Articles from Economic Times,

2019Group 5 Section A

Soham P BanerjeeGanesh RMahesh HolikarGaurav KarkhanisNimish BhandariAbhinav Kothari

ArticlesBarack Obama kicks off World Microfinance Congress in Tanzania..............................1

BRIC Summit Ends in Pune – India & China sign historic agreement............................3Indian Service Sector Excited about Indo-China Trade Agreement..............................5Social Security, Medicare Trust Funds to Expire by 2030.............................................7Rahul Gandhi becomes the Prime minister of India Inc. for third consecutive time......8Rupee appreciates against the Greenback, ends at Rs 25/ Dollar................................9First fully residential complex constructed on moon..................................................10India: Today’s Growth Imperatives Seen in the Context of Urbanization Challenges and Risks...................................................................................................................11Indian government to introduce strict ‘anti-tobacco’ law...........................................13India abandons quota system....................................................................................15Government of India finally approves first casino project..........................................16Mankind in Danger: Earth is running out of Oxygen...................................................17New 512GB RAM launched by Intel............................................................................19New Refrigerator range introduced by Whirlpool.......................................................20United States Have Achieved 10 % reduction in CO2 emission over last 10 years.....21World in Danger of Severe Water Crisis.....................................................................22

Barack Obama kicks off World Microfinance Congress in Tanzania

Inaugurating the annual World Microfinance Congress in Dodoma today, the former American President Mr. Barrack Obama expressed his happiness over the phenomenal success of banks offering microfinance credit. He commended the work of banks like the Tanzania Microfinance Bank, the CRDB Ltd. (Cooperatives Rural and Development Bank) and the Tanzania Postal Bank, referring to them as the “silent workers” who had helped the East African country reaches the status of a regional power.

The successful provision of financial services to poor and low income clients, including the self employed has been an important factor behind the rapid growth of the economies of Tanzania, Rwanda and Mozambique. Microfinance is currently a $60 billion dollar market in Tanzania, making it the most successful country in the world in this area. Ever since the National Microfinance Policy was implemented in 2001, microfinance was officially recognized as a tool for poverty eradication. The National Microfinance Bank (NMB) is an institutional provider of microfinance services with over $10b dollars in their microfinance portfolio. The AKIBA Commercial bank and CRDB Bank are two big supporters of microfinance.

Mr. Barack Obama praised the strategy of banks like the NMB which linked large corporate customers to microfinance loan customers, encouraging growth through loans for the use of capital to both small and large enterprises. NMB calls this the Kilombero strategy after they linked the loans given to the Kilombero sugar Company to sugar cane out-growers. The former American President addressed the 3000 strong delegation comprising of economists from around the world, and hailed the recent steps taken by the G8 in canceling the debt of several African nations, including Tanzania and Rwanda. Mr. Obama called the recent removal of agricultural subsidies in the EU and US “a step in the right direction”, which provided developing nations fair and equal access to the western markets. He recalled that the annual subsidies given to farmers in rich nations stood at about $300 billion in 2009, at the time when he took over the US presidency.

Mr. Obama expressed hope for the continent, calling it the “next BRIC”, and referring to the unprecedented growth in education spending in countries like Rwanda, Kenya and Botswana. There have been mass new initiatives in this area form within the region and outside. Twinning of American Universities with Western and Indian

universities and increased use of distance learning among African students have become the order of the day.

Mr. Obama also pointed out that central Africa today is divided into two types of country. There were the failing states like the Democratic Republic of Congo, which contrasted sharply with states with visionary leaders like in Rwanda and Tanzania, who had helped their countries transcend ethnic politics for the first time in Africa. The former President, whose father was born in Kenya, said that it “pained him to see” governments of Western Africa miss out on opportunities to better the lives of their citizens, as had happened in the east of the continent.

Mr. Obama’s closing remarks reminded the delegates present that large portions of the continent were still prone to extraordinary levels of violence, and the scourge of AIDS in Western and Southern Africa was crippling growth. He mentioned that foreign powers were in control of the rich mines of the DRC and the oil wealth of Southern Sudan, and until regional leaders from Dodoma and Kigali did not put up a united front to thwart such hindrances to growth by mutual cooperation and dialog with their neighbors, with help from the US, India and China, the dream of an Africa at peace will remain a distant one.

BRIC Summit Ends in Pune – India & China sign historic agreement

The BRIC summit ended in Pune with a landmark trade agreement which will open borders between India and China for the first time in modern history, resulting in the largest free trade zone in the world. China and India together form the largest economy in the world; a result of rapid and sustained growth post the 2010 Global Financial Reforms.

The new agreement, seen by many as the beginning of the end of the western world’s dominance on world affairs, will effectively change the way the world works. The BRIC economies, at about USD 12 trillion, together form about 25% of the combined economies of the BRIC and G6 nations. Roughly 65% of the population of BRIC nations is now between the ages of 15-60 (working age population). India’s and Brazil’s working age population is projected to increase until about 2030. In contrast, the working age population of the G6 countries stands today at about 55% and declining. China is today the second largest economy in the world at $12 trillion, and India the fourth largest economy at $5 trillion. The largest economy in the world that of the United States is worth about $15 trillion. The stunning growth in the Asian market becomes evident when we look back at 2010, when the GFR were introduced. At that time the combined markets of India and China were worth about $7 trillion against the mammoth US economy of $12 trillion (all figures in today’s dollar terms).

The agreement removes considerable taxes and legal restrictions levied on almost all trade, save on certain sections of the agricultural products market. The most significant of the changes comes in the manufacturing and IT sectors, with both countries agreeing to lift restrictions on businesses from either nation setting up shop within the others’ borders.

What makes this landmark agreement truly a moment of triumph is the long history of mutual distrust post the 1965 war between the nations, in which China effectively neutralized the Indian army. All through the 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s, China’s ally in the region was Pakistan, which sidelined India, especially in the post Cold War era. Political instability and increasingly radical Islamic leanings in the region led to the UN backed military actions in Pakistan in late 2012, which in turn resulted in the installation of Allied peace keeping forces in the country. Since the last 5 years, there has been increasing cooperation among the Chinese and Indian governments, especially with the 2015 Agreement on National Borders. With China expected to

become the world’s largest economy by 2040, and with India expected to sustain its current growth rate of 6% for the foreseeable future, things can only get better the two Asian giants.

Indian Service Sector Excited about Indo-China Trade Agreement

The heads of India’s top service sector firms expressed happiness over the new bilateral Trade Agreement between India and China which have made the potential for business between the two countries rise to unprecedented heights.

Indian business leaders have been optimistic about growth ever since the Financial Market reforms of 2010, yet surprisingly for a country with the second largest labor pool in the world, most executives cite the low availability of talent and high costs the greatest challenges to their business. The new agreement between the world’s two largest markets will make it easier for the Indian Service Sector to tap the Chinese labor pool to expand operations.

Back in 2010, few companies outside India believed that India would be a centre of massive growth in the near future. In a McKinsey poll taken at the time among 9000 executives from service industries around the world, about 50% believed that the US or China would account for most of the growth in their companies sales in the next 10 years. The same poll showed, however, that about 60% of executives from companies headquartered in India believed that the highest growth in their companies would come from India.

The reality, as we know today is that India has surpassed China by far in the service sector – thanks to the visionary leaders in India who have propelled the IT sector forward. China, on the other hand, has maintained a clear lead in the area of manufacturing and research.

The CEO of Wipro Technologies, in a press release, said today that he believed that Indian companies would grow their outsourcing potential to newer areas such as remote classrooms and offshore design labs. The technology and process leadership Indian firms enjoyed were evident from the fact that 75% of all IT outsourcing activities in the world today came to India. The closest competitor, China, attracts about 7% of the worlds’ IT outsourcing projects. In the areas of HR process outsourcing, Financial Markets’ back office outsourcing and Analytics too, India was way ahead of the competition, attracting more than 45% of the world’s business in each of these areas. The closest competitors secure about 10% of the global business in each area.

The view in 2010 was that India would lose out to markets which offered better labor arbitrage, but that line of thought changed by 2015, when Tech Giants IBM, Microsoft, TCS, Infosys and Wipro joined hands to advise the Indian government to build the countries infrastructure to a level where the best talent from around the world could be brought into India. The Indian Rupee, which used to trade at about Rs 44 to the dollar in 2010, is now valued at about Rs 20 to the greenback. This was expected, but market researchers predicted the downfall of the Indian IT industry (and the export revenues from India in general) as a result of an appreciating rupee.

This, however, has not happened. With a better understanding of outsourcing processes than any firms around the globe, Indian companies, and companies operating out of India have been able to innovate around existing products and services, develop new products and cut prices, all to an extent where the service sector in the country is a virtual monopoly over the outsourcing services of the world.

India has faced and overcome obstacles such as inadequate infrastructure, a highly regulated environment, increasing competition, and inadequate legal protections to emerge as the world’s leading destination for services.

The captains of the Service industry are understandably upbeat about the inroads they are now free to make into their neighboring country, and are looking at aggressively expanding operations in the Chinese markets.

Social Security, Medicare Trust Funds to Expire by 2030

According to the annual report of the social security trust and medical programs, the funds which are currently supporting the nation’s elderly are estimated to be insolvent by 2030. The social security department and public services secretary, Mr. James Hernandez cited the decrease in revenue is mainly attributed by the increase in health care cost and the lower tax rates.

With the increase in the population and rapid aging the public will have less trust that the free market works effectively and henceforth are more open towards government interventions. Today most of the Americans spend more per capita on healthcare than any other country and by every objective measure and this spending pattern is not correlated with the outcome of better health.

In 2010, the new scheme for social security yielded very good responses but with decrease in the social security tax rates and increase in the expenditure has attributed this decrease in the revenues. Also during his second term in office, when Obama tried to pass the tax rise bill the congress denied to approve and rejected bill which had major setbacks in the health care policy.

With the change in the American government it is understood that there is a shift in gears with respect to the health care policy, the current president of the United States, Mr. Bobby Jindal will require proposing a remedial measure, while the congress must consider the proposal and it is not expected to act on them.

With the new proposal, the Medicare program is expected to receive 55 percent of funding from the general revenue than any other government programs. The payroll taxes and insurance premiums constitute the other source of funding for the program.

Rahul Gandhi becomes the Prime minister of India Inc. for third consecutive time Indian national congress chairperson Sonia Gandhi pronounced Rahul Gandhi as the Prime minister of India for the third consecutive time. With this, Rahul Gandhi becomes the first Prime minister of India to have held the position for three consecutive terms of the government.  The decision comes after Indian National congress won 276 votes from its 32 constituencies to emerge as the winning party in the 17th Lok Sabha elections. Rahul Gandhi, 49, will take the Prime ministerial oath on the 27th of this month.His work on guiding the youth of the country constructively as a part of the Indian Youth congress has been well appreciated in the past by the millions of Young Indians. He has proven to be a leader and his leadership has bought the country, reforms such as complete Adult literacy, Children and Women Healthcare and agricultural development and development of the villages in India.

Rahul Gandhi has come a long way from winning the elections from the Rae- Bareilly constituency with a landslide majority, retaining the family stronghold with a margin of over 100,000 as the Congress unexpectedly defeated the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2004 elections to becoming the prime minister of the country for the third time. The government will now be focusing more on the development of the rural India, report the sources. What will be done by this government for the betterment of the country and the people has yet to be seen, but Indian National congress is surely rejoicing over this announcement.

Rupee appreciates against the Greenback, ends at Rs 25/ Dollar

The Weakening US economy and 100 basis points interest rate cut by FED has led to dollar depreciating further against the other world currencies like Indian Rupee, Chinese Yuan, and Euro. The dollar has ended at all time low against rupee at Rs 25/ dollar. The dollar stabilized at this rate after it showed volatility in the past few months. The Dollar Rupee rate 10 years back during the same period was 52 – 53 Rs/ dollar which indicate a fall of 50% within a span of 10 years.

While this news might be beneficial to the importers in the country, it spells bad news for the majority of the exporters including IT services. As said by Infosys chief mentor Nandan Nilekani, while Infosys has hedged this exchange rate risk in all its contracts from US by quoting the estimates in Euros, it will not be possible to maintain the margins of the company if the trend continues. This southward movement of the dollar might force some of the IT companies to cut costs which may mean smaller pay packages for the IT professionals and most of the offshoring contracts moving to countries like China and Vietnam.

As indicated by Finance minister Milind Deora, countries exports and tax revenues will be suffering a huge hit due to the local currency appreciating. Tight monetary control would be administered to protect the interests of the Indian exporters, as said by Mr. Deora in one of the interviews.

First fully residential complex constructed on moon

NASA along with the special construction team formed by the US government a few years back have finally finished the construction of the first fully residential complex for mankind on the moon. The special team formed under the supervision of NASA and the US government went on their mission to construct 10 ultra modern residential houses on the 24th of December in 2012. The whole complex has been built for a total cot of 1 trillion US Dollars.

The houses have been equipped with latest technologies and have been connected to all the happenings on the earth with the help of satellite dishes. NASA also has kept 2 AI robots in each house for the upkeep of these houses. The houses have been priced at a whopping price of 500 billion US Dollars.

However, the owners of these houses may find it uncomfortable in some aspects as there is no proper waste treatment plant yet installed on the moon hence, the owners will have to send the waste back to the earth for treatment through a special aircraft which will commute between the moon and the earth on a monthly basis. Absence of water source on the moon is another big challenge will be faced by the residents, but NASA has made arrangements to provide ample amount of water and oxygen to them.

The complex along with 10 fully furnished 2 bedroom houses also has a club and an entertainment center which will be showcasing all the daily happenings and movies from earth for the residents of the complex. The complex also has a provision for setting up of a small departmental store and would be open for lease by the US government soon after the houses are sold.

NASA after the successful implementation of this mission has now unveiled future plans for development on the moon which involves a 7 star hotel with a grand casino and a world class amusement park, work on which will be started soon in the near future. All this development is a big step towards reducing the population on earth and to tap on the much needed resources from other planets and space bodies.

India: Today’s Growth Imperatives Seen in the Context of Urbanization Challenges and Risks

With the increase in population and about 47% of the population is below the age of 25 India is now emerged as the most young and dynamic country in Asia. Based on the recent reports published by Goldman Sachs, the growth of India has reached phenomenal heights and today it is estimated that India’s GDP is greater than Italy with a growth rate of 3.9 percent annually.

The main attributes of this increase and growth are due to rising income and the increasing size of the middle class which is estimated to grow nearly 50 percent over next five years. With so much positive and new developments flowing in from all directions, India today is the focus, and the Indian growth story is being studied all over the world. India has come to be centre of attraction to all the international community

Today India is in a position of strength with Foreign exchange reserves of US$800 billion; booming exports which have crossed US$250 billion last fiscal year, and this year it is targeted at US$255 billion; the GDP growth is clocked at an average 6.5% in the last five years, and inflation is well under control of 1.1%; the Sensex also recently surpassed the 25,000 land mark and looks very attractive to the foreign institutional investors.

When looked at the other side of the coin, this rapid economic growth is also inducing some of the change in the society, viz. sizeable migration of labors from unorganized sector to the organized sector, and a rapid urban agglomeration, creating a demand for better quality of life including higher education, higher health care benefits and others infrastructure such as demand for housing, urban infrastructure, location of retail, and demand for consumer durables. It is also expected the upcoming of major highways is bound to drive growth in the transportation sector and creating spur in demand for more vehicles, also there will be an increase in real estate values and boost more construction of suburban homes as people escape congested cities.

Recent United Nations estimated that India’s urbanization rate will rise from almost 32 percent to almost 45 percent by 2025 (51 percent by 2030). In absolute terms, the increase will be drastic—from about 385 million to more than 675 million by

2030. Projections suggest that some of this increase will be reflected in a further growth in the size of India’s present major urban agglomerations in its mega cities- with the population of such cities as Mumbai, Delhi, and Kolkata rising from 23, 21 and 17 million to 28,25 and 21 million in 2029, making Mumbai the 3rd largest city in the world and Delhi the 5th. Clearly this implies the need for an increase in spending on physical infrastructure such as energy supplies, telecommunication infrastructure, clean water, roads, and sanitation as well as the provision of the social service and public goods infrastructure associated with the demands of urban populations (viz., schools and hospitals). With respect to the area of social insurance, India will need to move quickly to elaborate an adequate division of responsibilities between the public and private sectors for the construction of urban infrastructure. Mechanisms of public-private partnerships in industrial and emerging market countries needed to be framed in such a way as not to transfer excessive risk in the form of contingent liabilities to the public sector.

At the outset, it is important to underscore that many of the challenges that India is facing needs to be addressed through actions and investments by the private sector, with theGovernment’s role principally focused on establishing a clear regulatory framework.

Indian government to introduce strict ‘anti-tobacco’ law

In view of the rising number of deaths and other health hazards caused by tobacco consumption Indian health ministry is planning to introduce a new ‘anti-tobacco’ bill in the Parliament. The bill is believed to have some extremely stringent non-conventional provisions. The health ministry of India has been proactively enacting strict laws for the past 15 years ever since Dr. Ramadoss took over the health ministry in 2004. Some of the provisions included in the proposed law include reducing the cigarette manufacturing capacity to fifty percent in a period of five years in a phased manner, putting a cap on the maximum quantity that can be sold in the domestic market, banning tobacco imports and enacting more severe penalties for offence related to tobacco products. The bill seems to have been formulated on the lines of the ‘anti tobacco’ law act passed by the Singapore government in 2017. It is to be noted that Singapore government had been facing problems on account of overall deteriorating health of the population owing to extremely high percentage of smokers there. The Singaporean government has even fixed quota system for number of cigarette packets that can be sold to each person monitoring of which is being done by use of UBC (unique buyer code) which is to be entered by each buyers at the time of purchase. However, Indian health ministry is not planning any such quota system because of the lack of infrastructure to administer the rule and fears of surge in smuggling activities. In an interview Mr. Rahul Pilot, the Health Ministry said “We are in the process of formulating a law; work has also started to explore ways to implement the quota system. Loose ‘anti-tobacco’ laws have allowed cigarette consumption to increase rapidly over the years. Every year more people die of tobacco related disorders than any other disease. This will have serious implication if immediate actions are not taken in this regard.”Numbers of deaths caused by consumption of tobacco products has been growing at a significant rate in India over the past two decades. Two million died of tobacco related diseases in 2013 this number has increased to a shocking 2.6 million in 2019.Even though there is a growing consciousness about the ill-effects of tobacco in India but health ministry has been finding it difficult to check tobacco consumption in the country. The proposed law is expected to equip the health ministry with the strictness it needs to implement its plans effectively.

India abandons quota system

The government of India announced that it will withdraw the reservation that has been a part of the Indian legal system for more than 50 years. The issue has been a controversial one ever since it was passed into an act by the parliament. Protest against the said law gained momentum in early 2018 when the extension given to applicability of law expired and the government expressed its opinion of extending the law for another five years. Considering the huge public outcry, the central government decided to set up a seven member committee headed by Mr. Natrajan including two former Supreme Court judges who approved the famous reservation act of 2006.

The committee after conducting detailed studies in this regard concluded that the objectives of the law have been achieved to a great extent and further continuity of the same would give people qualifying for the reservation undue advantage over others; “Inefficiencies caused by the law will be far more than benefits derived from it, in the current scenario” Mr. Natrajan said in a press conference held in Delhi yesterday.

Considering the fifty year old history of the reservation system in the biggest democracy of the world, its abandonment will mark beginning of a new chapter in the Indian legal system. It is worth noting that there was 30% reservation for people falling under the reservation category as per act which covered both private and public sector corporate as well as educational institutions. Though reservation system was very effective in providing opportunities to people from backward class; it had been causing inefficiencies in the corporate world in the recent years. Corporate were also opposing it because of the inflexibility it had caused in their hiring process.

Government of India finally approves first casino project

After years of struggle, consortium of Indian hospitality and entertainment biggies have successfully convinced government to make gambling legal in India. The tourism ministry announced that it will set up a regulatory authority to monitor and administers casinos in India. The committee will be formed within a month so that it can come up with a first set of regulations for casinos.

Though there was no official announcement made in this regard but it is believed that in the first phase the government will allow six casinos to be opened in the states of Goa, Tamil Nadu, Maharshtra, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat. The number will gradually be increased based on the experience of the abovementioned casinos. Hospitality majors like Taj and Mariott and entertainment houses like Reliance and UB group have been trying hard to get an approval from government to go ahead with a casino project for the past two years but in vain. Last year they decided to join hands to get the same approved.” Casinos will give international tourism the much needed push and make India more competitive in relation to its competitors like Malaysia and Singapore” commented spokesperson from Taj Group.

It is believed that the regulatory authority will make keep the rules as strict as possible keeping in mind the social implication of such an approval. One such move can be to ban Indian nationals from gambling in Indian casinos, a policy which was for long followed in many countries including Nepal (with little effectiveness though).

“This is an exciting development” said Mr. Anil Ambani, Chairman of the Reliance group who was quick enough to unveil his multi-billion dollar casino-resort project in Himachal Pradesh if he gets the required approval from the regulatory authority.

Human right organizations have jointly filed a legal suite against this decision, they believe that making gambling legal will have adverse effects in Indian society and future generations. There are also concerns about other illegal practices are typically carried out in gambling houses. In response to these concerns a spokesperson from UB Industry said “UB group has always been aware of its social responsibilities. We will continue to maintain our high ethical standards and fulfill social responsibilities in this sector too. It will be too early to comment on the social implications of such a move but it will surely bring in more foreign tourists to the country as India is set to become a complete holiday package for tourists of all age and tastes.

Mankind in Danger: Earth is running out of Oxygen

WASHINGTON: Scientists have conceded that CO2 emission is no more a measure concern for global warming as the Earth continues to cool and requested to stop creating hype about global warming issue and politicizing the issue. They urged global media to spread new environmental concern, the scarcity of O2 (Oxygen) on the Earth. Around 10,000 years ago, the forest cover was at least twice what it is today, which clearly indicates that forests are now emitting only half the amount of oxygen. Recent NASA reports shows that in the North Pacific Ocean oxygen-producing phytoplankton concentrations are 50% lower today, compared to the 1980s. This is a significant drop in just four decades. Also the UN environment programmed confirmed that there are nearly 200 “dead zones” in the world's oceans where industrial waste and discharged sewage, farm fertilizer run-off and other pollutants have reduced oxygen levels so much that most sea creatures can no longer live there. This oxygen starvation is reducing regional fish stocks and diminishing the food supplies of populations that are dependent on fishing. It also causes hormonal changes and genetic mutations that can affect the reproductive capacity of sea life, which could further diminish global fish supplies. Research suggests that humans breathed a much more oxygen-rich air 10,000 years ago.

Humanity has pumped tremendous amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere by burning the carbon stored in petroleum, coal and natural gas. In the process, we've been consuming oxygen and destroying plant life – cutting down forests at an alarming rate and thereby short-circuiting the cycle's natural rebound. We're actually slowing down one process and speeding up another, forcing a change in the atmosphere.

Over the number of years it is observed that oxygen levels are dropping and the human activity has decreased them by 1/3 or 1/2. This change in the makeup of the air we breathe has potentially serious implications for our health. Indeed, it could ultimately threaten the survival of human life on earth Percentage of atmospheric oxygen is decreasing because of farm tilling, clay and soil formation, ditch digging, landslides, calcinations of cement; oxidation of freshly exposed faces of road cuts, fresh lava flows and open pit mines, and oxidation of foundry metals, etc. The Scientist community has issued warning last week that it is baseless to question about this concern that Earth is fast running out of oxygen as people around the world prepare to take last gasps of air. Scientists have put total blame for this crisis

on oxygen denial industry though there were people warning about the “Oxygen Crisis” in year 2008. This claim is supported by scientist all over the world except few of them, which we can count on finger.

It is high time for us to have a consensus that kills any dissent and we need to have scientists as political advocates.In end scientists appealed to developed nations to take this issue seriously before it is too late to take corrective actions.

New 512GB RAM launched by Intel

Today, Intel launches it’s new 512 GB RAM which will be available for commercial use and will be out by the end of the year. Intel was working on this high capacity RAM for some years now and final found success last year in August. After running through various rigorous tests, Intel would today be showcasing its latest invention in a grand ceremony which will be hosted in New York City later this evening.

The RAM has been designed specially to cater to big organizations that require high processing speed and memory for various different purposes. Intel is also targeting the ever growing gaming industry, which has a huge potential for high capacity RAM and would be an instant take away in the market. The RAM will be a good use for playing the 3D real time simulation games available in the market and would provide the user with the ultimate gaming experience.

The company has priced the 512GB RAM at an introduction price of $400 USD. The RAM is compatible with all the motherboards available in the market and the company is already working on a more compact size of the RAM which currently is 1” X 4” inches.

Intel is also working on a 4 THz micro-processor for personal computers, which is being made keeping in mind the drastic increase in the use of computers for personal purposes.

New Refrigerator range introduced by Whirlpool

Whirlpool, the leading appliances manufacturing company in the world, yesterday announced the introduction of their new innovative range of refrigerators under their long lasting series “Energy Star”. These new refrigerators are equipped with the latest laser technology and alert the user if a food item is approaching its expiry date or has passed its expiry date already.

The refrigerator has been made especially for fast moving perishable goods and expires within 7 days of production like milk products and bakery items. There are 10 lasers fitted inside the refrigerator at different places, which scan the item and relays the data to a micro chip which then alerts the user with the help of the electronic screen attached to the refrigerator to alert the user of any expired product. Whirlpool worked on this innovative technology for the last 7 years and finally came up with the initial design of the refrigerator last year. The company after then has dedicated all its time to this series and launched the refrigerators yesterday.

The refrigerators have been priced keeping the middle class segment users in mind and have been economically priced at $1499. The company however is facing problems catering to the needs of the market as there already has been a big demand for the product on its home website and on other e markets. The company has however assured that it has sped up its production process and will make sure that the product reaches its users within 7 days of the purchase.

Whirlpool after this path breaking series of refrigerators is now working on a more advanced series of refrigerators which will itself re order the food materials which will need replacement on a regular basis. Apart from this they are also working on a new range of waterless laundry systems as well.

United States Have Achieved 10 % reduction in CO2 emission over last 10 years

NEW YORK: When rest of the world is still struggling to limit the CO2 emission by industries, US have achieved it without affecting industrial output. “Tackling the global warming issue and convincing power plant industries to shift away from conventional fossil fuels “ is always been the focus for Government over last decade. US government has implemented various policies to reduce global warming pollution from power plants in the country. Government has subsidized power plants for being allowed to emit global warming pollution and always promoted the research in advance technology, which will lead to reduction in CO2 emission by various industries. Breakthrough in CO2 emission is a measure success of Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). This program has created a model that will help the federal government to take action on a national level. Government has taken a number of steps to cut global warming pollution, like setting global warming tailpipe standards, promoting renewable energy by providing incentives to industries. One important policy to auction the pollution permits to emit global warming emissions represents a remarkable precedent that has helped put United States on a path to a cleaner and more secure energy future; while providing important lessons for other nations. The United States have cleverly used the revenues from the auction of pollution permits for measures that help to lower the cost of the program, such as helping citizens and businesses save energy and promoting renewable energy.    To further promote reduction in CO2 emission, United States should have recommendations to enact stronger energy efficiency standards for vehicles, buildings and equipment; policies to dramatically ramp up renewable energy; and investments in public transportation.   

“Though there is much work to be done to meet the environmental and energy challenges of the 21st century, it indeed is an important milestone for United States on the journey to a new energy economy.”

World in Danger of Severe Water Crisis

NEW YORK: The United Nations warned that around two-thirds of the world's population will face a lack of water in less than 10 years if current trends in climate change, population growth, rural to urban migration and consumption continue. 

Speaking at a high-level symposium on water, UN Secretary-General stressed that "if present trends continue, two-thirds of the world population could be subject to water stress." 

"The lack of sanitation and safe water is associated with poverty and malnutrition, specifically among the world's poor," Secretary said at the two-day meeting organized by the World Water Organization (WWO). 

Unless urgent action is taken the conflict between water supply and demand is set to get worse, secretary told the symposium's participants, comprising of experts from the UN, Member States, as well as scientific, corporate, and non-government organizations. 

He noted that agriculture consumes roughly three quarters of the world's fresh water suppliesand use of water in river basin area exceeds minimum recharge levels, leading to the depletion of groundwater and desiccation of rivers.

The Deputy Secretary-General stressed that achieving water security would mean more effective water management, including enhancing food security through more equitable allocation of water for agriculture and food production. 

"It means ensuring the integrity of ecosystems, and it means promoting collaboration in the sharing of water resources, particularly in the case of boundary and trans-boundary water resources." 

The United Nations has appealed the international community to work together to improve such conditions.

The symposium aims to identify vulnerabilities and threats to global water security and propose solutions for the protection and preservation of water supplies.