Page 915 - Environment
Iraq, BP to sign agreement to boost Kirkuk oil production
KIRKUK, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq plans to sign an agreement with BP on Thursday to boost production from the northern Kirkuk oilfields, an Iraqi oil official said.
Exempt fireworks industry from environment rules: TN CM to
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to exempt the fireworks manufacturing industry in the state from environment protection rules to save the livelihood of eight lakh families. 850 fireworks manufacturing units are functioning in Tamil Nadu, mostly in Virudhunagar district, which contribute to 90 per cent of the fireworks produced in the country. "I urge you to direct the Ministry of Environment to carry out necessary amendment to Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986," he said in a letter to Modi yesterday. Since use of fireworks is attached to our socio-cultural traditions, any ban on production, sale and its use would adversely affect sentiments of the people of India, he said. Firecracker units provide employment to "more than eight lakh people mostly women, directly or indirectly," he said, adding a ban would push them further into poverty. The manufacturers observe very high safety standards, he said, adding the industry ...
The 7 Days Challenge: Not 'Eat, Pray, Love' but 'Eat, Move, Live'
Want to eat healthier? Or move around town in a more sustainable manner? Or just lead your daily life in a smarter way? You need to try the 7 Days Challenge.
Self-healing fungi concrete could help repair buildings
Scientists have used fungi to create a self-healing concrete that could repair cracks in ageing buildings and save crumbling infrastructure. Researchers from the Rutgers University and Binghamton University in the US found that the problem in ageing concrete stems from the smallest of cracks. "Without proper treatment, cracks tend to progress further and eventually require costly repair," said Congrui Jin, assistant professor at Binghamton. "If micro-cracks expand and reach the steel reinforcement, not only the concrete will be attacked, but also the reinforcement will be corroded, as it is exposed to water, oxygen, possibly CO2 and chlorides, leading to structural failure," said Jin. These cracks can cause huge and sometimes unseen problems for infrastructure. One potentially critical example is the case of nuclear power plants that may use concrete for radiation shielding. While remaking a structure would replace the aging concrete, this would only be a short-term fix .
Trump says solar tariff decision coming soon, stakes huge for industry
LOS ANGELES/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would announce a decision soon on whether to slap tariffs on imported solar panels, and quipped that when countries dump subsidized panels in the United States, "Everybody goes out of business."
Bangladesh blacklists Chinese firm over alleged bribe
Bangladesh has blacklisted a top Chinese construction firm for allegedly trying to bribe a senior government official and stopped its work in the country. The state-backed China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) was in negotiations with the Bangladesh government to expand a major highway from the capital Dhaka to the northeastern city of Sylhet, a top government official told AFP. The country's road transport minister Obaidul Quader said Wednesday that the blacklisted company's work in Bangladesh has been stopped, but declined to identify the firm or its projects. Finance minister A.M.A. Muhith had confirmed the ban late Tuesday when he was asked by a reporter about CHEC allegedly trying to bribe an official. Muhith told reporters that the firm was blacklisted and could no longer work in Bangladesh after it offered the top bureaucrat in the road transport ministry around 5 million taka ($60,000) as a bribe. CHEC could not be reached for comment. The company has ...
Exempt fireworks industry from environment rules: TN CM
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami today urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to exempt the fireworks manufacturing industry in the state from environment protection rules to save the livelihood of eight lakh families. "I urge you to direct the Ministry of Environment to carry out necessary amendment to Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986," he said in a letter to Modi. Stating that 850 fireworks manufacturing units are functioning in Tamil Nadu, he said these units were mostly in Virudhunagar district, which contribute 90 per cent of the fireworks produced in the country. Since use of fireworks is attached to our socio-cultural traditions,any ban on production, sale and its use would adversely affect sentiments of the people of India, he said. Even developed countries, including America and Japan, allow massive display of fireworks, he said. Firecracker units provide employment to "more than eight lakh people mostly women, directly or indirectly," he said, adding ...
Second giant panda baby born in Malaysia
A female giant panda in a zoo here has given birth to a second cub, zoo officials said on Wednesday.
Gadkari asks states to cooperate with each other, Centre on
Union minister Nitin Gadkari today urged states to cooperate with each other and also with the Centre to expedite projects for interlinking of rivers, according to an official statement. Addressing the 14th meeting of the Special Committee for Inter-linking of Rivers here, Gadkari stressed on the need to design better technical models that are aimed at bringing down construction cost while maintaining quality. Gadkari, who is the Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, also called on state governments to explore new financing models, including low-interest loans from foreign agencies. Seeking to underscore the importance of linking rivers, Gadkari said such efforts will bring a big social economic change and usher in prosperity in many regions that are poorly developed. "If we are able to save the enormous amounts of river water that gets lost to the seas as run-off, and are able to divert this to
Pitti Laminations starts commercial production at new facility in Aurangabad
Operations of Hyderabad-Plant I and Pune Plant move to Aurangabad plant
India will need at least $125 billion to fund renewables dream: government official
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India will need at least $125 billion to fund its ambitious plan to increase the share of renewable power supply in the country's grid by 2022, a top government official told Reuters, underlining the immense financing challenge ahead.
Yes Bank to mobilise USD 1 bn by 2023 for solar projects
Private sector lender Yes Bank today said it will mobilise USD 1 billion by 2023 for financing solar energy projects in India. The announcement was made at the International Solar Alliance (ISA) conference at Abu Dhabi. In a release, the bank said it made an announcement for "mobilising USD 1 billion till 2023 and USD 5 billion till 2030 towards financing solar energy projects in India". Yes Bank signed five solar energy co-financing Letters of Intent with Tata Power Delhi Distribution, Hero Future Energy, Greenko Group, Amplus Solar and Jakson Group for their solar projects in India to be completed by 2023. The ISA was jointly launched in November 2015 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the then President of France Francois Hollande, on the sidelines of UNFCCC COP21 at Paris. It is a treaty-based alliance of 121 prospective solar rich member nations and aims at accelerating development and deployment of solar energy globally.
First European database of valuable e-waste created
Expert organisations have joined hands to create the first European database of valuable materials available for "urban mining" from scrap vehicles, spent batteries, electronic waste, discarded electrical equipment and mining waste, it was announced on Wednesday.
Shekhawat to attend global agri forum in Berlin from Jan 18-20
Minister of State for Agriculture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is leading the Indian delegation to 10th Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) being held in Berlin from tomorrow. The theme of this year's three-day event is "Shaping the future of livestock - sustainably, responsibly, efficiently". The discussions will focus on sustainable and productive animal production, among other issues. "Bilateral meetings with counterparts of Germany, Uzbekistan and Argentina are proposed on the sideline of GFFA to discuss issues to further enhance cooperation in agriculture and allied sectors," an official statement said. The GFFA is an international conference that focuses on central questions concerning the future of the global agri- food industry. It is held during International Green Week (IGW) and will be taking place in its current shape for the eighth time. The forum gives representatives from the worlds of politics, business, science and civil society an opportunity to ...
Structural reforms needed to boost farm growth: Ex-secretary
Structural reforms are needed to boost agriculture growth and enhance the income of farmers, former Union agriculture secretary Mohan Kanda said today. "If the Prime Minister's announcement (of doubling farmers' income by 2022) is to be converted into reality and Telangana's dream of golden Telangana to be realised, any number of steps need to be taken. "Fundamentally what is required is structural reforms in agriculture which we have not done," he said. Kanda, who had served as Chief Secretary in undivided Andhra Pradesh, was speaking at a workshop on 'doubling farmers' income'. "Let us have a mechanism, standing mechanism at the national, state and district levels which will look at agriculture. "At last count, because these things keep changing everyday... at least 18 Central ministries have to sit together if one decision has to be taken," he said. Citing an example, he said, Minimum Support Price for cotton was announced recently, but the decision benefited ...
Critically endangered Sumatran elephant gives birth in
A critically endangered Sumatran elephant has given birth to a new calf in Indonesia, the country's conservation agency said today. Sumatran elephants are a protected species, but rampant deforestation for plantations has reduced their natural habitat and brought them into conflict with humans. The newborn was found with its 40-year old mother Seruni, who was being closely monitored by the agency in anticipation of the birth inside a conservation forest in Riau on the island of Sumatra. Officials expressed jubilation at the arrival of the baby who is believed to be a week old. Its gender has not yet been determined. "The birth of the elephant is a conservation gift," the agency said in a statement. "The calf is constantly being guarded by its mother and two other adult elephants." Dozens of elephants were found dead in Sumatra last year, including an adult without tusks in Aceh, along with its abandoned 11-month-old calf. Most were killed by humans, according to ...
'Madhya Pradesh achieves complete door-to-door garbage
The Madhya Pradesh government has claimed to have become the first state in the country to fully achieve the target of the door-to-door garbage collection in areas under urban bodies. "Madhya Pradesh has become the first state in the country to achieve the 100 per cent door-to-door garbage collection target in urban bodies," Urban Development and Housing Minister Maya Singh said at a "Swachcha Bharat Abhiyan 2018" review meeting held on January 15. She said the door-to-door garbage management was carried out after the state got rid of "ill practices" like open defecation in urban areas, a government release issued today quoted the minister as saying. Singh said works like solid waste management at landfill sites and processing through the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode are being carried out in urban areas. The minister directed concerned officials to file a weekly report on the progress of works related to solid waste management centres. She said the work of ...
Huge quantity of 'Chinese kite strings' confiscated in Punjab
A huge quantity of 'Chinese kite strings', made from synthetic materials like nylon or plastic, was confiscated today during a raid by the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), officials said. The raid targeted shops selling kites in Patiala, Malout, Bathinda and Rajpura, a PPCB official said. The Punjab government had imposed a complete ban on manufacturing, sale, production, supply and use of kite strings made of nylon, plastic or other synthetic materials. Challans were issued to the erring shopkeepers, an official release said here. It was observed that synthetic thread used for flying kites caused fatal injuries to "humans, birds and cattle", the official said. Only a cotton thread, free from sharp metallic or glass components, adhesive and thread strengthening material, was permitted for flying kites.
BIS revises Indian standards on petrol, diesel to BS VI norms
The Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS) has revised the Indian standards on petrol (IS 2796) and diesel (IS 1460) as per BS VI fuel norms, an official statement said here on Wednesday.
Fire in forest along LoC triggers landmine blasts in J-K
Panic gripped the border population when a forest fire triggered landmine blasts along LoC in Rajouri-Poonch belt of Jammu and Kashmir, Army officials said today. The Army is suspecting that the fire was an attempt by Pakistani troops to neutralise mines, they said. The incident took place in Balakote belt of Rajouri- Poonch belt last evening. The fire broke out in forests in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) along the LoC and then it spread to the forests in the Indian side. After which the explosion of land mines started, army officials said. Several mines exploded as result of the forest fire along the LoC, they said. It triggered panic among residents of border belts and caused damage to forests and wild life species before it was controlled today, the army officials said. The Army was suspecting adeliberate attempt of the Pakistani troops to neutralise mines and make way for armed terrorists from that side, the officials said.
