1st Oct10 to 7th Oct10

C U R R E N T A F F A I R S N E W S L E T T E R
COMPILED BY

Data & Statistics 2 Cover Story 3 Personalities of the Week 4

Business News 5 International News 9 Social & Political News 10 Top Cabinet Portfolios 11

The Ayodhya dispute

COVER STORY

TOP 10 HEADLINES OF THE WEEK

1. India to drive past China to record worlds fastest auto sales growth 2. Business world using CWG to assess India 3. DD Hikes Advertising Rates For CWGs Closing Ceremony By 150% 4. IIM-A to reform placement system; discusses uniform methods of compiling salaries 5. Reliance Retail close to signing JV with Worlds Leading Toy Retailer ToysRU 6. Michelle Obama: Worlds most powerful women 7. Test tube baby scientist, Robert G Edwards wins Nobel for Medicine 8. Android roars past iPhone in US 9. Maharashtra will woo Sachin to bat for tourism 10. Mukesh Ambani to pen RIL story

ECONOMIC INDICATORS WORLD POPULATION AND GROWTH RATE

POPULATION: As of 9 October 2010, the world population is estimated by the United States Census Bureau to be 6.874 billion. In the future, world population has been expected to reach a peak of growth; from there it will decline due to economic reasons, health concerns, land exhaustion and environmental hazards. There is around an 85% chance that the world's population will stop growing before the end of the century. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population POPULATION GROWTH: Although it took 123 years for Worlds population to become 2 Billion from 1 Billion in the year 1804, it will take only 85 years to add another 5 Billion. Worlds population over last century has been increasing steadily. However, some countries have started experiencing negative population growth, especially in Eastern Europe (mainly due to low fertility rates and emigration). In Southern Africa, growth is slowing due to the high number of HIV-related deaths. Japan's population has also been decreasing since 2005. Stock Market Indices as on 7th Oct10 Values BSE SENSEX 20250 NSE (NIFTY) 6103 Current Market Rates as on 7th Oct10 Values Rupee / US Dollar 44.38 Rupee / Euro 61.80 Rupee / Pound 70.37 Gold (10 Gram) in Rs. 19097

2 FAMOUS PERSONALITIES

LAKSHMI MITTAL: World's largest steel maker and the third richest man in the world. Rags to Riches: Lakshmi Mittal was born on June 15, 1950 at Sadulpur, in Churu district of Rajasthan, in a poor family. The extended family of 20 lived on bare concrete floors, slept on rope

beds and cooked on an open fire in the brickyard in a house built by his grandfather. He belongs to Marwari Aggarwal caste and his grandfather worked for the Tarachand Ghanshyam Das firm, one of the leading Marwari industrial firms of pre-independence India. Stylebhai: Lakshmi Mittal is also known for his opulence. In 2003, he acquired the Kensington mansion, said to be the world's most expensive home, from Formula One racing's Bernie Ecclestone for 70 million ($128 million). His daughter Vanisha's $50 million wedding bash is touted as the most expensive wedding of the 20th century. A Cult figure: Mittal Steel is the largest steelmaker in the world, with shipments of 42.1 million tons of steel and profits of over $22 billion in 2004. Mittal holds steel assets in SouthAfrica, Poland, Indonesia, and Kazakhstan. After the merger between Mittal Steel and Arcelor which raged a big debate throughout the Europe, Laxmi Mittal controls 10% of the worlds total steel production and the combined entity that has come into force post-merger is three times the size of its nearest competitors. The Man with the Midas Touch: The most fascinating thing about this man is that he is said to have a knack of buying sick and rusted steel companies and turning them into gold. Experts say that his capability to quote the cost of these sick companies make him winner all the way. It is no mean achievement that when the global steel industry is in its worst recession phase, Mittal's steel plants are churning huge profits! His zeal and fierceness for acquiring sick and closed steel plants is so intense that many times he has to jet from one country to another, in quick succession, to sign another takeover deal. It is no surprise that he turns all of them into gold. That's why the old saying, fortune favors the brave, applies to him in its entirety. Mittal, now owns 12 giant-sized steel plants that are part of a far-flung empire stretching from Canada to Trinidad & Tobago to Kazakhstan and Indonesia. MOTHER TERESA: Saint of the Gutters Gods Gift to Mankind: Mother Teresa was born on August 27, 1910 in Skopje, Macedonia to Nikola and Drane Bojaxhiu and was originally named 'Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu'. She received her first communion at the age of five. She decided to become a Catholic nun, in order to do missionary work and spread the message of love and compassion in the world. In 1928, she became a Catholic nun and changed her name to Teresa. Life and work: In order to carry out missionary work in India, she was sent to Calcutta on 6th January 1929, where she was appointed as a teacher at St. Mary's High School. Sister Teresa became Mother Teresa on 24th May 1937, when she made final Profession of Vows to become the Spouse of Jesus for Eternity. In 1948, she was granted permission from her superiors to leave the convent school and take on the task of serving the poor slum dwellers in Calcutta. Soon, she was joined by volunteer helpers. Financial assistance started pouring in. This made it possible for Mother Teresa to extend the scope of her social service. By 1997, Mother Teresas Sisters numbered nearly 4000, working in about 610 foundations in 123 countries across the world. Her newly-elected successor was appointed the Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity, in March 1997. Controversies: Though Mother Teresa's good deeds were indisputable, her life was not without controversy. A 1994

British television documentary, "Hell's Angel: Mother Teresa of Calcutta," accused her of taking donations without questioning the sources, including the likes of Haitian dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier. She also received some criticism for her strong views against abortion and divorce. Regarding abortion, she said: Abortion "is murder in the womb ... A child is a gift of God. If you do not want him, give him to me." Crisis of Faith: Even as she was receiving the Nobel Prize, she asked her confessor to pray for her because she could feel nothing when she prayed herself and no longer had any experience of God. Sainthood: Since her death, Mother Teresa has progressed rapidly along the steps towards sainthood, currently having reached the stage of having been beatified. After Mother Teresa's death in 1997, the Holy See began the process of beatification, the third step toward possible canonization. This process requires the documentation of a miracle performed from the intercession of Mother Teresa. The beatification of Mother Teresa took place on 19 October 2003, thereby bestowing on her the title "Blessed. A second miracle is required for her to proceed to canonization. "The other day I dreamed that I was at the gates of heaven. And St. Peter said, 'Go back to Earth. There are no slums up here." Prince Michael of Greece in 1996.

3 COVER STORY: THE AYODHYA DISPUTE

Flashback: The Mughal invader Babur came down from Kabul in 1525. One of his generals, Mir Baki Khan came to Ayodhya in 1528 and built the "Janmasthan" i.e. "Birthplace" Mosque. Mir Baki, after building the mosque, named it Babri Masjid. The first recorded incident of violence over the issue between Hindus and Muslims in modern times took place in 1853 during the reign of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Awadh. During the "communal riots" of 1934, walls around the Masjid and one of the domes of the Masjid were damaged. In December 1949, mahants decided to recite the Ramayana in front of the mosque. Idols were placed inside by Hindus who entered the mosque by breaking its locks. The civil court suits: The first suit was filed in 1950 by Gopal Singh Visharad. The suit was filed in Faizabad civil court, seeking a ruling that would grant permission to perform puja at the site. The second suit was filed by Paramhans Tamchandra Das, again in 1950, and it sought the same injunction. In 1959, Nirmohi Akhara filed a title suit, claiming ownership of the site. This prompted the UP Sunni Central Board of Waqfs to file the fourth suit in 1961. The fifth suit was filed in 1989. With one of these suits having been withdrawn, four title suits were pending in the Faizabad civil court. In 1989, these suits were transferred to Allahabad HC. Political mileage: It was in 1990 when BJP president L.K. Advani decided to go on a rathyatra to educate the people about the Ayodhya movement. He took off from Somnath in Gujarat and worked his way to Ayodhya. It whipped up a strong Hindu fervour and increased the party's votebank from 85 in 1989 to 120 in the 1991 general elections. The demolition: On December 6, 1992, hundreds of VHP and BJP activists broke down an organized protest into a frenzied attack, and demolished the mosque. The VHP was banned by the government, and many BJP leaders including Lal Krishna Advani were arrested briefly for provoking the destruction. Although widely condemned by many across the country for

playing politics with sensitive issues, the BJP won the support of millions of conservative Hindus, as well as national prominence. The Riots: In December 1992, riots broke out in Bombay following the Babri masjid demolition, in which around 900 people died. The second phase occurred in January 1993, it was a Hindu backlash occurring as a result of the killings of Hindu Mathadi Kamgar workers by Muslims in Dongri, an area of South Bombay. The estimated damage from the riots was around Rs 9,000 crore. This was followed by the 12 March, 1993 Bombay Bombings, perpetuated by underworld elements with alleged help of ganglord Dawood Ibrahim and his DCompany syndicate, in which 250 people, mostly Hindus died. On 27 February 2002 at Godhra City in the state of Gujarat, the Sabarmati Express train was forcibly stopped and attacked by a large Muslim mob. As a result, 59 Karsevaks, Ramjanmabhoomi volunteers, mostly women, children and seniors returning from the holy city of Ayodhya were burned alive. The attack prompted retaliatory massacres against Muslims on a large scale, in which 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were killed. The verdict: On September 30, 2010, the High Court of Allahabad, the three-member bench comprising justices SU Khan, Sudhir Agarwal and DV Sharma, ruled that the disputed land be split into three parts. The site of the Ramlala idol would go to the party representing Ram Lalla Virajman (the Ram deity), Nirmohi Akhara to get Sita Rasoi and Ram Chabutara, and the Sunni Wakf Board to get the rest. The Sunni Waqfs Board, which is an elected legal body that oversees Sunni Islamic properties endowed for religious or charitable purposes. Nirmohi Akhara, is comprised of 'sadhus' who have renounced the material world. Ram Lalla refers to the idol of child Ram placed under the central dome of the mosque in makeshift Ram mandir at Ram Janmabhoomi. As the verdict was announced, many were stunned to discover that Bhagwan Sri Ram Virajman too had been a litigant in the case through his next friend Deoki Nandan Agarwal. Can a deity, like a normal human being, fight a legal battle? According to the HC, while Ram Lalla, being a deity enjoys legal rights, since he is a minor he could be represented in court through a guardian or next friend. Fight till the end: Reacting to the verdict, all the three parties announced that they will appeal against the division of disputed land among three parties in the Supreme Court of India. The Sunni Waqf Board announced its decision to appeal against the Allahabad high courts order. Refusing to share the disputed Ayodhya site with the Sunni Waqf Board and the Nirmohi Akhara, the VHP on Tuesday hardened its stand and said it would settle for nothing but a grand temple on the entire 67-acre land.

4 BUSINESS NEWS OF THE WEEK

1. India to drive past China to record worlds fastest auto sales growth - ET 05 Oct According to a study by global consultancy firm Ernst & Young, the Indian market will clock the fastest compound annual growth rate between 2009 and 2020, more than double that of China and the triad of North America, Europe and Japan. Indias CAGR between 2009 and 2020 is likely to be 14% compared with Chinas 6%, other emerging markets 6% (which includes Bric nations) and the triads 4%. The study also predicts Indias car and SUV sales to double from 2.2 million units in

2009 to just over 5 million units in 2015 and just short of 10 million by 2020. Right now India is the 10th largest passenger vehicle market in the world though we are the second-largest twowheeler market and the third-largest medium- and heavy-commercial vehicle market. The production expertise will help grow Indias auto industry from a $30-billion sector to one worth a staggering $108-119 billion. This would include exports, estimated to jump from $3.8 billion in 2009 to nearly $30 billion by 2020. The components industry, already as big as the vehicle manufacturing sector at $26 billion will jump to $103-113 billion in the next ten years, says the report. 2. Business world using Games to assess India- TNN The Commonwealth Games, which opened here on Sunday, are unlikely to be gripping viewing for sports fans. After all, most of the top international athletes have withdrawn, citing everything from safety to scheduling to muscle strains, as evidence of Indias abysmal planning piled up and Delhi was hit by an outbreak of dengue fever. As India emerges as an economic player, the business world will view the games as something of a management competency test. India, with its nearly 9% economic growth and rapidly increasing middle class, has become the latest popular destination for global companies and lowgrowth Western governments. That is why many of the same Western nations that were upset by Indias lack of sports preparedness have recently stepped up their trade efforts with the country. 3. DD Hikes Advertising Rates For CWGs Closing Ceremony By 150%- ET 07 Oct Doordarshan may still be the same in disappointing television viewers with glitches and faux pas, but the state-owned broadcaster is showing some dynamism in marketing the Commonwealth Games: it has increased the advertising rates of the events closing ceremony by 150%, buoyed by a spectacular opening ceremony. Doordarshan, which has exclusive rights to broadcast the Games, is demanding 2.25-2.5 lakh for a 10-second spot during the closing ceremony on October 14, up from 90,000 per 10 seconds for the opening ceremony on October 3. The picture was completely different just a few weeks ago, when state-run companies NTPC and PowerGrid pulled out as sponsors and several advertisers such as LG Electronics and the Godrej Group decided to stay away from the event marred by corruption charges and uncompleted work. All this forced Doordarshan to cut back its advertising revenues target from 200 crore to 100 crore for the event. 4. IIM-A out to reform placement system: Discusses Uniform Methods Of Compiling Salaries- ET 06 Oct IN 2010, IIM Calcutta reported 1.6 crore as the highest international annual salary offered to one of its students. At IIM Ahmedabad, the average domestic salary this year was 14.94 lakh as against 12.17 lakh in 2009, but well below the 2008 levels of 17.85 lakh. The average salary at IIM-Kozhikode stood at 14 lakh. The astronomical salaries paid to management passouts is a much-discussed topic and B-schools too, in their rush to establish supremacy, sometimes tweak salary components to arrive at higher figures. Hence a need was being felt to bring in more uniformity and transparency in placement standards. Towards this end, the IIMA has put forth a new system, Indian Placement Reporting Standards. The proposed system would calculate salary figures as per a common formula and placement results would be announced in a pre-decided format.

5. IIMC students get into the mind of investors ET 01Oct

IIM Calcutta students are now studying psychological concepts to better understand investor behaviour and the financial implications of such behaviour. In a novel (new) course introduced

this year called Behavioural Finance the students, by means of interactive dialogue, learn about different aspects of investor behaviour, the rationale, or lack thereof, behind such behaviour and ways to forecast them. Classical finance assumes all investors to be rational and thus, fails to explain events like market crashes, unprecedented booms or volatility. Behavioural finance, on the other hand, proposes psychology-based theories to explain anomalies (differences) in the market.

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6. After Hamleys, Reliance Retail Now Close To Signing JV With Worlds Leading Toy Retailer ToysRUs- ET 05 Oct Within months of opening the countrys first Hamleys toy store, Mukesh Ambanis Reliance Retail is set to bring in worlds leading toy retailer ToysRUs to India. The two companies are close to signing a joint-venture agreement to open ToysRUs stores in India. The New Jersey-headquartered ToysRUs runs more than 1,500 toy supermarkets across 34 countries and has annual revenues in excess of $13 billion. It has the worlds largest toy store at New York Citys Times Square. It also owns brands such as BabiesRUs, FAO Schwarz and KB Toys. Reliance Retail had in April opened the first outlet of Hamleys, the iconic 250-year-old British toy retailer, in Mumbai. Analysts say the tieup with ToysRUs will not impact Reliance Retails plans for Hamleys as the US brand is positioned lower than the British toymaker.

7. Volkswagen aims to replicate Chinese success story in India- ET 4 Oct

Volkswagen wants to increase its sales in India to a million cars by 2018 when the German carmaker hopes to become the worlds number one car company, ahead of Toyota and general Motors, a top official said. The company can do this by replicating its Chinese success story in India, said Martin Winterkorn, Volkswagen global CEO. Our market share in China is roundabout 20% and it fits our target in India as well, he said. Volkswagen expects the Indian market to become five million cars strong by 2018 and it aims to garner a one-fifth share in the market by then through its different brands, Mr Winterkorn said. We are strong in India and we feel we have the best cars for India, he told ET. The German carmaker is looking at jointly developing a small car for India with Suzuki Motor, in which it took a 19.9% stake late last year.

8. Future, Spencers and More at your service- ET Oct 1

Destination retailing is the new buzz (hum) in the countrys $20-billion organised retailing sector. Besides their regular offerings, top retailers now woo consumers through services such as salons, spa, laundry and even travel services. Retail chains such as Spencers Retail, Hypercity, Future Group and Aditya Birla Retail have already initiated moves to convert their large-format outlets into destination stores that offer a plethora of consumer-oriented services. The line between products and services is blurring in organised retail, says Sanjay Gupta, head (marketing) at Spencers Retail. Services retailing is going to be the next big thing that retailers will offer in order to truly become a one-stop shop, since shopping time is slowly becoming a premium with most consumers of modern trade, he adds.

9. A leave for every season- ET Oct 1

Once upon a time, there was casual leave, sick leave, privilege leave and earned leave: pretty much the annual quota of leaves in every organisation. But as India Inc evolved, newer varieties set in. Like bereavement (grief) leave, stint (period)-oriented leave, parental leave, sharing of leaves among employees, leave for reward and recognition, study leave and, of course, paternal leave. In fact, the anticipated trouble following the Ayodhya verdict may have thrown up a new kind of emergency leave. Some of the countrys leading business houses and companies are now innovating on their paid leave component as a way to improve employee work-life balance in the belief that it will boost

productivity. Employees are not complaining either, for even as they work hard, there are now many more opportunities to take a day off with the reason that suits best!

10.Current account deficit triples as imports soar- ET Oct 1

Indias current account deficit tripled in the June quarter as imports soared, raising the specter (presence) of volatile currency when the tide of overseas fund flows turns. Interest rate differentials between the domestic market and the developed nations raised the external debt too as companies found it beneficial to borrow in dollars. Widening deficit may make the central banks job of ensuring stability in the foreign exchange market, inflation and interest rates tough, economists say. Current account deficit in the June quarter widened to $13.7 billion, from $4.5 billion in the year earlier, a data released by RBI showed. Current account in the balance of payments measures the net position of a countrys exports and imports of goods and services.

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11.Coke to link Nielsens pay to value-ET Oct 4
Coca-Cola Co plans to extend its pay for-performance model where its partners are paid barely their costs if they dont perform but a profit mark-up if they do to market research from advertising and media buying. And India will be among the first countries where the new model will be tried. The Atlanta-based beverage major had switched to value-based pay for its advertising and media-buying partners last year like other consumer products majors such as Unilever and Procter & Gamble, but this is the first time any company is trying this model in research. The first challenge for the talks is to define what performance is in research. Besides market share data, the compensation measures are likely to focus on forecasting trends on consumer preferences, identifying new growth opportunities, gaps in portfolio and minimising risks. Consumer products giant P&G, which makes Tide detergent and Pampers diapers, has adopted a Brand Agency Leader (BAL) system, where the main agency it works with gets a preset fee, negotiated on an annual basis. The agency additionally gets incentives calculated on the basis of sales and performance reviews.

12.Coming soon: New accounting norms for NGOs- ET 2 Oct

The government is set to frame new accounting norms for non-governmental organisations (NGOs), as it looks to remove the veil over the flow and utilisation of funds by the sector that is not entirely above suspicion. The ministry of corporate affairs is drafting a more structured financial reporting format for the civil society organisations. It recently asked the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), the accounting regulator, to overhaul the accounting and disclosure norms for NGOs. The NGOs, which have for long been shrouded in suspicion due to money laundering, terror funding and corporate corruption, have suddenly caught attention of the government, partly due to the allegations of corruption in the Indian Premier League.

13.Govt widens ambit of rural health cover- ET 1 Oct

The government has extended a health insurance scheme earlier restricted to people living below the poverty line to a wider range of groups, a development which could drive down insurance premiums and treatment costs at hospitals. The Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana, or RSBY the United

Progressive Alliance governments flagship health insurance scheme for the poor can now be tapped by all sections of society, even those above the poverty line, labour minister Mallikarjun Kharge told ET. RSBY offers the so-called cashless medical insurance facility in which payments are made directly by the insurance company to the hospital. Experts believe widening the ambit of the scheme, widely regarded as a success, could alter the face of the health insurance market in India, as it solves a fundamental problem faced by insurers high risk of losses due to fraudulent claims, inflated bills put up by hospitals and lack of standardised rates for medical procedures and surgeries. Individual citizens above the poverty line can join the scheme as part of a group. 14. CBI grills Raju on fund diversion to tax havens - ET 06 Oct THE Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday grilled Ramalinga Raju, the prime accused in multi-crore Satyam financial scam, for about three hours on funds diverted to tax havens overseas and the fictitious companies set up to acquire land all over India. We sought details on bank accounts opened overseas and used by Raju to siphon off money from the erstwhile Satyam Computer Services. According to a chargesheet filed by CBI, Raju and his family floated 327 companies and published inflated financials. These front companies purchased huge tracts of land of about 6,000 acres in various parts of the country. These companies were also used to arrange loans to the tune of 1,230 crore for Satyam and it was not even accounted in the books of the company. 15. US green cards now more of a tax sword for Indians- ET 05 Oct Is the American dream losing its appeal? Though the US still continues to attract the best minds from the world over, including India, stringent tax laws are forcing many Indians to re-look at the decision to settle in a land that has for long been their dream destination. This is reflected by the increasing number of Indians wanting to give up their green cards or US citizenship after the countrys heavy budgetary deficit and a drive to trace unreported income through tighter tax laws and disclosure norms. Many Indians in the US send money back home, which is invested in the stock market in India, where dividend and long-term capital gains are tax exempt. Nevertheless, they are liable to pay tax in the US for income generated in India. According to reports published internationally, over 500 US citizens had given up citizenship in the last quarter of 2009, to settle in convenient destinations. This figure was almost double the number of people who severed ties with the US in 2008.

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16. Micromax plans 426-crore IPO- ET 05 Oct DOMESTIC handset maker Micromax Informatics plans to raise a little over 426 crore by hitting the capital markets with an initial public offer of 2.15 crore shares. This values the company, which entered the mobile handset business only three years ago, at close to a $1 billion. Micromax leads a pack of domestic companies, which includes Karbonn Mobiles, Spice Mobiles, Videocon Industries and Lava International, that have made inroads into the 30,000-crore mobile phone market, traditionally dominated by multinationals such as Nokia, Samsung, LG and Motorola. Influential research firm IDC, in a report last week, said that domestic handset makers had capitalized on Nokias misfortunes in India, with their share of the market doubling to 33% during the past six months. Micromax, which according to IDC is the largest domestic player

with 4.1% market share, first launched phones with a 30-day battery backup. Its portfolio of 26 handsets includes a phone that doubles up as a universal remote for television sets and air-conditioners and 23 of them are dual-SIM. 17. Volkswagen to ramp up India investment- TNN Setting a target to sell one million cars in India by 2018, Europes top automaker Volkswagen Group will substantially increase investments in India and develop common engines, transmissions and product platforms with Maruti Suzuki to make cars for the Indian market, its CEO Martin Winterkorn has told TOI. VW Groups current investments in India are over Rs 4,500 crore and it has a production capacity of 150,000 cars with Volkswagen accounting for the majority 110,000 units at its plant in Chakan. Volkswagen and Suzuki are actively discussing joint plans as partners in terms of engines, transmissions, hybrids, diesel engines and small cars, and India is a key focus area in these discussions where they want a market share of 20% by 2018. Suzuki and Maruti are also likely to seek benefits from its partner while helping out Volkswagen group with small car development. This includes getting access to diesel engine technology, which they may use to power future models. 18. Coke taps local art to add fizz this Diwali- TNN In perhaps the first-ever instance of an international brand leveraging traditional heritage, CocaCola is promoting an ancient Indian art form to drive home its global message of optimism and celebration in one of its largest campaigns this year. The campaign, which will kick off soon, will promote an art form called Warli, which originates from an area just outside Mumbai, in all its advertisements and on cans, bottles and packs for the entire month till Diwali. The company is spending over Rs 25 crore on the campaign, which is higher than its summer spend. We selected this particular art form because of the simplicity that it conveyed and to communicate togetherness and happiness. We are convinced that it makes good business sense to look at a part of your heritage, a Coca-Cola India official told The Times Of India. Just like Deepawali marks a new beginning, dissolves boundaries and brings on the celebratory mood, the Warli characters too stand for a new beginning and showcase celebration and the spirit of togetherness, he said. 19. An SMS a day can keep YOUR DOCTOR AWAY - TNN Cellphones do more than keep you connected; they also keep tabs on your health. The state government recently unveiled an SMS-based Project Jeevandainee to keep track of pregnancy among women living in Wardhas remote tracts. In Mumbai, entrepreneurs have already introduced a series of SMS-based programmes to keep a check on, among other diseases, diabetes and infertility. The power of SMSesand a clutch of health applications on the mobileis changing the healthscape of India, which has 652 million mobile phone subscribers. The SMSes are often followed with phone calls and emails to nutritionists and doctors. And it's not just SMSes, health applications are being developed for smart phones to help patients. For instance, the University of Pennsylvania is testing an Intel application called Mobile Therapy for patients suffering from schizophrenia. A mood map pops up on users cellphone screens; they have to drag a red dot around the screen to indicate their mood. 20. GEs $4.6-bn deal signals M&A return General Electric made a pair of major acquisitions, as the largest US group builds up its

energy and finance arms. The moves come at a time when top GE officials have said the company could have up to $30 billion available for takeovers in the next few years. GE reached a $3-billion deal to buy Dresser Inc, a maker of gas engines used by oil and gas production equipment. Its GE Capital finance arm had bought $1.6 billion of retail credit assets from Citigroup.

8 INTERNATIONAL NEWS

21. First lady first on list of most powerful women- The New York Times Oct 7 Forbes' power lists are synonymous with moguls and movie stars, heads of state and captains of business. One look at the 2010 World's 100 Most Powerful Women list and it is clear that we've come up with a new ranking of the female power elite that reflects the New Order of now. When we set out to identify this year's list, we decided it was time to look up and out into the broader culture. Our assessment is based less on traditional titles and roles and more on creative influence and entrepreneurship. We divided our power women candidates into four groups: politics, business, media and lifestyle (that is, entertainment, sports and fashion). We ranked the women in each group, and then group against group. Top 10 are: 1. Michelle Obama, 2. Irene Rosenfed, 3. Oprah Winfrey, 4. Angela Merkel, 5. Hillary Clinton, 6. Indra Nooyi, 7. Lady Gaga, 8. Gail Kelly, 9. Beyonce Knowles, 10. Ellen DeGeneres. 22. Test tube baby scientist wins Nobel for Medicine- ET 05 Oct British physiologist and pioneer in reproductive medicine, Robert G Edwards, won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for developing in-vitro fertilization. The former University of Cambridge professor, 85, will get the 10 million-kronor ($1.5 million) prize, the Nobel Assembly said Monday in Stockholm. His research partner, Patrick Steptoe, died in 1988. Edwards and Steptoe, working in the face of opposition from church and government, created a procedure that led to the birth of the first test tube baby, Louise Brown, in 1978. Their work made it possible to treat infertility, which affects more than 10% of all couples worldwide, the Nobel Assembly said. 23. Logitech unveils first gadget for Google TV- Reuters Oct 7 Logitech International SA showed off on Wednesday its $300 set-top box for the soon-tobelaunched Google TV, the first glimpse of what the Web search giant's holiday-season television-streaming product will look like. The $299.99 Revue is touted as a way for users to watch both television programs and Web content -- Google has already landed deals with the likes of Time Warner Inc's HBO and News Corp -- on a TV that Japan's Sony Corp will build and sell. Logitech on Wednesday also unveiled other peripheral products for Google TV, including a keyboard controller and a video calling device. Web search king Google is chasing the $70 billion TV advertising market, but the world's most creative and deeppocketed technology companies such as Microsoft Corp and Apple have struggled to crack the market. Google TV presents a new outlet for the company's trove of video at social networking website YouTube.com. But the company also faces resistance from media companies, who are concerned that Web-enabled TV could harm their traditional TV business with numerous cable carriers. 24. Android roars past iPhone in US- Yahoo! News Oct 6 Sales of smartphones powered by Google's Android operating system have overtaken Apple's iPhone in the US for the first time, according to data released Tuesday by Nielsen. The survey found that Android's share of the smartphone market in the six months ending in August, jumped from 14 percent to 32 percent, while the iPhone dropped from 32 percent to 25 percent. Sales of RIM's Blackberry dropped from 34 percent to 26 percent. Android, which trailed the iPhone and Blackberry by several years in coming to the

market, still has plenty of work to catch up. Its portion of overall market share jumped from eight percent to 19 percent in August. RIM retained first place, down from 36 percent to 31 percent, while the iPhone dropped one point to 28 percent. The data reflected the increasing popularity of Android, which powers dozens of different smartphones made by Motorola, HTC, Samsung and LG, which are sold by all the major US carriers. 25. Google TV announces content partners for rollout-Yahoo! News Oct 5 Washington, Oct 5 (IANS) Google is teaming up big-name brands like HBO, Netflix, Pandora and the NBA for the expected rollout of Google TV, the web giant's 'multimillion-channel TV' system some time soon. Run by Google's Android operating system, it will let users view all kinds of Web content on their televisions, Google said Monday announcing the partnerships on its official blog. The post announced that other deals are in place for Web sites to optimize their content for Google TV. CNN.com is one of those sites as are others, including TBS, TNT, Cartoon Network and Adult Swim, owned by parent company Time Warner. 'One of our goals with Google TV is to finally open up the living room and enable new innovation from content creators, programmers, developers and advertisers,' Ambarish Kenghe, developer product manager for Google TV, said in the post. Other partnerships include NBC Universal, which plans CNBC Real Time, an application that tracks stocks, and Twitter, which will let users post to the microblogging site as they're watching a show.

9 MISCELLANEOUS NEWS
26. FACE-OFF: India Grabs No. 2 Spot After Australia At Games, Turns Defeat Into Victory In Cricket- TNN There was the Indian womens pair of Rahi Sarnobat and Anisa Sayyed who followed Indias opening gold at the Commonwealth Games courtesy Abhinav Bindra and Gagan Narang in the 10m air rifle pairs with one of their own in the 25 m pistol pairs. The world champion and Olympic hero pairing of Narang and Bindra fired a Games record of 1,193 points, beating its previous best of 1,189 set in Melbourne four years ago. India dominated proceedings, finishing Day Two with a flattering tally of five gold, four silver and two bronze medals. The rich haul put India in second spot on the overall tally, behind only Australia which has nine gold medals, nine silver and five bronze and ahead of England. 27. Historic bronze for Prasanta; super six for awesome Aussies - TNN Oct 7 This is my 23rd medal! Indias history-maker Prasanta Karmakar reminded on Wednesday. Nobody asked me anything till now. I have been knocking on doors for sponsors and funds, but nobody has answered. Perhaps they will sit up and take notice now he added, unusually defiant after winning a bronze in the para sport 50m freestyle S9 category. Prasanta, who lost part of his right arm as a child when a vehicle hit him as he carelessly rested it on a bus window, has been swimming since the age of 15, but admitted he has been serious about the sport for only four years. Ranked third in Asia, he had qualified for the world championships in the past although he missed out on the Beijing Olympics. 28. State will woo Sachin to bat for tourism- TNN

After losing Amitabh Bachchan to the Gujarat, which has benefitted immensely after the superstar became the states brand ambassador, Maharashtra is going all out to woo Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar to attract tourists. All set to launch a tourism blitzkrieg, the state will renovate Maratha emperor Chhatrapati Shivajis forts and spruce up 10 selected beaches in the Konkan region. The statewith its pristine beaches, famous Ajanta and Ellora caves, tiger reserves in Vidarbha and a rare crater in Lonarhas all the makings of a tourist hotspot. By getting an icon like Sachin, who has a global following, to bat for tourism in Maharashtra, the state will be able to cement its position on the travellers mustvisit list 29. Mukesh Ambani to pen RIL story-TNN He is known as a man of few words as much as for his execution skills of mammoth projects, but industrialist Mukesh Ambani will now put his thoughts and business philosophy into words in a new avatar as a writer. The book, expected to hit the shelves early next fiscal, would be the first by Ambani and is likely to be published by Penguin, sources said. Incidentally, Ambani, chairman of the countrys most valued corporate house RIL, was ranked on Thursday as the richest Indian for the third year in a row by business magazine Forbes. A chemical Engineer from University of Mumbai and MBA from Stanford University, US, Mukesh initiated Reliances backward integration journey from textiles into polyester fibres and further into petrochemicals, petroleum refining and going up-stream into oil and gas exploration and production. He created several new world class manufacturing facilities involving diverse technologies that have raised RILs petrochemicals manufacturing capacities from less than a million tonnes to about twenty million tonnes per year. Mukesh worked handson for the creation of the worlds largest grassroots petroleum refinery at Jamnagar. 30. Cool gadgets to help you train and keep you fighting fit In theory, losing weight is pretty simple: Burn more calories than you consume. If only, keeping to the rule was as easy. Thankfully, now there are gadgets that are equipped to steer, cajole and even encourage you to stay in shape. And the best part is that they are easy on the pocket and simple to operate. MP3-based personal trainers Two tiny devicesActiva (priced at approx Rs 5,756) from Philips, and Adidas miCoach (priced at approx Rs 6,202)promise to provide an alternative and have online graphs to track you progress. Both work as an mp3-synched pedometer cum personal trainer to give real-time voice feedback, ensuring you stay within your targeted heart-rate zone. Both companies also have websites that let you upload your workout data and track your progress. Wireless fitness We live in times where wireless is everywhere, and the Nike Sport banda simple kit that comes with a wristband and a detachable USB drive (called Link)uses the technology to let you record each and every step you take. The Sport Band (priced at approx Rs 2,632) wirelessly communicates with a sensor that slips into a special slot of your Nike+ shoe, or can be placed in a pouch and attached to your shoestring. This pair works with the NikePlus Web site and lets you download your workout data and see your progress and set goals.

10 GLOBAL OIL & GAS INDUSTRY

Industry Background - The Oil Industry started off more than five thousand years

back. Oil sipping up from the ground were used to make the boats waterproof in the Middle East and also used as medicating as well as for painting different things. The Oil Industry is a very important industry in the world as it has been observed that whenever the oil prices increase the price of various products also increases. Characteristics The Oil and Gas sector includes the oil and gas extraction industry as well as petroleum refining. Oil & Gas deposits are deeply buried, often several kilometers underground. From the earths surface, one can propose hypotheses and do exploratory drilling, which is very expensive. Market Size - The production, distribution, refining, and retailing of petroleum represent the world's largest industry. 3 of Top 5 worlds largest companies belong to Oil & Gas Industry. Consumption - Oil accounts for a large percentage of the worlds energy consumption, ranging from a low of 32% for Europe and Asia, up to a high of 53% for the Middle East. Nearly 25% of the Worlds oil consumption is done by USA. Subsidy & Tax Breaks Most Governments across the world provide a heavy public subsidy to oil companies, with major tax breaks at virtually every stage of oil exploration, extraction and refining. Taxes in Oil & Gas Industry are generally much lower than the taxes of virtually any other industry. Future of the Industry Experts estimate that with current capacity, Oil & gas may last for 40 60 years. Companies believe that the fuel of the future could be something else altogether: Shale gas. Oil is found only in a few places, and is concentrated in the Middle East. But shale is among the most common sedimentary rocks globally. In the US shale gas has within a decade increased US gas reserves from 30 years of consumption to 100 years. Vast stretches of Europe and Asia including India have shale deposits. As the cost of oil exploration in deep waters keeps rising, and new safety measures after the BP disaster raises it further, onshore drilling for shale gas can be economic.

TOP COMPANIES OF THE SECTOR

1. Royal Dutch Shell (Netherlands) Royal Dutch Shell plc, commonly known as Shell, is headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the largest energy company and the second largest company in the world measured by revenues and is one of the six oil and gas "supermajors". It has operations in over 90 countries and has 44,000 service stations worldwide. The Company operates in three segments: Upstream, Downstream and Corporate. Its upstream business explores for and extracts crude oil and natural gas. Shell's downstream segment turns crude oil into a range of refined products, which are marketed worldwide for domestic, industrial and transport use. The Corporate segment covers the non-operating activities supporting Shell. 2. ExxonMobil (United States) The Exxon Mobil Corporation, or ExxonMobil, is an American multinational oil and gas corporation. Exxon Mobil Corporation was formed in 1999 by the merger of two major oil companies, Exxon and Mobil. It is one of the largest publicly traded companies in the world, having been ranked either #1 or #2 for the past 5 years. The Company markets products around the world under the brands of Exxon, Mobil, and Esso. ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3 percent of the world's oil and about 2 percent of the world's energy. 3. British Petroleum (United Kingdom) BP is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third largest energy company and the fourth largest company in the world measured by revenues and is one of the six oil and gas "supermajors". It has

operations in over 80 countries and has 22,400 service stations worldwide. BP has been involved in a number of environmental, safety and political controversies during its history, including the 1965 Sea Gem incident and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, for which the Company has created a $20 Bn Fund.

11 CURRENT AFFAIRS QUIZ 1. British Petroleum is the third largest energy company and the fourth largest company in the world measured by revenue. It is headquartered at: a. Manchester b. London c. Nottingham d. Leeds 2. India ranked _______ on the finishing of day two at the Commonwealth Games 2010 being held in Delhi? a. 2nd b. 3rd c. 4th d. 5th 3. Who amongst the following has been roped in by the Maharashtra Tourism as a brand ambassador? a. Amitabh Bachchan b. Nana Patekar c. Sachin Tendulkar d. Lata Mangeshkar 4. If we have a look at the top 5 largest companies in the world, we come to know that out of these 5 companies 3 companies belong to the same industry. Name the industry: a. Banking & Financial Services b. Steel c. Oil & Gas d. Automobile 5. British physiologist and pioneer in reproductive medicine, Robert G Edwards, won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for developing in-vitro fertilization. He is the scientist who led the: a. birth of the first test tube baby. b. making of the first supercomputer. c. birth of a first clone 'Dolly'. d. making of the first spaceship. 6. Which one of the following countries has the highest population growth rate? a. Brazil b. China c. Russia d. India 7. Which one of the following is the largest energy company and second largest company in the world measured by revenues? a. British Petroleum b. Exxon Mobil

c. Petro China d. Royal Dutch Shell Plc 12 8. Indias ___________ deficit tripled in the June quarter as imports soared, raising the specter of volatile currency when the tide of overseas fund flows turns. a. Capital account b. Reserves account c. Revenue account d. Current account 9. Sales of smartphones powered by Google's Android operating system have overtaken Apple's iPhone in which one of the following countries? a. China b. Russia c. US d. Japan 10. Which country will be the first, where the new model-'pay for-performance' will be tried to market research from advertising and media buying? a. China b. US c. India d. UK 11. Which of the following accounts in the balance of payments measures the net position of a countrys exports and imports of goods and services? a. Current account b. Capital account c. Reserves account d. Revenue account 12. Which of the following has exclusive rights to broadcast the Common Wealth Games? a. Doordarshan b. Starplus c. Zee d. NDTV 13. The government is set to frame new accounting norms for ______, as it looks to remove the veil over the flow and utilisation of funds by the sector that is not entirely above suspicion due to money laundering, terror funding and corporate corruption. a. Eco-friendly companies b. Foreign Investors c. Foreign Institutions d. Non-governmental organisations 14. Which one of the following oil and gas companies is one of the largest publicly traded, non-government owned company and having been ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 for the past 5 years? a. Exxon Mobil b. British Petroleum

c. Royal Dutch Shell Plc d. Petro China 13 15. Volkswagen and which one of the following car companies are actively discussing joint plans as partners in terms of engines, transmissions, hybrids, diesel engines and small cars? a. Ford Motors b. Maruti-Suzuki Pvt Ltd. c. Tata Motors Company d. Mahindra & Mahindra 16. Google is teaming up with all the following big-name brands for the expected rollout of Google TV, EXCEPT: a. HBO b. Pandora c. Netflix d. Big Pictures 17. Experts believe widening the ambit of the United Progressive Alliance governments flagship health insurance scheme, could alter the face of the health insurance market in India, as it solves a fundamental problem faced by insurers like a. High risk of losses due to fraudulent claims b. Inflated bills put up by hospitals c. Lack of standardized rates for medical procedures and surgeries d. All the above 18. Who amongst the following has been ranked first on the list of World's 100 Most Powerful Women 2010? a. Lady Gaga b. Hillary Clinton c. Angela Merkel d. Michelle Obama 19. Who amongst the following is world's largest steel maker and third richest man in the world? a. Lakshmi Mittal b. Xu Lejiang c. Ratan Tata d. Sajjan Jindal 20. Who amongst the following from the Ambani Family is going to put his/her thoughts and business philosophy into words in a new avatar as a writer? a. Mukesh Ambani b. Kokilaben Ambani c. Anil Ambani d. Neeta Ambani 21. Which one of the following MNC is promoting an ancient Indian art form to drive home its global message of optimism and celebration in one of its largest campaigns this year? a. PepsiCo b. Nestle India c. Coca Cola d. Hindustan Unilever Ltd.

22. Which one of the following countries has the least population amongst the countries mentioned? a. Russia b. UK c. Brazil d. US 14 23. Who amongst the following has been roped in by the Gujarat Tourism as a brand ambassador for the state tourism? a. Shah Rukh Khan b. Aamir Khan c. Salman Khan d. Amitabh Bachchan 24. Which one of the following companies unveils its $300 set-top box for the soon-to-be launched Google TV, the first glimpse of what the Web search giant's holiday-season television-streaming product will look like? a. Sony Corp. b. Logitech c. Samsung Corp. d. Frontech 25. _________ wants to increase its sales in India to a million cars by 2018 to become the worlds number one car company, ahead of Toyota and general Motors. a. Volkswagen b. Kia c. Hyundai d. Nissan
ANSWER KEYS: Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. 1 B 11 A 21 C 2 A 12 A 22 C 3 C 13 D 23 D 4 C 14 A 24 B 5 A 15 B 25 A 6 D 16 D 7 D 17 D 8 D 18 D 9 C 19 A 10 C 20 A

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