Jan 30, 2013

Short Terms : Jan 2013

Foreign Portfolio Investment


  • In economics, foreign portfolio investment is the entry of funds into a country where foreigners make purchases in the country’s stock and bond markets, sometimes for speculation.
  • It is a usually short term investment (sometimes less than a year, or with involvement in the management of the company), as opposed to the longer term Foreign Direct Investment partnership (possibly through joint venture), involving transfer of technology and "know-how".
  • Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI): passive holdings of securities and other financial assets, which do NOT entail active management or control of the securities's issuer.




Green Haat


  • Green Haat is an initiative of Ministry of Environment & Forest (MoEF), Govt. of India to raise awareness on the rich forest and bio diverse heritage of the country among the growing urban population often living far off from the forests.Green Haat 2013 “Brings Nature to Our Lives”.



Red October
  • Termed ‘Red October’ or Rocra for short, the cyber spying campaign was launched in 2007 and is still active.
  • Russia tops the list of countries with 38 detected infections, India ranks fifth with 14 infections, after Kazakhstan (21); Azerbaijan (15); and Belgium (15). The United States is also on the list with six attacks.
  • The Rocra malware, called Backdoor.Win32.Sputnik, has been stealing data both from computer workstations, removable disk drives and smartphones, including iPhones, Nokia and phones running on Windows mobile.
  • It is capable of regaining control of computers cured of the malware and has even stolen documents encrypted with classified software ‘Acid Cryptofiler’ used by NATO and the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization since 2011.

Sovereign Wealth Fund - SWF

  • Pools of money derived from a country's reserves, which are set aside for investment purposes that will benefit the country's economy and citizens
  • The funding for a sovereign wealth fund (SWF) comes from central bank reserves that accumulate as a result of budget and trade surpluses, and even from revenue generated from the exports of natural resources.


Endowment Fund

  • An investment fund set up by an institution in which regular withdrawals from the invested capital are used for ongoing operations or other specified purposes.
  • Endowment funds are often used by nonprofits, universities, hospitals and churches. They are funded by donations, which are tax deductible for donors.

Zones in Forest Area
  • Successor to the controversial "no-go zone” concept, mining and other harmful non-forestry activities could soon be banned from forest areas identified as “inviolate”.
  • Buffer zone :  one km around such protected area.
Most Favoured Nation
  • The term means the country which is the recipient of this treatment must, nominally, receive equal trade advantages as the "most favored nation" by the country granting such treatment. (Trade advantages include low tariffs or high import quotas.)
  • As MFN clauses promote non-discrimination among countries, they also tend to promote the objective of free trade in general.