Page 48 - Environment
NASA's Mars 2020 rover to explore ancient life
NASA's Mars 2020 rover, its latest robotic mission to the Red Planet, will include technology to explore ancient life on Mars, according to the space agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
KCR to personally invite Maharashtra CM for Kaleswaram project inauguration
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao will personally invite Maharashtra counterpart Devendra Fadnavis at his residence in Mumbai on Friday for the inauguration of the Kaleswaram Lift Irrigation Project.Rao will personally extend an invitation to the Maharashtra CM to be the chief guest at the Kaleswaram project inauguration function on June 21.Earlier the government said that Rao would also visit newly-elected Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy to personally invite for the function.With an estimated cost of Rs 80,500 crore, the KLIP is the costliest irrigation project taken up by a state. Once completed, it will irrigate 7,38,851 hectares of land in Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Warangal, Medak, Nalgonda and Ranga Reddy districts.
WB: BSF seizes foreign birds in North 24 Parganas
Border Security Force (BSF) on Thursday seized 70 foreign birds which were smuggled to North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal from neighbouring Bangladesh.The BSF, acting on a tip-off, seized English Budgie birds, a variety of the native Australian Budgerigar, and handed them over to customs office."In an operation at about 12:23 hours on specific information, troops of BOP (Border Out Post) Gunarmath 64 Battalion BSF seized 70 Birds which were being brought into India from Bangladesh for sale," the BSF said on Twitter.It said, "Further the seized birds were handed over to customs office petrapole.
Business leaders urged to set more ambitious climate targets
A broad coalition of business, including India's Mahindra Group, civil society and UN leaders, on Thursday issued a call to action for private companies to make their critical and necessary contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to limit the worst impacts of climate change.
Power minister holds meeting with gencos to push clean energy
Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh on Thursday held a meeting to address implementation issues regarding the mechanism for providing flexibility in generation and scheduling of thermal power stations to reduce emissions. The mechanism allows power generators to increase share of renewables in their overall energy mix for meeting their committed power supplies to their consumers or utilities. "Power Minister has given appropriate directions to resolve such issues," a Power Ministry statement said. Singh discussed the implementation issues regarding the mechanism for providing flexibility in generation and scheduling of thermal power stations to reduce emissions. The meeting was attended by senior officials from the two ministries, Central Electricity Authority, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, POSOCO (Power System Operation Corporation Ltd) and state-run power giant NTPC Ltd. During the meeting, Singh said that the focus of the government is on the growth
French envoy meets ISRO chief
French envoy Alexandre Ziegler met Chairperson of Indian Space Research Organisation K Sivan on Thursday and discussed ways to further space cooperation between the two countries. "Excellent meeting with Dr K Sivan, Chairman of @isro and his team. We are working extensively to reach a major milestone in our 60-year-old spatial cooperation. Our two leaders will present new ideas & projects during the visit of PM @narendramodi to France next August! #isro (sic)," Ziegler tweeted. India and France share robust cooperation in the area of space. In 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron released a joint vision for space cooperation. Space agencies of the two countries are also working on constellation of satellites for maritime surveillance and plan to collaborate for interplanetary mission to Venus.
'Indian space station can double up as eye in the sky'
India's decision to build its own space station is the next logical step after its human space mission Gaganyaan, former chiefs of Indian space agency said on Thursday.
India planning own space station: ISRO chief
India is planning to launch its own space station, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman K. Sivan said on Thursday.
Rao to inaugurate new residential building for MLAs, MLCs on
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao would inaugurate the newly-constructed residential quarters for MLAs and MLCs here on June 17. "Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao will inaugurate the newly-constructed MLAs and MLCs residential buildings at Hyderguda in Hyderabad on June 17 on the auspicious Yeruvaka Pournami day. The Chief Minister, along with the Assembly Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, will inaugurate the buildings at 11 AM, an official release said Thursday. State Roads and Buildings Minister Vemula Prashanth Reddy would perform Vastu-related and other rituals from 6 AM on June 17 prior to the inauguration, it said. The quarters comprise 120 flats, which has facilities like supermarket and space for organizing social functions, official sources said. 'Yeruvaka Pournami' is the auspicious day when farmers begin their agriculture activitiesfor the new crop season after the onset of the monsoon.
India planning to have own space station: ISRO chief
India is planning to launch its own space station, ISRO chief K Sivan announced Thursday about this ambitious project which will enable the agency to send more humans to space when executed. He also said India will not join the International Space Station (ISS). After Chandrayaan Mission 2, also known as Moon Mission 2, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch another mission to the Sun by launching Aditya-L1 in the first half of 2020, Sivan said. Another interplanetary mission to Venus will be launched in the next 2-3 years, Sivan, who is also the Secretary, Department of Space, said. Elucidating on the space station project, Sivan said the mission will also be an extension of the Gaganyaan project. "We have to sustain the Gaganyaan programme. So, subsequently, as a long-term plan, we are planning to have the space station in India. We are going to join the international community in manned missions to moon, asteroids. We have a clear plan for the space programme," ..
Centres asks Assam, Bihar to expedite projs; fast-track land acquisition
Reviewing highway projects in Assam and Bihar, the Centre has asked states to expedite land acquisition to fast-track schemes, an official has said. The instructions were given during a review meeting held by Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari with Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and PWD Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma here. Public Works Department (PWD) Minister of Bihar, Nand Kishore Yadav has also called upon the minister to discuss the projects in the state. "Highway projects in both the states were reviewed in meetings with the minister. Assuring the (state) ministers to expedite the projects, Gadkari asked them to ensure faster land acquisition in the states as projects are often stuck due to delays in the same," the official present in the meeting said. The government has recently approved a number of projects for both the states.
Excess water being released to Pakistan to prevent floods: Amarinder
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Thursday dubbed PEP leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira's accusation of release of excess water to Pakistan as "politically motivated", saying surplus water was being discharged to prevent flooding in areas along the Sutlej and the Beas rivers. Punjab Ekta Party (PEP) chief Khaira on Wednesday had reportedly alleged that excess flow of water was being diverted to Pakistan from Harike headworks even as the state's canals were running dry in the summer season. Reacting to the allegation, the chief minister said the decision to release excess water in a regulated manner was a "precautionary measure" taken by a technical committee meeting held on May 28, in which all partner states were represented. "The surplus water is being discharged as a precautionary measure to prevent flooding in the areas along the Sutlej and the Beas rivers," Singh said in an official release here. A unanimous view emerged in the meeting that there was surplus water and it would be ..
TN: Leopard which ventured into Sirumugai, released in tiger reserve
A leopard, which ventured into Mothepalayam village near Sirumugai forest range here was trapped and released into the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve by forest officials on Thursday.The female leopard frequently ventured into Chinnamalai of Sirumugai range area causing a nuisance to the villagers.According to the instructions of Chief Wildlife Warden, the three-year-old leopard was trapped in a cage at the boundary of Chinnamalai near Mothepalayam village and released deep in the forest of Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary and Tiger Reserve.
Punjab CM terms Khaira's accusation on excess water release to Pak as 'politically motivated'
Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday rejected Punjab Ekta Party (PEP) chief Sukhpal Singh Khaira's allegation of the state's canals going dry while the government was releasing water to Pakistan.The Chief Minister said surplus water was being discharged as a precautionary measure to prevent flooding in the areas along Sutlej and Beas rivers.Reacting to Khaira's accusations, Singh in a statement termed the charges as politically motivated, aimed at spreading disinformation."Khaira is a chronic attention-seeker with no credibility and no respect for truth," said Singh and termed as ludicrous his outrageous remarks questioning the Chief Minister's 'motives'.The decision to release excess water, in a regulated manner, was a precautionary measure taken by a Technical Committee after a meeting held on May 28, 2019, wherein all partner states were represented, the Chief Minister said."A unanimous view emerged at the meeting that there was clearly surplus water and it ...
'75 lakh litres of polluted water being dumped into Ganga everyday'
An official engaged with the government's Namami Gange project has revealed that 75 lakh litres of polluted water is being dumped into the river Ganga every day.Speaking to ANI, Sumit Agarwal, senior project manager at R K Engineers Sales Limited, said the pollutants being dumped into the river will be capped after the sewer treatment plant is constructed here."75 lakh litres of polluted water that is being dumped into Ganga per day will be stopped after the construction of sewer treatment plant is completed," he said after he accompanied Minister of Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on an inspection of the sewer treatment plant in Rishikesh."Shekhawat-ji met us today and asked us to complete the project as soon as possible, we are working towards the same," Agarwal said.R K Engineers Sales Limited firm has taken up the work for sewer plants in Haridwar and Rishikesh as part of Namami Gange."In Haridwar, we have completed our work before the stipulated time. In Rishikesh, we are ...
J&K govt to issue fresh tenders for artificial Tawi lake project
The Jammu and Kashmir government, which cancelled GR Infra Projects Limited's contract for developing the artificial Tawi lake here, is set to release fresh tenders to resume work. After the Advisor to the Governor's intervention, a revised detailed project report was framed, according to which Rs 51.57 crore shall be required to complete the project and Rs 4.97 crore to undo the damages caused due to floods till date, officials said. "Notices were given to the contractor regarding completion of Tawi Lake Project, but the contractor did not resume work and ultimately the contract was cancelled," Jammu Mayor Chander Mohan Gupta told PTI. The project was launched in 2009 by the Congress-NC government. The project was marred by delays, missing as many as six deadlines, before work came to a standstill in 2018. The prestigious project has seen the passage of two coalition governments -- Congress-NC and PDP-BJP -- drawing flak from the locals. The state government has spent more than Rs 57
Plea in SC seeks protection of forests, wildlife from fires in Uttarakhand
A PIL was filed in the Supreme Court Thursday seeking urgent steps to protect forests, wildlife and birds from wildfires in Uttarakhand, saying forest blazes have increased over the years causing huge loss to the environment. The petition sought directions to the Centre, the Uttarakhand government and the principal chief conservator of forests in the state to make pre-fire arrangements and frame policy to prevent forest fires. The plea, filed by advocate Rituparn Uniyal, also sought investigation into the matter by an independent agency and directions to declare the animal kingdom as legal entities having a distinct persona with corresponding rights, duties and liabilities of a living person. "Forest fires in Uttarakhand have been regular and historic feature. Every year forest fires in Uttarakhand causes great loss to the forest ecosystem, diversity of flora and fauna and economic wealth. Forest fire is one of the major disasters in the forests of Uttarakhand. "Despite a consistent ..
No shortage of water for crops, says Punjab CM
Rejecting the allegations of water shortage in the state, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, here on Thursday, said surplus river water was being discharged to Pakistan as a precautionary measure to prevent flooding along the banks of Sutlej and Beas rivers. Also, water levels at Bhakra and Pong Dams were higher than last year.
India sees rise in solar photovoltaic jobs: IRENA
India saw expand in solar photovoltaic employment in 2018, while China, the US, Japan and the European Union lost jobs, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) said on Thursday.
Centre asks states to speed up farmer enrolment under PM-KISAN
States and Union Territories should speed up the enrolment of all eligible farmers under the Rs 87,000 crore PM-KISAN scheme for the timely transfer of Rs 6,000 per year in three equal instalments, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said Thursday. In a video conference with state agriculture ministers, Tomar also asked the state governments to organise village-level campaigns to cover one crore farmers under the Kisan Credit Card Scheme within the next 100 days. The Modi 2.0 government has extended the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana (PM-KISAN), an income support scheme launched just before the Lok Sabha polls, to all 14.5 crore farmers irrespective of the size of landholdings but subject to exclusion criteria. Under the scheme, Rs 6,000 per annum is given in three equal instalments (of Rs 2000 each) to eligible farmers. "Union Agriculture Minister urged all States/UTs to expedite the process of enrolment of all eligible farmer families/beneficiaries in a time-bound ...
