Forecast of Natural Disasters by ISRO

Forecast of Natural Disasters by ISRO

                                                           

ISRO is working on systems to forecast the natural disasters that could  be  used  as  input  by  States/ disaster  management  agencies.  

ISRO is carrying out studies to facilitate best use of the satellite derived information to develop methodologies for forecasting the natural disasters. Some of such methodologies developed include:

i.                    Cyclone formation, track and Intensity: ISRO has developed methodologies for forecasting the cyclone formation, it’s track and intensity using satellite based observation. The methodology developed has been transferred to India meteorological Department (IMD) who is mandated for cyclone forecast.

ii.                  Flood Early Warning System: The North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC) of ISRO has developed the Flood Early Warning System (FLEWS) as a Research & Development (R&D) project in Assam State in association with Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA). The FLEWS model is being used in all 25 flood prone districts of Assam. Another model for forecasting floods in Godavari floodplains in Andhra Pradesh is developed by National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) of ISRO. The methodology is being used by Central Water Commission (CWC). ISRO is developing similar systems for Krishna, Brahmani-Baitarani, Ghagra, Gandak, and Kosi rivers.

iii.                Heavy Rainfall/ cloud burst alerts: Space Applications Centre (SAC) of ISRO has developed a model, for heavy rainfall / cloud burst alerts, which is being experimentally carried out for Indian region. The information is made available on ISRO’s MOSDAC (Meteorological & Oceanographic Satellite Data Archival Centre) website. 

iv.        Rainfall triggered landslide alerts for the Uttarakhand Region: An experimental early warning system for rainfall triggered landslides is developed for use along the pilgrimage route corridors leading to Gangotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath as well as along the Pithoragarh-Malpa route in Uttarakhand. The forewarning is generated based on the statistical relation between the terrain (geological, morphological) and temporal (primarily long term rainfall events) factors.

v.         Extreme weather events:  ISRO has developed experimental methodologies for early warning extreme weather events such as heat wave using numerical weather predictions. The information derived is being made available on the MOSDAC website. 

ISRO has realised two satellite missions, Viz., MeghaTropiques (launched in Oct 2011) and SARAL (launched in Feb 2013), in collaboration with French National Space Agency (CNES). Presently, ISRO is working with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), USA towards joint realisation of a satellite mission, namely, ‘NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR), to be launched by 2020-21 timeframe.  The fund allocation for MeghaTropiques is Rs. 81.6 Crores, SARAL is Rs. 73.75 Crores and for NISAR is Rs. 513 Crores.

Cabinet approves of proposal to establish a Fund of Fund for Start-ups (FFS)

Cabinet approves of proposal to establish a Fund of Fund for Start-ups (FFS)

 The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the following proposals with regard to the Fund of Funds of Start-ups (FFS) which was established in June, last year with a corpus of Rs. 1,000 crores.

 

i. Alternate Investment Funds (AIFs) supported by FFS shall invest at least twice the amount of contribution received from FFS in Start-ups qualifying as per the Gazette Notification G.S.R.180 (E) dt. 17/02/2016. Further, if the amount committed for a Start-up in whole has not been released before a Start-up ceases to be so, the balance funding can continue thereafter.

 

ii. It was also decided that operating expenses for carrying out due diligence, legal and technical appraisal, convening meeting of Venture Capital Investment Committee, etc. would be met out of the FFS to the extent of 0.50% of the commitments made to AIFs and outstanding. This will be debited to the fund at the beginning of each half year; i.e. April 1 and October 1.

 

Background

 

The Union Cabinet in its meeting held on 22/06/2016 had approved the proposal to establish a Fund of Funds for Start-ups (FFS) with a total corpus of Rs.10000 crore, with contribution spread over the 14th & 15th Finance Commission cycles based on progress of implementation and availability of funds. It was decided that the FFS shall contribute to the corpus of Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) for investing in equity and equity linked instruments of various start-ups at early stage, seed stage and growth stages.

 

The FFS is being managed and operated by Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).  FFS contributes to SEBI registered Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) that may go up to a maximum of 35% of the corpus of the AIF concerned.  

 

The Cabinet on 22.06.2016 had decided that the corpus of Fund of Funds along with counterpart funds raised by the AIFs in which FFS takes equity would be invested entirely in Start-ups. It has been pointed out to the Department during its interactions with various stakeholders that investors in the AIFs would prefer that the portfolio of AIFs is adequately diversified to manage the investment risks appropriately and if the entire pool of funds of the AIF is invested in Start-ups, it poses unacceptable risks to the investors of such AIFs.  

 

The other issues raised by stakeholders were that the process of funding of Start-ups by AIFs is long drawn which starts from pitching by a Start-up, commitment by the AIF and then release of funds in tranches. Thus it is possible that before release of the final instalment the turnover of the Start-up crosses Rs. 25 crores but it still needs funds to meet its growth requirements. Besides, Start-ups need access to funds through various stages of their life cycle, viz. early stage, seed stage and growth stage.  

 

It was also pointed out to the Department by SIDBI that the present provisions don’t provide for SIDBI to get compensated for activities done post sanction to AIFs.

The Uttarakhand high court on Monday declared the Ganga and Yamuna living entities,

The Uttarakhand high court on Monday declared the Ganga and Yamuna living entities, bestowing on them same legal rights as a person, a move that could help in efforts to clean the pollution-choked rivers.

The order also ends the five-day reign of New Zealand’s Whanganui River as the only one in the world to be granted living entity status.

The court’s order will allow complaints to be filed in the name of the two rivers, held sacred by millions of Hindus. It also gives the Centre eight weeks to set up boards for cleaning and maintaining the rivers.

“It means now Ganga and Yamuna rivers will be treated like a natural person but only through a designated person,” advocate .

A bench of justice Rajeev Sharma and justice Alok Singh allowed the director general of Namami Gange project, Uttarakhand chief secretary and advocate general the right to represent the Ganga.

The Namami Gange is the Modi’s government’s ambitious plan that brings together various efforts for cleaning and conserving the river.

The world’s third largest river, the Ganga is the holiest Hindu river and also among the dirtiest in the world, with toxic industrial waste and untreated sewage reducing it to a dirty trickle at several places.

Reverentially referred to as Maa Ganga (Mother Ganga) for the water it provides to millions and fertile plains it feeds, the 2,500km river originates from Gangotri in Uttarakhand and criss-crosses several states before emptying into the Bay of Bengal.

The Yamuna is its largest tributary and originates from Yamunotri in Uttarakhand.

Hearing a petition for removing encroachments from the Shakti Canal on the Yamuna in Dehradun district, the high court asked the district magistrate to clear the areas in 72 hours or face legal action.

Centre moves bill for single tribunal on inter-state water disputes
MC Pant, who appeared for petitioner Md Salim, said any case or complaint filed could now be filed in the name of the rivers.

“I had earlier asked officials to remove encroachments. I will find out why it was not done and take action against concerned officials” Dehradun district magistrate Ravinath Raman told HT.

Earlier this month, the Centre cleared projects worth Rs 1,900 crore for Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar and Delhi under the Clean Ganga campaign.

Of the 20 projects, 13 are in Uttarakhand and will involve setting sewage treatment plants and upgrading the existing ones.

rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana’ to be launched on 1st April, 2017 in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh

rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana’ to be launched on 1st April, 2017 in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh

“Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana”, a ‘Scheme for providing Physical Aids and Assisted-living Devices for Senior citizens belonging to BPL category’ will be launched in District Nellore, Andhra Pradesh on 1^st April, 2017. Briefing media persons here today, Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot, Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment said that the Physical Aids and Assisted-living Devices for Senior citizens will be distributed in Camp mode and the Scheme will be implemented through the sole implementing agency, ‘Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation (ALIMCO)’, (a PSU under M/o SJ&E), which will undertake one year free maintenance of the aids & assisted living devices. The devices will help the Senior Citizens to overcome their age related physical impairment and to lead a dignified and productive life with minimal dependence on care givers or other members of the family. The ambitious Scheme, first of its kind in the country is expected to benefit 5,20,000 Senior Citizens over a period of the 3 years, he added.

Ministers of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Shri Krishan Pal Gurjar and Shri Vijay Sampla were also present.

As per the Census figures of 2011, the population of senior citizens in India is 10.38 crore.  More than 70% of the population of senior citizens live in rural areas of the country. A sizeable percentage (5.2%) of the senior citizens suffers from some sort of disabilities related to old age. Projections indicate that the number of elderly population will increase to around 173 million by 2026.

The Central Government proposes to launch a new Central Sector Scheme to be put in place to provide Physical aids and Assisted Living Devices for such senior citizens suffering from age related disabilities/ infirmities, who belong to BPL category.

The proposal for formulation of a Scheme for providing Physical Aids and Assisted-Living Devices for Senior Citizens belonging to BPL Category was announced in the Budget 2015-16. Pursuant to this, the “Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana” has been formulated.  The Scheme aims at providing Senior Citizens, belonging to BPL category and suffering from any of the age related disability/infirmity viz. Low vision, Hearing impairment, Loss of teeth and Locomotor disability, with such assisted-living devices which can restore near normalcy in their bodily functions, overcoming the disability/infirmity manifested. The assistive devices shall be of high quality and conforming to the standards laid down by the Bureau of Indian Standards, wherever applicable.

This is a Central Sector Scheme, fully funded by the Central Government. The expenditure for implementation of the scheme will be met from the "Senior Citizens' Welfare Fund". Under the Scheme, the following Aids and Assisted-Living Devices will be provided to eligible elderly beneficiary senior citizens, depending upon their physical impairment :-

1.                  Walking sticks

2.                  Elbow crutches

3.                  Walkers / Crutches

4.                  Tripods / Quadpods

5.                  Hearing Aids

6.                  Wheelchair

7.                  Artificial Dentures  

8.                  Spectacles           

  

Salient features of the Scheme are as under:-

·         Free of cost distribution of the devices, commensurate with the extent of disability/infirmity that is manifested among the eligible senior citizens.

·         In case of multiple disabilities/infirmities manifested in the same person, the assistive devices will be given in respect of each disability/impairment.

·         The devices will help the Senior Citizens to overcome their age related physical impairment and to lead a dignified and productive life with minimal dependence on care givers or other members of the family.

·         The Scheme will be implemented through the sole implementing agency, ‘Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation (ALIMCO)’, (a PSU under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment).

·           ALIMCO will undertake one year free maintenance of the aids & assisted living devices.

·           Beneficiaries in each district will be identified by the State Governments/UT Administrations through a Committee chaired by the Deputy Commissioner/District Collector.

·           As far as possible, 30% of the beneficiaries in each district shall be women.

·         The State Government/UT Administration/District Level Committee can also utilize the data of BPL beneficiaries receiving Old Age Pension under the NSAP or any other Scheme of the State/UT for identification of senior citizens belonging to BPL category.

·         The devices will be distributed in Camp mode.

·         The expected financial outlay over the next three years (i.e. upto 2019-20) is Rs. 483.6 Crores.

The ambitious Scheme, first of its kind in the country is expected to benefit 5,20,000 Senior Citizens over a period of the 3 years.

Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana

Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana

Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana (PMAGY) aims for integrated development of selected villages having more than 50% Scheduled Caste (SC) population through implementation of existing scheme of Central and State Governments in a convergent manner and by utilization of gap filling funds provided as Central Assistance. The scheme was launched in 2009-10 on a pilot basis, for the integrated development of 1000 villages in 5 States viz. Himachal Pradesh (Northern Region), Bihar (Eastern Region), Rajasthan (Western Region), Tamil Nadu (Southern Region) and Assam (North-Eastern Region) and further extended in 2015 to another 1500 villages in Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Haryana. Works and programmes taken up under PMAGY in the identified States include inter alia, construction of village roads, community halls/meeting places, community toilets, drainage works, installation of hand pumps, solar powered street lights, drinking water scheme etc.

As per scheme, details for a village to be declared as Adarsh village a minimum of three of the targets listed below have to be achieved by the end of the third year of implementation of PMAGY:-

·           As far as possible, elimination of poverty, but reduction in its incidence by at least 50% within three years.

·           Universal adult literacy

·           100% enrolment and retention of children at the elementary stage (I-VIII).

·           Reduction of infant mortality rate (per thousand live births) to 30 and maternal mortality rate (per lakh) to 100, by 2012. 

·           Village should fulfill the Nirmal Gram Puraskar norms of the Deptt. Of Drinking Water Supply, M/o Rural Development, ie, these villages should be 100 % open defecation free

·           Access to safe drinking water facility to all villagers on a sustainable basis.

·           100% institutional deliveries for pregnant women

·           Full immunisation of children

·           Achieving all weather road connectivity to the village

·           100% registration of deaths and births in the village

·           No child marriages, and child labour

·           No public consumption of liquor and other intoxicating substances

·           100% allotment of Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awaas Yojana (PMGAY) houses to all eligible families

Portfolio allotment in UTTARAKHAND government

Portfolio allotment in UTTARAKHAND government

About a week after the swearing-in, Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Thursday night distributed portfolios among his 10-member cabinet, keeping home, health, public works department and 33 more departments with himself.

Satpal Maharaj, the senior-most minister in the cabinet, got nine departments such as tourism, pilgrimage and religious fairs, culture, besides Indo-Nepal and Uttarakhand river projects.

Prakash Pant is the finance minister. He will also handle departments of legislative and parliamentary affairs, language, potable water and cleanliness.

Former Congress leader Harak Singh Rawat has got environment, forest and wildlife, labour and solid water management departments.

Cabinet minister Madan Kaushik is in-charge of urban development and housing, census, reorganisation and election departments.

Yashpal Arya has got eight departments such as transport, social, minority and students welfare. He will also look after the development of border and remote areas, besides backward area development departments.

While Arvind Pandey is the minister of panchayati raj, youth welfare, sports, school and Sanskrit education departments, Subodh Uniyal has got departments of agriculture, agriculture education, horticulture and silk development.

Minister of state Rekha Arya has been assigned women and child welfare department, animal husbandry, sheep and goat rearing, fodder and pasture development and fisheries. Another minister of state, Dhan Singh Rawat, has got higher education, milk development, protocol and cooperatives portfolios.
Earlier in the day, Prem Chandra Agrawal, 56, a 3-time BJP MLA from Rishikesh, was elected unopposed as the Uttarakhand Assembly Speaker. He was handed over the charge as the new Speaker of the House by pro-tem Speaker Harbans Kapoor after he was elected to the post. Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat had introduced him in the Assembly and referred to him as a resolute man of action.

Capability of ISRO to Launch Satellites

Capability of ISRO to Launch Satellites

India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) has the capability of launching 1700 kg to Sun Synchronous Polar Orbit (600 km) and has proven its versatility in launching multi-satellite/multi-orbit missions as well as lunar (Chandrayaan-1) and interplanetary missions (Mars Orbiter Mission). As on date, PSLV has completed 38 consecutive successful missions, during which it has launched 46 Indian satellites (weighing ~ 43.2 tonnes) and 180 foreign satellites (weighing ~ 6.3 tonnes). It has already established itself as a preferred launch vehicle, in its class, in the global market for launch services, especially for smaller satellites. The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), with indigenous cryogenic upper stage, has the capability to launch satellites up to 2.2 tonnes to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). GSLV has demonstrated its reliability through three consecutive successful missions in the past three years.

The maximum GTO capability of other space launch agencies to launch satellites are: European Space Agency (ESA): 10.5 tonnes, USA: 13.8 tonnes, Russia: 6.5 tonnes, China: 14 tonnes and Japan: 8 tonnes.

In order to enhance the capability, ISRO has developed the next generation launch vehicle i.e. GSLV MkIII with indigenous high thrust cryogenic stage, to launch 4 tonne class of communication satellites to GTO and its first developmental flight is scheduled to take place in the second quarter of 2017. The development of Semicryogenic engine has also been undertaken to further enhance the GTO payload capability of GSLV MkIII to 6 tonnes.

ISRO has proved the level of efficiency in the area of space science through – (i) planning, development & execution of Lunar mission ‘Chandrayaan-1’ and High resolution imaging & Systematic topographic mapping of the Moon; (ii) successful insertion of Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) around the planet Mars in very first attempt, achieving all planned objectives and continuing the operations of MOM beyond its designed mission life of 6 months; (iii) placing India’s first observatory in space ‘Astrosat’, which enables simultaneous multi-wavelength observations (Ultraviolet to X-Ray) to study Stars and Galaxies; (iv) indigenous development & validation of several new technologies viz. autonomy, deep space communication, scientific instruments in space science missions.

Future missions in space science includes (i) second mission to Moon ‘Chandrayaan-2’, consisting of an indigenous Orbiter, Lander & Rover and (ii) mission for solar studies ‘Aditya-L1’ to study the solar corona in different wavebands.

The capability to set up a space station needs capability of lifting heavy payloads into space. While there is no specific plan for space station, ISRO is working towards this capability through launch vehicles using cryogenic and semi-cryogenic engines.