Tuesday 17 September 2013

Today's GK(17-9-13)



Vikramaditya likely to be delivered in mid-November 

INS Vikramaditya at anchor in the white sea (off russia).

The Navy’s wait for its second aircraft carrier, 45,000-tonne Vikramaditya is likely to end soon as the warship has successfully completed all aviation trials in the White Sea, reports received from Russia said.
“The entire gamut of aviation trials was successfully completed on INS Vikramaditya…,” informed sources in the defence establishment here said on Tuesday.
A team of 20 officers of the Indian Navy were on board the warship — a retrofitted Russian carrier formerly named Admiral Gorshkov — for observation as fighter jets, flown by the Russian pilots, landed and took off from the deck and performed all other exercises, like touch-and-go, and flight profiles.
The sea trials were completed in July when the ship achieved its top speed of 32 knots. INS Vikramaditya would now head for the Sevmash shipyard for getting the finishing touches and a fresh coat of special paint before its delivery to the Indian Navy in mid-November, the sources said adding, “With the completion of aviation trials, all acceptance parameters… have been accomplished.”
INS Vikramaditya was to have been delivered five years ago. The extensively refurbished Soviet-era aircraft carrier had sailed out of the shipyard for its first comprehensive sea trials in the summer of 2012. MiG-29K fighter jets successfully completed take-offs and landings on its deck. The crew tested the aircraft carrier for its top speed, but it did not go beyond 30 knots because boiler insulation frayed in extreme temperatures. It took several months to fix the glitch and send the vessel for sea trials again.
The 284-metre-long and 60-metre-high Vikramaditya, which can easily carry 30 fighter jets and helicopters, is fitted with latest communication systems, protective coating, a telephone exchange, pumps, hygiene and galley equipment, lifts and many more facilities. At any given time, there will be a 2,000-strong staff on the carrier, which has an extended flight deck and a full runway with a ski jump and arrestor wires.
As India’s requirements grew and the shipyard failed to meet the schedules, the price of the retrofit soared. It is estimated that the final cost would have gone up to $2.3 billion from $947 million India paid to buy Admiral Gorshkov in 2005, before renaming it and sending it to the Russian shipyard for refitting.
The Navy now operates INS Viraat. India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, Vikrant, is being built by the Cochin Shipyard, and it is likely to be ready for commissioning in 2017-18.

UN Report: Sarin Gas Used in Syria Attack

U.N. chemical investigators on 16 September 2013 confirmed the use of Sarin nerve agent in 21 August 2013 poison gas attack outside the Syrian capital Damascus. The investigation team headed by Ake Sellstrom of Sweden submitted its report to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The U.N. team was investigating only whether chemical weapons were used in a deadly assault on the rebel-held Damascus suburb of Ghouta. It was not charged with concluding who launched the attack.

On the basis of the evidence obtained during the investigation of the Ghouta incident, the conclusion is that chemical weapons have been used in the ongoing conflict between the parties in the Syrian Arab Republic, also against civilians, including children, on a relatively large scale.

In particular, the environmental, chemical and medical samples provided clear and convincing evidence that surface-to-surface rockets containing the nerve agent Sarin were used.

The report also stated the weather conditions on 21 August 2013 ensured that as many people as possible were injured or killed. Temperatures were falling between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m, which meant that air was moving downwards toward the ground.

Chemical weapons use in such meteorological conditions maximizes their potential impact as the heavy gas can stay close to the ground and penetrate into lower levels of buildings and constructions where many people were seeking shelter.

Erlier, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry also announced that sarin had been used in the chemical attack on the Ghouta region. The United States stated 1400 people were killed, including more than 400 children.

The United Nations Mission has now confirmed, unequivocally and objectively, that chemical weapons have been used in Syria.


About Sarin Gas

• Sarin is a man-made chemical warfare agent classified as a nerve agent. (chemical formula: C4H10FO2P)

• Nerve agents are the most toxic and rapidly acting of the known chemical warfare agents. They are similar to certain kinds of insecticides called organophosphate insecticides in terms of how they work and what kind of harmful effects they cause; however, nerve agents are much more potent than insecticides.

• Sarin originally was developed in 1938 in Germany as an insecticide.

• Sarin is a clear, colorless, and tasteless liquid that has no odor in its pure form. However, sarin can evaporate into a vapor (gas) and spread into the environment.
• Sarin is also known as GB.

P. Sudhakar Appointed as the CMD of Electronics Corporation of India Limited

P. Sudhakar took over as the Chairman & Managing Director of the Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) on 16 September 2013. He was working with ECIL since 1979 and was holding the Office of the Director (Technical) and acting CMD, prior to this appointment.

P. Sudhakar is a graduate in Electrical Engineering from National Institute of Technology, Warangal, Andhra Pradesh and holds a Masters in Integrated Electronics and Circuits from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. He also had extensive training abroad on Automation Systems.

He specialised in the areas of design, development, manufacturing, testing and commissioning. He is closely involved with the control and automation systems of all the operating nuclear power plants of the country.

He had successfully led the execution of Command Control Systems of Akash and BrahMos missile programmes. He is associated with a number of projects of strategic importance for the nation undertaken by ECIL.

About Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL)

• Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) is a Public Sector Undertaking under the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India. ECIL situated at Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh.

• ECIL was setup on 11 April, 1967 with a view to generate a strong indigenous capability in the field of professional grade electronics.

• The initial accent was on total self-reliance and ECIL was engaged in the Design, Development, Manufacture and Marketing of several products with emphasis on three technology lines viz. Computers, Control Systems and Communications.

• ECIL pioneered the development of various complex electronics products without any external technological help and scored several 'firsts' in various fields.

The British Government decided to privatise The Royal Mail

The British government on 12 September 2013 announced that it was planning to sell a majority of its stake in the Royal Mail (the postal service of UK) through an initial public offering (IPO). Royal mail is one of the U.K.'s largest and oldest postal service in decades.

The initial public offering is expected to take place in the coming weeks and the stock will be listed on the London Stock Exchange.

About Royal Mail
• Royal mail is the postal service in United Kingdom (UK).
• It is 497 years old and it was owned by the Government of UK
• Royal Mail is the only company currently capable of providing postal service.

GOM decided to refund 11000 crore Rupees to BSNL and MTNL

The Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by The Finance Minister of India P. Chidambaram on 12 September 2013 decided to refund 11000 crore Rupees to BSNL and
MTNL, the two state-run players, for returning Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) spectrum.

The GoM, also took a decision on providing pension to MTNL employees, which is likely to cost about 570 crore Rupees a year. With regard to the pension liability of MTNL staff, which will cost 570 crore Rupees annually, the state-run company will pay 170 crore Rupees while the rest will be paid by the Union Government of India.

Both the state-run players had requested the government to refund the amount they paid in 2010 for the BWA spectrum .BSNL had paid over 6500 crore Rupees and MTNL had paid about 4500 crore Rupees of BWA spectrum auction in 2010.

Factor behind losses:- The main reason for these companies running into losses was high wage costs. The employee cost as a percentage of revenue is over 103 percent for MTNL and 49 percent for BSNL compared to the industry average of about 5 percent.

MTNL’s net loss widened to 5321.12 crore Rupees in 2012-13 from 4109.78 crore Rupees in Financial Year 2011-12.
BSNL is expected to run up losses to the tune of 8198 crore Rupees in Financial Year 2011-12.

About Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL)

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. was incorporated on 15 September 2000.The main objective of BSNL is to provide telecom services and network management in India. It is one of the largest and leading public sector units (PSU) providing comprehensive range of telecom services in India.

About Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL)

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) is a state-owned telecommunications service provider in the metro cities of Mumbai and New Delhi in India. MTNL was setup on 1 April 1986 by the Government of India.

Karnataka Pharmacist Devised a Ring for Protecting Women against Sexual Assualt

Imran Khan, the Karnataka pharmacist devised a protective ring which stings the women assaulter like a honey bee. The new ring is known as Sting Bee silver ring. The device inventor created the ring in the backdrop of the Delhi gangrape which took place on 16 December 2012.

Imran khan explained that the safety ring can be worn by the women in their right index finger in order to defend themselves from a potential rapist or killer.

Features of the Sting Bee silver ring

• The Sting Bee silver ring is said to be a reliable device for self defense.
• It has liquid chemical compound (Capsaicin) in the head of the ring, which is released from the micro tank and weakens the offender. It then halts the offender from attacking or assaulting any woman or girl.
• The ring also has RFID (radio frequency identification) tag on the top most side as well as dual lock mechanism. The dual lock mechanism prevents the misuse of the ring and it can be made out of any safe metal.
• Imran Khan explained that the device is easily operational as well as tamper-proof.
• The micro tank which has 0.2ml of the drug (Capsaicin) has the capability of being injected into even 5 people at the same time by unlocking it.
• It is important to note that trials have been conducted to study the safety of the device on the one who wears the ring and the one on whom it is used. Barring pain, itching, burning sensation and inflammation, the chemical used in the ring is not life-threatening.

What is Capsaicin?

Capsaicin is four times hotter than Bhut Jolokia (pepper) and 300 times spicier than Guntur red chillis (from Andhra Pradesh). The Capsaicin stimulates the chemoreceptor nerve endings in skin and then leds to shooting pain which lasts for 45-60 minutes when injected into someone’s body from the micro tank of the ring.

Funding of the Ring

• Imran Khan tied up with a Mumbai-based jeweller in order to source these silver-made rings. At the same time, he tied up with the Mumbai-based pharmacy in order to fulfill the demand of drug concentrate.
• The silver-made ring will have the cost of 1999 Rupees which excludes the tax of 5 percent as well as the delivery charges.
• The ring will be created on made-to-order on payment basis and will be delivered in a week in any part of the country through the courier service. Once the sales of the ring start picking up, the price will go down.
• The re-fill of the canister (micro-tank) with the drug Capsaicin will cost 1000 Rupees per fill.
• In order to educate and promote about the device, Imran Khan also established Save My Sister Charitable Trust. He also planned to distribute the new device free of cost to the financially deprived women of the country.
• The trust also planned to facilitate free legal services to the sexual crime victims by hiring around 6000 lawyers in a few cities as well as towns of India.
• Apart from this, a call centre with the helpline number (080-6450-0112) has also been set up for offering counseling to women who are in trouble and informing them about the safety ring.

Impact of the Device in India

Imran Khan, the creator of the device agreed that a ring alone cannot stop the rising crime against women, but it was one of the means for preventing the mishap, primarily in the metro cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore. In order to make use of the drug in the ring, a license was secured in the fruit category. At the same time, an application for patenting of the innovative device was filed in India as well as abroad.

Who is Imran Khan?

• Imran Khan hails from Babbur village in Hiriyur taluk of Chitradurga district, about 230km from Bangalore.
• He is a qualified pharmacist.
• He set up IOS (India Operating System) Group with various business interests that also include hospitality.

Eiji Toyoda, Key Figure in Toyota's Rise, Died

Eiji Toyoda, who helped steer Toyota Motor Corporation’s global rise and pioneered the automaker's vaunted production system, died on 17 September 2013. He was 100.

Eiji Toyoda, a cousin of the Japanese automaker's founder Kiichiro Toyoda, died of heart failure in Toyota City.

A graduate of the prestigious University of Tokyo with a degree in mechanical engineering, he joined Toyoda Automatic Loom Works in 1936. Eiji Toyoda served as president of  the Toyota Motor Corporation between 1967 and 1982. He was chairman until 1994 and remained an honorary advisor at Toyota up until the time of his death.

Eiji Toyoda was also instrumental in developing what became the automaker's much-imitated method of producing cars with as little waste as possible and continual quality improvements, a system that became known as the "Toyota Way".

Over his career, Eiji Toyoda presided over Toyota's rise in the US market from the launch of the Corolla in the late 1960s to the decision to begin making cars in the United States in the late 1980s.

Ennore Port Limited Presented a Dividend Cheque of 40 Crore to the Government

The Ennore Port Limited (EPL) presented a dividend cheque of 40 crore Rupees to the Union Minister of Shipping GK Vasan for the financial year 2012-13. The Chairman and Managing Director of the EPL MA Bhaskarachar presented the cheque to the minister in Chennai on 17 September 2013.

Ennore Port Limited (EPL), a Mini Ratna Government of India Undertaking made a post tax profit of more than 173 crore Rupees for the fiscal year 2012-13, against a profit of 96.72 crore Rupees for 2011-12 financial year. For 2012-13, EPL declared a dividend of 20 percent on the equity share capital of 300 crore Rupees. Apart from the Government, the EPL also paid a dividend of 20 crore Rupees to the Chennai Port Trust, which is the only other share holder apart from the Union Government of India, since the fiscal year 2008-09.

The Ennore Port Limited (EPL) apart from contributing to the economy of the country is also involved in the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities in and around the city of Chennai. Prior to this, GK Vasan reviewed the Ennore Port Limited and the Chennai Port Trust in terms of the traffic handled, on the status of modernisation and capacity addition projects.

Why does a company or a corporation pay dividends to the shareholders?

It is important to note that the dividends are corporate earnings of the companies which they pass to the shareholders. There are various reasons why any corporation or a company passes on some of the earnings to the shareholders as dividends. Any company may or may not pay the dividends to the shareholders. Certain companies plough the profits back into the company for its growth or some new projects.

When a company pays the dividends to its shareholders, the investors consider it as a sign of the strength of a company. Also, payment of the dividends is seen as a sign that managements expects positively for the future earnings of a company, which makes its stocks very attractive. The greater demand for the stock of a company eventually increases its price.

President of India Inaugurated the First Engineers Conclave 2013

The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the first Engineers Conclave-2013 on 17 September 2013 at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi. The first Engineers Conclave-2013 is jointly organised by the Indian National Academy Engineering (INAE) and the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO).

Theme of the First Engineers Conclave-2013

The themes of the Conclave are “Manufacturing of Aerospace systems” and “Transforming Sundarban through engineering interventions.”

During the inaugural event, the President of India explained that emphasis needed to be given to various dimensions such as process innovation, product innovation, business model innovation and new technology innovation and that the strong capabilities in designing and building machine tools were particularly critical.

In order to achieve development, there was a need of developing close partnerships between industry and universities and research institutions.

No comments:

Post a Comment