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The Directorate General Defence Estates (DGDE) has completed the exercise of surveying the 17.78 lakh acres of defence land, the first such exercise post Independence, for which Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday gave away awards to 11 officers and 24 personnel of 38 Defence Estates Offices and four Assistant Defence Estates Offices on the accomplishment.
Two independent studies point to increasing risk from warming in the Himalayas that is accelerating snow melt and contributing to flooding in rivers. Last February, an avalanche and snow melt in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand killed at least 70 persons and destroyed two hydropower projects.
The first study from researchers at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre and the University of Kerala used high-resolution, regional climate and chemistry models to quantify the effect of “snow darkening” from aerosols has on snow melt and flood risk, using data from 2011 to 2015.
Aerosols are particles suspended in the atmosphere and absorb sunlight. When some of these particles settle on snow, they tend to increase the amount of heat. Such aerosol pollution, the scientists say in their report, is “darkening” the Himalayan glaciers and snowpack, accelerating melt and increasing flood risks in the river basins near the Himalaya. The study appears in the peer-reviewed journal Water Resources Research.
Soon, all seats in a car will be required to have a “three-point” or Y-shaped seat belt, including middle-rear seats, Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday.
The Ministry will issue a draft notification in a day or two to invite stakeholders’ comments following which the new rule will be notified, the Minister said at a press conference.
“Automobile manufacturers are given a choice between two-point and three-point seat belts. Now, we plan to make three-point seat belts mandatory as they are known to ensure better safety,” a senior government official explained. He added that all “front-facing” seats will be required to have this provision, including middle-rear seats.
Former Prime Minister of Kenya, Raila Odinga, who arrived at Koothattukulam in Ernakulam earlier this week, to express his gratitude to physicians at an Ayurvedic eye hospital-cum-research centre there for helping his 44-year-old daughter, Rosemary Odinga, regain vision and for her follow-up treatment, will leave from there on Saturday.
Ms. Odinga had lost her sight completely in 2017, following optic nerve damage. Treatments done in South Africa, Israel, and China were futile.
It was then the family was informed by a friend about Kerala’s Ayurvedic tradition in dealing with such medical complications, said a press release.
In 2019, Ms. Odinga began treatment at Sreedhareeyam Ayurvedic Eye Hospital and Research Centre at Koothattukulam. After a month of treatment, she was discharged and continued medication at home. The treatment was done under the guidance of chief physician Dr. N. Narayanan Namboodiri. “The visit of the former Kenyan Prime Minister has reiterated the pride and possibilities of the Ayurvedic tradition. Ms. Odinga will remain at the hospital for three more weeks for follow-up treatment,” said a statement issued by research centre vice chairman Hari N. Namboodiri.
A total of 250 of the 360 active bus routes in the Greater Kochi area have been mapped by Systra Consortium, a French transport planning agency that was deputed by the Kochi Metropolitan Transport Authority (KMTA) to ready a report on rationalising bus routes in the Greater Kochi area.
This has helped map bus routes and bus stops in around 10,000 km of different bus routes that are located as far away as Munambam, N. Paravur and Angamaly on the city’s north, Perumbavoor, Kakkanad, Pookattupady, Ambalamugal, and Poothotta on the east, Aroor and Chellanam on the south, and the densely populated West Kochi region. Muvattupuzha too might be brought under the ambit, it is learnt.
The Navy is set to hold the 12th President’s Fleet Review (PFR) on February 21 at Visakhapatnam and few days from that it will host the largest multilateral exercise in this region, Milan 2022, which will see participation of all major Navies including Quad countries, Russia and from West Asia amid tensions in Ukraine and developments in West Asia.
The Indian Premier League auctions, where life-altering sums of money are on offer to cricketers from around the world, generate as much interest as the tournament matches.
A ‘mega auction’, with a bigger pool of players vying for a bigger total purse, will draw that much more attention. Over the weekend, 590 cricketers will be up for new contracts, with franchises entitled to spend upto ₹561.50 crore to acquire their services.
Among the 10 marquee players, David Warner, Shreyas Iyer and Pat Cummins could go for megabucks. They are proven performers, who double their value as potential captains. They will pique the interest of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) — franchises in search of a concrete leadership group.
When it comes to cut roses, Bengaluru is the biggest exporter in India. Pune is a close competitor. But Bengaluru roses are of better quality, says M Vishwanath, joint director, horticulture, Karnataka.
“I saw my parents testing lead levels in water at home and the process was tedious, unreliable and expensive,” she said.
Gitanjali Rao, a child prodigy and inventor, said the cause of her success was her community, a supportive environment as well as the focus on problem-based learning in schools.
Speaking at the Diaspora Diplomacy speaker series, organised by the US Mission in India, the 16-year-old talked about her experiences, her thought processes as well as her upcoming inventions. Gitanjali, an Indian-origin student from the US, is an accomplished inventor, having come to the forefront with Tethys, a device that detects lead levels in water and transmits the information over Bluetooth.
The Karatekas of IKA Karate Academy, Mysuru and Kali Warriors Academy, Karnataka, under Pekiti Tirsia Kali India, have bagged various medals in the World Online Karate Championship-2022 organised by Dynamic Shotokan Karate Do Association, World Union of Martial Arts Federations, World Karate Alliance and Evolution of Karate between Jan. 20 and Jan. 25, 2022.