Nubots

• Nubot refers to "nucleic acid robots".
  
• Nubots are organic molecular machines at the nanoscale.
  
• Scientists say that the DNA structure can provide means to assemble 2D and 3D nanomechanical devices.
  
• DNA based machines can be activated using small molecules, proteins and other molecules of DNA.
• Biological circuit gates based on DNA materials have been engineered as molecular machines to allow in-vitro drug delivery for targeted health problems. Such material based systems would work most closely to smart biomaterial drug system delivery.

Shenzhou 9

• Shenzhou 9 is a planned manned flight of China's Shenzhou program that is scheduled for launch in the middle of June 2012.
• Shenzhou 9 will be the second spacecraft to dock with the Tiangong 1 space station, and the first manned docking. The aim of the mission will be to perform a docking with the Tiangong 1. This mission may be followed by the manned Shenzhou 10 which is planned to be launched in 2013

NREGA 2.0

5 Ways NREGA 2.0 will Address Legacy Challenges

Skill Training: The logical next step, from manual to skilled. One person from each household that completes 100 days of work will be trained under NRLM on a range of skills like carpentry.

CAG Audit: An annual CAG audit - limited to the utilisation of NREGA funds - will help bring in more transparency. This year's report will be in by November, to be submitted to Parliament by December.

END to Minimum Wage Row: The AP High Court ruling that NREGA payments below state minimum wages amounted to forced labour had put GoI in a quandary. The ministry will now amend the NREGA Act to put an end to the controversy. Safeguards to ensure that states don't arbitrarily jack up minimum wages will be put in place.

MoRD funds for MoPR: The rural development ministry will transfer 1% of its entire budget of Rs 99,000 crore to the panchayati raj ministry for capacity building and training of panchayats. This, it hopes, will bring in a sea change in NREGA implementation at the ground level.

Rural Sanitation: NREGA funds will be deployed to promote rural hygiene. For every toilet built (estimated cost of Rs 10,000) Rs 4,500 will go out from the NREGA kitty. The mandatory 60:40 labour-to-material ratio will be maintained at the gram panchayat level.


Five Critiques that Often Come the NREGA Way......And a reality check

1) NREGA's making farming unviable

IN A WAY, YES. But that's only in areas where the actual agri wages are lower than what the state guarantees as minimum. Available research indicates that trends of reduced labour force in agriculture precede MGNREGA. The real culprit could be elsewhere: high non-farm wages. According to the National Sample Survey Organisation, the decline in agriculture labour as a share of total economic activity trend is since 2004, two years before MGNREGA.

2) Stay home, draw unemployment allowance

Nothing's further from the truth. NSS data notes that around 19% of the rural households sought but did not get employment from June 2009 to July 2010. Now if an applicant is not provided employment within 15 days of receipt of his application or from the date on which the employment has been sought, he/she is entitled to a daily unemployment allowance. This is a provision that's honoured mostly in its breach because the onus to provide the allowance is on the state.
 
3) Assets built under NREGA are not durable

Partly, yes. As late as 2011, the World Bank noted that he objective of asset creation runs a very distant second to the primary objective of employment. The main culprit here is the lack of planning. Yet, there are states that have worked around this. For instance, MP and Maharashtra encourages building kuchcha roads under NREGA. This is then black-topped using funds from the Chief Minister's Gram Sadak Yojana.

4) It was supposed to make panchayats work, but NREGA has only decentralised corruption

Yes & no. NREGA has transferred unprecedented resources to panchayats but lack of training and zero investment in capacity building has muddled the scene.Vigilance and monitoring committees haven't taken off. But NREGA 2.0 envisages certification of the accounts of gram panchayats through a district panel of chartered accountants. So there will be a psychological pressure to bring in more accountability and transparency.

5) After 7 years, NREGA has run its course ...

No. While fingers point to scams and low-quality assets, few look at the ancillary effects. For one, the concept of minimum wages is a tangible reality in Indian villages, thanks to NREGA. Also, the programme has encrusted the idea of wage parity: In 2011-12, around Rs 12,000 crore was spent on wages for women and around 50% of the total persondays generated have been by women. Caste equations have been altered irrevocably, distress migration has come down

Soon, India’s robonaut to hunt for aliens

New Delhi: Is there life out there? This is what India wants to find out by joining a global search for alien life forms. 
    As part of a new project called ‘Detection of Life Forms in Other Planets’, India will soon build a near human robotic system — a robonaut — with capability “for analysis and assessment of air, water and soil and detection of possible life forms”. 
    The department of atomic energy’s working group for the 12th five year plan says the quest for detection of life forms existing in other planets than earth will be an interesting and challenging project that India will push to become part of. 
    “It would be worthwhile to explore partnerships with one of the five space agencies for development of suitable software and hardware for the robotic operations in outer space. The Indian Space Research Organization (Isro) has expressed interest in joining the International Space Station (ISS) programme at the International Astronautical Congress,” the group said. 
    The ISS is operated as a joint programme by Nasa, Russian Federal Space Agency , Canadian Space Agency, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the European Space Agency. 
    According to the department, the operational costs for development of a robonaut “may require considerable investments. The contribution from India for the robotic operations will depend on the tasks assigned and agreed to upon by all the partner nations.” 
    It further says that the costs of development, modelling of software and hardware for robotic operations for detection of life forms in outer space and for initial studies is expected to be around Rs 500 crore. 
    Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center recently unveiled Robonaut 2 — the first humanoid robot in space that took over 15 years to create. R2 was developed jointly by Nasa and General Motors. 
    “This project exemplifies the promise that a future generation of robots can have both in space and on earth, not as replacements for humans but as companions that can carry out key supporting roles,” said John Olson, director of Nasa’s Exploration Systems Integration Office while unveiling R2.

Hyogo Framework of Action (HFA)

• The Hyogo Framework of Action (HFA) approved in 2005 by  UNISDR (United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction) to  which  India  is  a signatory, advocates mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into socio-economic  development  planning and  activities  by  adopting  five priorities  for  action  through  a fivefold  process.
1. Political process  requiring  countries  to develop  policies  and  legislative and  institutional  frameworks  for disaster risk reduction and commit resources  for  their  prevention, mitigation  and  preparedness;
2. Technical  process  which  calls for  application  of  science  and technology  for  assessment , identification and monitoring of disasters  and  enhancing  early warning  of  system;
3. Socio-educational  process  aiming  at increasing citizen’s understanding and  skills  to  build  a  culture  of safety and resilience at all levels;
4. Development  process  seeking  to integrate disaster risk in all relevant sectors  of  development  planning and programmes; and
5. Humanitarian process  which  requires  factoring disaster  risk  reduction  in  disaster response and recovery.

• {UNISDR is the United Nation's office for disaster risk reduction. It was created in December 1999 as part of the UN Secretariat with the purpose of ensuring the implementation of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction.} 

Drug-Resistant Bacteria Found in 4-Million-Year-Old Cave

• Deep in the bowels of a pristine New Mexico cave, microbiologists have discovered nearly a hundred types of bacteria that can fight off modern antibiotic drugs. The bacteria coat the walls of the Lechuguilla cave system on rock faces some 1,600 feet (487 meters) below Earth's surface.
• A thick dome of rock isolated the cave between four and seven million years ago. Any water that trickles through takes roughly ten thousand years to reach the cave's depths—which means the subterranean life has existed entirely in the absence of modern medicine.
• While not infectious to humans, the cave bacteria can resist multiple classes of antibiotics, including new synthetic drugs.
•  The discovery serves as an intriguing lead in the quest to understand how drug-resistant diseases emerge.

Weakly Interacting Massive Particles, or WIMPs. (little scientific, might not be asked)

• Dark matter is an invisible form of material that's thought to exist because scientists have observed its apparent gravitational effects on galaxies and galaxy clusters. Scientists estimate that the mysterious substance makes up almost 80 percent of the matter in the universe.
• So far no one's been able to pinpoint the particles that make up dark matter. But a leading candidate is a theoretical group known as Weakly Interacting Massive Particles, or WIMPs.
• As the name implies, these hypothetical particles would have only a weak effect on regular matter—they typically zip straight through most of the stuff in the universe, including people. But WIMPs of certain masses can collide with atomic nuclei on occasion—and now it appears such collisions might happen more often than previously thought.
• According to theory, WIMPs were created at the dawn of the universe, just like other forms of matter. Although WIMPs don't interact much with normal matter, if two of the particles strike each other, they annihilate—all their mass turns into energy.
• Models suggest that today billions of WIMPs are streaming through Earth and its inhabitants every second.
• Because WIMPs don't have strong effects on normal matter, collisions inside the human body shouldn't pose much danger.

Venus Spinning Slower Than Thought—Scientists Stumped

• In the early 1990s scientists with NASA's Magellan mission calculated that a single rotation of Venus takes 243.015 Earth days, based on the speed of surface features passing beneath the orbiting spacecraft.
• But scientists now mapping Venus's surface with the European Space Agency's Venus Express orbiter were surprised to find the same features up to 12.4 miles (20 kilometers) from where they were expected to be, based on the previous measurements.
• According to the new data, Venus is rotating 6.5 minutes slower than it was 16 years ago, a result that's been found to correlate with long-term radar observations taken from Earth.
• Mysterious decrease could affect future exploration missions.
• One possible cause for the slowed spin is friction caused by Venus' thick atmosphere and high-speed winds. The motion of the atmosphere on Earth, for example, has been observed to affect the planet's rotation rate, albeit to a much smaller degree.
• Due to a heavy blanket of carbon dioxide-laden air, the surface pressure on Venus is 90 times what we experience on Earth at sea level, and opaque clouds of caustic sulphuric acid constantly whip around the planet at hurricane speeds.
• "The origin of this could lay in the solar cycle or in long-term weather patterns that modify the atmospheric dynamics. But this puzzle is not yet solved."

JUICE

• The European Space Agency's next big mission.
• The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, or JUICE, spacecraft has been formally approved and is now slated to blast off for the gas giant planet in 2022.
• The space probe will tour three of Jupiter's largest moons: Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa—all were discovered by Galileo Galilei in the early 1600s. Previous studies have hinted that the moons could harbor liquid oceans—and maybe life-forms—below their icy surfaces.
• ESA plans to pack the solar-powered spacecraft with a suite of instruments, which will collect high-resolution pictures as well as data on the moons' chemical compositions, magnetic environments, and surface features.
• Onboard instruments will assess the moons' habitability by comparing carbon chemistry, temperature, pressure, and other factors with the conditions that work for organisms on Earth.

An Assessment of Manmohan Singh’s Visit to Myanmar

Abstract

A ‘scramble for Myanmar’ has begun in recent times. With the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signalling a change in policy, Myanmar has seen a steady stream of visits by heads of State or government, foreign ministers, and the like. India’s relations with Myanmar have waxed and waned as policy-makers steered their way between high idealism and pragmatic realism. India’s policy towards Myanmar has, however, stabilised over time and its preference for pragmatism has spanned governments led by parties of different hues. This was a consequence of a belated realisation, especially since 1993, that the pursuit of India’s strategic and economic interests could not await the prolonged political evolution of this important neighbour. As the political processes in Myanmar gathers momentum due to a host of domestic and international factors, it is time yet again to introspect on India’s policy towards its eastern neighbour. Whereas India’s policy of engagement was earlier at variance with the Western policy of disengagement and sanctions, a convergence seems to be occurring now. India’s policy perforce will need recalibration to the degree that Myanmar transforms or holds the promise of transforming.
A ‘scramble for Myanmar’ has begun in recent times in the wake of domestic political change starting with the promulgation of the 2008 Constitution, elections in November 2010, a new Parliament, and bye-elections in April 2012. With the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signalling a change in policy, Myanmar has seen a steady stream of visits by heads of State or government, foreign ministers, and the like.
The mood in Myanmar today is upbeat: the sudden opening up of the country has raised expectations which the political class may have difficulty meeting. Once again, the people of Myanmar are testing the limits of freedom. Large demonstrations to protest against power outages have been held in front of Sule Pagoda in Yangon and in Mandalay.1 Threatening to spread to other cities, these protests evoked memories of the 1988 movement and the 2007 uprising sparked by the monks. The April 2012 bye-elections showed that the NLD is still popular. The real test is to come in 2015 when general elections are due. From India’s standpoint, a durable solution to Myanmar’s political transition lies in a reconciliation among its three stakeholders—political parties, ethnic groups, and the military.
As the political processes in Myanmar gathers momentum due to a host of domestic and international factors, it is time yet again to introspect on India’s policy towards its eastern neighbour. India’s relations with Myanmar have waxed and waned as policy-makers steered their way between high idealism and pragmatic realism. India’s policy towards Myanmar has, however, stabilised over time and its preference for pragmatism has spanned governments led by parties of different hues. This was a consequence of a belated realisation, especially since 1993, that the pursuit of India’s strategic and economic interests could not await the prolonged political evolution of this important neighbour. Whereas India’s policy of engagement was earlier at variance with the Western policy of disengagement and sanctions, a convergence seems to be occurring now. India’s policy perforce will need recalibration to the degree that Myanmar transforms or holds the promise of transforming.
It is in this context that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh undertook a three-day visit to Myanmar on 27 May 2012,2 the first such visit by an Indian Prime Minister in 25 years. During the visit, Singh met the new civilian leadership in the new capital, Naypyitaw, and NLD leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in the old capital, Yangon. The Indian PM’s first visit in 25 years almost coincided with Aung San Suu Kyi’s first visit outside the country in 24 years. However, the Nobel laureate postponed her Bangkok visit to meet the Indian Prime Minister.

Agreements Signed during the PM’s Visit

India and Myanmar signed 12 MoUs (Memorandums of Understanding) on matters of mutual concern, wherein development and connectivity were the key watchwords. The understanding is that improved connectivity would lead to greater access between the two countries, while cooperation in fields such as agriculture, trade, education and information technology would address Myanmar’s developmental needs. One of the important agreements reached was regarding cooperation between a Myanmar and an Indian University and cooperation between a Myanmar Ministry of Foreign Affairs think tank (MISIS) and two Indian think tanks, one of which is the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. Cooperation among strategic studies think tanks is especially welcome because while MISIS is connected with the ASEAN network of think tanks, it has no such link on an institutionalised basis with the think tanks of India or of the South Asian region.
Stability along the Indo-Myanmar border depends in large measure on economic stability that comes through planned development. For instance, Myanmar has many missing road and rail links and over 70 bridges requiring construction before the connectivity deficit can be overcome. It has been decided to initiate steps to upgrade road sections in order to make the trilateral Asian Highway (connecting Moreh in Manipur to Mae Sot in Thailand) a reality. Besides initiating improvements in road connectivity, a direct air service between India and Myanmar has also received the green signal. Similarly, hope has been generated for eventual freight transport by rail network extending to other South East Asian countries through Myanmar from India’s North East.
Myanmar’s energy sector would get a boost with Indian companies investing in that country’s gas and oil sectors. It is likely that Indian companies would be considered when more oil blocks are auctioned. In addition, border trade would be improved and the overall trade doubled beyond the current $1.2 billion. Myanmar also once again reassured India support for tackling safe havens of Indian insurgents in its territory.

Table 1: Memorandums of Understanding/Agreements Signed between India and Myanmar

1	Regarding $500million Line of Credit
2	Airline Services Agreement between India and Myanmar: with more carriers and more destinations (extending to other Southeast Asian cities)
3	India-Myanmar Border Area Development
4	Establishment of Joint Trade and Investment Forum
5	Establishment of the Advance Centre for Agriculture Research and Education (ACARE)
6	Establishment of Rice Bio Park at the Department of Agricultural Research in Naypyitaw
7	Setting up  Myanmar Institute of Information Technology
8	Cooperation between Dagon University and Calcutta University
9	Cooperation between Myanmar Institute of Strategic and International Studies and Indian Council of World Affairs
10	Agreement on Cooperation between Myanmar Institute of Strategic and International Studies and Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses
11	Cultural Exchange Programme (2012-2015)
12	Establishing of Border Haats across the border between Myanmar and India

India-Myanmar Relations: A Background

The two decades between India’s open support for the pro-democracy forces in the 1988 movement and the recent exchange of bilateral visits at the highest levels have clearly demonstrated New Delhi’s desire to pursue its strategic and economic goals in Myanmar. However, it has left unresolved the dilemma of how to pursue its stated goals without compromising its commitment to human rights and democratic principles.
A realisation began to dawn in New Delhi soon after 1988 that India’s support for the pro-democracy forces in the August 1988 uprising failed to find favour with the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) regime. It was only in 1991, however, that a decision was taken to discontinue criticism of the Myanmar regime in All India Radio’s (AIR) Burmese broadcasts. The visit to Yangon (then Rangoon) by the Indian Foreign Secretary in 1993 started the process of improving relations between the two countries. The Indian Government also made an attempt to curb the anti-SLORC activities of Myanmar students in India. These adjustments in Indo-Myanmar relations occurred in the backdrop of momentous changes on the Indian economic horizon. Liberalisation had been introduced in the early 1990s and the Look East Policy too had its beginnings around the same time. These developments helped in defining India’s objectives in Myanmar.
To begin with, Myanmar was seen as an important part of India’s Look East Policy for the simple reason that it is the only South East Asian nation with which India shares a land border. By ensuring smooth trade and connectivity between India and Myanmar, the objective of much needed development in India’s North Eastern states could be achieved. Myanmar was viewed as a land-bridge to the rest of South East Asia. A second important factor in India-Myanmar relations is the need to control the activities of insurgent groups in their bordering states. Thirdly, India is located between the “Golden Crescent” in the west and the “Golden Triangle” in the east and thus is confronted by the arms-drug nexus and faces a “silent emergency”. Myanmar still has the dubious distinction of being the second largest producer of opiates (after Afghanistan) and for having a high HIV rate. Opium poppy cultivation has increased in Myanmar every year since 2006, with cultivation concentrated chiefly in the Shan state in the east. The decline in opium production in 2010 due to a disease in the poppy plant in Afghanistan probably incentivised Myanmar poppy cultivators.3 Further, the traditional opium-based drugs have been replaced by designer drugs like amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) (“speed”, “ice” and “ecstasy) and Myanmar happens to be a major centre for the manufacture of ATS, notably of metamphetamine.4 Given all this, India and Myanmar need to take steps keeping in mind a holistic view of security. Fourthly, India and Myanmar also need to work together to prevent the spread of epidemics across borders especially considering the threat of HIV/AIDS and recent outbreaks like swine flu and bird flu. Finally, flowing from all the above factors is the need to ensure the development of India’s North Eastern states.

India-Myanmar Interactions at the Bilateral and Multilateral Levels

The dynamics of Myanmar is such that interlocutors are forced to make adjustments to the evolving situation in that country, which itself is in a perpetually evolving/transitioning mode. Be that as it may, it is important that India not lose the momentum it has imparted to this relationship lest it surrenders whatever gains that have been made so far.
At the bilateral level, right through the phase of transition, the flow of official visits between India and Myanmar did not cease, although at the Prime Ministerial level India could be labelled a laggard. In July 2010, SPDC Chief Than Shwe came to New Delhi. When President Thein Sein representing the new “civilian” government visited in October 2011, two important documents were signed: first, an MoU on the upgradation of Yangon Children’s Hospital and Sittwe General Hospital; and second, a programme for Cooperation in Science and Technology for the period 2012–15. India also extended a $500 million line of credit to Myanmar. In December 2011, the Speaker of Myanmar’s Lower House of Parliament, Thura Shwe Mann, led a high level parliamentary delegation to India to learn about the functioning of Indian democracy. Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin visited India in January 2012. Besides meeting the PM and the External Affairs Minister, he also gave a lecture at a think tank in the capital. Meanwhile, military-to-military cooperation continued with the Indian Army Chief visiting Myanmar in January 2012 and assuring a higher intake of Myanmar cadets in the NDA, among other things.
India and Myanmar have also continued to interact at the regional and subregional levels through ASEAN, BIMSTEC, the Mekong Ganga Cooperation forum and SAARC (Myanmar is an Observer since 2008). Myanmar became a BIMSTEC member in December 1997. It took over as the chair of BIMSTEC from India in 2006.5

Conclusion

India has quite dexterously handled the ongoing phase of transition in Myanmar based on its conviction that it needs to engage with the regime in power while gradually attempting to bring about a desirable change in the country. Given its deeper understanding of the ground situation as well as a policy that seeks to aid sustainable development and harmonious growth, India is likely to continue to enjoy a special position in Myanmar. Much goodwill will be generated if India were to work towards addressing the real needs of the people of Myanmar. This, in particular, implies strengthening the health and education sectors in that country’s border areas. There are many things that should work in India’s favour including geographical proximity, common colonial legacy, common cultural bonds, India’s democratic credentials and membership of common organisations/forums, which can be used by both countries to transform their experience of the past into a common strength. 

New gTLDs to revolutionise Internet uses

For more than 25 years now, the world has been familiar with generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) and country code TLDs (ccTLDs). Top Level Domains (TLDs) are collections of Internet real estate that are represented by the characters on the right side of the “dot” in a domain name. An example of this is .com, which is the most popular gTLD1 in use today while examples of ccTLDs include .in, .ru, .au among the approximately 250 cc TLDs that exist.

This structure of the domain name space as we know it today is poised to undergo a profound change with the launch of new gTLDs. The new gTLD program approved in June 2011 by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) creates a process that allows entities, i.e. geographies, brands and communities to apply for gTLDs of their choosing.

A major city like Hyderabad for example, might apply for a .hyderabad gTLD and could offer that to enterprises or individuals that have an association with Hyderabad.

Geographic gTLDs open up the possibility of applying for a TLD that represents a geographic location from anywhere around the world not currently represented, which may include, continents, nations, territories, provinces, cities, states, and even geographical landmarks.

The anticipated introduction of new gTLDs is setting the stage for far-reaching changes that may fundamentally affect how city and regional administrations around the world use the Internet.

The opportunity for cities and regions with geographic TLDs
Geographic gTLDs will likely provide opportunities for cities and regions to enhance their services, revenue, and recognition. Here is why it is important for cities and regions to take advantage of the new gTLD opportunity that lies ahead.

Increased recognition - A geographic gTLD may help to reinforce the visibility of a city or region by putting it firmly on the online map and becoming the "official" Internet resource for citizens and visitors. It could potentially become a high-profile virtual space to discuss ideas, conduct transactions, support diverse ethnic and cultural groups, and enable citizens to interact with civic departments, public officials, and elected representatives.

Generate revenue streams - As the registry operator for a .city gTLD, an administration could potentially generate revenues by licensing second-level domain names to local businesses, citizens, non-profits, and other organizations. A local business may want to register a domain name such as pizza.hyderabad.

Provide a new means for promotion for the state/region/city - Second-level domain name registrants will be promoting the city or region every time they or their members use the domain name in their own promotional materials. A “.city” URL may help website visitors identify who they are dealing with and where they are based, potentially helping to build confidence in transactions.

Enhanced online profile - New geographic gTLDs may make it possible to introduce email addresses2 (for example, on the .hyderabad domain), potentially adding local relevance and branding to private and business email traffic. If email clients and servers were updated to permit this simplified format, short, memorable email addresses such as "planning@hyderabad" could one day make it easier for citizens to access their local administration.

Enhanced security, control, and trust - As the steward of a geographic gTLD, a municipality or regional administration will likely have the authority to set requirements for second-level domain name registrants. By restricting registration of these names to vetted registrants the stewards of geographic gTLDs may help improve trust and confidence in the Internet. Every entity with a second-level domain name, from the largest to the smallest organization, could potentially benefit from the potential prestige, visibility, and authenticity conferred by the geographic gTLD.

Enable more localization - Geographic gTLDs may add local flavor to an online presence, giving administrations a chance to help re-energize the local economy. Geographic gTLDs may also help consumers more easily find local resources when they search the Internet, potentially boosting business for local companies.

Applying for a geographic gTLD
The ICANN application period opened on January 12, 2012 and applications are now being accepted. The application period is expected to close April 12, 2013, and once it is closed anyone who missed the application deadline will have to possibly wait more than a year, before another application window opens.

Applicants for a new gTLD will be required to demonstrate organizational, operational, and financial capability. The complexity of the application process may necessitate working with an experienced registry service provider.

As the world’s largest registry, Verisign has an extensive history in operating the world’s best-known extensions, .com and .net, and can help organizations throughout the entire application process.

Every city, cultural region, and major landmarks should consider applying for a geographic gTLD. A geographic gTLD may just be one of the best investments a city, region, or landmark can make to promote and extend their identity deeper into the Internet.

BSE launches green equity index for companies

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has launched a new sectoral index — BSE-GREENEX — to measure the performance of companies in terms of carbon emissions and promote green investments.

The index includes top 20 companies based on green house gas numbers, free float market capitalisation and turnover.

"It is based upon purely quantitative and objective performance signals to assess carbon performance," BSE said in a statement, reports IANS.

"In keeping with BSE's efforts to create fund friendly indices, it is the third index which is calculated based on the capping methodology. This index will be helpful to asset managers for creation of various products, to help investors to invest in the green theme of India," it added.

The index is expected to have a feedback effect on companies' reputation.

It will help the government to gauge policy implementation and acceptance with regard to energy usage and efficiency measures, as the market follows an efficient signalling mechanism which adjusts positively or negatively to any news or policy shifts.

This index has been developed by BSE in association with ‘gTrade’ so as to promote green investing, with emphasis on financial performance and long-term viability of companies.

Bihar to set up Asia's first dolphin research centre

With only about 2,000 Gangetic river dolphins left in India, down from tens of thousands just a few decades ago, the Bihar government is planning to set up Asia's first research centre to strengthen conservation efforts to save the endangered mammal.

  

The mammals are killed at an alarming rate with wildlife officials saying poachers kill them for their flesh and oil, which is used as an ointment and aphrodisiac.

Gangetic river dolphins fall under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act and have been declared an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Last year, the Bihar government decided to set up a task force for the conservation of endangered species.

The Gangetic river dolphin is one of the four freshwater dolphin species in the world. The other three are found in the Yangtze river in China, the Indus river in Pakistan and the Amazon river in South America.

The Gangetic river species — found in India, Bangladesh and Nepal — is blind and finds its way and prey in the river waters through 'echoes'.

Wind farms cause climate change: Study

 Wind farms can cause climate change, according to a study, that shows how the technology is already pushing up temperatures, The Telegraph reported on Monday.

Usually at night the air closer to the ground becomes colder when the sun goes down and the earth cools. But on huge wind farms the motion of the turbines mixes the air higher in the atmosphere that is warmer, pushing up the overall temperature.

Satellite data over a large area in Texas, which is now covered by four of the world's largest wind farms, found that over a decade the local temperature went up by almost 1 degree Centigrade as more turbines are built.

This could have long term effects on wildlife living in the immediate areas of larger wind farms, the newspaper noted. It could also affect regional weather patterns as warmer areas affect the formation of cloud and even wind speeds.

SOIL solarization

• Soil solarization is an environmentally friendly method of using solar power for controlling disease agents in the soil by mulching the soil and covering it with tarp, usually with a transparent polyethylene cover, to trap solar energy. 
• SOIL solarization is a hydrothermal process which brings about thermal and other physical, chemical and biological changes in the moist soil during and even after mulching.
• The technique has been variously used in the eradication or reduction of soil pathogen population, weed control, increased growth response, and yield and  improvement of quality of the produce

Bioplastics

·        a form of plastics derived from renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable fats and oils, corn starch, pea starch or microbiota.

·        Common plastics, such as fossil-fuel plastics, are derived from petroleum. These plastics rely more on fossil fuel imports and produce more greenhouse gas.

·         Bioplastics are more sustainable because they can break down in the environment faster than fossil-fuel plastics.

·        There is a variety of bioplastics being made; they can be composed of starches, cellulose, or biopolymers.

·        Some common applications of bioplastics are packaging materials, dining utensils, food packaging, and insulation

e-toilets

• Kerala will have 450 functional e-toilets by the end of this fiscal, becoming the first state in India with Connected Toilet Infrastructure which would be on a par with health and hygiene standards of developed countries. 
• An e-toilet has an automated door opening, power flushing, automatic closet washing and sterilisation and automatic platform-cleaning mechanism -- all backed by SMS alerts to inform a control room about the status of water tank and biogas plant in the event of any errors or failures.
• This latest technological innovation is a convergence of web-mobile-electronics technologies and is expected to bring about a revolutionary change in the public health and hygiene sector of the state.
• It uses Bio-membrane reactor, which is a nano-technology-aided device that instantly recycles the used water and makes it ready for future use.
• An e-toilet occupies around 20 square feet and has two doors -- a sliding door at the front and a normal door ahead of the toilet.
• As soon as the coin (entry charge) is dropped, the sliding door opens and the light and the exhaust fan switch on. Inside the toilet there is a bucket, mug and such other items. In case the user does not flush the toilet after use, the system automatically does all the cleaning operations.
• Human excreta is treated and reduced to a sand-like material, which will not have any bacteria and is removed physically once in three months.
• The average life of a unit is estimated to be around 7-10 years.

The Indian Forest (Amendment) Bill, 2012

• The Bill amends the Indian Forest Act, 1927 (the principal Act). 
•  The Act consolidates the law related to forests and forest produce.  
• It prohibits certain activities, some of which are punishable with imprisonment of up to six months or a fine of Rs 500.  These include making fresh clearances in forests and setting fire to a reserved forest.  
• These offences can be compounded by officers empowered by the state government.  [To compound an offence means to accept compensation in lieu of  punishment.  This relief is also allowed under Section 320 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 for certain offences.] 
• ƒ Under the Act, only officers of the rank of a ranger or above, who draw a salary of at least Rs 100 per month may be empowered to compound offences.  The Bill removes the minimum salary requirement of an officer to be empowered to compound offences.   
• The Bill also requires forest officers to obtain and record the views of the Gram Sabha before they compound an offence in a Scheduled Area.

UN Human Rights Council approves for an investigation into Houla Killings in Syria

The UNHRC (United Nations Human Rights Council) approved an investigation into the mass killing of civilians at Houla, Syria. UNHRC also objurgated Syria for the mass murder of about 100 civilians.

UNHRC, the 47-nation body sanctioned the resolution with  41 votes in favour and 3 against it. This was
the fourth emergency session meeting called by UNHRC in order to discuss the situation Syria.

Houla: Located in the north of the city Homs in Syria.

What was the stance of various nations on this resolution by UNHRC (including India)?

• Russia, China and Cuba voted against the U.S.-backed resolution.
• 2 countries abstained and one member did not vote.
• India voted in favour of the UNHRC resolution.

India Water Week

• India celebrated India Water Week from April 10, 2012. The inaugural ceremony was chaired by the Prime Minister.
• The India Water Week is focussing this year on the important themes of water, food and energy security.
• The Ministry of Water Resources since this year has endeavoured to celebrate India Water Week annually as an international event to focus on water issues.
• It would provide a global platform for water related issues that will bring policy makers, industry leaders, experts, professionals and practitioners together to address the challenges, showcase technologies, discover opportunities, recognizing the excellence of professionals/organizations and celebrate their achievements. 
• The first international event in the series of India Water Week on “Water, Energy and Food Security: Call for Solutions” was organized during April 10-14, 2012 at New Delhi.

Water resource scenario in India

Challenges

• With around 17% of the world’s population but only 4% of its usable fresh water, India has a scarcity of water.
• Rapid economic growth and urbanisation are widening the demand supply gap.
• Climate change could further aggravate the availability of water in the country as it threatens the water cycle.
• Our water bodies are getting increasingly polluted by untreated industrial effluents and sewage.
• Groundwater levels are falling in many parts due to excess drawals leading to contamination with fluoride, arsenic and other chemicals.
• The practice of open defecation, which regrettably is all too widespread, contributes to contaminating potable water sources.

Initiatives

• The Planning Commission has identified the challenge of managing our water resources in a rational and sustainable manner as one of the critical challenges in the Twelfth Five year Plan. It will require action on many fronts and coordination across different sectors of our economy.
• India has launched a National Water Mission as part of Action Plan on Climate Change. The main objective of this Mission is to achieve integrated management of water resources by conserving water, minimizing wastage and ensuring its more equitable distribution both across and within various States of our Union. The Mission proposed a review of the National Water Policy and a draft of the new Policy has been put in the public domain for widespread public consultation.
• The draft National Water Policy recommends taking the river basin / sub-basin as a unit for planning and management of water resources and proposes that departments / organizations at the Centre and the States be restructured and be made multi-disciplinary.
• It also proposes the establishment of water regulatory authorities in each State and a national forum to deliberate upon issues relating to water and evolve consensus, cooperation and reconciliation amongst the various States.
• There is a suggestion that a broad over-arching national legal framework of general principles on water is necessary to pave the way for essential legislation on water governance in every State.
• The National Water Mission sets a target of 20% improvement in water use efficiency. This is particularly critical in the agricultural sector, which uses about three fourth of our water resources and where the water use efficiency is low compared to international standards.

Further steps to be taken

• Management of our irrigation systems should move away from a narrow engineering-construction-centric approach to a more multi-disciplinary and participatory approach
• We need to focus on command area development in a holistic manner in our irrigation projects.
• We need to move towards transparent and participatory mechanisms of pricing of water by the primary stakeholders themselves.
• On the supply side we have been working on watershed management, rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge. Over the next five years, we need to give renewed vigour to all schemes that involve water.
• Conserving our groundwater is now an urgent priority because we depend on it for more than two thirds of our water needs. The decline in the water table across the country is a matter of serious concern. The present legal situation gives every land holder the right to pump unlimited quantities of water from a bore well on his own ground. There is no regulation of ground water extraction and no coordination among competing uses. Inadequate and sub-optimal pricing of both power and water is promoting the misuse of groundwater. We need to move to a situation where ground-water can be treated as a common property resource.
• We need to map the aquifers of India to obtain basic information on ground water availability. This will be initiated in the Twelfth Plan.
• We also need to promote participatory management of aquifers to ensure sustainable and equitable use and promoting cropping patterns which are aligned with the groundwater actually available.
• Access to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation are basic human needs. They are fundamentally linked to the health and wellbeing of our people. Groundwater sources of drinking water often fail due to competition over the same aquifer between public drinking water systems and private irrigation. In the absence of sound legal framework, drinking water systems often lose the contest.  

E waste(management and handling)rules 2011

• It recognises the producers liability for recycling and reducing e-waste in the country. 
• 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 .
• The rules come under the Environment Protection Act (EPA).
• E-wastes are considered dangerous, as certain electronic components contain substances such as lead, cadmium, lead oxide (in cathode ray tubes), toxic gases, toxic metals, biologically active materials, acids, plastics and plastic additives. These substances are considered hazardous depending on their condition and density.
• 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. They will also have to give information booklets to prevent e-waste from being dropped in garbage bins.
• bulk consumers such as enterprises and government will be responsible for recycling of the e-wastes generated by them. The bulk users have to ensure that the e-waste generated by them is channelized to authorised collection centres or is taken back by the producers.
• They also have to maintain records of e-wastes generated by them and make such records available with State Pollution Control Boards or the Pollution Control Committees.
• The State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) 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.

India State of Forest Report 2011

As per latest India State of Forest Report 2011, amongst all the Indian states, MP has the maximum
Forest Cover area in country.

As per latest India State of Forest Report 2011:

• Geographical area of the country is under Forest and Tree cover: 23.81% i.e. 78.29 million hectare
• Madhya Pradesh has 11.24% of the total forest land in the country
• Arunachal Pradesh with 67,410 kms under forest cover stands, second
• Chhattisgarh with a forest cover of 55,870 kms, stands third
• As compared to the data of 2009 there is a decline of 367 sq km in country’s forest cover.
• 15 states registered aggregate increase of 5000sq km in their forest cover with Punjab at the forefront with an increase of 100sqkm
• 12 states/UTs (mainly the NE states) show a loss of 867sqkm forest.
• Decrease of 281 sq km in Forest cover of Andhra Pradesh is mainly related to harvesting of mature plantation of Eucalyptus & other species
• Fall in Forest cover of North East is attributed to the practice of shifting cultivation in this region
• In terms of % of forest cover in compared to total geographical area, Mizoram tops the chart with 90.68% followed by Lakshadweep with 84.56%

*Some path-breaking chapters added in 2011 report are concerned with:
Assessment of bamboo resources
Production-consumption assessment of wood based on data stock in India’s forests
Assessment of carbon stock in India’s forests

Q4 GDP growth drops sharply to 5.3%, lowest in 9 years

Yearly economic growth of India dipped to a 9-year low of 5.3% in the January-March 2012 quarter. Even during the 2008-09, the year when India was facing the hit by the global financial meltdown, growth rate was higher at 6.7%. It is the lowest growth rate since 4.0% in 2002-03.
Some of the factors being attributed to for the low GDP growth rate:

1. Euro zone debt crisis
2. Lack of economic reforms
3. High interest rates
4. Poor investment and widening trade gap
5. Low performing manufacturing sector
6. Swelling Current Account Deficit
7. Governments unpredictable regulations and tax

Steps to revive the economy. (from TOI)

BILATERAL INVESTMENT PROMOTION AND PROTECTION AGREEMENTS (BIPA)

             As part of the Economic Reforms Programme initiated in 1991, the foreign investment policy of the Government of India was liberalised and negotiations undertaken with a number of countries to enter into Bilateral Investment Promotion & Protection Agreement (BIPAs) in order to promote and protect on reciprocal basis investment of the investors. Government of India have, so far, (as on 9th December 2011) signed BIPAs with 82 countries out of which 72 BIPAs have already come into force and the remaining agreements are in the process of being enforced. In addition, agreements have also been finalised and/ or being negotiated with a number of other countries.

The objective of Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement is to promote and protect the interests of investors of either country in the territory of other country. Such Agreements increase the comfort level of the investors by assuring a minimum standard of treatment in all matters and provides for justifiability of disputes with the host country.

           BIPAs were intended to provide fair and equitable treatment to the investors of either country in the territory of the other country and include provisions for settlement of disputes between an investor and a contracting party shall, as far as possible, be settled amicably through negotiations between the parties to the dispute. In case a dispute is not settled amicably, a provision exists for arbitration.

BILATERAL WORRIES

Notices served by foreign investors against India under BIPAs and CECA

* Devas Employees Mauritius Pvt Ltd, Mauritius under BIPA with Mauritius 

* Sistema Joint Stock Financial Corporation, Russia under BIPA between India and Russia 

* Telenor Asia Pte Ltd, Singapore under CECA between India and Singapore   

* Capital Global Limited and Kaif Investment Limited, both Mauritius based-investors in Loop Telecom Limited under BIPA with Mauritius   

* Vodafone International Holdings BV, the Netherlands, under BIPA with the Netherlands   

* The Children’s Investment Fund Management, United Kingdom under BIPA with the UK and Cyprus

TGC sequences genomes of domesticated tomato & its wild ancestor

TGC: Tomato Genome Consortium
TGC has sequenced the genomes of the domesticated tomato and its wild ancestor, ‘Solanum pimpinellifolium’.


How this sequencing can benefit us?
The genome sequencing will:

• Lower costs and speed up efforts to improve the worldwide tomato production
• Make it more potent to fight pests & pathogens,
• Increase its endurance to drought and diseases affecting the vegetable

About Tomato Genome Consortium:
Tomato Genome Consortium (TGC) is a group of more than 300 scientists from 14 countries- India, UK,  US,China, Belgium, France, Germany, Japan, Israel, Italy, Korea, Spain, Argentina, and the Netherlands. The group came into existence during a scientific conference organized in 2003 in Washington, DC.

GRAIL

January 2, 2012 -- NASA’s twin unmanned Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) probes have begun a 90-day mission gathering data to create the first complete high-resolution map of the Moon’s uneven gravitational field.

Test tube hamburger

Scientists have used animal cells to create an artificial form of meat. Known as “in vitro meat”, it is made from thousands of stem cells which multiply to produce strips of muscle tissue without ever leaving the lab.

NuSTAR

Flame Virus