World's first solar-powered aircraft
- Solar Impulse, claimed to be the world's only solar-powered aircraft, will make a stop over in Ahmedabad tomorrow as a part of its maiden global journey.
"Solar Impulse will take off from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates and land in Ahmedabad after making a first stop over at Muscat in Oman. It will make a pit-stop in Ahmedabad," a release issued by the aircraft project's PR firm said here.
After making a landing here, the solar-powered aircraft's founders and pilots Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg are likely to stay in the city for two days before leaving for Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, the release said.
The Swiss solar-powered aircraft's flight got delayed by a day due to bad weather conditions in the UAE. The aircraft was scheduled to land in Ahmedabad today, but now it will make a stop over here tomorrow, it said.
Piccard and Borschberg, during their stay in the city, will reach out to the government, NGOs, universities and schools to spread the message of clean technologies.
The aircraft is also likely to hover above Ganga river in Varanasi to spread the message of cleanliness and clean energy, an official associated with the project said.
Solar Impulse is claimed to be the first aircraft to fly day and night without a drop of fuel, propelled solely by the sun's energy, as per the project's website.
The single-seater aircraft made of carbon fibre has a 72 metre wingspan, larger than that of Boeing-747 and weighs just 2,300 kg, equivalent to the weight of a car, it said.
The 17,248 solar cells built into the wing supply electric motors with renewable energy.
The solar cells recharge four lithium polymer batteries totalling 633 kg each, which allow the aircraft to fly at night and therefore have virtually unlimited autonomy, it said.
This round-the-world flight will take-off from Abu Dhabi and make a halt at Muscat (Oman), Ahmedabad and Varanasi in India, Mandalay in Myanmar and Chongqing and Nanjing in China. After crossing the Pacific Ocean via Hawaii, the aircraft will fly across the US stopping at Phoenix, the Midwest and New York City, said the website.
The test flight of the aircraft was conducted in the US in 2013.
TCS ranked as top employer in Europe
- IT services, consulting and business solutions organisation Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has been for the third consecutive year named the top employer in Europe by the Top Employers Institute, a company statement said here on Monday.
"TCS is the IT services market leader in customer satisfaction in Europe. We believe that the main driver of satisfaction is our extremely talented workforce of 318,000 global professionals, and our relentless focus on hiring and retaining the best talent across Europe will continue," Ajoy Mukherjee, executive vice president and global head, human resources, TCS, said.
TCS was ranked the overall number one in a process that assessed 688 organisations across Europe.
"TCS has been able to prove that they focus on the employee work experience and have a highly consistent application of HR policy practice and alignment across all countries. Apart from Europe, TCS is also a recognised as a top employer in Latin America and North America," said David Plink, chief executive officer, Top Employers Institute.
TCS's stocks were trading at Rs.2,665 per share, down Rs.31.35 or 1.16 percent in the Bombay Stock Exchange at 1.11 p.m.
Sunderbans losing green cover: ISRO study
The Indian Sunderbans has lost 3.71 per cent of its mangrove and other forest cover, while losing 9,990 hectares of its landmass to erosion in one decade, according to a satellite analysis conducted by the Indian Space Research Organisation.
As much as 1,607 hectares of the eroded area had vegetation, says the study comparing satellite data from February of 2003 and 2014. During the 10 years, 216 hectares of landmass had been added, of which 121 hectares has green vegetation.
The Eastern Zone Bench of the National Green Tribunal, which is hearing a case of environmental violations in the Sunderbans, directed holding the study.
The study shows that about 95.14 per cent of the green cover has not undergone gone any change, while fresh vegetation has come up in 1.1 per cent of the entire area.
The satellite mapping, which has not gone into the details of the reason for loss of green cover, says the depletion may be due to natural and anthropogenic (human intervention) processes.
The 9,600-sq.km Indian Sunderbans is highly susceptible to coastal erosion and coastal land dynamics. A recent World Bank report pointed out that the carrying capacity of the landmass had exceeded with the population density of over 1,000 a sq.km.
Ajanta Dey, joint secretary of Nature Environment and Wildlife Society, said the ISRO study once again highlighted that the Sunderbans was a very fragile and dynamic landscape. Ms. Dey, who is assisting the Green Tribunal on the issue, said more studies were required to ascertain the exact loss.
Subhas Datta, environmental activist and amicus curiae in the case, said a ground investigation too was required to ascertain the loss of forest and landmass cover.
“In my opinion, the loss is far more than what has emerged in the satellite imaging. This loss has created a paradox where the land and resources are shrinking and the population is rising,” Mr. Datta said.
Exercise Surya Kiran VIII
- Eighth India-Nepal Combined Exercise (Surya Kiran VIII) which commenced on 23 Feb 2015, concluded on 07 Mar 2015 at Salijhandi, Nepal. The exercise was conducted under the aegis of Nepalese Army.
The exercise aimed to create a greater understanding between Indian & Nepalese Army and develop interoperability in Jungle Warfare and Counter Terrorism operations in mountainous terrain. It also focussed on the basics of Disaster Management with special reference to Pandemic/ Epidemic control and aviation aspects. Over the years, the two countries have decided to progressively increase the scope and content of the combined exercise.
The training culminated in a 48 hours consolidation and validation exercise in which troops of both countries carried out a search and destroy mission in the general area of Saljhandi. The final exercise was reviewed by Maj Gen Padamvillas Karki of Nepalese Army and Major General Vinod Prakash Singh Bhakuni of Indian Army.
The closing ceremony was conducted on 07 Mar 2015. While addressing both contingents, Major General Bhakuni said that the goodwill generated during this training will go a long way in further strengthening the military bond between the two Armies and also in understanding each other’s organisational concepts and methodology of conducting Counter Terrorism operations as well as sharing knowledge and experience on the issues of Disaster Management.
New energy device may power life on Mars
- A new type of engine that harvests energy from carbon dioxide could power life on Mars, scientists say.
Researchers propose a new kind of engine for producing energy based on the Leidenfrost effect – a phenomenon which happens when a liquid comes into near contact with a surface much hotter than its boiling point.
This effect is commonly seen in the way water appears to skitter across the surface of a hot pan, but it also applies to solid carbon dioxide, commonly known as dry ice.
Blocks of dry ice are able to levitate above hot surfaces protected by a barrier of evaporated gas vapour.
The research pioneered at Northumbria University, Newcastle and Edinburgh University proposes using the vapour created by this effect to power an engine.
This is the first time the Leidenfrost effect has been adapted as a way of harvesting energy.
The technique has exciting implications for working in extreme and alien environments, such as outer space, where it could be used to make long-term exploration and colonisation sustainable by using naturally occurring solid carbon dioxide as a resource rather than a waste product.
Dry ice may not be abundant on Earth, but increasing evidence from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) suggests it may be a naturally occurring resource on Mars as suggested by the seasonal appearance of gullies on the surface of the red planet.
If utilised in a Leidenfrost-based engine dry-ice deposits could provide the means to create future power stations on the surface of Mars.
“Carbon dioxide plays a similar role on Mars as water does on Earth. It is a widely available resource which undergoes cyclic phase changes under the natural Martian temperature variations,” said Dr Rodrigo Ledesma-Aguilar, one of the co-authors of the research.
“Perhaps future power stations on Mars will exploit such a resource to harvest energy as dry-ice blocks evaporate, or to channel the chemical energy extracted from other carbon-based sources, such as methane gas.
“One thing is certain; our future on other planets depends on our ability to adapt our knowledge to the constraints imposed by strange worlds, and to devise creative ways to exploit natural resources that do not naturally occur here on Earth,” Ledesma-Aguilar said.
Dr Gary Wells, co-author of the paper, explained the unique properties of an engine based on Leidenfrost effect.
“The working principle of a Leidenfrost-based engine is quite distinct from steam-based heat engines; the high-pressure vapour layer creates freely rotating rotors whose energy is converted into power without the need of a bearing, thus conferring the new engine with low-friction properties,” Wells said.
Pay Equality For Women Not For Another 70 Years
- United Nations : It will take at least 70 more years to achieve pay equity between women and men, the ILO said noting that women earn on average 77 per cent of what men earn.
On the occasion of International Women’s day, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) said a gender pay gap persists, both for women with and without children. In general, women earn on average 77 per cent of what men earn, with the absolute gap widening for higher-earning women.
“Are working women better off today than they were 20 years ago? The answer is a qualified yes. Has this progress met our expectations? The answer is a decidedly no. We need to be innovative, to reframe the debate and to intensify the focus on ensuring the rights of women at work,” Director General of the ILO, Guy Ryder said in a statement.
The ILO, United Nation’s specialised agency noted that without targeted action, at the current rate, pay equity between women and men will not be achieved before 2086, or at least 71 years from now.
Globally, the gap in labour market participation rates between men and women has decreased only marginally since 1995.
Currently about 50 per cent of all women are working, compared to 77 per cent of men. In 1995, these figures were 52 per cent and 80 per cent respectively. It is estimated that reducing the gap in participation rates between men and women by 25 per cent in G20 countries by 2025 would add more than 100 million women to the labour force.
According to a new report, “The motherhood pay gap: A review of the issues, theory and international evidence”, mothers often earn less than women without children.
Despite policy and international labour standard adjustments, women continue to experience widespread discrimination and inequality in the workplace.
“The overriding conclusion 20 years on from Beijing is that despite marginal progress we have years, even decades to go until women enjoy the same rights and benefits at work,” Chief of the Gender and Equality and Diversity Brand of the ILO Shauna Olney said.
In developed countries, the wage gap increases when a woman has more than one child. In developing countries, however, girls and young woman are more like than their male counterparts to be kept at home to help with household and caring tasks. Across both poor and rich nations, violence against women remains a major factor undermining their access to decent work. “In most parts of the world, women are often in undervalued and low-paid jobs; lack access to education, training, recruitment; have limited bargaining and decision-making power; and still shoulder responsibility for most unpaid care work,” ILO said.
Digital Gender Atlas for Girls’ Education in India Launched
- The Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of School Education and Literacy, presented the Digital Gender Atlas for Advancing Girls’ Education in India to the media in New Delhi today. The Secretary, School Education and Literacy, Ms. Vrinda Sarup was also present on the occasion. The tool, which has been developed with the support of UNICEF, will help identify low performing geographic pockets for girls, particularly from marginalised groups such as scheduled castes, schedule tribes and Muslim minorities, on specific gender related education indicators.
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The Atlas is placed on the MHRD website and available and ready to use by States/Districts/Blocks education administrators or any other interested group. In order to plan and execute educational interventions, the purpose of the Gender Atlas is to help identify and ensure equitable education with a focus on vulnerable girls, including girls with disabilities. To ensure this is feasible, the Gender Atlas has been developed as a hands-on management tool to enable critical decisions and actions in pockets where gaps are to be met.
The Atlas provides comparative analysis of individual gender related indicators over three years and that enables a visual assessment of the change and an understanding of whether some intervention introduced in a geography at a particular point in time has worked or not. It is constructed on an open source platform with an inbuilt scope of updating data by authorized persons to retain its dynamic character.
Using available Government data such as the Unified District Information System for Education (U-DISE) data (2011-2014), Census 2011 data and District Level Health Survey (DLHS) 2007-08, the Gender Atlas enables the user to navigate between geographical representation and numeric data at state, district and block levels and gives information on key indicators for girls’ education at primary, upper primary and secondary level. No primary data has been generated for the development of the atlas.
India has achieved high enrolment rates for girls at primary and upper primary levels of schooling. However, at the secondary level girls’ enrolment remains lower. While in upper primary the representation of girls in the total enrolment is 48.66%, the percentage in secondary is 47.29%. Girls comprise half the population of school age children, and therefore, it is important to understand the multiple vulnerabilities they face in different areas in order to plan and prioritise inclusive interventions. Also present on the occasion were Additional Secretary (School Education and Literacy), and other senior officers and dignitaries from the Ministry of HRD as well as the UNICEF. The Media persons from various newspapers organisations also attended the event.
Components of the Digital Gender Atlas
1. The main components of the Gender Atlas are : (i) Composite Gender Ranking (ii) Trend Analysis of Gender Indicators (iii) Vulnerabilities based on educational indicators in districts with substantial tribal, schedule caste, minority population in educationally backward blocks and in left wing extremist districts, and the low sex ratio districts seleced uner Beti Bachao Beti Padhao programme.
2. Composite Gender Ranking: Selected gender related indicators have been identified for primary, upper primary and secondary education. A composite gender index has been developed using the formulae that are used for calculating the EDI in DISE. But for gender elated indicators. Accordingly, the selected gender indicators have been grouped into four – Access, Infrastructure, Teachers and Outcomes. The Atlas provides an aggregated picture of performance through a comparative visualization of composite gender index based quartile ranking of gender related indicators at National, State, District and Block levels.
3. Trend Analysis for Gender Related Indicators: The Atlas enables a trend analysis and tracking of performance of individual gender related indicators (that have been used for the composite gender ranking) across a period of three years
4. Spatial Display of Pockets with Multiple Disadvantages Related to Education: Spatial identification of pockets in states or blocks in districts where juxtaposition of key relevant gender indicators reveal maximum disadvantages, viz., education development
5. Vulnerabilities: This component of the Atlas visualizes the vulnerability status of an area based on a composite index of three broad indicators (i) rural female literacy – from Census 2011 (ii) percentage girls/boys married below the legal age of marriage – DLHS and (iii) working children (bifurcated by gender and age groups of 5-14 years and 15-19 years – Census of India 2011. These maps are available up to the district level.
6. Children with Disabilities: This part of the Atlas visualizes the performance status of a single indicators related to children with disabilities, particularly girls, based on quartile ranking across three years i.e. 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14. The performance status of an individual indicator can be visualized at state and district level.
86 million-year-old oyster fossil found in Dhar
- INDORE: Discovery of around 86 million-year-old fossil of a rare species of oyster, has once again re-confirmed the presence of marine life and sea in central India.
Oyster fossil recently recovered from Dhar and Jhabua districts of Madhya Pradesh by palaeontologist Vishal Verma is identified as crassostrea species, which are considered one of the oldest evidence of sea incursion in the Narmada Valley. "Large numbers of good quality marine molluscs as oysters and gastropods are present in the matrix of fossils. It is one of the best quality samples found from Nimar sandstone of Bagh beds," said Vishal Verma, adding sediments of this sea arm is defined as Bagh Beds and oyster fossils discovered from here belong to first upper cretaceous age (from 140 to 65 million years ago).
Verma said fossils was discovered when was carrying out fieldwork for the proposed National Dinosaur Fossil Park to be set up in Dhar district. He said this is not the first time evidence of marine life and sea was found in this region. "In 2012, we discovered around 6.5 crore years to more than 10 crore-year-old fossilized teeth and bones of three generations of shark at Bagh belt in Dhar," said Verma, who discovered several dinosaur fossils from the region.
Assistant professor of Howrah College of Engineering, Tapas Gangopadhya, who had done extensive work on fossils of the region, said he too had found fossil of shark's predecessor at Bagh Belt around few years back. "The fossils of star fish and other marine life discovered here are yet to be identified as most of them are extinct. They were considered to be the earliest species of life. Fossils of shark and many other species have also been found which suggest the area was under sea," he said. The Narmada valley is very rich in fossils, but unfortunately they were not being preserved, he added.
Ashok Sahani, senior scientist of Centre for Advance Study in Geology and an internationally acclaimed authority on fossils, said Narmada Valley fossils can unravel myths about the evolution and civilization. A thorough research would also challenge the existing theory of evolution. Proper and extensive research may unfold the mystery." The rarest and most significant is the inter-trappian fossil which, if studied properly, can throw light on early life on earth.
Question for quiz
- 1. Section 54 of IPC deals with
(a) Soltary confinement
(b) Death
(c) Commutation of Sentence of imprisonment of life
(d) Commutation of Sentence of death2. Choose the incorrect pair
Section Particular
(a) 42 Local Law
(b) 120B Definition of Criminal Conspiracy
(c) 141 Unlawful assembly
(d) 146 Rioting
3. 'Fabricating False Evidence' comes under the section
(a) 191
(b) 192
(c) 197
(d) 204
4. Choose the incorrect pair
(a) 300 Murder
(b) 304B Dowery Death
(c) 309 Abetment of Suicide
(d) 359 Kidnapping
5. Section 499 of IPC deals with
(a) Defamation
(b) Criminal intimidation
(c) Misconduct in public by a drunken pserson
(d) Printing or engraving matter known to be defamatoryAnswers:1. d2. b3. b4. c5. a
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