Think India Foundation

Entrepreneur invents technique to harness wind pressure from running trains

A Nagpur-based entrepreneur claims to have devised a technique to harness the wind pressure on a moving train to generate power, and has even obtained 22 national and International patents for the concept. “The technique has the potential to generate 14.81 lakh MW of power in India alone, with its 63,000 route kms of railways and 14,300 trains operating every day.”

Santosh Pradhan, Chief Executive Officer of a private Engineering firm said. “My calculations show that every single km of the network of the Indian Railways can generate 20.89 MW of power every day. In fact, nearly 10,000 MW of electricity can be generated in Mumbai alone, on the suburban train network of the metropolis,” he said.

Explaining the concept, Pradhan said that wind pressure is created on the front surface of the engine of a moving train. “This pressure can be harnessed using a system of turbo-chargers and impellers to generate a huge quantity of compressed air. A system of pipes and impellers can transmit this compressed air to the roof of the train. From there, it can be transferred to a matching system of impellers and pipes suspended from the fixtures of the overhead equipment above the track,” he said. Read More

Poor infrastructure, shortage of teachers mar education programme

Poor physical infrastructure and paucity of teachers continue to mar the performance of the government's flagship Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) scheme, says a Planning Commission study.

"50 per cent (of schools) do not have a boundary walls and separate toilets for girls...60 per cent do not have electricity. 88 per cent do not have a computer", it points out.

The study, aimed at evaluating the performance of the SSA, reveals that 18 per cent of teachers'posts have not been filled.

According to the study, most of the schools in Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and West Bengal do not have boundary walls. Shortage of teachers was witnessed in states like Assam, Haryana, Bihar, UP, Maharashtra, Puducherry and MP. Read More

Land takeover delays may cost projects worth $100 bn: Report

Prolonged delays in acquiring land for industrial projects could endanger potential investments worth $100 billion in India, according to an industry lobby report.

"Delays in land acquisition procedures for industrial projects are threatening to endanger investments worth $100 billion all over the country in near term," said the report of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham).

It said land acquisition related issues have dented the investor friendly image of several states. "Eighteen strangled projects of India Inc to the tune of Rs.2.45 lakh crore (Rs.2.45 trillion) remained on papers over the past three-four years," Assocham said. This is a "serious concern" which demands immediate solution to bolster the economy, it added. Read More

Push to get land for highways

The government has begun setting up specialised units to address the politically contentious issue of land acquisition for national highways.

This move will hasten the execution of the National Highway Development Programme that has been saddled with long delays due to various reasons, including villagers’ reluctance to dispose land for roads through their areas.

A report prepared by the statistics and programme implementation ministry has shown that out of the 195 under-construction highway projects, each worth more than Rs 20 crore, 41 are delayed due to problems of land acquisition.

The delay has not only led to time and cost overruns, but has also discouraged prospective bidders from taking up projects.

The government plans to award 12,000 kilometres highway projects to bidders by the end of this financial years. Read More

Housing for poor to be based on affordable EMI

The government is considering linking the monthly paying capacity of the urban poor to the kind of house she/he can afford. For the lower income group (LIG) and economically weaker sections (EWS) of the society, the outgo towards purchase of a house may not exceed 25-30 per cent of the monthly household income.

According to sources in the Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Ministry, a carpet area of between 250 sq feet and 800 sq feet may be affordable for the urban poor. The carpet area will also be defined for the lower middle income and middle income group besides EWS and LIG, the sources said, adding this proposal was recently discussed at a meeting of panel set up by the ministry to re-assess the housing shortage in the country. Read More

India to add 40 mn sq ft office space in 2009

With the economy regaining its momentum slowly, India will add up to 40 million sq ft of office space this year, which will be higher than many other advanced countries, but lesser than China.

"Despite the slowdown, India will add highest ever office spaces this year. We will see 30-40 million sq ft of office space coming up in 2009," global real estate consultant firm CB Richard Ellis Chairman and Managing Director (South Asia) Anshuman Magazine said.

The addition of office space will be more compared to many other advanced countries, except China, he added. Magazine, however, said demand has not picked up yet and the huge supply would lead to correction in rentals.

"Prices can further fall in certain pockets depending on how much supply these places can absorb. In other places, prices have almost stagnated," Magazine said, adding that some locations in Bangalore are likely to see decrease in rentals. "After 2-3 years when supply will decrease and demand will increase, probably then we will reach at a stage of equilibrium," replied Magazine when asked about the time by which office-space rentals could stabilise. Read More