India Water Week to be Celebrated from 13 to 17 January

In an effort to raise awareness, conserve and use water resources in an integrated manner, the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Government of India will be observing India Water Week from 13 to 17th of this month to use it as a platform to elicit ideas and opinions from global level decision makers, politicians, researchers and entrepreneurs in the field of water resources for mutual benefit and goodwill. The theme for water week will be “Water Management for Sustainable Development". India Water Week-2015 will address the issues of sustainability of water resources development and management in line with Sustainable Development Goals 2015 being finalized by UN. Australia will be the partner country for this event and 30 Australian companies will be participating in the exhibition to showcase the technological advancement in the area of water resources. Maharashtra will be associated as partner State. The main function will be held at New Delhi with a conference cum policy dialogue forum coupled with a Business to Business exhibition organized professionally. The event is targeted at international and national audience comprising of policy planners and technologists involved with water resources management in all key sectors of economy like agriculture, irrigation, energy, industry and drinking water supply. The event is being organized in co-ordination with nodal Ministries of Agriculture, Environment & Forests and Climate Change, Rural Development, Urban Development, Drinking Water and Sanitation, Power and NITI Ayog along with their associated expert organizations and Public Sector Units, key international bodies and private and public business houses. The IWW-2015 will be celebrated with a multi- disciplinary conference and a concurrently running exhibition enriching the theme and showcasing the technologies and solutions available for the areas under deliberation of the meet. The event will have the following major components: A multi- disciplinary dialogue in form of a conference discussing issues of water management for sustainable development in, water for sustaining life, agriculture and irrigation, drinking water supplies in rural and urban, industrial water use, energy generation applications. A large group of international and national persons of eminence will be sharing their experiences in the field of water management. In addition, there will be three special sessions involving dignitaries, delegates, politicians, experts on various topics of the event. Expert professional bodies and think tanks are invited to put up side events addressing specific issues under the theme. There will also be an exhibition running in parallel supporting the theme and showcasing the technologies, latest development and solutions available for the areas of water management for sustainable development in agriculture and irrigation, drinking water supplies in rural and urban, industrial water use. The exhibition will provide a unique networking opportunity to the exhibitors for exposing their products and services to the practicing water resource professionals from various countries. Exhibitors will also have a unique opportunity to spread their network in this region and find new joint ventures and profit from the growing business in this emerging and technologically important area. Business firms will have the opportunity of direct contact with thousands of potential clients, highly qualified visitors including decision makers, enormous PR and promotional opportunities, to find joint ventures to enable them to expand their business in the rapidly growing India water market and to increase brand visibility/image and free hosting of exhibitors profiles and company website links on event web portal. During the week Hamara Jal – Hamara Jeewan initiative will be observed in every district of the country. This will be an initiative to engage scientists, engineers, water communities, PRIs, other stakeholders and NGOs to address the issues of water resources planning at the local level and to generate awareness regarding need for water conservation. Participation from school students will be an integral part of the programme for sensitizing the next generation for water conservation. This will also spread awareness regarding need to conserve water in the light of growing water scarcity. One day workshop will be organized in every district during the week to find indigenous solution for meeting the water related demands and suggest future road map to manage water for growth. During the workshop it is planned to prepare a profile of each district covering its source of water, utilization for various uses and constraint, possible local solutions for meeting the unsatisfied demands and future roadmap to manage water for growth. The States have been asked to submit a report in this regard after the workshop is over. The recommendations received during the deliberations of the workshop will also be used for preparation of an overview of State level recommendations. Such recommendations would enable Ministry to utilize the same for policy making. Conceptualised and organised for the first time in 2012, the India Water Week is an annual forum where the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Government of India discusses, talks, strategizes with eminent stakeholders through seminars, exhibitions and sessions to build public awareness to get support to implement key strategies for conservation, preservation and optimum use of available water. This is the third event in line with the theme “Water management for sustainable development”. The second event namely India Water Week-2013 with the theme “Efficient Water Management: Challenges and Opportunities” was organised during 8-12 April, 2013 at New Delhi.

UPPCS-RO/ARO EXAM-2014

ALL PCS ASPIRANTS SHOULD APPLY FOR IT ONLINE EARLIEST .


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What will be the India-based Neutrino Observatory’s impact

The INO will be like a 2-inch hole made to insert a pipe through a 10-foot-high wall; it will not affect the stability of the hill

In a landmark move, the Government of India’s Union Cabinet recently approved the India-based Neutrino Observatory project. Coming soon after the approval of the 30-metre telescope which will be located in Hawaii, this decision will cause India to step into big fundamental science. “A pioneer in the field of neutrino science, India was a world leader in 1965. In the mid-1990s, with the closing of the Kolar Gold Fields which was the site of the experiments, experimental neutrino research in India came to a halt, and the INO is expected to revive the lost advantage,” says Prof. G. Rajasekaran of the Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai, a founder member of the INO.

The three types of neutrinos, which were initially thought to be mass-less, are now believed to have a small mass.

This was shown by observations of neutrino oscillation, which is a phenomenon by which one type of neutrino transforms into another.

There is a hierarchy among the masses of these three types of neutrino and the experiments at the INO will study this mass ordering using a magnetised iron calorimeter (ICAL). The ICAL is a massive detector which will be made of iron — 50,000 tonnes of it! The project will be housed in the 63 acres of land, about 2 km away from the settlement, in the Bodi West Hills about 100 km from Madurai, Tamil Nadu.

One might wonder at the need for such a massive detector and for drilling underground. The reason is that the neutrinos interact very weakly with the surroundings. We are all being washed by a stream of neutrinos every passing minute as they just pass through us without leaving a trace. Since they interact so weakly, detecting them over other interactions is impossible. We need to have a barrier of at least 1 km of earth to block out other radiation and particles, such as muons from cosmic rays. This is the reason scientists are now going underground. They will construct a tunnel at a depth of 1,300 metres below the peak and which is 2 km by 7.5m by 7.5m. This will lead to a chamber that will house the detector.

Questions have been raised as to whether this tunnel will harm the mountain. D. Indumathi, physicist and outreach co-ordinator of INO says, “This is exactly like making a 2-inch hole to insert a pipe through a 10-foot-high wall. It will not affect the stability of the hill.” About the ecological impact of the construction process, Dr, Indumathi says, “There will be hardly any disturbance after the construction period. During construction, we will take a lot of precautions and proceed in a controlled manner. Controlled blasting of the rock will last a few seconds, twice a day. At a few hundred metres from the site, this will produce a ground vibration less than 1 mm per sec.”

The members of INO had to deal with many more questions such as the effect of the construction on distant dams and the impact of the development on the villagers, and, according to her, detailed answers to questions on the impact of various aspects of the project are outlined in the INO website.

“In Idukki itself, there are more than 200 quarries, which are working without impacting the dam.

Even the Chennai Metro Rail project can dig just metres under the buildings without damaging them because of advances in technology,” she says.

While experiments around the world are being set up in the South Pole, on top of mountains and even in outer space, big basic science projects are still new in India. The INO’s project director Naba Mondal says, “This will be the largest experimental facility to come up in the country and students will get a chance to work with cutting edge technology and build sophisticated instruments.

It will be a boon for students all over the country, especially Tamil Nadu.”

For instance, S. Pethuraj, who passed out of Madurai Kamaraj University, has joined the INO’s PhD programme at TIFR, Mumbai. “Meeting the INO scientists at the university was inspiring, and the exposure I get at TIFR is of a very high level,” he says.

Watershed in judicial history

The Supreme Court of India and the High Courts, described as the most powerful judiciary in the world, are witnessing dramatic changes in their institutional structure. Pending notification, the legislature has passed the Constitution (121st Amendment) Bill, 2014 and The National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, 2014 to regulate the procedure for recommending the appointment and transfer of the Chief Justices and Judges of these higher courts, marking a watershed in judicial history. The new law provides for the setting up of the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC), a six-member panel headed by the Chief Justice of India, and includes two senior-most Supreme Court judges, the Union Minister of Law and Justice and two ‘eminent persons’ nominated by a committee comprising the Prime Minister, the CJI and the Leader of the Opposition. Although controversial, this represents a much-needed reform of the older collegium system. That system was a judge-devised practice of appointments that evolved out of the ‘three-judges cases’ (1982, 1993 and 1998) wherein the Chief Justice along with a panel of senior-most judges would make a binding recommendation to the President on the appointees. This model was a reaction to blatant favouritism by the executive that marked appointments until the Supreme Court decided to change the procedure. To avoid charges of favouritism, the collegiums relied on seniority, which only encouraged more mediocrity.

Although such an inter-institutional model has the potential to enhance merit and diversity in the judiciary, it is the fine print of law that raises questions. With three of the six members being judges, a decision of the Commission can be vetoed by any two members. The judicial members of the NJAC lack the preponderance in voice necessary to maintain independence. The fear is that the NJAC may encourage High Court judges to give pro-government rulings with the object of gaining eventual promotion to the Supreme Court. This problem was dealt with by the Venkatachaliah Committee, endorsed by the Vajpayee government, which suggested a panel of three judges, the Union Minister and only one ‘eminent person’, thus reducing the scope for executive interference. Having a relook at this report might have been of value. But the BJP has ignored it and instead demanded more say in the NJAC; the Opposition did not seem to have any complaints about the procedure either. With several influential lawyers criticising the law for being a political assault on judicial independence, the constitutionality of the law is about to be challenged in court. Whether this would eventually lead to a conflict between the two wings of the government, is something to be seen.

Initiatives of Ministries of Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy

Excerpts from E-Book on Achievements and Initiatives of Ministries of Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy in the first 200 Days

Mission: ·        Affordable, 24x7 power for all homes, industrial and commercial establishments and adequate power for the agricultural sector ·        Long-term energy security of India Key takeaways ·        5 unions of Coal India Limited have called off the strike after cordial discussions with senior leadership of the company and the Ministry of Coal yesterday. ·        After collapse of grid in Delhi in May leading to frequent power cuts, Central government acted decisively to restore power lines and provide power to all homes. From these learnings, we have prepared a short term and medium term plan to ensure such a crisis does not occur again, for which massive investments worth Rs. 7,700 crores are already underway for: o       Upgrading power infrastructure o       Bringing more transmission lines to the city o       Underground cabling o       Smart metering to stop wrong billing o       Emergency response systems ·      National launch of LED and energy conservation mission by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji: 1 crore bulbs in Delhi will be replaced with LED within one year. Similar replacement program of500,000 street lights of Delhi in one year too. Nationwide rollout thereafter will see a saving of over Rs. 10,000 crores. ·      Amendments in the Electricity Act introduced in Parliament for providing choice to consumers in electricity suppliers (just like we have the freedom to choose a mobile phone operator and can change if dissatisfied, so will be the case with electricity suppliers too). This will ensure more competition, affordable power and better customer service. ·      50% increase in capacity addition in June-Nov 2014 versus June-Nov 2013 ·      Record 15.8% increase in thermal based electricity generation in June-Nov 2014 versus June-Nov 2013 ·      All time high 14.1% increase in coal production in Oct-Nov 2014 versus 1.0% in Oct-Nov 2013 (and 8.4% production growth in June-Nov 2014 over June-Nov 2013) ·      Central Government grant of Rs. 1.1 lakh crores for comprehensive infrastructure up gradation pan India under two schemes (Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) for rural India andIntegrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) for urban India) towards 24x7 affordable power for all. o       DDUGJY will see feeder separation in rural India giving assured power to the farms, and 24x7 for homes and small scale industries o       The Remote villages with small population (e.g., dhanis) will also be covered under DDUGJY. ·      Action plan towards doubling Coal India’s production target to 100 crore tons in 5 years is in place, and transformation process has been initiated. ·      100,000 MW solar and 60,000 MW wind energy capacity installation target by 2022 for long-term energy security of India. This will entail an investment of Rs. 10 lakh crore. o       40,000 MW of rooftop solar o       20,000 MW of solar parks ·      A world-class Renewable Energy Investment Summit (RE-Invest 2015) is being held in mid-February to show case India’s potential, ease of doing business and to attract such quantum of capital. ·      Historic coal ordinance was promulgated within a month of cancellation of coal blocks by Hon’ble Supreme Court. Allocation and auction process will be held in a transparent manner exclusively by e-bidding. This will protect the interests of Coal India Limited’s employees and increase domestic production towards 24x7 affordable power for all, and long term energy security of India. ·      Coal bearing states will receive over Rs. 7 lakh crores from e-auction of coal blocks in future, for socioeconomic development and accelerating economic growth. ·      Make in India: Rs. 1 lakh crore worth orders being placed by NTPC, Coal India Limited, Energy Efficiency Services Limited, PGCIL etc. to boost manufacturing and kick start the economy. ·      Long pending transmission projects worth Rs. 35,000 crores cleared and government grant of Rs. 10,000 crores for comprehensive strengthening and up gradation of power systems in 8 North Eastern States ·      Supply of coal from nearest mines will reduce transportation costs by Rs. 6,000 crores, reducing tariffs: o       Already one exchange between NTPC and Gujarat saved Rs. 300 crores for the customers ·      PSUs under the administrative control of the Ministries of Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy areconstructing over 100,000 toilets in schools, by 15th August 2015 towards Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan.

“Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas”

Speech of Shri Sarbananda Sonowal at “Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas” at Gandhinagar, Gujarat

Following are the excerpts of the speech of the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs and Sports Shri Sarbananda Sonowal at “Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas” at Gandhinagar, Gujarat today:             “At the outset, I would like to compliment the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs for creating an excellent platform in the form of the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas, for engaging with the distinguished Indian Diaspora from around the world and more so, for deciding to celebrate the first day of the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas as the Youth PBD.              The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas this year is very special, as we celebrate the centenary of the return of Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa as a Pravasi Indian. Mahatma Gandhi was 24 year-old young Indian when he first landed in South Africa and then, he led a non-violent struggle for justice in South Africa for 21 years, before finally returning to India to lead us to freedom.             The youth are indeed the most dynamic and vibrant segment of the population in any country. India is one of the youngest nations in the world, with about 65% population under 35 years of age.    It is expected that by the year 2020, the population of India would have a median age of 28 years only as against 38 years for US, 42 years for China and 48 years for Japan.             The Indian Youth have always been highly talented, hard-working and enterprising. A large number of young Indians have moved to various parts of the world and have made valuable contributions. A sizeable section of Overseas Indian community comprises of highly skilled young professionals, who have been extremely successful in their respective spheres of work. Indian IT professionals command respect all over the world. Today, over a dozen top Global Corporations have Indian CEOs, including MicroSoft, Pepsico and Deutsche Bank.             Despite their success around the world, the Indian Diaspora have continued to share strong bonds with their motherland.  They have continued to play an important role in supporting the India growth story in many ways. During 2013-14, the Overseas Indians sent home remittances totalling about 70 billion US Dollars, making India the global leader in terms of receipt of such remittances.             These are exciting times in India.  The new Government under the dynamic leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi ji, has embarked on the mission of building a united, strong and modern India – “Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat”, following the principle of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas”.  A number of path-breaking initiatives have been taken during last 7 months. ‘Make in India’ campaign has been launched to develop India as a global manufacturing hub. ‘Digital India’ initiative seeks to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. ‘Skill India’ is being launched to impart necessary skills to prepare Indians for the opportunities in Indian Economy as also the opportunities abroad. A number of initiatives, including Smart Cities Project, have been launched for developing infrastructure. ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ and ‘Clean Ganga’ Mission have been launched for building a clean and green India.             All these initiatives of the Government require active involvement and support of all stakeholders. Huge investments will be necessary. The young Indian Diaspora can play an important role in this ambitious task of building a modern and prosperous India. The Government has also initiated various steps to facilitate this process by simplifying rules and procedures for the Overseas Indians.             My Ministry is engaged in the noble task of developing the personality and leadership qualities of the youth by involving them in community service and various nation-building activities. This is being done, inter-alia, through two youth volunteer organisations, namely, National Service Scheme (NSS) and Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS). NYKS currently has 8.1 million youth volunteers enrolled through 2.85 lakh youth clubs with presence in entire rural India and NSS has 3.3 million student volunteers in senior secondary schools and colleges all over the country.  In fact, NSS was started in 1969, the birth centenary year of Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi had once said “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others”. In the same spirit, the Motto of NSS is “Not Me, but You”. The Overseas Indian youth willing to make contribution to various social causes can connect to these organisations and work with them. In fact, some of these volunteers are present here today. This is an opportunity for the Indian Diaspora to interact with them.             I am glad to inform that  in addition  to the task of developing the personality and leadership qualities of the youth, my Ministry is also conducting Post Graduate and Graduate academic courses in Sports Coaching, Sports Medicine, Physical Education, Yoga, Youth Empowerment, Gender Studies, Life Skills Education, Career Counselling and other research and doctorate programme through our reputed institutions like Sports Authority of India`s Lakshmibai National College of Physical Education, Trivandrum,  Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical Education, Gwalior, and Rajiv Gandhi National Institute for Youth Development, Sriperumbudur (Tamilnadu).             India is one of the oldest civilization of the world and the world is a witness to the rich traditions and literature such as Vedas and Upanishads which speaks not only about religion but also about the human values and duties towards family and society.  The tradition of joint family and family values has been kept alive in India. On this occasion, I call upon all Pravasi Bharityas to preserve the values and traditions of their forefathers who came from India to different parts of the world to spread the word of human values.  Stable family makes a Stable Society and a stable society leads to a stable Nation.    India has a great past and our Government has set out on the task of projecting India and its richness to the world. I take this opportunity to urge upon all young Overseas Indians to join us in this gigantic task to spread the richness, talent and values of Indian tradition to the different parts of the World.

102ND Science Congress Culminates

Shri Ram Naik Calls Upon Scientists Devise New Methods for Increasing Agricultural Praoduction, Better and Economic use of Water Resources as well as  Cost Effective Energy Consumption Knowledge of the Past should be with The Modern Concept Dr. A.K.Saksena Nominated as President Elect For 103rd Indian Science Congress to be held at Mysore The five days long sojourn of 102nd Indian Science Congress today came to an end with a call from Uttar Pradesh Governer and Chief Guest of the event  Shri Ram Nayak to the Scientist Community to devise new methods for increasing Agricultural Praoduction, better and economic use of water resources as well as  cost effective energy consumption.  He said it is a challange for us as he have an ever indreasing population  and scienists need to evolve solution for it. Shri Ram Naik first talked of Late Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri’s slogan “Jai Jawan Jai Kisaan” and linked it with the slogan given by former Prime Minister and Bharat Ratn Nominee Shri Atal Bihari Vajpeyee “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan aur Jai Vigyan”. He said our current Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is rightly working to promote Scientific Environment in the Country with a firm resolution. Referring  to the Ancient scriptures Shri Naik said what ever knowledge we have should be associated with the modern concept and there should be a thorough research in this regard. He said we must have proud on our past achievements as one who forgets past fails to design future. Shri Naik also referred to Swami Viveka Nanda’s words ‘awake, move aheadtill you reach at the destination’ and said we should keep in mind the Ved Mantra “Chaieveti-Chaireveti” in all our ventures. Shri Naik also released a Sovenier for the Indian Scince Congress on this Occasion. He also felicitated winners of Young Scientists Awards for the Year 2014-15 in the field of Agricultural & Forestry Science, Animal Husbandry, Embryology, Chemical Sciences, Engineering Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Mineral Sciences, Medical Sciences, New Biology, Physical and Plant Sciences. The Award carried a Citation with Rs. 25,000/-each. The Pwards for poster competion were also given on the occasion. In addition all the departments participating in the “Pride of India Expo” were also felicitated. The Guest of Honour Union Railway Minister Shri Suresh Prabhu in his address said he is addressing Scientists of today and tomorrow. He said emphasis be laid on how to use Science and Technology to achieve the targets and fulfill the aspirations of people. He said in coping with the developmental needs of our county anfd humanity at large Science and Scintifis fraternity has to play a pivotal role. He also emphasised the need to address the Climatic Changes concerns, conservation of our Ecological  resources. He said we have to think that “To solve a problem we should not create another problem” and Science  and Technology should be used for it. He called upon to prepare  a national agenda for devising a  long term vision in this regard. The other guest of honour, the Maharashtra Minister of Technical & Higher Education Shri Vinod Tavde said that suggestions during Science Congress will be duly considered by a  Task Force set up by the State Government. Earlier in his Welcome Address Dr. Naresh Chandra, Pro-Vice Chanceller of Mumbai University informed of the Participation of 15,000 plus delegates and 06 Nobel Laureates and o4 other Laureates in the Conference. In his Address Prof. Rajan Welukar, Vice Chanceler of Mumbai University while expressing gratitude to all the collaborates announced the dedication of University based Nano Science Cell and Nano Technology department to the Nation for open research. He said any one desirrous of doing research work can come here for hie persuits. Dr,. S.B.Nimse, Vice Chancellor Lucknow University and President of the Indian Science Congress in his address also expressed gratitute to all concerned for making this mega event a grand success. Earlier in the General Body Meeting of Indian Science Congress held to day Mr. A.K. Saksena was nominated  as new President elect for the 103rd Indian Science Congress to be held in Mysore in January, 2015.