Think India Foundation

Reform villages, Kalam urges youth on Facebook

New Delhi : Former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, India’s missile man, on Friday urged the nation’s youth to target reforming villages in the country as “vibrant engines of growth”. Dr Kalam interacted with an enthusiastic group of young men and women on the social networking website Facebook.

Organised by Penguin Books India to promote Dr Kalam’s latest book, Target 3 Billion, the Facebook chat attracted a large number of users hooking onto their screen in wait of his response to their questions. Read more

Source : asianage.com

India needs ‘intelligent' cars

Automobiles need technologies to address mobility problems on Indian roads.

Delhi is expected to grow more in the next three years than London in two decades.

India is listed as the sixth largest auto market globally, based on the sales for the year 2010 and 2011, with a projected growth of 7 per cent for the next year. Extracts reveal that by 2016, the size of the Indian automobile industry is expected to grow by 13 per cent, approaching the target of US$ 120-159 billion.

Presently, India is the second-largest two-wheeler and fourth-largest commercial vehicle market. Strategic alliances in the economies of developed countries have leveraged its success factors by raising demand and financial support. Read more

Source : thehindubusinessline.com

Rajasthan Amongst World's Best Locations for Solar Energy

"The conditions in Rajasthan are so favourable, that it will be amongst the most logical places in the world to implement photovoltaic solar power," says Edwin Koot, CEO of Solarplaza.

With India's highest solar radiation in western Rajasthan, half of India's solar power capacity in 2022 could come from this state, says Satya Kumar, managing director of Shri Shakti Alternative Energy Ltd. Read more

Source : evwind.es

JNNURM team in Ahmedabad city; Cong jumps onto inspection bus

AHMEDABAD: A four-member inspection team headed by the director and chairperson of JNNURM B P Sridevi is camping in the city to inspect high net-worth projects like the BRTS, roads and underground duct lines. The committee will also inspect the Bhadra fort for which an initial grant of Rs 32 crore was sanctioned recently.

The JNNURM committee initially had been intimated of complaints pertaining to poor quality works in the phase one and two of the BRTS project, which covers a stretch of 32 km. Senior Congress leaders had cried foul over road resurfacing projects being doled out to contractors instead of fresh roads for the BRTS. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

TERI lighting up millions of lives in a greener, eco-sustainable way

In 2007, The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI) undertook a bold, first-of-its-kind initiative-the organisation pledged to illuminate a million lives in an eco-friendly and sustainable manner, thereby ushering in an era of green energy in rural India. And if that was not ambitious enough, the organisation soon expanded its target to a billion from the earlier million, spawning the 'Lighting a Billion Lives' programme. 

TERI's initiative could hardly come at a better time. Today, even as urban India is embracing greener technologies with enthusiasm, as many as 61 million families in the rural countryside still rely on kerosene and wick lamps for illumination. In addition to being a highly restrictive means of lighting, these traditional lamps spew close to 5.5 million tonnes of harmful CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. And as the world wakes up to the need to monitor and control these polluting emissions, cutting down on the use of these lamps is undoubtedly a good way to ingrain sustainability into the rural framework. Read more

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com 

Only mass rapid transit solutions can provide India's urban commuters with efficient mobility

Billions of man-hours are lost with people 'stuck in traffic'. This fact is also echoed in government's national urban transport policy. The reasons are well known: exponential growth of motor vehicles with negligible increase in road space. To make things worse, unprecedented rate of urban population growth has been reported in the last census. So, travel within major urban networks such Mumbai and Delhi has become unpredictable.

Nobody will disagree that the best thing that happened to Delhi in recent years is the metro rail. Metro has altered the character of the city in many locales. In Mumbai, the electric train service is touted to be the lifeline catering to almost 80% of citizen trips. Read more

Source : articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com

Mono rail project for Indore gets going

INDORE: Engineering Projects India Limited (EPIL) made a presentation before the Indore Municipal Corporation on Wednesday for a mono rail project in the city. The proposed mono rail may cost around Rs 140 crores per kilometer.

General manager of EPIL, S K Jain made an elaborate presentation before the senior officials of civic body. Following the presentation the Mayor Krishnamurari Moghe asked the company officials to carry out a survey of the city and present a report for further deliberation. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Govt mulls use of light rail system in Capital

New Delhi : Taking a step forward to strengthen the public transport in the Capital, the government is once again considering its earlier plan of building a light rail transit (LRT) system.

Building LRT corridors will bring Delhi at par with several world-class cities such as London, New York,Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur that have an integrated multi-modal transit system. Read more

Source : hindustantimes.com

On fast track: Rapid Metro project work enters last lap

Gurgaon : Come July and the trial run of India’s first 100% privately funded and operated light rail transit service, Rapid MetroRail Gurgaon (RMG), would begin, easing commuting woes of lakhs of residents. 

The work of laying steel tracks, which have already arrived at a stockyard in Gurgaon,would begin in the next few days.

The consignment of equipment, including the insulated third rail, has also arrived from Austria. The third rail is a method of providing electric power to a train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the railway track. Read more

Source : hindustantimes.com

Mobile phones to aid infrastructure development

Villagers in India suffering daily due to lack of good infrastructure can now initiate action by clicking a picture of the concerned area on their mobile phone, and forwarding the same to the Union ministry of programme implementation, reports ET.

Srikant Jena, minister for programme implementation, has said that they are working on a proposal so that a complaint can be filed through mobile phones. Anyone can take a picture of a substandard road constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, or a poor quality house built under the Indira Awas Yojana, and send it to them. The ministry will inquire and act. Read more

Source : wirelessfederation.com 

Entrance exams merged for technical institutes

From 2013, CBSE will conduct the joint entrance exam, and IITs will design the question paper

New Delhi: Beginning 2013, all Union government-funded technical education institutes, including the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs), will admit students through a single entrance examination, Union human resource development minister Kapil Sibal said on Wednesday after a meeting with state education ministers.

With this, the government has formally merged the joint entrance examination (JEE) conducted by the IITs and the All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE) held by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). Read more

Source : livemint.com

New Cities summit from May 14 in Paris

The New Cities Foundation (NCF), a Swiss non-profit organisation working on the field of urban innovation in 21st century cities, will hold the inaugural New Cities Summit from May 14-16, 2012 in Paris.

The annual summit is the centrepiece of the Foundation’s work. It aims to be the leading annual global event on 21st century urbanization, with a unique focus on urbanisation in fast-growing economies in Asia, the Middle-East and Latin America. Read more

Source : indianexpress.com

Malnutrition in Karnataka : panel suggests ways for better coordination

BANGALORE : Re-survey of severely malnourished children recommended

Only about 55 per cent of children aged between 0 and 6 are covered under ICDS, says the report. File photo: K. Gopinathan

A committee set up to study child malnutrition in Karnataka has recommended several institutional mechanisms to improve coordination between the departments of Women and Child Development and Health and Family Welfare, the lack of which has resulted in “overlapping goals with accountability at stake.” Read more

Source : thehindu.com

Metro Phase -2 gets nod in Bangalore

Bengaluru : It is official now. The central government today approved Phase II of the Bangalore Metro Rail, giving the green signal for massive expansion of the network. The Phase I with 42.3 km and Phase II with 72.09 km will create a Metro Network of 114.39 km, with 101 Stations (80 elevated, 19 underground and 2 AT-Grade). “This will totally transform the city’s urban transportation scenario. The Metro Rail network will be able to carry 14.80 lakh passengers per day by 2017-18. It will considerably reduce traffic congestion on the City’s roads and will provide a fast, comfortable, safe and affordable mode of transport for Bengalureans,” a BMRCL official said.

The proposed four extension lines under Phase II are expected to provide the much-needed last-mile connectivity to commuters and also optimise utilisation of Phase­ I. Read more

Source : deccanchronicle.com

Poll panel steps help ‘minimise’ bogus voting

LUCKNOW - The once serious threat of bogus votes being cast, especially in states like Uttar Pradesh which at present is in the midst of a crucial seven-phase election to its 403-member state legislative assembly, has now been ‘minimised’ following a series of effective and “almost fool-proof” measures which have been introduced by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in recent years. 

Atiq Ahmad Siddiqui, the officer on special duty at the commission’s chief electoral office in the state capital Lucknow told Khaleej Times that, “with our electoral rolls now also carrying the identical photograph of the voter which appears below a tamper-proof hologram on his or her ECI identity card, it has become virtually impossible to impersonate a registered voter and cast a bogus vote.” Read more

Source : khaleejtimes.com

SCMS Group setting up centre on water technology in Kochi

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : The SCMS Group of Kochi is setting up an Indo-German Centre for Water Technology and Management. It will shortly become operational at the SCMS School of Engineering and Technology (SSET).

Germany is way ahead in the field of water technology, conservation and management. This will be the first international research project undertaken by the SSET Centre for Research Consultancy and Innovation in Engineering and Technology, the research division of SCMS Engineering College. Read more

Source : thehindubusinessline.com

Now, an ''App'' to locate where to Pee!

New Delhi : Six teams of IT experts and professors supported by the Water and Sanitation Program presented mobile applications or ‘Apps’ that can help support consumers and governments surmounting the water and sanitation problems in India. The event took place at Vigyan Bhawan on Tuesday.

The prototypes were presented to private firms such as Nokia, Vodafone and Accenture. Read more

Source : expressindia.com

CPI (M) bats for decentralised waste management

EVERYBODY wants decentralised management of waste, said Communist Party of India (Marxist) district secretary AC Moydheen.

He was inaugurating a public meeting in front of the corporation office in connection with a protest march organised by CPI (M) yesterday. CPI (M) expressed solidarity with the hunger strike by social activist K Venu and agitation by Lalur Anti-pollution Agitation Front. Read more

Source : cityjournal.in

Seeding a policy without the dirt on climate change

ICAR says knowledge of climate change impact in India is 'fragmentary'

Genetics mode: Researchers working with transgenic groundnut plants engineered for drought resistance at the glasshouse facility of the Genetic Transformation Lab at ICRISAT in Hyderabad. Photo: K. Gajendran

A recent international conference on climate change and sustainable agriculture in New Delhi brought forth the shocking realisation that there are no conclusive studies in India on the prospective impact of climate change on the agriculture sector including livestock and fisheries.

Much of the country's understanding comes from global data provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the World Meteorological Organisation and other world bodies. Read more

Source : thehindu.com

What makes pre-marital sex okay with teenagers?

A recent survey held across schools in metropolitan cities and small towns have revealed that teenager students are okay with premarital sex — not just with the idea of it, but a staggering 40 per cent has claimed of having tried it themselves.

In a country like India, where upbringing of children is strictly conventional, such statistics have come as a shocking revelation and experts and social commentators feel parents and school authorities are as much responsible for this as the students themselves. Read more

Source : deccanchronicle.com

Installation of LCDs in Hyderabad city buses forestalled

HYDERABAD : The much-hyped plans of APSRTC to install LCD television sets in city buses to provide entertainment for commuters seems to have been kept on a backburner for different reasons.

Last year, authorities had planned to install LCD television sets in air-conditioned and JNNURM buses under phase I of the project. The corporation had entered into a pact with a private firm for installing television sets in buses. Read more

Source : thehindu.com

Metro rail eyes IIT talent pool

The Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) is planning to approach the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and other prominent technological universities in the country to devise metro rail specific courses for engineering students, and train them to handle both the technical and management sides of metro rail operations in the next five years.

File photo: Work in progress.

HMR officials see a huge demand for engineers specialised in metro rail technology. With metro projects in New Delhi, Chennai and Bengaluru already facing a severe shortage of engineers having expertise in metro rail technology, HMR wants to make sure the supply meets demand. Read more

Source : deccanchronicle.com

Research: agriculture accounts for 92% of average global water use

Researchers at the University of Twente, in Enschede the Netherlands, report mankind's water footprint in the US Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The study quantified and mapped the water footprint (WF) of humanity at a high spatial resolution. Read more

Source : allaboutfeed.net

Solar energy in India

India is yet to utilise its solar potential; at present, solar power (photovoltaic and concentrating solar thermal power) contributes a mere 0.4 per cent of the total power generation.

Not so long ago, nuclear power was destined to save a country from energy drought by providing cheap and abundant power for centuries to come. Great political capital was expended, contracts signed. But, despite claims of being near perfect safety, damage did occur. Under unprecedented public pressure after the Fukushima incident especially, state and national governments have started to swear off nuclear power, making way for other renewable sources such as wind energy and solar power. Read more

Source : evwind.es

Auspicious C-Sections in India? Not really

Caesarean births in Urban India have risen from 7% in 1993 to 17% in 2006, the Economist pointed out in its new article. That sounds about true and probably the C-section births are much more than 17%. The Economist also points out the reasons for this rise as being: Indians’ belief in astrology, rise in mobile phone penetration which makes consulting astrology services easier, technology, and India’s rising income levels.

I disagree with all the reasons given by Economist for the rise in C-Section births. I will get to the real reasons in a bit. Before that let me get something off my chest. Technology and mobile phones are almost a standard template for all things related to India. Read more

Source : asiancorrespondent.com

Monorail makes partial trial run in Mumbai

Mumbai : The contractors constructing the Chembur-Wadala-Jacob Circle Monorail corridor conducted a partial trial run on Saturday to check the rolling stock and the electric supply systems.

A green Monorail rake chugged to and from the Wadala and Bhakti Park stations between 10 am and 11 am, attracting a crowd of onlookers. Read more

Source : indianexpress.com

Online learning has its ills

Yes, the influx of information and the volume of educational content that gets digitally archived daily are indeed overwhelming. But the sluggish pace of internet penetration and IT deployment means that the access to the same is disproportionately limited to urban centres of learning and the rest of India has miles to go before it can fully enjoy the benefits of a virtual classroom.  

Education system in India is largely supported by government machinery, and like most public sector endeavours it is powered by the individuals involved in it.

The advanced world is moving toward a free and secure online social learning network and virtual classrooms provide an easy way to connect and collaborate, offering a real-time platform to exchange ideas, share content, play and learn. Education system in India is largely supported by government machinery, and like most public sector endeavours it is powered by the individuals involved in it. If there is a willing soul around, it is effective but mostly that is not the case. The fact is that our education system has not been able to cope up with the changes. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

IIT Bombay students go green

Mumbai : Contrary to the popular perception that IITians do not give enough back to society, students at IIT Bombay have come up with their own unique way of spreading environmental awareness.

With the backing of an institute that boasts of momentous research in the development of eco-friendly technology, these students are willing to step beyond mere academic pursuits. The IIT Bombay Green Campus Initiative was launched a year ago with the objective of transforming the institution of world-class repute into a futuristic model of ecological sustainability and energy efficiency. Read more

Source : dnaindia.com

Companies must fight climate change

Leaders from across the world gathered in Durban in December last year to find common ground on what is currently the most important challenge facing humanity: climate change. With virtually no headway made since the Kyoto Protocol, there is precious little time left for all nations to act before we reach the point of no return. Governments across the world must give a clear signal that they are committed to a legal deal on climate change that puts the world on track to a low-carbon economy. 

While both developed and developing nations put forth their arguments keeping in mind their respective economic interests, it is important to note that businesses can, and must, play a vital role in building a greener world. Today, businesses across the world are committed to green growth and building a 'sustainable' global economy as it will ensure their future growth. There is a unique opportunity for businesses from developed and developing nations to collaborate and develop low-carbon technologies and business models. Read more

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com

Power T&D sector needs service tax relief in Budget: KEC MD

Indian Power sector is in crises. It is not only a sectoral challenge but now has become a national challenge. The Shunglu Committee has said that Discom (distribution companies) losses are over Rs 100,000 crore and largely funded by the banks, so even the banks will have an issue.

Most of us are discussing about generation and coal availability. But even the more serious problem is of under investment in the transmission and distribution (T&D) sector. The transmission lines are loaded 90% as against the world standard of 60-65%. Read more

Source : moneycontrol.com

'12th Plan must give special emphasis on agriculture'

Bhubaneswar (PTI) : Advocating a separate budget for agriculture in Odisha during the 12th five-year plan, a noted agricultural economist has said it would enable the state to achieve more than four per cent growth in the farm sector by giving special thrust and removing hurdles.

"Since Odisha'’s economic growth is over 9 per cent, higher than national average, there should be a separate budget for agriculture during 12th Plan period (2012-2017) to transfer the benefits of high growth to rural poor," said Dibakar Naik, Professor in Agriculture Economics in Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) here. Read more

Source : ibnlive.in.com

Problem solving, Bangalore-style

Three stories from the city illustrate how innovation and originality can be harnessed to ease India’s longstanding issues 

Last week, Bangalore had three of its citizens singled out for global honour. The work that the three individuals and their institutions are doing is quite matchless. Using original thinking and technological innovation, the three are attempting to solve the city’s and country’s intricate, enormous problems in three diverse areas. Read more

Source : indianexpress.com

Govt to set up specialised body for auto sector growth by Apr

New Delhi: A specialised body for promoting sustainable development of the Indian auto sector,dubbed the National Automotive Board,is likely to be set up by April.

"The proposed National Automotive Board (NAB),which is being finalised by the Department of Heavy Industry,is likely to be cleared by the Cabinet in a month," an official said. Read more

Source : zeenews.india.com

JK abandons GOI-funded academic programs

Srinagar : Though Jammu and Kashmir falls in seismic zone-V making it prone to high magnitude earthquakes, state government is sleeping over a Union Ministry of Home Affairs funded program to set up a hi-tech Disaster Management Center (DMC) here for carrying out research in the field of seismology. 

Not only this, a Union Ministry of Rural Development sponsored program for strengthening Panchayat Raj system in JK is upto similar fate, while Government of India subsidiary Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO), has asked JK to return allocated funds after the latter failed to utilize the same during the past five years to set up a research institute for urban development. Read more

Source : greaterkashmir.com

Intelligent transport solutions can transform cities

The state of urban transport in a city largely decides its livability index.

Most metropolitan cities are reduced to urban nightmares, thanks to their flawed urban transport model. Recently, I attended a lecture by Mark Gorton at Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA) on transformation of cities through intelligent transport solutions. Among cities with good urban transport systems, he cited the cities of Copenhagen, Singapore, Amsterdam, Munich, Tokyo, Guangzhou, of late New York and surprisingly, Ahmedabad too. Read more

Source : dnaindia.com

Swedish tech for arsenic-free water in Bengal

KOLKATA: The state government has woken up to the problem of arsenic contamination of ground water that has been gnawing people of Bengal for about two decades. A team from Sweden recently visited the city and demonstrated how arsenic-free water can be produced using the new technology. Arsenic levels were traced to be high in ground-level water. Places like Behala, Jadavpur, Santoshpur, areas in and Garia and Tollygunj, where people draw their drinking water from tube wells, were said to suffer the highest risk of arsenic poisoning.

Speaking on the sidelines of the two-day international conference on water quality with special reference on arsenic, state urban development and municipal affairs minister Firhad Hakim said on Tuesday, "There has been an overall lack of planning so far to tackle the arsenic problem. We are looking into the new technology. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

After wind and sun, Gujarat turns to tides for power

GANDHINAGAR : After pioneering in the solar and wind power generation, the state government is now likely to come out with a tidal power generation policy soon, given the huge potential of the state since it has the longest coastline in the country.

It has also decided to allocate a special grant of Rs 25 crore in the upcoming Budget for the purpose. Read more

Source : expressindia.com

Budget 2012: Provide fiscal measures to solar industry, says FICCI

The policy framework put forth by the MNRE through the National Solar Mission has accelerated the growth of the solar industry in India. However, there are some challenges for the manufacturers and developers of solar energy and associated activities in India. 

While MNRE is taking active steps to address the technology and on-ground risk perceptions through knowledge management and sharing, there is a need to provide fiscal measures to the Indian solar industry to enable a strong solar manufacturing base to develop in India and act as a hub for solar energy to the world. Read more

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com

Haryana wants more Metro stations

New Delhi : The much talked about extension of the airport Metro line up to Gurgaon may miss the 2016 deadline. The Haryana government is yet to give an official go-ahead to the Rs 1,613-crore project, the civil construction of which is supposed to start in March 2012. And now the state government, which has given an in-principle nod to the proposed project which has five stations, is considering increasing the number of stations. 

"We have asked Delhi Metro to work on this. If needed, we would not mind including some changes in the proposed alignment," said Parveen Kumar, administrator, Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA). Read more

Source : hindustantimes.com

PIL against windmill work in Jaisalmer dismissed

JODHPUR/JAISALMER: The Rajasthan High Court on Friday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking prohibition on setting up of windmills on pasture land in Jaisalmer. Terming the petition as frivolous, the court refused to consider the land referred to as pasture area.

Earlier on 24 December last year, the court while admitting the petition filed by an NGO, Libra India, had issued notices to revenue department, district collector, Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation (RREC) and windmill companies with regard to the allotment of the common land, more specifically known as "Charagah" land for establishing windmills in the district and had stayed the setting up of the windmills on this land. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Solar water pumps ideal for small & middle farmers, say PAU experts

The rate of electrification in India has not kept pace with expanding population, urbanisation and industrialisation, and has resulted in the increasing deficit between demand and supply of electricity, said experts of the Department of Soil and Water Engineering (SWE), Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), here on Thursday.

Dr A K Jain, Head, SWE, pointed out, “There is a limited availability/access to grid power in rural areas and the farmers have to rely mostly on hand operated and diesel operated water lifting devices and pumps. However, they are expensive to run. The farmers often run out of money buying fuel to operate their pumps before the crop is ready for harvest. To overcome this problem, solar water pumping system is an answer to the Punjab farmer.” Read more

Source : indianexpress.com

Mandya chosen for pilot project to save power

Mandya : Rs 7 crore to be spent for RAPDRP

Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (Cesc) is implementing the pilot project of Restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme (RAPDRP) in order to reduce transmission losses and to provide quality electricity in Mandya.

The project is being carried out at an expenditure of Rs 7 crore and would be implemented in two stages. In the first phase, Rs 2.31 crore would be spent on computerisation and is expected to be completed by the end of May, said Cesc superintending engineer Ashwath Reddy. Read more

Source : deccanherald.com

Samsung Launches The HOPE Project

New Delhi : Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a global leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies, today announced the launch of it Samsung HOPE Project, which aims to make a difference in the lives of underprivileged children by providing them quality education. Samsung aims to reach out to children across 100 villages in Tamil Nadu through Aid India, its selected partner and in Delhi /Uttar Pradesh through SMILE Foundation. Consumers too will get an opportunity to participate in this educational initiative and support this movement. For every Galaxy Note sold in the period between February and June 2012, Samsung will contribute Rs.100 towards supporting the selected projects.

“The Samsung HOPE Project that we are launching today is aligned with our Global Hope for Children program that seeks to bring attention to the worldwide need for childhood education and healthcare. Through the Samsung Hope Project, not only do we aim to provide good quality education to under privileged children, but also create an environment which is conducive to their overall growth and development. Read more

Source : lightreading.in

Spotlight on modern agri strategies, findings

ALLAHABAD: The two day 14th Indian agricultural scientists and Farmer's Congress would be held in the city from January 18. Being organised under the joint-auspices of Bioved research institute of agriculture and technology and Vigyan Prasar, Department of Science and Technology (DST), the congress would discuss the topic of diversification in agriculture agripreneurship.

Detailing on the congress, the director of Bioved, Dr Brijesh K Dwivedi said that the congress intends to disperse the modern agricultural strategies and research findings among the farmers to enrich agriculture, the backbone of the country. The life, living and culture of the people of the country depend largely on agriculture. Now a days diversification of agriculture has become a key word for the policy makers and planners for strengthening the agricultural sector as a whole and members of farming community in-particular. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

How to slash power subsidies

The irrationality and waste in energy subsidies in India has been a perennial theme in analysis of the Indian economy and in reform prescriptions. Progress has, however, turned out to be elusive in the face of ground realities and feasible politics. 

The power ministry, after struggling for over a decade through repeated exhortations, had the satisfaction of getting a resolution in a Chief Ministers Conference in 2001 that free supply of electricity to farmers should be done away with. Nevertheless, 10 years later, the situation regarding free or, practically free, supply of electricity to farmers is practically the same. No chief minister seems inclined to touch the issue. Read more

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com

The new terror weapon in India – ‘Sticky Bomb’

New Delhi: Indian investigators probing the bomb attack on an Israeli diplomat in Delhi have woken up to the use of ‘sticky bombs’ – a very unconventional weapon hence very dangerous. It has never been used in India and hence suggests the hand of a foreign agency. 

Known as ‘Obwah Lasica’ in the Arab world, the small and furtive sticky bomb has emerged as a device of choice for insurgent groups active in the Middle East. Read more

Source : zeenews.india.com

Kanpur: Decline of an industrial hub

Kanpur : The British era clock on the 128-feet clock tower flanking the still majestic, red bricked, Lal Imli textile mill factory may still be ticking, but the spinning machines within its walls have almost fallen silent. The once flourishing textile industry here, once earning the city the ‘Manchester of the East’ sobriquet, is almost extinct.

The city boasted the country’s first Indian Institute of Technology and was a renowned technical and industrial hub. It is now in decline. With little to speak of by way of infrastructure, politicians and political parties have done little to stem the gradual downslide of this city, still the largest in Uttar Pradesh. Read more

Source : business-standard.com

New transit card scheme launched on Indian bus network

A new transit card scheme has been rolled out across a bus network in India, it has been revealed.

Indian transport operator Ahmedabad Janmarg has launched the new technology across its fleet of vehicles which operates across the Bus Rapid Transit System in the city of Ahmedabad, reports the ISO and Agent website. Read more

Source : squidcard.com

India, Canada set to jointly fight viral infections

NEW DELHI : The International Consortium of Anti-Virals (ICAV), the Ontario, Canada, based non-profit organisation for drug discovery and development has launched a new international network to help address the scourge of infectious diseases in India and Canada. Called ICAV-India, the initiative is part of the Canada-India agreement for scientific and technological cooperation.

In an exclusive chat with Business Line here during the 10th international symposium, ICAV President and CEO, Dr Jeremy Carver, asserted that in the absence of effective prevention and intervention measures, development of anti-infective drugs is extremely important for the treatment of infectious diseases that continually threaten the country. Read more

Source : thehindubusinessline.com

Enjoy 'real India' in the heart of Delhi: Government to bring the countryside to the big city

The Delhi government plans to bring the Indian countryside to the Capital itself. To present the 'real India' to foreign tourists, the government has selected 14 villages, each with a water body, across the Capital. 

Green living: Chhawla tourism complex at Kanganheri

These spots will be redeveloped, restored and offered as a 'rural tourism destination' to the foreigners. The project, worth crores of rupees, has already received the necessary clearances. Read more

Source : dailymail.co.uk