Page 784 - Environment

Display screens to indicate pollution levels in Shimla, HP towns

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Tuesday inaugurated 12 electronic display screens that will indicate, among other things, the air pollution levels in state capital Shimla and Manali and other cities and towns of the hill state.

Crop burning to up air pollution in Delhi to hazardous levels: US study

The air pollution in Delhi may reach 20 times higher than the safe limits owing to agricultural fires during peak burning season, a team of researchers have warned.

Assam govt to spend Rs 2.58 cr on high-mast national flag

Assam government will spend Rs 2.58 crore to set up a high-mast National Flag here as part of the Smart City project, a state minister said today. Guwahati Development Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told the Assam Assembly that a total of 13 schemes and infrastructure development projects are being carried out to transform the state capital into a Smart City. Sarma said the sanctioned cost for completing 12 projects is Rs 2,303.50 crore, while no amount has been fixed yet for the City Operation Centre. Out of this, Rs 2.58 crore has been earmarked for implementing the high-mast national flag construction project in Guwahati. "The work has been allotted after completing the tender process," he said, without giving any further detail. The highest amount of Rs 826 crore will be spent for the overall development of Brahmaputra riverside along the city, and the Detailed Project Report (DPR) is being prepared for it, the minister said. For development of Mora Bharalu river bank ..

JICA signs loan assistance for setting up desalination plant

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has signed an agreement with the Centre for setting up of a Chennai Seawater Desalination Plant at an Official Development Assistance (ODA) of Rs 1,800 crore. The ODA loan agreement was signed between Ambassador of India to Japan, Sujan R Chinoy and JICA Senior Vice President, Junichi Yamada at the House of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tokyo, a press release said. JICA signed agreement with Government of India to provide official development assistance loan of 30,000 million Japanese Yen (approximately Rs 1,800 crore) for the construction of Chennai Seawater Desalination Plant. The objective of the project is to provide safe and reliable water supply by seawater desalination plant with a capacity of 400 million litres per day and its related water supply facilities in the Chennai Metropolitan Areas. "We are happy to announce that it would be the first case for JICA in India to support the construction of seawater ...

Air cargo volumes to grow by 60%, infra still a concern:Report

Air cargo volumes are expected to grow by 60 per cent over the next five years, but the infrastructure bottlenecks are a major constraint which can impede the sector's ability, a report said today. It also called for an increase in the cargo handling capacity by nearly 50 per cent to support the demand. The capacity of all the airports in the country currently stands at 4.63 million tonnes and there is a need to create at least 2 million tonnes more of capacity to meet the projected demand increase of 60 per cent over the next five years, ratings agency Icra said in a note. "Growing e-commerce, improving air connectivity across small airports in the country and growth in GDP are expected to result in growth in air cargo traffic. Infrastructure bottlenecks remain a major constraint to the growth prospects of air cargo and the same need to be addressed," its sector head for corporate ratings Harsh Jagnani said. It can be noted that the present efforts of the government ...

TSTDC proposes to introduce battery-operated autos at heritage

The Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation has proposed to introduce battery-operated autorickshaws at heritage destinations in the city. "The main objective of introducing the battery operated autorickshaws is to focus on promotion and preservation (from pollution) of heritage sites in the city", an official release said. It can generate employment opportunities to the local youth directly or indirectly and increase the socio-economic development of the region, it said. Initially, 20 autos will be deployed at four selected heritage destinations in the city and later extended to other landmarks. As the historic Charminar is selected as a pedestrianisation zone, it will be only accessible to the pedestrians. Hence, the battery operated autorickshaws will be of great help as it would reduce air and noise pollution, avoids parking problems and traffic jams, it said. "The main aim is to reduce the Green House Gas (GHG) emissions in transport sector and safeguard ...

'Sanitary pads need to be made biodegradable' (Health Feature)

Periods: The word is no longer taboo. Both women and men, in recent times, have spoken out about menstrual health and there has been quite a lot of awareness over it through films and other medium.

India trying to revive link with GSAT-6A

Indian space scientists and engineers are making all-out efforts to establish a link with the communication satellite GSAT-6A launched on March 29, said an official on Tuesday.

Enforcement officers to seize banned non-organic food items

The Sikkim government has decided to designate enforcement officers to carry out seizure and disposal of non-organic and horticultural commodities banned in the Himalayan state, a notification issued by the state government has said. The state has banned the entry of non-organic fruits and vegetables in the state from April 1. The notification issued by SK Pradhan, Protocol Officer, Home Department, said " The state government shall designate such number of persons as it thinks fit to be enforcement officers to carry out seizure and disposal of non -organic agricultural and horticultural commodities with effect from April 1, 2018. " The notification, issued on March 31, 2018, was released in public domain yesterday. The Pawan Kumar Chamling government had earlier issued a notification on March 10, 2018, banning sale of 27 non-organic agricultural and horticultural commodities from April 1, 2018. The chief minister had on several occasions defended the move to ban the ...

Possible N Korea-US summit sign of progress in field of disarmament: UN official

Despite the deteriorating security situation, there are some signs of progress in the field of disarmament, such as the intention of North Korea and the United States to hold summit talks, a senior UN official has said. "At a time when global anxieties about nuclear weapons are higher than at any time since the Cold War, measures for disarmament and arms control are more vital than ever," Thomas Markram, Deputy High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, said at the opening of the 2018 session of the UN Disarmament Commission here yesterday. He said since September, there have been no fundamental changes in the interrelated trends that are eroding efficacy in arms control and negatively affecting international peace and security. However, there have been some recent signs of progress that point to where the Commission can make a unique and constructive contribution. On the reported commitment by North Korea to denuclearisation following the recent talks held in China, the UN official

X-rays may strip away alien life from habitable planets: study

Intense X-ray radiation could eliminate the possibility of alien life on many Earth-like planets, by stripping away the ozone layer and rendering them uninhabitable, a study has found. Astronomers now know of around 4,000 planets in orbit around other stars. A handful of these are both Earth-sized and in the habitable zones of the stars they orbit, where the temperature is right for liquid water. However, many candidate Earth-sized worlds are in orbit around red dwarf stars, much smaller and cooler than our own. To be in the habitable zone, the planets need to be much closer to their stars than we are to the Sun. The problem, however, is that red dwarfs can produce significant X-ray emission, and often have large flares of radiation and eruptions of particles in so-called coronal mass ejections (CMEs). To try to assess the risk, researchers at the Thueringer Observatory in Germany are intensively monitoring low-mass stars where flares might take place. In February, they observed a ...

Tata Communications collaborates with Mahanagar Gas

To deploy 5000 smart gas meters in Mumbai

Aromatic rice Tulaipanji gaining popularity among farmers

An indigenous aromatic rice, grown in a small pocket of north Bengal, has gained so much interest among the farmers due to the state government's encouragement that its area of cultivation has increased by 45 per cent in just three years, district officials said. Tulaipanji is cultivated in Raiganj, Kaliaganj, Hemtabad and Karandighi blocks of Uttar Dinajpur district and Kushmandi block of Dakshin Dinajpur district. Earlier, the farmers were not very keen to cultivate Tulaipanji, but following the encouragement by the state government, more and more peasants are now engaged in farming this variety. "The yield of Tulaipanji was not enough in earlier years. But now the agriculture department helps us in various ways. We also get a better price for this," said Palanu Mohammad, a farmer of Bindol in Raiganj block. In Uttar Dinajpur, Tulaipanji was cultivated in 6,700 hectare in 2017-18, compared to 5,400 hectare in 2016-17 and 4,600 hectare in 2015-16, regisetering a growth .

SpaceX resupply mission with key research on way to ISS

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) were set to receive 2,630 kg of research, crew supplies and hardware after NASA's cargo provider SpaceX launched a commercial resupply mission.

Trial run of first Kolkata-Dhaka container train begins today

The trial run of the Kolkata-Dhaka container train loaded with over 1,100 tonnes of animal feed will be flagged off today, senior ministry officials said. While passenger and goods trains run between the two countries, this is the first time that a container service will begin. Exporters' forums had long been lobbying for container trains as they could save time and trade costs significantly apart from making trade safer and more organised. Container trains are usually used to ferry machine parts, chemicals, automobiles and consumer durables that involve a shorter transit time. If successful, the service would drastically reduce the transportation time," said senior officials. The Container Corporation of India Ltd (Concor), a PSU under the railway ministry will handle the logistics of the container service. The train will be flagged off at a Concor terminus near Majherhat station around 9.30am. It will travel 300km through Sealdah, Naihati, Ranaghat and Gede in India and Darsana and

US to roll back Obama-era vehicle fuel efficiency targets

US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt has said the targets of vehicle fuel efficiency set by the previous Barack Obama administration is too stringent and should be revised.

SpaceX launches spacecraft in resupply mission to ISS

The US space agency NASA's cargo provider SpaceX has launched a Dragon spacecraft, starting its resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

Standards set for industries emitting nitrogen, sulphur oxides

The Union Environment Ministry has set emission standards for industries where nitrogen and sulphur oxides are generated as these gases are leading to increase in air pollution and affecting human health.

Tripura to build two dams on river Howrah: CM

Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb today said his government has drawn up an ambitious project of constructing two dams on river Howrah to increase its water-carrying capacity and navigability. "We have observed that a large part of the capital and its outskirts are flooded due to swelling of the river during rainy season, and in dry season, there is hardly any water even for supply to the water treatment plants," he said. The two dams will be built near the source of the river at Baramura hills, Deb told reporters here. He said one dam would be of 25 metre height and the other would be of 15 metre, and the project would be completed in two years. Altogether Rs 150 crore would be spent to construct the dams. The chief minister said following the construction of the two dams, a huge quantity of water would be stored that would fulfil the demands of drinking water for Agartala residents and the city's outskirts. The dams would also improve navigability of the river ...

China tariffs on U.S. ethanol to cut off imports in short-term

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese buyers of U.S. ethanol will have to cut imports because of higher tariffs, but eventually will have to return to the overseas market to meet government targets for using the fuel, industry participants and analysts said on Monday.