Current Affairs Current Affairs : Business & Economy : August 2009

August 14, 2009: Stephen Schwarzman is America’s Highest Paid CEO
August 14, 2009: Voter ID cards as age proof for pensioners above 80
August 14, 2009: Infosys: Most admired Indian company
August 17, 2009: Railways to replace electrical multiple units with IGBT technology save Rs 200 cr in fuel
August 18, 2009: ” Endeavour” is the Solar-powered racing car unveiled in UK
August 20, 2009: Genesis of Employment Guarantee Council

1. Infosys
2. TCS
3. Bharti Airtel
4. L & T
5. Tata Steel
6. Hindustan Unilever
7. HDFC
8. SBI
9. ITC

Base of ranking : Asian 200 survey of subscribers of The Wall Street Journal Asia and other business people.
Survey Areas: financial reputation, vision, corporate reputation, quality and innovation.

August 17, 2009: Railways to replace electrical multiple units with IGBT technology save Rs 200 cr in fuel
The Indian railways have decided to replace the electrical multiple units (EMUs) it uses to operate 2,415 trains in Central Railway and Western Railway zones with those running on three-phase Insulated Gate Bi-polar Transistor (IGBT) technology. This will save Rs. 200 crore annually on energy expenditures of railway.
What is IGBT?
The insulated gate bipolar transistor or IGBT is a three-terminal power semiconductor device, noted for high efficiency and fast switching. It switches electric power in many modern appliances: electric cars, variable speed refrigerators, air-conditioners, and even stereo systems with switching amplifiers. Since it is designed to rapidly turn on and off, amplifiers that use it often synthesize complex waveforms with pulse width modulation and low-pass filters.

Note: Indian railway will save 30 % energy by using this technology.

August 18, 2009: ” Endeavour” is the Solar-powered racing car unveiled in UK
At University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom a solar powered racing car has been developed which has been named ‘Endeavour’. It has hit the road for the first time with a test drive.It will take part in the Global Green Challenge – a 3,000-km race across the Australian Outback this autumn.

August 20, 2009: Genesis of Employment Guarantee Council
Employment Guarantee Council will be set up under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. This Council has following functions:

1. To establish a central evaluation and monitoring system
2. Advise the central government on all matters concerning implementation of the Act
3. Review the monitoring and redressal mechanism from time to time and recommend improvements and prepare annual reports to be tabled in Parliament
4. To undertake evaluation of the various schemes made under the NREGA .

The above updates are the summary of news published in Times of India, Business Standard and Financial Standard of 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 August 2009

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Month: Current Affairs - September, 2009

Category: Government Schemes Current Affairs