs/excise collections.
• Under the current subsidy regime, the government spends Rs. 3.65 ps to
provide Rs. 1.00 ps subsidy to the poor. This means, of the projected Rs.
46,358 cr the government will spend on three major subsidies viz., food,
fertilizer and petroleum, the poor will get only Rs. 12,000 cr.
• The government’s subsidy bill is projected to fall to 1.31% of GDP in the
current fiscal.
• India is the biggest shopper of phosphoric acid in the world.
• NHDP: National Highway Development Program. There are VII phases. In
Phases 1 & II the main source of finance was the fuel cess. III-A covers an
upgradation of over 4,000 km of national highways at estimated cost of Rs.
22,000 cr. The other phases involve huge private investment.
• Airports: Internal freight traffic grew at 11.7% while domestic cargo grew at
6.6%. Passenger traffic increased 18% and 24.2% respectively. Private
airlines now account for over 68.9% of the domestic traffic.
• India’s roads, airport and port sectors require over Rs. 2,60,000 cr investments
in the next six years.
• As of December the private sector accounts for 54% of the total phone
connections in India. Total number of telephones has risen to 125 mln as of
December 2005. Overall tele density has risen to 11.32% in December. By
2007 the number of phones are targeted to reach 250 mln.

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- 27 -
01.03.2006: Budget Paper

02.03.06:

• The 1993 serial blasts in Mumbai killed nearly 300 people. Cine star Sanjay
Dutt is an accused in the case. Abu Salem has confessed to delivering arms
and ammunition to the cinema hero.
• Chief Election Commissioner: BB Tandon
• SNC Lavalin: The Canadian company is in news because of a corrupt deal
between itself and the Kerala State Electricity Board. SNC Lavalin was
entrusted with the job of modernizing three hydro-electric projects in the State
viz., Pallivasal, Sengulam and Panniyar at an outlay of Rs. 374.50 cr. Post
modernization audit of the projects revealed that the efficiency of the projects
had not been helped at all the by the work undertaken by the Company. The
case is entrusted to CBI by the Kerala Govt.
• The Global norm on IT spend is about 6 to 7% of the turnover. In India the IT
spend is about 1 to 2%.
• India and US are trying to double their bilateral trade in three years time to
$40 bln. In 2005, India’s exports to US are at $18.80 bln and US exports to
India are at $7.96 bln. Total bilateral trade in 2005 is thus at $ 26.766 bln.
India has a $9.5 bln trade surplus with US.
• America accounts for 5% of the population of the world.
• Of the 3.5 cr children in the secondary schools only 99 lk make it to an
institute of higher education. Put another way only 9% of the population in
the age group of 18 to 23 years is enrolled in any of higher education
institutions.
• In 2006-07, the education cess is expected to bring in Rs. 8,746 cr which is a
little more than 50% of the total expenditure on programs financed by the cess
– SSA and mid day meal at Rs. 17,892 cr.
• Madras University is one of the oldest universities set up following Sir
Charles Wood’s Education Dispatch. Set up on the model of the London
University on September 5, 1857 by an Act of the Legislative Council of
India.
• Liquor: Centre’s cumulative tax incidence on BIO (Bottled in origin) brands
varies between 212 to 525% as compared to 65% in China and Thailand.
• Air India wants bigger exposure in fuel hedging market:
o AI has currently government approval for hedging 10% of its offtake,
which translates to about 6 lk barrels annually.
o Price of the jet fuel which was averaging US cents 114 per gallon in
2003-04 is now around 201 per gallon.
o AI’s fuel bill was Rs. 2200 cr with about 55% of the fuel uplifted
overseas.
• Air transport witnessed a high growth rate of 24% in 2004-05. In 2004, some
25 mln Indians took to the skies within India while about 6 mln traveled
abroad.

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 • Govt. plans to spend about Rs. 40,000 cr for the upgradation of 25 airports.
• Wheat imports:
o Australia has won the wheat import contract.
o Methyl-bromide is the fumigant that India uses and insists on for
phyto-sanitatry reasons.
o Imported wheat is coming cheaper at Rs. 8700 per tonne as against Rs.
9450 per tonne it would cost according to FCI’s open market rate.
o Hot weather makes wheat yields less.
o India is likely to consume 74.5 mln tonnes of wheat in 2006-07 while
the local harvest is pegged at 73 mln tonnes.
o India’s exports constitute only 0.8% of the world exports; but with a
CAGR of 12 to 15% the country is likely to be the fourth or fifth
largest economy in the next 15 to 20 years.

03.03.06:

• Indo-US relations:
o India agreed to demarcate 65% of its nuclear facilities – 14 of the 22
reactors for IAEA safeguards. US President agreed to work with his
Congress to make the required changes in the domestic laws for
treating India as a de facto nuclear state.
o NSG – Nuclear Supplier Group comprising 45 nuclear supplier states
has an agreement to coordinate its export controls governing transfers
of civilian nuclear material and nuclear related equipment and
technology to non-nuclear weapon states.
o India and US agreed to double their bilateral trade to $40 bln in three
years time. US is the largest trading partner for India. America’s trade
with China is to the tune of $300 bln while that with India at the end of
2005 is at $20 bln.
o A 1000 MW plant would require about 150-200 tonnes of Uranium
each year. Given the projected planned capacity of 40,000 MW there
would be requirement of 6000 MT per year once the total capacity is
commissioned. Against that India’s present production capacity is
nearly 200 tonnes/year.
• Tourism:
o The to and fro traffic between the two countries is expected to grow by
about 20% over the next one year currently valued at over $1 bln in
revenues.
o Of the 3.9 mln foreign tourists who visited Indian shores in 2005, US
offered the biggest numbers of about 5 lakhs.
o In 2005 overall foreign tourist inflow registered around 14% growth in
numbers over 2004.
o
• The Supreme Court has ruled that in a telecom service, sale confines to sale of
handsets only. Hence transfer of right to use can be there only in handsets and
not others.
• Telephones: Carrier Access Code (CAC) code regime allows consumers to
choose their carrier while making long distance calls.

- 29 -
• India is adding about 4 mln to 5 mln mobile subscribers every month.
• NASSCOM pegs the size of the Indian animation market at Rs. 1270 cr in
2005 and projects a CAGR of 35% to increase to 4,233 cr by 2009.
• Till now the education cess collection was far below the projected:
o In 2004-05 projected at Rs. 7,260 cr while collection was Rs. 4,173 cr.
In 2005-06 projected at Rs. 11,145 cr while collections are projected at
Rs. 6,975 cr.
• LIC has about 11 lakh agents.
• Revenue deficit reduction target of 1.1% for 2007-08 would be a challenge, as
it would come on top of the 0.5% reduction budgeted for 2006-07.
• At present occupancy level of AC I and II tier classes is 47% and 58%
respectively. Passenger earning increased from 8% to 14%.
• IOC is the country’s biggest oil refiner and marketer, controls 10 of India’s 18
refineries and processes about 1.1 mln barrels of crude per day.
• At present captive mining of coal is allowed only for internal consumption of
companies engaged in production of iron and steel, generation of power and
making of cement.
• Indira Rajaraman, RBI Chair Professor at NIPFP:
o Moving on to the FRBM timetable. The fiscal deficit is projected to go
down from 4.1% this year to 3.8% next year. This is about where it
needs to be, to reach the eventual target of 3% in 2008-09. But that
target is in the Rules, not in the Act, and can itself be shifted. What
cannot be shifted is the revenue deficit target of zero in 2008-09, which
is enshrined in the Act. Starting from 2.6% of GDP this year, the
revenue deficit has to be 1.7% next year. Instead, it has been budgeted
at 2.1% which will backload the revenue deficit reduction to more than
1% of GDP in each of the final two years.
• Indian agriculture:
o Banes:
 Heavy dependence on monsoon showers
 Declining investements
 Lack of effective marketing and distribution system
o GCF in agriculture, forestry and fishing together stood at Rs. 67,561 cr
in 2004-05.
o The private sector continues to provide more than 70% of total
investments going into agriculture.
o During April-Nov 2005, India exported $5.7 bln worth of agricultural
and allied products.
o Share of agricultural goods in total exports is declining – from 11.2%
in April-Nov 2003 it has come down to 9.7% this year. Key reason for
this being fall in wheat exports.
o Wheat stock buffer norm is 4 mln tonnes.
o Sugarcane is the most widely produced cash crop in India
o India is among the biggest producers, consumers and suppliers of tea in
the world.
• SHGs – Self Help Groups:
o An SHG is formed when a number of rural people come together to
pool their savings, creating a huge corpus of money. The model

- 30 -
 revolves around a number of these groups jointly saving and then
linking it to a bank, these funds saved are placed in a group deposit
account. The group then borrows from the bank, using its saving and
group guarantee as collateral. NABARD has even provided a
subsidized refinancing scheme to encourage banks to support the SHG
lending schemes.
• Jose Manuel Borroso: President of European Commission.
• Basudeb Banerjee: Chairman of Tea Board
• World cotton production in 2005-06 is forecast at 24.9 mt.
• Francesco Frangialli: Head of the World Tourism Organization

04.03.06:

• FIIs, foreign companies and ADR/GDR holders together own about 25% of
India’s market cap – up from 17% share at the beginning of 2005.
• The combined market cap share of central govt., state govt., and govt.
undertakings has shrunk to 31% from about 38%.
• India’s internet population poised to reach 100 mln by 2007-08 from the
current 38.5 mln.
• ONGC, Reliance Industries and Great Eastern Energy have discovered over 6
trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas reserves below the coal seams. Coal Bed
Methane CBM
• Pfizer the American pharma giant is world’s leader in pharma business with
about $51.3 bln revenues.
• India has an estimated demand of 4 mln spindles; against this domestic textile
machinery manufacturers are able to supply only 2 mln spindles. This has
resulted in our market becoming a top export market for China.
• Total merchandise exports from India are at $81 bln in 2004-05. Merchandise
imports are at $77 bln in the same year. India’s total commercial services
trade is at $80 bln in 2004-05.

05.03.06:

• The cabinet approved a revised air services agreement with Australia. This
will lead to a opening up of the sky between the countries and enhance the
number of air services to a significant extent.
• John Howard: Australian Prime Minister
• The total stock of money in the country is at Rs. 25,80,002 cr. Weekly
Statistics Supplement of the RBI.
• The US economy grew by 4.4% last year.
• The Indian basket of crude now costs about $60
• China’s defence spending this year is budgeted at $35.3 bln. Chinese military
is 2.5 mln strong.
• Chen Shui-bian is Taiwan’s President.

06.03.06:

- 31 -
• CDC – British Government’s arm for investing in the private sector in
developing economies.
• Wen Jiabao: Chinese Premier
• How does an ARC (Asset Recovery Company) make money?
o Typically an ARC buys bad loans, and but instead of paying cash, it
issues security receipts (SRs) to the bank which sells the loan. The
ARC then services the loan out of the recovery it makes on the loans.
First, it charges a 2% management fee which is built into the final
redemption of the SRs; second, if ARC manages to recover more than
the value of SRs it had issued to buy out the loan, then it keeps back a
slice of the extra recovery.
• Roche: F Hoffmann La Roche is a Swiss drug maker.
• Interferons are proteins released in the body in response to viral infections and
are key to fighting viruses.
• Roche gets first product patent for Hepatitis C drug (Pegasys) – this marks the
arrival of product patents in pharmaceuticals in India, which according to
multinational drug makers, is key to investment in drug research in the
country.
• Sam Pitroda is the Chairman of the National Knowledge Commission.
• What are FII sub-accounts?
o They are investment funds from abroad which route their money
through an FII into the Indian stock markets.
• The motor car industry is estimated to have contributed about Rs. 2,800 cr as
excise revenues in 2004-05.
• The Govt. has projected excise collection for 2006-07 at Rs. 119,000 cr, up
6% from Rs. 112,000 cr estimated for 2005-06.
• The nationalized banks had collective capital adequacy ratio of 13.2% as on
31.03.05.
• Total net capital support provided by the government to banks stands at Rs.
22,808 cr.
• Total investments by banks in government securities at present stands at Rs.
7,00,595 cr.
• India’s overall car exports have grown from 82.896 to 150,406 over the last
three years.
• India and US have earmarked a three year $100 mln corpus to fund joint
cooperation in agricultural education and related R & D.
• MAT – Minimum Alternate Tax introduced in 1983 u/s 80 VVA of the IT Act.
It is the amount of tax that a profitable company has to pay even if it is not
liable to pay any tax as per the normal tax computation.
• KP Narasimhan committee on insurance: appointed to recommend a
comprehensive law on insurance sector. It had submitted its report to the
Govt.
• Peter Mandelson: European Trade Commissioner.
• OPEC pumps about 40% of world’s oil. Current production quota of 28 mln
barrels per day.

- 32 -
 • Surat’s textile industry accounts for 65% of India’s manmade fabric
production.
• Abhijet Sen panel: on fertilizer industry.
• Faroe Islands: is in North Atlantic and is a self governing administrative unit
of Denmark. PM is Joannes Eidesgaard. Visited India.

07.03.06:

• Australia has 40% of the world’s Uranium deposits.

• Godhra Incident: Sabarmati Express train carnage in which 59 persons were
burnt alive on February 27, 2002. Lalu Prasad Yada, the Railway Minister had
appointed Justice U.C. Banerjee Committee to look into certain technical
aspects of the train carnage including the cause of the fire in S-6 coach of the
train. This Committee gave a finding that “it was just an accident.”
• The hard boiled candy market (sweets) is estimated to be 750/800 cr annually.
• The overall domestic confectionary market, including gums and chocolates is
pegged at Rs. 16,00 cr.
• March 8: International women’s day.
• In India 80% of the working women are working in primary sector. Only 50%
of the Indian women are literate as compared to 65.5% men.
• Room AC market is of the size Rs. 2600 cr.
• India’s organized travel solutions market (luggage) is worth Rs. 600 cr.
• Endogenous tourism: Revolves around the culture and craft of a location,
while seeking to create livelihood opportunities for the local community. It is
proposed to take up 50 villages with core competency in handicrafts,
handlooms and culture to promote endogenous tourism.
• The employee base of IT-ITES sector is at 1 mln. Expected to be 1.1 mln this
year.
• Only 10% of India’s population is insured.
• Small Savings Schemes:
o Govt. budgeted (2006-07) for SS collections of 90,400 cr.
o Post office deposits: 64,350 cr
o KVP and NSC: 9,900 cr.
o PPF: 11,000 cr.
• The Twelfth Finance Commission has recommended that states aim to achieve
revenue balance by 2008-09 and reduce the gross fiscal deficit to gross state
domestic product ration to 3% by 2009-10.
• In India the cost of transacting in stock markets is at 0.65% while in
HongKong it is 0.43%.
• RH Patil Committee on debt market reforms
• ABR: Advanced Burner Reactors burn plutonium from irradiated fuel from
reactors.
• China accounts for 18% of GHG emissions; India 4% while US accounts for
25%.
• WHO World Health Report released:
o 530,000 women die at child birth in a year all over the world.
o 10.6 mln children die before they attain 5 years.

- 33 -
 o 136 mln births worldwide every year.
• Annual World Press Freedom Index released by “Reporters sans Frontiers”, a
France based organization. For the year 2005, it ranked Denmark, Finland,
Iceland, Ireland and Netherlands as top countries based on the degree of
freedom enjoyed by journalists and news organizations.
• PK Gupta: Chairman NHB National Housing Bank
• N. Balasubramanian: Chairman SIDBI
• India’s mobile subscriber base is currently at 84 mln.
• India is the third largest producer of tobacco but accounts for only 3.5% of
global leaf trade.

08.03.06:

• As per SEBI guidelines, promoters have to bring in at least 20% contribution

if an unlisted company does an IPO. This 20% is locked in for three years.
Anything over and above this 20% is also subject to a lock-in for one year.
• Aviation seats available per day:
o 2005 January 80,500
o 2006 January 112,000
• Bharti is the largest cellular operator in India with a total subscriber base of
19.74 mln while Reliance Infocomm comes second with about 19.4 mln.
• SBI’s ATM network is 5700 strong; largest in Asia-Pacific region.
• What is super-critical technology in power sector?
o Conventional thermal plants have thermal efficiency (energy produced
per unit of energy input) in the range of 30-35% only with most Indian
plants operating in the range of 30-32%. Super-critical technology
allows this efficiency to go up to 45%.
o The technology is based on the super critical property of water, and
hence the name. At a pressure beyond 225 bar in a boiler, water
transforms into steam instantaneously.
• Central tax collection figures till Febrary end:
o Gross tax collections Rs .2,89,621 cr (2,38,868 cr)
o Corporate tax collection: 70,590 cr (55,252 cr.)
o Income tax (including STT, FBT, BCTT) collection: 47,960 cr.
o Service tax: 18,195 cr
o Customs: 57,431 cr
o Excise: 95,445 cr

09.03.06:

• Incometax Department has collected data on 15 lakh HNIs in 2004-05

totalling 11 lakh crore – a third of India’s GDP.
• Stephen Harper: Canadian PM
• UN annual budget is about $10 bln. 191 member General Assembly.
• Agricultural credit has increased above the target to Rs. 1,25,309 cr in 2004-
05. Is expected to cross the target of Rs. 1,41,500 cr set for 2006-07.

- 34 -
 • The construction industry is currently having an order book position of more
than Rs. 45,000 cr in the last 12 months. The order-book-to-sales ratio has
also improved for most companies significantly.
• FIIs bought $10.7 bln worth of securities in Indian markets last year. They
have bought $2.96 bln so far in 2006.
• The current account deficit for a country implies that a country’s economy
functions on borrowed means or when other countries essentially finance the
economy.
• The Centre’s R&D expenditure is less than $3 bln a year, which is less than
half of what leading MNCs spend. Indian industry’s R&D expenditure is also
much lower at $1 bln for the full private sector. According to Kiran Karnik,
Nasscom president.
• The packaged software market in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow
by 11.1% this year to touch $13.4 bln according to IDC. India is set to achieve
an annual growth of 20.3%.
• SPTF: Special Purpose Tea Fund being setup by the Tea Board with Rs. 4,700
cr. Planning Commission may approve a 25% subsidy for this fund from the
GoI as against the 40% that the Tea Board is expecting. This fund will operate
over a period of 15 years.
• OPEC countries: 11 nation cartel. Many of them have repeatedly said that
prices of oil are optimal in the $40 - $50 range per barrel. Its current output
quota is about 28 mln bpd.

10.03.06:

• Senior Citizens Savings Scheme could get about in the current year Rs. 18,000
cr compared to Rs. 15,000 cr in 2005-06.
• With the addition of new Nuclear plants, the nuclear power generation could
touch 7,280 MWe in the next five years.
• NPT identifies a country as Nuclear Power only if it had exploded a nuclear
weapon or other nuclear explosive devise prior to 1st January 1967.
• H. Kuroda: Asian Development Bank President.
• Direct tax arrears as on April 1, 2005 were Rs. 98,614 cr.
• Indian Railways permits an average 20.5 tonne axle-load for carrying freight.
Axle-load is the maximum allowable weight per pair of wheels for a given
section of rail track. It is a function of strength of the track, which, in turn,
depends on the length and weight of the rails, the density and the structure of
sleepers, train speed, ballast and the strength of the bridges. US permits 30.5
tonnes, Australia’s BHP Billiton Iron Ore Railroad achieved 37.5 tonnes.
• NALCO (CMD CR Pradhan) has been approached by Indonesia to take over
its alumina plant. Nalco is one of the largest exporters of alumina globally.
Exports one mln tonnes of the ore annually.
• DSE-ECRI Indian Coincident Index: reflects the collective movements in
income, output, employment and sales in the economy and is a robust measure
of overall economic activity.
• Viability Gap Funding or Grant means a grant one-time or deferred,
provided under this Scheme with the objective of making a project
commercially viable. The scheme refers to the scheme for support to PPP in

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 infrastructure projects announced by the MoF, Dept. of Economic Affair in
July 2005.

11.03.06:

• In India out of 50,000 hectares of total grape cultivation, only 1000 hectares
comprise grape cultivation.
• The total size of the FMCG sector is Rs. 56,500 cr in 2005. It is expected to
rise to Rs. 92,100 cr in 2010.
• At present urban India accounts for 66% of total FMCG consumption, with
rural India accounting for the remaining 34%.
• There are about 700 to 800 mln email accounts worldwide now. About 400
mln of them are slow accounts.
• In rural India, household borrowing has outpaced household repayment by Rs.
30,236 cr. This indicates an increase in net debt levels in rural India.
• In rural India, the overall amount of cash borrowing stood at Rs. 55,119 cr.
• US uses phosphine as the phyto-sanitary agent while India uses methyl-
bromide. Carnauba waxed pears and apples are in US market.
• India is the largest importer of pulses in the world.

12.03.06:

• The EPFO is one of the largest funds in the world covering close to 4 cr
employees in the organized sector.
• Fresh inflows into the EPFO corpus are about Rs. 15,000 cr per annum.
• Moonlighting: refers to earnings generated from working outside the formal
line of duty.
• Timeshare industry:
o Total investment in the Indian time share industry is pegged at $220
mln.
o There are 40 time share companies in India, 80 resorts and 4000 units
and 200,000 members.
o The global market size of timeshare is 5,425 resors in 95 countries , 6.7
mln owners in 200 countries, $10 bln sales volume in 2004.
• All integrated steel manufacturers in India use the blast furnace route to
produce steel; only Essar Steel uses the Electric Arc Furance route.
• Mr. Matti Vanhanen: Prime Minister of Finland.
• India is currently the fastest growing telecom market in the world. There are
already 80 mln cell sites in the country and this number is expected to
quadruple to 250 mln in the next couple of years.
• The total online ad pie in the country is projected to grow to around Rs. 750 cr
by 2010. It is currently at Rs. 100 cr.
• The size of the organized retail market in India is $180 bln. It is only about 4-
5% of the total retail market in the country.
• Dr. R.A. Mashelkar is DG, CSIR
• VK Garg: CMD of Power Finance Company

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 • There are 23 indians in the global billionaires list of 793 prepared by Forbes
magazine.
• Wal-Mart Stores is the world’s largest retailer: $282.5 bln turnover.
• Retail is the second largest employer in India after agriculture.
• Presently the Indian retail – both organized and unorganized seem to be
employing about 21 mln people, which is about 7% of the total employment.
• Less than 22% of the rural households borrowed from banks.
• Vaidyanathan Committee on reforming the cooperative banking system.
• Bank finance met only 35% of India’s growing GDP needs. In highly
developed countries the quantum of bank lending was 70-75% of the GDP,
according to P. Chidambaram, Finance Minister.
• According the FM, the advances to farm sector may touch Rs. 2 lk cr by the
end of 2006-07, well above the targeted Rs. 1.75 lk cr.
• Basudeb Banerjee: Tea Board Chairman
• Tea markets:
o The seven nation SAARC account for 60% of the world black tea
exports.
o India is the largest producer and consumer of tea.
o Srilanka is the worlds largest exporter of tea.
• Gross shipping tonnage in India as on March 1, 2006 is 8.3 mln GT with about
715 ships.
• Rakesh Mohan committee studied and recommended the tonnage tax system
for shipping companies.

14.03.06:

• Uranium enrichment: is a process in which the content of energy producing

uranium 235 is increased from natural ore stage 0.7%. Low enrichment of 3%
is enough for operating reactors to produce electricity. A bomb needs 90%
enrichment or more.
• Chief Justice of India: YK Sabharwal
• There are 1.84 cr cases pending in subordinate courts in India of which 1.62 cr
cases pertain petty criminal cases.
• Foreign exchange earnings from tourists were pegged at around Rs. 5,358 cr in
the first two months of 2006. In calendar year 2005, the country received 3.9
mn foreign tourists, a jump of around 14% over last 2004.
• Special 301: is a provision under US law that identifies countries violating the
copyright regime and pressurizes them to enforce strict IPR regime.
• A year after the introduction of product patent regime, the operating profits of
the MNC pharma companies are on the upswing.
• AP Electricity sector: Sales to agriculture sector have steadily increased over
the years, from 3,377 MU in 2002-03 to 3,798 in 2004-05.
o Sales for 2005-06 are expected to have exceeded 5000 MU.
• McMohan Line: is between China and India.
• Power shortage is already resulting in economic loss at an estimated level of
about 1% of the GDP: Dr. RK Pachauri, DG of TERI.
• Churchil: “democracy is the worst form of government, except all the others.”

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 • Law of the sea: the international convention determining who has access to
offshore oil and other maritime mineral rights.
• Only 20% of US oil comes to them from the Middle East.
• Banks and HFCs are on course to meet the targeted financing of 2.75 lk rural
dwelling units in the FY 2005-06 under the Golden Jubilee Rural Housing
Finance Scheme.

15.03.06:

• Microfinance: Small loans that help poor people who wish to start or expand
their small businesses but, are not able to get banks to lend to them.
• CAIRN energy estimates in-place reserves in excess of 3.5 bln barrels in the
Rajasthan block – the biggest oil find in India in the last two decades.
• Currently the private label apparel business is estimated at Rs. 1000 cr.
annually and growing at 20-30%.
• Motor vehicles sales: April 2005 – February 2006
o Passenger Cars 7,71,116 7,30,455
o MCs 4,97,280 4,25,077
o Two-wheelers 6,00,877 5,19,900
o CVs 35,049 29,411
• Foreign banks have to lend 32% of their net bank credit, of which advances to
small scale industries sector should not be less than 10% of their net bank
credit.
• Sugar production:
o According to latest estimates, the country may produce about 185 lk
tonnes of sugar.
• PTC: Pass Through Certificates are different from SRs (Security Receipts).
PTC are issued by banks to securitize a pool of regular loans.
• India’s exports: Apr 05-Feb 06
o Exports $88.7 bln
o Imports $126 bln
o Trade deificit $37.5 bln
o Oil import bill $39.6 bln compared to 26.5 bln
• Board of trade headed by Kumaramangalam Birla

16.03.06:

• Plea bargaining: envisages a defendant admitting to guilt to avoid prosecution

for a bigger offence or an accused admitting and not fighting the prosecution
case in exchange for leniency.
• The Bangalore IT industry forks out a wage bill of nearly Rs. 9000 cr annually
on an employee community of 3 lk plus.
• The Indian Stamp Act, 1899 is going to be amended to make unsecured loan
recovery easier. So far if promissory notes are inadequately stamped, there is
not way they could be valid as legal documents. But with the proposed

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 amendment, if adequate duty is paid even at a later date, they would be valid
legal documents.
• Negative grant: is money paid to the Govt., by private parties rather vice-
versa to bag a contract project.
• Fairtrade fortnight: is a world-wide campaign that aims to highlight the plight
of farmers in the developing world who are often exploited by middlemen and
receive an unfair price for their produce.
• Overseas student population in UK: In 2004-05 the total number of students
from countries outside of Britain increased to 318,400. Of this students from
India are at 16,685.
• India has 60 mln English speaking people. Of them there is PC literacy for 54
mln.
• Iron ore:
o India is Asia’s third biggest economy.
o Iron ore production would surge to 862 mln tonnes by 2020 from the
present 143 mln tonnes.
o India aims to boost its steel production to 110 mln tonnes by 2020 from
the current level of 38 mn tonnes.
o India has reserves of about 22 bln tonnes of iron ore, of which nearly
45% cannot be mined as the deposits were located in environmentally
sensitive areas.
o The country’s iron ore production makes up about 11% of the world’s
output.
o Last year India exported 76 mln tonnes of iron ore, with China alone
accounting for 68 mln tonnes.
• The MFA which governed the global trade in textiles and clothing since 1974
ended in Dec 2004.
• The productivity of cotton measured by yield has been found to be lower than
in many countries. The level of productivity in China, Turkey and Brazil is
over 1 tonne/ha, while in India it is only about 0.3 tonne/ha.
• World economic growth this year will beat the IMF’s forecast of 4.3%.
• Rodrigo Rato is IMF Chief.

17.03.06:

• UN created a new 47 member Human Rights Council in place of the Geneva

based 53 seat UN Human Rights Commission. The council is to conduct
periodic reviews of the human rights records of all UN members, beginning
with those elected to the council.
A major improvement over the commission is that the Council will convene as
and when needed to make interventions in a timely manner. The Commission
met only for six weeks in a year but the Council would be required to hold at
least three meetings a year lasting a total of at least ten weeks.
• Indian Health scenario:
o As against the ideal ratio of 1:500 the bed-population ratio is
1:1333(1991).
o Only 0.9% of the GDP is spent for health against WHO’s
recommendation of 5%

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 o Only 9% of the 1 bln population are covered under health schemes.
o An estimated 2mn beds are required against 0.7 mln available and 700
hospitals of 250 beds each are needed every year.
• The addressable global market in infrastructure managed services (IT space) is
%66 bln, while India’s exports in this space amounts to about $1 bln and the
domestic market is estimated to be about the same size.
• Bulge bracket bank: is a firm which straddles the complete rane of financial
services, including investment banking, securities trading and investment
management across global markets. Goldman Sachs, Merill Lynch and
Morgan Stanley are considered the three bulge bracket banks in the world.
• Indian govt. spends six rupees to deliver one rupee to the target beneficiary.
• There are 35 cities in India with a population of over 1 mln.
• The hotel industry is reeling under a shortage of over 1.25 lk rooms across the
country; is expected to build around 155 hotels in various cities in the country
to bridge the demand supply gap.
• According to a NASSCOM study, the IT industry adds 100-110 sft of office
space/employee while the BPO industry adds 80-90 sft / employee.
• The retailing industry is the second largest employer in India and contributes
to about 4% of the GDP.
• The outcome budget to be tabled in Parliament today would give a detailed
break down of how the sums meant for each development programme would
be spent in the course of the year.
• India’s textiles exports stand at over $13 bln. Garments must be around half
of the total exports. For Indian companies the per piece realization is close to
$4 as against just $3 for Chinese products.

18.03.06:

• Internationally the trade in ornamental fish is estimated to be about %5.26 bln

with an average 6% growth per year. Of this India accounts for less than
0.01%.
• Russia has agreed to supply 60 tonnes of Uranium fuel to India.
• Kudankulam nuclear power plant is being built with Russian assistance.
• The interest rate on EPF contributions is currently at 8.5%.
• Indian and Air India are proposed to be merged creating the country’s largest
carrier with nearly 130 aircraft and a significant share in the global market.
• Worsted suitings market in India is estimated to be about Rs. 1300 cr.
• Embraer is a Brazil based commercial jet manufacturer.
• The software testing market in India is estimated at $800 mln; is expected to
cross $2 bln by 2007. The global market for software testing is expected to
touch $13 bln by 2007.
• Michael Duke: Wal-Mart International’s Chief.
• According to NCAER, an estimated 47.5 lk artisans make hundreds of
handicraft items. According to a 1995-96 NCAER survey, the handicraft
sector produced goods worth Rs. 26, 213 cr. Thousands of goldsmiths in India
make ornaments worth $70 bln for Indian women.

- 40 -
 • In 1700 AD, India’s share of world income was 22.6%, which was almost
equal to Europe’s share. In 1952, India’s share declined to 3.8% only.
• The Indian Handicraft Export Council has estimated the export of handicraft
goods to touch Rs. 32,700 cr by 2010.
• MFI – Micro Finance Institutions:
o They borrow from banks at 15% and in turn charge higher rates to their
clients.
• What is a fund of funds:
o Unlike a regular mutual fund scheme, the FoF mobilizes funds and
invests this in other mutual fund schemes.

19.03.06:

• Cement accounts for about 7 to 10% of construction cost for a typical middle
class flat. Typically housing construction requires about 40 to 45 bags of
cement per 100 sq. ft and 3 to 3.5 kg of steel per 100 sq.ft which translates to
Rs. 70 sq. ft for the cement and Rs. 100 sq. ft for steel.
• Zari in India began as a family kept secret in Surat District of Gujarat. All zari
before the 1970s was only made in that town and traded to saree makers
throughout India.
• Mangala Rai: is DG of ICAR Indian Council for Agricultural Research.
• India’s livestock accounts for 15% of the world’s livestock population.
• Hyderabad has over 18 lk vehicles running on its roads and this number is
doubling every five years. With only 6% of its total area making up raods,
traffic jams are a common sight. While a normal city has 70% of its
population using its public transport, it is only 44% in the case of Hyderabad.

22.03.06:

• Jet Airways is trying to acquire Sahara Airways for Rs. 2300 cr. The deal ran
into rough weather with the Govt. Monopoly per se is not an offence in India
now.
• High quality terry towels are used in mostly in resorts, spas and luxury homes
in the West. Globally the market for such products is estimated to be at $ 1
bln.
• The biotechnology sector saw a growth of 30% and touched 2300 cr in size
this fiscal 2005-06. According to Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, certain regulatory
issues that are impacting the industry’s growth relate to:
o Discoveries in genetics
o The conduct of clinical trials
o Approval process of new drugs etc.
• Nirpendra Misra is the new TRAI Chairman
• National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources
(NISCIR) is developing a digital database of the country’s biodiversity and
cultural heritage to support the prior existence of genetic material originally
found in India. UN convention on biodiversity (CBD). Knowledge in public
domain is not patentable.

- 41 -
 • Offshore banking: relates to the international banking business involving non-
resident foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities. Such banking
operations cover only non-residents, and do not include, domestic banking.
• At present a railway wagon roughly costs about Rs. 20 lks. A goods train with
45 wagons costs about Rs. 9 crs
• MM Lakhera: Andaman & Nicobar Lt. Governor
• India despite being the largest producer of pulses, still imports pulses.
• In India wheat production accounts for 75 mln tonnes while pulses production
is around 15 mln tonnes in a crop year.
• Renditta count: refers to the quantity of silk cocoon required to produce one
kg of silk yarn

23.02.06:

• Cement makers from abroad who have stepped into India recently include:
o Holcim (Switzerland) thru Gujarat Ambuja & ACC
o Lafarge (France) thru Raymond
o Italcement (Italy)
o Heidelberg (German) thru 50% Indorama
• In the past 10 years cement consumption has grown by 7.5% per annum.
• In 2005 India was after China the second largest cement consumer with
around 135 mln tonnes.
• For Dubai Tourism has emerged as the leading contributor to the economy
accounting for about 18% of the GDP directly and an estimated 28%
indirectly, clearly outshining the revenues from oil sector.
• The domestic jeans market is estimated at 32 mln pairs annually and growing
at 12/15%
• Indian IT industry size is $36 bln. Of this the domestic market contributes
about $6 bln.
• The Entertainment & Media industry size is about Rs. 35,300 cr. Is expected
to grow at a CAGR of 19% touching Rs. 87,300 cr by 2010.
• The textile sector is set to create 1.35 mln jobs in AP by 2015. Of this 719,000
will be created in spinning, weaving and garmenting.
• By 2010 textile exports are set to touch $40 bln and domestic consumption is
set to touch $45 bln.
• CRM is a much misused word – to describe IT systems for sales, customer
care and marketing promotions. But the larger and more holistic view of
CRM, ‘managing your customer’ involves a cohesive view of branding,
promotions, communication, customer touch points – and may very well
include issues such as packaging.
• RFID uses radio frequency waves to transfer data between a reader/scanner
and a movable item to identify, track or locate it.
• Sugar output is likely to be about 21-22 mln tonnes by the year to September
2007. India’s sugar output in the year to September 2006 is likely to be about
18.5 mln tonnes from about 13 mln tonnes a year ago.
• There are about 450 sugar mills in India.

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24.03.06:

• Sonia Gandhi resigned as Chairperson of the National Advisory Council and

also as the Lok Sabha MP. This is to preempt the disqualification she would
have attracted in the hands of the President on the recommendation of the
CEC, on holding an office of profit while being an MP. Chiltern Hundreds
and the Manor of Northstead in England – a person occupying the position of
a steward of either of these two areas – the so-called ‘offices of profit’ – would
be disqualified from serving as an MP.
• Rural India facts and figures:
o 784 mln people in 2005; 157 mln households
o 17% of villages account for 50% of rural population
o Per capita annual income is Rs. 9,800
o Installed rural base of TVs is 15 mln
o Infrastructure is improving rapidly:
 Previous 50 years: 40% of villages connected by roads
 Next 10 years: Another 30%
o 59% village tele-density
o Approximately 3/4th of the able but underemployed workforce resides
in rural India.
• SLR is the mandated proportion of liabilities that each bank has to keep in the
form of cash, gold or unencumbered approved securities.
• CRR is the cash that each bank has to keep with the RBI in proportion to its
total demand and time liabilities.
• EPFO has 4 cr subscribers.
• India spends only about 1/4th on transmission in comparison to generation of
electricity.
• The Govt. plans to add around 100,000 MW of generation capacity by the year
2012 through central and state power utilities and private investors. An
investment of about Rs. 71,000 cr has been envisaged to evacuate the above
quantum of power. Out of this PGCIL plans to invest about Rs. 50,000 cr on
its own while private investors are expected to chip in with the rest.
• The total number of projects awarded on BOT basis in the roads sector till end
2005, is 37.
• There are currently about 19 licensed power traders in India.
• Of the 580 bln units of power generated only 12 to 13 bln units are traded i.e.,
only about 2 or 3% of total generation is traded.
• The country faces peak shortage of about 12%.
• There are more than 8 lakh credit linked NGOs in the country having access to
micro finance and the total credit disbursed through them was Rs. 4,863 cr in
2005-06.
• Unlike other silk producing nations like Thailand which have limited cocoon
production and resort to drying and storing the cocoons for use in the non-
producing season, India uses green(fresh) cocoons for producing silk yarn
• India has annual production of about 15,000 tonnes of silk and has the
potential to produce about 2000 tonnes of pupa oil which finds application in
industries like lubricants and paints.

- 43 -
 • US domestic inventories:
o Crude oil 338.6 mln barrels
o Gasoline 221.6 mln barrels
o Distillate fuel 126.7 mln barrels (includes diesel & heating oil)

25.03.06:

• The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) was founded in 1974 to keep nuclear
technology that was transferred for peaceful purposes from being directed
towards weapons development by states like India, which developed atomic
weapons after the NPT came into effect in 1970.
• RR Parkon is a company that manufactures MLPS – Multi Level Parking
Systems. MLPS costs range from 1.5 lk to Rs. 3.3 lk per car.
• Indian food processing market is estimated at 12 – 13000 cr.
• India is the world’s largest producer of milk and dairy products with a vast
population of cattle.
• Suzlon Energy:
o MD Tulsi Tanti
o According to him the country loses 45,000 MW of power every day
due to unharnessed potential of wind energy.
o Power constitutes 20-25% of the textile industry.
o The gear box market for wind turbines is growing at 40% globally.
There are only about three or four players in that market.
• Domestic car entertainment market size is about Rs. 1000 cr.
• Frost & Sullivan estimates the global MRO – Maintenance, Repair and
Overhaul market to be around $37 bln. Asia accounts for 8% of this. India’s
MRO market is of $615.3 mln size.
• Indian Institute of Packaging an autonomous body under the Union Commerce
Ministry is the only institute in the world other than Michigan State University
to offer courses in packaging.
• Vizag HPCL refinery capacity is going to be increased to 15 mln tonnes per
annum.
• Chairman HPCL: M.B. Lal
• The WPI is currently at 196.6 points
• Coal:
o Total proved reserves is 93 bln tonnes.
o Indicated reserves 117 bln tonnes
o Inferred reserves 38 bln tonnes.
• According to an estimate tendu leaf gathering generates 150 mln man days of
employement during the agricultural lean season.
• Since tobacco is a demerit crop, the govt. is keen on bringing down the
cultivation from 2.5 lakh hectares to 1.5 lakh hectares.
• AP is the largest producer of tobacco and chillies.
• S. Sundaresan: Chairman, Forward Markets Commission
• 2004-05: turnover in commodities market stood at 5.71 lk cr.
• Till March 15 this year it touched 19.5 lk cr.

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 • India imports 73% of its crude oil requirement and spend around Rs. 1,10,000
cr annually on oil imports.
• Nearly 30% of all exports from India are covered under the DEPB scheme.

26.03.06:

• SBI owns between 75 and 100% of its associate banks.

• SCs comprise 16.23% of the country’s population while STs comprise 8.16%.
As against 27% of the general population living below the poverty line, SC
population below that level in rural areas is 36.25% and 38.47% in urban
areas. The corresponding figures for ST are 45.86% (rural) and 34.75%
(urban).
• It is estimated that crime against business costs the UK economy over £18 bn
each year.
• The coming assembly polls in five states are estimated to cost about Rs. 2000
cr. as against the EC’s norms of Rs. 400 cr.
• Detariffing in insurance is expected to enable consumers to negotiate on rates
and improve service levels.
• The major constraint to the growth of the insurance market today is poor
market penetration. Market penetration is a mere 3.3%.
• India has a middle class as large as that of the total population of the US 295
mln and is growing at 25 mln per year.
• Indian Railways is the second largest employer in the world.
• Germany is hosting the soccer world cup in June 2006.
• National Rainfed Area Authority and National Fish Development Board are
going to be setup in India shortly.
• Agricultural credit has been increased from Rs. 80,000 cr to 1,40,000 cr in
2005-06.
• The $21.25 mln Dubai World Cup is the world’s riches horse race.

27.03.06:

• The size of the ministry is capped at 15% of the strength of the assembly in
India.
• Maharashtra: The tiff between the agro rich and politically strong Western
Maharashtra and the impoverished Vidarbha and Marathwada regions has
always been the hallmark of the state’s polity.
• There are over a million BSNL PCOs scattered across the country.
• In the past BSNL PCOs contributed 20-25% of revenue for the company.
• The duty on imported scotch whiskeys ranges between 212% and 525% now.
• The total market size for SMB software is pegged at Rs. 770 cr.
• TB infect 18 lakh people and kills 3.7 lakh people every year – according to
World Economic Forum. These figures are for India. The rate of detecting TB
in the country stands at 66% as against the WHO standard of 70%.
• In India there are about 5 mln international tourists and 400 mln domestic
tourists per year.

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 • Foreign banks may be allowed in rural areas.
o The present WTO commitment is to allow a minimum of 12 branches
for foreign banks in a year.
o As many as 32 foreign banks operate in India with a total of 215
branches.
o Foreign banks are prohibited from owning more than 5% of an Indian
bank.
o To operate in India foreign banks have to obtain a licence under
Section 22 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. For branch
expansion, a licence under Section 23 of the same Act is required.
o Foreign banks should lend 32% of their net bank credit to priority
sector.
o According to industry estimates there are only 28,000 bank branches in
7 lakh villages in the country. The NSSO survey points out that there
are only 6 branches for every 100,000 people.
• The total size of the NPAs of public sector banks is estimated to be Rs. 2000
cr.
• Reportedly IOC’s borrowings alone add up to Rs. 25,000 cr. It is currently
seeing an under recovery of Rs. 23,000 cr.
• Plea bargaining has been recently introduced in India by an amendment to the
CrPC effective January 2006.
• Indian Handicrafts expots have notched upto Rs. 13,000 cr last year and is
tipped to cross Rs. 14,000 cr in 2005-06. Handicrafts is the second largest
employment segment after agriculture. Country has set a target of Rs. 39,000
cr for exports by 2009-10.

28.03.06:

• 104th Constitution amendment: gives the States the right to take steps that
would ensure advancement of socially and educationally backward classes, the
SCs and STs in private education institutions as well. The constitutional
amendment route was taken as the Supreme Court has ruled in the Inamdar
case that the government could not set quotas in private institutions.
• The ministry of food processing estimates the size of the food processing
industry at Rs. 3,150 bln ($70 bn).
• Centre buys time with SC on Islamic courts: The petitioner in the PIL before
SC contended that matters relating to Imrana’s status (she was raped by her
father in law and told by a fatwa issued by the Islamic seminary Darul Uloom
of Deoband in UP to treat him as her husband) of marriage and dissolution of
marriage were squarely covered by the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat)
Application Act 1937. He said a parallel Muslim judicial system or Nizam-e-
Qaza was sought to be introduced by the setting up of Darul Qaza (courts) at
various places in India and that these had actually started functioning as
parallel courts of justice.
• The total exports of textiles and apparels are pegged at about $13 bln and
expected to touch $50 bln by 2010.
• Globally the real estate business accounts for assets of over $50 trillion. The
share of real estate in India’s GDP has increased to 7% from 5.25% in 2002-03

- 46 -
 which is still considerably lower than the 15% share of real estate in
developed economies.
• The premium sportswear market is of the size Rs. 1000 cr. New Balance, the
American company is joining the likes of Reebok, Adidas and Nike for a share
of this market.
• The 125 cc market is the fastest growing motor cycle market in India today.
• The market size of generic drugs in Europe is $6.5 bln. Second largest after
the US market.
• Most pharma companies reinvest 12-14% of their revenues back into R&D.
• The proportion of women entrepreneurs in the small scale sector is very low at
10%. According to the third census of the SSI sector for 2001-02, the total
number of women entrepreneurs in the SSI sector is 10.6 lk.
• Diageo is the world’s largest premium drinks company.
• The Indian market consumes 1.6 mln cases of vodka per year of which 4 lk
cases are Smirnoff.
• There are about 9,128 stock brokers in the country in 2004-05. 41.3% of them
are corporate members.
• The proposed national grid of electricity (to be completed by 2012) will result
in an inter-regional transmission capacity of 37,150 mw up from the current
capacity of 9,500 mw.
• An estimated 50% of the small and marginal farmers routinely dispose of their
produce in distress sales.
• The recent bird flu has similar characteristics of the 1918 pandemic that killed
20-40 mln people worldwide.
• Exporters of iron ore, cereals, sugar and petroleum products are on warpath as
the govt. has withdraw these products from the “Target Plus” scheme which
provides additional incentives for incremental exports.

29.03.06:

• During 2005-06, FMCG major HLL spent 10.3% of its sales revenue on
advertising, which is more than Rs. 1000 cr.
• Texas Instruments CEO Richard Templeton:
o By 2010 India will have around 300 mln mobile subscribers and they
are expected to touch 500 mln by 2015.
o The Indian entertainment industry is estimated to be around $10 bln.
o Chip consumption in India currently at $3.6 bln is set to grow to $36
bln in a decade.
• BSNL:
o Is witnessing the surrender of fixed line connections to the tune of
around 3 mln lines every year.
o The telco has 40 mln fixed line users.
o To stem the tide, it has come out with prepaid land lines to be launched
by April end.
• Lighthouse hiring: refers to the resorting to proactive hiring by companies to
garner talent.

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 • A. Viswanath: Central PF Commissioner. EPFO is going to have a second
fund manager in addition to SBI.
• Cost audits are ordered on specific companies in a sector which have a
turnover of more than Rs. 10 cr. The cost auditing data is expected to reveal
the real extent of profit companies traders make.
• Office of profit issue: The constitutional provision in Article 102 provides for
holding an office of profit under the government as a disqualification for
election to and for being a Member of Parliament.
• Life insurance penetration is about 5.5% in industrialized countries as against
about 2% of GDP in India.
• When-issued market: allows transactions in govt. securities that have been
authorized for issuance, but are not issued yet.
• Almost 80% of Indian coffee is exported. Coffee crop is effected by white
stem borer pest.
• Typically organic farm products cost five or six times more compared to the
inorganic products.

30.03.06:

• Indian economy has contributed about 3.2% of total incremental global growth
recorded in 2005.
• The global GDP composition measures the absolute size of an economy with
respect to GDP, while on the other hand the global GDP growth composition
measures the incremental growth recorded by an economy with respect to the
overall incremental growth in world GDP as a whole, in a particular year.
• At present, spectrum quota per licence area for GSM players is upto 10 MHz
while it is capped at 5 MHz for CDMA operators.
• Incometax Department is on a Rs. 1000 cr National Datacentre project
• The security solutions market in India is estimated to be around $30 mln (Rs.
132 cr.) and is expected to touch $120 mln (Rs. 528 cr) by 2010.
• Organized retail industry size is estimated at Rs. 40,000 cr.
• Under the existing guidelines, central sector projects costing Rs. 100 cr and
above are considered by the PIB Public Investments Board. Now profitable
PSUs are brought out of the PIB leash – only those PSUs which have low
budgetary support from the government and which would not seek sovereign
guarantee for their expansion plans would be allowed this facility.
Navaratna’s investment in one project is limited to Rs. 1000 cr. The same is
Rs. 500 cr and Rs .250 cr respectively for miniratnas I and II respectively.
• Core sector spend up 106% in X Plan:
o The infrastructure segment is expected to see investments of Rs.
4,35,600 cr over the next three years, as compared to Rs. 3,32,000 cr
during the past three years.
o Hydro power projects have a large construction component of almost
70% as compared to 20% in thermal power projects.
• Captive mining of coal likely to aid privatization:
o At present, mining and sale of coal is carried out only by Coal India
Limited and its subsidiaries. An exception is made only in some core
sectors like power, iron and steel and cement for internal consumption.

- 48 -
 What is now being envisaged is an enabling notification that would
allow private mining companies to apply for a mining lease directly,
mine the coal and sell it for a price to power, iron and steel and cement
companies.
• India International Coffee festival will be held in February 2007.

31.03.06:

• The GoI spends about Rs. 1447 cr on printing currency notes. India produces
the largest volume of bank notes in the world, at a third of the cost of
production compared with the established leaders. Hence India is offering to
print foreign currency notes.
• In the 2001 stock market scam involving Ketan Parekh, the MMCB
(Madhvapura Mercantile Cooperative Bank), an Ahmedabad based multi-state
cooperative bank, suffered massi ve loss as the funds of the bank were
siphoned out by the accused persons in connivance with the bank’s top
management.
• Manipur CM Okaram Ibobi is reported to have paid extortion money to some
militant outfits. He had publicly justified it as an occupational hazard of the
politics of the state).
• According to a report prepared by KPMG for NASSCOM, the total demand
for IT professionals is estimated to be 11.2 lakh by 2009, against a supply of
8.85 lakh, leaving a shortfall of 2.35 lakh people.
• The liquid handwash category market is around Rs. 35 cr.
• High end lubes: The top-end synthetic oils segment is currently less than 1%
in a 1 mln tonne lube market in India.
• IT services: Currently the domestic services segment accounts for only 30%
of the IT/ITeS sector wshile the rest comes from software exports. While the
domestic market is growing at about 25%, the exports market is growing at
30% and is expected to touch almost $60 bln by 2010.
• The size of India’s e-governance market in terms of transactions is estimated
to be $4.58 bln while the size of the US market is almost $123 bln.
• DoT seeks FIPB reply on stake sale to Orascom:
o The question is whether Hutchison Telecommunications International,
an investor in Hutch Essar required an FIPB approval prior to selling a
minority stake to Orascom, especially if such a shareholding change in
the holding company triggers changes in indirect sharehilding of Hutch
Essar.
o National Security Advisor MK Narayanan wrote a letter to DoT saying
that Orascom’s acquisition of 19.3% equity in Hutch International is a
threat to national security as Orascom is a dominant mobile operator in
Pakistan and Bangladesh.
• Overall engineering exports of goods and services from India are at $15.9 bln
in 2004-05.
• Indian animation industry is expected to touch $950 mln by 2009.
• Indian advertisement industry size is Rs. 13,200 cr.

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• Seven ultra mega power projects each with about 4000 MW capacity are being
built across the country with an investment of Rs. 105,000 cr. The govt. is
hoping that competitive bidding will result in a tariff of Rs. 1.60 to Rs. 1.80.
• About 1,45,185 KM of roads are proposed to be built by 2009 under the
Bharat Nirman program to benefit an estimated 66,802 unconnected
habitations in the country. All villages with a population of 1000 are to be
provided an all-weather road by 2009 under the program.
• The govt. has decided to import an additional 1.5 mln tonnes of wheat to
ensure adequate buffer stocks in the wake of downward revision of wheat
production estimates to 73.06 mln tonnes and fears of damage to the crop due
to utimely rains.
• Wheat procurement target this year is at 16.2 mln tonnes.

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01.04.06:

• In 2005, FII inflows in equities totted up to $10.7 bln and in the first three
months of 2006, this figure has already touched $4 bln.
• Outdoor advertising (bill boards)
o The Indian market for outdoor advertising is about Rs. 1,100 cr.
o Hyderabad’s share is only Rs. 56 cr compared to Mumbai’s Rs. 440 cr
and Chennai’s Rs. 140 cr
o Mumbai has about 3000 signboards while Chennai, Hyderabad and
Bangalore sport 3000, 2000 and 1500 respectively.
• Technical textiles segment currently is worth $4 bln; is expected to double
next year.
• Rough estimates say that Delhi has Rs. 60 cr worth of health tourism and the
country has a potential of $2 bln market by the close of the decade.
• The 93rd constitutional amendment gives states the right to make special
provisions by law for the advancement of any socially and educationally
backward class, SCs and STs in matters of admissions to educational
institutes, including private educational institutes.
• K. Ramalingam: Chairman AAI Airports Authority of India
• Oil refining is the new hotspot; glut fears flare up: In 1979, global refining
capacity had touched a peak of 79.5 mln barrels per day. Refining margins for
crude have gone up to $5-10 /bbl for complex refinaries.
• According to the Finance Minister, the banking system finances 35% of GDP
in India against over 70% in developed countries.
• Just about 3% of Indian population has health insurance.
• LIFFE London Futures and Financial Exchange, the only global marketplace
for refined sugar has finally put India on deliverable list of countries from Oct
2006 contract.
• India is one of the world’s largest producers of horticulture items with output
topping 110 mln tonnes. The country produces over 70 mln tonnes of
vegetables with the balance being fruits. Vegetable cultivation is spread over
six mln hectares and accounts for slightly over 3% of the total area under
cultivation.
• NCDEX already offers futures trading in two commodities – coffee and silk.
It has recently decided to allow futures trading in potatoes and Onions.
Futures trading was banned in the 1960s by the GoI. But it has made a
comeback recently.
• Gujarat accounts for over 60% of castor cultivation in the country.
• Silk production:
o Silk is produced in two different methods: mulberry silk and eri silk.
India is the world’s second largest producer of silk; is home to both
varieties. Production of non-mulberry silk is currently pegged at less
than 5% of the total output. Eri silk output accounts for over 80% of
the non-mulberry production in the country. India’s eri silk output is
pegged at 1800 tonnes compared to 13,000 tonnes of mulberry output.
Eri silk moth can be reared on both castor and tapioca plantations.

02.04.06:

- 51 -
 • India’s mobile subscriber base is around 75 mln.
• VAT has got Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, MP and Rajasthan in its fold
now from this financial year – bringing the total number of states that have
introduced VAT to 27. The only two states that have not yet introduced VAT
are TN and UP.
• The planning commission has set up a high-powered committee to review the
existing TV broadcasting system in the country and come up with a blue print
for digitization of the sector.
• The GoI is gearing up for a full-fledged open skies agreement with ASEAN.
• US Internet penetration:
o 39 mln American households still do not have Internet access. That
means that only 64% of the households are connected.
o The growth of the Internet in the US has stalled.
o Near 100% of the households have a TV, 83% have a DVD player and
78% have a cell phone.

03.04.06:

• $10 bn is what is earned by MNCs, NRIs & foreign lenders in 2005-06 from
Indian markets either by way of dividends, interest etc.
• Liquidity crunch may lead to easier FCB norms: The pressure on banks had
built up owing to the scorching credit growth of 31% in the fiscal which just
ended. In contrast , the average build up in deposits at 18% has not kept pace
with the spiraling loan growth.
• There is automatic approval route for ECBs of up to $500 mln. For fiscal
2005-06 corporates may end up accessing ECBs of close to $20 bln. The
internal ceiling for ECBs fixed by the government for 2006-07 was initially
$12 bln but was raised to $18 bln by the end of last year.
• The govt. is likely to make it mandatory for telecom operators to get prior
approval of FIPB in case the existing foreign investor/promoter sells more
than 10% of its equity to another foreign company, directly or indirectly
through a holding company abroad.
• For the monetary policy manager, the larger flow of ECBs would mean more
need to sterilize the flows. In other words, the inflows need to be mopped up
by the Central Bank by releasing rupee funds which are directed to the gilts
markets. If such flows are not sterilized, it can lead to problems of money
supply, inflation and currency management.
• Spain is the world’s top destination for MICE segment. Meetings, incentives,
conferences and exhibitions.
• Children’s wear constitutes about 17% of the total Rs. 43,000 cr apparel
industry.
• Recently the 39th annual Ad Club awards – popularly known as the Abbys was
held at Mumbai.
• Mr. T. N. Manoharan: President ICAI Institute of Chartered Accountants
India.

04.04.06:

- 52 -
 • The largest acquisition so far in the IT space in India has been Oracle’s
acquisition of Citigroup’s stake in banking product company i-flex for $593
mln.
• FIIs have so far bought $4.01 bln worth of stock in Indian bourses in 2006.
• Safety exception clause in Nuclear Suppliers Group:
o The clause allows export of nuclear fuel to countries that don’t have
UN approved safeguards only if it is to prevent or correct “ a
radiological hazard to public health and safety” which cannot
reasonably be met by other means.
• The proposed merger between Alcatel and Lucent will create the largest
company with a combined revenue of over $25 bln.
• Indian patent scene:
o Among the Indian entities, CSIR ranks as a key patent acquirer of US
patents.
o For the year ended March 2005, of the 495 US patents issued to Indian
residents in 2004-05, 266 were granted to foreign assignees.
o Foreign assignees are those where the Indian R&D operation is part of
a multinational set-up and the patent is assigned to the parent company.
• RPL to cash in on spurt in oil demand:
o According to Mukesh Ambani, the world’s energy needs will be 50%
higher in 2030 compared to current levels and around 55-60% of this
increased demand would be met from conventional sources like oil and
gas.
o By 2030, the world would be consuming over 16 bn tonnes of oil
equivalents – 5.5 bln tonnes more than current levels.
o Demand for oil will reach over 90 m barrels per day in 2010 and
around 115 mb/d in 2030.
• Joint Forest Management policy – in this the local community is given a
significant role.
• 27% of the forest land in India (ie., 1,73,31,950 hectares) is managed by the
local community through 84,632 JFM committees. However, less than 1 cr
people are involved in the JFM, while those who live off forests wholly or in
part, number 27.5 cr.
• India’s external debt to GNP ratio stnds at 22%, while China’s stands at about
15%.
• India is the world’s largest producer of mangoes and accounts for over 45% of
the global output. Competition to Indian mangoes comes mainly from
Philippines and Mexico. Saudi Arabia is the largest importer of Indian
mangoes accounting for 2300 tonnes worth Rs. 7.47 cr.
• Irradiation, considered to be more effective than heating as a means of
preserving food

05.04.06:

- 53 -
 • SK Sharma panel has mooted converting 10 to 20% of the personnel in the
investigation wing of the IT Department to a uniformed force every year and
supplying them with weapons as is done for customs officials.
• Mutual Funds through their new fund offerings or otherwise have collectively
collected close to Rs. 25,000-30,000 cr. during FY06.
• BPOs leverage brand for financial research thrust:
o The rapid growth of the FRA business in India can be attributed to the
desegregation of the equity research industry in the US from
investment banking. After New York district attorney Eliot Spitzer
asked investment banks to delink research from investment banking,
the former is no longer profitable on its own. Consequently, US
investment banks have moved offshore to India to cut down costs and
retain profitability.
o As of now between 3,000 and 5,000 people are employed in the FRA
industry.
• The background screening business which was non-existent till a few years
ago is now estimated to be about Rs. 75-100 cr. a year, thanks to large number
of fake resumes.
• SBI commands 35% of the forex market in India.
• SBI handles 60% of the central and state governments transactions. The RBI
made a provision in 2001 for state governments to shift their accounts in times
of emergency.
• Round tripping: Indian companies routing their money trhough foreign
locations mainly to avail tax benefits – something that the Chinese have
mastered. Nearly half of China’s FDI inflows is round-tripping.
• India has seen 46 IPOs so far in 2006 that were scheduled to raise about Rs.
8,233 cr.
• The mutual fund industry has assets under management of over Rs. 2,17,707
cr. compared to just Rs. 80,000 cr in March 2003.
• With 3.5 lakh hectares of orchards, AP is the largest producer of mangoes in
the country. The state exported about 2100 MT of mangoes last year.

06.04.06:

• In 2006-07, the net collections in the NSSF (National Small Savings Fund) are
expected to be about Rs. 90,000 cr.
• CIBIL: Credit Bureau of India Limited, provides reports relating to the credit
history of consumers to its members like banks.
• Aviation: Typically the December-January period marks the high season for
air travel and most airlines record high passenger load factor.
• ESPN Star Sports (ESS) has bagged the exclusive rights for the forthcoming
FIFA World Cup. ESS has been selling ad spots of 10 seconds duration at Rs.
30,000.
o In cricket, where India does not figure, the ad spot will be sold for Rs.
4,000 to 5,000.
o India Pak ODI ad spots cost about Rs. 3 lakh per ten seconds.

- 54 -
 • Madikeri: The headquarters of India’s main coffee growing district of Kodagu
in Karnataka.
• In 2005, global flat panel (TV and PC) market grew by 130%.
• According to a CII-McKinsey study, the medical tourism industry is expected
to bring in $2 bln (Rs. 8,800 cr) by 2012.
• Assembled PC sales were 34% of the total PCs sold in India in 2005-06.
• IOC:
o The loss on kerosene is currently at Rs. 14.17 per litre and on every
LPG cylinder is Rs. 199.
o IOC has a total pump network of 15,247 pumps.
• World economy: was growing at 5.1% two years ago. Last year estimated to
have grown at 4.5%.
• Planning Commission estimates that leakages in food subsidy are at 36.38%
and diversion of food grains to unintended beneficiaries was 21.45%. Out of
14 mln tonnes of food grains issued for BPL families in 2003-04, only 5.93
mln tonnes was delivered.
• As per the existing norms, Railways has to share the cost of constructing
overbridges on level-crossings with state governments in the proportion of
50:50.
• In India over 160 districts are affected with naxal problem.
• The spend on e-government is estimated at $480 mln in 2003-04 and $300 mln
in 2002-03.
• There are 17 primary dealers for G-sec market.
• Only 17% of India’s hydel potential is realized while another 5% is under
developement. 30,956 MW out of 150,000 MW.
• FCV tobacco: Flue Cured Virginia tobacco is used in cigarettes.
o The KLS Karnataka Light Soil tobacco – also called Mysore tobacco
in pre-independence days, is in great demand the world over because it
is a neutral filler which can go into different blends. It is also stated to
be less carcinogenic.
• India exported buffalo meat and meat products worth Rs. 1615.59 cr in 2004-
05.

07.04.06:

• The government is planning to unplug the FDI cap on insurance and let
foreign insurers to set up shop with up to 100% equity in special Economic
Zones.
• Reid & Taylor: Registered a 30% growth. Rs. 200 cr brand. 15% market
share in the Rs. 1300 cr worsted suiting segment.
• Gold loses its shine to other must-haves:
o Rising consumerism and aspirations of millions of middle-class
Indians could have a possible adverse impact on gold usage according
to WGC.
o India’s annual gold consumption is pegged around 800 tonnes to 825
tonnes.
o Typically old gold consumption is placed around 150 tonnes.

- 55 -
 o India is forced to import over 80% of its gold requirement.
o India’s gold exports account for about a fourth of its total jewellery
exports, which is largely cut, polished diamond jewellery and jewellery
made of other gems.
• PMS: Portfolio Management Services is roughly a Rs. 500 cr industry. There
are two types of PMS services – discretionary and non-discretionary. While in
case of the former, the fund manager invests clients’ money on his behalf, in
case of the latter, the investment discretion is left to the investor itself. As per
SEBI norms, a portfolio manager needs to have a minimum networth of Rs. 50
lks with an experience of five years in the field of fund management.
• The global pharmaceutical outsourcing market, which currently stands at $24
bln could reach $53 bln by 2010.
• India has 31% market share in the sales of certified emission reductions
followed by Brazil at 13%. The prevailing rate for CER is around E6 ro E5
per tonne of carbon.
• Organized car rental players in India: SIXT, AVIS, Hertz
• Last year music companies in south India earned an estimated revenues of Rs.
2 cr from ring tones and private FM stations.
• The Indian ad industry is worth Rs. 13,200 cr.
• NPCIL estimates that following the Indo-US nuclear deal, anywhere between
20,000 to 40,000 MW of nuclear power generation capacity could be added
over the next 10 years.
• In April 2005 to February 2006 period, cement dispatches were 127 MMT
(Million Metric Tonnes)
o Cement exports increased 32% to 5.4 MMT in the same period.
• Indian petroleum market:
o Indian market size is 40 mln tonnes/ year
o Number of petrol pumps is about 31,500
o Diesel is the largest selling petro product in India accounting for about
35% of total petroleum products consumed in the country.
• Model Concession Agreement:
o MCA is a policy document that outlines the role of all stake-holders
involved in the PPP projects.
o It contains all terms and conditions for award of BOT projects in a
particular sector.
• In cities like HongKong and Tokyo, railway network authorities earn as much
as 40% of their total revenue from non-fare activities. Indian Railways has a
dismal 4% contribution like that.
• Indian Railways’ total revenue for 2005-06 is between Rs. 50,000 cr to Rs,
60,000 cr.
• The private life insurance industry as a whole clocked about Rs. 26,286 cr as
First Premium Income.
• The Indian agriculture sector while employing 65% of the people in rural
areas, contributes a mere 26% to the country’s GDP.

08.04.06:

- 56 -
• SC hammer heavy on Goa Governor too: After Bihar, the constitutional
conduct of yet another governor – SC Jamir – has come under judicial scanner
when the SC on Friday referred to a Constitutional Bench a petition filed by
former Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar challenging dismissal of his
government.
• Homologation is a technical term, derived from the Greek homologos for
"agree," which is generally used in English to signify the granting of approval
by an official authority. This may be a court of law, a government department,
or a professional body, any of which would normally work from a set of strict
rules or standards to determine whether such approval should be given. The
word may be considered very roughly synonymous with accreditation, and in
fact in French may be used with regard to academic degrees. Certified is
another possible synonym, while to homologate is the infinitive form.
• Luxury goods market:
o There are over 1.6 mln households in the country with an annual
income of over $100,000. They spend Rs. 4 lakh per annum on an
average, on luxury and upscale brands, according to Indian Luxury
Trends 2006.
o The market opportunity for luxury brands is close Rs. 64,000 cr in
India.
o According to Capgemini-Merrill Lynch World Wealth Report 2005,
India has about 70,000 HNIs with at least $1 mln in financial assets.
o The global market for luxury goods is about $166 bln.
o Consumers of luxury brands can be classified as:
 Arrived: 49%. Most affluent people.
 Actualised Ascetic: 15%. Self made people. In their 40s and
50s. Shun ostentatious display.
 Climbers: 19%. Eager to own and project a lifestyle of the rich
and famous. Lack the discretion that comes from proper
grooming and exposure.
 Laggards: 17%. Traditional small and medium sized business
families. Nonchalant about luxury consumption.
• Construction majors in India:
o Punj Lloyd, Gammon India, Hindustan Construction Company, L&T,
Patel Engineering
• The catering market in Hyderabad is estimated to be Rs. 500 cr and growing at
40%.
• Domestic tourists contribute about Rs. 44,403 cr to the Rs. 62,436 cr strong
Indian tourism sector. Foreign tourists and NRIs traveling to India chip in just
Rs. 11,683 cr, while outbound tourists contribute Rs. 6,350 cr.
• The tourism industry employs 38.6 mln people directly and indirectly. In
absolute terms the number of tourism related jobs in the country stands at 21.5
mln.
• SMEs queue up to lend biotech a helping hand: The idea is to find local
answers to the nearly Rs. 400 cr worth of recombinant biotech products, India
imports each year fo ruse in sectors like health, leather, textiles and oil
exploration.

- 57 -
 • SME is one that employs less than 500 people according to Biotech
department. The commerce ministry defines an SME as one with an
investment of not more than Rs. 1 cr.
• World’s largest financial services group is – Axa. It is about to enter the
Indian asset management business with a local partner.
• BMPS Banca Monte Dei Paschi Di Siena is one of the oldest banks in the
world set up in 1472.
• The Annual Supplement to Foreign Trade Policy (for 2004-09):
o Focus Market Scheme: yet to be finalized. Aims to tap non-traditional
markets more aggressively.
o Focus Product Scheme: promises 2.5% additional import entitlement
for exporters shipping value-added fish, leather products, stationary,
handlooms and handicraft items.
o EPCG scheme: allows imports of capital goods at 5% customs duty
subject to the fulfillment of export obligations which could range from
six to eight times of the duty saved on capital goods imported under
the scheme. The export obligation has to be met over a period of time,
depending on the category of industry seeking exemption under the
scheme.
o DEPB scheme: The incidence of basic customs duty is neutralized on
the import content of export product. This is provided by way of grant
of duty credit against the export product at specified rates. The
passbook is issued after exports. The exporter is given a DEPB at a
pre-determined credit on the FOB value. The DEPB allows import of
any items except the items which are otherwise restricted for imports.
o Mr. K. T. Chacko is the DG of Foreign Trade.
• India has about 23,000 ATMs.
• Indian basket crude touches currently an all time high of $64.6 per barrel. In
2005-06 it was $55.72 a barrel.
• India’s natural rubber production touched a record level of 8,03,000 tonnes in
2005-06.
• Productivity of natural rubber stood at a record 1796 Kg per hectare per year
during 2005-06.
• Sugar industry: Fobbing costs: pertain to the various port handling and
stevedoring expenses borne by exporters, including unloading sugar from
factory trucks to the port godowns, and loading it on bags prior to unloading in
the mother vessel.

09.04.06:

• At present the government needs at least 11 years to handle a patent

application. Govt. plans to trim it to anywhere between 6 months to 5 years.
• Patent Corporation Treaty: makes it possible to seek patent protection for an
invention simultaneously in each of the a large number of countries by filing
an international patent.
• The key constraint in filing patent application is the fees. $10,000 and above.

- 58 -
 • As of now the Patent Act does not allow filing of patents for just software
algorithms or programmes unless they have been created to be embedded in a
hardware device.
• Toilet soap market in India is of Rs. 4,900 cr.
• Per capita consumption of soap in India is 440 gms. It is 1100 gms in Brazil.
• The Indian Postal Department with 150 years of lineage has a huge network of
1,60,000 post offices. Of them atleast 1,20,000 are considered
unremunerative. Postal Department has an annual deficit of Rs. 1400 cr.
• Air India has a fleet size of 33 as of now.
• North Korea hints at return to N-talks: the stalled six nation talks on its
nuclear program. It has refused to return to the table since November,
demanding the US first lift financial sanctions imposed over charges of
counterfeiting the US dollars and laundering money.
• Japan has just over 22,000 licensed lawyers as against a 1 mln in US.
• Energy: India EU Panel:
o Setup in June 2005. Its focus has been on the common energy issues
that face the two regional giants, and they include renewable
technologies, coal, and even India’s participation in ITER
(International Thermo Nuclear Experimental Reactor) project.
o $100 bln is needed investment for energy sector in India between
2007-12.
o The Kyoto protocol requires industrialized countries to reduce their
GHG emissions by 8% of their 1990 levels between 2008 am 2012.

10.04.06:

• Some investment banks in Wall Street: Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, JM

Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers, UBS, CLSA (part of France’s Credit
Agricole), Barclays
• At the moment India is the sixth largest aid provider to Afghanistan, having,
till now, pledged $550 mln for its reconstruction.
• CleanFuel USA one of the largest gas stations in US has drawn up investment
plans for India because of the 300% growth in the off-take of auto LPG in
2005 over the previous year with a consumption of about 70,000 tonnes per
annum.
• Auto LPG is expensive as it does not enjoy any subsidy. But for retro-fitment,
the cost of switchover to auto LPG is lower at around Rs. 10,000 as aginst Rs.
35,000 for CNG.
• SEDF SouthAsia Enterprise Development Facility is based in Dhaka and is a
multi-donor facility managed by IFC. The objective is to reduce poverty
through SME development.
• Pochampalli saris, Darjeeling tea to get patent stamp: In association with the
Office of the Development Commissioner, Ministry of Textiles, NIFT is
undertaking documentation and registration of the states unique handicrafts
that deserve to be protected under Geographical Inidcations.
• Symbian has a worldwide installed base of around 58 mln.
• The Indian handset market saw sales of 32 mln handsets in 2005 which is
expected to touch 50 mln units in 2006.

- 59 -
 • In 2005, international VISA cardholders spent Rs. 5,400 cr in India, a jump of
31% over the previous year – accounting for 20% of all tourism spends in
India. In Asia Pacific, 62% of all card purchases at the point of sale are made
using Visa cards.
• Mr. YSP Thorat: Nabard Chairman and MD

11.04.06:

• Passenger car sales in India: Top three in 2005-06

o Alto 1.59 lk
o Indica 1.11 lk
o Santro 1.09 lk
• Today over 90% of the cars sold in India are with a price less than Rs. 5 lk
• The global IMS (Infrastructure Management Services) market is estimated at
$200 bln and the Indian market is around $5 bln.
• The domestic IT market is expected to reach $4.3 bln (around Rs. 19,000 cr)
in 2005-06 from the $3.5 bln (around Rs. 15,400 cr) in 2004-05.
• India’s oil import bill has hit a record $43.8 bln during 2005-06 registering an
increase of 46.84% due to high global prices. The previous year’s oil import
bill was far lower at $29.8 bln.
• India’s services trade is estimated at around $100 bln
• India’s merchandise imports are at $140 bln.
• India’s exports during 2005-06 were at $100.6 bln
• Thus total foreign trade volume stands at $340 b ln
• In Zero based budgeting, all the expenditure demands of a specific department
have to be justified afresh every time. This cuts out unnecessary expenditure
which may otherwise persist for years.
• India has a total of 12,476 police stations.
• According to World Bank figures, the ICOR (Incremental Credit Output Ratio)
– a measure of the investment needed to produce a given amount of GDP for
China is high and rising. It is 5.4 for China in 2002 while it is 3.5 for India
and is falling. India’s show is considered good.
• China spent as much as 1.44% of GDP on R&D in 2005; India spent 1% of
GDP in 2004.
• It is estimated that over the next 25 years, almost 45% of the power generated
in the world will depend on nuclear fuel. – David L Calhoun, CEO of GE
Infrastrucutre.
• Indian Textile sector:
o The overall textile output has grown nearly 20% to stand at $40 bln.
o Textile exports, which were growth at close to 10% before quotas were
removed in 2005, have grown nearly 20% to clock revenues of $13 bln
for the calendar year.
o Export estimates for the fiscal year reckon that textile exports could
generate $15 bln for the year ended March 31, 2006.
o Currently the textile sector employees, directly or indirectly, 3.5 cr
people. Industry sources reckon that nearly 1 cr additional

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 employment can be generated over the next two years, with India
stealing a march over China.

12.04.06:

• MNCs now big in India: There are now 14 MNCs in India whose value of
investment in their Indian listed subsidiaries are more than $1 bln as against 4
who were in the billion dollar bracket in India last year.
• India is the third largest cement market in the world. Second largest is China.
• Normal commission offered by domestic air carriers to their sales agents is
around 6%.
• Cutlery market in India is worth Rs. 125 cr – both organized and unorganized.
• About 7 mln people traveled abroad in 2005.
• Four national players in tourism market: SOTC, Thomas Cook, Cox & Kings
and Raj Travels.
• It is estimated that SSIs and SMEs in the country today employ 20 mln people
and contribute 40% to the export revenue.
• According to an estimate, cost over-run in the case of NHDP-II (7,274 km)
alone would be over Rs. 18,250 cr, significantly up from the sanctioned cost of
Rs. 37.388 cr. The awarded costs of the NHDP-II projects in 2005 reflect an
average of Rs. 6.4 cr per km as against the sanctioned cost of Rs. 5.14 cr per
km at 2002 prices. Going by historical time and cost over-runs, the cost per
km might exceed Rs. 7.65 cr per km. NHDP Phase I & II was launched in
1999 covering a length of about 14,000 km at an estimated cost of Rs. 54,000
cr at 1999 prices.
• IPDY Program: Internship Programme for Diaspora Youth provides a unique
forum for students and young professionals of Indian origin abroad to share
their views, experience and expectations from India.
• In calendar 2006 the total volume of public issues is expected to be about Rs.
45,000 cr.
• IFC may finance trading in CER: The carbon credit market in India is of the
order of 1.5 bln tons of carbon dioxide emissions out of a global market size of
5.5 bln tons. The size of the total carbon credit market is $y7 – 15 bln
globally at the prevailing price of $ 5 – 10 per ton of carbon dioxide emissions
according to IFC International Finance Corporation.
• Jefferson Muzzle awards: given by a freee speech group to those if considers
the most egregious violators of constitutional rights in the past year. Awarded
to Google and President Bush.

13.04.06:

• Tassos Papadopoulos: Cyprus President. Visting India.

• The average transaction size (ticket size) in supermarkets is much lower at Rs.
250 to Rs. 400 in a supermarket format as compared to Rs. 1000 to Rs. 1500
in a department store or mass merchandise store format.
• The microwave market in India stood at 5.5 mln units in 2005.

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 • AP is the country’s biggest guzzler. The state accounts for nearly 20% of the
beer consumption in India.
• Jet’s annual revenue per aircraft is about $25 mln.
• There is growing investor interest in the 100 odd special economic zones
proposed to come up across the country.
• There are more than 9 lakh employees in public sector banks including SBI.
• SME sector constitutes about 95% of industrial units and about 40% of total
industrial output. Its direct and indirect export potential stands at about 38%.
With about 3.6 mln SSI registered units employing close to 2 cr people, its
employment potential is next only to the agriculture sector.
• India has about 250 PSUs under the Centre, 1200 under the state governments
and about 100 at the municipal level. In contrast, China has 3,60,000 PSUs
out of which 1,40,000 were privatized. These were contributing about 98% of
China’s GDP.
• The poultry industry size in India is about $7.8 bln. Because of bird flu the
estimated loss in the last two months is put at $2.2 bln.
• There are 123000 poultry farmers in India and about 70% of them are in a dire
situation.
• India moved up one place to be at 29th place in world export rankings. (2005)
• India is the world’s 17th largest importer during 2005.
• In merchandise goods, Germany ($970.7 bn) is the largest exporter followed
by US ($904.3 bln) and China ($762 bln).
• In imports US ($1732.7 bln) is on top, followed by Germany ($774.1 bln) and
China ($660.1 bln).

14.04.06:

• The Grameen Bank of Bangladesh, which revolutionized micro-finance and

empowered millions is stepping into India. Grameen founder Mohammad
Younus who had quit his job as a teacher to pioneer micro-finance will be in
India next month for the launch.
• Postal Funds to eye equities: For the first time the GoI has allowed postal
department to invest in stocks. About Rs. 10,000 cr will be drawn from the
Rs. 30,000 cr post office insurance fund to put in stocks. The DoP
(Department of Posts) has Rs. 3.2 lk cr as public deposits and Rs. 30,000 cr as
post office insurance fund (POIF). Currently the postal department has
earnings of Rs. 6,500 cr and expenditure of Rs. 7,900 cr.
• The postal department is the largest network in the world with over 1.55 lk
post offices with over 89% of them in rural areas. It has over 5.5 lk
employees.
• The 1999 hijack of IC 814 flight in December. Mr. Jaswant Singh had taken
along with him Maulana Masood Azhar, Mushtaq Ahmad Zaragar and Omar
Shiekh who were housed in Indian jails and handed them over to the Taliban
regime.
• Organized beauty care market in India is worth Rs. 3000 cr.
• The biotech industry is seeing talent requirement around areas such as R&D,
clinical and contract research. Not so much of activity is seen in drug
discovery.

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 • Mutual fund equity assets have finally crossed the magical mark of Rs .1 lk cr.
As per the latest AMFI data, 45% of Rs. 2,32,000 cr mutual fund industry
comprised equity assets.
• For the fiscal 2005-06 the Indian banking industry has lent over Rs. 397,000
cr.
• Clayton M Christensen: the guru of Disruptive Innovation and Business
Strategy.
• Wind power:
o The installed capacity of wind turbines pan-India is put at 3,500 MW
plus.
o Costs Rs. 4.5 to 5.5 cr per MW.
o Estimates peg our potential wind power capacity at an impressive
45,000 MW, assuming 1% land availability in the identified, wind-rich
areas. However the technical potential is said to be limited to just
about 13,000 MW assuming 20% grid penetration by wind-farms.
o The increasing length of their blades would enable the turbines to
utilize more wind and produce more power at lower cost.
o Traditionally, in wind turbines, the axis of rotation is horizontal.
Vertical axis turbines, now in the works, promise to rev up generation,
and reduce wear and tear.
• White label cards: Unlike co-branded cards (which as the name suggests, as
an association between a card company and a brand), a white label card is
used to help smaller entities, notably banks and financial institutions to launch
cards leveraging on the strength of a bigger player.
• India has over 14 mln credit cards in circulation. ATM/Debit cards outnumber
the credit cards by a ratio of 2:1. Credit cards are growing at about 20% per
annum.
• N. Balasubramaniam: CMD of SIDBI.
• Chen Shui-bian: President of Taiwan

15.04.06:

• LIC has sold a 1 cr policies in March, earning a premium of Rs. 6000 cr. With
this it achieved a distinction of having sold more insurance policies in a single
market than any life insurance company in the world.
• Telecom companies have roped in a whopping 24.86 mln customers during the
six months ending March 2006.
• 116 of the 126 airports in India managed by the AAI make losses.
• MEA Official booked for human trafficking:
o Rakesh Kumar, a 1972 batch IFS officer who while working as DG of
ICCR is reported to have entered into a criminal conspiracy with one
Mr. Har Gulab Singh and one Mr. Shiv Kumar Sharma to facilitate
illegal trafficking of nine individuals to Berlin. According to CBI,
Kumar and others empanelled a cultural group styled as ‘Mehtak
Punjab di’ with ICCR. Subsequently a 15 member dance troupe was
sent to Germany in September 2005. Out of this nine members went

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 missing on arrival in Berlin and the allegation was that they were taken
there with a mala fide intention of being smuggled into Europe.
• Modi for raising dam height:
o The Modi government of Gujarat is confident of winning over Ms.
Medha Patkar and her supporters’ unscrupulous and frivolous
arguments for stopping the construction of the dam to 121.92 metres
from the present 110.64 metres, on the basis of the Supreme Court
observation that in case of a lapse by any state in carrying out relief
and rehabilitation measures, a time bound direction can and should be
given in order to ensure the implementation – but putting the project
on hold is no solution.
• The market size of the tooth powder category is Rs. 250 cr approx.
• Automobile sales in 2005-06:
o Passenger car sales 11.43 lk 10.61 lks 8%
o Motor Cycles 58.15 lk 49.64 lks 17%
o Two wheelers 70.60 lk 62.10 lks 14%
o CVs 3.50 lk 3.18 lks 10%
o Total 89.10 lk 78.97 lks 13%
• PC sales in 2005-06 Quarter ending December:
o Desktops & laptops 11 lks 18%
o Desktops 9.67 lks
o Laptops 1.25 lks
• The industry body MAIT expects over all PC sales in the year 2005-06 to be
more than 44 lks units.
• HR managers say that February to June is the period when there is maximum
churn in employee movement. Hopping between jobs.
• China’s road map to market economy: Joseph Stiglitz
o As China has moved toward a market economy, it has developed some
of the problems that have plagued the developed countries: special
interests that clothe self-serving arguments behind a thin veil of market
ideology.
o Some will argue for trickle-down economics: don’t worry about the
poor, eventually everybody will benefit from growth. And some will
oppose competition policy and strong corporate governance laws: let
Darwinian survival work its wonders. Growth arguments will be
advanced to counter strong social and environmental policies: higher
gasoline taxes, for example, will kill our nascent auto industry.
• The packaging industry in India is a Rs. 65,000 cr industry. Of this pharma
packaging is about Rs. 25,000 cr.
• Very low IT penetration has accorded India a lowly 40th position in the World
Economic Forum’s Annual IT index. Internet penetration is a miniscule 4.5%
as a percentage of total population.
• Fossil fuels the culprit: Arun Firodia, Chairman, Kinetic Group
o By the end of the century the sea level may rise by 7 feet indundating
the coastal cities where 60% of the world’s population lives.
o The world, by 1900 was generating 1 bln tonnes of GHGs. This went
up 7 bln tonnes by 1995.

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 o An average tree absorbs about 5 kg of carbon dioxide in one whole
year. But a motor car emits about 20 kg of CO2 in just one day.
• Zinc prices are about $3000 per tonne compared to $1200 per tonne a year
ago.
• China’s foreign reserves which have already overtaken those of Japan’s are at
$875.1 bln at the end of March. FDI at $14.25 bln. First quarter trade surplus
at $23 bln.

16.04.06:

• According to estimates, demand from the IT/ITES sector alone is expected to

be 150 mn sq ft. across the major cities by 2010.
• Poultry industry lost almost Rs. 8000 cr in the last two months because of bird
flu scare.
• India consumes 13 cr eggs and 1 cr kg of chicken a day.
• Auto component exports in 2005-06 were at $1.8 bln mark. The total output
of the auto component industry is valued at $10 bln. It has grown by over
15% from $8.7 bln.

17.04.06:

• Indo-Pak talks on water, tourism from Tuesday:

o Wullar barrage issue: Known as Tulbul navigation project. India’s
plans were to build the barrage on river Jhelum in J & K, which
Pakistan objected to claiming it violated that 1960 Indus water treaty.
It was stalled following objections by Pakistan 1986.
o Baglihar project: Being constructed on the river Chenab by India. The
issue is being examined by World Bank’s Swiss water specialist
Raymond Lafitte who was expected to announce his verdict later this
year.
o Kishenganga project: India refused to accede to Pakistan’s request to
halt the project saying that Islamabad wants to stall them and drag the
negotiations.
• London stock exchange’s AIM Alternative Investment Market. It offers all the
benefits of being traded on a public market but within a regulatory
environment designed specifically for smaller companies. The investors in
this market are HNIs who have the appetite to take risks and invest in smaller
growing companies.
• Major logistics firms across the world adjust their flight schedules to serve
India better.
• Malls and hotels are switching from high speed diesel to palm styrene as the
fuel for captive power plants. The fuel bill for the plant is expected to be
halved – from Rs. 12 per unit for HSD to Rs. 6 per palm styrene. A bio-oil
unit would cost Rs. 4.5 cr per MW to setup.
• The total Internet business in India is worth Rs. 2200 cr. The Internet and
Online Association of India (IOAI) has projected that online shopping will
increase to Rs. 2,300 cr by FY07. According to the Internet and Mobile

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 Association of India (IAMAI), there are 38.5 mln Indians online today and it
is expected that the users will grow to 100 mln by 2007-08.
• The SEZ rules say that the current area stipulated for SEZs in the IT, BPO and
biotech sector is 25 acres or 10 hectares of land with 1 mln sft of covered area.
• ONGC top profit- making company in India despite subsidy weight: The
company has posted a profit of Rs. 14,175 cr (up 9%) in 2005-06 despite a
whopping subsidy pay-out of Rs. 11,958 cr last fiscal. ONGC ended up
selling crude at an average price of $42 per barrel.
• Indian refiners have been selling fuel at globally benchmarked prices since
April 2002, when the APM was formally dismantled. Fuel in India is sold at
adjusted import parity price which includes notional costs like freight,
insurance, duties etc.
• Among the cities of the world in terms of the quality of life Zurich topped the
charts and was followed by Geneva and Vancouver.
• If a banker returns a cheque issued by a customer wrongfully, it would invite
penal action under Sec. 31 of the NI Act, 1881.
• Liquidity management operations available to RBI:
o Reverse repo: the rate at which RBI blots out excess liquidity in the
system, by the sale of short-term securities – generally of a few days’
maturity.
o Repo rate: the rate at which RBI infuses liquidity with the purchase of
short-term securities.
• At present only those companies which plan to invest in infrastructure related
projects are allowed to go in for ECB. The govt. has expanded the annual cap
on ECB to $18 bln from $15 bln from this fiscal.

18.04.06:

• Crude hits $70 a barrel; Indian basket now at $65. Companies are already
making losses of about Rs. 5 per litre on diesel and Rs. 3 per litre on petrol
sales.
• The Central Information Commission, in a move that is likely cause
widespread furore, has turned confidential assessment orders of the income tax
department into public documents that can be released to the world at large.
• McDowell is the world’s leading Brandy seller. Its No. 1 Brandy sold in 2005
full year about 5.3 mln cases up 15.5% on 4.6 mln cases the previous year.
• Monoclonal antibody is emerging as fast growing segment especially n
oncology and auto-immune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis etc.
In India there are about 3 mln cancer patients and about 7 lk new cases added
each year of which 2.3 lakh are tobacco related.
• ISRO Chairman G. Madhavan Nair
• India is the fastest growing telecom market in the world. 8 M&A deals were
struck in Jan-March 2006 worth over $2 bln.
• In India there are whopping 15 cr middle class individuals of which 60% are
below 35 years – a segment which is increasingly depending on processed
foods.
• Bank loans to builders have shot up 84%; educational loans 76% and credit
card loans 53%.

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 • Urban households spend about 41% of their monthly per capita consumption
expenditure on food and about 37.1% on expensive high-end goods and
services. Rural households spend close to 55% of their monthly per capita
consumption expenditure on food.
• Cereal consumption used to be as high as 14% to 15% of monthly per capita
consumption expenditure in the 90’s but it has now come down to around the
10% mark.
• The Industrial Disputes Act 1947 provides the machinery and outlines the
procedures for the settlement of industrial disputes. Amendments to the IDA
in 1976 and 1982 allowed employers to retrench workers with prior approval
of the government. The number of man days lost due to strikes and lockouts
between 2000-04 was 133.24 mln.
• Gold touches 25 year peak, at Rs. 9000 per 10 gm. Experts attribute the
continuing rise in gold prices to a higher demand of about 4000 tonnes as
against supply of 2500 tonnes. Bullion dealers say the demand is led by fund
managers and not driven by consumer offtake.
• “The New World” a historical drama starring Colin Farrel about the
colonization of New England, is going to be the first movie that is being
screened in Japan with the newly developed computerized fragrance system.

19.04.06:

• Music on mobile:
o Current size of mobile music industry is at Rs. 500 cr.
o Projected size by the ned of FY06 Rs. 720 cr.
o Current size of legal conventional music Rs. 700 cr.
o Expected additions to mobile music subscriber base in FY06: 60 mln.
• About 5 mln new subscribers join the mobile bandwagon every month.
• Private power developers have been given a break from tariff-based
competitive bidding by the Govt. The exemption will be applied to those
projects which submit a PPA to the ERC before September 06.
• The existing gap between availability and requirement is 8%, at peak hours it
is as high as 12.5%.
• Conservative estimates suggest that out of the 41,000 MW captive power
capacity, nearly 4000 to 5000 MW could be tapped by the grid, while the
Forum of Regulators says that nearly 10,000 to 15,000 MW can be tapped for
use by the grid.
• RBI’s monetary policy:
o To regulate credit quality, the provisioning norms for personal loans,
loans against shares, commercial real estate loans and residential
housing loans beyond Rs. 20 lks have been increased from 0.4% to
1%.
o This measure will make loans costlier in these respective categories.
Additionally, risk weight on exposures to commercial real estate has
been increased to 150%.
• GSPC seeks strategic partner for operations:
o It has struck gas reserve to the tune of 20 tcf equivalent to $50 bln in
their KG basin block

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 o GSPC has 80% stake in the KG basin block renamed as Deen Dayal
block. 20% is shared by GeoGlobal and Jubilant Enpro.
o KG basin despite proven gas reserve has been difficult to operate
owing to high pressure and temperature.
• Iran is the world’s fourth largest crude oil exporter.
• Vietnam is likely to emerge as the largest exporter of cashew nuts in the world
replacing India.
• IN 2005-06 Indian cashew nut exports were estimated at around 1,14,143
tonnes.
• Sdfsd

20.04.06:
• Reliance strikes oil in KG basin:
o The oil find, the first in the KG basin is estimated to have reserves of 1
bln barrels which could translate to 60 mln tonnes. In place reserves of
a bln barrels at a 45% recovery could lead to revenues of $1.8 bln per
year for 15 years considering an oil price of $60/bbl.
o Most of the large finds in the last four years have been of natural gas.
The last oil find was made by Cairn at Barmer.
• VolksWagon – AP controversy:
o Dr. Shuster Helmuth Wolfgang, former India head of VW, and Alaga
Raja Jagdeesh are accused of cheating AP government of Rs. 11.67 cr
for setting up a VW car manufacturing unit. They informed the GoAP
wrongly that VW decided to setup the car manufacturing unit at
Visakhapatnam and advised them to take part in the equity of Vasishta
Wahan, setup for establishing the joint venture plant. The company
was floated on behalf of VW without its authorization. The CBI so far
could recover only Rs. 5 cr. of the money.
• The Indian healthcare industry is worth $22 bln.
• Free hand on pricing likely for companies on R&D track:
o The new pricing mechanism will allow companies which invest at least
3% of their annual sales turnover or Rs. 50 cr a year on R&D to charge
higher margins on their price controlled drugs. According to the new
drug policy.
• The revised estimates for direct tax collections of the centre is Rs. 1,70,077 cr.
• The RE for indirect tax collections is Rs. 2,00,064 cr.
• Centre to setup 13 inland ports at a cost of Rs. 850 cr:
o In an attempt to boost trade with the neighbours, 8 inland ports would
be setup along the Bangladesh border, followed by 4 on the Nepal
border and 1 on the Pakistan border.
• FDI jumps 40% to $7.5 bln in 2005-06:
o FDI in 2004-05 stood at $5.3 bln.
• According to AAI passenger traffic at Indian airports would grow to 60 mln
during 2006-07. In a year or two, the traffic is expected to touch 80 mln. AAI
is building 150 new parking bays at various airports.
• Retail credit for the entire banking sector stands at Rs. 1,90,000 cr.

22.04.06:

- 68 -
 • Currently the WPI does not include services that account for about 50% of our
GDP. Hence GoI is gong to come out with a Service Price Index to correct the
skew in WPI.
• The recent changes in the IT Act are expected to bring about a fall in the tax
assessees base by about 39 mln or around 65% of the existing tax base for the
year 2005.
• GoI is importing a massive 3 mln tonnes of wheat (approx. costing Rs. 2400
cr) to meet the shortfall.
• Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) is the new buzzword in IT world. This is
a technology that allows developers to reuse some of the code built into
applications rather than creating all over again from the ground up.
• India has a base of 20 mln DVD/VCD players with an expected growth by
another 7 mln during 2006-07.
• In Surat, 9 out of the world’s 11 diamonds are cut and polished.
• At the current level of $155 bln India is the 5th largest holder of foreign
exchange among emerging markets after China, South Korea, Taiwan and
Russia.
• Captive coal producers have been told by GoI not to sell surplus output. This
decision comes against the backdrop of 100% FDI that was recently permitted
in captive blocks.
• Big companies get great deals on mega insurance:
o Two years ago there were only 13 companies which bought mega risk
policies. A year ago, the number went up to around 22. Now there are
as many as 30 companies which are buying mega risk cover directly
from international market.
o Mega risk policies, which were introduced in ’99, were allowed for
large companies – defined as those with a maximum probable loss of
Rs. 1050 cr in any location or total assets of over Rs. 10,000 cr.
• Sugar output for the current year is expected to be about 190 lk tonnes as
against 127 lk tonnes last year.

23.04.06:

• Maharashtra okays farm loan by credit societies:

o Credit societies in the state will be able to access Nabard’s refinancing
at 6%, to which the state government will give a 2% subsidy. This will
allow credit societies to offer credit to farmers at 4% rate of interest.
o Credit societies are not within the purview of Section 80(p) of the IT
Act. Therefore, they will not have to pay IT, unlike urban cooperative
banks who have for the first time been brought under the IT Act.
• Oil Bonds issued by GoI:
o The government issued oil bonds to public sector oil companies to
liquidate the claims with the oil pool account.
o The bonds were issued to liquidate the outstanding claims of the oil
companies on the Oil Coordination Committee under the abolished
administered price mechanism (APM).

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 o The oil pool account is a complex mechanism of surplus or shortfall
from cross subsidies in the petroleum sector and differences between
the international and domestic oil prices.
• Excellent usage of English by Raghu Krishnan while writing on Raj Kumar:
o Whenever I thought of Raj Kumar, that association remained with me
of grace under pressure, of courtesy in a crisis, of serenity in any
situation, of a smiling response to the utmost provocation.
• Panama Hat: The elegant headwear woven from palm fibre is traditionally
made in Ecuador.

24.04.06:

• According to SEBI, the number of registered FIIs in the country as on April

21, 2006 is at 898; up from 685 a year ago on March 31, 2005.
• Soft dollars: describes payments made by FIIs to Indian brokers, which are
outside the ambit of the normal brokerage charges. These payments are
legitimate but are of a discretionary nature and are over and above the normal
commission charges.
• Iran-Pak-India gas pipeline is 2100 KM long and is expected to cost about $7
bln at current rates.
• The Indian courier industry is worth Rs. 4000 cr.
• ET Commodity Index constitutes 50 commodities from different categories
having a significant weightage in terms of the production value.
• Salva Judum:
o In order to restrict the Naxal movement, the government of Chattisgarh
has come out with this program. It is an anti-naxal movement by the
local population.
• Gazprom is the world’s largest gas producer and supplier of a quarter of
Europe’s gas.

25.04.06:

• Mr. B. Lal: Director General, Indian Meteorological Department.

• Rainfall has been divided into five categories:
o If rainfall is less than 90% of the average, it is called deficient.
o Rainfall between 90% and 98% of the average is called below normal.
o Between 98% and 102% of the average is called near normal.
o Between 102% and 110% is called above normal.
o Over 110% is called excess.
• Domestic IT and ITES market:
o Touched around $10.2 bln (Rs. 22,000 cr) in FY05 and is expected to
touch $12.4 bln in FY06 growing at 22%.
• Decline of the American power?
o It is arguable whether China would be able to confront the American
behemoth as a competing global power for the following three reasons:
o 1. America’s economic strength rests not simply on its economic size,
which is diminishing in relative terms and fraught with huge deficits,
but on invisible ‘dark matter’ which generates bottomless global

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 appetite for dollars and ensures a higher return on American assets
relative to the rest of the world.
o 2. Huge disparities in average per capita income would remain
between America and other potential world powers. A large economy
with higher per capita income gives America unique access to large
revenues to enhance its strategic military strength even as tax rates and
tax funded welfare benefits are kept low. This techno-economic clout,
combined with its excellent university and R&D network, has opened
up a vast and growing technological gap between US and the rest of
the world.
o 3. While traditional empires were founded and sustained through
military conquest, modern powers are hegemonic. Although American
hegemony has declined in recent years, it nevertheless enjoys far
greater legitimacy than China in its present political form can ever
hope to command.
• The general category (in reservations for education and employment) is
believed to be between 12% and 17% of the population. They have no
meaningful political representation.
• Recasting WPI:
o Current base year is 1993-94; proposed to be 2000-01.
o Current number of items in the list is 435; proposed to be increased to
1,100.
o Presently skewed totally in favour of manufactured goods with 63.75%
of index.
o Services contributing about 52% of the GDP totally neglected.

26.04.06:

• GoI is proposing to hike the excise duty on ATF to 16% from 8%.
• Global spa industry is estimated to be worth $10.7 bln.
• Routine maintenance costs account for almost 89% of the IT budgets in
organizations.
• US is the biggest pharma market estimated at $181 bln. The US market
constitutes over 27% of the global pharma market pegged at $640 bln.
• Money laundering:
o Broadly refers to the process by which money or other assets obtained
as proceeds of crime are exchanged for “clean money” or other assets
with no obvious link to their criminal origins.
• Proven reserves of coal in India are estimated at 92 bln tonnes.
• RIL said discoveries in KG basin would produce 40 mmscmd of gas from
mid-2008.
• Purchasing Managers Index:
o ABN Amro PMI is the first ever type of PMI in India.
o It is a composite indicator designed to provide a single-figure snapshot
of the health of the manufacturing sector. It serves as a reflection of
the mood in the manufacturing sector, while it also helps in
determining the direction in which the manufacturing sector is heading.

- 71 -
 o It is a traditional type of leading indicator, which is computed across
most of developed countries in the world. It is calculated identically to
most of the PMIs across the world, like American ISM PMI.
o The index measures the overall output, new orders, new export orders,
work backlog, stock of finished goods, employment situation, output
prices, input prices, suppliers’ delivery time, quantity of purchases, and
stocks of purchases in the manufacturing sector.
• The GoI is considering setting up of 50,000 MW of hydel power over the next
15 to 20 years which is 1.5 times the total capacity setup, approximately
32,000 MW since independence till date.
• The proposed Pipavav shipyard (promoted by Sea King Infrastructure Limited
of Nikhil Gandhi and IL&FS) is expected to be the largest in India and among
the top 10 shipyards in the world in the league of Hyundai and Samsung of
Korea, Damen of Holland, Aker Masa in Finland and Izhar of Spain.
• Gustav Humbert: Chief of Airbus.
• Fiery Chilli pricess spell profit for growers: Chillies crop in India:
o Almost all of India’s crop is traded at Guntur, with AP accounting for
between 50 to 60% of the volumes.
o Peak arrivals in Guntur are in the region of 1 lk bags a day of 40 kg
each.
o The decline in chilli acreage resulted in a 25% drop in crop size from
the normal level of 10 lk tonnes a year to 7.5 lk tonnes.
o Currently the crop size is estimated at 6.75 lk tonnes.

27.04.06:

• Ayodhya: 6 December 1992: is a posthumous work of late Sri. P.V. Narasimha

Rao. In this work, he explains as to why he could not take pre-emptive action
or impose central rule in UP at that time.
• Uzbekistan offers gas exploration rights to India:
o Uzbekistan is one of the top 10 largest producers of gas.
o Islam Karimov: President
o It is estimated to have 594 mln barrels of proven oil reserves and 66.2
tcf of natural gas reserves.
• India’s per capita consumption of cola still remains at 10 servings per year
(that is each person cola 10 times in a year), while Pakistan’s and SriLanka’s is
25 and 30 respectively.
• Juices are being pushed by traders and importers as the margins for these are
about 10-15% compared with the 5-8% margins they get when dealing with
colas.
• Imax screen size is 72 ft X 93 ft. (hxw)
• Global retailers:
o Sears, Carrefour, Coles Myer and Metro
o Wal-Mart, GAP, JC Penny and Target
• In US Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT) are a major draw. These trusts
control assets aggregating to $500 bln.

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 • By 2010 consumer spending in D&E (Developing and Emerging) markets is
set to overtake that in developed countries reaching over 55% of global
consumer spend in PPP terms.
• Airline business:
o The MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) market in India,
currently is estimated to be worth $615.3 mln.
o India’s total fleet of airplanes, which currently stands at 215, will more
than double to about 500 planes in 2010.
o India’s MRO market currently accounts for 1.6% fo the global MRO
market.
• Roopa Purushothaman co-authored the “Dreaming with BRICs: The Path to
2050”. Along with Dominic Wilson.
• Over the last two years Open Access regulations have been issued in most
states, however there are only 7 open access customers in the country so far.
• Monstanto’s tiff with GoAP:
o The company sold Bt cotton seeds in AP.
o The seeds supplied by the company appear to have failed in Warangal
District in last year’s Kharif season in about 25000 acres.
o GoAP banned the Mech 162 and Mech 184 varieties of seeds being
sold by the company.
o GoAP states that it is not against the GM technology but against the
malpractices of the company.
o GoAP demands Rs. 3000/- per acre of failed crop for its farmers.
o Crop statistics:
 2005-06 Kharif 22.24 lk bales of cottong production against
21.9 lk bales during the same period last year.
 Crop area came down to 9.73 lk hectares compared to 11.78 lk
hectares.
• AP Tobacco auctions: (excellent price realization on good demand)
o Sold over 68 mln kgs of FCV tobacco in the current round so far.
o 2006 crop size of FCV tobacco is 147 mln kg down from 153 mkg for
2005 crop.
o Average price realization touched Rs. 46.81 kg almost 18% higher than
Rs. 40 of last year.
o Three reasons:
 Brazil’s crop is expected to be down by 10% from last year’s
level of 700 mkg.
 EU is contemplating removal of subsidies for this crop, which
could entail an exit from tobacco in a few years.
 After a slump in 2001 and 2002, domestic offtake of tobacco
stabilized last year in India.

28.04.06:

• Real estate projects can attract FDI up to 100%, subject to certain riders which
were spelt out by the government in April ’05.
• RIL refining margins for crude are about $7.5 to $8 a barrel.
• US sets pace for Central Asian power grid move:

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 o Under the plan, a regional power grid stretching from Almaty to New
Delhi will be fed by oil and gas from Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan
and hydropower from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.
• Torpedoes:
o Light weight variety weigh around 200 kg and can carry 40 kg
explosives.
o Heavy weight variety can carry around 200-300 kg of explosives.
• Dell is a $56 bln company.
• Foreign telecasting companies’ revenues are likely to be taxed:
o According to the task force on emerging issues in non-resident taxation
(constituted by the Finance Minsitry):
 FTCs will be liable to pay tax in India if they have a permanent
establishment (PE) here. Normally, a PE refers to a fixed place
of business. Alternatively, a dependent agent who has the
authority to conclude contracts, also constitutes a PE.
 In the case of FTCs, the advertising sales agent who secures an
order has the authority to conclude contracts, will constitute the
PE.
• IPO grading by SEBI:
o The grading assigned to a particular IPO represents a ‘relative
assessment of the fundamentals of that issue in relation to the universe
of other listed equity securities’.
• Wheat procurement and import:
o Last year 18 mt of wheat was procured while this year government
expects to procure only 14 mt of wheat vis-à-vis the norm of 17 mt
stock in central pool by July 1.
o Reasons for deficits in wheat stocks currently:
 For the past few years India’s wheat production has been
stagnant. LY 72.1 mt. Expected this year 73.1 to 74 mt.
 Increase in demand due to increased consumption of wheat in
southern states
 Presumption of delayed monsoon this year has led to
speculation in the futures market
 Due to government’s policy of removal of restrictions on
stocking limits, some private traders have been purchasing
wheat from farmers at prices far above the support prices and
stocking it.
• It is estimated conservatively that wheat yields can be increased to 3.5 t/ha
which would raise production to 93 mt without area expansion.
• NTPC currently generates more than 25% of the total electricity produced in
the country and operates about 20% of the total installed capacity.
• Hyderabad is about to host the 39th annual Asian Development Bank meeting.
It is expected to cost Rs. 26 cr.
• Dabba trade hots up:
o Dabba trading – equivalent of bucket shops in USA has ballooned to
almost Rs. 4000 cr daily as brokers and speculators illegally bet on
Nymex every evening.
o Two types of trading overseas contracts:

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  Those with a legitimate source of dollars. They open an
account at Nymex through brokers here and settle in Nymex as
well.
 Second, are traders who use Nymex prices as the basis for
betting on arbitrages between India and US every evening. The
money is squared locally. This kind of activity is illegal.
• Pakistan is the second largest tea importer in the world while India is the
largest producers of the commodity.

29.04.06:

• Louis Vuitton set for India foray:

o Louis Vuitton Malletier (LVM), the world’s largest brand in fashion
and leather goods is entering India by acquiring an existing company.
• OPD market: Outsourced Product Development market in India is estimated
to be around $3 bln and is expected to touch $11 bln by 2009.
• In India around 2 bln text messages are sent out by subscribers every month.
• Mobile telephony: India is placed 7th all over the world in mobile tele-density.
After China, USA, Russia, Japan, Brazil and Germany. This year India is
likely to be the 4th largest overtaking Japan, Brazil and Germany.
• Clause 49 of SEBI’s listing agreement:
o It came into force from 1st Jan ’06.
o Stipulates that if the chairman of a company’s board is non-executive
director, one third of the board has to comprise Independent Directors;
and if the chairman is an executive director then the proportion of Ids
goes up to half.
• Coal production:
o Gets a leg up with Rs. 2,629 cr funding.
o Emergency plan to step up production to overcome an estimated
shortage of 95 mln tonnes of coal by 2012.
o Till now, 94 captive blocks have been allotted to producers. Now 59
more blocks are in the pipeline.
• Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway currently trades at $88,000 a share.
• English usage: In defence of English language.
o It obviously serves their selfish vote-bank politics to maintain the
duality and keep the masses mired in linguistic parochialism.
• Boom puts truck rentals on a roll:
o The buoyancy in truck rentals and freight rate is attributed to the twin
factor of a buoyant economy and curb on the extent on overloading
following the Supreme Court ruling last November. Trucks which
were earlier carrying 15-18 tonnes per trip now only can carry up to 10
tonnes.
• NSDL (National Securities Depository Limited) manages 76 lk investor
accounts in its custody and securities valued at $591 bln or Rs. 26 lk crore.
• A depository holds securities such as shares, debentures, bonds or government
securities in electronic form.
• The IPO scam:

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 o The financiers used their own funds and IPO financing provided by
banks to bid for the retail shares. The financier, through operators,
created thousands of fictitious accounts and applied for the shares.
Once the stocks were allotted, the shares from accounts were
transferred before listing into the financiers’ DP account.
• PSU banks to get Rs. 2,500 cr subsidy: On short term crop loans extended to
farmers:
o Nearly 12% of all loans flow to agriculture.
o NPAs in agriculture are at 15%.
o Crop loan: The short term loan which is provided for 15 month period
and is meant for meeting the needs like seed, fertilizer, labour and
cattle feed. The farmer can repay the loan after the harvest of the crop.
• Hedge funds drive Indian market volatility:
o The number of hedge funds operating in India is not known; as they
function through the participatory notes (P-Notes) route.
o It is estimated that about 40% to 50% of the funds invested by foreign
portfolio investors is hedge fund money.
o While the amount of hedge fund assets invested in Asia has gone up to
$113 bln in 2005, compared with the $15 bln five years ago, it is still
less compared to the $1 trillion invested in the US.
o Hedge funds are short term traders who scout for opportunities in
various markets and move their funds from region to region.
• The food ministry is considering a move to cut import duty on wheat from
50% to allow foreign grains to enter the Indian market.
• The government has cleared setting up of nearly 60 AEZs. Agriculture Export
Zones.
• Oil seeds:
o Currently the domestic turnover of the oilseeds sector is about $16 bln.
o Indian oil seeds production is estimated to be about 32.7 mln tonnes.
o India is an important contributor to global oilseeds production,
occupying about 6% of the overall world oilseeds production and is
also the fourth largest contributor towards the edible oil industry.
o Estimated palm oil seed production: Malaysia (15.35 mt) and
Indonesia(15.30 mt).
• Kavya Viswanathan: teen age writer of “How Opal Got Kissed, Got Wild and
Got a Life” gained notoriety for plagiarizing the work of Megan McCafferty.

30.04.06:

• Mortgage lending has surged by an average 35% in the past six years, making
it the fastest growing segment of the Indian banking industry.
• Patent war: India vs. China:
o While Indian inventors were granted 495 patents in the US in 2004-05,
China had 943 patents to its credit.
o The cost of obtaining a patent ranges from $10,000 to $20,000.
• UGC Chairman: Sukhdeo Thorat
• What are dollar stores?
o Where everything sells for either Rs. 44 or Rs. 99.

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• Hyderabad to host the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence
(IJCAI) from January 6 to 12, 2007.
• How to increase coffee consumption in the country?
o Brazilian marketing expert Carlos Brando gives the panchtantra for
brewing two times more caffeine.
o 1. Make labeling totally transparent so that the consumer knows
exactly what kind of coffee powder she is getting and how much
chicory – if any – is mixed in it.
o 2. Make coffee more competitive vis-à-vis the other hot beverage i.e.
tea.
o 3. Simplify the process of making coffee at home for the housewife.
o 4. Get across to the consumer through the medical fraternity the
health-enhancing qualities of coffee.
o 5. Use the already existing and vibrant coffee culture as a platform to
boost in-home consumption.
o Annual per capita consumption of coffee is 54 gm!.
o Annual consumptions of coffee:
 India 58,000 tonnes
 Brazil 9.60 lk tonnes
 USA 12 lk tonnes – world’s largest

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01.05.2006:

• There are about 207 mln households in the country.

• Among durables TV has the maximum penetration with nearly 42% of
households overall using it, including 29% of all rural households. Barely
11% of the households have a telephone and just 1% have a personal
computer. Penetration of air conditioners is below 1% and that of washing
machines is less than 5%.
• Last year 1,50,000 people visited India for medical tourism and almost a 30%
growth is expected this year.
• Beer market:
o Mild beer (with less than 6% alcohol) is about 35% of the Indian beer
consumption pegged at 107 mln cases (7.8 litre each). Kingfisher is
the leader in this segment with 70% share.
o Strong beer is about 65% of the Indian beer consumption. Haywards
5000 is the market leader in this segment.
• The cost of drug development is estimated at $1 bln and clinical trials on
humans – a critical phase in new drug development – accounts for 40% of the
total cost.
• The output of the Indian chemical industry was at $32 bln in 2005-06,
amounting to 2% of the global chemical industry.
• We have proven reserves of over 13 bln tonnes of iron ore – amongst the
highest in the world.
• It was noted that about 25% of the food grains, fruits and vegetables are
destroyed due to bacterial infection and pest infestation. Hence the need for
irradiation.
• Currently India exports over Rs. 163 bln worth of agro and processed foods
and ranks 39th in the world for processed food exports and 15th for processed
vegetables.
• India has the dubious distinction of being the diabetes capital of the world
with 32 mln cases of diabetes. The total diabetes drugs market in India is
estimated at Rs. 1100 cr. The insulin segment of this is pegged at Rs. 320 cr.

02.05.06:

• Disgorgement:
o It implies returning or paying back the money made through illegal
methods to investors or people who have been impacted by such an
action. GoI asked SEBI to consider the option of directing those who
manipulated the quota for retail investors in IPOs to buy back shares
from the market and allocate it to investors who missed out.
• Whisky markets:
o India has emerged as the largest international whisky market toppling
the US by volume.
o China has emerged the largest beer market two years back.
o India’s whisky market is 60 mln cases (9 litre each).
o US has three different varieties of whiskies – Bourbon, American and
Scotch. Sells about 48-50 mln cases.

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 • Luxury crystal market in India will be close to Rs. 400 cr in 2007 and will
grow at 100% for the next three years. International crystal brands –
Swarovski, Daum, Lalique and Baccarat.
• Non-carbonated beverage market size is Rs. 615 cr.
• Worldwide big players in sports management – IMG, SFX and Octagon.
• ATF price is around Rs. 41,950 per KL up from Rs. 37,900 last month.
• SS Mehta is the new CII, Director General.
• Emerging markets in a role reversal:
o The biggest risks to emerging markets are external, ranging from the
Federal Reserve raising rates in an overheated US housing market to
the possible contagion from financial vulnerabilities of smaller
developed countries such as Iceland and New Zealand.
o Dedicated emerging market equity funds have attracted moe than $30
bln in net inflows this year, already surpassing record inflows of $25
bln for all of 2005. Moreover, many global funds are increasingly
investing in emerging markets.
• Power scene in India:
o Commercial losses of power utilities have shown an upward trend:
 2004-05 Rs. 22,558 cr.
 2005-06 Rs. 22,569 cr.
 2006-07 Rs. 23,924 cr. (projected)
• Bivoltine or temperate sericulture is practiced in countries like China. Silk
worm rearing in India needs an ambient temperature of 25 degrees to 27
degrees. Karnataka is the country’s largest silk producer accounting for about
60% of the nation’s output.

03.05.06:

• Tata Tea’s SPV (Tata Tea (GB))to buy JEMCA of Czech Republic. This will
make Tata Tea and Tetley together control 35% of the global tea market.
• 1985 bombing of the Air India’s Kanishka: On June 23 killed all on board on
the Montreal-London flight. Only Inderjit Singh Reyat has been convicted.
He was sentenced to 5 years in prison in 2003 after striking a plea bargain
under which he was convicted on lesser charges of manslaughter and with
assiting in the construction of the bomb. Canada announced the launch of a
probe into the bombings.
• Indian beer market:
o Currently growing at 14-15% per annum.
o World leading beer brands: SAB Miller, Scottish & Newcastle and
Fosters. These three are already in India. InBev and Anheuser-Busch
are expected to unveil their India forays shortly.
o Per capita consumption of beer is very low at 07. litres.
• Clayton Christensen the guru of Disruptive Innovation defines it as: When the
level of technological progress is far above what the customers actually need
and can use, the phenomena of overshooting creates the opportunity for an
upstart to come n with something that is cheaper, simpler and good enough for
a set of customers who don’t need the advanced functionalities. This trend is
disruptive innovation.

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 • India has 360 million workers. There are 26 mln government employees. And
there are 20 mln workers with EPF accounts. UTI’s new pension plan is a
boon for poor workers. It is the Finance Minister’s brainchild. With a
contribution of Rs. 50 per month.
• International Grains Council:
o Worldwide trade in wheat is likely to be 112 mln tonnes this year up by
2 mln tonnes due to increased purchases by China and India.
o World wheat production in 2006 is going to be 598 mln tonnes.
o World wheat consumption in 2006-07 is forecast at 614 mln tonnes.
o The IGC is an inter-governmental body based in London, which
provides statistics and analysis on crops such as wheat and maize.
• Asian Development Bank:
o Estd. In 1966 with HQ in Manila. Is owned by 65 member countries –
47 Asia Pacific nations and 18 non-regional members. Japan and US
are the largest shareholders with 15.8% each of total subscribed
capital.
o Highest policy making body is the board of governors. They comprise
one representative each from the member countries. Governors elect
the 12 member Board of Directors. The President manages the
business of ADB.

04.05.06:

• The domestic medical equipment market is pegged at Rs. 5000 cr with MNC
players like GE, Philips and Siemens being the active players.
• The GoAP’s e-procurement platform is the largest in the government sector in
the country. It hosts 13,591 tenders valued at Rs. 33,974 cr in 8 government
departments, 13 PSUs, 57 Urban Local Bodies and 5 Universities.
• India has 85 commercial banks, accounting for 78% of assets, 3000
cooperative banks and 196 regional rural banks.
• Today’s edition has a special report on power sector.

05.05.06:

• Flats at NCPA in Mumbai’s Nariman Point – for long the real estate
benchmark in South Mumbai were recently sold at Rs. 40,000 per square foot.
• The official shortage of housing units in India is 19.4 mln units.
• Top six cities in the country account for more than 40% of home loans.
• District administration officials of Sitapur in UP, desparate to meet
procurement targets have started offering gun licences to any farmer who sells
FCI just 250 quintals of wheat. But farmers are still not buying into the idea,
because open market offers them more money than FCI.
• In the two-wheeler market, motorcycles form 80% of total sales whereaxs
scooters constitute around 15%.
• Cricket balls:
o Meerut’s Sansparels Greenlands (SG) cricket ball faces danger of
being hit out of the ground.

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 o Australian made Kookaburra balls may soon be used in place of SG
balls in Test cricket.
• Indian workforce:
o India has 400 mln workforce.
o Unorganised sector has majority
o Only 30 mln are in the organized sector.
• Global staffing industry is $72 bln industry.
• Worlds leading staffing agencies: Adecco, PeopleOne, Manpower, Vedior,
Randstad, Kelly, Staff Service
• The National Urban Renewal Mission estimates that India’s urban population
will rise from less than 28% of the population in the 2001 census to 40% by
2021 as a result of liberalization.
• According to NSSO each Indian consumes on an average around 5 kgs of
wheat every month.
• India needs 17 mln tonnes of wheat annually for its ration shops.
• India needs 75 mln tonnes of wheat annually to feed its population.
• India’s sugar production is expected to touch 22 mln tonnes in the year to
September 2007 from around 19 mln tonnes this year.

06.05.06:

• Fitness First is the world’s larges health club chain. It is about to enter India.
• Francois Pinault: owner of Pinault-Printemps-Redoute (PPR) and famous as
Bernard Arnault’s sparring partner, will be in India. PPR owns Gucci and YSL
among a string of other luxury fashion labels.
• According to IAMAI Internet and Mobile Association of India, the Internet
user base will grow from 39 mln in 2006 to 100 mln in 2007. In India that is.
• India has over 400,000 workers in the gulf countries.
• The agenda for new towns: Kala S Sridhar
o The existing urban areas of the country are expected to contribute
about 65% of GDP by 2011.
o The requirement of funds for providing infrastructure is estimated to be
more than Rs. 8,000 cr for cities with more than a million population
and less than Rs. 1000 cr for cities with less than a million, according
to the ministry of urban development.
o The basic definition of an industry cluster is a geographical
concentration of industries that gain performance advantages through
co-location and share specialized infrastructure, labour markets and
services.
o According to PM India requires about $150 bln in the next few years
for infrastructure.
• US has a current account deficit of $805 bln that is 6.4% of the GDP
• Countries with current account surplus:
o Japan $163.9 bln
o China $158.6 bln
o Oil rich gulf countries $196 bln
• Asia warms up to possibility of a single currency:

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 o The ADB has said that an ACU, which would be made up of basket of
currencies, would not be traded and would simply be an indicator of
the stability of participating countries.
• ASEAN countries: Thailand, Brunei, Indonesia, Combodia, Malaysia, Laos,
Singapore, Myanmar
• Iran has registered an oil bourse on the Persian Gulf island of Kish I nwhich
oil would be sold in euros. The market will be the fifth oil market in the world
after New York, London, Singapore and Tokyo.

07.05.06:

• The investment rate in India is 30% of the GDP and has been largely funded
by domestic savings, according to Finance Minister P. Chidambaram.
• The ‘after dinner treats’ market is about Rs. 1200 cr in India.
• Approximately 50% of the Indian population is between 18-34 years.
• RH Patil Committee recommended to develop a strong bond market in India.
The FM says that GoI is committed to implementing the committee’s
recommendations.
• Iranian Nuclear stand-off:
o The Franco-British draft of the UNSC resolution is opposed by
Moscow and China as they oppose invoking Chapter 7 of the UN
Charter which makes the resolution describing the Iranian enrichment
as threat to international peace and security mandatory.
• Lee Scott: Walmart’s Chief Executive.
• Zero Coupon Bonds are allowed in India only on and after June 1st 2005. A
ZCB feature is that no payment and benefit in respect of such bonds is
received or receivable before maturity or redemption. ZCBs are allowed to be
issued by infrastructure capital companies, infrastructure capital funds and
public sector companies.
• Living on the edge: A fact laden report on health in India:
o At the present stage of India’s health transition chronic diseases
contribute to an estimated 53% of deaths and 44% of disability-
adjusted life-years lost.
• World’s costliest wine so far:
o A Jefferson selection – a 1787 Chateau Lafite marked with the initials
Th. J that apparently never got shipped – (a single bottle) fetched more
than $156,000 in 1985.
• First Kashmiri film in 39 years:
o Aarshid Mushtaq’s Akh Daleel Loolech or “A Story of Love” is the
first Kashmiri film after 39 years.
o Maenzraat or “The Night before the Wedding” the last Kashmiri film
was made in 1967.

08.05.06:

• Government holding in BSNL and MTNL is 100% and 56% respectively.

• What is meant by public holding a company?

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 o It refers to retail shareholding or shares owned by individual
shareholders. It excludes banks, FIIS, mutual funds and other financial
institutions like LIC.
• Scotch Whisky Association and EU define whisky as a product made of
cereals and matured at least for three years. Indian whisky on the other hand
is made from molasses through a continuous distillation process with a
maturation period of 24 hours.
• Vijay Mallya’s UB group controls 55% of the Indian spirits market pegged at
138 mln cases (9 litres each) annually. Of this whisky’s market is 74 mln
cases.
• The salaried class is estimated to be close to 57 mln which covers employees
in both the state owned and private firms.
• Local mutual fund industry has assets under management to the extent of Rs.
2,30,000 cr.
• Pakistan Nuclear waste dumping:
o Dera Ghazi Khan, Bagalchur is the place where Pakistan is dumping
nuclear waste. There are protests against the dumping.
• Govt. aided NGOs told to reserve jobs:
o NGOs receiving more than 50% of their expenditure from the central
government have been asked to provide 49.5% reservation to SCs/STs
and OBCs.
• The share of diesel vehicles currently is 31% in India. Expected to rise to 45%
within the next 2-3 years and to 45-50% by 2010.
• The merger of Air India and Indian would create a large airline with a fleet of
130 planes and revenues to the tune of $3.5 bln.
• What is creative outsourcing:
o Content is present in may forms like journals and books, but making
that content visually interactive and intelligent is called creative
outsourcing.
• There are about 140 mln telecom subscriber in the country. Includes mobile as
well as landline.
• The total area currently under contract farming in the country is about 7 mln
acres. Total cultivable land in the country is 400 mln acres.
• Kevan Watts: Chairman Merrill Lynch International.
• China produced 9 bln fresh flowers in 2005-06; is the global leader in that
segment.

08.05.06:

• SEBI has allowed listed companies to mobilize funds from the domestic
market through private placement of securities to QIBs. This is likely to spur
local mop-up. Each company can raise total funds only up to five times of its
net worth in a single financial year.
• FTA Checks
o In a bid to protect farmers, the government is likely to insist on a
negative list in all free trade agreements including the proposed pacts
with ASEAN and West Asian countries. Tariff Rated Quotas (TRQs)

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 would also be weaved into such agreements, highly placed sources in
government said.
• BSNL gets 65 paise per minute for carrying MTNL’s NLD traffic. There is
currently a stand-off between MTNL and BSNL over carrying of NLD traffic.
MTNL is going to float enquiries with private network providers for carrying
its NLD traffic – a move which is estimated to save it about Rs. 500 cr per
annum.
• Globally the issuance of FCCBs has touched $39 bln this year.
• FCCB market offers companies premium on the existing prices which range
anywhere from 30 to 70% as compared to the equity markets. FCCB is a
quasi-debt instrument, which is convertible into the company’s equity shares
at the option of the investor, at a specified strike rate.
• Shunglu Panel: set up by the PM to review rehabilitation work in the
Narmada Valley. Expected to submit its report by June 30th.
• Currently there are 2 lakh timeshare holders in India.
• NKC National Knowledge Commission headed by Sam Pitroda was
constituted to provide guidance for reforms for the 21st century knowledge
society, which includes education sector.
• Satellite insurance:
o INSAT 2E is the only insured desi satellite.
o Making a satellite costs Rs. 250 cr.
o Launching costs Rs. 300 to 350 cr.
o Premium on insurance during the first six months 20% of satellite
making cost.
o Premium after risk period 3-4%.

10.05.06:

• The next president of the Antwerp based Diamond High Council, Hoge Voor
Diamant (HRD), world’s apex body in diamond trade could be an Indian with
the body recently ratifying the election of five Indians to its 11 member board.
• Indian diamond industry is worth Rs. 70,000 cr.
• Total Colour TV sales in the country 8.3 mln units in 2005. Out of this flat
CTV sales account for 3.6 mln units.
• Indian spirits industry sales:
o Whisky 74 mln cases
o Rum 32 mln cases
o Brandy 22 mln cases
o Gin 3 mln cases
o Vodka 3 mln cases
• Michael Giffin: Chief of NASA, USA
• Chandrayan –I will be India’s first unmanned scientific mission to the moon.
The objective is to investigate the distribution of minerals and chemical
elements and high-resolution three-dimensional mapping of the entire lunar
surface.
• CIE Council of Indian Employers is the apex body of employers in the
country. Contributes to strengthening the industrial relations, labour and

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 social policies within the tripartite framework of the government. Sarthan
Behuria (Chairman IOC) has become the Chairman of CIE.
• India’s total IT exports this year stood at $23 bln.
• Only 2.5 cr Indians file IT returns. This means that less than 3% of the 100 cr
people show up on IT radar.
• Henry hub – a natural gas pipeline hub in Lousiana often serves as a
benchmark for wholesale natural gas prices.
• In India natural gas is being sold at a subsidized price of $1.6 /mmbtu to
fertilizer and power consumers. ONGC signed a long term contract with
Torrent group for $4.7/mmbtu. International LNG spot prices are hovering at
$9 to $10 / mmbtu. Naphtha prices are at $20/mmbtu.
• A harmonized GST would hike the tax/GDP ration to 25% from the current
16%.

11.05.06:

• Phantom stocks or stock appreciation rights (SAR):

o It is a contractual right for a notional equity allotment to the
employees. The allotment is notional as no actual shares are
transferred to the employees. Under the contract, the employee is
entitled only tot eh value of the stock appreciation during the specified
period agreed under the contract.
• UN Human Rights Commission
o India elected to the UN 47 member council. A member requires 2/3rd
majority to get elected.
o Current distribution of seats:
 Asian group 13
 African group 13
 LAC 8
 Western & Ors 7
 Eastern Europe 6
• JCI Joint Commission International is a global leader in improving quality of
healthcare. It assesses the quality of various parameters of the health services
being offered by hospitals across the world (on about 1033 parameters). Its
certification is considered the gold seal for quality in hospitals worldwide.
• Hospitality boom pinches foreign airlines: On an average each international
flight generates demand for 10-12 hotel rooms for the crew. As per industry
estimates, Delhi and Mumbai between them generate demand for 8,000 hotel
rooms per week from foreign carriers.
• India’s oil import bill zooms 52% to $45 bln:
o Up 52% from $29.26 bln to $44.64 bln in 2005-06.
o Imports of crude 99.4 mln tonnes
o Imports of petroleum products 11.67 mln tonnes
o Domestic consumption of oil products 111.92 mln tonnes
o Domestic demand for diesel 40.15 mln tonnes; over 40% of total
petroleum product consumption.
• IRDA to standardize mediclaim reporting:

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 o Code prescribed by the ICD International Classification of Diseases of
WHO to be adopted for reporting data by hospitals.
o The Tariff Advisory Committee (TAC) fixes the tariff for almost 70%
of the non-life insurance business in the country. Those products that
are tariff based come under the TAC, and the others are regulated by
IRDA. The detariffed regime presently extends only to marine and
miscellaneous insurance.
• Gini coefficient: measures inequality.
• Limits to economic growth: Arun Maira
o As countries industrialise they increase their ‘global footprint’, which
is the pressure they put on the earth’s resources. The footprints of
Europe and Japan are about 4.7 global hectares per person and the
USA’s is 9.7. India’s footprint at present is 0.8 and that of China is 1.6.

12.05.06:

• Reliance Industries has started extracting glycol, one of the building blocks of
polyester, from alcohol. As a result bulk spirit (rectified spirit) costs 30%
more. This is hitting IMFL industry. Nearly 4 to 4.5 litres of alcohol goes into
a case of IMFL manufacturing.
• Tourist arrivals in India touched 4 mln in 2005 and it is expected to cross 6
mln in 2006. Currently tourism contributes $5.4 bln (Rs. 24,300 cr) to the
Indian economy. GoI plans to take this to $10 bln (Rs. 45,000 cr) in three
years.
• The Planning Commission has recommended a raise in the expenditure on
education and health from 0.9% of the country’s GDP to 2% in the coming
plan.
• Bombay High North of ONGC produces 270,000 barrels of oil per day.
• RIL refinery at Jamnagar:
o After the completion of the project, it will be the refining capital of the
world. 1 out of every 50 barrels of oil refined will be from Jamnagar.
That is 2% of the world’s total crude refining.
• Special Economic Regions:
o The main difference between an SEZ and an SER would that the state
and central government would develop the necessary infrastructure in
the regions where private companies can then setup the units. In an
SEZ the private developer creates the infrastructure. GoI is planning to
setup five to six such regions in the country.
• Agriculture is the prime sector in the economy, and the biggest full and partial
job provider, contributing about 20% to India’s GDP and supporting 65% of
her population. According to GoI figures about 260 mln Indians are still
living below the poverty line, most of them in the rural sector.
• Quotas: A futile exercise: Manoj Pant
o Organized industry accounts for only 10% of the total employment.
90% is in unorganized manufacturing sector and in agriculture.
o Even under the current system of reservations the Supreme Court has
ruled that merit cannot be disregarded in reservation in professional
courses.

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13.05.06:

• Red corner notice: Interpol issues this on request from countries. It is like an
international arrest warrant.
• Indonesia is the world’s most populous Islamic nation.
• Kaushik Mehta became the first Indian to be elected as vice-president of the
Antwerp based Diamond High Council, Hoge Raad Voor Diamant (HRD). Its
President is Jacky Roth, a leading businessman.
• Currently only 7-8% of Indians of college-going age actually manage to cross
the 10+2 state to get into the tertiary level of education. The average for the
developed world is 40%.
• According to RBI figures the total deposits mobilized by banks amounted to
Rs. 21.36 lk crores as on April 28.
• BG India, part of the international energy giant BG Group, is planning to set
up three subsidiaries for natural gas distribution and transmission operations in
A.P., Karnataka and TN.
• RIL kicks of gas production work at KG basin in AP: The company is looking
at gas production up to 40 mmscmd by mid 2008. Typically this much of gas
could generate 10,000 MW of power, 20 mt of urea and electrify 40-50
townships.
• GM forests can meet demand for paper says academic:
o It is estimated that close to half of India’s wood imports go in for
production of paper. India’s annual wood imports are in excess of $1
bln. Forests in India which account for about 2% of the country’s land
mass have to meet the demand of 18% of the world’s cattle population
(in India) and 15% of the human population.

15.05.06:

• GMR Energy has a 99% stake in Vemagiri Power Project in AP.

• Transfer Pricing:
o TP is described as the price charged by one group company to an
associated enterprise for an international transaction relating to supply
of goods, services and property. The law says income accrued from
such a transaction should be at an arms’ length price.
• Merchant Bankers functions:
o Planning a public issue; forming the capital structure of the company;
undertaking due diligence of the company’s operations and drafting the
offer document.
o Some of the established players in merchant banking include DSP
Merrill Lynch, JM Morgan Stanley, Kotak Mahindra Capital, SBI
Capital Markets, ICICI Securities, Enam and others.
• India tops in intangibles:
o Study of 25 leading bourses finds India a class apart.
o Intangibles accounted for enarly $251 bln in market value in the case
of listed Indian companies. Almost 62% of the world’s business is

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 intangible representing $19.5 trillion of the $31.6 trillion global market
value.
o The research calculated intangible value as the stock market value of
an enterprise minus the value of its tangible assets as stated in the
balance sheet.
• AP grape cultivation:
o The area under grape cultivation had come down from 2,800 hectares
in 1999 to 2000 hectares now.
o A farmer gets a yield of 10 tonnes from an acre.
o AP produced 85,000 tonnes of grapes this year.
o Due to soil conditions and irrigation problems, a farmer in AP has to
shell out Rs. 1 lk per acre, while his counterpart in Maharashtra needs
to spend only Rs. 30,000 only.
• Mahinda Rajapakse: Sri Lanka’s President.
• Trend-Meter: Mobiles Cycle past in sales …2005-06 FY
o Mobile handsets have overtaken bicycles as the number one consumer
product across the country pushing bicycles to the number two spot.
o The market for bicycles is expected to be in the region of 12-15 mln
units per year.
o Among the other top non-FMCG products CTVs market size is pegged
at 8.5 to 9 mln units
o The market for motor cycles is pegged at 5.8 mln units.
• Floor Space Index: is the total area of building to the gross area of the lot on
which it is located.
• According to SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers) the
passenger vehicle sales in the domestic market were up by 15% in April 2006
and stood at 94,765 units as against 82,496 units in April 2005.
• The Economist Intelligence Unit has ranked IIM-A 69th amongst the top 100
business schools in the world in 2005.
• Equator principles:
o Essentially these principles aim at setting up a financial industry
benchmark for management of environmental and social risks
encountered in project financing.
• India exported 9 mln tonnes of cement against the total production of around
150 mln tonnes.
• Cement accounts for less than 10% of the total cost of a house.
• The country has 22 stock exchanges. NSE and BSE account for almost 100%
of the turnover.
• The original goal of the Regional Stock Exchanges (RSE) was to enable
regional companies to access local capital and local investors in trade in these
stocks.
• Oil pricing issue: Under the current scenario the ability of the upstream
companies like ONGC to invest in exploration gets compromised by the
subsidy hit that they have to bear. There is little incentive to invest in
alternative fuels like ethanol and biodiesel if oil prices are low, even if it’s an
artificial low. – Amit Bhandari
• Minimum land area norm for IT SEZ goes:

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 o A minimum built up area of one lakh square metre would be adequate,
the eGoM headed by Defence Minister decided here recently.
o According the existing SEZ rules, IT sector SEZs require 10 hectares
of land. The finance ministry has demanded that this be increased to
25 hectares.

16.05.06:

• In-licensing the rage in pharma:

o Through in-licensing agreements, domestic pharmaceutical companies
can add patented products from foreign companies to their own
product portfolio.
• Globally LCD market is expected to grow by 30 mln units, grabbing 15%
market share of the total CTV segment by 2007. The industry target for
plasma TV globally is 7 mln units by 2006.
• Asset securitization norms bit banks:
o The RBI guidelines on securitization of standard assets issued earlier
this year – prohibiting banks to book profits upfront on the sale of
assets through securitization has affected players like Citi, StanChart
and ICICI Bank.
o At about $6 bln, the Indian securitization market is less than 1% of the
$80 bln US market.
o In securitization, banks would see assets to a special purpose vehicle
for immediate cash payment. At a following stage, the security
interests representing the claims on incoming cash flows from the SPV
would be sold to third party investors.
o Banks like ICICI, HDFC were securitizing their assets to foreign
banks. PSBs are not major sellers in the market because they do not
have as large a retail portfolio like private banks.
• Mr. Ong Keng Yong: Secretary General, ASEAN
• ASEAN has a market of 530 mln people but accounts for only 6% of the
global exports.

17.05.06:

• Church body gets to play censor board on “Da Vinci Code”:

o The Hollywood film, based on Dan Brown’s best-selling novel of the
same title, features an American Professor played by Tom Hanks, and a
French female detective who uncover a conspiracy in the Catholic
Church to conceal a relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene.
• Nagaland Insurgency problem:
o In the charter, the NSCN(IM) has sought unification of Naga-inhabited
areas, greater rights over natural resources, symbols of sovereignty,
separate representation in the UN, joint defence of the state comprising
Indian and Naga army besides others.
• BSNL has over 3.5 crore fixed line subscribers and around 1.8 crore mobile
users.

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 • ISRO’s satellite based telemedicine network which started in 2001 on an
experimental basis, is aimed at linking remote/rural district hospitals with
super-speciality hospitals in major cities via INSAT.
• Dabhol power company is now called Ratnagiri Power. It’s new promoter is
Chandan Roy. It plans to setup the first LNG stream to be up and running by
November 2006.

18.05.06:

• FDI in airports:
o The Centre may soon permit FDI up to 74% in the modernization of
existing airports. This move is significant in the context of
restructuring of Delhi and Mumbai airports where FDI was restricted
to 49%.
o According to present norms, 100% FDI is permitted in greenfield
airports where as in modernization of airports, this limit is 74%.
• USA is the world’s biggest coffee-consuming market with a per capita
consumption of 10.2 kg.
• Medical Transcription is a $250 mln industry in India. Globally it is a $12 bln
industry.
• The Govt. has expanded the number of engineering college seats in the
country to 4,95,000 with around 1,450 colleges. Out of this only about
2,25,000 graduates have the requisite skills and training to be employed by IT
companies according to T.V. Mohandas Pai, Director, Infosys Technologies.
• Centre likely to develop natural gas market:
o M.S. Srinivasan: Secretary, Petroleum & Natural Gas
o The GoI is going to initiate a nationwide gas grid, trans-border trade of
natural and liquid gas. The share of natural gas in the Indian energy
matrix is expected to increase from 9-10% at present to around 25%
over the next 25 years.
• The total market value of FII ownership of Indian markets now exceeds $113
bn. In contrast the value of mutual fund holding is only $27 bn, and the value
of holdings of banks and financial institutions is around $41 bn.
• The Central and State government together have achieved a tax/GDP ration of
around 16%.
• Only a few high income states in India are contributing to 54% of the
industrial GDP and about 50% of the services GDP.

19.05.06:

• Indian pharma industry is looking at touching $25 bln over the next five years
going by the annual 9% growth in the $4.5 bln sector.
• Grid frequency is a real-time measure of the extent to which states are
adhering to their allocations for drawing power from generating stations
within the region.
• Export of agri products and marine items works up to nearly $10 bln, and the
government is keen to boost exports from this sector.

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20.05.06:

• Gobally the sourcing business stands at over $420 bln of whch outsourcing
accounts for $120 bln.
• The mobile user base in India currently is at 97 mln (April end). The
replacement market for handsets will be over 19 mln handsets i.e., around
20%.

21.05.06:

• FIIs influence 10% of volumes in derivatives market and 10% volumes in cash
market according to the Finance Minister P. Chidambaram

22.05.06:

• RIL will begin full-year production from the KG basin from the fiscal year
ending March 31, 2010, after spending Rs.176 bln ($4.1 bln) in the next few
years.
• India-ASEAN FTA: Apart from the 850 items on the negative list, all other
items would be eligible for concessional import duty in India.
• India imports more than 5 mln tonnes of edible oil and bulk of it comes from
Malaysia and Indonesia.
• The six States of AP, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Delhi and UP
account for two-thirds of the country’s fastest growing beer consumption
market.
• Indian LPOs slip into consolidation mode:
o Despite challenges in the industry, the opportunity is estimated at $200
bln in the US alone, notwithstanding the equally high potential
European market.
• IT savy India continues its upward climb:
o Computer shipments in the country have breached the 4.6 mln mark,
up 30% in fiscal ended March 2006.
o HP continued to be the market leader with a share of 18% followed by
HCL (14%) and Lenovo (9%).
• Metals in Indian herbal products not harmful, says Sastra study:
o The global herbal market, which include medicines, health
supplements, beauty and toiletry items, is estimated to at $62 bln. Out
of this, the market for herbal medicines alone is estimated at $5 bln and
is expected to reach $16 bln by 2005.
• Who are lead independent directors?
o She sets the meeting agenda, coordinates meetings, and facilitates
interactions between independent members and management. She also
plays referee in choppy times.
• GAIL plans to import 7 lk tonnes of LNG:

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 o During the current year they are expected to import at least 9 to 10 spot
LNG cargo.
o According to them, there will be a demand for gas even at $10 level
provided it is lower than the price of naphtha.
• India has under 20,000 ATMs; which works out to 18 ATMs / mln people.
Compare this with the global average of 221 ATMs / mln people. India has
about 30 ATMs per 100 bank branches, versus a global average of 192 per 100
branches.
• Special Purpose Tea Fund is meant for replantation and rejuvenation of old tea
bushes and spread over a period of 15 years.
• GoI has kept a target of 200 mln kg of tea exports in 2006-07.
• In a fusion reactor, particles are rammed together to form a charged gas called
a plasma, contained inside a doughnut shaped chamber called a tokamak by
powerful magnetic coils.

23.05.06:

• WHO Chief Dr. Lee Jong Wook died due to brain hemorrhage.
• The tourism industry in India is expected to generate $124.4 bln (over Rs.
5,44,500 cr) of economic activity by 2015.
• Many studies in the US and Europe have shown that the coast is still the
favourite destination of 63% holidaymakers, and 85% of tourism related
revenues are generated by coastal destinations.
• Why did markets fall recently?
o The futures section of the derivatives offers a huge scope to leverage –
buy shares by just depositing 20-30% of the value as margin. This has
become very popular and India’s derivative market is 4-5 times the
cash market, with the futures market around 80% of the derivative
market, the rest being options.
o The kind of fall witnessed on May 19th causes more pressure in futures
market due to leverage positions. This caused futures to quote at steep
discount to cash, creating another problem. With futures quoting at a
discount, FIIs and Institutions started selling in cash and buying
futures. This was to exploit the discount in the futures markets.

24.05.06:

29.05.06:

• Basel Norms:
o For banks which are active globally, it is imperative to bolster their
capital in accordance with the supervisory standards and guidelines
formulated by the Basel Committee.
o The committee which was constituted by Central Bank Governors of a
Group of 10 countries in 1974 under the aegis of the Bank of
International Settlements (BIS) has, over the years set out standards for
capital measurement.

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 o The BIS is regarded as the bank for central banks and is based in Basel
in Switzerland.
• 65% of the cost incurred in rural marketing is in transportation and not
necessarily manpower.
• NAM summit is set to happen in September in Havana, Cuba.
• Commercial Vehicle market:
o The industry which produced about 3.5 lk CVs in 2005-06 will roll out
an additional 2.35 lk units by 2008 for an investment of Rs. 3,500 cr.
• The GoI has approved a total of 67 SEZs of which 16 are operational. Most
the remaining ones are likely to be in operation in the next two-three years.
• The postal department has a network of 1,55,000 post offices all over the
country. Small savings mobilized by the department are to the tune o fRs. 3.2
lk crore.
• What is non-fund based income for a Bank?
o The non-fund based income comprises of revenues from both financial
commitment and services rendered. Financial commitment includes
guarantees, letters of credit and banker acceptances.

30.05.06:

• FIIs, MFs & Banks can trade in commodities:

o GoI has finally signaled its approval in principle to the participation of
FIIs, MFs and Banks in the commodity markets, a senior government
official said.
o Banks are currently barred from the commodity business except for
dealing in bullion.
• Singapore:
o President: S.R. Nathan
o PM: Lee Hsien Loong
• Medical tourism in India:
o Indian hospitals have added fringe benefits to treatment and given birth
to a $2 bln medical tourism industry.
o India has the advantage of one of the lowest doctor-patient ratio in the
world.
• India Inc warms up to clause 49 norms:
o The deadline for implementing the new norms ran out on April 15.
o Currently Clause 49 is applicable to all companies seeking listing for
the first time, seeking in-principle approval for such a listing and all
existing listed companies which have had a paid up capital of Rs. 3 cr
and above or net worth of Rs. 25 cr or more at any point of time in its
existence.
• Equity linked debentures arrive in India:
o Citicorp Finance to float a Rs. 250 cr paper; a first of its kind in the
country.
o It helps an investor in debt, capture the upside of the equity market.
o Borrowed from the international financial markets.

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 o The return on the debenture would be linked to Nifty or a basket of
stocks.
• India produces 200 technology specialists for every one mln of its population
each year as opposed to the US which produces 750.
• Group on recasting the WPI to include 1200 items in the revised WPI series.
Presently the WPI series consists of just 435 items, fails to capture the massive
structural changes that have occurred in the economy over the last few years.
• There are about $90 bln worth of funds tracking commodities globally.
• India is 29th competitive nation; US tops the list:
o India moved 10 notches up to 29th position from 39th position last year,
in the global competitive survey of 61 national and regional
economies.
o The World Competitiveness Yearbook 2006, published by Switzerland
based International Institute for Management Development (IMD),
analyses and ranks the ability of nations to create and maintain an
environment that sustains the competitiveness of enterprises.
• Of the total rubber consumed in the country, the share of reclaimed or
recycled rubber is less than 10%.
• AP Govt. plans swanky fish mall in Hyderabad:
o Though the state produces 4 lakh to 5 lakh tonne of fish, only 4% to
5% of it is domestically consumed.
• Assam accounts for 60% of the tea produced in India. The British pioneered
tea growing in the 1820’s in Assam, which became the world’s single largest
tea-growing region.

31.05.06:

• What are Class I towns?

o Towns with one lakh to 10 lakh population.
o Metros are towns with more than 10 lakh population.
• Metros contributed to 28.7% or Rs. 15,761 cr of the total FMCG consumption
in the country.
• What are discount malls?
o They primarily constitute factory outlets of various brands in
categories such as apparel, cosmetics, electronics et al.
• DVD market in India is Rs. 750 crore strong. It stood at 2.5 mln units in 2005,
is expected to grow to 4 mln units this calendar year i.e., about Rs. 1000 to
1100 cr.
• India contributes about 28% of the world’s knowledge pool according to SQL
Star CEO Narendra Shukla.
• The two digit Standard International Trade Classification SITC divides export
products into more than 90 categories.
• President Harry Truman of US used to have a sign on his desk saying, “The
buck stops here.”
• In a 1960 edition of New York Herald Tribune, columnist Richard Harkness
defined committee as “ a group of the unwilling, picked from the unfit, to do
the unnecessary.”

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• The global average rate of lending by MFIs stands at 33%, while in the case of
Peru it is 70%, say banking sources.
• Edumund Daukoru: President of OPEC and Nigerian Oil Minister.
• OPEC has a 28 million bpd ceiling on oil production.
• Indian rubber industry comprises 32 tyre factories, about 250 medium scale
units and 6000 small scale units manufacturing every conceivable rubber
product from toy balloons to aero tyres. The industry has an annual turnover
of Rs. 12,000 cr. It is concerned with the terrible increase in natural rubber
price from Rs. 72 a kg (December 2005)to Rs. 120 a kg now.
• AIDS has killed more than 25 mln people worldwide since it was first
recognized in 1981. UNAIDS says that HIV virus which precedes the disease
infected more than 65 mln people over the same period.

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01.06.06:

• Voice against quota on ur cell:

o “koi chota nahin, koi bada nahin … hum darenge nahin, hum bhujenge
nahin..” is the song that is being used by anti-quota protesters as their
ringtone for their cell. This is the first ringtone protest in India and
perhaps the third such effort all over the world.
o The first such protest was in Philippines last year after opponents of
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo tapped into a recording of
clandestine conversation.
• Sino-Indian border problem:
o India says China is illegally occupyin g43,180 Sq.Kms of J&K
including 5,180 Sq. Km illegally ceded to China by Pakistan under the
Sino-Pakistan boundary agreement in 1963. On the other hand China
accuses India of possessing some 90,000 Sq. Km of its territory mostly
in Arunachal Pradesh.
• The market for super premium Vodka category in India priced upwards of Rs.
2,500 per quart, is estimated at 6,000 to 7,000 cases annually and growing at
about 30%.
• The Indian art market, estimated between Rs. 850 – 1000 cr per annum, is
growing at 35% annually.
• India’s GDP grew 9.3% in the fourth quarter of 2005-06 and by 8.4% in fiscal
2005-06 as a whole.
• The Indian securities market which grew by about 50% in 2005 and had risen
almost 25% early 2006, attracted more than 900 foreign institutional investors.
• India’s textile exports to US stood at $4.8 bln against China’s $22 bln plus.

02.06.06:

• FIFA world cup watchers: While the world cup was watched by about 75 mln
Indians last time, this year the event is expected to garner a significantly
higher viewership which is likely to be to the tune of 115-120 mln.
• Tanker spills oil, sinks off Karwar coast: Ocean Seraya, a Singapore
registered vessel had hit the rocks on Monday night due to rough weather and
next day the spill was reported from the stranded ship.
• Arind’s branded apparel operations is the second largest in the country after
the AV Birla managed Madura Garments.
• ICICI Knowledge Park, spread over 200 acres, has seen an investment of Rs.
45 crore over the last five years. Companies like GVK, Matrix Albany, Nektar
and US Parmacoepia have leased space in the park for their research driven
activities. The park is at Hyderabad.
• India has 47 STPIs at present. It is proposed to setup two STPs for each north
eastern state to make it a new ITES destination.
• ITES is expected to grow at a rate 50% or more in the coming years. ITES
industry is poised to touch $26 bln by2009-10 and $10 bln by 2006-07.
• There are about 11.4 lakh local PCOs in the country currently.
• The market for consumer security systems is currently at Rs. 250-300 cr and is
expected to grow at over 30% a year.

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 • More than 800 international arrivals were registered across the globe in 2005
and tourism related economic activity of $620 bln was generated for the same
period.
• GCET Global Code of Ethics for Tourism is a comprehensive set of principles,
which aims at providing guidance to stakeholders in tourism development,
central and local governments, local communities, the tourism industry and its
professionals.
• India’s gross tonnage (GT) in shipping has increased to 8.59 mln GT as on
01.05.2006 according to the Union Shipping Ministry.
• With about 17% of the world’s population, India has only 0.02% of the
world’s air traffic.
• OBC yearly per head consumption fares well with others:
o An ET exclusive article. Good.
• FAO will set up cell in Hyderabad:
o The cell will be set up in ANGRAU and will help facilitate technical
collaboration in various research fields.
• Army fings Manipur rats:
o The Indian Army fighting a different enemy – rodents.
o Bamboo in the region flowers once in 48 years, attracting rats, which
feed on the flowers and seeds and multiply rapidly, posing a threat to
local farmers.

03.06.06:

• World stock market indices names:

o Japan Nikkei
o Hong Kong Hang Seng
o South Korea Kospi
o Singapore Straits Times
o India Sensex & Nifty
o London Ftse
o Paris CAC
• JSPL bags Bolivia mine:
o Jindal Steel and Power Limited bagged the development rights for
the 20 bln tonne reserve El Mutun iron ore mine in Bolivia.
o It is estimated to have a total reserve of 40 bln tonnes.
o It is the first such acquisition by an Indian company anywhere in
the world.
• According to estimates the US healthcare economy is worth $1.6 tln and
growing.
• While the market for LCD screens has been growing at a whopping 200% per
annum, plasmas has been growing at 135% in India.
• It is estimated that 41% of India’s IT exports come from the SME segment.
• Biotechnology industry in the country is growing at a rate of 40% annually.
• GAIL sells entire LNG spot cargo from Algeria:
o The LNG equivalent to 80 mscm procured from Sonatrach, Algeria
was received at Dahej on May 20.

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 • Private sector Prudential ICICI dethroned UTI from the MF perch. Leading
MFs by the size of their AUM are:
o Prudiential ICICI
o UTI
o Reliance
o HDFC
o Franklin Templeton
• NRI is now the no. 1 non-resident lender:
o In the quarter ended December 2005, NRI deposits accounted for
28% of India’s outstanding external debt while multilateral
organizations formed 26.8% of total debt.
o In Rupee denominated deposits the exchange risk is borne by the
individual depositor, unlike the FCNR deposit where the risk is borned
by the bank.
• As Americans and other look at this Gordian knot of public policy problems,
we should learn one thing from the example of Tony Snow: the vision of an
“ownership society” espoused by Bush is simply not plausible. – Brandford
Delong on pension reform. He is arguing against contributory pensions saying
that workers do not contribute to them in spite of there being benefits.
• Private banking: Citibank unveils a private bank for HNIs with $10 M or
more. India’s private banking market is reckoned to have grown by 50-100%
YoY during the past three-four years.
• Apple crop in India:
o Last year’s production is 540,000 tonnes. Bumper production.
o This year expected to be less than half of that in view of bad weather.
o Harvest begins in July and ends by early October.
o Experts say continuous low temperatures coupled with regular spells of
snowfall in winter are essential for apple trees for a good yield. The
spring should be free of hail.
• AP Mango crop:
o With its 3.5 lakh hectares of orchards, AP is the largest producer of
Mangoes in India.
o Mango exports from the state were at about 2100 tonnes last year with
the lion’s share of it going to Middle East and South East Asia.
• NYSE agreed to buy Euronext for $9.96 bln in cash and stock. Euronext is
Europe’s second largest stock exchange, operating bourses in Paris,
Amsterdam, Brussels and Lisbon.

04.06.06:

• Top four football clubs in England (the leading contributor of players in the
coming world cup) are:
o Chelsea 16 players
o Arsenal 15
o Manchester United 12
o Liverpool 9
• HRD ministry to assess quality of school level learning:

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 o It has set up a committee headed by Krishna Kumar, Director
NCERT to recommend the manner in which a system that would
actually test how much a student has learnt can be established in
the place of the currently existing ‘learn by rote and reproduce at
examination time’ system.
• Shanghai Cooperation Organization:
o Is a group of Central Asian countries that has called for a
withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan.
• In the fruit-based drinks category the market leaders are:
o Coca Cola’s Maaza 33%
o Parle’s Frooti 27%
o PepsiCo’s Slice 13%

05.06.06:

• Futures margin under lens:

o In the cash section, the investor can borrow from the broker but the
leverage normally is no more than 2.5 times the funds invested. But in
the futures market, the investor can leverage (borrow) upto seven times
the margin money put upfront.
• Kheer Bhawani:
o Is an annual festival of Kashmir Pundits held at the revered Hindu
shrine, 35 kms east of Srinagar.
• Ambush marketing:
o Nike to mute Adidas’ thunder here.
• Samsung India pipped consumer durable giant LG to lead the fast-growing
categories of LCD TV and Plasma display panels, according to the ORG-GFK
sales figures for the January-April period.
• Nuclear power plans of Reliance:
o Recently India took the giant leap forward in its nuclear power
generation when its 16th nuclear power plant and second 540 mw
pressurized heavy water reactor, Tarapur Atomic Power Plant
went critical. Once the electricity produced by this plant is
synchronized to the western grid, the country’s total installed
capacity of nuclear energy will go up to 3,890 mw from the existing
3,350 mw.
• Flash memory card market:
o The Indian market is estimated to be around Rs. 180-200 cr with an
annual sales of 1.8-2 mln units.
o Globally, it is estimated to be $22 bln by 2006 as against $16.4 bln in
2005.
• US Patent my only hope: Young scientist:
o Apurv Mishra from Orissa, the inventor of the world acclaimed
Glabenator, which costs less than Rs. 1,500 says so.
o The device is a simple computer that enables the people having
disabled hands, legs and mouth to express their feelings without much
movement from their seats.

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 o He bagged the third prize in the engineering and science category in
the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) held in USA. It
is considered to be world’s largest pre-college scientific research based
competition which draws 1500 participants across the globe from 47
member countries.
• The illusion of spectrum scarcity: Jaideep Mishra
o Although the electronic spectrum is finite and limited, it can be
virtually non-depleting for practical purposes.
o We need to leverage recent advances in spectrum management practice
to make way for flexible and open access.
o The hype about 3G did lead to soaring, massively inflated bids.

06.06.06:

• Fuel shock: Petrol up by Rs. 4/litre

o The new trade parity pricing regime is in line with the Rangarajan
Committee report, which had recommended lowering of protection
level for refineries and a more transparent system to provide
subsidies.
• RBI says 77% of foreign capital inflows is volatile.
o This is the first time that RBI has defined what is meant by
volatility in foreign capital inflows with respect to India.
o According to RBI, volatile foreign inflows comprise portfolio
investments and short term trade credit.
o Short term trade credit is what is extended to importers by
suppliers of goods and services from abroad.
• Sachar panel’s term extended till October:
o The Rajinder Sachar Committee studying the status of Muslims in
the country and their representation in various walks of life, was
set up in March 2005 by PM to prepare an exhaustive report on
the social, economic and educational status of the Muslim
community in India.
• Islamic militia seizes Mogadishu, capital of Somalia. Sheik Sharif Sheik
Ahmed, chairman of the Islamic Court Union, said his forces have fought
off secular alliance warlords and occupied Mogadishu.
07.06.06:

• There were just under 100,000 five star hotel rooms in the country, a number
which falls well short of the total hotel rooms in most European countries.
• Nanotechnology is set to become a $1 bln global industry by 2012 according
to our President, Mr. Abdul Kalam.
• The fact is when domestic refineries are assured import-parity prices, they
enjoy unwarranted rents.
• Exxon is the biggest US company by far. Yet its global oil production is only
4.1 mln barrels per day (mbd). Russia’s mostly public sector companies
produce 9.3 mbd and Saudi Arabia’s Aramco produces almost 10 mbd.
• Globalization does not ensure the takeover of the world economy by the
western MNCs. On the contrary, it enables Third World companies to become

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 global giants, thrashing western MNCs. In this manner globalization is
creating a more equitable spread of world economic power. – Swaminathan
Anklesaria Aiyar.
• Football is the world’s most popular sport and also probably the most
globalized sport.
• It is estimated that the size of the counterfeit market (of all products in India)
is about Rs. 15,000 cr per annum.
• India’s postal department:
o 152 year old department
o Delivers 1575 cr mails every year
o Network of 155,000 post offices.
o Has the largest postal network in the world.

08.06.06:

• The Union Cabinet has decided to give complete autonomy to oil

companies to revise prices as per the trade parity formula.
• Data reveals that the proportion of women employed for wages increased
from 12.7% in 1990 to 17.5% in 2003.
• Reliance Retail plans to open 5500 outlets across the country.
• IBM:
o Is the global leader in servers with 33% share, middleware (18%) and
services (7%).
• The overall facilities management market is pegged at Rs. 5000 cr.
• GSPC strikes gas in KG Basin again:
o In its fourth well in KG-17. Oil is flowing at 862 barrels per day.
Gas is flowing 4.8 million standard cubic feet per day. (Is it cubic
feet or cubic meters?)
o It is expected that production can commence from December 2008.
o GSPC has also received permission from the Centre for laying a
3000 KM long pipeline from Kakinada to Gujarat.
• Rising skyline may point to falling economy:
o The strange linkage of a rising skyline and a falling market could be
because a booming economy leads to easy credit leading to large
capital investments. Loans from banks and easy money from the
capital market often help real estate firms to alter the city’s skyline.
Often by the time these structures are complete, the cycle has turned.
The money made from stocks has also gone into property purchases,
inflating prices to unheard of levels.
• The subsidies on the LPG and SKO would add up to Rs. 25,000 cr per annum.
• The Indian government is estimated to spend about $100 bln in public
procurement each year. E-procurement is expected to lower procurement
costs by 10%. This would translate to about Rs. 45,000 cr savings. Hence
the Cabinet Secretary made it mandatory for all the state governments to
purchase through e-procurement from April 2007.
• Private companies flock to set up agri terminal markets:
o Terminal markets will backward link the producers to the retailers and
forward link the retailers to the consumers in the domestic markets.

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 The retailers will provide demand-based consumer feedback from the
urban and semi-urban areas.
• AP tobacco crop production:
o In the current year is about 140 million kg.
09.06.06:

• Abu Musab al-Zarquawi, the top al-Qaeda leader of the insurgency

movement in Iraq is killed in a Baghdad air raid by US forces.
• Bharat Forge is the world’s second largest forging company.
• NASSCOM has come out with a test to test the competence of people
seeking jobs in the BPO sector. Called the Nasscom’s Assessment in
Competence (NAC). Currently only abut 25% of technical graduates and
10-15% of general college students are suitable for employment in
offshore IT and BPO industries respectively.
• DAE to set up uranimum mining plants in AP:
o The country has uranium deposits to produce 10,000 MW of
energy. However, we are producing only 3,300 MW of nuclear
energy.
o By 2030, the DAE is targeting to generate 40,000 MW of energy
through its latest uranium development programme.
o Hyderabad based Nuclear Fuel Complex has developed a unique
certified reference material for thorium oxide powder and
Titanium half alloy hydraulic tubing for Light Combat Aircraft.
o According to DAE, it will take another 20 years for India to
commercially produce thorium.
• SEZ experience:
o The 15 functioning SEZs have attracted private investment of only
about Rs. 2,200 cr and their share in exports is dismal.
o In China SEZs were available only to foreign investments; not
exports.
• While 2003-04 IPOs contributed only 15% to total capital raised, in 2004-
05 their share increased to 56%, though it declined to 40% in 2005-06.
• Petroleum adulteration according to recent government estimates is worth over
Rs. 15,000 cr. Hence with a view to curb adulteration, govt. asked oil
companies to use GPS to control quality in tanks. GPS is supposed to monitor
the movement of oil trucks from depots to retail outlets. To be done by March
2007.
• Nabard chairman Mr. YSP Thorat:
o Only 27% of people get some form of institutional credit and 22%
get credit from money lenders while the remaining 51% have
absolutely no access to credit in agriculture.
• India’s fast expanding passenger vehicles market is expected to nearly double
to more than 2 mln units by 2010.
• There are only an estimated 5000 to 6000 Bengal tigers left in the world
today down from 100,000 in 1900.
• Sea food exports from India have crossed $1.5 bln mark in 2005-06.
• ET infrastructure survey:

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 o Investment in infrastructure has increased from less than 3% of
the GDP a few years back to about 5% now. However, it remains
well below the level of 8-10% seen in other countries. Total
investment counted as infrastructure was estimated at Rs. 1,46,400
cr during FY06, up by about 20% over the year before.
o An infrastructure project effectively requires the developer to take
an interest rate call for a 15-20 year period.
o Roads:
 The average distance covered by a truck on the highway is
just 200 km/day, against the potential 350-400 km/day.
 Vehicle fleet grew from a mere 3 lakh in 1951 to 6.7 crore in
2003 and to an estimated 9 crore now.
o Power:
 Current power shortage is estimated to be at 12.5% peak
time and 8.3% overall in the country.
 This is based on the need of 55% of the population which
has access to power.
 The current installed capacity of power stands at 124,000
MW of which 66% is thermal based and 26% is hydel
power.
 The current transmission capacity stands at 9000 MW
which is expected to go up to 30,000 MW by 2012 at an
investment of about Rs. 71,000 cr.
 AT&C losses remain at 40% and as high as 62% in some
states.
 Aggregate annual losses for utilities were more than Rs.
25,000 cr for the last reported year.
o Airports:
 From 180-200 aircraft in March 2006, total aircraft with
Indian carriers could to over 500 by 2010 or over 2.5 times ,
if plans announced by various airlines are to be believed.
o
10.06.2006:

• NCDEX, MCX and NMCE together have about 2000 members, excluding
common members.
• Official Secrets Act on its way out:
o The second Administrative Reforms Committee headed by
Veerappa Moily has made a strong pitch for the Act’s removal
from the statute books.
• The country produces about 240 lakh bales of cotton per year.
• The PC market in India is about 5 mln units a year at present, is growing
at 28-30% annually and is set to double in the next few years.
• If imports and exports grow at the current rate, the trade deficit is likely
to touch $60 bln from around $45 bln currently.
• ONGC’s OVL had an investment plan of $7 bln in oil and gas exploration
over the next few years. The ongoing Sagar Samriddhi is the biggest

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 offshore exploration programme worldwide, to be conducted by a single
operator.
• Ethanol to save 40 cr litre petrol:
o US is expected to increase ethanol production capacities at 20-30%
annually.
o In 2005, the world ethanol production was just over 40 bln litres.
This is expected to rise to just under 80 bln litres by 2010, which
means a substantial addition to capacities. By 2010 ethanol may
represent 4% of global petrol consumption.
o India imports 70% of its fossil fuel requirements. With a 5%
addition of ethanol to petrol, which will become mandatory across
the country October, we should be able to save 40 cr litres of
petrol.
o In India, a litre of alcohol should be one and a half times the price
of one kg of sugar for cane to be diverted from sugar to ethanol
production. One tonne of sugarcane produces 70 litres of alcohol,
which amounts Rs. 1750 at Rs. 25 per litre. The same tonne of
sugarcane produces 105 kg of sugar, earning Rs. 2100 at Rs. 20 per
kg. When the rates of 105 kg of sugar and 70 litres of alcohol
match, then diversion of cane from one to the other will happen.
• India Inc’s overseas mop-up tops $17 bln:
o In what has turned out to be a fiscal year marked by the biggest
ever debt capital raising effort by India Inc., local firms raised a
record $17.13 bln from overseas markets, including a high of
%5.21 bln through FCCB offerings.
• Indian Coffee plantations:
o Over 98% of the country’s coffee holdings are cultivated by small
growers and four fifth’s of India’s coffee is exported.
o While the all-India per-ha average yield for Arabica is 700 kg, the
small grower’s yield in 30% of traditional areas is only around 300
kg.
11.06.2006:

• The ready to drink segment, which comprises of Rs. 10 cr of the Rs. 65 cr

branded oral rehydration solutions, is growing at over 100% and is likely to
grow at over 150% in the next five years.
• Banking statistics: as at May 26th
o Total outstanding bank credit Rs. 14,93,115 cr.
o Aggregate deposits mobilized by scheduled commercial banks: Rs.
21,36,263 cr.
o Total stock of money in the system is Rs. 27,81,098 cr.
• There are over 600 mln SC, ST and OBC members in India. There are only
130 mln upper caste Hindus in India.
• World Cup football:
o In 2010 South Africa will be hosting it.
o 2006 WC sponsors will put out US $40 mln to become “Official
Sponsors” and there are no less than 16 official sponsors.

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12.06.06:

• Sebi nod seen for short selling by institutions:

o To allow short selling by institutional investors
o Kicking off a revised stock lending and borrowing scheme
o To start delivery based settlement option contracts and higher margin
calls in futures
o Short selling to be permitted in F&O stocks with NSE and BSE as the
authorized intermediaries
• Brokers to face more service tax:
o So far the brokers have been deducting the stamp duty that they have
to pay from their brokerage income and then paying tax. Now they
fear that the Excise Department may demand tax on that component
also in view of the new rules talking about ‘gross’ consideration.
• In November 2005, government issued notification for increasing FDI in
telecom sector from 49% to 74%. It envisaged that the majority of
directors, chairman, managing director and CEO should be resident
Indian citizens.
• Integrated guided missile development programme:
o Missiles developed under the programme include Prithvi, Agni,
Akash, Trishul and Nag.
o Prthvi has a strike range of 150 km or more and has been inducted
into the armed forces.
• Kerala is a leading umbrella making state in the country along with Mumbai,
Kolkata and Delhi.
• According to AC Nielsen studies, the size of the premium soaps category is
Rs. 1196 cr in value terms with a CAGR of 9.8% and in volumes, it is 60,300
tons with a CAGR of 9.7%.
• According to CII-McKinsey study, the Indian healthcare delivery market is
expected to grow from $18.7 bln in 2002 to $45 bln in 2012.
• Big IT companies spend about 5-7% of their turnover on training and the
small firms spend about 1-2%.
• 2005-06 fertilizer subsidies Rs. 17,253 cr.
• Rural credit accounts for only 15% of all bank credit. Of the Rs.
11,24,300 cr lent by commercial banks as on end March 2005, only Rs.
1,60,479 cr went to rural India.
• Punj Lloyd and Whessoe of UK have joined hands to complete the Dabhol
LNG terminal by Ratnagiri Gas and Power, earlier owned by Enron
India.

13.06.06:

14.06.06:

• Ministers’ panel nixes pvt sector quota move:

o The GoM (Group of Ministers) set up to examine the issue has, for
all practical purposes, junked the proposal.

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 o Their report noted that “the political desirability, political
feasibility and the legality” of amending the Constitution need to
be carefully examined – a euphemism for putting the entire issue,
as a member of the GoM put it, in the cold storage.
• Medicines to 30-70% cheaper:
o The policy ready for Cabinet approval extends price control,
currently restricted to 74 key ingredients and formulations derived
from them, to 354 drugs on the essential list.
o The prices of medicines presently under price control, accounting
for a quarter of the pharmaceutical market, would be frozen at
their current levels for a year after which drug makers would be
allowed to charge a higher margin of 150% of cost of production
from the present level of 100%.
• Customs officials estimate that fuel smuggling is now a Rs. 2000 cr business.
• India hogs global aviation eyeballs:
o According to estimates by a top analyst at the International Air
Transport Association (IATA), the investment needed by the Indian
aviation industry is around $90 bln in the next 24 years and this
provides big opportunities for investors world-wide.
o Mr. Giovanni Bisignani is Director General, IATA
• Indian American hotel owners own more than 20,000 hotels in the US,
representing over 50% of the economy lodging properties and nearly 40% of
all hotel properties.
• Indian Pizza market is estimated to be Rs. 2 bln in size.
o Investment for a typical Papa John’s pizza outlet ranges from Rs. 80 lk
to Rs. 1.4 cr. and break even could take 2-3 years.
• AMWAY India is a wholly owned subsidiary of the $6.2 bln Alticor.
o It is targeting a sales turnover of Rs. 700 cr this year against the Rs.
633 cr in 2005.
o Currently it has a network of 4.5 lk plus active business owners across
the country.
o Almost 85% of the products sold by Amway India are now
manufactured in the country through five third party contract
manufacturers.
• Nokia of Finland is the world’s largest mobile manufacturer.
• Product engineering outsourcing services business is estimated at $7 – 12 bln
globally.
• India rides globalization wave; drives relocation business to 30-40%:
o More diverse: It is not just the usual US, UK story. Asian expats are
rising.
o Gender-bender: More women expats are coming in.
o Beyond class, it’s mass: Not just top executives, firms are bringing in
mid-lower level expats as well
o Hardship premium: With global workers wanting to work here, India
no longer gets tagged as hardship posting.
o Pay gap narrows: With rising salary levels in India, difference between
expat and native salary is lesser.
• India has highest levy on oil prices across Asia Pacific:

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 o Excise collections from petroleum products saw a 6% growth in 2005-
06 when it went up to Rs. 48,900 cr from Rs. 38,200 cr in 2004-05.
o Projected excise revenue from petroleum products in 2006-07 is a high
Rs. 62, 873 cr.
o The petroleum sector on the whole contributed to 25.5% of the total
central exchequer.
• The US fed rate is currently at 5%. In India the benchmark repo rate (rate at
which RBI lends to banks) is 6.75%.
• For a fixed income investor, a bond yield of 5% in a developed market
with inflation of below 2% is far superior to a return of 7.5% in an
emerging economy with inflation of around 5%.
• Dynamism in gas pricing:
o The right pricing is of the essence to better allocate resources for gas,
which accounts for a poor 8% of India’s energy mix.
o Production is put at just about 87 mmscmd; but demand is estimated to
be at least 50% higher, and rising.
o Also effective supply is no more than 74 mmscmd, after providing for
internal consumption, extraction of LPG and flaring.
o One estimate puts the investment requirement for a pan India gas
network at a whopping $44 bln.
• What is brand equity?
o The unique capability which allows a brand to earn a higher premium
than other generic products in the same category – Rajrishi Singhal
• It is estimated that for every 100 girls that enroll in schools in rural India,
only 40 reach class IV, 18 reach class VIII, 9 reach class IX and only 1
makes it to class XII.
• One bale of cotton approximately is equal to 170 kg.

15.06.06:

• ONGC is in talks with Qatar Investment Authority for an equity

participation in the Mangalore LNG project. Qatar has recently agreed
to suppy 1 mln tonnes of LNG for MRPL’s LNG plant.
• The total alcohol production in India (from Molasses) stood at 18,425 lakh
litres in FY06, against the cumulative requirement of 30,067 lakh litres.
• Mr. Milon Banerjee is the Attorney General of India.
• The total market size of white spirits (Gin, Vodka et al.) is estimated to be 1.81
mln cases in FY 2005-06.
• Currently the ad spend in the US is estimated at $15 bln and is expected to
grow to $26-30 bln by 2010 and $120 bln by 2015.
• Tala Hydroelectrici project: 1020 MW is going to be commissioned in July
2006. It is in Bhutan. The power is going to be traded in India by PTC.
• The fifth economic census:
o 73% of the total labour force in the country is still confined to the
farm sector, which contributes only a little more than 20% of the
country’s GDP.

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 o Only 1.4% of the total number of enterprises (42.12 million) in the
country employ more than 10 people. This indicates the lack of
right employment opportunities in the non-farm sector.

16.06.06:

• The Economic Census:

o Is carried out by the Central Statistical Organization.
o Is a complete count of all entrepreneurial units in the geographical
boundaries of the country, and is more reliable than any sampling
exercise.
o The first such exercise was done in 1977.
o Plantation sector still employs 73% of the total labour force of the
country of 375 mln. A shade under 100 mln workers are employed
in industrial and services sectors of the economy.
o 51% of the total employment in non-agricultural jobs are in rural
areas and 49% in urban.
o Overall, contrary to popular perception, employment rates for the
non-agro sector has actually grown faster in rural areas than in
urban areas.
• The long term solution suggested by the Planning Commission for
mitigating the adverse impact of the rising oil prices on the GDP of the
country:
o Rationalize the tax burden on oil products over time
o Remove fat which may exist in pricing mechanisms which give the
oil companies an excessive margin,
o Realize
o efficiency gains through competition at the refinery gate and retail
prices of petroleum products
o Pass on the rest of the international oil price increase to
consumers, while compensating targeted groups below the poverty
line as much as possible
• Peak oil:
o Peak oil is the point at which about half the oil reserves in the world
have been produced. Peak oil is not the end of oil. It is the end of
cheap oil.
o Today world-wide demand is 40,000 gallons per second.
o Big Oil believes that there is enough oil going to meet the energy
hungry nations.
o An estimated 2.2 trillion barrels of oil still remains as reserves world-
wide, compared to the 1 trillion barrels already extracted.
o In what may seem a complete paradox, consumers in India pay the
highest fuel price in the Asia Pacific region even though oil companies
bleed. Simple, the government pockets almost 50% of the sale price as
taxes even as it doles out huge subsidies in the federal budget.
• Bio fuels are expected to polay only a small part in substituting for oil,
perhaps not more than 10% and possibly as high as 20% with major
environmental impacts.

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 • Hydrogen is a myth. It is an energy carrier, not an energy source, and thus
must be made from another form of energy. – Fridley.
• Global consumption stands at 85 million b/d of oil, or over 30 bln barrels
per year.
• The current production stands at about 250 millions barrels of ethanol
per year.
• Petronet LNG seals deal with Gorgon:
o For supply of 2.5 mln tonne LNG from the Chevron led Gorgon
gas project in north-western Australia.
o The quantity is meant for the proposed Rs. 2000 cr LNG re-
gasification terminal at Kochi.
o The 25 year contract will begin operating from 2010. The Kochi
project is scheduled to go on stream in the Sep-Dec quarter of
2009.
o Capacity of the Kochi project scaled up to 5 mln tonnes
o Dahej terminal in Gujarat gets its gas from Rasgas of Qatar. The
basic rate for this is $2.53 per mmbtu.
17.06.06:

• A recent World Bank study said people are paying Rs. 6-7 per KL of water.
This is primarily because close to 50% of water is lost in cities through
leakages and theft.
• Gas find off Myanmar:
o ONGC and GAIL found a huge gas field in Block A-3 offshore
Myanmar.
o In that venture, they have a 30% stake together.
o 57.6 million cubic feet of gas per day during testing found.
o South Korea’s Daewoo is the operator.
o It is adjacent to Block A-1 where 4 to 6 tcf of gas reserves were
previously found. OVL and GAIL together hold 30% in this A-1
also.
• Gas price set to see a hike in next 5 years:
o As per recent studies, gas prices are set to move up to $13 to $14 per
mmbtu in the next five years.
o APM gas is sold at a paltry $2.3 per mmbtu.
o Gas produced by private players like British Gas or Reliance is selling
close to $5 per mmbtu.
o Planning Commission estimates that power plants cannot afford gas
beyond $4 per mmbtu. It says that only coal is the viable option.
o 82% of the crude production in the world is traded internationally.
• Drug price control:
o The GoI proposal to extend price control from the present 74 bulk
drugs and formulations to 354 drugs under the National List of
Essential Medicines (NLEM) is bad.
o R&D investment is already a paltry 5% of the turnover.
o Public health spending is a paltry 0.9% of the GDP at present.
• Brazil and bio fuel:

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 o It can produce bio fuel cheaper than any one else in the world. In
fact Brazilian ethanol can remain competitive even if crude oil falls
to $39/barrel.
o OECD estimates that while US ethanol production from maize
would become viable at oil prices above $44, other estimates range
between $65 and $145.
o In 2005, Brazil produced 16.5 bln litres of fuel ethanol (45.2% of
the world’s total) with USA a close second at 16.2 billion litres or
44.5% of the total.
18.06.06:

• Delhi Metro plans new global consultancy arm:

o It has prepared DPR (Detailed Project Report) for Bangalore (Rs.
5,747 cr) and Hyderabad (Rs. 4,206 cr) metro projects.
• Phone phishing:
o In this, the fraudsters typically use a phone call to extract financial
information from users.
o If information like personal identification number, password, or
other valuable personal information is given out, they can steal the
consumer’s identities and access their accounts.
• Retail market swears by dal-chawal and atta:
o The market demand for flour alone is about Rs. 15,000 cr while that
for other cereals is Rs. 10,000 cr.
• The securities market scams need remedial actions, and not just automatic,
routine punishments: -- Sandeep Parekh
o It’s time the tribunal (Securities Appellate Tribunal) came out with
judgments appropriate to the securities markets which need remedial
action, rather than act as some form of an automatic penalty reducing
machine, which ti appears to be degenerating into.
o If every possible remedy had to be written into the statute books, we
would be living in a world with millions of rules but hardly any law.
• The football (currently played in FIFA world cup) weights about a pound and
is made of 14 polyurethane panels bound together with a thermal process. The
plan to embed a tracking system based on a wireless microchip in the centre of
the ball was given up by FIFA.

19.06.06:

• Participatory Notes:
o Government sources said the share of PNs as a percentage of total
foreign portfolios investments is down to 30% from a high of 40%
last year.
o In 2005 alone, 50% of the net FII inflows of $8.5 bln was seen as
PN led money.
o PNs are like contract notes issued by FIIs based in India to
overseas investors who may not be eligible to invest in the Indian
stock markets or who want to trade anonymously. These contract
notes are issued against an inderlying security – which are stocks,

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 facilitating the holders of such instruments to gain in terms of
income and capital appreciation.
• According to Access Markets International (AMI), a there are over 7 mln
SMEs in India. There are 1.9 mln SMEs with one or more computers.
• India is third in VISA power in Asia-Pacific:
o There are around 140 mln bankable customers in India.
o Retail sales volumes (RSVs) – spends by customers in point of sales
terminals are growing at the rate of 61% to $5.37 as on March 2006.
o RSV figures of other countries:
 Korea $129 bln
 Japan $103 bln
 Australia $75 bln
 Taiwan $25 bln
 Hong Kong $20 bln
 New Zealand $9.4 bln
 Thailand $7.6 bln
 Singapore $5.89 bln
o There are 3,06,000 POS terminals in India as March 2006.
o ATM transactions have seen a 47% rise to 432 bln as on March 2006.
• Experts assert that design industry in India is currently at Rs. 500 cr.
• LAF operations are conducted twice daily by RBI.
• RIL and Essar too seek oil bonds.
• There are over 10 cr mobile phone users in India. Indian Railways is
trying to come out with SMS based ticket booking and home delivery of
tickets.
• Both NTPC and GAIL are exploring ways to meet the RGPPL’s 2.1 mmt
annual LNG requirement from Qatar through state owned Petronet LNG.
• Drug Price Control:
o Government’s control over drug pricing in India had begun in the
context of the Sino-Indian war. But a structured price control
mechanism was first instituted in 1979 with the issuance of the first
DPCO based on the recommendations of the Hathi Committee.
o The DPCO was subsequently revised in 1987 and in 1995, leading to
reduction of the scope of controls.
o Currently, there is no price control on about 75% of the retail pharma
market.
20.06.06:

• World trade grew at a high 9% in 2004; 6% in 2005 and is expected to grow

7% in 2006.
• India China to reopen trade through Nathu La:
o Trade through Nathu La accounted for about 80% of the total
border trade volume between China and India in the early 1900s.
But the trade was suspended following the Sino-Indian war in
1962.

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 o Tibet autonomous region imports from and exports to India via
Tianjin, a port city in the north which is thousands of kilometers
away.
o This reopening means that China has implicitly agreed to
recognizing Sikkim as part of India.
• Organized retail is pegged at a mere 3% in India.
• Globally movie merchandise accounts for a whopping $9 bln.
• “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and
leave a trail” – Emerson
• First High Definition digital film in Malayalam:
o “Moonnamathoral” produced and released by the Thrissur based
production house Emil and Eric Digital.
o The HD format does not come cheap but is expected to cut the
production cost by nearly 30 to 35% as the shooting does not
involve films and prints.
• India’s Wholesale Price Index: Primary articles group has a weight of 22.03%
and the manufacturing sector has a weightage of 63.75%.
• Towards rational pricing of oil:
o India is likely to increase its consumption from 2.6 MBD per day in
2004 to 5.2 MBD by 2030.
o Overall global demand is projected to increase from 82.1 MBD in
2004 to 115.4 MBD in 2030.
o The government would do well to look at options by which the
subsidy on kerosene and LPG could be targeted in a more focused
manner, so that it is only those below the poverty line who can
benefit from the subsidized prices. It is entirely possible for the
government to introduce a system of smart cards by which
households identified as BPL can receive a certain quantity of
subsidized kerosene and LPG every month.
• Blu-ray disk from Philips:
o These are written and read using a shorter wavelength blue laser
rather than the longer wavelength infra red and red lasers used in
standard CDs and DVDs. It means a sharper laser focus, and a
huge increase in storage capacities. One can store 25 GB on a
single disc.
o Pixel Plus 2 imaging:
 It means picture resolution of up to 1,250 lines and 2,048 pixels
per line, quite unlike the standard television picture made up of
576 lines and 720 pixels per line.
• A serious structure problem with the Indian employment scene:
o From the early 1970s to 2004 there has been only a 17% decline in
the workforce engaged in agriculture (accounting for about 53% of
the workforce). On the other hand, the share of agriculture in the
total GDP has declined faster from around 50% in early 1970s to
around 21% in 2004.
• Petronet LNG:

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 o The share of natural gas in Indian energy basket has been limited by
supplies from domestic availability and is currently at 9% compared
with the global average of 23%.
o Dahej LNG terminal started operating at full 5 MMPTA capacities
from April 2005 and has received 78 LNG cargoes during the year
2005-06.
o Expansion of Dahej terminal from 5 to 12.5 MMPTA expected to be
complete by December 2008.
o LNG terminal at Kochi 2.5 MMPTA with provision for upgradation up
to 5 MMPTA. The terminal is expected to be completed by end 2009.

21.06.06:

• Printing market:
o India’s printing market size is Rs. 5000 cr. It is largely dominated by
the offset printing industry.
o India’s printing market is projected to grow to about $17 bln by 2010
from an estimated $11 bln in 2005.
o While digital printing worldwide made up over 6% of the $600 bln
printing market in 2005, about 3-4% of India’s total market is digital
right now.
o Publishing makes up about 15% of the total printing market.
• America’s Chairman is our Chairman – SSA Aiyar:
o The Wall Street Journal recently quoted experts as saying that the
correlation between the Dow Jones index and the emerging market
indices could be as high as 90%. Some other studies put the
correlation at 80%.
o Investors in India pay no tax on dividends or capital gains, both of
which are taxable abroad.
• Securitization is the method of issuing bonds based on the various revenues
thrown off by intellectual property.

22.06.06:

• PSUs can take a call on JVs, fresh floats:

o The cabinet is set to discuss the Arjun Sengupta Committee
Report, which has proposed that the holding company of a profit
making PSU could be empowered to transfer assets, float fresh
equity and divest shareholdings in their subsidiaries, provided the
PSU falls within the category of Navratna. PSUs are now likely to
be governed by Presidential directives.
• Stored information is growing at a CAGR of 60% on disk arrays. We live in
an increasingly connected world where there are over 900 mln internet users
and 2 bln mobile subscribers. – Joe Tucci, CEO of EMC.
• SEZ as real estate: Solving the tax muddle is key:
o Under Art. 243 of the Constitution, states can declare urban areas as
industrial townships, which allow common facilities to be set up.

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 These townships can be run by industry associations as against local
civic bodies.
o For multi product SEZs the processing area, where manufacturing and
service industries can be set up, is now supposed to be 35%, up from
25% earlier, while social infrastructure can be built in the remaining
65%.
• Transfer pricing simplified: Domestic IT firms need safe harbour
o Finance ministry decision to increase the threshold limit for
compulsory scrutiny of cross-border transactions to Rs. 15 cr will
simplify the complex transfer pricing rules.
o Detailed TP regulations were introduced in the IT Act from 2001.
• “There are but two families in the world as my grandmother used to say, the
haves and the have-nots” the observation in Dan Quixote by the 16th century
novelist Miguel de Cervantes is the first usage of the phrase “the haves and the
have-nots”.
• A little Mao for Rahul Gandhi:
o Mao Dze Dong set off the Cultural Revolution in China. In that
President Liu Shaoqi died in prison, chained like a dog, Deng Xiaoping
was sent to work on a remote tractor factory while his son was crippled
after being pushed out from a fourth floor balcony.
• Financial supply chain management works at freeing the working capital tied
up in the purchase-to-pay cycle.
• Gas hydrates struck in Godavari basin:
o R & D work is in progress to develop a commercially viable
technology to produce natural gas from gas hydrates, which is so
far not available anywhere in the world.
• Mega power plants to boost cement production:
o Fly ash is used as raw material in cement manufacturing companies
and comprises about 30% of its weight.
o Of the current production of about 140 million MT about 84 mln MT
cement is being produced using fly ash.
o Each ultra mega power project will be of 4,000 MW capacity and will
use about 12 MT of coal producing about 1.2 MT ash as waste.
23.06.06:

• LCD monitor industry is growing by 100%. Rs. 440 cr market is expected to

grow to Rs. 1260 cr by the end of 2006.
• India is the largest producer of cotton and has the highest loomage in the
world.
• Sports management companies:
o IMG, World Sport Group, Percept D`Mark Sports Management,
Nimbus Sport and Globosport.
• Towards an effective PDS: Suman Billa
o Crop insurance policy to be in place; farmers’ vulnerability to falling
prices can be minimized.
o Procurement should always be capped and against a pre-fixed quota for
each state with explicit priority given to small and marginal farmers.

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 o Fix normative cost for every unit of grain that the FCI handles, instead
of reimbursing costs incurred as actuals.
o Replace the outdated APMC (Agricultural Market Price Committee)
system and create fully functional commodity exchanges with forward
trading.
o Provide essential infrastructure like all weather roads, timely and
adequate supply of power and water, sufficient warehousing, cold
storage facilities and ramp up on technology for increasing
productivity and value.
o Aggressively target the poor and introduce practices like food coupon
system.
• IBRD study on ports to look at investments:
o The government’s aim is to double capacity at major ports from the
present level of 400 mln tonnes to 800 mln tonnes over the next five
years.
• ET Result Survey:
o Survey of financial results of the various companies declared for 2005-
06:
o The overall picture shows that companies are gaining from growing
turnover, but worries remain on the expenditure front.
o While no difference can be discerned in the sales growth, the net profit
growth (excluding banks and oil companies) shows an 18% increase in
FY06 compared to 14.4% in the previous year.
o The picture that emerges is that companies are growing their topline
and are in a comfortable zone. A growing topline is a healthy sign
since it indicates that demand remains strong.
o Steel:
 While players in the value added steel segment were able to
safeguard their margins better, growth in volume is likely to be
stronger this year, as expanded capacities kick in.
 Volumes went up but sales did not. Steel prices first fell by
almost 35% and then recovered by almost the same amount.
Prices of iron ore are up by another 19% this year, on top of the
71% increase last year.
o OIL & GAS: High crude prices and freeze on prices of petro products
have eaten into the profits of oil companies. The net profit of the
sector fell 5% in FY06. While PSUs took the biggest hit, private
player Reliance escaped almost unscathed. Reliance wasn’t affected
much because during FY06, it had very limited sales in the retail
market and sold only LPG to oil marketing companies.
o Banking:
 Banks are finding the going tough, notwithstanding an over
30% growth in non-food credit and a booming economy. In
FY06 profit growth for banks was around 12% even as bank
portfolios grew at an average of 20% over the previous
corresponding periods.
 Margin pressures coupled with higher interest rates led to banks
recording an over 30% fall in operating profits in FY06.

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  Staff expenses on an average were up 16% for the period under
consideration.
• Biofuel may push up grocery prices:
o The government has announced plans to implement the second
stage of the ethanol programme, which aims to supply ethanol
blended gasoline across the country from the 2006-07 sugar
marketing year. This would require about 600 mln litres of
ethanol to blend with gasoline at 5%. IN the third stage, the plan
is to increase the ethanol blending ratio from 5% t0 10%.
24.06.06:

• Mittal closes in on Arcelor:

o This merger will create world’s largest steel company.
o Consolidated revenues of $72 bln and EBITA of $13 bln.
o Annual capacity of 115 MT, three times of its nearest competitor.
o Leadership positions in five of nine major markets in the world.
• Cell generations:

Technology Generation Access speed Application

UMTS 3G 384 kbps to 1 Mobile TV,
mbps Banking
EDGE 2.75 G 100 kbps MMS, Internet
GPRS 2.5 G 48 kbps Limited MMS
GSM 2G 14 kbps Voice/SMS

• Welfare schemes put grain stocks under pressure:

o NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act), presently
being implemented in 200 districts across the country. The SGRY
(Sampoorna Gramin Rozgar Yojana) continues in its original form
in the remaining 385 districts.
o On an average some 18 mln tonnes of wheat were ploughed into
these programmes every year by the governments.
• World Wealth Report by Cap Gemini and Merrill Lynch:
o India has now 83,500 HNWIs (with assets of Rs. 4.5 cr and above)
compared to 70,000 in 2004.
o The number of HNWIs across the world has gone up to 9 mln
compared to 4.5 mln in 1996.
o Ultra HNWIs (those with financial assets of Rs. 135 cr plus) now stand
at 85,400 in the world.
• Frost and Sullivan study says demand for electronic goods in India will reach
over $363 bln by 2015 from the current $28 bln
• MTNL set to put WiMAX on the high speed route:
o WiMAX allows throughputs at speeds up to 75 Mbps. It can be
used for fixed and mobile broadband.
o 3G services allow throughput at speeds up to 2.4 Mbps. GSM
offers Edge technology that gives throughput speeds up to 348
kbps.

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 o WiMAX has a range of up to 20 km, while WiFi has a range of
only 300 feet.
• Alstom to take BHEL through super critical plant formation:
o French equipment major Alstom, the technology and project partner
for BHEL’s Rs. 25,000 cr super critical power plants, will develop
eight power plants across the country. Alstom has secure this contract
for a technology transfer fee of Rs. 5000 cr.
• TATA Motors is the country’s largest truck and bus maker.
• Bank reach now at 35.5%:
o The penetration of banking services in India now stands at 35.5%.
o Of a total of 191, 963,935 households in the country, only 68,230,642
households avail themselves of banking services, according to census
data.
• Only 46% of the country’s total 12.73 cr cultivators have been issued Kisan
Credit Cards up to March 2006.

25.06.06:

• The estimated food consumption in 2015 is likely to be in the range of Rs.

9000 to 10,000 bln nearly double Inida’s total food consumption in 2003-04
that was estimated at approximately Rs. 4,760 bln. These prices are having
the base of 1993-94.
• The PE investments in food companies till last year have been few and far
between, because it is difficult business and even large companies like HLL
and ITC with all their distribution strength and marketing muscle have failed
to crack the food puzzle.
• Tourism:
o Domestic and outbound travel for 2005 are growing by over 20% to
400 mln and 6.5 mln marks respectively.

26.06.06:

• Centre says talks with Naga faction fruitful:

o The Naga outfit (NSCN-IM) made the case for a ‘federal
relationship’ with the Indian Union. It has argued that the nature
of this relationship should be incorporated in the country’s
Constitution as well as the separate one for Nagaland.
o The interlocutor for the Naga talks is Mr. K. Padmanabhaiah.
o Mr. Isak Chishi Swu is Chairman; and Mr. Thuingaleng Muivah is
the General Secretary of NSCN-IM.
o The Centre began talks with the NSCN-IM in 1997 after the two
sides agreed to a cease fire.
• Kachaithivu Agreement with Sri Lanka:
o Under this agreement, the fishermen of both the countries were
fishing freely in the waters of each others.
o But Sri Lankan navy is posing problems for Indian fishermen and
this has given rise to calls for scrapping this agreement by Puthia
Tamizhagam (PT) of Dr. K. Krishnaswamy.

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 • Reliance’ Retail foray:
o The Company has publicly said that it will invest over $750 mln in
retail business.
o The actual investments may be in the $5-6 bln range.
• Luxury car makers in India honk for diesel:
o The share of diesel vehicles is around 31% in India currently and could
rise to 45% in the next 3-4 years.
o While diesel powered cars are common in Europe, they haven’t caught
on in the US.
o According the JD Power, global diesel light vehicle sales will increase
from 12.5 mln in 2003 to 27 mln in 2015, with India one of the key
Asian markets for this trend. Europe will see its share grow from 46%
to 55% by 2010.
• Singapore tourism efforts:
o The Sentosa island project.
o Singapore has set an ambitious target of 17 mln tourists and spending
S$30 bln by 2015, as against 8.94 mln and S$10.8 bln spent in the year
2005.
• The Indian mobile games market is currently valued between $8 mln and $10
mln as of December 2005. It is expected to reach $250 mln by 2010.
• Dabbawallahs undergo image mak-over:
o With 5000 employees, whose average age is 52 years, it has already
achieved six sigma certification.
o Has a base of 2 lakh customers
o Mr. Gangaram Talekar is the General Secretary of the Association.
o One employee handles about 40,000 transactions in three hours
without any error.
• According to industry estimates the container traffic in India is expected to
double to 10 mln TEUs by 2010-11.
• Mining rights for POSCO:
o POSCO is billes as the world’s most efficient steel producer. Its
innovative Finex smelting technology uses low-cost iron ore and coal
to bypass costly coke and sintering process.
o The RK Dang committee has called for priority captive ore blocks
back to back with lumpy investments in steel.

27.06.06:

• Ramdoss seeks to corner quota glory:

o According to Article 340, the Centre constituted the first Backward
Classes Commission in 1953, which submitted its report in 1955
recommending 70% of seats in technical and professional institutions
and job reservation to OBCs.
• BSNL burns out its radio capacity for new cell lines:
o Telecom industry sources consider a 70-80% utilization as ideal t oget
the best output.
• The ITeS sector in the country currently employs around 4.15 lakh people with
exports touching $6.3 bln (Rs. 28,000 cr) in FY06, recording a growth of 37%.

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 The sector is expected to record exports of $8.5 bln (Rs. 38,000 cr) in FY
2007.
• Belated move on disinvestment:
o The long stalled disinvestment programme has received a fresh lease of
life with the Cabinet clearing 10% equity sales in Nalco and Neyveli
Lignite Corporation.
• Lessons from the market crash: M.R. Mayya
o Some measures suggested by the author to increase the number of RIIs
(Retail Individual Investors) currently at no more than 20 mln to 50
mln by 2010 are:
 The minimum percentage of public offer for entitlement of
listing should be raised from 25% of the issued capital to at
least 40%, as against 60% in operation till February 1993.
 The share of RIIs should be raised from 35% to 45% of the
public offer and the share of QIBs and NIIs pegged at 45% and
10% respectively.
 As RIIs are hardly conversant with the intricacies of book
building process, the offer to them may be made at a fixed price
only after the offer price is fixed by the book-building process.
 In case of further issues by the listed companies, there is no
need to take the book-building route.
 Special attention needs to be focused on mobilizing resources
into equities from the semi-urban and rural areas.
 Provide a minimum shareholding of 25% of the issued share
capital within a period of not more than two years.
 The level of investments by FIIs in equities in a company needs
to be examined de novo and their investment can be pegged at a
level of not more than 49% of the issued equity capital of a
company.
• Life insurance penetration is less than 3% of the GDP and health insurance is
much lower.
• CO2: Bury & be done:
o Japan hopes to slash greenhouse gas emissions by burying CO2.
o Japan emits 1.3 bln tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, making it one
of the world’s top offenders.
o Capturing CO2 and injecting it underground is prohibitively
expensive costing up to 6000 yen ($52) per tonne.

29.06.06:

• Tax breaks may return with municipal bonds:

o The government has given the go ahead for the introduction of the
bonds that will carry an 8% tax free rate of return to be floated by the
municipal bodies across the country, with government guarantee.
• IIRM to set up risk management course:
o Currently 29 companies have obtained licenses for offering insurance
products in the country.

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 o Insurance penetration in India is a paltry 5%; hence there is large scope
for selling personal insurance products.
• RIL requests GI license for Jamnagar oil, KG basin gas:
o From the company perspective a GI license for the diesel produced at
the Jamnagar refinery and gas from the KG basin would help Reliance
establish a distinct identity for the products. Over a period of time, the
distinct identity could help Reliance in charging a premium for these.
o GI stands for geographical identity.
• The GoI has approved as many as new Nuclear Power plants to be set up in
different parts of the country.
• As of now India has 15 nuclear power plants which function under the NPCIL.
• Cement majors at a global level:
o Cemex of Mexico
o Lafarge
o Holcim
o Heidelberg
o Italcementi
• Almost 30% of the total 151 mln tonnes cement capacity in India is in the
hands of multinational cement majors.
• India moves up renewable energy ladder index:
o The share of wind energy in India’s total power generation capacity is
miniscule at slightly over 2%.
o Technological improvements have improved the average PLF to 30-
35% as against 12% several years ago in wind power generation.
o India has a technical potential of 12,875 MW for wind power.
• ‘Charter Mark’ rating for government departments:
o The initiative to accord ‘Charter Mark’ aims at implementing good
governance.
o Spearheaded by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public
Grievances (DARPG), the initiative is similar to UK Government’s
Charter Mark, a scheme launched in 1992 for recognizing and
encouraging excellence in public service.

30.06.06:

• Farm debt set to do down thanks to Doc:

o Govt. plans Rs. 4K crore relief for Vidarbha distressed farmers.
o Cooperatives have already been crying out loud for a support of
close to Rs. 22,000 cr and have been unable to give loans to
farmers at 7% interest rate for loans of upper limit Rs. 3 lakh as
announced in the 2006-07 budget. The government has indicated
that it would make Rs. 2,500 cr available to banks as farm interest
rate subsidy but has not yet disbursed any funds.
• Bandwidth costs may drop; IT breathes easy:
o At present six international cables carry bandwidth to India –
these can be accessed from seven locations, which are called
landing stations. These cables are owned by VSNL, Barti and
Reliance. This number will go up to 8 as landing stations of two

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 new cables of Reliance and BSNL are currently under
construction.
• DGH pulls up Niko on KG gas reserves:
o DGH says that RIL’s gas reserves at D6 blocks stand at 11 trillion
cubic feet (tcf).
• Aiyar rubbishes govt. decision on wheat import:
o Of the 70 mln tonnes of wheat produced in the country, it has a
marketable surplus of around 35 mln tonnes.
• G4 reviving efforts for permanent UN seats:
o India, Japan, Germany and Brazil are the G4 countries
• Air-India set to join Star Alliance:
o Star Alliance, the world’s largest airline grouping, currently runs
16,930 daily flights to 842 airports in 152 countries around the
world.
• PC sales cross the 5 mln mark:
o Sales grew 32% in FY06
o Four metros accounted for 33% of total PC purchased
o The next four cities grew fastest, clocking 50% growth
o Other smaller towns registered a growth of 35%.
• Bond with the best: Link guarantee to municipal reforms:
o The funds requirement for urban infrastructure is placed at nearly Rs. 3
lk cr over the next ten years.
o Indeed, in the US, over 70% of the urban infrastructure is financed
through municipal bonds, which have a higher market capitalization
than corporate bonds.
o In developed markets, nearly 80% of municipal revenues come from
property taxes.
• Private players can soon invest in N-projects
o The GoI is now targeting 40,000 MW nuclear capacity by 2030 but
its budgetary priorities in nuclear matters lean towards the
military and R&D in thorium.
• RBI puts forth new hedge accounting norms for banks:
o RBI has proposed new accounting standards for banks
o Standards to distinguish between bank’s exposure to derivatives
for purposes of hedging versus speculation
o New accounting standards expected to remove subjectivity out of
deciding whether exposure is a hedge or not
o Norms are in line with central bank’s move to introduce
international accounting standards into Indian scenario.

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 01.07.06:

• Shareholders of Arcelor dump SeverStal offer:

o Arcelor had recommended acceptance of share and cash from
Mittal valuing at about $32.3 bln which would create a group with
3,20,000 employees producing about 116 mln tonnes of steel
annually, accounting for about 10% of the world market.
• Carrefour eyes India ground:
o The French retail giant, the second largest in the world is exploring
entry into India.
• Asian BPO sector to see 6 mln new jobs: UNDP
o UNDP’s APACC Human Development Report tracks global trends
o India accounts for over 40% of global BPO market
o Asin edge: highly skilled, low cost workers; agering population in
the West
o Rising inter-Asia migration is a key contributor of forex
o The global outsourcing market has grown phenomenally from $570
bln in 2002 to an estimated $1.2 trillion in 2006.
• Hoda suggests sops for mining to attract more FDI:
o The Hoda committee has recommended major changes in the
mining policy, including seamless grant of licenses from
reconnaissance stage to actual mining, auctioning of delineated
mines and granting security of tenure to mining companies.
• AGAG bids for all 10 CBMs:
o CBM-III round of bidding was launched on February 23, 2006 to
supplement natural gas production and offered 10 blocks
o RIL already operates 5 CBM blocks covering 4,000 sq. km in
three States – MP, Rajasthan and Chattisgarh
o So far, ONGC, RIL and Great Eastern Energy have discovered over
6 tcf of gas reserves below the coal seams
• Fed rates for dummies:
o Fed rate is the benchmark rate that banks use to fix the rate of
interest they charge each other for overnight funds.
o Fed discount rate is the rate at which banks and other institutions
borrow from the lending facility provided by several regional
federal banks in the US.
• Duty cut ushers hectic wheat import activity:
o With the GoI slashing import duty on wheat to 5% from 50% and
opening up imports for private companies, there is lot of activity
taking place now.
02.07.06:

• Haryana choses Kumharia for N-power plant:

o It would North India’s first nuclear power plant.
• Beer guzzling heads towards north:
o The overall growth in Indian beer industry during lat year was
around 14% and the total beer industry sales was around 108 mln
cases.

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 o The per capita consumption of beer is 0.7 litre per annum but
industry experts predict that this may rise to around 20 litres in
next 10 years.
o The reasons for the growth of the beer industry in North:
 Punjab government has moved from auction system to
retail license system – result: more retail outlets in the state
 In Punjab prices have come down drastically from Rs. 80 a
bottle to Rs. 45
 Long pending demand of the industry for delinking beer
from hard liquor
• Mr. Nathan Myhrvold:
o Perhaps is the world’s first invention capitalist, in his own words.
o He is the guy who keeps buying patents from all over the world.
• Competition is the key: Indian Retail sector
o NCAER estimates say 2006 is when India’s consuming class will
rise to 75 million households with incomes between Rs. 45,000 and
Rs. 2,15,000 per annum.
o Actually India’s middle class of 445 mln strong is more than USA’s
entire population

03.07.06:

• Municipal bonds:
o The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation was the first urban
local body to raise funds through municipal bonds.
o As of now bonds worth less than Rs. 1500 cr have been issued
by the Indian municipalities.
o An estimate by the Central Urban Development ministry puts
the immediate requirement of municipalities at Rs. 28,500 cr to
finance a shelf of basic projects.
o The GoI has decided that the bonds would have a coupon rate
of 8% and be tax-free.
• Centre shuts the SEZ door on trading units:
o Since the government wants to provide a thrust to
manufacturing and infrastructure through SEZs, the mood is
against trading companies finding a place in these zones.
o Under the SEZ Act, units located in these zones are eligible for
full tax holiday for the first five years, 50% tax exemption for
the next five years, and benefit on ploughed back profits for
another five years.
• Putting private equity to work in India:
o More than 30 funds totaling $4 bln are currently scouting the
country for deals.
o Successful PE firms will be those that learn to:
 Exercise the discipline of building relations
 Spotting emergent opportunities
 Quietly influencing outcomes; and
 Betting on human capital

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 • Time the government quit the mandis:
o Studies in IFPRI have shown that employment guarantee schemes
are much more cost effective in protecting the poor than PDS.
o In fact, to make sure that one rupee worth of income support
reaches the poor, it takes the government to spend more than Rs.
6.8 through PDS and only about Rs. 1.8 through employment
guarantee shceme.
• Self-driven India mocks at global cycles:
o Among the emerging economies, the structure of the Indian
economy makes it the least vulnerable to global growth or lower
US consumption expenditure.
o In fact, India has one of the highest private consumption-to-GDP
ratios, compared with most other key emerging economies like
China et al.

04.07.06:

• The extent of counterfeits for FMCG brands in India is estimated to be

about 5%.
• PE and VC funds have crossed $3.4 bln in investments in the first six
months of 2006, zipping past the $2.2 bln private equity investment figure
in the whole of 2005.
• Hyderabad’s air traffic grew at 42% in 2005-06 to touch 4.05 mln, close to
Kolkata’s.
• In 2005-06, the GoI spent Rs. 9988.57 cr on the SSA program. This is
about 87% of the funds allocated.
• Cairn energy:
o Have been around for more than 12 years and have pumped in
more than $1 bln investment.
o The current operated production across South Asia stands at
105,800 boepd (barrel of oil equivalent a day). The total
entitlement to Cairn is 28,300 boepd in India and Bangladesh.
In India, Carin’s total entitlement is 14,500 boepd.
o In India it accounts for 8% of the total crude production in the
country.
• Infrastructure projects on average require about 4 years from concept to
commissioning – Vinayak Chatterjee, Chairman, Feedback Ventures.

05.07.06:

• Surfing statistics: Net is now a masses’ place:

o Almost 41% of the online Indians prefer an Indian language web
site over English.
o Internet shopping has quietly become a Rs. 3,500 – Rs. 4000 cr
market, with almost 28% or 5.9 mln people buying something
online in the last one year.

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 o With around 10% of the urban Indian population hooked onto the
Net, and almost half of all computer using Indians (around 50 mln)
on Net, Internet is virtually at an inflexion point.
• Outsouring is passé, cos now bet on co-sourcing:
o It is an investment relationship marked by shared objectives, shared
risks and shaed rewards between two companies, one of which is a
service provider.
• Lean travel season:
o July and August are considered as the lean travel season and most
airlines have come out with attractive fares to woo travelers.
• Job hopping up as commitment drops:
o What could help? The organizations need to work on improving
communication at work place, the way superiors behave with their
people has to change to enhance commitment levels. The policing
act also needs a change.
• FII inflows dive to $2.6 bn in H1:
o FII net inflows have declined by 42.7% to $2.60 bn during the first
six months of 2006 as against $4.54 bn recorded for the
corresponding period in 2005.
• Riddhi Siddhi Gluco Biols, India’s largest starch player wants govt.
support for corn-based ethanol:
o Out of the estimated 600 mln tonnes per annum of corn
produced globally, 285 mln tonnes is from the US and 140 mln
tonnes is from China. India’s maize production is very small at
13-15 mln tonnes.
• FDI did not spart growth in China:
o Prof. Yasheng Huang urged India to look at primary education and
health, social investments, rural industrialization and labour market
flexibility as means to grow.
o While China’s present growth is investment-driven, which is not
sustainable in the long run, India’s growth is productivity-driven,
which is considered good.
o In China growth did not happen because of FII flows; FII flows
followed growth there. The growth happened because of China’s
social investments made during the 1970’s.
• E&P licensing regime:
o Estimates suggest there is as much as 10 bln tonnes of oil in place
in Indian waters. Not all of it may be recover able, but even if
actual output is no more than 1 BT of oil, it would equal the
amount produced at Bombay High, India’s biggest oil field, in the
last three decades.
• China is the 4th largest economy in the world after, the US, Japan and
Germany.
• Air traffic set to zoom in ’06-08
o With the anticipated good performance of the world economy,
airline traffic is projected to rise by 6.1% in 2006, 5.8% in 2007
and 5.6% in 2008 according to the UN ICAO (International Civil
Aviation Organization).

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 • Diamond trade buckls under liquidity crunch:
o Hike in raw material costs, dwindling demand from US cause
pressure
o Export of polished and rough diamonds took a dive
o Buying jewellery comes low in consumer’s priorities
o Volatile economy worsens diamond market
06.07.06:

• Parent to hike Tata Steel stake by 7% via pref issue:

o Tata Steel is India’s largest private sector steel plant with over 5
mln tonnes capacity, which is likely to go up to over 8 mln tonnes
with the ongoing browfield expansion at Jamshedpur.
o Lakshmi Mittal announced the setting up of a 12 mln tonne steel
plant in Jharkhand.
• Cos’ exposure in NFOs likely to be capped:
o In the US households hold 77% of mutual fund assets.
o In 2004-05, only about 1.4% of household savings got allocated to
the capital market including mutual funds.
• Mr. Roh Moo-Hyun is President of South Korea.
• ‘Hautel Couture’ comes to town:
o Hautel coutoure is about customized botels with an eye on deisgn
and details.
• Cellular cos go t opanchayats:
o Tata Teleservices has approached Panchayati Raj ministry for
distribution of its services
o India has over 100 mln mobile users with a teledensity of about
13%
o The urban teledensity today is 31% and is quite saturated
o The density in rural India is 2% and this is where the operators
are rushing to
o The India market is projected to double by 2007 and hit 500
million by 2010
o There are about 2 lakh panchayats in the country
• Engg. Sector is not alone in attrition:
o While the attrition rate among engineering graduates is still around
20-25%, it is as high as 45-50% among the non-engineering
graduates employed in the IT industry.
• India supplying more au pairs:
o The au pair will stay at home and eat at the same table as the
employer.

07.07.06:

• HCL Tech cuts $780 mln outsourcing deal:

o In what is billed as the biggest outsourcing deal so far for an
Indian company, it has entered into a deal with Skandia, the
151 year old financial services firm. This deal has outdone the

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 one entered into by TCS’ $255 mln deal with ABN Amro of last
year.
• India’s generation Y (those born after 1979) is passing out of colleges and
entering the work force. 54% of India’s population is under 24 years.
• In the IT and ITES sector 83% of the workers are under 30 years. In the
old economy sectors like FMCG, durable goods, they comprise 50% of the
work force, against 30% 8-10 years ago.
• Congress leaders want wheat futures stopped till UP polls:
o The argument agains futures trade has inherent flaw. Even if one
assumes that the entire stock of wheat open position in wheat
futures is hoarded, it would just be 1% of the total production. The
rise in price for items like wheat and pulses has actually been
caused by a production shortfall and shift in demand pattern.
• Bihar figures:
o Bihar’s debt-GSDP ratio today stands at around 62%.
o 42% of the population below the poverty line
o 48% literacy
o Only 10.3% households electrified
o Bihar has the largest population of young people in India with
about 58% of its population below 25 years of age.
• Mr. Pawan Kumar Chamling is Sikkim’s CM
• RIL petro retail takes a drubbing:
o RIL has a huge fixed cost with over 3,000 people on its rolls for the
fuel retail business
o The company has invested about Rs. 5,000 cr in the business
largely on the back-end technology, equipment as well as land
acquisition
• Healthcare is a $4.5 trillion industry across the globe.
• Entry level BPO salary in India is 35-60% lower than low-cost countries.
• ITC’s e-choupal:
o The platform literally connects rural India to the world. It
provides the farmer with access on weather reports customized
to his region, lends best farming practices, provides goods and
services like farm implements, fertilizers to banking and
insurance products at his doorstep. And the basket of services
continues to expand.
o ITC (agri business division) CEO S. Sivakumar is the chief
architect of this project.
o The project has witnessed a capex of Rs. 200 cr and revenue
expenditure of Rs. 150 cr, could see outlays of Rs. 5,000 cr over
the next five to seven years.
o It was launched in June 2000. It is the largest initiative among
all internet based interventions in rural India.
• Foreign oil majors keen to buy stake in GSPC
o The size of the KG basin natural gas reserve is placed at 20 tcf,
enough to supply 70-80 mln cubic metres/day of natural gas.

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 o GSPC is an unlisted government company of Gujarat. Govt. of
Gujarat holds 95% stake in it. The remaining is held by other state
government companies.
• Japan has the lowest broadband rates:
o Countries that have internet access of 256 kbps or above more than
doubled from 81 countries in 2002 to 166 countries in April this
year.
o The price of accessing the net fell by about 40% on average
worldwide.
08.07.06:

• LNM spots fresh mettle, eyes Orissa for project:

o 12 mln tonnes Greenfield steel plant in the state with an investment
of Rs. 40,000 cr.
o The Orissa Directorate of Geology and Mines have estimated total
iron ore reserves (proven, probable and possible) in the state to be
in the region of 5.5 bln tonnes.
o It is expected that iron ore requirement for this project would be
600 mln tonnes for a 30 year lease period.
o Mr. Arjun Munda, Jharkhand CM says that steel production today
is about 35 mln tonnes in India. To reach the projected target of
110 mln tonnes, we need more number of Mr. Mittals.
• Indo-US N-deal:
o Will work out a 123 agreement, which is a bilateral civil
nuclear cooperation agreement to set ou the terms and
conditions of the cooperation.
• ICICI Knowledge Park at Hyderabad:
o CEO Ms. Deepanwita Chattopadhyay
o Built on 200 acres of land, companies are allowed to build
customized R&D centres in modular units or land plots.
o Recognized as scientific and industrial research organization
with customes and excise waivers
o Has wet labs and incubation space over 40 acres ready for
hiring
o Plans of setting up innovation seed fund for start-up companies
• ICICI Bank eyes franchisees for rural gain:
o There are about 6000 blocks in rural India.
o So far they have been able to establish 8000 touch points.
• Bangalore infrastructure:
o Population of 7 mln
o Vehicle population of 24 lakh.
 Two wheelers 18.11 lakh
 Four wheelers 3.87 lakh
 Autos .80 lakh
• Textile ministry freezes fresh loans under the TUFS:
o TUFS Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme introduced in 1999
for a period of five years.

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 o Intended to facilitate induction of modern technology in the textiles
industry, provides 5% interest reimbursement on the loan availed
under it.
o In a major setback to the textiles industry, the MoT has asked banks
and financial institutions to stop sanctioning fresh loans under the
scheme.
o The approved budget estimate under the scheme is Rs. 535 cr
against the estimated requirement of Rs. 1515 cr.
o TN tops the charts as the largest beneficiary and Gujarat is second.
• Globalisation pundit no more:
o Theodore Levitt, the former Harvar Business Review editor
who coined the term ‘globalisation’ has died.
o He first used the term in a 1983 HBR article about the
emergence of standardized low-priced consumer products. He
defined globalization as the changes in social behaviours and
technology which allowed companies to sell the same products
around the world.

09.06.06:

 Filing returns likely to turn less of a 'taxing' matter:

 IT department is planning to raise threshold for filing returns from Rs. 1.5
lakh to Rs. 2.5 lakh
 Form 16 AA issued by employer to employee to double as IT return form
 Certificate to be given to salaried employees without agricultural or
business income.
 IOC fights adulteration with automation:
 The total cost incurred by the company on the automation project is Rs.
380 cr.
 Gross refining margins for the first quarter could be as high as $8-9 /bbl
 IOC is currently losing Rs. 6-7 per litre on diesel and Rs .3-4 per litre on
petrol.
 A formula for failure:
 Success usually comes through failure
 How to help your team get comfortable with taking risks and learning from
their mistakes:
■ Formalize forums for failure
■ Move the goalposts
■ Share personal stories
■ Bring in outsiders
■ Prove yourself wrong, not right
■ Celebrate smart failures
 GM is still the world's No. 1 automaker by marketshare. Yet its worth is only
$16.5 bln compared with $170 bln for No.2 Toyota Motor Corp.

10.07.06:

• NSE waves red flag to HDFC Bank’s guarantees:

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 o This comes from concerns over a high concentration of limits with
a single bank.
o Over 70% of broker guarantee in the stock market are issued by
HDFC Bank.
• Over a third of domestic internet users are spending anywhere between 30
minutes and 2 hrs everyday on the internet – 71% of TV viewers spending the
same time. Indian Online 2006 a survey conducted by ET in partnership with
JuxtConsult.
• Indian fruit juice market is Rs. 300 cr worth and is growing at a 30% growth
rate.
• Of the Rs. 1,500 cr non-carbonated drinks market, fruit drinks comprise about
Rs. 1,250 cr, whiel the rest are fruit juices. This segment is growing at 45%.
• New drug policy doesn’t go down well with pharma cos
o Industry feels policy will control half the market instead of the 7-
8% that is stated
o Drugs will be controlled on economic basis rather than essentiality
o Only specific medicine strengths have been brought under control
• BPO salary: No effect on India’s cost-competitiveness

Country Salary
India $200-250 pm
Philippines $400-450
Thailand $400-450
Malaysia $750
Singapore $8-10 per hour

• India’s commodity market size is Rs. 11,32,000 cr.

• Govt. to simplify ADR, GDR rules:
o Originally framed in 1993
o The govt. recently permitted ulisted companies to make a
sponsored ADR/GDR issue.
o A sponsored issue is one where one or a group of investors commit
themselves to subscribe to the entire offer to prevent under-
subscribing of the offer.
• Reckless on AIIMS:
o Valiathan committee set up by govt. to ascertain what ails AIIMS.
Setup some time agao. Report awaited.
• Will loan waiver help farmers?
o Is not good strategy as it benefits a small proportion of farming
community who has access to institutional credit, cripples the banking
system and penalizes hoest borrowers and rewards defaulters.

11.07.06:

• CBDT moves to shield tax payers:

o The AIR (Annual Information Return) so far captured 18 lakh high
value transactions by individuals totaling Rs. 13 lakh crore.

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 o The proposal of the Board is that no notice can be issued by anybody
unless it is authorized by the Commissioner of Incometax.
• ONGC’s Gabon oil bid may hit $1 bln
o OVL has expanded its portfolio significantly in the last year. It has
eight overseas assets and is actively seeking more opportunities across
the world. With a long term target of acquiring 60 MTPA of equity oil
and gas overseas by 2025, OVL is currently working towards a goal of
20 MTPA by 2010.
• Harley rides uncle sam to India:
o Currently the customs duty on motorbikes is 60%.
• Bombay has a population of 1.3 cr.
• After Agni, INSAT 4C joins crash party:
o The failure means a loss of Rs. 256 cr, including Rs. 160 cr on
launch vehicle and Rs. 96 cr on the satellite.
o While ISRO insures the satellites it places unsing other’s launch
vehicles, it doesn’t opt for cover fo launches made in India.
o This could be because of high premiums which range over 25% of
the sum insured.
• Retailers plan brand alliances:
o Globally several retailers have a co-branding partnership with large
brands since sales from modern formats constitute more than 80% of
total retail sales. While in India, modern formats today constitute only
3-5% of total retail sales.
• TN likely to open doors to outside distillers, brewers:
o TASMAC (Tamilnadu State Marketing Corporation) control the liquor
trade in the state. It may open doors to outside distilleries and
breweries, lifting an unofficial ban on import of alcoholic beverage
products from other states imposed by the previous government.
• Aviation hits air pockets with scarce cockpit crew:
o There are around 30-35 pilot institutes in India today with quite a few
of them inactive.
o An amateur captain needs 7 years training
o It costs Rs. 14 lk for a commercial licensce
o There are 2,500 commercial pilots in India.
o There are 190 aircraft in India.
• ITC moves in for carbon trading kill:
o According to the UN Kyoto Protocol, organizations reducing
emission of greenhouse gases (measured as an equivalent of CO2)
can register with the CDM Board of the UNFCCC to obtain CERs
(Certified Emission Reduction) certificates. Each CER certificate
is equivalent to reduction in emission or removal of one tonne of
CO2.
o These certificates are tradeable in international market with
countries that do not meet GHG reduction tgargets. In layman’s
language, this is called carbon trading.
o The first CDM project approved in India was that of Gujarat
Flourochemicals for destroying harmful HFC-23 gas.

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 • The subsidies from Centre and State governments put together account
for 14% of GDP (about $100 bln) and much of these go towards
pampering the middle class.

12.07.06:

15.07.06:

 Crude surge, BOJ hike pull down markets:

 The Bank of Japan hiked its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points,
ending a six year zero interest regime.
 Ladies too root for Lamborghinis:
 The company produced only 250 cars for the first 40 years of its existence.
 It has cranked up its numbers recently:
■ 1300 in 2003
■ 1590 in 2004
■ 1600 in 2005
■ 2000 in 2006 (targeted)
 Chennai basks in tease n tickle ads:
 Mr. Digen Verma ushered in the concept of teaser ads in India in 2001.
 Branson's Virgin telco to say hello:
 via the Mobile Virtual Network Operator route.
 The MVNO service, which is currently being offered in European and US
markets, offers telecom services without owning a network infrastructure
or spetrum. It involves a marketing and branding outfit which buys
airtime from an existing mobile service provider that owns equipment and
license rights for thse services.
 Persisting current account deficit may hit FII inflow:
 The RBI's BoP figures show that the current account deficit of the
economy has almost doubled to $10.6 bln in 2005-06, up from $5.4 bln in
the previous year. At the current level of the deficit, it works ot to about
1.3% of the GDP. It was 0.7% of the GDP in 2004-05.
 India 'powerless': learns to live with power cuts
 The peak deficit stands at 12%. It will touch 16% by the end of this fiscal.
 Genetically Modified vs. Gene sequencing and Gene pyramiding:
 The revolution which is aimed at breaking the productivity stagnation
barrier for wheat and rice is based currently on technologies such as
gene sequencing and gene pyramiding. These make the transgenic
crops not only obsolete but grately reduce the risk of environmental
harm and potential adverse health effects associated with GM crops.
 The new frontier is called genomics and the new agricultural technology is
called Marker Assisted Selection of MAS.
 Gne pyramiding – the process of combining into a single genotype a
series of target genes identified among different plant parents in order
to reduce development of resistance in targeted insect pests.
 Encourage PPPs: But set clear rules:
 The most complex form of PPP is the co called viability gap funding
model. This involves choosing a private ector service provider for projects
which are commercially unviable, based on the lowest subsidy which the
government has to provide. The Mumbai Metro is being funded on the

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 viability gap funding model.
 According to latest estimates, teledensity in rural areas is only 1.87% as
compared to 40.65% in urban areas.
 Most banks fail to meet stipulated agri loan target:
 Stipulated target is 18% of total loans.
 As per the priority sector norms, banks have to lend 40% of net bank credit
to priority sector which includes among others, agri loans, SSI loans, and
home loans up to Rs. 10 lakh. Of this, they have to lend 18% to
agriculture.
 Eco Securities keen on exploring desi potential for carbon credit:
• The US accounts for 30% of global emissions, while India contributed about
3% of the global greenhouse gases against the global average of 5.2%.

16.07.06:

• CST rate may drop to 3% from October:

• Overall US sales of vehicles is about 16.6 mln units in the first half of 2006.
• UB sets up £1.6 mln bulk scotch unit in Scotland:
o Scotch whisky is expected to be matured for at least three years
according to Scottish rules before it can be exported.
• ONGC purchases mega policy worth Rs. 26,000 cr from NIC:
o For its onshore assets. Premium is Rs. 18 cr per annum.
o For its offshore assets it pays a premium of Rs. 198 cr.
o Mega policies cover all risks including fire, machinery breakdown,
loss of profit due to fire, and loss of profit due to machinery
breakdown. The covers are generally customized and exclude some
risks.
• Tourism ministry okays home-stay policy:
o There are about 1285 approved budget hotels across the country with
about 51,000 rooms apart from guest houses, dharmasalas and
devasthans in the unapproved sector.
• America alone has 326 skiing and Alpine resorts, 6.8 mln Americans ski down
hill, while 1.9 mln ski cross country

17.06.06:

18.07.06:

• Tatas, Suzuki to use same Fiat diesel engine:

o The Fiat 1.3 litre diesel engine is in high demand because there are
very few options in the compact end of the diesel segment.
• Global IT majors:
o IBM, EDS, Cap Gemini and HP
• The G-8 countries include:
o US, Russia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan
• PPF collections
o In FY 06 grew by 5.5% to top Rs. 12,330 cr.
• Exploration boom is equipment boom:

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 o Aban Loyd, GE Shipping and Shipping Corporation are the biggest
players in the offshore space in India.
o The global fleet of jack-up drilling rigs is estimated at 384, of which
only 49 rigs have been built in the past 20 years.
o Drilling rig rentals are currently at $100,000 per day.
• Net NPAs of Indian banks are down to less than 2%, because of
aggressive provisioning.
• Basel II capital adequacy framework kicks in from March 2007.
• The coming credit cycle slow down:
o Debt funded consumption, which has been driving GDP growth over
the past three years, will be hit by the rise in the cost of capital and
consequent slowdown of the credit growth cycle.
o Commercial credit to GDP has increased to 47% as at end June 2006
from 35% in January 2003. Credit outstanding has increased by
almost $190 bln to $380 bln over the past three years.
• Interview with Sushil Kumar Shinde, Union Power Minister:
o The Central government’s policy provides for 12% free power to home
states. States where Hydro plants are being set up.
o 12,700 MW is the installed capacity of gas turbines. This is operating
a PLF of about 55%. Thus about 5,000 MW of gas turbine capacity is
stranded for want of gas.
o In the spot market, the landed cost of LNG works out to over $10 per
mmbtu resulting in cost of generation exceeding Rs. 4 per kwh.
o Coal based thermal capacity is presently about 68,500 MW and the
requirement of coal is 336 mln tonnes for 2006-07.
o In 2005-06, 11.226 mln tonnes of coal was imported. This year plans
are afoot to import 20 mln tonnes.
o Private sector participation in power transmission has been opened up
since 1998. The first such scheme is PGCIL-TATA’s joint venture for
the transmission lines from Tala power project in Bhutan. Guidelines
encouraging competition as well as tariff based bidding have been
issued in April 2006.
• Fear zone: Oil prices zoom on militant attacks, political rift:
o Average availability in global oil market slips by 2.2 mbpd to 8 mbpd
o Iraq yet to stabilize after the US invasion
o 1/4th of Nigeria’s daily output shut after militant attacks
o Russia sees a 60% rise in oil output to 9.6 mbpd

19.07.06:

• Check IT if you are on swipe mode:

o Tax sleuths to track those running up bills over Rs. 2 lakhs on their
credit cards.
o The highest number o fcases where PAN was not being quoted related
to credit card transactions.
• PMS profits set to attract just 10% tax:
o Proft generated through portfolio management services will be treated
as investment income, and attract short-term capital gains tax of 10%.

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 o Roughly Rs. 7000 cr is churned annually by the PMS market.
• BPOs gingerly brace up for life after tax sops:
o The BPO industry is growing at 37% - 40% a year with revenues of
$6.3 bln during 2005-06. This is expected to cross $8 bln by March
2007 with an employee base of over 500,000.
• The Royal Enfield motor cycle was first manufactured in 1892 in UK.
• Jobh Naisbitt is author of ‘Mind Set’; he is a futurologist.
• India is adding more than 5 mln new telephone subscribers every month
and is in the top five list of coutries having a subscriber base of over 100
mln telephone connections.
• Dark age: Power woes to haunt cities:
o The all India peak shortages would be at an average of 16.3% or
18,913 MW. Regional variations in peak shortages is expected to
range from 21.6% peak deficit in the northern region to only 3.3%
deficit in the north eastern region.

20.07.06:

• India’s share in global life insurance basket doubles:

o From 0.5% of the world’s life insurance business in 2000, India today
accounts for 1.02% of the world’s premium.
o World’s life insurance premium increased by 3.9% in real terms, to
$1974 bln.
o India’s total life insurance premium in dollar terms works out $20 bln.
o The growth of life insurance in India works out to 8.9%.
o An average Indian spends $22.70 a year on buying life insurance as
against a world average of $299.50.
• Gary Hamel: is labeled by The Economist as the world’s reigning
strategy guru.
• Self help groups:
o The cumulative number of ‘linked’ groups crossed the 2 mln mark
and the amount disbursed is about Rs. 10,000 cr.

21.07.06:

• Crude oil spoils RIL’s margins in first qtr:

o RIL processes 660,000 barrels per day
• Sixth pay panel announced:
o 5.5 mln employees of GoI
o In 2006-07 the GoI will pay Rs. 50,000 cr as pay and allowances to
its employees.
o This works out to 1.56% of the GDP for 2005-06 at current prices.
• AIDS to shave off 0.9% of GDP:
o AIDS could lower India’s GDP growth rate by as much as 0.9%. The
growth of per capita income would, in turn be depressed by 0.56%.
o The prevalence of HIV infection, which can lead on to AIDS is
estimated at 0.9% of the adult population (5.2 mln at the end of 2005).

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 • Pilot pinch
o India has about 50 training aircraft operated by 15 clubs.
• Globalisation’s assassin: Branko Milanovic
o Between 1980 and 2002, average annual per capita income growth
in the rich world (defined as the “old” OECD members) was
almost 2%, compared to just 0.1% in the 42 least developed
countries.
o If globalization, which has so enriched the world’s wealthiest
countries, is to continue, governments must find ways to increase
incomes more evenly.

22.07.06:

• What is a free port?

o Is one which is exempt from customs regulations where goods can
land, stored and even be processed into manufactured goods. Duty
is levied only if the goods are moved from the free port into the
adjacent territory.
o Mundra Port being built by Adanis may become India’s first free
port.
• What is feeding exercise?
o Many international brands are doing pre-launch brand building, or
‘feeding exercise’ in marketing parlance.
• Salwa Judum movement’s founder is Mahendra Karma.
• India Russia plan 1000 Brahmos missiles:
o The name of the missile is derived from the rivers Brahmaputra
and Moskva rivers.
o Both the countries intend to make 1000 of these missiles over the
next 10 years through a joint venture company. Nearly 50% of
them are expected to be sold in the international market to third
countries.
o Brahmos is the world’s only supersonic cruise missile.
o The 2.5 tonne Brahmos has a strike range of 290 km and has a
maximum speed of mach 2.8 (one km per second).
• Budget airlines will have own niche in Delhi
o India currently has four low cost domestic carriers. Over half a dozen
more are expected to take wings over the next one year.
o The current airport terminals in Delhi have the capacity to handle
around 16 mln passengers.
o Delhi airport currently manages around 600 flights daily with
passenger traffic growing by over 27% in 2005.
• Japanese ready their investment floodgates:
o Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro) Chairman and CEO Mr.
Wantanabe.
• Farm growth via market regulation:
o At present it is the intermediaries who corner much of the value
generated by the farm sector, either by supplying inputs, or by
marketing the produce.

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 o Patent holding seed companies are the worst exploiters of farmers.
o Alternative marketing avenues via co-ops and public agencies must be
provided.
o According to an independent study by IIM-Bangalore, the price
obtained by a farmer for his produce varies from 24% to 58% of the
actual price paid by consumer.
o Certain innovative marketing mechanisms put in by states include for
the benefit of both prducers and consumers include:
 Apni Mandi in Punjab
 Rythu Bazar in AP
 Uzavar Sandies in TN
• Sugar companies sour over falling market cap:
o The total turnover of the industry is about Rs. 20,000 cr with the total
capital employed at about Rs. 16,000 cr.
• Fertilizers imports set to balloon:
o Fertilizers imports to go up with acute foodgrain estimates for 05-06
o This has increased pressure to produce more foodgrain this year.
o Country may end up importing to the tune of $360 mln
o For normal foodgrain production, fertilizer use may go up 7%.
o A record breaking 20.5 mln tonnes of nutrients overall were consumed
last year, 9% more than the previous year.

23.07.06:

• ITeS going boom boom:

o According Nasscom, the total addressable market for global offshoring
is approximately $300 bln, of which $110 bln will be offshored by
2010. India has the potential to capture over 50% of this.
• I-Day nerves: Railways gear up:
o The railways carry over 600 cr passengers annually.
o As many as 6 mln passengers travel in the Mumbai suburban railways.
(Is it every day?)
• Gulf Cooperation Council countries:
o Saudi Arabia
o Kuwait
o Bahrain
o Qatar
o UAE
o Oman
• The Navy war room leak case:
o Four naval officers were suspended after allegations that they had
leaked classified information relating to the planned purchase of
sophisticated equipment.
o Three men were so far arrested: Abhishek Verma, Ravi
Shankaran and Kulbhushan Parashar
• India’s Export-Import scene:

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 o India is the world’s 29th largest exporter in 2005; up from 30th
position in 2004.
o India is the world’s 17th largest importer in 2005; up from 24th
position in 2004.
o Widening current account deficit; grew 52.7% over its 2004-05
level, to touch $39.6 bln in 2005-06.

24.07.06:

• Govt. tells SBI to take a hard look at biz model:

o The SBI group has franchise of over 13,000 and has a share of 18% of
the total deposits and advances in the banking system.
• Operation Sukoon:
o Air India’s evacuation operations for Indians stuck in Lebanon
consequent to Israel’s bombing of Lebanon.
o The Indians were evacuated to Cyprus from Lebanon and from
there flow into India.
• Elite Indians slake thrust with Sake:
o Sake is a Janpanese alcoholic beverage with alcohol content of 13 to
16%. Can be served either hot or cold.
o Sake import into the country is close to 10,000 cases, each containing
12 bottles. This is a significant figure when compared with the import
of wine which is just over 100,000 cases.
• M&M in talks with retailers for farm supply pact:
o Tomatoes, onions and bananas, which along with potatoes form about
50% of the total fruits and vegetables produced in the country.
• Avoiding fiscal disaster II: Sixth pay panel needs new guidelines
o According to a World Bank report in 2003, public sector wages were
higher by 1.3 times for engineers to 2.5 times for service workers.
• Vishing:
o As opposed to phishing, so called vishing relies on voice over internet
protocol (VOIP) telephony. The perpetrators take advantage of a quirk
in VOIP that allows subscribers to have a telephone number that
appears to be based in a city, such as Los Angeles, even though they
may be anywhere in the world.

25.07.06:
• ADAG’s Mumbai metro loses track:
o The projected cost of Reliance Energy Metro project is around Rs. 215
cr per km as against Delhi Metro’s cost of Rs. 120 cr per km.
o REL is seeking a viability gap funding of Rs. 650 cr which is 26.7% of
the projected cost of Rs. 2,356 cr, as against the maximum allowable of
20%.
• Pakistan building nuke reactor: report
o At 4 to 5 kg of plutonium per weapon, the stock of 200 kgs of
plutonium that can be produced by a 1000 MW nuclear power plant
can allow the production of over 40 to 50 nuclear weapons a year.
• Bourbon whisky:

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 o Is distilled from a mash of corn, malt and rye and aged in charred oak
barrels.
• Shareware: Cityscape now to have fewer telecom towers:
o Telcos can slash costs by 50-60% by sharing tower infrastructure.
o 75% of all mobile network towers are unshared in India.
o India requires at least another 100,000 new towers in the next four
years or so.
• INCOIS:
o Indian National Centre for Oceanic Information Services is based
in Hyderabad.
• Sixth pay commission:
o While the American government employs 8.1% of its population as
public servants, India’s figure is only 2.4%.
o The state bureaucracy in developed nations, on average, is much
larger (about 10% of the population) than the developing countries
(about 4.5%)
o Of the 5 million central government employees, 94% are in the
clerical and Class IV category where productivity levels are
admittedly very low.
o Another 15 million work for state governments and PSUs.
• FinMin rejects move to rasie cotton imort duty:
o Import of cotton amounted to only 12 lakh bales in 2004-05 and this
amounts only 7% of India’s consumption of 180 lakh bales.
• Lifting of textile quota: India to gain
o Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) was dismantled in January
2005.
• Denmark meets about 20% of its energy requirements from wind energy.

26.07.06:

• RBI monetary policy:

o RBI raised the short-term rates by 25 basis points.
o Bank rate is the medium term rate – is unchanged at 6%.
o Repo rate – the rate at which RBI lends to banks or infuses funds
into the system is raised 6.75% to 7%.
o Reverse repo rate – the rate at which RBI mops up funds from the
system or borrows from the system is raised from 5.75% to 6%.
• Pharma companies to tap kiranas for OTC:
o Pharma companies land up paying higher business margins of 30% to
their traditional business channel – chemists.
o In contrast, the kirana merchants may settle for less margins.
o OTC segment is estimated to be Rs. 3000 cr.
• Rubber gets equity bounce:
o The daily trading volume in Kerala is estimated to be Rs. 600 cr with
Kottayam, a key rubber hub, alone accounting for Rs. 130/140 cr.
• Hotel room rents rise on demand:

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 o Currently there are 90,000 to 100,000 hotel rooms (3 to 5 star
category) in India.
o Another 150,000 rooms need to be added in the next five years,
considering the rate of growth in demand.
• Agriculture accounts for 20% of India’s GDP, yet it accounts for 60% of
employment – predominantly in rural areas.
• FIIs didn’t trigger market upsets; FM asks invetors not to panic:
o The share of FIIs in total turnover in the NSE and BSE was 13.41% in
2005-06. The share of market value of FII investments in BSE market
cap stood at 15% in 2005-06.
• Neglect of exploration led to risig crude rates:
o Outside the national oil companies of the OPEC countries, the biggest
oil companies globally are Exxon-Mobil, BP and Shell.
o Between 2001 and 2005, these biggies spend only $16.7 bln on
explorations.
o In the same period they paid out dividends adding up to $122 bln and
spent $77.8 bln on share buybacks.
• Loan to value ratio: Housing loans
o The percentage of loan sought by a borrower against the price of the
purchased property.
o Typically industry-wide LTV stands at 80-85%.
o Typically 55% of the total deposit base of banks comprises term loans.
Of this, nearly 50% comes from long-term deposits.
• Domestic coal supply situation improves:
o Coal supply situation improves due to imports by power utilities and
more production.
o Increased hydro power supply due to monsoon reduces coal needs.
o Thermal power stations at Panipat, Ahmedabad request temporary
reduction or diversion to other plants.
o Imports of coal are now set to be lower at 16 MT as compared to 20
MT projected earlier.
• REL’s Mumbai Metro gets FinMin nod:
o REL maintains that the Mumbai Metro costs are not comparable with
those of the Delhi Metro for the following reasons:
 The Mumbai project is quite small covering about 12 km
whereas Delhi Metro runs to 65 km.
 Delhi Metro was built with soft loans from the JBIC while the
Mumbai Metro has no such soft funding optiosn available
 Delhi Metro had the full backing of the government and the
railways, while Mumbai Metro lacks these.
 Delhi Metro enjoyed tax benefits not available to Mumbai
Metro.
• ASEAN to end FTA talks with India:
o India refused to bring down its negative list of items which are to be
excluded from the FTA below 852.
o ASEAN wants this list to be no more than 60 items.
• 0.9% India’s share in world exports:

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 o In calendar 2005, India’s exports were worth $90 bln which is
approximately 0.89% of total global exports worth $10,121 bln.
o In 2005 top exporters were:
 Germany $971 bln
 US $904 bln
 China $762 bln
 Japan $596 bln
• Yield, not acreage holds key to higher agricultural production:
o Aggregate foodgrains production has grown by 4% during the last four
years between 2001 and 2004, but the gross area under major crops
declines by 0.7% during this period.
o In actual terms, the per hectare production of wheat increased by a
massive 427 kg from 2281 kg in 1990-91 to 2708 kg in 2000-01.

27.07.06:

• 109 coal blocks await captive mining:

o 109 coal blocks have been identified for allocation under captive
mining route with total reserves of over 30 bln tonnes.
o If all these coal blocks come under full production by the end of the
11th five year plan, the total coal production under captive route would
increase to about 200 mln tonnes annually from the present level of 14
mln tonnes.
• Govt. strikes down RIL’s price formula for gas sale to Dadri:
o RIL contracted with RNRL to supply 28 MMSCMD at 2.34 per
mmbtu.
o Dadri power plant is a 7,840 MW plant proposed in UP
o Govt’s objection is to the way the gas sale contract was signed between
RIL and RNRL as it was a part of the demerger agreement and was
signed at a time when RNRL was a subsidiary of RIL. This the govt
says is against the principles of production sharing contract that
requires the seller and buyer to conclude an arms length contract.
• JD Rymbai is Meghalaya’s CM. He is currently facing dissidence lead by his
predecessor DD Lapang whom the dissidents want back in power.
• Move to revoke MP’s expulsion comes a cropper:
o Moves to seek the revocation of the explusion of the 11 MPs who
were caught in the ‘cash-for-questions’ scandal are opposed by the
Left and the Congress.
o 10 LS members and 1 from RS.
o PK Bansal committee probed into this affair.
• RS Pathak Commission is looking into the Iraqi oil-for-food scam:
• India itching to take on Pak at ARF:
o Asian Regional Forum is setup in 1994. Aims to foster constructive
dialogue and consultation on political and security issues including
confidence building measures, disaster relief, counter-terrorism
and preventive diplomacy.
o Has 26 members.
• High rates to burn out SME capex:

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 o Corporate capex to GDP is estimated to be 8.7% in FY07, marginally
up from 8.4% for FY06. It was 10.6% in 1996.
• Market velocity:
o Value of shares traded divided by market cap.
o In a bull market this is a positive sign as it indicates that investors are
holding on to stocks.
o In a volatile market this means that traders are stuck with deals and
therefore have little choice but to hold on to stocks longer than they
would otherwise prefer to.
• Top R&D spending countries by GDP in 2005:
o Sweden 4.3%
o Finaland 3.5%
o Japan 3.1%
o US 2.7%
o China 1.2%
o India 0.8%
• India’s oil refining capacity has gone up from 115 m tonnes to 132 m
tonnes in five years, while the cement sector has seen capacity shoot up
from 128 m tonnes to 156 m tonnes in the same period.
• Banks bet big on small businessmen:
o Banks are now looking at increasing the share of SME advances to
20% of their total net bank credit from the current level of 14%.
o As of March 31, 2006 the total bank credit to SMEs stood at Rs.
1,53,489 cr, up by 28% from the previous year’s lending figure of Rs.
1,19,768 cr.
• China is attracting $40 bln FDI in manufacturing and infrastructure every year
aginst India’s $3 bln.
• High cost of reneging: MSEB should have bought out Enron
o The price per unit after revival of Dabhol plant is at Rs. 7.
o The spot rate for LNG in international market is at $ 7/mmbtu
o Far cheaper would have been the 2.1 mln tonnes of LNG that Enron
had contracted for 20 years with Oman and Abu Dhabi.
• India’s cardamom market:
o Cardamom season – Augsut to September
o Kumily in Kerala and Bodinayakkanur in TN are major markets.
o Cardamom Licensing and Marketing Rules permit charging only 1%
commission by traders. No cleaning and grading charges can be
collected.
o Now traders are collecting it; causing heartburn for growers.
o Production touched 12,540 tonnes last year against 11,415 tonnes in
the previous year. Record.
o Lion’s share of cardamom production is mopped up by domestic
market in the country.
o Exports are just at 875 tonnes valued at Rs. 27 cr.
o Due to adverse weather conditions this year, the production is expected
to be 30-40% short.

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 o Last year growers have complained about Gautemalan cardamom
entering India via Nepal.

28.07.06:

• Have the Doctor in your pocket: Wireless tech allows patients to access
Doctors 24 hours a day
o One out of every five heart cases recorded is from India
o 10% of urban Indians suffer from coronary artery disease
o 50% of heart attacks happen to people under 55 years
o Heart attack is 3-5 times more common among diabetics
• Iron ore exports question now stalls mineral policy:
o During the year 2004-05, the country produced 142.71 mln tonnes of
iron ore with domestic consumption of 66.85 mt and the rest as
exports.
o In 2005-06, production is expected to increase to 165 mt with domestic
consumption going up to 85.80 mt, a growth of over 34% over last
year’s figures. This is slated to grow further as the country plans to
add 110 mt of steel capacity by 2019-20.
• Maharashtra may pay up Rs. 5.50 per unit of Dabhol Power:
o The GoI has decided to waive customs and CVDs on naptha for DPC.
This is how the power is going to cost Rs. 5.50 per unit against Rs. 8
per unit.
o Power from gas based plants would cost anywhere between Rs. 2.50
per unit to Rs. 3 per unit and even if gas is bought from the spot
market, power though more expensive would still cost anywhere
between Rs. 4 and Rs. 4.25 per unit.
• Oil sands holds the key:
o Global demand for petroleum was 78.7 mln barrels/day in 2003, which
increased to 82.5 million bpd in 2005.
o Canada, the world’s second largest country also has the second largest
reserves of oil, pegged at 179 bln barrels whereas production is just
3.05 million bpd.
o Oils sands are a mixture of clay and bitumen (15%)
o It takes about 1.16 barrels of bitumen to yield 1 barrel of crude oil
• Crude finish:
o India cannot produce enough of ethanol for her alternative fuel
programme as most of the cane is required for processing sugar
o India manufactured about 1 to 1.2 million KL (kilo litres) of
ethanol. In absolute terms this is much less than India’s petroleum
consumption of about 110 million tonne per annum.
o Value added products manufactured by the chemical industry that
use ethanol as the feedstock range in value from $650-3000 /t; if
ethanol is used as fuel, its value is just $500 /t.
o According to industry sources, the same amount of cane juice can
be used for 2 kg of sugar or 1 kg of ethanol.

29.07.06:

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 • FDI could face security block:
o As of now, there is no legislation in India that bars foreign
investment for security reasons. In future, all tenders floated by
PSU companies would have enabling clauses by which the
government could intervene and disqualify a company for security
reasons.
• US imposes sanctions on 2 Indian companies: Penalty for transferring
dual use products for Iranian missile program
o Companies that face US sanctions cannot receive US government
contracts, assistance or military trade.
• US has emerged as the 3rd biggest military supplier to India, after Russia
and Israel.
• All cheque clearing houses may be merged into a company:
o The Government is considering merging all the 1030 cheque
clearing houses in the country into a company.
o Of the 1030 clearing houses, 16 are managed by RBI and the rest
by commercial banks.
o 55 of the centres have mechanized operations, where only MICR
cheques are used.
• Capital account convertibility, as the Tarapore committee defined it, is the
freedom to convert local assets into foreign financial assets and vice-versa
at market determined rates.

30.07.06:

• Second Tarapore Committee would do well to take a look at some facts before
submitting its report to RBI:
o Interest payments account for about one-third of the revenue receipts.
o In the global forex market, the daily turnover is about $3 trillion. A
negligible poroportion of this is backed by real transactions in goods
and services; the rest is all capital search of arbitrage and speculative
opportunities for making money.
• The stalled WTO talks may spell the biggest loss for India’s booming
service sector:
o India is a net exporter of services, while it has always remained a
net importer of goods – by a huge margin – due to heavy
dependence on imported crude oil.
o While Mode 4 deals with issue of visas, or movement of natural
persons, as it is known in WTO parlance, Mode 1 deals with
outsourcing.
o The position to be adopted by India – rescuring services and
NAMA liberalization by brokering a compromise on agriculture
which looks as of now.
o What’s surprising is the fact that it was not the developing
countries, but the US and the EU sqauabbling among themselves,
which was the primary cause for suspension of the Doha round
negotiations.

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 o Doha and HongKong declarations mandated reduction or
elimination of tariff peaks, tariff escalation and NTBs particularly
on products of developing countries’ export interest.

31.07.06:

• Feel the power of plastic fuel:

o HLL plans to reuse plastic waste by coverting into an industrial fuel
o Lafarge has long been using hazardous wastes including plastic as fuel
in its kilns in Europe and America. The use of this fuel reduces
production costs considerably and also delivers environmental benefits
such as minimizing global carbon dioxide emissions by prevention of
fossil fuel resources.
• Now resolve your disputes online:
o The number of pending cases in Indian courts is 3 crore.
o Every year 1.6 crore new cases are registered of which 1.4 crore are
solved
o Cases handled by the Indian Council for Arbitration (ICA) have
increased 20 times in the last 10 years.
o National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) is drawing up policies that
would help people file complaints related to domain names online.
• Model education bill caught in Centre-State tussle
o The Centre said it would provide 75% funding for elementary
education for states which adopt the model bill, while those that don’t
will receive only 50% of the funding as per the MOU signed between
the states and the Centre for the universalisation of education program.
• Quest for power:
o Elasticity ratio between electricity generation and GDP growth for
India is estimated to be aboutg 1.5. It means that for every percentage
point increase in GDP, power supply has to grow by 1.5%. And with
8% GDP growth, Electricity must grow by 12% to meet all the
demand.
o In terms of total units of power generated, the growth is from 5.1
billion units in 1950 to 616 billion units in 2005-06, which corresponds
to a growth of 9.2% per annum.
o Total power generation in India in a year is worth more than Rs.
100,000 cr. Of this, power worth about Rs. 35,000 cr is lost.
o The 35-40% loss contrasts with global norm of 12-14%.
o Total ash generated in India per year is about 100 mln tons.
o A consumption of 500 units by a household would require about 300
kg of coal burning per month, or 10 kg per day. This would produce
more than 300 kg of CO2, apart from several other pollutants.

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01.08.06:

• UNIFIL: is one of the oldest peacekeeping operations of the UN. Its nearly
2000 troops and 50 unarmed military observers are tasked to maintain a
ceasefire along the 70 mile (121 km) UN Blue Line between Israel and
Lebanon, by patrolling, observing and reporting violations.
• The market size of stand alone gourmet restaurants is about Rs. 10 bln in
India.
• CAC: Carrier Access Code is the system of numbering codes that will
empower every end-consumer to choose his NLD and ILD carrier.
• Work stress affects fertility:
o India accounts for a tenth of total infertility cases worldwide.
Estimates suggest that there are close to 28 to 30 million couples in the
country who are in the fertile age bracket but do not beget children.
• FD hike may eat into small savings pie:
o With Rs. 3 lakh crore as the total deposits being added to the system
every year and split equally between FDs and savings, this would mean
that FDs would rise to Rs. 175,000 cr and the total increase to Rs.
325,000 cr.
• WTO talks:
o India rejects US bid to revive peace clause:
 Peace Cluase in agriculture trade prevented countries from
challenging subsidies provided by developed countries on
agricultural exports at the WTO.
 The US has been trying to reactivate the clause which
expired on January 31, 2004, since it resulted in agriculture
exports being challenged by countries like Brazil and
Canada.
o The implications of the Doha Round collapse:
 The collapse of the round means very little for India: Manoj
Pant, Professor, CITD, JNU
• After the Uruguay round the main gain for India has
come from the quota removal regime in textiles.
Nothing has changed now in this regard. The other
export gains have come from IT services, which are
independent of the WTO agreements since the GATS
modalities are still to be discussed and finalized.
• India’s problems are agricultural sector are related
to domestic, not trade, issues. About 82% of the
agricultural subsidies under contention in the DDA
are given to three classes of products: beef products,
dairy products and cereals, where India has little
stakes.
• India’s protection of its agricultural sector has been
crucial for political economy reasons.
 Rupa Chanda, Professor, IIM, Bangalore:
• The differences in this round differ from the
Uruguay round in one major aspect – today the

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 developing countries are far more united. They have
forged stronger coalitions, which have held their
ground, notwithstanding differences among
members and efforts to divide them. And several of
them have greater bargaining power today given
their rapidly growing economies and importance in
global trade.
• Who loses from this breakdown?
o The LDCs who depend on a few agricultural
commodities for exports. Moreover, these
countries have few alternatives outside the
WTO. Their bargaining power outside a
multilateral regime would be weaker.
• India is not affected because:
o India clearly had defensive interests in
agriculture.
o The talks were unlikely to address some of
India’s key concerns. These include, for
instance, the growing use of non-tariff
measures on India’s agricultural and
industrial exports and the misuse of
antidumping provisions.
o Unlike smaller countries, India can explore
alternative forums. Bilateral agreements and
FTAs and CECAs.
 Biswajit Dhar, Prof. And Head, Centre for WTO Studies,
IIFT:
• In sharp contrast to the earlier rounds, this Doha
round is more complex:
o Issues pertaining to the implementation of the
Uruguay round commitments were included.
o The mandate required WTO members to
deepen and widen their commitment to trade
liberalization.
o A set of new issues, which included
investment, competition policy, transparency
in government procurement and trade
facilitation, were taken up for possible
incolusion in the negotiations.
o The development-related concerns of the
developing and the LDCs were included as
the guiding principles of the negotiations.
• All evidence indicates that the DDA needs more time
to fruition.
• The lesson that members should learn from the
Doha round is that trade policy reforms involves a
gradual process and that agreements cannot be
reached by imposing artificial deadlines.

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02.08.06:

• Capital strength: Desis beat MNCs in use of money:

o For every rupee invested in the business, Indian companies generate
Rs. 4 worth of sales against one-and-a-half bucks generated by global
biggies.
o Capital employed turnover is the ratio of average capital employed to
annual sales, which is multiplied by 365 to represent it in days.
o Negative working capital turnover, means that customers or suppliers
are financing sales.
• Govt. proposes uniform stamp duty across states:
o The Centre has asked states to impose a uniform 5% stamp duty across
the country.
• Perelman may get Fields Medal:
o Fields Medal is the math equivalent of Nobel Prize awarded once in 4
years to under-40 geniuses.
o Poincare conjecture: is central to topology or rubber-sheet geometry,
that looks at properties of surfaces that don’t change no matter how
yhou twist or stretch them. Since 19th century, topologists have known
that two-dimensional spheres are the only surfaces that have this
invariant property. How about 3-D surfaces? It’s wrt to them theat
Poincare conjecture says that as just as there is only one 2-D surface
that has no holes, there is likewise only one 3-D space, technically
called a manifold, on which not all loops can be contracted to a point.
• Escondida is the world’s biggest private copper mine in the world. It is in
Chile.
• Indian art takes off:
o From garnering just about Rs. 100 cr in 2003, the total Indian art
market has now touched around Rs. 1000 cr.
• SEBI takeover code to help M&As:
o The code aims to create a level-playing field for shareholders of
listed companies and bring about greater transparency in trading
of stocks in the secondary market.
o The 2006 changes seek to align the code with the new listing
agreement relating to minimum public shareholding.
o The changes will ensure protection of investor interest in the listed
companies.
• Hot cuppa: India’s Q1 coffee exports up 32% in volume:
o Exports for the previous fiscal of 05-06 touched $356 mln, some 9.6%
excess of the stipulated target of $325 mln for the year.
o Domestic consumption of coffee is around 30% of India’s annual crop.
o Arabica beans start arriving in November-December, Robusta arrivals
peak in February-March.

03.08.06:

• Delhi to be marketers’ delight:

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 o Delhi is not just the biggest consumer market in India, at an annual
consumer spend at Rs. 64,309 cr, but is also right on the top of the top
10 table on growth in absolute consumer spends for 2007-08 compared
to 2006-07.
• From mass to class, RIL woos marquee brands:
o Analysts estimate the market for luxury and high-end clothing in the
country at Rs. 1,500 cr. and that for accessories at another Rs. 1500 cr.
• Coke is still top global brand:
o Interbrand, the global brand consltancy firm and Businesweek have
announced the list of 100 best global brands of 2006.
o Coca-cola with a brand value of around one-tenth the GDP of India
($67 bln) has retained its position at the top despite a 1% drop in its
brand value.
• IITian bests 20,000 peers to Code4Bill:
o Code4Bill was initiated as recognition of India’s leadership in
nurturing world class technical talent and was aimed at pre-final and
final year students pursuing various technical streams across India.
o It is a Mircosoft initiative.
• Singapore years for more access:
o Seeks duty sops for 752 items and liberal rules of origin
o Singapore has demanded that the ROO guiding the CECA should be
made less stringent like the one agreed to by India in its FTA
discussion with the ASEAN.
• Don’t blame futures trade:
o Futures give early warning of shortages. They improve price
transparency and thus prevent middlemen from creaming off the lion’s
share.
• Blowing up fiscal responsibility: Rajani Shukla
o In 1991 had to shamefully ship the gold in the public coffers to raise
some loans abroad.
o Officially implemented by the present government from July 2, 2004,
the FRBM mandates gradual elimination of government borrowing for
any other purpose than public investment by 2009, and restricts the
total amount of such borrowing per year to no more than 3% of GDP
three years from now.
o In 2004-05, the latest year for which data is readily available, as a
proportion of GDP, the revised estimate of consolidated revenue and
fiscal deficit of the Centre and the states were 4.1% and 8.4%
respectively.
• IMS – Infrastructure Management Services market is big – at 12% to 20% of
the total IT spend – and growing. Its size is estimated by various analysts to
be anywhere between $80 bn and $140 bn on the total IT services market of
$640 bln.
• Not Hot Air: Wind energy players wait for giant leap:
o The wind energy sector is estimated to have grown 100% and 40%
respectively in 2004-05 and 2005-06 and the industry is estimated to
grow at over 30% this year.

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 o According to estimates, India presently has an installed wind energy
capacity of roughly 5500 MW but the fact also remains that the
country has tapped only a miniscule percentage of its capabilities in
wind energy.
o At the end of 2005, the installed capacity in Asia was only slightly
more than 5000 MW while it was as high as over 40,000 MW in
Europe and nearly 10,000 MW in US.
• The world bank estimates that between 2005-10, India will have to invest
3.06% of GDP every year to build infrastructure and it will have set aside
3.82% of GDP to maintain existing infrastructure.
04.08.06:

• Govt. tells banking majors to go slow on interest rake hikes:

o Under present regulations, banks are empowered to freely price their
loans and deposits.
• Natwar helped relatives bag Iraq contracts:
o The RS Pathak Commission report states that the ex-minister used
official powers to introduce his relatives to Iraqi oil minister.
• Sepah: is the elite revolutionary guards under the direct command of Iran’s
supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
• AP the lodestar for IT/ITES cos:
o STPI expects s/w exports from AP to grow by 30% to 35% this year
and end at Rs. 16,000 cr to Rs. 17,000 cr.
o Last year s/w exports stood at Rs. 12,521 cr. occupying the 3rd place
after Karnataka and TN.

05.08.06:

• Ms. Erika Vohman won this year's $50,000 St. Andrews Prize for the
Environment for her innovative work. She came up with different
varieties of coffee alternatives.
• Cobra Beer to relaunch Gen. Bilimoria Wines:
o India's wine market is estimated at 5 mln bottles a year – equivalent to
around 200 people sharing one bottle. Wine makes up less than 1% of
India's $1.8 billion alcoholic drinks market. But the wine market is
growing at 25-30% a year.
• Paintscape: International brnads vying for a share in the retail boom:
o International paint brands:
 Nippon, Jotun, Akzo, Nobel, Dupont, Basf
o Indian brands:
 Asian Paints, ICI India, Goodlass Nerolac and Berger.
o The paint industry has been growing at the rate of 13-15% in the last
few months due to a boom in infrastructure, housing and rising income
levels.
• Engg. offshoring to be next big money spinner:
o Spending on Engineering services was $750 bln in 2004, and is
projected to grow to $1.1 trillion globally by 2020.
• Building sustainable energy security:

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 o What is peak oil?
 It means the end of cheap oil and an end to economies
organized around the increasing availability of cheap oil.
 Peak oil or topping point, is the highest amount that can ever be
pumped.
o The insurance industry, which takes over $2 trillion in annual
premium, and is bigger than the oil industry, is now a major player in
addressing climate change since they have to pay billions out in
insurance as cities flood, cyclones such as Katrina uproot entire
communities and heat waves kill.
• Beta no help in stemming losses in volatile market:
o Beta of a stock is a measure of its volatility or systematic risk of a
company's stock compared to the market as a whole.

06.08.06:

• Traces of toxin in soft drinks: study

o The report by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) on
pesticide content in soft drinks has said it found considerabale
traces of malathion in at least 50% of the samples it collected from
the national capital region for the study.
• Reliance set to storm into retail space:
o The company has planned some 1000 hypermarket and 1500 super
markets in the first phase which should complete by the end of next
year.
o Hyper market – 1 to 1.5 lk sq. feet
• Nasscom – Booz Allen Hamilton study:
o The next frontier for India is globalization of engineering services.
Indian IT companies have a $40 bln opportunity by year 2020 from
engineering services and the country’s share of off-shored engineering
services, which is currently 12% can be increased to 30% in the same
period.
• Ideators see innovation opportunity in India
o Consultants peg the contribution of manufacturing to the world’s GDP
at over $20,000 bln a year, employing about 350 mln people
worldwide.
• India’s cotton exports to hit 5-m bales:
o Crop output this year is expected to be 24.5 mln bales against the
estimated 24.4 mln bales.

08.08.06:

• Tata Steel, Australian firm in Building JV:

o Houses and office complexes may be made of steel in a few years’
time.

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 o In terms of thermal efficiency, steel buildings reflect 95% of the
sunlight and absorb only 5%, making them much cooler than the
conventional buildings that absorb almost 80%.
• National varsities to give brand India a global push:
o Missions abroad to be eligible for assistance under the Market Access
Initiative (MAI)
o Proposal to increase assistance to Rs. 1 cr from current Rs. 50 lk
o Additional funds to be available for each market & product per annum
o Assistance to open showrooms abroad hiked from 25% to 33%.
o More support, not exceeding 25% for period of 3 years also proposed
o Capital support to exporters to increase productivity
• Farmers to have a stake in growth:
o The government has already cleared some 115 SEZs. More
applications likely to be cleared in due course. The commerce ministry
said last week that the overall limit of 155 SEZs, decided by the
empowered group of ministers may also be reviewed given the massive
response from the industry.
• Figuring it out: No relief on oil front:
o While the world consumes 84 mbd of curde a day, spare pumping
capacity is estimated at a tiny 1.5 mbd
o The worldwide oil demand would rise up by 1.2 mbd to touch 84.8
mbd.
o The fact is that hedge funds have been investing heaviliy in energy
markets. Estimates by the IEA show that such investments went up
from a lowly $3 bln to a whopping $90 bln in 2005.
• Perspectives: How do we check rising prices:
o Ajit Ranade:
 A reintroduction of ECA will only create artifical scarcity, and
result in corruption and black market
 For rising price of wheat, the reasons are:
• The supply of wheat has been unable to keep pace with
the rising demand
• To add to this, the structural deficit was the failure of
the procurement program.
• Blaming exchanges for the high prices is like blaming
the messenger for the bad news.
• Price stability can be achieved only if we face up to
some long-term structural factors.
o Mahesh Purohit:
 The burden of central and state taxes must be adjusted when the
global prices go beyond a level
o Narendra Gupta: Chief of Strategy, NCDEX
 The problem of less than efficient markets today are being
corrected by futures trading
 The ECA really has little to do with the higher prices today
which appear to be guided by lower supply relative to demand.

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  Wheat for example is harvested in April and then stored for the
rest of the year
 Further, when announcement of wheat imports was made, if
wheat was being stored it should have flooded the market,
which did not happen. This clearly shows that for such a broad
commodity like wheat, hoarding is not really feasible.
 Exchanges through efficient price discovery do provide
demand supply equilibrium for future thereby prompting
farmers to shift from one crop to another purely on market
dynamics.
• A barrel of oil contains 42 gallons of crude.
• Legal tiff derails Sikkim hydro projects:
o As per existing regulations, tariff based competitive bidding is a must
for projects above 100 MW.
• Banks outsource NPA recovery:
o The SARFAESI Act was enacted to enable banks and FIs to realize
long-term assets, manage problems of liquidity and asset-liability
mismatches. It empowers banks to take possession of securities and
sell them to reduce NPAs. As much as 30% higher valuations are
recovered by banks if they outsource the recovery of their NPAs to
private agencies.
• It’s a deposit deluge in banks this year:
o According to RBI data, fresh term deposits raised by commercial
banks between April 01 and July 21 this year amounted to Rs. 1,27,166
cr as compared to Rs. 48,666 cr in the same period last year.

09.08.06:

• EPFO looks to widen net:

o The schedule of industry restrictions be done away with
o Establishments having 10 employees or more to be brought under the
ambit of EPF scheme in place of the present 20 employee norm.
o Wage limit of Rs. 6500 per month be dispensed with; allowing those
with lower wages also to be covered under the scheme
o The fund has over 24 mln subscriber members.
• Talking moms to be P&G brand ambassadors:
o Word of Mouth (WoM) marketing is defined as a strategy of gathering
volunteers to try products and send them out to talk up their
experiences with the people they meet in their daily lives.
• Locations World to spread film shooting abroad:
o The current Indian film outbound spend is between Rs. 80 cr to Rs.
100 cr. and is expected to grow to Rs. 250 cr in three years.
• Only women judges to try rape cases?
o 66% of cases of sexual assault go unreported because of social stigma,
lack of resources for legal redress, or even harassment and fear of
revenge.

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 o The conviction rate is abysmally low at 4%, mainly because of non-
collection, tampering or destruction of evidence on the part of the
police.

10.08.06:

• Unregistered funds likely to get more leeway:

o Sub-account: includes foreign corporates, funds, or portfolios
established outside India, on whose behalf investments are made in
India by an FII registered with SEBI.
o There are four categories of sub-accounts:
 Broad based sub-accounts where number of investors has to be
20 and no investor can hold more than 10% in the fund. Such
funds can hold upto 10% of the equity of a local stock.
 Corporate sub-account can own upto 5% in an Indian stock
 Foreign individual sub-accounts which can hold up to 5% in an
Indian company
 Proprietory sub-account – a structure which an FII can use to
invest in its own money.
• HCL Insys to join digital retail bandwagon, open 100 stores:
o According to industry estimates, the market size of digital lifestyle
products is around Rs. 2,500 cr which would go up to between Rs.
10,000 cr and 12,000 cr by the year 2010.
• Telecom boom rubs off on small players:
o The subscriber base of telecom in India has touched 106 mln as of June
30, 2006.
• RIL may dip into PSU facilities:
o RIL may soon be allowed to use infrastructure facilities set up by PSU
oil companies like IOC and GAIL to store and move its petroleum
products.
o Savings could be achieved through optimization of CST on LPG and
SKO.
o RIL will have to enter into pacts with Indian Oil and Petronas and East
India Petroleum
o RIL has to obtain sales tax exemption in non-VAT states for inter-oil
company transactions
o Govt. would consider legal opinion of experts before any agreement.
• Oil companies may be slapped with Rs. 1000 cr in dues:
o As excise dues on LPG and Kerosene
o LPG and SKO are highly subsidized and a huge difference exists
between the refinery gate price and the retail price
o FinMin calculates tax on the refinery gate price, which oilcos are
resisting as they sell the fuel at much lower prices
o CBEC has set up a committee to look into the valuation of LPG and
SKO
• Liquor taxation policy to evolve under EU gaze:
o Centre looking at ways to rationalize taxes levied by state governments
on alcoholic beverages

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 o Follows a threat by EU to haul India to the WTO over the high level of
state taxes
o Currently basic customs duty is 100% on wines and 150% on spirits
o A joint working group set up by the Centre has come out with a deraft
model policy on taxation of alcoholic beverages and efforts are on to
take the process forward.
o EU grouse is that market access for its liquor companies is affected due
to the high level of taxes imposed by state governments. That India’s
tariff regime on liquor had a variety of discriminatory indirect taxes
and fees imposed by the states, which goes against the ‘national
treatment’ for imports as required under the GATT and WTO.

11.08.06:

• Beverage companies seek standards for inputs, not for products:

o Industry says colas are too complex in nature for standards
o The proposed standard which called IS 2346, has been under
discussion for the last three years. The standard defines the quality
norms which all carbonated drinks need to meet.
• Ads with tall promises will be a thing of the past:
o In an effort to make sure punchlines don’t cross the line, the
department of consumer affairs is working on a legislation to curb
misleading advertisements and communications.
o As per estimates, the fake products industry in India is worth around
Rs. 20,000 cr.
• C-DoT seeks limelight with wireless internet:
o Wi-MAX, defines as the worldwide interoperability for microwave
access by the WiMAX Forum, provides wireless broadband access
as an alternative to cable and DSL. Wi-MAX enables broadband
access at a download speed of up to 75 Mbps through wireless.
• How on earth can we live together? Arun Maira
o Blind economic progress cannot show the way: new paradigms of
progress, governance and leadership are required in India and
elsewhere.
o New institutional forms, based on lateral coordination rather than
vertical control are required to bring people together to collectively
shape the future they want.
o The political and financial system should not overemphasize the hard
side of economic growth side-lining the soft side of equity.
• Should India allow FDI in retail?
o FDI in retail improves growth prospects: Rajiv Kumar, Director
and CE, ICRIER
 The arguments against FDI in retail:
• This will prevent the growth of domestic organized
retail industry
• It will result in closure of small retail stores
• It will disrupt the social community and the given
way of life.

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  These arguments don’t hold water.
o Competition will help domestic retailers
 India is consumption led economy with private
consumption contributing about 60% to the Indian GDP as
compared to 42% for China and 52% for Japan. The
Indian retail market is about $300 bln.
• Bimstec Nations to speed up FTA negotiations:
o India and the six other BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for
Multisectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) countries
have decided to speed up their FTA negotiations and are looking at
a possible deadline of February 2007.

12.08.06:

• The real problem is impure groundwater:

o Thus far, there are two laws that regulate pesticides in India. The
Insecticide Act, 1968 under the Union Ministry of Agriculture and
The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 under the Union
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
o While the IA mandates registration of pesticides, the PFA
mandates the MRLs (Maximum Residuary Levels) that are set for
India.
• UK freezes assets of 19 suspects, Pakistan arrests 7 people:
o The plan to explode aeroplanes flying between UK and the US,
intended to use British sports drinks by mixing it with gel like
substance.
o The suspected terrorists planned to use peroxide based solution that
would ignite when sparked by a camera flash or another electronic
device to blow up the planes.
• Goody the tiger bigs adieu:
o Goody the smiling tiger mascot of Goodlass Nerolac is being
retired.
o Other famous mascots include:
 Gattu of Asian Paints (retired in 2002)
 Maharaja of Air India – planned to retire but brought back
on strong public outcry
 Incremin’s “Goodness grow-cious” giraffe
 The Murphy baby
 HMV’s all time classic image of man’s best friend – dog.
• Air Deccan’s workforce slimmsest at 70 per aircraft.
o Employees per aircraft, has been an important factor of efficiency as a
lower ration helps airlines keep costs at check, especially when the
industry faces downturn.
• Govt. focus now on urban employment generation:
o The govt. expects that the present momentum of exports, close to 21
mln jobs will be created in urban India between 2006-10.
o The govt. expects exports to increase manufacturing sector’s share in
GDP from the present 17% to 24-25% over the next couple of years.

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 o One job in manufacturing sector creates three jobs in the service sector.
• RBI pays Rs. 8,404 cr to govt.
o Higher earnings from overseas investments boosts amount by 55%.
• Consumed by trivia: Roots of political bankruptcy
o MPs can articulate the aspirations of their constituents only when they
know what those are, in the first place. Such knowledge is a function
of the democratic vigour with which they engage local communities in
everyday politics. Unfortunately, grassroots politics has currently
come to be the exact opposite of functional democracy. Patronage
networks, centred on traditional hierarchies and primordial identities of
caste and community, have been the basis of political mobilization.
Unless that changes, Parliament will continue to be the institutional
shell of a trivialized and dysfunctional democracy, even as more and
more people take recourse to extra-institutional, politically violent
forms of politics.

13.08.06:

14.08.06:

• Asset reconstruction companies:

o International distressed asset players trying to enter India:
 Matlin Patterson of UK
 Concordia
• VF Corp may slip into volumes biz:
o VF Corp, owner of Lee and Wranglers, is angling for the mid-priced
shelves
o Talks on with Reliance Retail to firm up entry strategy for brands like
Hero and Riders
o The home grown brands like Flying Machine and Spykar dominate the
economy segment
o The industry estimates suggest that the domestic jeanswear market
could be around 80 mln pieces annually with the unbranded players in
the Rs. 150/300 mass bracket accounting for most of it.
• Airlines to sell ad space, within and without:
o Ad revenues generated from allied activities can reach 10% of total
revenue
o Some airlines are still wary of this opportunity as they think it can
dilute their brand value

15.08.06:

• Jet, Sahara work to salvage merger deal:

o The 2220 cr deal.
• If it isn’t secure, FDI won’t be welcome:
o Once the new law is enacted, the government would have the
powers to prohibit any foreign participation in Indian businesses,
if it is suspected that the move would affect national security.

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 • Sting fallout: Parties rally behind MP
o Demand stringent action against TV channel that aired offending tapes
o Eight-term tribal MP from Nandurbar Manik Rao Gavit denied ever
having met the mafia leader
• The cycle goes on, gets swanky:
o Fancy cycle segment accounts for almost 40% of the total production
of 1.6 crore units produced in India.
• Govt. plans carpet bomb in realty:
o The urban development ministry is considering to regulate property
transactions by imposing a new system of calculating real-estate value
on the basis of actual usable area – carpet area.
• Futures and organized retailing: V. Shanmugam
o Organized retailers having strong potential synergies with the
commodity futures industry should complement each other in
remedying the ills in the commodities marketing system that results in
higher prices.
o Characteristics of efficient markets:
 Should provide a common platform to the participants, hassle-
free order matching process between the buyers and tge sellers
from across the country, perfect delivery mechanism, real-time
price dissemination, access to quality warehousing systems,
help the players to hedge their price risks, and aid
dissemination of fundamentals to the players in the market.
 Futures markets provide all these in a single stroke persuading
the entire value chain to tune up its efficiency with the added
advantage of advance price discovery.
• Exploring the export option:
o Large business houses are now finding it profitable to dabble in the
export arena – spurred by liberalization and reforms
o Reforms in infrastructure, taxation, labour etc along with cut in
transaction costs will make investing in exports viable
o The returns on investment of corporates is higher on overseas sales
than locally.
o The export intensity of the private corporate sector (manufacturing
exports per unit of sales) has almost doubled from 13.37% in 1998-99
to 24.23% in 2004-05.
16.08.2006:

• PFs can buy oil bonds:

o There are indications that the bonds would be SLR eligible and would
be tradable.
o Put simply, investments in these bonds would count towards their SLR
ratio of banks. This enables banks to buy these bonds at a later stage
when they have adequate liquidity.
• How high is high for pesticide residue levels:
o The EU for instance, has the most stringent norms in the world for
aflatoxins levels – toxic compounds produced by aspergillus flavus
species – in nuts like groundnuts, pistachios and cereals.

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• Now prove your metallurgy:
o Up to 30,000 people required in this sector in the next 10 years.
o Currently, India’s per capita consumption of steel is only 30 kg per
person and there is no reason to believe that the consumption will not
grow to 330 kg per person in line with the developed countries.
• About 54% of India’s population is aged less than 24 years. They are
actually driving the demand.
• Banks tap overseas funds for desi lending:
o Overseas depostis and borrowings rose 15% from $54.7 bn in Dec
2004 to $62.8 bn in Dec 2005. The rise in domestic deposits has not
kept pace with credit requirements.
o The growth in international assets of banks is attributed to the rise
in nostro balances held abroad. Nostro balances are balances held
with correspondent banks abroad by Indian banks.
• Colas: The media are guilty too: SSA Aiyar
o Besides, the actual pesticide level, according to government surveys, is
3,080 times higher in milk, 69,700 times higher in vegetables and
111,600 times higher in fruit than in the proposed cola standards. The
maximum permitted level for tea leaves is almost 60,000 times higher.
These are treated as priority items, unlike colas, which are held to be
inessential.
• Uniform norms for acquiring land: Raghav Chandra
o In the US an Interagency Land Acquisition Conference was established
in 1968 by the attorney general. This voluntary organization comprises
representatives from federal agencies engaged in acquisition for public
purposes. Its main aim is to establish uniform policy standards for
land acquisition and to formulate guidelines to make land acquisition
fair and efficient.
o Market value is broadly identified as the price the property would have
fetched on the effective date of appraisal, on the open competitive
market, from a willing and reasonably knowledgeable buyer, who is
not under any compulsion to buy or sell, giving due consideration to all
available economic uses of the property at the time of appraisal.
o The government should ensure a standing mechanism for
consultations, rule making and setting of uniform standards for land
acquisition. This holds the key to future investments in the
infrastructure sector.
• Riding the freeway: Insurance sector detarrifing
o Detarriffing or free pricing is expected to be there in non-life insurance
sector from January 2007.
o There is no reason for a country that spends Rs. 1,50,000 cr on health
care to have a health insurance business of only Rs. 2,000 cr.
• Economy to clock 8% growth 4th year a row:
o The rate of growth of population has come down to 1.6% as per the
estimates provided by the Economic Advisory Council. This means a
sustained rise in per capita income of 6.4%, which is unprecedented.
• Aviation insurance costs may not increase:
o Insurers expect better security system to cut down premium prices

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 o Airlines spend at least $8.36 bn a year on risk management
o Aviation premiums are 15.5% higher than what it was before 9/11
o Domestic market for insurance seen at Rs. 350 cr.
o Global aviation insurance pegged at more than $5 bn.
o According to industry estimates, the domestic market for aviation
insurance is pegged at Rs.350 cr.
17.08.06:

• Ads take baby steps in offshoring:

o Indian advertising industry is of the size of Rs. 13,000 cr.
o Globally advertising outsourcing business is estimated to be worth a
stupendous $280 bln of which $50 bln is estimated to be in creative
and production alone, according to a January 2006 report “Outsourcing
in Advertising: Is India the Destination Next?”
• The year of microfinance bashing?
o In India, the average per capita GNP works out to $650 or Rs. 30,000 a
year i.e., an annual family income of about Rs. 1.5 lakh.
o By March 2006, around 1.6 mln SHGs are reported to have been linked
to banks. At an average of 15 members per SHG, this amounts to 24
mln families. However, this may be exaggerated.
o A more careful assessment results in a a liberal estimate of some 11
mln families served – just 15% of the total of 192 mln families in the
country.
18.08.06:

• RBI nixes fin sector automatic route:

o Approved financial activities include:
 merchant banking
 underwriting
 portfolio management
 asset management
 venture capital
 financial consultancy
 stock broking
 credit reference agency
 credit rating
 leasing and finance
 forex broking
 money chaning busines
 housing finance
 custodial services
 micro and rural credit
• Prices of common drugs to dip sharply:
o An earlier government study found that trade margins are the highest
on generic generic drugs – those that are sold primarily by the name of
the active ingredient, say paracetamol, rather than by a brand name,
say crocin.

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 • Brnason flies in Virgin Comics:
o Virgin Comics is a collaboration between Deepak Chopra, Shekhar
Kapur and Richard Branson.
o The global media and entertainment industry is expected to touch $1.3
trillion in the next 7 years.
• Stretch retailing:
o The idea is to take the store to the people through franchise vehicles.
• Budget movies have to stir up success:
o Typically a big budget movie in India spends 10-20% of its production
costs on promoting the film. For small budget movies, anything that
costs under Rs. 5 – 6 cr to produce, success comes with a huge price
tag, with marketing expenditure upwards of 40%, and sometimes even
as high as 60% of the production costs.
• The PC market in India is estimated to touch 6 mln units in 2006, recording a
growth of over 30%.
• The market size of laser printer is estimated to be around 3 lakh units.

19.08.06:

• FDI registers 47% growth in Q1 FY07”

o India attracted FDI to the tune of $1.74 bn during April-July 2006,
registering a 47% growth over the inflow during the corresponding
four months of the previous year.
o This is a substantial rise compared to $1.8 bn FDI received by the
country during April – July 2005.
• President signs the OoP Bill:
o The parliament constituted JPC with 15 members with a 4 point terms
of reference:
 To examine in the context of the settled interpretation of the
expression 'office of profit' in Article 102 of the Constitution
and the underlying constitutional principles therein, and to
suggest a comprehensive definition of the office of profit.
 To recommend, in relation of the office of profit, the evaluation
of a generic and comprehensive criteria which is just, fair and
reasonable and can be applied to all states and union territories.
 To examine the feasibility of a law relating to the prevention of
disqualification, as was the case in the UK, and considered by
the Constitution (45th amendment) Act, 1976.
• Allies nail UPA on Liberhan Commission's extension:
o The MS Liberhan Commission, setup by the PV Narasimha Rao
government 10 days after the demolition of the Babri Masjid in
Ayodhya, was entrusted with the task of inquiring into the demolition
and the circumstances that led to it.
• Try leveraging brands online, create incentives:
o The current 40 mn internet users base in India is set to cross the 100
mln mark by 2007 end.

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 o Organized retail constitutes about 3% of total retail and is poised to
reach 15-20% in the next few years, which translates into a 40%
CAGR.
o India has a Rs. 1000 cr premiumwear market.
• Trivitron makes pitch for medical equipment SEZ:
o Indegenous medical technology equipment business is estimated to be
worth $2 bn in India.
o Imported equipment accounts for $1.7 bn.
o It is estimated that 70% of the product features in the imported medical
equipment are simply irrelavant to the Indian context and that
indegenisation can result in cost savings of 30% to 50%.
• More science institute plans on CSIR platter:
o CSIR is examining the idea of setting up a chain of Indian Institute for
Science and Education (IISERs).
• PM firm on labour reforms in textile:
o India's performance in the post-quota regime has improved drastically
and investment in the sector has shot up from around Rs. 15000 cr in
2004-05 to over Rs. 30,000 cr in 2005-06. Textile exports in the
financial year are expected to touch $19.6 bn compared with $17 bn in
2005-06.
20.08.06:

• Indian Railways performance:

o Railways had a market share of 89% freight and 69% of
passengers in 1951. That’s now slipped to 35% and 20%
respectively.
o Railways are four to five times more fuel efficient than the
roadways.
o Ideally the Railways should have a market share of freight
volumes at 60%, not 35%, as it is today. If IR had a market share
of freight volumes at 60%, it would have translated into saving
petroleum products worth Rs. 7,500 cr per year.
o Analysts predict that the transport sector is set to grow by 10%
should the economy grow at 8% a year. IR will not be able to cope
with cumulative freight volume growth of 10% per year for the
next 10 years. Its present base is 700 mln tonnes a year.
o Capacity augmentation is a serious problem. Carrying capacity
per wagon has already increased to 65 tonnes. This can’t increase
any more.
o Losses in passenger traffic have been contained by increasing
length, seating capacity and occupancy of trains. This can’t go on.
o Six freight corridors needed. Development of new lines on busy
routes should be taken up as interim measure.
• Rajiv Gandhi Akshay Urja Diwas: Is observed on August 20, 2006.
o Figures and facts reeled out by Mr. Vilas Muttemwar, Minsiter of
State for Non-Conventional Energy Sources:
 India’s wind energy potential - 70,000 MW
 Hydel potential - 1,50,000 MW

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  Solar energy potential - 5 trillion MW
 The PM has stated that he expects 50,000 MW to be
generated through non-conventional energy sources by the
year 2030. We have already achieved 8,600 MW upto
March 2006. And India has the capacity to generate 2500
MW yearly. At this rate, by the end of the 11th plan, we will
cross the 20,000 MW mark.
 India is 4th in the world in tapping wind power, 5th in small
hydro power and second in biogas plants.
 Waste energy potential is 5000 MW.

21.08.06:

• Labour unions to go ahead with anti-govt stir:

o The trade unions opposed any changes in labour laws in the textile
industry and the suggestion made by the group of ministers.
o Trade unions opposed giving a blanket exemption to the textile
exporting industry from the provisions of the IDA, amending the IDA
to proscribe any strike in textile exporting units and changes in the
Factories Act allowing weekly working hours to be increased from 48
to 60 hours.
• US appeals court rejects Bhopal gas victims’ plea for damages:
o The chemical plant of Union Carbide was shut down after deadly
methyl isocynate gas leaked from it on December 3, 1984 killing 2660
people and seriously affecting the health of another two lakh.
• DoT wants Rs. 2000 cr more for infrastructure:
o All telecom companies pay 5% of their adjusted gross revenue
towards the USOF (Universal Service Obligation Fund), which is
used for building and supporting telecom infrastructure in rural
India.
o Under the current norms, the USOF can only be used to support
fixed line services.
• Drugs pricing:
o Generic generic drugs are only 7% of the market. They have unusually
high trade margins.
• Focus on efficiency of capital
o ICOR: Incremental capital output ratio is the capital needed for an
output one. It is currently 3.7 in the Indian economy i.e., to produce an
output of one, 3.7 times capital is needed.
o The goal of optimal efficiency of capital demands the gross value of
output being the closest to the capital employed, and not the farthest,
but this is not what is happening.
o Irrespective of how profits are maximized, enhancing efficiency of
capital by way of physical output vis-à-vis the capital employed should
receive close and constant attention.
• Bank CEOs as independent directors?

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 o Naina Lal Kidwai of HSBC bank had to forego her independent
director position in a Fortune 500 company (Nestle) just because she is
a bank CEO.
o Clause 49 of the listing agreement stipulates that an individual who
holds 2% or more of the block of voting shares of the company cannot
be appointed as an independent director.
• Bull run forces investors to shun open offers:
o According to SEBI regulations, if a company’s ownership in another
company exceeds 15% of the equity capital in the target company, the
acquiring company has to make an open offer to the retail shareholders
of the target company.
• Govt. seeks industry support in WPI revision:
o Govt. wants to expedite revision of WPI with 1100 items being
included in the manufacturing segment.
o The weightage of manufacturing items under WPI is expected to
be 63-64%.
o Govt. may bring in legislation to seek industry’s cooperation.
o The reason for choosing 2000-01 as the base year is that the
consumer price index (CPI) is also calculated with same year as the
base.
o It is now being proposed that WPI should be revised every 5 years
so as to get a more clear picture of actual inflation rates.
• Nobel prizes announcement:
o Would be announced in the first two weeks of October.
o Value is 10 mln kronor or $1.4 mln.

22.08.06:

• India's BPO industry:

o is $7bln and employs about 500,000 people.
• Will Indian roads see pink Cadillacs?
o If cosmetics giant Mary Kay is here, can the famed rewards plan be far
behind?
o Mary Kay, which has been selling in more than 30 markets globally,
employs more than 1.6 mln direct sales agents.
• Wow! Young Indians to nearly double by 2020
o According to a joint TeamLease Services – Indicus Analytics report,
the age group of 25-39 years is projected to grow by about 43% to 35.8
cr in 2020 from 25.1 cr in 2006.
o The 60+ age group will grow by 60% from the current 8.1 cr to 12.9 cr.
• The next connectivity revolution
o Even after 15 years of economic reforms, most consumer durables do
not exceed 60 mln in total sales till date.
o The number of cars on the road is less than 10 mln
o Two wheelers less than 50 mln
o Refrigerators less than 60 mln
o Total TV sets sold have not yet touched 100 mln.

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 o Mobile phone connections have touched 150 mln mark and are
growing at the rate of 5 mln per month.
• What is U hypothesis?
o It states that the female participation rates in the workforce are, on an
average, higher when an economy is organised around family-based
production. The hypothesis further argues that with economic growth
and increased urbanization, participation of women in workforce
generally declines as women stay home and men go out to work. But
at still higher levels of per capita income, which enhances overall
capacity building in terms of better access to education, female
participation rises again.
• Andhra to test flood-tolerant rice
o The new rice variety, Swarna sub 1, has a gene that allows rice plants
to survive complete submergence in water for up to two weeks.
• Budget hotels offer rooms with a view
o In the Rs. 10,200 cr hotel industry, SME hotels account for a turnover
of Rs. 350 cr. These are primarily the one and two star hotels in the
country with approximately 9500 rooms and a total of 260 hotels
across the country.
o The premium segment hotels account for the highest turnover in the
industry at Rs. 5,600 cr.

23.08.06:

24.08.06:

• Curbs on banks' exposure to VCFs

o RBI said banks cannot hold more than 30% of the paid up capital of
the investee company.
o The RBI has made it mandatory for banks to seek its prior approval
before investing more than 10% in equity capital or units of a VCF.
• If wellness means water, Tatas mean business:
o The US market for bottled water is growing at over 10%, compared
with the $68 bn carbonated soft-drinks market that saw growth plunge
by 0.2% in 2005.
o The bottled water market around the world is demarcated into three
categories – purified water, source water, and enhanced water.
o Globally Group Danone and Nestle dominate the bottled water market.
o In the energy drinks segment, globally there is one clear leader –
Austria's Red Bull.
• Mr. Rodrigo de Rato is MD of IMF
• Road ahead: Fuel cess may haunt you till 2030
o the cess on petrol and diesel was introduced in June 1998. The
collections from the cess go mainly towards financing highway
projects and repayment of loans. Loans raised for road sector
projects alone was over Rs. 6,018 cr in 2005-06 necessitating the
move to extend the application period of the cess.
• Future perfect: Commodity volumes top equities now

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 o It took only three years for the commodity markets to achieve a
turnover of Rs. 12,000 to 13,000 cr in India. On the other hand the
capital market turnover has come down to Rs. 25,000 to 30,000 cr
following the recent crash.
• Demise of the development round: Joseph Stiglitz
o Development round in world trade – opening up opportunities for
developing countries to grow and reduce poverty.
o Brazilian sugar based ethanol costs far less to produce than American
corn based ethanol.
o The principle of countervailing duties has been recognized: when a
country gives subsidies, others can impose a tax to offset the unfair
advantage given to that country's producers.
• Economic outlook brightens: TT Ram Mohan
o The IMF's World Economic Outlook (April 2006) had proejcted a
growth of 4.9% and 4.7% respectively for calendar years 2006 and
2007 respectively.
o An IMF study in 2000 had estimated that a $5 rise in oil prices reduces
global output by a mere 0.25% over four years. The recent WEO
estimates that a $10 rise in the price of oil would cause US output to
decline by 0.5% over eight years.
• Chilli futures lack spice
o Presently about 2.5 lakh bags (of 40 kg each) of chillies are lying in the
cold storages in Guntur market. And arrivals are about 25000 bags a
day.
o The arrivals begin in January and go on till June.
o In the just ended season output was about 8.5 lk tonnes, almost 40%
lower than the yearly average.
• PMO forms panel on iron ore exports
o The 13 bn tonnes of haematite ore available in the country can get
exhausted in the next 20 years, going by the growth of 10% seen in the
steel industry.
o Industry experts say that of the 140 mn tonnes of iron ore produced in
India, about 85 mt are exported and 85% of this is in the form of fines.
• 8 PSUs seek navaratna status:
o The qualifying criteria for PSUs to be rated as navaratnas depends
on six ratios, according to the Department of Public Enterprises
guidelines.
o These include net profit to net worth, manpower cost to total cost
of production or cost of services, earning per share and inter-
sectoral performance.
• Approval for Indian arms of Singapore banks put on hold
o The CECA with Singapore provided giving QFB (Qualifying Full
Banking) status to three Indian banks on a reciprocal basis. QFB
status will allow Indian banks, already operating in Singapore to
raise retail deposits and establish 15 centres. Banks will also be
allowed electronic funds transfer, clearance and establishment of
local ATMs.

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 o SBI has not been given the QFB status by Singapore so far because
of rating issue. The rating is not with SBI, but India's sovereign
rating, which is not investment grade. Since SBI's rating cannot
be higher than the country's ratings, it fails the MAS (Monetary
Authority of Singapore) test.

25.08.06:

• Very light jets (VLJ) seek landing slots

o VLJ cos Eclipse and Adam of US bet big on India's HNI spending
power.
o Eclipse's VLJ will weigh 1603 kg and costs barely $1.5 mln and can
carry 6 people. It requires a runway of only 701 metres and can land
on private airstrips, small runways like those in SEZs, industrial parks
and sea ports.
o India has an airport infrastructure of 334 airports.
• DoT to fund new defence link
o Release of 45 Mhz offers potential for 100 M new connections
o DoT proposes to build an alternate network for defence costing Rs. 210
cr for the army, Rs. 620 cr for the air force and Rs. 145 cr for the navy.
• Software testing business:
o In India is estimated to be about $700 mln next year from $200 mln in
the year 2003-04.
• Good cover: credit card cos line up to partner LIC
o There are around 20 mln credit cards in the country. Of this number,
around half of them would be unique credit card holders.
o LIC has a customer base of 190 mln policies and around 90 mln unique
customers.
• NHB mulls reverse mortgage loan for the elderly
o It is estimated that the market for reverse mortgage products in the
country is about Rs. 5000 cr.
o Senior citizens opting for reverse mortgage on their homes will get
monthly income against it while remaining the owners of their homes.
The lending cos will in turn float the loans as mortgage backed
securities, which are tradable products.
• Indian equity market not swaying to Fed rate tunes
o Performance of Indian equity largely independent of US Fed rate
swings
o ETIG study examined relationship between Fed funds rate and Sensex
from January 1991 to July 2006.
o A negative correlation of 0.1 implies that the two events are almost
independent of each other
o The India Inc growth story seems to be due to domestic factors rather
than external ones.
• Cotton production is estimated to be about 260-275 lakh bales this year.
Gujarat, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh are the leading producers.

26.08.06:

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29.08.06:

• Hot Job: India Inc recruiting fire-fighters in droves

o The demand for fire engineers has led to setting up of new institutes.
o College of Fire Technology, Ahmedabad
o Delhi Institute of Fire Engineering
o Institute of Fire and Safety Technology, Kochi
o National Institute of Fire and Safety, Kochi
o National Centre for Professional Training, Kerala
o National Fire Academy, Vadodara
• What next for Indian arbitration?
o There are 13 judges for every million people in India, compared to 51
in Britain and 107 in the US.
o Recent reports indicate that over 30 mln cases are currently pending
resolution in India.
• Does India need a semiconductor industry?
o India's consumption of electronics is growing from about $10 bn in
2004 to over $300 bn in 2016 and of semiconductors from about $1 bn
in 2004 to over $40 bn in 2016.
o Indian semiconductor industry had a turnover of $3.2 bn in 2005 with
an engineering workforce of around 75,000. It is estimated to touch
$43 bn by the year 2015 and provide jobs to 7,80,000 profressionals
with a CAGR of 30% for this period.
o India's electronic equipment consumption which was estimated at
around $28.2 bn in 2005, is expected to reach $363 bn by 2015
growing at a CAGR of 29.8%.
o Indian electronic equipment domestic consumption was $10.99 bn in
2005 and projects an opportunity to touch $155 bn by 2015.
o India's total semiconductor consumption in 2005 was about $2.8 bn; it
is expected to exceed $36 bn by 2015.
• Robusta to get a push up the Indian value chain
o 11th plan to remove discrimination against robusta; Indian variety
fetches a premium of $400-500 per tonne.
o India's coming 2006-07 coffee crop is projected at 300,300 tonnes, the
break-up being 196,600 tonnes of Robusta and 103,700 tonnes of
Arabica.

30.08.06:

• Many promoters go on a buying binge

o Under SEBI guidelines, promoters of a company can acquire up to 5%
of the equity capital through the creeping acquisition route in a year.
• Ambanis, Birlas now eye carbon credit trade
o India is considered one of the largest beneficiaries in the trade
accounting for about $5 bn or 31% of the total world carbon trade
through the Clean Development Mechanism
• Meet on Naxal menace today:

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 o The multi-pronged approach of the Central Govt. to tackle Naxal
menace includes:
 Providing financial assistance to affected states under the
police modernization and security related expenditure
schemes
 Ensuring deployment of adequate central paramilitary
forces on no cost basis
 Sanctioning of additional India Reserve battalions for states
 Recruiting maximum persons from affected areas
 Supply of mine-protected vehicles to neutralize landmine
attacks
 Air support to naxal affected states for evacuation of
casualties and movement of security personnel
 Strengthening of intelligence in states and streamlining of
sharing and collection of information
 40% recruitment in central forces from border areas
affected by militancy or Naxalism to wean away youth from
the path of Naxalism.
 States have been asked to undertake recruitment drives to
fill up vacancies in police stations in Naxal-affected areas
 Centre has ordered deployment of SSB along the Indo-
Nepal border
 States asked to formulate rehabilitation policy and organize
programmes through mass media to counter Naxal
propaganda
• Global brands face trial by fire
o In many instances admitting to a product defect can actually have a
positive rub-off on the brand, say marketing experts
o Besides survival in a global market, brand majors have to counter
image hits due to product recalls
o Self-regulation and voluntary admission are two of the popular
strategies in use
o In India, consumer forums are pitching for laws to protect interests of
buyers and increase awareness
• Notebooks tell strong Q2 story
o The segment has shipped over two lakh (2,19,000) notebooks in the
single quarter i.e., Q1 2006-07
• Singapore tourism beckons Indian cos
o BTMICE accounted for 25% of the 8.94 mln global visitors to
Singapore last year and it hosted some 5000 business events
• IITs, IRMA to study impact of futures on agriculture
o FMC on its own has found a correlation between price discovery
through futures trading and trends in production of some agri-
commodities.
• Fuel prices in for quarterly review
o The govt. had allowed oil companies to revise retail prices on a
fortnightly basis when the APM was first decontrolled in April 2002.
• Winds of change

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 o Christopher Cox is Chairman of SEC Securities & Exchange
Commission of the US
o According to SEC estimates, there are 8,800 hedge funds with $1.2
trillion of assets and account for 30% of all US equity trading volumes
• UNCTAD software to detect inverted duty
o An inverted duty structure occurs when the import duties on a finished
product is lower than duties on raw materials used
• 50 Indian cos eyeing AIM to raise $3 bn
o London based Alternate Investment Market (AIM) started in 1995,
requires no minimum requirements for initial equity, minimum public
float, market capitalization, trading history and profitability for
companies to list.
31.08.06:

• Chrys cap buys 5% in UTI Bank

o The total banking assets of the country are estimated to be in the region
of $600 bn and UTI bank's assets are around $12 bn
• Videocon in talks to buy Thai CRT
o Globally the total market of CRT is around 135 mln units and over
95% of the total televisions are sold in India is CRT based.
o The penetration of TV is at only 40 mln units on a base of 200 mln
households.
• New norms framed to wipe out defence scandals
o No negotiations would be conducted with the L-1 vendor identified in
a multi-vendor situation in accordance with the guidelines issued by
the Central Vigilance Commission
• Kerala tourism takes on blue hue
o In the next three months, the hills and ravines of Munnar, the tourist
hot spot in Kerala, will be swathed in a blue blanket with the blooming
of Neelakurinji ( a rare blue flower) – a phenomenon that happens once
in 12 years.
• FIPB sounds warning on courier FDI
o At present 100% FDI is allowed in courier industry. The department
of posts is urging for reduction of this limit to 49% since the entire
responsibility of fulfilling the universal service obligation (USO) in the
segment lies on it while the courier companies do not share the USO
costs.
• IIFCL's semi-sovereign debt float gets RBI veto
o India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited was set up in January
this year to provide long term debt finance for infrastructure projects in
public and private sector, as per a plan announced in budget 2005.
• Faster and more inclusive growth
o Considering the prevailing socio-economic structure and the nature of
our polity, the challenges for achieving more inclusive growth are
much greater than for stepping up the GDP growth rate, says CH
Hanumatha Rao, Chairman of CESS Centre for Economic and Social
Studies, Hyderabad.
• Don't cry for steelmakers

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 o There are problems with the proposition that export of raw material
should be banned so that local users of that raw material could thrive
o Mining and making the graded ore available is a legitimate commercial
activity that creates jobs and incomes
o The present policy of giving steel plants captive mines is wholly
wrong-headed and destroys value.
• Golden carrot may be on cards for auto cos
o The scheme envisages rewarding the companies that achieve a
prescribed level of energy efficiency target in the form of tax credits
over a specified period of time for actual output.
o Currently, India consumes 0.16 kg of oil equivalent (kgoe) per dollar
of GDP expressed in purchasing power parity.
• Indian sea food exports collide with EU again
o The problem of cadmium contamination in cephalopods has been
detected from the products caught off the Gujarat and Maharashtra
coasts.

01.09.06:

• Indians take to the skies

o The growth in domestic air-traffic is three times that of international
traffic, which grew by 16%.
o About 22.5 mln passengers flew in Q1 (domestic and foreign)
compared to 16.3 mln in the same period last year.
o AAI has forecast that traffic at Indian airports will grow to 205 mln by
2011-12 up from 73.3 mln in 2005-06.
o An estimated investment of Rs. 110,000 cr will be needed to cater to
this surge in demand.
• Kondpalli toys
o The toys are made out of special wood called “telliponki”, a variety
which is specially grown in the land earmarked for this purpose in
villages surrounding Kondappali.
• eBay India to unite small retailers on its platform
o eBay has over 2 mln registered users in India with about 1500
transactions per day.
o The domestic e-commerce market is doubling every year, and is slated
to grow to Rs. 2300 cr this fiscal from Rs. 1180 cr in the earlier year.
• Media houses upset over TRAI's tariffs
o Typically a channel gets around 60% of the revenues from
advertisements and the balance from subscriptions.
• Online travel sites are a rage
o The online travel industry is growing at 125% (CAGR) annually;
generates revenue of $300 – 500 mln; is around 2% of the entire travel
industry.
o Entire travel industry in India is estimated to be about $20 to 50 bln

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 o Online travel industry in India is expected to become a $2 bn industry
by 2008.
• Small is in: IT outsourcing deals in fragmented bytes
o The average IT spend in 2006 is pegged at 2% of corporate revenues.
The median growth in IT spending on a dollar basis was 4.1% in 2005.
• Animation cos innovate to fight resource crunch
o Color Chips and RVML (RACE) have training academies for
animation in Hyderabad.
• Indian economy
o The tax to GDP ratio, an indicator of how well the government is
tapping into a growing economy, will rise to 11.2% in the current
fiscal, from 10.5% in 2005-06.
• Why minimum wage is low in India
o The NREGS guarantees 100 days of employment at the rate of Rs.
60 a day.
o According to World Bank, the rupee equivalent of a dollar can buy
goods and services valued at about five times what a dollar can in
America.
• Scientific illiteracy on insecticides: P. Chengal Reddy, Chairman of Indian
Farmers Federation
o Indian agriculture losses are estimated at Rs. 60,000 cr due to
pests.
o The market for insecticides in urban areas is around Rs. 2000 cr
every year. Only 25% of India's population live in urban areas.
o Crop medicine market (insecticides, fungicides, herbicides) in
India is Rs. 3,800 cr. Human medicines market is around Rs.
23,000 cr.
o The number of pesticides used by Indian farmers are 179 as
against 755 in US and 600 in EU.
o One ppb is equivalent of 1 second in 32 years.
• Indian insurance industry
o Life insurance market: It grew 41% to Rs. 35,896 cr in FY06
o LIC is topper with 70.1% market share, while Bajaj Allianz is second
followed by ICICI Prudential.
o General insurance: Gross premiums were up 16% during FY06 to Rs.
20,378 cr.
• India INC improves capital efficiency, ICOR down to 0.58
o ICOR is defined as (capital employed – previous year's capital
employed) / (value of output – previous year's value of output).
• IATA trims loss estimate for industry from $3 bn to $1.7 bn
o Total fuel bill forecast for the current year is $115 bn. This projection
is based on the average oil price of $68 a barrel.
• Green light: Power for all at low cost
o The Kirit Parikh committee submitted its final report
o Salient features:
 Allowing private players in coal industry through an
amendment of the Coal Nationalization Act, 1973

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  Creation of real competition in the petroleum sector
through a corrective pricing strategy
 Improving efficiency at the distribution level by reducing
the AT&C losses
 Independent regulators for individual energy sub-groups
03.09.06

• Good Money : Bad Money

o Hawala mode remains the backbone of the sub-continent’s parallel
economy, variously estimated at 30% to 50% of the white economy.
o Stats available with the IMF pegs global money laundering at above
$590 bn.
o Market players variously estimate the hawala industry at around Rs.
2000- Rs. 3000 cr for both black and white transactions.
o Hawala has various names:
 Fei-Chien – China
 Padala – Philipplines
 Hundi – India
 Hui Kuan – Hong Kong
 Phei Kwan – Thailand
• WiMax stands for World Interoperability for Microwave Access
• Zepter, Avon, Tupperware and Amway are direct selling companies
• The US market for all passenger vehicles is about 17 mln per annum
• Stress at workplace
o One fourth of the employees worldwide find their jobs stressful.
o In India studies show 43% of corporate India stressed.
o 66% of Indian CEOs are under stress.
• Indian cinema industry
o The southern four language film markets produce about 300 to 350
movies in a year for a budget of up to Rs. 1200 cr.
o AP has the highest number of theatres in the country with about 2200
halls.
04.09.06

• Govt. to bat for India Inc’s global acquisitions:

o India now stands 15th in terms of outward direct investment by
developing countries with Hong Kong topping the list with $405 bn
followed by Singapore with $101 bn.
• VC arms eye equity in new pharma retail JV
o The organized pharma retailing sector in India has an annual turnover
of Rs. 35,000 cr.
• Natwar Sing faces ED music
o Justice RS Pathak Inquiry Authority absolved Mr. Sing and his
son of having made any personal financial gains from the
transactions under the UN oil for food programme.
o The Pathak report has indicted both Mr. Singh and his son for
having misused their position in the Congress party to help those

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 known to them in the procurement of oil coupons under the UN
sponsored programme run by the Saddam Hussein government.
• Savings up in debentures, deposits
o Gross financial savings accounted for 16.7% of GDP in 2005-06 as
compared to 13.8% in 2003-04.
o In the year 2005-06, 4.9% of total financial savings found their way
into a category called ‘shares & debentures’.
o Investment in small savings accounted for just 12.3% of financial
savings as compared to 19.5% in the year 2004-05.
• Money supply on a new high
o M3 is a broad indicator of money in the system. It grew by 20%
yoy as of August 18th.
o A money supply growth that matches the nominal GDP growth is
considered healthy as it absorbs the total output generated in the
economy.
• Convertibility in stages
o In the case of ECB the committee has recommended scrapping end-use
restrictions and raising the automatic approval limit to first $750 and
subsequently to $1 bn.
o Similarly it recommended that companies could invest up to 400% of
net worth, up from the current 100%.
• Better safe than sorry
o Non-performing assets are now down to less than 5% and there’s no
doubt the banking system is in much better than in 1997 when
Tarapore submitted his first report.
o The revenue deficit has grown 49% in the first four months of the year
compared to just 2% in the comparable period last year.
• Re-work tax treaty with Mauritius?
o The Indo-Mauritius tax treat (DTAT) was first signed in 1982. The
main provision was that no resident of Mauritius would be taxed
in India on capital gains arising out of sale of securities in India.
• For an effective oil & gas regulator
o A committee more often than not, it could be said, is a group of the fat,
fifty-ish and seemingly unfit people, and appointed by the decidedly
unwilling people to suggest policy panacea which may well be
obvious!
• Presently India is having a port capacity of 573 mln tonnes. It can be
increased to double that if an investment of Rs. 50,000 cr is made in the next
five years.

05.09.06:

• India requests US for service provider visa

o The proposed Social Security Dual Taxation Avoidance Treaty –
popularly known as totalisation agreement – would be beneficial for
Indian professionals as they can avoid payment of 16.5% tax on their
earnings.

- 174 -
 • Preparing for the big leap: Educational institutions must sharpen their focus on
vocational training
o Of all children who enroll in schools, over 50% drop out by class VII
and 70% by class X.
o Vocationalisation of secondary education, introduced in 1988 at the +2
stage, did well initially but later lost steam. At the university level,
career oriented courses were introduced in 1994, but have never been
popular.
06.09.06

• GCMMF to fuse liquid mild brands

o The cooperative dairy sector sells about 35-36 lakh litres of liquid milk
in various brand names in including Amul, the flagship brand.
• Cell operators rely on voice based revenues
o At present the average non-voice based revenues of wireless operators
is around 8-10% of mobile revenues, whereas in developed markets it
is around 17-18%.
o Churn rate measures the number of disconnections divided by the
number of customers.
• BSNL, MTNL eye undersea cable biz
o There are only four bandwidth providers in India – VSNL,
Reliance, BSNL and Bharti. There are 33 in London, 32 in US and
Germany, 24 in France and 14 in South Korea.
• Frost and Sullivan to assess STP prospects in towns
o STP units are exempt from income tax and enjoy a host of other tax
breaks and infrastructure facilities.
• Brand patent is serious business
o The $ 1 mln plus big bucks legal process outsourcing business is
driving India to move at a fast pace on the patent front with four of the
intellectual property bhavans at Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata
set to become online by April 2007.
o Globally there are now 1200 IP specialists from 140 countries with a
major chunk of 40% coming from the US alone.
o During 1995-2005, patent output in India grew from 64 patents in
1995, to a whopping 519 by the end of 2005.
• Total outbound travel from India is about 8 mln passengers of which 10% are
semi-urban leisure travelers.
• Royalties on coal to spiral 15%
o The increase in coal royalties is expected to enrich 7 states by about
Rs. 800 cr.
o At present, the Centre fixes the royalty on a per tonne basis for three
years which is payable to state governments.
o The new system is going to be ad valorem based.
• Participatory Notes
o One of the reasons why PNs exist is because foreign individuals
and corporates are not allowed to invest directly in Indian market.
Also, some categories of investors such as hedge funds may find

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 registering bothersome since they are interested in a limited
number of stocks.
• Green fuel plans pick up pace
o India is the fourth largest producer of ethanol, behind US, Brazil and
China with a total capacity of 2.6 bn litres.
o Duty paid ethanol imported in to the country costs Rs. 29 per litre.
o Local sugar factories are gunning for about Rs. 27 per litre
o According to industry estimates, the alcohol industry buys 800 mln
litres, chemical companies buy 900 mn litres, potable alcohol another
800 mn litres and now oil companies need another 580 mln litres.
07.09.06

• Direct selling: Laggard or Big Potentate?

o The Indian direct selling industry is a dwarf compared to its Asian
counterparts. Though the figure of over 13 lakh direct sellers
generating over Rs. 2000 cr in sales, in itself, looks impressive, it is
just 0.05% and 0.01% of what all of Asia employes (2.5 cr people) and
sells (over Rs. 184,000 cr) respectively.
• Should government be deciding individual channel prices?
o CAS was renotified on July 31, 2006 and is operational from
December 31, 2006.
o It has left bouquetisation to broadcasters and MSOs to work out.
• US TV shows most ad-cluttered
o Worldwide TV today continues to account for over 40% of total global
advertising expenditure.
o In India, clutter levels are way below the average global clutter which
stands at 484. India ranks 32nd with a clutter level of 311.
• New vistas: i-banks on a hiring spree
o The total pool of i-bankers in the country is expected to be around 250-
300.
• IBSA to host three-way pact
o India, Brazil and South Africa framework may morph into PTA or
full blow FTA. PTA=Preferential Trade Agreement
o Mecosur includes Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina
• Carin faces GDH music over reserves
o While the production sharing contract allows companies to declare an
oil or gas find, the reserve figures can be announced only after it is
certified by the DGH.
• Cabinet to soon vet airport regulator bill ahead of House OK
o At present AAI manages 126 airports across India, which includes 89
domestic airports, 11 international airports and 26 civilian enclaves
located at defence airfields.
o An airport that handles more than 15 lakh passengers annually would
qualify as a major airport.
• Bid waiver for merchant power plants
o Projections by the CEA show that even if the 10th Plan capacity
addition target of 32,804 mw is met, the all India peak shortages would
be at an average of 16.3% or 18,913 mw.

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 • Going slow on convertibility
o PNs have come to dominate FII inflows in recent years – in 2005-06,
they accounted for around 80% of all incremental FII inflows.
• ONGC bets on term oil rig contracts
o ONGC is currently operating a number of jack-up rigs, which are
smaller than deep water rigs.
o Deepwater rigs are hired around $125,000 per day
o Jack-up rigs are hired around $60,000 per day.
o ONGC currently operates close to 30 offshore drilling rigs – about 8%
of global fleet, putting it among the largest operators.
o The global fleet of offshore drilling rigs is close to 550.
• Supply to the Kochi terminal of Petronet LNG may get stalled
o Expected to go on stream in 2009.
o Environment protection problems faced by the Gorgon Gas
project in Australia.
• AP Tobacco crop size hiked up to 150 m kg including nature’s bounty.
o Penalty for unauthorized and excess crop, at present, is levied at the
rate of 15% of value plus Rs. 2 per kg.
• Productivity slows down in US but wages go up
o Productivity is the key factor determining rising living standards.
Strong growth in output allows businesses to pay their workers more
without having to raise the cost of their products, which fuels inflation.
But the current data raise concerns because they show wage pressures
rising as productivity growth slows.

08.09.06:

• India rings loud & clear

o The total number of cellular mobile connections the world over has
crossed the 2.5 bln mark.
o India accounted for over 10% of the total growth over the last 12
months.
• Zee’s Siticable plans pan-India presence
o Siticable is currently present in 35 towns with a total subscriber base of
6.7 mln subscribers. While it’s the largest, it’s still not the dominant
MSO in the country.
• Bologna Process
o Seeks to create common European education area.
• Suicide epidemic among farmers: M. Rajivlochan
o Despite low returns and high uncertainties, only 29% of the farmers in
Maharashtra and other parts of the country, as per the 59th round of
NSSO Survey, said that they did not like farming because the profits
were not high enough and only 7% said that farming was a risky
enterprise. Most of them, some 61% still reported that they liked
farming.
• The rules of reconstruction: Graciana Del Castillo
o When wars end, countries confront a multi-pronged transition.
Violence must give way to security for inhabitants; lawlessness and

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 political exclusion must give way to the rule of law and participatory
government; ethnic, religious, or class/caste polarization must give
way to national reconciliation; and ruined war economies must be
transformed into functioning market economies that enable ordinar
people to support themselves. These tasks make economic
reconstruction fundamentally different from ‘development as usual’.
To succeed, the transition to peace requires demobilization,
disarmament and reintegration of former combatants, as well as
reconstruction and rehabilitation of services and infrastructure.
• Pawan bats for phased cuts in iron ore exports
o As per industry projections, steel production in the country is slated to
grow to over 130 mln tonnes, much ahead of targets set in the national
steel policy.
o Last fiscal, the country produced 165 mt of iron ore and exported 64%
of it.
• BHEL super critical plans face threat
o India doesn’t have indigenous capability to manufacture the 800 mw
super critical systems.
o BHEL tied up Seimens for power generators and Alstom for boilers.
• Ethanol blending on from Nov 1: Deora
o Oil marketing companies will have to procure almost 60 cr litres of
ethanol for blending with petrol to promote green fuel in the
country.
o The energy equivalent price of ethanol works out to Rs. 15.60 a
litre, taking one-year peak petrol cost of Rs. 26 per litre.
• Satellite images expose scars in Indian tea plantations
o Over 70% of India’s bushes are over 50 years old. Darjeeling
produces around 550 kg tea per hectare annually against 2100 kg
produced by Kenya, which has new plantations.

11.09.06:

• Networking: Ringing in mobile communities

o Around 3 mln mobile subscribers are connected to GPRS, out of the
total of over 118 mln.
o Compared to around 30 mln Internet users, India has around 118 mln
mobile connections and is adding over 5 mln per month.
• Attrition no tension for govt. units
o HAL currently has about 30,000 employees
o ISRO has about 16,200 employees
o Their attrition rates are very low – 1 to 5%.
• Rake in the moolah by being speech specialists
o India has only 1500 registered audiologists compared to the 1.2 lakh in
the US.
o The symptoms of stuttering and stammering disorder first appears
between the ages of 2.5 years and 4 years and nearly 1% o fthe general
population suffer from this disorder.
• IT cos stock up on goodies abroad

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 o Outbound deals this year at $820 mln surpassed inbound deals
o Inbound deals (where international cos acquire Indian companies) are
pegged at $784 mn
o Domestic deals are pegged at $150 mn
• Lead bank appointments for infra projects relaxed
o The present cap of 25% on debt financing by a financial institution, to
qualify as a lead banker may be dropped altogether. Instead, the FI
with the highest debt exposure in a project may automatically qualify
as the lead manager for a project.
o In infrastructure projects undertaken under the PPP route, the
government often also provides viability gap funding of up to 20% of
the total project cost. However, this is not provided unless the other
funds are tied up for projects.
o A lead banker does the documentation work required for a project and
works out funding programmes with other banks and institutions.
• The world has had enough
o Globally the airlines reported a loss of $18 bn in 2001 most of its
resulting from reduced traffic arising from a fear of flying.
o To make all the 7000 odd civilian aircraft of US, missile proof by
deploying electronic decoy systems, it would cost about $11 bn
• Basel II Norms
o The implementation of these norms stipulated by the Basel
committee of the Bank of International Settlements will require
more capital for banks in India.
• Currently the banking sector is reported to have an exposure of over Rs.
70,000 cr to the SME segment in India.
• Education’s share in states’ total budgetary allocation declines
o The govt. is projected to spend 6% of the GDP on education, half of
this on primary and secondary education alone.
o The share of education in individual’s consumption basket has gone up
from 2% in 2000-01 to 2.3% in 2004-05.
o All the states in India have allocated just 7.2% of their aggregate
budgetary expenses on education in 2005-06.
• PMS on their mind: Brokers eye BPO staff
o Currently about 14% or about Rs. 5.5 lk cr of the total GDP of the
country goes into financial savings.
o The size of the PMS market is estimated to be at over Rs. 10,000 cr.
14.09.06:

• Govt. to ease off on ECB cap

o The current aggregate cap of $18 bn on all such ECB loans set for this
fiscal may be relaxed.
o The total non food gross bank credit to industry has risen at almost
29% in 2005-06 and is moving at the same rate this year also.
o In the last fiscal corporates have raised over $17 bn through the ECB
route.
• RIL takes ethanol plunge in Brazil

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 o India currently has to import up to 30% of its requirement of
industrial alcohol.
o In Brazil the cost of producing ethanol is one third of that in India.
• Reform process has run out of steam: Mulfold
o The World Bank has ranked India 134 out of 175 countries for the
difficulties of establishing or operating a business.
• Search for ‘enhance water’: A Tata Tea story
o At $80 bn, the carbonated soft drinks market in the US is the world’s
largest.
• Amul to be largest liquid milk brand, globally
o The GCMMF, the apex marketing body of dairy cooperatives sells
about 35 lakh litre Amul brand liquid milk per day throughout India.
• Mobile population
o Mobile population is estimated to reach almost 5 times as much as
Cable & Satellite TV in the next three years
o With it the mobile operators’ value added services kitty will swell to
over Rs. 3000 cr by 2009, up from Rs. 1100 cr currently.
• Neela Kurini bloom takes Munnar to new high
o The Nilgiri tahr is the only mountain ungulate south of the Himalayas
• Telcos won’t ring in cable benefits soon
o BSNL now has 8 lakh broadband customers and is targeting 1 cr over
the next few years
o The cables going westwards from India to Europe include
 SMW-3 80 Gbps
 Flag 80 Gbps
 SMW-4 1280 Gbps
 Falcon 2560 Gbps
o The cables going to Asia are
 SMW-3 80 Gbps
 Flag 80 Gbps
 Tata Indicom 5120 Gbps
 i2i 8400 Gbps
 SMW-4 1280 Gbps
o BSNL has nearly 1 bn minutes of ILD traffic per year.
• Engineering: The Third Wave
o Spending on Engineering Services was $750 bn in 2004 and is
projected to grow to $1.1 tn globally by 2020.
o In fiscal 2005, $10-15 bn of engineering services was offshored. The
market is expected to grow to $150-225 mn by 2020.
o The country’s share of offshored engineering services, which is
currently at 12% is expected to increase to 30% in the same period.
o By 2015, India’s GDP is likely to grow 2.5 times the current size.
Currently it is about Rs. 25 lakh crores.
o To truly deliver the potential India reuires as many as 2.5 lk engineers.
o India currently employs about 35000 engineers in engineering services.

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 • The DSE-ECRI coincident index reflects the collective movements in income,
output, employment and sales in the economy and is thus a robust measure of
overall economic activity.

15.09.06:

• Tata Tea to sell stake to fund Glacaeu buy

o The SEBI guidelines permit promoter groups to buy only up to 5% in
their companies each year without having to make an open offer.
• Rs. 120 cr Tata brand bag just bulges
o Companies that use the Tata brand name directly, for eg., Tata Steel,
Tata Tea and others, contribute 0.25% of their turnover or 5% of profit
before tax , whichever is less.
o The other group companies that don’t use the Tata name directly, like
Indian Hotels, contribute 0.15% of their turnover.
o Only profit making companies make these brand payments.
o Tata brand is valued at Rs. 24,396 cr. This is the value of Tata brand
along with its sub brands.
• Welcome change: Have a clear cut policy on ATF sales
o Estimates suggest that the price of ATF could fall by as much as a
quarter with global firms selling it in domestic airports.
o The Indian prices of ATF are generally 30% higher than those abroad.
o The bottom line is that the whole practice of gross, open ended
subsidies and cross-subsidies on oil products needs to be dumped. It’s
time we put paid to glaring price distortions.
• Is politics dominating economics?
o Since 1995 developed countries have been replacing export subsidies
by domestic production and income subsidies.
o Various estimates place the total value of agricultural subsidies at over
$250 bn.
• Power sector on the up swing
o The Govt. has plans to add 100,000 MW generation capacity by 2012.
o From a capacity addition of 6000 MW to 7000 MW a year, the country
has to shift gears to achieve the addition of over 15000 MW per year.
o 7 ultra mega generation projects proposed at
 Chattisgarh
 Gujarat
 Maharashtra
 MP
 Karnataka
 AP and
 Orissa
o The national electricity policy says competition will determine the
price rather than any cost plus exercise.
o It will enhance regional power transfer capacity to about 37000 MW at
an investment of $16000 mln
o At present India is placed 6th in the world energy market.

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 o Its per capita consumption is expected to go up from 606 kwh in 2006
to 1000 kwh by 2012.
o The total generation capacity as on July 31, 2006 is 1,26,838 MW.
 Hydro 32,975
 Coal 68,988
 Gas 13,581
 Diesel 1,201
 Nuclear 3,900
 Renewable 6,190
o The state electricity grids have been connected through 220 KV
network with neighbouring states to form a zonal grid. Zonal grids
have been interconnected by 400 KV and by 765 KV lines. The era of
765 KV transmission began in 2006 and is expected grow quickly with
the expected addition of huge capacitates in near future.

16.09.06:

• New measures signal a sea change in business: Banking

o In the past the Indian Banks Association used to fix the benchmark
service charges, a practice which was discontinued in 1999 as it was
seen to be inconsistent with competition.
• Gujarat’s dying Soudagiri art to get new lease of life
o Soudagiri art involves printing different vegetable dyes on cotton, after
which a special technique is used which gives it a fine look and feel.
• LPOs cash in on patent outsourcing
o It is estimated that legal process outsouring segment of the Indian BPO
industry is worth about $60-80 mn. It is also estimated that the
industry has about 50-60 firms that employ about 700 lawyers.
• New giants amid aged titans: IMF voting rights
o Current quotas are roughly determined by a country’s GDP, openness
to trade and reserves.
• Coffee consumption in India
o Annual consumption which was around 60,000 tonnes during 1980-
2000, of late has touched 80,000 tonnes.

17.09.06:

• India’s plantations work the impossible dream

o The conventional wisdom is that natural rubber grows best at altitudes
of 1000 ft and tea at over 3000 ft.
o The Indian plantation sector employs over 5 mln people in remote
areas where alternate jobs are scarce.
• AP wants Centre to boost funding for agriculture
o The state has about 3 cr acres of arable land.
o Currently 60 lk acres of land are under irrigation and in the next three
years 1.6 cr acres of land will get assured water.
• World Bank stresses need to invest in youth

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 o There are 1.3 bln people between ages of 12 and 24 living in the
developing world.
o Young people make up nearly half of the world’s unemployed.
o About 130 mln people in the 15-25 age group cannot read or write.
o The world economy is currently performing better than expected, with
growth of 5.1% forecast for this year.
• India is young with about 45% of the population below 20 years.
• Great Indian gold rush
o About 8 mln marriages take place every year in India.
o Annual gold demand in India is around 650 tonnes while global
demand is around 2500 tonnes.

18.09.06:

• Virtual wheels spell big bucks for design companies

o Auto industry’s search for faster product development may spell
billions of dollars in offshoring revenues for Indian software and
design prototyping companies.
o And estimates currently peg its value at just $100 mln.
o Virtual manufacturing can cut product development time by 25%.
• Citi, HDFC working to build deeper ties
o Citi group holds over 12% equity in HDFC, after it acquired 9.27% in
the company from the secondary market last May.
• Telangana liberation day
o September 17, 1948 was the day when Telangana was liberated from
the rule of Nizam of Hyderabad. The Nizam agreed to merge his state
with the Indian Union.
• New horizons in pharma sector
o Global pharma market is estimated to be $550 billion. Of this Indian
market size is estimated to be $6 billion. India’s share is estimated to
be growing at 10% per annum.
o One estimate puts the Indian pharma industry size at Rs. 50,000 cr.
o Vaccine sales in 2004 were placed at $386.3 million.
o The diagnostics market was placed at $138.2 million.
• Philips to setup new HQ in NCR by 2008
o Philips has 5 divisions operating in India – lighting, consumer
electronics, domestic appliances, medical systems and semi-
conductors.
o All the divisions currently being operated from various places are
proposed to be brought under one roof in Delhi.
• Future group ropes in McKinsey to script growth
o Future group (Pantaloon) is aiming to take its turnover to Rs. 30,000
crore by 2010 from the current Rs. 2000 cr.
o Proposes to increase its manpower strength to 1,50,000.
• India’s demand for wind energy is placed at 45,000 mw. Of this currently
only about 4000 mw is in place.
• Private and foreign banks feel the pinch as wage climb

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 o The average operating expense for foreign banks has shot up from Rs.
564 cr to Rs. 707 cr per bank.
• Indian Railways has managed a U-turn to earn profits of Rs. 15,000 cr in
2005-06 – the second largest profit earner after ONGC.
• Gem and Jewellery exports are slated to touch $20 bn by 2007.
• Labour reforms are back on radar
o Right now industrial units employing more than 100 workers have
to mandatorily seek government approval for closing down their
operations.
o According to a World Bank study introduction of contract labour
system increases the employment opportunities in the
manufacturing sector by 30%.
o There are around 154 labour laws meant to ensure the welfare of
workers. Majority of these laws affect the workers in the
organized sector who constitute around 3 cr workers out of the
total workforce of 40 cr.
o The previous NDA government appointed a Labour Commission
headed by Ravinder Verma, the second since independence. It
submitted an exhaustive report on labour reforms about three
years ago. However consensus eluded in effecting labour reforms.
• PM moves to bring power projects on track
o Against the targeted capacity addition of 41,110 mw in 10th Plan, the
country was able to add only 26,997 mw.
o In the 11th plan, the target is likely to be fixed at 60,000 mw.
o PM asked his Economic Advisory Council Chairman Mr. Rangarajan
to take charge of monitoring achievements against targets and resolve
problems in the sector without further delays.
• Big company is better for lower interest costs
o According to an RBI study, it was found that companies with turnover
of more than Rs. 1000 cr could manage to contain the rise in interest
costs to about 2.3% only.
• RBI weekly statistical supplement as of September 1st 2006
o Forex reserves $165.13 bn
o Aggregate deposits mobilized by scheduled commercial banks Rs.
22,51,701 cr.
o Bank investment in government and other approved securities Rs.
7,68,491 cr.
o Credit extended by scheduled commercial banks Rs. 15,92,628 cr.
o Total stock of money in circulation Rs. 28,90,535 cr.
• NELP VI (New Exploration and Licensing Policy) for oil and gas exploration
o 165 bids received for 55 blocks
o Total investment in the pipeline is pegged at $8-10 bn
o Innovation in this round is the move to do away with the practice of
assigning maximum bid weightage to upfront commitments in drilling
and seismic surveys.
o Most of the country’s sedimentary basins remain unexplored.
o Estimates suggest that up to 10 bn tonnes of crude and 1 tcm of gas
may be waiting to be discovered.

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 • An emerging interactions economy: John Chambers
o Consumer spending in India is growing at 9%.
o India’s telecom network is the 5th largest in the world and 2nd largest
among developing economies.
o The telecom industry directly contributes 2.7% of India’s GDP.
• Is the commodity boom peaking?
o The US is currently running a current account deficit of 6% per annum.
o Index funds have $80 bn under management from close to negligible
funds in the 1980s.
o Total investible funds in the world are a whopping $150 trillion. Of
this amount, roughly half is held by banks, slightly more than a quarter
in bonds and a little less than a quarter in stocks.
o Alternative investments where most hedge funds, commodity trading
advisers and index funds reside, currently comprises a mere 0.2% of
total investment funds.
• FIIs and the convertibility hurdle: Rajrishi Singhal
o FIIs have pumped in close to $45.20 bn in Indian stock markets.
o Under the current regulations FIIs cannot cancel and rebook their
forward contracts. Once they have booked a contract, they cannot
wriggle out of the pact, even if the market moves the other way.
o This resulted in movement of the hedging mechanism offshore, to
Singapore where there is a ‘non-deliverable forwards’ market. In this
market the FIIs can hedge their exposure.
o At last count the daily turnover for rupee dollar deals in the NDF
market was over $100 mn

19.09.06:

• MoD shoots down US encryption software

o Afrmed forces officers have objected to the proposed use of bulk
encryption units (BEU) software from CISCO for encrypting internal
communications of the armed forces.
• Product ads rules TV channels
o The number of feature-based ads have shot up from a mere 164 to a
whopping 1734 in the last two years in India. A growth of almost
1000%.
o There are over 35000 ad spots across channels every day.
• Beer business growth in India
o In the first five months of FY 2006-07, the beer market has grown by
26%.
• Cell cos to be taxed on international roaming services
o Every call made in India by overseas visitors on roaming network will
be chargeable to service tax
o Telecom accounts for 45% of the total annual service tax collections.
o The government collected about Rs. 11,000 cr in service tax from the
sector last fiscal.
o Out of the total telecom industry revenues of Rs. 60,000 cr,
international roaming is just about Rs. 1,200 cr.

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• Graduation tourism turns new money-spinner
o With more than 2 lakh Indian students traveling overseas to study
every year, graduation tourism is picking up.
o Of the 6 mln people going abroad annually, 55% are corporate
travelers and 25% are leisure trip makers. The remainder are people
visiting friends and family abroad for students.
• India’s mortgage BPO biz to touch $1.1 bln by 2010
o The total value of mortgage BPO delivered from India is estimated to
jump to $1.1 bn by 2010 from just $100-150 mn at present.
o The global mortgage BPO market is currently $10-11 bn with industry
estimates pegging it about $22 bn by 2010.
• As per WHO norms, one hospital bed is needed for every 300 lives.
• Cos get closer to colleges to fill job requirements
o Around 500,000 engineering and science students graduate each year
from more than 1500 colleges across the country.
o Only 30-35% of all graduates in the country can be productively
employed by Indian IT companies, estimate HR professionals in IT
companies.
• BSNL, BEML among six new mini-ratnas
o BSNL, BEML, Hindustan Latex, Engineering Projects India Ltd
(EPIL), Rashtriya Ispat Limited (RIL) and Garden Reach
Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) are given the mini-ratna
status.
o The status given them the freedom to make investments up to Rs.
500 cr in both joint ventures or subsidiaries as well as on capital
expenditure. This is without government nod.
• Foreign banks are better off says RBI
o For very Rs. 100 lent, public sector banks incur a 75 basis point higher
cost compared to foreign banks.
o Nearly 60% of the loan portfolios of most public sector banks are
linked to their respective PLR.
• Reduce the WPI weightage for sugar: argues Kushagra Nayan Bajaj
o To survive Indian sugar industry needs to get a minimum margin of
around Rs. 475 per quintal for converting sugarcane into sugar.
o The private sector contributes 55.6% of the total sugar production in
India.
o The average Indian consumers 1.5 kg of sugar in a month.
• Redefining NAM in the new world: MK Venu
o Developing countries have accumulated fresh forex reserves worth
over a trillion dollars in the past three to four years.
o Trade among south-south countries has grown at about 15%
annually in the past three years even as world trade has grown at a
meager 5%.
o Today 43% of all trade in the developing world is accounted for by
south-south nations.
• India a global auto manufacturing hub?
o India is among the three largest manufacturers of compact cars,
alongside Japan and Brazil.

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 o In Japan the transit time from the factory to the ship is just 48 hours.
For Maruti in India, it takes two months.
o The total value of auto manufacturing is currently put at $34 bn. The
newly proposed Automotive Mission Plan proposes to take it to about
$145 bn by 2016.
o The component industry is currently placed at $10 bn.
• Let’s not gas around
o The US produces approximately 25% global carbon emissions, even as
it holds less than 5% of the worlds population.
o Transportation sector accounts for 25% of GHG emissions worldwide.
o Petroleum consumption globally is growing at 2% per year.
• Videocon has SEZ dreams
o Government sources say that the proposed 150 SEZs would give
employment to over 7 lakh people. Investment in infrastructure alone
would be about Rs. 4000 cr. in each of the 30 multi-product SEZs, thus
accounting for a total investment of Rs. 2 lk crore.
• Government told to wash its hands of NURM, secondary education
o Finance Ministry raises concerns over projects with massive funding
o 58% of the 1.38 lk secondary schools in the country are run by the
private sector.
o The share of the private unaided schools has increased from 15% in
1993-94 to 24% in 2001-02.

20.09.06:

• Arcelor-Mittal, SCI JV on cards

o Partners to hold 50% each in the JV which will be registered in India
o Arcelor-Mittal produces 110 million tonnes of steel at 26 locations
across the world.
o It consumes around 175 to 180 million tonnes of iron ore annually,
most of its sourced from Brazil.
o It also requires huge quantities of coking coal – around 60 to 70
million tonnes at the rate of 0.6 tonne for every 1 tonne of steel
produced.
o The JV will help the company cut transportation costs of iron ore.
• DoT puts FIPB rider on foreign investors
o Telcos may require FIPB nod if the foreign stakeholder is entitled to
have a nominee on its board of directors. This is irrespective of the
foreign component in the telecom venture.
• HFCs may be allowed to tap insurance, PFs of resources
o The government may soon permit housing finance companies to tap
provident funds and insurance companies for raising resources.
o They may also be allowed to raise long-term hedges to help them
reduce their financing costs.
• Schumi’s last lap puts bookings for Shanghai F-1 on fast track
o The 37 year German F-1 racer Michael Schumacher (who announced
his retirement from F-1 racing recently) is touted as the most

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 charishmatic driver since Ayrton Senna, who crashed to death at Imola
in 1994.
• PM to meet TNA MPs on efforts to resolve the ethnic conflict
o PM is slated to meet the MPs from Sri Lanka.
o The conflict has so far claimed 65,000 lives since 1983.
• All India penetration for toothpastes is 49%, for shapoos it is 38% and for
skin-creams it is 22%.
• Riding retail boom: Railways in talks with AVB Group
o India loses Rs. 50,000 cr every year due to an inefficient vegetablexs
and fruit supply chain system.
o Of about 400 mln tonnes of freight in agri products, the railways has a
share of only 50 mln tonnes.
• UB plans wine foray
o The still nascent domestic wine consumption is pegged at 7.5 lk cases
annually; but growing at 20-30% YOY.
• Reliance and Chevron now eye retail mart
o Reliance Petroleum is developing a new $6.1 bln refinery with a
capacity to refine about 580,000 barrels a day. This coupled with the
existing refinery capacity of about 660,000 bpd will make it the largest
refiner in the world at one site.
• Reinventing Bretton Woods ‘brats’
o IMF has 184 member countries.
o The IMF board has taken an in principle decision to increase the quotas
(voting power) of four countries – China, South Korea, Mexico and
Turkey, as part of the first stage of broader process of quota reform
over the next two years.
• NAM has 116 countries as members.
• The slippery slope: A fall in oil price highlights the traps in commodity
investment
o The IEA reckons that OPEC has no more than 2 mln bpd of spare
capacity – just over 2% of global demand.
o That is too small a cushion to compensate for dramatic disruption in
supply from Iran (which supplies 3.9 mbd), Nigeria (2.3 mbd) or Iraq
(2.1 mbd) and barely enough to make up for another terrible hurricane
in the Gulf of Mexico (1.5 mbd).
• Slow fast clearance
o Till July 2006 end, the RBI cleared cheques worth Rs. 88,80,997,62 cr,
which is about Rs. 50,000 cr more than last year. This is in spite of
having an RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement) mechanism in place.
o Money parked in savings bank accounts across banks rose to Rs.
14,000 cr from Rs. 4,000 cr last year.
• AT&T gets nod for long distance services in India
• RLS (Reliance Life Sciences) stars contract research of biopharmaceuticals
o The Indian biotech industry’s share in global market is just 1.1%.
o In the international market, the combined US and EU biogeneric
market is expected to reach $21 bn by 2015.
o The global biotech market is currently pegged at $52 bn.

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 • Biocon launches new drug for head and neck cancer
o Head and neck cancer accounts for 30% of all cancer cases in India.
o The market size for monoclonal antibodies in India is around Rs. 50 to
60 cr. This market is expected to almost tripel in value over the next 6
eyars from $10.3 bn in 2004 to $30.3 bn.
• OECD Secretary General : Mr. Angel Gurria
• Cairn Energy to begin oil drilling this week
o Ravva field has oil reserves of 70 mbd as per initial estimates.
o The recent revised estimates put the reserve level at 300 mbd.
o In Rajasthan, Cairn Energy made a discovery of an estimated 20 mn
tonnes of oil, the biggest in India in 22 years.
• AI-Indian merger on track, says Patel
o The merger of Air India and Indian would churn out a mega carrier
with a fleet of about 130 aircraft.
• Blogs coin new money talk
o India has 28 mln internet users and 86% of these users browse blogs,
says Juxt Consult, an online research company.
• ETFs face swings & bounces here
o AUMs (Assets under management) of domestic ETFs rose to Rs. 1,563
cr in August from Rs. 868 cr in March.
o AUMs of international ETFs have risen to $487 bn.
o The number of ETFs has grown to 596 in June from 336 in 2004.
• Car production
o GM is the world’s leading producer of automobiles with about 9.05
mln vehicles produced in 2005.
o Toyota comes next with 8.23 mln vehicles.

21.09.06:

• Cos run for political cover, insurers refuse to play ball

o Insurance cover for investments in third world countries hard to come
by in international finance markets
o ONGC Videsh first bought a $750 mn political cover for its
exposure in Sudan from a state-owned company.
o Political risk cover (also called CEND cover – confiscation,
expropriation, nationalization and deprivation of assets) typically
protects a corporation from its assets being confiscated, expropriated or
nationalized by the local government.
• Largest home budget pie goes for daily bread
o An average socio-economic class household in urban India spends Rs.
1,22 lakh per annum or Rs. 10,204 per month.
o Percentage spends are:
 36% on grocery
 26% on rent and utilities
 2.7% on loan repayment
 4.1% on savings

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• With a strong economy and rising incomes, consumer goods are expected to
see buoyant demand in the coming 3 to 4 year period. Rural and semi-urban
India is expected to play a large part in this demand account for 65% of color
television demand, 48% for mobikes, 33% for refrigerators and 11% for cars.
• Global liquor brands plan assault with bottled-in-India Scotch
o The Indian spirits market size is 120 mln cases per annum.
• Bell or EADS; Copter deal to be decided in Dec ‘06
o After 2 years of evaluation, the defense ministry may soon decide on
the supplier for 197 helicopters for the Indian Army.
o The new copters will replace the Chetak and Cheetah helicopters.
o The deal is estimated to cost about $500 mln. The government will
buy 60 copters off the shelf, while the remaining 137 are to be
manufactured by HAL with 100% technology transfer from the chosen
company.
• Airlines to reap honeymoon bucks
o India’s outbound traffic, growing at 20-25%, comprises largely of
honeymooners apart frfom leisure and business travelers.
• TAG unveils India’s first in-store TV network
o An in-store TV network is an advertising platform that enables
advertisers to influence consumers within the retail environment.
• Dr. Reddy’s bets big on pharma outsourcing
o Globally the pharma outsourcing market is estimated at $35 bn
o Presently India’s share in this business is about $400 mln and is
expected to grow to $1 bn soon.
• India’s first stem cell transplant centre to treat killer diseases
o LifeCell to launch facility in Chennai
o Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that retain the ability to
produce an identical copy of themselves when they divide and
differentiate into other cell types.
• Tax spurt points to profit pick-up
o Latest advance tax paid by the corporate sector showed a growth of
30% over last year.
o Net direct tax collections have recorded a growth of 37.7% to reach Rs.
70,748 cr in April-Sep 2006-07.
• Urea shortage: No food for fields
o Urea consumption is going up; but manufacturers are not willing to
scale up production, due to the differential pricing in feedstock (natural
gas). As against the subsidized price of $3 per mbtu, for the increased
production they have to buy it at $12-$13 per mbtu.
o An increase of every dollar in price of gas leads to an increase of Rs.
1000 per tonne in the cost of urea.
o This year India will import more than 3 mln tonnes of urea.
o World trade in Urea is pegged at 26 mln tonnes.
• Is India finally flying? Arvind Panagariay
o Without rapid expansion of the unskilled labour intensive industry,
progress towards reduction and transition to a modern economy will
remain far slower than is feasible.

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 o The economy has grown at a phenomenal 19% per annum in current
dollars in the last three years.
o In 1990-91 the GDP in current dollars was $317 bn. During the last
three years it has increased to $800 bn
• Exponential e-commerce
o The e-commerce industry in India is expected to grow to a size of Rs.
2,300 cr by 2007 agasint the present Rs. 1200 cr.
o 29% of Indian internet users book airline tickets online and this figure
is expected to touch 46% by next year.
o Online rail ticket booking stands at 39% of the total bookings.
o There are 4.6 mln online banking users in INdia. This figure is
expected to touch 16 mln by 2007-08.
o E-ticketing penetration is low in India at 17% as against the world
average of 49%.
o India has 20,000 ATMs as against 300,000 ATMs in US.
• PCB industry poised for greater growth
o Indian market for electronic products is currently at $25 bn and
growing at 30%; is expected to touch $90 bn by 2010.
• NTPC plans to triple production by 2017
o NTPC plans to increase is generation capacity to exceed 75000 MW by
2017 from its current 26,194 MW.

22.09.06:

• Gujaratis create gold bisuit crunch

o On an average Gujarat consumes about 200-250 tonnes of gold a year,
out of the total imports of 800 tonnes into India.
o India is the world’s largest buyer of the metal.
• AIDS drug tenofovir’s price set to crash
o Its inventor and US patent holder Gilead struck non-exclusive
licensing deals with four more Indian drug makers.
o At present there are about 5.5 mln AIDS patients in India.
• Schneider switches on deal for Anchor unit
o Schneider Electric India is eyeing Anchor Electrical’s switches
division. If the deal goes through Schneider will have an estimated
market share of 40% in the switches and sockets market of India,
which is currently pegged at Rs. 1000 cr.
• Family biz beats professional cos fair and square
o Family owner companies in India has outperformed professionally
managed companies over the last five years, reveals and ET analysis of
the BSE-100 companies.
o However, professionally managed Indian companies that are not
owned by MNCs have fared slightly better than family-owned ones on
the growth indicators during the same period i.e., 2001-2006.
• OVL, Sinopec buy Omimex for $850 mn
o ONGC Videsh Limited and China’s Sinopec have acquired Omimex de
Colombia.

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 o Omimex has oil and gas operations exclusively in Colombia, with
gross-proved reserves of more than 300 mn barrels of oil. Current
production is approximately 20,000 bpd.
• Mumbai police wants to monitor cyber cafes
o They fear that the cyber cafes may be misued by anti-nationals.
o This is significant in view of the recent conclusion by them that 7/11
blasts in Mumbai were funded by Al Qaeda and executed by LeT.
• Moto-monsters to race to India
o A number of key motorcycle manufacturers are planning to roll out
high-end bikes in the 500cc plus range in India in 2007.
• Lotto eyes 10% market share by 2010
o India’s sports shoe market is estimated to be Rs. 600 cr in size.
• Branded stationery market in India is valued at around Rs. 500 cr, while the
global export market is estimated to be around Rs. 10,000 cr.
• MNC pharmas to pay for data exclusivity
o An inter-ministerial panel is about to recommend that local copies of
MNC drugs have to wait for three to five years
o The domestic industry wants the government to wrest something in
return from the US backed MNC drug makers
o They want benefit-sharing deal on all patented drugs which use
biological resources and traditional knowledge of Indian origin.
• Risk-averse MNCs move India up the value chain
o India may receive $500 mn in three years as MNCs shift value chain
from China and the West.
o Value chain is the set of activities spanning procurement of basic raw
materials to the distribution of the final product.
• Hotels lose out manpower to BPO and retail sectors
o The average staff turnover at 5-star deluxe hotels in India is at 29%,
while it is much higher at 32%, 43% and 47% for 4-star, 3-star and 2-
star hotels respectively.
• Catch them young, ICAI tells govt.
o ICAI as lobbying the govt to introduce commerce as a subject from 8th
or 11th standard onwards.
o Currently around 7500 to 8000 CAs pass out annually.
o There is a shortage of 25,000 to 30,000 professionals in the country.
• Software piracy down but more measures needed
o Software piracy in India dipped by about 2% to 72%.
o In China it did so by 4% to 86%.
• Minimum investment criteria set for SEZs
o To set up a multi-product SEZ, the investor has to have a net worth of
Rs. 250 cr and the minimum investment required is Rs. 1000 cr. A
multi-product SEZ will be allowed 25,000 houses, a 250 room hotel
and a hospital with 100 beds.
o To set up a sector specific SEZ, the applicant’s net worth has to be Rs.
50 cr while the minimum investment criteria is Rs. 250 cr. Sector
specific SEZs would be allowed to have 7500 houses, hotels with a

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 total of 100 rooms and 25 bed hospital and schools and other
educational institutions over 25,000 sq meters.
o IT SEZs require a net worth criteria of Rs. 100 cr.
• More government projects are on time now
o A quarterly status implementation project report of the Centre shows
that of the 742 projects, 245 were on time while 269 were behind date.
o In the last 10 years, cost overrun with respect to originally approved
cost has declined from 47% in 1996 to 17.4% in 2006.
• Buying into NBFCs becomes tougher
o Foreign banking groups will find it more difficult to buy into dormant
finance companies to make inroads into financial services.
o At present, a foreign institution requires $50 mn to start a wholly
owned NBFC, $5 mln where the stake is between 51% and 75% and
$0.5 mn where the stake is less than 51%.
o To qualify as an NBFC 50% of the income should be from finance
activities.
• FIPB core group to look into Guardian-MRL row
o Guardian wanted to part ways with the local partners in Gujarat
Guardian by buying out their stake in the local venture and start
operations on their own.
o Press Note 1 provides protection to domestic industries working in
partnership with foreign companies by enjoining the foreign companies
to get an ‘No Objection Certificate’ from their local partners for
starting new wholly owned ventures.
o Modi Rubber Limited is objecting to Guardian starting its operations in
India as Gujarat Guardian is a joint venture. Guardian is willing to buy
out the local partners in the JV, but there are disagreements over
pricing.
• State of affairs
o India is placed at 134, out of 175 in the World Bank’s Ease of
Doing Business Rankings
• What is convergence?
o Delivery of different servies through one platform or same service
through multiple mediums.
• Food imports need not be an anathema: Dhanmanjiri Sathe
o Self sufficiency should mean the capacity to buy goods globally rather
than the capacity to produce them domestically
o If import was acceptable with respect to Onions, there should be no
reason to cry hoarse over wheat imports
o Balance between the interests of farmers and consumers needs to be
achieved.
• Has the NELP been successful?
o To determine its success or failure, we should at the fine print of the
bids:
 What is the profit share offered by the bidder at various
investment multiples
 What is the work programme like
 How much cost-recovery the bidder wants etc.

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 o The ability and track record of the bidders to deploy and manage
technologies to discover oil are critical to the success of any
prospecting programme.
• SEZs as a Chinese puzzle: Narender Pani
o Globalization is not just about glamorous economic activities that
can be generated simply by reducing grade barriers. It is also
about investing to help the less successful sectors benefit from a
global market.
o The Mekong model of globalization laid emphasis on building
connectivity.
o The National Stock Exchange is the 3rd largest exchange in the
world and the BSE is 5th largest.
• Taking the LEED
o Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design is a US rating.
o According to Indian Green Building Council, structures with LEED
certification are set to see a growth of 10 mln sft from the current
20,000 sft.
o Energy efficient buildings can save up to 27% of total energy costs
annually.
• What is 3G and typically what services it can offer?
o 3G is high speed mobile broadband access with a speed of more
than 384 kbps which can go upto 2 mbps
o Possible services are: high-speed internet access, videophone,
video stgreaming, high-speed video messaging, music downloads
and mobile TV.
• Amaranth’s holding in Indiabulls arm hangs in balance
o Amaranth, a US based hedge fund has taken a big hit on account of
hyper volatility in natural gas prices. Its assets under management
have plunged to $4.6 bn from $9.2 bn in a month.
• PSU oil firms set to anchor petrochem investments areas
o After SEZs, it is the petrochemicals, petroleum and chemical
investment regions (PCPIRs).
o Each such hub would be set up in an area of 250 sq km and 40% of it
will be the minimum processing area.
• AAI seeks mini-ratna status for autonomy
o Category I mini-ratna status would give the freedom to invest up
to Rs. 500 cr in a single project without going to the Government.
o Category II status would give the freedom to invest up to Rs. 250
cr in a single project without Govt. approval.
• Tea production in India
o South India produced 227 mln kg of tea in 2005
o North India produced 701 mln kg.
• India now wants more power on IMF board
o India is seeking quotas on IMF board based on the GDP on PPP
(purchasing power parity) basis.
o India’s current GDP is at $750 bn. On PPP terms, it is the 4th largest
economy in the world.

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23.09.06:

• IRDA against sovereign backing for LIC plans

o IRDA has recommended that the government should withdraw its
guarantee for LIC policies. The sovereign guarantee provides comfort
to over 16 crore policy holders of LIC.
o LIC has a share capital of only Rs. 5 cr.
o Under the LIC Act, 95% of the surplus earned goes to policy holders
and 5% to the government as dividend.
o LIC needs about Rs. 7000 cr to meet the stipulated 150% solvency
margins.
• Kerala cola ban order gets HC thumbs-down
o The High Court of Kerala has struck down the ban orders
imposed by the Kerala government on Coke and Pepsi holding
that the state government does not have such powers to impose the
ban.
o It held that such a power can only arise as a result of wider policy
decision and should emanate from parliamentary legislation.
• Band of Baroda in JV talks with Nippon Insurance
o RBI stipulates that banks cannot hold more than 49% in an insurance
venture. Therefore, it is on the lookout for a third partner.
• IBA committee to review Banking Regulation Act
o As per section 10(1) C of the BR Act, a bank chief cannot serve as a
director on another company.
o It was using this clause that recently Naina Lal Kidwai, CEO of
HSBC has been denied approval for continuing on the board of
Nestle.
• Ladakh wants to move on, renew trade links with Central Asia
o Ladakh region in J&K remains cut off from the rest of the world for
almost half the year as Zoji La and Rohtang passes are closed due to
extreme winter conditions.
• I-flex to build, buy or ally in KPO market
o I-flex is best known for its Fexcube, a core banking software used by
over 280 financial institutions across the world.
• Heart diseased in India
o The incidence of heart diseases is the highest in India. We have
over 30 mln cases of heart diseases. WHO studies suggest that by
2012, 50% of the world’s heart attack victims in the world will be
Indians.
o Genetic disposition of Indians has been identified as a prime cause
for early onset of heart problems.
o Apollo Hospitals and US based John Hopkins Medicine
International are going to undertake a collaborative study to
detect the gene responsible for cardiac problems.
• Telcos get a tough call from Trai
o Trai suggested that revenue from the sale of handsets bundled with a
tariff plan should be included in the AGR (adjusted gross revenue).

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 o Telcos typically pay anywhere between 6 to 10% of AGR per annum to
the Government.
• 5.5 lakh chemists unite to take on biggies
o Chemists and drug retailers have come together to form a holding
company along with subsidiaries in various states to give a tough
competition to the big time retailers to protect their market share in the
Rs. 25,000 cr retail drug business.
o The number of unorganized pharmacists in the country has been
growing at about 8 to 9% per annum. They together control about 90%
of the retail pharma business.
• World Bank is now 450 strong in India
o Having set up in 2001 in Chennai, its first accounting office outside the
US, it has increased its strength to 240 subsequently.
o Now World Bank Chennai office covers loan and disbursement
services, budget analysis, treasury management, internal audit and
infotech in addition to other administrative functions.
o The head count is slated to go up to 450 shortly.
• Lubricant’s business
o Lubricants form 2% of the consumption basket of a vehicle.
o Globally 80% lubricant sales are outside the petrol pump while in India
it is 70%.
• India’s oil import bill
o India imports 70% of its oil requirement.
o The import bill in the current year is estimated to be $62 bn as against
$45 bn last fiscal.
• Policy daze puts $1 bn power FDI flow on hold
o The existing norm of allowing 100% FDI in power and other
infrastructure projects has run into problems as holding companies
governing such project cannot have more than 49% FDI. This
anomaly in policy came to light when the FIPB found that two of its
guidelines were in conflict with each other.
• Ansari enjoys stay in space
o Ms. Anousheh Ansari is the first woman tourist in space.
o She paid $20 mln for her trip to the ISS.
• Bharat Nirman programme
o The programme is on track with four components – roads, houses,
power and phones – exceeding the targets fixed.
o The programme seeks to provide villages with electricity, all-weather
roads, potable water and telephones by 2009. About 60 lakh new
houses are to be constructed and 1 cr hectares to be brought under
irrigation.

24.09.06:

• Revenue loss on account of the new SEZ policy is pegged at Rs. 1,70,000 cr
by the Finance ministry.
• Indian Art

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 o Indian art prices have appreciated by leaps and bounds in recent times.
In this week’s Sotheby’s and Christie’s auctions, 5 works of Indian
artists have made it to the million dollar mark.
o The highest price was fetched by F.N. Souza’s ‘Man with Monstrance’.
o Top Indian artists on the basis of annual appreciation in the price
of their works:
 Ram Kumar, Tyeb Mehta, Jogen Chowdhury, Manjit Bawa,
V.S. Gaitonde, FN Souza, A. Ramachandran, Akbar
Padamsee, Aripta Singh, Jehangir Sabavala, Jagdish
Swaminathan, Rekha Rodwittiya, Krishen Khanna, Laxma
Goud, Rameshwar Broota in that order.
• Ramzaan food basket
o Iftar is the evening meal
o Sehri is the meal taken before dawn
• Business plans
o For every 100 people who have fantastic great ideas, only 10 can
convert the idea into a sensible plan and of this, only 3 truly believe in
what they have written down and of these, only probably 1 has some
chance of success.
• Chiria iron mines in Jharkhand
o It has over 2 bn tonnes of iron ore.
o The lease agreement between SAIL and Jharkhand government is
in legal battle.
• Hewlett-Packard phone tapping troubles
o The Chairman of the company Ms. Patricia Dunn had to resign amid
admissions by the company that it hired investigators who obtained
telephone records to uncover who was leaking confidential information
from the computer maker’s board room meetings.
o Pretexting – is the practice of masquerading as someone else to obtain
personal records.
• Hybrid cars
o Toyota is the pioneer in introducing hybrid cars – cars that run on
gasoline and electricity, with its Prius sedan.
• Sony batteries
o Recently (last month) Dell and Apple have recalled almost 6 mln of
Sony made laptop batteries as they are found to be having a
manufacturing defect. They were found to be susceptible for catching
fire.
• Mobile handsets sales
o Worldwide 1 bn handsets are expected to be sold this year. Of them
nearly 100-150 mn are expected to be voice-enabled handsets.
• Healthcare industry in India
o It is expected to grow in size to Rs. 200,000 cr by 2012 from Rs.
86,000 cr in 2001.
o The health tourism market is expected to go up to Rs. 10,000 cr by
2012 from the Rs. 1,518 cr in 2004.
• Water problems in India

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 o It is estimated that 50% of water supply in urban India is unaccounted
for.
o It is remedying the supply side inefficiencies that holds promise rather
than addition of new infrastructure
o Even a small country like Combodia supplies 100% of its citizens with
24 hrs water supply in Phnom Penh
• Delhi’s population is 23 mln. The Government has announced plans worth Rs.
26,000 cr to give a thorough makeover for the city. It is said that historically
Delhi has been built and rebuilt over 8 times.

25.09.06:

• Foreign VC cos may get access to Indian realty

o The present policy provides (as per Press Note 2 of 2005) for 100%
FDI in the realty sector including housing, commercial facilities,
resorts city and regional level infrastructure. This is subject to a
minimum capitalization of $10 mn for fully-owned subsidiaries and on
the condition that the minimum area to be developed under each
project is 10 hectares for development for serviced housing plots and a
built-up area of 50000 sq. mtrs for construction development projects.
• Finance Ministry rejects sops for fab city project in AP
o The Information Technology Department had asked for many
incentives for the chip makers, including equity participation, interest-
free loan and income-tax holiday. Sops at par with SEZs were also
proposed. But the finance ministry objected fearing revenue loss.
• RDX seizure in Kashmir
o 11,000 Kg of RDX was seized in the state of Kashmir during the last
six years (i.e., 2000-2006).
• DGSE of France
o General Directorate for External Security, is an espionage organization
like CIA of US or RAW of Inida
• Desi retailers gain as MNCs fear to knead
o 60% of the grocery basket is still unbranded; hence the opportunity for
brand creation is huge.
o Indian foods industry size is pegged at Rs. 27,258 cr. and is growing at
9%.
• Cell retail market in India
o The market size is pegged at Rs. 75,000 cr. and is growing at 20%.
o In comparison, the consumer electronics and appliance market looks
paltry, at just Rs. 25,000 cr.
• BSNL comes up with bundled offer – ‘docking’
o BSNL prepaid cellular users with existing landline connenctions will
be able to recharge their cell phones and pass on the reacharge cost to
their landline bills. BSNL calls this ‘docking’.
• Mobiel value added services
o The Indian market for VAS currently stands at Rs. 400 cr and is
expected to grow to Rs. 4000 cr by 2010.

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 o It is expected that from the current 7-10%, VAS could account for 25%
of the Indian cellular revenues by 2010.
• Life Insurance Corporation of India
o Was nationalized in 1956.
o Private players were allowed into insurance in 1999, six years after the
Malhotra Committee called for private entry.
• NDSSP – National Data Survey on Savings Patterns
o According to it, 45% of the total household savings are with the top
10% income earners.
• Abhijit Mahalanobis
o Indian American scientist (working for Lockheed Martin) is a
recognized and respected leader in pattern recognition, signal and
image processing with specific emphasis on automatic target
recognition (ATR).
• Sethu channel project
o Envisages dredging a ship channel across the Palk straits between
India and Sri Lanka. Once operational, the channel could be used
by ships to sail between the east and west coasts of India without
circum-navigating Sri Lanka.
o It is estimated that ships will savae up to 424 nautical miles (780
km) and up to 30 hours in sailing time.
• Ports in India
o There are 185 non-major ports in India.
• India ranks 5th globally in ethanol production
o India’s ethanol production is currently at 1.75 bn litres.
o India’s total annual consumption of petrol is 10 bn litres. Of this
about 5% (0.5 bn litres) will have to be doped with ethanol from
November 1st 2006 as per directions of GoI.
• Viceroy of India
o Is the name of the luxury train, run by the Britain based GW Travel
between Mumbai and Darjeeling. The trip costs between Rs. 4.96 lakh
to Rs. 11.5 lakh
o The other well known luxury train is the ‘Palace on Wheels’, running
between Rajasthan and Delhi.
• Air cargo market in India
o Is growing rapidly; risen from Rs. 4.9 lk tonnes in 2000-01 to over 14
lk tonnes in 2004-05.

26.09.06:

• Land for SEZs: Farmers’ interest gains ground

o The Board of Approval had taken a decision that not more than 10% of
the land acquired for building SEZs can be double-cropping land.
• Shipping business families in India
o Sheths of GE Shipping
o Ruias of Essar Shipping
o Khataus of Varun Shipping

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 o HK Mittal of Mercator Lines
• CDMA handset market
o The market size is estimated to be at Rs. 5000 cr.
o CDMA operators are adding close to 1.5 mln new subscribers per
month.
• Indian Cricket
o An investment of Rs. 750 cr is being made over four years for giving a
thorough make-over to Indian cricket by BCCI and Nibus’s upcoming
sports channel.
• MRO business in civil aviation in India
o The business is expected to grow over the next five years to generate
$400 mln in revenues.
• Market research in India
o India is the fastest growing market in the world for market research. It
is growing at 31% (2005); but the size is still small at Rs. 492 cr.
• SSA, mid-day meals come under PM’s lens
o The number of out of school children has been reduced from 2.5 cr
to 96 lakh since the commencement of the SSA (Sarva Siksha
Abhiyan) programme.
o For the year ended March 2005, the CAG has pointed that out of
the 3.4 cr children in the country 1.36 cr aged between six and 14
years remained out of schools.
• LIBOR
o Currently libor is hovering around 5.4%
• Police reform
o The Government has reportedly been pondering on enacting and
enforcing the Soli Sorabjee Committee’s draft Police Bill.
o Replacing the antiquated Police Act of 1867 with a new omnibus
law that is consistent with the demands of a modern democracy
would bring about a paradigm shift.
• Advantage India
o India and the RDEs (Rapidly Developing Economies) offer the
manufacturing companies located in them better capital productivity by
about 40% to 50% higher when compared with similar plants in more
developed economies.
• Indian aviation boom
o In the first five months of this fiscal year domestic air traffic has grown
by as much as 49% over the same period of the previous year.
o Domestic prices of aviation fuel are hovering at Rs. 46,000 per kl.
o The price of ATF for flights leaving India costs only Rs. 33,400 per kl.
o Of India’s population of 1080 mln, only 8 mln Indians are flying today.
o 74% FDI is allowed in telecom sector, but in aviation it is only 49%.
• Commercial credit in India
o According to a McKinsey study, in FY 2005 corporates only had a
share of 43% of commercial credit given out by banks in India.
• Russia has 88,000 millionaires
• Raising money by SMEs

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 o SMEs currently contribute to around 40% of the domestic exports.
o Borrowers end up having a net gain of up to 2% by resorting to ECBs.
o Cost of raising ECBs works out to around 10% for a 3-5 year loan.
The post-hedge cost works out to 0.5 to 0.75%.
o Loans to SMEs have grown 15-20% annually, while SMEs account for
around 10% of the $10 bn odd of ECBs raised by Indian companies.
• Padmini passes away
o A popular actress of yesteryears. She along with her elder sister
Lalitha and younger sister Ragini were called the Travancore sisters.
o Her role as a dancer in ‘Thillana Mohanambal’ pairing with Shivaji
Ganesan had won critical acclaim.
o She was nicknamed ‘Natiyaperoli’ -- a great light of dance.
• Singapore pushes for more Temasek stake in ICICI Bank

27.09.06:

• TRAI for auction, fixed fee in 3G spectrum allocation

o 3G spectrum to be allotted circle-wise
o Auction is preferred route
o Each operator to get 5 MHz initially for 3G services
o WiMAX spectrum to be offered at a fixed price
• Cimate change
o Global warming has added 0.2 degrees celcius per decade over the
past 30 years according to a study conducted by NASA.
o The study said that the earth was now within about 1 degree
celcius of the maximum estimated temperatures of the past million
years.
• National security and Chinese investment
o The Chinese have been planning a whopping Rs. 61,000 cr
investment in 13 Indian ports.
o They are also involved in a strategic port – Gwadar Deep Sea port
in Pakistan.
o Indian security establishment fears that allowing Chinese
investment poses a threat to national maritime security, as these
ventures could give the Guojia Anquan Bu, the Chinese ministry of
state security, a base to operate.
o CPM demands that the investments should be allowed.
• Shinzo Abe is the new Japanese Premier. He succeeds Junichiro Koizumi.
He is the first post World War II born politician to become Premier.
• “Blood Diamond” threatens Surat diamond industry
o “Blood Diamond” is a Warner Brothers film based on a story
abuot the business of conflict diamonds and how its perpetrators
used the profits to fund terrorist cells to establish brutal
dictatorships in poor African nations.
o Surat’s diamond industry (Rs. 45,000 cr in size) comprises 6000
small and big diamond cutting and polishing units which employ
around 7 lk people.
o 9 out of world’s 11 rough diamonds are cut or polished in Surat.

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 • The Amir Khan starrer “Rang De Basanti” nominated for Oscars, says the
Film Federation of India.
• US Business holding pattern
o Of the 13.2 mn housinesses in the US, 90% are family owned and
managed.
o About 200 of the Fortune 500 companies are family owned.
• SEZs – Special Economic Zones
o There are 3000 SEZs in the world. India has 14 of them operational
and 60 approved SEZs. China has 54.
• Drug price control on ‘abnormal’ rise in prices
o The GoI (Government of India) is in the process of asking companies
to lower the prices of drugs which are outside price control, but have
recorded a price increase of above 20% in any given 12 month period,
which is deemed as ‘abnormal’.
• India tops the BRIC brat pack
o India is the leader of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China
group) pack when it comes to business competitiveness, according
to the 2006 Global Competitiveness Report of the World Economic
Forum.
o The toppers in the list are Switzerland, Finland and Sweden.
o Contrast this with the World Bank (International Finance
Corporation) report placing India at 134 of 175 countries in ease of
doing business!
• Housing price index adds to comfort level
o The government’s move to launch a housing price index is welcome.
o The index will help prospective buyers get a fix on how property prices
have moved over time.
o They can then take a call on whether to wait for the down-cycle or to
buy fast before prices rise still higher.
• Branded tea business in the country is of Rs. 4,000 cr in size.
• Cost of retailing
o In emerging market the cost of retailing is relatively lower with rent,
labour and other expenditure barely being 25% of the operational
costs, as compared to developed markets where it is about 55%.
• Banks may get more time to turn Basel II compliant
• Andrew Fasto
o Is the former Enron CFO (Chief Financial Officer), whose off-the-
books deals led to the collapse of Enron.
o Enron was ranked 7 on the Fortune 500 list of companies before
the revelations of financial mismanagement triggered its fall. The
collapse cost investors billions of dollars
o It was after this collapse along with some other financial scandals
that US has passed the Sarbanes Oxley Act which subjected
companies to stricter financial disclosure norms.

28.09.06:

• Airline industry losses

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 o Airline industry’s losses in India (all airlines put together) are
estimated to be around Rs. 2200 cr. for the current year.
o The Civil Aviation ministry is concerned that a repeat of the post-1991
boom and bust cycle does not repeat itself, in which a number of
private players including East-West, Damania and ModiLuft airlines
went down.
• 3G spectrum allocation
o Circle-specific reserve price for 3G bidding is finalized by TRAI
o Reserve price is fixed as Rs. 80 cr for Category A, Rs. 40 cr for
Category B and Rs. 15 cr for Category C circles.
o The operators will have to pay 1% of adjusted gross revenue per
annum as spectrum fee for 5 MHz of spectrum.
o TRAI has also recommended a national frequency management
board to provide long-term vision and planning for spectrum
availability.
• TCS changes pricing model
o It started using the success based pricing in some of its outsourcing
contracts.
o Time and material pricing: Most of the Indian software industry
operates on the basis of a fixed hourly rate, referred to in industry
parlance as time and material pricing.
o Outsourcing contract: In a typical outsourcing contract of the type
taken by consulting firms like Accenture tend to promise clients
specific quantum of process improvement, cost reduction and revenue
enhancement. If these outcomes are reached, the software firm gets to
share a part of the upside.
• BCCI revenues
o It has clocked a revenue of Rs. 430 cr in FY 2005-06.
o It is sitting on a pile of Rs. 590 cr cash.
• Auditing may turn must for all property deals
o CAs to certify property has not been undervalued to save registration
fee
• Reservation quota implementation from June next year
o The oversight committee headed by Veerappa Moily to prepare a
roadmap for implementing the 27% reservation for OBCs in
educational institutions under the central government has suggested
setting up of three new IIMs, IIT-like institutions and public-private
partnerships to fund the expansion.
o The 27% reservation for OBCs will necessitate a 54% seat expansion
to ensure that the number of general category seats in institutions is not
affected.
• Marad killings: Judicial report finds Muslim League guilty
o The Judicial Commission headed by Justice Thomas P. Joseph to
enquire into the massacre of nine persons, mostly Hindus in Marad,
Kerala on May 2, 2003 has found that the Indian Union Muslim
League and the National Democratic Front, a Muslim outfit as having
played a role in the massacre.

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 o The Marad massacre had its roots in two earlier incidents. A minor
incident in December 2001 had flared up into a communal riot in
January 2002. The commission report finds that the 2003 issue was a
one sided attack on Hindus, exploiting the revenege of close relatives
of those killed in the 2002 riot.
• Champions Trophy
o The cricketing spectacle is scheduled to be played between October 5th
and Novermber 5th.
o The television viewing universe has close to doubled from 35 mln in
the 2003 World Cup to about 65 mln currently.
• Grey India bags India’s first Euro Effies
o Grey Worldwide India has bagged the country’s first Euro Effies, a
bronze for Ministry of Tourism’s Incredible India campaign for 2005 in
travel & tourism category.
o Effies is advertising effectiveness award, and not just judging the
creative content of the campaign. It judges the campaign’s stated
objectives and evidence of performance of those goals.
o Effies sit right next to Cannes, Clio and D&AD as far as being the gold
standard for advertising world.
• Consumer durables in India
o About 60% of the domestic demand is met through local
manufacturing and the rest through imports.
• Tamilnadu plans spiritual tourism drive
o Tamilnadu has around 4000 well-known temples and the Tamil
diaspora who visit these destinations are fuelling the growth of
pilgrimage tourism for the state.
• Telecom companies may lose licence over poor identity check
o As at end May 2006, nearly 23.5 mln of the existing subscribers
(31.26% of the user base then) had been verified.
o The country’s mobile user base is around 124 mln as at August end.
o The subscriber verification is a daunting task for the telcos and they are
demanding the government to put in place a suitable legislation to
prevent / deter submission of false or incorrect information by
subscribers and also take action against errant retailers who do not
comply with the process requirements.
• Anti-virus software varieties
o Signature based technology: identifies finger-prints unique to each
virus, updates a database, and when it finds a virus, it cleans.
o Heuristic based technology: identifies viruses based on the suspicious
behaviour, and usually doesn’t maintain a complete database. Usually
it doesn’t differentiate between legitimate and suspicious acts and
raises false alarms.
• Search engines in vogue as the latest promo tool
o According to IAMAI, there are about 65 mln people who use search
engines in India and the market size for search engine advertising is
estimated at Rs. 236 cr.
o India still forms only a small fraction of this big $10 bn global
opportunity, which is expected to touch j$23 bn in the next four years.

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 • Reliance Industry’s – Government of India gas pricing dispute
o The Government feels that the natural gas sale price should be based
on open bidding process.
o The PSC says that the valuation should be on ‘arms length basis’,
which is defined as sales made freely in the open market, between
willing and unrelated parties.
o A committee was constituted by the Government to look into the
dispute and the DGH has been providing secretarial assistance to the
committee.
• Indian retail markets
o The rural market accounted for 70% of the market and consumed 20%
of FMCG, whereas the 30% of urban market consumed 80% of FMCG
in India.
o Currently there are 30 mln retail outlets but modern retailing is a mere
4% of all retail.
• Information technology consumption
o China uses $21 bn of IT for domestic consumption
o India consumes only $7 bn in contrast.

29.08.06:

• Clearing Corporation of India Limited

o It is the clearing and settlemtn body for all transactions in
government securities and foreign currency.
• FDI inflows and outlows
o FDI inflows into India are 81% higher than the amount foreign
portfolio investors have brought since January this year.
o Outbound FDI is much higher than FDI inflows. For FY06, while
inflows amounted to $5.5 bn, FDI outflows were at $7 bn.
• Mandal Commission and reservation for OBCs
o The Mandal Commission that looked into the issue of extending
reservation for OBCs has based its recommendations on the 1931
census to make out a case for reserving 27% of the seats in government
jobs and educational institutions.
o Round 2003 of the NSS (National Sample Survey) states that non-
Muslim OBCs comprised a mere 23% of the total population.
• Indian spices production
o The Spices Board is mulling a retail foray. The total spices retail
market is estimated to be at Rs. 8000 cr.
o India is the leading producer of several spices
 Red Chilli (6.25 to 6.5 lk tonnes)
 Pepper; we are facing lot of competition from Vietnam
 Cardamom (12,500 tonnes)
 Turmeric (6 to 7 lk tonnes). Exports about 50,000 tonnes
• Power generation in India
o Total power generation in India is pegged at 16.5 bn kwh as compared
to 39.1 bn kwh in China and 740 bn kwh in the US.

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 • The easiest places in the world to business – Singapore, New Zealand, US,
Hong Kong and the UK.
• China’s overseas trade
o Is expected to touch $400 bn by 2010. Currently it is at $158.2 bn in
FY05.
• Economic revival in Europe puts heart into Asian exporters
o Europe’s economy grew at an annualized rate of 3.6% in the second
quarter.
o The EU accounts for about 21% of India’s total exports in 2005
o The US accounted for about 16% of India’s total exports in 2005
o The rest of Asia excluding Japan about 26%.

30.09.06:

• ITDC (India Tourism Development Corporation) scouts for overseas partner to

battle rivals
o Current it operates 6 duty-free-outlets in international airports at Delhi,
Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Calicut and Goa.
• Azim Premji Foundation
o Today it reaches out 16,600 plus schools, nearly 3 lk children and
about 60,000 teachers with a team of 250 professionals and over 1000
paid field volunteers.
• Indian primary education scenario
o India has 200 mln kids below the age of 14.
o 20 mln of these children are not in school at all.
o 35% of the kids in Standard V cannot read and write.
o 25% of the teachers don’t put in an attendance but collect full pay.
o According a survey by Azim Premjo Foundation, 75% of the
teachers want to do good work.
• Monica Bedi sentenced to 5 years in prison in a passport forgery case.
• Selection process of UN Secretary General
o A candidate has to be recommended by the Security Council to the
General Assembly.
o This recommendation can be made only when a candidate secure
at least 9 votes in the 15 member Security Council without any
vetos.
o Only one candidate can be recommended by the council to the
General Assembly.
• Veraval, the frozen fish trading capital of India
o It is a small town barely 10 km away from the Hindu pilgrimate
town of Somnath in Gujarat. It currently exports about 1,22,000
tonnes (worth Rs. 934 cr) of frozen fish to various parts of the
world.
• Indian Housing scenario
o A recent report has estimated that by 2030 India will need up to 10 mln
new housing units per year.
o Currently there is a housing shortage of 20 mln units.

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• Urban joblessness in India (2004-05)
o The unemployment rate in urban areas is at 45%.
o In the rural areas it is at 17%.
o Labour Force Participation Rate (LPFR) is defined as the number
of persons/person-days of labour force per 1000 persons/person-
days. It has increased by nearly 2% for males and about 3% for
females in the rural areas during the period 1999-2000 to 20004-
05.
• Drought relief package announced by the Government of India
o The Union cabinet cleared a Rs. 16,978.69 cr comprehensive
rehabilitation package for the 31 perennial drought-struck
districts countrywide, spread across AP, Karnataka, Kerala and
Maharshtra.
o Of this 10,579.43 cr would be subsidies and Rs. 6399.26 cr would in
the form of loans to farmers in the highly suicide-prone districts.
• Oil industry development cess
o The annual amount collected under the Oil Industry Development Act
exceeds Rs. 5000 cr.
o So far under the Act an amount of Rs. 55,966 cr had been collected (till
March end 2005).
o These funds are likely to be used for minimizing oil marketing
companies’ losses on account of selling cooking gas and kerosene
below the cost price.
o The Oil Industry Development Board was constituted in 1975 to
provide financial assistance for the development of the oil sector in the
country.
• GDP (Gross Domestic Product) figures
o GDP data is released periodically by the Central Statistical
Organization.
o GDP rate is inching up to 9% now. The economy grew at a rate of
8.9% in Q1 (First Quarter April-July of this financial year)
o The headline inflation rate is also stabilizing at 4.56%.
o The growth is spurred by basically manufacturing growing at 11.3%.
The performance of the other secotors is:
 Trade & transport 13.2%
 Agriculture 3.4%
 Construction 9.5%
 Finance, Insurance 8.9%
 Mining 3.4%
• Current account in BoP (Balance of Payments) dips into deficit in Q1
o Currently the current account deficit is at $6.2 bn against as surplus of
$1.8 bn in previous quarter and a deficit of $3.6 bn last year.
o Capital account surplus is at $11.9 bn
o Hence the BoP ended with a surplus of $6.4 bn
o What are invisibles in the BoP parlance?
 Income from software exports and remittances by NRIs
o Exports during the quarter were at $28 bn ($23 bn)
o Imports were at $46 bn ($38 bn)

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 o Trade deficit at $18.5 bn ($13.6 bn)
o Inflows throu FDI were higher than inflows through FIIs during the
quarter.
• Foreign nations may not get home remedies sans royalty
o The Government in association with Ayush, has prepared a database of
1,06,000 traditional medicines and will soon put them in the public
domain to pre-empt any kind of international patents on Indian
medicine.
• Uncle Sam to enter Indian realty
o The housing sector contributed to $2 trillion to the US economy last
year, accounting for 16% of growth.
• Delhi’s power problems
o Peak power demand is presently hovering around 3,500 mw and is
expected to increase to 5,900 mw by 2010 when Commonwealth
Games would be held.
o At present the peak shortage is varying around 500 mw to 800 mw.
o Delhi generates less than 25% of what it consumes. Hence increase in
generation is what is badly needed.
• Post offices may retail on behalf of banks
o 80% of post offices are in rural areas (approx 1,25,200 in number)
• Bimstec countries
o Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand
• The first Hedge Fund
o As early as 1920s Benjamin Graham has managed a hedge fund,
according to Warren Buffet
o He was differing with the view expressed in the magazine “Financial
History” which stated that the first hedge fund was started in 1949 by
Alfred Winslow Jones.
• Dr. Ivo Pitanguy
o He is the world’s plastic surgery guru.
o He slams beauty fads.

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