Friday, July 27, 2012

“End of LTTE by Sri Lankan Army is a strategic loss to India”. Critically examine.

The involvement of the Indian government in the Sri Lankan Civil War was based on several concerns, including its desire to project India as the regional power in the area, and worries about India's own Tamils seeking independence. The latter was particularly strong in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, where ethnic kinship led to strong support for independence for Sri Lankan Tamils. Throughout the conflict, the Indian central and state governments have supported both sides in different ways



Although Sri Lanka was a key member of Non-Aligned Movement in its initial stages, the Government of Sri Lanka's policies became pro-western as J. R. Jayewardene was elected prime minister with his landslide victory in 1977 parliamentary election. Subsequently he introduced a new constitution and Open economy to Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is the first South-Asian country to adopt Liberal open economy. Together with these developments, India was also concerned about
  • United States raising the strength of broadcasting facilities belonging to the Voice of America (VOA) in Sri Lanka, which could pose a threat to India's defense communication systems
  • Frequent high-profile visits of US defense officials to Sri Lanka including US Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger and Lieutenant General Vernon A. Walters
  • Sri Lankan government granting the tenders to expand the oil storage complex at China BayTrincomalee to Singapore companies
  • Establishment of an Israeli Interests Section in the American Embassy in Colombo
  • Sri Lanka government's purchase of European and Chinese military hardware
  • Sri Lanka government hiring Keenie Meenie Services (which includes ex-Special Air Service troops), a Channel Island-based British mercenary company, to train the Sri Lankan Special Task Force, a unit under the command of Ravi Jayewardene, the son of J. R Jayawardene
  • Presence of Israeli Shin Bet intelligence operatives to train Sri Lankan troops on intelligence operations, Pakistani Special Services Group led by Brigadier Tariq Mohommad to assist Sri Lankan commandos, and South African mercenaries to train Sri Lanka Air Force pilots in low contour flying, in Colombo, etc.[3]
Moreover, President J. R. Jayawardene did not enjoy the same warm relationship with Indian Premier Indira Gandhi that he had enjoyed with her father, Premier Jawaharlal Nehru.[1] Thus, with the outbreak of Black July ethnic riots, the Indian government decided to support the insurgent groups operating in Northern Sri Lanka.

24-7-2012

Higgs Boson - God Particle


'Silly label, God particle'




The Higgs boson is the last missing link in the highly successful quantum theory of particles, called the Standard Model. It is also highly unstable, very elusive. To detect it, one has to observe many, many high energy collisions of protons and build up the statistics. In the LHC, particles are accelerated through a tunnel, brought together at speeds close to the speed of light, producing showers of particles, with high energies, capable of generating the Higgs particle. It exists for only a tiny fraction of a second before breaking up into many other particles, and can be detected only indirectly by identifying the results of its immediate decay and analysing them to show they were probably produced from a Higgs boson.


Even in its lowest energy state, the Higgs field filling all vacuum has non-zero values everywhere. In fact, ripples or waves in the quantum Higgs field, create for fleeting moments the Higgs particles.The Higgs boson is itself very massive, and it must interact with itself. It itself mediates interactions with the Higgs field, and is itself an excitation of the Higgs field.

The full properties of the Higgs (or whatever was observed by the teams) are not yet known. In fact, the signature of what they observed, may be multiple Higgs bosons with the properties required by the next theory that the Standard Model would extend into supersymmetry.

Cosmologists seem to agree that all luminous matter in the universe makes up only four per cent of whatever there is in the universe.... The rest of it may be in the form of dark matter and dark energy. So if the 'Higgs-like' particle near-discovery at CERN turns out to be a more exotic form, it could help us understand at least dark energy. These possible future developments could get us closer to what particle physicists call the Theory of Everything, but the theory cannot say anything about life, evolution and the phenomena of mind and awareness.

It is not even clear how gravity, the last of the four forces of nature, will fit into the Standard Model, developing into supersymmetry and perhaps superstring theory. But it would be a start.

Some scientists see that the materialist view of the universe doesn't hold water because quantum theory demolished the solid, reassuring physical universe almost a century ago. Once it was discovered that matter is made up of invisible clouds of energy, once photons were found to behave like particles in one mode and energy waves in another, once the Uncertainty Principle turned actual existence into virtual existence, the blows to materialism became decisive. Quantum pioneers noted definitively, that all other fundamental particles, have no fixed physical attributes. Instead, particles are pure potential existing in a quantum force field, and they collapse into being a particle you can see and measure only when observed by the scientist who is measuring them.

'Why are we here?' is a universal question, and to answer it, you must ask, 'Why are we conscious? Where did mind come from?' In the alternative explanation, the entire universe is imbued with consciousness. Just as there are force fields, invisible but all-pervasive, a consciousness field can exist to uphold the activity we call 'mind'.

Infinite consciousness
The universe evolves, regulates itself, takes creative leaps, and exhibits exquisite mathematical rigour and beauty. The hallmarks of intelligence are there, waiting for the next paradigm shift. At the moment, the word 'intelligence' brings up the red herring of intelligent design, which no one except religious fundamentalists want to be associated with. 'Consciousness' gives us a less tainted word, and there is a growing community of theorists seriously thinking about a conscious universe.

If it exists, then you and I are embedded in the consciousness field. It is the source of our own consciousness, which means that we are not alone. As one physicist said, "The universe knew that we were coming." An infinite consciousness that spans all of creation sounds like a new definition of God; we are part of God's mind; that includes science.

Take your time, discover
The whole argument leads to a wild conclusion by most people's standards: it is God who is discovering the God particle. Infinite consciousness has created individual consciousness to go out into creation and look around. As it does, individual consciousness - meaning you and I - has been given free will and choice. We don't have to see our link to the infinite consciousness field. We can take our time discovering who we are and where we come from. Soon it might seem quite natural to say that the conscious universe saw us coming.

COSMOS Supercomputer


Stephen Hawking launches supercomputer


Renowned theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking has launched the most powerful shared-memory supercomputer in Europe.


Hawking anticipates that the COSMOS supercomputer, manufactured by SGI and the first system of its kind, will open up new windows on the universe, a university release said.

"Cosmology is now a precision science, so we need machines like COSMOS to reach out and touch the real universe, to investigate whether our mathematical models are correct," he said.

The COSMOS supercomputer is part of the Science and Technology Facilities Council DiRAC High Performance Computing facility, a national service for UK cosmologists, astronomers and particle physicists, as well as non-academic users.

Argentina honours Evita with 100-peso note


Argentina honours Evita with 100-peso note


As first lady, Evita swiftly took control of two pillars of her husband’s government — the relationship with unions and handing government aid to poor citizens, many of whom idolised her. While he focused on politics, she dominated the media with talk of improving living conditions for her “shirtless ones.”

“Evita gave form to today’s Argentina in terms of working-class consciousness, respect for workers no matter their rank, awareness that workers have rights and that they must be respected. Before, workers lacked any rights and there was hardly any social legislation,” said Mr. Pigna, whose book “Evita, Shreds of her Life” was just published. “This really set Argentina apart from the rest of Latin America.”


Some historians say that only now, 60 years after Gen. Juan Domingo Peron’s firebrand wife succumbed to cancer at the age of 33, are many beginning to consider how much her actions shaped the society they live in today.



Critics saw the young former dancer as a power-hungry tramp. Many were so furious at the way the foundation she created took from the rich and gave to the poor that they refused to mention her by name, calling her “that woman”.

Plant Protection


Plant Protection

Plant protection forms an integral part of crop production. It involves intelligent ways of quarantining of plants, a thorough regulation of pesticides, minimizing pest attacks and locust attacks and training and capacity building in plant protection.

Integrated Pest Management
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is an eco-friendly approach which aims at keeping pests below economic threshold level (ETL)  by employing all available pest control methods and techniques such as cultural, mechanical and biological control, with greater emphasis on use of bio-pesticides and pesticides of plant-origin such as neem formulations. A national plan on rodent pest management is under implementation to build capacity and train manpower, create awareness, involve community based organizations and launch rodent control campaigns at the village level in identified endemic areas. A campaign to prevent manufacture and sale of spurious pesticides has been launched by DAC (Department of Agriculture and Cooperation) in cooperation with all State Governments and the respective Central Integrated Pest Management Centres(CIPMCs). Keeping in view the growth in consumption of bio-pesticides and need to regulate their quality, assistance for setting up of bio-pesticide testing facilities is being provided.
The scheme ‘Monitoring of Pesticide Residue at National Level’ was launched in 2005 as a Central sector scheme to collect, collage and analyze data and information on a centralized basis, on prevalence of pesticide residues in agri-produce of farm-gate and market yards. During 2011-12, more than 12,000 samples including vegetables, fruits, rice, wheat, milk, butter, meat, fish and marine products, spices, tea, honey and water were analyzed.

Web Based Processing
Usage of the internet has enabled the web based Plant Quarantine Information System (PQIS) is now providing plant quarantine services relating to the issue of import permits, PSC's and release orders to importers and exporters. The Insecticides Act, 1968 regulates import, manufacture, sale, transportation, distribution and use of insecticides with a view to prevent risk to humans or animals and for matters connected therewith. In order to bring about greater transparency and efficiency in the process of registration of pesticides on-line registration of insecticides on website of the Central Insecticides Board and Registration Committee (CIB&RC) has been operationalized.

Seed Treatment
Seed Treatment Campaign consists of the use and application of chemical and biological agents on seeds to control primary soil and seed borne infestation of insects and diseases, which are threats to crop production. In view of threat perception to bio security of the country on account of increasing international trade, emergence of trans-boundary diseases of plants and animals (such as Ug-99 wheat stem genetically modified organisms, climate change) and bio-terrorism, Ministry of Agriculture has prepared a proposal for putting in place a National Agricultural Bio Security System (NABS). The proposal is based on recommendations of National Commission on Farmers headed by Prof. M.S. Swaminathan and National Policy on Farmers 2007.

Friday, July 13, 2012

13-7-12


- A NASA spacecraft named New Horizons is currently en-route to Pluto and will arrive there in 2015. New Horizons will return the first ever detailed images of the Pluto system, which is so small and distant that even Hubble can barely see the largest features on its surface.

Pluto was discovered by American Scientist Clyde Tombaugh in 1930. It was regarded as the ninth full-fledged planet in the Solar System but astronomers have since demoted it to a dwarf planet in 2006.

Pluto was declassified as a planet due to a recognition that it is one of several large, icy objects that reside in the Kuiper Belt, a region just beyond the orbit of Neptune.

- The Union Cabinet on Thursday deferred consideration of the much-awaited Forward Contract Regulation Act (Amendment) Bill that aims to give more powers to Forward Market Commission, the commodity markets regulator.

Sources said the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh deferred consideration of the Bill over which there is no consensus in the government.

The Bill is essential for the development of commodities futures market as it aims to strengthen the FMC by providing it financial autonomy, facilitate the entry of institutional investors and introduce new products for trading such as options and indices.

- Boeing has successfully tested the first of the eight P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft being built for the Indian Navy.

The aircraft, a next-generation 737-800 derivative, began its official flight test programme on July 7, taking off from Boeing Field in Seattle and landing three hours and 49 minutes later after demonstrating flying qualities and handling characteristics

The P-8I features open system architecture, advanced sensor and display technologies, and a worldwide base of suppliers, parts and support equipment.

- Internet censorship bill passed in Russia
The Russian parliament on Wednesday voted to approve a contentious bill that activists fear will introduce internet censorship by blacklisting sites deemed as undesirable.
In a further controversial move, deputies also passed in first reading a bill that makes libel and slander criminal offences with punishment of up to five years.

- I&B Ministry Opens a Facebook Page on ‘Community Radio India’
The objective of the page is to disseminate community radio information to a wider public and engage with over 134 operating community radio stations of the country and other stakeholders. The page will update the stakeholders on status of licences, screening committee meetings, permission agreements, clearances for new community radio station, consultations and events. This platform would also enable community radio stations to share information about their radio programmes, upcoming events, success stories, photographs and their challenges.

‘Community Radio India’ page also aims to encourage new and aspiring stakeholders of community radio by regularly updating them on CR policy, guidelines and by answering their queries. The information shared through ‘Wall’ posts will not only be helpful for them but would also inform individuals interested in community radio.


- Vice President of India Shri M. Hamid Ansari released the book titled Pax Indica: India and the world of the 21st Century written by Dr. Shashi Tharoor

M-SIPS


Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme to offset disability and attract investments in Electronics Systems Design and Manufacturing Industries

          The Union Cabinet today approved the proposal to provide a special incentive package to promote large-scale manufacturing in the Electronic System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) sector. The scheme is called the Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (M-SIPS). The main features of M-SIPS are as follows:
 (i) The scheme provides subsidy for investments in capital expenditure - 20% for investments in SEZs and 25% in non-SEZs. It also provides for reimbursement of CVD/excise for capital equipment for the non-SEZ units. For high technology and high capital investment units, like fabs, reimbursement of central taxes and duties is also provided.
(ii) The incentives are available for investments made in a project within a period of 10 years from the date of approval. 
(iii) The incentives are available for 29 category of ESDM products including telecom, IT hardware, consumer electronics, medical electronics, automotive electronics, solar photovoltaic, LEDs, LCDs, strategic electronics, avionics, industrial electronics, nano-electronics, semiconductor chips and chip components, other electronic components and EMS. Units across the value chain starting from raw materials including assembly, testing, packaging and accessories of these category of products are included. The scheme also provides incentives for relocation of units from abroad. 
(iv) The scheme is open for three years from notification.
           Approvals for incentives not exceeding Rs. 10,000 crores will  be granted during the XII Plan period.
           The projects with incentives of Rs 10,000 crores have potential to create employment for nearly 0.5 million persons. 
          The policy is expected to create an indigenous manufacturing eco-system for electronics in the country. It will foster the manufacturing of indigenously designed and manufactured chips creating a more cyber secure ecosystem in the country. It will enable India to tap on the great economic potential that this knowledge sector offers. The increased development and manufacturing in the sector will lead to greater economic growth through more manufacturing and consequently greater employment in the sector.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

2-7-12

http://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/2916-new-service-tax-regime-comes-into-effect-from-sunday.html


Scientist and associate director of the Indian Space Research Organisation Satellite Centre (ISAC) S. K. Shivakumar took over as its director on Saturday. He succeeds T. K. Alex. ISAC is ISRO's centre for conceptualisation, design, fabrication, testing, integration and in-orbit commissioning of satellite systems involving various cutting edge technologies.


With plans for 60 missions over the next five years, Isro will develop a third launchpad at its spaceport at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh to meet the growing demand. The new pad could also be used for launching Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk-III) carrying heavier satellites as also by the reusable launch vehicle, India's own version of a space shuttle. 
* It would include construction of a new vehicle assembly building, mobile pedestals, umbilical towers, emergency exits, ground escape system, crew ingress and egress systems, safety bunkers, material handling equipment and related electrical systems.
* It is also part of Isro's plan is to develop dedicated 'Space Park' next to the space port at Sriharikota.
*The new missions are necessary as there have been demands in the international market for Isro's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle to launch foreign satellites.

-  Russia and Western powers locked horns over a peace plan for Syria on Saturday as UN mediator Kofi Annan warned the conflict could spread across the Middle East and beyond. Foreign ministers and international diplomats were meeting in Geneva with governments still in dispute over whether Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, condemned in the West but still backed by Russia, could have any role in a political transition.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

23-06-2012

 Prabhdeep Kaur Batra, a resident of Model Town Extension, who has become the first Gursikh girl from Punjab to become a pilot with Indian Coast Guard and be awarded "Wings of Gold" sees her success as a fitting answer to all those who practice female foeticide. On Sunday, she will be honoured by Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee for the achievement.


 India’s Gayatri Spivak, a literary critic and professor at Columbia University, won the prize for arts and philosophy; America’s Ivan Sutherland has won Japan’s annual Kyoto Prize for his contributions to computer graphics technology and interactive interfaces that allow people to use computers without the need for complicated programming.; Japan’s Yoshinori Ohsumi, a molecular biologist at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, was awarded for his work in the basic sciences. - The Kyoto Prize is awarded each year by the Inamori Foundation, a charitable body established by the founder of Japanese electronic component maker Kyocera Corp. It is Japan’s highest private award for global achievement


Radha Vinod Raju, founding Director-General of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and key member of the special investigation team which probed Rajiv Gandhi assassination, died in Kochi on Thursday. He was 62. - The high point of Mr. Raju’s career was his central role in investigating the assassination of the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Later, he co-authored a book, Triumph of Justice, with SIT chief and former CBI director D.R. Kaarthikeyan. It described how investigators, starting with almost no leads, established that a hit-team from the now-decimated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam had carried out the killing.


- More than 6.6 million tonnes of wheat meant for the public distribution system, is lying in the open, running the risk of damage from rain, Minister of State for Food and Public Distribution K.V. Thomas admitted here on Thursday. - For now, the government has stocks to the tune of 82.3 million tonnes, against a storage capacity of 64 million tonnes. Of the 50 million tonnes of wheat, 27 million tonnes are kept in the open under the Covered and Plinth (CAP) method, of which 6.6 million tonnes are stored in an “unscientific way.’’;  The Minister pointed out that although the storage capacity of the FCI had increased by 40 per cent in last five years, there was storage deficit, as the government procurement reached an all-time high following a record output of wheat and rice for the last two consecutive years.; It is expected that an additional storage capacity of 4 million tonnes will be made available this year.


- Reliance Industries Limited’s (RIL’s) minority partner Niko Resources of Canada has stated that the flagship KG-D6 block holds 80 per cent less natural gas reserves than earlier estimated.


Standard and Poor’s Rating Services fears that out of the 48 companies it has rated, over half may default.;  Fifty-six companies, including Tata Motors and JSW Steel, will possibly have to pay $700 million in additional interest if they restructure the $5-billion foreign debt that is due for redemption this year, according to a recent report released by global rating agency Standard and Poor’s. 


*Restructuring options: 
The depreciation of the rupee against the dollar, a 30 per cent drop over the last two years, has added a redemption amount of about Rs. 100 crore. According to the report, companies can restructure the bonds in three different ways; rolling over the bonds with later maturity dates and higher coupons, lowering the conversion-to equity price or convincing the bondholders to accept partial repayment of the principal. Of the rated entities, Tata Motors is likely to redeem its FCCBs at manageable costs this year and Tata Steel has already rolled over the maturity of its bonds.
This refers to the report “Lessons on how not to pitch a quota” (June 21). The Andhra Pradesh High Court declared the executive order giving 4.5 per cent sub-quota to the minorities void for various reasons. It is a fact that the order was promulgated in undue haste — the government did not do proper homework and did not follow the due process of law — but to say that the whole exercise was unconstitutional would amount to a superficial understanding of the working of the Constitution. Who constitutes the backward class is for the executive to determine. The judiciary does not have the right or the expertise to analyse it.;  The Supreme Court has only refused to stay the Andhra Pradesh High Court verdict; it has not upheld it. It is a matter of interpretation of the Constitution and therefore difficult to predict what the apex court’s thinking is.
Greece named a new cabinet to end two months of political deadlock on Thursday and said it would aim to revise the terms of an unpopular EU-IMF bailout deal but without risking its eurozone membership. ; A joint statement by the conservative, socialist and moderate leftist parties in the coalition said the aim was “to revise the terms of the loan agreement without endangering the country’s European course and its place in the euro”.; The most closely-watched appointment was that of Vassilis Rapanos, chairman of Greece’s biggest lender National Bank of Greece, who will spearhead efforts to aid an economy now in a fifth year of recession as the new finance minister.; The new foreign minister will be New Democracy’s Dimitris Avramopoulos, a former diplomat and ex-Athens mayor who was previously defence minister.
Coming at a time when its been raining brickbats from pretty much all quarters — including global firms, rating agencies and the domestic industry — the government today came out with a ‘fact book’ enlisting the strength of India as an “incredible investment destination”. -- 
Despite the brouhaha, created by the retrospective amendments in the Budget, the ‘fact book’ titled ‘India: The Incredible Investment Destination’ tom-toms the country’s “favourable tax regime” and the “strong financial regulatory framework”. The book says India’s real GDP is 60 per cent higher than what it was five years ago, while FDI soared by 414 per cent to $46.8 billion in 2011-12. The report highlights the country’s good growth prospects fuelled by ongoing economic liberalisation and strong domestic demand. 
Emphasising on the country’s strong economic fundamentals, the book claims that India has a “favourable tax regime” along with a stable financial system, strong external liquidity position, high degree of political stability, low susceptibility to event risk and strong financial regulatory framework.
The book comes at a time when rating agencies, including S&P and Fitch have indicated a possible downgraded of India’s investment rating. In recent weeks, many global financial services firms such as Morgan Stanley also lowered India’s growth forecast.
Reform UN to reflect change of time, situation: Germany  -- Global financial crisis, reform of United Nations, terrorism threats and other issues of mutual interest were today discussed in a meeting between External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and his German counterpart Guido Westerwelle. On Afghanistan, Westerwelle said Germany would not stop at the end of 2014, when it will withdraw international combat troops from the nation but "in the interest of long-term stability in Afghanistan and in the region, we will continue to support Afghanistan with civil assistance and by training".
Despite weakening fundamentals and a depreciating rupee, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) hiked their combined stake in top Indian companies marginally during the quarter ended March 2012, when compared with their holdings at the end of quarter ended December 2011. ; 
* on account of the strong domestic consumption, thrust on infrastructure development and a strong banking system quoted as reasons 
12.3% combined stake in BSE 500 companies as of December 2011, FIIs were holding 12.6% three months later
Hari Harilela, one of the most known Indian origin entrepreneurs in Hong Kong who founded a billion-dollar enterprise, has been honoured with a honorary doctorate in Business Administration by the Edinburgh Napier University.; He has been previously honoured with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman from India as well as the Order of the British Empire (OBE).; 
 A joint team of American and Singapore scientists announced recently that they had found the origin of cervical cancer, raising hopes of its early detection and treatment. ; They found that the human papilloma virus, the main cause for cervical cancer, initially infects only a tiny colony of cells in the woman's cervix. ; It is the number one cancer killer of Indian women, but in metro cities it lags behind breast cancer. ; Barely 5-6% of women in India undergo pap smear test. In slums, the corresponding figure is much lower; 
Declaration of the First Ministerial Conference on Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (RIMES)http://www.rimes.int/key_services.php

Air India Ltd. has constituted a Committee to implement the recommendations of Justice Dharmadhikari Committee report in a time bound manner. ; The Committee has already started functioning and had its first meeting on 21st June, 2012 to prepare a roadmap for timely implementation of Justice Dharmadhikari Committee report. It will interact with various associations and employees of the Company to resolve any issue arising in the wake of the implementation of Justice Dharmadhikari Committee report. ; Simultaneously the Ministry of Civil Aviation is approaching the Union Cabinet to seek certain dispensations required to give incentives on the basis of industry standards to certain class of employees like pilots, engineers and cabin crew, as such incentives fall beyond the guidelines of the Department of Public Enterprises, The whole process of fixation of pay, level mapping and inter-se seniority is expected to be completed within 6-8 weeks.
At a launch function in the capital today, Mr. S. Jaipal Reddy, Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas, dedicated a unique initiative - the ‘LPG Portal’ - that will host data on the last mile delivery of domestic LPG cylinders,  supplied  by PSU Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to nearly 14 crorehouseholds in the country.
The LPG Transparency portal can be accessed through the official website of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas : www.petroleum.nic.in. Access is also available through respective OMC websites, www.indane.co.in;www.ebharatgas.com and www.hindustanpetroleum.com. Through a single click, consumers can now know their individual pattern of LPG usage, LPG booking status, LPG refill history or request for surrender of their connection, highest consumption consumers, subsidy availed etc. The information on the portal can also be sorted by consumer number, consumer name and by distributors’ name easily.
This initiative is expected to emerge as a powerful tool for social audit for all domestic LPG supplies. This portal not only benefits consumers but is also a unique resource for civil society to access LPG distribution information, report discrepancies and register their feedback on the anomalies in supply, if any. 
To enable the OMCs to improve their services, the portal also gives opportunity to consumers to rate the services of their LPG distributor, thus helping the oil companies to focus on areas of improvement and enhance consumer satisfaction.

18-06-2012

Russia may send warships and troops to Syria to protect its logistics base in Tartous, according to a Russian military source. “It is quite possible that warships of the [Russian] Black Sea Fleet may go to the Mediterranean Sea in case it is necessary to protect the Russian logistics base in Tartous, Syria, since is a zone of the Fleet’s responsibility,” a source in the Russian General Staff told the Itar-Tass government news agency.


The restructured Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (R-TUFS) for the textile sector, operational from April 28, 2011 to March 31, 2012, has been extended for one more year; According to a circular issued by the Office of the Textile Commissioner, the R-TUFS for the textile sector will continue for 2012-13. As a consequence, the office will continue to issue Unique Identity Numbers (UID numbers) for new sanctions issued by the lending agencies on or after April 1, 2012. The allocation for the scheme last fiscal was Rs.1,972 crore and only about Rs.200 crore was utilised. The domestic textile industry saw hardly any investment in 2011-12 because of several problems, says Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry S. V. Arumugam.


The initiative has been spearheaded by The Leela Palace Chennai to make the city clean and green. Earlier, the hotel had initiated a sapling plantation drive in and around MRC Nagar and has so far planted a mammoth number of 1,000 saplings around the vicinity. 

17-06-2012

A key indication of Alzheimer’s, which can only be seen after death, is the presence of sticky plaques of amyloid protein in decimated portions of patients’ brains. It’s known that mutations in a gene involved in the processing of amyloid protein in Alzheimer’s, which run in families.

Green strategies in practice:
By Govts:
At Rio, more than 100 heads of state and government will join an estimated 25,000 participants to map our way ahead. For too long we have sought to burn and consume our way to prosperity. That model is dead. 
At Rio, we must begin to create a new one — a model for a 21st century economy that rejects the myth that there must be a zero-sum trade-off between growth and the environment. Increasingly, we understand that, with smart public policies, governments can grow their economies, alleviate poverty, create decent jobs and accelerate social progress in a way that respects the earth's finite natural resources.
Barbados, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea and South Africa, among many others, are already adopting “green growth” strategies that use limited natural resources more efficiently, create jobs and promote low-carbon development
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Kenya, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, Senegal and Ukraine are applying new green-growth technologies in a variety of industries, from agriculture to tourism. 
China has committed itself to supplying 16 per cent of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2020 and plans to invest more than $450 billion in waste recycling and clean technologies under its current five-year plan.
* In Brazil, waste management and recycling employs more than 500,000 people, most of whom live on society's margins. Under its new National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, India has begun paying people to better manage natural resources, such as forests and fresh water.

Corporate initiatives:
At Rio, more than 1,000 corporate leaders from all continents will deliver a common message: business as usual no longer works. Many are members of the United Nations Global Compact — volunteers in a growing private-sector movement that understands that 21st-century corporate responsibility means corporate sustainability.
Nike (a champion of so-called “closed loop” manufacturing that minimises industrial pollution) has initiated a new programme called Mata no Peito — a Portuguese colloquialism for “taking on a challenge” by helping protect Brazilian forest ecosystems. 
 Unilever has pledged to source all its raw materials from sustainable sources by 2020.
 Kenya's Safaricom has integrated gender equality into its internal policies to create a mother-friendly environment.
Microsoft has announced it will soon go carbon-neutral. 
China's Broad Group produces non-electric air conditioning units that are 200 per cent more energy efficient; it is now diversifying into other energy-saving products and sustainable buildings. 
 ToughStuff from Mauritius seeks to bring affordable and reliable solar energy to 33 million people in Africa by 2016, 
* The Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company is working to provide rural electrification in Afghanistan and the South Pacific island nation of Tonga.

Focus on Energy
Energy will be a major focus at Rio. I call it the “golden thread” that connects the dots to a sustainable future — the key driver for development, social inclusion and environmental protection, including climate change
In Rio, leaders from government, business and civil society will announce a galaxy of actions to advance these goals, from promoting cleaner, more efficient cook-stoves to helping governments scale up their geothermal and other renewable energy potential.
Sustainable Energy for All is the partnership model of the future. The principle is simple but powerful: the United Nations uses its unrivalled convening power to bring all relevant actors to the table so they can work in common cause for the common good.

Dario urops after the Greek words meaning “tail” and “eye” to denote a conspicuous spot near its tail. “This is a significant discovery from a bio-geographic perspective as Dario urops is the first member of the Badidae family that has been described from the Western Ghats,” say the authors. The remaining 19 species within the family are distributed in the rivers of Eastern Himalayas and Indo-Burma, they add. -  in the Western Ghats in southern Karnataka - The fish, coloured yellowish beige with blue-gray fins and measuring not more than 3 cm, was collected from among tree roots that grew into the edge of the stream flowing off the Barapole tributary of the Valapattanam river and from the thick layers of leaf litter collected in depressions in the river bed.

- Use of S&T , RTI - Bombay HC cautions flat buyers

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the proposal of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment headed by Mukul Wasnik, to introduce a new centrally sponsored scheme of Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme for students belonging to Scheduled Castes in class nine and ten with effect from July 1 this year. ;  is expected to benefit about 42 lakh SC students. ; For being eligible under this scheme, the student should belong to Scheduled Caste and her/his Parent/Guardian's income should not exceed Rs 2 lakh per annum; The value of scholarship includes the following for the duration of the course: For day scholars, the scholarship will be Rs 150 per month and for hostellers it will be Rs 350 per month besides books and an adhoc grant of Rs 750 and Rs 1000 respectively, a release said. 

Japan's government on Saturday approved bringing the country's first nuclear reactors back online since last year's earthquake and tsunami led to a nationwide shutdown, going against wider public opinion that is opposed to nuclear power after Fukushima.; Japan is debating renewable energy targets of between 25 percent to 35 percent of total power generation by 2030, looking to Germany, which raised the proportion of renewables from 5 percent in 1990 to 20 percent by 2010.; To offset the shortfall, utilities have ramped up oil- and gas-based generation, and that contributed to the country's biggest annual trade deficit ever last fiscal year. Noda and others argue that the higher cost of energy without nuclear will cost people their livelihoods and could cripple recovery efforts. 

Matrimonial sites becoming new crime spot