India ratifies Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear damage

India ratifies Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear damage ,1997 on 5th feb 2016. came into force on may 2016. .it will boost India's nuclear commerce with international commerce and strengthen global nuclear liability regime ;it also set parameters on nuclear operator's financial liability in case of nuclear accident to victims.

CSC can enter into force after ratification by at least 5 countries having minimum of 400,000 units of installed nuclear capacity. It has been framed in consistent with the principles of Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage (1963) and the Paris Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy (1960).

Seeks to encourage regional and global co-operation to promote a higher level of nuclear safety in accordance with the principles of international partnership and solidarity. All states are free to participate in it regardless of their presence of nuclear installations on their territories or involvement in existing nuclear liability conventions. India had signed it in 2010 for delivering its commitments for stemming the landmark 2005 nuclear agreement with the United States

CHANGING ARCTIC

In a world where the climate is changing at a rate not exceeded in the geological record, the Arctic is on the front lines, experiencing the most rapid warming of any region on the planet. Once considered remote and disconnected, now we know that changes within the Arctic can have a direct impact on the rest of the world, affecting physical and biological systems near and far at regional and global scales. Such changes range from how much solar radiation the region reflects back into space to the structure of the ecological communities in Arctic waters; meanwhile, melting permafrost is driving the transformation of frozen tundra into wetlands, and grassy plains are shifting into lusher landscapes of bushes and trees. To understand the scope and details of these changes, scientists have intensified their efforts across all areas of Arctic research.

Challenges in conservation science

Human activities are increasingly leading to the deterioration of habitats and the loss of species around the world. Conservation efforts were initially mainly focused on individual species protected in remote environments such as nature reserves, but now encompass a much wider set of goals and activities, as reflected in the Aichi biodiversity targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Using the idea of ecosystem services, some conservationists are trying to emphasize the importance of natural systems to human well-being, although others are concerned about “putting a price on nature.” How well do we understand the systems we are trying to protect? Which metrics and tools are best suited for determining the state of ecosystems, and how can economic demands and conservation goals be reconciled?

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

Washington State University researchers have concluded that feeding a growing global population with sustainability goals in mind is possible. Their review of hundreds of published studies provides evidence that organic farming can produce sufficient yields, be profitable for farmers, protect and improve the environment and be safer for farm workers. 

The review study, "Organic Agriculture in the 21st Century," is featured as the cover story for February issue of the journal Nature Plants and was authored by John Reganold, WSU regents professor of soil science and agroecology and doctoral candidate Jonathan Wachter. It is the first such study to analyze 40 years of science comparing organic and conventional agriculture across the four goals of sustainability identified by the National Academy of Sciences: productivity, economics, environment, and community well being. 

"Hundreds of scientific studies now show that organic ag should play a role in feeding the world" said Reganold, lead author of the study. "Thirty years ago, there were just a couple handfuls of studies comparing organic agriculture with conventional. In the last 15 years, these kinds of studies have skyrocketed." 

Organic production currently accounts for only one percent of global agricultural land, despite rapid growth in the last two decades. 

Critics have long argued that organic agriculture is inefficient, requiring more land to yield the same amount of food. The review paper describes cases where organic yields can be higher than conventional farming methods. 

"In severe drought conditions, which are expected to increase with climate change, organic farms have the potential to produce high yields because of the higher water-holding capacity of organically farmed soils," Reganold said. 

However, even when yields may be lower, organic agriculture is more profitable for farmers because consumers are willing to pay more. Higher prices can be justified as a way to compensate farmers for providing ecosystem services and avoiding environmental damage or external costs. 

Numerous studies in the review also prove the environmental benefits of organic production. Overall, organic farms tend to store more soil carbon, have better soil quality, and reduce soil erosion. Organic agriculture also creates less soil and water pollution and lower greenhouse gas emissions. And it's more energy efficient because it doesn't rely on synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. It is also associated with greater biodiversity of plants, animals, insects and microbes as well as genetic diversity. Biodiversity increases the services that nature provides like pollination and improves the ability of farming systems to adapt to changing conditions. 

Reganold said that feeding the world is not only a matter of yield but also requires examining food waste and the distribution of food. 

"If you look at calorie production per capita we're producing more than enough food for 7 billion people now, but we waste 30 to 40 percent of it," Reganold said. "It's not just a matter of producing enough, but making agriculture environmentally friendly and making sure that food gets to those who need it." 

Reganold and Wachter suggest that no single type of farming can feed the world. Rather, what's needed is a balance of systems, "a blend of organic and other innovative farming systems, including agroforestry, integrated farming, conservation agriculture, mixed crop/livestock and still undiscovered systems." 

Reganold and Wachter recommend policy changes to address the barriers that hinder the expansion of organic agriculture. Such hurdles include the costs of transitioning to organic certification, lack of access to labor and markets, and lack of appropriate infrastructure for storing and transporting food. Legal and financial tools are necessary to encourage the adoption of innovative, sustainable farming practices.

juvenile justice law

The recently passed juvenile justice law should be welcomed. However it is a matter of serious concern that the government perhaps needs some dramatic event or public outrage to make a law. This practice needs to be changed. Few of the critics of the law have opined that this would not bring about changes in the society and would be detrimental to the juveniles. The point is that though the society needs to raise its ethical standards but when conscience fails to serve as the source of ethical guidance , it is the law which would serve the purpose. Most of the data suggest that the rise in juvenile crimes in India is approximately 2-3 per cent however, even this rise seems to be alarming considering the total number of crimes. Societies need both reformative and retributive laws to deal with the issues and concerns of the criminal justice system. So far as reformation is concerned the onus lies primarily on us to guide the growing children especially the juveniles to make them sensitive to the society. The rise in juvenile crimes may be attributed to the breakdown of the system of social control, and certainly their exposure to Internet, the consumerist culture and may more factors that contribute to development and growth. Though we can not and should not stop the growth yet at the family level itself we need to be sensitised and make the juveniles also understand the importance of social institutions and cultural traditions. They should be made able to understand that modernity does not come just by becoming absolutely free rather modernity and traditions go hand in hand

UDAY SCHEME: by power ministry

The Scheme – UDAY (Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana) has been launched to improve financial and operational efficiency of power distribution companies (DISCOMs). It envisages to reduce interest burden, cost of power and AT&C losses. Consequently, DISCOM would become sustainable to supply adequate and reliable power enabling 24x7 power supply. The scheme provides that States would take over 75% debt of Discoms, as on 30th September, 2015 in two years.

UDAY has inbuilt incentives encouraging State Governments to voluntarily restructure their debts. These incentives include taking over of DISCOM debt by the States outside the fiscal deficit limits; reduction in the cost of power through various measures such as coal linkage rationalization, liberal coal swaps, coal price rationalization, correction in coal grade slippage, allocation of coal linkages at notified prices; priority/additional funding through schemes of MoP & MNRE; and, reduction in interest burden. UDAY is different from earlier restructuring schemes in several ways including flexibility of keeping debt taken over outside fiscal deficit limit, reduction in cost of power and a series of time bound interventions for improving operational efficiency. UDAY provides for measures that will reduce the cost of power generation, which would ultimately benefit consumers.

within 2 months of the announcement of UDAY Scheme , a total of 15 out of 29 States /UTs have voluntarily joined UDAY which covers 90 % of the total debt of Discoms . The fifteen States are Uttar Pradesh, Bihar , Odisha , Maharashtra , Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Jammu & Kashmir , Jharkhand , Gujarat , Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan .

ISRO is Planning to Launch Eight (8) Satellites on One PSLV: Dr. M. Annadurai : at 103rd indian science congress at mysore.

He was addressing a session on the topic “Future Satellite Program” in the plenary of the 103rd Indian Science Congress at the University of Mysore, 4th jan 2016.

In this new global era where everything is becoming smaller in size and smarter in application we are also trying to reduce the size of satellites to the extent possible. The vehicle configuration for PSLV of 400 km Space Shuttle Orbiter (SSO) is 1200 kg. The number of micro satellites that can be carried in single mission is eight, each weighing about 120 kg with total payload capacity 960 kg, he added.

He pointed to the fact that, present domestic satellite communication is dominated by Fixed Satellite Services and Direct to Home Services and the future service growth areas will be communication satellites for internet, multi-media and personal communication services, direct to home high definition TV services. Apart from that, Thematic missions such as Tele-medicine and Tele-education, bandwidth on demand services, E-Governance, secured communications and satellite aided navigation are expected to grow, he added.

He stressed the need for production of Space Systems to meet the huge demand for satellites and also to strengthen basic Research and Development. This will boost the increased participation of Indian industries in Space Program in the areas of electronic systems, mechanical systems, assembly, integration and testing of satellites. Focusing on “Make in India” concept for end-to-end production of satellite from industries within the country would help us to achieve further self reliance.