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Enquiries from those aspiring to study in the United States have declined by over 46 per cent in the last one year while those for Canada have come down by around 75 per cent in the last two years, according to top officials at IDP Education. Founded by the Australian government in 1969, IDP Education is a global leader in international education services that helps students achieve their goals of studying abroad. The company provides free expert guidance on course and university selection, application submission, visa processing and pre-departure planning for popular destinations like Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, the UK and the US. It also conducts the English language proficiency test IELTS. According to Piyush Kumar, Regional Director, South Asia, Canada and Latin America (LATAM), IDP Education, the geopolitical situation has impacted students' plans to go to the US and Canada. "If we talk about the geopolitical situation, I think primarily it concerns the US and we
The tariffs announced by the US are expected to make Indian goods far costlier in the US, with the potential to cut America-bound exports by 4050 per cent, think tank GTRI said on Wednesday. On August 6, Washington announced an additional 25 per cent tariff on all Indian imports, on top of an existing 25 per cent duty, taking the total to 50 per cent from August 27. The White House said the measure responds to India's continued purchase of Russian oil. The move places India among the "most heavily" taxed US trading partners, far above rivals such as China, Vietnam, and Bangladesh, and threatens most of India's USD 86.5 billion in annual exports to America, from textiles to machinery, Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) Founder Ajay Srivastava said. He said in 2024, China bought USD 62.6 billion of Russian oil, more than India's USD 52.7 billion, yet faces no such penalties. Washington avoids targeting Beijing because of China's leverage over critical materials such as gallium,
Farmers can potentially save up to 30 per cent of water through a smart irrigation plan, IIT Bombay claimed while citing a joint research with the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune. Researchers fed weather forecast and soil moisture data into a computer model that checks the possible amount of rain, the soil water capacity, and the water requirements of each crop, IIT Bombay stated. This computer model can predict the amount of irrigation water needed up to three weeks on a district and sub-district scale, which will help farmers determine the amount of water they can expect through rainfall in the coming weeks and plan their irrigation accordingly. This will aid in crop growth and conserve groundwater, it said. During a pilot study in Nashik, researchers found that some grape growers used local soil moisture sensors. They irrigated their grape farms if the sensor detected soil dryness; however, it is also observed that if these irrigated farms received rainfall,
Due recognition of work by a company always motivates its employees to perform better, builds trust and gives them a sense of belonging to the organisation, a study by two HR technology firms said. Guwahati-based Vantage Circle and Mumbai's 'Great Place To Work India' have jointly published a research report, 'The Recognition Effect: A Leadership Blueprint for Emotionally Intelligent Workplaces', which uncovers how recognition of efforts, when done right, becomes a transformative force for workplace culture and performance. "At the heart of the study lies a powerful finding: recognition isn't just about acknowledgement, it is a strategic lever for trust, agility, innovation and retention. Organisations that build high-recognition cultures outperform their peers across multiple dimensions of employee and business outcomes," the study mentioned. In such a scenario, 91 per cent of employees surveyed feel motivated, 94 per cent say their organisation is a great place to work, and an ...
India's natural gas consumption is likely to rise by close to 60 per cent by 2030 and more than double by 2040, on the back of rise in usage of the fuel as CNG in automobiles and for cooking and industrial purposes, according to a study by oil regulator PNGRB. Consumption of natural gas, which is used to produce electricity, make fertilizer or turned into CNG for running automobiles and piped to household kitchens for cooking, is expected to rise from 187 million standard cubic metres per day in 2023-24 to 297 mmscmd by 2030 under 'Good-to-Go' scenario, the study by Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) said. 'Good-to-Go' scenario assumes moderate growth and developments based on current trends and commitments. Consumption of natural gas is projected to rise to 496 mmscmd by 2040 under the same scenario. Under the 'Good to Best' scenario that considers accelerated progress, favourable policy implementation, and enhanced investments leading to higher-than expected growt
Among socially isolated and lonely people, researchers have found higher levels of proteins, including those produced in response to stress and those related with higher cholesterol, suggesting a possible "direct consequence of loneliness". While social isolation and loneliness are known to be linked to poor health, the study, published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, provides evidence of biological processes by which social relationships impact health. Loneliness is one's perception of how disconnected they feel from society. Researchers at the University of Cambridge, UK, and Fudan University, China, therefore suggested that interactions with friends and family could keep us healthy by boosting our immune system and reducing risk of diseases such as heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. "These findings drive home the importance of social contact in keeping us well. More and more people of all ages are reporting feeling lonely. That's why the World Health Organization h
Digestive problems, including ulcers in one's food pipe or stomach, could increase the risk of Parkinson's disease by 76 per cent, according to a new study. Analysing endoscopy reports of 9,350 patients, the authors found that people having upper gastrointestinal conditions -- specifically, ulcers or other types of damage to the lining of the oesophagus, stomach, or upper part of the small intestine -- were far more likely to develop Parkinson's disease later in life. These findings, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open Researchers add to a growing body of evidence that ageing-related or neurodegenerative disease, long thought to originate in the brain, could begin in the gut. Gastrointestinal problems are known to be common in patients suffering from neurodegenerative disorders, the authors said. The researchers at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, US, said that gastrointestinal troubles experienced by patients of Parkinson's disease of
The feeling that one's life lacks purpose and that there are fewer opportunities for personal growth could be a very early sign of dementia, according to a study. Researchers found that among older adults, these aspects of psychological wellbeing noticeably declined three to six years before a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment, in which one's memory and thinking is affected, yet not to the extent that it interferes with their daily functioning. Mild cognitive impairment is often seen to precede dementia, in which the symptoms become severe enough to interfere with daily activities. The researchers, including those at China Agricultural University's Department of Nutrition and Health, said that while there is mounting evidence linking psychological well-being to brain ageing and related disorders, such as dementia, much of it focuses on the aspect of one's sense of purpose and not others, including personal growth. For the study, published in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurge
Planet-warming nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions grew by 40 per cent between 1980 and 2020, with China being the largest emitter, followed by India and the US, according to a new report. The study by the Global Carbon Project, a network of climate scientists, also said that 74 per cent of the nitrous oxide emissions in the past decade came from the use of nitrogen fertilizers and animal manure in agriculture. The top 10 emitters are China, India, the US, Brazil, Russia, Pakistan, Australia, Indonesia, Turkey, and Canada, it said. Nitrous oxide is the third most significant greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide and methane and is 273 times more potent than CO2 over 100 years. The increase in greenhouse gases has already raised the Earth's average surface temperature by 1.15 degrees Celsius compared to the 1850-1900 average. Anthropogenic nitrous oxide emissions contribute to about 0.1 degrees of this warming. In 2022, the concentration of nitrous oxide in the atmosphere reached 336 parts
India's solar waste could reach a staggering 600 kilotonnes by 2030 equivalent to filling up 720 Olympic-size swimming pools according to a new study released on Wednesday. The study by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and independent think tank Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) said around 67 per cent of this waste will come from five states: Rajasthan, Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. India's current installed 66.7 GW capacity (as of FY23) has already generated about 100 kilotonnes of waste, which will increase to 340 kilotonnes by 2030. This will include about 10 kilotonnes of silicon, 12-18 tonnes of silver, and 16 tonnes of cadmium and tellurium the majority of which are critical minerals for India, the study titled "Enabling a Circular Economy in India's Solar Industry: Assessing the Solar Waste Quantum" said. Recycling solar waste to recover these materials will reduce import dependency and enhance India's mineral security. The stu
The disruption of India's food systems during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a steep rise in malnutrition among children as the lockdown impacted their nutritional status, according to a study. Researchers from the Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition (TCI) in New Delhi analysed pre- and post-pandemic survey data on children's health and nutrition. The study, published in the journal Economic and Political Weekly, found that the number of children deemed underweight increased by 14 per cent as a result of disruptions caused by the pandemic. These included supply chain disruptions, price inflation, loss of work and the interruption of government food safety net programme. Previous TCI research on the impact of COVID-19 has found that supply chain disruptions caused food prices to increase and that women's dietary diversity worsened during the pandemic. "Researchers long suspected that pandemic-related disruptions to India's food systems reduced access to .