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Moving forward Bacteria on the wing |
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Hiking FDI limit in insurance
Choosing appropriate honorific titles
Herculean efforts pay Jump out of it! Brainy attempt losing way
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Moving forward The
recent visit of US Secretary of State John Kerry to India was an attempt to improve relations between the two countries. In this, the visit succeeded. He managed to smoothen over a number of irritants, including the earlier denial of a US visa to the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Kerry also pointed out, repeatedly, the depth and the potential of the relationship between the two nations. Calling on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Secretary of State laid the groundwork for the PM's summit meeting with US President Barack Obama, which is scheduled in September at the White House. Kerry also met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who did some plain speaking on a number of issues that have become irritants. She has apparently received some reassurances, and the Secretary of State stated the known US position on others. The first high-level contact between the US and the Modi government has given reasons to believe that the US is willing to make amends about its previous attitude towards Modi. The electronic espionage issue also figured prominently, as did the WTO talks, over which perceptions between the two countries varied sharply, as they did on Russia and its activities on Ukraine. The inclusion of US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker in the delegation underlined the US desire to improve trade. The civilian-nuclear deal has got stuck in indemnity clauses and both sides need to work out a solution that will be viable. India needs US help in meeting its electricity needs by tapping nuclear energy in a most cost-effective and safe manner. Indian engineers and IT companies need more access, which the present protectionist tendencies in the US make difficult. This is one of the many issues that can be sorted out, provided both sides make the effort. Kerry's visit has broken the ice and set the stage for a more meaningful interaction between the Obama administration and the Modi government. This is an important first step, which gives rise to many more expectations.
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Bacteria on the wing Chicken
samples collected in and around Delhi have been found contaminated with antibiotics, medicines designed to fight bacterial infections. The Centre for Science and Environment
(CSE), an NGO, made the claim after getting 70 samples tested. Chicken are fed antibiotics as this kills all bacteria in them, including the friendly variety, and more of the feed goes towards weight gain in the bird. But traces of such antibiotics also reach the humans who consume the chicken, and this rampant presence of antibiotics in animals and humans leads to the creation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, the CSE has warned. That in turn limits the effect antibiotics have on infection-causing bugs, making the fight against diseases difficult. The use of antibiotics in animals meant for human consumption started in the 1950s in the US and by the 1990s was a widespread practice, when concerns over growing antibiotic resistance led to some checks in various countries. The EU banned the use of antibiotics as feed supplement in 2011, while the US requires the withdrawal of antibiotic administration a certain period before slaughter so that these are expelled from the animal's body by then. India, however, has no regulation on the presence of antibiotics in food products. While there is yet no data or conclusive study in India to establish a link between antibiotic presence in chicken and drug-resistance in humans, there is definitely a case for carrying out extensive research on the subject, and also examining regulations regarding this in other countries. Worldwide, the farm animal industry has resisted restrictions. The chicken issue should also bring our attention to the larger concern of food contamination in India. Pesticides and fertilisers find their way into foods of all kinds, whether meat, milk, cereals, vegetables or fruit. A lot of it can be blamed on unscientific use of chemicals in agriculture because of farmers' ignorance. There being no meaningful check at the supply and consumption end of food, it has not become an issue ever. Along with food security, India needs to look at food safety too.
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Thought for the Day
Suburbia is where the developer bulldozes out the trees, then names the streets after them. — Bill Vaughan, American columnist and author
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ONE of the most remarkable effects of the outbreak of war between Austria and Servia is the more or less serious dislocation caused in the commercial activity of almost all other countries in the world. This, at any rate, is a factor which shows that the whole world is linked and the declaration of hostilities between any two nations or countries is undesirable and peace should be brought about by some satisfactory method of arbitration. The late Mr. W.T. Stead worked so hard to establish an international court of arbitration to which all matters of misunderstanding should be referred and war should be made impossible. It is a pity that human passions and prejudices are yet so strong as to render this method of settling disputes impracticable at present. Friends of India in England SIR Henry Cotton's article in the "Asiatic Quarterly Review" reminds us of the growing circle of friends in England who having retired from service in India are doing their best to help a voiceless country like India. The other day we reffered to Lord Curzon, Lord Sydenham and men of this type; and when we read their speeches and learnt attitude, we certainly felt discouraged on account of their pronouncedly unfriendly policy. A large number of retired Anglo-Indians settle down in England and though some of them belong to the Curzon-Fuller Sydenham school and are bound to oppose liberal reforms in Indian administration, there will be men like Sir Henry Cotton, Sir William Wedderburn, Messres. Bernard Houghton, Mr. Fielding Hall, Sir James Wilson, Sir Frederick Robertson, retired from Indian service to serve India by their advice. We sincerely hope that their ranks will increase and those of the Sydenham school will thin down.
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Hiking FDI limit in insurance It
was in 2002 that the insurance sector was opened up to private investment and a regulatory authority was put in place under the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act of 1999. Under the Act, a 26 per cent FDI share holding was permitted in private insurance companies. Now the government has announced to increase the limit to 49 per cent. This is being done in spite of the fact that the Parliamentary Standing Committee of Finance, headed by Yashwant Sinha of the BJP, had recommended in December 2011 not to increase the FDI limit in the insurance sector. The expectation from the enhancement of the limit to 49 per cent is that it will increase the inflow of foreign direct investment that will boost growth. It makes sense if FDI is attracted to infrastructure, industry or even retail, because that will create a healthy competition and lend growth to the overall economy. By the end of the financial year 2014 the LIC enlisted more than 30 crore policy holders and generated more than Rs 16 lakh crore of investible funds. Even the government realised huge amounts in the form of dividends and taxes. In 2012-13 alone the government realisation was more than Rs 7,809 crore. Due to its notable performance and efficiency, the LIC today commands about 85 per cent of the policies market with over 75 per cent share in the premium collected. A higher share in the policies market and a lower one in premium is a clear indication of the LIC serving small-income policy holders more than that served by private insurance companies. Private companies confine themselves to the higher income segments of society. The service efficiency of the LIC is indicated in the more than 99.7 per cent settlements of maturity claims and more than 99 per cent of the death claims. Further, private companies often mislead customers. The proof is that more than one-fifth of the policies get lapsed after the first premium, because the insured persons soon realise that the insurance product sold to them does not meet their requirement. It is quite disquieting that some major companies have a very high rate of policy lapses like Birla Sun Life 51 per cent, Future Generali 49 per cent, ICICI Prudential 42, Reliance 38 and Bharathi Axa 36 per cent. It amounts to a callous playing with the money of hapless investors in the private insurance sector. In the case of LIC, hardly 5 per cent of the policies lapse. When it comes to the settlement of claims, the rejection rate of private companies is over 11 per cent compared with only 1 per cent in the LIC. It is because of the very low level of public confidence in the private insurance companies that in 2012 some 800 branches of private companies were closed due to non-performance. Enhancement in the FDI limit to 49 per cent assumes that there is lack of funds in this sector. This assumption has no basis. Insurance business is in the hands of high-end business houses and also insurance business has no link-up between investment and the volume of business. Take, for example, Bajaj Alliance, which has an investment of total capital and reserve fund of Rs 4,844 crore and a premium income of Rs 6,893 crore, yet SBI Life has a premium income of Rs 10,450 crore with the capital and reserves of Rs 2,710 crore only. Further, insurance penetration and density depends on growth of the economy that puts disposable income in the hands of people. In spite of low incomes India has done well in the insurance sector. Life insurance penetration of 3.1 per cent compares well with 3.2 per cent in the USA, 3.1 per cent in Germany and 2.9 per cent in Canada. As the disposable income levels of the masses improve, especially in the lower and middle income segments of society, the penetration level will improve significantly and exceed the level of developed countries. It needs to be realised that people have more faith in the government and semi-government run organisations than in private companies. Often the foreign investors that make investment through
FDI, take out more funds than the amounts they invest and it is There is thus no reason or argument that supports the enhancement of FDI in the insurance sector. If the government is indeed interested in boosting investment through FDI in the insurance sector, it should be done in the agricultural insurance sector, especially in the crops sub-sector, which is prone to risks and uncertainties. In fact, no FDI should be allowed in the insurance sector. Better it would be to once again take over private companies and merge them into a General Insurance Corporation under an Act of Parliament. This will better serve the economic and social interests of the country.
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Choosing appropriate honorific titles He … merely bowed and responded in kind. 1. The invitation for the reception is addressed to Mrs and Mr
Varun Sinha. Even if we had addressed the couple as “Mr and Mrs Varun Sinha” in the initial draft of the invitation, the copy editor would have edited it as “Mrs and Mr ...”, simply because it seems so obvious. The title “Mrs” tacked to the full name of the husband completes the married couple's identity. The sequence to be observed is “Mr and Mrs”, followed by the first name and then the surname of the husband. If the husband occupies a senior position, the invitation may read as “The Chief Commissioner and Mrs Varun Sinha”. 2. Mr Anthony danced with abandon to his favourite song. “Mr” used with just the first name is an Indian variant though at times it is heard in certain regional varieties of the US too. The usage is regarded as unacceptable in standard language. Since one Anthony Gonsalves is being referred to, the speaker can either prefix the title “Mr” to the surname, as in “Mr Gonsalves” or to the full name, as in “Mr Anthony Gonsalves”. 3. My Mrs is away to Moradabad but will be back soon. Due to social inhibitions, some men avoid saying wife when referring to another man's wife or their own. They substitute it with “Mrs”, an Indian variant. “Mrs”, an abbreviation of the word “Mistress”, was used as a stand-alone word centuries ago to mean “a married woman”. 4. Mrs Sherry Lamba is here with her father, Mr Manohar Lamba. Since Sherry is married to Amit Goyal, she should be called “Mrs Amit Goyal” or just “Mrs Goyal”. Going by popular usage, she could also be called “Mrs Sherry Goyal”. Only “Ms” can take in her maiden surname, as in “Ms Sherry Lamba” or just “Ms Lamba”. Also, it cannot be “Miss” either because “Miss” is reserved for unmarried women. “Ms”, pronounced as “miz”, became popular in the 20th century to serve as a generic title in place of “Mrs” and “Miss”. In countries like the US, where most people drop the honorific titles easily and communicate with each other on a first name basis, certain professionals still assert their preferences for them. Indians are largely inclined towards using them, given their socio-cultural background. However, the debate here is not about using or not using honorific titles but about using correct forms and making appropriate choices when using them.
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Herculean efforts pay Is Greek mythology and its towering figure relevant in this day and age? It all depends on how it is presented; director Brett Ratner weaves a strong narrative with dashes of humour and not-too-copious doses of action to make Hercules 3D, the best release of the week.
It is an attempt to humanize the God-like character and make him overcome his family tragedy to live a normal life, amidst conniving folks lusting for power. Prominent among them is Cotys, King of Thrace (John Hurt), who gets him to wage a battle against the blood-thirsty warlord Rheuseus (Tobias Santelmann).
All this while and even after it, the clever, irreverent screenplay by Steve Moore and Admira Wijaya keeps the viewer going. There’s prophet Amphioraus’ asides on the Gods who promise but do not deliver and the reference to Haedes, as the ‘place where all the fun is’. First, Hercules and his men fight a band of barbarians and then proceed to meet warlord Rheseus, whose army is believed to possess Centaurs. But in truth, they are merely men on horseback. Rheseus is defeated and captured but the warlord proves to be a red herring. There’s a twist in the tail. Cotys combines with King Eurestheus (Joseph Fiennes) to fight Hercules. The war scenes are impressive and battle formations are impressive. The Archer is at her best and even after taking a tumble from a chariot doesn’t miss her mark. The climax is almost indoors in the temple Hera, where Hercules does a Samson and brings down the giant statue of Hera with obvious results. But even here, director Ratner steers clear of overkill, a major blemish in today’s cinema. Dwayne Johnson does a good job in the lead role. Ian McShane impresses and Rebecca Ferguson provides female relief. Veteran John Hurt still seems to relish these villainous roles. Yes, it’s worth taking a look at Hercules 3D.
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If 21 Jump Street was bad, well 22 Jump Street is worse. Much worse and a prime case of a C-Grade American film masquerading as comedy. As for the two directors, it is surely not a case of two heads being better than one.
Morton Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Greg Genko (Channing Tatum) are two detectives who think that by going to college they’ll meet the real criminals, but if these two are blundering misfits boss Capt Dickson (Ice Cube) is even worse. To make matters worse, Schmidt pretending to be into poetry gets friendly with cute fellow student Maya (Amber Stevens). They hit it off and sleep together, but only to later realise she is Dickson’s daughter. Trouble. And the cop makes a show of his rage by decimating a parents day lunch. Gross.
To cut a long story short (read film) and spare you needless piffle, this attempt fails spectacularly. If it raises even two laughs, it will be a miracle. And, one star is an exaggeration! — EEM
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This is no Lucy in the sky with diamonds, but one who is victimised by her boy-friend into being an unwilling carrier of drugs and in the process also changing her entire personality.
Luc Besson’s Lucy begins in Taipei, Taiwan, where powerful Korean drug-lord Jang (Choi Min-sik) holds sway. Lucy (Scarlett Johansson) finds herself forcibly carrying a briefcase (chained to her wrist) with the drugs and is supposed to meet Jang. There she is made ‘a mule’ or a carrier of drugs, which are surgically inserted into her stomach and in a bag. It is called CPH4, a highly valuable synthetic super-drug, which largely increases our brain capacity. Along with her are three other unsuspecting ‘mules’ sent to different countries to sell the super-drug. Meanwhile, Lucy is mercilessly kicked by the Korean bodyguards, which causes the drugs to leak into her body increasing her brain capacity alarmingly. She then enters a hospital and at gunpoint gets the drugs removed. Now she wants to alert the other ‘mules’ so that she meets Jang. With her telekinetic powers (putting ‘Carrie’ to shame), she can do well-nigh anything….or everything. This is Besson’s most FX heavy film, which he also edits quite well.
Scarlett Johanson, however, is as credible as she tries to be and succeeds to a large extent, especially in the earlier half and Choi Min-sik makes a controlled villain. Morgan Freeman is his usual loquacious, predictable self in this sci-fi fare, which flatters only to deceive. — EEM
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Saturday August 2 ZEE STUDIO 12:55PM The Italian Job 7:15PM The Midnight Meat Train 9:00PM Lara Croft: Tomb Raider 11:10PM The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe FILMY 12:00PM Dharam Adhikari 6:00PM Rangeela 9:00PM Raaj Tilak ZEE CLASSIC 2:00AM Trikal 12:58PM Mera Naam Joker 4:35PM Deewar 8:00PM Mere Humsafar MOVIES OK 3:15PM Shootout at Lokhandwala 8:00PM Singham 11:00PM Kalyug ZEE CINEMA 11:29AM Shiva: The Super Hero 6:01PM Aitraaz 9:00PM Judaai MOVIES NOW 11:55AM Iron Man 7:10PM Jumper 9:00PM The Karate Kid 11:20PM Troy &
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But the insurance sector is a different game. It basically involves small savings, particularly in the life insurance sub-sector. In general insurance, only a short period of one year or so is involved. It is mainly life insurance that permits long-term investment of premiums collected, because imbursements would be made generally after long periods except in case of accidental deaths. Therefore, for the purpose of generating long-term investment funds based on small savings in the domestic market, more than 240 private life insurance companies were taken over by the government in 1956 and the Life Insurance Corporation was formed under the Act of Parliament. The objective was to create a higher level of confidence in the minds of the public so that life insurance seeps deep and wide, particularly among small-income segments of society in the rural areas. Thereby, large amounts of investible funds were expected to be collected and fortunately expectations got fully realised. 
Honorific
Hercules (Dwayne Johnson) has a bunch of loyalists like warrior Thydius (Aksel Henrie), prophet Amphiorous (Ian McShane), Archer Atlanta (Ingrid Boise Berdel) and narrator Iolaus (Reece Ritchie). King Coty’s daughter Ergenia (Rebecca Ferguson) also supports Hercules for nefarious reasons.
Meanwhile, Genko gets friendly with a couple of football players for clues of a tattoo. But the real drug supplier is Ghost (Peter Stormare). 
In Paris, French cop Del Rio (Amr Waked) helps her track the other ‘mules’ and also drives her through the streets to provide the physical entertainment. On another plane, we have Prof Norman (Morgan Freeman) lecturing on the powers of the brain and how a person uses only 20 per cent of one’s capacity. However, Norman’s research is far behind. Lucy’s brain capacity keeps increasing upwards to 99 per cent, but the results are unintentionally funny. Now she can neither feel fear, pain or desire as she sets about her mission. But it is the last quarter that is the undoing of the cumulative build-up and by now the narrative has slipped out of grasp.
9:02PM &
pictures
Mission: Impossible II is an American action spy film directed by John Woo and starring Tom Cruise, who also served as the film's producer. It is the sequel to Brian De Palma's 1996 film Mission: Impossible.