Page 528 - Environment
Now, grow indoor crops, vegetables in Japanese style
Agriculture sector in Japan is facing a wide range of challenges including aging farmers, decline in the number of young people who want to work in fields and increase of abandoned farmlands.In order to solve this problem, it is important to promote the utilisation of new technology in agriculture. The "Greenhouse Horticulture and Plant Factory Exhibition" was held in Tokyo. These booths are introducing agricultural machinery, materials manufacturers, and seed manufacturers.The exhibition is the place of opportunity for business expansion through technology proposals and information exchange, especially to farmers who hope to find the latest agricultural technologies and improve their work.This is "plant factory" which implements a mechanism of artificial photosynthesis to grow plants. "The plant factory is focusing now on producing lettuce, but we can make any kind of 60 to 70 vegetables. As Japan's farmers are aging, it is necessary to introduce new generation plants to attract ...
Telangana announces Rs 25 crore aid for flood-hit Kerala
The Telangana government on Friday announced Rs 25 crore financial assistance to the flood-hit Kerala.
Kejriwal announces Rs 10 crore relief for flood-hit Kerala
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today announced Rs 10 crore relief for flood-ravaged Kerala, where 106 people died on a single day yesterday as the state plunged deeper into misery with hospitals facing shortage of oxygen and fuel stations running dry. Kejriwal appealed to the public to make donations to the crisis-hit state. The Delhi CM also spoke to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. "Spoke to Kerala CM. Del govt is making a contribution of Rs 10 cr. I sincerely appeal to everyone to donate generously for our brothers and sisters in Kerala (sic)," Kejriwal tweeted. Earlier in the day, the Punjab government had also announced Rs 10 crore immediate relief for Kerala. According to a statement issued by the Punjab government, a total of four sorties, each carrying 30 tonnes ready-to-eat food items, would be sent to Kerala. This is the deadliest deluge in Kerala in close to a century, which has claimed 173 lives since August 8. Further, a body blow has been dealt to the ...
Telangana announces Rs 25 crore assistance to Kerala
The Telangana government today announced an assistance of Rs 25 crore to rain-ravaged Kerala. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has directed Chief Secretary S K Joshi to see that the money reaches Kerala immediately, an official release said. Rao has also instructed that water purifying machines worth Rs 2.50 crore be supplied to Kerala as drinking water gets polluted due to floods, it said. The chief Minister has appealed to industrialists, prominent persons in IT sector and others in Telangana to help the rain-hit state, it said. He said donations, if they are made to the CM's Relief Fund, would be forwarded to Kerala. Expressing sorrow over the loss of life and property in Kerala due to the heavy rains, Rao said he hoped that the coastal state would recover from the calamity at the earliest.
Railways sends drinking water wagons to flood-hit Kerala
With Kerala reeling under one of the worst floods, Indian Railways on Friday sent over 2.8 lakh liter of drinking water to the state through wagons and also bottled water.
Karna Cong unit sets up 3 teams to assess flood situation
The Congress' Karnataka unit has set up three teams to assess the situation in rain and landslide-ravaged districts of the state. Three teams have been constituted to assess the flood situation, assist and provide valuable information on how the party unit can render assistance in these areas, Karnataka PCC presidentDinesh Gundu Rao said in a tweet. Earlier today the Congress had askedlocal Congress men to help those affected due to rains. "Unprecedented rains are now seriously affecting some parts of Karnataka.We urge all Congress members in the region to extend a helping hand," it said on its twitter handle @INCIndia. The teams will assess the situation in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Mysuru, Kodagu, Chamarajanagara, Shivamogga and Chikkamagaluru. Each team, consisting of about five to six party office bearers, after assessing the situation in the affected districts in coordination with the party's local units, have been asked to submit a report to the KPCC
Bengal govt plans to add 2000MW in 5 yrs
West Bengal, a power surplus state, was planning to add 2000MW over the next five years, state Power Minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay said. The old thermal units in the state would be gradually replaced by modern plants, Chattopadhyay said at the CII organised Energy Conclave 2018 here. "We have about 9000MW generation capacity of our own and about 1000MW from central allocation. We will add another 2000MW in the next five years," he said. It will include 1000MW of pump storage power and 300MW of solar, Chattopadhyay said adding that the pump storage project was waiting to get central assistance. "When we came to power (in 2011), solar capacity was merely at 1 MW and now, the solar capacity is around 200 MW. At least 300 MW of solar capacity will be added in the next five years. Of this, around 20 solar projects with 10 MW of each will be coming up in the next three years," he said. The minister said the state government has been introducing latest technologies to reduce .
Bengal to add over 2000 mw of power capacity in next 5 years
West Bengal, which has been incorporating the latest technologies to reduce transmission and distribution losses, is expecting to add over 2,000 megawatt (mw) of power in the next five years including 300 mw of solar power, a state minister said on Friday.
'Foreign object' found by Mars rover a rock flake: NASA
A so-called "foreign object debris" spotted by Mars rover Curiosity and speculated to be a piece of spacecraft debris has turned out to be a very thin flake of rock, NASA has said.
Recycling human wastewater can promote agricultural sustainability
Human waste, which is full of nutrients, can be recycled into valuable products that could promote agricultural sustainability and even better economic independence for some developing countries, says a new study.
Bangladesh to ramp power import to 10,000MW from India
Bangladesh, which is currently importing around 700 MW of power from India, is looking to ramp up its electricity import from the country to 10,000MW in the long term, a power division official of the neighbouring nation said here today. The power capacity in Bangladesh has been increased by five times in the last 10 years, Power Grid Corporation of Bangladesh chairman Abdul Kalam Azad said. "We are currently importing around 700 mw of power from India. Some 500 MW of additional power import will be commenced soon with more transmission line of 400 KVA has been completed," Azad said on the sidelines of the CII organised Energy Conclave 2018. The Damodar valley corporation will also export 300MW to Bangladesh hopefully from next month, he said. "We have signed an agreement with an Indian private power company to import 600-800 mw of power through a dedicated transmission line. We have received more proposals from several other Indian power generating companies desiring ..
Agripreneur helps revolutionise farming in North East
In an attempt to revolutionise farming in the northeast, Samir Bordoloi, a graduate from Assam Agricultural University is teaching budding farmers and small entrepreneurs some innovative farming and food techniques.Bordoloi, who holds a mission to promote organic farming, believes that the region has the potential to make its farmers "Independent self-sustaining entities"He runs a Society for Promotion of Rural Economy & Agricultural Products (SPREAD) in the northeastern states with an aim to get local people to eat local food from local resources.The agripreneur said, "I started this journey studying in agri-clinic in Jorhat. I got a government job as an agricultural extension officer, after which I worked in the corporate like TATA's. Finally, I thought I should start something for our farmers where I can directly connect to them and not just give them inputs"Bordoloi has been holding three-day camps up on a hill in Sonapur. This camp is called Farm Learning Centre that gives ...
Bangladesh looks to increase power import from India
Bangladesh, which is importing around 700 megawatt (mw) of power from India, is looking to ramp up its electricity import from the country, an official of the neighbouring nation said here on Friday.
DVC plans 1,500mw pumped storage facility, to cost Rs 5,200 cr
The Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) is planning to set up a 1,500mw pumped storage facility in Jahrkhand's Bokaro at an estimated cost of Rs 5,200 crore, an official said on Friday.
Set up committee on solid-waste management, SC tells Delhi L-G
Terming the solid waste problem in Delhi "serious", the Supreme Court on Friday asked Lt Governor Anil Baijal to consider the setting up of a committee also comprising experts on solid-waste management.
Industrial, domestic power consumers increased in WB: minister
The number of electricity consumers in both industrial and domestic sectors has increased in West Bengal which is now a power surplus state, state minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay said here today. The number of industrial consumers has gone up from 78,074 in 2011 to 99,505 now, proving that demand for power from industries has increased, Power and Non-Conventional Energy Sources Minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay said. Following the 'Power to Everyone' slogan coined by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee after coming to power in 2011, the number of domestic consumers of power (domestic) has also increased to 1.2 crore from 86 lakh in 2011, he said. "We can now say that with regards to infrastructure - roads, technical institutions, power - Bengal is ready to extend all help to industry houses," Chattopadhyay said at a programme of the Bengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BNCCI). On the sidelines of the programme, he said West Bengal is a power-surplus state where .
Panels headed by collector set up for purchase of land for
District-level committees headed by collectors will fix the rates at which land will be purchased for distribution to landless scheduled caste and neo-Buddhist families in the Below Poverty Line category. The decision was taken by the Maharashtra government earlier this week, an official statement today said. These committees will finalise the purchase rate, buy land and select beneficiaries for allotment under the Karmavir Dadasaheb Gaikwad Sabalikaran and Swabhiman Yojana, it said. The scheme is in operation since 2004-05. Under the scheme, land is distributed with fifty per cent subsidy. Beneficiaries get interest-free loan for the remaining amount. Every eligible family is allotted four acres of non-irrigated land or two acres of irrigated land. New norms for purchase of land were being introduced in view of increase in market rates, the statement said. The committee will be headed by collector of the respective district and include CEO of the Zilla Parishad, district .
Additional police deployment at Goa bridge to ease traffic
The Goa government has deployed two platoons of the state police's India Reserve Battalion to decongest a section of the national highway connecting the North and South districts of the state, a senior official said today. Heavy traffic jams have been witnessed for the past few days at Agassaim village on the national highway near Zuari bridge, about 15 kilometres from here, the official said. The issue had drawn protests from political parties as well as people who had missed their flights as the highway is the sole access road for people of North Goa to the international airport. "Two platoons of IRB have been deployed. Police have issued detailed instructions to field formations for continuous monitoring of traffic situation," a senior Chief Minister's Office official told PTI today. He claimed that since the deployment of the two IRB platoons at the site, traffic had been moving smoothly on the highway. The official said that, as instructed by Chief Minister ...
Australian court quashes indigenous challenge to Adani mine
SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Australian court quashed an indigenous group's bid to block Indian resource conglomerate Adani Enterprises Ltd from developing its controversial Carmichael coalmine on Friday, clearing one of the final legal hurdles to its development.
Signature Bridge to be completed by Oct: HC told
The Delhi High Court was informed today that the long-delayed Signature Bridge across the Yamuna would be completed by October after which trial will be conducted. A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao asked the authorities to file a status report while fixing the matter for November 14. "List the matter in second week of November to enable the respondents (authorities) to complete the project and do the trial and file a report," the bench said. The court was informed by the counsel for the Public Works Department (PWD) that the project will be completed by October and trial run will be conducted thereafter. The court had earlier frowned upon two city government departments for "quibbling over" the amount to be paid for the construction of the "long overdue" Signature Bridge. It had directed the chairperson of the Delhi Tourism and Transport Development Corporation (DTTDC) and the chief of engineering of the PWD to physically inspect the bridge and the ...
