Current Affairs Industry
The production of crude steel in India has increased in the year 2009-10 in comparison to the year 2008-09. However, percentage of growth of steel has declined marginally in the year 2007-08 and 2008-09 in comparison to the year 2006-07. Following is the details of production of crude steel in the country: -
Current Affairs trade
India’s exports of apparel during 2009-10 was US$ 10046.89 million as against US$ 10383.26 million in the preceding financial year 2008-09. In terms of rupee, exports of apparel in 2009-10 was Rs.47524.78 crore as against Rs.47112.77 crore in 2008-09. The decline can be attributed to the general economic slowdown in EU and US markets leading to lower demand for apparel and other textiles products.
Spurred by the recessionary environment of the last couple of years, the Indian IT bazaar is emerging out of its ‘Cinderellaesque’ existence and some wise men have estimated the overall market opportunity to be over $ 100 billion during the next few years. With India being home to over five million MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) that are by and large underinvested in IT, it is little wonder that this market segment is fast turning into the Holy Grail of the Indian IT industry.
Based on the data received from Export Promotion Councils (EPCs) the share of Micro and Small Enterprises(MSEs) (including small industries) in the total exports of the country during 2007-08 (latest available) was 30.80 %.
As per the ‘Quick Results : Fourth All India Census of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises 2006-2007’, a total of 594.61 lakh persons were employed during 2006-07 in the MSME Sector (latest available) and the total production from the MSME Sector(Registered) for 2006-07 was Rs 7.1 lakh crores .
As on 31 March, 2010, 50 projects have been completed under the National Maritime Development Programme (NMDP) in the Port Sector, at a cost of Rs.5717.28crores. In addition, 74 projects of are under progress, envisaging an investment of Rs.18502.68 crores.
The total investment of Rs.55804.00 crores in the Port Sector, a major portion of investment is envisaged to come from the private sector. To attract and encourage private sector investment in the Port Sector, the Government of India has finalized Model Request for Qualification (RFQ), Request for Proposal (RFP) and Model Concession Agreement (MCA) to ensure uniformity and transparency in the bid process. New guidelines for upfront fixation of tariff have also been finalized for berths and terminals to be bidded out to private operators so that prospective bidders are aware of the projected revenue flow from the concerned project.
The Ad-hoc Group of Experts (AGE) under the chairmanship of Dr. Arjun Senguptasubmitted their report on issues related to public sector enterprises in April, 2005. The recommendations of AGE were processed by the Government in two stages. Initially, the recommendations of AGE relating to enhancing the powers delegated to Navratna, Miniratnaand other profit making Central Public Sector Enterprises were considered and orders were issued in August, 2005. Thereafter, remaining recommendations of AGE were considered and orders were issued in May, 2007 and August, 2007 respectively.
India is expected to become the 2nd largest steel producing nation by 2012 with a targeted production capacity of 120 million tones.
During the last one year, while action on many of the crucial agenda items were completed, those involving long term targets like the modernization and expansion programmes of PSUs like Steel Authority of India (SAIL) and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) are also at an advanced stage of progress. Union Minister for steel told the parliamentary standing committee. India is the third largest producer of crude steel in the world, surpassing developed countries like USA and Russia.
The number of telephone subscribers in India has increased to 671.69 million at the end of June-2010 from 653.92 million in May-2010. As per the figures data released by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) today, it has registered a growth of 2.72%. With this, the overall tele-density in India has reached 56.83.
BACKGROUNDER
As per the data published by GSI as on 01.04.2009, the estimated coal resources in the country stand at 267.21 billion tones. State wise these resources are-
The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) and YES Bank have projected that India would get capital investment worth US$ 94.5 billion by 2019 in tourism and travel sector since it is expected to grow at 8.8 per cent between the period 2011-2019. Besides, the two institutions are of the view that growing travel and tourism industry will place India at the third position in the world in a decade’s time.
The above projections are condensed in Agri Tourism Study brought out by ASSOCHAM and YES Bank, findings of which were released by ASSOCHAM Secretary General, Mr. D.S. Rawat .
• 72% of Food Companies Say Staff Lacks Ability to Use Modern Tools
• 66% Find Workforce Unable to Cope with Delivery & Quality Norms
•Demand for Shop Floor Technicians to Rise by 70% by 2015
The projected increase in the size of India’s domestic food market from the current level of US$ 181 billion to US$ 258 billion in 2015 has brought into sharp focus the acute skill shortage in the industry. The rising demand for specific skills and available supply has eroded the competitiveness of the industry, says a FICCI study.
The study entitled, ‘Rising Skill Demand: A Major Challenge for Indian Food Industry’, reveals that as high as 58 per cent of the companies are not satisfied with their employees’ current level of technical skills and knowledge needed for the job.
Delhi, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan are the top five destinations for foreign tourists, with the national capital attracting 23.4 lakh visitors in 2008. Maharashtra was a close second with 20.6 lakh visitors, followed by Tamil Nadu (20.3 lakh), and Uttar Pradesh (16.1 lakh) and Rajasthan (14.8 lakh), according to a FICCI-Evalueserve study on India Inbound Tourism. Delhi, the national capital of India, is a prominent tourist and business destination in India. The presence of a number of heritage sites, healthcare centres and business hubs in the city, along with the four satellite cities—Gurgaon, Noida, Faridabad and Ghaziabad—attract a large number of FTAs. However, limited land availability for tourism projects and inadequate number of hotel rooms are a major drawback for the city.
Union Tourism Minister Kumari Selja has unveiled Code of Conduct for Safe and Honourable Tourism in New Delhi.
“To leverage the burgeoning global travel and trade and in keeping with the Indian tourism industry’s objective of positioning India as a global tourism brand, the Ministry of Tourism has strategically outlined in its policy the central principle of, ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’(Guest is God). In stating this, is evident the commitment of Indian tourism to ensure that every tourist in India is physically invigorated, mentally rejuvenated, culturally enriched and spiritually elevated.
In the aftermath of the global economic meltdown the fastest recovery in terms of job creation has been in the small and medium enterprises (SME’s) more than large industry in India, indicated an ASSOCHAM analysis.
The SME sector reported about 25% job losses during the recent global recession. However, it has been one of the fastest to tide over the gloom with figures of job creation coming up on a steady pace, the analysis said. This sector alone contributed almost 40 % of all jobs created in the economy thereafter – showing the flexibility and adaptability of quick response.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued a consultation paper on ‘National Broadband Plan”.
Availability of Broadband services at affordable tariff will provide access to enormous information, facilitate delivery of civic services, increase GDP contributions, generate more employment and enhance productivity. Department of Telecom (DoT) has also made a reference to TRAI seeking its recommendations on the need to review the definition of Broadband connectivity in view of future growth in internet/broadband driven by wireless technologies.
With the opening of the insurance sector and entry of private sector companies, the competition has intensified not only between private and public sector companies but also amongst public sector companies. There is now a sense of benchmarking globally which is indeed a very healthy trend. This has resulted in development of new insurance products, reduction of premium, improved customer service, increased visibility through print & electronic media, discussions, symposia and seminars etc. ultimately benefiting the insuring public.
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• Adherence To Standard Operating Procedures
• ‘Correct’ Landings By Pilots
• Standard Procedures On Manning Of Cockpit
Due to the recent events in the aviation sector, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued fresh directives on Standard Operating Procedures to allscheduled, non-scheduled and general aviation operators.
In the directive on ‘correct’ landings, the DGCA has said “Based on feedback received from various quarters it is felt that pilots need to be made aware that achieving a particular “G” (“G” is the acceleration constant for gravity) value on touchdown is no measure of a good landing. Landings should be judged not by how soft the landing has been, but if it has been made at the correct speed and touchdown zone on the runway. The airplane manufacturer lays down limits of “G” values for landing, and certain operators need to guard against imposing much lower values in their FOQA programmes.” The DGCA has asked all operators to ensure that ‘correct’ landings are aimed by pilots’ rather than achieving soft landings at lower “G” values that may compromise the runway stopping distance required. In case of an “Unstabilised Approach” if not timely corrected, a “Go-Around” is recommended which affords pilots another opportunity, to conduct another safe approach.
The Central Government is once again considering the opening up of multi-brand retail trade to Foreign Direct Investment. The Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion is pushing for such a move.
Retail trade in the country employs lakhs of people, whose livelihood will be jeopardized if big foreign companies like Walmart and Tesco are allowed into the retail trade.
| What: | Fifth ITU, ISO and IEC Fully Networked Car@Geneva Motor Show | ||
| When: | 3-4 March 2010 | ||
| Where: | Geneva Motor Show, PALEXPO, Geneva | ||
| Why: | Key industry experts will debate new technologies that will see our cars become more and more a part of the information and communications technology (ICT) network.
Systems are under development that link vehicle-to-car, providing safety information; and vehicle-to-infrastructure, improving traffic management and providing access to a wide variety of in-car services, from advanced location-based applications to entertainment and online information. |
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The IT/BPO sector not only created more employment opportunities in the last three months of previous fiscal but 
workers engaged in this segment also saw the maximum rise in earnings, a Government survey said.
It said during the September-December quarter, about 5.67 lakh jobs were created in this sector while another 1.25 lakh jobs were generated in the January-March quarter this year.
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