Charting unknown Himalayan waters As India to launch its first manned space mission in 2016..Assocham asks RBI to continue soft monetary stance!BASIC countries accede to Copenhagen Accord!PM rejects UN deadline of January 31 for submitting emission targets!
Troubled galaxy destroyed Dreams, Chapter 442
Palash Biswas
http://indianholocaustmyfatherslifeandtime.blogspot.com/
THE HIMALAYAS
The economic resources of the Himalayas include rich arable land, extensive grassland and forest, workable, mineral deposits, and a tremendous potential for ...
library.thinkquest.org/22642/nwonders/himalaya.htm - Cached - Similar -Resources Himalaya
Himalayan Natural Resources : Ecothreats and Restoration Study
Himalayan Natural Resources : Ecothreats and Restoration Study : Sharma, BD & Sharma, Tej Kumari, Price US$ 13.04.
www.easternbookcorporation.com/moreinfo.php?txt... - Cached - Similar -Himalayas (mountains, Asia) -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia
The Himalayas include the highest mountains in the world, with more than 110 peaks rising ... regional listing of temples, and links to related resources. ...
www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/266037/Himalayas - Cached - Similar -Information Resources on Himalaya - ENVIS on Himalayan Ecology ...
Resources Himalaya is a self governing, independent not-for-profit organization concerned with the conservation of the Himalayas. ...
gbpihed.gov.in/envis/link/himalayanlink.htm - Cached - Similar -WikiAnswers - What are the Himalayan natural resources
School Subjects question: What are the Himalayan natural resources? Ayurvedic Herbs.
wiki.answers.com/.../What_are_the_Himalayan_natural_resources - Cached - Similar -Kauai's Hindu Monastery, Publications
Hinduism Online is a vast resource of knowledge and experience on Hinduism, one of the world's oldest living religions.
www.himalayanacademy.com/resources/ - Cached - Similar -Himalayas
- 25 JanMineral resources are limited. The Himalayas has major hydroelectric potential, but the development of hydroelectric resources requires outside capital ...
www.uttaranchal.ws/him.htm - Cached -News results for The Himalayan Resources
The HinduPachauri dodges questions on 'Himalayan blunder' - 5 days ago
... to the media on the Himalayan glacier goof-up issue amid questions being raised ... by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) which is headed by him. ...Indian Express - 935 related articles »
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News results for melting glaciers in the himalayas
ABC NewsMelting Glaciers Scientist Blames Issue on Misquote - 6 days ago
"Glaciers in the Himalaya are receding faster than in any other part of the world and, ... in New Delhi that while melting glaciers are a "serious" issue, ...Bloomberg - 1056 related articles »
Retreat of glaciers since 1850 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
With the retreat of glaciers in the Himalayas, a number of glacial lakes ..... in arid areas that are dependent on water supplies from melting glaciers. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retreat_of_glaciers_since_1850 - Cached - Similar -Melting Himalayan Glaciers May Doom Towns
7 May 2002 ... It's hardly news that the world's glaciers are melting—a phenomenon widely ... The largest part of the Himalayas lies within India, ...
news.nationalgeographic.com/.../0501_020502_himalaya.html - Cached - Similar -Himalaya glaciers melting much faster - Discovery.com- msnbc.com
24 Nov 2008 ... Himalaya glaciers melting much faster. Warming appears to be having bigger impact on ice at higher elevations ...
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27894721/ - United States - Cached - Similar -Glaciers Are Melting Faster Than Expected, UN Reports
17 Mar 2008 ... In Latin America, the IPCC warns of a melting of most tropical glaciers ... Hanging glaciers on Dome Blanc Langtang Himal, Himalayas, Nepal. ...
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080317154235.htm - Cached - Similar -Himalayan Glaciers Not Melting | The Resilient Earth
A central claim was the world's glaciers were melting so fast that those in the Himalayas could vanish by 2035. In the past few days the scientists behind ...
www.theresilientearth.com/?q=content/himalayan-glaciers...melting - Cached -Tibetan Glaciers Shrinking Faster Than Expected : EcoWorldly
4 Feb 2009 ... Combining these phenomena with the melting glaciers in the Himalayas and their falling water tables and it's hard to see where China is ...
ecoworldly.com/.../tibetan-glaciers-shrinking-faster-than-expected/ - Cached - Similar -BBC NEWS | South Asia | Why are the Himalayan glaciers melting?
2 Nov 2009 ... Why are the Himalayan glaciers melting? Glacier. The Himalayas hold the planet's largest body of ice outside polar caps ...
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8337604.stm - Cached -World misled over Himalayan glacier meltdown - Times Online
17 Jan 2010 ... A central claim was the world's glaciers were melting so fast that those in the Himalayas could vanish by 2035. ...
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article6991177.ece -IPCC officials admit mistake over melting Himalayan glaciers ...
20 Jan 2010 ... India 'arrogant' to deny global warming link to melting glaciers ..... It showed that the glaciers of the Himalayas, the primary source of ...
www.guardian.co.uk/environment/.../ipcc-himalayan-glaciers-mistake - Cached -Raising awareness about melting glaciers in Himalayas
26 Oct 2009 ... Changes in the landscape, livelihood and biodiversity in the Himalayan region due to global warming are becoming apparent and ominous.
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Climate Change, The Hiamalayas And IndiaCounterCurrents.org - - 20 hours ago 2) During a visit to ICIMOD (International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development) you told us about the melting glaciers in the Himalayas. Comment. ... UN pledges tighter controls after melting glaciers blunderThe Guardian - Jan 23, 2010 In fact, projections suggest glaciers in the Himalayas will not disappear for another 300 years. However, Pachauri insisted the mistake should not obscure ... Glaciers error dents climate scienceSydney Morning Herald - - Jan 24, 2010 Scientists who uncovered the error about the timing of melting glaciers in the Himalayas told The Age that the conclusions of the report were right, ... Melting Himalayan glaciers: no peaceful end to the scandalTelegraph.co.uk - - Jan 22, 2010 Climate change sceptics are delighted that the head of the IPCC had has to retract claims that half the glaciers in the Himalayas will have melted by 2035, ... UN climate chief refuses to resign over glacier report errorRIA Novosti - - Jan 26, 2010 ... Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently admitted it made a mistake in its 2007 assessment of the rates of glacier melting in the Himalayas. ... Global warming scam exposed, momentum turningOC Watchdog: Your Tax Dollars at Work (blog) - - Jan 25, 2010 Remember just the other day when it was revealed that the entire basis for global warming zealots' prediction of the Himalayas glaciers melting by 2035 was ... Himalayan Melting: How a Climate Panel Got It WrongTIME - - Jan 21, 2010 The controversy stems from a single paragraph in Chapter 10 of the report's second section, which claimed that glaciers in the Himalayas were receding ... Pachauri admits Himalayan blunderEconomic Times - Jan 23, 2010 The AR 4 had stated "Glaciers in the Himalaya are receding faster than in any other part of the world and, if the present rate continues, the likelihood of ... Climate Science as a Game of Telephone (Part III)First Things (blog) - - 18 hours ago First, the claims by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that the world's glaciers were melting so fast that those in the Himalayas could ... World's glaciers melting at accelerated pace, leading scientists sayThe Guardian - Jan 20, 2010 He said only about 800 of the 46000 glaciers in the Himalayas are being monitored by scientists. Data from those under observation suggests that 95% of ... A distraction of Himalayan proportionsIndependent - Jan 22, 2010 However, the Working Group II report was quite unequivocal in its statement: "Glaciers in the Himalaya [sic] are receding faster than in any other part of ... UN climate panel retracts claim of melting Himalayas glaciersDigitalJournal.com - - Jan 24, 2010 ... in the report warned people of South Asia that rivers vital to their populations are in jeopardy because of the dangerous melting rate of the glaciers. ... Climate change: The controversy over 'Himalayan blunder'Rediff - Jan 21, 2010 'Glaciers in the Himalayas are receding faster than in any other part of the world and, if the present rate continues, the likelihood of them disappearing ... Pachauri won't quit over glacier meltdown blunderIBNLive.com - Jan 23, 2010 We should make a plan for proper evaluation and calculation of melting of glaciers," he added. While preparing the fifth report, the IPCC would convene a ... I will not go, says climate chiefBBC News - Jan 25, 2010 The date appeared in the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report (4AR), which read: "Glaciers in the Himalayas are receding faster than in any other part of the ... Explanation Offered for Error in UN Climate ReportNew York Times (blog) - - Jan 25, 2010 The estimate said that the glaciers in the Himalayas could disappear by 2035. That error and other recent disclosures about the report's section on the ... More Global Warming Scandals Implicate IPCC Climate ScientistsThe Market Oracle - Jan 22, 2010 The IPCC's 2007 report stated, "glaciers in the Himalayas are receding faster than in any other part of the world." Given that this is the world's highest ... UN climate panel blunders again over Himalayan glaciersTimes Online - - Jan 24, 2010 The chairman of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has used bogus claims that Himalayan glaciers were melting to win grants worth ... Glacier-gate: Don't throw the baby out with the bath waterGreenfudge.org (blog) - Jan 25, 2010 Erroneous claims concerning melting Himalayan glaciers made in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's 2007 report have embarrassed the IPCC and ... Evidence for man-made global warming is rapidly meltingGrand Junction Sentinel - Jan 22, 2010 The belief was that the glaciers of the Himalayas would disappear by 2035 because of the Earth's rapid heating. It was particularly persuasive because it ... Climate Chief Staying Put Despite Calls for His HeadFOXNews - Jan 25, 2010 Dr. Murari Lal, the scientist behind the bogus claim about melting Himalayan glaciers, suggested over the weekend that the panel intentionally ignored the ... Himalayan glaciers are in retreat: UN bodyEconomic Times - Jan 22, 2010 According to Icimod, "Many of the inferences regarding glacial melting are based on terminus fluctuation or changes in glacial area, neither of which ... Bad Mistake? One Scientist Reacts to IPCC MistakeCleanSkies.com - Jan 21, 2010 ... says though the IPCC admits it made a mistake in one part of its report on glaciers melting in the Himalayas, it has no real impact. ... Climate Sceptics And The Himalayan Glacier MeltCounterCurrents.org - - Jan 23, 2010 Now a huge furore has erupted over whether the Himalayan glaciers are melting or not. The problem causing the controversy lies in the 2007 UN's IPCC report ... Sloppy science is seeping into the climate watchdogTimes Online - - Jan 23, 2010 So even though glaciers the world over are melting, a date for the total disappearance of the ones in the Himalayas is more likely to be nearer 2350, ... Pachauri: the real story behind the Glaciergate scandalTelegraph.co.uk - - Jan 23, 2010 If my little bowl of ice-cream "Sphagetti Bolognese" doesn't melt in half-an-hour how the hell do they reckon all the glaciers in the Himalayas will melt in ... WWF admits 'error' in 2005 reportRepublica - Jan 22, 2010 The statement also added that their own recent studies have highlighted the need for deeper research on the melting glaciers. The statement reads, "Even in ... Pachauri accepts Himalayan mistake, but won't resignEconomic Times - Jan 23, 2010 NEW DELHI: Ruling out his resignation as chief of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) after its goof-up on melting of Himalayan glaciers, ... Chairman of UN Climate Panel Head Clings to Post Despite Erroneous Glacier ClaimCNSNews.com - - Jan 25, 2010 Pachauri also said the error should not be a distraction, that glaciers were indeed melting, and climate change was threatening the planet. ... Experts Dispute Rate of Glacier MeltingClean Skies News - Jan 21, 2010 That paragraph says the Himalaya's glaciers are melting faster than those of other mountain ranges - and could be gone by 2035. ... |
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Global warming - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of Earth's ..... Both theory and climate models indicate that global warming will reduce the rate ...
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News results for Global warming
The HinduIPCC clear on evidence for global warming - 1 day ago
Some aspects of global warming may not be entirely understood and data may be sparse, but scientists do not dispute that global temperature has increased, ...Business Standard - 935 related articles »
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- Report imagesThank you for the feedback. Report another imagePlease report the offensive image. CancelDoneGlobal warming, causes, solutions, photography, pictures, photos ...
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Global Warming: Early Warning Signs
The Earth is heating up. The early warning signs of global climate change are in -- heat waves and warmer weather, spreading disease, earlier spring arrival ...
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NRDC's global warming site provides information on the causes and effects of global climate change, and offers solutions to the problem.
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Global warming is when the earth heats up (the temperature rises). It happens when greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, water vapor, nitrous oxide, ...
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Global Warming Interactive, Global Warming Simulation, Climate ...
We call the result global warming, but it is causing a set of changes to the ... Scientists often use the term "climate change" instead of global warming. ...
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News results for Moon Mission India
India to send two astronauts into space in 2016 - 4 hours ago India will launch its first manned mission in 2016 with two astronauts for a ... a book titled "Moon Mission: Exploring the Moon with Chandrayaan-1". ...The Hindu - 31 related articles »
WelCome to Chandrayaan
Loading: CHANDRAYAAN -1. INDIA'S FIRST SCIENTIFIC MISSION TO THE MOON. Loading: 96%. CHANDRAYAAN -1. INDIA'S FIRST SCIENTIFIC MISSION TO THE MOON.
www.isro.org/Chandrayaan/htmls/home.htm - Cached - Similar -Cover Story: Moon Mission
3 Jul 2000 ... The coming months will determine whether India's proposed mission to the moon will be a giant leap for the country's space programme or just ...
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17 Oct 2008 ... Here's all that you wanted to know about India's first Moon mission.
www.rediff.com/news/2008/oct/17sli1.htm - Cached - Similar -Image results for Moon Mission India
- Report imagesThank you for the feedback. Report another imagePlease report the offensive image. CancelDoneChandrayaan-1 ISRO - India's Moon Mission Animation by Thejes
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Chandrayaan-1 (ISRO - India's Mission to the Moon) Animation by Thejes. Original high resolution download is available at: www.thejes.com The ...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipBOotJDJ1k - Related videos -AFP: India rejoices over moon probe landing
14 Nov 2008 ... India's first lunar mission began October 22 when a rocket transported Chandrayaan-1 into space. Chandrayaan -- the Sanskrit word for moon ...
www.google.com/.../ALeqM5iJwhwx2HUwU8kW5KJMNl2UNfPmeQ - Similar -India's moon mission suffers setback - Home - livemint.com
18 Jul 2009 ... India?s moon mission suffers setback, Trouble began in January, when Isro could not switch on two of the 11 instruments on board due to the ...
www.livemint.com/2009/.../India8217s-moon-mission-suf.html - Cached - Similar -Chandrayaan India's Moon Mission
In Chandrayaan-1, the lunar craft would be launched using Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). Chandrayaan-2, ISRO will send moon rover on moon surface.
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The mission was a major boost to India's space program, as India researched and developed its own technology in order to explore the Moon. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandrayaan-1 - Cached - Similar -Moon mission takes India's space program in new direction / The ...
22 Oct 2008 ... Chandrayaan, launched Wednesday, will map the moon's surface. But most Indian space projects look for applications on Earth, ...
www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South.../p06s12-wosc.html - Cached -NDTV.com : Moon Mission
India's maiden mission to the moon, Chandrayaan-1 has been a remarkable success so far. The unmanned satellite is currently orbiting the moon. ...
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Combating climate change, with help from Lord Ram
SONBHADRA/LUCKNOW: Ram, Ramayana and global warming - the association may sound odd, until you realise how the religious context helped an NGO in
The NGO Raunak Evam Jagruk Samaj Sanstha (REJSS) in Sonbhadra district, some 250 km from Lucknow, conducts recitation of the Ramayana epic in parts of Uttar Pradesh, holds prayers for Lord Ram and distributes saplings as prasad (consecrated offering) among the devotees.
"You can say it's our religious formula to protect the environment and fight against global warming. Planting trees is something simple everyone can do to reduce carbon dioxide, a principal greenhouse gas that causes global warming," REJSS director Arvind Singh Chattan told IANS on phone from Sonbhadra.
"You know the importance of prasad amongst Hindus, who traditionally accept it after prayers as they believe the prasad has been blessed by the almighty. Unlike the usual prasad that usually comprises different fruits, sweets, panchaamrit (made from curd, milk and dry fruits), we provide saplings as prasad to the devotees, who readily accept them and plant them taking into account the religious context," he added.
REJSS launched its Ram, Ramayana and Global Warming programme six months ago and has already distributed over 18,000 saplings.
"We started our programme in June 2009 and till now we have successfully conducted it in several districts including Varanasi, Chandauli, Mirzapur and Sonbhadra," said Dimple Singh, a member of REJSS.
"Though for the last five years we have been organising environmental awareness programmes in different schools of Uttar Pradesh, frankly speaking we were not able to involve the commoners to work towards environment protection. Later, we decided to connect religion with environment, as there is no denying that people of our country, particularly Hindus, are governed by religion," she added.
According to REJSS members, earlier their environmental programmes remained confined to school students, but now it has representation from all walks of life.
"Be it children, youth or elders, all turn up in huge numbers whenever we organise religious gatherings. In fact, most of the time we hand over the saplings to devotees as they come in the camp and bow their head before the almighty," said another member of REJSS, K.P. Singh.
In the coming weeks, REJSS will hold its programme in new parts of Uttar Pradesh -- the dictricts of Lucknow, Kanpur, Unnao, Shahjahanpur and Hardoi.
REJSS buys the saplings with funds raised by the public.
"Residents in different districts, primarily Sonbhadra and Varanasi, voluntarily contribute for the campaign. For collecting funds, REJSS members visit door-to-door and the residents donate money depending upon their income," said Ranbeer Dogra, a resident of Robertsganj town in Sonbhadra.
Arvind Giri, a resident of Sonbahdra's Chopan town, said: "The initiative taken by REJSS will surely be of immense help in expanding the green cover of the state. In my view their drive is a unique mix of religion and science that would definitely ward off a number of environmental problems."
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1 - 10 of 151 results- Climate scientists are only humans'
- LONDON: With the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and its chairman Rajendra Pachauri facing criticism for the Himalayan glacier blunder, Jean-Pascal van Ypersele ...
- Hindu
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- 10 hours ago
- Climate scientists are only humans: Pachauri's deputy
- London: With the IPCC and its Chairman Rajendra Pachauri coming under fire over the Himalayan glacier blunder, the UN body's deputy defended him saying scientists are "only humans ...
- Zee News
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- 19 hours ago
- Goof-up on Himalayan Glaciers' melting was a 'human mistake',…
- London, January 27 : The deputy leader of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has said that the UN's climate science body's claim that the Himalayan Glaciers would ...
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- IPCC deputy chief says scientists are 'only human', can make…
- London, Jan.26 : The deputy leader of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Jean Pascal van Ypersele, has said climate scientists are "only humans" who can make ...
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- 20 hours ago
- 'Errors in report do not undermine case of global warming'
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- 25-01-2010
- Don't undermine IPCC study: Australian co-author
- An Australian professor, who co-authored the climate report that wrongly claimed Himalayan glaciers would melt by 2035, said the discovery of the error does not undermine the ...
- Hindustan Times
- ·
- 25-01-2010
- UN climate panel faces new controversy
- The United Nations panel of climate science, headed by Rajendra Pachauri, faces new controversy for wrongly linking global warming to a rise in natural disasters such as hurricanes ...
- Hindustan Times
- ·
- 24-01-2010
- Pachauri accepts Himalayan mistake, but won't resign
- New Delhi: Ruling out his resignation as chief of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) after its goof-up on melting of Himalayan glaciers, Rajendra Pachauri ...
- MSN India
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- 23-01-2010
- U.N. climate chief Pachauri rejects resigning over glacier…
- NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The head of the U.N.'s panel of climate scientists promised on Saturday to tighten research procedures but dismissed talk he should resign over an erroneous ...
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- 23-01-2010
- UN climate chief rejects resigning over glacier gaffe
- * Head of panel says will tighten research procedures * Report projected Himalayan glaciers could vanish by 2035 * Pachauri says climate change threat is real By Matthias ...
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- 23-01-2010
Lalgarh-bound 'intellectuals' held, cops can't walk hard talk
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Express News Service
Posted: Jan 26, 2010 at 2353 hrs ISTKolkata The police have arrested 68 "intellectuals" marching to Lalgarh from Kharagpur station on Sunday for violating Section 144 but refrained from slapping non-bailable charges on them despite claiming they were carrying "seditious" pamphlets exhorting people to back Maoists.
Sources in the police said it was initially decided to press for non-bailable charges against the detainees but there was a last-minute change in the decision when writer Mahasweta Devi called up top state officials advising against it.
One of the posters that the "intellectuals" were carrying read: "To combat the challenge against the state by the people of Lalgarh, the state has started a war against them with its DOGS, lathi, guns, poisonous gas, rape and several other state-sponsored weapons. Please come and join these rebels and proceed towards Lalgarh to release it from the police by breaking Section 144."
The poster, published on January 18, 2010 at Ruby Printing Press at 18, Surya Sen Street in Kolkata, mentioned the names of Sukhendu Bhattacharya and Jagabandhu Adhikari as publishers.
Another poster had a poem written by renowned poet Joy Goswami. "If we do not awake now and stay at home instead of joining the people in Lalgarh, we, all artistes, are mass-murderers," it said.
Around 76 "intellectuals" started marching from Kharagpur station to Lalgarh on Sunday, chanting slogans they will walk down to Lalgarh and break Section 144. Among the 68 arrested are Rangta Munshi of APDR, Choton Das, secretary, Bandi Mukti Committee, professor Pranab Dasgupta, member of ADPR, Sukhendu Bhattcharya, convener of Lalgarh Sanhati Mancha, and scientist Meher Engineer.
Sources said senior police officials had initiated the process to invoke the non-bailable Section 123 of IPC against the detainees, but had to retreat after Mahasweta Devi reportedly called up Home Secretary Ardhendu Sen, asking him to lift the non-bailable sections.
"We invoked Section 123 against the intellectuals as the contents of the posters were completely seditious. Initially, we even got the permission for the same but after a few minutes, we were asked by the higher authorities not to press non-bailable charges," said a senior police officer.
DGP Bhupinder Singh said, "We at first thought of invoking non-bailable section. But after examining the contents, we thought a bailable section will do."
Rangta Munshi, however, said: "We had no intention to violate Section 144. The police conspired against us and arrested us so that we cannot join the people of Lalgarh."
Lower profitability, rate hikes, higher taxes worry investors
MUMBAI: Indian equities, which have fallen for five straight days, may have hit a wall. Steep valuations, lower profitability, potential increase
India stock analysts have dropped their "buy" ratings to 49% of total recommendations, the lowest level since 1997 and down from 59% a year ago, according to Bloomberg.
"Investors appear to be concerned about the impact of cooling measures," says Sean Darby, Asia strategist at Nomura International.
The benchmark Sensex, which returned 81% last year, its second best in two decades, looks set for a tepid 2010 as investors limit exposure to India with its shares becoming the most expensive among the BRIC countries, a popular acronym among investors for the best emerging markets to invest in. Add to this other concerns such as RBI may raise policy rates to counter inflationary pressures, the government may increase taxes to cut fiscal deficit, and profitability may fall as raw material costs jump.
The rally has pushed the Sensex to a valuation of 20 times of estimated profits, higher than China for the first time since November 2006 and the second most-expensive among the 25 biggest markets after Japan, according to monthly data compiled by Bloomberg. China's Shanghai Index trades at 18 times, Brazil's Bovespa at 13 times and Russia's Micex at 9.2 times.
Japan's Nikkei-225 Stock Average has a ratio of 40, compared with 14 for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index in the US.
"There are better opportunities in other emerging markets," said Roger Groebli, the Singapore-based head of financial market analysis at LGT Capital Management, part of a group that oversees about $84 billion. India "will be an underperformer for the first quarter", he said.
The Sensex is down 3.9% this year, compared with China's 5.6%. Earnings of some key companies such as Larsen & Toubro, the country's biggest engineering firm, and Mahindra & Mahindra, the largest utility vehicles maker, have also caused concern. While L&T has cut its full-year revenue forecast after some clients withdrew orders, Mahindra sees pressure on its profit margins.
``Agriculture GDP, which grew a mere 1.7% in H1, given the severe drought during the kharif season this year, is likely to see negative growth in the second half of the year,'' M&M said on Monday. ``Inflation has leapfrogged'' because of soaring commodity prices and ``margins are expected to be under pressure in the months to come'', it said.
M&M fell 5.24% to Rs 1,072.35 on BSE on Monday. While RBI may address the inflation issue during its review on Friday with a higher reserve requirement and even higher policy rates, it may be the end of easy times for corporates, which have been enjoying record-low interest rates.
India's market "hasn't factored in the risk of tightening whereas China has already begun to", said Shane Oliver, the Sydney-based head of investment strategy at AMP Capital Investors, which oversees about $90 billion globally. "The macro backdrop in India and the share-market valuations are less favourable."
Inflation, as measured by the Wholesale Price Index, has risen to 7.3% in December, from 4.8% in November '09. Food price inflation is at more than 15%.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/analysis/Lower-profitability-rate-hikes-higher-taxes-worry-investors/articleshow/5503126.cms
Agenda for the Land Acquisition Bill
During the last 10 days two land acquisition notifications have been set aside. The Punjab and Haryana High Court (HC) has quashed a Haryana
Similarly, the Allahabad High Court has repealed a UP government's notification under which land was acquired for a private project in 2005. Both notifications have been cancelled on account of procedural lapses.
However, these rulings highlight the three most problematic aspects of the land acquisition under eminent domain: namely, excessive misuse of compulsorily acquisition laws by states to serve private interests; inadequacy of compensation provided to the owners; and violent protests against compulsory acquisitions.
The Land Acquisition (Amendment) Act, 1984 provides for compulsory acquisition of private property by the state for making the provisions of public goods and services; such as, roads, dams, schools, etc. Section 38 allows acquisition for private projects as well, provided it serves a public purpose.
The law is ambiguous about what is or is not a public purpose . Unfortunately, this and the other ambiguities have been misused by a nexus of the authorities and the industry to provide subsidised land to the latter.
There are many instances in which the states acquired land for ostensibly public purposes but ultimately used it for notpublic ends. In one such instance, in 2002 the Haryana government acquired land to construct a Metro rail line, evidently a public purpose. However, 90% of the acquired land was subsequently transferred to private developers.
The situation is worse as to the compensation rules. Under Section 23, the owners are entitled to the market-value of the acquired property plus a solatium. The floor price (circle rates), or the average of sale-deeds of similar property can be used to determine the market-value . Generally, circle rates are dated and well below the market rates.
Also, in order to save on stamp-duty , the price quoted in sale-deed is much lower than the actual transaction price. Therefore, neither the sale-deeds nor the circle rates can reflect the market-value .
Besides, since property market is inherently thin, even market-value itself is less than the potential value. On the top of it, due to restrictions regarding changein-land use, etc, the market-value of agricultural land is further suppressed downward . Indeed, the very basis of determining compensation is flawed.
Since the compensation required is significantly less than the potential value, there is a tendency among public as well as private entities to over-acquire . In many instances, the excess land is used to earn profits in the realty sector.
Examination of court cases related to the acquisition for Delhi Metro reveals that the legal ambiguities have other costs too. In most cases, land acquisition collectors (LAC) have awarded compensation on the basis of the lower circle rates. In contrast, courts have used the higher sale-deeds as the basis. So, courts have awarded higher compensation.
The findings are startling. Both the LACs and the courts have applied the same law. Yet, strangely they have awarded drastically different compensations . For example, in Jantar Mantar area while the LAC valued the land at Rs18,480 per sq m, the rate used by the court was Rs 75,878.
Such instances abound. Preliminary examination of high court cases indicates that this is a general phenomenon. It explains why the affected parties invariably resort to litigation. Of course, law suits are costly and entail huge wastage of time and national resources.
Poor farmers cannot afford costly and prolonged litigation and therefore are vulnerable to political manipulations . These people along with labourers resort to violent protests. As a result a large number of infrastructure projects have got delayed. According to an estimate these delays have cost industry as much as $100 billion.
The judiciary is also responsible for this unfortunate outcome. Certainly, the legislature and the executive are better equipped to determine what can or cannot serve public purpose.
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IPCC deputy says scientists are 'only human' and Assocham asks RBI to continue soft monetary stance!Concerned over the sun's apparent cooling down and curious to know how that would affect the earth and its climate, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is planning its first sun-bound satellite, Aditya-1, which would skirt the outer solar atmosphere to send back crucial data.Last decade warmest ever, NASA Declares. It must be a hint enough for the Hidden Environmet economis and Understanding of IPCC Resources as well as the Scietific ERRORS and Hypes created by so called scientists like Pachauri and Planted Enslaved Unethical Immoral antinational Regimes all over the Poor Third World with abundant Natural Resources as well as Market potential!
PM rejects UN deadline of January 31 for submitting emission targets!Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has rejected the UN deadline of January 31 for submission of emission targets and climate actions under
The Prime Minister is particularly unhappy over the repeated persistence from Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and United Secretary General Ban-Ki-Moon to accede to the January 31 deadline for target submission, sources in the PMO said.
Singh has also apparently questioned the legal status of the various provisions included in the accord which is silent on the Kyoto Protocol based on equity burden sharing among the member nations.
"Before going ahead with targets submission, the Prime Minister wants to be clarified on certain issues which are silent in the Ban's letter," the sources added.
In the absence of the consensus at the Denmark capital last December, the UN members just took note of the Copenhagen Accord and agreed to submit their voluntarily emission cuts as well as climate action plans.
As per the accord, Appendix 1 is intended for "economy-wide emissions targets" for 2020 for Annex-I (rich countries) while Appendix 2 is for "mitigation actions" by non-Annex I (developing) countries. These commitments can become operational immediately.
Claims that HImalayan glaciers would melt by 2035 were down to a "human mistake" the deputy leader of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has admitted.Reports the Telegraph, London. Meanwhile, the Diversion and Economic ethnic Cleansing , all on the Name of global warming and Environment continues as the Aboriginal India consisting of EXCLUDED Landscpae and SC, ST, OBC, Refugee Humanscape all along Five States in central India is siezed within as Chettiyar Chidamabaram has declared the Corpoate war against the People of India. National Resources and Revenues are divereted to Indian Incs and MNCs at the one hand, on the other REALTY, POWER, Energy and auto Sectors are Promoted with full Political corpoarate Force. The Sixty Year old Republic succumbs as Political Representaion is coopted by zionist Hindu Corporate Imperialist Fascist Ruling Hegemony and India Incs have taken over Legislation, governance and Policy Making. Reform defecit should be Covered up is the slogan which means Abolishion of Constitutional safe Guards for SC, ST, OBC and Minorities. Economic and Home Reforms kill the Aboriginal, Indigenous, Labour and Pesantry along with Production System and inherited livelihood and Home Land, nationalities, Identities and Mother languase. Media, intelligentsia and Civil Society are tagged with Free market Democracy creates an unprecedented Environment to Kill the Republic, democracy, parliament nd Constitution. Seventy Percent Indians live in Intense Food Insecurity as well as in Unemployment, displacement, Exodus and continuous Holocaust while Monetary as well Fiscal policies, budgetary plan sfocus on capitalist Growth depending on Foreign capital Inflow and Borrowing. Defence is Kickbacks prone High Stake sector and employees are Pacified as they belong to the Neo rich Affluenet Middle class so that No resistance is Possible. Home reforms denies and democratic Interactions not to mention revolts, insurrections and mass Movements. Trade Unions have been Hijacked. SC, ST, OBC and Minority communities are EXCLUDED systematically in the Mainstream nation as we call it. Hinduisation is Global network and RSS leads the Stratgic Alignment as Indo US Nuke deal and Indo US, Indo Israel, Indo Jap relations. Masses are denied Information as well as knowledge. While Consent is Manufactured with coding and decoding. Science and technology have been Reduced in US Sponsered environmental Pro Activism and NASA PENTAGAN led Survillience and Nuclear armament in the space. Hiamalayan Zone is under AFPSA Rule since 1952. No one is concerned about the Humanity there and Environment Activism creates MNC Empire all over the Himalays. Hill stations are burdened with Over Construction. Public services have been Privatised. Production units Locked out. Health and Knowledge have Economies now and so are Retail and Food Chains. national life is reduced into reality Show while India plans MANNED MOON MISSION shamelessly when the Nobel laureate Rajendra pachauri with Corporate Links is EXPOSED naked! What a shame!
Officials from Brazil, South Africa, India and China (BASIC countries) met here on Sunday and indicated their support to the
The officials from the four countries met in New Delhi to devise a common strategy ahead of the Jan 31 deadline for the accord, a non-binding agreement that emerged from the climate change summit in the Danish capital in December.
The meeting of the bloc of emerging powers is likely to announce a fund they will set up to help other developing countries cope with the effects of climate change.
Only four countries -- Australia, Canada, Papua New Guinea and the Maldives -- have signed the Copenhagen Accord so far, though South Korea have also indicated their willingness to do so.
Though Australia and Canada have signed, they have not indicated the greenhouse gas emission reductions they are committing under the accord -- something developed countries are supposed to do.
Meanwhlile, Last decade warmest ever, NASA declares!
The past decade was the warmest ever on Earth, a new analysis of global surface temperatures released by NASA showed.
The US space agency also found that 2009 was the second-warmest year on record since modern temperature measurements began in 1880. Last year was only a small fraction of a degree cooler than 2005, the warmest yet, putting 2009 in a virtual tie with the other hottest years, which have all occurred since 1998.
According to James Hansen, who heads NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, global temperatures change due to variations in ocean heating and cooling.
"When we average temperature over five or 10 years to minimize that variability, we find global warming is continuing unabated," Hansen said in a statement.
A strong La Nina effect that cooled the tropical Pacific Ocean made 2008 the coolest year of the decade, according to the New York-based institute.
In analyzing the data, NASA scientists found a clear warming trend, although a leveling off took place in the 1940s and 1970s.
The records showed that temperatures trended upward by about 0.36 degrees Fahrenheit (0.2 Celsius) per decade over the past 30 years. Average global temperatures have increased a total of about 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit (0.8 Celsius) since 1880.
"That's the important number to keep in mind," said Gavin Schmidt, a climatologist with the institute.
"The difference between the second and sixth warmest years is trivial because the known uncertainty in the temperature measurement is larger than some of the differences between the warmest years."
Last year's near-record temperatures took place despite an unseasonably cool December in much of North America and a warmer-than-normal Arctic, with frigid air from the Arctic rushing into the region while warmer mid-latitude air shifted northward, the institute said.
The analysis was based on weather data from over a thousand meteorological stations worldwide, satellite observations of sea surface temperatures and Antarctic research station measurements.
But the newly released figures were unlikely to quell a heated climate debate.
The so-called "climategate" controversy that exploded last fall on the eve of UN-sponsored climate talks unleashed a furor over whether the planet was heating and, if so, at what pace.
Hundreds of emails intercepted from scientists at Britain's University of East Anglia, a top center for climate research, have been seized upon by skeptics as evidence that experts twisted data in order to dramatize global warming.
World powers agreed at the Copenhagen climate summit last month to seek to prevent average global temperatures from rising beyond 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (two Celsius) above pre-industrial levels in order to halt the most devastating effects of global warming.
"There's a contradiction between the results shown here and popular perceptions about climate trends," Hansen said. "In the last decade, global warming has not stopped."
The 100kg satellite is scheduled to be launched in 2013. The Rs128-crore Aditya mission received the go-ahead from the government in December 2009.
"The focus will be on the low activity of the sun and what happens if the phenomenon were to continue into the next decade," said the principal investigator of the mission, Jagdev Singh. "We included this objective since there is very low activity on the sun. The solar cycle, which by now should have entered the high activity phase or maxima, is not happening. We see sunspots, but very irregularly," he said.
The sunspots, which regularly occur as the sun hots up during the solar maximum cycle, appear once in two months and for much shorter periods of three to five days.
The sun goes through a cycle of 11 years when it cools down and then hots up again, alternatively. In the earlier cycles, the sunspots and active regions appeared continuously and lasted for 15 days to one month, and increased as the sun moved towards the maximum period.
"The cycle has been delayed by close to three years now. So the satellite, when launched, will observe the sun for five to six years. Based on the data, it will help build a model of what happens during low activity on the sun," Singh said.
The scientific community the world over is worried if we are heading towards Maunder minimum, a situation similar to what had happened between 1645 and 1715 when there was minimum activity on the sun. The much smaller sunspots, appearing irregularly in the otherwise active solar regions, is happening again. Back then, only 50 sunspots had appeared as against a normal of 50,000.
Since the solar data collected by scientists dates back to only 150 years, there is no way of knowing how the Maunder minimum had affected the earth from 1645 to 1715, Singh said.
"We will now study the effects on climatic conditions too. But as of now, we are not predicting if we are going to face a similar situation as then. We will have to wait for the observations," Singh said.
The Aditya-1 mission will help Indian space scientists estimate how much thermal insulation would be required for Isro spacecrafts carrying astronauts, as India's first manned low-orbit space mission is scheduled for 2015.
The abrupt end of India's first unmanned moon mission, Chandrayaan-1, due to intense radiation (thermal heating) has led scientists to use the Aditya mission for this purpose, too. The data is also expected to be shared with other countries sending astronauts to the international space station, besides for safety in future space tourism projects.
Assocham asks RBI to continue soft monetary stance! The Reserve Bank of India should continue with its soft monetary policy in the forthcoming review to spur growth as the economy is
"In a bid to maintain sustenance in the current growth momentum, we have suggested to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to maintain existing monetary policy so that it (economic growth) is further strengthened in the remaining months of the current fiscal," Assocham President Swati Piramal said.
She said the current problem of high inflation is fueled by supply side constraints and cannot be tackled with the RBI tightening money supply in its January 29 review.
"The RBI should not touch interest rates as that would signal negative impact on the growth story, which still is somehow uneven. RBI raising policy rates at this juncture will not cool inflationary expectations till the agriculture supply chain improves," Piramal said in her representation to RBI Governor D Subbarao.
Further, the Industry body pointed out that despite low interest rates, credit growth still remains much below the target by RBI. Therefore, any increase in interest rates at this juncture by the bank will not be healthy in the interest of the economy.
The apex bank should wait till the end of the current fiscal to take any view on policy rates even if some central banks in Asia are doing so.
The key issue to hog the RBI's attention is the current high rate of inflation, particularly of food.
The industry body suggested that all key tools like cash reserve ratio (CRR), reverse repo rate, repo rate and statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) should stay unchanged to help industrial growth improve further.
India's index of industrial production (IIP) grew 11.7 percent during November 2009, fueled by stimulus-backed demand for manufactured goods, particularly consumer goods. Industrial growth was just 2.5 percent in November 2008.
The recovery still needs the sops to turn more visible ,the chamber said, adding even a moderate hike in CRR by 25 basis points, as apprehended, will prove a disincentive to the growth momentum, which is at 5 percent currently.
The chamber is also of the view that RBI can liberally review its stance at the annual policy in April, based on the outcome of corporate results which will firmly establish which way the economy is headed.
On the other hand,India to launch its first manned space mission in 2016...India will launch its first manned space mission in 2016 in a bid to match space pioneers such as Russia and the United States, a top
The economists, polled by industry body FICCI, said the RBI may raise the cash reserve ratio (CRR), which is a portion of deposits that banks keep in cash with the central bank, by 50 basis points to 5.5 per cent, although this would have no impact on containing inflation.
A hike in CRR at this point in time may tone down the inflationary expectations that are building in the economy, but would fail to arrest inflation as it is not a monetary phenomenon currently.
"RBI may still want to indicate its seriousness about this issue (inflation) through a symbolic move in the forthcoming monetary policy," they said.
Wholesale price-based inflation shot up to more than a year's high of 7.31 per cent in December.
On food inflation, the economists said the larger issue is high growth and rising incomes in rural areas courtesy the NREGA leading to more demand for food items, while supplies languish.
Food inflation was 16.81 per cent in the week ended January 9 and was too high for the comfort of the government that announced several measures to augment supply of essential commodities.
The Reserve Bank will come out with its monetary review on Friday.
The government had already approved plans for a human space flight project by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), and last year gave the go-ahead for funding of around $2.8 billion.
ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan said the agency would develop the space module for the programme within four years.
"We are planning a human space flight in 2016, with two astronauts who will spend seven days in the Earth's lower orbit," Radhakrishnan told reporters at ISRO headquarters in Bangalore.
The space agency will also establish a facility in Bangalore for training the astronauts and build a third launch pad at its spaceport in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
In September, India's Chandrayaan-1 satellite discovered water on the moon, boosting India's credibility among established space-faring nations.
India began its space programme in 1963 and has developed its own satellites and launch vehicles to cut dependence on overseas agencies.
GST may not meet April 1 deadline: Plan panel
The Planning Commission today said that the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) is likely to miss the deadline of April 1, but it
"Well, we were hoping that it (GST) will come from April 1, but it does not appear that it will be so," Planning Commission Member B K Chaturvedi told PTI.
He, however, said the proposed indirect tax regime, aimed at doing away with most of the indirect taxes at the Centre and the States-levels, is likely to be implemented from the next financial year.
"Most likely it (GST) may come up from the next financial year," he said.
Many states like Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Gujarat are calling for delaying the introduction of GST against the schedule of April 1, 2010.
The introduction from the scheduled date seems almost impossible, since only a little over two months are left for it. Moreover, differences between the Centre and states have also cropped up on the rate structure and inclusion of alcohol, petroleum items and purchase tax into the proposed tax regime.
The Centre has opposed two rates suggested by states for goods under the proposed GST.
"There should be a single rate of SGST (state GST). A two rate structure of goods would pose problems," the Finance Ministry said in its comments on the discussion paper on GST by the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers.
Worst is over for global economy: Premji
Davos The outlook for global economy has turned positive this year and the worst is over even though the road ahead is full of challenges, Wipro Chairman and a co-Chair of the World Economic Forum Azim Premji has said.
"Last 12-18 months have been very difficult for the global economy. However, I think the worst is over, 2010 looks positive," Premji said in his message to the global business and government leaders for the annual WEF meeting in Davos.
The road to recovery
Premji is the sole Indian CEO who has been placed among top six global CEOs by the WEF, that has sought to influence policy-makers, businesses and civil society across the world for the past four decades.
Premji shares the position with Josef Ackermann, Chairman of the Management Board Deutsche Bank, Melinda French Gates, Co-Chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Peter Sands, the Group Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered Bank; Eric Schmidt, the Chairman of the Executive Committee and Chief Executive Officer, Google Inc, Ronald A Williams, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Aetna; and Patricia Woertz, the Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Archer Daniels Midland.
Nuclear war between India, Pak could spell climate disaster : Report
UNITED NATIONS: A nuclear war between India and Pakistan could cause severe "climate cooling" and may have a devastating impact on agriculture
"Just a limited regional nuclear exchange, for example between India and Pakistan, with each side attacking the other's major cities with 50 low-yield Hiroshima-sized weapons, would throw up major concentrations of soot into the stratosphere which would remain there for long enough to cause unprecedented climate cooling worldwide, with major disruptive effects on global agriculture," the report says.
It reveals that during the eighties scientists had conducted research on the impact of nuclear war on the climate and found the possibility of pollution of atmosphere by massive amounts of debris and smoke would block out the sunlight for decades and lead to a "nuclear winter".
This would kill many plants and animals, drastically changing ecological balances, cause famines and lead to breakdown of communities not directly affected by nuclear explosions, says the report produced by International Commission for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament.
It states that after the eighties there was a great deal of suspicion about the "nuclear winter" theory but research on the subject was picking up again
UN chief calls India 'strong partner' of world body
Describing India as a "strong partner" of the United Nations, the world body's Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has appreciated the role played by the country in relief efforts in quake-ravaged Haiti and addressing the issue of climate change.
"India is a strong partner of the United Nations. We are grateful for contributions India has been making to the common causes of the UN," Ban, who attended the Republic Day reception hosted by the Indian mission said.
"I am very happy to be part of this celebration (Republic Day)," he said.
Noting that India was one of the largest troop contributing countries, Ban underlined its role in UN goals of promoting peace, security and human rights.
"India has been playing a very significant role in addressing climate change and I am committed to working with the Indian government, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has been a strong supporter of the UN," he said.
Ban also said that he "very much appreciated" India's role in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, which killed an estimated 1.5 lakh people.
On the occasion, Sri Lankan envoy to the UN, Palitha Kohona, described his country's relations with India as "excellent" and hoped the bilateral the economic ties would get stronger through the Free Trade Agreement.
"We have excellent relations and we expect them to get better," he said.
Indian Ambassador to the US, Meera Shankar, hoisted the tricolour at the Indian embassy in Washington during a function attended by some 200 people yesterday.
... contd.
The UN's climate science body is under fire after being forced to retract the claims.
However Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, vice chairman of the IPCC, told the BBC: "Aren't mistakes human? Even the IPCC is a human institution and I do not know of any human institution that does not make mistakes, so of course it is a regrettable incident that we published that wrong description of the Himalayan glacier."
Last week the IPCC was forced to admit it made a mistake by claiming the Himalayan glaciers could melt by 2035. It made the assertion two years ago, saying it was based on detailed research into global warming, but has now conceded it was an error and the claim would be reviewed.
The scandal has led to the calls for the chairman of the science body, Rajendra Pachauri, to resign after he described those who criticised the claim as using "voodoo science".
But again Mr van Ypersele, professor of climatology and environmental sciences at the Catholic University of Louvain, said it was "only human" to use such language.
"I would personally not have used the voodoo science wording," he said. "I think humans can sometimes use words that are a bit too strong but it is certainly not a reason to ask for the resignation of a chairman who has done an excellent job. We are trying to do our best, we are going to reinforce the review procedures so the probability in the next report of such incidents happening is even lower. But to guarantee a zero fault product is probably not possible for any human enterprise."
The 2007 report, that included the Himalayan claim, is the basis for the current international debate on climate change and has led the developing countries to demand billions of pounds in compensation for the consequences of global warming.
It also included a section that has been criticised for including a report that linked climate change to an increase in natural disasters, although the IPCC claim this is just one conclusion in a "balanced" report.
The IPCC are now working on the 5th assessment report that will be finalised in 2014 and will also hugely influence world leaders.
Mr van Ypersele said the panel made up of thousands of leading scientists will do everything it can to ensure there are not mistakes in the new report, although he emphasised that no scientist can promise a perfect document.
"We are trying to do the best job we can in assessing the quality information about climate change issues in all its dimensions and some do not like the conclusions of our work. Now it is true we made a mistake around the glacier issue, it is one mistake on one issue in a 3,000 page report. We are going to reinforce the procedures to try this does not happen again."
There are fears that the scandal has damaged confidence in the IPCC and ultimately in the science of global warming but Mr van Ypersele claimed it had in fact strengthened the case for tackling climate change.
"I would like to submit that this could increase the credibility of the IPCC not decrease it. Why is that? Would you trust someone who has admitted an error and is ready to learn from his or her mistake or someone who claims to be unassailable? The IPCC does not claim to be unassailable, when there is a good reason to admit a mistake we do it, but for the rest of IPCC conclusions we stand by it very strongly," he said.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/globalwarming/7078617/IPCC-deputy-says-scientists-are-only-human.htmlCharting unknown Himalayan waters
By Navin Singh Khadka Environment reporter, BBC News |
The Himalayas hold the largest volume of ice outside the polar regions |
In the wake of a recent controversy over the retreat of Himalayan glaciers in which the UN's climate science body admitted that it was an error to assert that they would disappear by 2035, water availability has emerged as a key issue with even more uncertainty.
Receding Himalayan glaciers grabbed headlines because they feed major rivers in South Asia and some parts of Southeast Asia, which is home to a sizeable proportion of the planet's population.
If the glaciers significantly retreated or even disappeared, it would be an issue of life and death for many millions of people who depend on these rivers.
But now that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has said that it was a mistake to say the glaciers will be gone in a matter of decades, does that mean water is not a worrying issue any more?
Many scientists believe it is - even more so more given the uncertainty surrounding the future impacts of climate change in a region of not only high population, but one of high population growth.
The broad consensus is glaciers themselves are indeed retreating, although the rate of the recession may be debatable.
However, there are other climate-influenced factors that affect river flows, such as changes in precipitation, snowfall and regional temperature.
Uncertain times
"There has been too much focus on glaciers whereas there are other factors like precipitation and snowfall that affects the levels of waters in rivers downstream the eastern Himalayas," says Mats Eriksson, a senior hydrologist with Nepal-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), which has carried out several studies on the glaciers in the Hindu Kush Himalayas.
Without monsoon rains, young crops soon perish and die |
Below the eastern part of the Himalayas are major rivers like the Ganges and the Bramhaputra, as well as their tributaries.
These are vital lifelines for millions of people in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet.
A recent study for the World Bank has shown that the volume of water resulting from glacial melt in Nepal makes up less than 5% of the flows of rivers leaving the country and contributing to the Ganges downstream.
"That is, about 95% or more of the river flow is the result of rain and melting seasonal snow," said report co-author Richard Armstrong, a glaciologist from the University of Colorado at Boulder in the US.
If that is true, rivers downstream of the eastern Himalayas will hardly be affected, even if the glaciers recede or disappear.
However, would the other contributing factors to the rivers' flow, such as precipitation and snowfall, remain the same in the changing climate?
No, say scientists, but whether that will lead to rise or fall of rivers' levels - and by how much and when - are the questions still waiting to be answered.
"We are seeing some changes in the monsoon," Dr Eriksson said of the seasonal precipitation system that shapes the climate in this part of the region.
"Last year, for example, the monsoon arrived one month late in Nepal and then some places saw 80mm of water in a day during the delayed rainy season.
"But there has been no consistent measurement of precipitation and temperature and there is a lack of proper studies."
'Heat trapping aerosols'
Some scientists believe absorption of solar radiation by aerosols (dust particles and carbon soots) can heat the atmosphere and accelerate regional impacts of global warming, which in turn affect water resources.
The monsoon plays a vital role in South Asian economies |
William Lau, who heads the atmospheric sciences branch at Nasa's Goddard Flight Center, carried out a study in India last year and found that, as a result of aerosols, regional temperature was rising much faster than expected.
And that, he said, could influence the monsoon systems, resulting in less water availability in the region.
But Dr Armstrong said a warming climate could also mean a stronger monsoon bringing more precipitation that could increase stream flows.
"Having said that, it should be noted that future precipitation patterns predicted by climate models are highly variable and there is a very little regional agreement among the models," he said.
High variability is also an issue with the flow of rivers in the western Himalayas that do not fall within the monsoon regime.
"There is no clear-cut signal as there is a large variation between average annual flows," said Arshad Muhammad Khan, a physicist who heads the Global Change Impact Studies Centre in Pakistan.
"For example, in the Indus River, the maximum flow is twice of that of the minimum."
Unlike the Ganges, rivers like the Indus in the western part of the Himalayas are heavily dependent on glaciers, as this region does not get monsoon rains.
But even here, glacial status is not reported to be uniform.
Rising or falling flows?
Some scientists say increasing temperature has meant that glaciers don't get enough snowfall during winter and therefore river flow during summer is dwindling.
"We have seen the decline in the flow of the Indus, Chenab and Jhelum rivers," says Professor Mohammad Sultan Bhat of Kashmir University, who has conducted field studies with India's flood and irrigation department.
"We have recorded a decrease of 40% in the flow of Jhelum's tributary river… that is fed by the receding Kolahi glacier."
But, Kenneth Hewitt, a glaciologist from Canada who has been doing field studies in Pakistan's Karakoram mountains, told BBC News last October that he had seen at least half a dozen glaciers there advancing since he saw them five years ago.
With glaciers offering such complex pictures, combined with precipitation and temperature patterns becoming increasingly complicated, the region's river systems that depend on all these factors cannot be simpler.
Politics and geography, experts say, have made understanding the situation even more difficult.
"Some countries in the region are not willing to share water-related data because they regard it as confidential," said Dr Eriksson of ICIMOD.
"Since it is difficult to access them, proper studies on water availability remain a major challenge."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8481856.stm
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http://www.deccanherald.com/content/49152/chandrayaan-ii-isro-has-received.html
Obama's goal: Get agenda moving, people believing
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WASHINGTON (AP) -- Facing a divided Congress and a dissatisfied nation, President Barack Obama will unveil a jobs-heavy agenda in his State of the Union address Wednesday, retooling his message more than his mission.
His goal: Get the economy, the confidence of voters and his own presidency on surer footing.
Obama will offer fresh details about how he wants to salvage an overhaul of health care, rein in the national debt and help businesses hire again. He will call for education reform and more money for schools, take responsibility for mistakes in his first year and follow up his speech with a dash to Florida to announce $8 billion in awards for high-speed rail.
Two themes will underpin the entire address - reassuring millions of Americans that he understands their struggles and convincing people that he is working to change Washington even as he finds himself working within its old political ways.
Yet for all the new wrinkles he offers, Obama's moment will be measured largely by how well he reconnects with the public.
"In this political environment, what I haven't always been successful at doing is breaking through the noise and speaking directly to the American people," Obama conceded to an interviewer last week. This is his chance - speeches like this one can draw 30 million to 50 million viewers, sometimes more.
The White House knows the 9 p.m. EST address has enormous stakes. Obama rode a tide of voter frustration into office and now is getting smacked by it himself.
Change is working against him.
"The president is going to explain why he thinks the American people are angry," Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said Wednesday morning.
The guest list provides a rough outline of the story Obama wants to tell. Sitting with first lady Michelle Obama in an elevated box overlooking the floor of the House will be people with stories of success and struggles, from immigrants who started businesses to families having a hard time making ends meet.
The agenda itself will have a familiar ring.
Obama says he will not retreat from the big issues he campaigned on and tried to get done in his first year, when political momentum was strong. He will push for health care, regulation of Wall Street, energy and immigration reform, and continue the global fight against terrorists.
Among additional ideas expected: An emphasis on education, with calls for more accountability for performance but also more money to support reforms. Obama's next budget proposal is likely to suggest consolidating a series of elementary and secondary school programs, but overall, would increase Education Department spending more by than 6 percent.
Obama also will prod Congress to enact new jobs legislation, seek a freeze on some domestic spending for three years and try to blunt the impact of a Supreme Court decision that gives corporations much more freedom to influence elections through political advertising. And a day after the Senate rejected his plans to create a bipartisan task force to tackle the federal deficit, Obama will announce that he's creating a similar panel by executive order.
Meanwhile, his White House is still feeling the jolt of last week's Senate election in Massachusetts. When little-known Republican Scott Brown won the seat held for nearly a half-century by the late Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy, the result was widely viewed as a symbol of frustration with the economy and the powers that be.
So Obama will try to more sharply cast his messages to address people's daily concerns. That starts with creating more jobs at a time of 10 percent unemployment but extends to the other topics he will address, including the government's ongoing habit of spending more money than it has.
Then again, Obama already has been trying to couch his initiatives in real-life terms.
In his first address to Congress 11 months ago, a speech too early in his tenure to be considered a State of the Union, Obama talked of people living with the economic anxiety of sleepless nights, bills they could not pay and jobs they had lost.
"It's an agenda that begins with jobs," Obama said that night in February. It still is, but in a much tougher political environment for him and his party.
Obama remains a well-liked figure, polls show, but his overall approval rating and grades for handling issues like the economy have dropped significantly.
A new Gallup Poll finds that Obama is the most politically polarizing president in recent history, with 88 percent of Democrats approving of his job performance while just 23 percent of Republicans do. He has the twin political challenges of giving Democratic lawmakers an agenda they can rally around in this midterm election year, yet showing emboldened Republicans and a skeptical public that he is serious about reversing Washington's off-putting partisanship.
Obama, knowing the public angst about government bailouts and big-bank bonuses, also will position himself as a voice for working families. He has adopted the word "fight" to describe his stand against special interests. As Gibbs said Tuesday, "I don't doubt that at times he'll be feisty."
Foreign affairs and terrorist threats will get plenty of attention, too.
Obama will give his assessment of the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The administration is coping with international nuclear standoffs in North Korea and Iran and a Mideast peace process that remains as vexing as ever.
Obama is also expected to touch on post-earthquake life in Haiti, which has faded slightly from public attention but remains an epic humanitarian crisis.
The night before the speech, two sections in particular - health care and government reform - were still being worked on by White House officials. Obama was working up to the last hours to craft the speech while aides, at the same time, labored to shorten it.
Obama's message will be fleshed out in greater detail afterward as he travels to Florida on Thursday and New Hampshire on Tuesday for jobs-focused appearances, and when he submits his 2011 budget to Congress on Monday.
On health care, Obama will map a way forward for legislation that is suddenly mired; Brown's win in Massachusetts eliminated the minimum of 60 Democratic votes in the Senate that Obama needed to push past Republican delays and get a final bill passed.
The president also will renew his call for immigration reform, a volatile issue once considered a first-year priority but lately sent to the back burner.
---
Associated Press writers Philip Elliott, Julie Pace and Jennifer Loven contributed to this story.
Cold and homeless
Recent directions of the Delhi High Court to improve conditions for homeless people housed in Delhi's night shelters need to be widely welcomed.
Pucca and permanent shelters which can be used throughout the year are available for less than 10% of the homeless. Extra tent accommodation is available only during winter.
Although all homeless people comprise a high vulnerability group, women, children and destitutes among them are particularly so. The problems homeless women face in meeting their sanitation needs are more serious. Similarly their safely and modesty is badly threatened all the time.
In fact some homeless girls are known to dress up as boys to avoid sexual exploitation. Despite these threats there are very few shelters for homeless women and girls, in fact hardly any for women. Even male homeless children face frequent threat of sexual exploitation as well as intimidation from criminal elements. The chance of being lured into several addictions is quite high.
A survey of Ashray Adhikar Abhiyan in Delhi revealed that most homeless people work hard and send back their savings to their poor families in remote villages. Helping the urban homeless thus indirectly helps some of the most poverty-hit families in rural areas.
The challenge ahead is to provide adequate shelters which provide essential facilities and safety to the homeless. Special needs of rickshaw-pullers , cart-pullers , vendors and water-vendors for safekeeping of their means of livelihood should be met. Separate shelters for women, children and families which meet their needs should be built. When many families are to be sheltered , shelters for men and women can be built separately but close to each other.
A review of the struggles of pavement dwellers by Bishnu N Mohapatra says in the context of Mumbai, "The case of Mumbai's pavement dwellers clearly suggests that a group of people who are economically poor and socially marginal find it difficult to make their mark on state policies — even the ones that directly influence their lifechances .
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Comments-Analysis/Cold-and-homeless/articleshow/5503185.cms
Centre mulls whistle-blower policy in all PSUs
NEW DELHI: The government wants all public sector enterprises (PSEs) to put in place a whistle-blower policy, as it seeks to improve their "To bring PSUs at par with private sector companies, it is essential that we also strengthen their corporate governance. It is desirable that PSUs should empower their employees and bring more transparency in their operations," a department of public enterprises (DPE) official said. A whistle-lower policy provides safeguards against victimisation of any employee should he expose wrongdoing at his workplace. Whistle-lower policy is one of the non-mandatory requirements of Clause 49 under the listing agreement, but many private sector companies, such as Infosys, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications, have incorporated this norm in their corporate governance charter. "It is important that the unlisted companies prepare themselves for better governance before filing the red herring prospectus," the official said. The government has indicated around 50 unlisted companies that may soon come out with public offers. The department has issued guidelines that restricts employees involved in setting the price of public issues from participating in it. "We have also issued guidelines for all employees and the vigilance officers," the official said. As per the new directives issued by DPE, chief vigilance officer (CVO) and other vigilance officers are not to be allotted any shares under preferential quota. Further, public sector employees can only apply for shares through employee quota and have to disclose transaction above Rs 20,000 in their company shares within four working days. Last year, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India had also raised serious concerns over corporate governance standards in public sector companies. It had pointed out that around 30 PSUs have overstated or understated their profits. As per its report, the total profit overstated by PSUs was around Rs 1,130 crore. It had also named companies such as NTPC, BSNL, MTNL, Oriental Insurance and Bharat Electronics that had not followed the governance norms. | |
Time to disband populist measures in the energy sector
Subol Mondal, a 55-year-old smalltime farmer, at Dayapur village in the Sunderban forests, West Bengal, is very particular to keep his date with
He has had a hard year with natural disasters like the Aila playing havoc on his farm. Not only has he lost his crop but the cyclone has ruined his farmland as the salt water that seeped through has left his piece of land uncultivable for the next few crops.
Living in a thatched mud-house built on a high-rise land, however, saved him from losing his only source of electricity, the solar photovoltaic plate embedded in the thatched roof. The three-point connection, which he and his family of eight use for two hours every evening, is crucial this year as his eldest daughter prepares for her forthcoming board exam.
Subol is anxious to get his farmland (his only source of livelihood) to production at the earliest, but he is happy that his daughter may soon become a new earning member of the family thanks to the three 100-watt bulbs that light up his house and hopes for a better future.
Subol is not the only one. His fellow villagers and he are aware that the sun or solar power is a better bet and it is in their interest to adopt this nature-friendly device. Depending on diesel gensets or firewood, that have adverse impact on the ecosystem, will spell doom for their future as their livelihood is directly proportionate to the natural balance in the Sunderban region.
Can our political netas hear? There are about 18 to 20 solar photovoltaic projects in the Sunderban delta that provide electricity to about one lakh people.
The islands are estimated to have a population of 4.4 million people, most of whom are dependent on forest wood for lighting and cooking. Kerosene, a subsidised fuel by the government, does not reach these poor people and even if it did, they have to buy it at an exorbitant price of Rs 150-200 a litre. The government has set a subsidy price of Rs 9 a litre for this poor man's fuel. So much for the government's justification for doling out subsidies to the poor and needy.
The recent energy security report submitted by Teri has thrown up some interesting numbers and policy solutions to deal with India's energy market. China and India together consume more than what OECD countries do, and the demand will only increase in the years to come.
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