Page 495 - Environment
10th edition of Kerala Travel Mart from September 27
The biennial Kerala Travel Mart (KTM), billed as the country's largest tourism sector conclave of stake-holders from across the world, will be held here from September 27 to 30, organisers said Thursday. Being held in the wake of the floods that ravaged large swathes of the coastal state, the tenth edition of KTM will focus on measures that would lead to a strong resurgence of tourism, which is the mainstay of Kerala's economy, they said here. The inaugural session of the four-day event, being organised by the KTM Society in association with the State Tourism Department, will be held at hotel Grand Hyatt, Bolgatty, on September 27. In the next three days, a series of buyer-seller meets, seminars and policy deliberations will take place at Samudrika and Sagara Convention Centre at Willingdon Island. "The response to this edition of KTM has been overwhelming with 395 overseas buyers and 1,095 domestic buyers having registered as participants. The complete list of ...
ISRO urges India Inc to invest in space business
Indian space agency ISRO has urged the country's industry to invest in space business in a big way, an official said on Thursday.
Asia Rice: Rupee woes, weak demand drag India prices to 17-month lows
BENGALURU (Reuters) - Rice export prices in India slid to 17-month lows on sluggish demand and the rupee's record fall, while concerns of tighter supplies due to floods in the Mekong Delta and prospects of orders from the Philippines and Egypt boosted rates in Vietnam.
Need to move towards electric mobility: Minister
Union Minister Anant Geete on Thursday said that there is a need to move towards electric mobility due to concerns over environmental damage caused by vehicle emissions.
India's 2018/19 sugar exports seen at 2-4 million tonnes - LMC International head
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India is likely to export 2 million to 4 million tonnes of sugar in the 2018/19 marketing year starting next month as production could hit an all-time high, a senior industry official said on Thursday.
Tata Steel unveils sustainable steel production technology in Europe
Tata Steel on Thursday announced a "ground-breaking" new sustainable technology which could save half the amount of carbon dioxide released during steelmaking following tests at its Ijmuiden site in the Netherlands. Its HIsarna technology for producing iron consists of a reactor in which iron ore is injected at the top. The ore is liquefied in a high-temperature cyclone and drips to the bottom of the reactor where powder coal is injected. This significantly reduces the number of energy-intensive steps required for the traditional steelmaking process, the Indian steel major said. "HIsarna's results show we can make a significant contribution to improving the sustainability of steel production with this Tata Steel technology, said Hans Fischer, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technical Officer of Tata Steel's European operations. "The development of this technology forges our ambition to become a steel company which is sustainable in all respects," he said. The company said that ...
Bajaj Auto to expand 3 wheeler & Quadricycle capacity to 1 million per year
As Govt. announces "no-permit" regime for auto rickshaws powered by Alternate Fuels
PepsiCo to install plastic crushing machines across Maha in 2
Food and beverages firm PepsiCo India is planning to install reverse vending machines to crush PET plastic bottles in all the 36 districts of the state over the next two years as part of its plastic waste management initiative, a top executive said. It aims to collect, segregate and recycle 6,500 tonnes of PET bottles in the state in the first year through this initiative. "We plan to roll out this (plastic waste management) initiative to all the 36 districts of the state over the next two years," PepsiCo India vice-president Neelima Dwivedi told PTI. In a meeting with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis in Nagpur in July, PepsiCo India's president and chief executive officer Ahmed ElSheikh had said the company is committed to the government's vision and focus on addressing the issue of plastic waste in a sustainable manner. As part of the initiative, it Thursday installed reverse vending machines here, and has tied up with Gem Enviro Management to install a total of 10 ...
Rain alert in Gangetic WB
The IMD today issued an alert of heavy to very heavy rain in Gangetic West Bengal owing to a deep depression over northwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining West Bengal and north coastal Odisha. It is very likely to move westnorthwestwards and cross West Bengal coast close to Digha and move westnorthwestwards further and weaken gradually into a well-marked low pressure area, the Met department said. Owing to the weather system, heavy to very heavy rain is likely to occur at one or two places over the districts of South 24 Parganas, East and West Midnapore, Purulia, Bankura and Jhargram. Heavy rain is likely to occur in the other districts of Gangetic West Bengal, the weatherman said. Sea condition is likely to be rough to very rough over north Bay of Bengal and along and off West Bengal and Odisha coasts, the IMD said. Tourists along Digha and adjacent coasts were warned by the Met department not to undertake any sea water-bound activities till tomorrow. Fishermen were ...
Rain cripples life in Odisha
Heavy rains crippled normal life in several parts of Odisha Thursday as the low pressure over the Bay of Bengal intensified into a depression. The depression may trigger heavy downpour till Friday, officials said. As heavy rain pounded several parts of the state since Tuesday, low-lying areas including Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Bhadrak and Khurda were inundated, they said. As several areas are marooned in Cuttack city, the administration declared closure of all educational institutions Thursday. Life came to a standstill in the port town of Paradip which recorded a maximum rainfall of 412 mm rain since Wednesday, they said, adding water logging in several areas of the port disrupted loading and unloading of consignments. A large number of vehicles were seen submerged in water as all low-lying areas in Paradip faced deluge. Areas around the famous Sun Temple in Konark are under knee-deep water, while many places in the seaside pilgrim town of Puri faced severe ..
Odisha likely to receive heavy rainfall
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday predicted extremely heavy rainfall over Odisha in the next 24 hours.
Bridge collapse: traffic snarls continue in city
Closure of a part of arterial Diamond Harbour Road owing to collapse of a section of Majerhat bridge caused huge traffic snarls since morning on Thursday, leading to delays and frayed nerves of commuters. Police said apart from diversion of traffic owing to the collapse, a political programme at Esplanade in the heart of the city and another at Howrah bridge also affected traffic movement in the city during the day. Long queues of vehicles were seen in many roads in the southern and western parts of the city, as also in the Kolkata-bound stretch of Kona Expressway connecting national highways to Mumbai and Delhi. People going to work, schools and colleges were stuck in public and private vehicles, which took more than double the time taken usually to reach their destinations. Traffic were at a standstill or moving at a snail's pace on roads through which these were diverted owing to the closure of DH Road at Majerhat area. Sahapur Road, Hide Road, Alipore Road and many ...
Towering hexagonal vortex spotted on Saturn
Scientists have discovered a unique hexagonal vortex on Saturn's north pole -- a towering atmospheric structure of whirling fluids that spans hundreds of kilometres in height. The Cassini mission -- which crashed into the Saturn last year to end its two decade long journey -- spotted the feature emerging at the ringed planet's northern pole as it nears summertime. This warm vortex sits hundreds of kilometres above the clouds, in a layer of atmosphere known as the stratosphere, and reveals an unexpected surprise. "The edges of this newly-found vortex appear to be hexagonal, precisely matching a famous and bizarre hexagonal cloud pattern we see deeper down in Saturn's atmosphere," said Leigh Fletcher of the University of Leicester in the UK. "Either a hexagon has spawned spontaneously and identically at two different altitudes, one lower in the clouds and one high in the stratosphere, or the hexagon is in fact a towering structure spanning a vertical range of several hundred ...
India needs stringent steps to maximise efficiency of coal plants: Report
India requires stringent steps to ensure maximising the efficiency of its existing coal-fired power plants to achieve nationally determined contributions under the landmark 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement, a report said on Thursday.
New six-sided jet stream spotted at Saturn's north pole
Using data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft, scientists have spotted a surprising feature emerging at Saturn's northern pole as it nears summertime -- a warming, high-altitude jet stream with a hexagonal shape.
India, France to collaborate on human space mission
India and France Thursday announced a working group for Gaganyaan, ISRO's first manned mission announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Independence Day. The announcement was made at the sixth edition of Bengaluru Space Expo by French space agency President Jean-Yves Le Gall. India plans to send three humans to space before 2022. The Indian Space Research Organisation's mission is significant as it would make India one of the four countries in the world after Russia, US and China to launch a manned space flight. ISRO and CNES, the French space agency, will be combining their expertise in fields of space medicine, astronaut health monitoring, life support, radiation protection, space debris protection and personal hygiene systems, Gall said. Engineering teams have already begun discussions and it is envisioned that infrastructure such as CADMOS centre for development of microgravity applications and space operations or the MEDES space clinic will be used for training of future ...
World's largest offshore wind farm opens off northwest England
LONDON (Reuters) - The world's largest offshore wind farm will open on Thursday off the northwest coast of England when Danish energy group Orsted unveils the Walney Extension project.
Citing Kerala floods, UN chief says 'climate change running faster than we are'
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres cited the devastating floods in Kerala and the wildfires in California as he expressed concern that climate change is "running faster than we are and called for urgency and action to prevent ever greater climate-related crises. The UN chief said last year, climate-related disasters were responsible for thousands of deaths and USD 320 billion dollars in losses. "Climate change is running faster than we are. The impacts are devastating, and it is usually the poorest and the most vulnerable who are hit first and worst by storms, floods, droughts, wildfires and rising seas," Guterres said at the launch of the 2018 New Climate Economy report here on Wednesday. "This year, we have seen the terrible flooding in Kerala in India, savage wildfires in California and Canada, and dramatic warming in the Arctic that is affecting weather patterns across the northern hemisphere. The trend is clear. The last 19 years included 18 of the warmest years on record, and
Nauru demands China apology over 'crazy' envoy
Nauru's president has demanded China apologise for a top diplomat's "crazy" behaviour at the Pacific Islands Forum and lashed out at Beijing's "arrogant" presence in the region. "They're not our friends. They just need us for their own purposes," President Baron Waqa told reporters. "Sorry, but I have to be strong on this because no one is to come and dictate things to us." This year's annual Pacific summit, which wraps up in Nauru on Thursday, has been one of the most contentious in the event's 49-year history. The usual discussions about climate change have been overshadowed by the host's row with China and its treatment of asylum-seekers held on the island under a deal with Australia. The diplomatic spat pits Nauru -- with a population of 11,000 and an area of just 21 square kilometres (eight square miles) -- against the Asian superpower. It erupted on Tuesday when the head of China's delegation Du Qiwen attempted to address a meeting but Waqa refused to let him speak until island .
Delhi Minister reviews preparations for plantation drive
Preparations for the Delhi government's drive to plant five lakh saplings at 600 locations here on September 8 was reviewed at a meeting with officials and other stakeholders by Environment and Forest Minister Imran Hussain on Wednesday.
