A CALL FOR ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE’ ON EARTH DAY |
This year’s focus on Earth Day was ‘A call for action on Climate Change’. Addressing a Press Conference Union Minister of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Shri Kapil Sibal, called for a need to look into possible large scale and sudden changes in the earth’s living environment due to global warming and climate change in the coming years. India has contributed significantly, both in term of leadership and pursuit of scientific quest in the field of environmental conservation, technological development and mitigation factors, which are leading to climate change. Development of cleaner and eco-friendly technology is a priority area of the Ministry. Low Temperature Thermal Desalination (LTTD) is one such innovation, which the scientists at the National Institute of Technology (NIOT), Chennai, an autonomous R & D Institute under the Ministry have developed. The people of Lakshdweep islands are now getting the benefit of this technology. NIOT has recently successfully tested a one million liter capacity LTTD plant and soon it will be going for a higher capacity cost effective desalination plant, which can run on commercial scale |
.Celebration of ‘Earth Day’ has its beginning in 1970. The issue was raised by Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, USA, in response to wide spread environmental degradation.Senator Gaylord Nelson called for an ‘Environmental Tech-in’ or ‘Earth Day’ to be held on April 22. It is now observed each year by more than 500 million people and National Governments in over 175 countries. The main purpose to celebrate Earth Day is to promote environmental citizenship and progressive action by steering environmental awareness around the world.
Creation of the Ministry of Earth Sciences and an Earth Commission by bringing together the domains of Oceans and Atmospheric Sciences is a major step of the Government of India. Ministry of Earth Sciences has also taken positive steps to bring a greater focus on the environmental issues specially keeping in view the concerns raised by the scientists on climate change in recent times.
Oceans and atmosphere together actually play a much greater role in Indian sub-continent than perceived earlier, whether it is monsoon or tropical cyclones. Efforts have been stepped up to understand the climate and climate change processes. An advanced weather prediction and forecasting will help in minimizing human misery and environmental degradation, which arises due to vagaries of weather. |
| REMITTANCES BY OVERSEAS INDIANS:ON A RISE |
Remittances by overseas Indians, as reflected in private transfers in the balance of payments, have touched a new high of $8,145 million during the quarter ended December 2006. This is the highest-ever received by the country in any single quarter. Remittances for the entire calendar year 2006 touched $26.9 billion.
According to a study on remittances conducted by RBI reveals that 46% of the remittances is invested in instruments such as bank deposits, real estate and shares. Of this, 20% is in bank deposits, 13% in real estate and shares and the balance 13% is invested in other instruments. India received $26.9 billion during the calendar year 2006 as remittances. Extrapolating from the figures arrived at RBI, families of the Diaspora have invested around $12.4 billion in various instruments.
Of this, $5.4 billion is invested in bank deposits and $3.5 billion each in shares, land, property and other investments. India has been the largest recipient of remittances so far since 2001. Even China ranks lower than India, with Mexico occupying the third spot. |
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| 60 Indians make it to Google code contest |
According to reports Sixty Indian youngsters have bagged selections at the prestigious Google Summer of Code competition. The Google Summer of Code is an annual programme, first held in 2005, in which the Internet-search and online advertising giant based in Mountain View, California, awards cash prizes to students who successfully complete a free software or open-source coding project. This time there are 60 Indians (accepted among the over 900 students who made it from a pool of nearly 6,200 applications)," said the report. |
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| 6 Indian CEOs on Fortune 1000 list |
Besides PepsiCo, the global soft drink giant, persons of Indian origin are running another five companies which figure in the expanded Fortune 1000 list of the biggest firms in the US, published in the latest issue of the US-based business magazine.
While PepsiCo tops the list of Indian-run firms in the US, at 63rd rank, the list also features Hartford Financial Services, Rohm & Haas, Sigma-Aldrich, Tellabs and LSI Corporation, all of which have an Indian-born chief executive officer. |
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| 'Indian cos turning socially responsible' |
According to a survey, India is among countries where more than four out of five organizations are practicing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), ranging from donating to local charities to undertaking global fair labour standards,
The international survey by the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) found that human resources personnel in India, Brazil, Mexico and Australia are more likely than those in the United States to report that their organisation has formal CSR policies. |
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| India promises liberal visas |
India announced to unilaterally liberalise visas for certain categories, allow zero-duty access before this yearend to least developed countries in South Asia and to further reduce the sensitive list of imports. The duty exemption will help Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives and Bhutan. |
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