India’s action on phasing down the HFC’s

India and US agreed to discuss how Hydroflouorocarbons could be phased down. Carbon Dioxide should be phased down first before HFC, but not yet decided. The phase down agreement draws some of our automobile, refrigerator industries to go in transition projects for their goods.

Summary:

• Action on HFC’s offers some commercial opportunities for Indian firms as per official norms.
• However there are 4 concerns highlighted by Opponents:
  • The action on Carbon Dioxide will be ignored by the developed countries and vice versa.
  • There is funding issues to proceed ahead.
  • India is forced into a corner as US and China have cut a deal on HFC’s.
  • It opens up India’s refrigerants market to foreign companies.
• What India should do now?
• • No compromise on Carbon dioxide phase down.
  • Identify impact of Carbon dioxide causing more negative impact than HFC’s
  • Support Indian Firms. Engage with Indian automobile, refrigerator industries to gain better understanding of their cost of transition, efficiency gains and losses etc.
  • Engage best global experts on safety issues relating HFC’s
  • Ensure that the replacements of the HFC emitted things are technologically safe

Reference: “More Lethal Greenhouse Gas” – Times of India. 25^th OCT 2013

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• Supermarkets failing to curb harmful emissions, study finds (sacbee.com)
• Enhanced oil recovery could help pay for carbon sequestration costs (environmentalresearchweb.org)
• US carbon dioxide pollution down 3.8 percent (sacbee.com)
• How a greenhouse gas is causing a global rift (theguardian.com)

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Increase in smartphones impact the revenues of Telecom industry

Summary:

• Skype costing 36.5 billion$ annually for the global telecom industry.
• WhatsApp and WeChat has impacted the SMS revenues to fall down.
• Overall international voice calls are reduced due to skype and google hangout.
• Hope for indian telecom industry as most of the rural India still uses voice calls.

Details:

• Skype and Google Hangout impact the Over the Top (OTT) i.e. voice calls
• India ranking 5^th, led by China, US, Brazil and Germany in the global user base. This has a high impact
• Though Voice calls are cheapest in India, there is a threat that data calls can take over the revenues.
• SMS revenue fallen to 3-5% (of overall revenue) compared to 7-8% of previous year.
• AppStore and Playstore dominated the operators apps that control the billing

Reference: “Apps May  Prove to be a Drag on Teleco’s” – Economic Times 24^th OCT 2013

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• Google Hangouts vs Skype: Which is Cooler? (blogsitestudio.com)
• Google Plus Hangouts For iOS Gets Free Phone Calls (techweekeurope.co.uk)

US Shutdown

This is on the US ‘shutdown’ and the impact on other countries.

Summary:

• America’s biggest export is war!!!
• US regularly interferes with domestic affairs of other countries.
• US partly responsible for the inflation in India
• For now the crisis is averted.
• If crisis arises in US, rest of the countries go in to crisis. Why?
• Is there any way to downsize Uncle Sam?

Details:

• America aggressively interferes to put it mildly in the internal affairs of other countries as it has done in Vietnam, Iraq Afghanistan etc.America’s biggest export is War!!!

• When US economy sneezes the world catches dengue. This is very true as US regularly interferes with the domestic affairs of other countries even when it has no conscious intention of doing so.

• The slowing of the Indian economy and fall of Indian rupee against dollar – which resulted in increased inflation is partly due to US policy decisions regarding economic mess it has created for itself

• For now the crisis – Shutdown is averted by a deal between democrats and republicans in Washington. But how long? Any crisis, which arises in US, is crisis for rest of the world? Is there any way to downsize Uncle Sam?

Reference “US Creates problems to world like an overgrown teenager with Attitude – Downsize Uncle Sam” – by Jug Suraiya, Times of India, Page 18. 23rd Oct 2013

Related articles

• US Shutdown: What Does it Mean for Markets and the Global Economy? (hispanicbusiness.com)
• Who and What Are To Blame for Uncle Sam’s Imminent Shutdown? (senseoncents.com)

An Airport at Panvel makes no sense

Summary: 

• Developers has to change course of rivers
• Coast erosion
• Bird problems
• Increase transit time
• Competitive disadvantage

Detail:

As per Cidco (City industrial Development Corporation), the nodal agency for the project, claims that airport at Panvel will be operational in 2017. But this is unlikely.

From ecological and civil engineering point of view the airport site is about the worst anywhere.

• Developers will have to change course of ‘Ulwe’ River, widen ‘Gadhi’ River to avoid flooding.

• They will have to cut down two hillocks, cut down 160 hectares of mangrove forest that protect coast erosion.

• Kanrnala Bird Sanctuary is 9.5 KM away from the site. Bird ingestion into aero-engines can be as fatal to aircraft and passengers as to birds.

• Most of important transit traffic at Mumbai’s airport is domestic. As Panvel’s will have mainly domestic operations, the international travellers arriving at Mumbai will have to travel to Panvel to catch connecting flights. Increasing transit time.

• An airport used by many airlines (international) as a transit hub offers greater connectivity with major destinations globally, and higher frequency of services. India does not have a single regional hub. The second airport at Panvel will put Mumbai at a competitive disadvantage.

Facts: Delhi and Mumbai ranks 37^th and 48^th respectively on world passenger rankings.

Reference: “An Airport at Panvel makes no sense” by Hormuz P Mama. Economic Times, Page 14. 22nd Oct 2013

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• dna exclusive: Some want Navi Mumbai airport scrapped, others want to dream on (dnaindia.com)