Asked whether China had become more supportive about India’s application for permanent membership of the Security Council than Brazil, following the joint statement released after the recent meeting of Chinese, Russian and Indian foreign ministers, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said that “the reform of the U.N. Security Council should give priority to increasing the representativeness of developing countries.”
She added that China respects and understands the willingness of the two countries to play a bigger role in the United Nations.
However, she added that China would like to reach the “broadest consensus through diplomatic means” regarding UNSC reform.
The joint statement released after the meeting of the Russia-India-China (RIC) Foreign Ministers had said that, “Foreign Ministers of China and Russia reiterated the importance they attached to the status of India in international affairs and supported its aspiration to play a greater role in the United Nations.”
Each unit will be spread over 40 acres and it will be an all-machinery site – right from sowing seeds, clearing of weeds and harvesting produce.
Villages in and around leading research colleges and institutes will be accorded preference. The ICAR will set up all machinery at these institutes.
In Tiruchi district, Kumulur has been identified for the programme as the TNAU Agricultural Engineering College and Research Institute is located in this village, said A. Alagusundarm, Deputy Director General of ICAR.
Speaking to The Hindu at Kumulur near here on Thursday, he said that mechanisation had come to stay in agriculture.
He said that the project has been a success story at a couple of places – the Punjab Agricultural University and the Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering in Bhopal.
On the advantages of the programme, he said that farmers would be motivated to understand various mechanisation techniques being adopted in different fields and would adopt them in their fields.
The villagers would be motivated to float groups on the lines of the self-help groups and the groups would be responsible for utilisation of the machinery.
They could hire the machinery on fair rental basis and the profit generated could be utilised for maintenance and upkeep of the machinery, he said.
Post-harvest techniqueMr. Alagusundaram urged farmers to adopt post-harvest technique optimally for registering maximum returns. Although farmers were highly skilled in producing crop, there was a strong case for enhancing their expertise in post-harvest technique, he added.
Talking robot back on EarthA pint-sized Japanese robot that became the first android to converse with an astronaut in space has returned to Earth after 18 months in orbit, project organisers said on Thursday.
“Kirobo” — roughly the size of a chihuahua — hitched a ride back from the International Space Station (ISS) on a cargo supply spacecraft that splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, sponsors including Toyota Motor and advertising firm Dentsu said.
Kirobo, which left Earth in August 2013, was programmed to communicate in Japanese and keep a record of its conversations with Koichi Wakata, the first Japanese astronaut to command the ISS.
The robot was part of a study aimed at learning how a non-human companion can provide emotional support for people isolated over long periods.
Millions of Japanese schoolchildren were captivated by the adventures of a creation that showcased Japan’s drive to combine cutting-edge technology and its obsession with all things cute.
8 m. tonnes of plastic waste entered oceans in 2010Twenty countries account for 83 per cent of the load
For the first time, researchers have quantified the amount of plastic waste entering the ocean from land. In 2010, an estimated eight million tonnes of plastic waste made its way to the ocean; it is nearly the amount of plastic generated globally in 1961.
The results of the study were published in the journal Science on February 13.
Most of the plastic waste that enters the ocean is on account of plastic litter and mismanaged plastic waste system in several countries. The total amount that ended up in the ocean would have been much higher as the study did not take into account the contribution from other sources such as fishing activities or seagoing vessels.
Twenty countries accounted for 83 per cent of mismanaged plastic waste that entered the ocean. The countries that contributed the greatest amount of waste that ultimately entered the ocean were arrived at by taking into account the population and quality of waste management systems in place.
India, with 0.6 million tonnes a year of mismanaged plastic waste, is ranked 12th. China ranks number one with 8.82 million tonnes a year. There are 11 Asian and Southeast Asian countries on the list, including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Burma.
The cumulative amount of plastic debris that would enter the ocean in the next decade will be more than double the 2010 figure in the absence of any improvement to waste management systems in the 192 coastal countries. In 2010, 275 million tonnes of plastic waste was generated in the 192 coastal countries. It is very unlikely that a global “peak waste” will be reached before 2100.
With a 50 per cent improvement in waste disposal in the 20 top-ranked countries, the mass of mismanaged waste will fall by 41 per cent by 2025. Alternatively, a 26 per cent decrease in waste can be achieved by 2025 if per capita waste generation is reduced to the 2010 average (1.7 kg per day) in the 91 countries that exceed it.
The results of the study were published in the journal Science on February 13.
Most of the plastic waste that enters the ocean is on account of plastic litter and mismanaged plastic waste system in several countries. The total amount that ended up in the ocean would have been much higher as the study did not take into account the contribution from other sources such as fishing activities or seagoing vessels.
Twenty countries accounted for 83 per cent of mismanaged plastic waste that entered the ocean. The countries that contributed the greatest amount of waste that ultimately entered the ocean were arrived at by taking into account the population and quality of waste management systems in place.
India, with 0.6 million tonnes a year of mismanaged plastic waste, is ranked 12th. China ranks number one with 8.82 million tonnes a year. There are 11 Asian and Southeast Asian countries on the list, including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Burma.
The cumulative amount of plastic debris that would enter the ocean in the next decade will be more than double the 2010 figure in the absence of any improvement to waste management systems in the 192 coastal countries. In 2010, 275 million tonnes of plastic waste was generated in the 192 coastal countries. It is very unlikely that a global “peak waste” will be reached before 2100.
With a 50 per cent improvement in waste disposal in the 20 top-ranked countries, the mass of mismanaged waste will fall by 41 per cent by 2025. Alternatively, a 26 per cent decrease in waste can be achieved by 2025 if per capita waste generation is reduced to the 2010 average (1.7 kg per day) in the 91 countries that exceed it.
“Efforts on to check infiltration”Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the expanding footprint of extremist and terror organisations in Pakistan, and their link with various terror activities in India, is a major security challenge.
Addressing a conference of Governors here, the Prime Minister said ceasefire violations along the Line of Control were continuing and that the government adopted a multi-pronged approach to counter infiltration from across the border. He urged States facing the problem of Left wing extremism to adopt a coordinated approach to tackle the problem.
The Prime Minister also stressed the need for ending the infrastructure deficit in the North-East, to realise the immense potential of the region and help it march forward as part of ‘Team India'. He also spoke extensively on the subject of tribal development and referred to the Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana, a scheme initiated in 2007 when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat.
He laid emphasis on the need for providing stable employment to tribals, eliminating infrastructure gaps, and improving education, human development and lifestyle changes among tribal communities.
Ukraine ceasefire deal reachedAgreement on main points: Putin; Big hurdles remain: Merkel
Marathon talks in Belarus ended on Thursday with a ceasefire announcement in the war between Ukraine and pro-Moscow rebels, but Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that “big hurdles” remained.
Russian President Vladimir Putin emerged from the summit in the Belarussian capital Minsk, saying he, Ms. Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko had agreed on the “main” points.
Mr. Putin said a ceasefire would take effect on Sunday and that heavy weapons would be withdrawn from frontlines of the conflict, which has already killed at least 5,300 people and driven a million people from their homes. Mr. Hollande went further, saying there was agreement on “a comprehensive political solution.” The French leader said there was “serious hope, even if all is not done”.
However, Ms. Merkel spoke only of a “glimmer of hope”. “I have no illusions. We have no illusions,” she said, adding that “much work” remained.
The truce — meant to ease a crisis that has plunged the West and Russia into their bitterest dispute since the Cold War — was signed by the so-called “contact group”.
This comprises the pro-Russian separatist leaders, Russian and Ukrainian envoys, and European mediators from the OSCE.
A previous truce signed in Minsk last September quickly collapsed. Russian news agencies said the new heavy weapons-free zone will be 50 to 70 km wide, double the width of the buffer zone agreed to in the failed September truce.
There was no immediate information on another key sticking point — control over the approximately 400 km stretch of Russia’s border with rebel-held Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin emerged from the summit in the Belarussian capital Minsk, saying he, Ms. Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko had agreed on the “main” points.
Mr. Putin said a ceasefire would take effect on Sunday and that heavy weapons would be withdrawn from frontlines of the conflict, which has already killed at least 5,300 people and driven a million people from their homes. Mr. Hollande went further, saying there was agreement on “a comprehensive political solution.” The French leader said there was “serious hope, even if all is not done”.
However, Ms. Merkel spoke only of a “glimmer of hope”. “I have no illusions. We have no illusions,” she said, adding that “much work” remained.
The truce — meant to ease a crisis that has plunged the West and Russia into their bitterest dispute since the Cold War — was signed by the so-called “contact group”.
This comprises the pro-Russian separatist leaders, Russian and Ukrainian envoys, and European mediators from the OSCE.
A previous truce signed in Minsk last September quickly collapsed. Russian news agencies said the new heavy weapons-free zone will be 50 to 70 km wide, double the width of the buffer zone agreed to in the failed September truce.
There was no immediate information on another key sticking point — control over the approximately 400 km stretch of Russia’s border with rebel-held Ukraine.
Sri Lanka: Army-controlled land in the North to be releasedThe Sri Lankan government will release 1000 acres of land in its Tamil-majority North Province that were until now under the Army’s control, senior Ministers said following a Cabinet decision on Thursday.
To start with, the government would resettle 1,022 families displaced by the war in a model village that is to come up in 220 acres in Valikamam North, in northern part of Jaffna Peninsula, according to Minister for Resettlement D.M. Swaminathan.
Ever since the war ended in May 2009 thousands of Northern Tamils have been demanding that their land be released so that they could return to the land where their homes once stood. Their homes, several old schools and places of worship were gobbled up by the High Security Zone which only the army had access to.
Thousands dislocated during the country’s brutal war still live in camps for internally displaced persons. Even after this move of the government, the Sri Lankan Army will have control over 5,000 acres of private land in its high security zones.
“We are working out the modalities [of returning the land]. There are aspects pertaining to ownership and possession which we have to look into. We will closely work with the TNA and the northern people to expedite the process,” Mr. Swaminathan told press persons.
Genocide resolutionHis announcement comes two days after the TNA-led Northern Provincial Council passed a resolution on the Sri Lankan government’s “genocide against Tamils.”
On whether the resolution had caused a rift between the government and the TNA — its ally in the recent presidential election that brought about a regime change in Sri Lanka — the Minister said: “The resolution was probably due to a political compulsion. It will not hamper the government’s relationship with the TNA.” The government would also take measures to release Army-controlled land in the Eastern Province and in the southern parts of the island, he said.
Reliance Power to set up solar projects in RajasthanReliance Power and the Rajasthan Government, on Thursday, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop 6,000 MW of solar power projects in the State in the next ten years.
The MoU was signed here in the presence of Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and Reliance Power Chairman Anil Dhirubhai Ambani.
The Chief Minister also dedicated to the nation the company’s 100 MW concentrated solar power (CSP) project, located at the Dhirubhai Ambani Solar Park at Pokaran in Jaisalmer district.
The park is the integrated utility-scale solar power generation complex, comprising CSP and photo voltaic (PV) plants. This is also the largest plant in the world based on compact linear fresnel technology (CLFR).
Rajasthan Sun Technique Energy Private Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Power, was awarded the CSP project in December, 2010, based on international competitive bidding conducted by NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (a subsidiary of NTPC). The CSP plant is expected to generate about 250 million kilowatt hours of clean and green energy annually, equivalent to consumption of 2.30 lakh households, contributing to the country’s goal of energy security. The project will reduce India’s CO{-2}emissions by about 2.40 lakh tonnes a year. The project is the largest investment undertaken by any private sector entity in CSP technology in India. It is financed through debt from multilateral agencies such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Export Import Bank of the United States, Financerings Maatschappu Voor Ontwikkelingslanden of the Netherlands and Axis Bank.
The state-of-the-art CLFR technology for the project is provided by Areva Solar, the U.S. subsidiary of AREVA SA of France, which is having minimal environmental spill, lesser land requirement, and is more efficient than other solar thermal technologies available.
Speaking on the occasion, Ms. Raje said Rajasthan was making all efforts to promote the State as investor-friendly. Mr. Ambani said his company was planning to invest Rs.50,000 crore in solar power generation alone in the coming years.
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