Page 945 - Environment
China's surveillance network can easily locate targets in Indian Ocean
China has established an underwater surveillance network which will help its navy track target vessels more accurately and give it a cutting edge in the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea, reports on Monday said.
2nd unit of NTPC project at Kudgi begins commercial operation
The second unit of NTPC's plant at Kudgi in the state has commenced commercial operations, benefiting Karnataka, Tamil Nadu,Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. The major beneficiary will be Karnataka, which will get an allocation of 54 per cent of power generated from the two plants in Vijayapura district. With commercial operation of the second plant yesterday, power generation capacity of its Kudgi project increased to 1,600 MW,National Thermal Power Corporation said in a release. NTPC said two of the three units it planned in Vijayapura, each with 800 MW power generation capacity, have started operations. It said power generated from this project is expected to substantially mitigate the power deficit of the beneficiaries. NTPC said the second unit is its first project in Karnataka with a state-of-the-art plant. "The state-of-the-art plant has super criticaltechnology and high efficiency, thereby minimising theemissions and protecting the environment," NTPC said. The
Indian fishermen released by Pak arrive in Vadodara
A batch of 144 Indian fishermen, most of them from Gujarat, who were released by Pakistan last Thursday, arrived here today before proceeding to Veraval town from where they will go to their home towns in various districts. While most of the fishermen hailed from coastal and other districts of the state, some of them belonged to Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. They were working in Gujarat when Pakistani maritime authorities had detained them for allegedly fishing in its territorial waters. As a goodwill gesture, Pakistan had last week announced that 291 Indian fishermen will be released in two phases till January 8, 2018. The fishermen were handed over to Indian authorities at Wagah border on Friday. They were then accompanied by officials of Gujarat Fisheries department from Amritsar in Punjab to Vadodara. An official said the fishermen would proceed to Veraval, the headquarter of Gir Somnath district, from where they will leave for their home towns in various districts
Settlements dominated by Vantangiyas to be declared revenue
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today said his government is making efforts to bring the forest dwelling Vantangiya community to the mainstream of the society by declaring their settlements as revenue villages. The Vantangiya community comprises people brought from Mayanmar during the colonial rule to plant trees for afforestation. "The Uttar Pradesh government is committed to providing basic facilities to the Vantangiyas. Since Independence, members of Vantangiya community have been deprived of their rights. "Once the villages dominated by them are declared as revenue villages, they will gradually integrate with the mainstream of the society," the chief minister told reporters here before leaving for neighbouring Maharajganj district. A revenue village is a small administrative region with defined borders. One revenue village may contain many hamlets. A village administrative officer is the head officer of a revenue village. The chief minister said in the .
Maharashtra's climate action plan comes up short
Mumbai, Jan 1: Eight years after the Centre's direction to formulate a state action plan on climate change, and seven years after awarding the contract for a comprehensive vulnerability assessment study, the Maharashtra cabinet has finally adopted a plan on climate change.
SCCL targets 85 mn ton coal production in next 5 years
Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), a state-owned miner, today said it expects the coal production to touch 85 million tonnes per annum in the next five years as it plans to open up 12 new mines. According to a statement issued by SCCL, the miner transported 46.7 million tonnes of coal as on December 2017 against 42.7 million tonnes for the first nine months of the previous fiscal. The production was pegged at nearly 42 million tonnes. "During the past three years (since the formation of Telangana), SCCL has been showing an average growth of 7 per cent. As many as 12 new mines will be opened up and with that the production will touch 85 million tonnes in the next five years," SCCL's Chairman and Managing Director N Sridhar said. He further expressed hope that the production and coal dispatches may touch 2.10 lakh tonnes and 2.15 lakh tonnes a day, respectively, during the next three months. In the wake of the Telangana government's decision to supply 24-hour ...
Govt procures 350.38 lk tn rice in 2017-18 season so far
The government has procured 350.28 lakh tonnes of rice in the current marketing season so far, according to official data. The rice procurement target for the current season (October-September) has been fixed at 375 lakh tonnes. In the previous year, total rice procurement had surpassed the target at 381.06 lakh tonnes. Procurement is undertaken by state-run Food Corporation of India (FCI) and state agencies for the central pool to meet the requirement of food security law. Rice is purchased at the minimum support price (MSP). According to the FCI's latest data, rice purchase in Punjab has reached 176.61 lakh tonnes in October-December of this season. The state has already surpassed its target of 115 lakh tonnes. In Haryana, rice procurement has reached 59.20 lakh tonnes, exceeding the target of 30 lakh tonnes given for the entire season. Rice purchase in Chhattisgarh has reached 33.32 lakh tonnes so far, while the target is 48 lakh tonnes for the season. In Uttar ...
JSW Energy terminates proposed acquisition of thermal power plant at Bina, MP
From Jaiprakash Power Ventures
Week-long ban on tourist entry at Bhitarkanika National Park
The Bhitarkanika National Park in Odisha's Kendrapara district will be out of bounds for tourists for a week in view of for the annual census of estuarine crocodiles. The forest department has imposed a seven-day ban, starting January 3, to prevent noise pollution during the headcount operation of the reptiles, Divisional Forest Officer, Rajnagar Mangrove (wildlife) division, BP Acharya, said. "There will be a prohibition on the entry of visitors to the national park area during this period to ensure smooth and disturbance-free head count operation of saltwater crocodiles," Acharya said. The objective is to keep the place free from human interference when the meticulous exercise is underway, officials said. The 145-sqkm Bhitarkanika National Park, located in the delta of rivers Brahmani, Baitarani and Dhamara, is an ideal spot for camping, trekking and picnic. The peak winter is suitable for the counting of the reptiles, the official said, adding that all bookings and .
Eco-friendly method turns raw biomass into high value chemicals
An international team of researchers, including from India and Bangladesh, has developed a cost-effective method of converting non-edible agricultural biomass, such as jute, or the waste by-product from food crops, into commercially valuable chemicals for food and pharmaceutical companies.
Endurance Technologies consolidates manufacturing activities in Pune region
Discontinues plant operations at Takve; VRS payout Rs 26.87 cr
Revellers across Asia-Pacific welcome 2018
The revellers across the Asia-Pacific region welcomed 2018, as they bid adieu to 2017, with glittering New Year's Eve celebrations.Samoa and New Zealand were the first countries to welcome the New Year earlier, followed by other small islands across the Pacific. Multi-coloured fireworks exploded across the city skyline at midnight as thousands of cheering revellers rang in the New Year in Auckland.In Australia, revellers welcomed 2018 with a rainbow-themed fireworks at the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House, while in Japan, people of Tokyo released hundreds of white balloons into the night sky and organised a music show. In North and South Korea, firework display and cultural shows were held to usher in the New Year.Elsewhere, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand and other South-East Asian countries were the next to flip over their calendars.In China, firework displays were held in cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou to name a few. In Hong Kong, .
UN chief urges world to come together in 2018 to tackle challenges
In his New Year message, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for unity among the global community to tackle overwhelming challenges and defend values shared by all.
Xi promises to continue China's economic reforms, global prominence in 2018
China's President Xi Jinping on Sunday pledged to continue domestic economic reforms and maintain the country's international prominence in 2018.
CM launches programme to provide electricity to all villages
Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das today launched "Saubhagya Yojana", a programme that would provide electricity to all the 29,376 villages in the state. Launching the "Saubhagya Yojana" here, Das said only 38 lakh households out of 68 lakh households in the state could get electricity in 67 years. However, this government has provided electricity to 13 lakh households in just three years, an official release said quoting the chief minister. By December 2018, the target is to provide electricity to the rest 17.64 lakh households, Das said adding people would get electricity 24x7, which would not only change the life of the people in the villages but also there would be a change in their thought, economic condition, education of their children and lift irrigation for the farmers. Jharkhand would be made electricity hub by 2022, the chief minister said adding it would produce electricity and provide electricity to other states as well. He said now coal is being sent to ..
Forest personnel seize 1500 turtles, arrest three persons
Forest personnel seized around 1,500 turtles and arrested three persons for illegally transporting the animals in Odisha's Malkangiri district today. Acting on a tip-off, a team of Forest personnel intercepted a van at MPV-60 village under Kalimela forest range area and seized the freshwater turtles, said Divisional Forest Officer (Malkangiri), Samrat Gouda. Three persons, including one belonging to Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh, were arrested for smuggling the animals numbering about 1500 from the neighbouring state, he said adding that the van bearing Andhra Pradesh registration number was also seized The turtles were being sent to traders in Malkangiri for sale as these animals are in high demand in the market, Forest officials said adding the arrested persons were booked under various provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and further investigation was on. Earlier, over 350 rare species of turtles, also smuggled from Andhra Pradesh, had been seized in ...
Afghanistan, Uzbekistan to start transit route soon
Afghanistan and Uzbekistan are working to start a transit route, which will be operational soon.The Tolo News quoted officials from the Ministry of Commerce and Industries as saying that the delegations from the two countries were working to make this happen.The spokesman for the ministry, Musafir Qoqandi, said that the new route would help to send Afghan goods from Uzbekistan to other parts of the world.The countries have reportedly signed dozens of agreements and contracts during Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's trip to Tashkent this month."We continue our efforts to start our transit through as soon as possible. Uzbekistan is also very interested to start transit through Afghanistan," Qoqandi said.However, the deputy head of Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Khanjan Alokozay, has suggested the government to take the issue under 'proper management'."Uzbekistan is trying to use Afghanistan route because it needs a closer route to South Asia. It exports iron and cotton ...
8k hectares of EP land under illegal occupation in Jammu div
Over 8,000 hectares of Evacuee Property (EP) land is under illegal occupation in this division, prompting the government to direct officers concerned to expedite the process of retrieving the encroached land, an official spokesman said today. The information about the EP land under illegal occupants was given at a meeting convened by Revenue Minister Abdul Rehman Veeri here to review the functioning of the EP department, he said. He said the meeting was informed that department has a total of 14,12,006 kanal (71,427.3 hectares) land in its control in the division. "As many as 1,64,400 kanal (8,316.2 hectares) land is illegally occupied and the department has so far retrieved around 1,399 kanal (70.7 hectares) of land," he said. Taking note, the spokesman said, Veeri directed the officers to put in a mechanism of strong monitoring of department land and expedite the process of retrieving the encroached land. The minister also asked to fence the land wherever ...
Turkey's endangered 'bird language' enters Unesco list
The unusual and very efficient whistle language used as a means of communication by villagers in remote northern Turkey entered the Unesco list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Chinese ban on ivory sales goes into effect
China's complete ban on ivory trade went into effect Sunday, officials said, a major step forward in Beijing's efforts to rein in what was once the world's largest market for illegal ivory. "From today... the buying and selling of elephant ivory and goods by any market, shop or vendor is against the law!" the forestry ministry said on its official account on Chinese social media platform Weibo. "From now on, if a merchant tells you 'this is a state- approved ivory dealer'... he is duping you and knowingly violating the law." The ministry added that the ban also applied to online sales and souvenirs purchased abroad. According to the Xinhua state news agency, a partial ban had already resulted in an 80 percent decline in seizures of ivory entering China. Domestic prices for raw ivory are down 65 per cent, it said. The total domestic ban was announced at the end of last year. By this March, Xinhua reported, 67 factories and shops involved in China's ivory trade had ...
