Biofuel production from oilseed is the future

Biofuel production from oilseed is the future
Straw from crops such as wheat, barley, and oats is seen as a potential source of biomass for second generation biofuel production. With new findings, scientists have now come closer to making the production more efficient. 

Researchers at the Institute of Food Research in Britain looked at the steps needed to unlock the sugars tied up in the tough straw structure.

They discovered the key factors that determine the efficiency of saccharification — the process that converts enzymes into glucose.

"The sugars in the straw are in a form that makes them inaccessible to the enzymes that release them for conversion into biofuels, so pre-treatments are needed," the researchers said.

The pre-treatments make the complex carbohydrates more accessible to enzymes that convert them to glucose which is then fermented by yeast into ethanol.

In the pre-treatment stage, the researchers focused on steam explosion, which involves 'pressure-cooking' the biomass, to drive a number of chemical reactions.

A rapid pressure-release then causes the material to be ripped open, to further improve accessibility.

They varied the temperature and duration of steam explosion and then used a variety of physical and biochemical techniques to characterise what effects varying the pre-treatments had on the different types of sugars before and after saccharification.

The amount of cellulose converted to glucose increased with the severity of the pretreatment.

Saccharification efficiency is also associated with the loss of specific sugars, and subsequent formation of sugar breakdown products.

In a further study, the scientists discovered the key factors that determine the efficiency of saccharification.

Singapore replaces Mauritius as top source of FDI in India

Singapore has replaced Mauritius as the top source of foreign direct investment into India, accounting for about 25 per cent of FDI inflows in 2013-14. 

During the last financial year, India attracted $5.98 billion in FDI from Singapore, whereas it was $4.85 billion from Mauritius, according to the data of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).

According to experts, the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with Singapore incorporates Limit-of-Benefit (LoB) clause which has provided comfort to foreign investors based there.
"LoB clause in India-Singapore treaty justifies the substance in Singaporean entities, bringing certainty and avoiding chances of litigations," head of Tax and expert on FDI with corporate law firm Amarchand & Mangaldas Krishan Malhotra said.

FDI inflows from Mauritius have started drying up on fears of the impact of General Anti Avoidance Rules (GAAR) and possible re-negotiation of the tax avoidance treaty, he added.

The inflows from Mauritius in the last fiscal are lowest since 2006-07. On the other hand, FDI inflow of $5.98 billion in 2013-14 is the highest ever received from Singapore since 2006-07.

The controversial General Anti Avoidance Rules provision, which seeks to check tax avoidance by investors routing their funds through tax havens, will come into effect from April 1, 2016 in India.

The GAAR provision will apply to entities availing tax benefit of at least Rs 3 crore.

It will apply to Foreign Institutional Investors that have claimed benefits under any DTAA.

The India-Mauritius DTAA is being revised amid concerns that Mauritius is being used for round-tripping of funds into India even though that country has always maintained that there have been no concrete evidence of any such misuse.

Foreign investments are crucial for India, which needs about $1 trillion by March 2017 to overhaul infrastructure such as ports, airports and highways and boost growth.

Overall FDI into India grew by 8 per cent year-on-year to $24.3 billion in 2013-14.

Zuma sworn in as South Africa's President for second term

Jacob Zuma was on Saturday sworn in as South African President for a second term in the presence of thousands of guests in Pretoria.

Mr. Zuma, whose African National Congress won the May 7 elections with 62 per cent of the vote, was sworn in by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng at the government complex Union Buildings.

More than 40 foreign leaders in attendance included the Presidents of Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Sudan, Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Mauritius, Madagascar and the Vice-Presidents of Gambia, Angola, Sudan and Gabon.

The ceremony began with a gun salute and inter-faith prayers, followed by a recital of the preamble of the Constitution.

Only 200 Great Indian Bustards left: WWF

Only 200 Great Indian Bustards left: WWF
Government urged to evolve an action plan to protect the bird, which is on the verge of extinction.

“We are losing our Great Indian Bustard,” WWF-India Secretary-General and CEO, Ravi Singh told The Hindu here on Friday. The total number of birds now was as low as 200, he said, calling for quick efforts to protect the species.

“Otherwise, we will lose this bird in the wild,” he added.

Mr. Singh wanted the Government of India to evolve an action plan to protect the bird, which is on the verge of extinction.

He said the breeding of these birds was under threat. According to anecdotal estimates, the largest population (110) of this bird was in Rajasthan, while it was also found in Gujarat and Karnataka. Around 10 birds were sighted five to six years ago at Rollapadu in Andhra Pradesh.

Listing destruction of forests, break-up of corridors, illegal trade, poaching and change in land use as reasons affecting conservation of wild life, Mr. Singh said a large amount of illegal trade in lesser species like pangolins and turtles was taking place. Steps taken by the government to prevent poaching have made a difference with regard to lions and elephants, he added

Great Himalayan National Park and Rani-ki-Vav up for world heritage status

The Great Himalayan National Park in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh and Rani-ki-Vav (The Queen's Stepwell) at Patan, Gujarat are up for world heritage status next month.
Unesco's World Heritage Committee is meeting in Doha from June 15 to 25 to consider the inscription of 40 sites on Unesco's world heritage list.

Unesco confirmed to TOI that the World Heritage Committee will consider Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) for a world heritage tag for being the most important gene pool of western Himalayan flora and fauna.

The park is home to iconic temples like Kedarnath, has the most important gene pool of western Himalayan flora and fauna and the endangered snow leopard.

GHNP is a major source of water with four major rivulets—Tirthan, Sainj, Jiwa Nal, and Parvati—originating from the glaciers in the Park. These rivulets flow to form the river Beas. A Unesco document has high praise for GHNP's diversity.

It says: "Around 17% of GHNP is under forests. A total of 832 plant species belonging to 427 genera and 128 families of higher plants have been recorded within the Park. The Park falls within one of the globally important Endemic Bird Areas and is home to 183 bird species. Thirty-one mammal species, including the snow leopard, Asiatic black bear, Himalayan brown bear, Grey Goral and Himalayan Musk Deer are found here."

About Rani-ki-Vav, Unesco said, "It is situated about 2km to the northwest of Patan district in Gujarat. It is the most magnificent stepwell in Gujarat built during the 11-12th century. A stepped corridor compartmented at regular intervals with pillared multi-storeyed pavilions is a unique feature. The four pavilions which demarcate the stages along the descent have multiple storeys, two, four, six and seven respectively. Sculptures of deities and other images adorn the walls flanking the staircase.

Japan launches new satellite to survey disasters

Japan launches new satellite to survey disasters
Japan successfully launched a new mapping satellite today that will be used to survey damage from natural disasters and changes affecting rainforests.

The Advanced Land Observing Satellite-2 (ALOS-2) will be able to see scars left by catastrophes such as Japan’s 2011 tsunami as well as monitor progress made in reconstruction, officials from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said.

“The satellite was successfully put in orbit,” said an official from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, whose H-IIA rocket was used in the launch from a space centre on the southern island of Tanegashima.

The satellite will provide valuable data for Japan, which sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire and experiences 20 percent of all major earthquakes.

Memories are still fresh of the deadly 9.0-magnitude earthquake in March 2011 that unleashed a tsunami that devastated the northern Pacific coast, killing more than 18,000 people and triggering the Fukushima nuclear crisis.

The island nation is also routinely hit by typhoons while scientists say Mount Fuji could erupt at any time.

The new satellite, nicknamed “Daichi-2″, will “conduct a health check mainly of the Earth’s land areas in detail,” JAXA project manager Shinichi Suzuki said.

The satellite will collect data related to deformation of the Earth’s crust, but also the impact of floods and landslides, he said.

The satellite’s predecessor was used to monitor damage caused by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

The device uses a special radar to observe the planet’s surface at night, during bad weather and even through vegetation.

JAXA plans to use the new satellite to regularly study tropical rain forests, which are difficult to observe because of the thick clouds that frequently cover them. It will also be used to observe snow and ice conditions in polar areas, officials said.

Prioritizing Road Safety in India

Prioritizing Road Safety in India 
The UN General Assembly has adopted 2011-2020 as the Decade of Action for Road Safety and set a goal for reducing fatalities from road accidents by 50 percent during the period recognizing the severe impact of road accidents on global health. Every year about 1.2 million people die and 50 million get affected in road accidents globally losing 1.2 trillion US Dollars in these accidents, says Mr. K K Kapila, Chairman, International Road Federation. According to the World Health Organization unless concerted action is taken, road traffic injuries are predicted to become the fifth leading cause of death in the world by 2030.

With the growing urbanization and vehicular traffic, the issue of safety on roads also keep growing in terms of concerns and solutions. The concern becomes all the more relevant in view of the fact that number of persons killed in road accidents in India is the highest in the world. More than 4.97 lakh road accidents in 2011 are reported to have claimed over 1.42 lakh lives. These numbers translate into roughly one road accident per minute and one road accident death every four minutes for India.

Though the data for the year 2012 shows a declining trend with over 4.90 lakh accidents claiming 1.38 lakh lives, still the number is too high to give reason to breathe easy. The analysis of road accidents in terms of causal factor’s reveals that drivers’ fault accounts for 78.7 per cent (3,85,934 accidents) of total road accidents. The reason behind fault may vary from alcohol/drugs to mobile addiction, overloading/overcrowding of vehicles, exceeding lawful speed and tiredness etc. Since drivers’ fault has been found responsible for about 80% road accidents, it is important to make them aware and realize that they are the killers on roads when they violate the laws/measures.

Road Safety is being prioritized at Political Level. The focus is shifting from ad-hoc Road Safety Activities to Sustainable Programmes. A systematic state capacity review of the existing road safety management system has been recommended while formulating long term goals, interim targets, strategies and programmes. This includes a high-level multi-sectoral strategic examination of a range of activities and involves senior management from the key governmental agencies - Transport, Police, Health, Justice and Education, who may not all be actively engaged as yet– as well as all other stakeholders who are able and should contribute to the delivery of road safety results.

The Ministry of RTH has taken steps to minimize road accidents in the country. The Government has approved a National Road Safety Policy. This Policy outlines various policy measures such as promoting awareness, establishing road safety information data base, encouraging safer road infrastructure including application of intelligent transport, enforcement of safety laws etc. The Government has constituted National Road Safety Council as the apex body to take policy decisions in matters of road safety. The Ministry has requested all States/UTs for setting up of State Road Safety Council and District Road Safety Committees.

The Ministry has adopted a multi-pronged strategy to address the issue of road safety based on four E’s of Road Safety that is Education, Enforcement, Engineering (roads as well as vehicles) and Emergency care. Road safety has been made an integral part of road design at the planning stage. Road Safety Audit of selected stretches of National Highways/Expressways adopted. Driving training institutes being established, Tightening of safety standards of vehicles like helmets, seat belts, power-steering, rear view mirror and Publicity campaigns on road safety awareness.

Besides observing Road Safety Week, media campaigns through Doordarshan and Radio networks, Printing and distribution of Road Safety material, advertisements in newspapers and organizing conferences/seminars/ workshops on Road Safety, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways continues to undertake new initiatives to ensure road safety.

These include efforts for inclusion of a chapter on road safety in the

· Text books of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) syllabus in Class VI to Class XII. State Governments have also been advised to include Road Safety education in the curriculum of the schools administered by the State Education Board.

· Providing cashless treatment to road accident victims for 48 hours at expenditure up to a limit of Rs. 30,000/-a pilot project launched on Gurgaon-Jaipur section of NH 8.
· Identification of top 25 black spots in 13 States which account for 90% of road accidents in India. The short term remedial measures have been completed for most of the black spots identified.

· Finalisation of National Ambulance Code based on the recommendations of the Working Group on Emergency care. This ’Code’ puts in place minimum standards and guidelines regarding the constructional and functional requirements of road ambulances in India.
· Notifying Consignments protruding beyond the body of goods carrier as illegal.

The strategy for ensuring road safety being multi-pronged, many government departments share responsibility for road safety. Special arrangements are required to put in place to ensure close co-ordination and accountability. For ensuring better coordination among key Government agencies concerned with road safety including local government, all the State Governments have been advised to constitute High Level Committees headed by the Chief Secretary to take stock of the road safety scenario in their States and the measures required to be instituted at the State level to reduce road accident fatalities. The States have been advised to prepare action plan on road safety for their States. The States’ annual action plan on road safety needs to set ambitious but realistic targets for at least five years. It should have measurable outcomes and sufficient funding to develop, implement, man­age, monitor and evaluate actions. All the States/UTs have been asked to identify a lead agency in the State and also set up Road Safety Fund at the State level by earmarking 50% of the funds generated from fines on account of violation of traffic rules.

Though UN decade of action plan to reduce road fatalities by 50% started in 2011, after three years much needs to be done. In India, budget for Road Safety needs to be enhanced and proper road safety plans/ mechanism to be in place in all the States. It needs to be ensured that orders relating to Road Safety that exist are followed strictly and violation punished. Parliamentarians and corporate world may be engaged by way of diverting a part of funds from MPLAD and CSR and contributing for the cause of Road Safety. The collective efforts of all stakeholders are bound to make significant impact on making roads safer, arresting human suffering due to road related mishaps and achieving goals set by UN.