Daily News Notes: 29th Feb, 2012

• ·         The government is focusing on development of clean coal technologies in coal mining in the country as coal is the main stay of the country energy and dependence on the same is likely to continue for quite some time in to the future.
• ·         Telecom Minister has said that India is looking at holding spectrum auctions for the fourth generation, 4G mobile services by the end of this year. Mr. Sibal also said that the government does not want to put the entire spectrum for auction at one go, but their final decision will depend on the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
• ·         President Gives Away National Tourism Awards (only major awards): (1.) Best State/ UT for tourism infrastructure and tourism related programs: Madhya Pradesh; (2.) Best State for Campaign Clean India: Sikkim; (3.) Best Heritage City: Hyderabad; (4.) Best Rural Tourism Project: Rural Tourism Project at Srikalahasti, District Chittor, Andhra Pradesh; (5.) Best Medical Tourism facility: Ruby Hall Clinic, Pune; (6.) Best Airport: Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad; (7.) Best Tourist Friendly Railway Station: New Delhi Railway Station; (8.) Best Tourism Film: Madhya Pradesh Tourism; (9.) Most innovative use of Information Technology / Best Website / Portal: Kerala Tourism.
• ·         India's economic growth rate slipped to 6.1 per cent in the third quarter this fiscal, the lowest in more than 2 years. This fall was due to poor performance of the manufacturing, mining and farm sectors.
• ·         A meeting in the Prime minister's office decided to increase the country's health outlay by 2.5 per cent of GDP. The meeting specifically focused on implementation of recommendations of the National Commission for Macroeconomics and Health and the High Level Expert Group on Health set up by Planning Commission. It has also stated that though funds for the Health sector will not be a constraint, there is a need to create adequate capacity at the centre and the states to meaningfully absorb the increased outlay.
• ·         In Kerala, the trial of the Kashmir Recruitment case began at the NIA Court in Kochi this morning. The Court directed that the proceedings be held in-camera. The case relates to the recruitment of youths from Kerala for waging war against the country. 24 persons are accused in the case including Lashkar-e-Toiba activist Thadiyantevide Nasir. Two accused in the case are absconding. The case was initially registered in 2008 and was later transferred to the NIA.
• ·         The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday said that it had intervened in the domestic foreign exchange market when the rupee's foreign exchange value had gone down against the U.S. dollar in the half-yearly period ended September 30, 2011. Foreign exchange reserves stood at $304.8 billion as at end-March, 2011. It increased to a peak of $322 billion as at end-August, 2011. Thereafter, it came down to $311.5 billion at the end of September 2011. “The main reasons for the decline are the revaluation effect and intervention in the domestic foreign exchange market,” RBI said in its half-yearly report on Management of Foreign Exchange Reserves. Till August 2011 (calendar year) the rupee was quoting in the 44-45 range to the dollar. However, it started falling sharply in September and moved above the 52-level in November last year. RBI's intervention helped improve rupee's foreign exchange value against other currencies. Although the U.S. dollar and the euro are intervention currencies and foreign currency assets are maintained in major currencies such as U.S. dollar, euro, British pound sterling and Japanese yen, foreign exchange reserves are denominated and expressed in U.S. dollar only. The Reserve Bank held 557.75 tonnes of gold as on September 30, 2011. Of these, 265.49 tonnes are held abroad in deposits / safe custody with the Bank of England and the Bank for International Settlements.
• ·         Agni V, the surface-to surface nuclear missile that is expected to give more teeth to India's deterrence programme, is likely to be test-fired for the first time in the last week of March or the first week of April from the Wheeler Island, off the coast of Odisha. Disclosing this here on Monday, V.K. Saraswat, Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister and Head of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), said the DRDO would conduct more test flights of the missile over the next one year. Countries across the world have been keenly watching India's progress in developing this missile, which will have three stages, all fired by solid fuel with a range of 5,000 km and is capable of carrying a one-tonne nuclear war head.
• ·         Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai will put forward India's case for joining the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) at an outreach meeting with the world body's key members in Vienna. The NSG was a western initiative, primarily aimed at emasculating India's nuclear industry after New Delhi conducted a nuclear explosion in 1974. Since then, it became a closed cartel that permitted only five countries to maintain nuclear arsenals while seeking to punish others who sought such a route. It is India's refusal to sign the NPT that has made it tough for it to join the NSG as well as other international export control regimes — the Missile Technology Control Regime, the Australia Group and the Wassenaar Arrangement. But compared to Pakistan, which is also keen on joining the NSG, India's path has smoothened after the NSG allowed it to join the global nuclear commerce mainstream. This led to India inking civil nuclear agreements with several countries, including the U.S., Russia and France, who will now set up nuclear power plants and transfer technology. India will explain its commitment to non-proliferation and attempts to meet international standards, besides stating its willingness to discuss the Fissile Missile Cut-off Treaty. Although several countries feel India, as a NPT non-signatory, should not be given membership, civil nuclear technology giants such as U.S., France and Russia have promised to back its bid as they feel its case is different from that of Pakistan and Israel.
• ·         India has welcomed the decision of the Government of Pakistan to transition from a Positive List Regime to a small Negative List for trade with India. There is reiteration of commitment that the negative list will be phased out by the end of this year. This will mark a dramatic shift in the lines that can be traded as now almost 90% items can be traded with Pakistan as opposed to 17% earlier.
• ·         Under the framework of the S&T Initiatives for Africa, Department of Science & Technology is holding a “India-Africa S&T Ministers Conference” at New Delhi. This major Ministerial level event is being organised in close coordination with the African Union Commission. The presence of the policy and decision makers from both sides will also help to discuss, outline and develop future S&T interactions including collaborative research, student and faculty exchange programs, knowledge and technology transfer platforms and various capacity building mechanisms which are relevant to the African country's needs.
• ·         India today took over the chair of assembly and governing board of Association of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI). Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Mr. Vinod Rai is the new chairman of the 45 nation strong Asian Organization of the Institutions of the Accountants General. ASOSAI is the largest regional organization of the government auditors. Mr. Rai takes over the prestigious post from Pakistan. The ASOSAI aims to promote understanding and cooperation among member institutions through exchange of ideas and experiences in the field of public audit. Mr. Rai welcomed the UN General Assembly resolution recognizing the autonomy and independence of Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs). The resolution says “SAIs can accomplish their tasks objectively and effectively only if they are independent of the audited entity and are protected against outside influence.” It also recognizes “the important role of SAIs in promoting the efficiency, accountability, effectiveness and transparency of public administration.”
• ·         Iraq invited Indian industry to actively participate in re-building the war-torn Iraq by making investments and entering into business ventures as needed investment in all sectors, particularly housing. Bilateral trade between the two nations has increased from $5.7 billion in 2006-07 to $9.7 billion in 2010-11. The main export items from India to Iraq include metals, electronic goods, basmati rice, meat and machinery. Imports include crude oil, fruits and nuts, sulphur, wool and chemicals. Iraq had enormous natural resources such as hydrocarbons, land mass and mineral wealth. Iraq also said that it is changing from centrally-planned economy to a market-economy and is also reforming its financial, legal and administrative infrastructure in order to integrate Iraq with the global economy.
• ·         During the emergency session of UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, UNHRC has asked Syria to immediately halt the attacks by the security forces on civilians. It means that if indicted, the top Syrian leadership may be put in future on trial for crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court in Hague. The Council is also set to pass a draft resolution to decry those responsible for human rights violation including the crimes against humanity. The death toll in the ongoing violence in Syria has crossed 7500. Meanwhile, the Syrian Ambassador for United Nations in Geneva walked out of the meeting by saying that this is not the right forum. He demanded that countries stop inciting sectarianism and providing arms to opposition forces in the country.
• ·         US President Barack Obama has created a new trade task force to investigate and crack down on unfair practices by American trading partners. The move comes amid concerns that unfair trading practices, especially by China, were harming US businesses by keeping its (china) currency artificially low in a bid to help China's exporters. Thus the International Trade Enforcement Center will aim to ensure US businesses have a level playing field.

Daily News Notes: 28th Feb, 2012

• ·         The Centre today favored decriminalization of gay sex in the Supreme Court, contradicting its earlier stand. As the proceedings began in the case, Additional Solicitor General told the bench that as per the government decision there is no legal error in the Delhi High Court verdict which had decriminalized gay sex in 2009.
• ·         The Department of Science & Technology, Government of India declared February 28 as National Science Day (NSD) 1987.  It is the celebration of excellence in Indian Science, in memory of acceptance of “Raman Effects” Sir C.V. Raman who got the Nobel Prize in Physics later. The NSD theme of this year is “Clean Energy Options and Nuclear Safety”.
• ·         The Rural Development Minister said that National Social Assisstance Programme, NSAP will be completely restructured and all payments under the scheme will be done through Aadhar-based payment system. He further said the restructured system will be in place by 10th of March this year and it will ensure that each beneficiary under old age, disabilities and widow pension schemes will get one’s entitlement every month and there will be no delay in payments. He said, the Central government spends nearly 8,000 crore rupees under the NSAP scheme, but the devolvement of funds is being done in a complicated process in a layered manner, which he said will be rectified and only one State Agency will be identified for receipt of funds for final disbursement to pass book holders through Aadhar-based system. The Minister informed that he had already written to the Finance Ministry for relaxation of certain norms like (1.) reducing the criteria for disability to 40% from the existing 80%, which leads to exclusion of a very large number of disabled persons in rural areas; (2.) presently the Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme gives assistance of Rs-200 per month to BPL widows over the age of 40, which can be modified to cover widows over the age of 18; (3.) demand to enhance the amount under National Family Benefit Scheme from Rs-10,000 to Rs-20,000, which is paid to a BPL family whose main bread-winner dies.
• ·         One of the major recommendations made by NDMA in the National Guidelines of Management of Cyclones was the establishment of the Aircraft Probing of Cyclones facility to significantly reduce errors to the extent of 30% in terms of landfall, intensity and storm surge. Govt. of India is taking steps to acquire a Hercules C-130J for this purpose along with an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). With this capability, all countries of the Indian Ocean Region would also be able to benefit greatly. It further informed that the NDMA is implementing the National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project in 13 cyclones prone coastal States/UTs in India with a view to address the Cyclone risks in the country. The project also aims to promote a culture of sustainability through efforts towards conservation of coastal eco systems. The Phase I of the Project is being implemented in the States of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. It also informed that it is for the first time NDMA has decided to address Urban Flooding as a separate disaster de-linking it from floods which affect a large tracks of rural area besides “scientific and technological innovations will greatly improve disaster management capabilities of any country”. On the response side, India will have 12 Battalions of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) which will be equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and trained manpower to deal with not only with all kinds of natural disasters but also with Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) emergencies. This is a unique force totally dedicated to disaster management which also take up community sensitization during non-disaster time.
• ·         In view of today’s strike, the Delhi government on Monday night clamped the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) on power companies to ensure electricity supply. ESMA will be in force for six months. [ill legitimate use of ESMA]
• ·         In Tamil Nadu, in a swift operation, officers of the Central and State Intelligence Agencies detained a German national in Nagercoil for his alleged links with the group heading the Anti-Kooddankulam agitation. The deportation comes in the backdrop of assertions from the centre that some foreign based N.G.O’s are behind the protests. With a shortage of 4000 MW of power, the government has officially implemented power cuts for domestic consumers extending from 2 to 4 hours across the state. Industrial units have been forced to have 2 day power holiday to tide over the crisis. With the central and now the state appointed committee, being satisfied with the safety mechanisms in place at the nuclear plant site, the state government may now be forced to take a call on the project.
• ·         In Madhya Pradesh, finance minister presented 80,030 crore rupees budget for the year 2012-13 in assembly in Bhopal. The budget has provision of 7710 crore rupees for the energy sector which is 49 percent higher than last year.
• ·         After the notice by National Human Rights Commission to the state government, around 304 victims of silicosis in Madhya Pradesh have been given relief and rehabilitation by the state government. Awareness campaigns are also being organized on time to time basis in the silicosis prone areas.
• ·         The center will start a pilot scheme called, Youth to the Edge, from tomorrow in the North Eastern Region. It aims to introduce youth from rest of the country to the region and organize combined adventure activities along with the youth from this area. Under the scheme the youth will be given exposure about local culture, traditions and life style.
• ·         Senior journalist George Joseph, who shot to fame in early 1990s for his reporting on militancy-hit Jammu & Kashmir, died following a heart attack. He was 58. Working as a coordinating editor with IANS, Joseph was posted to Kashmir in the early 1990 with the Indian Express and he became an eyesore for terror groups, especially Hizbul Mujahideen, because of his writings.
• ·         “The last speaker of the Bo language died in 2010 and the Kora language became extinct in 2009,” says linguistics Professor Anvita Abbi. Her new book, “Dictionary of the Great Andamanese Language”, released on Monday, is a blend of four different tongues of the region, two of which are already extinct. She explained “In the 1970s, the Indian Government realised that these languages are under threat and that the people speaking these languages were scattered all across the north Andamanese Islands. They were 26 families who were speaking these languages who were brought together and made to live in ‘Straight Island,' where they inter-married.”
• ·         Having cast its lot with the Arab League on the Syria question, India will step up its multilateral engagement with the Arab world in the coming months with a series of events that will include a visit to Cairo by External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna to confabulate with the Arab League and to re-engage Egypt, which is stepping out of the rigid policy confines of the Mubarak era. During his three-day visit, starting on March 2, Mr. Krishna will hold talks with the Foreign Ministers of the Arab League. The face-to-face meetings with Arab Foreign Ministers and other senior officials of the Arab League will also help South Block assess which way the wind is blowing on a host of issues critical to India such as Western sanctions on Iran, the direction and level of unrest in some Arab countries and its prospects of getting involved in reconstruction in Libya. Along with China, the solid support of Russia, India's key ally, to extend the life of the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has added new complexity to India's attempt to redefine its West Asia policy, which has been recently marked with a pronounced deeper engagement with the pro-West Gulf petro-monarchies. Trade between the Arab countries and India in the last few years has exceeded $120 billion and over 60 lakh Indians live and work in the Arab world.
• ·         India and Italy today sought to clear the air on killing of two Indian fishermen. Visiting Italian Foreign Minister expressed his regrets on the killing of the fishermen and said that he is satisfied with the judicial trial of the two Italian vessel guards allegedly responsible for the killing of the fishermen. He also discussed terrorism, Afghanistan situation and bilateral cooperation at the United Nations multilateral forums with his Indian counterpart. Italy is India's the fifth largest trade partner in the EU and both sides are eager to enhance their economic ties. Meanwhile, The Kerala High Court today asked the relatives of the two fishermen and the owner of the Italian vessel Enrica Lexie to explore the possibility of an out of court settlement on the compensation issue. The relatives seeking a total of 3 crore rupees as compensation from the vessel's owner.
• ·         Participating in a UN Security Council debate on 'Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea' in New York, India expressed concern over the surge in piracy (including its economic and social cost) in the Gulf of Guinea near the western coast of Africa, and extend its support to international efforts to tackle the threat of armed robbery at sea.
• ·         Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy became the Pakistan’s first Oscar awardee for her documentary film “Saving Face” about acid attacks on women. The practice of acid attacks in Pakistan leaves victims - who are mostly women - horribly disfigured in the face. Although thousands are affected by acid attacks, in a country where women are often the victims of numerous crimes, the problem has often been under-reported. But in 2011 legislation was introduced to address the problem. The Acid Control and Acid Crime Prevention Bill stipulate that attackers can be jailed from 14 years to life, in addition to receiving a 1m rupees fine (£7,000; $12,000).
• ·         China's export-driven growth model has reached a turning point and the government needs to put in place sweeping reforms to respond to declining growth and avoid a slowdown, a joint report by a leading Chinese think-tank and the World Bank has warned. The report called on China to embark on six “strategic directions”, from completing the transition to a market economy and investing more in innovation to boosting social services, to reach the goal of becoming a high-income country by 2030.

JUDIPOLISOCIO (Opinion): How child-mortality rates have changed since 1970

• THE frequent death of children before their fifth birthday is both a disaster for their parents and one of the most reliable indicators of country-wide poverty. 
• Advancements in neo-natal medicine and vaccination programmes have meant that great strides have been made across both the rich and emerging world in reducing the rate of child mortality.
• For example, in 1970s Mali, 37% of children born did not reach their fifth birthday. In 2010, that rate stood at a markedly lower 18%.
• One of the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals requires that by 2015, developing countries should reduce their under-five mortality rate to one-third of where it stood in 1990.
• Just 17 countries had met that target in 2010; notable among them were Brazil, Egypt and Turkey.
• While China, with 13% of the world's 636m children under five, is on course to meet the goal by 2015, it will be among only an additional 23 countries to do so, leaving 101 countries set to miss the target.

   

  

   

Photic News: French Rafale - deal of the year

Photic News: Unmanned AIRSHIPS - what next??

Photic News: All about GODHRA

Photic News: Indian Railways 2012 - budget demanded

Photic News: Sewri Mangroves

Photic News: Population of Working Age

Daily News Notes: 27th Feb, 2012

• ·         The Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting today released the 56th edition of India 2012 and Bharat 2012, an updated and comprehensive edition of the Reference Annual published by the Publications Division. He suggested that for the next year, the Media Unit should try to introduce the book in three formats i.e. the printed format, CDs and the electronic version. The main features covered in this edition of the year book, are Census 2011 which is the 15th Census of India since 1872, village electrification, MNREGA, Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, National Rural Health Mission, empowerment of women etc. It is a useful handbook for students, civil services aspirants, research scholars, academicians, authors, journalists and above all the general public.
• ·         Corporate India is expected to see a 9.4 percent rise in net profits in fourth quarter of the current financial year, after suffering a steep fall for two consecutive quarters, Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) said in its monthly review. Indian corporates incurred huge forex losses in the September and the December 2011 quarters because of steep depreciation of the Indian rupee. The main driver of profit growth is expected to be the banking industry, which is likely to see a robust over 42 percent rise in net profits due to lower provisions and low base, it said.
• ·         It is proposed that Inter-State Check posts in Golden Quadrilateral and North-South, East-West routes may be taken up for funding by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways during 12th Five Year Plan. There are total 177 Inter-State check posts in the country. Due to lack of ‘Single Window Clearance System,’ a typical truck operator has to face multiple agencies for obtaining clearances for carrying goods and paying certain charges at various check posts. These checks are conducted by respective agencies at separate points resulting in more than one detention causing lower speed, loss of time, higher fuel consumption and idling of vehicles leading to under utilisation of transport capacity and adversely affecting their operational viability. Integration of tags administration with inter-state road freight and passenger movement through online communication network systems at national, regional and local levels would enable a move towards borderless and paperless movement of traffic across state borders reducing transaction cost and overall logistics cost to the economy besides increasing the throughput of goods and passenger vehicles. The VAHAN and SARATHI platforms which are now being used for national permit scheme can be utilised for implementation of the ‘Green Channel’ for freight movement with single destination which accounts for a large proportion of the total consignments and is likely to go up with increasing containerisation.
• ·         The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) today signed an agreement for the second and final $200 million tranche of an ADB loan to support the provision of reliable, 24-hour electricity to rural households in Madhya Pradesh. The Madhya Pradesh Energy Efficiency Improvement Investment Program will open up business, employment and better educational opportunities for the poor. It will also support the second phase of the state’s ongoing $1.1 billion feeder separation program to improve power distribution infrastructure. At present the overuse of electricity for irrigation provided through a single distribution feeder leaves households short of power for much of the day. Ageing and overloaded distribution lines and transformers also result in large transmission losses. ADB’s loan funds will establish separate power feeders for households and agricultural use, install high-voltage distribution systems, provide new power connections and improve the financial sustainability of the distribution companies. The program will be carried out by the three distribution companies and is expected to be completed by February 2015.
• ·         As part of the second phase of excavation of the Megalithic sites in the district, more earthen burial urns (nannagadis) have been unearthed. The excavation is being done as part of the “Discovering Idukki” project of the district panchayat to preserve the historical remains in a heritage museum to be opened. This was the first time copper beads were found in a Megalithic site.
• ·         The Supreme Court today directed the Centre to implement the ambitious interlinking of rivers project in a time-bound manner and appointed a high-powered committee to chart out and execute the project as the project has already been delayed resulting in an increase in its cost.
• ·         The Health and Family Welfare Minister said that government is trying to provide universal healthcare in the 12th five year plan, in which steps would be taken to provide free generic drugs at all public health facilities for reducing financial burden on the patients.
• ·         The US and South Korean forces have begun military annual exercises (known as Key Resolve) on the Korean peninsula amid warnings from Pyongyang that the drills should not go ahead. They will be followed later in the week by another set of joint military exercises called Foal Eagle. North Korea has called the drills an unpardonable infringement and threatened to wage sacred war. South Korea says the annual exercises with its key ally are defensive.
• ·         The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) decided to go the second round of expansion of the Internet top-level domain name regime. The domain name is the concluding part of the web address that follows the dot, like .com or .org. Thus, on the cards in the coming months is a sustained expansion of the generic top-level domain name regime (gTLD), which is now restricted to a handful of gTLDs like .com or .org, and many country code domains like .in for India or .uk for the United Kingdom. It will take place in at least two phases, one of which has already been triggered in January and is in progress now.
• ·         Mobile devices — smartphones and tablets — that had a windfall sales year in 2011 are shaping an online landscape in which consumption patterns are rapidly changing, according to research agency report, ‘2012-Mobile Future in Focus'. Based on mobile markets, primarily the U.S., the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan and Canada, the report lays out a road map for trends likely this year. Central to the theme is the spike in the use of mobile devices — smartphones and tablets — as a gateway to access the web. The trend is most visible in Singapore, where it is estimated that mobile devices account for nearly 11.5 per cent of the web traffic. The U.K. and the U.S. come second and third at 9.5 and 8.2 per cent. India figures eighth in the list, with 5.1 per cent of the web traffic through mobile devices. With nearly 100 million internet users, in terms of actual numbers, India should rank as one of the biggest markets in terms of potential. Health ranks as one of the key segments of interest for smart mobile device users followed by retail and other e-commerce applications.
• ·         French silent drama "The Artist" triumphed over Hollywood biggies to win five awards including best picture, best director and the leading actor honors, and became the first silent film to win best picture since "Wings" in 1929 at this year's Oscars, held in Los Angeles. For 'The Artist', French Jean Dujardin bagged the best actor award, while Michel Hazanavicius won the best director award. American Meryl Streep was crowned the best actress for her portrayal of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady." The 84-year-old Christopher Plummer won the best supporting actor category for his portrayal in "The Beginners", while best supporting actress honours went to Octavia Spencer for her role of a house maid in "The Help". Scorsese's "Hugo" won five trophies in technical categories. In the Foreign Language category, Iranian movie, 'The Separation' directed by Asghar Farhadi was awarded the Oscar for best film. India's music maestro AR Rahman, who had performed at the Academy awards last year, returned to the prestigious ceremony this time as well as a part of the Oscars band.
• ·         Many former Olympians, have lavished praise on the Indian men's hockey team for qualifying in London Olympics after a gap of eight years, saying that the achievement would bring back the interest of the game in the country. Now the team has to prepare themselves to defend against great teams in the Olympic Game. The team's Olympic qualification was not just celebrated in the country but was also lauded by their counterparts across the border in Pakistan, who felt the side's presence in the mega-event is essential for the sport.

SCIENCENVIRO (Opinion): Demand Side Management of Power

• A unit of energy saved is greater than the energy produced as it saves not only on energy production but also on transmission and distribution losses. In other words, a “Negawatt” (a negative Megawatt) produced by reducing energy needs, saves more than a Megawatt generated. This is the idea behind the Demand Side Management (DSM) or the management of rapidly growing demand of electricity at the end user side.
• During April-November, 2011 there was a peak shortage of 13,491 MW and energy shortage of 44,788 MU.
• To combat the energy shortage two methods can be used. 

  1. First, to increase the production i.e. the supply side management and 
  2. Secondly, to conserve the energy i.e. the demand side management.
• Supply side management involves generation capacity augmentation, establishing new power plants and strengthening of transmission and distribution system.
• Demand side Management can be termed as a process to match demand with the availability of supply. It involves demand reduction, filling valleys and cutting peaks. Peak reduction is possible by using energy efficient equipments, using non-essential loads during off peak hours and implementing Time of Use (ToU) pricing. Creating awareness about energy conservation is the key to success of Demand Side Management.
• Energy Efficiency Programmes which involve using advanced equipment for end use services like lighting, cooling, heating, etc. These devices are energy efficient and consume less electricity.
• Peak Load Reduction Programmes which involve reduction of load on utility systems or in selected areas of the transmission and distribution grid. It includes interruptible load tariffs, time-of-use rates, direct load control and other load management programmes.
• The Ministry of Power is the nodal agency for energy conservation with Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) coordinating initiatives and activities on energy conservation.
• Electricity Act of 2003 lays significant emphasis on energy conservation and environmental protection.
• The DSM programmes can be in the field of Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL), timer control in air conditioners, energy audit programmes for large customers, street lighting, etc.
• The emphasis is also on Decentralized Distributed Generation, under which conventional as well as renewable energy sources such as Biomass, Biofuels, Biogas, Mini Hydro , Solar , etc are used to produce energy.
• In order to promote energy savings, the concept of green buildings needs to be encouraged.

  • They use traditional and renewable sources of energy, consume less energy and conserve natural resources.
• Demand Side Management of Power will be given thrust during the 12^th Five Year Plan. The load management programmes likely to get boost are:  Dynamic/Real Time Pricing based on real time system of supply and demand, Time of Use Rates where customers are offered different rates for electricity usage at different times of the day and Automated/Smart Metering for implementing dynamic/real time pricing or time of use rate structure and billing accordingly.
• There is a deficit of about 14,000 MW electricity demand in peak time and 8% deficit in energy.

  Demand side Management & Supply side management

  

  
  

  

  
  

  

  Compact Fluorescent Lamps

  

  Decentralized Distributed Generation

  

   

  Green Buildings    

  

SCIENCENVIRO (Opinion): Polio Updates

• On 13 January, 2012, India reached a major milestone in the history of polio eradication - a 12-month period without any case of polio being recorded.
• Cases in 2011                            1 (last case 13 January 2011)

  Cases in 2010                           42  

  Cases in 2009                           741 

  Cases in 1995                           50,000  

  Cases in 1985                           150,000 

  Last wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) case was on 13 January 2011, Howrah, West Bengal.  

  Last wild poliovirus type 3 (WPV3) case was on 22 October 2010, Pakur, Jharkhand 

  Last wild poliovirus type 2 (WPV2) case was on October 1999, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh  
• Since the launch of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988, the incidence of wild poliovirus has reduced by 99 per cent – from 350,000 children paralyzed or killed annually in 125 countries in 1988 to 649 cases reported in 17 countries in 2011 (as of 14 February, 2012). In 2006, the number of polio-endemic countries (countries that have never stopped indigenous wild poliovirus transmission) was reduced to four – India, Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
• The transmission of the most dangerous WPV1, which caused 95 per cent of polio in India until 2006, dropped to record low levels in 2010. WPV2 have globally eradicated.
• The polio partnership in India is led by the MoHFW, Government of India, with continued support from WHO’s National Polio Surveillance Project (NPSP), Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and UNICEF, as also the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
• During each National  Immunization Day, nearly 2.3 million vaccinators under the  direction of 155,000 supervisors visit 209 million houses to administer  OPV to around 172 million children  under 5 years of age across the  country.
• To reach people on the move, mobile vaccination teams immunize  children at railway stations, inside running trains, at bus stands, market  places, construction sites, etc.
• The key challenge now is to ensure any residual or imported poliovirus in the country is rapidly detected and eliminated.
• The importation of wild poliovirus into China in 2011 highlights the risk that India faces of polio returning to the country.
• The Government of India and all states are putting together Emergency Preparedness and Response Plans to ensure a rapid and appropriate response to any case of polio in the country.
• Ensuring populations on the move – migrants, nomads and cross-border movements – both inside and outside polio-endemic, high-risk and re-infected states and entering India from neighboring Pakistan and Nepal, are protected with OPV in each round.
• Keeping polio eradication as a key health priority in India until global eradication.

 

Daily News Notes: 26th Feb, 2012

• ·         The Delhi High Court has held that the Indian Railways is an enterprise and the Competition Commission of India, CCI is empowered to hear complaints against it for alleged abuse of its dominant position in the goods transport sector.
• ·         The Supreme Court has asked the Ministry of Civil Aviation to file its response to a plea challenging the Centre notification, which fixes different compensation amounts for international and domestic fliers. At present the compensation is 7.5 lakhs rupees in case of a domestic air passenger's death against 75 lakhs rupees for international fliers. A Bench of Justices issued notice to the Ministry on a plea challenging a 1973 notification of the Union government, which fixes airliners' liability in respect of passengers, baggage and cargo in different eventualities.
• ·         Twenty-two Tamil fishermen and their five boats were taken into custody by Sri Lankan naval personnel when they were fishing near the International Maritime Boundary Line. Lankan naval men alleged that the fishermen had crossed the IMBL while fishing.
• ·         In Odisha, 34 tribal poachers have been arrested in the world-famous Similipal Tiger Reserve Forests. More than 500 armed poachers have entered Similipal Tiger Reserve ahead of the Akhanda Shikar, the traditional mass hunting by the tribals. The arrests came during intensified crackdown by forest department security personnel.
• ·         The Odisha Government has imposed restriction on the visit of foreign tourists and researchers to the areas inhabited by primitive vulnerable tribal groups like Bondas, Dongaria Kandhas and other such communities without valid permission from the concerned district collector and magistrate. The decision has been taken following the controversy over the human safari in the tribal areas of Odisha. In case of any violation, criminal cases will be lodged against the tourist, sponsor, and tour operator under appropriate sections of the law. Besides, no photography and videography of the tribals belonging to the primitive vulnerable tribal groups will be allowed.
• ·         As per Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi, the incidence of cancer in North-East is the highest in India and it is well over the national cancer incidence of approximately 10 to 13 thousand individuals per crore of population. Cachar Cancer Hospital & Research Centre was started in 1996 by a voluntary organization at Silchar, and today it has become one of the three specialized hospitals for Cancer patients available in the entire north east India.
• ·         The Union Health and Family Welfare Minister has said that learning a lesson from the Polio programme could prove to be extremely useful in accomplishing the tasks of elimination of measles related child deaths and neonatal tetanus in India. Thus 2012 have been declared the year of the intensification of Routine Immunization. Shri Azad added that 26 million mothers and children have already been registered under the web enabled mother and child tracking system set up by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The system generates weekly work plans for the Auxiliary Nurse Midwives through SMS. Alerts are also sent to the beneficiaries to remind them of the date of the due health services. Shri Azad urged Rotary International, WHO, UNICEF, CDC, Gates Foundation, GAVI and other partners to now work to provide impetus to routine immunization and synergize polio eradication and Routine Immunization strategies. He informed that in 14 States where coverage is less than 80 percent, introduction of second dose of measles has been started.
• ·         The Neuro Spinal Surgeons Association of India is planning a formal recommendation to medical universities and also the Medical Council of India that a full-fledged five-year post-graduate course in spine surgery be introduced. What seems to be driving this idea is the failure rate of spine surgeries and also the confusion among patients over whom to approach – neuro surgeon or orthopaedic. It is a combination of spinal bone and the cord that was made up of nervous tissues and support cells. Therefore, the new course should be a combination of both orthopaedic surgery and neurosurgery. Scoliosis, a congenital defect that left the spine S-shaped, was another area that needed specific minute focus.
• ·         In Assam, in a bid to improve the social and economic condition of the people of insurgency affected Sadia, Kakopathar and Tinsukia areas, the Governor has taken the initiative to launch a white revolution. Bharat Integrated Social Welfare Agency has already submitted the detailed project report on it. Self Help Groups, dairy development societies and local banks to implement the scheme. There are 200 dairy development societies and 15 SHGs being involved in this process. It will cover Tinsukia in the first phase and will extend to Majuli in the next phase.
• ·         The Vice President Mohammed Hamid Ansari today released a collection of poems titled 'LAVA', written by renowned Bollywood lyricist and Member of Parliament, Javed Akhtar. The poems are both in Hindi and Urdu.
• ·         China on Saturday called on India “to refrain from taking any action that could complicate” the border dispute, in a statement that appeared to hit out at Defence Minister A.K. Antony's visit to Arunachal Pradesh earlier this week to mark the 25th anniversary of its statehood. It added that “China advocates seeking a fair and rational solution through equal and friendly negotiations”. China first began to strongly stress its claims and refer to the region as “south Tibet” in the late 1980s, coinciding with the declaration of Statehood. India and China have held 15 rounds of talks over the long-running border dispute, making little progress towards arriving at a framework to resolve disputes in the western, middle and eastern sectors. Before the late 1980s, analysts say, China had appeared more concerned about the western sector and the Aksai Chin region, which is presently under its effective control. However, it has since begun to increasingly stress its claims on Arunachal, particularly the Tawang region which is the site of an important Tibetan Buddhist monastery.
• ·         India will make a fresh appeal before the London-based Joint War Committee, a body of insurance underwriters, to exclude India's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) from the war zone notification considering that there have been no piracy incidents in Indian waters for the last nine months as the Navy had sanitized the country's EEZ. Exclusion of India's EEZ from the war zone has implications on premiums on insurance cover. More importantly, it has a security angle to it because once within the war zone list, ships plying the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea will hug the Indian coast for safety from perceived threats.
• ·         Syria votes on a referendum for a new constitution in the country today. The referendum comes in the wake of President Bashar Al Assad’s move to push for reforms in Syria. The proposed constitution promises to establish a plural democratic political system in Syria, ending decades of monopoly by the ruling Baath Party. It bans parties on regional and religious basis from contesting elections. It also limits the tenure of President for a maximum of two terms of seven years each.
• ·         Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev has warned that the crisis in Iran and Syria could spill over to Central Asia and called for closer security cooperation with former Soviet states in the region i.e. Central Asia. It added that the western powers were exploiting concerns about Iran's nuclear programme as a pretext to “re-carve the geopolitical map of the large hydrocarbon-rich region that includes Central Asia.”
• ·         People in Senegal are voting today in a Presidential election, with incumbent Abdoulaye Wade seeking a controversial third term. Mr Wade's re-election bid sparked protests in which several people died. Last month, the country's highest court, the Constitutional Council, announced that he could stand for a third term despite a two-term limit. The court also barred world-renowned singer, Youssou N'Dour, from standing in the election. Mr. Wade was first elected in 2000, ending 40 years of rule by the Socialist Party. Senegal, a former French colony, is seen as a stable democracy with an unbroken series of elections since independence in 1960. It remains the only West African country where the army has never seized power.
• ·         Tons of gold and silver from the wreck of a 19th-century Spanish warship have finally arrived in Spain, more than 200 years after a British fleet sank it. British warships sunk the Spanish frigate off the coast of Portugal near the Straits of Gibraltar during the Battle of Cape Santa Maria in October 1804.
• ·         Nearly 8,000 people, including 550 children below the age of 10, were killed in Sri Lanka's war-torn north during a final offensive to crush Tamil rebels, the census department of SL said on Saturday. Another 6,350 people went missing after government forces finally crushed the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May 2009. The census did not cover security forces killed in the war zone, but the military had previously said 6,000 personnel were killed in the final stages of the war. The census did not cover security forces killed in the war zone, but the military had previously said 6,000 personnel were killed in the final stages of the war.
• ·         Commenting on its decision to allow uranium exports to India, the Australian government this week said if India diverted its domestic uranium to weapons uses after receiving such exports it would be “very upsetting and very bad”, nevertheless it “would not alter the direction of the Australian government's policy”. Responding to a question on whether resistance to nuclear trade with India in certain international institutions was problematic, it explained that Australian policy in this regard was driven by two considerations: (1.) they are prepared to sell uranium to India as previously their position was to sell uranium to India.” (2.) the question of the fungibility of the uranium supplies in India had been addressed in the context of the agreement between India and the U.S. in that “The Americans had... got themselves a set of provisions that gave them a tracing capacity to make sure that [the uranium] they supplied India [with], they could trace it to the point where they could be certain that wasn't itself going into the manufacture of weapons. The same would apply to them.”
• ·         The tiny gulf nation of Qatar has been ranked as the richest country in the world. Luxembourg is second followed by Singapore in the third position. The list of the richest nations was compiled by the Forbes magazine. It said Qatar, has achieved this rank due to a rebound in oil prices and its massive natural gas reserves.
• ·         Indian women team's dream of qualifying to the London Olympics shattered as they suffered a crushing 1-3 defeat against the top-ranked South African.