Thursday, October 2, 2014

Sagar Media Inc @ Talk at NMML Prof Sverker Sorlin ‘Historizing Climate Change’

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Sagar Media Inc @ Prof Sverker Sorlin Historizing Climate Change




Narendra Modi : we launched Swachh Bharat Mission,

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Narendra Modi added 2 new photos.
· 
On Gandhi Jayanti, we launched Swachh Bharat Mission, a historic mass movement integrating a billion Indians to create a Clean India. Under the Swachh Bharat Mission, I am pleased to launch the Clean India Campaign. Come, devote time for a Clean India.
Clean India Campaign invites you to pick a location & clean it. Do share the ‘Why Clean India’ (before) & ‘My Clean India’ (after) images. Today I Joined the Clean India Campaign at Mandir Marg Police Station in Delhi.
Invited 9 people to join the Clean India Campaign. I invited Goa Governor Mridula Sinha, Sachin TendulkarBaba RamdevShashi Tharoor, Kamal Haasan, Priyanka Chopra, Anil Ambani, Salman Khan and the entire team of the popular TV show ‘Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah’ to join the Campaign. ‪#‎MyCleanIndia‬
I am sharing the ‘Why Clean India’ and ‘My Clean India’ picture along with a video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yU0Gglv74zQ
'Why Clean India' picture
'My Clean India' picture




Three Union Ministers come out in support of boxer Sarita Devi

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Three Union Ministers come out in support of boxer Sarita Devi

Three Union Ministers have come out in support of boxer Sarita Devi as the Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal sought a report from the Indian Olympic Association on pugilist’s controversial loss against Korean boxer in the semi-final of the Asian Games in Incheon.
Mr. Sonowal told reporters on Wednesday that they have sought a detailed report from the Indian Olympic Association on Sarita’s case and will take further steps after receiving the report.
Minister of State for Home, Kiran Rijiju said that Indian officials should have been more pro-active in lodging a protest to the Asian Games Organizing Committee.
Minister of State for North East Region Affairs, General (Retd.) V K Singh said that our delegation there should have taken up the issue at the right time.




Mary Kom clinch Gold Medal in Boxing at Asian Games

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Mary Kom becomes first Indian woman to clinch Gold Medal in Boxing at Asian Games

Oct 2,The much awaited Gold from MC Mary Kom came on Wednesday in the women’s flyweight category.
After a goldless Tuesday India came on the golden track by the punch from Mary Kom. She became the first Indian women boxer to clinch gold.
Mary Kom, the mother-of-three, also known after her coined name ‘Magnificent Mary’ by the International Boxing Association, brought home the gold. Many accolades she had before but the Asian Games Gold medal was missing from her collection.
She rose to the occasion and held her head high and gallantly waved the Indian flag on the podium.
Padma Bhushan, Padma Shree, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award are a few mention towards this Manipiuri Boxer besides the 5 World Championship titles and Olympic bronze medal.
Her determined effort is inspiration for all. Mary Kom delivered the golden punch to rout 6 year younger opponent Zhaina Shekerbekova of Kazakhsthan. But it was not an easy battle for her.
First round was convincingly taken away by the Kazakh boxer. Figuring on the experience Mary Kom tactically observed the opponent in second round and then released her fury. It was no level for the Kazakh to match. After winning, she thanked everyone for the support.
All the joy Mary Kom has brought should be celebrated but another incident with an Indian boxer can’t be ignored.
A tearful Laishram Sarita Devi continued her protest on the podium as she refused to wear the bronze medal around her neck and wiped her tears holding it, before handing it to the home boxer who had defeated Sarita in a controversial bout yesterday.
However, Indian Olympic Association has remained quiet through out the matter. Today, Women’s Hockey team bagged the bronze medal after defeating Japan 2-1. Now, we need to gear up for tomorrow as in summit clash for the men’s hockey gold, India will take on arch rival Pakistan.
All India Radio will broadcast the live commentary of the match from 3:25 pm onwards. The clash of the titans will be one to watch out for as Pakistan had defeated India at the group stage. India will have an eye to avenge the loss and in that moment capture the gold.




PM launches Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

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PM launches Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

Oct 2,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched Swachh Bharat mission to make India clean by 2019, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
Mr Modi visited Valmiki Basti in New Delhi and swept streets in a symbolic start to the cleanliness drive.
Before starting the drive, he offered prayers at Valmiki mandir and later visited the place where Mahatma Gandhi once stayed.
The Prime Minister also made a surprise visit at Mandir Marg Police Station where he cleaned some section of its premises.
On the last leg of launch of the programme, Mr Modi arrived at Rajpath and addressed a huge gathering. He exhorted citizens to realize Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of clean India.
Mr Modi The Prime Minister asked people to change their mindsets as cleaning is not only the responsibility of safai karamcharis.
The Prime Minister said Swachh Bharat mission is above politics as it is inspired by patriotism and not politics.
He stressed on constructing more toilets saying it is a matter of concern seeing women defecate in the open.
Mr Modi administered a cleanliness pledge to the people and later flagged off a walkathon as part of the campaign.
Several Union ministers and heads of departments also administered cleanliness pledges to the officers and staff members in their office premises.
AIR correspondent amidst thousands of people including school children, government officials and celebrities at sprawling lawns of Rajpath, the Prime Minister read a cleanliness pledge seeking their assurance to actively take part in the campaign.
He invited nine well known figures, including cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, actors Aamir Khan, Salman Khan and Priyanka Chopra to join the cleanliness drive and requested each of them to draw nine more into the initiative.
Mr. Modi’s clarion call for making India litter free had people enthusiastically giving it a thumbs-up.
The Prime Minister urged tech-savvy netizens to bring to notice dirty places by uploading pictures and videos.
He also asked people to use MyGov portal, as well as Facebook and Twitter to promote the nationwide mission.




PM returns home after five-day visit to US

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 Oct 2,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived back home last night after successfully completing his five-day visit to the United States.
There were many takeaways from his US visit. India and US resolved to broaden their cooperation in various fields including defence, intelligence, counter-terrorism, Afghanistan, space exploration and science.
The two countries also agreed to intensify cooperation in maritime security to bolster national, regional, and global security.
Both the countries agreed to dismantle the safe havens for terrorists and disrupt the financial support of Laskar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e Mohmmad, D-Company, Hqqani network and Al-Qaeda. The two countries also agreed for trilateral partnership in Afghanistan and African countries.
Noting that two-way trade has increased fivefold since 2001 to nearly 100 billion US dollars, the two leaders committed to increase trade another fivefold.
They pledged to establish an Infrastructure Collaboration Platform to enhance participation of US companies in infrastructure projects in India.
They also agreed for US industry to be the lead partner in developing smart cities in Allahabad, Vishakhapatnam and Ajmer.
US will also help in providing sanitation and drinking water in 500 ciites.
The two leaders committed to hold public-private discussions in early 2015 on advanced manufacturing and to facilitate greater confidence in cross-border trade and investment.
US President Obama also offered support for preparing young Indians for jobs by sharing expertise and global standards for skills development.
They reaffirmed their commitment to fully implement the US-India Civil Nuclear Cooperation agreement. They also agreed to a new and enhanced strategic partnership on energy security, clean energy, and climate change.
The leaders agreed to develop affordable vaccines for dengue, malaria, and tuberculosis and initiate cooperative activities to increase capacity in cancer research and patient care delivery.
In the first leg of his US visit, Mr Modi spent four days in New York, where he addressed the annual session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 27th, and stormed the Indian American community by addressing the diaspora at Madison Square Garden on September 28th.
He announced lifetime visa for people of Indian origin card holders and the merger of People of Indian Origin scheme and Overseas Citizens of India scheme into one scheme.
He also announce that visa on arrival facility will be provided to American tourists.
In New York, Mr Modi also held meetings with a host of top American businessmen and CEOs of Fortune 500 companies.
In Washington, he addressed US India Business Council. He invited global companies to invest in India and impressed upon them that India is changing and steps are being taken to improve the ease of doing business in the country.




Haider al-Abadi PM said Iraq’s army would defeat IS

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Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has told the BBC that he totally opposes Arab nations joining air strikes against Islamic State in his country.
In an interview, he said, Western air power had filled many gaps in Iraq’s fight against the group. Several Arab states, including Saudi Arabia and Jordan, have joined the international coalition against IS.
Their aircraft have carried out strikes in Syria, but only those from the US, UK and France have hit targets in Iraq.
Talking to news persons in Baghdad, Mr Abadi said, Iraq’s army would defeat IS if it has a good air cover but stressed that no foreign ground troops were needed.




Wind, Solar Generation Capacity Catching Up

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WW Color Logo_Green Blue
 
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Contact: Gaelle Gourmelon,  ggourmelon@worldwatch.org
  

Wind, Solar Generation Capacity Catching Up with Nuclear Power


New Worldwatch Institute analysis examines global trends 
in renewable and nuclear power

Washington, D.C.—-Advocates of nuclear energy have long been predicting its renaissance, yet this mode of producing electricity has been stalled for years. Renewable energy, by contrast, continues to expand rapidly, even if it still has a long way to go to catch up with fossil fuel power plants, writesWorldwatch Institute Senior Researcher Michael Renner in the Institute’s latest Vital Signs Online analysis (bit.ly/NuclearRE).
Nuclear energy’s share of global power production has declined steadily from a peak of 17.6 percent in 1996 to 10.8 percent in 2013. Renewables increased their share from 18.7 percent in 2000 to 22.7 percent in 2012.
Following a rapid rise from its beginnings in the mid-1950s, global nuclear power generating capacity peaked at 375.3 gigawatts (GW) in 2010. Capacity has since declined to 371.8 GW in 2013, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Adverse economics, concern about reactor safety and proliferation, and the unresolved question of what to do with nuclear waste have put the brakes on the industry.
In stark contrast, wind and solar power generating capacities are now on the same soaring trajectory that nuclear power was on in the 1970s and 1980s. Wind capacity of 320 GW in 2013 is equivalent to nuclear capacity in 1990. The 140 GW in solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity is still considerably smaller, but growing rapidly.
In recent years, renewable energy has attracted far greater investments than nuclear power.  According to estimates by the International Energy Agency (IEA), nuclear investments averaged US$8 billion per year between 2000 and 2013, compared with $37 billion for solar PV and $43 billion for wind. Individual countries, of course, set diverging priorities, but nowhere did nuclear have a major role in power generation investments.
In contrast with investment priorities, research budgets still favor nuclear technologies. Among members of the IEA (most European countries, the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand), nuclear power has received the lion’s share of public energy research and development (R&D) budgets during the last four decades. Nuclear energy attracted $295 billion, or 51 percent, of total energy R&D spending between 1974 and 2012. But this number has declined over time, from a high of 73.6 percent in 1974 to 26 percent today. Renewable energy received a cumulative total of $59 billion during the same period (10.2 percent), but its share has risen year after year.
Because wind and solar power can be deployed at variable scales, and their facilities constructed in less time, these technologies are far more practical and affordable for most countries than nuclear power reactors. Worldwide, 31 countries are operating nuclear reactors on their territories. This compares to at least 85 countries that have commercial wind turbine installations.
The chances of a nuclear revival seem slim. Renewable energy, by contrast, appears to be on the right track. But it is clear that renewables have a long way to go before they can hope to supplant fossil fuels as the planet’s principal electricity source. The expansion of sources like wind and solar will have to become even more rapid in order to stave off climate disaster, and that in turn means that their fate cannot be left to the whims of the market alone.

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