News in numbers | India 62nd country to ratify Paris climate deal
In other news, US' Arnold Palmer, who won seven golf majors won , died on Sunday night at the age of 87 years
8
What is it? The number of satellites that were launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (Isro) PSLV-C35 on Monday.
Why is it important? The satellites that flew on India’s workhorse rocket included three from India, three from Algeria, and one each from Canada and the US. The main payload is India’s weather satellite, SCATSAT-1. It can predict formation of cyclones four to five days in advance by studying the wind speed and direction.
Tell me more: PSLV released the weather satellite into a 730km polar orbit and will release the other seven into a lower orbit of 689km. So far, PSLV has launched 39 satellites for Isro.
61
What is it? The number of countries that have ratified the Paris Agreement so far. India will be the 62nd, when it ratifies the climate change agreement on 2 October.
Why is it important? The US and China, the two largest carbon emitters, ratified the agreement earlier this month. With India, the third largest, joining the list, the world is closer to combating climate change better. The agreement aims to cut down global greenhouse gas emissions and limit global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial times.
Tell me more: It was widely expected that India would ratify the agreement this year. The agreement would come into force after countries that account for at least an estimated 55% of the total global greenhouse gas emissions ratify it.
$ 6.5 billion
What is it? The amount venture capitalists invested in Flipkart, Snapdeal and Ola since 2010.
Why is it important? The rationale is that home-grown start-ups would become “the Amazon of India" and “the Uber of India", just as China created its own internet giants in Alibaba (e-commerce) and Didi (cab aggregation). However, the last several quarters saw Amazon and Uber stepping up their gas in India, and might themselves end up being Amazon and Uber of the country. If that happens it could adversely impact the returns VCs are hoping to get from their investments and their outlook for India.
Tell me more: Amazon is estimated to have exceeded Flipkart’s sales in July. Post the merger of Uber and Didi in China, Uber has increased its focus on India.
68%
What is it? The percentage of votes with the top three telecom companies in the GSM industry body, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), according to Reliance Jio, which became a member in July 2014.
Why is it important? In a letter to COAI, Reliance cited this figure to allege that the industry body was favouring the top three companies (Bharti, Vodafone and Idea). COAI, in turn, called Jio a “backdoor operator", deepening fault lines within the telecom sector and the industry grouping.
Tell me more: Telecom is a frenemy sector. Besides competing against each other, operators depend on each other to provide network linkages to complete calls—a sore point currently—and to fill network gaps.
7
What is it? The number of golf majors won by American Arnold Palmer, who died Sunday night at the age of 87 years.
Why is it important? This ranks Palmer joint seventh among all players. All his seven wins came between 1958 and 1964, a period during which he competed against Jack Nicklaus (18 majors, ranked first) and Gary Player (9 majors, ranked joint fourth).
Tell me more: They were called the ‘The Big Three’ who made golf mainstream. And Palmer, the first TV star of golf, was nicknamed ‘The King’.
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