Thursday, May 29, 2014

Drishti ...... Desi tech for low visibility plane landing





http://t.co/3aXUnNkhsY

Vishwa Mohan\TNN

New Delhi: In a significant development of leveraging cost-effective indigenous technology to beat uncertainties of weather for air travelers, two government entities – Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) – have joined hand to facilitate aircraft landing at all civilian airports in the country even in “very low visibility” conditions.

Both these entities on Tuesday signed an agreement for joint production of ‘Drishti’ system -- sophisticated instrument for assessment of runway visual range, which is a critical parameter for safe landing and takeoff of aircraft in poor visibility.

‘Drishti’ is a real time operating system that can work round the clock (24X7) throughout the year (365 days). This robust system can withstand harsh environmental factors like fog, rain and lightning temperature while  aiding pilots for safe landing and take-off.

Seven such systems are currently working at three international airports – Delhi, Kolkata and Lucknow – for quite some time. Success and performance of this system at these airports have prompted the government to install it at all airports across the country to enhance the aviation safety.

"This is a fine example of collaboration between two government sector entities leading to indigenisation of a technology which so far was the exclusive domain of few developed countries", said Shubha V, chief scientist, Materials Science Division of the CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Bangalore.

She told TOI that the CSIR-NAL can cover all the airports in the next two to three years, depending on requirements based on number of runways at each airport and estimated air traffic flow during the period.
The indigenous production of this high-end instrument will not only result in substantial saving of foreign exchange but will also make the country self-reliant in the field of front-end technology.

“The agreement will pave the way for operational deployment of Drishti system at different airports where IMD provides aeronautical meteorological services”, said Shubha who handled its installation earlier at Delhi, Kolkata and Lucknow airports.

Under the joint agreement, 70 such systems will initially be installed at various airports of the country.
The Drishti Transmissometer - a visibility measuring system - is first such innovative and indigenous product of its kind. Chief scientist Shubha and her team of the CSIR-NAL were instrumental in designing and developing the system which covers the wide span of lowest to highest visibility (< 25 to > 2000 meters).

This product is a mandatory system required at all airports as per International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). At present, India depends on imported system to meet the requirements............................http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=Desi-tech-for-low-visibility-plane-landings-25052014020044#

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Friday, May 23, 2014

Will new government look beyond politics to clear important pending Bills?


http://t.co/hmDyuJWwsp


Narendra Modi government may take up bills UPA failed to pass

Vishwa Mohan & Rajeev Deshpande,TNN | May 22, 2014, 02.55AM IST
Modi govt will take a call on UPA's unfinished agenda with cabinet secretary Ajit Seth asking ministries to compile a list of ordinances, pending and lapsed bills.
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NEW DELHI: The incoming Narendra Modi government may well corner credit for key anti-corruption and pro-governance bills that UPA-II failed to pass despite a last minute bid to push the legislations through Parliament.

The Modi government will take a call on UPA-II' s unfinished agenda with cabinet secretary Ajit Seth asking ministries to compile a list of ordinances, pending and lapsed bills that would put up before the new regime.

READ ALSO: Modi govt to be sworn in on May 26

The bills include anti-corruption and public service measures the Manmohan Singh government had, under Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi's prodding, tried to legislate before dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha.

In a communication to secretaries, Seth said "Ministers\departments may in all such cases take a view in the matter with the approval of the new minister-in-charge as soon as the new government is sworn in."

Seth has advised ministries that they can frame "suitable proposals for consideration of the Cabinet after requisite inter-ministerial consultations" once it becomes clear that whether the bills are to be dropped, altered or retained.

BJP seems inclined to review the bills. "Some of the bills can be improved. Some of the acts that have been passed can be amended and some pending bills may not be priority any more," a senior BJP leader said.

READ ALSO: TOI manifesto — Challenges the new govt faces



The bills present an opportunity for the new government, as they have been framed by the Congress-led UPA and the former ruling party would ordinarily not oppose their passage. This should help NDA as it lacks numbers in the upper House.

Bills seeking to amend the prevention of corruption act, judicial appointments, right to services and introduction of auctions in mining contracts are among 60 pending and 68 lapsed bills.

READ ALSO: Babudom dusts off 3-year-old Modi report on inflation

READ ALSO: Tax dept blamed for policy uncertainty

Secretaries have been asked to discuss the bills with new ministers at the earliest to get a view if they are to be pursued in their present form or changes are required to be carried out.

The note, brought out in the form of an office memorandum of the Cabinet Secretariat, also mentioned that a similar view will also need to be taken about Ordinances promulgated by President Pranab Mukherjee.

"These will now be required to be placed for consideration of the Cabinet", said the note.

The Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill and the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, 2013 were introduced in the Rajya Sabha by the UPA-II government.

The Bills, which are lapsed due to dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha, include the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, the mines and minerals (Development and Regulation) Bill, the Electronic Delivery of Services Bill and the Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations) Bill.
Narendra Modi, who steered BJP and the NDA to a landslide victory in the Lok Sabha election, was appointed Prime Minister on Tuesday, ushering in a new era of a non-Congress government with an absolute majority on its own in 30 years. Modi addressed the meeting of NDA allies at the Central Hall of Parliament in New Delhi on Tuesday. Modi will be India's next Prime Minister after leading the BJP to a historic victory in a ballot that ended on Friday. (PTI photo)
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Thursday, May 15, 2014

Elections 2014 ..... What about Rajya Sabha numbers?


http://t.co/lNlaA3amvf


Stiffer test awaits BJP in Rajya Sabha if it forms govt

Vishwa Mohan,TNN | May 15, 2014, 02.49AM IST
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NEW DELHI: If exit polls get the numbers right on May 16, the BJP may not need additional allies to form the NDA government at Centre. But, the party will still need more numbers in Rajya Sabha if it wants to avoid an embarrassing situation like what the then Rajiv Gandhi-led government had faced in Upper House of the Parliament in 1989.

Despite having a thumping majority in Lok Sabha, the Congress could not get an amendment Bill to confer constitutional status to Panchayati Raj Institutions passed in Rajya Sabha.

Almost entire opposition had got united to defeat the Bill which, being a constitutional amendment Bill, needed two-third majority of the House. The Bill could be passed only two years later when Congress had come back to power in 1991.

BJP would obviously not like repeat of such a situation. It can, however, avoid it only if it gets more strength in the Rajya Sabha by adding up figures of as many allies as possible to its side.

At present, the NDA has only 64 members in the Upper House as compared to 80 of the UPA. While left and others including BSP, Trinamool Congress and AIADMK have 96 members, five seats remain vacant in the 245-member House.

The UPA-II could get many legislation passed as it invariable got support of BSP or SP or both on many occasions. But, will the BJP be able to get such support from different quarters?

The party cannot be sure of this and it is certainly not a happy situation for the BJP. It will have to tread cautiously while bring any legislation in Parliament. An ordinary law requires simple majority in the Parliament whereas a constitutional amendment bill needs to be passed by two-third majority.

Existing strength of the Rajya Sabha shows that the NDA in its present strength (64) will not be able to get the key legislations passed unless the BJP fishes for more allies and increases numbers in the Upper House.

Though the Rajya Sabha will have 12 vacancies this year, the BJP may not get all as it does not have adequate numbers in Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka state assemblies. Seven out of these 12 vacancies will arise in UP as compared to two in Karnataka and one each in Uttarakhand, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh.

The RSS's advice to the BJP to look for more allies assumes significance in that sense. The party's current move to open its line of communication with BJD, TRS and YSR Congress is, therefore, more of a necessity than a strategic one in this number game.......................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q0FQLzIwMTQvMDUvMTUjQXIwMTEwMw==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom
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Monday, May 5, 2014

Is water crisis brewing in parts of India?.....Below average rainfall will affect water storage of almost all reservoirs across the country






Water fast depleting in south India’s reservoirs
Vishwa Mohan,TNN | May 5, 2014, 01.00AM IST 

There’s already a crisis brewing in parts of south India. CWC says the key reservoirs in the region are currently at just 16% of total capacity, much below the 10-year average (at the corresponding period) of 21%. 
NEW DELHI: The forecast of a weak monsoon this year has brought back worries of a water crisis in the country. Water is fast depleting in key reservoirs, and although current levels are significantly higher than normal in most places with the exception of south India, a slow start to the monsoon next month could quickly bring the situation to a head.

The latest update from the Central Water Commission (CWC), which monitors the status of 85 important reservoirs in the country, said 'live' storage in these water bodies was 33% (51.13 billion cubic metre or BCM) of total capacity (155.046 BCM) as on May 1. Thirty of these reservoirs are in south India and these have recorded the maximum dip in storage in the past four months.

It's normal for water bodies to deplete sharply in the pre-monsoon summer months. As a whole, the water level in these reservoirs was 126% of the corresponding period last year and 142% of the average in the past 10 years. But these bodies get mainly recharged by monsoon rains in June to September. If rains are patchy in June and July, the situation could get acute.

There's already a crisis brewing in parts of south India. CWC says the key reservoirs in the region are currently at just 16% of total capacity, much below the 10-year average (at the corresponding period) of 21%.

According to the commission, all-India storage declined from 61.78 BCM on April 3 to 51.13 BCM on May 1. Besides affecting agricultural production due to poor canal irrigation in certain parts of the country, the declining storage will also impact drinking water supplies and hydro-power generation.

The IMD last month said the country may get below average rainfall this year as the probability of a normal monsoon was just 35%, mainly because of a developing El Nino. El Nino, which refers to a periodic warming of the central and east equatorial Pacific waters, happens every four to 12 years and affects weather systems across large parts of the globe.




An El Nino last occurred in 2009, which led to the worst drought in India in nearly four decades, hitting foodgrain production in 2009-10.

Thirty out of 85 reservoirs monitored by CWC are in south India followed by 22 in west, 15 in east, 12 in central and six in northern region of the country.

Gobind Sagar (Bhakra) and Pong Dam in Himachal Pradesh, Thein in Punjab, Rana Pratap Sagar in Rajasthan, Panchet Hill in Jharkhand, Hirakud and Upper Indravati in Odisha, Ukai and Sardar Sarovar in Gujarat, Koyana and Upper Vaitarna in Maharashtra, Rihand in Uttar Pradesh, Gandhi Sagar and Indira Sagar in Madhya Pradesh, Nagarjuna Sagar in Andhra Pradesh, Almati and Tungbhadra in Karnataka, Idukki and Periyar in Kerala and Mettur and Sholayar in Tamil Nadu are some of the big reservoirs which are also used to generate hydro-power......................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDE0LzA1LzA1I0FyMDAxMDM=&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom
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Thursday, May 1, 2014

India takes a baby step towards REDD+





India set to tap global fund to increase its forest cover
Vishwa Mohan,TNN | Apr 30, 2014, 09.17PM IST 
NEW DELHI: Taking forward an agreed framework of the 2013 Warsaw climate conference, India has come out with a draft national policy on 'reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation' (popularly known as REDD+ initiative) which will enable local communities to get financial incentives for increasing forest cover.

The REDD+ initiative is a global mitigation mechanism under a UN body, linking deforestation, degradation, conservation of forest carbon stocks and sustainable management of forests with reduction of greenhouse gas emission.

 It has provision of compensating developing countries for their efforts to increase forest cover under a result-based payment system. The money for this purpose is being collected through contributions from rich nations under the initiative.

 Although only three countries —UK, Norway and US— have, so far, pledged money to the tune of 280 million dollars for financing the initiative, the move is seen as a step in right direction when deforestation accounts for nearly 20% of global emissions of carbon dioxide.

 In order to tap this source to improve its forest cover, India through a national policy now intends to make the country REDD+ ready by creating a "national level authority" and setting up "supportive institutions" in three years.

 Keeping this deadline in mind, the Union ministry of environment and forest (MoEF) had on Monday come out with a draft national policy and sought suggestions from stakeholders and experts within a month (till May 27).

 "Based on the comments of the stakeholders, the draft document will be finalized," said the ministry in a note, released on Monday.

 It said the objective of this policy was to develop forest areas, safeguard rights and interests of local communities and to strengthen coordination among sectors and stakeholders having direct and indirect impacts on land use and forestry.

 "The objective is also to develop appropriate mechanism for channelizing REDD+ funding and transferring the accrued financial benefits to the communities in a fair, equitable and transparent manner," said the ministry.

 Underlining importance of increasing forest cover, the ministry took note of the fact that the present level of forest cover in India (69.20 million hectares) neutralizes 11% of the country's greenhouse gas emissions.

 According to Global Forest Resource Assessment (GFRA), India is at 10th position in terms of forest area in the world. As per India State of Forest Report, the total forest cover in the country is around 21.05% of the geographical area. The country had, however, added merely three million hectares of forest in the decade of 1997-2007.

 Though REDD+ is a complex subject and is still evolving where finance is certainly a gray area at present, India through its national policy seeks to establish a robust institutional mechanism so that it can be benefited from this global initiative.

Setting up national forest monitoring system, national REDD+ architecture or governance and information system, building a critical mass of technical or institutional capacities of various stakeholders including local communities and evolving a domestic funding mechanism to increase forest cover in the country by involving PSUs and corporate sector under 'corporate social responsibility' are some of the key features of the draft policy.

 Though the Warsaw climate talks in November last year could not come up to the expectation of poor nations, it had brought hope for future when negotiators took a significant step forward towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation.

 They had emphasized on the "result-based payment" to developing countries that cut carbon by leaving trees standing.

 The move is expected to work as an incentive for developing countries. The money to be collected for this purpose will be managed by the World Bank's Bio-Carbon fund...................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JS00vMjAxNC8wNS8wMSNBcjAwOTAw&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom
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