Page 742 - Environment

Iran ready for Pak-Turkmen gas swap, views TAPI plan as unlikely

Iran is ready to participate in a gas swap between Pakistan and Turkmenistan as it thinks that the ambitious, multi-billion dollar TAPI gas pipeline that includes India is unlikely to become operational, a top Iranian official has said. The USD 10 billion TurkmenistanAfghanistanPakistanIndia (TAPI) gas pipeline project will help ease energy shortages in South Asia. Hamid Reza Araqi, the CEO of the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) expressed Iran's readiness to participate in the Turkmen gas swap to Pakistan. "It is unlikely that the Turkmen gas pipeline to Pakistan will be constructed, and Iran is ready for this swap," Iranian news agency FARS quoted Araqi as saying. "I see it unlikely for the TAPI pipeline to become operational," he said. Given Iran's location in the centre of the region, "we can join every gas pipeline that passes around the country," he said. Araqi, who is also the deputy petroleum minister for gas affairs, added that Iran is the best pathway for gas transmission

UP govt to hold workshops tomorrow for welfare of farmers

To help farmers increase crop production and augment their income, the Uttar Pradesh government will organise workshops tomorrow across the state. Kisan Kalyan Karyashalas (workshop for welfare of farmers) will be held at all the state's development blocks tomorrow, Uttar Pradesh Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi told reporters here. The minister said, "A number of departments, including the agriculture department, of the state government are conducting the day-long workshops." Information about various welfare measures and programmes of the departments and the Centre pertaining to farmers will be disseminated at the workshops, Shahi said. "Apart from this, agriculture scientists will visit 500 places in the state and hold direct interactions with farmers, briefing them about high yielding variety of seeds and modern agricultural techniques," he said. Lectures will also be delivered to farmers so that they can derive benefits from multiple cropping, which will help them in ...

New water-based battery to store solar, wind energy

Stanford scientists have developed a water-based battery that could provide a cheap way to store wind or solar energy, which can be fed back into the electric grid and redistributed on high demand. The prototype manganese-hydrogen battery, described in the journal Nature Energy, stands just three inches tall and generates a mere 20 milliwatt hours of electricity, which is on par with the energy levels of LED flashlights one might hang on a key ring. The researchers are confident they can take this table-top technology up to an industrial-grade system that could charge and recharge up to 10,000 times, creating a grid-scale battery with a useful lifespan well in excess of a decade. According to Yi Cui, a professor at Stanford University in the US, manganese-hydrogen battery technology could be one of the missing pieces in the energy puzzle - a way to store unpredictable wind or solar energy so as to lessen the need to burn reliable but carbon-emitting fossil fuels when the renewable ...

Electricity Act to be amended so that discoms sign PPAs: Minister

The government proposes to amend the Electricity Act to ensure that companies applying for power distribution rights in an area have signed sufficient power purchase agreements (PPAs) to ensure uninterrupted supply to consumers, Power Minister R.K. Singh said on Tuesday.

U.S. moves up to second most attractive renewables market after China - report

LONDON (Reuters) - The United States moved up to second place in a ranking of the most attractive countries for renewables investment, after China, a report by UK accountancy firm Ernst & Young showed on Tuesday.

NASA probe unveils stormy environment of Jupiter's moon

New data from NASA's Galileo spacecraft - which spent eight years orbiting Jupiter - has unveiled a stormy exchange of plasma between the giant planet and its moon Ganymede. NASA's Galileo spacecraft - slightly larger than a full-grown giraffe - sent back spates of discoveries on the gas giant's moons, including the observation of a magnetic environment around Ganymede that was distinct from Jupiter's own magnetic field. The mission ended in 2003, but newly resurrected data from Galileo's first flyby of Ganymede is yielding new insights about the moon's environment - which is unlike any other in the solar system. "We are now coming back over 20 years later to take a new look at some of the data that was never published and finish the story. We found there's a whole piece no one knew about," said Glyn Collinson, from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in the US. The new results showed a stormy scene: particles blasted off the moon's icy surface as a result of incoming plasma rain, and .

BHEL bags Rs 536 cr order for hydro power project in Nepal

State-run power equipment maker BHEL today said it has secured an order worth Rs 536 crore for executing 900 MW hydro power project in Nepal. Once completed, this will be the largest hydro power project in the Himalayan Republic, a BHEL statement said. The company bagged the contract for executing 900 MW Arun-3 hydroelectric project from SJVN Arun-3 Power Development Company (SAPDC), Nepal. Valued at Rs 536 crore, the order envisages design, engineering, manufacturing, supply, erection and commissioning of Electro-Mechanical equipment involving supply of four Vertical Francis Turbines and Generator sets, each rated 225 MW, it added.

Aamir Khan, Alia Bhatt's 'shramdaan' on Labour Day

On the occasion of International Labour Day, Bollywood stars Aamir Khan and Alia Bhatt undertook 'shramdan' - also known as contribution of labour - in Latur, Marathwada here.The event was organised by Aamir's Paani Foundation, which works in the area of water conservation."We have started this movement from the most affected areas. After covering the drought-hit areas, we will walk towards the cities," the 'Thugs of Hindostan' star said on Tuesday.The 'Dear Zindagi' star had announced her involvement in the shramdaan for this year on Twitter.She had tweeted, "Tomorrow that is the 1st of May.. I will be at a village in Marathwada, doing shramadaan with a shovel in my hands. What's your plan? @paanifoundation @satyamevjayate @aamir_khan #PaaniFoundation.

N.Korea's nuclear test site fully operational: Report

North Korea's nuclear test site is fully operational, despite Pyongyang's announcement last month that it would shut down the facility, a specialised website said in a report on Tuesday.

India opting for renewables to cut fossil emissions: Study

India is making significant strides towards meeting climate commitments and is on course to surpass its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets before 2030, said an independent study by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW).

Lakhs of baby turtles buried alive as squall hits Gahirmatha

Lakhs of hatchlings of the endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles were found buried alive at Gahirmatha nesting ground as the babies failed to emerge out of pits following compaction of sand particles caused by thundershowers. Around one crore turtles" hatchlings were expected to emerge out of eggshells, but yesterday's thundershowers have played spoilsport, resulting in the death of lakhs of baby turtles, officials said. The large-scale death of hatchlings has been a setback for the turtle conservation programme as one out of a thousand survives the life cycle to grow into an adult turtle, they said. The bodies of lakhs of baby turtles were spotted buried inside the sandy pits. As the sand mass got compact following torrential rain, the babies were stuck inside the nests after breaking out of the eggshells, Divisional Forest Officer, Bimal Prasanna Acharya, said. "Though a huge congregation of 6.67 lakh turtles this year had made us jubilant, the spectre of death of the .

New beetle named after Leonardo DiCaprio,

Amateur scientists have discovered a new species of water beetle and named it after Leonardo DiCaprio to honour the Oscar-winning Hollywood actor's efforts towards biodiversity preservation. The water beetle, described in the journal ZooKeys, was discovered at a waterfall in the remote Maliau Basin in Malaysian Borneo. During a field trip initiated by Taxon Expeditions - an organisation based in The Netherlands which arranges scientific surveys for untrained people - a total of three water beetle species new to science were identified. The expedition participants and the local staff of the Maliau Basin Studies Centre voted to name one of them Grouvellinus leonardodicaprioi, in honour of DiCaprio's efforts to protect untouched, unexplored wildernesses. The tribute marks the 20th anniversary of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation (LDF) and its efforts towards biodiversity preservation. "Tiny and black, this new beetle may not win any Oscars for charisma, but in biodiversity conservation, ..

Mongolians sip 'oxygen cocktails' to cope with smog

Fed up with the smog in Mongolia's capital, residents have resorted to sipping "lung" tea and "oxygen cocktails" in a desperate bid to protect themselves from pollution, despite health officials saying there is no evidence they work. Ulaanbaatar topped New Delhi and Beijing as the world's most polluted capital in 2016, UNICEF said in a report warning of a health crisis that has put every child and pregnancy at risk. With residents of so-called ger (slum) districts using coal stoves to cook and heat their homes in the world's coldest capital, where temperatures can dip as low as -40 Celsius (-40 Fahrenheit), pollution has skyrocketed. While most of the pollution comes from stoves in the gers, road transport and power plants add to the toxic mix. On January 30, air pollution was 133 times higher than the safe limit set by the World Health Organization (WHO). UNICEF reported that cases of respiratory infections have nearly tripled and pneumonia is now the second leading cause of death ...

Manipur's Leisang becomes last village to get electricity, Centre says nation fully electrified

The Last village to be electrified under the Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana is Leisang village located in Senapati district in Manipur.As per Government of India, out of 18,452 villages in India that were power deprived 3 years ago, 17,181 have been electrified. Others are uninhabited or classified as grazing reserves.Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter and wrote, " 28th April 2018 will be remembered as a historic day in the development journey of India. Yesterday, we fulfilled a commitment due to which the lives of several Indians will be transformed forever! I am delighted that every single village of India now has access to electricity.""Leisang village in Manipur, like the thousands of other villages across India has been powered and empowered. This news will make every Indian proud and delighted," he tweeted.A village is said to be electrified if at least 10% of its households, as well as public places such as schools, panchayat offices and health centers, have ...

Summit on climate resilient mountain agri on May 2-4 in Uttarakhand

The water resources department of the Uttarakhand government in collaboration with the Forest Research Institute (FRI) will hold a summit here from May 2-4 on the effects of climate change on mountain agriculture. The summit will focus on developing climate resilient agriculture, Cabinet Minister Satpal Maharaj told reporters. It aims to find ways to fight the threat posed to mountain agriculture because of the emission of green house gases such as methane, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, he said. Mentioning the 2013 Kedarnath tragedy, Maharaj said such summits should be held in Uttarakhand to make people aware about the effects of climate change. The recommendations of the summit will be submitted to the state government for incorporating them in policy formation, he said. Apart from scientists, researchers and experts, farmers and gram pradhans have been invited to attend the summit. FRI Director Savita said discussing ways to neutralise the effects of climate change on farming is

Cong govts didn't take water conservation seriously: Nitin

Gujarat deputy chief minister Nitin Patel today accused previous Congress governments in the state of not taking the issue of water conservation seriously. He was talking to reporters here on the eve of the state government's 31-day 'Sujalam Sufalam Water Conservation Initiative' beginning tomorrow. The initiative will see tasks like deepening ponds, desilting water reservoirs and check dams, cleaning and repairing Narmada canal networks, and implementing rain water harvesting projects in urban areas. Through the month-long programme, set to cost Rs 345 crore, the state government aims to increase rain water conservation capacity in the state by 11,000 lakh square feet. The project plans to revive 32 rivers across a length of 340 kilometres. Patel said, "Only 4,000 check dams were built in the state during the previous Congress regime while the BJP-led government had built more than 1,66,082 such dams with a water storage capacity of 28,408 million cubic feet (MCF). Patel

BIZ-BRIEF

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) today said it has synchronised unit-3 of 2x660 MW Shree Singaji Thermal Power Plant in Madhya Pradesh on April 27, in record time of 40 months for indigenously built power plants in India. This supercritical power plant is being put up by MP Power Generating Company at Khandwa district in the state, L&T said in a statement. "We are proud to be associated with the Madhya Pradesh state power utility that has confidence in our capability and we have reciprocated with this power unit's synchronisation in record time. This is for the second time we are working with the state utility; earlier we had executed the balance of plant package for them," Shailendra Roy, CEO & MD - L&T Power & Whole-Time Director, said.

Uma Bharti launches Gobardhan Yojana from Haryana

Union Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation, Uma Bharti, today launched the Gobardhan scheme from Haryana's Karnal district with an aim to positively contribute to cleanliness and generate energy from solid waste. Launching the scheme at the National Dairy Research Institute in the district, she spoke on the importance of Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources - an acronym from Gobar - scheme as a component of the Open Defecation Free-plus strategy across the country. "People should accept change, follow change and participate in change happening in rural India under the Swachh Bharat Mission. Under Gobardhan scheme, cooking gas would be provided to rural habitations and technical support would ensure that the scheme functioned on a sustainable basis," Bharti said, addressing a gathering. "The scheme focuses on managing and converting cattle dung and solid waste from farms and fields to useful compost, biogas and bio-CNG," she said. The scheme will help in keeping villages ...

Gobardhan scheme launched from Haryana's Karnal

Launching the Gobardhan scheme here, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said today the state government is making arrangements to generate bio-gas from cattle dung and will help gram panchayats in setting up gas plants. There are about 450 gaushalas and nandishalas in Haryana with a strength of about 3.41 lakh cattle. Addressing a gathering after launching the Galvanizing Organic Bio Agro Resources Dhan (Gobardhan) scheme, Khattar said the programme, aimed at converting waste into energy, will ensure cleanliness and help in doubling farmers' income. "We will get the scheme implemented successfully in the state and also send its report to the Centre," he said. Referring to 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' scheme launched from Panipat on January 22, 2015, he said the state government effectively implemented the programme and as a result, the sex ratio in the state has increased from 850 to 914. Union Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation Uma Bharti, Union Minister of State for ...

Centre launches scheme for procuring 2,500 MW aggregate power

The Centre will invite bids during this week for the procurement of aggregate power amounting to 2,500 MW on a competitive basis for three years from generators with commissioned projects but without power purchase agreements (PPA), under a scheme the pilot for which was launched on Monday.