India's participation in the development of Chahbahar port in Iran

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today gave its approval for the framework inter-Governmental Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that is to be finalised by the Government of India with the Government of Iran.  This inter-Governmental MoU will have the following main elements:-          i.            An Indian Joint Venture (JV) company will lease two fully constructed berths in Chahbahar port’s Phase-I project for a period of ten years, which could be renewed by “mutual agreement”.        ii.            The JV company will invest US $ 85.21 million for equipping the two berths within 12 months as a container terminal and the second as a multi-purpose cargo terminal.       iii.            The Indian side will transfer ownership of the equipment to be provided through the investment to Iran’s port and Maritime Organisation (P&MO) without any payment at the end of the tenth year.      iv.            The Indian side can form a JV that could include one or more Iranian companies subject to the approval of the P&MO.         v.            The Indian and Iranian sides could enter into subsequent negotiations for participation in the construction, equipping and operating of terminals in Phase-II on BOT basis, subject to the Indian side’s satisfactory performance in Phase-I.      vi.            The Iranian side will make efforts to provide Free Trade Zone conditions and facilities at the port. The Cabinet also approved to constitute a JV or other appropriate Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) comprising the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and the Kandla Port Trust (KPT) and if required a local Iranian partner and/or an Indian private sector partner to serve as the vehicle for India’s participation in the development of the port.  Approval was also given for incurring annual revenue expenditure of US$ 22.95 million to support operational activities of the Indian JV. India’s presence at the Chahbahar port would give it a sea-land access route into Afghanistan through Iran’s eastern borders. Background Iran's Chahbahar port located in the Sistan-Baluchistan Province on Iran's south-eastern coast is a port of great strategic utility for India. It lies outside the Persian Gulf and is easily accessed from India's western coast. From Chahbahar port using the existing Iranian road network, one can link up to Zaranj in Afghanistan which is at a distance of 883 km from the port and then using the Zaranj-Delaram road constructed by India in 2009, one can access Afghanistan's garland highway thereby establishing road access to four of the major cities of Afghanistan; Herat, Kandahar, Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif. Approval for Ahmedabad Metro Rail Project Phase-1 The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today gave its approval for Ahmedabad Metro Rail Project Phase-1 covering a length of 35.96 km at a total project cost of Rs. 10,773 crore.  The details are given below:-          i.            Phase-1 will cover a length of 35.96km along two corridors viz. North-South Corridor covering 15.42 km from APMC to Motera Stadium and East-West Corridor covering 20.54 km from Thaltej Gam to Vastral Gam.        ii.            Total project cost of Rs.10,773 crore with Govt. of India contribution of Rs. 1,990 crore in the form of equity and subordinate debt.       iii.            Project to be implemented by Metro-Link Express for Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad (MEGA) Company Ltd., which will be converted into a 50:50 jointly owned company of the Government of India and Govt. of Gujarat.      iv.            Project to be covered under the legal framework of the Metro Railways (Construction of Works) Act, 1978; the Metro Railways (Operation and Maintenance) Act, 2002; and the Railways Act, 1989, as amended from time to time. The proposed two alignments are expected to provide much needed connectivity to the commuters and would traverse through some of the densest and traffic congested areas of Ahmedabad. It will considerably reduce traffic congestion and will bring in fast, comfortable, safe, pollution-free and affordable mass transportation system for the people of Ahmedabad. This would in turn contribute to further development and prosperity of the area. Development and prosperity of Ahmedabad will also contribute to the prosperity and development of the nation. The Ahmedabad Metropolitan Area, which has a population of 6.3 million will be benefitted. Out of the total project cost of Rs.10,773 crore, the Government of India will contribute  Rs. 1,990 crore in the form of equity and subordinate debt. Background: Ahmedabad is the seventh largest metropolis in India and accounts for 12 percent of the population of Gujarat.  The region has witnessed a growth rate of 2.25 percent over the last decade. At present, Ahmedabad is the district headquarters and the High Court and many offices of the Central Government are also located there. The future forecast of population based on the projections done as a part of the Integrated Mobility Plan for the Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar Region, 2031 projects the population as 1.1 crore for the horizon year of 2043. About 70 percent of this population will be residing in the Ahmedabad Metropolitan Corporation (AMC) area. Bus augmentation will not be able to cater to the increased public transit load and passengers will shift to private modes which is already evident from the high vehicle ownership trend in the region. This would not only aggravate congestion on the streets but also increase pollution. Hence, a Metro Rail System in Ahmedabad has become essential.

Sustainable Food and Nutritional Security for All – A priority Agenda for the Nation

From a grain deficit country to a surplus producer of wheat and rice within a span of four decades or so, India notwithstanding its huge population has managed to feed them without resorting to imports.

As the World Food Day is being celebrated today, it would be fascinating to trace incredible journey of India from a food importing country to a surplus one within a span of around four decades.

Since independence from the British-rule in 1947, India, having the second biggest population in the world, faced two key economic challenges: achieving food security and alleviating poverty.

In a country which relies predominantly on agriculture, the focus was to promote growth in agricultural sector to meet both of these challenges. Agricultural promotion programmes were initiated to increase food production for feeding close to 30 crore people in the 1950s. It was the time (1950s and 60’s) when India faced huge food shortage and had to receive food under PL 480, a programme initiated by the United States for providing assistance to countries.

Dependence on agricultural imports till early 1960s convinced planners that India's growing population, as well as concerns about national independence, security, and political stability, required self-sufficiency in food production. This led to formulation of measures such as agricultural improvement called the Green Revolution, the public distribution system and price supports system for farmers

From a net importer of food since 1950s, India has transformed itself in the production of food grains (mainly rice, wheat, coarse cereals and pulses) during the last few decades. From a mere 50 million tonne of annual food grain production in 1950s, India last year (2013-14) has produced an all-time record 264 million tonne of food grains, mainly attributed to the significant jump in rice and wheat output.

In the last few years, India has also emerged as the world’s biggest exporters of rice after shipping more than 10 million tonne of grain annually.

The introduction of high-yielding varieties of seeds and the increased use of fertilizers and irrigation under the 'Green Revolution' initiative in late 1960s resulted in rapid expansion of agricultural land and boost in agricultural production. The Green Revolution continued with the policy of expanding cultivable land. The striking feature of green revolution was taking up of double-cropping which implies planting two crops per year on the same agricultural land.

The Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) under the Ministry of Agriculture played a crucial role in the Green Revolution era of the late 1960s. ICAR developed new strains of high yield value seeds, mainly wheat and rice, millet and corn. The most noteworthy seed was the K68 variety for wheat which pushed up food grain production significantly during the subsequent decade.

The ‘Green Revolution’ resulted in a record grain output of 131 million tons during 1978-79.  This established India as one of the world's biggest agricultural producers. No other country in the world which attempted the Green Revolution recorded such levels of success. India also became an exporter of food grains during the same time.

Public Distribution System (PDS): a key instrument in poverty alleviation

Public Distribution of essential commodities had been in existence in India since independence. PDS, with its focus on distribution of foodgrains in urban scarcity areas, had emanated from the critical food shortages of the 1960s. The distribution of subsidised foodgrains through PDS had substantially contributed to the containment of rise in foodgrains prices and ensured access of food to urban consumers. As the national agricultural production had grown in the aftermath of Green Revolution, the outreach of PDS was extended to tribal blocks and areas of high incidence of poverty in the 1970s and 1980s.

PDS, till 1992, was a general entitlement scheme for all consumers without any specific target. The Revamped Public Distribution System was launched in June 1992 in 1775 blocks throughout the country. The Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) was introduced with effect from June, 1997.

The scheme when introduced, was intended to benefit about 6 crore poor families, for whom a quantity of about 7.2 million tonne of food grains was earmarked annually. TPDS also envisaged subsidized distribution of food grains to poor families -- classified in India as Below Poverty Line, Above Poverty and poorest of poor families identified as Antyodaya Anna Yojana - AAY.

Since 1997, the scale of issue of the BPL families has been gradually increased from 10 kg to 35 kg. per family per month. The quantum of allocation of foodgrains to BPL families was increased from 10 kg to 20 kg per family per month with effect from 1st April, 2000. The allocation of foodgrains for the BPL families was further increased from 20 kg. to 25 kg. per family per month with effect from July, 2001. 

Initially, the Antyodaya families were provided 25 kg of food grains per family per month at the time of launch of the scheme in December, 2000. The scale of issue of foodgrains under APL, BPL and AAY has been revised to 35 kg per family from the beginning of fiscal year 2002-3 with a view to enhancing the food security at the household level.

The central issue price for rice to be distributed under TPDS for BPL and APL families in the states was fixed at Rs 5.65 and Rs 8.3 per kg respectively while in the case of wheat it had been fixed at Rs 4.15 and Rs 6.10 per kg respectively. 

The Antyodaya families get the rice and wheat at Rs 3 and Rs 2 a kg respectively. However the state governments have prerogatives to provide cheaper foodgrains below the central issue price under TPDS by contributing their own financial resources.

The government currently allocates grain to 6.52 crore BPL families besides 2.43 crore chronic-poverty-affected families under the Antyodaya families under TPDS. The TPDS also covers around 8 crore APL families

For ensuring uninterrupted supplies of foodgrains mostly consisting of wheat and rice and ensuring sufficient buffer stocks, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) was setup under an act in 1964. The key objective of the FCI was to also ensure effective price support operations for safeguarding the interests of the farmers through providing Minimum 

Support Price (MSP) to farmers. Since its inception, FCI has played a significant role in India's success in transforming the crisis management oriented food security into a stable security system.

However since last few years, the government was contemplating providing legal status to the food security to large mass of people. After debate and deliberations in and outside parliament, the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 was passed last year. Under the NFSA, each person in identified households will get the 5 kg of grain a month at heavily subsidised prices — Rs 3 per kg for rice, Rs 2 for wheat and Rs 1 for coarse grains.

NFSA will expand the base of TPDS to around 84 crore population from the current coverage of around 48 crore population. The government is expected to incur an expenditure of more than Rs 1.2 lakh crore annually after NFSA is rolled out nationally.

Meanwhile, the government has asked states to roll out NFSA by April, 2015. Till now eleven states and union territories – Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi and Chandigarh have so far implemented the Act — some of them fully and others partially.

However, many of the larger states, including Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Telengana, with a substantial poor population, have yet to take the plunge.

“We want whole supply chain management of Foodgrains under NFSA to be digitized and many states have been rather slow in their work,” a food minister Ram Vilas Pawan said.

Due to increase in Foodgrains production and procurement by FCI, the government agencies have huge foodgrain stocks which far exceed the requirement. On October 1^st this year FCI along with state government owned agencies had a grain stocks of more than 52.3 million tonne (32.2 million tonne wheat and 20.1 million of rice). These huge grains stocks are against buffer stocks and strategic reserve norms of 21.2 million tonne.

“Huge grains stocks have not only helped uninterrupted supplies of grains to TPDS, it has also ensured that domestic prices remain stable,” Shri Paswan said.

Impact on poverty reduction:

As far as India is concerned, it has taken a substantial leap on the Global Hunger Index. According to a recent report, India has gone up to the 55th position as compared to last year's 63rd. This means that there has been significantly lesser number of hungry and malnourished people across the country. The credit goes to the several government programmes including TPDS that were rolled out to tackle malnutrition.

Experts say that the government must in collaboration with states plug loopholes in the TPDS so that grains reach the targeted population. Computerization of TPDS and beneficiaries lists have been going on a fast pace.

The government at present has its task cut out for creating huge modern infrastructure for storing and transporting food grains. More than 15 million ton of food grains storage capacity would have to be added during next few years. For saving food grains from vagaries of weather, the government needs to take up food grains storage creation in a mission mode so that access to the food grains could be improved. Better stocks management would also lead to keeping prices under control and ensure smooth supply of grain under NFSA.

Nirbhay all set to take off today

The range of the long-range subsonic missile missile, which can carry both nuclear and conventional warheads, can be extended up to 1,000 km. The low-altitude-flying Nirbhay has high manoeuvring capability and will follow various pre-commanded way points during the development trial on Friday.

The stage is set for the test-firing of India’s long-range (800 km) subsonic missile ‘Nirbhay’ (Fearless) on Friday from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) here.

This will be the second flight trial of the country’s first long-range subsonic cruise missile, as its maiden experiment was terminated midway after it deviated from the trajectory in March last year.

The range of the missile, which can carry both nuclear and conventional warheads, can be extended up to 1,000 km. Meanwhile, missile technologists from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) completed pre-launch checks and range integration with Nirbhay on Thursday. They also fuelled the missile and charged the battery, besides carrying out helicopter sorties to check the effectiveness of a network of radars, telemetry stations and electro-optical tracking systems.

People living within the radius of 1 km of the ITR have been advised to remain indoors till the completion of the launch window time on Friday. After taking off, the missile’s first stage booster will get separated, and it will fly like aircraft with wings getting deployed. Also, the turbo prop engine will be ignited to give thrust to the missile, as it cruises at a speed of 0.7 mach. The low-altitude-flying Nirbhay has high manoeuvring capability and will follow various pre-commanded way points during the development trial on Friday.

A unique feature of Nirbhay is that it can search its targets after the launch and take them out. A DRDO official said Nirbhay would make significant addition to India’s strategic deterrence capability. DRDO is also planning to develop land, air, ship and underwater variants of the missile, he added.

Saarc Countries Finalized Framework Agreement for Energy Cooperation

The 5th SAARC Energy Ministers Meeting has finalized the SAARC Framework Agreement for Energy Cooperation (Electricity). This is a significant achievement of the Ministers’ meeting, as this Agreement has been pending since 2010 and is a crucial step towards developing a SAARC Market for Electricity (SAME) on a regional basis. Two days meeting concluded here with the Ministers assurance to get the Framework Agreement approved from their respective Governments so that it could be signed during the forthcoming SAARC Summit scheduled to be held in November, 2014 in Kathmandu, Nepal. India proposed to host the Seminar on “Sharing Experiences on Energy Pricing Mechanism in the SAARC Region”. India also proposed to host the Second Meeting of the Expert Group on Technology/Knowledge Sharing (including Energy Efficiency, coal, etc.) in 2015. Bangladesh will convene the Meeting of Energy Regulators /Bodies in SAARC countries by December 2014. The Meeting noted that all the four Expert Groups have already finalized their ToR and Work Plans and urged the lead Member States to continue convening of Expert Group meetings regularly, preferably on annual basis. The Member States apprised the Meeting of the initiatives taken with regard to Renewable Energy projects. The Meeting referred the matter to the Expert group on Renewable Energy for further deliberations. The meeting approved the 8 reports of earlier meetings of the Working Group on Energy, separate Expert Groups on Electricity, Technology and Knowledge Sharing, Renewable Energy and the reports of the Inter-governmental Meetings on “Study on South Asian Regional Power Exchange”, organized by ADB. The Indian side presented two Concept Reports namely, “Framework for planning cross-border transmission links and associated system strengthening through joint system studies” and “Operation of stable and secure SAARC Electricity grids”. Bangladesh has also prepared the Concept Paper on “Structures, functions and institutional mechanisms for SAARC regulatory issues on electricity exchange/trade” and the same would be circulated among Member States, shortly. Member States will offer their views/comments on the Concept Papers by 31 December 2014. The next meeting of the SAARC Energy Ministers’ will be held in Nepal. Background: The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was established in 1985, with its Secretariat in Kathmandu, Nepal. The process of regional cooperation in energy sector began in January 2000 with the establishment of a Technical Committee on Energy. Thereafter, through the Islamabad Declaration at the 12th SAARC Summit in 2004,the Ministerial level Energy Forum was constituted. The First Meeting of the SAARC Energy Ministers was held at Islamabad in 2005. This was the fifth meeting of the Energy Ministers held after a gap of three years. This meeting was preceded by Secretary level SAARC Senior officials meeting on 16th October 2014.

Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas in London

Inaugural Speech by External Affairs Minister and Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj at the Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas in London

Following is the text of the Inaugural speech by External Affairs Minister and Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Smt. Sushma Swaraj at the Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas in London  on October 17, 2014. Honourable Foreign Secretary, Mr. Philip Hammond,  Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Mr. Ranjan Mathai,  Secretary, Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, Mr. Prem Narain,  Distinguished delegates at this inaugural session of the Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas,  My friends from the Indian Diaspora, It has been a matter of great pleasure for me to come to London and inaugurate the Eighth Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas in the warm presence of members of the Indian Diaspora and the distinguished Foreign Secretary of the British Government and officials from the British and Indian side. I attach great importance to this event as this is the first large-scale engagement of the new Government in India with the highly successful and vibrant Indian origin community of the United Kingdom and other European countries. We are pleased that the people and Government of the United Kingdom have shown tremendous goodwill towards India since the new Government took over following the historic parliamentary elections in our country earlier this year. I deeply appreciate the presence of Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and thank him for making time to grace this important event. I also thank other senior Government dignitaries, Parliamentarians, community leaders, participants from the UK and other European countries and all friends of India for being with us today. India and the United Kingdom have enjoyed decades of partnership as two vibrant, pluralistic and multicultural democracies. The shared values of the rule of law, basic freedoms, mutual respect, peaceful coexistence of diverse communities and emphasis on inclusiveness have enabled our two countries to build enduring bonds of friendship and cooperation. We regard relations with the United Kingdom as a priority in India’s external engagement and seek to raise this multifaceted partnership to greater heights. The role and contribution of the large Indian Diaspora is an important input in this endeavour. We deeply value the role and contribution of the Indian communities abroad - in building bridges of friendship and goodwill between India and their adopted countries. The Indian Diaspora truly represents the unity of India with all its diversity, and promotes understanding of Indian values and culture. .We are proud of the great accomplishments of the Indian community in the UK and other European countries in all areas of human endeavour and the great reputation they have earned as industrious, law abiding and peace loving citizens, while retaining their Indian roots. The Indian Diaspora in the UK is a special one. It has been formed over the years, over several decades due to various historical factors. The UK was always a destination for Indian students. Several legendary leaders including Mahatma Gandhi, and Sardar Vallabhai Patel came here to study law. Several groups of people including those from Punjab and Gujarati expatriates have chosen to make UK their home. The Diaspora now has generations born in Britain but still keeping their roots in the rich Indian cultural heritage. The second and third generation British Indians have clearly made an impression in British life. They have made a mark in almost every profession from business, finance, politics and medicine to sports and life sciences. I understand that there are 8 Members of Parliament and 23 Peers of Indian origin in this country. Indian Business Houses have done tremendously well in UK. Today the Indian Diaspora in UK is one of the largest ethnic minority communities in the country, with approximately 1.5 million people of Indian origin in the UK, equating to approximately 1.8 percent of the population. Yet another symbol of the growing strength and visibility of the community is the impact of Indian culture in this country. I am told that curry has overtaken fish and chips as the most popular food. Most major Indian festivals are encouraged and celebrated by the British Government. It is not uncommon to hear Bollywood music and Bhangra beats even at public places. As we rejoice in the success of the Indian Diaspora, we also invite you to actively participate in India’s growth story. Our Government is fully committed to good governance, clear policies, efficiency, accountability, speedy decision making, transparency and favourable business environment. There are tremendous opportunities today for you to join us, especially in the fields of manufacturing, infrastructure development, education, health, skills development, science and technology, research and innovation, knowledge economy and youth development as part of our effort to realise India’s full potential. Several exciting projects such as the Clean Ganga Project, Metro Rail Project, and Smart Cities Project etc. are on the anvil, where you can contribute meaningfully. Our Government is committed to engaging with the Diaspora to leverage each other’s strengths to mutual benefit. We are also mindful of certain concerns in the community and their desire for greater ease for sustaining links with India. As you are aware, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his recent visit to the United States, publicly announced a series of steps on consular and visa issues affecting overseas Indians. All PIO cards are now valid for the lifetime of the cardholder, instead of 15 years. PIO cardholders would also now not be required to report to a police station even if their visit to India exceeds 180 days. The Government is working on a new scheme that will merge the PIO and OCI schemes. The doors of my Ministry are open to you. We would welcome your new ideas and suggestions on how we can work closely together. I would also like to take this opportunity to personally invite you to the main Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas (PBD) Convention to be held in India from the 7th to 9th January 2015 at Gandhinagar Gujarat. This PBD is a very special one as it is being held on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the return of Mahatma Gandhi to India from South Africa. It will be an important occasion for overseas Indians to interact among themselves and with different agencies of Government of India and with the various State Governments of India that are present here. Before I conclude, I would like to express my Government`s appreciation and gratitude to the Government of the United Kingdom for all their support in helping us host this event in London. We also recognise the decision made by the British Government to install a statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Parliament Square next year. It will be a symbol of the strong mutual goodwill between our two countries. I would also like to place on record that the event today would not have been possible without the generous contribution and participation of the Indian community. The Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas will cover discussions on a gamut of important subjects ranging from the contribution of the Diaspora to the British and European economies to Indian UK collaboration in trade and investment and issues of concern to the Indian Diaspora, besides cultural performances. I am confident that rich and meaningful deliberations will take place during these two days of Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas and I wish a grand success of this Convention. I wish I had stayed on for all the deliberations of the conference but I am not able to do so because the visit is rather short. However, be assured that I will get detailed briefings from the High Commission on all your discussions and all your concerns will be addressed.

World's thinnest electric generator developed

Researchers from Columbia Engineering and the Georgia Institute of Technology report today that they have made the first experimental observation of piezoelectricity and the piezotronic effect in an atomically thin material, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), resulting in a unique electric generator and mechanosensation devices that are optically transparent, extremely light, and very bendable and stretchable.
In a paper published online October 15, 2014, in Nature, research groups from the two institutions demonstrate the mechanical generation of electricity from the two-dimensional (2D) MoS2 material. The piezoelectric effect in this material had previously been predicted theoretically.
Piezoelectricity is a well-known effect in which stretching or compressing a material causes it to generate an electrical voltage (or the reverse, in which an applied voltage causes it to expand or contract). But for materials of only a few atomic thicknesses, no experimental observation of piezoelectricity has been made, until now. The observation reported today provides a new property for two-dimensional materials such as molybdenum disulfide, opening the potential for new types of mechanically controlled electronic devices.
"This material—just a single layer of atoms—could be made as a wearable device, perhaps integrated into clothing, to convert energy from your body movement to electricity and power wearable sensors or medical devices, or perhaps supply enough energy to charge your cell phone in your pocket," says James Hone, professor of mechanical engineering at Columbia and co-leader of the research.
"Proof of the piezoelectric effect and piezotronic effect adds new functionalities to these two-dimensional materials," says Zhong Lin Wang, Regents' Professor in Georgia Tech's School of Materials Science and Engineering and a co-leader of the research. "The materials community is excited about molybdenum disulfide, and demonstrating the piezoelectric effect in it adds a new facet to the material."
Hone and his research group demonstrated in 2008 that graphene, a 2D form of carbon, is the strongest material. He and Lei Wang, a postdoctoral fellow in Hone's group, have been actively exploring the novel properties of 2D materials like graphene and MoS2 as they are stretched and compressed.
Zhong Lin Wang and his research group pioneered the field of piezoelectric nanogenerators for converting mechanical energy into electricity. He and postdoctoral fellow Wenzhuo Wu are also developing piezotronic devices, which use piezoelectric charges to control the flow of current through the material just as gate voltages do in conventional three-terminal transistors.
There are two keys to using molybdenum disulfide for generating current: using an odd number of layers and flexing it in the proper direction. The material is highly polar, but, Zhong Lin Wang notes, so an even number of layers cancels out the piezoelectric effect. The material's crystalline structure also is piezoelectric in only certain crystalline orientations.
For the Nature study, Hone's team placed thin flakes of MoS2 on flexible plastic substrates and determined how their crystal lattices were oriented using optical techniques. They then patterned metal electrodes onto the flakes. In research done at Georgia Tech, Wang's group installed measurement electrodes on samples provided by Hone's group, then measured current flows as the samples were mechanically deformed. They monitored the conversion of mechanical to electrical energy, and observed voltage and current outputs.
The researchers also noted that the output voltage reversed sign when they changed the direction of applied strain, and that it disappeared in samples with an even number of atomic layers, confirming theoretical predictions published last year. The presence of piezotronic effect in odd layer MoS2 was also observed for the first time.
"What's really interesting is we've now found that a material like MoS2, which is not piezoelectric in bulk form, can become piezoelectric when it is thinned down to a single atomic layer," says Lei Wang.
To be piezoelectric, a material must break central symmetry. A single atomic layer of MoS2 has such a structure, and should be piezoelectric. However, in bulk MoS2, successive layers are oriented in opposite directions, and generate positive and negative voltages that cancel each other out and give zero net piezoelectric effect.
"This adds another member to the family of piezoelectric materials for functional devices," says Wenzhuo Wu.
In fact, MoS2 is just one of a group of 2D semiconducting materials known as transition metal dichalcogenides, all of which are predicted to have similar piezoelectric properties. These are part of an even larger family of 2D materials whose piezoelectric materials remain unexplored. Importantly, as has been shown by Hone and his colleagues, 2D materials can be stretched much farther than conventional materials, particularly traditional ceramic piezoelectrics, which are quite brittle.
The research could open the door to development of new applications for the material and its unique properties.
"This is the first experimental work in this area and is an elegant example of how the world becomes different when the size of material shrinks to the scale of a single atom," Hone adds. "With what we're learning, we're eager to build useful devices for all kinds of applications."
Ultimately, Zhong Lin Wang notes, the research could lead to complete atomic-thick nanosystems that are self-powered by harvesting mechanical energy from the environment. This study also reveals the piezotronic effect in two-dimensional materials for the first time, which greatly expands the application of layered materials for human-machine interfacing, robotics, MEMS, and active flexible electronics.

India to overtake UK in world aviation market ranking

India, which is now the ninth largest aviation market in the world, will overtake the UK to take the third position in over 15 years, after China and the United States, global airlines' body IATA said today.
India would be among the top five fastest growing markets in terms of adding more passengers every year, the first IATA projection for the next two decades showed.
"Currently the ninth largest market, India will see a total of 367 million passengers by 2034, an extra 266 million annual passengers compared to today. It will overtake the United Kingdom (148 million extra passengers, total market 337 million) to become the third largest market around 2031," a report of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) released today showed.
By 2034, "the five fastest-increasing markets in terms of additional passengers per year will be China (856 million new passengers per year), the US (559 million), India (266 million), Indonesia (183 million) and Brazil (170 million)."
The Indian and Brazilian domestic markets would grow at 6.9 and 5.4 per cent respectively, with the former adding 159 million extra passengers and the latter 147 million. Their total domestic air markets will be 215 million and 226 million respectively, the IATA projections showed.
Eight of the ten fastest-growing markets in percentage terms over the next two decades would be in Africa, with Central African Republic, Madagascar, Tanzania, Burundi and Kuwait making up the five fastest-growing markets.
Interestingly, intra-Pakistan flights would also grow at a fast average rate of almost ten per cent.
Among the highlights of the report is the expectation that China would overtake the United States as the world's largest passenger market -- defined by traffic to, from and within, by 2030. "Both markets, however, are expected to remain the largest by a wide margin," the study said.