The Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act was legislated by the Parliament in the year 2003.
Its objectives can be identified as:
To institutionalise fiscal discipline;
Reduce Fiscal Deficit;
Improve Macroeconomic Management.
The law aims at promoting Fiscal Stability for the country on a long-term basis.
It emphasises a Transparent Fiscal Management System and a more equitable distribution of debts over the years.
This law also gives flexibility to the Reserve Bank of India to undertake monetary policy to tackle inflation and take corrective measures in order to give an impetus to the economic environment.
As the Government needs resources for funding various kinds of developmental schemes and routine expenditures. Resources are raised through taxes and borrowing. The government can raise funds by borrowing from the Reserve Bank of India, financial institutions or from the public by floating bonds.
Fiscal deficit
It is the Total Expenditure minus the Revenue Receipt, Loan Recoveries and Receipts from Disinvestment etc. It is a measure of the government borrowing in a year.
However, uncontrolled Fiscal Deficit is harmful not only for the health of economy but also for the Growth of the economic indicators and finally the development prospects in the road towards Inclusive Growth.
FRBM Act was notified in 2004 in response to the need felt to curb broadening Fiscal Deficit.
The FRBM rules specify annual reduction targets for fiscal indicators.
Originally, the act envisaged Revenue Deficit to be reduced to nil in five years beginning 2004-05.
Fiscal deficit was required to be reduced to 3 percent of GDP by 2008-09.
The Act also provides exception to the government in case of Natural Calamity and whenever there is a threat to National Security.
The implantation of the act was put on hold in 2007-08 due to Global Financial Crisis and the aggravating demand for Fiscal Stimulus.
There was a need for increased government expenditure to create demand to fight off the financial downturn and hence the government moved away from the path of Fiscal Consolidation for this period.
This law also prohibits borrowing by government from the Reserve Bank of India and purchase of primary issues of central government securities after2006.
The Act asked the Central government to lay in Parliament three statements in one financial year about the fiscal policy.
To enforce fiscal discipline at the state level, the Twelfth finance commission provided for incentives to states through conditional debt restructuring and interest rate relief.
In 2012, the FRBM Act was amended and it was decided that the FRBM Act would target Effective Revenue Deficit in place of Revenue Deficit.
Effective Revenue Deficit excludes Capital Expenditure from Revenue Deficit and thus provides space to the government to spend on formation of Capital Assets.
The critics of this Act usually point of out the demerits that it would put a curb on the government’s social sector spending, but no one can deny the fact that there is a rising need for Fiscal Sustainability in order to put the economic indicators back on the path of Growth as well as Development.
o Economy – All production units and workplaces existing in a place
provides goods and services – directly or indirectly satisfies wants of people
Consumer goods:
Single use CG – milk, eggs, meat etc
Durable CG – refrigerator, TV etc
Consumer services:
having a haircut, laundry, banks, doctors etc
Producer goods:
Goods req to produce more goods – machinery, raw material etc
Single user PG – raw material
Durable PG – machinery
Producer services: single use
o Vital processes of economy – Production, consumption, investment
o Stock investment Vs Fixed investment:
SI – addition to stock of raw materials, semi finished n finished goods in a year
Opening n closing stock – stock at beginning and closing of a year
If closing stock is less than opening stock then it isdisinvestment
FI – acquire durable use producer goods by production units
o Net Investment = Gross Investment – Depreciation
o Production, consumption and investment – interdependent
Economic Dev and Indian Economy:
o Economic growth: increase in total volume of goods and services produced by a nation
8.4% - expected growth (12th financial commission)
o Eco Dev:
Economic growth + positive changes in other spheres of life
HDI rank – 134
o World Bank classifies nations into four levels based on Percapita GNP(LI, LMI, UMI, HI)
Income:
o Factor Income: Profit earned by owner of factor of production in return for the services rendered to the production units(E)+
Worker earns income called wages (L)+
Land owner earns rent (L)+
Owner of capital earns interest (C)
4 Factors of production – land,labour,capital,entrepreneurship
o Non factor income:
Money receipts which do not involve any sacrifice on the part of their recipient
Gifts, donations, charities, taxes, fines etc
Also known as ‘Transfer incomes’
o National income includes only factor incomes
o Diff b/n land and capital – land is a free gift(nature), capital is produced by man
o Flows During Economic activity:
Real Flow – flow of goods or services from seller
Money flow – flow of money from buyer
o Types of Economy:
Closed Economy – country which has no eco relations with rest of world
Open economy – country which has economic relations with rest of world
o How to get finance:
Bond – It is a security paper, with timed returns
Credit rating companies – CRISIL, S&Ps, Moody
Junk Bonds – Bonds with credit rating C or D – ‘High Yield Bond’
Gilt Edge securities – Government bonds have high credit rating ‘AA’ – low interest rate – but guaranteed returns
Bearer Bonds – They don’t have the holder’s name but attached with coupons which can be withdrawn by selling them to broker and fetch partial amount
Equity – Take money from individual and offer partnership
IPO – Initial Public Offer – Selling of Share Papers for the first time to the public is called as IPO
Primary Market – where IPOs are sold
The buyers of IPO sell these papers to others, these papers are called – equity or shares
Secondary Market – where shares are sold
Venture Capitalist – Company which gives initial money to start a company or expand a company but in return demand Part of ownership
Deal with only big projects, big investments
Angel Investors – Rich gentlemen; finance startup companies for getting partial ownership and or assured returns of investment, after few years\
Can give money in the form of Debt or Equity
Underwriter – charges commission but covers all technical things, paperwork, SEBI regulations, selling, accepting money for IPO/Bonds sales
National Income:
o The sum total of factor of incomes accruing to the residents of the country, both from their activities within and outside the economic territory is the national income of the country
o Intermediate products – one production unit purchasing from other for resale
o Final product – all goods and services purchased for consumption and investment , and not for resale
o Value added = Value of output – Intermediate cost
o Gross value added = net value added + depreciation
o Indirect tax – all taxes levied on production, finally paid by consumer of buyer
Ex – sales tax, excise, customs, octrol
o Subsidies – Financial help given by the government to the production units for selling the product at lower prices
o Net Value added at factor cost (NVafc) = Net value added at market price(NVamp)-indirect taxes + subsidies
o National Product = Domestic product – Factor income paid to rest of the world + Factor income received from rest of world
o National Income – same as ‘Net National Product at factor cost’
o Mixed income – mixture of factor incomes (land, labour, capital, entrepreneurship) and difficult to allocate different factor incomes
o Private Final Consumption Expenditure – sum of purchases made by households and value of free services provided by Non-profit institutions serving households
o Government’s Final Consumption Exp. – free services provided by govt. to people
o Gross Domestic Capital Formation – total on investment by production units within economic territory – Gross Domestic Fixed Capital + Net addition to stock
o Net Export – Measure of investment abroad
National Income Measurement:
o Primary sector: all production units engaged in exploitation of natural resources
Agriculture, Fishing, Mining and Quarrying , Forestry and Logging
o Secondary sector: all production units engaged in transforming one good to another
Registered manufacture, unregistered, Construction, Electricity Gas Water supply
o Tertiary sector: all units engaged in producing services
Banking&Insurance, Trade hotel restaurant, transport storage commn, Real estate dwelling, Public administration & defence, other services
o Three sectors are divided into 14 sub-sectors in Indian economy
o National income can be measured in three ways
Value added method, NNPfc = Sum of GVAmp of all sectors (GDPmp – depreciation – indirect taxes + subsidies + Net factor income from abroad)
Income Distribution method, NNPfc = Compensation of employees + Rent + Interest + Profit + Net factor income from abroad
Final Expenditure Method = Private Final Consumption Expenditure + Government Final Consumption Expenditure + Gross Domestic Capital Formation + Net Exports
Uses of National Income Estimates:
o Money income – income accrued by the people in an year
o Real Income – amount of goods and services that can be purchased from money income
o Real Income - National income at constant prices
o National income at constant prices = National income at current prices / price index
o Rate of growth of national income at constant prices is a measure of rate of economic growth of a country
Micro economics:
o Study of allocation of resources by a producer on production of different goods and services is subject matter of Micro economics
o Study of actions and reactions of a consumer is a micro economic study
o Study of relationship between price and commodity and its demand or supply is a micro economic study
o Formulating economic theory by deductive method – selecting problem, specifying assumptions, deducing hypothesis, testing of hypothesis
o Formulating economic theory by inductive method – selecting problem, collection classification analysis of data, establish relationship b/n variables through logic
Demand:
o Quantity of commodity willing to buy at a given price at a given unit of time – demand
o Always expressed with reference to unit of time and price
o Factors affecting: Price, Income of buyer, Tastes n Preferences, Prices of related goods
o Law of demand: when other things are constant, if price of commodity falls its quantity demand rises and if price rises, its quantity demand falls(inversely related)
Exceptions:
Prestige goods – goods bought because their possession increase social status of the buyers
Giffen goods – Day to day needed goods, consumption of which cannot be decrease because of price hike, instead buyer decreases other product buying to giffen good(like bread, rice)
Expectations – buyer expect more rise of price in future
o Expansion of demand – demand of good rises due to fall in price(demand curve – downward)
o Contraction of demand – demand of good falls due to rise in price (demand curve – upward)
o Increase in demand – demand of good rises due to changes in other factors, price of good is same, it is increase in demand (demand curve – upward)
o Decrease in demand – demand of good falls due to change in other factors, price of good is same, it is decrease in demand (demand curve – downward)
Supply:
o Quantity of good that seller is willing to sell at a given price in a given time
o Factors affecting: Price, other commodities, factors of production, objective of producer, production technology
o Law of supply: when other things remain same, there is direct relationship between price of commodity and its quantity supplied in the market
Price determination:
o Equilibrium price of a commodity is the price at which demand and supply are equal
o Point of intersection of demand curve and supply curve shows equilibrium quantity and equilibrium price
o If quantity demanded is greater than the quantity supplied then:
Price starts rising
Demand starts falling
Supply starts rising
o If quantity supplied is greater than quantity demanded:
Price starts falling
Expansion of demand
Contraction of supply
o If demand increases(decreases) supply schedule remains constant, equilibrium price will rise(fall)
o If supply increases(decreases) , demand schedule remaining same, equilibrium price will fall(rise)
o If supply increases(decreases), demand decreases(increases) then equilibrium price will fall(rise)
Cost:
o Paid out costs – actual payments, on purchasing and hiring different goods and services used in production. Also known as explicit costs.
o Imputed costs – cost of self-owned and self provided inputs
o Normal profit – minimum remuneration earned over the monetary and imputed costs
o Fixed costs – expenditure which remains fixed irrespective of quantity of output
o Variable costs – cost which change with every change in output
o Marginal cost – the additional cost incurred on production of last unit of output
Revenue:
o Total Revenue = Quantity produced and sold(Q) x Price per unit product(P)
o Average Revenue = Total Revenue/Total Quantity (TR/Q)
o Marginal revenue – Additional revenue from the output level increased by one unit
o Revenue – receipt from sales of the product
o Profit – excess of Revenue over cost
o If price of product is same at all levels of output then AR is equal to MR or price at all levels of output
o If more of a product can be sold only by lowering its price then MR is less than AR or Price as the price of the product falls
Profit Maximization:
o Normal (Zero) Profit – If TR=TC then level of profit is zero
o Above Normal (more than zero) profit – If TR>TC then level of profit greater than 0
o Loss Position – below normal position (ie, TR<TC) then it is a loss position
o Profit is maximum when excess of Total Revenue over Total Cost is maximum
o If MR>MC – profit;
o When MC=MR and this equality is at the level of output from which no profitable movement is possible, producer gets maximum profit
Government Budgeting:
o Budget – statement of expected expenditure of government and sources of financing these expenditures during the financial year
o Fiscal policy or budgetary policy – Implementation of government policies through budget formulation
o Budget – two parts: Receipts, expenditure
o Receipts:
Revenue receipts – current income receipts from all sources
Taxes, profits from public enterprises, grants etc
No future obligation to return the amount
Capital receipts – borrowings of the government
Govt. is under the obligation to return the amount along with interest
o Revenue Receipts:
Tax revenue – legally compulsory payment imposed on people by Govt.
Direct tax –
o Corporation tax – income tax on profits of companies
o Income tax – imposed on who earn income
o Interest tax – tax on interest income
o Expenditure tax – tax on expenditure incurred
o Wealth tax – tax on wealth of individuals
o Gift tax – tax on gifts given
Indirect tax –
o Sales tax – imposed on sales of goods and services
o Customs – taxes on imports and exports
o Union Excise duty – tax on manufacturing goods
o Service tax – tax on producing services
Non – tax revenue:
Interest receipts – interest on loans given to people, enterprises, local govt.
Dividends and Profits – Dividends and profits received from Public Sector Enterprises
External grants – Financial help received from foreign govts in form of donations, gifts etc
o Capital Receipts:
Borrowings – Domestic borrowings, External assistance
Recovery of loans
Resale of shares in the Public Sector Undertakings
o Expenditures:
Capital Vs Revenue:
Capital Expenditure – expenditure of creation of assets
Revenue Expenditure – expenditure on items which do not lead to asset
Plan Vs Non Plan:
Plan expenditure – Provision of expenditure in the budget
Non plan – expenditure on routine functions of govt throughout year
o Budgetary Deficit – excess of all budgetary expenditures over budgeted receipts
BD = Total Budget expenditure – Total budget receipts
o Fiscal Deficit – Excess of all expenditures over total receipts reduced by borrowings
FD = Total Budget expenditure – Total budget receipts net of borrowings
o Sources of financing deficit:
Borrowing from public and foreign governments
Withdrawing of cash balance with RBI
Borrowing from RBI
o Main objectives of Budget Policy:
Providing effective administration
Providing infrastructure facilities
Providing employment opportunities
Ensuring stability in prices
Reducing inequalities of incomes
Promoting economic growth
Correcting balance of payments deficit
Money Supply & Regulation:
o Demand deposits – money from these deposits can be withdrawn on demand
o Time deposits – deposits without instant withdrawal facility; can be withdrawn after mutually agreed time period expires
o Legal tender money – any money backed by legal assurance
Currency notes and coins are legal tender money
Bank deposits are not legal tender money
o RBI – central bank; apex bank; deals only with govt and maintains govt accounts
Currency notes from 2 to 1000 are issued by RBI
1 rupee note (Signed by Ministry of Fin,GoI), coins are issued by ‘Govt. of India’
Regulates functioning of all banking institutions
Commercial bank – banks other than RBI
o Statutory Liquid Ratio: minimum percentage of deposits to be held with itself(bank)
o Cash Reserve Ratio: minimum percentage of deposits to be held with RBI
o Legal Reserve – The minimum percentage of deposits which commercial banks are required to keep in the form of reserves
LR = SLR + CRR
o National Stock on money in an economic system:
Notes and coins with public (other than banks) .. (1)
Notes and coins with commercial banks .. (2)
Deposits of commercial banks with the central bank .. (3)
Demand deposits with commercial banks .. (4)
o Total stock of cash in country (Paper Money)= (1)+(2)+(3)
o Total cash with commercial banks = (2) + (3)
o (4) is money in form of DD used for payment by cheques – Bank money
o Transaction money (Narrow Money or M1) = (1) + (4)
o Bank Rate – The interest rate charged on the commercial banks by central bank
Planning in India
o Economic development – sustained rise in national product plus other positive changes
o 5 year plans prepared to fulfil the overall objectives of economic planning of india
o Objectives of economic planning in India are:
Accelerated economic growth
Reduction in economic inequalities
Self reliance
Balanced regional development
Modernization
Reduction of unemployment
o Achievements of Economic Planning:
Economic growth
Reduction of income inequalities
Increase in agricultural, industrial production
Modernization of technology, economy
Alround development of economy
o Major failures of Economic Planning:
Objective of rapid economic growth not fulfilled
Reduction of inequalities
Self reliance
Unemployment
Balance regional growth
Economic Reforms:
o In 1991, India faced a severe Foreign Exchange shortage
There was a growing gap in officially fixed exchange rate of rupee with other countries and the market determined rate
Petrol rates rose because of Iraq – Kuwait war. Income from these countries decreased
India political situation was not stable, because of minority government
o These resulted in a massive change in Industrial policy:
Industrial policy changes:
De licensing of industries
Freedom to import technology
Freedom to foreign investment
Restriction on large industry removed
Industries reserved for government opened for private sector
Trade and Foreign Exchange Policy changes:
Reduction in import duties
Import licensing liberalized
Controls on Foreign Exchange removed
Fiscal Policy changes:
Reduction in Excise duty
Reduction in rate of direct taxes
Reduction in government expenditures
Sale of government capital
o Nature of Indian Economic planning became ‘indicative planning’ from 8th 5year plan
o Govt now depends on – inequalities, removal of poverty, reduction of unemployment, balanced regional growth
Agriculture:
o Agriculture production can be increase by
Extensive cultivation – increasing total area under cultivation
Intensive cultivation – growing more on same area
o Productivity of cultivation land =Total physical output crop/total cultivated area of crop
o Causes for low productivity:
Lack of incentive for making improvements on land
Subdivision and fragmentation of land holdings
Lack of proper irrigation facilities
Untimely rains, inadequate rains
Dependence on traditional methods of cultivation
Lack of use of other inputs
Seeds, fertilizers, pesticides
Lack of rural credit
Lack of other facilities such as storage or marketing
More number of marginalized farmers than medium and big farmers which decrease productivity ultimately
o Measures to increase agriculture productivity:
Institutional Measures (land reforms)
Abolition of intermediaries
Providing security to tenant farmers
Ceiling on land holdings
Consolidation of land holdings
Technological measures
Irrigation facilities; surface water resources; ground water resources
Availability of better quality of inputs – seeds, fertilizers, pesticides
Provision of rural credit
o Co-operative Credit Societies, Regional Rural Banks, NABARD
Industries:
o Industries play important role in Indian Economy:
Produce goods for consumption, production units
Help in production of services
Make country self reliant
Promote exports
Important source of livelihood
Help in exploration and exploitation of natural resources
o Factors affecting industrial growth:
Availability of raw materials
Availability of technology
Availability of infrastructure facilities
Availability of manpower
Employer and employee relations
Demand for goods
o New Economic Policy, July 1991:
Private sector is made to allow entry of industries based on iron and steel, electricity, air transportation, ship building, heavy machinery
Industries covered under licensing system:
o Index of Industrial Production(IIP) – Performance of industrial sector is measured by IIP
o IPR 1991 has de-reserved 9 industries out of 17 public sector industries
o Small scale industries are labour intensive
Interrelationship between Industry and Agriculture:
o The Industry is dependent on agriculture:
Industrial sector receives raw materials from agriculture sector
Population engaged in agriculture is source of demand for industrial growth
Agriculture is a source of labour for Industrial sector
Agriculture sector provides food to labour engaged in Industrial sector
Source of funds for Industrial sector
o Agriculture is dependent on industry because:
Industry sector provides seeds to agriculture
It provides fertilizers
Industries provide equipment and instruments needed for agriculture
Provides pesticides
Provides materials for building infra for agriculture marketing and storage
Manufactured goods to people engaged in agricultural sector
Source of funds to agriculture sector
Financial Institutions:
o Financing – Arrangement of money to be used for any purpose
o Price paid for obtaining finance is called Rate of Interest(RoI)
o Types of financing:
Short term finance – period range less than 15 months
Medium term finance – period range between 15 months to 5 years
Long term finance – period of more than 5 years
o Money market – Source which meet short term requirements of money
o Capital market – Source which meet medium and long term requirements of money
o Sources of finance:
Non Institutional sources – source taken from individuals (ex,chits, financer)
Institutional source – organizations which are setup for providing finance
o NABARD:
Apex bank in provision of institutional finance in rural areas
Provides short, medium & long term credit to State Coooperative banks, Regional Rural Banks, other Financial institutions approved by RBI
Not only provides loans for agricultural activities, but also for activities related to agriculture(allied) and promotes agriculture and rural development.
o Source of industrial finance within country are:
Public issues (shares and debentures)
Share – unit of company where individual treated as owner
Debenture – holder have no concern with ownership, they get interest at some pre-determined rate of interest
Public deposits
Commercial banks
Give short term loans
People can deposit money
They are confined to giving loans
Industrial banks
Give medium, long term loans
People cannot deposit money in industrial banks
Apart from giving loans they offer technical advice and market inf.
o Financial Institutions (Industrial Banks):
Industrial Finance Corporation of India(IFCI):
First development bank to setup in 1948 by GoI
Industrial Development Bank of India(IDBI):
Apex institution providing term finance from 1964
Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India(ICICI):
Setup in January,1955 for purpose of developing small and medium industries in private sector
Small Industries Development Bank of India(SIDBI):
Setup in 1990 as a wholly owned subsidiary of IDBI
Principal financial institution for financing and development of small scale industries
Export Import Bank of India (EXIM bank):
Setup in 1982, provide finance for development of exports
Unit Trust of India (UTI):
Setup in 1964 by RBI. 50% subsidiary of IDBI, rest 50% by LIC, SBI, other scheduled banks, IFCI, ICICI
Main source of funds are sale of units to public under various schemes
BoT and BoP:
o Trade account of a Balance of Payments include exports and imports of goods in a year
o The difference between value of exports of goods and value of imports of goods is called Balance of Trade
o Trade acc includes – exports and imports of goods only
o Exports and Imports of Goods is called as Transaction of visible items or Merchandise
o Balance of Trade – Balance of visibles
o Difference b/n total receipts and total payments of foreign currencies on account of invisibles is called Balance on account of invisibles
o Current Account Deficit – If India’s receipts of foreign currencies on account of trade and invisibles has been less than its payments
Foreign Exchange Rate:
o Ways to determine Foreign Exchange Rate:
Fixed by central bank of India
Determined by foreign exchange market
o Fixed foreign exchange rate – till 1991, Foreign rate was used to be fixed by RBI
Official exchange rate
Devaluation – Fall in the value of domestic currency in terms of foreign currency
o Market Determined Foreign Exchange Rate:
Flexible exchange rate
Forex market – foreign exchange market is one in which foreign currencies are bought and sold
Foreign exchange rate (llly good) has:
Inverse relation to demand
Direct relation to supply
Depreciation – fall of rupee value for a foreign currency
o To regulate big fluctuations in FOREX rates RBI buys and sells foreign exchange in open market
Inflow of Capital (Foreign):
o Foreign capital – investments made by Non Resident Institutions and foreign ind.
o Forms of External Capital – FDI, International Loans & Grants (Foreign Aid)
o Debt-GDP ratio or Debt trap – If country’s debt crosses 30% country is in an international debt trap
New Trade Policy – Implications:
o Pre reform trade period – Curbs on Import, incentives for export promotion
o Imports controlled by – import licenses, import quotas, custom duties, import prohibitions
o Reasons NTP 1991:
BoP showed Deficit – because of low quality high cost products – no foreign demand
Sharp decline in Forex reserves to $1bn (not enough for two weeks country req)
o Reforms in Trade Policy:
Reduction in tariff rates and rationalization in tariff structure
Liberalization of import licenses; abolition of licensing of many import items
Role of Public sector trading agencies
Exchange rate reforms (From fixed ex rate to Market driven)
o March 1992, Liberalized Exchange Rate Mgmt. System (LERMS)
The budget process in India, like in most other countries, comprises of----
Four Phases
1) Budget Formulation- Preparation of estimates of expenditure and receipts for the ensuing financial year;
2) Budget Enactment- Approval of the proposed Budget by the Legislature through the enactment of Finance Bill and Appropriation Bill;
3) Budget Execution- Enforcement of the provisions in the Finance Act and Appropriation Act by the government—collection of receipts and making disbursements for various services as approved by the Legislature;
4) Legislative Review of Budget Implementation- Audits of government’s financial operations on behalf of the Legislature;
Drafting commences in August- September
By convention, the Union Budget for next financial year is presented in Lok Sabha by the Finance Minister on the last working day of February. However, the process of budget formulation starts in the last week of August or the first fortnight of September. To get the process started, the Budget Division in the Department of Economic Affairs under the Ministry of Finance issues the annual budget circular to all the Union government ministries/departments around August- September. The Circular contains detailed instructions for these ministries/ departments on the form and content of the statement of budget estimates to be prepared by them.
Three kinds of figures in a Budget
The ministries are required to provide three different kinds of figures relating to their expenditures and receipts during this process of budget preparation.
These are:
Budget Estimates (BE)
Revised Estimates (RE)
Actual
Let’s have a look on the whole mechanism in the context of Union budget 2013-14, which was presented, as usual, on 28th of February 2013 by the Finance Minister, P Chidambaram within the arena of Lok Sabha. However, the process of its formulation would have got started in August 2012 through issuance of Budget Circular of the Budget Division and this process would have continued till February 2013.
The approval of Parliament is sought for the estimated receipts/expenditures for 2013-14, which would be called Budget Estimates (BE).
At the same time, the Union government, in its budget for 2013-14, would also present Revised Estimates (RE) for the ongoing financial year 2012-13.
The government would not seek approval from Parliament of revised estimates of 2012-13; but, these revised estimates allow the government to reallocate its funds among various ministries based on the implementation of the budget for 2012-13 during the first six months of financial year 2012-13.
Finally, ministries also report their Actual receipts and Expenditures for the previous financial year 2011-12.
Hence, the Union budget for 2013-14 consists of------
Budget Estimates for 2013-14
Revised estimates for 2012-13
Actual Expenditures and Receipts of 2011-12.
Role of Planning Commission
The ministries would provide budget estimates for plan expenditure for budget estimates for the next financial year, only after they have discussed their respective plan schemes with the
Planning Commission.
The Planning Commission depends on the Finance Ministry to first arrive at the size of the Gross Budgetary Support, which would be provided in the budget for the next annual plan of the Union government.
In principle, the size of each annual plan should be derived from the approved size of the overall Five-Year Plan (12th Five-Year Plan, 2012-13 to 2016-17, in the present instance).
However, the size of the gross budgetary support for an annual plan also depends on the expected availability of funds with the finance ministry for the next financial year.
Reducing Deficit is on Priority
In the past few years, the Finance Ministry has been vociferously arguing for reduction of Fiscal Deficit and Revenue Deficit of the Union government, citing the targets set by the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act and its rules.
Hence, presently, the aspirations of the Planning Commission and Union government ministries with regard to spending face the legal hurdle of this Act, which has made it mandatory for the Union government to show----
Revenue deficit as Nil (total Revenue Expenditure not exceeding total Revenue Receipts by even a single rupee);
Fiscal deficit as less than 3 per cent of GDP by 2016-17.This means new borrowing of the government in a financial year cannot exceed 3 per cent of the country’s GDP for that year.
Final stages of Budget Formation
During the final stage of budget formation, the revenue-earning ministries of the Union government provide the estimates for their revenue receipts in the current fiscal year (Revised Estimates) and next fiscal year (Budget Estimates) to the Finance Ministry.
Subsequently, usually in the month of January, more attention is paid to finalisation of the estimated receipts. With an idea about the total requirement of resources to meet expenditures in the next fiscal year, the finance ministry focuses on the revenue receipts for the next fiscal.
At this stage of budget preparation, the Finance Minister examines the Budget Proposals prepared by the ministry and makes subsequent changes in them, if required. The Finance Minister consults the Prime Minister, and also briefs the Union Cabinet, about the Budget at this stage. If there is any conflict between any ministry and the Finance Ministry with regard to the budget, the matter is supposed to be resolved by the Cabinet.
Consultations with various stakeholders is crucial
In the run-up to Union Budget each year, the Finance Minister holds Pre-Budget Consultations with relevant stakeholders. The Finance Minister also holds consultations with Finance Ministers of States/Union Territories as well as Trade and Industry representatives. This has great significance for the process of Budget formulation as it helps the Finance Minister takes decisions on suitable fiscal policy changes to be announced during the budget.
For this year’s budget, representatives from the agriculture sector, various trade unions, economists, banking and financial institutions and also social sector groups participated in these consultations in January 2013.
Among others, a delegation of People’s Budget Initiative also met Finance Ministry officials and shared the People’s Charter of Demands in the month of January 2013. But this year too, like in previous years, the process started late. Desired changes in expenditure programmes and policies can be influenced only if the consultations are begun earlier, preferably in October.
Consolidation of Budget data
At the final step, the Budget Division in the Finance Ministry consolidates all figures to be presented in the budget and prepares the final budget documents. The National Informatics Centre (NIC) helps the budget division in the process of consolidation of the budget data, which has been fully computerised. At the end of this process, the Finance Minister takes the permission of the President of India for presenting the Union Budget to Parliament.
It would be useful to point out that while the second and the third stage in the budget cycle of our country are reasonably transparent, the First stage of actual budget preparation cannot be said to be open. The process is rather carried out behind closed channels.
Understanding the Budget: Concept And Terminologies
Union Budget is a comprehensive statement of government finances relating to a particular financial year.
Every Budget broadly consists of two parts-
(a) Expenditure Budget;
(b) Receipts Budget;
Expenditure Budget
The amounts of intended expenditure by the Government in the next financial year are
expressed in the Expenditure Budget.
The entire Expenditure Budget can be divided into two distinct categories, viz.
(a) Capital Expenditure:
Those expenditures by the government that lead to an Increase in the assets or a Reduction in the liabilitiesof the government. It is however not necessary that the assets created should be productive or they should even be revenue generating. Only the charges towards the construction of the asset are counted as Capital expenditure.
The subsequent charges for its maintenance are considered as Revenue expenditure.
Most capital expenditure is Non Recurring.
Examples of Capital Expenditure causing ‘Increase in Assets’:
Construction of a new Flyover;
Union Govt. giving a Loan to a State Govt.
Examples of Capital Expenditure causing ‘Reduction of a Liability’:
Union Govt. repays the principal amount of a loan it had taken in the past.
(b) Revenue Expenditure:
Those expenditures by the government that do not affect its asset-liability position.
Most kinds of revenue expenditures are seen as Recurring Expenditures.
The entire amount of Grants given by the Union Government to States is reported in the Union Budget asRevenue Expenditure, even though a part of those Grants get utilized by States for building Schools, Hospitals etc. This is so because the ownership of the schools or hospitals built from the Central grants would not be with the Union Government.
Examples of Revenue Expenditure are:
Expenditure on Food Subsidy;
Salary of staff;
Procurement of medicines;
Procurement of text books;
Payment of interest, etc.
Total government expenditure can also be divided into another set of categories, viz.
(A) Plan Expenditure:
Plan expenditure refers to government expenditure, which is meant for financing
the programmes/schemes formulated under the ongoing/ previous five year Plan.
(B) Non-Plan Expenditure:
Those Expenditures of the government, which are not included under the Plan Expenditure are called as Non Plan Expenditure.
It includes some of the important types of government expenditure, like:
interest payments; pension, defence expenditure, disbursement on law and order, disbursement on legislature, subsidies, and salary of regular cadre teachers, doctors and other government officials.
The Receipts Budget
It presents the information on how much the Government intends to collect as its financial resources for meeting its expenditure requirements and from which sources, in the next fiscal year.
This can also be divided into two categories:
(a) Capital Receipts:
Those receipts that lead to a reduction in the assets or an increase in the liabilities of the government.
Capital Receipts that lead to a ‘reduction in assets’:
Recoveries of Loans given by the government and Earnings from Disinvestment;
Capital Receipts that lead to an ‘increase in liabilities’:
Debt;
(b) Revenue Receipts:
Those receipts that don’t affect the asset-liability position of the government.
Revenue Receipts comprise proceeds of Taxes (like, Income Tax, Corporation Tax, Customs, Excise, Service Tax, etc.)
Non-tax revenue of the government (like, Interest receipts, Fees/ User Charges, and Dividend & Profits from PSUs).
Government Revenue through Taxation:
It can be divided into Direct Taxes and Indirect Taxes.
Direct Taxes:
Those taxes for which the tax-burden cannot be shifted are called Direct Taxes.
Examples of Direct Taxes are:
(A) Corporation Tax:
This is a tax levied on the income of registered companies in the country, whether national or foreign, under the Income Tax Act, 1961.
(B) Personal Income tax:
This is a tax on the income of individuals, firms etc. Other than Companies, under the Income Tax Act, 1961. This head also includes other Taxes, mainly the ‘Securities Transaction Tax’, which is levied on transaction in listed securities undertaken on stock exchanges and in units of mutual funds.
(C) Wealth Tax- This is a tax levied on the benefits derived from the ownership of property,
under the Wealth Tax Act, 1957. Wealth tax has virtually been abolished in India.
Indirect Taxes:
Those taxes for which the tax-burden can be shifted are called Indirect Taxes. Any person, who directly pays this kind of a tax to the Government, need not bear the burden of that particular tax; he/she can ultimately shift the tax burden to other persons later through business transactions of goods/ services.
Indirect tax on any good or service affects the rich and the poor alike!
Unlike indirect taxes, direct taxes are linked to the tax-payee’s ability to pay and hence are considered to be progressive.
Examples of Indirect Taxes are:
Customs Duties:
In this, the taxable component is import into or export from the country.
Excise Duties:
It is a type of tax levied on those goods, which are manufactured in the country and are meant for domestic consumption. It is a tax on manufacturing, which is paid by the manufacturer, but he passes this burden on to the consumers.
Sales Tax: It is levied on the sale of a commodity, which is produced/import and being sold for the first time. If the product is sold subsequently without being processed further, it is exempt from sales tax.
Before the introduction of VAT (Value Added Tax), sales tax used to be levied under the authority of both Central Legislation (Central Sales Tax) and State Government’s Legislation (Sales Tax).
Service Tax:
It is a tax levied on services provided by a person and the responsibility of payment of the tax is cast on the service provider. However this tax can be recovered by the service provider from the service receiver in course of his/her business transactions.
Value Added Tax (VAT):
VAT is a multi-stage tax, intended to tax every stage of sale of a good where some value has been added to the raw materials; but taxpayers do receive credit for tax already paid on the raw materials in earlier stages.
Debt and Deficit:
Debt is a kind of receipt that necessarily leads to an increase of the government’s liabilities.
The government incurs a Debt only for meeting the gap created by excess of its expenditure over its receipts for that year, which is called Deficit.
Fiscal Deficit:
It is the gap between the government’s total Expenditure (including loans net of repayments) and its Total Receipts (excluding new debt to be taken). Thus Fiscal Deficit for a year indicates the borrowing to be made by the government that year.
Revenue Deficit:
The gap between Total Revenue Expenditure of the Government and its Total Revenue Receipts is called the Revenue Deficit.
Distribution of financial resources between the Centre and the States:
A Finance Commission is setup every five years to recommend measures for sharing of resources between the Centre and the States, mainly pertaining to the Tax Revenue collected by the Central Government.
Presently the recommendations made by the 13th Finance Commission are in effect (from 2010-11 to 2014-15), whereby 32 percent of the shareable/divisible pool of Central tax revenue is transferred to States every year and the Centre retains the remaining amount for the Union Budget.
Tax-GDP Ratio:
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is an indicator of the size of a country’s economy. In order to assess the extent of government’s policy interventions in the economy, some of the important fiscal parameters, like, total expenditure by the government, tax revenue, deficit etc. are expressed as a proportion of the GDP.
Accordingly, a country’s Tax to GDP ratio helps us understand how much tax revenue is being collected by the government as compared to the overall size of the economy.
A higher tax to GDP ratio in a country is a positive sign meaning that the government is collecting a decent amount of tax revenue as compared to the size of its economy.
THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF SEC. 377
Introduction:
The Indian Penal Code has been enacted in the year 1860. After its enactment 153 ago, lot of amendments, modifications were also made by the Supreme Court that suits the prevailing trends in the society. Sec. 377 of this Code deals about prohibiting unnatural offences.
That means, Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.
In the recent judgment of Supreme Court, in the case of Suresh Kumar Koushal and another Vs. NAZ Foundation and others uphold the constitutionality of Sec. 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which has been widely perceived to have espoused a principle of judicial deference to Parliament. This view has forced a shift of focus amongst gay activists and right-thinking citizens to legislature, in the hope of corrective reform.
Matter of controversy:
Three main constitutional questions confronted the Court in this case:
1. Whether it violated Art. 14 of the Constitution?
2. Whether it violates the right of LGBT people to live with dignity?
3. Whether criminalizing private consensual acts between adults violates their right to privacy, also protected under Art. 21 of the Constitution?
Art. 13 of the Indian Constitution verbalized that All laws in force in the territory of India immediately before the commencement of this Constitution, in so far as they are inconsistent with the provisions of this Part, shall, to the extent of such inconsistency, be void. Art. 13 make the chapter of Fundamental Rights sacrosanct and thus secure the supremacy of the Constitution in this regard. If the Parliament enacts a law transgressing any of the limitations, the Supreme Court and the High Court are competent to declare the law unconstitutional or void.
Now in this regard, IPC Sec. 377 becomes the matter of controversy. Till 2000, there was no stumbling block to implement this section. The offences were also rare of the rarest cases. Not long ago, due to the influence of western culture, LGBT culture gradually steps into India.
To prevent the spread of HIV AIDS and other Sexually Transmitted Diseases as the intention, a charitable organization NAZ Foundation has been established. NAZ Foundation put forth an assertion that IPC has prohibited homosexuality; it has led to the increasing number of sexually transmitted diseases in the society. Therefore in 2001, it filed a petition before Delhi High Court to repeal Sec. 377.
After prolonged debates and arguments connected with Sec. 377, in 2009 July 2nd, the judgment was pronounced. It says
* Homosexuality is not at all erroneous;
* An adult without any discrimination as man/woman has the personal right to choose any person as their spouse;
* IPC Sec. 377 is ultra vires to the Constitution of India;
* The section violates Art. 14 and 21 of the Constitution;
* Experts like doctors, psychiatrists have concluded homosexuality is not at all a disease and we should not discriminate them as they are LGBT;
* It is also a basic human right.
Jolt across the nation:
After its enunciation, it has twisted a buzz all over the nation. Many people argued in favor and against this judgment. Judges, Doctors, Advocates, Actors/Actresses, Politicians, Laymen, etc started sharing their opinion as additional fuel in this burning issue.
Nation-wide arguments favoring it:
* England laid the foundation for IPC in India. Even they have accepted homosexuality rights for their citizens. Then why not in India?
* Let us just acknowledge that homosexuals are born with the natural tendency to prefer people of their own sex. If the rule is that opposite poles attract, every rule has an exception.
* Personal liberty is being made the scapegoat here, with a farcical argument of societal morality and decency.
But its also an acceptable point that homosexuality is against Indian Culture:
* Western winds are fast sweeping across India, a land of saints and sages.
* Once we accept, it will create drastic changes in the future of the heritage of our country. We have already given the go-by to the long-cherished ethos of this great nation, by accommodating something that is unnatural and perverse, in the name of personal preference.
* Homosexuality is but an acquired behavior that is caused by peer pressure, low self-esteem, and it is against family values too.
Now its all lies in the hands of our Parliament whether to accept or not to accept to decide the constitutionality of Sec. 377. Its for the legislators to delete or modify the Section as they deem fit.
But a point to be considered here is if any verdict pronounced against them, then homosexuals will henceforth find it very embarrassing to seek medical assistance openly. The law is only pushing them to engage in unsafe sex. The Supreme Court ruling may marginalize the LGBT community further.
The timeline of this NAZ Foundation case:
2001: Case has been filed before the Delhi High Court
2004, Sept.2: High Court dismissed the case. Review petition was filed again.
Nov.-Dec.: Review petition also dismissed. An appeal was made to Supreme Court.
2006, Apr. 3: Supreme Court again asked High Court to reinvestigate the issue as it is a matter of importance.
2008, Oct. 15: High Court ordered to produce the reports of Medical Experts regarding the scientific reasons behind the homosexuality.
Nov.: Central Government made a statement that Courts should not interfere with LGBT issues as the Parliament holds the authority to take decision.
2009, July 2: High Court ordered Sec. 377 is unconstitutional and it violates Art. 14 and Art. 21.
July 9: Again an appeal was made to Supreme Court against High Courts judgment by Social activists and other religious institutions.
2013 Dec. 11: Supreme Court dismissed the judgment of High Court by mentioning that Sec. 377 is an offence to be prohibited.
Dec. 20: Union Government made an appeal against the verdict of the Supreme Court.
Conclusion:
A combination of inadequate justification, sophistry and a woeful non-application of mind makes the unfortunate conclusion inescapable that the judgment ultimately rests on a deep-seated prejudice shared by the two judges that has no place in a legal judgment. For a proper legal adjudication of the issues raised, it is imperative that a review petition is filed and taken up by the Court speedily.
Introduction:
The Indian Penal Code has been enacted in the year 1860. After its enactment 153 ago, lot of amendments, modifications were also made by the Supreme Court that suits the prevailing trends in the society. Sec. 377 of this Code deals about prohibiting unnatural offences.
That means, Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.
In the recent judgment of Supreme Court, in the case of Suresh Kumar Koushal and another Vs. NAZ Foundation and others uphold the constitutionality of Sec. 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which has been widely perceived to have espoused a principle of judicial deference to Parliament. This view has forced a shift of focus amongst gay activists and right-thinking citizens to legislature, in the hope of corrective reform.
Matter of controversy:
Three main constitutional questions confronted the Court in this case:
1. Whether it violated Art. 14 of the Constitution?
2. Whether it violates the right of LGBT people to live with dignity?
3. Whether criminalizing private consensual acts between adults violates their right to privacy, also protected under Art. 21 of the Constitution?
Art. 13 of the Indian Constitution verbalized that All laws in force in the territory of India immediately before the commencement of this Constitution, in so far as they are inconsistent with the provisions of this Part, shall, to the extent of such inconsistency, be void. Art. 13 make the chapter of Fundamental Rights sacrosanct and thus secure the supremacy of the Constitution in this regard. If the Parliament enacts a law transgressing any of the limitations, the Supreme Court and the High Court are competent to declare the law unconstitutional or void.
Now in this regard, IPC Sec. 377 becomes the matter of controversy. Till 2000, there was no stumbling block to implement this section. The offences were also rare of the rarest cases. Not long ago, due to the influence of western culture, LGBT culture gradually steps into India.
To prevent the spread of HIV AIDS and other Sexually Transmitted Diseases as the intention, a charitable organization NAZ Foundation has been established. NAZ Foundation put forth an assertion that IPC has prohibited homosexuality; it has led to the increasing number of sexually transmitted diseases in the society. Therefore in 2001, it filed a petition before Delhi High Court to repeal Sec. 377.
After prolonged debates and arguments connected with Sec. 377, in 2009 July 2nd, the judgment was pronounced. It says
* Homosexuality is not at all erroneous;
* An adult without any discrimination as man/woman has the personal right to choose any person as their spouse;
* IPC Sec. 377 is ultra vires to the Constitution of India;
* The section violates Art. 14 and 21 of the Constitution;
* Experts like doctors, psychiatrists have concluded homosexuality is not at all a disease and we should not discriminate them as they are LGBT;
* It is also a basic human right.
Jolt across the nation:
After its enunciation, it has twisted a buzz all over the nation. Many people argued in favor and against this judgment. Judges, Doctors, Advocates, Actors/Actresses, Politicians, Laymen, etc started sharing their opinion as additional fuel in this burning issue.
Nation-wide arguments favoring it:
* England laid the foundation for IPC in India. Even they have accepted homosexuality rights for their citizens. Then why not in India?
* Let us just acknowledge that homosexuals are born with the natural tendency to prefer people of their own sex. If the rule is that opposite poles attract, every rule has an exception.
* Personal liberty is being made the scapegoat here, with a farcical argument of societal morality and decency.
But its also an acceptable point that homosexuality is against Indian Culture:
* Western winds are fast sweeping across India, a land of saints and sages.
* Once we accept, it will create drastic changes in the future of the heritage of our country. We have already given the go-by to the long-cherished ethos of this great nation, by accommodating something that is unnatural and perverse, in the name of personal preference.
* Homosexuality is but an acquired behavior that is caused by peer pressure, low self-esteem, and it is against family values too.
Now its all lies in the hands of our Parliament whether to accept or not to accept to decide the constitutionality of Sec. 377. Its for the legislators to delete or modify the Section as they deem fit.
But a point to be considered here is if any verdict pronounced against them, then homosexuals will henceforth find it very embarrassing to seek medical assistance openly. The law is only pushing them to engage in unsafe sex. The Supreme Court ruling may marginalize the LGBT community further.
The timeline of this NAZ Foundation case:
2001: Case has been filed before the Delhi High Court
2004, Sept.2: High Court dismissed the case. Review petition was filed again.
Nov.-Dec.: Review petition also dismissed. An appeal was made to Supreme Court.
2006, Apr. 3: Supreme Court again asked High Court to reinvestigate the issue as it is a matter of importance.
2008, Oct. 15: High Court ordered to produce the reports of Medical Experts regarding the scientific reasons behind the homosexuality.
Nov.: Central Government made a statement that Courts should not interfere with LGBT issues as the Parliament holds the authority to take decision.
2009, July 2: High Court ordered Sec. 377 is unconstitutional and it violates Art. 14 and Art. 21.
July 9: Again an appeal was made to Supreme Court against High Courts judgment by Social activists and other religious institutions.
2013 Dec. 11: Supreme Court dismissed the judgment of High Court by mentioning that Sec. 377 is an offence to be prohibited.
Dec. 20: Union Government made an appeal against the verdict of the Supreme Court.
Conclusion:
A combination of inadequate justification, sophistry and a woeful non-application of mind makes the unfortunate conclusion inescapable that the judgment ultimately rests on a deep-seated prejudice shared by the two judges that has no place in a legal judgment. For a proper legal adjudication of the issues raised, it is imperative that a review petition is filed and taken up by the Court speedily.
Shale Gas in the Sci-Tech section, yet at the risk of sounding ungrateful, I realised it lacked on certain fronts; specially the technological aspects and analysis with respect to the Indian scenario. Here is my 2 cents to it. (I have taken certain parts from mrunal sirs article because there was no substitute and they were simply awesome).
Shale Gas : The Sanjeevani for Indian fuel pangs?
What is Shale Gas?
Natural gas (mainly methane) is generally classified under two heads:
* Conventional gas, and (b) Unconventional gas.
Most of the natural gas that is produced globally comes under the category of conventional gas where, after drilling in a sedimentary basin that is rich in gas, the gas migrates through porous rocks into reservoirs and flows freely to the surface where it is collected, treated, and then piped to various users. Shale gas is an unconventional source of methane, like coal-bed gas (in coal seams), tight gas (trapped in rock formations) and gas hydrates(off shore frozen methane).
The Technology
Shale gas is located in rocks of very low permeability and does not easily flow. Therefore, the technique for recovery of shale gas is quite different from that of conventional gas. The technology implied is a complex one and is just out of development phase. The main steps involved are:
* Shale rock is sometimes found 3,000 meters below the surface. Therefore, after deep vertical drilling, there are techniques to drill horizontally for considerable distances in various directions to extract the gas-rich shale.
* A mixture of water, chemicals, and sand is then injected into the well at very high pressures (8,000 psi) to create a number of fissures in the rock to release the gas. The process of using water for breaking up the rock is known as hydro-fracturing or fracking.
* The chemicals help in water and gas flow and tiny particles of sand enter the fissures to keep them open and allow the gas to flow to the surface. This injection has to be done several times over the life of the well.
Advantages of the shale gas technology
* Using gas as a fuel in itself is a big advantage because it is cheaper to generate electricity from gas, and the process releases up to 50% less carbon dioxide than does coal.
* Shale gas can serve as a useful substituent for the fast depleting natural gas reserves.
* With the advances in exploration technology, large reserves have been discovered in USA,Europe and India till date. This paves way for the disconcentration of energy resources from the middle-east and the resulting political turmoil that engulfs the region.
* It shows promising potential for substituting future fuelling needs, especially for industries dependent on gas like power petrochemicals and fertilizers.
Disadvantages of the shale gas technology
* Gas in itself poses certain problems as a fuel including high cost of transportation and storage, liquefaction etc. Also gas prices vary around the globe regionally and it has no global price. (On a separate note, India and Japan, the two leading importers of LNG in Asia are working together to formulate a Uniform Gas pricing policy)
* Shale gas, in particular, involves more complex extraction technology for optimal exploitation of shale gas/oil which requires horizontal and multilateral wells and multistage hydraulic fracturing treatments and still awaits certain environmental clearances.
* High risk of investment as the technology is still infant and yet to show any significant returns.
* It poses threat to underground water resources and aquifiers from hydro-fracturing and fracturing fluid disposal.
* The water after hydraulic fracturing is flowed back to the surface and may have high content of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and other contaminants
What the world is doing?
The US is the technology leader in the exploration and extraction of shale gas. There are 34 states in the US, which have vast deposits of rocks rich in shale gas. Production of the gas has added about 20 per cent to domestic gas availability and over 20,000 wells have been drilled. From being an importer of LNG, the country is now self-sufficient and there are plans to export gas from the very terminals that were built for imports. It is being called The North American shale gas revolution,
Europe has not had the same success in exploiting shale gas as the US for several reasons. In the US, resources under the land belong to the land owner who is happy to allow drilling and get paid by the gas companies, whereas in Europeas also in India these resources belong to the government. Also, important tax benefits are given to companies in the US to drill and produce shale gas. In Europe, the geology of shale rock is different from that of the US and it is more likely to be found in places that are more densely populated. The NIMBY effect (Not in My Back Yard) is much more prevalent in Europe than in the US. France, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands have either banned or put a moratorium on shale gas exploration.
What India is doing?
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) has identified six basins as potentially shale gas bearing. These are Cambay, Assam-Arakan, Gondwana, Krishna-Godavari, Kaveri, and the Indo-Gangetic plain. In a study conducted by the United States Geological Survey (USGS), recoverable resources of 6.1 tcf(trillion cubic feet) have been estimated in 3 out of 26 sedimentary basins. According to the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), there are about 34 tcf of shale gas in the Damodar basin alone (compared to Indias total conventional gas reserves of 47 tcf) of which 8 tcf are recoverable.
The Government of India had also put out in 2012, a draft policy for the exploration and exploitation of shale gas, inviting suggestions from the general public, stakeholders, environmentalists, etc.
Indian Scenario: Roadblocks and how to move forward
As has been already mentioned above, India has a significant amount of recoverable and prospective estimates of shale gas reserves which overshadow the conventional gas reserves. These could totally change the game in the energy deficit crisis that India is facing today. Yet, we have a long way to go in identifying shale gas rich basins and acquiring the necessary technology and experience to extract shale gas.
Let us have an objective look at the major concerns which need to be addressed before banking upon such an alluring prospect:
* The number of wells to be drilled for shale gas far exceeds the number of wells required in the case of conventional gas and the land area required is a minimum of 80 to 160 acres. Indiahas already been facing several cases regarding various projects running down because of inadequate land acquisition policies.
* The most egregious is the issue of water requirements. Shale gas procurement may require large volume of water 3-4 million gallons per well depending upon the well type and shale characteristics. These concerns need a second look in a country such as ours which is already a water-stressed country and is fast approaching the scarcity benchmark of 1,000 m3 per capita. In the next 12-15 years, the consumption of water will increase by 50% while the supply will increase by only 5 to 10%.
* The water after hydraulic fracturing is flowed back to the surface and may have high content of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and other contaminants. The possibility of contamination of aquifier (both surface and subsurface) from hydro-fracturing and fracturing fluid disposal is also persistent.
These are some of the concerns which have been raised since the prospect of shale gas as a potential fuel dawned upon India. But any new technology comes with a baggage of criticisms which are necessary in their own sense. However, it is evident that India needs to tap this energy source since its natural gas market continues to see a deficit. In 2012-13 natural gas consumption in India is expected to stand at 104.4 bcm against its production of 40.7 bcm.
* India needs to build strong service and infrastructure capabilities, along with a favourable regulatory regime.
* A framework policy which while addressing environmental and social concerns, can also promote exploration and production activities.
* A mandatory rain-water harvesting provision in the exploration area which trivializes the extent to which the water which will be utilized in extraction.
* As far as possible, river, rain or non-potable water should be used for fracking and appropriate investment should be made in technologies minimizing the water use and reuse and recycle of water.
* Adequate land acquisition policies and proper implementation of LARR Bill, 2013
Some Interesting Facts :
Interestingly, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has made big investments (US$ 3.5 billion) in the largest unconventional gas field in the US which is one of the largest worldwide, with estimated net recoverable resources of 318 trillion cubic feet (tcf) (In comparison, the resources in RILs own D6 fields in the KG Basin were estimated to hold around 3.4 tcf in November 2012, dropping from 10.3 tcf in December 2006.(you know why!!)). Oil India Limited (OIL), Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), and GAIL India Limited have also made investments in shale gas production in the US.
The other interesting contribution to shale gas development in the US is the export of guar gum from India, which helps in improving the viscosity and flow of water in the fracking process. The gum is extracted from guar ki phalli, grown mainly by farmers in arid lands in Rajasthan and Haryana. Earlier, guar gum was used mainly as an additive in ice creams and sauces, but with the serendipitous discovery of its use in shale gas extraction, its production has risen enormously, earning almost US$ 5 billion during the period from April 2012 to January 2013.
Also, Nicaragua has expressed interest to invite propositions from Indian firms for a $40 billion project to connect the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean by a mammoth canal. Its primary objective is to facilitate the passage of ultra large tankers carrying shale gas from US into the Asian and African markets which cannot be accommodated through the Panama Canal.
Shale Gas : The Sanjeevani for Indian fuel pangs?
What is Shale Gas?
Natural gas (mainly methane) is generally classified under two heads:
* Conventional gas, and (b) Unconventional gas.
Most of the natural gas that is produced globally comes under the category of conventional gas where, after drilling in a sedimentary basin that is rich in gas, the gas migrates through porous rocks into reservoirs and flows freely to the surface where it is collected, treated, and then piped to various users. Shale gas is an unconventional source of methane, like coal-bed gas (in coal seams), tight gas (trapped in rock formations) and gas hydrates(off shore frozen methane).
The Technology
Shale gas is located in rocks of very low permeability and does not easily flow. Therefore, the technique for recovery of shale gas is quite different from that of conventional gas. The technology implied is a complex one and is just out of development phase. The main steps involved are:
* Shale rock is sometimes found 3,000 meters below the surface. Therefore, after deep vertical drilling, there are techniques to drill horizontally for considerable distances in various directions to extract the gas-rich shale.
* A mixture of water, chemicals, and sand is then injected into the well at very high pressures (8,000 psi) to create a number of fissures in the rock to release the gas. The process of using water for breaking up the rock is known as hydro-fracturing or fracking.
* The chemicals help in water and gas flow and tiny particles of sand enter the fissures to keep them open and allow the gas to flow to the surface. This injection has to be done several times over the life of the well.
Advantages of the shale gas technology
* Using gas as a fuel in itself is a big advantage because it is cheaper to generate electricity from gas, and the process releases up to 50% less carbon dioxide than does coal.
* Shale gas can serve as a useful substituent for the fast depleting natural gas reserves.
* With the advances in exploration technology, large reserves have been discovered in USA,Europe and India till date. This paves way for the disconcentration of energy resources from the middle-east and the resulting political turmoil that engulfs the region.
* It shows promising potential for substituting future fuelling needs, especially for industries dependent on gas like power petrochemicals and fertilizers.
Disadvantages of the shale gas technology
* Gas in itself poses certain problems as a fuel including high cost of transportation and storage, liquefaction etc. Also gas prices vary around the globe regionally and it has no global price. (On a separate note, India and Japan, the two leading importers of LNG in Asia are working together to formulate a Uniform Gas pricing policy)
* Shale gas, in particular, involves more complex extraction technology for optimal exploitation of shale gas/oil which requires horizontal and multilateral wells and multistage hydraulic fracturing treatments and still awaits certain environmental clearances.
* High risk of investment as the technology is still infant and yet to show any significant returns.
* It poses threat to underground water resources and aquifiers from hydro-fracturing and fracturing fluid disposal.
* The water after hydraulic fracturing is flowed back to the surface and may have high content of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and other contaminants
What the world is doing?
The US is the technology leader in the exploration and extraction of shale gas. There are 34 states in the US, which have vast deposits of rocks rich in shale gas. Production of the gas has added about 20 per cent to domestic gas availability and over 20,000 wells have been drilled. From being an importer of LNG, the country is now self-sufficient and there are plans to export gas from the very terminals that were built for imports. It is being called The North American shale gas revolution,
Europe has not had the same success in exploiting shale gas as the US for several reasons. In the US, resources under the land belong to the land owner who is happy to allow drilling and get paid by the gas companies, whereas in Europeas also in India these resources belong to the government. Also, important tax benefits are given to companies in the US to drill and produce shale gas. In Europe, the geology of shale rock is different from that of the US and it is more likely to be found in places that are more densely populated. The NIMBY effect (Not in My Back Yard) is much more prevalent in Europe than in the US. France, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands have either banned or put a moratorium on shale gas exploration.
What India is doing?
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) has identified six basins as potentially shale gas bearing. These are Cambay, Assam-Arakan, Gondwana, Krishna-Godavari, Kaveri, and the Indo-Gangetic plain. In a study conducted by the United States Geological Survey (USGS), recoverable resources of 6.1 tcf(trillion cubic feet) have been estimated in 3 out of 26 sedimentary basins. According to the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), there are about 34 tcf of shale gas in the Damodar basin alone (compared to Indias total conventional gas reserves of 47 tcf) of which 8 tcf are recoverable.
The Government of India had also put out in 2012, a draft policy for the exploration and exploitation of shale gas, inviting suggestions from the general public, stakeholders, environmentalists, etc.
Indian Scenario: Roadblocks and how to move forward
As has been already mentioned above, India has a significant amount of recoverable and prospective estimates of shale gas reserves which overshadow the conventional gas reserves. These could totally change the game in the energy deficit crisis that India is facing today. Yet, we have a long way to go in identifying shale gas rich basins and acquiring the necessary technology and experience to extract shale gas.
Let us have an objective look at the major concerns which need to be addressed before banking upon such an alluring prospect:
* The number of wells to be drilled for shale gas far exceeds the number of wells required in the case of conventional gas and the land area required is a minimum of 80 to 160 acres. Indiahas already been facing several cases regarding various projects running down because of inadequate land acquisition policies.
* The most egregious is the issue of water requirements. Shale gas procurement may require large volume of water 3-4 million gallons per well depending upon the well type and shale characteristics. These concerns need a second look in a country such as ours which is already a water-stressed country and is fast approaching the scarcity benchmark of 1,000 m3 per capita. In the next 12-15 years, the consumption of water will increase by 50% while the supply will increase by only 5 to 10%.
* The water after hydraulic fracturing is flowed back to the surface and may have high content of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and other contaminants. The possibility of contamination of aquifier (both surface and subsurface) from hydro-fracturing and fracturing fluid disposal is also persistent.
These are some of the concerns which have been raised since the prospect of shale gas as a potential fuel dawned upon India. But any new technology comes with a baggage of criticisms which are necessary in their own sense. However, it is evident that India needs to tap this energy source since its natural gas market continues to see a deficit. In 2012-13 natural gas consumption in India is expected to stand at 104.4 bcm against its production of 40.7 bcm.
* India needs to build strong service and infrastructure capabilities, along with a favourable regulatory regime.
* A framework policy which while addressing environmental and social concerns, can also promote exploration and production activities.
* A mandatory rain-water harvesting provision in the exploration area which trivializes the extent to which the water which will be utilized in extraction.
* As far as possible, river, rain or non-potable water should be used for fracking and appropriate investment should be made in technologies minimizing the water use and reuse and recycle of water.
* Adequate land acquisition policies and proper implementation of LARR Bill, 2013
Some Interesting Facts :
Interestingly, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has made big investments (US$ 3.5 billion) in the largest unconventional gas field in the US which is one of the largest worldwide, with estimated net recoverable resources of 318 trillion cubic feet (tcf) (In comparison, the resources in RILs own D6 fields in the KG Basin were estimated to hold around 3.4 tcf in November 2012, dropping from 10.3 tcf in December 2006.(you know why!!)). Oil India Limited (OIL), Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), and GAIL India Limited have also made investments in shale gas production in the US.
The other interesting contribution to shale gas development in the US is the export of guar gum from India, which helps in improving the viscosity and flow of water in the fracking process. The gum is extracted from guar ki phalli, grown mainly by farmers in arid lands in Rajasthan and Haryana. Earlier, guar gum was used mainly as an additive in ice creams and sauces, but with the serendipitous discovery of its use in shale gas extraction, its production has risen enormously, earning almost US$ 5 billion during the period from April 2012 to January 2013.
Also, Nicaragua has expressed interest to invite propositions from Indian firms for a $40 billion project to connect the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean by a mammoth canal. Its primary objective is to facilitate the passage of ultra large tankers carrying shale gas from US into the Asian and African markets which cannot be accommodated through the Panama Canal.
This is my revision note for mains 2013.I didnt send it before because most of the articles were in different docs. I couldnt combine these before the mains.
Some topics I have in my opinion are important for any year mains like the e-KYC,bionics and like. I have just copy pasted all my different docs into a single one. So the formatting may not be upto the mark. You may even find some info out of place. I am just sharing this out of interest. You may find some of the articles exact copies from some other sites. So please dont blame me for just copy pasting them because as I mentioned this is my revision note. So no pressure. Take it or leave it.
MAMA NATLIE
a massive pan-India initiative has been launched by the apex body of obstetricians and gynaecologists to reduce MMR (maternal mortality rate) and ensure that mother survives during childbirth.
The initiative seeks to build the skills of medical officers and frontline healthcare workers like nurses through standardized evidence-based protocol to tackle bleeding after birth and hypertensive disorders, which together account for 60-70 per cent maternal deaths, according to Hema Divakar, president of the Federation of Obstetric & Gynaecological Societies of India(FOGSI).
Under the save mother initiative, fast track teams from FOGSI have been visiting both government and private hospitals across the country to train and upgrade the skills with the use of an innovative machine -- Mama Natalie -- a birthing simulator which mimics the entire process of delivery.
It was being used to basically to improve the skills
E-toilets
Kerala's own electronic toilets (e-toilets), one of the prominent innovations of the state in public health, hygiene and sanitation sector, would now be seen featured at the scenic an snow covered valleys of Jammu and Kashmir also.
The e-toilets are designed on the lines of the Australian National Public Toilet Map.
The user, could view the toilet map via the Internet or the cell phone, select the nearest toilet station, set a parking space, make payment, view the timings and get other details on allied facilities.
Need for a Sustainable Intervention in Sanitation sector
Urban and Semi Urban areas -These areas face severe problems with respect to standard public toilets, cleanliness and better sanitation amenities in particular. The cities and towns being overpopulated pose severe health hazards arising due to unhygienic conventional sanitation methods being followed in these areas. The introduction of the proposed sanitation system would radically change the plight of the existing toilets and public sanitation system in place.
Social Relevance - Unhygienic sanitation cause infection and related diseases especially in women and children. The level of privacy, dignity and safety for women can be rendered in the best possible manner by installing Electronic Public Toilets in all possible public locations.
Unhygienic Tourist Spots - Tourism is also facing the ill-effects of the deplorable sanitation conditions in the country. Several tourist spots and connecting roads are a pity to the country and are causing discomfort for the tourists. Chances of getting infected with severe communicable diseases in the Indian streets do create doubts for the tourists in choosing it as their destination.
* . In a perfect situation, a public toilet should have the capabilities to address waste management, effective water usage and sustainability as core challenges among various other issues. eToilet is positioned as the perfect solution which addresses all these effectively; it is cost effective, appropriate and suitable for the geographic and demographic patterns of any location.
* The Innovation
* The idea was to develop an eco-friendly public sanitation system for the Indian sub-continent based on a novel convergence of electronic, mobile, web and bio technologies, for serving as an affordable, sustainable and effective public toilet service inIndia.
* The e-Toilet works on total auto mode: The insertion of a coin opens the door for the user, switches on the light - thus saving energy - and even directs the user with audio commands. The toilets are programmed to flush 1.5 liters of water if the user takes up to 3 minutes, and 4.5 liters of water if the usage is longer.
* They can also be programmed to clean the platform after every 5 or 10 persons use the toilet.
* The e-Toilet is the result of a convergence of electronics, web and mobile technologies, featuring automated door opening, power flushing, automatic closet washing and sterilization, and automatic platform cleaning mechanism, all backed by SMS alerts to inform the control room about the status of water tank and bio gas plant in the event of any errors or failures through which the downtime can be minimized.
* The solid and liquid wastes are treated scientifically. A bio-membrane reactor is used to treat solid wastes and the water used is purified for reuse. The uniqueness of the solution lies in the built-in electronic innovations that will facilitate self cleaning of the toilets with minimum water usage, and treatment of solid waste and water with an environment friendly sewage treatment solution.
* Highlights of the Project
*
* As on date, appropriate and cost effective technology is not used anywhere in India in the sanitation sector eToilet is a model that is a hybrid one, synergizing technologies in Electronics, Mechanical, Information Technology, etc., for a very cost effectiveand modular design.
* Automatic un-manned toilet (Wet type) is an innovation inIndia; it is especially important as the unit has the capabilities for self washing and sterilization. Sterilization will be helpful in containing serious communicable diseases.
* Use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for the management of the unit incorporating GPRS facilities.
* eToilet also incorporates a unique advertisement revenue model which ensures the units sustainability and adds to its ambience. The ad panels offer manifold revenue opportunities as this is a highly lucrative model especially in metros and several public locations. Also the units have the capability of adopting high-tech advertisement displays such as revolving ads which adds to its aesthetics and sustainability. This sustainability model is highly relevant in a tourist spot, where employment opportunities can be created and extra cleanliness can be ensured, with the income thus generated.
TELEMATICS
* Telematicstypically is any integrated use oftelecommunicationsandinformatics, also known as ICT (Information and Communications Technology). Hence the application of telematics is with any of the following:
The technology of sending, receiving and storing information via telecommunication devices in conjunction with affecting control on remote objects.
The integrated use oftelecommunicationsandinformatics, for application in vehicles and with control of vehicles on the move.
Telematics includes but is not limited toGlobal Positioning Systemtechnology integrated with computers and mobile communications technology inautomotive navigation systems.
Most narrowly, the term has evolved to refer to the use of such systems withinroad vehicles, in which case the termvehicle telematicsmay be used.
* Telematics is a method of monitoring a vehicle. By combining a GPS system with on-board diagnostics it's possible to record and map exactly where a car is and how fast it's traveling, and cross reference that with how a car is behaving internally.
* Add communication over a 3G network and telematics can be used to send both data and communications back and forth between a vehicle and a central management system.
Smart grid
What is a Smart Grid?
An automated, widely distributed energy delivery network characterized by a two-way flow of electricity and information,
capable of monitoring and responding to changes in everything from power plants to customer preferences to individual appliances.
What are Smart Grid features?
1. Fully automated power delivery network that monitors and controls electricity flows
2. two-way flows of electricity and information between the power plant and the appliance, and all points in between
3. lowered carbon footprint and reduced emissions, increased access to renewable energy resources (like solar and wind)
4. Use of digital technology(smart digital meters prepaid meters) to save energy, reduce cost and increase reliability
5. reduced disruptions, improved efficiency and better asset utilization
What is Smart Grid vision for India?
Smart Grid Features
1. End of Load Shedding:Peak load shifting through a combination of direct control and differential pricing .
2. Reliable Power:Robust systems with self-healing capabilities; first step is improved monitoring
3. Cheaper power:Dramatic improvement in AT&C losses (Aggregate Technical and Commercial Losses) ? knowing where every kWh is going in real-time
4. More sustainable power:Integration of green and renewable resources at a massive scale ? enough to increase energy independence
5. Smart Grid will act as a backbone infrastructure to enable new business models like smart city, electric vehicles, smart communities apart from more resilient and efficient energy system and tariff structures.
6. Such grids will be able to coordinate the needs and capabilities of all generators, grid operators, distribution utilities, end users and electricity market stakeholders in such a way that it can optimise asset utilization, resource optimization, control and operation as well as reduction in losses.
GoI (ministry of power) establishedIndia Smart Grid Forum (ISGF)is a public private partnership (PPP) initiative of Ministry of Power, Government of India for accelerated development of smart grid technologies in the Indian power sector.
The India Smart Grid Task Forceunder the initiative, which is an inter ministerial group and will serve as government focal point for activities related to SMART GRID. It is undertaking a few smart grid pilot projects in India.
Challenges ahead
* The major challenge for implementing smart Grid in India is availability of funds. Huge investments are required in order to setup a link between the customers and the Smart Grid.
* To tackle the Smart Grid future, we need to havecompelling Smart Grid consumer products,collaborativevendor partnerships and a willing investment community.
* With the transition to digital electricity infrastructure comes the challenge of communication security and data management; as digital networks are more prone to malicious attacks from software hackers, security becomes the key issue to be addressed. Terrorist attacks are a cause for global concern in this regard.
Management of radioactive waste
In Indian context includes all types of radioactive wastes generated from the entire nuclear fuel cycle and also from installations using radionuclides in medicine, industry and research. In the choice of processes and technologies adopted utmost emphasis is given to waste minimisation and volume reduction. The comprehensive radioactive waste management operations are carried out fulfilling all prescribed regulatory requirements.
Safe management of nuclear waste has been accorded a high priority right from the inception of our nuclear energy programme. Nuclear waste in gaseous, liquid and solid forms is generated during operation & maintenance activities of nuclear facilities. The processing technologies adopted for management of nuclear waste are summarised below:
(1) Gaseous waste is treated at the source of generation. The techniques used are adsorption on activated charcoal and filtration by high efficiency particulate air filter. The treated gases are then diluted with exhaust air and discharged through tall stack with monitoring.
(2) Liquid waste streams are treated by various techniques, such as filtration, adsorption, chemical treatment, evaporation, ion exchange, reverse osmosis etc. depending upon the nature, volume & radioactivity content. The emphasis is on volume reduction and the concentrate generated therefore is immobilised in inert materials like cement, etc.
(3) The radioactive solid waste generated during operation and maintenance of nuclear facilities are segregated and volume is reduced using various technologies like compaction and incineration.
The solid/solidified waste is packaged in suitable containers to facilitate handling, transport and disposal. Disposal of waste is carried out in specially constructed structures such as stone lined trenches, reinforced concrete trenches and tile holes.
(4) India has adopted closed fuel cycle option, which involves reprocessing and recycling of the spent fuel. During reprocessing, only about two to three percent of the spent fuel becomes waste and the rest is recycled. This waste, called high level waste (HLW), is converted into glass through a process, called vitrification. The vitrified waste is stored in a Solid Storage Surveillance Facility for 30-40 years with natural cooling prior to its disposal in a deep geological repository. The need for a deep geological repository will arise only after three to four decades.
e-KYC
* The Unique Identification Authority of India, UIDAI has developed the e-KYC (Electronic Know Your Customer) service, which promises to substantially improve customer services in the near future.The new offering,e-KYC allows an Aadhar number-holder to authorize UIDAI to release his personal details to any service provider to allow instant activation of services like bank account, mobile connection etc.
* Know Your Customer or KYC is a mandatory process that most financial institutions and mobile companies need to complete in regards to all their customers.
* Aadhar card is already a valid KYC instrument, still the KYC process takes much longer time and involves documentation.
* The e-KYC service being offered by UIDAI willenable to electronically verify identity and address proof of the residents, which will cut down time required on many things like getting a new mobile connection, opening a Bank account or a trading account etc.
* The authorization for release of personal data can either be done in person through biometric authentication or it can be done online using OTP (One Time Password).Upon successful authentication and consent of the resident, the UIDAI will provide the residents name, address, date of birth, gender, photograph, mobile number (if available), and email address (if available) to the service provider electronically.
* As the service is paperless and fully electronic, document management can be eliminated. Also, the KYC data being consent based, it can only be provided upon authorisation by the resident through Aadhaar authentication, thus protecting residents privacy.
*
* This process will eliminate the requirement of lengthy paperwork and facilitate quicker transactions. It is expected that the e-KYC will enhance customer convenience and greatly increase business efficiency across sectors. That apart, e-KYCwill also eliminate document forgery and reduces the risk of identity misuse.
* Both end-points of the data transfer are secured through the use of encryption and digital signature as per the Information Technology Act, 2000 making e-KYC document legally equivalent to paper documents.
* In addition, the use of encryption and digital signature ensures that no unauthorized parties in the middle can tamper or steal the data.
* The Ministry of Finance, has already recognized e-KYC as a valid document for all financial services under the Prevention of Money Laundering (PML) Rules.
* e-KYC is not only beneficial to consumers, but also to service providers because they do not have to store any kind of photo copies. Everything is centralized and stored digitally helping them save on paper costs.
* Sincethe entire data is machine readable, it is possible for the service provider to directly store it as the customer record in their database for purposes of service, audit, etc. without human intervention making the process low cost and error free.
* Additionally, e-KYC is instantaneous so service providers can start consumer service immediately, which will go a long way in enhancing customer satisfaction.
Frugal innovationorfrugal engineering
* Frugal innovationorfrugal engineeringis the process of reducing the complexity and cost of a good and its production.
* Usually this refers to removing nonessential features from adurable good, such as a car or phone, in order to sell it indeveloping countries.
* selling them, reliance on unconventionaldistributionschannels.[2]
* Sold to so-called "overlooked consumers", firms hope volume will offset razor-thinprofit margins.[2]
* Globalization[3]and rising incomes in developing countries may also drive frugal innovation.[4]
* Such services and products need not be of inferior quality but must be provided cheaply.
In India, the words "Gandhian"[9]or "jugaad",Hindifor a stop-gap solution,[10]are sometimes used instead of "frugal". Other terms with allied meanings include "inclusive innovation", "catalytic innovation", "reverse innovation", and "BOPinnovation", etc
The US$100One Laptop Per Childbut also services such as 1-cent-per-minute phone calls, mobile banking, off-grid electricity, and microfinance.[3]
ChotuKool fridge
A tiny refrigerator sold by Indian companyGodrej, the ChotuKool may have more in common withcomputer coolingsystems than other refrigerators; it eschews the traditional compressor for acomputer fan.[2](It may exploit thethermoelectric effect.)
Jaipur leg
A low cost prosthetic developed in India, theJaipur legcosts about $150 to manufacturer and includes some clever improvisations such as incorporating irrigation piping into the design to lower costs.[15]
Mobile banking
Mobile bankingsolutions in Africa, likeSafaricom'sM-Pesa, allow people access to basic banking services from their mobile phones.[18]Money transfers done through mobiles are also much cheaper than using a traditional method.[19]While some services can be accessed on a mobile alone, deposits and withdrawals necessitate a trip to a local agent.
Nokia 1100
Designed for developing countries, theNokia 1100is basic, durable, andbesides a flashlighthas few features other than voice and text.[21]Selling more than 200 million units only four years after its 2003 introduction[21]has made it the best selling phone of all time.
Sorghum beer
In Africa, several companies includingSABMillerandDiageo, following in the footsteps of local home brewers,[23]have made beer more affordable by usingsorghumorcassavain place of malting barley and reducing packaging costs by selling kegs not bottles.[24]
Solar light bulb
In some Philippine slums, solar skylights made from one liter soda bottles filled with water and bleach provide light equivalent to that produced by a 55 watt bulb and may reduce electricity bills by US$10 per month.[25]
Tata Nano
Designed to appeal to the many Indians who drive motorcycles, theTata Nanowas developed by Indian conglomerateTata Groupand is the cheapest car in the world
Experts note that a monorail is usually confused with cable car, light rail or tramways.
A monorail, in simple terms, is an electric-powered bus that runs on an elevated concrete beam. The Mumbai Monorail, which is the only such system that is currently under construction in India, is a four-car train, with a capacity of 140 passengers per car. The maximum capacity of the system is 10,000 passengers per hour per direction.
The capacity of a Metro system, which can accommodate up to nine cars, is about three to four times more. Thus, the capacity-to-cost ratio is better for a Metro system, even though the per kilometre construction cost is more.
For cities that have a population of less than three million, monorail is the ideal mode of transport. For denser cities, monorail can ideally serve as the feeder line that brings passengers in and takes them out of the Metro network.
monorail corridors should be ideally 15 km to 30 km in length and run through congested neighbourhoods with narrow roads where high manoeuvrability would be required.
Advocating the Kaula Lampur model, the official says that bus routes inside the city could be replaced by monorail corridors.
Biofuels four generations
Abiofuelis a type offuelwhose energy is derived from biologicalcarbon fixation.
Biofuels include fuels derived frombiomassconversion, as well assolid biomass, liquid fuelsand variousbiogases.
'First-generation' or conventional biofuels are biofuels made from sugar, starch, and vegetable oil.
1.1.1Bioalcohols
1.1.2Biodiesel
1.1.3Green diesel
1.1.4Vegetable oil
1.1.5Bioethers
1.1.6Biogas
1.1.7Syngas
1.1.8Solid biofuels
Second generationbiofuels, also known as advanced biofuels, are fuels that can be manufactured from various types ofbiomass. Biomass is a wide-ranging term meaning any source of organic carbon that is renewed rapidly as part of thecarbon cycle. Biomass is derived from plant materials but can also include animal materials. fromlignocellulosic biomassor woody crops, agricultural residues or waste, which makes it harder to extract the required fuel.
Goal of second generation biofuel processes is to extend the amount of biofuel that can be producedsustainablyby using biomass consisting of the residualnon-foodparts of current crops, such as stems,leavesandhusksthat are left behind once the food crop has been extracted, as well as other crops that are not used for food purposes
3rd-generation biofuel is basically advanced algae-based biodiesel . Algae are present in all ecosytems and can survive in many different environmental conditions. Using it as a biofuel could have an enormous amount of potential benefits.
Since algae uses carbon dioxide, it could grow in power plants and free more oxygen into the atmosphere.
In wastewater, algae can remove nitrogen and phosphorous and reduce pollution.
Microalgae can produce large amounts of lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates, which can be converted into biofuel.
Algae can double their mass several times a dayand produce at least 15 times more oil per acre than alternatives such as rapeseed, palms, soybeans, or jatropha.
Algae can also grow in salt water, freshwater or even contaminated water, at sea or in ponds, and on marginal land not suitable for food production
The biomass left-overfrom oil-pressing can either be fed to cattle as a protein supplement, or fermented into ethanol or produce butanol.
algae grow even better in media with high concentration of carbon dioxide (the main greenhouse gas) and organic material like wastewater, executing concurrently a much welcomed task ofturning wastes into resources.
4th-generation biofuels are created using petroleum-like hydroprocessing or advanced biochemistry. One such technology is the "solar-to-fuel" method (pictured above) developed byJoule Biotechnologywhich sounds pretty cool. In their model, sunlight, waste CO2 and engineered microorganisms combine in a "solar converter" to create fuel.
National Knowledge Network (NKN)
* National Knowledge Network (NKN) is arevolutionarystep towardscreating aknowledgesociety without boundaries.
* National Knowledge Network (NKN) project is aimed at establishing a strong and robust internal Indian network which will be capable of providing secure and reliable connectivity.bring together all the stakeholders from science, technology, higher education, healthcare, agriculture and governance to a common platform.
* Establishing NKN is a significant step towards ushering in a knowledge revolution in the country with connectivity to 1500+ institutions. NKN is intended to connect all the knowledge and research institutions in the country using high bandwidth / low latency network.
* Globally, frontier research and innovation are shifting towards multidisciplinary and collaborative paradigm and require substantial communication and computational power. In India, NKN with its multi-gigabit capability aims to connect all universities, research institutions, libraries, laboratories, healthcare and agricultural institutions across the country to address such paradigm shift.
* - Establishing a high-speed backbone connectivity which will enable knowledge and information sharing.
* - Enabling collaborative research, development and Innovation
* - Facilitating advanced distance education in specialized fields such as engineering, science, medicine etc.
* - Facilitating an ultra high speed backbone for e-Governance
* - Facilitating integration of different sectoral networks in the field of research, education, health, commerce and governance.
* NKN provides international connectivity to its users for global collaborative research. Presently, NKN is connected to Trans Eurasia Information Network (TEIN3). Similar connectivity to GLORIAD network is in the pipeline.
* Applications
* Countrywide Virtual Classroom
* The NKN is a platform for delivering effective distance education where teachers and students can interact in real time. This is especially significant in a country like India where access to education is limited by factors such as geography, lack of infrastructure facilities etc. The network enables co-sharing of information such as classroom lectures, presentations and handouts among different institutions.
*
* Collaborative Research
* The NKN enables collaboration among researchers from different entities like GLORIAD, TEIN3, GARUDA, CERN etc. NKN also enables sharing of scientific databases and remote access to advanced research facilities.
*
* Virtual Library
* The Virtual Library involving sharing of journals, books and research papers across different institutions, is a natural application for NKN.
* Sharing of Computing Resources
* High-performance computing is critical for national security, industrial productivity, and advances in science and engineering. The network enables a large number of institutions to access high-performance computing to conduct advanced research in areas such as weather monitoring, earthquake engineering and other computationally intensive fields.
* Grid Computing
* The NKN has the capability to handle high bandwidth with low latency and provision to overlay grid computing. Some of the grid based applications are climate change/global warming, science projects like Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and ITER. The NKN can be the platform to realize many such innovative applications. The Garuda Grid has enhanced its power and stability by migrating to NKN.
* Network Technology Test-bed
* NKN provides test-bed for testing and validation of services before they are made available to the production network. NKN also provides an opportunity to test new hardware & software, vendor interoperability etc.
Devap air-cooling system : The air conditioning installed in NALANDA UNIVERSITY
The Devap air-cooling system provides solution to AC necessity. This system provides dehumidified, cold and clean air, but with an added advantage of less electricity and less energy-usage.
It makes use of the chemical capabilities of desiccants. A desiccant is basically the hygroscopic substance which sustains or induces the dryness state in local vicinity in well-sealed container.
The Devap air-cooling system was designed in order to replace the standard units of AC so that there was less difficulty regarding installation.
It has been estimated that by making use of the Devap air-cooling system, the total energy savings are simulated to be somewhere between 40-80 percent. But the energy savings depend upon humidity level as well as geographical location.
Devap air-cooling system is a good solution for curbing the greenhouse effect because of its energy efficiency as well as environmentally respectful chemicals.
Though, this system has higher costs for commercial and residential units, but if operational costs are included, it becomes financially advantageous in the time span of just 30 years.
Wireless Communication Technologies
Wireless communicationis the transfer of information between two or more points that are not connected by an electrical conductor.
The most common wireless technologies use electromagnetic wireless telecommunications, such as radio. With radio waves distances can be short, such as a few metres for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometres for deep-space radio communications.
Though radio waves have lesser range of frequency spectrum, it is preferred over the shorter waves like UV or visible spectrum for following reasons:
1. For larger distances,the higher the frequency is, the faster the signal becomes attenuatedand the weaker it becomes. So, radio waves that have wavelengths of some 10 km to 100 km or more (frequency ~3KHz to 30KHz) can be used for long distances likeneighboringstates/towns and higher/lower frequency for short/long distances. Forvisible spectrum(~500 Tera Hz), transmitting over great distances is a problem without guided media (like optic cables).
2. Some people are working invisible light communicationbut that technology has not yet become commercially viable for outdoor distances yet.
3. UV or Visible spectrum can cause heating/ ionizing effects and can create some problems with beings.
4. Ionosphere cannot reflect UV or visible rays because their frequency is too high.
Near field communication (NFC)
Near field communication (NFC) is a set of standards for smartphones and similar devices to establish radio communication with each other by touching them together or bringing them into close proximity, usually no more than a fewcentimeters Present and anticipated applications include contactless transactions, data exchange, and simplified setup of more complex communications such as Wi-Fi.
NFC offers a low-speed connection with extremely simple setup, and can be used tobootstrapmore capable wireless connections like Bluetooth. NFC and Bluetooth are both short-range communication technologies that are integrated into mobile phones. As described in technical detail above, NFC operates at slower speeds than Bluetooth, but consumes far less power and doesnt require pairing.
NFC can be used in social networking situations, such as sharing contacts, photos, videos or files and entering multiplayer mobile games. Most importantly,
The Pay-Buy-Mobile initiative seeks to define a common global approach to using Near Field Communications (NFC) technology to link mobile devices with payment and contact less systems.
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a standard wire-replacement communications protocol primarily designed for low power consumption, with a short range based on low-cost transceiver microchips in each device. Because the devices use a radio (broadcast) communications system, they do not have to be in visual line of sight of each other, however a quasi-optical wireless path must be viable. It can connect several devices, overcoming problems of synchronization.
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi have some similar applications: setting up networks, printing, or transferring files. Wi-Fi is intended as a replacement for cabling for general local area network access in work areas. This category of applications is sometimes called wireless local area networks (WLAN). Bluetooth was intended for portable equipment and its applications. Wi-Fi uses the same radio frequencies as Bluetooth, but with higher power, resulting in higher bit rates and better range from the base station.
WiFi
A wireless network usesradio waves, just likecell phones,televisionsand radios do. In fact, communication across a wireless network is a lot like two-way radio communication.
* A computers wireless adapter translates data into a radio signal and transmits it using an antenna.
* A wirelessrouterreceives the signal and decodes it. The router sends the information to the Internet using a physical, wiredEthernetconnection.
* The process also works in reverse, with the router receiving information from the Internet, translating it into a radio signal and sending it to the computers wireless adapter.
They transmit at frequencies of 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz. This frequency is considerably higher than the frequencies used for cell phones, walkie-talkies and televisions. The higher frequency allows the signal to carry more data.
LiFi
Li-Fi is the term some have used to label the fast and cheap wireless-communication system, which is the optical version of Wi-Fi. Li-Fi has the advantage of being able to be used in sensitive areas such as in aircraft without causing interference. However, the light waves used cannot penetrate walls. Also transmitting in visible light spectrum offers a wide range of frequencies however line of sight is necessary here.
RFID
RFID stands forRadio-Frequency Identification. The acronym refers to small electronic devices that consist of a small chip and an antenna. The RFID device serves the same purpose as a bar code or a magnetic strip on the back of a credit card or ATM card; it provides a unique identifier for that object. And, just as a bar code or magnetic strip must be scanned to get the information, the RFID device must be scanned to retrieve the identifying information.
A significant advantage of RFID devices over the others mentioned above is that the RFID device does not need to be positioned precisely relative to the scanner.
Some common problems with RFID arereader collisionandtag collision. Reader collision occurs when the signals from two or more readers overlap. The tag is unable to respond to simultaneous queries. Systems must be carefully set up to avoid this problem. Tag collision occurs when many tags are present in a small area; but since the read time is very fast, it can be avoided easily.
Barcode
A barcode is designed to eliminate manual entry and error. It is simply a series of stripes (usually black) on a light background (usually white) that can be scanned and read directly into a computer. They are interpreted virtually instantaneously and without errors by a bar code reading system. The elements (bars and spaces) in a bar code symbol must be of a consistent, proportional thickness and thinness.
Bar codes are read the same way that people read text from a page;the reflectance and absorption of light. A light of a given wavelength is beamed and moved across a bar code at a consistent speed. The reflected light is measured with a photoreceptor, tuned to look for light of the given wavelength. The off-and-on (white and black) pattern of the bar code creates an electrical wave that is sent on to a computer chip called a decoder. The decoder then deciphers the signal into something the waiting computer understands.
The main advantage is it is simple and very economical to use. Disadvantage is that the bar code is to be read in line of sight unlike theRFID technology.
QR Codes
QR Code is a very efficient, two-dimensional (2D) barcode symbologythat uses a small area of square modules with a unique perimeter pattern, which helps the barcode scanner determine cell locations and decode the QR Code symbol.
Characters, numbers, text and actual bytes of data may be encoded, including Unicode characters and images.
QR Code
QR Codes are commonly used with smart-phone devices such as the iPhone, Blackberry, Android and Windows 7 Phones to direct users to additional information about a particular topic like website url, image, social media hubs, email addresses etc. QR Codes are some of the smallest and most dependable barcodes in use today.
The QR Code symbology is approximately 30 times smaller than a barcode representing the same data.
QR Code is also a good choice when sending barcodes over faxed documents, because the symbol can withstand many poor resolution and scanning issues.
A QR code can carry up to some hundred times the amount of information a conventional barcode is capable of.
A QR code is capable of being read in 360 degrees, from any direction, thus eliminating any interference and negative effects from backgrounds.
the algorithm which is used to create QR codes will allow for an error margin (approx. 7-30%). Well, this doesnt just help with scanning purposes in case the item or code in question is dirty or damaged
E-waste management rules 2011
* It aims at reduction of the use of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment by specifying threshold for use of hazardous material including lead, mercury and cadmium.
* The rules will apply to every producer, consumer or bulk consumer, collection centre, dismantler and recycler of e-waste involved in the manufacture, sale, and purchase and processing of electrical and electronic equipment or components.
* However, they will not apply to lead acid batteries as covered under the batteries (Management and Handling) Rules, 2001, micro and small enterprises as defined in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 (27 of 2006) and radio-active wastes as covered under the provisions of the Atomic Energy Act, 1962
* Sectors like information and telecommunications equipment and consumer electrical and electronics falling within the specified categories will have to ensure that the products do not contain lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, poly-brominated biphenyls or poly-brominated di-phenyl ethers above a specified threshold.
* The rules place the main responsibility of e-waste management on the producers of the electrical and electronic equipment by introducing the concept of extended producer responsibility (EPR). According to which Personal Computer manufacturers, mobile handset makers and white goods makers will be required to come up with e-waste collection centres or introduce take back systems.
* EPR is the main feature of the rules, wherein the producer of electrical and electronic equipment is given the responsibility of managing such equipment after its end of life; thus the producer is responsible for their products once the consumer discards them.
* Under EPR, the producer is also entrusted with the responsibility to finance and organise a system to meet the costs involved in complying with EPR.
* Under the new rules, producers will have to make consumers aware about the hazardous components present in the product. Also, instructions for consumers for handling the equipment after its use along with the dos and donts. They will also have to give information booklets to prevent e-waste from being dropped in garbage bins.
* The State Pollution Control Board will be required to prepare and submit to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) an annual report (based on the data received by consumers) with regard to implementation of these rules, by September 30 of every year. On receiving which, the CPCB will have to prepare a consolidated annual review on management of e-waste and forward it to the government along with its recommendations by December 30 of every year.
* Wastes generated are required to be sold to a registered or authorized recycler or re-processor having environmentally sound facilities. The rule has provision for setting up of collection centre individually or jointly; or by a registered society or a designated agency; or by an association to collect e-waste.
* Under the e-waste rules, 2011, in case of non compliance with any of the conditions of the authorization or with any provision of the act or the rules, the SPCB/PCC may cancel or suspend the authorization issued under these rules for such period as it considers necessary in the public interest.
Dark matter
dark matter is estimated to constitute 84.5% of the total matter in the universe and 26.8% of the total content of the universe.[`
* Dark matter is composed of particles that do not absorb, reflect, or emit light, so they cannot be detected by observing electromagnetic radiation.
* Scientists study dark matter by looking at the effects it has on visible objects. Scientists believe that dark matter may account for the unexplained motions of stars withingalaxies.
* Understanding dark matter is important to understanding the size, shape and future of the universe. The amount of dark matter in the universe will determine if the universe is open (continues to expand), closed (expands to a point and then collapses) or flat (expands and then stops when it reaches equilibrium).
* Understanding dark matter will also aid in definitively explaining the formation and evolution of galaxies and clusters. As a galaxy spins it should be torn apart. This does not happen, so something is holding the galaxy together.
* The something isgravity; the amount of gravity required to do this, however, is enormous and could not be generated by the visible matter in the galaxy.
Waste-to-energy(WtE)
* Waste-to-energy(WtE) orenergy-from-waste(EfW) is the process of generating energy in the form ofelectricityand/orheatfrom the incineration ofwaste. WtE is a form ofenergy recovery.
* Most WtE processes produce electricity and/or heat directly through combustion, or produce a combustible fuel commodity, such asmethane,methanol,ethanolor synthetic fuels
* Incineration, the combustion of organic material such as waste with energy recovery, is the most common WtE implementation. Modern incinerators reduce the volume of the original waste by 95-96 percent, depending upon composition and degree of recovery of materials such as metals from the ash for recycling.
WtE technologies other than incineration
There are a number of other new and emerging technologies that are able to produce energy from waste and other fuels without direct combustion. Many of these technologies have the potential to produce more electric power from the same amount of fuel than would be possible by direct combustion. This is mainly due to the separation of corrosive components (ash) from the converted fuel, thereby allowing higher combustion temperatures in e.g.boilers,gas turbines,internal combustion engines,fuel cells.
Some are able to efficiently convert the energy intoliquidor gaseous fuels:
Thermal technologies:
* Gasification(produces combustible gas,hydrogen,synthetic fuels)
* Thermal depolymerization(produces synthetic crude oil, which can be further refined)
* Pyrolysis(produces combustibletar/biooilandchars)
* Plasma arc gasificationor plasma gasification process (PGP) (produces richsyngasincludinghydrogenandcarbon monoxideusable for fuel cells or generating electricity to drive the plasma arch, usable vitrified silicate and metal ingots, salt and sulphur)
Non-thermal technologies:
* Anaerobic digestion(Biogasrich inmethane)
* Fermentationproduction (examples are ethanol, lactic acid, hydrogen)
* Mechanical biological treatment(MBT)
* MBT +Anaerobic digestion
* MBT toRefuse derived fuel
ATOMIC CLOCKS
* An atomic clock works like a conventional clock but the time-base of the clock, instead of being an oscillating mass as in a pendulum clock, is based on the properties of atoms when transitioning between different energy states.
An atom, when excited by an external energy source, goes to a higher energy state. Then, from this state, it goes to a lower energy state. In this transition, the atom releases energy at a very precise frequency which is characteristic of the type of atom. This is like a signature for the type of material used. All that is needed for making a good clock is a way of detecting this frequency and using it as an input to a counter. This is the principle behind an atomic clock.
* GPS satellites useatomic clocks: a precision clock that depends for its operation on an electrical oscillator regulated by the natural vibration frequencies of an atomic system (as a beam of cesium atoms)
* Types of atomic clocks(How things Work)
* Cesium atomic clocks employ a beam of cesium atoms. The clock separates cesium atoms of different energy levels by magnetic field.
* Hydrogen atomic clocks maintain hydrogen atoms at the required energy level in a container with walls of a special material so that the atoms don't lose their higher energy state too quickly.
* Rubidium atomic clocks, the simplest and most compact of all, use a glass cell of rubidium gas that changes its absorption of light at the optical rubidium frequency when the surrounding microwave frequency is just right.
* rubidium atomic frequency standards and passive hydrogen masers. The stability of the rubidium clock is so good that it would lose only three seconds in one million years, while the passive hydrogen maser is even more stable and it would lose only one second in three million years.
AAKRUTI INITIATIVE
* BARC and Department of Atomic Energy initiated AKRUTI under their societal initiative to create structured and scalable network of technology nodes in rural areas providing easy access to modern technologies to all villagers in their own village. Advance Knowledge and Rural Technology Implementation (AKRUTI)
* BARC scientists work in co-operation with NGOs around the villages and help villagers in experimenting and creating their own technology, with which they can help other villagers in the area.
* The utilisation of Non-Power Applications (NPAs) and Spinoff technologies (spinoffs) in the area of water, land, agriculture, tissue culture, food processing and urban-rural waste management was envisaged for techno-economic growth of the rural sector.
* The programme would take the fruits of technology to every villager in the remote corner and provide inclusive growth to the rural sector and tap the hidden innovative capability of large rural population.
The programme AKRUTI-KRUTIK-FORCE aims to create structured and scalable network of technology nodes in rural areas providing easy access to modern technologies to all villagers in their own villages.
AKRUTI is an acronym for Advance Knowledge and RUral Technology Implementation programme. Through this programme, the technology centre called AKRUTI node is set up in a village. This is done under the guidance of BARC, through technically oriented NGOs working in that village. AKRUTI node will park number of BARC developed technologies for use by villagers.
These technologies are demonstrated and taken to different villages around the AKRUTI node via working centres established in different villages around AKRUTI. These working centres are called KRUTI Kendra viz. KRUTIK.
KRUTIK stands for Knowledge and RUral Technology Implementation Kendra, which works with villagers and farmers groups and deploy these technologies in their own villages and in the fields.
These groups are known as FORCE meaning Farmers Organised group for Rural Creative Entrepreneurship. Each member of FORCE group is made familiar with technologies of AKRUTI through KRUTIK.
AKRUTI and KRUTIKs will function coherently and will create large number of FORCE groups in different villages who will benefit from the use of the technologies in AKRUTI node
RISUG A Male Contraceptive
RISUG(which is an acronym for Reversible Inhibition of Sperm Under Guidancer) is an injectable compound developed at IIT Kharagpur that partially blocks the vasa deferentia (tubes that carry sperm), providing effective contraception for up to 10 years per dose. Phase III clinical trials are underway in India, slowed by insufficient volunteers. It has been patented in India, China, Bangladesh, and the United States.
RISUG
Technical Details
RISUG involves placing a polymer calledstyrene maleic anhydride(SMA) that is mixed with a solvent called dimethyl sulfoxide(DMSO) inside the vas deferens of the male reproductive system. At a very basic level, the polymer used in RISUG zaps the negative electrical charge of the sperm as it travels through the vas deferens and makes the sperm incapable of fertilizing an egg.
RISUG is similar to vasectomy but with several advantages. They include
1. Reversible:More easily reversible than that of vasectomy. If a man wishes to restore fertility, whether after months or years, the polymer is flushed out of the vas with another injection.
2. Convenience:There is no interruption before the sexual act.
3. Cost:The shot itself costs less than the syringe used to administer it
Graphene
Graphene is the third sibling of what is called new carbon, the other two being football-shaped fullerenesdubbed buckyballsand carbon nanotubes.
* It is 100 times stronger than the strongest steel, yet almost completely transparent because it is ultra-thin.
* Graphene could create super-fast telecommunications and electronics,
* and when mixed with plastic and other materials, create new kinds of light, flexible and strong things, from planes to tennis rackets to touch screens.
* inside the silicon chip, old-generation copper wires predominate, slowing and heating up computers. There are many problems to solve, one of them being that graphene conducts signals so well that it cant be stopped
* Although there are other materials competing to replace copper and silicon, graphene appears to be a leading contender, not just because of its physical properties but, equally, because it may be relatively cheap and easy to produce. Its raw material, graphite, can cost less than $5 per kg.
ASH IN INDIAN COAL
* The ash content of coal used by thermal power plants in India varies between 25 and 45%. However, coal with an ash content of around 40% is predominantly used in India for thermal power generation. As a consequence, a huge amount of fly ash (FA) is generated in thermal power plants, causing several disposal-related problems.
* Disposal of FA is a growing problem as only 15% of FA is currently used for high value addition applications like concrete and building blocks, the remainder being used for land filling. In china usage approaching 99 %.
* Ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) is a by-product from the blast-furnaces used to make iron. GGBS is a glassy, granular, non metallic material consisting essentially of silicates and aluminates of calcium and other bases.
* Alternative but promising gainful utility of FA and GGBS in construction industry that has emerged in recent years is in the form of Geopolymer cement concretes (GPCCs), which by appropriate process technology utilize all classes and grades of FA and GGBS
* The global release of CO2 from all sources is estimated at 23 billion tonnes a year and the Portland cement production accounts for about 7% of total CO2 emissions.
Geopolymer cement concretes (GPCC)
* Geopolymer cement concretes (GPCC) are Inorganic polymer composites, which are prospective concretes with the potential to form a substantial element of an environmentally sustainable construction by replacing/supplementing the conventional concretes. GPCC have high strength, with good resistance to chloride penetration, acid attack, etc. These are commonly formed by alkali activation of industrial aluminosilicate waste materials such as FA and GGBS, and have a very small Greenhouse footprint when compared to traditional concretes.
* Two main constituents of geopolymers are: source materials and alkaline liquids. The source materials on alumino-silicate should be rich in silicon (Si) and aluminium (Al). They could be by-product materials such as fly ash, silica fume, slag, rice-husk ash, red mud, etc.
* Composition of Geopolymer Cement Concrete Mixes
* Following materials are generally used to produce GPCCs:
* Fly ash,
* GGBS,
* Fine aggregates and
* Coarse aggregates
* Catalytic liquid system (CLS): It is an alkaline activator solution (AAS) for GPCC. It is a combination of solutions of alkali silicates and hydroxides, besides distilled water. The role of AAS is to activate the geopolymeric source materials (containing Si and Al) such as fly ash and GGBS.
* Because of lower internal energy (almost 20% to 30 % less) and lower CO2 emission contents of ingredients of geopolymer based composites compared to those of conventional Portland cement concretes
BIONICS
* Bionics(also known asbiomimicry,biomimetics,bio-inspiration,biognosis, and close tobionical creativity engineering) is the application of biologicalmethodsand systems found innatureto the study and design ofengineeringsystems and moderntechnology.[
Roughly, we can distinguish three biological levels in the fauna or flora, after which technology can be modeled:
* Mimicking naturalmethods of manufacture
* Imitatingmechanismsfound in nature (velcro)
* Studyingorganizational principles from thesocial behaviour of organisms
In medicine[edit]
Bionicsis a term which refers to the flow of concepts frombiologytoengineeringand vice versa. Hence, there are two slightly different points of view regarding the meaning of the word.
In medicine,bionicsmeans the replacement or enhancement oforgansor other body parts by mechanical versions. Bionic implants differ from mereprosthesesby mimicking the original function very closely, or even surpassing it.
Applications of Bionics
Bionics is applied in the technical aspects such as architecture, medical, industrial design and material science etc.
Applications of Bionics in Medical Field:
In medicine, Bionics means the replacement or enhancement of organs or other body parts by using mechanical versions. Bionic implants differ from prostheses by mimicking the original function very closely, or even surpassing it. The structural and functional principles of organ systems in living things are analyzed by bionomists and then apply those principles while building useful artificial systems and machines. Popular science fiction works featuring super human power by electromechanical implants will soon become reality. They will be composed with bionic limbs, bionic eye and cochlear implants.
Biochips:Biochip implant is a small (micro) computer chip, inserted under the skin; it consists of a transponder and a reader or scanner Radiofrequency identification system for identification purpose.
Transponder:A transponder is a passive device consists of a microchip that activates by sending low-power electrical charge.
Scanner:It displays the activation code in the microchip which is different for different chips.
Gene Chip:It is nothing but small DNA segments chemically synthesized. The cells made on Quartz surface can hold DNA from a different human gene. For example, a patient with a sore throat could be tested with a gene chip in order to identify the source of the infection and its antibiotic susceptibility profile.
ScannerTraspondar KeyGENE Chips
Electronic Senses:"Electronic sensing" refers to the capability of reproducing human senses using sensor arrays and pattern recognition systems. These can be used to detect poisonous and obnoxious odors and can provide quality control for different food stuff.
Electronic Tongue:The electronic tongue is an instrument that measures and compares tastes like human receptors.
Artificial heart:It replaces the biological heart. In early 1980s Dr. William De Vries implanted the Jarvik7 artificial heart into several patients wherein one patient survived 620 days. Heart-lung machine and the mechanical heart are the two types of artificial-hearts.
Bionic Ear:It is an electronic device that provides a sense of sound. Electrodes implanted in the cochlea stimulate auditory nerves which will help in hearing. In this implant tiny wires are inserted to the cochlea and a microphone is fixed to the skull.
Bionic Hand:It has multi-articulating joints that are hook like, simple to open and close. They also have power to hold things Bionic limbs allows rotating, bending, opening and closing in some instances. Man can lead truly improved life with the aid of bionics that has progressed to an amazing level.
Bionic Leg:It performs the task by receiving data from sensors, sends commands to motor of amputee. Sensors in the device and inside the shoe detect user action (for example, sitting, standing, climbing stairs). Device provides external force to supplement muscle strength. Microprocessor in the device analyse the information.
Artificial HeartBionic HandBionic EarBionic Leg
Bionic Eye:Bionic eye can provide sight the detection of light, to the people whom have gone blind due to the macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa. Photoreceptors of the eye are damaged in both the disease.
The bionic eye consists of five main parts:
* Adigital camerabuilt into a pair of glasses.
* Avideo processing microchipbuilt into a hand unit.
* Aradio transmitterthat wirelessly transmits pulses to implanted receiver above the ear or under eye.
* Aradio receiverfor sending pulses to the retinal implant.
* Aretinal implantwith an array of 60 electrodes on a chip.
This entire system works on battery with video processing unit. After capturing the image Eg-tree in the form of pixels, the camera sends this image to the video processor. The function of the video processor is to convert the pattern of pixels into a continuous electrical pulses and send them to the radio transmitter on the glasses.
These pulses are transmitted in radio form to the receiver under the subject's skin, by radio transmitter.
The receiver sends the pulses to the electrode array at the back of the eye. The array acts as an equivalent of the retina's photoreceptors. The pulses stimulate the electrodes. The electrical signals generated by the stimulation of the electrode, travel as neural signals to the visual center of the brain. Thus, the problem of macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa, can be rectified by bionic eye. By bionic eye, the optical-nueral pathways function similar to that of healthy eye. The brain interprets the signals as tree and tells the subject-You are seeing a tree.
* UNDERGROUND COAL GASIFICATION
India has relatively large reserves of coal (253 billion tonnes) compared to crude oil (728 million tonnes) and natural gas (686 billion cubic meters). Coal meets about 60% of the commercial energy needs and about 70% of the electricity produced in India comes from coal, and therefore there is a need for technologies for utilization of coals efficiently and cleanly.
Underground coal gasication is a promising technology as it is a combination of mining, exploitation and gasication.
The main motivation for moving toward UCG as the future coal utilizing technique is the environmental and other advantages over the conventional mining process. Some of these benets include
increased worker safety,
no surface disposal of ash and coal tailings,
low dust and noise pollution,
low water consumption,
larger coal resource exploitation and
low methane emission to atmosphere
UCG is particularly advantageous for deep coal deposits and steeply dipping coal seams since at these conditions less gas leakages to the surroundings and high pressures favor methane formation.
Properties of Indian coals
Coal deposits in India are of two distinct geological ages.The earliest coal deposits are of the Permian age formed about 270 million years ago, when South Africa, South America, Antarctica, Australia, India and Madagascar formed a landmass called Gondwanaland.
Coals formed in Gondwanaland are known as Gondwana coal.
* The otherdeposits are of the Tertiary age (3060 million years age)
* Indian coal is mostly of sub-bituminous rank, followed by bituminous and lignite (brown coal).
* The ash content of coal ranges from 35% to 50%. Indian coal is mostly of the non-coking variety.
Injecting oxygen and steam instead of air produces the most useful product gas, since the dilution effect of nitrogen is avoided. The main constituents of the product gas are H 2 , CO 2 , CH4 and steam
* Hydrogen peroxide prolongs the coagulation time of milk.
* The synthetic milk technology was invented by milkmen of Kurukshetra (Haryana) about 15 years. The technology later spread to the other states like Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and the practice is feared to have been adopted in the deficit areas of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Orissa too.
* Synthetic milk is prepared by mixing urea, caustic soda, refined oil (cheap cooking oil) and common detergents. Detergents are added to emulsify and dissolve the oil in water giving the frothy solution, the characteristic white colour of milk. Refined oil is used as a substitute for milk fat. Caustic soda is added to the blended milk to neutralize the acidity, thereby preventing it from turning sour during transport. Urea/ sugar are added for solid-not-fat (SNF).
* Urea and caustic soda are very harmful to heart, lever and kidneys. Urea is an additional burden for kidneys as they have to do more work to remove urea from the body. Caustic soda which contains sodium acts as slow poison for those suffering from hypertension and heart ailments. Caustic soda also deprives the body from utilizing lysine, an essential amino acid in milk, which is required by growing babies.
CRYOGENIC ENGINES
* The cryogenic engines have the following advantages compared to other technologies,
* High Energy per unit mass
* Propellants like oxygen and hydrogen in liquid form give very high amounts of energy per unit mass due to which the amount of fuel to be carried aboard the rockets decreases.
* Clean Fuels
* Hydrogen and oxygen are extremely clean fuels. When they combine, they give out only water. This water is thrown out of the nozzle in form of very hot vapor. Thus the rocket is nothing but a high burning steam engine.
* Economical
* Use of oxygen and hydrogen as fuels is very economical, as liquid oxygen costs less than gasoline.
Solid vs Liquid Propellant
* Liquid propellant,which was easier to operate, since it makes it possible to stop and re-start the engine.
* Solid propulsion is more advantageous in lower stages, which require a stronger thrust.
* the advantage of solid propellant lies in its security, thus it is much better adapted for missiles operated aboard submarines.
* From an economical point of view, due to the complexity of their design and production, liquid systems are generally considered expensive, especially when it comes to having a long-range, for which some components are difficult to produce
Solid-fuel advantagesSolid-fuel disadvantagesLiquid-fuel advantagesLiquid-fuel disadvantages
Very stable, durableCan't be turned off- once the burn starts, it goes until fuel is used up.Variable thrust- the amount of fuel and rate of burn can be changed in flightFragile, many complex parts
More thrust for a similar size rocketFuel decomposes, must be replaced.Liquid-fuel boosters are more easily re-usableOxidiser (liquid oxygen) must be kept extremely cold.
LTTD TECHNOLOGY
LOW TEMPERATURE THERMAL DESALINATION
* The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) had launched a program for development of Low Temperature Thermal Desalination (LTTD) technology for conversion of seawater into potable water, suitable for installation in the island territories and near the coastal Power Plants.
* The National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) an autonomous body of the Ministry of Earth Sciences has been responsible for design, develop, demonstrate and commission the LTTD plants in selected coastal locations.
* The worlds first ever low temperature thermal desalination [LTTD] plant was opened in Kavaratti, one of the Indian Lakshadweep islands
Mechanism
The LTTD is a process under which the warm surface sea water is flash evaporated at low pressure and the vapour is condensed with cold deep sea water
It involves flashing relatively warm water sea water inside a vacuum flash chamber and condensingthe resultant vapour using deep sea cold water
Low-temperature thermal desalination (LTTD) is a desalination technique takes advantage of the fact that water boils at low pressures, even as low as ambient temperature
Advantages
* The LTTD technology does not require any chemical pre and post-treatment of seawater and thus the pollution problems are minimal and suitable for island territories.
* Since no effluent treatment is required, it gives less operational maintenance problems compared to other desalination processes.
* The LTTD technology is completely indigenous, robust and environment friendly.
* The cost per liter of desalination is less compared to the Reverse osmosis
* The LTTD process may also take advantage of the temperature gradient available at power plants,where large quantities of warm waste water are discharged from the plant, reducing the energy input needed to create a temperature gradient
Why recently in news
LTTD plants set up at Kavaratti, Minicoy, Agatti and the proposed at Amini, Chetlet, Kadamath, Kalpeni,Kiltan and Andrott.
These plants will produce 1 lakh liter per day of potable water.
National Institute of Ocean Technology will commission to commission desalination plants at nine locations in Lakshadweep soon.
SYNCHROTRON
India will be getting a new Synchrotron which is the 5th High Energy Synchrotron in the world and also the most advanced one according to scientists.
The Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP) based in Kolkata has been given the charge to develop the Synchrotron.
So what really is a Synchrotron?
In plain words, a synchrotron is a type of cyclic particle accelerator. That means electrons and other fundamental nuclear particles are made to move in a closed path under magnetic field which bends the particles into a cyclic path, to form a particle beam of increasing kinetic motion which in turn give rise to enormous amount of energy and is useful in different fields of scientific research like High Energy Physics, Particle Physics, Biotechnology, Biochemistry, etc.
How is a Synchrotron useful to citizens?
Well, Synchrotron can surely be a great help in research and innovation.A Synchrotron can help in the following ways:
Treatment of Cancer.
Finding the compositions of minerals and the different substances that compose it.
Finding the fundamental source of particles that cause pollution, mainly air and water pollution.
In discovering new ways of producing modified seeds that are more resistant to harsh climatic conditions.
Medical Imaging.
Geological Material Analysis.
Burning computer chip designs into metal wafers.
Fluorescence studies.
Semiconductor material analysis and structural studies.
BIOTECHNOLOGY REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF INDIA BILL
* The Bill aims to promote the safe use of modern biotechnology by enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of regulatory procedures.
* Biotechnology Regulatory Authority: The Bill establishes the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (Authority). The Authority will consist of a chairperson, two full time members, and two part time members.
* Functions of the Authority: The functions of the Authority shall include
* regulating the research,
* transport, import, containment,
* environmental release, manufacture and use of organisms and products of modern biotechnology.
* The Authority has the power to call for information, conduct an inquiry and issue directions for the safety of products or processes of modern biotechnology.
* Field trials for certain organisms or products cannot be conducted unless the Authority permits them as aiding the development of modern biotechnology such as genetically engineered plants, animals used in food or any animal clones that can be applied in agriculture, fisheries or food products.
* The Bill will not apply to the clinical trials of drugs, under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and food or food additives or any material under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
* The Authority will not disclose confidential commercial information made available in an application to the Authority. However, the Authority may disclose it in public interest or if this disclosure will not harm any person.
* Divisions under the Authority: Regulatory divisions of the Authority have been created for the implementation of safety assessment procedures and processes. The divisions are: (i) agriculture, forest and fisheries, (ii) human health and veterinary products, and (iii) industrial and environmental applications.
* A Risk Assessment Unit will appraise applications for proposed research, transport or import of an organism or product, before final approval is granted.
* The Product Rulings Committee will make recommendations to the Authority for the manufacture or use of organisms or products.
* The Environmental Appraisal Panel will make recommendations on environmental safety of organisms and products.
* Other bodies: An Inter-Ministerial Governance Board has been established to promote inter-ministerial or departmental co-operation for the effective discharge of the functions of the Authority.
* A Biotechnology Advisory Council will render strategic advice to the Authority regarding developments in modern biotechnology and their implications in India.
* State level body: A State Biotechnology Regulatory Advisory Committee will act as a nodal agency between the state government and the Authority with regard to the regulation of modern biotechnology.
* Appellate Tribunal: A Biotechnology Regulatory Appellate Tribunal will hear appeals against the decisions, orders or directions of the Authority. The Tribunal will consist of a full-time chairperson, who has been a judge of the Supreme Court of India or a Chief Justice of a High Court, and five part time expert members.
* Penalties under the Bill: The Bill imposes a penalty for providing false information (imprisonment for three months and fine extending to Rs five lakh) and conducting an unapproved field trial (imprisonment for six months to one year and a fine extending to Rs two lakh).
1. PROMOTION CANNOT BE REGULATION:BRAI Bill makes promotion of modern biotechnology as its objective (A bill to promote the safe use of modern biotechnology..).
* For promoting modern biotechnology, there are already policies and schemes in place and this does not need a regulatory statute.
* Regulation of modern biotechnology is necessary because it poses risks to environment and health; Biosafety protection should therefore be the central function of regulation, which is not the case with BRAI Bill.
* The existing regulatory regime through EPA 1989 Rules have biosafety protection as the basis for regulation. There is no reason why BRAI Bill should be otherwise.
1. WRONG MINISTRY TABLING THE BILL & HOUSING THE AUTHORITY:The BRAI Billpreamble expressly refers to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (2003) as reasons for the Bill being necessary. The
* nodal Ministry for the CBD is Ministry for Environment & Forests and it is not clear why the Ministry of S&T has tabled the Bill.
* Further, the Ministry of Science & Technology is a promoter of modern biotechnology, spending crores of rupees for R&D in this field. Promoters cannot be regulators, as it constitutes an inherent conflict of interest.
3. EXPEDIENCY CLAUSE FOR UNIONS CONTROL UNJUSTIFIED:The constitutional authority of state governments over their Agriculture is violated through an Expediency Clause (2. Declaration as to expediency of control by Union). Such an expediency clause is glaringly absent with other regulatory bills like Seeds Bill and Pesticides Management Bill in agri-sector and has no justification to be included here, esp. after the authority of state governments is being asserted in regulatory practice.
4. NARROW, CENTRALISED DECISION-MAKING BODY:India at present has a multi-ministerial, broad-based regulatory body called Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee. At a time when Bt brinjal was approved by the regulators in October 2009, only to be later overturned by the Govt of Indias moratorium decision in February 2010 after obtaining scientific and other feedback on the matter, GEAC was a 31-member body. This is just to point out that even such a body went wrong in its decision.
* Against this backdrop, it is surprising that BRAI is being proposed as a narrow, centralized, 5-member decision-making body (3 full time and 2 part-time, at that!).
* The BRAI Bill further states that no proceeding shall be invalidated merely by reason of any vacancy in the Authority (Sec. 13), which means that just a couple of people can also end up taking decisions!
5. BYPASSING RTI ACT:Right to Information is sought to be bypassed by the BRAI Bill in the garb of Confidential Commercial Information (Sec. 28 (1)).
Biosafety data cannot be confidential commercial information and Supreme Court Orders in a PIL related to GMOs have already set a precedent for this.
* LACK OF DEMOCRATIC FUNCTIONING:The BRAI Bill does not have anything related to mandatory public consultations, though this is enshrined in the Cartagena Protocol to whichIndia is a signatory.
11. GRAM SABHAS/BIODIVERSITY MANAGEMENT COMMITTEES FIND NO RECOGNITION:TheBRAI Bill has no acknowledgement of constitutional authority of PRIs/Gram Sabhas over their natural resources, nor of BMCs under the Biological Diversity Act, in its decision-making mechanisms.
13. NO RISK MANAGEMENT PLANS:The BRAI Bill has no mechanisms for reviewing and revoking approvals. No risk management mechanisms are built into this proposed legislation.
TOOTHLESS ENVIRONMENT APPRAISAL PANEL:Under Section 26 of BRAI Bill, an Environment Appraisal Panel is proposed, which is a mechanism brought in under pressure from the then Environment Minister. However, this has been rendered into a toothless body by Section 27 (4).
TOUCH SCREEN TECHNOLOGY
A touchscreen is an electronic visual display that the user can control through simple or multi-touch gestures by touching the screen with one or more fingers
There are a variety of touchscreen technologies that have different methods of sensing touch.
Resistive System
The resistive system consists of a normal glass panel that is covered with a conductive and a resistive metallic layer. These two layers are held apart by spacers, and a scratch-resistant layer is placed on top of the whole setup. An electrical current runs through the two layers while the monitor is operational.
When a user touches the screen,the two layers make contact in that exact spot. The change in the electrical field is noted and the coordinates of the point of contact are calculated by the computer.
Resistive touch is used in restaurants, factories and hospitals due to itshigh resistance to liquids and contaminants. A major benefit of resistive touch technology is its low cost. Disadvantages include the need to press down, and a risk of damage by sharp objects.
Resistive touchscreens also suffer frompoorer contrast, due to having additional reflections from the extra layer of material placed over the screen.
Capacitive System
In the capacitive system, a layer that stores electrical charge is placed on the glass panel of the monitor. When a user touches the monitor with his or her finger, some of the charge is transferred to the user, so the charge on the capacitive layer decreases. This decrease is measured in circuits located at each corner of the monitor.
Unlike a resistive touchscreen, one cannot use a capacitive touchscreen through most types of electrically insulating material, such as gloves. This disadvantage especially affects usability in consumer electronics, such as touch tablet PCs andcapacitive smartphones in cold weather. Advantages include good contrast.
The surface acoustic wave System
On the monitor of a surface acoustic wave system,two transducers(one receiving and one sending) are placed along the x and y axes of the monitors glass plate.Also placed on the glass are reflectors they reflect an electrical signal sent from one transducer to the other. The receiving transducer is able to tell if the wave has been disturbed by a touch event at any instant, and can locate it accordingly.
The surface acoustic wave setup is usually the most expensive. The wave setup has no metallic layers on the screen, allowing for 100% light throughout and perfect image clarity. This makes the surface acoustic wave system best for displaying detailed graphics
MyIndia Initiative-A Digital Volunteer Programme.By I & B ministry.
* The initiative aims at disseminating the development messages across the Social Media platforms by registering citizens as volunteers in an effort to contribute positively towards nation building.
* It was a programme rooted in the principles of participative governance leading to real time engagement through the Social Media tools. The Minister called upon the youth to be part of the Digital Volunteer Family that would enable the Government to have a personalised interaction with the citizens.
* a Digital Volunteer
* 1.may like to talkabout Government Initiatives by retweeting themessages tweetedby MIB's Twitter Handle@MIB_India
* 2.may share Ministry's Tweets (@MIB_India), Facebook Posts (facebook.com/inbministry), Blog posts (inbministry.blogspot.in) and share YouTube Channel videos(youtube.com/user/inbministry) on Social Networking sites
* 3.may mention Official Twitter handle of MIB@MIB_Indiain tweets to facilitate real time engagement.
* 4.may suggest ways to reach out to people on social media
Some topics I have in my opinion are important for any year mains like the e-KYC,bionics and like. I have just copy pasted all my different docs into a single one. So the formatting may not be upto the mark. You may even find some info out of place. I am just sharing this out of interest. You may find some of the articles exact copies from some other sites. So please dont blame me for just copy pasting them because as I mentioned this is my revision note. So no pressure. Take it or leave it.
MAMA NATLIE
a massive pan-India initiative has been launched by the apex body of obstetricians and gynaecologists to reduce MMR (maternal mortality rate) and ensure that mother survives during childbirth.
The initiative seeks to build the skills of medical officers and frontline healthcare workers like nurses through standardized evidence-based protocol to tackle bleeding after birth and hypertensive disorders, which together account for 60-70 per cent maternal deaths, according to Hema Divakar, president of the Federation of Obstetric & Gynaecological Societies of India(FOGSI).
Under the save mother initiative, fast track teams from FOGSI have been visiting both government and private hospitals across the country to train and upgrade the skills with the use of an innovative machine -- Mama Natalie -- a birthing simulator which mimics the entire process of delivery.
It was being used to basically to improve the skills
E-toilets
Kerala's own electronic toilets (e-toilets), one of the prominent innovations of the state in public health, hygiene and sanitation sector, would now be seen featured at the scenic an snow covered valleys of Jammu and Kashmir also.
The e-toilets are designed on the lines of the Australian National Public Toilet Map.
The user, could view the toilet map via the Internet or the cell phone, select the nearest toilet station, set a parking space, make payment, view the timings and get other details on allied facilities.
Need for a Sustainable Intervention in Sanitation sector
Urban and Semi Urban areas -These areas face severe problems with respect to standard public toilets, cleanliness and better sanitation amenities in particular. The cities and towns being overpopulated pose severe health hazards arising due to unhygienic conventional sanitation methods being followed in these areas. The introduction of the proposed sanitation system would radically change the plight of the existing toilets and public sanitation system in place.
Social Relevance - Unhygienic sanitation cause infection and related diseases especially in women and children. The level of privacy, dignity and safety for women can be rendered in the best possible manner by installing Electronic Public Toilets in all possible public locations.
Unhygienic Tourist Spots - Tourism is also facing the ill-effects of the deplorable sanitation conditions in the country. Several tourist spots and connecting roads are a pity to the country and are causing discomfort for the tourists. Chances of getting infected with severe communicable diseases in the Indian streets do create doubts for the tourists in choosing it as their destination.
* . In a perfect situation, a public toilet should have the capabilities to address waste management, effective water usage and sustainability as core challenges among various other issues. eToilet is positioned as the perfect solution which addresses all these effectively; it is cost effective, appropriate and suitable for the geographic and demographic patterns of any location.
* The Innovation
* The idea was to develop an eco-friendly public sanitation system for the Indian sub-continent based on a novel convergence of electronic, mobile, web and bio technologies, for serving as an affordable, sustainable and effective public toilet service inIndia.
* The e-Toilet works on total auto mode: The insertion of a coin opens the door for the user, switches on the light - thus saving energy - and even directs the user with audio commands. The toilets are programmed to flush 1.5 liters of water if the user takes up to 3 minutes, and 4.5 liters of water if the usage is longer.
* They can also be programmed to clean the platform after every 5 or 10 persons use the toilet.
* The e-Toilet is the result of a convergence of electronics, web and mobile technologies, featuring automated door opening, power flushing, automatic closet washing and sterilization, and automatic platform cleaning mechanism, all backed by SMS alerts to inform the control room about the status of water tank and bio gas plant in the event of any errors or failures through which the downtime can be minimized.
* The solid and liquid wastes are treated scientifically. A bio-membrane reactor is used to treat solid wastes and the water used is purified for reuse. The uniqueness of the solution lies in the built-in electronic innovations that will facilitate self cleaning of the toilets with minimum water usage, and treatment of solid waste and water with an environment friendly sewage treatment solution.
* Highlights of the Project
*
* As on date, appropriate and cost effective technology is not used anywhere in India in the sanitation sector eToilet is a model that is a hybrid one, synergizing technologies in Electronics, Mechanical, Information Technology, etc., for a very cost effectiveand modular design.
* Automatic un-manned toilet (Wet type) is an innovation inIndia; it is especially important as the unit has the capabilities for self washing and sterilization. Sterilization will be helpful in containing serious communicable diseases.
* Use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for the management of the unit incorporating GPRS facilities.
* eToilet also incorporates a unique advertisement revenue model which ensures the units sustainability and adds to its ambience. The ad panels offer manifold revenue opportunities as this is a highly lucrative model especially in metros and several public locations. Also the units have the capability of adopting high-tech advertisement displays such as revolving ads which adds to its aesthetics and sustainability. This sustainability model is highly relevant in a tourist spot, where employment opportunities can be created and extra cleanliness can be ensured, with the income thus generated.
TELEMATICS
* Telematicstypically is any integrated use oftelecommunicationsandinformatics, also known as ICT (Information and Communications Technology). Hence the application of telematics is with any of the following:
The technology of sending, receiving and storing information via telecommunication devices in conjunction with affecting control on remote objects.
The integrated use oftelecommunicationsandinformatics, for application in vehicles and with control of vehicles on the move.
Telematics includes but is not limited toGlobal Positioning Systemtechnology integrated with computers and mobile communications technology inautomotive navigation systems.
Most narrowly, the term has evolved to refer to the use of such systems withinroad vehicles, in which case the termvehicle telematicsmay be used.
* Telematics is a method of monitoring a vehicle. By combining a GPS system with on-board diagnostics it's possible to record and map exactly where a car is and how fast it's traveling, and cross reference that with how a car is behaving internally.
* Add communication over a 3G network and telematics can be used to send both data and communications back and forth between a vehicle and a central management system.
Smart grid
What is a Smart Grid?
An automated, widely distributed energy delivery network characterized by a two-way flow of electricity and information,
capable of monitoring and responding to changes in everything from power plants to customer preferences to individual appliances.
What are Smart Grid features?
1. Fully automated power delivery network that monitors and controls electricity flows
2. two-way flows of electricity and information between the power plant and the appliance, and all points in between
3. lowered carbon footprint and reduced emissions, increased access to renewable energy resources (like solar and wind)
4. Use of digital technology(smart digital meters prepaid meters) to save energy, reduce cost and increase reliability
5. reduced disruptions, improved efficiency and better asset utilization
What is Smart Grid vision for India?
Smart Grid Features
1. End of Load Shedding:Peak load shifting through a combination of direct control and differential pricing .
2. Reliable Power:Robust systems with self-healing capabilities; first step is improved monitoring
3. Cheaper power:Dramatic improvement in AT&C losses (Aggregate Technical and Commercial Losses) ? knowing where every kWh is going in real-time
4. More sustainable power:Integration of green and renewable resources at a massive scale ? enough to increase energy independence
5. Smart Grid will act as a backbone infrastructure to enable new business models like smart city, electric vehicles, smart communities apart from more resilient and efficient energy system and tariff structures.
6. Such grids will be able to coordinate the needs and capabilities of all generators, grid operators, distribution utilities, end users and electricity market stakeholders in such a way that it can optimise asset utilization, resource optimization, control and operation as well as reduction in losses.
GoI (ministry of power) establishedIndia Smart Grid Forum (ISGF)is a public private partnership (PPP) initiative of Ministry of Power, Government of India for accelerated development of smart grid technologies in the Indian power sector.
The India Smart Grid Task Forceunder the initiative, which is an inter ministerial group and will serve as government focal point for activities related to SMART GRID. It is undertaking a few smart grid pilot projects in India.
Challenges ahead
* The major challenge for implementing smart Grid in India is availability of funds. Huge investments are required in order to setup a link between the customers and the Smart Grid.
* To tackle the Smart Grid future, we need to havecompelling Smart Grid consumer products,collaborativevendor partnerships and a willing investment community.
* With the transition to digital electricity infrastructure comes the challenge of communication security and data management; as digital networks are more prone to malicious attacks from software hackers, security becomes the key issue to be addressed. Terrorist attacks are a cause for global concern in this regard.
Management of radioactive waste
In Indian context includes all types of radioactive wastes generated from the entire nuclear fuel cycle and also from installations using radionuclides in medicine, industry and research. In the choice of processes and technologies adopted utmost emphasis is given to waste minimisation and volume reduction. The comprehensive radioactive waste management operations are carried out fulfilling all prescribed regulatory requirements.
Safe management of nuclear waste has been accorded a high priority right from the inception of our nuclear energy programme. Nuclear waste in gaseous, liquid and solid forms is generated during operation & maintenance activities of nuclear facilities. The processing technologies adopted for management of nuclear waste are summarised below:
(1) Gaseous waste is treated at the source of generation. The techniques used are adsorption on activated charcoal and filtration by high efficiency particulate air filter. The treated gases are then diluted with exhaust air and discharged through tall stack with monitoring.
(2) Liquid waste streams are treated by various techniques, such as filtration, adsorption, chemical treatment, evaporation, ion exchange, reverse osmosis etc. depending upon the nature, volume & radioactivity content. The emphasis is on volume reduction and the concentrate generated therefore is immobilised in inert materials like cement, etc.
(3) The radioactive solid waste generated during operation and maintenance of nuclear facilities are segregated and volume is reduced using various technologies like compaction and incineration.
The solid/solidified waste is packaged in suitable containers to facilitate handling, transport and disposal. Disposal of waste is carried out in specially constructed structures such as stone lined trenches, reinforced concrete trenches and tile holes.
(4) India has adopted closed fuel cycle option, which involves reprocessing and recycling of the spent fuel. During reprocessing, only about two to three percent of the spent fuel becomes waste and the rest is recycled. This waste, called high level waste (HLW), is converted into glass through a process, called vitrification. The vitrified waste is stored in a Solid Storage Surveillance Facility for 30-40 years with natural cooling prior to its disposal in a deep geological repository. The need for a deep geological repository will arise only after three to four decades.
e-KYC
* The Unique Identification Authority of India, UIDAI has developed the e-KYC (Electronic Know Your Customer) service, which promises to substantially improve customer services in the near future.The new offering,e-KYC allows an Aadhar number-holder to authorize UIDAI to release his personal details to any service provider to allow instant activation of services like bank account, mobile connection etc.
* Know Your Customer or KYC is a mandatory process that most financial institutions and mobile companies need to complete in regards to all their customers.
* Aadhar card is already a valid KYC instrument, still the KYC process takes much longer time and involves documentation.
* The e-KYC service being offered by UIDAI willenable to electronically verify identity and address proof of the residents, which will cut down time required on many things like getting a new mobile connection, opening a Bank account or a trading account etc.
* The authorization for release of personal data can either be done in person through biometric authentication or it can be done online using OTP (One Time Password).Upon successful authentication and consent of the resident, the UIDAI will provide the residents name, address, date of birth, gender, photograph, mobile number (if available), and email address (if available) to the service provider electronically.
* As the service is paperless and fully electronic, document management can be eliminated. Also, the KYC data being consent based, it can only be provided upon authorisation by the resident through Aadhaar authentication, thus protecting residents privacy.
*
* This process will eliminate the requirement of lengthy paperwork and facilitate quicker transactions. It is expected that the e-KYC will enhance customer convenience and greatly increase business efficiency across sectors. That apart, e-KYCwill also eliminate document forgery and reduces the risk of identity misuse.
* Both end-points of the data transfer are secured through the use of encryption and digital signature as per the Information Technology Act, 2000 making e-KYC document legally equivalent to paper documents.
* In addition, the use of encryption and digital signature ensures that no unauthorized parties in the middle can tamper or steal the data.
* The Ministry of Finance, has already recognized e-KYC as a valid document for all financial services under the Prevention of Money Laundering (PML) Rules.
* e-KYC is not only beneficial to consumers, but also to service providers because they do not have to store any kind of photo copies. Everything is centralized and stored digitally helping them save on paper costs.
* Sincethe entire data is machine readable, it is possible for the service provider to directly store it as the customer record in their database for purposes of service, audit, etc. without human intervention making the process low cost and error free.
* Additionally, e-KYC is instantaneous so service providers can start consumer service immediately, which will go a long way in enhancing customer satisfaction.
Frugal innovationorfrugal engineering
* Frugal innovationorfrugal engineeringis the process of reducing the complexity and cost of a good and its production.
* Usually this refers to removing nonessential features from adurable good, such as a car or phone, in order to sell it indeveloping countries.
* selling them, reliance on unconventionaldistributionschannels.[2]
* Sold to so-called "overlooked consumers", firms hope volume will offset razor-thinprofit margins.[2]
* Globalization[3]and rising incomes in developing countries may also drive frugal innovation.[4]
* Such services and products need not be of inferior quality but must be provided cheaply.
In India, the words "Gandhian"[9]or "jugaad",Hindifor a stop-gap solution,[10]are sometimes used instead of "frugal". Other terms with allied meanings include "inclusive innovation", "catalytic innovation", "reverse innovation", and "BOPinnovation", etc
The US$100One Laptop Per Childbut also services such as 1-cent-per-minute phone calls, mobile banking, off-grid electricity, and microfinance.[3]
ChotuKool fridge
A tiny refrigerator sold by Indian companyGodrej, the ChotuKool may have more in common withcomputer coolingsystems than other refrigerators; it eschews the traditional compressor for acomputer fan.[2](It may exploit thethermoelectric effect.)
Jaipur leg
A low cost prosthetic developed in India, theJaipur legcosts about $150 to manufacturer and includes some clever improvisations such as incorporating irrigation piping into the design to lower costs.[15]
Mobile banking
Mobile bankingsolutions in Africa, likeSafaricom'sM-Pesa, allow people access to basic banking services from their mobile phones.[18]Money transfers done through mobiles are also much cheaper than using a traditional method.[19]While some services can be accessed on a mobile alone, deposits and withdrawals necessitate a trip to a local agent.
Nokia 1100
Designed for developing countries, theNokia 1100is basic, durable, andbesides a flashlighthas few features other than voice and text.[21]Selling more than 200 million units only four years after its 2003 introduction[21]has made it the best selling phone of all time.
Sorghum beer
In Africa, several companies includingSABMillerandDiageo, following in the footsteps of local home brewers,[23]have made beer more affordable by usingsorghumorcassavain place of malting barley and reducing packaging costs by selling kegs not bottles.[24]
Solar light bulb
In some Philippine slums, solar skylights made from one liter soda bottles filled with water and bleach provide light equivalent to that produced by a 55 watt bulb and may reduce electricity bills by US$10 per month.[25]
Tata Nano
Designed to appeal to the many Indians who drive motorcycles, theTata Nanowas developed by Indian conglomerateTata Groupand is the cheapest car in the world
Experts note that a monorail is usually confused with cable car, light rail or tramways.
A monorail, in simple terms, is an electric-powered bus that runs on an elevated concrete beam. The Mumbai Monorail, which is the only such system that is currently under construction in India, is a four-car train, with a capacity of 140 passengers per car. The maximum capacity of the system is 10,000 passengers per hour per direction.
The capacity of a Metro system, which can accommodate up to nine cars, is about three to four times more. Thus, the capacity-to-cost ratio is better for a Metro system, even though the per kilometre construction cost is more.
For cities that have a population of less than three million, monorail is the ideal mode of transport. For denser cities, monorail can ideally serve as the feeder line that brings passengers in and takes them out of the Metro network.
monorail corridors should be ideally 15 km to 30 km in length and run through congested neighbourhoods with narrow roads where high manoeuvrability would be required.
Advocating the Kaula Lampur model, the official says that bus routes inside the city could be replaced by monorail corridors.
Biofuels four generations
Abiofuelis a type offuelwhose energy is derived from biologicalcarbon fixation.
Biofuels include fuels derived frombiomassconversion, as well assolid biomass, liquid fuelsand variousbiogases.
'First-generation' or conventional biofuels are biofuels made from sugar, starch, and vegetable oil.
1.1.1Bioalcohols
1.1.2Biodiesel
1.1.3Green diesel
1.1.4Vegetable oil
1.1.5Bioethers
1.1.6Biogas
1.1.7Syngas
1.1.8Solid biofuels
Second generationbiofuels, also known as advanced biofuels, are fuels that can be manufactured from various types ofbiomass. Biomass is a wide-ranging term meaning any source of organic carbon that is renewed rapidly as part of thecarbon cycle. Biomass is derived from plant materials but can also include animal materials. fromlignocellulosic biomassor woody crops, agricultural residues or waste, which makes it harder to extract the required fuel.
Goal of second generation biofuel processes is to extend the amount of biofuel that can be producedsustainablyby using biomass consisting of the residualnon-foodparts of current crops, such as stems,leavesandhusksthat are left behind once the food crop has been extracted, as well as other crops that are not used for food purposes
3rd-generation biofuel is basically advanced algae-based biodiesel . Algae are present in all ecosytems and can survive in many different environmental conditions. Using it as a biofuel could have an enormous amount of potential benefits.
Since algae uses carbon dioxide, it could grow in power plants and free more oxygen into the atmosphere.
In wastewater, algae can remove nitrogen and phosphorous and reduce pollution.
Microalgae can produce large amounts of lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates, which can be converted into biofuel.
Algae can double their mass several times a dayand produce at least 15 times more oil per acre than alternatives such as rapeseed, palms, soybeans, or jatropha.
Algae can also grow in salt water, freshwater or even contaminated water, at sea or in ponds, and on marginal land not suitable for food production
The biomass left-overfrom oil-pressing can either be fed to cattle as a protein supplement, or fermented into ethanol or produce butanol.
algae grow even better in media with high concentration of carbon dioxide (the main greenhouse gas) and organic material like wastewater, executing concurrently a much welcomed task ofturning wastes into resources.
4th-generation biofuels are created using petroleum-like hydroprocessing or advanced biochemistry. One such technology is the "solar-to-fuel" method (pictured above) developed byJoule Biotechnologywhich sounds pretty cool. In their model, sunlight, waste CO2 and engineered microorganisms combine in a "solar converter" to create fuel.
National Knowledge Network (NKN)
* National Knowledge Network (NKN) is arevolutionarystep towardscreating aknowledgesociety without boundaries.
* National Knowledge Network (NKN) project is aimed at establishing a strong and robust internal Indian network which will be capable of providing secure and reliable connectivity.bring together all the stakeholders from science, technology, higher education, healthcare, agriculture and governance to a common platform.
* Establishing NKN is a significant step towards ushering in a knowledge revolution in the country with connectivity to 1500+ institutions. NKN is intended to connect all the knowledge and research institutions in the country using high bandwidth / low latency network.
* Globally, frontier research and innovation are shifting towards multidisciplinary and collaborative paradigm and require substantial communication and computational power. In India, NKN with its multi-gigabit capability aims to connect all universities, research institutions, libraries, laboratories, healthcare and agricultural institutions across the country to address such paradigm shift.
* - Establishing a high-speed backbone connectivity which will enable knowledge and information sharing.
* - Enabling collaborative research, development and Innovation
* - Facilitating advanced distance education in specialized fields such as engineering, science, medicine etc.
* - Facilitating an ultra high speed backbone for e-Governance
* - Facilitating integration of different sectoral networks in the field of research, education, health, commerce and governance.
* NKN provides international connectivity to its users for global collaborative research. Presently, NKN is connected to Trans Eurasia Information Network (TEIN3). Similar connectivity to GLORIAD network is in the pipeline.
* Applications
* Countrywide Virtual Classroom
* The NKN is a platform for delivering effective distance education where teachers and students can interact in real time. This is especially significant in a country like India where access to education is limited by factors such as geography, lack of infrastructure facilities etc. The network enables co-sharing of information such as classroom lectures, presentations and handouts among different institutions.
*
* Collaborative Research
* The NKN enables collaboration among researchers from different entities like GLORIAD, TEIN3, GARUDA, CERN etc. NKN also enables sharing of scientific databases and remote access to advanced research facilities.
*
* Virtual Library
* The Virtual Library involving sharing of journals, books and research papers across different institutions, is a natural application for NKN.
* Sharing of Computing Resources
* High-performance computing is critical for national security, industrial productivity, and advances in science and engineering. The network enables a large number of institutions to access high-performance computing to conduct advanced research in areas such as weather monitoring, earthquake engineering and other computationally intensive fields.
* Grid Computing
* The NKN has the capability to handle high bandwidth with low latency and provision to overlay grid computing. Some of the grid based applications are climate change/global warming, science projects like Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and ITER. The NKN can be the platform to realize many such innovative applications. The Garuda Grid has enhanced its power and stability by migrating to NKN.
* Network Technology Test-bed
* NKN provides test-bed for testing and validation of services before they are made available to the production network. NKN also provides an opportunity to test new hardware & software, vendor interoperability etc.
Devap air-cooling system : The air conditioning installed in NALANDA UNIVERSITY
The Devap air-cooling system provides solution to AC necessity. This system provides dehumidified, cold and clean air, but with an added advantage of less electricity and less energy-usage.
It makes use of the chemical capabilities of desiccants. A desiccant is basically the hygroscopic substance which sustains or induces the dryness state in local vicinity in well-sealed container.
The Devap air-cooling system was designed in order to replace the standard units of AC so that there was less difficulty regarding installation.
It has been estimated that by making use of the Devap air-cooling system, the total energy savings are simulated to be somewhere between 40-80 percent. But the energy savings depend upon humidity level as well as geographical location.
Devap air-cooling system is a good solution for curbing the greenhouse effect because of its energy efficiency as well as environmentally respectful chemicals.
Though, this system has higher costs for commercial and residential units, but if operational costs are included, it becomes financially advantageous in the time span of just 30 years.
Wireless Communication Technologies
Wireless communicationis the transfer of information between two or more points that are not connected by an electrical conductor.
The most common wireless technologies use electromagnetic wireless telecommunications, such as radio. With radio waves distances can be short, such as a few metres for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometres for deep-space radio communications.
Though radio waves have lesser range of frequency spectrum, it is preferred over the shorter waves like UV or visible spectrum for following reasons:
1. For larger distances,the higher the frequency is, the faster the signal becomes attenuatedand the weaker it becomes. So, radio waves that have wavelengths of some 10 km to 100 km or more (frequency ~3KHz to 30KHz) can be used for long distances likeneighboringstates/towns and higher/lower frequency for short/long distances. Forvisible spectrum(~500 Tera Hz), transmitting over great distances is a problem without guided media (like optic cables).
2. Some people are working invisible light communicationbut that technology has not yet become commercially viable for outdoor distances yet.
3. UV or Visible spectrum can cause heating/ ionizing effects and can create some problems with beings.
4. Ionosphere cannot reflect UV or visible rays because their frequency is too high.
Near field communication (NFC)
Near field communication (NFC) is a set of standards for smartphones and similar devices to establish radio communication with each other by touching them together or bringing them into close proximity, usually no more than a fewcentimeters Present and anticipated applications include contactless transactions, data exchange, and simplified setup of more complex communications such as Wi-Fi.
NFC offers a low-speed connection with extremely simple setup, and can be used tobootstrapmore capable wireless connections like Bluetooth. NFC and Bluetooth are both short-range communication technologies that are integrated into mobile phones. As described in technical detail above, NFC operates at slower speeds than Bluetooth, but consumes far less power and doesnt require pairing.
NFC can be used in social networking situations, such as sharing contacts, photos, videos or files and entering multiplayer mobile games. Most importantly,
The Pay-Buy-Mobile initiative seeks to define a common global approach to using Near Field Communications (NFC) technology to link mobile devices with payment and contact less systems.
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a standard wire-replacement communications protocol primarily designed for low power consumption, with a short range based on low-cost transceiver microchips in each device. Because the devices use a radio (broadcast) communications system, they do not have to be in visual line of sight of each other, however a quasi-optical wireless path must be viable. It can connect several devices, overcoming problems of synchronization.
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi have some similar applications: setting up networks, printing, or transferring files. Wi-Fi is intended as a replacement for cabling for general local area network access in work areas. This category of applications is sometimes called wireless local area networks (WLAN). Bluetooth was intended for portable equipment and its applications. Wi-Fi uses the same radio frequencies as Bluetooth, but with higher power, resulting in higher bit rates and better range from the base station.
WiFi
A wireless network usesradio waves, just likecell phones,televisionsand radios do. In fact, communication across a wireless network is a lot like two-way radio communication.
* A computers wireless adapter translates data into a radio signal and transmits it using an antenna.
* A wirelessrouterreceives the signal and decodes it. The router sends the information to the Internet using a physical, wiredEthernetconnection.
* The process also works in reverse, with the router receiving information from the Internet, translating it into a radio signal and sending it to the computers wireless adapter.
They transmit at frequencies of 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz. This frequency is considerably higher than the frequencies used for cell phones, walkie-talkies and televisions. The higher frequency allows the signal to carry more data.
LiFi
Li-Fi is the term some have used to label the fast and cheap wireless-communication system, which is the optical version of Wi-Fi. Li-Fi has the advantage of being able to be used in sensitive areas such as in aircraft without causing interference. However, the light waves used cannot penetrate walls. Also transmitting in visible light spectrum offers a wide range of frequencies however line of sight is necessary here.
RFID
RFID stands forRadio-Frequency Identification. The acronym refers to small electronic devices that consist of a small chip and an antenna. The RFID device serves the same purpose as a bar code or a magnetic strip on the back of a credit card or ATM card; it provides a unique identifier for that object. And, just as a bar code or magnetic strip must be scanned to get the information, the RFID device must be scanned to retrieve the identifying information.
A significant advantage of RFID devices over the others mentioned above is that the RFID device does not need to be positioned precisely relative to the scanner.
Some common problems with RFID arereader collisionandtag collision. Reader collision occurs when the signals from two or more readers overlap. The tag is unable to respond to simultaneous queries. Systems must be carefully set up to avoid this problem. Tag collision occurs when many tags are present in a small area; but since the read time is very fast, it can be avoided easily.
Barcode
A barcode is designed to eliminate manual entry and error. It is simply a series of stripes (usually black) on a light background (usually white) that can be scanned and read directly into a computer. They are interpreted virtually instantaneously and without errors by a bar code reading system. The elements (bars and spaces) in a bar code symbol must be of a consistent, proportional thickness and thinness.
Bar codes are read the same way that people read text from a page;the reflectance and absorption of light. A light of a given wavelength is beamed and moved across a bar code at a consistent speed. The reflected light is measured with a photoreceptor, tuned to look for light of the given wavelength. The off-and-on (white and black) pattern of the bar code creates an electrical wave that is sent on to a computer chip called a decoder. The decoder then deciphers the signal into something the waiting computer understands.
The main advantage is it is simple and very economical to use. Disadvantage is that the bar code is to be read in line of sight unlike theRFID technology.
QR Codes
QR Code is a very efficient, two-dimensional (2D) barcode symbologythat uses a small area of square modules with a unique perimeter pattern, which helps the barcode scanner determine cell locations and decode the QR Code symbol.
Characters, numbers, text and actual bytes of data may be encoded, including Unicode characters and images.
QR Code
QR Codes are commonly used with smart-phone devices such as the iPhone, Blackberry, Android and Windows 7 Phones to direct users to additional information about a particular topic like website url, image, social media hubs, email addresses etc. QR Codes are some of the smallest and most dependable barcodes in use today.
The QR Code symbology is approximately 30 times smaller than a barcode representing the same data.
QR Code is also a good choice when sending barcodes over faxed documents, because the symbol can withstand many poor resolution and scanning issues.
A QR code can carry up to some hundred times the amount of information a conventional barcode is capable of.
A QR code is capable of being read in 360 degrees, from any direction, thus eliminating any interference and negative effects from backgrounds.
the algorithm which is used to create QR codes will allow for an error margin (approx. 7-30%). Well, this doesnt just help with scanning purposes in case the item or code in question is dirty or damaged
E-waste management rules 2011
* It aims at reduction of the use of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment by specifying threshold for use of hazardous material including lead, mercury and cadmium.
* The rules will apply to every producer, consumer or bulk consumer, collection centre, dismantler and recycler of e-waste involved in the manufacture, sale, and purchase and processing of electrical and electronic equipment or components.
* However, they will not apply to lead acid batteries as covered under the batteries (Management and Handling) Rules, 2001, micro and small enterprises as defined in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 (27 of 2006) and radio-active wastes as covered under the provisions of the Atomic Energy Act, 1962
* Sectors like information and telecommunications equipment and consumer electrical and electronics falling within the specified categories will have to ensure that the products do not contain lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, poly-brominated biphenyls or poly-brominated di-phenyl ethers above a specified threshold.
* The rules place the main responsibility of e-waste management on the producers of the electrical and electronic equipment by introducing the concept of extended producer responsibility (EPR). According to which Personal Computer manufacturers, mobile handset makers and white goods makers will be required to come up with e-waste collection centres or introduce take back systems.
* EPR is the main feature of the rules, wherein the producer of electrical and electronic equipment is given the responsibility of managing such equipment after its end of life; thus the producer is responsible for their products once the consumer discards them.
* Under EPR, the producer is also entrusted with the responsibility to finance and organise a system to meet the costs involved in complying with EPR.
* Under the new rules, producers will have to make consumers aware about the hazardous components present in the product. Also, instructions for consumers for handling the equipment after its use along with the dos and donts. They will also have to give information booklets to prevent e-waste from being dropped in garbage bins.
* The State Pollution Control Board will be required to prepare and submit to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) an annual report (based on the data received by consumers) with regard to implementation of these rules, by September 30 of every year. On receiving which, the CPCB will have to prepare a consolidated annual review on management of e-waste and forward it to the government along with its recommendations by December 30 of every year.
* Wastes generated are required to be sold to a registered or authorized recycler or re-processor having environmentally sound facilities. The rule has provision for setting up of collection centre individually or jointly; or by a registered society or a designated agency; or by an association to collect e-waste.
* Under the e-waste rules, 2011, in case of non compliance with any of the conditions of the authorization or with any provision of the act or the rules, the SPCB/PCC may cancel or suspend the authorization issued under these rules for such period as it considers necessary in the public interest.
Dark matter
dark matter is estimated to constitute 84.5% of the total matter in the universe and 26.8% of the total content of the universe.[`
* Dark matter is composed of particles that do not absorb, reflect, or emit light, so they cannot be detected by observing electromagnetic radiation.
* Scientists study dark matter by looking at the effects it has on visible objects. Scientists believe that dark matter may account for the unexplained motions of stars withingalaxies.
* Understanding dark matter is important to understanding the size, shape and future of the universe. The amount of dark matter in the universe will determine if the universe is open (continues to expand), closed (expands to a point and then collapses) or flat (expands and then stops when it reaches equilibrium).
* Understanding dark matter will also aid in definitively explaining the formation and evolution of galaxies and clusters. As a galaxy spins it should be torn apart. This does not happen, so something is holding the galaxy together.
* The something isgravity; the amount of gravity required to do this, however, is enormous and could not be generated by the visible matter in the galaxy.
Waste-to-energy(WtE)
* Waste-to-energy(WtE) orenergy-from-waste(EfW) is the process of generating energy in the form ofelectricityand/orheatfrom the incineration ofwaste. WtE is a form ofenergy recovery.
* Most WtE processes produce electricity and/or heat directly through combustion, or produce a combustible fuel commodity, such asmethane,methanol,ethanolor synthetic fuels
* Incineration, the combustion of organic material such as waste with energy recovery, is the most common WtE implementation. Modern incinerators reduce the volume of the original waste by 95-96 percent, depending upon composition and degree of recovery of materials such as metals from the ash for recycling.
WtE technologies other than incineration
There are a number of other new and emerging technologies that are able to produce energy from waste and other fuels without direct combustion. Many of these technologies have the potential to produce more electric power from the same amount of fuel than would be possible by direct combustion. This is mainly due to the separation of corrosive components (ash) from the converted fuel, thereby allowing higher combustion temperatures in e.g.boilers,gas turbines,internal combustion engines,fuel cells.
Some are able to efficiently convert the energy intoliquidor gaseous fuels:
Thermal technologies:
* Gasification(produces combustible gas,hydrogen,synthetic fuels)
* Thermal depolymerization(produces synthetic crude oil, which can be further refined)
* Pyrolysis(produces combustibletar/biooilandchars)
* Plasma arc gasificationor plasma gasification process (PGP) (produces richsyngasincludinghydrogenandcarbon monoxideusable for fuel cells or generating electricity to drive the plasma arch, usable vitrified silicate and metal ingots, salt and sulphur)
Non-thermal technologies:
* Anaerobic digestion(Biogasrich inmethane)
* Fermentationproduction (examples are ethanol, lactic acid, hydrogen)
* Mechanical biological treatment(MBT)
* MBT +Anaerobic digestion
* MBT toRefuse derived fuel
ATOMIC CLOCKS
* An atomic clock works like a conventional clock but the time-base of the clock, instead of being an oscillating mass as in a pendulum clock, is based on the properties of atoms when transitioning between different energy states.
An atom, when excited by an external energy source, goes to a higher energy state. Then, from this state, it goes to a lower energy state. In this transition, the atom releases energy at a very precise frequency which is characteristic of the type of atom. This is like a signature for the type of material used. All that is needed for making a good clock is a way of detecting this frequency and using it as an input to a counter. This is the principle behind an atomic clock.
* GPS satellites useatomic clocks: a precision clock that depends for its operation on an electrical oscillator regulated by the natural vibration frequencies of an atomic system (as a beam of cesium atoms)
* Types of atomic clocks(How things Work)
* Cesium atomic clocks employ a beam of cesium atoms. The clock separates cesium atoms of different energy levels by magnetic field.
* Hydrogen atomic clocks maintain hydrogen atoms at the required energy level in a container with walls of a special material so that the atoms don't lose their higher energy state too quickly.
* Rubidium atomic clocks, the simplest and most compact of all, use a glass cell of rubidium gas that changes its absorption of light at the optical rubidium frequency when the surrounding microwave frequency is just right.
* rubidium atomic frequency standards and passive hydrogen masers. The stability of the rubidium clock is so good that it would lose only three seconds in one million years, while the passive hydrogen maser is even more stable and it would lose only one second in three million years.
AAKRUTI INITIATIVE
* BARC and Department of Atomic Energy initiated AKRUTI under their societal initiative to create structured and scalable network of technology nodes in rural areas providing easy access to modern technologies to all villagers in their own village. Advance Knowledge and Rural Technology Implementation (AKRUTI)
* BARC scientists work in co-operation with NGOs around the villages and help villagers in experimenting and creating their own technology, with which they can help other villagers in the area.
* The utilisation of Non-Power Applications (NPAs) and Spinoff technologies (spinoffs) in the area of water, land, agriculture, tissue culture, food processing and urban-rural waste management was envisaged for techno-economic growth of the rural sector.
* The programme would take the fruits of technology to every villager in the remote corner and provide inclusive growth to the rural sector and tap the hidden innovative capability of large rural population.
The programme AKRUTI-KRUTIK-FORCE aims to create structured and scalable network of technology nodes in rural areas providing easy access to modern technologies to all villagers in their own villages.
AKRUTI is an acronym for Advance Knowledge and RUral Technology Implementation programme. Through this programme, the technology centre called AKRUTI node is set up in a village. This is done under the guidance of BARC, through technically oriented NGOs working in that village. AKRUTI node will park number of BARC developed technologies for use by villagers.
These technologies are demonstrated and taken to different villages around the AKRUTI node via working centres established in different villages around AKRUTI. These working centres are called KRUTI Kendra viz. KRUTIK.
KRUTIK stands for Knowledge and RUral Technology Implementation Kendra, which works with villagers and farmers groups and deploy these technologies in their own villages and in the fields.
These groups are known as FORCE meaning Farmers Organised group for Rural Creative Entrepreneurship. Each member of FORCE group is made familiar with technologies of AKRUTI through KRUTIK.
AKRUTI and KRUTIKs will function coherently and will create large number of FORCE groups in different villages who will benefit from the use of the technologies in AKRUTI node
RISUG A Male Contraceptive
RISUG(which is an acronym for Reversible Inhibition of Sperm Under Guidancer) is an injectable compound developed at IIT Kharagpur that partially blocks the vasa deferentia (tubes that carry sperm), providing effective contraception for up to 10 years per dose. Phase III clinical trials are underway in India, slowed by insufficient volunteers. It has been patented in India, China, Bangladesh, and the United States.
RISUG
Technical Details
RISUG involves placing a polymer calledstyrene maleic anhydride(SMA) that is mixed with a solvent called dimethyl sulfoxide(DMSO) inside the vas deferens of the male reproductive system. At a very basic level, the polymer used in RISUG zaps the negative electrical charge of the sperm as it travels through the vas deferens and makes the sperm incapable of fertilizing an egg.
RISUG is similar to vasectomy but with several advantages. They include
1. Reversible:More easily reversible than that of vasectomy. If a man wishes to restore fertility, whether after months or years, the polymer is flushed out of the vas with another injection.
2. Convenience:There is no interruption before the sexual act.
3. Cost:The shot itself costs less than the syringe used to administer it
Graphene
Graphene is the third sibling of what is called new carbon, the other two being football-shaped fullerenesdubbed buckyballsand carbon nanotubes.
* It is 100 times stronger than the strongest steel, yet almost completely transparent because it is ultra-thin.
* Graphene could create super-fast telecommunications and electronics,
* and when mixed with plastic and other materials, create new kinds of light, flexible and strong things, from planes to tennis rackets to touch screens.
* inside the silicon chip, old-generation copper wires predominate, slowing and heating up computers. There are many problems to solve, one of them being that graphene conducts signals so well that it cant be stopped
* Although there are other materials competing to replace copper and silicon, graphene appears to be a leading contender, not just because of its physical properties but, equally, because it may be relatively cheap and easy to produce. Its raw material, graphite, can cost less than $5 per kg.
ASH IN INDIAN COAL
* The ash content of coal used by thermal power plants in India varies between 25 and 45%. However, coal with an ash content of around 40% is predominantly used in India for thermal power generation. As a consequence, a huge amount of fly ash (FA) is generated in thermal power plants, causing several disposal-related problems.
* Disposal of FA is a growing problem as only 15% of FA is currently used for high value addition applications like concrete and building blocks, the remainder being used for land filling. In china usage approaching 99 %.
* Ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) is a by-product from the blast-furnaces used to make iron. GGBS is a glassy, granular, non metallic material consisting essentially of silicates and aluminates of calcium and other bases.
* Alternative but promising gainful utility of FA and GGBS in construction industry that has emerged in recent years is in the form of Geopolymer cement concretes (GPCCs), which by appropriate process technology utilize all classes and grades of FA and GGBS
* The global release of CO2 from all sources is estimated at 23 billion tonnes a year and the Portland cement production accounts for about 7% of total CO2 emissions.
Geopolymer cement concretes (GPCC)
* Geopolymer cement concretes (GPCC) are Inorganic polymer composites, which are prospective concretes with the potential to form a substantial element of an environmentally sustainable construction by replacing/supplementing the conventional concretes. GPCC have high strength, with good resistance to chloride penetration, acid attack, etc. These are commonly formed by alkali activation of industrial aluminosilicate waste materials such as FA and GGBS, and have a very small Greenhouse footprint when compared to traditional concretes.
* Two main constituents of geopolymers are: source materials and alkaline liquids. The source materials on alumino-silicate should be rich in silicon (Si) and aluminium (Al). They could be by-product materials such as fly ash, silica fume, slag, rice-husk ash, red mud, etc.
* Composition of Geopolymer Cement Concrete Mixes
* Following materials are generally used to produce GPCCs:
* Fly ash,
* GGBS,
* Fine aggregates and
* Coarse aggregates
* Catalytic liquid system (CLS): It is an alkaline activator solution (AAS) for GPCC. It is a combination of solutions of alkali silicates and hydroxides, besides distilled water. The role of AAS is to activate the geopolymeric source materials (containing Si and Al) such as fly ash and GGBS.
* Because of lower internal energy (almost 20% to 30 % less) and lower CO2 emission contents of ingredients of geopolymer based composites compared to those of conventional Portland cement concretes
BIONICS
* Bionics(also known asbiomimicry,biomimetics,bio-inspiration,biognosis, and close tobionical creativity engineering) is the application of biologicalmethodsand systems found innatureto the study and design ofengineeringsystems and moderntechnology.[
Roughly, we can distinguish three biological levels in the fauna or flora, after which technology can be modeled:
* Mimicking naturalmethods of manufacture
* Imitatingmechanismsfound in nature (velcro)
* Studyingorganizational principles from thesocial behaviour of organisms
In medicine[edit]
Bionicsis a term which refers to the flow of concepts frombiologytoengineeringand vice versa. Hence, there are two slightly different points of view regarding the meaning of the word.
In medicine,bionicsmeans the replacement or enhancement oforgansor other body parts by mechanical versions. Bionic implants differ from mereprosthesesby mimicking the original function very closely, or even surpassing it.
Applications of Bionics
Bionics is applied in the technical aspects such as architecture, medical, industrial design and material science etc.
Applications of Bionics in Medical Field:
In medicine, Bionics means the replacement or enhancement of organs or other body parts by using mechanical versions. Bionic implants differ from prostheses by mimicking the original function very closely, or even surpassing it. The structural and functional principles of organ systems in living things are analyzed by bionomists and then apply those principles while building useful artificial systems and machines. Popular science fiction works featuring super human power by electromechanical implants will soon become reality. They will be composed with bionic limbs, bionic eye and cochlear implants.
Biochips:Biochip implant is a small (micro) computer chip, inserted under the skin; it consists of a transponder and a reader or scanner Radiofrequency identification system for identification purpose.
Transponder:A transponder is a passive device consists of a microchip that activates by sending low-power electrical charge.
Scanner:It displays the activation code in the microchip which is different for different chips.
Gene Chip:It is nothing but small DNA segments chemically synthesized. The cells made on Quartz surface can hold DNA from a different human gene. For example, a patient with a sore throat could be tested with a gene chip in order to identify the source of the infection and its antibiotic susceptibility profile.
ScannerTraspondar KeyGENE Chips
Electronic Senses:"Electronic sensing" refers to the capability of reproducing human senses using sensor arrays and pattern recognition systems. These can be used to detect poisonous and obnoxious odors and can provide quality control for different food stuff.
Electronic Tongue:The electronic tongue is an instrument that measures and compares tastes like human receptors.
Artificial heart:It replaces the biological heart. In early 1980s Dr. William De Vries implanted the Jarvik7 artificial heart into several patients wherein one patient survived 620 days. Heart-lung machine and the mechanical heart are the two types of artificial-hearts.
Bionic Ear:It is an electronic device that provides a sense of sound. Electrodes implanted in the cochlea stimulate auditory nerves which will help in hearing. In this implant tiny wires are inserted to the cochlea and a microphone is fixed to the skull.
Bionic Hand:It has multi-articulating joints that are hook like, simple to open and close. They also have power to hold things Bionic limbs allows rotating, bending, opening and closing in some instances. Man can lead truly improved life with the aid of bionics that has progressed to an amazing level.
Bionic Leg:It performs the task by receiving data from sensors, sends commands to motor of amputee. Sensors in the device and inside the shoe detect user action (for example, sitting, standing, climbing stairs). Device provides external force to supplement muscle strength. Microprocessor in the device analyse the information.
Artificial HeartBionic HandBionic EarBionic Leg
Bionic Eye:Bionic eye can provide sight the detection of light, to the people whom have gone blind due to the macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa. Photoreceptors of the eye are damaged in both the disease.
The bionic eye consists of five main parts:
* Adigital camerabuilt into a pair of glasses.
* Avideo processing microchipbuilt into a hand unit.
* Aradio transmitterthat wirelessly transmits pulses to implanted receiver above the ear or under eye.
* Aradio receiverfor sending pulses to the retinal implant.
* Aretinal implantwith an array of 60 electrodes on a chip.
This entire system works on battery with video processing unit. After capturing the image Eg-tree in the form of pixels, the camera sends this image to the video processor. The function of the video processor is to convert the pattern of pixels into a continuous electrical pulses and send them to the radio transmitter on the glasses.
These pulses are transmitted in radio form to the receiver under the subject's skin, by radio transmitter.
The receiver sends the pulses to the electrode array at the back of the eye. The array acts as an equivalent of the retina's photoreceptors. The pulses stimulate the electrodes. The electrical signals generated by the stimulation of the electrode, travel as neural signals to the visual center of the brain. Thus, the problem of macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa, can be rectified by bionic eye. By bionic eye, the optical-nueral pathways function similar to that of healthy eye. The brain interprets the signals as tree and tells the subject-You are seeing a tree.
* UNDERGROUND COAL GASIFICATION
India has relatively large reserves of coal (253 billion tonnes) compared to crude oil (728 million tonnes) and natural gas (686 billion cubic meters). Coal meets about 60% of the commercial energy needs and about 70% of the electricity produced in India comes from coal, and therefore there is a need for technologies for utilization of coals efficiently and cleanly.
Underground coal gasication is a promising technology as it is a combination of mining, exploitation and gasication.
The main motivation for moving toward UCG as the future coal utilizing technique is the environmental and other advantages over the conventional mining process. Some of these benets include
increased worker safety,
no surface disposal of ash and coal tailings,
low dust and noise pollution,
low water consumption,
larger coal resource exploitation and
low methane emission to atmosphere
UCG is particularly advantageous for deep coal deposits and steeply dipping coal seams since at these conditions less gas leakages to the surroundings and high pressures favor methane formation.
Properties of Indian coals
Coal deposits in India are of two distinct geological ages.The earliest coal deposits are of the Permian age formed about 270 million years ago, when South Africa, South America, Antarctica, Australia, India and Madagascar formed a landmass called Gondwanaland.
Coals formed in Gondwanaland are known as Gondwana coal.
* The otherdeposits are of the Tertiary age (3060 million years age)
* Indian coal is mostly of sub-bituminous rank, followed by bituminous and lignite (brown coal).
* The ash content of coal ranges from 35% to 50%. Indian coal is mostly of the non-coking variety.
Injecting oxygen and steam instead of air produces the most useful product gas, since the dilution effect of nitrogen is avoided. The main constituents of the product gas are H 2 , CO 2 , CH4 and steam
* Hydrogen peroxide prolongs the coagulation time of milk.
* The synthetic milk technology was invented by milkmen of Kurukshetra (Haryana) about 15 years. The technology later spread to the other states like Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and the practice is feared to have been adopted in the deficit areas of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Orissa too.
* Synthetic milk is prepared by mixing urea, caustic soda, refined oil (cheap cooking oil) and common detergents. Detergents are added to emulsify and dissolve the oil in water giving the frothy solution, the characteristic white colour of milk. Refined oil is used as a substitute for milk fat. Caustic soda is added to the blended milk to neutralize the acidity, thereby preventing it from turning sour during transport. Urea/ sugar are added for solid-not-fat (SNF).
* Urea and caustic soda are very harmful to heart, lever and kidneys. Urea is an additional burden for kidneys as they have to do more work to remove urea from the body. Caustic soda which contains sodium acts as slow poison for those suffering from hypertension and heart ailments. Caustic soda also deprives the body from utilizing lysine, an essential amino acid in milk, which is required by growing babies.
CRYOGENIC ENGINES
* The cryogenic engines have the following advantages compared to other technologies,
* High Energy per unit mass
* Propellants like oxygen and hydrogen in liquid form give very high amounts of energy per unit mass due to which the amount of fuel to be carried aboard the rockets decreases.
* Clean Fuels
* Hydrogen and oxygen are extremely clean fuels. When they combine, they give out only water. This water is thrown out of the nozzle in form of very hot vapor. Thus the rocket is nothing but a high burning steam engine.
* Economical
* Use of oxygen and hydrogen as fuels is very economical, as liquid oxygen costs less than gasoline.
Solid vs Liquid Propellant
* Liquid propellant,which was easier to operate, since it makes it possible to stop and re-start the engine.
* Solid propulsion is more advantageous in lower stages, which require a stronger thrust.
* the advantage of solid propellant lies in its security, thus it is much better adapted for missiles operated aboard submarines.
* From an economical point of view, due to the complexity of their design and production, liquid systems are generally considered expensive, especially when it comes to having a long-range, for which some components are difficult to produce
Solid-fuel advantagesSolid-fuel disadvantagesLiquid-fuel advantagesLiquid-fuel disadvantages
Very stable, durableCan't be turned off- once the burn starts, it goes until fuel is used up.Variable thrust- the amount of fuel and rate of burn can be changed in flightFragile, many complex parts
More thrust for a similar size rocketFuel decomposes, must be replaced.Liquid-fuel boosters are more easily re-usableOxidiser (liquid oxygen) must be kept extremely cold.
LTTD TECHNOLOGY
LOW TEMPERATURE THERMAL DESALINATION
* The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) had launched a program for development of Low Temperature Thermal Desalination (LTTD) technology for conversion of seawater into potable water, suitable for installation in the island territories and near the coastal Power Plants.
* The National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) an autonomous body of the Ministry of Earth Sciences has been responsible for design, develop, demonstrate and commission the LTTD plants in selected coastal locations.
* The worlds first ever low temperature thermal desalination [LTTD] plant was opened in Kavaratti, one of the Indian Lakshadweep islands
Mechanism
The LTTD is a process under which the warm surface sea water is flash evaporated at low pressure and the vapour is condensed with cold deep sea water
It involves flashing relatively warm water sea water inside a vacuum flash chamber and condensingthe resultant vapour using deep sea cold water
Low-temperature thermal desalination (LTTD) is a desalination technique takes advantage of the fact that water boils at low pressures, even as low as ambient temperature
Advantages
* The LTTD technology does not require any chemical pre and post-treatment of seawater and thus the pollution problems are minimal and suitable for island territories.
* Since no effluent treatment is required, it gives less operational maintenance problems compared to other desalination processes.
* The LTTD technology is completely indigenous, robust and environment friendly.
* The cost per liter of desalination is less compared to the Reverse osmosis
* The LTTD process may also take advantage of the temperature gradient available at power plants,where large quantities of warm waste water are discharged from the plant, reducing the energy input needed to create a temperature gradient
Why recently in news
LTTD plants set up at Kavaratti, Minicoy, Agatti and the proposed at Amini, Chetlet, Kadamath, Kalpeni,Kiltan and Andrott.
These plants will produce 1 lakh liter per day of potable water.
National Institute of Ocean Technology will commission to commission desalination plants at nine locations in Lakshadweep soon.
SYNCHROTRON
India will be getting a new Synchrotron which is the 5th High Energy Synchrotron in the world and also the most advanced one according to scientists.
The Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP) based in Kolkata has been given the charge to develop the Synchrotron.
So what really is a Synchrotron?
In plain words, a synchrotron is a type of cyclic particle accelerator. That means electrons and other fundamental nuclear particles are made to move in a closed path under magnetic field which bends the particles into a cyclic path, to form a particle beam of increasing kinetic motion which in turn give rise to enormous amount of energy and is useful in different fields of scientific research like High Energy Physics, Particle Physics, Biotechnology, Biochemistry, etc.
How is a Synchrotron useful to citizens?
Well, Synchrotron can surely be a great help in research and innovation.A Synchrotron can help in the following ways:
Treatment of Cancer.
Finding the compositions of minerals and the different substances that compose it.
Finding the fundamental source of particles that cause pollution, mainly air and water pollution.
In discovering new ways of producing modified seeds that are more resistant to harsh climatic conditions.
Medical Imaging.
Geological Material Analysis.
Burning computer chip designs into metal wafers.
Fluorescence studies.
Semiconductor material analysis and structural studies.
BIOTECHNOLOGY REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF INDIA BILL
* The Bill aims to promote the safe use of modern biotechnology by enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of regulatory procedures.
* Biotechnology Regulatory Authority: The Bill establishes the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (Authority). The Authority will consist of a chairperson, two full time members, and two part time members.
* Functions of the Authority: The functions of the Authority shall include
* regulating the research,
* transport, import, containment,
* environmental release, manufacture and use of organisms and products of modern biotechnology.
* The Authority has the power to call for information, conduct an inquiry and issue directions for the safety of products or processes of modern biotechnology.
* Field trials for certain organisms or products cannot be conducted unless the Authority permits them as aiding the development of modern biotechnology such as genetically engineered plants, animals used in food or any animal clones that can be applied in agriculture, fisheries or food products.
* The Bill will not apply to the clinical trials of drugs, under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and food or food additives or any material under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
* The Authority will not disclose confidential commercial information made available in an application to the Authority. However, the Authority may disclose it in public interest or if this disclosure will not harm any person.
* Divisions under the Authority: Regulatory divisions of the Authority have been created for the implementation of safety assessment procedures and processes. The divisions are: (i) agriculture, forest and fisheries, (ii) human health and veterinary products, and (iii) industrial and environmental applications.
* A Risk Assessment Unit will appraise applications for proposed research, transport or import of an organism or product, before final approval is granted.
* The Product Rulings Committee will make recommendations to the Authority for the manufacture or use of organisms or products.
* The Environmental Appraisal Panel will make recommendations on environmental safety of organisms and products.
* Other bodies: An Inter-Ministerial Governance Board has been established to promote inter-ministerial or departmental co-operation for the effective discharge of the functions of the Authority.
* A Biotechnology Advisory Council will render strategic advice to the Authority regarding developments in modern biotechnology and their implications in India.
* State level body: A State Biotechnology Regulatory Advisory Committee will act as a nodal agency between the state government and the Authority with regard to the regulation of modern biotechnology.
* Appellate Tribunal: A Biotechnology Regulatory Appellate Tribunal will hear appeals against the decisions, orders or directions of the Authority. The Tribunal will consist of a full-time chairperson, who has been a judge of the Supreme Court of India or a Chief Justice of a High Court, and five part time expert members.
* Penalties under the Bill: The Bill imposes a penalty for providing false information (imprisonment for three months and fine extending to Rs five lakh) and conducting an unapproved field trial (imprisonment for six months to one year and a fine extending to Rs two lakh).
1. PROMOTION CANNOT BE REGULATION:BRAI Bill makes promotion of modern biotechnology as its objective (A bill to promote the safe use of modern biotechnology..).
* For promoting modern biotechnology, there are already policies and schemes in place and this does not need a regulatory statute.
* Regulation of modern biotechnology is necessary because it poses risks to environment and health; Biosafety protection should therefore be the central function of regulation, which is not the case with BRAI Bill.
* The existing regulatory regime through EPA 1989 Rules have biosafety protection as the basis for regulation. There is no reason why BRAI Bill should be otherwise.
1. WRONG MINISTRY TABLING THE BILL & HOUSING THE AUTHORITY:The BRAI Billpreamble expressly refers to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (2003) as reasons for the Bill being necessary. The
* nodal Ministry for the CBD is Ministry for Environment & Forests and it is not clear why the Ministry of S&T has tabled the Bill.
* Further, the Ministry of Science & Technology is a promoter of modern biotechnology, spending crores of rupees for R&D in this field. Promoters cannot be regulators, as it constitutes an inherent conflict of interest.
3. EXPEDIENCY CLAUSE FOR UNIONS CONTROL UNJUSTIFIED:The constitutional authority of state governments over their Agriculture is violated through an Expediency Clause (2. Declaration as to expediency of control by Union). Such an expediency clause is glaringly absent with other regulatory bills like Seeds Bill and Pesticides Management Bill in agri-sector and has no justification to be included here, esp. after the authority of state governments is being asserted in regulatory practice.
4. NARROW, CENTRALISED DECISION-MAKING BODY:India at present has a multi-ministerial, broad-based regulatory body called Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee. At a time when Bt brinjal was approved by the regulators in October 2009, only to be later overturned by the Govt of Indias moratorium decision in February 2010 after obtaining scientific and other feedback on the matter, GEAC was a 31-member body. This is just to point out that even such a body went wrong in its decision.
* Against this backdrop, it is surprising that BRAI is being proposed as a narrow, centralized, 5-member decision-making body (3 full time and 2 part-time, at that!).
* The BRAI Bill further states that no proceeding shall be invalidated merely by reason of any vacancy in the Authority (Sec. 13), which means that just a couple of people can also end up taking decisions!
5. BYPASSING RTI ACT:Right to Information is sought to be bypassed by the BRAI Bill in the garb of Confidential Commercial Information (Sec. 28 (1)).
Biosafety data cannot be confidential commercial information and Supreme Court Orders in a PIL related to GMOs have already set a precedent for this.
* LACK OF DEMOCRATIC FUNCTIONING:The BRAI Bill does not have anything related to mandatory public consultations, though this is enshrined in the Cartagena Protocol to whichIndia is a signatory.
11. GRAM SABHAS/BIODIVERSITY MANAGEMENT COMMITTEES FIND NO RECOGNITION:TheBRAI Bill has no acknowledgement of constitutional authority of PRIs/Gram Sabhas over their natural resources, nor of BMCs under the Biological Diversity Act, in its decision-making mechanisms.
13. NO RISK MANAGEMENT PLANS:The BRAI Bill has no mechanisms for reviewing and revoking approvals. No risk management mechanisms are built into this proposed legislation.
TOOTHLESS ENVIRONMENT APPRAISAL PANEL:Under Section 26 of BRAI Bill, an Environment Appraisal Panel is proposed, which is a mechanism brought in under pressure from the then Environment Minister. However, this has been rendered into a toothless body by Section 27 (4).
TOUCH SCREEN TECHNOLOGY
A touchscreen is an electronic visual display that the user can control through simple or multi-touch gestures by touching the screen with one or more fingers
There are a variety of touchscreen technologies that have different methods of sensing touch.
Resistive System
The resistive system consists of a normal glass panel that is covered with a conductive and a resistive metallic layer. These two layers are held apart by spacers, and a scratch-resistant layer is placed on top of the whole setup. An electrical current runs through the two layers while the monitor is operational.
When a user touches the screen,the two layers make contact in that exact spot. The change in the electrical field is noted and the coordinates of the point of contact are calculated by the computer.
Resistive touch is used in restaurants, factories and hospitals due to itshigh resistance to liquids and contaminants. A major benefit of resistive touch technology is its low cost. Disadvantages include the need to press down, and a risk of damage by sharp objects.
Resistive touchscreens also suffer frompoorer contrast, due to having additional reflections from the extra layer of material placed over the screen.
Capacitive System
In the capacitive system, a layer that stores electrical charge is placed on the glass panel of the monitor. When a user touches the monitor with his or her finger, some of the charge is transferred to the user, so the charge on the capacitive layer decreases. This decrease is measured in circuits located at each corner of the monitor.
Unlike a resistive touchscreen, one cannot use a capacitive touchscreen through most types of electrically insulating material, such as gloves. This disadvantage especially affects usability in consumer electronics, such as touch tablet PCs andcapacitive smartphones in cold weather. Advantages include good contrast.
The surface acoustic wave System
On the monitor of a surface acoustic wave system,two transducers(one receiving and one sending) are placed along the x and y axes of the monitors glass plate.Also placed on the glass are reflectors they reflect an electrical signal sent from one transducer to the other. The receiving transducer is able to tell if the wave has been disturbed by a touch event at any instant, and can locate it accordingly.
The surface acoustic wave setup is usually the most expensive. The wave setup has no metallic layers on the screen, allowing for 100% light throughout and perfect image clarity. This makes the surface acoustic wave system best for displaying detailed graphics
MyIndia Initiative-A Digital Volunteer Programme.By I & B ministry.
* The initiative aims at disseminating the development messages across the Social Media platforms by registering citizens as volunteers in an effort to contribute positively towards nation building.
* It was a programme rooted in the principles of participative governance leading to real time engagement through the Social Media tools. The Minister called upon the youth to be part of the Digital Volunteer Family that would enable the Government to have a personalised interaction with the citizens.
* a Digital Volunteer
* 1.may like to talkabout Government Initiatives by retweeting themessages tweetedby MIB's Twitter Handle@MIB_India
* 2.may share Ministry's Tweets (@MIB_India), Facebook Posts (facebook.com/inbministry), Blog posts (inbministry.blogspot.in) and share YouTube Channel videos(youtube.com/user/inbministry) on Social Networking sites
* 3.may mention Official Twitter handle of MIB@MIB_Indiain tweets to facilitate real time engagement.
* 4.may suggest ways to reach out to people on social media
Rupee Depreciation : An Analysis
The potency and strength of a country today in this globalised world displays through the health of the economy. In this context, the persistent depreciation of Rupee has sent alarming concerns regarding the financial stability of India. The fall is a result of both external and internal factors.
EXTERNAL FACTORS
1. Global economic slowdown: The sub-prime crisis of U.S.A and the consequent Eurozone crisis has severely limited the global economic growth with different countries aiming for strict fiscal measures. This has adversely affected exports from India as well as lessening of foreign investments.
2. Unstable Political situation in West Asia: The political turmoil in Syria and political instability in other oil-producing countries have increased apprehensions for oil supply and energy security.
3. Quantitative Easing by U.S.A: The measure adopted by the Federal Reserve has severely impacted the money outflow and investments to developing counties like India.
DOMESTIC FACTORS
1. Political Populism: The parochial political culture in India shows policies based on political populism rather than economic rationality. The increasing amount of subsidies has raised concerns about governments ability to bridge its ballooning fiscal deficit. The National Food Security Bill has been criticized as more of an election gimmick undermining the economic health of the society as whole.
2. Lack Of Consensus: The coalition politics has led to lack in consensus in policy-making. The frequent disruption of the Parliament has impacted the business sentiment.
3. Widening Current Account Deficit : Increased dependence on imports and moreover on non-essential items like gold have increased the demand for dollars. On the other hand, the rate of growth of exports have not been satisfactory due to infrastructural constraints, lack of proper export promotion policies, inadequate skill development etc.
4. High inflation : The consistent high CPI has led the central bank to adopt strict monetary measures which have impacted industrial growth and thereby our exports and investment inflow, further depreciating the rupee.
5. Investment in gold expecting higher returns acts as a spiral for furthering rupee depreciation
.
IMPACTS
1. Low economic growth
2. Inflation : Poorer sections are more impacted due to greater reduction in their purchasing power.
3. Rising unemployment resulting in associated socio-economic problems
4. Manufacturing industries suffer due to lesser import of capital intensive machineries
MEASURES
1. Optimal Rational Economic policies : Decision-making should not be marred by narrow parochial caste-driven or vested interests. Cooperative federalism is required to prevent policy paralysis to counteract the negative business sentiment.
2. Coordination between Monetary and Fiscal policies: RBI and GoI should work in tandem keeping in purview larger interests of the society. Aim should be reduce the fiscal deficit and control inflation along with ensuring economic growth.
3. Attracting Investments : Along with creating positive business sentiment, other advances like tax benefits etc can be given to attract investments. The NRI and Indian diaspora can be particularly targeted in this respect.
4. Export Promotion Policies required: Foreign Trade Policies target can be achieved by providing necessary infrastructural support to the export-industries. Moreover the MSME industries products should be promoted to enhance the export potential basket. Diplomacy should be used to negotiate policies at international forums like WTO,IMF etc. Technology sharing pacts with developed countries can enhance our export competitiveness at the global market.
5. Curbing import of non-essential items : Imports should be restricted only to indispensable items and reducing non-essential items like gold etc. Proper domestic savings schemes like Gold ETF etc can be promoted to reduce the over-dependence on gold import. Focus should be on import substitution and export promotion.
6. Energy Security : Bulk of Indias imports is from oil. Sufficient buffer stocks should be maintained to negate the impacts of sudden shock in oil price rise. Moreover Currency Swap Agreements as with Iran should be explored with other countries to prevent outflow of foreign exchange reserves. Oil potential at domestic level should be explored by investing in proper research and development. Shale gas and and non-renewable sources of energy exploration should be encouraged.
7. Hedging by Domestic companies: Indian companies like auto industries who import intermediate products and raw materials should go in more and more hedging.
8. International diplomacy : Last but not the least international diplomacy can help in insulating India from global turmoils.
The rupee depreciation has undoubtedly posed serious challenges to Indias economic growth. However the economic potentiality of India cannot be underestimated. A host of sound policies and global economic development along with strong leadership can boost India back on the track for 9-10 % GDP growth.
The potency and strength of a country today in this globalised world displays through the health of the economy. In this context, the persistent depreciation of Rupee has sent alarming concerns regarding the financial stability of India. The fall is a result of both external and internal factors.
EXTERNAL FACTORS
1. Global economic slowdown: The sub-prime crisis of U.S.A and the consequent Eurozone crisis has severely limited the global economic growth with different countries aiming for strict fiscal measures. This has adversely affected exports from India as well as lessening of foreign investments.
2. Unstable Political situation in West Asia: The political turmoil in Syria and political instability in other oil-producing countries have increased apprehensions for oil supply and energy security.
3. Quantitative Easing by U.S.A: The measure adopted by the Federal Reserve has severely impacted the money outflow and investments to developing counties like India.
DOMESTIC FACTORS
1. Political Populism: The parochial political culture in India shows policies based on political populism rather than economic rationality. The increasing amount of subsidies has raised concerns about governments ability to bridge its ballooning fiscal deficit. The National Food Security Bill has been criticized as more of an election gimmick undermining the economic health of the society as whole.
2. Lack Of Consensus: The coalition politics has led to lack in consensus in policy-making. The frequent disruption of the Parliament has impacted the business sentiment.
3. Widening Current Account Deficit : Increased dependence on imports and moreover on non-essential items like gold have increased the demand for dollars. On the other hand, the rate of growth of exports have not been satisfactory due to infrastructural constraints, lack of proper export promotion policies, inadequate skill development etc.
4. High inflation : The consistent high CPI has led the central bank to adopt strict monetary measures which have impacted industrial growth and thereby our exports and investment inflow, further depreciating the rupee.
5. Investment in gold expecting higher returns acts as a spiral for furthering rupee depreciation
.
IMPACTS
1. Low economic growth
2. Inflation : Poorer sections are more impacted due to greater reduction in their purchasing power.
3. Rising unemployment resulting in associated socio-economic problems
4. Manufacturing industries suffer due to lesser import of capital intensive machineries
MEASURES
1. Optimal Rational Economic policies : Decision-making should not be marred by narrow parochial caste-driven or vested interests. Cooperative federalism is required to prevent policy paralysis to counteract the negative business sentiment.
2. Coordination between Monetary and Fiscal policies: RBI and GoI should work in tandem keeping in purview larger interests of the society. Aim should be reduce the fiscal deficit and control inflation along with ensuring economic growth.
3. Attracting Investments : Along with creating positive business sentiment, other advances like tax benefits etc can be given to attract investments. The NRI and Indian diaspora can be particularly targeted in this respect.
4. Export Promotion Policies required: Foreign Trade Policies target can be achieved by providing necessary infrastructural support to the export-industries. Moreover the MSME industries products should be promoted to enhance the export potential basket. Diplomacy should be used to negotiate policies at international forums like WTO,IMF etc. Technology sharing pacts with developed countries can enhance our export competitiveness at the global market.
5. Curbing import of non-essential items : Imports should be restricted only to indispensable items and reducing non-essential items like gold etc. Proper domestic savings schemes like Gold ETF etc can be promoted to reduce the over-dependence on gold import. Focus should be on import substitution and export promotion.
6. Energy Security : Bulk of Indias imports is from oil. Sufficient buffer stocks should be maintained to negate the impacts of sudden shock in oil price rise. Moreover Currency Swap Agreements as with Iran should be explored with other countries to prevent outflow of foreign exchange reserves. Oil potential at domestic level should be explored by investing in proper research and development. Shale gas and and non-renewable sources of energy exploration should be encouraged.
7. Hedging by Domestic companies: Indian companies like auto industries who import intermediate products and raw materials should go in more and more hedging.
8. International diplomacy : Last but not the least international diplomacy can help in insulating India from global turmoils.
The rupee depreciation has undoubtedly posed serious challenges to Indias economic growth. However the economic potentiality of India cannot be underestimated. A host of sound policies and global economic development along with strong leadership can boost India back on the track for 9-10 % GDP growth.
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