Think India Foundation

Rural road construction saw ten-fold jump under UPA: Report

New Delhi: In a bid to bolster infrastructure growth, investment in road construction in rural areas saw a ten-fold jump under the UPA regime, according to the report card unveiled by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi on the fourth anniversary of UPA-II.

The government rolled out more than 20,100 all-weather roads across the nation last year, the report said projecting a rosy picture of sector, battling with scores of problems like equity crunch, delays in clearances and land acquisition besides major players abandoning projects mid-way. Read more

Source : zeenews.india.com

'India Sitting on e-waste explosion'

BHUBANESWAR : India today sits on a huge mound of e-waste as annually an estimated 8,00,000 tonnes are generated giving a new dimension to the already difficult scenario of solid waste management in the country.

According to senior scientist of the Ministry of Environment and Forest Dr NLNS Prasad, as many as 65 cities, headed by Mumbai, contribute more than 60 per cent of the total e-waste generated in the country. Read more

Source : newindianexpress.com

Watermarking data

The government has decided to put all water data about river flows and ground water in public domain

Towards transaprency: Water data can help empower stakeholders. Photo: Ritu Raj Konwar

In a bid to bring transparency in the water sector, the Centre has decided to put in the public domain all water data maintained by the Central Water Commission (CWC) and the Central Ground Water Board. The data, including river water levels, river discharge, siltation, reservoir levels, ground water levels and water quality, will be uploaded on the India-Water Resources Information System website. Earlier such data used to be made available only to the State governments. Read more

Source : www.thehindu.com

Panel begins talks on norms for heritage precincts

AFTER reiterating the 2007 guidelines for Marine Drive precinct, Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC) has initiated dialogue on the guidelines of other proposed heritage precincts in the city. The committee has scheduled a line of discussion on the guidelines prepared for Kotachiwadi, Bandra village, Matherpakhadi, Banganga and Fort precincts. Some of these guidelines have been awaiting scrutiny for over 10 years either from MHCC or the state Urban Development Department (UDD).

There are over 60 precincts between the island city and Borivali in western suburbs and Chembur in the eastern suburbs as listed in the proposed new heritage list. "As some precincts' guidelines have already been mapped and drafted, we will go through these first and scrutinise them after which we will look at drafting new guidelines for other precincts. The objective is to preserve the historic character of the neighbourhood," said MHCC chairman V Ranganathan. Read more

Source : www.indianexpress.com

Sachin Tendulkar horns in on urban noise pollution

Mumbai : Cricketer wants a cap of 10,000 honks to a car to keep decibels down.

Sachin Tendulkar has a cure-all for our ‘Horn OK Please’ conundrum: allot every car in Mumbai just 10,000 honks. Once this cap is reached, the driver will have to buy a new horn from the government, thus, making him/her think twice before honking repeatedly. 

This regulation would instantly tackle the problem of noise pollution on the streets. Read more

Source : www.dnaindia.com

Majority of Urban Indians are open to trying out food from different regions or cultures: Ipsos Study

MUMBAI - Global tastes are diverse and nowhere are that more prevalent than in the kitchens and dining rooms of urban Indian families. Indians are increasingly becoming global citizen and trotting the globe, they have good exposure to global cuisine, and it is no surprise that 57 per cent people are open to trying out food from different regions or cultures, according to the latest findings of a study conducted by Ipsos InnoQuest, a division of global research firm Ipsos.

Indian consumers indicated a wide array of interests, reflective of increased accessibility to food options from all over the world which are well stocked in large departmental stores that can be easily cooked at home as well as a broader acceptance of different types of food. Read more

Source : www.indiantelevision.com

‘Gender disparity in access to ICT a global phenomenon’

BANGALORE : Women are less likely to use the Internet than men in low income countries: U.S. official

Gender disparity in access to Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and the opportunities they create are not common to the United States or India. These problems are shared by women in technology all over the world, said U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary Alyssa Ayres on Wednesday. Read more

Source : www.thehindu.com

India Plans Special Technology Zone in Bangalore

NEW DELHI—India's cabinet will examine a proposal Thursday for a special investment region in the southern state of Karnataka for information technology, two senior officials said.

The proposed hub in Bangalore is expected to attract investments of 1.06 trillion rupees ($19 billion) from high-tech companies, IT services firms and electronic hardware manufacturers by 2032, the officials, who didn't want to be identified, told The Wall Street Journal. Read more

Source : online.wsj.com

TN fast emerging a solar power destination

CHENNAI : With 7,162 MW of installed wind capacity, Tamil Nadu is the leader in wind power in the country. But in ‘solar’ the State ceded the leadership position to Gujarat, which has over a 1,000 MW. However, the growing solar project pipeline in Tamil Nadu suggests that the State is fast emerging as a solar destination too.

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With a project pipeline of over 700 MW, most of which could come within one year, the State is gearing up to becoming a close second to Gujarat. Read more

Source : www.thehindubusinessline.com

India's Wind-Power Target Is up in the Air

India Is Targeting a Fifth of Its Energy to Be Generated From Renewables By 2017, but It May Fall Short on a Lack of Incentives

India's ambitious push to increase the share of renewable energy in its total power generation portfolio to nearly one-fifth by 2017 largely on the back of wind power could falter due to slow progress in implementing policies to attract investment to the sector, according to industry officials.

Wind energy accounts for around 70% of India's renewable-energy generation, excluding large hydroelectric power projects. A government target of doubling renewable energy output to 55 gigawatts in the five years to March 2017 relies heavily on growth in the wind sector. Read more

Source : online.wsj.com

Textile park to come up at Kadechur

BANGALORE : Minister for Textiles, Ports and Inland Water Transports Baburao Chinchansur on Tuesday said that a textile park would be set up on a 1,000-acre plot at Kadechur in Yadgir district with an investment of Rs. 1,000 crore for which the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) had been asked to release land.

Speaking to presspersons here, Mr. Chinchansur said that the park would be developed on an international model. Read more

Source : www.thehindu.com

Mini-hydro projects still a major threat to Western Ghats

BANGALORE : Project planned in Puttur taluk could submerge over 1,800 hectares

The Kunthur/Panaja range reserve forests where rare medicinal plants, endemic evergreen trees and endangered fish find habitat, could be submerged if the project is implemented, according to a study.

The blanket ban on all new mini-hydro power projects in the Western Ghats, ordered three months ago by the Karnataka High Court and celebrated by environmentalists, may not, after all, be as all-encompassing as was intended.

A 24-MW hydro power project proposed for the Kumaradhara in Dakshina Kannada’s Puttur taluk could well become a reality as it was sanctioned on ‘private land’ prior to the High Court order. The hydel project, proposed by Kukke Hydro Powers Pvt. Ltd., could submerge 1,882 hectares of land, including agricultural fields and prime forests, according to a report commissioned by the Western Ghats Task Force in April. Read more

Source : www.thehindu.com

Meet to discuss open market policy for sugar

BANGALORE : A two-day national-level conference of sugarcane growers will be organised on May 24 by the Farmers’ Association of Karnataka and Sugarcane Growers’ Association.

“The meet has been convened to discuss the open market policy for sugar decided by the government,” said Kuruburu Shanthakumar, president of the sugarcane growers’ association. Read more

Source : www.thehindu.com

No clear reason in the Kudankulam judgment

The European peace movement of the 1980s, one of the greatest popular mobilisations in history, coined many innovative slogans. One of them was, “Nuclear war can spoil your entire afternoon!” This severe, deliberate understating of the danger of mass destruction looming over the world was calculated to shake citizens of their complacency to become “active today” (in the anti-nuclear movement), not “radioactive tomorrow”. 

- Sudhir Shetty/DNA

Now, in a judgment giving the green light to the Kudankulam nuclear project, our Supreme Court tells citizens, without a hint of irony, that they must put up with “minor inconveniences” such as exposure to radiation, which causes cancer or genetic damage and is always harmful, because enormous “economic scientific benefits” (sic) will come from nuclear power, which “remains as an important element in India’s energy mix”. Read more

Source : www.dnaindia.com

Huda, other depts to get new offices

Gurgaon : The Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) has decided to make a fresh move in its five-year-old plan of constructing a new office building at Sector 29.

“We are planning to invite renowned architects/designers to prepare a fresh design of the building,” said Huda administrator Praveen Kumar. Read more

Source : www.hindustantimes.com

Panjim wastes food enough to feed a lakh

PANJIM: As India debates whether the Food Security Bill is the most effective way to feed its starving millions, it has come to light that around 12 tonnes of leftover food is collected as waste daily from nearly 250 hotels and restaurants located in the capital city, nearly half of which is fit for consumption. 

Considering that an average person consumes about 300 grams of food per day, the leftover food from Panjim’s favoured joints can feed about 100,000 hungry and or underfed Goans each day. Read more

Source : oheraldo.in