Page 220 - Environment
Isro sets up Human Space Flight Centre in Bengaluru for manned
Gearing up for its maiden manned space mission 'Gaganyaan', ISRO unveiled its Human Space Flight Centre here Wednesday. The space agency is gearing up for the human spaceflight programme by 2021-end that is likely to include a woman astronaut. Gaganyaan is the "highest priority" for ISRO in 2019, according to the space agency, and the plan is to have the first unmanned mission in December 2020 and second for July 2021. Once this is completed, the manned mission will happen in December 2021. K Kasturirangan, former ISRO Chairman, in the presence of K Sivan, ISRO Chairman and Secretary, Department of Space, inaugurated the Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC) Wednesday at ISRO Headquarter campus in Bengaluru, the space agency said on its website. Directors of other ISRO Centres, former Chairman and other dignitaries were also present, it said, adding that a full scale model of Gaganyaans crew module was also unveiled during the event. HSFC shall be responsible for ...
Tata Metaliks gets Environmental Clearance for expansion of Kharagpur facility
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Production of horticulture crops seen at record 314.67 mn tonnes in 2018-19
India's horticulture production is estimated to rise by 1 per cent to record 314.67 million tonnes in 2018-19 on higher area, the government said Wednesday. The agriculture ministry released the final estimates for 2017-18 and the first estimates for 2018-19 of area and production of horticulture crops. These estimates are based on the information received from different states and Union territories. As per the final estimates of 2017-18, horticulture production stood at record 311.7 MT, which is 3.7 per cent higher than the previous year and 10 per cent higher than the past five years' average production. Area under coverage rose to 25.87 million hectares from 25.43 million hectares. Onion production in current year is likely to be around 23.62 million tonnes (MT) as against 23.26 MT in 2017-18, while potato output is estimated at 52.58 MT compared to 51.31 MT. Tomato production is estimated to rise 2 per cent to 20.51 MT as against 19.76 MT in 2017-18. The production of fruits is ...
Brazil's Vale to sacrifice output for safety after deadly dam collapse
BRUMADINHO, Brazil (Reuters) - Vale SA, the world's largest iron ore miner, said it would sacrifice production for safety to avoid another tailings dam failure, after the death toll in the second dam collapse in just over three years was expected to exceed 300.
Heavy snowfall augurs well for glacier, water bodies
Heavy snowfall in different parts of Uttarakhand this winter augurs well for the Gangotri glacier and water bodies in Uttarkashi district fed by the Ganga, scientists feel. High altitude areas of Uttarakhand, including Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Tehri, parts of Dehradun, Nainital and Pithoragarh districts, have received heavy snowfall over the past fortnight. "Snowfall this year is estimated to be around 40 per cent more than received annually over the last four years. It augurs well not only for the Gangotri glacier but also for different water bodies fed by the Ganga in Uttarkashi district," said D P Dobhal, a scientist at the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology. Heavy snowfall this year is also likely to expand snow cover area by 60 per cent which would mean that the temperature in the glacier region will remain well below freezing point for a long time, he said. Extended snow cover area will not only substantially reduce the rate of melting of the Gangotri glacier during summer but ...
Dangerous arctic chill sweeps over US Midwest
Tens of millions of people in the United States are bracing for a potentially life-threatening deep arctic chill forecast to hit swaths of the country on Wednesday. Companies have told their workers to stay home, schools are closed and hundreds of flights have been canceled. The US Postal Service -- known for its commitment to bringing the mail whatever the weather -- has even reportedly suspended deliveries in Iowa due to the severe cold. Temperatures in almost a dozen states stretching more than 1,200 miles (1,930 kilometers) from the Dakotas to Ohio were forecast to be the coldest in a generation, if not on record. "One of the coldest arctic air mass intrusions in recent memory is surging south into the Upper Midwest before spreading across much of the eastern two-thirds of the country," the National Weather Service said. "Expect frigid temperatures, bitterly cold and life-threatening wind chills, likely leading to widespread record lows and low maximum temperatures from the Upper .
Brazil: Five arrested after 84 die in dam collapse
Five engineers have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the collapse of a tailings dam as the death toll rose to 84.According to Xinhua, the dam was owned by the mining giant Vale in Brumadinho in Brazil's southeastern state of Minas Gerais.Two of the arrested are subcontracted engineers from German group TUD SUD and three others are direct Vale employees, including a geologist and two managers. They have been detained for 30 days.The geologists and engineers had signed reports attesting to the dam's security, stated Judge Perla Saliba Brito, who ordered their arrests.The reports for the dam security stated that the structure was following security procedures while the managers are directly responsible for the licensing and operations of the complex in which the dam is located, and thus they are the ones in charge of its monitoring.According to Judge Brito, there is evidence that connects the accused to murdering the victims of the dam collapse, document fraud and ...
Horticulture Production Estimated At 314.5 Million Tonnes In 2018-19, Up Around 1%
The Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare has released the 2017-18 (Final) and 2018-19 (1st Advance Est.) of Area and Production of Horticulture Crops. These estimates are based on the information received from different State/UTs in the country. India witnessed record production of 311.7 MT Horticulture Crops in 2017-18, 3.7% higher than the previous year and 10% higher than past 5 years' average production.
MRAI to hold conference on Feb 3, 4 to discuss policy for metal recycling
The Material Recycling Association of India (MRAI) will organise a conference later this week to discuss issues, including absence of a policy for the domestic metal recycling industry, its President Sanjay Mehta said. Over 1,200 delegates, including Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu, senior government officials and industry members, will attend the two-day International Indian Metals Recycling Conference beginning February 3, in Kochi, Kerala, MRAI said. MRAI represents over 900 members of the country's ferrous and non-ferrous metals recycling industry. "Trade issues impacting the industry, absence of a recycling policy and steps to tackle the challenges being faced by the recycling industry will be discussed at the conference," Mehta said. Recycling process in the country remains unregulated owing to absence of laws governing the scrap sector, he said, adding that implementation of a recycling policy will make producers accountable for their production. Mehta further ...
Bangladesh seeks developers for its first onshore LNG terminal
DHAKA/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Bangladesh is seeking expressions of interest to build the country's first onshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal, according to a company official and a document posted on the company's website.
IL&FS crisis not to impact clean Ganga projects: Official
The ongoing Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) crisis will not affect projects worth Rs 10,000 crore under the Namami Gange programme, an official said on Wednesday.
China plans first seaborne rocket launch in mid-2019
China plans to conduct its first seaborne rocket launch with a Long March-11 carrier rocket from the Yellow Sea in the middle of this year, said Jin Xin, the deputy chief commander of the rocket. China has achieved a breakthrough in the key technologies for seaborne launches, Jin, of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, told a press conference. The Long March-11, with a length of 20.8 meters and a take-off weight of about 57.6 tonnes, is the only rocket using solid propellants among China's new generation carrier rockets. It has a relatively simple structure and can be launched in a short time, state-run Xinhua news agency reported Wednesday. After leaving port, the rocket could be launched within a week, Jin said. The rocket can carry a payload of up to 350 kg to a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 700-km and 700 kg to a low-Earth orbit at 200-km. It is mainly used to carry small satellites, and can take multiple satellites into orbit at the same time. A seaborne ...
No proof of dumping ground polluting Assam lake: Minister
The Assam government on Wednesday asserted there is no scientific proof that the waste-dumping ground near Deepor Beel lake is polluting the water body, and steps are being taken to shift it to a different location. Replying to a query by AGP MLA Ramendra Narayan Kalita in the state assembly, Guwahati Development Minister Siddhartha Bhattacharya said the dumping ground is almost half-a-kilometre away from the Deepor Beel. "There is no scientific evidence that the dumping ground is polluting the lake. There are many reasons. We do not have concrete proof of anything. We are taking steps to make the Beel pollution free," the minister said. Refuting his argument, Kalita claimed that the pollution control board had issued a report stating the lake is being polluted by the dumping ground, which has become a small hill with the entire city's waste. Bhattacharya also said a decision was taken to shift the ground to Chandrapur area, but the locals there did not allow the ...
KIOCL, SAIL ink pact to set up pellet plant
Pellet maker KIOCL Wednesday said it has entered into an agreement with Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) to set up a pellet plant. In December 2018, KIOCL had said it was planning to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with SAIL to set up a pellet plant under a joint venture (JV). "KIOCL inked pacts with the largest steel producer of India SAIL...for setting up of pellet plant, exchange of knowledge and expertise in presence of Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh today at Mangaluru," KIOCL said in a tweet on Wednesday. KIOCL in December also said the company has already diversified in the field of O&M (operation and maintenance) services and proposes to expand its operation in other parts of the country by setting up a new pellet plant. KIOCL, under the steel ministry, has an iron oxide pellet plant with a capacity of 3.5 million tonne per annum at Mangaluru in Karnataka.
Plans afoot to electrify over 6,000 km of rail network in fiscal 2019: Piyush Goyal
The Railways plans to electrify over 6,000 km of its network in the coming financial year, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said Wednesday. Speaking at the launch of the International Energy Agency report 'The future of Rail', the minister said huge investment in railways over the past five years had helped improve safety and complete long-delayed projects. "Five years ago, the Railways had electrified about 600 km of tracks across the country. Last year alone, we electrified over 4,000 km, and in the coming year we aim to electrify over 6,000 km. With new technology and innovations, the Railways is going to play a central role as we strive to make India an international manufacturing hub," he said. Highlighting the efforts of the government towards energy efficiency, Goyal said an investment of only USD 2 billion on LED bulbs had resulted in India saving almost USD 7 billion per year on electricity. "Subsidies on LED bulbs were becoming a constraint on their roll out. We decided to ...
IL&FS crisis not to affect Rs 10,000cr clean Ganga projects
At a time when the financial market is facing huge liquidity crisis, the Rs 10,000 crore worth PPP projects under the Namami Gange programme by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) remains immune to the IL&FS default led troubles in the sector, a senior official said Wednesday. The new hybrid annuity based PPP model adopted by the government has not only created fresh interest among the private sector to bid, but has also prevented the projects from any possible delay in execution, NMCG Director General Rajiv Ranjan Mishra said here. Of the 261 projects worth around Rs 25,500 crore, close to Rs 10,000 crore worth of projects are being executed under the hybrid annuity based model, he said on the sidelines of "Infra East" - organised by CII. "The PPP projects which would be roughly to the tune of Rs 10,000 crore will not face any problem owing to these crisis," Mishra said when asked about possible impact of IL&FS crisis on these projects. Infrastructure ..
Russia's Gazprom plans to build an LNG plant to supply disputed Kurils
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian state gas company Gazprom plans to build a small-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant on the Pacific island of Sakhalin to supply the disputed Kuril Islands, the Sakhalin regional government said on Wednesday.
Warming oceans can increase frequency of extreme rain storms
Rapid climate change, that is causing warming of the tropical oceans, could lead to a substantial increase in the frequency of extreme rain storms by the end of the century, say scientists from NASA.
China reveals Chang'e-5 probe details: Report
China's Chang'e-5 probe, to be launched by 2019-end, will undergo multiple flight phases before the mission is completed, the media reported.
Bihar lifts Andhra fish ban
The Bihar government on Wednesday lifted a ban here on the sale, storage and transportation of fish from Andhra Pradesh.