Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Awards Announced

Shri Ram Vilas Paswan, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has announced the annual awards and commendation certificates for the nineteenth prestigious Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Awards for the year 2012. The Best of All Award has been won by Rail Wheel factory (Ministry of Railways), Bangalore. The other category award winners include Sakthi Masala P. Ltd., Erode, Tamil Nadu (Large Scale Manufacturing Industry); Tata Business Support Services Limited, Hyderabad (Large Scale Service Industry) and Elin Appliances Pvt. Ltd., Solan, Himachal Pradesh (Small Scale Manufacturing Industry); In addition to these awards, nine organizations have been selected for commendation certificates under various categories. The award winners and recipients of commendation certificates were selected from a total of 63 applicants from various sectors following vigorous evaluation by a group of qualified and trained professionals from different spheres of intellectual activity. Awards would be presented by Shri Ram Vilas Paswan, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in a ceremony scheduled to be held later on. The awards, given annually, were instituted by the Bureau of Indian Standards in the year 1991 with a view to encouraging Indian manufacturing and service organizations to strive for excellence and giving special recognition to those, who are considered to be the leaders of quality movement in India.

Modi’s dream project of Swachh Bharat by 2019 will be executed in a mission mode,

Union Minister for Rural Development and Drinking Water and Sanitation Shri Nitin Gadkari today called for practical approach to achieve the goal of sanitation for all by 2019. Speaking at a National Conference on Sanitation and Drinking Water here, the Minister said, the current allocation of Rs10,000 per toilet in rural areas is insufficient and soon the amount will be increased to achieve the real target. Lamenting that even after 67 years of Independence, 60 percent people in India defecate in open, Shri Gadkari said that the dream project of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to build Swachh Bharat by 2019 will be executed in a mission mode. He also emphasized that massive funds will be mobilized for this purpose under the leadership of the Prime Minister. Shri Gadkari asked the State Ministers of Drinking water and Sanitation attending the conference to come up with practical and area specific approach to toilets and assured them that funds will not be a constraint. He called for quality works so that toilets could last upto thirty to forty years and laid emphasis on suitable low cost technology for that purpose. To address the problem of drinking water and especially in 17,000 those villages having problems like arsenic, excessive fluoride, heavy metals and other pollutants, the Minister said that a new scheme will be launched in the next two months to address this issue. The Minister also called for timely flow of funds and e-transfer of money for speedy execution of projects. Speaking on the occasion, the Minister of State for Drinking Water and Sanitation, Shri Upendra Kushwaha said that Prime Minister Shri Modi has personally expressed anguish in his Independence Day speech and expressed the commitment of his Government to achieve ‘Swachh Bharat’ by 2019 as a tribute on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, by eliminating the unhealthy practice of Open Defecation. He also reminded the State Ministers that Shri Modi also directed that by 15th August 2015, every school should have separate toilets for boys and girls. He said that, in the last 60 years only 32% rural families in 2011 (as per census figures) and 40 %.( NSSO figures of 2013) have rural toilets. Shri Kushwaha informed that more than 2 crore families who were given subsidy under the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan do not have functional toilets today. Later the Union Ministers heard specific complaints and suggestions from the State Ministers and senior officials of the states attending the conference.

Indo Russian Air Force Exercise (Avia Indra-2014) Commences at Astrakhan

With the aim to bolster ties between the Indian Air Force and Russian Federation Air Force (RFAF), Ex Avia Indra-2014 commenced today at Astrakhan region, near the Caspian Sea in Russia. The Exercise which has begun today will go on till 05 September 2014. Ex Avia Indra-2014 which has commenced today is the first exercise of its kind between the two Air Forces and is seen as a major mile stone in military relations. This involves participation of fighter pilots, helicopter pilots, missile combat crew, as well as engineers from the Indian Air Force (IAF) along with their counterparts of the RFAF. During the exercise, fighter and helicopter pilots of Indian Air Force (IAF) will participate in missions alongside Russian pilots in aircraft of the Russian Federation Air Force (Su-30SM fighter aircraft, Mi-17 and Mi-35 helicopters), while missile combat crew will interact with their counterparts from the Russian Air Force and participate in Air Defence exercises. It will also provide an opportunity to both the forces for exchange of best practices and will cement the foundation for a more professional interaction and growth in the future.

Use of Bio-Technology in Agriculture can Yield Revolutionary Results – Agriculture Minister

There is an urgent need to change the traditional methods of agriculture so as to produce quality foodgrains, improve the quality of soil, fight the increasing threats of diseases in crops and counter scarcity of agricultural land because of increasing population. Laying foundation stone of Indian Institute of Agricultural Bio-Technology at Garh Khatanga near Ranchi (Jharkhand) today, the Union Agriculture Minister, Shri Radha Mohan Singh stated that there is a need of bringing second green revolution, particularly, in eastern states of the country which were not covered earlier during first green revolution. He mentioned that development can be accelerated in these states because of adequate and human resource and suitability of the States for organic farming as use of pesticides and chemicals and fertilizers here is almost nil. As such agricultural biotechnology will play a significant role in increasing quality production in these states. Shri Radha Mohan Singh said that with the opening of this institute the provisions made for biotechnological education will pave a way for preparing trained human resource who will create awareness among farmers about the advanced agriculture by use of bio-technology technique along with traditional methods of farming. Shri Singh mentioned that in the past due to climatic changes and fluctuations in temperature agriculture has been adversely affected. This has led to not only reduction in production but also affected the quality of crops. He further added that with the use of biotechnology the crops can be made climate- resilient and reduction in production can be checked. The Minister said that there was an urgent need for setting up such type of institute in this region. The Central Government has taken a decision to open this Indian institute of Agricultural Biotechnology in Jharkhand state keeping in view the importance of agricultural biotechnology. The mission of this institute will be to strengthen ongoing research work, fundamental research in the field of biotechnology, as also building capacity for human resource. This institute will generate technology to enhance agricultural production, give postgraduate and Ph.D degrees to students, he said. This will be helpful in development of quality human resource and employment generation. This institute will be helpful in strengthening employment security and food security for tribal population and farmers of this state and the entire country. The Government proposes to confer the deemed university status to this institute, he added.

Commissioning a new Plan

New entity will bring long-term perspectives missing in operating ministries

With the announcement of the demise of the Planning Commission by the Prime Minister, many obituaries of the Commission are being written. However, it is worth remembering that the East Asian superstars of development all had planning as a key part of their development programme. South Korea had a powerful Economic Planning Board (EPB) which guided development programmes in three decades since 1962. China has had a continuum of plans with the XII Five Year Plan going up to 2015. India too simply cannot achieve its development objectives without some sort of planning.

It should be clearly understood that a pure market economy is inconsistent with BJP’s much admired vision: Sabka Vikas, Sabke Sath. It is also inconsistent with the Prime Minister’s call in his Independence Day speech to rise above “me-ism”. Votaries of pure market economy emphasize, as the father of modern market economics Adam Smith did, that markets ensure that individuals taking care of their own interests lead to social good. In that philosophy, there is no need to think of the country or of its development or of the welfare of all. But markets by themselves will not ensure Swachha Bharat or shauchalaya for women in rural areas. In general, ‘development’ is not market’s business just as business may not be government’s business. If we want development, we need the government’s help and that needs planning of some sort or other. The only question is what the new avatar of planning will look like. Let me suggest some features of that new avatar.

Suggested name

Let us begin with the name. I suggest National Development Commission (NDC), which, while simple, includes all development-related activities such as policy reforms, investment programmes, regulations, social marketing, consensus-building and the like. The alternative that is being bandied about (‘National Development and Reforms Commission’) makes an unnatural distinction between development and reforms. Development is the objective; reforms are but one instrument.

Blueprint

The objective of NDC will be to prepare blueprints, help design action programmes, and monitor and evaluate outcomes to achieve the goal of “Sabka Vikas, Sabke Sath”. NDC will define what ‘Vikas’ will mean for India of the 21st Century. One possible definition could be that India would become a high-income country by 2050 when it celebrates the centenary of the Republic. But prosperity will be not just in economic dimension but also social, cultural and spiritual dimensions. In short, the goal will be that India, with the largest number of people in the world in 2050, will also be number one country in the world.

In preparing the blueprint for India as No.1, NDC will bring long-term perspectives which are generally missing in operating ministries fighting day-to-day battles. Such long-term perspectives are important because in many areas (such as human capital formation) gestation lag is long. Similarly, in many areas (such as infrastructure) what we do today will bind us for the next 40-50 years. Climate change issues will become serious over a long period but mitigation and adaptation measures have to start now. If we wait for the consequences of climate change to become evident, it will be too late. The second area where NDC will contribute is to take fully into account the connectivity between sectoral programmes. It is well-known that different operating ministries operate as silos (and even jagirs as the Prime Minister mentioned in his Independence Day speech) while in real life their operations are connected. For highlighting these links and achieve “optimum utilisation of resources” a central economic agency is needed.

Co-ordination

NDC will be the agency to co-ordinate policy issues where different ministries are working with their own imperatives and mindsets. Energy policy, transport policy, urbanisation policy, water policy, land policy all require inter-ministerial co-ordination which only a central agency such as NDC can provide. In addition to preparing national long-term blueprint, NDC will help each State and Union Territory to prepare its own long-term blueprints. The task will be managed by States and UTs but NDC will provide financial and intellectual support as needed.

By producing blueprints on which there can be a national consensus, NDC will help in making development a mass movement similar to what was done at the time of freedom struggle. All individuals at different levels will understand what the nation is trying to achieve and how it is in the interest of all and requires support of all. This will help in ensuring that steps of 1.25 billion people are in the same direction and not cancelling each other’s efforts. In the light of nationally agreed long-term blueprints, operating ministries will prepare detailed annual action programmes/budgets in consultation with the Ministry of Finance and with right to comment by NDC. The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) will decide in cases of conflicting views.

Allocation of resources

The allocation of financial resources between States and the Centre will be the function of the Finance Commission. However, there would be many central projects (for example, in Railways, Ports, Shipping, Education and Health) where the allocation of resources by the Centre will have an obvious spatial pattern and thus impinge on States’ development. For these expenditure by the Centre, NDC will be a forum for ensuring inter-State balance with full participation of the States.

Monitoring and evaluation of the programmes will be an important function of NDC. This will focus not on auditing functions but on effectiveness and efficiency of the operations in achieving the objectives. NDC will report to PMO for follow-up and necessary actions.

NDC will also prepare the Annual Economic Survey which is now done by the Ministry of Finance. NDC will be in a more objective position to monitor annual outcomes of all ministries, including the Ministry of Finance and submit its report to the PMO and Parliament.

It is desirable that NDC reflects the views of all partners in development, people, private sector, public sector and workers. In choosing the members of NDC, the Prime Minister will select persons with domain knowledge of the various segments of the economy and society but not beholden to these segments. Creativity and readiness to think ‘out of the box’ will be an important criterion in selecting the members of the NDC With these characteristics, NDC will be an important agency for India’s Vikas in the new avatar of planning.

You can also blame the Sun’s activities for increasing global warming: study

According to a study from Lund University in Sweden, natural activity from the Sun can also trigger climate change apart from human activities. The research team, for the first time, reconstructed the solar activity at the end of the last ice, around 20,000–10,000 years ago, by analysing trace elements in ice cores in Greenland and cave formations from China.

The study revealed that regional climate is influenced by the Sun. It also helps in predicting future climate conditions in certain regions.

During the last glacial maximum, Sweden was covered in a thick ice sheet that stretched all the way down to northern Germany and sea levels were more than 100 metres lower than they are today, because the water was frozen in the extensive ice caps, researchers said.

“The study shows an unexpected link between solar activity and climate change. It shows both that changes in solar activity are nothing new and that solar activity influences the climate, especially on a regional level. Understanding these processes helps us to better forecast the climate in certain regions,” said Raimund Muscheler, Lecturer in Quaternary Geology at Lund University and co-author of the study.

Researchers said that the  Sun’s variation influences the climate in a similar way regardless of whether the climate is extreme, as during the Ice Age, or as it is today.

It is still not confirmed as to how the Sun affects the climate. The study suggests that direct solar energy is not the most important factor, but rather indirect effects on atmospheric circulation.

“Reduced solar activity could lead to colder winters in Northern Europe. This is because the Sun’s UV radiation affects the atmospheric circulation. Interestingly, the same processes lead to warmer winters in Greenland, with greater snowfall and more storms. The study also shows that the various solar processes need to be included in climate models in order to better predict future global and regional climate change,” said Muscheler.

NASA is planning to send rats to the International Space Station (ISS) for a longer duration of up to three months to better understand the long-term effects of micro-gravity on living organisms.

While rodents have flown on space shuttle flights in the past, those missions have only lasted a week or two.

The new mission, however, could range between 30 and 90 days, depending on the availability of spacecraft to ferry them on the round-trip, ‘Space.com’ reported.

“This will allow animals to be studied for longer period of time on space station missions,” said Julie Robinson, NASA’s chief scientist for the space station.

Robinson said of the 35 or so studies where rats have gone into space, few of them have gone for more than two weeks.

The actual schedule for launching the rats to the space station and returning them back to Earth is not fully figured out yet, the report said.

Launching rats on for the experiment are preferable to mice, which are smaller and require less food, because rats’ neurocognitive functioning is similar to that of humans, Robinson said.

NASA satellite to help farmers combat drought

NASA scientists, including one of Indian-origin, have developed a new satellite than can predict the severity of droughts worldwide and help farmers maximise crop yield.

Currently, there is no ground- or satellite-based global network monitoring soil moisture at a local level.

Farmers, scientists and resource managers can place sensors in the ground, but these only provide spot measurements and are rare across some critical agricultural areas in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite mission, scheduled to launch later, will collect the kind of local data agricultural and water managers worldwide need.

SMAP uses two microwave instruments to monitor the top 5 centimetres of soil on Earth’s surface.

Together, the instruments create soil moisture estimates with a resolution of about 9 kilometres mapping the entire globe every two or three days.

Although this resolution cannot show how soil moisture might vary within a single field, it will give the most detailed maps yet made.

“Agricultural drought occurs when the demand for water for crop production exceeds available water supplies from precipitation, surface water and sustainable withdrawals from groundwater,” said Forrest Melton, a research scientist in the Ecological Forecasting Lab at NASA Ames Research Centre in Moffett Field, California.

“Based on snowpack and precipitation data in California, by March we had a pretty good idea that by summer we’d be in a severe agricultural drought,” Melton added.

“But irrigation in parts of India, the Middle East and other regions relies heavily on the pumping of groundwater during some or all of the year,” Melton said.

Underground water resources are hard to estimate, so farmers who rely on groundwater have fewer indicators of approaching shortfalls than those whose irrigation comes partially from rain or snowmelt.

For these parts of the world where farmers have little data available to help them understand current conditions, SMAP’s measurements could fill a significant void.

Some farmers handle drought by changing irrigation patterns. Others delay planting or harvesting to give plants their best shot at success.

Currently, schedule modifications are based mostly on growers’ observations and experience. SMAP’s data will provide an objective assessment of soil moisture to help with their management strategy.

“If farmers of rain-fed crops know soil moisture, they can schedule their planting to maximise crop yield,” said Narendra Das, a water and carbon cycle scientist on SMAP’s science team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

“SMAP can assist in predicting how dramatic drought will be, and then its data can help farmers plan their recovery from drought,” said Das