#Everydayquiz #TheHindu #IndianExpress #EconomicTimes #BusinessStandard
The Hindu: Keeping tigers in the green
zone
In a world facing
tremendous pressure on space and resources, a rise in the number of wild tigers
is cause for cheer. The big cats are shy and react negatively to human
presence.
Any credible estimate of growth in their population indicates that a
good conservation policy has been at work. According to the latest count
released by the World Wildlife Fund and the Global Tiger Forum, over 600 tigers have been added to the
global number of some 3,200 in
2010. Yet, determining the health of an elusive species across countries using
absolute numbers is a flawed approach, because it risks shifting the focus away
from the health of core populations that persist in a small area of individual
countries. India made terrible counting mistakes in the past and failed to
undertake intensive scientific censusing of tigers across the country. It came
as no surprise when tigers were wiped out of Sariska, and a chastened
government corrected its methodologies. Using relatively better techniques,
including photographic capture and recapture, the national assessment by the
Ministry of Environment and Forests came up with the estimate of 2,226 tigers
in 2014, representing an increase from the previous count of 1,706 in 2010, and
well above the dismal figure of 1,411 four years previously. Now that India is
hosting the Third Asia Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation with
successes to show, it should commit itself to scientific methods even more.
In the
future, wild tigers will survive if countries can maintain inviolate core
habitats for breeding populations, ensure habitat connectivity for genetic
exchange and crack down on poaching of both tigers and prey. There are wildlife
reserves in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Assam, West Bengal and
Jharkhand where the Environment Ministry wants to improve conditions for tiger
breeding. As part of this exercise, Rs.380 crore has been made available to
Project Tiger this year. What is conspicuous, however, is the lack of political
will to remove industrial pressures on forests. The proposal to widen National
Highway 7 in Central India, for instance, has become controversial because of
the dreadful impact it would have on tigers in the Kanha-Pench and
Kanha-Nagzira corridors in Maharashtra. It is contradictory to talk of
protecting source populations which occupy only 6 per cent of the habitat on
the one hand, and simultaneously engage in destructive activities in the same
forests. Mitigating the damage through benign alternatives is vital. Such green
leadership would also make India’s collaboration with other countries in the
Global Tiger Forum meaningful, demonstrating to them the unique experience of a
populous nation conserving forests and wildlife and providing life-sustaining
ecosystem services to all. The Environment Ministry must also view independent
scientific organisations as partners, and stop putting up bureaucratic hurdles
to research in protected areas. Effective conservation demands transparency.
Tremendous
>very great in amount or level, or extremely good:
They were
making a tremendous amount of noise last night.
She's been a
tremendous (= very great) help to me over the last few months.
You won? That's tremendous!
Elude (NOT BE CAUGHT)
› to not be caught by someone:
They eluded the
police by fleeing.
Elude (NOT ACHIEVE)
› If something
that you want eludes
you, you do not succeed in achieving it:
The gold medal continues to elude her.
They had minor breakthroughs but real success eluded them.
Chasten
› to make
someone understand that
they have failed or done
something wrong and make
them want to improve:
He was
chastened by the defeat and determined to work harder.
Inviolate
› (that must
be) not harmed or damaged:
For centuries the tomb lay inviolate until, by chance, it was discovered by two miners.
Conspicuous
› very noticeable or attracting attention, often in a way that is
not wanted:
In China, her blonde hair was conspicuous.
He tried not to look conspicuous and moved slowly along the back of the room.
Dreadful
>very bad, of very low quality, or shocking and very sad:
The food was bad and the service was dreadful.
I was beginning to think I'd made a dreadful mistake.
Benign (PERSON)
› pleasant and kind:
A benign old lady
Benign (DISEASE)
› A benigntumour is not likely to cause death:
A benign tumour
The Hindu: The power of one against many
Electoral alliances and
seat-sharing adjustments have their advantages as well as disadvantages in a
first-past-the-post system. In Tamil Nadu, while most of the opposition parties
are more conscious of the advantages, the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra
Kazhagam seems more mindful of the disadvantages of seat-sharing. Chief
Minister and AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa set aside just seven of the
234 Assembly seats for allies; even in those seven, the alliance party
candidates will technically be AIADMK
members, as they will have to contest on the party’s Two Leaves symbol. But it
is not clear whether it is confidence alone that has made Ms. Jayalalithaa
spurn alliance proposals from major parties, including the Tamil Maanila
Congress. She could be open to the possibility that the election may result in
a hung Assembly and worried that alliance partners could switch sides after the
results are out. The strategy appears to be one of maximising the yield by
contesting as many seats as possible in the hope that a divided opposition will
not be able to capitalise on any anti-incumbency sentiment among the voters. A
similar strategy worked in the 2014
Lok Sabha election, with the AIADMK winning 37 of the 39 seats in the State. In
the opposition camp, minor political parties, which usually rally behind either
the DMK or the AIADMK in a general election, have tried to create an
alternative. Most significantly, the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam led by
actor-politician Vijayakant has decided to assume the leadership of a third
front that includes parties such as the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
of Vaiko, the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi and the two Left parties. The TMC,
after failing to strike an alliance with the AIADMK, is also now part of this
front, giving it a semblance of viability.
Ms.
Jayalalithaa will be emulating her political mentor, AIADMK founder M.G. Ramachandran, if
she returns to power. Since 1984, when MGR came back as Chief Minister despite
being confined to a hospital bed in the United States throughout the campaign,
no one has been able to retain power in the State. On issues such as
prohibition, she is tailing the opposition, offering to introduce it in phases
after all the opposition parties made this a major election point. Also, the
go-it-alone strategy will not work as well as it did in the Lok Sabha election.
While it was unable to bring the DMDK into its fold, and only has the Congress
as a major ally, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam led by former Chief Minister M.
Karunanidhi may be still able to tap into the anti-incumbency vote by virtue of
being the largest opposition party by far. Parties such as the DMDK and
the Pattali Makkal Katchi, with a
rural support base similar to that of the AIADMK, could cut into both the
anti-establishment vote and the pro-AIADMK vote. Polarisation will work to the
advantage of the DMK. But Ms. Jayalalithaa is banking on the multiplicity of
her opponents in the first-past-the-post system.
Be conscious of sth/sb
>to notice that a particular thing or person exists or is present:
My tooth doesn't exactly hurt, but I'm conscious of it (=
I can feel it) all
the time.
Mindful
› careful not to forget about something:
Mindful of the poor road conditions, she reduced her speed to 30 mph.
Spurn
› to refuse to accept something or someone
because you feel that thing
or person is not worth having:
She spurned my offers of help.
Ellis plays the part of the young lover spurned by his mistress.
Semblance
› a situation or condition that is similar to what is wanted or expected, but is not exactly as hoped for:
The city has now returned to some semblance of normality after last night's celebrations.
Viability
› ability to work as intended or to succeed:
Rising costs are threatening the viability of many
businesses.
Emulate
› to copy something achieved by someone else and try to do it as well as they
have:
They hope to emulate the success of other software companies.
Fitzgerald is eager to emulate Martin's record of three successive world titles.
Tail
› to follow and watch someone very closely, especially in order to get information secretly:
That car has been tailing me for the
last ten minutes.
Business Standard: airasia, Indian?
Questions
are again being asked about the degree of control that foreigners have over
Indian airlines. In 2012, the then United Progressive Alliance government
liberalised foreign direct investment rules in Indian carriers, allowing 49 per
cent ownership by foreigners in domestic airlines through the automatic route -
as long as control remained with an Indian partner. Several airlines began
operation shortly after this provision came into effect, including airasia and
Vistara. The current discussion, following a report in the Mint, centres on
whether the domestic company airasia is in fact controlled by Malaysia-based airasia
Bhd. The Malaysian company owns only 49 per cent of the airline, the limit in
law; the remainder is held by Tata Sons and by Arun Bhatia of Telestra, who it
was recently reported, would sell his stake to Tata Sons, giving the latter a
majority stake in the Indian airline. However, it has long been alleged that
the domestic shareholders are bound by an excessively detailed brand licence agreement
- this was the subject of public interest litigation from Subramanian Swamy
shortly after the joint venture was announced. The allegations are that
operating requirements in a large number of fields are spelt out in the brand
licence agreement in such detail that there is, in effect, no control vested
with domestic shareholders, and that this is therefore a violation of the law
that requires domestic Indian airlines to be controlled by the domestic
shareholders.
This is an allegation that requires more careful investigation than the civil aviation authorities have undertaken so far. It is vitally important, in order to ensure the existence of a level playing field, that such rules are not broken by any player. Questions have also been asked in the past about the nature of control that foreign investors have exerted over Indian airlines. Abu Dhabi-based Etihad's stake in Jet Airways, for example - though it has helped the latter capture a big share of international traffic - has nevertheless raised eyebrows. Still, there the shareholder agreement was, according to reports, vetted to ensure it did not violate control laws. Airasia must be asked to submit its brand licence agreement to similar examination.
This controversy also leads to consideration of the larger policy question. What benefits accrue from this requirement that domestic airlines be domestically controlled, and whom does it benefit? Many countries have blindly followed regulation in the United States passed as long ago as 1938 that restricts foreign ownership of domestic airlines. But, as it happens, the times are changing. The US and the European Union signed an agreement under President Barack Obama committing themselves to change this requirement and allow foreign ownership of each other's domestic airlines - if the former's sclerotic legislative branch can manage to pass an amendment. Certainly, the national interest in protecting control of domestic airlines has never been fully spelt out - and it is particularly odd in an era when the hardware airlines operate is frequently leased, and even domestic capital that owns shares might be in effect controlled from abroad, as is the case, some argue, with Australia's Qantas. Airlines are a notoriously capital-heavy and crisis-ridden sector, and it is most efficient to maximise the catchment area for the capital they need. While it is essential that the law, as it stands, be followed by every single operator - and thus airasia must answer the questions being asked - it is also perhaps time for a discussion on the benefits of the law.
This is an allegation that requires more careful investigation than the civil aviation authorities have undertaken so far. It is vitally important, in order to ensure the existence of a level playing field, that such rules are not broken by any player. Questions have also been asked in the past about the nature of control that foreign investors have exerted over Indian airlines. Abu Dhabi-based Etihad's stake in Jet Airways, for example - though it has helped the latter capture a big share of international traffic - has nevertheless raised eyebrows. Still, there the shareholder agreement was, according to reports, vetted to ensure it did not violate control laws. Airasia must be asked to submit its brand licence agreement to similar examination.
This controversy also leads to consideration of the larger policy question. What benefits accrue from this requirement that domestic airlines be domestically controlled, and whom does it benefit? Many countries have blindly followed regulation in the United States passed as long ago as 1938 that restricts foreign ownership of domestic airlines. But, as it happens, the times are changing. The US and the European Union signed an agreement under President Barack Obama committing themselves to change this requirement and allow foreign ownership of each other's domestic airlines - if the former's sclerotic legislative branch can manage to pass an amendment. Certainly, the national interest in protecting control of domestic airlines has never been fully spelt out - and it is particularly odd in an era when the hardware airlines operate is frequently leased, and even domestic capital that owns shares might be in effect controlled from abroad, as is the case, some argue, with Australia's Qantas. Airlines are a notoriously capital-heavy and crisis-ridden sector, and it is most efficient to maximise the catchment area for the capital they need. While it is essential that the law, as it stands, be followed by every single operator - and thus airasia must answer the questions being asked - it is also perhaps time for a discussion on the benefits of the law.
Allege
>to say that
someone has done something illegal or wrong without giving proof:
[+ (that)] The
two men allege (that) the police forced them to make false confessions.
Vested
› vested shares, pension plans, etc. Can be kept by an employee who has worked the necessary number of years for a particular company:
He chose to
receive his vested benefits in a single lump-sum payment.
Vet
› to examine something or someone carefully to make certain that they are acceptable or suitable:
During the war, the government vetted all news reports before they were published.
Accrue
› to increase in number or amount over a period of time:
Interest will
accrue on the account at a rate of seven percent.
Sclerosis
› a medical condition that causes body tissue or organs to become harder, especially the arteries (= thick tubes carrying blood from the heart)
Catchment area
› the area served by a school:
They want their son to go to St Mary's, but
they're not in the catchment area.
Indian
Express: Just press play
The launch of the Unified Payments
Interface (UPI) by the National Payments Corporation of India (NCPI) on Monday
is a breakthrough step not just for the way in which Indians bank but also for
how they transact online. In essence, the UPI will simplify the way payments
are made — it will leverage the rapidly deepening mobile penetration in the
country to facilitate monetary transactions at the press of a button. A
customer can use the UPI instead of paying cash on delivery from online
shopping websites or other bills etc. The ease and security — the UPI allows
for a two-factor authentication — with which transactions can now happen over a
mobile will be a boon for a lot of businesses, especially small- and
medium-sized entrepreneurs. The NPCI has built on the Immediate Payment Service
(IMPS) platform — through which one could transfer money instantly by going
online — by adding another layer that allows easy debit capability even on
mobile phones. RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, who has been a driving force behind
the structural change in Indian banking, said: “For a number of years, we have
been saying we need a revolution in banking in India. I think we can
confidently say the revolution is upon us”.
Over the past few years, the Indian
banking structure has been undergoing a tectonic change often lost in the bad
news about growing non-performing assets, loan write-offs and wilful
defaulters. Starting with a report authored by Rajan for the Planning
Commission, titled “A hundred small steps”, in 2009 to the Nachiket Mor-led
“Committee on Comprehensive Financial Services for Small Businesses and Low
Income Households” report in December 2013, the RBI has cast aside its
historically conservative approach to unveil a wide range of banking solutions.
As a result, as against just 12 new bank licences being issued since
liberalisation till early 2014, the RBI awarded 10 licences for small finance
banks (which are commercial banks but with a sectoral focus among the unserved
sections of the economy) and 11 licences for payments banks (which will only
deal with deposits and remittances, not credit).
The greater differentiation in banking
structure allows for niche banking and circumvents the traditional problem of
Indian banking where huge banks that were expected to perform a variety of
roles failed to perform any. The emerging variegated banking structure as well
as the advances in technology, such as smartphones and UPI, and its adoption,
such as increasing mobile use, have come together to create the “revolution”
Rajan is talking about.
Breakthrough
> an important discovery or event that helps to improve a situation or provide an answer to a problem:
Scientists are hoping for a breakthrough in the search for a cure for cancer.
Deepening
› increasing or becoming darker:
They felt a deepening sense of despair.
Tectonic
› specialized
geology relating to the
structure of the surface of the earth and the way it is formed, changed, and moved by forces inside it:
The motion of the earth's tectonic plates (= sections of the planet's surface)
› A tectonic change is a very important one that will have major effects:
He led the company through a period of tectonic shifts in the movie industry.
Unveil
› to remove a covering like a curtain from a new structure at a formal ceremony in order to show the opening or finishing of a new building or work of art:
The memorial to those who had died in the war was unveiled by the Queen.
Niche (POSITION)
› a job or position that is very suitable for someone, especially one that they like:
He has carved/made a niche for himself
as a financial advisor.
› an area or position that is exactly suitable for a small group of the same type:
An ecological niche.
Circumvent
› to avoid something, especially cleverly or illegally:
Ships were registered abroad to circumvent employment and safety regulations.
Variegated
› having a pattern of different colours or marks:
Variegated leaves
A variegated plant
Apr
13 2016 : The Economic Times (Bangalore)
For
Same Duty on Phone and Its Parts
Local smartphone makers are upset that this year's Budget has
raised import duties on batteries and accessories to 29%, which puts them at a
disadvantage vis-Ã -vis handset importers who pay a duty of 12.5%. True, an
inverted duty structure, with a lower rate on products and higher rate on
components, really makes no sense. Nor does its inverse, which encourages
spurious value-addition behind high tariff walls. But the fact of the matter is
that 29% duty hike is only an instrument to disincentivise and deter trading
operations that pass themselves off as local manufactures.
Note that
batteries and accessories account for up to 40% of the cost of manufacturing
mobile handsets, and if the putati ve local manufacturers have credible game
plans to grow and mature organically rather than simply leverage Chinese
manufacturing strength to stay in business, they surely need to think big and
firm-up plans to make components locally . The excise duty on mobile handsets
is 12.5% in case a vendor takes credit for central value-added tax and 1% if no
Cenvat credit is claimed. This means that imported phones attract a
countervailing duty of 12.5%, offering a local entrepreneur who imports the
same phone in a knocked-down form protection of 11.5%. This is no real make in
India. In order to discourage such make-believein-India, at least in the case
of parts such as the charger, the government has imposed a steep duty on their
imports. This is not the way to go about it and will hamper genuine Indian
manufacture of high-value electronics.
The
government is right to disincentivise trading masquerading as local
manufacture. The right way to do this, while also incentivising genuine value
addition, is to offer the same exact level of protection to components and
finished goods.
Invert
› to turn something upside down or change the order of two things:
In some languages, the word order in questions is inverted (= the verb comes before the subject of the sentence).
Inverse
› opposite in relation to something else:
Their generosity was in inverse proportion/relation to their income (= the more money they had the less generous they were)
Spurious
› false and not what it appears to be, or (of reasons and judgments) based on something that has not
been correctly understood and therefore false:
Some of the arguments in favour of shutting the factory are questionable and others downright spurious.
Deter
› to prevent someone from doing
something or to make someone less enthusiastic about doing something by making it difficult for that person to do it or by threatening bad results if they do it:
These measures are designed to deter an enemy attack.
Countervailing
› having equal force but an opposite effect:
There was
nobody strong enough
to lead an effective countervailing force against the dictator.
Masquerade
› behaviour that is intended to prevent the truth about something unpleasant or not wanted from becoming known:
They kept up the masquerade of being happily married for over 30 years.
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