Page 459 - Environment
Record 141.59 MT kharif foodgrain production
Total foodgrain production in this kharif season will be a record 141.59 million tonnes, which is 0.86 million tonnes more than last year, Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said on Wednesday.
Concerns grow for Arctic beluga whale in Thames estuary
Concerns were growing Wednesday for a beluga whale spotted in the River Thames estuary outside London, thousands of kilometres (miles) from the cherished white species' natural home in Arctic waters. The extremely rare sighting triggered wonder and excitement when the whale was first seen on Tuesday, but after it was spotted again on Wednesday in exactly the same location, concerns grew that the beluga had got lost and was potentially in danger. Rob Lott, a marine mammal scientist at the Whale and Dolphin Conservation wildlife charity, said the cetacean was being monitored in case it strands on a sandbank. "The longer it stays in the Thames estuary then it will become more of a concern," he told BBC radio. "Hopefully instinct will soon kick in and the beluga will leave the estuary and go out into the North Sea and then head north where it should be," the scientist explained. The sight of a beluga whale so far south -- 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres) from even Iceland -- is ...
India's palm oil imports to jump on rising demand, supply drop: analyst
MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's palm oil imports in 2018/19 are likely to jump 8.7 percent from a year earlier as consumption in the world's biggest edible oil consumer will expand amid a drop in local supplies, a leading industry analyst said on Wednesday.
Torrent Power wins SECI tender for 115 MW wind power project
Powered by Capital Market - Live News
Danish man investigated for riding crocodile
A Danish "hunter and adventurer" has come under investigation by Australian authorities after he rode a live saltwater crocodile.
Kharif Foodgrains Production Estimated At 141.59 Million Tonnes
As per the First Advance Estimates, total production of Kharif Foodgrains during 2018-19 is estimated at 141.59 million tonnes. This is higher by 0.86 million tonnes as compared to last year's Kharif foodgrains production of 140.73 million tonnes. Further, kharif foodgrain production is 11.94 million tonnes more than the average production of five years (2012-13 to 2016-17) of 129.65 million tonnes.
Essar Power commissions 337-km, 400 kV Mahan-Sipat transmission line
Essar Power Wednesday said it has commissioned the 337-km Mahan-Sipat transmission line, the final leg of a 465-km transmission system consisting of three inter-state transmission lines that have been built at an investment of Rs 2,400 crore. The 400 kV lines will help Essar Power's 1,200 MW Mahan Thermal Power Plant in Madhya Pradesh to evacuate its entire generation, a company statement said. According to statement the Mahan-Sipat transmission line is part of the Inter State Transmission System (ISTS) that has been built by Essar Power Transmission Company Ltd. (EPTCL), an arm of Essar Power. It extends from Mahan in Madhya Pradesh to the Sipat pooling station in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, which is connected to the National Grid. The commissioning of these transmission lines is a major milestone for Essar Power, and will help us access a nationwide market for the power generated from our Mahan plant. It has also helped establish our presence as a key player in the power transmission ...
Cabinet clears Rs 5,500 crore package for sugar industry
The government Wednesday approved a Rs 5,500 crore package for the sugar industry that includes over two-fold jump in production assistance to cane growers and transport subsidy to mills for export up to 5 million tonnes in the marketing year 2018-19. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the food ministry's proposal that seeks to address the surplus domestic stock of sugar and help mills in clearing huge cane arrears of around Rs 13,000 crore. The CCEA approves the total assistance of Rs 5,500 crore to support the sugar sector by wake of offsetting cost of cane and to facilitate export of sugar from the country, thereby improving liquidity of the industry enabling them to clear cane price arrears of farmers, an official statement said. The total package is of Rs 5,538 crore, of which Rs 1,375 crore pertains to transport subsidy to millers and the remaining amount will be credited directly to sugarcane growers as production assistance. With assembly elections due ..
Delhi: Five dead in Ashok Vihar building collapse
Four children and a woman were killed after a three-storey building collapsed in North Delhi's Ashok Vihar area on Wednesday.Out of the eight people rescued, three are critical. They have been sent to the hospital. The search and rescue operation is underway.Following the collapse, the rescue team was pressed into action to clear the rubble.The building, near Sawan Park of Ashoke Vihar 3, was majorly occupied by tenants and was not in good condition. Eyewitnesses say it had developed some cracks.Complaints about the condition of the building were raised before the Municipal Corporation of Delhi a year ago, Sunil Kumar Gupta, a shop owner in the ill-fated building told ANI.Their complaints remained unheard by authorities, he claimed.
Slow paced repair of Mumbai-Goa highway irks HC
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday wanted to know from the Maharashtra government and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) the reasons behind the slow paced work in repairing and widening of the Mumbai-Goa National Highway. A bench of Acting Chief Justice Naresh Patil and Justice G S Kulkarni also asked whether any experts were appointed to monitor and certify the quality of such work. The HC has now sought original records of contracts awarded for the repair and widening of the highway from two lanes to four, the costs for the project and the safety measures that authorities have employed in the meanwhile for the convenience of motorists. The bench was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by city-based lawyer Owais Pechkar, highlighting the poor condition of the highway. Pechkar had also submitted photographs showing the entire stretch was riddled with potholes following rains this year. It the plea, Pechkar informed the court that while the widening and repair
On-view photographs explore climate's diverse impact on lives
What lies inside of houses in three cities with completely disparate climates was what German photographer Andre Lutzen enquired with his photography collection "Living Climate", some of which are currently on exhibition at the India International Centre (IIC) here.
Centre approves Rs 8,606 crore for border infrastructure and management
The Centre has approved Rs 8,606 crore for 60 projects being implemented under the umbrella scheme of Border Infrastructure and Management (BIM) to meet special development needs of people living in those areas, officials said Wednesday. The projects are being implemented in 17 states having the international borders with Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh. The umbrella scheme Border Infrastructure and Management containing 60 projects and with an outlay of Rs 8,606 crore has been approved, a home ministry official said. The projects are implemented in 111 border districts to meet special development needs of border population with focus on people living within 50 kms of the international border. The schemes include construction of roads, schools, primary health centres, promotion of rural tourism, border tourism, promotion of sports activities, cleanliness mission, protection of heritage sites, supply of drinking water, community centres, connectivity, drainage, ..
Impact of WWII bombing raids felt at edge of space: Study
Bombing raids by Allied forces during the Second World War not only caused devastation on the ground but also sent shockwaves through the Earth's atmosphere which were detected at the edge of space, according to a study. Researchers at the University of Reading in the UK have revealed the shockwaves produced by huge bombs dropped by Allied planes on European cities were big enough to weaken the electrified upper atmosphere -- the ionosphere -- above the UK, 1,000 kilometres (km) away. Scientists are using the findings, published in the journal Annales Geophysicae, to understand how natural forces from below, like lightning, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, affect Earth's upper atmosphere. "The images of neighbourhoods across Europe reduced to rubble due to wartime air raids are a lasting reminder of the destruction that can be caused by man-made explosions," said Chris Scott, a professor at the University of Reading. "But the impact of these bombs way up in the Earth's atmosphere ..
Massive capital flow needed to boost India's transition to renewable energy
Conditions have to be created for the infusion of capital needed to accelerate the transition to renewable sources of energy, according to a panel of experts.
Chhattisgarh: 45 villages in Mahasamund under tusker terror
At least 45 villages in Chhattisgarh's Mahasamund district have been living under constant fear of elephant terror for the last four years.The forest department, which has been putting its best effort to deal with the situation, has already spent around Rs 70-80 lakh in its attempt to tag matriarchs of three elephant herds with radio collars since January this year. They brought five kumki or trained elephants to facilitate tagging matriarchs of elephant herds.However, the team of experts tasked with tagging matriarchs of three elephant herds could manage with radio collaring of just one so far. The forest department officials are hopeful to radio collar rest matriarchs soon.Radio collar, with a transmitter, is a device used to monitor movements of animals in their natural habitat.Besides villagers suffering crop loss, many people have died due to elephants' attack. At least 13 people have lost their lives and 17 people sustained injuries due to tusker terror in the area.The forest ...
NASA spots silent Opportunity rover on Mars
NASA's Mars orbiter has caught a glimpse of its solar-powered Opportunity rover, which has been silent since a dust storm enshrouded the red planet over 100 days ago and cut off the 14-year-old probe's access to sunlight. The image produced by HiRISE, a high-resolution camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), shows a small object on the slopes of the red planet's Perseverance Valley. The object is Opportunity, which was descending into the Martian valley when a dust storm swept over the region a little more than 100 days ago, NASA said in a statement. The storm was one of several that stirred up enough dust to enshroud most of the red planet and block sunlight from reaching the surface. The lack of sunlight caused the solar-powered Opportunity to go into hibernation. The rover's team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in the US, has not heard from it since. On September 11, JPL began increasing the frequency of commands it beams to the 14-year-old rover. The tau .
'World's largest ever bird named, ending decades of debate'
After decades of conflicting evidence, scientists said Wednesday they have finally put the 'world's largest bird' debate to rest, conferring the title on Vorombe titan -- an extinct Madagascan species which was three metres tall and weighed up to 800 kg. The research, published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, also discovered unexpected diversity in these Madagascan creatures. it was previously suggested that up to 15 different species of elephant birds had been identified under two genera. However latest research by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) in the UK shows, in fact, this is not the case. "Elephant birds were the biggest of Madagascar's megafauna and arguably one of the most important in the islands evolutionary history -- even more so than lemurs," said James Hansford from ZSL's Institute of Zoology. "This is because large-bodied animals have an enormous impact on the wider ecosystem they live in via controlling vegetation through eating plants, spreading ...
German taxpayers will not finance diesel retrofits - minister
BERLIN (Reuters) - German Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer said on Wednesday that his plan to battle air pollution in cities by retrofitting older diesel vehicles would not require taxpayer funds or money from the car owners.
Kharif foodgrains production estimated at record 141.59 million tonnes
India's foodgrains production is estimated at a record 141.59 million tonnes (MT) in the kharif season of 2018-19 crop year, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said Wednesday. The country had produced 140.73 MT foodgrains in the kharif season of 2017-18 crop year (July-June). The minister released the first advance estimates of foodgrains production for kharif (summer-sown) season for 2018-19 crop year. Singh tweeted that the country has achieved record foodgrains production in Kharif season at 141.59 MT. "The country witnesses foodgrain production estimated at 141.59 MT, an increase of 11.94 MT against 129.65 MT average production during 2012-17," he tweeted. As per the data shared by the minister, rice output is estimated at record 99.24 MT, oilseeds 22.19 MT, maize 21.47 MT and sugarcane 383.89 MT. Rice production stood at 97.5 MT in last year's kharif season, while oilseeds output was 20.99 MT. Sugarcane production stood at 376.9 MT. The sowing operation of kharif crops begins
Parijat educates farmers on safe use and disposal of pesticides' in Maharashtra villages
In keeping with its commitment for disseminating training to farmers on safe use, storage and handling of pesticides and container management, Parijat Industries India Pvt Ltd. in association with of Department of Agriculture conducted a mega farmer interaction at Buldana district of Maharashtra.Nearly 700 progressive farmers participated in the program. The one-day event covered trainings for farmers including judicious and responsible use of Crop Protection chemicals, secure storage of pesticides, impacts of counterfeit and illegal products, use of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) such as masks and gloves, correct spraying techniques, maintaining sprayers and nozzles, and triple rinsing of used containers."This is a commendable initiative led by Parijat to educate the farmers on the use of crop protection products and disposal of used containers. These programs help us to achieving our mission and to protect the interests and well-being of our farmers. The training will ...