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Kar Ke Dikhayenge!IIM-CAT / MBA entrancewww.PTeducation.comEverything Matterswhen it's about MBA entrance Preparations.Pinnacle - India's best MBA prep course from PT education - makes sure that you master everything that matters in IIM-CAT/MBA entrance tests. From hard-skills to soft-skills, speed to accuracy... Pinnacle from PT is your magic bullet!Cracking course features: dedicated mentors regular personality grooming sessions one-to-one support for personal monitoring regular practicetests regular All-India Rankings for realistic assessment AdPro sessions that help you scientifically and optimally plan your application processextensive GD / Interview practice for cracking success multimedia based enriched GK sessions motivational programs / lecturesGyan Dhara- the 24 x7x365online doubt clearing services comprehensive and updated courseware revised as per latest CAT trendsbest results since 17 years and the confidence of All India CAT Toppers since 6 yearsGet into the success mode with PT’s Pinnacle coursePT education Headquarters Yeshwant Plaza, Opp. Railway Station, Indore. Ph (0731) 307 00 00 pthq@PTeducation.com Contact Manish Saraf, COOIndia’s finest training centres’ network - PT Centres across India•PT Ajmer-01: Ph (0145) 2643480 ptajmer01@PTeducation.com •PT Ahmedabad-01: Ph (079) 27540546 ptahmd01@PTeducation.com •PT Aligarh-01: Ph (09359673325) ptaligarh01@PTeducation.com •PT Ahmedabad-02: Ph (079)40028015 ptahmd02@PTeducation.com •PT Alwar-01: Ph (0144) 3208833 ptalwar01@PTeducation.com •PT Amritsar-01: Ph (0183) 3222957 ptamritsar01@PTeducation.com •PT Aurangabad-01: Ph (0240) 2349472, 2360708ptaurbad01@PTeducation.com •PT Jayanagar (Bangalore): Ph (080) 41122246/56 ptbangalore02@PTeducation.com •PT Baroda-01: Ph (0265) 3922894-97 ptbaroda01@PTeducation.com •PT Bhavnagar-01: Ph (0278) 3200470ptbhavnagar01@PTeducation.com •PT Bhopal-01: Ph (0755) 4250495-97 ptbhopal01@PTeducation.com •PT Bhilai-01: Ph (0788) 2352525, 4016800 ptbhilai01@PTeducation.com •PT Bhilwara-01: Ph (01482) 238655ptbhilwara01@PTeducation.com •PT Bhuj-01: Ph (02832) 251092 ptbhuj01@PTeducation.com •PT Bilaspur-01: Ph (07752) 327878 ptbilaspur01@PTeducation.com •PT Bikaner-01: Ph (0151) 3200251 ptbikaner01@PTeducation.com •PT Chandigarh-01: Ph (0172) 5089202, 2645160 ptchandigarh01@PTeducation.com •PT Chhindwara-01: Ph (07162) 222525, 313555 ptchhindwara01@PTeducation.com •PT Connaught Place: Ph (011) 41510893 / 41531395ptconnaughtplace@PTeducation.com •PT East Delhi: Ph (011) 32432058 / 32525040 ptedelhi@PTeducation.com •PT North Campus: Ph (011) 32432060 / 32560808 ptncampus@PTeducation.com •PT North Delhi: Ph (011) 32611441ptndelhi@PTeducation.com •PT South Delhi: Ph (011) 46576541/42/43 ptsdelhi@PTeducation.com •PT South Campus: Ph (011) 32424712 / 14 ptscampus@PTeducation.com •PT West Delhi: Ph (011) 45508112 / 45508113ptwdelhi01@PTeducation.com •PT Gandhinagar-01: Ph (079) 23223492 ptgandhinagar01@PTeducation.com •PT Ghaziabad-01: Ph (0120) 4133845, 3128573 ptghaziabad01@PTeducation.com •PT Gorakhpur-02: Ph (0551) 3248401ptgorakhpur02@PTeducation.com •PT Hisar-01: Ph (01662) 655385 pthisar01@PTeducation.com •PT Indore-01: Ph (0731) 2519800 / 01 ptindore01@PTeducation.com •PT Jabalpur-01: Ph (0761) 2415611ptjabalpur01@PTeducation.com •PT Jaipur-01: Ph (0141) 2204841, 2207107 ptjaipur01@PTeducation.com •PT Jaipur-02: Ph (0141) 2744893 / 2744894 ptjaipur02@PTeducation.com •PT Junagadh-01: Ph (0285) 2654152ptjunagadh01@PTeducation.com•PT Kota-01: Ph (0744) 2407575 ptkota01@PTeducation.com •PT Kurnool-01: Ph (08518) 230966 ptkurnool01@PTeducation.com •PT Ludhiana-01: Ph (0161) 4636480, 4657121ptludhiana01@PTeducation.com •PT Mehsana-01: Ph (02762) 645326 ptmehsana01@PTeducation.com •PT Nadiad-01: Ph (0268) 2529149 ptnadiad01@PTeducation.com •PT Nagpur-01: Ph (0712) 2242234, 2247897ptnagpur01@PTeducation.com •PT Nasik-01: Ph (0253) 2342200, 2342400 ptnasik01@PTeducation.com •PT Nasik Road Nodal Centre: Ph (0253) 2450023 •PT Noida-01: Ph (0120) 4217087, 3136308 ptnoida01@PTeducation.com •PTPatiala-01: Ph (0175) 5015300 ptpatiala01@PTeducation.com •PT Pune-01: Ph (020) 25531005-06 ptpune01@PTeducation.com •PT Raipur-01: Ph (0771) 4034223 ptraipur01@PTeducation.com •PT Rajnandgaon-01: Ph (07744)220233 ptrajnandgaon01@PTeducation.com •PT Rajkot-01: Ph (0281) 2577455 ptrajkot01@PTeducation.com •PT Sagar-01: Ph (07582) 400994 ptsagar01@PTeducation.com •PT Satna-01: Ph (09302192728)ptsatna01@PTeducation.com •PT Surat-01: Ph (0261) 3296145, 2651915 ptsurat01@PTeducation.com •PT Surat Nodal Centre: Ph (0261)3913245•PT Udaipur-01: Ph (0294) 2415079 ptudaipur01@PTeducation.com •PT Ujjain-01: Ph(0734) 2524223, 2520443 ptujjain01@PTeducation.com •PT V.V. Nagar-01: Ph (02692) 234691, 238504 ptvvnagar01@PTeducation.com •PT Varanasi-01: Ph (0542) 3248471-72 ptvaranasi01@PTeducation.comEstablished 10th July 1993

ContentsSimplifying knowledge disseminationEditor-in-Chief : Sandeep ManudhaneMarketing and Sales :Manish Saraf - 97555-99509Volume 8. Edition 11. May 2010Editorial OfficePT education Headquarters,Yeshwant Plaza,Opp. Railway Station Indore - 452001Ph : 0731-307 00 00Fax : 0731-3070099E-mail : preptalk@PTeducation.com© 2008 All rights reserved.Reproduction or translation in any language in whole orin parts without permission is prohibited.Articles and contributions – courier or emails – shouldbe addressed toPREP-TALK DEPT., c/o Mr. B. S. Supekar.Unaccepted articles may not be returned.Published by Manish Saraf on behalf ofPTETSL, Yeshwant Plaza,Opp. Railway Station, Indore 452001.Disclaimer :The information given in this magazine is true to the bestof our knowledge. However, PT or any of its associateswill not be responsible in any manner for inadvertenterrors that may have crept into this publication. PT doesnot take responsibility for returning unsolicitedpublication material.Major news stories Kasab gets death penalty ...................................................... 05 16th SAARC summit concludes .......................................... 07Cover story Solar energy: The future fuel .............................................. 09Current events India ........................................................................................ 15 World ...................................................................................... 23 Business and economy .......................................................... 30PT Panorama Harnessing the Talent ........................................................... 40 Medical Tourism.................................................................... 50Profiles Venugopal Dhoot.................................................................... 39 Kapil Sibal .............................................................................. 43News in brief India ........................................................................................ 66 World ...................................................................................... 68 Business and economy .......................................................... 69“ To be a world class training and educationorganisation shaping careers through innovativeproducts and services & the use of humantechnologies. ”Regulars Brand icon: Nestle India ....................................................... 37 Brand icon: Citigroup Inc. .................................................... 38 Business Trivia ...................................................................... 52 General knowledge ............................................................... 54 Book review: The Leader in You .......................................... 72

Take QuoteDear friends,In recent years, the energy crisis and associated problems like carbonemissions and global warming have grabbed all the attention and createdawareness of the imperative need to make changes in the way we live and useand abuse our natural resources, in particular the energy usage. Solar power,which has been the next big thing on the energy horizons, may finally be reachinga tipping point. A lot of lip service has been paid to Solar Energy recently andfinally we are waking up to the fact that one day, very soon, we are going to run outof fossil fuels with energy demands growing daily, and the time to take actionwould be now!Our cover story explores this pertinent issue and explicitly explains why thisinexhaustible source of energy has been hogging the limelight.We know that relying on coal, oil and natural gas threatens our future withtoxic pollution, global climate change and social unrest caused by diminishingfuel supplies. Instead of relying on unsustainable fossil fuels, we must transformour economy and learn to thrive on the planet s abundant supply of renewableenergy- the solar energy.If we choose solar energy we don t have to wait for a new technology to saveus. We already have the technology and energy resources we need to build asustainable, solar-centric economy that can cure our addiction to oil, stabilize theclimate and maintain our standard of living, all at the same time. It is well pasttime to start harnessing solar energy seriously as it is cheap, clean, has an infinitesupply, is almost completely maintenance free, and does not rely on humans forsupply, so there s no danger of an accident or mistake.Today, we have hybrid cars and solar dwellings are in the pipeline. Plug-inhybrids and all-electric options will be available soon. If we all work cohesivelyand demand that our government set a wise energy policy and use taxes tosupport, the right renewable energy options, I am sure that we can put the brakeson climate change and enjoy a clean, true-green energy.Yes, do plug into solar power and build that solar dwelling. But also do whatyou can today to change attitudes towards one another and towards theenvironment and you will have created the future already!Manish SarafCOO, PT educationExcellence is to do a commonthing in an uncommon way.Book er T. WashingtonIf you can do a half-assessed job ofanything, you're a one-eyed man ina kingdom of the blind.Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.Seek the lofty by reading, hearingand seeing great work at somemoment every day.Thornton WilderThe only way of finding the limitsof the possible is by going beyondthem into the impossible.Arthur C. ClarkeExperience is the child ofthought, and thought is the child ofaction.Benjamin DisraeliTry not to become a man ofsuccess but a man of value.Albert EinsteinMen 's best successes come aftertheir disappointments.Henry Ward Beecher.The ability to convert ideas tothings is the secret to outwardsuccess.Henry Ward BeecherGoals are the fuel in the furnaceof achievement.Brian TracyA man who dares waste one hourof time has not discovered thevalue of life.Charles Darwin

Letters to the editorExploring the impact ofevolving social mediaThe cover story provided ampleinformation about online social mediaand was a very illuminating one. Yes, itcan be a great learning tool but on theflip side can prove detrimental to theusers if not used judiciously.Internet being accessible to all,every thing done by us is always visibleto others. We need to be very carefulabout the images we create as animage once created online is difficultto alter. One also needs to beware ofthe imposters who flood the cleanOSN sites and indulge in fraudulentsocializing. We also need to learn todevelop control of our postings. Afterall it is only we who can decide as towho all should have access to what wewant the world to see. We also need tobe extra prudent while designing ourprofile as they would be scrutinizedthoroughly by the prospectiveemployer and we may well be puttingour dream job at stake for theblunders we make. Allowing anyone topost your personal photos and videoswithout your consent should bestrictly prohibited. Maintaining onecommon image across various OSNsites could be a very wise idea.Neha Singh, IndoreThe world’s most admiredcompaniesThe nuggets of informationprovided in this article proved to bevery interesting. In a nutshell, the entirecompany s profile was available to us. Ihave always lauded the efforts of PrepTalkeditorial team for coming up with diversetopics. The topics are very lucidlyexplained and one does not need to readheavy volumes of books to seekinformation. The sequentialarrangement of the subheadings wasindeed praiseworthy. PT Panorama is awindow to the wealth of world news andhas each time served something deliciousfor the readers to savour.R ajiv Nigam, PuneThe Pursuit of WOW!I thoroughly enjoyed reading thisbook. One of the recurring themes in thebook is to be continually prepared tochange and evolve. Nothing stays thesame. In Peters' language, the goal of thesales professional is to "Amaze,Amuse, Surprise and Delight" ourclients. We are engaged in the veryserious business of buying or sellingshelter, but along the way we can havea little fun.Peters gives over 200 tactics andstrategies to help businesses succeed.He stresses that individuals andorganizations must stand out from thecrowd of average look-alikes. Thebook is a handbook of articles, essaysand speeches he has given, along withchapters of panel discussions. An easyread, the book provides practical, bitesize pieces of advice that allow you toimprove your business performanceand also acts as a guide for futureentrepreneurs.Abhijit Shar ma, AlwarFEEDBACK !Your comments andviews on PrepTalkare needed to helpUs make it better.Which articles did you like?Which columns do youlike to read regularly?Which are the best parts ofthe magazine?Which are not?How to improve?Send feedback to:preptalk@PTeducation.com

Kasab gets death penaltyin 26/11Major news storyPakistani terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab,the lone surviving 26/11 gunman, wasconvicted by a special court inMumbai for the audacious Mumbai attacksthat had left 166 people dead.Over 17 months after he and nine otherperpetrators unleashed death anddevastation on the financial nerve centre ofthe country, special anti-terror court judge ML Tahaliyani convicted Kasab for the carnage.Two alleged Indian conspirators –Sabauddin Ahmed and Faheem Ansari – whowere claimed to have prepared the maps ofthe terror targets and handed those over toPakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba forexecution of their plans, were acquitted of allcharges as the court said the evidence produced by theprosecution could not be relied upon.The court also held that 20 of the wanted accused, includingLeT founder Hafiz Saeed, operations chief Zaki-ur-RehmanLakhvi and Abu Hamza, were involved in 26/11 conspiracy.Pronouncing the verdict, judge Tahaliyani told Kasab inHindi that the charge against him for waging war against Indiawas found to be true.Kasab was held guilty under provisions of Arms Act,Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, Explosives Act, Railway Actand other laws, but smaller charges like forgery were dropped.All the ten terrorists were found to be carrying fake identitycards, but the judge said it was not proved beyond reasonabledoubt that Kasab had himself forged the document.Ten terrorists, trained and armed by the outlawed LeT inPakistan, had descended on Mumbai on a 'Fidayeen' (suicide)mission on 26th November 2008 and wreaked havoc during the60-hour siege, killing and wounding people at will.Kasab, along with nine slain terrorists, wascharged with killing 166 people, including 25foreigners, and injuring 304 others at the instanceof Lashkar-e-Taiba.The court heard arguments by the defenceand prosecution on the quantum of sentence for22-year-old Kasab and on April 6, sentenced himto death for the Mumbai terror attacks, which saidthat keeping such a terrorist alive will be a"lingering danger" to the society and the Indiangovernment.The special anti-terror court of M LTahaliyani pronounced capital punishment forthe 22-year-old terrorist on five counts of murder,conspiracy to murder, waging war against thecountry, abetting murder and committingterrorist activities under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.166 people were killed in the carnage. Kasab was alsoawarded life imprisonment on five other counts includingattempt to murder, criminal conspiracy and under the ExplosiveSubstances Act."In the court's opinion, Kasab has no chance to reform.Keeping such a terrorist alive will be a lingering danger to thesociety and the Indian government," Tahaliyani said whilepronouncing his verdict, three days after he convicted him forthe massacre.The judge cited the example of the Kandahar hijack case inwhich arrested terrorists were swapped for the passengers heldhostage."If Kasab is kept alive, this situation may occur again," hesaid. The judge said Kasab had joined terror outfit LeTvoluntarily and offered himself to be a "mujahideen".Kasab, who hails from Fardikot in Pakistan, broke down afterhearing the sentence.PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010 05

As the judge was reading out the sentence, Kasab was seensobbing. He asked for a glass of water during thepronouncement.After the sentence was read out, Tahaliyani explained to himin Hindi that he had been given death penalty on five counts andwhether he wanted to say anything.But the Pakistani gunman simply shook his head after whichhe was taken away by the police back to the Arthur Road jail.The verdict came 17 months after Kasab and nine otherPakistani terrorists trained, armed and funded by PakistanbasedLashkar-e-Taiba let loose death and destruction onMumbai on November 26, 2008.Stating that Kasab was mentally prepared to attack India, thejudge rejected defence lawyer K P Pawar's argument that he hadacted on the directions of LeT founder Hafiz Sayeed.Branding the terrorist as a "killing machine manufactured inPakistan", special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam had soughtnothing less than death for Kasab, saying the case fell within "therarest of rare" category.The plea of Pawar, who while admitting that his client was"blinded by religion" sought leniency for the terrorist given hisyoung age, failed to convince the judge.Describing Kasab as "killing machine" and a "heartlessmonster", Nikam had argued, "such machines are manufacturedin Pakistan and if he is not sent to the gallows he would turn intoa blood thirsty wild animal."Kasab is a heartless monster who is a curse to thesociety...He not only enjoyed killing innocent people but alsoexpressed anger while confessing before a Magistrate that hecould not execute more," he had said in his arguments on thequantum of sentence for the convicted terrorist.Pawar, however, pleaded that given his young age and noprevious criminal record, Kasab be given a chance to bereformed and rehabilitated.As per the law, the death penalty will have to be confirmed bythe Bombay High Court. Kasab also has the right to move theHigh Court against the trial court verdict. Even if the High Courtupholds the judgement, he can go in appeal to the SupremeCourt. If the apex court too upholds the sentence, he has theoption of filing a mercy petition before the President of India.The trial, perhaps the fastest in a terror case in India, hadcommenced on 8th May 2009 in a special court set up at ArthurRoad Jail which recorded 3,192 pages of evidence afterexamining 658 witnesses on 271 working days.The prosecution, led by Ujjwal Nikam, submitted 1,015articles seized during investigations and filed 1,691 documentsto support its case.The prosecution also sought to prove that Pakistan's securityapparatus was used by LeT in the attacks.For the first time in the Indian legal history, FBI officialsdeposed to give technical evidence to prove the case of theprosecution that the killers came from Pakistan using GlobalPositioning System and that they made calls from their mobilephones through Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) to stay intouch with the conspirators.TRIVIA: USB Pratirodh AND NAYANUSB Pratirodh and NAYAN are two e-security products launched by C-DAC. USB Pratirodh and Malware Resist has beenlaunched for Home Users and Network Abhigam Niyantran (NAYAN) for enterprises.Malware Resist is an anti-malware solution which protects an end system from damage caused by malware or any other roguesoftware by continuously scrutinizing the active programs or processes for malicious behavior. The solution helps users to protectfrom the Malware by quarantine the processes. NAYAN, especially developed for enterprises, addresses the access control andauthentication requirements of a local area network. NAYAN controls the access to different network services at the end systemlevel, protecting internal network from rapidly propagating threats and network misuse.06 PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010

Major news story16th SAARC summit concludesThe 16th SAARC summitconcluded, issuing the “Thimphustatement on Climate” thathighlighted the issue of climate change andstressed the need for joint efforts to facethe challenge in the region.Climate change was the theme of theconference, held for the first time inBhutan with generous assistance fromIndia.Bangladesh and Maldives were infavour of some sort of commitment on thepeaking of emissions, a stand that did notfind favour with China and India during theCopenhagen climate change summit.It was, therefore, decided to establish an Inter-governmentalExpert Group on Climate Change to develop a clear policydirection and guidance for regional cooperation as envisaged inthe SAARC Plan of Action on Climate Change.The member-states also resolved to commission a study, forpresentation to the 17th summit, on ‘Climate Risks in theRegion: ways to comprehensively address the related social,economic and environmental challenges'.It was decided to plant one crore trees over the next five yearsto build a “green and happy South Asia” and enhance tradecooperation.The statement pledged to concentrate on the uplift ofpoverty-stricken people in the region that is home to 1.5 billionpeople – one-fourth of the world population.The two-day summit (28-29th April 2010) was notable forthe frank appraisal offered by several members of the bloc’scollective failings over the past 25 years. In a final declaration,the summit said it was time for the organisation to live up “to thehopes and aspirations of one-fifth of humanity” represented bythe eight leaders.The adopted statement on climate change stressed the needfor the region to join hands in combating a threat that all itsmembers face, from low-lying Maldives and Bangladesh toHimalayan nations like Bhutan and Nepal. The host nation’sPrime Minister Jigme Thinley, who chaired the gathering, saidthere had been an overwhelming consensus to turn SAARC into“more than a talk shop”.“The stage is set for SAARC to enter a new era 25 years afterits founding,” Thinley said. “I hope the things that did nothappen in South Asia will now begin to happen,” he said.SAARC, founded in 1985, groups Afghanistan, Bangladesh,Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.Critics have blamed its failure to exploit the region’scommon potential on the long and bitter rivalry between its twomost powerful members, India and Pakistan, which has oftenhijacked the bloc’s agenda. The two countries also stole themedia spotlight at the Thimphu summit, where the two PrimeMinisters, India’s Manmohan Singh and Yousaf Raza Gilani,held direct talks for the first time in nine months.Maldives President, Mohammed Nasheed, who will host thenext SAARC summit, said the coming year would show whetherthe bloc could move away from declarations of intent to concreteimplementation.PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010 07

“My fear is that at the moment there is a disconnectionbetween ambition and achievement. The ultimate result is thatSAARC is not adequately delivering on the needs of the people ofSouth Asia,” Nasheed said.Manmohan Singh had said that SAARC ran the “risk ofmarginalisation and stagnation”. “The 21st century cannot bean Asian century unless South Asia marches together.” Theagreement on trade, signed by the nations’ foreign ministers,covers services in health, hospitality, communications,computers and air transport services. The environmentconvention, signed by the leaders, is aimed at exchangingknowledge and eco-friendly technology to combat climatechange. The fund for fighting poverty, with contributions fromeach nation, will be used for projects that empower women andpromote healthcare and for building infrastructure.Indian Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh said SouthAsian countries have opened up new windows of cooperation,and added that the SAARC Development Fund, the Food Bank,the South Asian Free Trade Agreement and the South AsianUniversity are examples of new institutions that will knit ourregion more closely together.Breaking the ice, India and Pakistan decided to resumedialogue at the level of foreign ministers as Prime MinistersManmohan Singh and Yousuf Raza Gilani met in Thimphu intheir first substantive engagement in less than a year.During their meeting, Singh andGilani decided that the channels ofdialogue between the two countriesshould be kept open to restore "trustand confidence" in the bilateralrelationship.This was their first meeting aftertheir dialogue in Sharm-el-Sheik in Egypt on July 16, 2009following which a major controversy had broken out in India onthe contents of the joint statement.Terrorism and the "slow progress" of Pakistan's probe intoMumbai attacks formed part of the agenda of the discussionswhich were held at the 'Bhutan House' here on the margins ofthe SAARC Summit. The two leaders first met accompanied bytheir delegations which was followed by a one-on-one meetingand then again by delegations.SAARC: A Fact FileThe South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is an economic and political organization of eight countriesin Southern Asia. In terms of population, its sphere of influence is the largest of any regional organization almost 1.5 billionpeople, the combined population of its member states. It was established on December 8, 1985 by Bangladesh , Bhutan , Maldives,Nepal, Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka . In April 2007, at the Association's 14th summit, Afghanistan became its eighth member.OBJECTIVESThe objectives of the Association as defined in the Charter are:H to promote the welfare of the people of South Asia and to improve their quality of life;H to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region and to provide all individuals theopportunity to live in dignity and to realize their full potential;to promote and strengthen collective self-reliance among the countries of South Asia;to contribute to mutual trust, understanding and appreciation of one another's problems;to promote active collaboration and mutual assistance in the economic, social, cultural, technical and scientific fields;to strengthen cooperation with other developing countries;to strengthen cooperation among themselves in international forums on matters of common interest; andto cooperate with international and regional organisations with similar aims and purposes.HHHHHHSAFTATo promote trade in the region, SAARC has implemented the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA), which went in to forceon 1st January, 2006.SECRETARIATThe SAARC Secretariat was established in Kathmandu on 16 January, 1987 and was inaugurated by Late King Birendra BirBikram Shah of Nepal.08 PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010

Cover storySolar energy: The future fuelSolar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, hasbeen harnessed by humans since ancient timesusing a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solarradiation, along with secondary solar-powered resourcessuch as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity andbiomass, account for most of the available renewableenergy on earth. Only a minuscule fraction of theavailable solar energy is used. Solar energy is energy thatis present in sunlight. It has been used for thousands ofyears in many different ways by people all over the world.As well as its traditional human uses in heating, cooking,and drying, it is used today to make electricity whereother power supplies are absent, such as in remote placesand in space. It is becoming cheaper to make electricityfrom solar energy and in many situations it is nowcompetitive with energy from coal or oil. It can also beused for heating, drying and cooking.HHSolar energy is used today in a number of ways:As heat for making hot water, heating buildings, andcookingTo generate electricity with solar cells or heat enginesTo take the salt away from seawaterSolar powered electrical generation relies on heat enginesand photovoltaics. Solar energy's uses are limited only by humaningenuity. A partial list of solar applications includes spaceheating and cooling through solar architecture, potable water viadistillation and disinfection, daylighting, solar hot water, solarcooking, and high temperature process heat for industrialpurposes. To harvest solar energy, the most common way is touse solar panels.India is a country of contradictions. It has the second-fastestgrowing economy in the world , but at the same time accounts fora third of the world’s population without access to electricity.India’s per capita energy consumption is among the lowest inthe world (35 times lower than in the US), yet the country rankssixth in total annual energy consumption.Though rich in coal and abundantly endowed withrenewable energy (solar, wind, hydro and bio ), more than a thirdof India’s energy is imported, mainly from the Middle East. Oilconsumption, which accounts for roughly a third of India’senergy use, has increased six fold in the past 25 years. India nowimports about 65 percent of its petroleum. The country’s fastgrowingoil demand, and the fact that India’s oil reserves arevirtually exhausted, has forced India to make deals withcountries such as Sudan, Syria and Iran, which raise supplyconcerns.To meet its growth aspirations, India urgently needs toaccelerate its energy sector development, and investments inrenewable energy will have to play a crucial role. Today, windenergy is the country’s leading renewable energy source. India isthe fourth largest user of wind energy in the world. But solarenergy is gaining ground. Recent government announcementsto boost solar power generation by way of feed-in-tariffs (FiTs)are generating more interest in the solar sector. Given India’srich reservoir of sunlight (5,000 trillion kWh annually), thiscertainly makes a lot of sense.Solar energy refers primarily to the use of solar radiation forpractical ends. However, all renewable energies, other thangeothermal and tidal, derive their energy from the sun.PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010 09

Solar technologies are broadly characterized as eitherpassive or active depending on the way they capture, convert anddistribute sunlight. Active solar techniques use photovoltaicpanels, pumps, and fans to convert sunlight into useful outputs.Passive solar techniques include selecting materials withfavorable thermal properties, designing spaces that naturallycirculate air, and referencing the position of a building to theSun. Active solar technologies increase the supply of energy andare considered supply side technologies, while passive solartechnologies reduce the need for alternate resources and aregenerally considered demand side technologies.RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES FOR RURALDEVELOPMENTWith the debate around patents and climate change-relatedtechnologies at Copenhagen last December, it became easy toforget that there are many low-cost and clean renewable energytechnologies available in the public domain. A recent UNmeeting highlighted how these technologies can revolutionizethe way of life for rural communities.Over 90% of rural Africa and 1.6 billion people worldwide arewithout electricity. Kerosene, firewood, and dried dung arerelied upon by rural communities for lighting and cooking fuel.These traditional energy sources pose many health hazards,especially for women. Air quality is a major concern withkerosene and open fires, releasing carcinogens, airborneparticles, and greenhouse gases. Women are disproportionatelyexposed to open fires for cooking.Midwives working at night have to rely on a dim, flickeringlight. In addition, women are also the ones who scavenge forfirewood or transport kerosene, often in inhospitable terrain.Thus, besides being a health risk, this is also a tremendous lossof productivity for the village; as women in these villages areforced to spend more and more time in search of diminishingfuel sources.In the Expert Meeting on Green and Renewable EnergyTechnologies for Rural Development, organized by the UNConference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD), severalpromising solutions were described for providing electricity andcooking gas for rural communities. These solutions – solar,biomass-to-electricity, biomass digesters, geothermal, microhydroand micro-wind power–were each shown to beparticularly affordable and technologically promising in a varietyof settings.One of the most important messages to come out of themeeting was that the technologies deployed must be reliable. Toensure a reliable alternative energy supply and to help empowerrural women, one man has started a brilliant effort to ensuresolar power takes hold in these villages.A major problem with previous efforts in using solar power inrural settings was the inability to maintain and repair thenecessary equipment. Training young men as solar engineersproved futile, as they would quickly leave to more lucrative urbanmarkets.But, Mr. Bunker Roy, founder of Barefoot College of India,has found a solution to this problem: training illiterategrandmothers. From each African village, he brings an illiterategrandmother back to India for a month of intensive training onsolar photovoltaic system maintenance and repair.Learning alongside other grandmothers from villagesthroughout Africa, the newly-trained solar engineers return totheir home village with a newfound sense of confidence andpurpose. And, most importantly, they remain in their village,providing a much needed service and passing on theirknowledge.With the provision of clean, off-grid electricity from solarpanels, the air is cleaner, the village is more productive andwomen are becoming empowered. What’s more, it makes cleareconomic sense. The cost of a solar system large enough forseveral lanterns is roughly the cost of one year’s supply ofkerosene. But, solar energy can only solve some of a ruralcommunities energy needs. Other experiences showed thatthere are other alternatives which can meet the need forsustainable development in rural communities.In Nepal and Cambodia, bio-gas has proven to be a clean andreliable source of cooking fuel. Micro-wind and Micro-hydro arebeing deployed in Vanuatu and Mozambique, respectively.Many countries are experimenting with “mini-grids” tosupply the generated electricity. The Zambia is exploringalternative distribution models, rolling out “energy kiosks” inseveral villages. India has a program to provide efficient cookingstoves to rural areas in an effort to reduce air pollution.10 PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010

Several countries are re-visiting previous efforts for largescalealternative energy generation as well. The Zambia isresurrecting a geothermal plant from the 1980’s to help it copewith an increasing energy deficit, which they attribute to climatechange, due to lower levels of hydroelectric power production inrecent years. Mauritius is revisiting the feasibility of windturbines, especially recent advancements that allow for them tocollapse during cyclones.But, there are challenges. First, financing is still a challenge,even with the technologies being off patent protection and in thepublic domain. The Kyoto Protocol’s Clean DevelopmentMechanism (CDM) has provided some funding, e.g. for Biogasprojects in Nepal, but the CDM is geared towards large projectsand has a cumbersome administrative process. However,promising financing solutions are gradually being offered.Finally, there is the challenge of education. Accessing knowledgeon what has worked and failed in other villages is crucial. Anunnecessarily poor experience with a particular technology canretard the adoption of that or othertechnologies by a village for several decades.In addition, it is necessary to educate villagersabout health and environment concerns, suchas smoke inhalation and climate change, inorder to generate further demand for theserenewable energy technologies.Despite these challenges, this meetingshowed that there is much promise inbringing clean electricity to rural villagesaround the world. With electricity, much morewill be possible, including the ability toprovide irrigation for farming, encourageeducation, and generally enable humandevelopment in the broadest sense.HISTORYVery often there is confusion about the various methods usedto harness solar energy. Energy from the sun can be categorizedin two ways:1. In the form of heat (or thermal energy), and2. In the form of light energy. Solar thermal technologiesuses the solar heat energy to heat substances (such as water orair) for applications such as space heating, pool heating andwater heating for homes and businesses. There are a variety ofproducts on the market that uses solar thermal energy. Often theproducts used for this application are called solar thermalcollectors and can be mounted on the roof of a building or insome other sunny location. The solar heat can also be used toproduce electricity on a large utility-scale by converting the solarenergy into mechanical energy.So, fossil fuels are actually solar energy stored millions andmillions of years ago. Indirectly, the sun is responsible for all ourenergy. Even nuclear energy comes from a star because theuranium atoms used in nuclear energy were created in the furyof a nova - a star exploding.The history of lighting is dominated by the use of naturallight. The Romans recognized a right to light as early as the 6thcentury and English law echoed these judgments with thePrescription Act of 1832. In the 20th century, artificial lightingbecame the main source of interior illumination but daylightingtechniques and hybrid solar lighting solutions are ways toreduce energy consumption.Daylighting systems collect and distribute sunlight toprovide interior illumination. This passive technology directlyoffsets energy use by replacing artificial lighting, and indirectlyoffsets non-solar energy use by reducing the need for airconditioning.Although difficult to quantify, the use of naturallighting also offers physiological andpsychological benefits compared toartificial lighting. Daylighting designimplies careful selection of window types,sizes and orientation; exterior shadingdevices may be considered as well.Individual features include sawtooth roofs,clerestory windows, light shelves, skylightsand light tubes. They may be incorporatedinto existing structures, but are mosteffective when integrated into a solardesign package that accounts for factorssuch as glare, heat flux and time-of-use.When daylighting features are properlyimplemented they can reduce lightingrelatedenergy requirements by 25%.Hybrid solar lighting is an active solar method of providinginterior illumination. HSL systems collect sunlight usingfocusing mirrors that track the Sun and use optical fibers totransmit it inside the building to supplement conventionallighting. In single-story applications these systems are able totransmit 50% of the direct sunlight received.Solar lights that charge during the day and light up at duskare a common sight along walkways.Although daylight saving time is promoted as a way to usesunlight to save energy, recent research has been limited andreports contradictory results: several studies report savings, butjust as many suggest no effect or even a net loss, particularlywhen gasoline consumption is taken into account. Electricityuse is greatly affected by geography, climate and economics,making it hard to generalize from single studies.PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010 11

SOLAR ENERGY IN INDIA – THE GREAT INDIAN POTENTIALIndia has a great potential to generate electricity from solarenergy. Some main drivers for solar power plants in India are:1. To meet India’s growing energy demand – the nonrenewablesources of energy may not cope-up with that demandwith its robust economic & population growth. Renewablesources are one of the solutions to this constant issue, in the longterm.2. Increased focus on Green technology – with increasedfocus in the recent years the idea of solar plants will beencouraged ex: Solar water heating.3. Support from Government – Government is helping in theform of various subsidies, rebate on interest to solar energybased industries, technology-transfer agreement withcountries, to name a few. This will attract more new players orestablish businesses to invest in solar plants. For ex: Windenergy power sector saw good growth in the past, when subsidieswere introduced.4. India is also in a good position because of the intense heat.“Arid regions receive plentiful solar radiation,” says Dr. M. N.Nahar, principal Scientist of the Division of Agriculture andEnergy at the Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI). Incomputed global solar radiation of arid stations in the Indianstates of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana, it was found thatJaisalmer in Rajasthan, receives the maximum radiation at 6.27kWh/m2 per day; the average daily duration of bright sunshine inJodhpur, Rajasthan is 8.9 hours.Some benefits India can reap from solar Energyapplications:1. Lesser pollution. How? According to a report, the averageintensity of solar radiation received on India is 200 MW/km2.Even if 10% of this area is used, the solar energy that can bemade available to us would be 8 million MW (equivalent to 5909mtoe: million tons of oil equivalent) per year – this leads to lesspollution by that amount2. It can help India to reduce its import bills significantly ifsolar energy can be used for domestic purposes as well (Ex:cooking, heating, drying etc…)3. Thermal solar energy can be used for water heating,cooking, drying, water distillation, refrigeration, and spaceheating and cooling. One of the most crucial of these uses iscooking, as half the total energy consumed in developingcountries is used in the domestic cooking sector4. Finally, it’s a step towards achieving the Vision 20-20 targetof becoming energy independentTalking of solar energy usage in India, what have we beensuccessful at?HHHDid we know that there are 500,000 plus solar cookers in usetoday?Did we know that we have the world’s largest solar cookingvenue in Tirupati ? This place provides food for more than15,000 people each day using these solar panelsDid we know that India is the only country which has aseparate ministry for alternative energy?Look at the solartechnology and it is mainlydivided into thermal andphotovoltaic.Thermal solar poweruses the heat of the sun, andphotovoltaics, or PV, is thetechnology that converts itslight directly into electricity.HHWhere do we stand?In India:the second method has been very successful. Ex: Solarwater heaters. They are a hit in India, with mosthouseholds adopting them. Number of players or suppliersin the market is also increasing.the first method first option has been partially successful inIndia. For getting good at this, we need to master theprocess of ‘Silicon Wafer making’ – which we have not yetachieved. For developing successful product and forsustenance, we need make our own silicon wafers.Alternatives have been suggested; for ex: screen printing ofsemiconducting material or other photovoltaic material oninsulating base (ceramic or glass). This is being tried out. Alsoexperiments using organic compounds have also been reportedin literature. However, mass production is far away.The newest and developing fast technology in solar energygeneration is thin film technology, however the Indiansubsidiary manufacturing plant of Moser Baer is ready forproduction of thin film photovoltaic modules at Greater Noida,India. The 40MW capacity line is being described as the largestthin film solar line in India. Many Indian startups are alsoentering this space.12 PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010

RECENT DEVELOPMENTSSolar energy offers ‘enormous coal savings’India should hike its solar power and solar thermal (steambasedpower production) generation targets in the short term toachieve grid parity in terms of MW and KWhr cost with coalbasedpower plants in the long run.The cost of electricity generation from solar thermal andsolar PV (photovoltaic) systems is Rs 13.45 and Rs 18.44 a unit,while the unit cost from thermal projects, including coal andgas-based stations is between Rs 3 and Rs 7.The solar thermal will offer enormous cost savings ifcoupled with thermal plants. While standalone plants could alsobe set up, the geographic coverage of coal-based power plants incentral and eastern India provides an excellent opportunity tocombine coal and solar thermal plants or add the solar thermalcomponent to existing coal fired units.For a 500-MW coal plant, a 50 MW solarthermal would ensure 20 per cent savings interms of daily coal use (equivalent to thereplacement of feed water heating) andavoiding 31,000 tonnes of carbon-dioxidegeneration annually. Assuming that 10 percent of 77 GW of coal fired plants are coupledto 522,750 MWhr/year of solar electricproduction would lead to 522, 750 tonnes ofcoal savings and avoiding 225,000 tonnes ofcarbon-dioxide generation as well, he said.A 50 MW plant would work out to $150million. However, at least 35 per cent reduction in cost could beachieved through scaling up once volumes come in and supplychains are in place. Solar energy technology was simple and all itrequired was quality adherence by suppliers.The solar power industry in India was at a nascent stage andwould require investments upwards of $75 billion to achieve thetargeted 20 GW by 2020. The government needs to spell out thetariff pattern after 2013 so as to attract funding required to reachthe targeted generation.The Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy alongwith the Union Ministry of Telecommunications is working onconverting almost all cellphone towers into “green towers” byusing solar panels instead of diesel generators.At the bottom of cell phone towers, there are generatorsrunning on diesel. This will reduce the use of diesel.Solar powered boatThe Government of India (GoI) has taken a decision that noGoI building will be made which will not be green. Ministry isgoing to meet architects in some of the top cities to talk to themabout greener buildings.For thousands of years, mankind has been using the power ofthe sun to meet energy needs. Ancient civilisations designedtheir buildings to benefit from the sun’s ability to heat and lightrooms, and the sun’s heat was used to light fires with glass in theseventh century B.C.Over two and a half millennia later, as the world turns itsattention to renewable energy sources as a way to combat climatechange, UNIDO is advancing the use of solar energy through itsnew, international research centre in western China.“More than ever, we need to harness the power of the sun,the source of the most abundant renewable energy on earth,”“One sun, one world, one dream,” is the message of theUNIDO International Solar Energy Centre(ISEC), which is operated in cooperation withthe Chinese Government and promotes andfacilitates the use of solar energy in thedeveloping world.“China is leading the way in certainsegments of the solar energy market, forinstance in solar water heaters for domesticuse and it’s growing rapidly in others such asphotovoltaics.”“But more importantly for UNIDO, Chinahas available solar energy technologies thatcan be easily transferred to other developingcountries with the necessary skills to use them.”China’s Government has realized the future lies withrenewable energy and recognizes that the adoption of renewableenergy gives it greater energy security.China can assist other developing countries to find theirpath to economic development powered by renewable energy.Activities at the centre include the development and upgradeof solar energy technologies, the establishment of standards andlabels for solar technologies and products and the promotion ofinternational cooperation.Around 100 scientists, experts and researchers from aroundthe world work at the centre, which in itself is a shining exampleof the effectiveness of solar energy, since the lighting, heatingand hot water systems are all operated using the sun’s power.PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010 13

Solar energy and other renewable energy industries have apromising and challenging future and ISEC will work closelywith the developing and the developed countries.It will bring those people to the centre who are interested indeveloping solar energy in developing countries and take expertsfrom the centre to developing countries, where they will helpmake assessments with regards to the potential for solar energyin these countries.At the moment solar energy, like all renewables, stillrepresents a relatively small portion of the total energyproduction anywhere in the world. Some places have promoted itmore than others, but in the developing world, there aren’t manycountries that have a strong presence in solar.He adds that costs of renewables tend to be more expensivethan the traditional sources of energy, but “part of the reasonwhy they’re more expensive is that they’re not used on a largescale. However, as the markets grow the prices are comingdown.”As an ordinary person who lives according to what the daybrings, did we ever think about how to conserve solar energy?We must bear in mind that we are part of a whole spectrum ofnature. Whatever we do will affect all the things around us.Everything must be conserved, including solar energy. Therecan be some methods to conserve the energy:HHHPlant trees. Nature works wonders. Every element aroundus affects everything else. By planting trees, we will be ableto maximize the energy coming from the sun. This will bedirected to help the plants grow and produce harvests. Withhealthy plants and trees rooted to the soil, the soil will befirm. This will be able to hold its structure even in times ofnatural disasters.Limit your use of the energy coming from the sun. Withtoday’s innovations, there are lots of things that are beingdeveloped to use solar energy as a power source. Thesource may be free. But to be able to turn it to such powersource, there are things that are utilized for this reason. Ifwe will abuse the use of such technology, the crash of thematerials used to put this up will be fast. This will take a tollon us especially if we rely a lot on this advancement.Teach kids about the importance of solar energy. We cangain knowledge through research and through youreveryday interaction with other people about this thingcalled the solar energy. We must tell our kids about itsimportance, they must be educated about it at an early age.They are the future of the nation. What we teach them nowHThe world's largest solar-powered buildingThe world's largest solar-powered building has been unveiledin Dezhou, Shangdong Province in northwest China. The75,000 square meter structure is a multi-use building andfeatures exhibition centers, scientific research facilities,meeting and training facilities, and a hotel – all of which run onsolar power. The design of the building is based on the sun dialand underlines the urgency of seeking renewable energysources to replace fossil fuels. The design also features theChinese characters for sun and moon, and the color whitepredominates, symbolizing clean energy.will be instilled in them till they grow old. At such a youngage, they must know about how they can contribute toconserve energy.Take good care of nature. This is the most important thingthat we can do to help advance such cause. The sun cancause damage to people and nature if people won’t take thenecessary steps to care for nature in the first place. Thereare a lot of things that we get from the environment. Itwouldn’t hurt to look back every now and then and see whatwe can do to give back to what it has already given to you.The idea here is that everything in this life must beconserved. We cannot abuse the power that we possess to gain somuch without even thinking how our actions affect the worldaround us. It is all right to go with the flow of the continuingadvancement of the technology.Look at the options available to us nowadays with regards tosolar energy. This can be used to power homes and vehicles.This can give light, heat water and cook your food. This can giveus satellite television and phones for supreme entertainmentand communications enjoyment. This can give us luxuries likespas and warm water at pools.We must learn everything on how to conserve solar energy sothat we can do our part in making sure that such resource will beavailable as long as we live.14 PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010

Current eventsIndiaJESSICA LALL MURDER: SC UPHOLDS MANU SHARMA'SLIFE SENTENCEThe Supreme Court upheld the conviction and lifeimprisonment awarded to Manu Sharma, son of seniorCongress leader and former Union minister Vinod Sharma, inthe 1999 Jessica Lall murder case.The court also expunged the adverse remarks of the trialcourt against the prosecution and also the observations of thehigh court against the trial court order acquitting all theaccused.“The non-recovery and non-explanation of the pistolallegedly used in the crime point towards the guilt of theaccused,” the bench said.Though the apex court criticised the media – both electronicand print – for its reports in connection with the case while it waspending before the high court, the Supreme Court judges said itdid not cause any prejudice to the accused.The high court had on December 18, 2006 set aside theacquittal of Sharma and others by the trial court on February 21,2006.“The prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt thepresence of Manu Sharma at the site of the offence,” a bench ofJustices P Sathasivam and Swatanter Kumar said, upholding theDelhi High Court verdict.The apex court also upheld the conviction as well assentence of four years jail term of Vikas Yadav, son ofcontroversial Uttar Pradesh politician, D P Yadav and AmarjeetSingh Gill, an MNC executive, for the destruction of evidence.“The Delhi High Court has given cogent and adequatereasons for reversal of acquittal given by the trial court,” thebench said.“The presence of accused is proved by ocular evidence ofprosecution witnesses,” the bench said while pronouncing theverdict.The bench said that the conduct of Manu Sharma after thecrime proved his guilt beyond reasonable doubt.The apex court said that the high court had rightly convictedand given four years jail sentences to Yadav and Gill fordestruction of evidence.Lall was murdered 11 years ago at a Delhi restaurant bySharma, “It has given us a lot of satisfaction,” said Sabrina Lall,Jessica’s sister, who has been leading the campaign for justicefor her sister’s death.Sabrina Lall, who has been pursuing the case since themurder on the intervening night of April 29-30, 1999, expressedher happiness over the verdict.“The final door has been closed on this episode. It has givena lot of relief and satisfaction. I am happy,” she said outside thecourt.The apex court dismissed the plea of Manu that he wasinnocent and implicated in the case.“The arguments on behalf of Manu Sharma that the entirestory involving him in the crime is planted and concocted iserroneous,” the court said.According to the Delhi police, Lall was shot dead by Manu atthe Tamarind Court Cafe restaurant owned by socialite BinaRamani at Qutub Colonnade in south Delhi where she hadhosted a party for her Canadian husband, George Mailhot.PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010 15

MUKUL SANGMA SWORN IN MEGHALAYA CMMukul M. Sangma took oath as the 21st Chief Minister ofMeghalaya, on which also happened to be his 45th birthday.Sangma was administered the oathof office and secrecy by Governor R.S.Mooshahary at Raj Bhavan. Three otherministers-one Independent and twofrom the United Democratic Party -were also sworn-in.The three are A.T. Mondal, Independent, and J.A. Lyngdohand Bindom M. Lapang of the UDP. Lapang was sworn in asDeputy Chief Minister. The three had been part of the D.D.Lapang ministry.Earlier, at least 21 Congress legislators met on April 16 at theresidence of Sangma, and pledged unconditional support tohim. Thereafter, Sangma flew to New Delhi along withCongress legislators supporting him, and staked his claim to benew CLP leader. Afterthat,Veteran Congress leader D.D.Lapang tendered his resignation to the governor.Sangma, a medical practitioner, gave up his governmentposting as medical and health officer at Tura health centre andjumped into the electoral fray in 1993. He contested and won the58-Ampatigiri assembly constituency in West Garo Hills as anIndependent candidate. There was no looking back for himsince then.At the age of 33, Sangma first bagged a cabinet berth andheld various posts as minister of taxation, information andpublic relations and others.In 2005, Sangma was appointed Deputy Chief Minister inchargeof home and education departments. But he was forcedto quit after the Garo Hills police firing, in which nine peoplelost their lives and several others were injured over theMeghalaya Board of School Education issue.JKJKJKSEHWAG IS WISDEN CRICKETER OF THE YEARExplosive Indian opener, Virender Sehwag was named'Wisden Cricketer of the Year' for the second time in a row,beating off competition from England captain, Andrew Straussand Sri Lankan, Tillakaratne Dilshan.The award, which was instituted in 2004, has Australiancaptain Ricky Ponting, spin wizard Shane Warne and talismanicEnglish all-rounder Andrew Flintoff among its past winners.The 31-year-old Indian waspicked for the honour for a secondsuccessive year after scoring “morequickly than any specialist batsmanin Tests or one-day internationals”, aleading cricket website reported.Sehwag apart, Englishwicketkeeper Matt Prior, spinnerGraeme Swann, batsman GrahamOnions, pacer Stuart Broad andAustralian vice-captain Michael Clarke were the 'Five Cricketersof the Year' chosen by the magazine.Sehwag averaged 70, with a strike-rate of 108.9, in the Testshe played last year. In one-day internationals, Sehwag had astrike-rate of 136.5 while averaging 45.Strauss and Dilshan were also nominated by severalcorrespondents who were consulted about this award but fellshort of Sehwag.JKJKJKPRESIDENT PATIL ACCEPTS THAROOR'S RESIGNATIONPresident Pratibha Patil acceptedthe resignation of Minister of Statefor External Affairs Shashi Tharoorfrom the Council of Ministers on therecommendation of Prime MinisterManmohan Singh.According to Rashtrapati Bhavanspokesperson, “The President onthe recommendation of the PrimeMinister has accepted the resignation of Shashi Tharoor, MoSin MEA from the council of ministers with immediate effect.”The resignation of Tharoor was sent to the President in Punewhere she is on an official visit.Tharoor resigned as Minister of State for External Affairs inthe wake of a raging controversy over IPL Kochi team, ending aweek-long political drama.Tharoor becomes the first minister in UPA-II to go outunder the cloud corruption in the wake of allegations that hemisused office to get Rs.70 crore worth sweat equity for hisfriend Sunanda Pushkar from IPL Kochi team owners.Tharoor, whose removal was demanded by the Opposition ongrounds of corruption,had met Singh to give his side of the story.16 PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010

CHIRAYU AMIN APPOINTED AS IPL'S INTERIM CHIEFA little known businessman anda low profile cricket administrator,Chirayu Amin has been thrust intospotlight with his appointment asinterim IPL Chief.The recent developments hadmade clear Lalit Modi's ouster fromthe post of IPL Commissioner buthis replacement surprised everyone.When the Indian Cricket Board went after Modi's head dueto his alleged financial bungling, the speculation was rife thateither Ravi Shastri or MAK Pataudi, both IPL governing councilmembers, may be elevated to the post.But Amin, who has been in good books of almost all the thepast BCCI Chiefs, was rewarded for his loyalty.Amin is not only a BCCI Vice-President and Baroda CricketAssociation President but also the Chairman and ManagingDirector of Alembic Pharmaceuticals, one of the leading pharmacompanies of the country.JKJKJKSUKHOI JETS TO BE ARMED WITH BRAHMOS MISSILESBrahMos supersonic cruisemissiles, which is a jointventure of India and Russia, willbe fitted on the Indian AirForce’s 40 Su-30MKIs fighteraircraft.CEO and MD of BrahMosAerospace, Dr AS Pillai said,“The inclusion of BrahMos cruise missile will make the aircraftunique in firepower.”Dr Pillai was speaking to a Russian news agency at theDefence Services Asia-2010 exhibition in Kuala Lumpur.He also added that the first trials of the air-launched versionwere set for 2011 and the first test-flight with the missile onboardis scheduled for 2012.The supersonic cruise missile has a range of 290-km andflies at a speed of 2.8 Mach.The BrahMos missile is a successful joint venture of India'sDefence Research and Development Organisation and Russia'sNPO Mashinostroeyenia.BrahMos missiles sea and ground-launch versions havealready been successfully tested and put into service by theIndian Army and Navy.JKJKJKINDIA'S FIRST ANTI-SUBMARINE WARFARE CORVETTELAUNCHEDLaunching the country's first AntiSubmarine Warfare Corvette (ASWC)for the Indian Navy at the Garden ReachShipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE)Limited in Kolkata, M.M. Pallam Raju,Union Minister of State for Defence,said three more such P-28 Corvettes willbe launched by the GRSE by 2015.Pointing to the completion of the Rs. 560 croremodernisation programme of the GRSE scheduled for 2011, Mr.Raju said the dock's building capacity will be boosted manifoldas it could then manufacture frigates.“The current value of the book of orders for the GRSE is Rs.8,000 crore, but once the orders for the P-17 frigates startscoming in within two years, the book of orders will increase toRs. 24,000 crore.” he said.Named Kamorta, after an island in the Andaman Sea, theASWC is indigenously built and is designated as a frontlinewarship with anti-submarine warfare capabilities and a very lowsignature of radiated underwater noise. The ASWC Kamortawill be docked at the Eastern Naval Command.Hoping that large private houses will come forward to investin the shipbuilding sector along with the Ministry of Defence ona public-private partnership mode, Mr. Raju said around 6,000small and medium private companies have already participatedin giving “vertical expertise” to the defence public sector.West Bengal Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta said the Stategovernment has placed an order for 13 high-speed boats that areused during natural calamities with the GRSE, and is alsomulling purchasing portable double-line steel bridges from it.Mr. Raju said these boats will be delivered within the comingthree to four months.PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010 17

SCIENTISTS ASSESS GSLV FAILURESpace scientists met at the VikramSarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) inThiruvananthapuram to discuss thefailure of GSLV D3, India's first launchvehicle to be powered by an indigenouscryogenic engine.Scientists have begun assessing dataon 300 performance parameters of thecryogenic stage, including pressure andtemperature, and will come to preliminaryconclusions, P.S. Veeraraghavan, Directorof VSSC told.On April 15, 2010 the rocket plungedinto the Bay of Bengal less than 10-minutes after take-off whenthe cryogenic engine failed to ignite. A second, morecomprehensive meeting will be conducted on a later date toscrutinize the reasons behind the mission's failure, Dr.Veeraraghavan said.JKJKJKAMITAV GHOSH WINS PRESTIGIOUS DAN DAVID PRIZENoted Indian author, AmitavGhosh has won the prestigiousDan David Prize for hisremarkable reworking of the greattradition of the Western novel intransnational terms.The one million dollar awardis a joint international enterpriseendowed by the Dan DavidFoundation and headquartered atTel Aviv University.It is annually awarded in three different fields - Archaeology,Performing Arts and Material Science - in the three dimensiontime framework of past, present and future.Ghosh, 53 is the third Indian to win the award, joining anelite league comprising of chemist CNR Rao and musicianZubin Mehta.The Indian author will be sharing the prize in the presentdimension with Dr Gordon E Moore, whose ‘Moore's Law’ hasbecome the guiding principle for the semiconductor industry todeliver ever-more-powerful chips while decreasing the cost ofelectronics.“Ghosh’s work provides a transnational understanding ofthe self seen as the intersection of the many identities producedby the collision of languages and cultures; displacement andexile - lives torn between India, Burma, England, and elsewhere;families torn by the violence and psychological turmoil ofcolonial rule and post-colonial dispossession; a globe wrackedby two world wars and their ancillary bloodshed”, the jury wrotein their award conferring remarks.The above mentioned topics have been integral to his workright from his earliest novels, The Circle of Reason (1986) andThe Shadow Lines (1990).The jury also recognised his contribution in fiction asdistinguished equally by its precise, beautifully rendereddepictions of characters and settings, and by its sweeping senseof history unfolding over generations against the backdrop of theviolent dislocations of peoples and regimes during thenineteenth and twentieth centuries.Mr. Ghosh is also a recipient of other awards like the Prix Mcisranger, the Arthur C Clarke Award, Hutch Crossword Book Prize,the Grand Prize for Fiction of the Frankfurt International e-BookAwards, the Sahitya Akademi Award (from India’s NationalAcademy of Letters), and the Grinzane Cavour Prize.JKJKJKPACHAURI CONFERRED WITH JAPANESE AWARDR K Pachauri, Chairman of the IntergovernmentalPanel on Climate Change(IPCC) was conferred with a prestigiousJapanese award in recognition of hisoutstanding contribution to theenhancement of that country's policytowards climate change.Japan's Ambassador, Hideaki Domichipresented the award "Order of the RisingSun, Gold and Silver Star" to Pachauri on behalf of His MajestyAkihito, the Emperor of Japan, at a ceremony in New Delhi.The award is conferred in recognition of distinguishedaccomplishments by individuals, both Japanese and foreign.Last year on 3rd November , the Emperor of Japan hadannounced the award for the head of The Energy and ResourcesInstitute.Pachauri has also been conferred with the Padma Bhushan in2001 and Padma Vibhushan in 2008, India's third and secondhighest civilian honour.18 PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010

PATIL SWORN IN AS RAJASTHAN GOVERNORPunjab Governor, Shivraj Patil, whohas been given additional charge ofRajasthan following the demise of PrabhaRau, was sworn in Jaipur.Rajasthan High Court Chief Justice,Jagdish Bhalla administered the oath ofoffice to Patil at a simple function in RajBhawan.Two minutes silence was observed as a mark of respect tolate Governor Rau.The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Rajasthan ChiefMinister Ashok Gehlot, cabinet ministers and other senior statebureaucrats.Prabha Rau had died due to a heart attack in New Delhi.KAPADIA, NEXT CHIEF JUSTICE OF INDIAJustice KapadiaJKJKJKPresident Pratibha Patil hasappointed senior-most judge of theSupreme Court Justice SaroshHomi Kapadia the 38 Chief Justiceof India (CJI). He took charge onMay 12, succeeding Justice K.G.Balakrishnan, who retired on May 11.Justice Kapadia, who will be thefirst CJI born after Independence,will have a tenure of 2 years and 4months.He was initially appointed an additional judge of the BombayHigh Court in October 1991 and made a permanent judge inMarch 1993. For more than three years, he was the special judgeof the special court under the Securities Transaction Act.On August 5, 2003, he was appointed the Chief Justice of theUttarakhand High Court. On December 18, 2003, he waselevated to the Supreme Court.In the past six-and-half years, he has delivered severallandmark judgments under the constitutional law and thetaxation, regulatory and commercial laws. He has also dealt withpublic interest litigation petitions on important matters, casesunder the Company Law, and matters of valuations and accountsand revival of companies under the SICA, 1985.UID RENAMED AADHAAR; GETS NEW LOGOThe Unique Identification (UID)project, headed by Nandan Nilekani,has been renamed ‘Aadhaar’, whichmeans foundation or support.The UID Authority of India(UIDAI), which aims to give the 1.2billion residents of the country aunique 12-digit identificationnumber, also unveiled a new logo thatdepicts a yellow-coloured sun with afingerprint in the centre. The logo was selected after anationwide competition that received 2,000 entries.“The UID itself is very confusing. Some people call it DUI,somebody calls it IUD and so forth. So it was getting a littledifficult to explain all the various permutations andcombinations of this acronym. Also, we wanted a name and logothat would communicate a sense of confidence to the commonpeople – a name with a national appeal and easy to remember,”said Nilekani while unveiling the new name and logo.Emphasising that ‘Aadhaar’ would communicate theessence of UID to all, Nilekani said, “We wanted a name that hada national appeal, could be recognised across the country andresonate in different languages, besides being easy to rememberand speak. Aadhaar is a door to open all other doors.”The authority has been allocated Rs 1,900 crore for thefinancial year ending March 31, 2011, of which Rs 1,300 crorewill be used to enable the registrars to enroll people in thesystem and the remaining Rs 600 crore will go towards thesetting up of the IT infrastructure. “The 13th FinanceCommission has given Rs 3,000 crore over the next five years. So,funds are not an issue,” Nilekani added, without giving atimeframe for the first set of numbers to be launched.Earlier this year, the Commission, headed by Vijay L Kelkar,granted Rs 2,989.1 crore to the UID project through two grantsof Rs 616 crore each for District Innovation Funds andimproving statistical systems at district and state levels, besidesa grant of Rs 225 crore to set up database of employees andpensioners.Nilekani added there would be one software developer whowould work with the registrars and the tender for it has beenfinalised. “The UIDAI will not make the number mandatory, butit is up to the registrars to make it mandatory or not. We are alsotaking iris as a biometric, besides the ten fingerprints, because,in children, the fingerprints do not take form till six years of age.Also, labourers’ fingerprints get worn out,” he explained.PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010 19

Currently, UIDAI is executing Proof of Concepts (PoCs) inthree states – Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Bihar. ThesePoCs will enable certain systems to be tested before the conceptis scaled up. The UIDAI plans to complete field testing onenrolment and biometric processes by mid-July.JKJKJKINDIA, JAPAN TO ESTABLISH A WORKING GROUP ONCIVIL NUCLEAR COOPERATIONIn a landmark development on Apr.30, India and Japan haveagreed to put aside past differences onthe nuclear issue, and will now worktowards a civil-nuclear treaty with theestablishment of a Joint WorkingGroup (JWG) on civil-nuclearcooperation.This key decision is said to have been finalized during ameeting between the Deputy Chairman of the PlanningCommission of India, Montek Singh Alhuwalia, and Japan’sMinister of Economy, Trade and Industry. Masayuki Naoshimaduring the fourth ministerial-level meeting of the India-JapanEnergy Dialogue in New Delhi.The Japanese industry is basically pushing its government toconsider engaging India in nuclear trade, as companies from theUnited States, France and Russia seem to have already acquireda head start in terms of cornering Indian nuclear business.The Chairmen of leading Japanese companies like Toshiba,Mitsubishi and Hitachi, who are accompanying MinisterNaoshima on his current visit to India, form the core-lobbyinggroup, which is encouraging the Japanese Government to workout a civil nuclear deal with India.During the dialogue, both Alhuwalia and Naoshimawelcomed the progress made so far in Working Groupdiscussions by Japanese and Indian officials on energyefficiency, renewable energy, coal and electricity, and powergeneration.While welcoming India’s formal joining of the InternationalPartnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation (IPEEC) lastyear, both recognized that a viable and vibrant energy policy cancontribute to addressing both energy requirements andreducing the negative impact of climate change.It was agreed that the two countries would step upcooperation in the energy sector through concrete andpragmatic projects.MANASVI MAMGAI CROWNED MISS INDIA WORLD '10Delhi girl Manasvi Mamgai has beencrowned Pantaloons Femina Miss IndiaWorld for this year at a gala event on April30, in Mumbai. She will represent India atthe global pageant later this year.The 22-year-old girl has also won alsothe WGC Femina Miss Golden Heart titleand Femina Miss Catwalk, among others.The other winners were Nicole Faria of Bangalore, who wonMiss India Earth 2010 title, while Neha Hinge took the title ofMiss India International 2010, according to the pageant'swebsite.The 18 finalists were judged by personalities like Bollywoodactress Shilpa Shetty, writer Chetan Bhagat, tennis star SaniaMirza, boxer Vijender Singh, director Anurag Basu, designerRitu Beri and actor Kunal Kapoor.This year, Sushmita Sen's production company TantraEntertainment has been awarded the India franchise to selectparticipant for the Miss Universe contest and the winner willrepresent India at the international pageant.As a result, the Miss Universe title at the pageant wasreplaced by Miss International.JKJKJKAFTER RTE, NO QUOTA FOR MPS IN KENDRIYAVIDYALAYAS: SIBALGovernment has abolished MPs' quota in admission to theKendriya Vidyalayas after enactment of the Right to EducationAct that reserves 25 percent seats in the school for localstudents.Replying to supplementaries during Question Hour, H RDevelopment Minister Kapil Sibal said the MPs could earliernominate two students from certain sections of society to KVs.Under the Right to Education Act, 25 percent seats inKendriya Vidyalaya have been reserved for civil category – forpeople in 3-km radius of the school, he said.Explaining the reason behind abolishing the quota, Sibalsaid many people had approached him saying they did not knowany Member of Parliament but wanted students' admission. “Ican't answer them.”20 PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010

Against 2,800 students that MPscould nominate in 977 KendriyaVidyalayas in the country, the Act nowprovides for reservation to 25,000students (considering 10 lakhstudents study in KVs), Sibal said.The move to abolish MPs quotawas strongly protested by memberscutting across party line. RulingCongress, SP and BJP members ledvociferous protests but the Ministerwas unrelenting.“It is evident that members want right above citizen,”Chairman Hamid Ansari observed asking members to resumetheir seats.Earlier, Sibal said the Right of Education Act stipulates thatno entry test is conducted for admission to Class 1-8 andKendriya Vidyalaya admission process was being tuned to thenew regulation.There are 977 functional Kendriya Vidyalayas and 576functional Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas in the country.JKJKJKFORCIBLE NARCO, POLYGRAPH TESTS ILLEGAL, SAYS SCThe Supreme Court, placing thefundamental rights of citizens on ahigher pedestal, ruled that any attemptby police agencies to forcibly carry outnarco, polygraph and brain-mappingtests of accused persons was “illegaland unconstitutional”.In an order with far-reaching consequences for theseagencies, a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice K.G.Balakrishnan held that the “compulsory administration of thesetechniques” violated the individual's right against selfincrimination.“The underlying rationale of (this) right is toensure the reliability (and) voluntariness of statementsadmitted as evidence,” the bench held.In a 250-page order allowing the appeals of nine accusedfacing criminal cases as their narco, polygraph or brain-mappingtests were ordered by trial courts or high courts, the bench said,“We hold that no individual should be forcibly subjected to any ofthese techniques, whether in the context of investigation incriminal cases or otherwise. Doing so would amount to anunwarranted intrusion into personal liberty.”The bench, which also comprised Justices R.V. Raveendranand J.M. Panchal, settled a raging debate by human rightsactivists on whether investigating agencies should be allowed tointrude on an individual's liberty by adopting these techniquesto crack complex cases.JKJKJKICCR COORDINATING FESTIVAL OF INDIA IN CHINA,FRANCEThe Government said that theIndian Council for CulturalRelations (ICCR) is coordinatingthe Festival of India in China as wellas the Festival of India in Francecalled 'Namaste France' in 2010-11.Union External Affairs MinisterS.M. Krishna, in a written reply to aquestion in the Lok Sabha, said, “The Festival of India in Chinawould span the period from April toOctober, 2010, while the "NamasteFrance" Festival covers the periodbetween April 2010 and - May 2011.The estimated expenditure on the Festival of India in Chinais Rs.4.5 crores, while approx. Rs.3.0 crores are likely to be spenton the 'Namaste France' Festival.”The two festivals had been formally inaugurated in Beijingand Paris on April 7 and 14 respectively."It is ICCR's endeavor to showcase diverse forms of Indiandance, music and theatre in the course of these two majorFestivals and to organize talks and seminars on Indian themes,"Krishna further stated in his written reply.He also informed that in the last three years, ICCR hasorganized various festivals including the India-JapanFriendship Year from December, 2006- December, 2007,Festival of India in Israel in 2007, Festival of India in Syria inOctober, 2008, Days of Indian Culture in Egypt in November,2008, Festival of India in The Netherlands in 2008, Festival ofIndia in Hungary in November/ December, 2008, and the Yearof India in Russia from March, 2009 to December, 2009," theminister informed.ICCR coordinates Indian Food and Film Festivals, FashionShows, Tourism Road Shows and exhibitions of paintings,photographs and Indian antiquities being organized by otherMinistries / Departments.PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010 21

MPLADS CONSTITUTIONALLY VALID, SAYS SCIn a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court on April 6upheld the constitutional validity of the MP's Local AreaDevelopment (MPLAD) Fund.A Constitutional Bench of the apex court consisting ChiefJustice of India, K G Balakrishnan and Justices R V Raveendran,D K Jain, P Sathasivam and J M Panchal delivered the judgementwhile setting aside a petition filed by Jammu and KashmirPanthers Party President, Prof Bhim Singh.In his petition, Singh had questioned the constitutionalvalidity of the MPLAD fund and stated that the MPLAD fundhas lead to a lot of corruption. In 1999, the MPLADS waschallenged on the ground that it intruded into the autonomy andfunctioning of local authorities - village panchayats andmunicipalities - created under a constitutional amendment.In 2006, a three-Judge Bench had referred the matter to afive-Judge Constitution Bench saying important questions oflaw needed to be settled.After pending adjudication for years, a constitution Bench ofthe apex court had reserved its verdict in Nov. 2009 on the issue.Under the MPLAD Fund, members of both Lok Sabha andRajya Sabha get two crores in each fiscal, which could be used forboth planned as well as unplanned projects.The MPLAD Fund was the brainchild of the then PrimeMinister, P V Narasimha Rao. In 1993, Rao's Governmentallotted one crore to each MPs for development activities in theirrespective constituency.In 1998, the NDA Government led by A B Vajpayee hiked theMPLAD fund to two crore. In April this year, the PlanningCommission had rejected the proposal of some MPs to enhanceMPLAD funds to Rs five crore from Rs two crore.The scheme had come under judicial scrutiny in the wake ofa sting operation “Duryo-Dhan” in 2005 that had shown someMPs demanding money from contractors to award work forprojects under MPLAD scheme.The expose had led to the expulsion of the members fromboth the Houses of Parliament.The MPLAD scheme was in the news also in 2006 followingallegations that trusts run by Election Commissioner NavinChawla's family, got funds from the scheme.IPL AWARDS: SACHIN BEST BATSMAN, OJHA BEST BOWLERJury Awards:Category Nominations WinnerBest BatsmanJacques Kallis, Sachin Tendulkar, Suresh Raina,Murali Vijay, Robin UthappaSachin Tendulkar (MI)Best BowlerRyan Harris, R Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha,Harbhajan Singh, R Vinay Kumar,Pragyan Ojha (DC)Best DebutantZaheer KhanMichael Lumb, Ambati Rayudu, Kieron Pollard,Faiz Fazal, Doug BollingerKieron Pollard (MI)Most Dramatic PerformanceMD Mishra, Shaun Tait,Yusuf Pathan, Juan Theron, Harbhajan Singh,David Warner, Murali Vijay, Shane Warne,Robin Uthappa Harbhajan Singh (MI)Most Consistent Performance Shane Watson, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Pollard,Andrew Symonds, David Warner, Jacques KallisJacques Kallis (RCB)Best FielderSuresh Raina, Keiron Pollard, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala,AB de Villiers, Yusuf Pathan and David WarnerAB de Villiers (DD)Best Breakthrough Performance Adam Gilchrist, Brendon McCullum,Sohail Tanvir (for 2008-2009)Brendon McCullum (KKR)Best Breakthrough Performance Adam Gilchrist, Brendon McCullum, Sohail Tanvir,Anil KumbleAnil Kumble (RCB)Best Stadium Experience Bangalore, Chennai, DY Patil Stadium, Delhi DY Patil StadiumBest GroundBangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata,Mumbai - Brabourne Stadium,Mumbai - DY Patil Stadium, Mohali,Ahmedabad, Jaipur and NagpurM Chinnaswamy Stadium22 PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010

Current eventsWorldPM SINGH CONCLUDES US AND BRAZIL VISITPrime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh arrived inNew Delhi on Apr 17, after histwo-nation tour of the US andBrazil.During his visit Dr. Singhattended the Nuclear SecuritySummit and the India, Brazil,South Africa, (IBSA) and theBrazil, Russia, India and China(BRIC) meets.With ash cloud from Iceland’s erupting volcano creatinghavoc for flights in northern Europe, Dr. Singh’s special aircraftAir India One, took a detour on way back from Brasilia. Theaircraft had a stopover in Johannesburg in South Africa, insteadof Frankfurt in Germany.JKJKJKCHINA TO MOURN QUAKE DEAD AS TOLL PASSES 2,000A powerful earthquake on April 14, devastated China'sremote northwestern province of Qinghai killing more than 2000people as it toppled houses, created cracks in dams and left10,000 injured, officials said.He also held bilateral talks with US President, BarackObama and other world leaders.During his first leg of the eight-day tour, Prime Minister DrSingh was in the US where he attended the Nuclear SecuritySummit and met President Obama.During his discussions with President Obama, PrimeMinister Dr. Singjh asked him to press Pakistan to rein inLashkar -e -Taiba (LeT) and other terror outfits targeting India.He also secured an assurance from President Obama for India toget access to Pakistani-American terrorist David ColemanHeadley, who has confessed to plotting Mumbai attacks. At theSummit, Dr. Singh warned of dangers posed by nuclearexplosives falling into the hands of non-state actors.After his four-day US visit, Dr. Singh visited Brasilia toattend the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) and Brazil-Russia-India-China (BRIC) Summits. Besides attending IBSA andBRIC summits, he held bilateral meetings with ChinesePresident Hu Jintao and Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev anddiscussed various issues with them.At the IBSA Summit, Dr. Singh pitched for greater focus oninvestments in infrastructure and inclusive growth. At the BRICmeet, Dr. Singh sought close cooperation among the fourcountries in the fields of energy and food security besidestapping potential in other sectors.The trembler measuring 7.1-magnitude on Richter scale hitthe province in the Qinghai Tibetan plateau almost flatteningJiegu township, where more than 85 per cent of the housescollapsed.Paramilitary and rescue workers were working with theirhands to remove the rubble to save the people buried under it.TV footage said that all access roads to the region had beendamaged and even the airport cut off.Downed phone lines, strong gales and continuingaftershocks were hindering the rescue efforts with the newsagency reporting that people with blood were lying on theroads.PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010 23

This quake comes less than two years after a magnitude 7.9quake hit the neighbouring Sichuan province which left 90,000people dead.The workers were working hard to release from a reservoiron the town's outskirts where cracks had been formed.Among the casualties were school children, who were buriedunder the debris of the building.Many people are still buried under the debris of collapsedhouses in the Gyegu Town near the epicentre in the TibetanAutonomous Prefecture of Yushu in southern Qinghai, saidHuang Limin, Deputy Secretary-General of the prefecturegovernment.Gyegu, also known as Jiegu, is the seat of the Yushuprefecture government.The town has a population of about 100,000, includingpermanent residents and migrant people.More than 5,000 additional rescuers, including soldiers andmedical workers, have been dispatched to the quake-hit region,according to a news conference held by the Qinghai provincialgovernment.JKJKJKINDIA, 24 OTHER NATIONS PLEDGE ACTION PLANS AT N-SECURITY MEETIndia, China, Japan and Canada were among 25 countriesthat announced specific action plans at the Nuclear SecuritySummit in Washington with regard to non- proliferation,including setting up of facilities for research and developmentand contribution of funds to IAEA.Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, addressed the summit ofthe 47-nation convened by US President Barack Obama onApril 14, 2010, and announced India's decision to set up a GlobalNuclear Energy Centre for conducting research anddevelopment of design systems that are secure, proliferationresistant and sustainable.As soon as Singh made the announcement, US PresidentBarack Obama intervened to welcome it, saying "this will be onemore tool to establish best practises" in the quest for nuclearsafety.While China said it would establish a nuclear security Centreof Excellence, Japan announced launching an integratedregional support centre; research and development on detectionand forensics; contributing new resources to IAEA's NuclearSecurity Fund; and hosting and funding a World Institute ofNuclear Security best practices conference.Armenia announced that it would ratify the InternationalConvention on Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism(ICSANT) and pass new export control law.Argentina said it would join the Global Initiative to CombatNuclear Terrorism; moving toward the ratification of theICSANT and 2005 Amendment of the Convention on PhysicalProtection of Nuclear Materials.At the summit, Australia said it is moving towards theratification of the International Convention on Suppression ofActs of Nuclear Terrorism.Belgium announced that it is contributing USD 300,000 toIAEA's Nuclear Security Fund.While Chile announced that it is removing all highlyenriched uranium (18 kgs), Canada said it is returning a largeamount of spent highly-enriched uranium fuel from theirmedical isotope production reactor to the US.France said it is ratifying the 2005 Amendment to theConvention on Physical Protection of Nuclear materials.Further, Kazakhstan announced converting a highlyenricheduranium research reactor and eliminating remaininghighly-enriched uranium; cooperative work on BN-350 rectorshutdown and fuel security; hosting a Global Initiative Activity inJune; and considering an International Nuclear SecurityTraining Centre.South Korea came forward to host next Nuclear SecuritySummit in 2012; Russia signed Plutonium Disposition protocol;with US and Saudi Arabia announcing it will host UNSCR 1540conference for Gulf Cooperation Council.The UK announced contributing USD 6 million to the IAEANuclear Security Fund.24 PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010

JUAN ANTONIO SAMARANCH PASSES AWAYJuan Antonio Samaranch, whodied aged 89, was a giant of theOlympic movement, heading theIOC for 21 years for the longesttenure after that of the body'sfounding father, Baron Pierre deCoubertin.The man from the Catalanmetropolis of Barcelona, who diedafter being admitted to aBarcelona hospital with heart trouble, had his fingers in severalpies to become one of Spain's most influential figures of recentdecades.Born on July 17, 1920, into a rich Catalan family which madeits fortune from the textile industry, Samaranch, whose lastinternational public appearance was in Copenhagen lastOctober for the attribution of the 2016 Games to Rio, started offin the family business.But the keen amateur athlete soon turned his hand tointernational sporting matters.By 1951 he had organised the first rink hockey worldchampionships in his home city and led the Spanish team to thetitle.From 1974 to 1978 Samaranch was IOC deputy presidentbefore securing the top job in 1980. He was re-elected in 1989,1993 and 1997.In 1991 he was awarded the title of ‘Marquis' by King JuanCarlos for his work in the Olympic movement, culminating inthe award of the highly successful 1992 Summer Games toBarcelona, a city the event transformed.On October 1, 2000, following his last Games as IOC Chief,Samaranch dubbed the Sydney Olympics “the best of all time”.JKJKJKC.K. PRAHALAD PASSES AWAYCoimbatore Krishnarao Prahalad, 68, distinguishedProfessor in the Ross School of Business at the University ofMichigan, and a world authority on management thought,passed away on April 16 in San Diego after a brief illness. He wasknown for his work specialising in corporate strategy focussingon top management in large, diversified, multinationalcorporations.Professor Prahalad's seminalwork, alongside Gary Hamel inthe 1990s, on the concept of “corecompetence” of companies wonthe McKinsey Prize and sold themaximum number of reprints inthe entire 80-odd years of historyof its publisher, the prestigiousHarvard Business Review.He was also known widely forhis interest in the “Fortune at theBottom of the Pyramid” and hisbook on the subject is considered an authoritative exposition ofthe potential for large corporations to improve the conditions ofthe poor in countries such as India.Yet Professor Prahalad's illustrious career was not restrictedto academe. he equally established his reputation as a corporateconsultant par excellence, working with a wide cross-section ofcompanies from the CEOs of the top 30 Fortune 200 firms toHindustan Lever Limited and Microsoft Corporation, India.Growing up in Chennai, where his father was a Sanskritscholar and judge, Professor Prahalad worked initially withUnion Carbide after completing a B.Sc. degree from LoyolaCollege in 1960. He then went on to obtain a PostgraduateDiploma in Business Administration from the Indian Instituteof Management, Ahmedabad in 1966 and a Doctorate inBusiness Administration in the Harvard Business School in1975. He is survived by his wife and two children.JKJKJKSUDAN'S INCUMBENT PRESIDENT WINS RE-ELECTIONSudan's election commissionsaid President Omar al-Bashir hasbeen re-elected in the country'sfirst multiparty balloting in 24years.Commission official Abel Aliersaid that al-Bashir garnered 68percent of over 10 million validballots.The five-day voting earlier this month was marred byboycotts and allegations of fraud.International observers said the presidential, parliamentaryand local elections failed to meet international standards butcommended the high voter turnout.PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010 25

Al-Bashir's victory was widely expected after his mostcredible challengers pulled out of the race complaining of fraud.His win may face questions of legitimacy because al-Bashiris sought on an international arrest warrant for war crimes inDarfur.JKJKJKINDIAN-ORIGIN LABOUR MP CHOSEN FOR V K KRISHNAMENON AWARDLabour MP, Virendra Sharma has beenchosen for the V K Krishna Menon Award2010, for his outstanding contributiontowards political, social and economicadvancement of the deprived sections ofthe British community.Announcing the award, Dr Cyriac,Maprayil, Director of the London-based VK Krishna Menon Institute, said the award would be presentedto Virendra Sharma later in the year who will also deliver The V KKrishna Menon Memorial Lecture.Dr Maprayil said, "Sharma is one of the earliest labour partyactivists in this country with a consistent record of service to thelabour party and to the Asian Community. His large majority atthe polls speaks for itself and the high esteem and respect inwhich he is held by his constituents. He has brought dignity andself-respect to politics condemning opportunism, cynicism andself enrichment of many politicians at a time when we werebeginning to lose faith in politics.”Sharma who was born in India arrived in the UK in 1968 andhas served as a councillor in Ealing for 25 years.He studied at the prestigious London School of Economicson a trade union scholarship and subsequently worked as a dayservices manager for people with learning disabilities inHillingdon.Sharma was elected as MP in the Earling Southall byelectionin July 2007.The V K Krishna Menon Institute was launched in early 2006to celebrate and commemorate the life, times and achievementsof a prodigiously talented statesman, Indian govt. minister and apioneering London councillor.Menon founded the India League, the unofficial embassy ofBritish-India in London, which became a powerful force in theoverseas movement to help liberate India.One of the Institute's objectives is to confer awards onoutstanding Indian patriots, who have served in the Diasporaand also distinguished themselves in various fields includingscience, literature, economics, politics and diplomacy.JKJKJKPROTESTS IN KIEV AS UKRAINE PARLIAMENTAPPROVES RUSSIA FLEET TREATYThousands of Ukrainiansdemonstrated in the capital Kievon April 27, as parliamentapproved a controversial treatyapproving the extension of a navalport lease to the Kremlin.Ukraine’s parliament ratifiedthe treaty with 236 deputies out ofthe 450 – seat house voting infavour.Parliament speaker Volodymyr Litvyn sat beneath anumbrella protecting him from paper wads, eggs, and otherobjects including a smoke bomb, as he put to parliament the voteon the recent agreement with Moscow to allow Russia continuedbasing of warships and land forces currently stationed inUkraine’s Crimea peninsula.The treaty extends Russia’s lease on a military wharf andshore installations in the Crimean port Sevastopol until 2042.Chaos followed the vote in the parliament chamber, withpro-treaty parliamentarians using their jackets to breathethrough smoke, and physically preventing firemen fromentering the chamber.Banners carried by anti-treaty marchers read, in part, "Wewill not allow war to be brought to Crimea," and "Down withtraitor parliamentarians!" A group of some 1,000 pro-treatyactivists was across the street and trading insults with the treatyopponents.Pro–treaty banners on display read, in part, "Russia andUkraine are strategic partners!" and "We support PresidentYanukovych!" Police presence was heavy and, in contrast to thescene within parliament, no violence on the streets nearparliament was reported.Destruction of electronic voting equipment, and preventionof roll–call votes by use of sirens or physically preventing theparliament speaker from calling for a vote, are tactics routinelyused by both sides in Ukraine’s often–raucous legislature.26 PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010

Earlier, Yanukovych, a pro-Russia politician, signed in theeast Ukrainian city Kharkiv the treaty with his Russiancounterpart Dmitry Medvedev allowing Russia’s Black Sea Fleetto remain based in the Ukrainian port Sevastpol until 2042.Moscow will cut the price of natural gas sold to Ukraine bysome three billion dollars a year, and will bring major investmentinto Ukrainian industry, if the Black Sea Fleet treaty is approved,Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said.JKJKJK2011 TO BE 'YEAR OF GERMANY IN INDIA'To mark the completionof 60 years of diplomaticrelations with India, the 'Yearof Germany in India' will beheld in 2011, the Germanenvoy spoke in Chennai."There will be a lot ofprogrammes includingexchange of educationalprogrammes, knowledge-sharing, discussions on scientificdevelopments and German film festivals as part of the event,commencing from Spring next year," German Ambassador toIndia Thomas Matussek told."This is being conducted in view of the diplomatic tiesbetween India and Germany completing 60 years in 2011," hesaid adding, “the German government has allocated 13 millionEuros for the programme”.He said after its completion, a similar year-long event will beconducted in Germany by India.The envoy said 'Science Express', a train displayingadvancements made by Germany in science and technology,would visit important cities in the country during that period.JKJKJKCHINA TO BUILD TWO NUCLEAR REACTORS INPAKISTANChina has agreed to build two new civilian nuclear reactorsin Pakistan, a report said, amid persistent concerns about thesafety of nuclear materials in the restive south Asian state.Chinese companies will build at least two new 650-megawattreactors at Chashma in Punjab province, the newspaper said.China began building areactor at Chashma in 1991 andbroke ground on a second one in2005, which is expected to becompleted next year, it said.A statement posted on thewebsite of the China NationalNuclear Corporation on 1st March said financing for two newreactors at Chashma was agreed by the two sides in February.A spokeswoman for the corporation, which oversees China'scivilian and military nuclear programmes, said she was unawareof the deal when contacted by the news agency."Our Chinese brothers have once again lived up to ourexpectations," the newspaper quoted an unidentified Pakistaniofficial as saying of the deal, which would help Pakistan copewith a crippling energy crisis."They have agreed to continue cooperating with us in thenuclear energy field."US President Barack Obama convened a summit inWashington earlier in April that pledged renewed world effortsto secure and safeguard fissile materials from falling into thehands of militant groups.At the summit, Chinese President Hu Jintao said Beijing"firmly" opposed atomic weapons proliferation, while backingcivilian uses.Reports have said Washington is concerned over the securityof nuclear materials in troubled Pakistan, where the Talibanmovement is waging a bloody offensive.In 2004, Abdul Qadeer Khan-revered by many Pakistanis asthe father of the country's atomic bomb confessed to sendingnuclear secrets to Iran, Libya and North Korea, although he laterretracted his remarks.Washington is currently seeking Chinese support for newsanctions on Iran over the Islamic republic's disputed nuclearprogramme.The newspaper quoted an expert as saying China likely feltemboldened to go ahead with the deal after the United Statessigned a civilian nuclear agreement with Pakistan's arch-rivalIndia in 2008.The agreement facilitated nuclear cooperation between theworld's two biggest democracies despite India's refusal to signthe nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010 27

UNSC APPEALS TO ALL NATIONS TO OUTLAW PIRACYThe UN Security Council has unanimously adopted aresolution that seeks the creation of a special body to prosecutepirates caught off the Somali coast and asks all countries tocriminalise piracy.The Russian-drafted resolution, which passed unanimouslyby all 15 member-states of the Security Council, appealed to allcountries "to criminalise piracy under their domestic law andfavourably consider the prosecution of suspected, andimprisonment of convicted, pirates apprehended off the coast ofSomalia, consistent with applicable international human rightslaw."The resolution noted with concern that the domestic law of anumber of States lack effective criminalising piracy orprocedural provisions for effective criminal prosecution ofsuspected pirates.In the resolution, members noted efforts by the UnitedNations and other international agencies to enhance thecapacity of the judicial and the corrections systems in Somalia,Kenya, Seychelles and other States in the region.JKJKJKUS SENATOR DODD TO RECEIVE 'FRIEND OF INDIA' AWARDTop Democrat Senator Christopher Dodd received "Friendof India" award for his contribution in strengthening the Indo-US relationship.The award, instituted by theConnecticut chapter of the GlobalOrganisation of People of Indian Origin(GOPIO) presented to Senator Dodd atthe GOPIO-Connecticut's fourthannual gala in Stamford."Co-chairman of the India Caucus in the US Senate, SenatorDodd will be honoured with 'Friend of India' award inrecognition of his leadership in advancing economic andpolitical cooperation between India and the United States, andhis years of support to the India-American community," saidThomas Abraham of GOPIO.GOPIO-Connecticut would also facilitate several IndianAmericans on the occasion.Dinesh Paliwal, Chairman, President and CEO of HarmanInternational as 'Indian-American Achiever' and NeeshaRamchandani as 'Young Person of the Year'.UNITED STATES ISSUES TRAVEL ALERT FOR THAILANDThe US has called for peaceful resolution of the currentpolitical impasse in Thailand and issued a travel alert forAmerican nationals for that country."Our message remains what it has been since this situationevolved, which is to peacefully resolve the situation," saidAssistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs P J Crowley.Due to escalating violence in central Bangkok,demonstrations in Chiang Mai, and other incidents throughoutThailand, all US citizens should avoid non-essential travel toThailand, the State Department said in a travel alert.Noting that the United Front for Democracy againstDictatorship (UDD or "red-shirts") continues to demonstratein central Bangkok, the State Department said the UDD maychange or expand its demonstration locations at any time.TATA, TWO INDIAN AMERICANS AMONGST ACADEMYFELLOWSOne of India's leadingindustrialist and two IndianAmerican researchers havebeen elected as members ofthe prestigious AmericanAcademy of Arts andSciences.JKJKJKRatan Tata notedphilanthropist and Chairman of major Tata companies is among18 foreign honorary members joining the academy.One of two Indian Americans honorees, Dr DeepakSrivastava is the Director of the Gladstone Institute ofCardiovascular Disease and Wilma and Adeline PiragDistinguished Professor in Pediatric Developmental Cardiologyat the University of California at San Francisco.Another member Madhu Sudan, Fujitsu Professor in MIT'selectrical engineering and computer science department,serving as a Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research NewEngland.The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, which thisyear celebrates the 230th anniversary of its founding by JohnAdams and others honours individuals in the sciences, arts,social sciences, humanities, business and public affairs.28 PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010

RUSSIA SHUTS PLUTONIUM REACTORRussia shut its lastweapons-grade plutoniumreactor on April 29, in linewith a pledge PresidentDmitry Medvedev made at theU.S. nuclear safety summit inWashington.The ADE-2 reactor nearthe Siberian town ofZheleznogorsk was started in 1964 and holds the world record asthe longest operating plutonium reactor.It was also the last remaining weapons-grade plutoniumreactor in the world.Two other reactors at the Mining and Chemical Combine inZhelezgogorsk were decommissioned in 1992, as Russia nolonger needed to produce weapons-grade plutonium followingthe end of the Cold War.JKJKJKROONEY NAMED FOOTBALL WRITERS PLAYER OF THE YEARManchester United striker Wayne Rooney claimed hissecond award of a remarkable season when he was named Playerof the Year for the first time by the Football Writers Association.Rooney, who has scored 34 goals for United in allcompetitions this season, took 80 percent of the votes cast bymembers of the FWA.Chelsea striker Didier Drogba was a distant second in thevoting with Manchester City's Argentine frontman Carlos Tevezin third position."I am delighted to win an award with so much history andtradition and to follow a long line of wonderful players who havebeen honoured by the FWA since 1948 gives me real pride,"Rooney said.Rooney, who was voted PFA Player of the Year, hassuccessfully filled the void left by the departure of CristianoRonaldo to Real Madrid although the tail end of his season hasbeen interrupted by injury.He is unlikely to play in United's final two Premier Leaguegames as they try and overhaul Chelsea at the top of the tablebecause of a groin strain having recovered quicker than expectedfrom an ankle injury."Wayne is a worthy winner ofour prestigious award and themargin of his victory is testimonyto the marvellous season he hashad for club and country," FWAChairman Steve Bates said onannouncing the award."His tally of 34 goals so far thisseason is certain to have captured the attention of our membersbut I am sure the overall improvement in his game atManchester United has been of equal significance."Wayne's enthusiasm, hunger and desire mark him out as aspecial player and we hope he can carry his club form on to theinternational stage in the World Cup this summer and helpEngland achieve their dream."JKJKJKIRAN, SYRIA FOR REGIONAL ECONOMIC BLOCIran and Syria have discussedat length the formation of aregional economic bloc withTurkey and Iraq as their keypartners.Iran's state-run IslamicRepublic News Agency (IRNA)has reported that Iran's visiting First Vice-President MohammadReza Rahimi and Syrian President Bashar Assad during talks haveagreed to establish the bloc. The two sides felt the move wouldyield economic benefits and impart political stability and securityto the region. Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency quoted Mr.Rahimi as saying countries such as Turkey and Iraq could enhanceregional cooperation by partnering Iran and Syria.The two also discussed the construction of a pipeline forexporting Iranian gas to Syria via Turkey, as part of an effort topromote regional ties. They also considered possible tie-ups intransportation, water supply and petrochemicals. During thevisit of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Damascusin February, it had been decided to waive visa requirements forvisiting nationals.Analysts say the decision to add a strong economicdimension to their relationship builds on the close political tiesthat exist between Tehran and Damascus. Both countriessupported the Palestinian Hamas and the Lebanese Hizbollahagainst Israel. The Gaza winter war of 2008-09 also enabledTurkey to share its common political concerns with Iran andSyria.PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010 29

Current eventsBusiness and economyRBI HIKES POLICY RATES AND CRR BY 25 BASISPOINTSThe Reserve Bank of Indiahiked key policy rates by 25 basispoints and the Cash Reserve Ratio(CRR) for banks by 25 basis points.The CRR now stands at six percent, from 5.75 per cent. The reporate has been raised to 5.25 per centfrom five per cent while the reverserepo rate has been increased to 3.75per cent from 3.5 per cent.The hike in CRR, will absorb 12,500-crore rupees excesscash from the banking system.Banks have already indicated that they may not pass on theincreased cost to the borrowers immediately as liquidity stillremains sufficient in the system.Assuring that the policy actions would not halt the recovery,the RBI pegged the FY'11 GDP growth at eight percent.It also pegged the wholesale inflation, which is currentlyhovering close to the double-digits, at 5.5 percent for FY' 11.The bank, however, said it would closely monitor thesituation of price in the economy.Following are the highlights of the RBI's Monetary Policy for2010-11.Cash reserve ratio raised by 25 basis points to 6 pcRepo rate raised by 25 basis points to 5.25 per centReverse repo rate hiked by 25 basis points to 3.75 %CRR hike to come into effect from April 24CRR hike to suck out Rs 12,500-crore liquidityBank rate retained at 6 per centEconomic growth projection seen at 8 pc for 2010-11FY'10 GDP growth seen at 7.2-7.5 per centInflation pegged at 5.5 per cent for 2010-11Quarterly policy review on July 27, 2010RBI targets inflation at 3 pc in medium termRBI to closely monitor price situationDemand side pressures building up in economyLower policy rates can impair inflationary expectationsPolicy to be aligned with evolving state of economyRBI proposes to introduce some Interest Rate futuresPHILIPS ENTERS 5 YR LICENSING AGREEMENT WITHVIDEOCONNetherlands-based consumerdurables major Philips has said it hasentered into a five- year licensingagreement with Videocon to market itstelevision sets in India.“We have entered into a brandlicensing agreement with Videocon underwhich it will assume the responsibility ofselling and after sale services of Philipsconsumer television set in India,” PhilipsIndia CEO Murali Sivaraman told reporters in New Delhi.He further added that under this agreement, Videoconwhich has a large integrated presence in the country will sellPhilips colour television in the country manufactured byVideocon itself, according to the specifications and standardsmaintained by Philips globally.The company expects that with help of large sales anddistribution network of Videocon across the country it willincrease the presence of television sets in the countrysignificantly.Philips, which is operating in India for more than 80 years, hasearlier said that it is strategically shifting its focus on healthcare andlife-style segment to promote its products in the country.Videocon had recently failed to acquire Finland-basedconsumer electronic maker Elcoteq.30 PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010

56 INDIAN COS AMONG WORLD’S MOST POWERFULChina with 113 membersand India with 56 membersgained the most ground inbreaking into the exclusiveclub of “The Forbes Global2000” - “the biggest, mostpowerful listed companies inthe world”.The latest list of globalgiants released by the reputed US business magazine shows thecorporate dominance of the developed nations is steadilyreceding. The rankings span 62 countries, with the US (515members) and Japan (210 members) still dominating the list,but with a combined 33 fewer entries.The top ten among 56 Indian Global High Performers areReliance Industries (126) with sales of $29.40 billion, State Bankof India Group (130), Oil & Natural Gas (155), ICICI Bank(282), Indian Oil (313) NTPC (341), Tata Steel (345), BhartiAirtel (471), Steel Authority of India (502) and L & T (548).UCO Bank (1910) with sales totalling $1.78 brings up the rearfor India.Forbes' ranking of the world's biggest companies using anequal weighting of sales, profits, assets and market value to rankcompanies according to size “reveals the dynamism of globalbusiness,” it says.In total the Global 2000 companies now account for $30trillion in revenues, $1.4 trillion in profits, $124 trillion in assetsand $31 trillion in market value. All metrics are down from lastyear, except for market value, which rose 61 percent.An analysis of the Global 2000 shows that despite the turmoilin the financial sector, banks still dominate, with 308 companiesin the 2000 lineup, thanks in large measure to their asset totals.The oil and gas industry, with 115 companies, scores high insales, profits and stock-market value, yet these sectors were notthe leaders in growth over the past year. Insurance companies(up 27 percent) led all sectors in sales growth, while the leadersin profit growth were drugs and biotech firms (up 20 percent).To qualify as a Global High Performer, a company muststand out from its industry peers in growth, return to investorsand future prospects.Most of the 130 Global High Performers have beenexpanding their earnings at 28% a year and 20% annualisedgains to shareholders over the past five years, Forbes noted.GOVT TO INFUSE RS 15,000 CR IN PSU BANKS IN 2010-11The government approved Rs15,000 crore capital infusion inpublic sector banks (PSBs) in thecurrent fiscal, a move that willincrease the lending capacity of thebanks by Rs 1.85 lakh crore.For the year 2010-11, a sum ofRs 15,000 crore is to be infused in Tier I Capital Instruments ofthe PSBs, said an official release after the meeting of theCabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.The exact amount, the mode of capitalisation and otherterms would be decided in consultation with the banks at thetime of the infusion, it said.For the year 2011-12, it said, additional capital requirements,if any, will be worked out in consultation with the PSBs based ontheir third quarter results for the year 2010-11.The statement further said that infusion of Rs 15,000 crorein Tier I Capital Instruments of PSBs would enable them toexpand their credit growth by about Rs 1,85,000 crore, it said.This additional availability of credit is likely to benefitemployment oriented sectors, especially agriculture, micro andsmall enterprises and entrepreneurs that in turn wouldcontribute substantially to the growth of the economy, it said.The capital infusion would enhance the lending capacity ofPSBs that are expected to continue meeting credit requirementsof the economy in order to maintain and accelerate economicgrowth.RADIO MIRCHI, AIRTEL LAUNCH MIRCHI MOBILELeading radio channel Radio Mirchi has partnered with thelargest telecom operator, Bharti Airtel, to provide a servicewhich will allow Airtel’s customers to access Radio Mirchistations of 12 regions including, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi.The service, Mirchi Mobile, will be hosted on a technologyplatform powered by Spice Digital.“Mobile radio is going to be a good business proposition incoming months. We want to leverage it now. Radio is a very bigdraw among the Indian population,” Radio Mirchi CEO,Prashant Pandey said. The radio channel is also looking at tyingup with other mobile service providers in the country to expandthe service network, he added.PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010 31

INDIA TO PLAY MAJOR ROLE IN ASIA'S GROWTH: IMFIndia is now integrating morewith the rest of Asia and will play amajor role in the Asia's growth, topofficials of the InternationalMonetary Fund has said.“You have a very rapidlygrowing large economy in theSouth Asia region, and that isIndia, and India is now alsointegrating much more with the rest of Asia,” Kalpana Kochhar,IMF Deputy Director of the Asia Pacific Department toldreporters.“For example, trade between China and India is growingrapidly. Of course, it is mostly imports from China-but it hasgrown very rapidly in recent years. So prospects for integrationboth in the South Asia region amongst themselves and with therest of Asia I think have greatly improved and will continue to doso,” she said.IMF Director, Asia Pacific Department, Anoop Singh saidthat the fund expects Asia to continue leading the globalrecovery and grow by about 7 per cent this year and next year.“As is now well-known, China and India will again lead Asia'sgrowth with growth rates of 10 and 8.8 % this year,” he said.While the pattern of recovery has varied in Asia, as it has inother regions, Singh said it is important to note that both themore domestically oriented economies such as China, India andIndonesia as well as the more export-oriented economies areexperiencing strong upturns.Responding to a question, Singh said the IMF expectsoutput gaps to close this year in a number of economies,including countries in South Asia such as India.“Therefore, it is not surprising that inflation has begun toturn up. I recently presented an outlook that shows howexpectations have moved up. There is a significant contributionto higher inflation coming from food and energy prices.“There are reasons for that increase in food and energyprices, so we are not yet seeing an increase in underlyinginflation at the same rate at which we are seeing a rise in overallinflation,” he said.He said that there is a clear commitment in many countriesto ensure that inflationary expectations do not broaden to resultin higher underlying inflation.GOVT MAY EARN UP TO RS 45,000CR FROM SPECTRUMAUCTION: TELECOM MINISTERThe government is likely to earn upto Rs 45,000 crore from the auction of3G and broadband spectrum, TelecomMinister, A Raja said.The amount is much higher thanthe earlier target of up to Rs 35,000crore.“The auction of 3G and Broadband Wireless Access (BWA)spectrum put together is likely to fetch Rs 44,000 to Rs 45,000crore for the government,” Raja said on the sidelines of atelecom event.Delhi continues to be on top, with a bid of Rs 733.71 croreagainst the base price of Rs 320 crore. Mumbai attracted thesecond highest quotation of Rs 667.77 crore, followed by TamilNadu at Rs 643.37 crore.So far 52 rounds of bids have been completed and there is noexcess demand in major circles like Delhi, Mumbai,Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and TamilNadu, indicating that the price may not go up further in thesecircles.However, going by the rules of the auction, any operator cancome back and bid for any of the circle till the governmentdiscovers price in all the areas simultaneously.Kolkata is the only circle with excess demand and there are11 service areas with negative demand.JSW ACQUIRES SOUTH AFRICAN COAL MINING COIndian investment company, JSW has beaten two SouthAfrican bidders to acquire a majority stake in South African CoalMining Holdings (SACMH) at a price of 85.4 million rand(approximately Rs 51.16 crore).JSW upped its earlier offer of 25 cents per share to 30 cents toclinch the deal, in the face of stiff competition from ShandukaCoal and Wescoal, both South African entities who had madeoffers to buy out SACMH.Shareholders had initially supported the Shanduka offeramid unusual interest last month to acquire SACMH, started in2007 by the Royal Bafokeng Nation to exploit the mineral wealthof its traditional land.32 PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010

JSW's offer at the time was the lowest of the three. SACMHsaid in statement that JSW would now acquire a stake of about63%, currently held by its affiliates, Royal Bafokeng Capital andMainsail Trading 55, for 30 cents per share.HYUNDAI TO BRING SUV SANTA FE IN INDIA BY 2010-ENDHyundai Motor India Ltd(HMIL) will introduce its bestsellingSUV, Santa Fe, in India bythe end of this year, H W Park,Managing Director, said.Speaking to reporters afterannouncing the launch of thecompany’s fourth dealership inChennai, V3 Hyundai, Park saidthe company will launch the crossover midsize SUV as acompletely-built unit.“We will launch the Santa Fe in India this year. It will be acompletely-built unit (CBU). We will consider manufacturing it ascompletely knock down (CKD) units may be after two to three years.But,thatwillbedoneafterproperfeasibilitystudies,”Parksaid.HMIL is also in the process of giving a facelift for the i20 andothermodels.Healsosaidthecompany’ssmallcar(whichispeggedintheSantrosegment)was“wellinthedevelopmentstage”.TATAS-OWNED JLR REVIEWING UK PLANT CLOSUREPLAN: REPORTIndian conglomerate Tatas-owned luxury carmaker JaguarLand Rover is reviewing earlier plans to close one of its UKplants on account of a recent revival in sales and and is also likelyto seek the UK government's assistance for launching newmodels, says a media report.UK-based leading newspaper has reported that Jaguar LandRover (JLR) is “weighing a dramatic about-face on plans to closeone of its three UK production plants”.Quoting sources close to the carmaker, the publication said arecent revival in sales coupled with the arrival of a newmanagement team “has led to a review of the closure plan”.In September last year, the company had said it planned toclose one of its factories.“Its plant at Halewoood on Mersyside was safe, with the axeto fall on one of the Midlands sites, Castle Bromwich or Solihull.An announcement on which was to close was expected thissummer,” the report noted.Tatas have hired CarlPeter Forster,a former boss of General Motors inEurope, and Ralf Speth, previously aBMW executive, to manage JLRoperations.Quoting sources, the publication said that Forster and Spethwere now considering a business plan that would see bothmarques launch models and increase production. The plancould require keeping all three plants open. “JLR is likely to seekgovernment assistance tied to the launch of new models,” itnoted.Pointing out that the request could prove tricky, thepublication said, “Two years ago Tata asked the government for a1 billion-pound loan guarantee to tide it over a slump in salescaused by the credit crisis.According to the report, the plant closure plan wasannounced not long after the talks with government broke downand JLR embarked on a cost-cutting drive.Attributing to sources, the publication said Tatas and seniorJLR management have been irritated by the governmentassistance provided to General Motors.British Business Secretary, Lord Mandelson recently agreedto provide a 300-million pound loan guarantee to help safeguardjobs at the UK plants of Vauxhall, GM's UK division, it added.JLR has about 14,000 employees in the UK. Since the start of2010, sales at the company have improved.RIL BUYS STAKE IN DECCAN 360Reliance Industries (RIL) has picked up a strategic stake foran undisclosed sum in Captain Gopinath-founded logisticscompany Deccan 360. It is, however, independently learnt thatIndia's largest private sector firm is investing $25-30 million fora 26-35% stake in the express-cargo transport services company.For its stake, RIL will get two seats on the five-memberDeccan 360 board. Gopinath ventured into the logisticsbusiness after he sold his Budget carrier Air Deccan to VijayMallya's Kingfisher.PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010 33

Deccan 360 started operations lastNovember with its main hub beingdeveloped in Nagpur. It has a fleet ofeight freighter aircraft and 850 vehicles.Though both parties are not willing tospell out the exact financial details of thedeal, Gopinath said that RIL has boughta stake of between 26% and 49.9%.RIL has made the investment through its wholly ownedsubsidiary. The capital will be used by Deccan 360 to expand itsair and surface network coverage across the country.In a statement issued to the media, RIL Chairman MukeshAmbani said, “We believe our collaboration with Deccan 360 willsee a transformation in the logistics domain in India.”ECONOMY TO GROW 9.2% IN 2010-11: CMIEDriven by an estimated 8.4%growth in the fourth quarter, theeconomy is expected to grow by7.1% in the just-concludedfiscal and by a robust 9.2% in thecurrent financial year, theleading economic think-tankCMIE has said.“We estimate the real gross domestic product (GDP) wouldhave risen by 7.1% in fiscal 2009-10...and by 9.2% in 2010-11,”the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) said in itsreport.While GDP growth for the just-concluded fiscal is a tadlower than the 7.2-percentage point expansion that FinanceMinister Pranab Mukherjee as well as the Central StatisticalOrganisation have been projecting, the current year projection ismuch above the minster's 8.75% spike.In the fourth-quarter, it is estimated to have grown by an“impressive” 8.4, the CMIE report said, adding during the firstthree-quarters of the past fiscal, real GDP grew by 6.7%compared to 7.1% in the same period of 2008-09.“The growth in 2009-10 would be driven by the rise in GDPfrom the industrial sector including construction, it said,adding, “We estimate that the industry sector would have grownby 9.4% in 2009-10, with the manufacturing segment clocking arobust 10.3% growth.” Real GDP from mining and quarrying isestimated to have grown by 10.3% in 2009-10, on top of a 9.7%growth in 2008-09.“Coal, natural gas and iron ore are the few items whoseproduction has recorded impressive growth,” the CMIE said.Growth in the services sector is estimated to have come down to8.2% in 2009-10 from 9.8% in 2008-09, it said. “This slowdownis largely on account of a steep deceleration in growth in thepublic administration and defence segments to 8 from 22.1% in2008-09,” the CMIE report said.Real GDP from the agricultural and allied sector is alsoestimated to have declined by 1% in the year gone-by because ofa decline in kharif crop production, it said. This would be thefirst fall after 2002-03, when the sector had witnessed a 7.2%decline, it added.The current fiscal, however, said the CMIE report isexpected that all the three broad sectors of the economy –agriculture and allied sector, manufacturing sector and servicessector – to improve their performance.INDIA TO HAVE STRATEGIC OIL RESERVE BY OCTOBER 2011India will complete building itsfirst strategic crude oil storage byOctober 2011 in an effort to insulateitself from supply disruptions.India, which is 75 per centimport dependent to meet its crudeoil needs, is building under-ground storages at Visakhapatnamin Andhra Pradesh and Mangalore and Padur in Karnataka tostore about 5.33 million tons of crude oil. This is enough to meetnation's oil requirement of 13-14 days.Visakhapatnam will have a capacity to store 1.33 million tonsof crude oil in underground rock caverns.A similar facility in Mangalore will have a capacity of 1.55million tons and would be mechanically completed byNovember 2012. A 2.5 million tons storage at Padur, nearMangalore, would be completed by December 2012.India will join nations like the US, Japan and China who havestrategic reserves. These nations use the stockpiles not only asinsurance against supply disruptions but also to buy and store oilwhen prices are low and release them to refiners when there is aspike in global rates.However, the storage India is building is very small comparedto the 90-day strategic stockpile in the US. New Delhi wasconsidering to raise the storage capacity to 15 million tons to coverfor 45 days requirement but no decision has been taken as yet.34 PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010

INDIA CRITICAL FOR GLOBAL GROWTH: WAL-MARTCurrently working in three bigeconomies of the world – India, Chinaand Japan – US retail giant Wal-Mart isalso keeping a close watch on South EastAsia for expansion. Keen to maintain itsposition as a major retailer, Scott Price,President and CEO of Wal-Mart Asiasaid, “We will capture 10 to 15 marketsin Asia in ten years. At present, expansion plans for India alone isthe full time job for us.”Price said it would be wrong to compare India and China, butIndia has a lot of potential as it has availability of highly educatedworkforce. “The retail giant would also like to increase sourcingfrom India for their stores all over the world,” he said.“The government should take care of issues related to FDI,GST and providing infrastructure support. Wal-Mart will keeppersisting because its efforts in India is critical to its globalgrowth strategy. Confronted with saturated markets in US andother developed countries, the company needs to establish abigger presence in emerging markets like India, where modernstores make up just 5% of the country's retail industry,” Priceadded.Establishing good relations with farmers is the centrepieceof the company's plans. Wal-Mart, which working in a JV withBharti group in India, is also moving towards contract farming inIndia, starting with their direct farm initiative, Price said. Atpresent, the JV has tied up 110 farmers at Malerkotla whichwould be expanded, as they want to reduce the net food miles,the CEO said.TATA COMMUNICATIONS LAUNCHES TRUEROOTS SERVICETata Communications has announced that residents ofSingapore, Hong Kong, France andGermany can now call their loved onesusing the Trueroots InternationalCalling Service.Already available in the US, the UK and Canada, Truerootsoffers superior voice quality and easy-to-access connectivityacross the globe, without hidden fees or extra charges, thecompany said in a press release. Calls are carried on TataCommunications’ extensive global fibre optic network, one ofthe world's largest global submarine cable infrastructures,providing unsurpassed quality and capacity and ensuring clearand error-free connectivity, it added.As an introductory offer, customers who subscribe now willget talk time equivalent to 100 minutes of free calling time, thecompany said.The service can be bought online at www.trueroots.sg forSingapore , www.trueroots.hk for Hong kong andwww.trueroots.eu for France and Germany or by calling TataCommunication customer service for Trueroots directly. Itoffers a host of features including PIN-less Dialing , autorecharge and speed dial.India's leading privatesector lender ICICI Bankhas ranked 45 among the100 most valuable brandsin the world, a list that hasbeen topped by Google.ICICI 45TH MOST VALUABLE BRAND IN WORLD:BRANDZ TOP 100“With a brand value ofUSD 14.5 billion, the Indian bank ICICI is the first Indian brandto feature in the BrandZ Top 100. ICICI is the bank thatintroduced retail banking to India and stands to profit from thecountry's continuing growth,” according to the fifth annualMillward Brown Optimor BrandZ Top100 Most Valuable GlobalBrands 2010 list.It said ICICI pioneered ATMs in India to provide wide accessto banking and to help flatten the society's hierarchicalstructure.Separately, ICICI, which now operates almost 5,000 ATMs inIndia and is present in 18 countries, ranked number 10 out of thetop 20 financial institution brands.Apart from ICICI, another Indian company Infosys made itsdebut in Millward's 'technology category'.“Outside of the Top 100, Infosys is a second Indian brand,also new this year. Originator of the term 'the flat world', Infosysis India's most valuable technology brand and with a brand valueof USD 6.4 billion, is a strong contender to enter the Top 100ranking soon,” it said.Infosys ranked 18 in the top 20 technology brands category.Technology brands demonstrated their pervasiveness inpeople's daily lives, with Google topping the list as the MostValuable Global Brand with a total worth of USD 114 billion.PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010 35

IBM was second at USD 86 billion, followed by Apple nowworth USD 83 billion. Microsoft was fourth with a value of USD76 billion.Facebook, the popular social networking site, entered thetechnology sector ranking for the first year with a brand value ofUSD 5.5 billion.Others companies featuring in the top 10 include Coca Cola,McDonald's, Marlboro, China Mobile, GE and Vodafone.“When most key financial indicators plummeted, the valueof the top 100 brands rose by four per cent in the last year to morethan USD 2 trillion. In the past, many companies were quick tocut their marketing spend during a down economy. A new trendhas emerged in the wake of the recession as more companiesrealised the importance of maintaining and even increasingbudgets to support brand loyalty and engagement,” said JoannaSeddon, CEO of Millward Brown Optimor.Among the top 100 brands are HP (12), Blackberry (14),HSBC (23), BMW (25), Toyota (26), Louis Vuitton (29),ExxonMobil (39), Nokia (43), Honda (46), Pepsi (58), Sony (94)and Gucci (97). (SP-29/04)US ECONOMY GREW 3.3 PERCENT IN FIRST QUARTERThe US economy expanded 3.3percent in the first quarter this year,less than 5.6 registered in theprevious quarter.The advance report on US grossdomestic product from theCommerce Department duemarked three straight quarters of growth as the economy digsout of its worst recession since the Great Depression.GDP measures total goods and services output within USborders.Though the economy took a step back from its brisk pace inlate 2009, the report showed areas such as consumer andbusiness spending proved more robust in the first quarter.The bulk of the growth in the fourth quarter came asbusinesses met more demand with new production and less byselling off goods sitting on the shelf.Inventories are expected to play a lesser role in the firstquarter, when consumers are seen taking up the baton."The key thing for sustaining and growing the US economyis consumer spending. Everything we know about the firstquarter is looking very strong in that area," said Kurt Karl, headof economic research at Swiss Re in New York.Data that has already come in on consumer spending hasbeen robust. Analysts expect consumer spending during thequarter grew at a rate anywhere between 3.2% and 4%.Consumer spending, which normally accounts for about 70percent of US economic activity, grew only at a 1.6 percent pacein the fourth quarter.There have been worries the US recovery, which has beenled by the manufacturing sector as businesses begin to rebuildinventories, could sputter if consumers did not come on board.These concerns are beginning to take a back seat.The Federal Reserve noted economic activity had continuedto strengthen in recent month and the labor market was startingto improve.However, saying it sill expects a modest recovery; it leftbenchmark overnight lending rates near zero and renewed itsvow to keep them low for an extended period.GREECE TO GET BAILOUT PACKAGE OF 110-BILLIONEURO OVER 3 YRSThe finance ministers of 16nations that use the euro sealed a110-billion euro bailout package forheavily indebted Greece over threeyears after the country's governmentagreed to a new round of toughausterity measures.The largest financial rescue of a nation from bankruptcy willinvolve credit of 80 billion euro from the 15 other euro zonenations and 30 billion euro from the International MonetaryFund (IMF).It is intended to prevent Greece from defaulting on itsstaggering debts of more than 300 billion euro as it could have adomino effect on other debt-ridden nations in the eurozone.Under the financial support programme, which wasendorsed by 16 eurozone finance ministers at an emergencymeeting in Brussels, a maximum of 30 billion euros from the EUand the IMF will be given in the current year.36 PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010

Brand iconNestle IndiaNestle was founded in 1867 in Geneva, Switzerland byHenri Nestle. Nestle's first product was "Farine LacteeNestle", an infant cereal. In 1905, Nestle acquired theAnglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company. The Nestle brand itselfhad played a key role in the company's globalization efforts. In1996, about 40% of the total revenues were generated fromproducts covered by the Nestle corporate brand. Nestle's logowas an important part of the company's corporate identity. The'nest' was a graphic translation of Henri Nestle's name, whichmeant "little nest."...Nestle has its presence in India foraround nine decades, making it one ofthe oldest company in India. NestléIndia is a subsidiary of Nestlé SA ofSwitzerland.The company has its headquartersat Gurgaon near Delhi and has sevenfactories spread all over India. It begantrading as The Nestle Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company(Export) Limited, importing and selling finished products inthe Indian market.Nestle formed a company in India, namely Nestle India Ltd,and set up its first factory in 1961 at Moga, Punjab, where theGovernment wanted Nestle to develop the milk economy. InMoga, Nestle educated and advised farmers regarding basicfarming and animal husbandry practices such as increasing themilk yield of the cows through improved dairy farming methods,irrigation, scientific crop management practices etc. Nestle setup milk collection centres that ensured prompt collection andpaid fair prices. Thus, Nestle transformed Moga into aprosperous and vibrant milk district.Today, Nestle is the world's largest and most diversified foodcompany. It has around 2,50,000 employees worldwide, operated500 factories in approximately 100 countries and offers over8,000 products to millions of consumers universally.Nestle primary lines of business are beverages, infant foods,confectioneries, culinary and milk products. In future, Nestleplans to make an aggressive entry into mineral water and ultraheat treated liquid milk.SELECT PRODUCTS AND SERVICES:Nestle is a market leader in instant coffee with its Nescafeand Sunrise brands. Nestle manufactures and markets a rangeof milk products like dairy whiteners, sweetened milk, infantfoods , weaning cereals under the Everyday, Milkmaid,Lactogen, and Cerelac brands.Nestle has other popular brands in chocolates like Crunch,Charge ,Milky Bar, Bar One and the newly launched Munch.Nestle also has a presence in confectionery. The company hasbrands like Eclairs, Allens, Polo and After Eight.Nestle’s “Maggi” has become the most popular “twominute”snack in urban India. The company also marketstomato ketchup, soups, pickles and ready mixes under theMaggi brand. Nestle launched “Kit Kat” in 1995 and virtuallycreated the popular wafers segment in the chocolate market.The success of the Kit Kat brand inspired Nestle to think andact 'globally' i.e. establishing global as well as local brand identity.Nestle had taken a similar approach to several other acquiredsub-brands.Nestle India continuously focuses on understandingchanging lifestyles in India. This helps it to foresee needs in htsproduct offerings. The company innovates new product &renovates existing one providing high quality, safe food productsat affordable prices. The major milestones achieved by thecompany areCNBC Awaaz Consumer Awards has honoured Nescafe asthe most preferred coffee brand.Business India has rated Nestlé India as No.1 on Return OnCapital Employed amongst Super 100 companies.In 2006-2007 Nestlé India was awarded the ‘Best Exporterof Instant Coffee’, ‘Highest Exporter to Russia and CIS”,‘Highest Exporter to Far East Countries’.Nestle is the only FMCG company with presence in a broadrange of value added processed foods and beverages. In line withthe parent Nestle SA’s strategy, the company believes inmanufacturing all products in house, instead of using third partymanufacturing.PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010 37

Brand iconCitigroup Inc.Citigroup Inc. is a major American financial servicescompany based in New York, NY. Citigroup was formedfrom one of the world's largest mergers in history bycombining the banking giant Citicorp and financialconglomerate Travelers Group on April 7, 1998.Citigroup Inc. has the world's largest financial servicesnetwork, spanning 140 countries with approximately 16,000offices worldwide. The company employs approximately300,000 staff around the world, and holds over 200 millioncustomer accounts in more than 140 countries. It is a primarydealer in US Treasury securities.Citigroup is one of the Big Fourbanks in the United States, alongwith Bank of America, JP MorganChase and Wells Fargo. Citigroup isdivided into four major businessgroups: Consumer Banking,Global Wealth Management,Global Cards, and Institutional Clients Group.Citigroup's most famous office building is the CitigroupCenter, a diagonal-roof skyscraper located in East Midtown,Manhattan, New York City, which despite popular belief is notthe company's headquarters building. Citigroup has itsheadquarters across the street in an anonymous-lookingbuilding at 399 Park Avenue (the site of the original location ofthe City National Bank). Citibank serves more than 4 millioncustomers in the retail banking business and has a network ofmore than 1,000 branches, 3,200 Citibank proprietary ATMs,and additional 23,000 surcharge free ATM's available to thecustomers through various partnerships.As technology has improved and customers expect morechoice in their banking, Citibank has gone to great lengths toprovide tools to help customers manage their finances. Inaddition to providing alerts and instant access to balances onlineand through mobile services.Today fewer than 20% of Citibank customers are charged evenone overdraft fee in a year. Of those, only a few are charged morethan once annually. This is due to practice of not authorizing ATMand Debit transactions when funds aren't available.In India, Citibank is present at 28 locations as of April 13,2009. The bank offers a variety of services and products underthe Personal Banking, NRI Banking and Corporate Bankingcategories.The services offered by the bank under Personal Banking areLoans and Credit Cards, Regular Banking services such assavings account, business banking solutions including PersonalWealth Management and investment options such as MutualFunds and Demat Services. The bank also offers variousinsurance solutions and hi-tech banking services such as OnlineBill Pay, Pre-paid Mobile Recharge, Internet Banking andCitiAlert account statements on the mobile phoneCitibank India has won the “Excellence in Internet Banking”for the year 2009 in The Asian Banker Excellence in RetailFinancial Services Awards Programme. Citibank Citi was alsonamed “Best Regional Retail Business in Asia” for 2009 by TheAsian Banker for the second consecutive year. In addition tothese, Citi also picked up awards for “Best Retail Bank” inTaiwan, “Excellence in Branch Innovation” in Singapore andHong Kong and “Excellence in Customer RelationshipManagement” in China. India's internet offering was chosen asthe best amongst 120 banks and financial institutions from 23countries across the Asia Pacific, Gulf and Central Asianregions.Citibank India's internet and mobile banking is its largestchannel for customer interaction, providing a convenient andefficient banking service. The well engineered online offeringenables customers to manage their accounts through an easy touse and functionality loaded interface. It allows them to performevery possible banking transaction online atwww.citibank.com/india and the linkages to credit cards, loans,mutual funds, brokerage and insurance products differentiateCitibank Online from the other entrants.Potential customers can also access information on theentire range of financial products that Citibank India offers, andcan apply online for straight-through approvals for mostproducts. Citibank India was one of the first banks to launchmulti-factor authentication - using a combination ofinstruments such as hardware tokens, one-time passwords andemail and sms alerts for its domestic and NRI customers.38 PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010

ProfileVenugopal DhootVenugopal Dhoot (Born 1944 in Mumbai, India) is anIndian business tycoon. He was born into a wealthyfarming family.His personal fortune is estimated as the equivalent of 1.6Billion United States dollars, making him a billionaire.According to Forbes, he is the eighteenth richest man in India.His father, the late Nandlal Madhavlal Dhoot, was an Indianindustrialist who made his earlier fortune in the sugarcane andcotton industry. Nandlal Dhoot was the founder of VideoconCorporation and other businesses ventures such as VideoconElectronics.Videocon is a conglomerate across the verticals of consumerelectronics and home appliances, office automation, telecom,power, crude oil and natural gas. Videocon’s major breakthroughcame when it received one of the first licenses to manufacturecolor televisions in India in the early 80’s. The company has nowbecome the largest manufacturer of color picture tubes andCPT glasses in the world, with operations across Mexico, Italy,Poland, China and India.Venugopal N. Dhoot serves as the Chairman, ChiefExecutive Officer and Managing Director of VideoconIndustries Ltd. Mr. Dhoot is an Advisor to the Government ofOrissa on issues of industrial development in Orissa. He hasbeen associated with the consumer electronics and homeappliances business for over 30 years. He is one of the promotersof the Videocon group of companies and has been instrumentalin the growth and promotion of the Videocon group. Mr. Dhootserves as a Director of Value Industries Ltd (Alternate Name,Videocon Appliances Ltd).He has been a Director of Videocon Industries Ltd. sinceJune 1, 2005. He serves as a Non Executive Director of TrendElectronics Ltd. He has been an Independent Director of RuralElectrification Corporation Limited since December 20, 2007.He serves as the President of the Electronic IndustriesAssociation of Marathwada. He was the President of theAssociated Chambers of Commerce and Industry in India. Mr.Dhoot holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering from PuneUniversity.Mr. Dhoot has a vision to lead Videocon and make it aFortune 500 company in the next five years. The companyintends to launch its mobile services on pan India basis targetinglarge subscribers in the next four years. Videocon strategies tostrengthen its focus in oil and natural gas and, is pursuingopportunities in Oman, Australia and Timor Sea near Indonesia.Videocon Group is all set to invest Rs 14,000 crore in its mobileservice division over the next three years.According to Videocon Group Chairman Venugopal Dhoot,the company is targeting new customers to begin with, but isalso betting on migration, once number portability comes inplace. In his opinion, the company wants to be the top 3 serviceproviders in the country over the next three years. By the end ofSeptember, Videocon, which has licenses for all the 23 circleswould become pan-India operator.The target of the company is 100million users in three yearsand it hopes to break even in two years. In the opinion of Dhoot,they will bag 3G licenses, which Videocon has bid for in allcircles, barring Delhi and Mumbai.With his passion to make a powerful social impact, Mr. Dhoothas established a charitable hospital specializing in cancer andheart surgery for the underprivileged people. Venugopal Dhoot isan avid cricket fan and accomplished flautist. The VideoconSchool of Cricket launched in Kolkata, India under the guidance offormer Indian Cricket Captain, Saurav Ganguly, trains andpromotes young cricketers of India in the age group of 10 to 17.Venugopal Dhoot is also an environmental enthusiast who iscredited for completing a project for planting 2,000,000 teak trees.PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010 39

PT PanoramaHarnessing the TalentWhen employees in an organization perform, sodoes the organization. Truly, the performanceof employees shapes the corporateperformance, along with features and aspects like corecompetencies, manufacturing, appropriatetechnologies, best equipment, state of the artlaboratories, only to be garnished by a visionary CEOand an appropriate strategic intent. Yet if theorganization is blessed with talented employees, itsascent and thriving is a foregone conclusion.Skilled and talented employees become effectivechange agents, who constantly create new environmentand improve the existing one with new initiatives. They,in turn, inspire and induce other employees to dare dosomething special by unloosening the bonds of theircomfort zones and thereby enter the area of opportunity,bringing in the change, never mind the uncertainty.Often, wrong jobs do not bring to light the skills andtalents of employees, resulting in their under utilization,cross deployment or sheer redundancy. As a result, thereis stagnation and the organization is subjected to anenormous and an unattended financial loss. Theproblem of identifying, positioning and compensatingemployees showing high potential is a vital one and cuts acrossall disciplines and levels. No organization can cope with lost andunder used employees without inviting peril to its existence andfunctioning.It is in this perspective that managers must use a new toolcalled Return on Talent (ROT) in order to bring a successfulturn around. This tool takes into account the short comings andlapses attributed to faulty criterion of using past performance asa reliable indicator of potential or future success, which manyorganizations continue to use when they identify high potentialemployees, thereby overlooking true talent. Return on Talentgoes beyond the practice of measuring financial contribution ofemployees within the confines of global measures such asrevenues per employee. ROT is thus a useful supplement ofROI (Return on Investment) which if used effectively canbenefit everyone in the organization. Through ROT,organizations can harness talent and recognize the value ofknowledge. This would be a good way to begin.UNDERSTANDING ROTSince a very long time organizations have been employingconventional metrics like Return on Investment (ROI), Returnon Assets (ROA), which are based on things tangible. However,in knowledge economy that characterizes the present era,measurement of assets that are intangible and to use thatmeasurement to determine the state and the status of theorganization in this set up is not easy.In the knowledge economy existence of knowledge issuperficial, what is central is the application of that knowledgeby using the talents and skills of employees, for if knowledge thatis generated is not applied, the organization loses most of themarket value of that knowledge. The value that is of concern toan organization is the knowledge that is generated by a talentedperson which is compared with the investment that theorganization comes out on that person. Simply put, the ratio ofknowledge that is generated and applied to the investment intalent is the Return on Talent.40 PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010

What are the implications? In a knowledge economy, meregenerations of knowledge would not suffice. It has to be appliedproductively and effectively, else the return to the company iszero and the employee fails to generate any value. Knowledgebecomes an asset only when it is applied gainfully, otherwise itfails to generate any yield or Return on Investment. The areawhere an organization can use knowledge generated effectivelyis that of Strategy Formulation. Like money or equipment,knowledge assets have importance only when they are used inthe context of Strategy Formulation.Management of knowledge assetsfor an organization essentially narrowsdown to skillfully utilizing the talents ofemployees for its benefit andbetterment. Just like success inmanufacturing field depends onskillful utilization of plant and supplychains, success in knowledge economydepends on mastery of talent. Theemployee must be urged to not onlydevelop innovative ideas but also comeout with ideas of their implementation.In this respect, Return on Talent hasthe power and potential torevolutionize business.How to affix values of knowledge in a knowledgeeconomy?Return on Talent: When knowledge generated is deployedeffectively, its value increases. High ROT is the fallout ofeffective generation of knowledge. How does the organizationbenefit with high ROT? It would have a creative workforce,innovations would be the under current of the endeavours andpursuits of its employees, there would be smooth processes,improvements on products would be on a continuous mode andthe organization would run on improved communication. TheIdea of Return on Talent helps management to be flexible tocapitalize on opportunities and to keep pace with the changingbusiness climate.Talented employees matter significantly for an organization,since they influence other people around them and there issharing of their knowledge, over time. It goes without saying thattalented employees must not be placed in routine jobs, else theywill not be in a position to give maximum return and perform totheir maximum. Top knowledge generators should be rewarded.Return on Talent gives out measure on the payback on whatis invested in people. It indicates whether managers are hiringthe right people and are effective in using them to achievesuccess in business. Management can view it as a qualitative or aquantitative measure. The emphasis is on maximum payback oninvestment made. Knowledge generated can command a price,as per the results achieved. Along with traditional resources,knowledge has become a key production factor.Today’s global economy considers knowledge as being one ofthe greatest assets. Investment in knowledge sector can becomemore productive and profitable when organizations measureproperly knowledge that is generated and applied.Organizations would not improve if they do not measurecorrectly. True knowledge, which is generated by talent, is filledwith creativity and innovation, whichadds value to the organization.Managers, who would want to seequantitative results, would use ROTmeasurements and satisfy themselvesof having made investments in talentmore profitable. Managers use ROTmeasurements to monitorperformance and forecast opportunity.Thus ROT measurements need to beconstantly used, ROT system shouldbe continuously improved, and finallytalent needs to be fostered, developedand refreshed.Return on knowledge: Knowledge applications havebreadth across organizations and length in time. Knowledgeapplications could be repetitive and pervasive in an organizationor could be subjected to new situations, entailing newerapplications. Time lag could be high, in years, between thegeneration of knowledge and its application, not to talk ofsubsequent applications. Although wealth is created throughmultiple applications, return on such a generation becomesdifficult to calculate and track, in view of this.A way could be worked out in order to properly account forthe value of knowledge generated. Initial estimates made can berefined and amended when applications are devised andrealized. Indicators of return could be in the form of projectionsof the probability of each anticipated application. The monetaryvalue of each application would be the summation over allanticipated applications. Knowledge generation should be thekey focus. This can displace the conventional forward-lookingprojections and backward-looking allocations, which arebasically judgments. In this way, measurement of ROT is greatlyimproved. Investment in talent is fairly linked with generationand application of knowledge.Ways of implementing ROT in an organization :1. Forming a team that has talent development as itsfocus: A talent team is necessary for an organization to achievePT’s PrepTalk – May 2010 41

high ROT scores. Individual employees could be innovativegiven the right team dynamics. They can generate and evenapply that knowledge but the organization cannot have highROT scores for want of a talent team that can leverage their ideasor when the talent team is dysfunctional. ROT scores vary overtime, they are not constant.2. ROT’s measure and monitoring: A closemonitoring of a ROT measure is necessary for an organizationthat hires and invest in talent. The area of concern is not thesalaries of these talented employees that could be fixed andstandardized but the money spent in certain ideas concerningthem and their relative paybacks. ROT scores could becomelower than those of the competitors, or even negative, in theevent of generation of knowledge and success not beingcommensurate with the investment made, in which case,corrective action needs to be taken.3. Ways of enhancing the ROT score in theorganization: Managing talented employees of a team that hasa low ROT score (or even a negative one) has to be doneemployee by employee, function to function. The talent needs tobe assessed, employee who is bringing in most profit, who iswinning and retaining customers needs to be identified. In otherwords, talent diagnosis needs to be conducted, in order toidentify employees with whose association and collaboration thedepartment first, and then the company can stage a turn around.Although, this assessment requires time and cannot be done in ahasty manner, managers need to act fast, focusing on quick, highprofile actions, that generate support and momentum towardsenhancing the ROT scores.Managers often assess employees talents in an intuitivemanner without making use of the measurement tool, althoughthe benefits from measuring and monitoring ROT by usingmeasurement tools can be felt. Success and achievements ofemployees in an organization come through on account of theemployees becoming very effective in an environment orstructure. Once talented employees are identified the managershould give the authority and the resources to boost the ROTscore. There could be many talented people being found in onedivision or the department and few ones in another division ordepartment, as shown by talent diagnosis. The manager wouldneed to cross function, ensuring to balance the talents, as per theneeds of the organization and giving challenges for talentedemployees and team to attain a financial goal.CONCLUSIONReturn on Talent is a sureshot way of ensuring thegrowth and progress of anorganization. Higher the rateof improvement of ROT,higher would be the rate ofgrowth and improvement ofthe organization. Success of abusiness largely depends onthe strength of its knowledgeassets. Any increase inknowledge assets would result in automatic increase in sectorslike production and sales. Sustenance in sales growth is possibleby continuous improvement in ROT. ROT all said and done, isan effective indicator of key performance, for an organization,and is as efficacious in measuring, monitoring and managing asare financial issues. Talents of individuals and teams areidentified, nurtured, fostered and harnessed to the best,benefitting both employees and organizations.TriviaHHHHHHHHHHHHFirst e-business news paper of IndiaFinancial ExpressFirst Election Commissioner of IndiaSukumar SenFirst Indian I.C.S. OfficerSatyaendra Nath TagoreFirst Indian Judge of the Indian International Court of JusticeDr. Nagendra SinghFirst Indian to Swim Across English Channel in IndiaMihir SenFirst Indian to win Magsaysay Award Acharya Vinoba Bhave (1958)First Indian woman Ambassador at United NationsVijayalakshmi PanditFirst Indian woman Chairman and Managing Director of NABARD Mrs. Ranjana KumarFirst Indian woman to go into spaceKalpana ChawlaFirst Indian woman to win the Booker PrizeArundhati RoyFirst large-scale Atomic Reactor of India Apsara (1956)First minister to resign form Union Cabinet of India Shyama Prasad Mukherjee (1950)42 PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010

ProfileKapil SibalKapil Sibal is a prominent Indianpolitician and former lawyer and iscurrently the Union Minister forMinistry of Human Resource Development inthe Government of India. He also held the twoministries Ministry of Science and Technologyand Ministry of Earth Sciences in the FirstManmohan Singh Cabinet.Kapil Sibal was born in Jalandhar, Punjab onAugust 8, 1948, to Hira Lal Sibal and Smt. Kailash Rani Sibal.His father was a renowned advocate, who was awarded thePadma Bhushan in 2006. He moved to Delhi in 1964, andobtained his M.A. in History from St. Stephen's College,University of Delhi, LLB from Faculty of Law,University ofDelhi and LL.M (Master's in Law) from Harvard Law School in1977. In his time at Harvard Law School and between 1977-1980practiced as an associate in the law firm at Cole and Deitz at NewYork. He demonstrated himself to be a strong scholar, theultimate "reasonable man" in discussions, and an excellent chef.In 1989, he was appointed the Additional Solicitor General ofIndia. He was the only lawyer to have appeared in the parliament,and that too successfully, to defend a Supreme Court Judgeduring impeachment proceedings. In 1994, he was named a"Living Legend of the Law" by the International Bar Association.He has been a Member of Parliament for over 10 years - firstin 1998, as Member of the Rajya Sabha, and then in 2004, electedto the Lok Sabha from the Chandni Chowk ParliamentaryConstituency.He has been amongst the most articulate speakers in theCongress Party and was the official Spokesperson of the Party forthe 1999 and 2004 Lok Sabha elections. He articulated theparty’s position throughout the course of the negotiations on theIndo - US Nuclear Deal and is regarded as one of the mostsuccessful Ministers in this Government. He believes thatscience & technology provide the foundation for a modern andresurgent India, as well as perceives it as a vehicle that cancompletely transform the life of the common man for the better.He has given a new high profile to science and technology- bothat the political and at the academic level.His generosity in giving, empathy with theless fortunate, desire to serve people and aboveall, willingness to fight injustice, marriedtogether with his integrity and honesty make himan ideal choice for election. The constituency ofChandni Chowk will continue to be well servedunder his leadership, just as he will be its proudrepresentative.He was member of the several Groups ofMinisters under the UPA Government. He was member, IndianParliamentary delegation which visited South Africa, Nigeriaand Senegal to advocate against Pakistan's involvement in crossborderterrorism, 2002.He participated in the International Workshop on “PeacefulNuclear Use and the Future of Non-Proliferation, Coping withthe Diversion of Nuclear Materials and Nuclear Terrorism”organized by Japan Atomic Industrial Forum, at Tokyo, Japan,2002. He also represented India in the Annual Meeting of the WorldEconomic Forum 2005 at Davos, Switzerland.He was the first ever Member of Parliament to have visitedthe icy continent of Antartica (2-4 February, 2005) and stayed atthe Maitri base in sub-zero temperature, for getting a first handexperience about the hardships being faced by the Indianscientists.He was awarded the Jawaharlal Nehru Birth CentenaryAward for the year 2004-05 by the Indian Science CongressndAssociation during the 92 Indian Science Congress held atAhmedabad from 3-7 January, 2005.The minister, while recently speaking at a seminar oneducation policy, said, “The current examination format inschools helps students perform better by memorising ratherthan using their intelligence and analytical abilities. Thegovernment is chalking out an action plan to change the formatto test the real talent of the students than encouraging them tocram their way to good results.” The curricula, too, are beingrevamped. The CBSE has already introduced testing of life skillsand co-curricular activities along with academic performance,which is to be graded and not marked.PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010 43

Lessons From IPL-3Lt. Col P. Deogirikar (Retd.)It has been nothing but IPL in the news for the last number of weeks. Of course, less for cricketing reasons and morefor the off-field developments. Amazingly, it was covering more than 75% time in most of the news channels! As is ourwont, we keep trying to learn practical lessons from the events happening around us and IPL-3 cannot be ignoredhere. Here are the lessons that could be drawn from this mega-event.1. Improvement is unending.While it was not an original idea that was picked up by Mr. LalitModi (ICL had initiated it), it was the scale at which IPL -1 wasdesigned that popped our eyes. Some said, “Best ever sportingevent arranged” but they had to admit next year that the secondattempt was even better. Same would be said this year too. Welearn that improvement is indeed a continuous journey, not adestination.2. Be ready for eventualities and alternatives.Last time it was sudden requirement to shift this massivetournament to South Africa, this time it was the necessity to shiftthe semifinals to Mumbai. So, one should always have a plan ‘B’,even ‘C’ in place.3. Hindu-Muslim-Sikh-Isai… Cricket is the ultimatereligion mere bhai!Time and again this has been proved beyond doubt. We havebeen watching a particular advertisement, “Divided by teams,United by...”. May be time has come that we should have anotherone for the nation on similar lines “Divided by religions, unitedby Cricket!”.4. Once you get hold off a good thing, keep exploring.Yes, zoo zoo’s were a resounding success last year. So they wentahead, with lesser creativity, to have many more similaradvertisements. I feel even those creating these advertisementsmay not enjoy it so much now, but a good thing must be keptgoing. If the people find it interesting, the show must go on.Remember a particular bath soap brand which has been relatedto the film actresses for generations?5. Commercialism has no limits.When the idea of a 7.5 minutes of breaks between the inningswas disliked, they went ahead with 2.5 minutes of 2 breaks andalso many mini-breaks in between the over itself! No way theywould lose that advertising money! Soon it could be that whenthe ball is hit high up in the air, you will catch a glimpse of aproduct, whether (later) the fielder catches the ball or not!6. When there’s an altercation, both parties lose…‘Win-win’ is a strategy taught in management literature. Butshould this have a shelf life? Can it go for a long term? Would theCricket in general and IPL in particular have been in such amess had the two warring generals reconciled to each othersgains?7. Most famous twins …Let us give the due to the devils! Bolleywood and Indian Cricketare two inseparable twins and one can’t be thought without theother. Proved in IPL 3 without any doubt.8. Definition of success changes with times.Times change. And the definition of success with time. Take thecase of our own Naman Ojha. Till around three years back, hissuccess would have been measured whether he played for India44 PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010

or not. We do hope that he does, but after good batting in IPL 3,he should be fairly successful in future IPLs at least. And thismeans big money!9. Patriotism has been diluted.Carrying the last point forward, there would be players whowould shy away from playing for the country and give 100 % forIPL. After all it’s the ‘money, honey!’ It may be getting moredifficult to get the players agree to sign on a dotted line in the‘name of the country’!10. Consistency scores…Chennai has been the most consistent teams of the three IPLs.This is the only team which reached the semifinal level in all thethree tournaments. And they owe their status to Suresh Rainawho has been the most consistent scorer in the three versions,scoring more than 400 runs in all three.11. Simply brilliance is not enough...Amongst the Indian youngsters, connoisseurs would probablyvote that Rohit Sharma is the most talented one. And he proved itthree four times in IPL 3, winning the matches almost singlehandedlywith bat and even with ball in one case and by hisfielding in another. But he has thrown away his wicket on manyimportant occasions. In fact he has done so at international leveltoo and, if he continues this way, soon he would be history.Having abundant talent is not enough, consistency is needed.12. United Team Wins, Divided Falls!In the last version, this lesson could have been drawn from KKRteam or even Royal Challengers, but this time it could be the giftof Punjab team.13. Winning on ‘The’ Day Matters.Like Delhi last time, Mumbai had no problem reachingsemifinal in style with plenty to spare. But like Delhi in Semifinallast year, Mumbai lost steam in final this year. It does not make adifference whether Mumbai reached semifinal with 20 pointsand Chennai just scrapped through with 14, that too thanks tothe ‘finishing touches’ from Dhoni. The result is that Chennaiare the champs while Mumbai the runners-up. It is winning onthe day which counts!14. Jack of all trades are still important.Specialization is important but so is generalization. Look at anumber of the teams who had a part-time wicket keeper so as toget better ‘balance’ in the team. Mumbai had Raidu whileBangalore had Uthappa to keep wickets.15. Strengths is fine, it is the weakness you should focuson.Yusuf Pathan started the tournament with a bang. 100 in 37 balls!It seemed that he would be the player of the tournament but hefizzled later and was not even in the 11 players picked up fromthis tournament. Reason - his weakness of playing short-pitcheddeliveries. Once the opponents zeroed on to this, he was justanother player. While your strengths are your assets, you mustmake sure that your weakness does not become your liability.16. Flexibility has to have a logical base.It is not that Mumbai did not show flexibility. Having startedslowly, they knew that the run rate must be upped. But they sentthe wrong person, Bhajji. Had Pollard been promoted up theorder, who knows, they could have won!17. It is all in the mind!Many old-timers, Kumble, Sachin, Saurabh, Kallis excelled inthis IPL. Dada even surprised everyone with his excellentFielding and Dravid with his out-of-the-world catch! Whilebody takes a beating, it is the mind that scores over the body.Similar lesson could be learned seeing Sachin playing in thefinal with 5 raw stitches on his right hand.18. Technical proficiency counts.A saying is, ‘there has to be a method in madness’. Before IPL-3Murli Vijay was considered a test match type of player with acorrect technique. But this IPL changed him into aswashbuckling opener. How else can you explain 127 runs in 56balls with 11 sixes?19. Class is as important as balance.Chennai started doing well ever since they discarded theirexpansive Indian medium pacers and had three full-fledgedspinners. Quality is more important than variety.20. Innovation with talent makes an explosive combo.Pollard fell into the Dhoni trap in final going for a six behind thebowler but had Uthappa been there, he could have, probably,scored a reverse six! Talent is fine, experiment with it and youmake history.21. Every member has a role.Haydan had a miserable tournament barring one innings but hisone excellent catch to get rid of Pollard in final may have made upall that. Clearly each one has his role.22. You may be out-of this-world but you have to carry theteam.No body can question the genius of the IPL boss. But notcarrying the team along would overshadow your brilliance.23. Be careful about the overdose.Even if it was a fantastic tournament, towards the end, it was felteven by the die-hard fans that it was an overdose of cricket.Hope you agree with my views! Let us hope we will keep‘learning’ through IPLs as they keep ‘earning’!PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010 45

English GrammarSUBJECT VERB AGREEMENTSubject verb agreement forms animportant part of the grammar. Thesentence should always beconstructed with the proper rules. Thereare some hints given below to identify errorswhich generally occur in the sentence.Rule 1. Two singular subjects connected byor nor require a singular verb.Example: My aunt or my uncle is arrivingby train today.Rule 2. Two singular subjects connected byeither/or or neither/nor require a singularverb as in Rule 1.Examples: Neither Juan nor Carmen isavailable.Either Kiana or Casey is helping today with stage decorations.Rule 3. When 'I' is one of the two subjects connected by either/oror neither/nor, put it second and follow it with the singular verbam.Example: Neither she nor I am going to the festival.Rule 4. When a singular subject is connected by or or nor to aplural subject, put the plural subject last and use a plural verb.Example: The serving bowl or the plates go on that shelf.Rule 5. When a singular and plural subject are connected byeither/or or neither/nor, put the plural subject last and use aplural verb.Example: Neither Jenny nor the others are available.Rule 6. As a general rule, use a plural verb with two or moresubjects when they are connected by and.Example: A car and a bike are my means of transportation.Rule 7. Sometimes the subject is separated from the verb bywords such as along with, as well as, besides, or not. Ignore theseexpressions when determining whether to use a singular orplural verb.Examples: The politician, along with the newsmen, is expectedshortly.Excitement, as well as nervousness, is the cause of her shaking.Rule 8. The pronouns each, everyone, every one, everybody,anyone, anybody, someone, and somebody are singular andrequire singular verbs. Do not be misled by what follows of.Examples: Each of the girls sings well.Every one of the cakes is gone.NOTE: Everyone is one word when it means everybody. Everyone is two words when the meaning is each one.Rule 9. With words that indicate portions percent, fraction,part, majority, some, all, none, remainder, and so forth look atthe noun in your of phrase (object of the preposition) todetermine whether to use a singular or plural verb. If the objectof the preposition is singular, use a singular verb. If the object ofthe preposition is plural, use a plural verb.46 PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010

Clue 4: orOR norIf two or more singular subjects are connected by 'or' and'nor' then they require a singular subject.Clue 8: The expression more than oneverb. More than one student is talking.takes a singularNo boy or girl was present in the contest.Clue 9: The andrule.Clue 5: If a word has one of these ending (like everybody,everyone, anything, etc) it is always singular.Two or more singular nouns when joined by conjunctionsand are always followed by a plural verb.Everybody is planning to go for a picnic this weekend.He and I are studying in the same class.Clue 6: Who,Which , and ThatClue 10: Words that are always plural subject.Clue 7: Reverse order sentence.When who , which and that take the place of singularnoun, they are singular.Rohit is the boy who is taking part in the paintingcompetition.We all know that the normal pattern for English sentences isSubject following the Verb.e.g. 50 mangoes are kept in the basket.However, there are few situations where this order isreversed such as in the sentences starting with there and it,interrogative sentences and exclamatory sentences.e.g. There are 50 mangoes in the basket. (Starting withthere)Where are they going? (Interrogative Sentence)On the table are the mangoes! (Exclamatory Sentence)When a compound subject is joined by a coordinatingconjunction (and), it always takes a plural verb if thesubject refers to different persons or things and if thesubject cannot be considered a unit.Your investments and property are sure to increase in value.Indefinite pronouns (both, few, many, several) always takeplural verbs.Both are acceptable choices.Certain plural subjects always take plural verbs.The news media are under attack. (singular of media:medium)Business Trivia: Essar GroupThe Essar Group was founded in 1969 by brothers Shashi Ruia and Ravi Ruia.Essar entered the GSM telephony business in the 1990s, establishing India's first mobile phone service in Delhi (brandedEssar Cellphone) with Swiss PTT as the joint venture partner.In the 1990s, Essar began its steelmaking business by setting up India's first sponge iron plant in Hazira, Gujarat.Launched in 2004, Paprika Media is the Essar Group's foray in publishing. Paprika tied up with the UKbased publishingcompany, TimeOut, to publish the Indian edition of the magazine.Essar Steel is the first steel company to set up the only retail chain for steel products under the brand name Essar SteelHypermart.Essar was the first private, Indian company to enter petroleum products retailing.Aegis Services is the business process outsourcing services division of the Essar Group.The MobileStore, promoted by the Essar Group, is a one stop mobile solution outlet chain.48 PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010

Superman LogoBRIEF HISTORYThe Superman logo is a pre-eminentand recognized emblem for thefictional superhero Superman. TheSuperman logo is also unofficiallyregarded as “S” shield. It hasfunctioned as a model for characterdesign after the superhero Supermangave his first appearance. This ritual of wearing a charactersymbol on chest has been impersonated by many othersuperheroes which include Batman, Spiderman, Fantastic Four,Green Lantern, The Flash and several others. However,Superman logo holds distinctive and powerful characteristics,which sets it apart from the other logos.REPRESENTATIONSThe creators of the Superman logo, Jerry Siegel and Shuster,wanted a powerful and significant design for the upcomingsuperhero. The first letter of the character's name, that is “S”,sounded perfect to them. Fortunately, the logo made aneverlasting striking effect on its spectators. The Superman logoconsists of some interesting facts, having some deep connectionwith history, literature, science and arts.The symbol however not only stands for Superman, but alsomeans saving lives, stopping crime and giving super-aidwhenever it is needed.THE COLORSThe superman emblem consists of two colors red and yellow.The red and yellow are the colors of the red sun of Krypton,Superman's planet. Superman's powers are activated by theearth’s yellow sun and red sun of Krypton representing hisrelation to the planet. Throughout the years the colors havechanged gradually but still resemble the ionic yellow and red.THE EVOLUTIONIn the very first Superman emblem, there was the letter S ona yellow shield that resembled a police badge. The shield variedover the first few years of the comics, and many times wasnothing more than a triangle with an S inside of it. The symbolbecame an inverted yellow triangle with a red S on the inside. Inthe 1940's the shield then changed into a pentagon that wasblack with a red S outlined in yellow. This shield has changedover the years. The S has varied in size and shape so has thepentagon. The classic logo design is the basis for all otherinterpretations of the logo. In the mid 1990's when Superman'spowers and costume changed, the shield changed colors andshape in accordance with the changes in the costume.Throughout the years, the Superman logo has changedbecause of the different actors that play Superman and thecostumes that they wear. Comic artists also play a role in thechanges hat contribute to the logo. The artist changes the logoto make it more appealing to the audience and also to make thelogo easier to draw. All these factors contribute to the evolutionof the Superman logo. Today in spite of all the changes the logohas suffered the fundamental details remain unchanged.Throughout the time of Superman he has had manydifferent logos. Each logo represents and describes things aboutsuperman. The artist that designed these logos usually designedthem according to the type of surroundings and the costumethat Superman wore during that time.TIME LINE1938: the original Superman created by JerrySiegel and Joe Shuster1940: comic artist Wayne Boring's Superman1941-1943: the Max Fleischer cartoon studioversion of Superman1948-1950: Kirk Alyn's Superman first live actiontheatrical version1956-1957: George Reeves Superman first liveaction televison version1960-1970: comic artist Curt Swan's SupermanPT’s PrepTalk – May 2010 49

PT PanoramaMedical TourismMedical Tourism is also known astravel medicine or health tourism.This term is called for the first timeby the media and travel agencies to describethe rapid development and the practice of largetravel to different parts of the world to receivespecialized treatment health care. The firstrecorded instance of medical tourism datesback thousands of years to when Greekpilgrims traveled from all over theMediterranean to the small territory in theSaronic Gulf called Epidauria. This territorywas the sanctuary of the healing GodAsklepios. Epidauria became the originaltravel destination for medical tourism. Spatowns and sanitariums may be considered anearly form of medical tourism.As a developing country, India also has the trend of medicaltourism. Medical Tourism in India provides countless optionsfor all tourists to explore the facilities of medical sciences inIndia.Medical Tourism has reached a new dimension with a host ofagencies dealing with the welfare of the patients flocking to Indiafor medical treatment and care. These companies in Indiaextend a wide range of services to their potential customers. Theservices extended by these organizations are:1. Support for the party, the patient near the airportterminals, railway stations and bus depots to their officesfor guidance.2. Arrange an escort for these new people arriving in India.3. Arranging for stay in hotels and resorts close to hospitalswhere clients want to take their treatment.4. Arranging for easy boarding facilities for the patient’sparents.Medical Tourism in India is becoming very popular todaycatering to a large number of people from neighboring countriesto India for medical care. In the last two decades, India hasemerged as one of the leading countries in the world to impartthe highest quality care and service to the population.History of medical tourism in Indiaincludes all major aspects of health tourism asmedical tourism is an ancient practice in India.In India, medical tourism includes severalhealth care and various complex surgicalprocedures such as cardiac surgery, cosmeticsurgery, hip replacement or knee surgery anddental. In principle, the concept of medicaltourism is not something new in India.According to medical tourism in India,medical tourism is an ancient practice oftourism on the procedure for medicaltreatment and medical sites in India.In addition to all the States of India in southIndia, Kerala is recognized as a major troopmedical tourism in India. With a healthyclimate and rich greenery, Kerala is a State of India which has awide variety of herbs and medicinal plants as well as ancientayurvedic treatments. Apart from Kerala, Karnataka is anotherdestination for medical tourism in India. Research shows thateach year more than 8000 patients across India come here forseveral orthopedic and cardiac treatment.As a cosmopolitan nation, India has a rich history ofayurveda and procedures for Ayurvedic treatment. The historyof medical tourism in India also includes former Ayurvedictreatment in India and best destinations offer medicaltreatment in India.There are different types of specialized treatments inCardiac Surgery and Cardiology department. Some of them areopen-heart surgery, angiographies, angioplasty and cardiacsurgery in children. All major hospitals in the country offerthese services. Some specialized medical facilities in India aretotal knee replacement, total hip replacement and kneereplacement bilateral.One of the main areas in medical facilities in India isophthalmology. Some of these services are surgery to correctrefraction (LASIK LASER), Squint correction, Phacoemulsificationfoldable lens (cataract) and glaucoma. There are50 PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010

several cosmetic packages available here. This is one of themajor regions of medical facilities in India. Some of theseinclude Facelift, increase breast, liposuction and nose surgery.Large number of installations is also there in the section ofdentistry. Some of the facilities include the extraction of teeth,filling the root canal, periodontics and prosthetics. Gynecologyis another section that includes Laparoscopy assisted vaginalhysterectomy and in vitro fertilization. Other than this, largenumber of medical facilities in India are in the field of oncology,chemotherapy and radiotherapy.All major hospitals for medical tourists in India are placed inbig cities or areas in India. Apart from the southern Indian cities,there are several more advanced areas for medical treatment inIndia. With the rapidly changing lifestyles and habits, the needfor treatment also increases. Some serious diseases like cancer,heart problems, joint pain, cosmetic surgery, liver disease,obesity need advice. Thus, thousands of people go for medicaltourism through which they can receive better medicaltreatment in the world-class hospitals in theworld.There are several hospitalsin India with large clinical andsurgical services for patients.All these hospitals are wellequipped with the advancedfacilities and infrastructure.Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata,Hyderabad, Chennai, Kerala, Pune are thebest places to offer medical treatment to bothforeigners and locals. All of these places have severalmajor hospitals for medical tourists in India. Each year, manyforeigners and tourists who come inside these places areprovided the best facilities by the best Indian hospitals. Kolkatais considered one of the best areas for medical tourism in India.Meenakshi Mission Hospital & Research Centre, Madurai,Christian Medical College Hospital, Vellore, All India Instituteof Medical Sciences, New Delhi, Fortis Healthcare, The ArmedForces Medical College, Pune, JIPMER, Pondicherry are thebest hospitals in India. Great medical packages in India areprovided by these major hospitals.Because standards are important when it comes to healthcare, there are parallel issues around medical tourism,international healthcare accreditation, evidence-basedmedicine and quality assurance. In the United States, the bestknown accreditation group is the Joint CommissionInternational (JCI). Joint Commission International is a notfor-profitorganization that develops nationally andinternationally recognized procedures and standards to helpimprove patient care and safety. It works with hospitals to helpthem meet Joint Commission standards for patient care andthen accredit those hospitals meeting the standards. The list ofof Joint Commission International (JCI) accredited Hospitals inIndia are Apollo Hospitals Group, Wockhardt Hospital,Bangalore, Wockhardt Hospital, Mumbai & Fortis Hospital,Mohali.With the advanced and modern lifestyles, people are moreprone to many diseases and diseases. Diseases such ashypertension, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis arethe results of a rapid pace lifestyle. Medical Tourism in Indiagives the information on the various medical packages in India.Medical packages in India consist of a wide range of research andtesting and the prevention of serious diseases. It also includesthe diagnosis of certain symptoms of serious diseases. There areseveral preventive health care and health assessment programsoffered by the famous medical hospitals in India.As medical tourism is gaining a lot of globalimportance, insurance and legal process for medicaltourists in India is also having great importance.The insurer will check if they are properlycovered by medical insurance and havemedical visa.Medical visa is an importantpart of the insurance and legalprocess for medical tourists inIndia. It is a visa that theGovernment of India providesto tourists who come to Indiafor treatment. It is a visa which is validfor about 1 year or period of treatment required. Among themwhichever is less may be extended to one year. It is a visa whichalso helps them to travel three times a year in India. Other thanthis, two members of their family or two participants mayaccompany the patient. The Indian government makes athorough assessment of the patient and his family or hisbackground before granting the visa.There are various legal issues related to insurance and legalprocess for medical tourists in India. The medical tourismshould also be aware of different types of medical problems thatmay arise. In the current era, there are no regulations forinternational medical tourism. Some of the documents requiredfor insurance and legal processes for medical tourists in Indiainclude a doctor or hospital report, Memo Cash expenditureincurred and wage slip of the person. Some large companiesoffering insurance and legal process for medical tourists in Indiaare ICICI Lombard, Bajaj Allianz, HSBC, HealthFirst IndiaInsurance Company and New India Assurance Company.PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010 51

Business TriviaHHHHHHHHindalco was launched in collaboration with KaiserCorporation of the United States at Renukoot in UttarPradesh in 1958.Aditya Vikram Birla adopted overseas expansion as anintegral element of his overall strategy to get around theconstricting business climate in India. Indo-ThaiSynthetics set up in Bangkok in 1969 was his first overseasventure.Merger of Ballarpur Paper & Straw Board Mills Ltdand Shree Gopal Paper Mills created BallarpurIndustries Ltd in 1969; currently India's largestmanufacturer of paper.Mafatlal group set up National Organic ChemicalIndustries ( NOCIL) and Polyolefins Industries Ltd ( PIL)with American and German collaboration respectively inthe 1960s.Walchand Hirachand began building his empire byentering areas of enterprise that challenged Britishmonopolies in India and set up companies such asHindustan Construction Company,HindustanAeronautics (later nationalized by the govt), ScindiaShipping and the Ravalgaon Sugar Farm Ltd.Ramkrishna Dalmia bought Bennett Coleman &Company (the publishers of Times of India), currentlyowned by descendants of his son-in-law, from its Britishowners just after independence.Power of 10 was a CBS game show hosted by DrewCarey. The series was produced by Embassy RowProductions in association with Sony Pictures Televisionand was taped at Kaufman Astoria Studios in New YorkCity.HHHHHHHHThe baby carriage was invented in 1733 by EnglishH@architect William Kent for the 3 Duke of Devonshire'schildren. William H. Richardson patented an improvementto the baby carriage in the United States in 1889.The bikini was invented in 1946 and named after theBikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands, the site of the firstatomic bomb testing. The designers of the bikini weretwo Frenchmen named Jacques Heim and LouisReard.Chevrolet is the car used in the movie “Chalti Ka NaamGaadi”.Little Magazine is a magazine run by Amartya Sen'sdaughter Antara Dev Sen.Lifeline Express is an idea first mooted by JawaharlalNehru. Former Health minister Anbumani Ramadossstarted it while Rajiv Gandhi Foundation runs theLifeLine Express Camps across the country.The Elders is a global leadership forum started by NelsonMandela & Desmond Tutu.Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is the original car designed byCount Zborowski which was the inspiration for the moviescripted by Roald Dahl and for the children's novel by IanFleming.British billionaire Philip Green is the promoter of highfashionapparel and accessory retail chains – Topshop andTopman which cater exclusively to young women andmen, respectively. Green's Arcadia Group owns severalhigh-street clothing retailers, including Miss Selfridge,Burton, Evans, Dorothy Perkins and Wallis, besidesTopshop and Topman.HIn 1994, Netherlands based Joop van den Ende and Johnde Mol merged to become Endemol. In 2007, Endemol'smajor shareholder Telefonica sold its 75% stake inEndemol to Goldman Sachs promoted EdamAcquisition.HGrameen Danone Food Co. is a partnership betweenGrameen Bank of Muhammad Younus and France'sGroupe Danone (DA) to make fortified yoghurt forpoor kids in Bangladesh that started after the NobelLaureate met Franck Riboud, CEO of Groupe Danone.52 PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010

HHHHHHHRanbaxy's original promoter, Gurbax Singh, wasemployed with Japanese pharmaceutical company A.Shiniogi, manufacturers of vitamins and anti-TB drugs,when he, with Ranjit Singh, decided to launch a pharmadistribution firm of their own – Ranbaxy – and found thesame Japanese company willing to appoint them as theirIndian distributors. Now, seven decades and threegenerations later, when the company is among the world'stop ten, it will rekindle its Japanese connection.Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg in New Delhi is also known asthe Fleet Street of IndiaRai Bahadur Sohan Lal was the first founder-Chairmanof the Oriental Bank of Commerce established inLahore in 1943. After partition the HQ of the bank shiftedfrom Lahore to Amritsar and Karam Chand Thapar ofthe Thapar Group became the new Chairman.Baileys Irish Cream is an Irish whiskey and cream basedliqueur, made by Andrew Bailey of the R. A. Bailey & Co.of Dublin, Ireland. The trademark is currently owned byDiageo. Introduced in 1974, Baileys was the first IrishCream liqueur on the market but there are now a growingnumber of other brands available. Baileys was the firstliqueur to use cream and alcohol together in a mannersufficiently stable to allow commercial distribution. Thecream and whiskey are homogenized to form an emulsion,with the aid of an emulsifier containing refined vegetableoil. This process prevents separation of the whiskey andcream during storage.In 1997, the Austrian current affairs magazine Profilreported that Hugo Boss's name appeared on a list ofdormant Swiss bank accounts, revealing that the companyproduced uniforms for the Nazis, using forced laborersfrom France and Poland, during World War II. Two monthsafter the article appeared, Hugo Boss's top managementassigned a historian from a nearby university to researchand document the company's history during the infamousNazi era and in 1999 pledged to reimburse its former slavelaborers.David Packard, the co-founder of Hewlett-Packard wasresponsible for revoking a substantial part of the 1878Posse Comitatus Act, which prevented use of the USmilitary to act as a police force in a state of emergency, whenhe was the Deputy Secretary of defense for a few years.In management parlance, BHAG stands for ' Big HairyAudacious Goals', a term coined by James C Collins andJerry I Porras in the Harvard Business Review articlecalled “Building your company's vision”.HHHHHHHHHHHH' The Insider' (1999), is a movie on the tobacco industry inwhich whistle-blower Jeffrey Wigand (Russell Crowe)reveals that the Brown & Williamson Tobacco Companyknew that cigarette smoking was addictive even as it soughtnew ways to make nicotine deliver more of a kick.Financial Times Stock Exchange Index is popularlyknown as “ FOOTSI”The Hang Seng Index is based on the capital value of 33stocks on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Hang SengBank was founded in 1933 and 33 is a lucky number inChinese astrology.Hugo Boss AG is Germany's largest manufacturer ofmen's and women's clothing and one of the world's leadingdesign houses for men's fashion. The company's historydates back to 1923 when German master tailor Hugo Bossset up shop in the small town of Metzingen, about 20 milessouth of Stuttgart. Germany was shaken by highunemployment and hyperinflation in the aftermath of theWorld War I.All-Ordinaries share index, All-Industrials share indexand All-Resources share index are three indices ofAustralian Stock Exchange (ASX)Established in 1602 to trade shares of the Dutch East IndiaCompany, Amsterdam Stock Exchange claims to be theoldest stock exchange in the world.Yellow Sheet, a daily publication in the US, contains a listof prices and of firms which are in the market for over-thecounter( OTC)corporate bonds.Pink Sheet, a daily publication in the US, contains list ofbrokerage firms who deal in OTC stocks and AmericanDepository Receipts ( ADRs).Cigarbutt hunting is what Warren Buffet uses todescribe the practice of an investor picking stocks that havealready sunk to the bottom but still have same value left inthem.Investor protection laws are popularly known as BlueSky Laws in the US.The Exchequer was a term that originated from thetradition of presenting the national accounts on achequered cloth in England.“ Bullion” refers to gold silver or other precious metals inthe form of Ingots or bars only.PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010 53

General Knowledge1. The Korean company POSCO has got final clearance fromthe Ministry of Environment and Forests for acquiringforest land in Orissa for its billion steel plant project, whichwill be set up at(1) Balasore(2) Baleswar(3) Keonjhar(4) Paradeep2. Which brand's base lines are 'The Ultimate DrivingMachine' and 'Sheer Driving Pleasure'?(1) BMW(2) Volks Wagen(3) Rolls Royee(4) Chevrolet3. Which famous international leader's real first name is“Rolihlahla”?(1) Nelson Mandela(2) Kofi Annan(3) Martin Luther King Jr.(4) Abraham Lincoln4. Which ancient Japanese religion is related to the worship ofnature and heroes?(1) I Ching(2) Shinto(3) Tenrikyo(4) Odoru Shokyo5. What is the term for which the President of U.S.A. holdsoffice?(1) 5 years(2) 3 years(3) 4 years(4) 6 years6. In which of the following Field "Devang Mehta awards" aregiven?(1) Social Works(2) Medicine(3) Humanity(4) Information Technology7. Which of the following statements is true about BombayStock Exchange (BSE)?(1) Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) was set up as TheNative Share and Stock Brokers Association' in 1875.(2) It initially opened under a banyan tree(3) The BSE is housed in the towering PhirozeJeejeebhoy Towers,(4) All the above8. As per the announcements made by the Prime MinisterManmohan Singh, roads of the Golden Quadrilateralproject are to be made(1) Bi-lane(2) Four-lane(3) Six-lane(4) Eight-lane9. The Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications(RCOM), launched direct-to-home (DTH) services iscalled(1) Reliance Skymagic(2) Reliance Sky(3) Big TV Ltd(4) Reliance SkyEntertainrnent10. Two mega confectionery brands-Maha Lacto and Eclairs –are owned by which company?(1) Parry's(2) Lotte(3) Cadbury(4) Nutrine11. The Reverse Repo Rate in India at present is?(1) 5% (2) 7.5%(3) 5.75% (4) 4.5%12. The Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (EAC)headed by C. Rangarajan projected the Indian economygrowth in the next fiscal (2010-11) would be(1) 7.8-8%(2) 7 - 8%(3) 8-8.5%(4) 8 - 8.3%54 PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010

13. Which of the following planets of solar system has beenredefined by International Astronomical Union as a 'dwarfplanet'?(1) Neptune(2) Saturn(3) Venus(4) Pluto14. Which of the following African countries' cabinet hasapproved a bill allowing gay marriage, which made it thefirst country in Africa?(1) Ghana(2) Kenya(3) South Africa(4) Nigeria15. Whose brand is Saffola?(1) Marico(2) ITC(3) Dabur(4) HLL16. Which of the following has/have been conferred with theRajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award-2008-2009?(1) Rahul Dravid , Mahesh Bhupati(2) Mary Kom, Sushil Kumar, Vijender Singh(3) Pankaj Advani(4) Mahendra Singh Dhoni17. The Right to property was excluded from the FundamentalRights during the tenure of the Government headed by(1) Charan Singh(2) Moraji Desai(3) Indira Gandhi(4) Rajiv Gandhi18. The government of India has reconstituted the NationalSecurity Advisory Board (NSAB). Who has been named asadvisor?(1) M Narayanan(2) Shiv Shankar Menon(3) Nikhil Kumar(4) M. K. Rasgotra19. The proclamation of Emergency by the President on theground of internaldisturbancewas madefor the first time in(1) 1962 (2) 1965(3) 1975 (4) 197620. The proclamation of Emergency under Article 352 wasmade by the President for the first time in(1) 1960 (2) 1962(3) 1965 (4) 197121. Fingerprints on paper are identified by sprinklingfluorescent powder on it and observing it under(1) Mercury light(2) Sunlight(3) Infrared light(4) Ultraviolet light22. Mirages are observed in deserts due to the phenomenon of(1) Interference of light(2) Total reflection of light(3) Scattering of light(4) Double refraction of light23.Before nationalization,State Bank of India was known as the(1) Federal Bank(2) Presidency Bank(3) Imperial Bank(4) None of these24. When a ship enters a sea from a river(1) It rises a little(2) It sinks a little(3) It remains at the same level(4) It rises or sinks dependingon the materialit is madeof25. When earth reaches perihelion, it is(1) Nearest to Moon(2) Nearest to Sun and Moon(3) Farthest from Sun(4) Nearest to Sun26. Loti is the currency of(1) Lesotho (2) Sudan(3) Libya (4) Burundi27. At which of the following places in India are the mintslocated?(1) Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Noida(2) Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Noida(3) Nagpur, Lucknow, Chennai(4) Nasik, Noida, Mumbai, Chennai28. Who constructed gigantic Shiva Temple at Thanjavur?(1) Pandayas(2) Chandellas(3) Cholas(4) Cheras29. Which of the following is a major Russian companycontrolling a large percentage of world gas production?(1) Lukoil(2) Yukos(3) Petronas(4) GazpromPT’s PrepTalk – May 2010 55

30. Which of the following countries is not a member of theEuropean union?(1) Switzerland(2) Finland(3) Austria(4) Czech Republic31. Given below are some shoe companies and their respectivecountries of origin. Mark the correct choice:i. PUMA a. Czech Republicii. Reebok b. Italyiii. Nike c. U.S.A.iv. Bata d. U.Ke. Germany(1) i-e; ii-d; iii-c; iv- a (2) i-d; ii-c; iii-a; iv- b(3) i-a; ii-d; iii-b; iv- c (4) i-d; ii-b; iii-c; iv- b32. Who is the world’s largest exporter of virtual water?(1) India(2) Australia(3) USA(4) Germany33. The original name of Mother Teresa is(1) Agnes Gonxha Bojaxuk(2) Lhamo Thondup Tserwg(3) Norna Jean Baker(4) Norna Thondup Bojaxuk34. Baku is famous as(1) Pearl industry(2) Mining industry(3) Capital of Georgia(4) Oil centre35. India’s first Bio-diesel Plant is being set up in(1) Coimbatore, TN(2) Kakinada, AP(3) Mysore, Karnataka(4) Aligarh, UP36. Once the river Brahamaputra enters from India toBangladesh, it becomes(1) Padma(2) Brahmaputra(3) Jamuna(4) Megha37. Which company's ad line is 'Better than the Best’?(1) Aiwa(2) Sansui(3) Ted Turner(4) Rupert Murdoch38. Which company has tagline ‘Everyone's Invited’?(1) Samsung(2) Kenstar(3) Aiwa(4) Sansui39. With which company would you associate the catchphrase“The Father of The Modem Automobile”?(1) Daimler-Benz(2) Ford(3) Daewoo(4) Aston Martin40. Slogan ‘The World's Local Banks' is associated with(1) HSBC(2) American Express(3) ABN Amro(4) Standard Chartered41. The Green house effect is caused by an excess of(1) Carbon dioxide(2) Carbon mono oxide(3) Carbon tetrachloride(4) None of the above42. The term 'hydroponics' is used to describe(1) Sound propagation under water(2) Cultivation of plants in water(3) A water-borne disease(4) Under-water electronic devices43. What is the chemical name of Aspirin?(1) Acetylinic Acid(2) Acetylsalicylic Acid(3) Acetylprunic Cynate(4) Acetylsalicylic Acetate44. In radio transmission, what does FM stand for?(1) Frequent Modulation(2) Frequency Moderation(3) Frequency Monitoring(4) Frequency Modulation45. National Institute of Nutrition is located in(1) Bhopal(2) Indore(3) Kamal(4) Hyderabad46. The Mossad is the intelligence agency of(1) Israel(2) United Kingdom(3) Iraq(4) Palestine56 PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010

47. Henry Dunant is the founder of which organisation?(1) The Red Cross(2) WWF(3) Amnesty International(4) Greenpeace48. The earlier name of WTO was(1) UNCTAD(2) GATT(3) UNESCO(4) FICCI49. Which one of the following countries is NOT a member ofthe G-8 group?(1) France (2) Italy(3) Spain (4) Germany50. The World Bank's headquarters is in(1) Geneva(2) New York(3) Paris(4) Washington DC51. Where does the European Parliament sit?(1) Luxumbourg(2) Berne(3) Berlin(4) Brussels52. Who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in the year2009?(1) Anthony Burgess(2) Herta Müller(3) Graham Swift(4) J. M. Coetzee53. Who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in the year2009?(1) Ehud Barak(2) Barack Obama(3) Eric Kandel(4) Hideki Shirakawa54. How many Indians have won the Nobel Prize forliterature?(1) 3 (2) 4(3) 1 (4) 255. World Environment Day is celebrated on(1) June 5(2) September 7(3) October 8(4) February 1056. World Computer Literacy Day is celebrated on(1) December 2(2) July 5(3) November 14(4) November 357. What is the nickname of Kumble ?(1) Jimmy (2) Jammy(3) Jumbo (4) Jet58. Which athlete was known as the 'Flying Finn’?(1) Paavo Nurmi(2) Diego Cervantes(3) Geramo Dunolta(4) Jesse Owens59. Standard Cricket bats are made of(1) Pine wood(2) Rose wood(3) Teak wood(4) Willow wood60. Which country will be organising Olympic Games in 2012?(1) USA(2) South Korea(3) London(4) France61. Who is the first Indian batsman to score a triple century inTest Cricket?(1) V. V. S. Laxman(2) Rahul Dravid(3) Sachin Tendulkar(4) Virender Sehwag62. TRAI refers to(1) Transport Regulatory Authority of India(2) Telecom Regulatory Authority of India(3) Transport Registration Authority of India(4) Transport Regulatory Association of India63. What does WAP stand for?(1) Wireless Applied Programme(2) Wireless Application in Programming(3) Wireless Application Protocol(4) Wireless Added Protocol64. Which State did the Americans buy from the Russians in1867?(1) Washington(2) Hawaii(3) Alaska(4) CaliforniaPT’s PrepTalk – May 2010 57

65. The Dalia lama went on a historic tour of which region onFebruary 18, 2010?(1) Russia(2) Greece(3) USA(4) Turkey66. The Torah is the holy book of which community?(1) Rastafarians (2) Buddhists(3) Jews (4) Jesuits67. Numismatics is the study of(1) Insects(2) Numbers(3) Stamps(4) Coins68. Shimla Agreement was signed by the Prime Minister ofIndia and Pakistan in(1) 1971 (2) 1972(3) 1965 (4) 196269. Pedagogy is a science which deals with(1) Teaching(2) Study of human mind(3) Weather and climate(4) Production of desired offsprings70. First mid-term election were held in India on(1) 1996 (2) 1971(3) 1999 (4) 197771. The saltiest sea is(1) Arabian Sea(2) Mediterranean Sea(3) Red Sea(4) Dead Sea72. 'Lufthansa' is the name of airline of(1) Russia (2) USA(3) Malaysia (4) Germany73. Which newspaper does not belong to London?(1) New Statesman(2) The Guardian Weekly(3) Dawn(4) The Times74. The name of the news agency of UK is(1) United Press International(2) Reuters(3) Tass(4) The Guardian75. Which among the following was a Commission of Inquiryon the alleged disappearance of Netaji Subhash Chandrabose?(1) Nanavati Commission(2) Mukherjee Commission(3) Liberahan Commission(4) Justice Sivasubramaniam Commission76. The national parliament of USA is called(1) White House(2) Congress(3) Upper House(4) Diet77. Panchatantra was written by(1) Bhasa(2) Jaya Deva(3) Vishnu Sharma(4) Banabhatta78. The one rupee note bears the signature of(1) Secretary, Ministry of Finance(2) Governor, Reserve Bank of India(3) Finance Minister(4) None of these79. Where is the headquarters of the Interpol?(1) Rome(2) Lyons(3) Paris(4) None of these80. Who was the first Chairman of the SAARC?(1) Mr Ziaur Rehman(2) Lt Gen. H.M. Ershad(3) King Birendra(4) Mrs Indira Gandhi81. Which country is not happy with the USA’s decision toaward a congressional Medal to Dalai Lama of Tibet?(1) India(2) Nepal(3) Myanmar(4) China82. Which government held a Cabinet meeting at Kalapattharin the Everest region, endorsing a declaration on climateissues?(1) Bhutani government(2) Nepali government(3) Bangladeshi government(4) Shri lankan government58 PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010

83. Apart from the temporal bone, which among the followingis considered as the strongest bone in human body?(1) Humerus(2) Fibula(3) Femur(4) Tibia84. Tugrik or Tugrug is the official currency of which of thefollowing countries?(1) Somalia(2) Mongolia(3) Slovakia(E) Malawi85. Who among the following is the current world's numberone Golf Player ?(1) Tiger Woods(2) Phil Mickelson(3) Steve Stricker(4) Lee Westwood86. The Government of India is planning to introduce which ofthe following Acts to ensure that foreign investments arenot a threat to national security?(1) POTA(2) National Security Exception Act(3) Foreign Exchange Management Act(4) Anti Terrorism Law87. Department of Border Management functions underwhich of the following ministries of Government of India?(1) Ministry of External Affairs(2) Ministry of Defense(3) Union Home Ministry(4) Ministry of Commerce88. Who built Eiffel Tower?(1) Newton (2) Gustav Casel(3) Morris Eiffel (4) Gustav Eiffel89. Ayappa Masagi is a well known figure in which of thefollowing?(1) Constructive Work(2) Gandhian Thoughts(3) Water Literacy(4) Welfare of Women and Children90. What is the most appropriate size of Table Flags as per FlagCode of India 2002?(1) 450X300 mm(2) 225X150 mm(3) 150X100 mm(4) 900 X 600 mm91. Which of the following languages was added to the first ofthe regional languages by the 21st amendment?(1) Oriya(2) Kashmiri(3) Sindhi(4) Dogari92. On which of the following issues Lt. Genl. (Retd.) VijayMadan was appointed as Interlocutor by the centralGovernment to continue with the dialogue?(1) Naxalism Issue(2) Gorkhaland Issue(3) Naga peace talks(4) Indo Bangladesh Teesta River dispute93. Which of the following companies has received the BSNL's“Best Telecom Equipment Manufacturer” Award?(1) Delta Group(2) Star Link(3) Accord Communication Ltd(4) Twin Telecom94. Who among the following is the current United StatesSecretary of Defense?(1) Donald Rumsfeld(2) Robert Gates(3) John McMahon(4) William Webster95. Where is India's 18th Nuclear Power plant which recentlystarted its commercial production located?(1) Tamil Nadu(2) Andhra Pradesh(3) Karnataka(4) Rajasthan96. Where is India's Second Officers Training Academy forArmy coming up?(1) Gaya (2) Bhopal(3) Jaipur (4) Jodhpur97. Recently, India's 38th Tiger reserve was opened in(1) Parambikulam, Kerala(2) Gujarat(3) Tamil Nadu(4) Assam98. Duncan Pass lies in between(1) Andaman and Nicobar(2) North and Middle Andaman(3) North and East Andaman(4) North and Southern AndamanPT’s PrepTalk – May 2010 59

99. Which among the following company is providing thegames data and High Definition/Standard DefinitionBroadcast Signal for the upcoming Commonwealth Games2010?(1) BSNL(2) MTNL(3) Reliance Communications(4) Tata Teleservices100. In which of the following fields Moortidevi Awards areconferred?(1) Science & Technology(2) Law(3) Literature(4) Social Services101. INS Nirdeshak of the Indian Navy comes under which ofthe following categories?(1) Replenishment Tankers(2) Minesweepers(3) Patrol Ships(4) Survey Ships102. Who among the following chairs the National Board forWildlife (NBWL) in India?(1) Prime Minister(2) Minister of Environment and Forest(3) Environment Secretary(4) A renowned environmentalist of the country103. In which of the following areas, Clark R Bavin Awards aregiven?(1) Sports(2) Wildlife Protection(3) Films & Television(4) Journalism104. On what date Chhattisgarh got statehood?(1) November 1, 2000(2) November 1, 2004(3) April1, 2000(4) April1, 2004105. Where is Central Drug Institute?(1) New Delhi(2) Jabalpur(3) Rachi(4) Lucknow106. “Pather Panchali” is a film by whom?(1) Mahesh Bhatta(2) Satyajeet Ray(3) Sham Benegal(4) Jagadish Chatarji107. Uro Cup is related to which sports?(1) Football(2) Vollyball(3) Badminton(4) Golf108. Which war firmly established British Rule in India?(1) Battle of Buxar(2) Battle of Plasi(3) Battle of HaldiGhati(4) Third Battle of Panipat109. Jet Engine is based upon which law of Newton?(1) First(2) Second(3) Third(4) None of these110. The Thar desert is located in which state?(1) Madhya Pradesh(2) Rajasthan(3) W. Bengal(4) Gujarat111. Iron, when rusts, what kind of chemical action takes place?(1) Oxidation(2) Calcination(3) Galvanization(4) None of these112. Which acid is called the “King of Chemistry"?(1) Sulphuric Acid(2) Nitric Acid(3) Hydrochloric Acid(4) Oxalic Acid113. Which places are connected by "Great Deccan Road"?(1) Mirzapur and Bangalore(2) New Delhi and Channai(3) Ahemadabad and Channai(4) Amritsar and Bangalore114. Which one is the longest highway of India?(1) NH-7(2) NH-3(3) NH-1(4) NH-5115. Which one is the largest Public Sector Enterprise in India?(1) Indian Railway(2) State bank of India(3) Indian Oil Corporation(4) Gail Authority of India60 PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010

116. Uniguage Project was started in which year?(1) 1996 (2) 1992(3) 1994 (4) 2000117. In how many zones Railways has been divided?(1) 7 zones (2) 12 zones(3) 8 zones (4) 16 zones118. How many major ports are in India?(1) 14 (2) 12(3) 8 (4) 9119. Which port in India is a natural port?(1) Cochin (2) Mumbai(3) Vizac (4) Kolkatta120. Where is the "Ennore Port”?(1) Near Chennai(2) Near Bangalore(3) Near Triruannatpuram(4) Near Mumbai121. National highway no. 31A is connects which state to rest ofIndia?(1) Assam(2) Sikkim(3) Jammu & Kasmir(4) Manipur122. Who is the Secretary General of the Commonwealth groupof National Secretariat?(1) Mc Green(2) Cheui Chan(3) Kamalesh Sharma(4) None of the above123. In which year India ratified International Covenant onEconomic, Social and Cultural Rights ?(1) 1966 (2) 1968(3) 1976 (4) 1979124. In which of the following cities the technology center ofUnique Identification Authority of India is located?(1) Delhi(2) Hyderabad(3) Hyderabad(4) Bangalore125. The first space vehicle launched by USSR was(1) Sputnik(2) Challenger(3) Discovery(4) Atlantis126. On the recommendation of which of the followingcommittees the National Bank for Agriculture and RuralDevelopment (NABARD) has been releasing money of theCenters share of recapitalization assistance to the primaryagriculture credit societies (PACS) in various states tointroduce cooperative reforms?(1) N R Narayanmurthy Committee(2) Prof A. Vaidyanathan Committee(3) K Madhav Das Committee(4) R Gandhi Committee127. What is Doing Business 2010 rank of India?(1) 129 (2) 131(3) 133 (4) 135128. Which of the following is the missile made in India(1) Nat(2) Agni(3) MIG(4) Arjun129. The height of Geo-synchronous satellite orbit from earthsurface is about(1) 25000 km(2) 39000 km(3) 36000 km(4) 38000 km130. Which among the following was formed to counter,communal riots in India(1) CRPF(2) Rapid Action Force(3) National Security Guards(4) Home Guards131. Brahmos is a super sonic navel missile of India. It isdeveloped in collaboration with which country?(1) Russia (2) UK(3) France (4) USA132. At present, who is the Chairman of the Atomic EnergyCommission?(1) Prithviraj Chavan(2) Dr. Srikumar Banerjee(3) Shivshankar Menon(4) Smt Nirupama Rao133. Name the two planets which appear as ‘morning star’ in theeastern sky and ‘evening star’ in the western sky(1) Mars and Venus(2) Jupiter and Mars(3) Saturn and Uranus(4) Mercury and VenusPT’s PrepTalk – May 2010 61

134. Which of the following personalities in India have recentlywon UNESCO's Kalinga Award?(1) Prof. Yash Pal(2) Anil Kakodkar(3) Raghunath Anant Mashelkar(4) Amartya Sen135. Red Army is the military of(1) North Korea(2) Japan(3) Thailand(4) Australia136. India’s first tactical surface to surface missile is(1) Agni (2) Prithvi(3) Trishul (4) Brahmos137. The first Indian minister to visit the Indian Researchstation at Antarctica was(1) Kapil Sibal(2) Jairam Ramesh(3) Kamal nath(4) None of these138. Indian Military Academy is located in(1) Chandigarh(2) Rachi(3) Dehradun(4) Pune139. Who is the Chairman of UPSC?(1) Prof. D.P.Agrawal(2) P. C. Hota(3) Dr. K K Paul(4) Smt. Shashi Uban Tripathi140. Indian military operation in Kargil in 1999 was named(1) Operation Vijay(2) Operation Sangharsh(3) Operation Black cobra(4) Operation Concord141. All Bodo Students Union is a militant organization active inwhich state(1) Nagaland(2) Manipur(3) Assam(4) Meghalaya142. National Civil Defence College is situated in(1) Nagpur(2) Dhanbad(3) Pune(4) Hyderabad143. BARC is connected with(1) Atomic research(2) Agriculture research(3) Road construction(4) Rural development144. National Remote Sensing Agency is located at(1) Bangalore(2) Hyderabad(3) Kolkatta(4) New Delhi145. The first atomic reactor in India was(1) Apsara(2) Dhruv(3) Kamini(4) Crocus146. The Kelkar Committee report deals with(1) Direct & Indirect Taxes(2) Electoral Reforms(3) Banking Sector Reforms(4) River Water Disputes147. The Space Application Centre (SAC) is located at(1) Ahmedabad(2) Sriharikota(3) Bangalore(4) Trivandrum148. What does the B.K Chaturvedi Commission deal with?(1) Price reform in Oil sector(2) Tax code(3) Election reform(4) Education reform149. Which country has the largest uranium reserve?(1) Australia(2) Canada(3) USA(4) India150. Which one of the country has largest Mica reserves as wellas production?(1) India (2) USA(3) Russia (4) Ukraine151. What was Indian Kabaddi team's achievement in therecently concluded Asian Indoor Games?(1) Gold medal(2) Silver medal(3) Bronze medal(4) No Medal62 PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010

152. Which among the following team won the2009 Asia Cupfinal women's Hockey ?(1) India (2) China(3) Malaysia (4) Pakistan153. Who among the following is the winner of C.K. NayuduLifetime Achievement Award 2009?(1) Gundappa Vishvanath(2) Mohinder Amarnath(3) Kapil Dev(4) Sri Nath154. What is ‘Glonass’?(1) A missile(2) A Satellite(3) A Satellite Navigation System(4) A Global Positioning system155. Who among the following is the winner of Indira GandhiAward for National Integration 2009?(1) Ved Bhasin(2) Praful Bidwai(3) Balraj Puri(4) Vinod Dua156. Who among the following is the winner of Indira GandhiPrize 2009?(1) Nelson Mandela(2) Sheikh Hasina(3) Aung San Suu Kyi(4) Azim Premji157. How many countries are members of EU?(1) 24 (2) 25(3) 26 (4) 27158. Amar Jawan Jyoti, the memorial at the India Gate, was setup to pay homage to the Indian soldiers who died in whichof the following?(1) Second World War(2) Indo Pak War of 1965(3) Sino India War 1962(4) Indo Pak War 1971159. Paris Masters is related to which of the following sports?(1) Table Tennis(2) Golf(3) Badminton(4) Lawn TennisAnswers to General knowledge1. Ans.(4)2. Ans.(1)3. Ans.(1)4. Ans.(2)5. Ans.(3)6. Ans.(4)7. Ans.(4)8. Ans.(3)9. Ans.(3)10. Ans.(4)11. Ans.(2)12. Ans.(4)13. Ans.(4)14. Ans.(3)15. Ans.(1)16. Ans.(2)17. Ans.(2)18. Ans.(2)19. Ans.(2)20. Ans.(2)21. Ans.(4)22. Ans.(2)23. Ans.(3)24. Ans.(1)25. Ans.(4)26. Ans.(1)27. Ans.(2)28. Ans.(3)29. Ans.(4)30. Ans.(1)31. Ans.(1)32. Ans.(3)33. Ans.(1)34. Ans.(4)35. Ans.(2)36. Ans.(3)37. Ans.(2)38. Ans.(1)39. Ans.(1)40. Ans.(1)41. Ans.(1)42. Ans.(2)43. Ans.(2)44. Ans.(4)45. Ans.(4)46. Ans.(1)47. Ans.(1)48. Ans.(2)49. Ans.(3)50. Ans.(4)51. Ans.(1)52. Ans.(2)53. Ans.(2)54. Ans.(3)55. Ans.(1)56. Ans.(1)57. Ans.(3)58. Ans.(1)59. Ans.(4)60. Ans.(3)61. Ans.(4)62. Ans.(2)63. Ans.(1)64. Ans.(2)65. Ans.(3)66. Ans.(3)67. Ans.(4)68. Ans.(2)69. Ans.(1)70. Ans.(4)71. Ans.(4)72. Ans.(4)73. Ans.(3)74. Ans.(2)75. Ans.(2)76. Ans.(2)77. Ans.(3)78. Ans.(1)79. Ans.(2)80. Ans.(2)81. Ans.(4)82. Ans.(2)83. Ans.(3)84. Ans.(2)85. Ans.(1)86. Ans.(2)87. Ans.(3)88. Ans.(4)89. Ans.(3)90. Ans.(3)91. Ans.(3)92. Ans.(2)93. Ans.(1)94. Ans.(2)95. Ans.(4)96. Ans.(1)97. Ans.(1)98. Ans.(1)99. Ans.(2)100. Ans.(3)101. Ans.(4)102. Ans.(1)103. Ans.(2)104. Ans.(1)105. Ans.(4)106. Ans.(2)107. Ans.(1)108. Ans.(1)109. Ans.(3)110. Ans.(2)111. Ans.(1)112. Ans.(1)113. Ans.(1)114. Ans.(1)115. Ans.(1)116. Ans.(2)117. Ans.(4)118. Ans.(2)119. Ans.(1)120. Ans.(1)121. Ans.(2)122. Ans.(3)123. Ans.(4)124. Ans.(4)125. Ans.(1)126. Ans.(2)127. Ans.(3)128. Ans.(2)129. Ans.(3)130. Ans.(2)131. Ans.(1)132. Ans.(2)133. Ans.(4)134. Ans.(1)135. Ans.(1)136. Ans.(2)137. Ans.(1)138. Ans.(3)139. Ans.(1)140. Ans.(1)141. Ans.(3)142. Ans.(1)143. Ans.(1)144. Ans.(2)145. Ans.(1)146. Ans.(1)147. Ans.(1)148. Ans.(1)149. Ans.(2)150. Ans.(1)151. Ans.(1)152. Ans.(2)153. Ans.(2)154. Ans.(3)155. Ans.(3)156. Ans.(2)157. Ans.(4)158. Ans.(4)159. Ans.(4)PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010 63

Artificial IntelligenceIn 1637 Rene Descartes, the French mathematician andphilosopher, predicted that it would neverbe possible to make a machine thatthinks as humans do. That was a ratherastonishing observation consideringthat the concept of the analyticalmachine was devised by CharlesBabbage only two hundred years later.Babbage never completed his analyticalengine but his theories laid the earlyfoundation for artificial intelligence.The father of Artificial Intelligenceis British mathematician Alan MathisonTuring. In 1950 he declared that in the futurethere would be a machine that wouldduplicate human intelligence. He devised aspecialised test, known as the “Turing test”,to be used to prove artificial intelligence. Inthe test, a human and a computer hiddenfrom view would be asked randomidentical questions. If the computer wassuccessful, the questioner would be unable todistinguish the machine from the human.In 1947 Turing argued that the brain could itself be regardedas a computer. Working on his Automatic Computer Engine, hedeclared that he was more interested in producing models of theaction of the brain than in the practical applications ofcomputers.AI LABORATORIESThe first conference on artificial intelligence was held atDartmouth College, New Hampshire in 1956. It led to theestablishment of the AI laboratories at MIT (MassachusettsInstitute of Technology) by Marvin Minsky and John McCarthy(who invented the AI computer language called Lisp) andStanford University by Edward Feigenbaum and JoshuaLederberg. Herbert Simon and Allen Newell of the RandCorporation ran tests that showed the one and zeros incomputer language could be used not only to represent numbersbut also symbols. Between 1958 and 1960 psychologist FrankRosenblatt of Cornell University modelled the Perceptroncomputer after the human brain. He “trained” it torecognize the alphabet. The chase was on to develop“neuron networks” of computer processors.The human brain consists of more than100 billion nerve cells (neurons) throughwhich the brain’s commands are sent in theform of electric pulses. It can process manyoperations at the same time (such asthinking, talking and walking at thesame time). This is called parallelprocessing. Computers follow sets oflogic steps, procedures calledalgorithms. Fast computers performroughly 10 billion calculations persecond. Supercomputers use multipleprocessors to follow several algorithmssimultaneously.BACK TO THE POWER OF REASONINGWhen IBM’s Deep Blue defeated world chesschampion Gary Kasparov in 1997 it was a boost for AIdevelopers. Today, a host of “smart devices” can recognize postalcodes, patterns, symbols, handwriting, voices, etc. But nocomputer has yet mastered “plain, common sense.” Computers,it seems, can talk to each other but not to humans.If the computer is to think like humans then its brainsshould be developed to be like that of a human. So, instead ofusing digital processors, scientists have developed silicon chipsthat work in analogue mode, the way a human brain cell works. Acomputer at the Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois usedthis mode of operation to process highly abstract problems,crudely approximating human reasoning.THE ANDROIDSThe idea of personal assistant robots are not too far off,perhaps. But how will these human-like robots, called androids,behave and how will they be governed? Won’t they “take over the64 PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010

world?” If the robot laws of Isaac Asimov is followed, we’ll besafe.1. Asimov’s first law is that robots may not harm humanseither through action or inaction.2. They must obey humans except when the commandsconflict with the first law.3. Androids must protect themselves except, again, whenthis comes into conflict with the first law.Which one is the computer? Computers talk to each othereasily but not to us. Is there something we should know aboutartificial intelligence?Open a birthday card, listen to Happy Birthday – and throwthe card in the bin. You’ve just thrown away more computerpower that existed in the whole world before 1950. Computerpower is being developed at a staggering speed.Charles Babbage (1792-1871) is the father of the computer.He did not complete his analytical computer because hecouldn’t raise finance for it.FACTOIDSAlan Turing (1912 – 1954) was born and studied in Londonbut earned his doctorate from Princeton University in the US in1938. During WW II he deciphered the German Enigma codes.It played an important role in the victory of the Allies. Hecommitted suicide by ingesting cyanide.It takes the human brain approximately one-half second toprocess and act on an input. Even average computers need lessthan half that time. But computers cannot process the extremelycomplex processes of thought creation and emotions… yet.Well-known science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov also wrotemysteries, studies of the Bible, interpretations of Shakespeareand informative articles on chemistry, astronomy, biology andmathematics. He also laid down rules for the future androids.The word “robot” comes from the Czech robota, whichmeans labor. Playwright Karel Capek introduced the word robotin his 1920 play R.U.R. – Rossum’s Universal Robots.In 270BC, ancient Greek engineer Ctesibus made organsand water clocks with movable figures, effectively producing theworld’s first robot.TriviaH Abacus is cnsidered as the first known counting device and it originated in Asia. Abacus worked on a place-value notionmeaning that the place of a bead or rock on the apparatus determined how much it was worth.H In 1642, a French mathematician and philosopher, Blaise Pascal invented the first mechanical digital calculator using gearsknown as the Pascaline.H In 1812, Charles P. Babbage later known as the “father of the computer”, designed a machine, the difference engine whichwas steam-powered, fully automatic and commanded by a fixed instruction program.H In 1947, the giant calculating device ENIAC (Electrical Numerical Integrator and Calculator) machine was developed by JohnW. Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert, Jr. at the University of Pennsylvania.H In early 1960s Gene Amdahl designed the IBM System/360 series of mainframe computers, which considered as the firstgeneral purpose digital computers which uses integrated circuits.H In 1961, Dr. Hopper developed the COBOL (Common Business Oriented Language) programming language.H In 1964, the International Business Machines (IBM) published and marketed the term “word processorH In 1965, Dr. Thomas Kurtz and Dr. John Kemeny developed BASIC (Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code)programming language .H In 1969, the Internet was started.H In 1969, computers were first used to communicate synchronously.H In 1970, Dr. Ted Hoff developed the famous Intel 4004 microprocessor (G) chip.H In 1971, the Intel released the first microprocessor, a specialized integrated circuit which was able to process four bits of dataat a time.In 1976, Apple Computers was founded by Steven Jobs and Stephen Wozniak.In 1981, the IBM PC was introduced with a 16-bit microprocessor.HHPT’s PrepTalk – May 2010 65

News in briefIndiaThe Lok Sabha passed, withoutdiscussions, a slew of labourwelfare measures, including aBill to raise the ceiling of gratuityfor employees in private sector toRs.10 lakh from Rs.3.5 lakh. TheLok Sabha also passed theEmployees' State Insurance(Amendment) Bill, 2009, toprovide for medicare to workersin the unorganised sector, especially those below thepoverty line (BPL). The Lok Sabha also passed theClinical Establishments Bill to regulate privatehospitals and clinics.India rolled out the flagship adult education programmenamed Saakshar Bharat in 2009. The focus of this schemeis female literacy and it aims to make 7 crore people literateincluding 85% women. By April 2010, the scheme is beingimplemented in 167 districts of 19 states of the country.The Mycobacterium tuberculosis genome has beendecoded by Indian Scientists of CSIRalong with 100 science students fromseveral universities. Mycobacteriumtuberculosis is causing agent ofTuberculosis which kills 330000 Indiansevery year. This achievement paves theway to develop a new low cost drug.Solicitor General of India Gopal Subaramanium hasbeen unanimously elected as the Chairman of the BarCouncil of India (BCI). Mr Dhanapal Raj, will be ViceChairman.Dara Shikoh Award is presented by Indo-Iran Society.Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit has been selected for theaward for her substantial contribution in nurturing thevalues of peace, harmony and brotherhood.Jammu & Kasmir's nomadic Muslim community ofGujjars and Bakarwals demandsfor a Primitive Tribal Groups statusand demanded a separate 8%reservation out of total 10 per centquota available to all 12 ScheduledTribe (ST) groups in the state. TribalGujjars of J&K were given ST statusin 1991, but they say that the status has failed to uplift themsocially and economically.In connection with Saakshar Bharat programme ,government chose Tata Consultancy Services to teachilliterates through click and portal. The company has comeup with a software which shall teach adults throughanimation, graphics and by downloading teachingmaterials from a dedicated site. The online version will bein several regional languages.After the Mumbai attacks of 2008, the state governmentwas suggested by the Central government to considerraising the state's own industrial security force to sharethe burden of the Central Industrial Security Force andensure proper security arrangements for private and publicsector industries.E N Rammohan Committee has been appointed toprobe the recent Naxalite attack in Chhattisgarh whichkilled 76 police personnel. E N Rammohan is former Chiefof Border Security Forces. The committee has started thework and E N Rammohan meets Director General of CRPFVikram Srivastava.Naam Tamilar is the name of a newpolitical party floated by SebastianSeeman, a Tamil Film Director andardent supporter of LTTE. Theparty's flag which has been unveiled on11th April closely resembles that ofLTTE's insignia – barring the twinrifles in the background.The Vice President of India, M. Hamid Ansari presentedthe National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) awards to theStates for their success in implementation of the Mission at afunction to commemorate the 'Five Years of NRHM'organized by the Health & Family Welfare in New Delhi.66 PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhanannounced establishment of India's first 'BauddhVishwavidyalaya' (Buddhist University) at Sanchi.There is a proposal to set up a Medipark at Chengalpattu,near Chennai for manufacture of medical devices andinstruments. The indigenous production facilities canimprove the availability of modern equipments in thehealth care sector and could bring down the dependence onimports. This will also enable reduction of healthcare costand will save foreign exchange to the extent of importsubstitutions.Rajasthan Governor, Prabha Raubreathed her last at the All India Instituteof Medial Sciences (AIIMS). Seventyfour-year-oldRau was admitted to theJodhpur hospital where doctors declaredher dead. Rau was sworn in as governoron January 25, 2010, after the demise ofher predecessor Shailendra Kumar Singh.The central government has decided to open a new TigerReserve in Pilibhit of Uttar Pradesh. The governmenthas also decided to come up with more reserves inMaharashtra, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh.Govt. has decided to set up National Centre forSustainable Coastal Zone Management under theWorld Bank assisted Integrated Coastal ZoneManagement project within the Anna University, Chennai.Justice (Retd.) Madan Mohan Punchhi Commissionon Centre State Relations submitted its report to the UnionHome Minister, Shri P. Chidambaram, in presence of ShriDhirendra Singh, Shri V. K. Duggal, Dr. N. R. MadhavaMenon and Shri Vijay Shankar (members of thecommission). The Commission was constituted in April,2007 to take a fresh look at the relative roles andresponsibilities of the various levels of government andtheir inter-relations. It was asked to make recommendationsto help address the emerging challenges.The Central Government has extendedthe ceasefire agreement with Nagainsurgent group National SocialistCouncil of Nagaland - Khaplang(NSCN-K) for a period of one year witheffect from April 28. This was decided ata meeting of officials of the Ministry ofHome Affairs with the representatives ofNSCN-K.Sports Minister, M S Gill insisted that the new regulationslimiting the tenures of National Sports Federations'' officebearerswill have no impact on the Commonwealth Gameslater this year.A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) courtfound Surender Koli guilty of the murder of seven-yearoldAarti, one of the 19 women and children from Noida'sNithari village whose body parts were found in a drain.The number of poor in India would increase by 35million by March 2011, a panel of Union ministers onNational Food Security law has been told. The planningcommission in a presentation to an Empowered Group ofMinisters (EGoM) has said that Suresh TendulkarCommittee had projected the number of poor in 2005 to be370 million.The Indira Gandhi National OpenUniversity (IGNOU), one of theworld's largest universities, hasdecided to waive off the fee of sexworkers and street children enrollingfor its courses to help them becomeeducated and empowered.The Indian education system is set for a major overhaul,with four bills introduced in the Lok Sabha that would pavethe way for entry of foreign universities, as well asintroduce strict accreditation rules for higher educationbodies, prohibit capitation fees, and set up tribunals foreducation-related disputes. Justice Aftab Hussain Saikia wasadministered the oath of office by Jammu &Kashmir Governor, N N Vohra as ChiefJustice of Jammu & Kashmir High Court,Jammu.The Jammu and Kashmir Government has launched adrive in Srinagar to enforce a ban on smoking. The drivewas to ensure that smoking does not take place at publicplaces and selling of cigarettes and other tobacco productsis prohibited near educational institutions.Delhi will be beautified with at least six millionornamental potted plants for the upcomingCommonwealth Games this year, Minister of State forEnvironment and Forests, Jairam Ramesh said.The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) governmentsurvived the cut motion introduced by the opposition in theLok Sabha. The UPA govt defeated the cut motion on theMinistry of Petroleum in Lok Sabha by a huge margin. 246MPs voted against the cut motion and 162 voted in favourwith SP and RJD MPs abstaining from voting.PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010 67

News in briefWorldVolcanic eruptions of Eyjafjallajökullin Iceland have caused significantdisruption to air travel across westernand northern Europe. Much of theairspace in Europe gets closed until 20April, causing cancellation of mostflights within, to, and from Europe.The Iranian government announced the start ofproduction of a missile defence system capable ofdestroying cruise missiles flying at low altitude. IranianDefence Minister, Ahmad Vahidi said that the systemcalled Mesbah 1 (Lantern) has high destruction powerand can prevent the attacks of cruise missiles, airplanes,choppers and other air threats.Two explosions at a mosque in Somalia's capitalMogadishu on May 1, killed 39 worshippers, woundedscores more and hurt a senior member of the al Qaedalinkedal Shabaab rebels. It was the second attack within aweek on a mosque in Bakara Market, an area of Mogadishudominated by members of the country's two main rebelgroups, al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam.The Board of Directors of ADB approved the appointmentof Lakshmi Venkatachalam from India as Vice-President (Private Sector and Co financing Operations)for a term of three years. As ADB's fifth Vice-President, Ms.Venkatachalam will be responsible for ADB's private sectorand cofinancing operations.World Bank President, Robert Zoellickcalled for joint action among countriesand organizations to save the dwindlingnumbers of wild tigers from extinction.There are barely 3,500 tigers left in thewild. Their declining numbers areblamed largely on poaching and the slowdestruction of their natural habitat bydeforestation.An earthquake of a magnitude of 5.6 struck westernGuatemala on Apr 18, the U.S. Geological Surveyreported. The USGS said the quake occurred at about 7:30a.m local time (1330 GMT) and was centered 23 km (14miles) east of Suchiate in Mexico's Chiapas state and 35 km(21 miles) west of Retalhuleu in Guatemala.US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton said the passage ofa controversial immigration enforcement law inArizona could lead to racial profiling. Arizona GovernorJan Brewer signed the bill, saying it was in the best interestof the state.Blaming the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)for harbouring militants in the region, Pakistan's Punjabprovince governor, Salman Taseer has said that the PML-N under the direct guidance of its leadership (Nawaz andShahbaz Sharif) has turned province into a 'bomb', which isready to explode.Belgian King Albert accepted the resignation of PrimeMinister Yves Leterme's five-month old government,after the coalition collapsed. The palace said in a shortstatement that it had asked Leterme to stay on as acaretakerVishnu Prakash, spokesperson of India's ForeignMinistry in Washington DC said that France has backedIndia's bid for permanent seat in United NationsSecurity Council. He was briefing the media personsafter the detailed discussions, which Indian PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh had with French PresidentNicolas Sarkozy at Washington on the Nuclear SecuritySummit, hosted by the US President, Barack Obama.The late President of Poland, Lech Kaczynski and hiswife Maria have been buried in the Cathedral of the Wawelcastle in Krakow; they were killed in a plane crash inwestern Russia on April 10. Chang'e-2 is China's second lunar orbiter, an un-mannedlunar probe scheduled for launch in October 2010. Theprobe will conduct research at a 100-kilometer-high moonorbit as a preparation for a soft landing by Chang'e 3.68 PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010

News in briefBusiness and economyMasterCard announced on April 12,2010 that Ajay Banga, currentlyMasterCard's President and ChiefOperating Officer, has been named bythe Board of Directors to serve as thecompany's President and ChiefExecutive Officer, effective July 1,2010. The company also announcedthat Banga would become a memberof MasterCard's Board of Directors, effective immediately.Banga will succeed Robert W. Selander, who has beenMasterCard's Chief Executive Officer since March 1997.'Asian Development Outlook 2010' which is ADB'sannual flagship publication has pegged India's growth rateas 8.2 % in 2010 and 8.7 % in 2011. The annual inflationprojects are 5% in 2010 and 5.5% in 2011.Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) &Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) signed aMoU under which the ICAI practicing members willprovide e-filing returns at a charge of maximum Rs800.The aim is to reduce paperwork, transaction costs andincrease accountability, efficiency and transparency. As perthe MoU, a practicing CA or a firm with a minimumexperience of one year could apply for e-filing of service taxreturns. CBEC will provide a user name and a password toactivate the facility.The Bombay Stock Exchange enteredinto an agreement with the exchangesolutions provider NYSE Tech to offerhigh speed and low latency trading facility.EV-neo is all-electric scooter launched in Japan by HondaMotor Company that will mark its first attempt at massmarketingzero-emission motorbikes.India's first 3-D digital animationfilm, 'Bal Hanuman-2' , released onMay 14 in selected theaters, whichare equipped with special projectors.As per NABARD, Gujarat hastopped the list of states in marinefish production and exported 1.88lakh tonnes of marine productsworth Rs.1,265 crore in fiscal 2008-09. The Pipavav Port has emerged as a leader for export ofmarine products from India with a share of 27.18 percent inquantity and 16.36 per cent in value.As per the Confidence in Leadership Index survey doneby the Los Angeles-based Korn/Ferry International,executives in India have the highest faith in their CEOs andgeneral corporate leadership among the 13 major nations.India is followed by China, Brazil and Russia.International Cricket Council (ICC) and Hero HondaMotors Ltd announced a three-year partnership. ICC hasnow become global partner with a major presence at all ICCevents. This agreement entitles Hero Honda to exercisecertain promotional, advertising, marketing and othercommercial rights on a world-wide basis in connectionwith the events.Indian filmmaker, ShekharKapur has been selected to thejury of the competition section atthe 63rd annual Cannes FilmFestival scheduled to be heldfrom May 12 to May 23,2010.American film Director,Tim Burton will be the Presidentof the Jury.Twitter has decided to sell advertising on its site for thefirst time. Advertisers will be able to buy "PromotedTweets" that will appear on Twitter's search results pages.Earlier Twitter had sold Tweet Search results to Google.Saif Ali Khan has been appointed the Brand ambasador ofWynn Telecom Ltd (WTL), a mobile handset company.WTL is an extension of SAR Group of companies whichhas LUMINOUS as the flagship brand.PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010 69

Joint Committee of Ministry of Environment & Forests andMinistry of Tribal Affairs has been revised. Dr.N.C.Saxena, retired Secretary, Planning Commission willbe Chairman of this committeeand Dr. DevendraPandey, Fromer Director General, Forest Survey of Indiawill be Co-Chairman.The Supreme Court has handed out an emphatic victoryto Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries (RIL), ruling thatit need not supply gas to a company owned by estrangedbrother Anil's RNRL at a previously agreed price ($2.34 permmbtu), putting the profitability of many power plants ofthe younger sibling under threat and tighteninggovernment control over gas pricing.Gemac Energy, which plans to set up a 1,320 MW thermalpower station in Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu,has signed an MoU with Chinese construction majorSepco III for engineering, procurement and constructionservices to the project. Gemac Energy Chairman KThiruppathi told reporters that the Rs 6,000-crore projectwould be implemented in two phases.Hinduja Group flagship companyAshok Leyland reported an overthree-fold jump in commercialvehicle sales to 6,500 units in April,2010, compared to the correspondingmonth last year.After India expressed its desire to buy 10 C-17Globemaster aircraft fromUS multinational Boeing afew months ago, theAmerican Defence SecurityCooperation Agency notifiedthe US Congress about it onApril 22. This fulfils anecessity for concluding a'foreign military sale' and is necessary for finalnegotiations on the deal.French retail giant, Carrefour is reportedly close toentering into a deal with Kishore Biyani- promotedFuture Group for starting operations in India, according tocompany sources. Carrefour, which has been scouting for ajoint venture partner in India for the last 2-3 years, is likelyto enter into a formal agreement with Future Group withinthe next one month, sources said.Asian Development Bank (ADB) has granted loans inexcess of USD 8 billion to India forvarious development projects since 1986."ADB has always been a valuedmultilateral organisation for India.Starting with two loans worth USD 250million in 1986 to 52 loans amounting tomore than USD 8 billion now, India'sengagement with ADB has been steadily growing," FinanceMinister, Pranab Mukgherjee said in his address to annualmeet of ADB at Tashkent.China will intensify monitoring of Internet in the countryby ending anonymous online comments and "harmfulinformation" on the web, a top official has said. WangChen, Director of the State Council Information Office,underlined that China will push to end anonymous onlinecomments in a bid to step up monitoring of cyberspace.The US antitrust watchdog maylaunch an investigation into technology giant Apple'spolicy towards the iPhone, says a media report. The USdepartment of justice and the Federal Trade Commissionofficials are looking into whether the company is unfairlyforcing developers to use Apple's own tools to developapplications for the iPhone, iPad and iPod, a mediareported.Grand Luxe Hotels, a division of Indian Green GridGroup, is investing nearly Rs 110 crore to come up with twohotels for its expansion in the hospitality sector of TamilNadu, a top company official said. The company, formerlyETL Hospitality Services, would establish a luxury hotel inPudukottai and a hotel accompanied with mall having amultiplex, in Coimbatore, Grand Luxe Hotels, CEO GThiagarajan told reporters.Malaysia has approved the setting up of a nuclear powerplant with possible assistance from China or Japan, aproject slated to start operations from 2021 to help meetthe country's soaring energy needs. Energy, GreenTechnology and Water Minister Peter Chin Fah Kui said hisministry has been given the go-ahead by the EconomicCouncil to start identifying suitable sites.Three top executives of ICICI Venture, which is thelargest private equity firm in thecountry, including its PresidentJayanta Banerjee, have quit theorganisation. The other two areDirectors – Anand Vyas and SunayMathure – who have also resigned.The government said it will not review the foreign directinvestment (FDI) norms for the banking sector – a policythat has rendered lenders like ICICI Bank and HDFC asforeign-owned entities.70 PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010

Engineering giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T) signed a jointventure pact with the England-based Howden to design,engineer, manufacture and supply axial fans and air preheatersto thermal power plants. The JV will invest aroundRs 100 crore to set up the facility and related infrastructure,a press release said, adding the plant unit will be set up inHazira, Gujarat and its operation is expected to commencenext year.Nissan Motor Co recalled Infiniti G35 sedans andcoupes, due to faulty airbags that may not deploy during acrash, U.S. regulators said.Diamond traders in Surat are facing tough competitionfrom China, which is pushingfor direct deals with Africangovernments for the supply ofrough diamonds. Beijing hassigned multibillion-dollarresources-for-infrastructuredeals with Angola, Congo andWest African countries,according to which China willdevelop infrastructure in these countries and in turnprocure rough diamonds from them.Internet search engine giantGoogle has invested USD 39million in two wind farms inAmerica's North Dakota region.The wind farms, developed byNextEra Energy Resources, areexpected to generate 169.5megawatts of power.Newcrest Mining Ltd. raised its takeover offer forAustralia's Lihir Gold Ltd., valuing the miner atAustralian dollars 9.5 billion ($8.7 billion) in a deal thatwould create one of the world's largest gold producers.Taiwan government will invest 24 billion New Taiwandollars ($760 million) in cloud-based computing over thenext five years, as a complement to Microsoft Corp.'ssupport for local firms to develop and use the newtechnology.A state-affiliated Japanese oil company was grantedrights by the Cambodian government to survey for oilaround Southeast Asia's largest freshwater lake. TheJapan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation willconduct a study over 6,500 square kilometers (2,509 miles)of the Tonle Sap basin, located about 200 kilometers (120miles) northwest of Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh.United Airlines parent UAL Corp willbuy Continental Airlines Inc for $3.17billion in an all-stock deal that willform the world's largest carrier andpotentially prune excess capacity inthe airline industry.An international court of arbitration has ordered Frenchelectronics and defense group Thales SA and the Frenchstate to pay hundreds of millions of dollars of compensationto Taiwan in a long-standing dispute over a 1991 frigatesale, the company said.Malaysian national oil company Petronas said that it is intalks with Brunei to jointly develop two offshore oil reservesoff Borneo Island after the two nations ended a longstandingspat over ownership of the areas.Australia's foreign investment regulator has approvedRoyal Dutch Shell and PetroChina's joint $3.2 billiontakeover bid for Arrow Energy Ltd., the Australian coalseam gas producer said.The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has givenSatyam Computer a breather till October 15, 2010, to fileits annual report and allowed it to remain listed on NYSE.Besides, a six-month trading period through October 15,2010, for completing and filing the Form 20-F for the fiscalyear, pursuant to NYSE's late filer rules, was also approved.The urban population in India is set to double to 590million in the next 20 years, and to provide even basicinfrastructure to this population, the government of Indiawould need to invest at least $1.2 trillion (Rs 54 lakh crore),said a new study by global consultants McKinsey & Co.The National Aviation Company of India (NACIL)announced that SITA, the aviation IT specialist, has beenselected to provide its hosted Horizon Passenger ServicesSystem (PSS) to Air India on a turnkey basis following aglobal competitive tendering process. The deal with the13.5 million passenger airline is valued at 190 milliondollars over ten years.Delivering on its commitment, Swedish luxury car makerVolvo Auto India brings Volvo XC60to India as per plans. The car arrivedon the Indian shores and has beenhanded over for homologation. VolvoXC60, expected to be launched inIndia in the first half of the year, is thefirst vehicle in a new generation of the contemporary crossoversegment.PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010 71

Book ReviewThe Leader in Youby Dale CarnegieIt's a tough world out there and you can't count on thingsgetting easier. What you can do is invest in yourself – anddevelop your own leadership abilities that will help youachieve greater personal and professional success. That's whereThe Leader in You can help. For eighty years, Dale Carnegie &Associates, Inc., has been training people at all levels to get themost out of what they put into their careers. The Leader in You isan impressive step-by-step guide to understanding how toachieve success at every point in your career. Through the use ofreal-life examples gathered from interviews with top leaders inbusiness, entertainment, sports, academia, and politics, coauthorsLevine and Crom bring the Dale Carnegie & Associates,Inc., time-tested human relations principles to a new level ofrelevance in today's unpredictable business environment. Theyshow how anyone, regardless of their job description, canharness their creativity and enthusiasm to work moreproductively.The Leader in You paints a clearpicture of what you're doing wrong as aleader and how to do it right. Despite thewealth of technical advances in the 1990sworkplace, managing, motivating, andcommunicating remains a challenge.The Leader in You adapts the simple,time-tested management theories ofDale Carnegie to this high-techenvironment with refreshing results. It'sa sound introduction to leadership skillsfor anyone working in the public, private,or nonprofit sector.The heart of this book is the golden rule of leadership: youcan't make anyone do anything, but you can make them want todo something. Andrew Carnegie, the steel baron from the early20th century, was walking around his steel mill with investorswhen he spotted some of his employees on break. They weresmoking directly under a sign that said "No smoking in thisarea." With the investors around him, he could have easily madea scene and screamed at the men for ignoring the sign and beingon break. Instead, he went up to the men, thanked them forworking hard for him and talked to them about their families.When he was about to leave, he pulled out a set of cigars and gaveone to each worker. He then smiled at the men and said, "I'dappreciate it if you guys would smoke these outside." The mennever smoked under the sign again. If you think you need to gobuy cigars for your employees because of that story, then youneed to read this book!With insights from leading figures in the corporate,entertainment, sports, academic, and political arenas – andencompassing interviews and advice from such eminent authoritiesas Lee Iacocca and Margaret Thatcher – this comprehensive, stepby-stepguideincludesstrategiestohelpyou:Identify your leadership strengthsAchieve your goals and increase your self-confidenceEliminate an "us vs. them" mentalityBecome a team player and strengthen cooperation amongassociatesBalance work and leisureControl your worries and energize your lifeAnd much more!The most important investment you will ever make is inyourself – once you discover the key that unlocks The Leader in You.Dale Carnegie (1888-1955) was an Americanwriter and the developer of famous courses inself-improvement, salesmanship, corporatetraining, public speaking, and interpersonalskills. Born in poverty on a farm in Missouri, hewas the author of How to Win Friends andInfluence People, first published in 1936,which has sold over 30 million copies throughmany editions and remains popular today. Healso wrote a biography of Abraham Lincolntitled Lincoln the Unknown and several other books.Carnegie described himself as a "simple country boy" fromMissouri but was also a pioneer of the self-improvement genre.Since the 1936 publication of his first book, How to Win Friendsand Influence People, he has touched millions of readers andhis classic works continue to impact lives to this day.72 PT’s PrepTalk – May 2010