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Indian plains saw further drop in temp

(Pic courtesy: SkymetWeather)

New Delhi (NVI): Right from the Indo-Gangetic plains up to the central India, most parts witnessed further drop in the minimum temperature, according to the Met forecasters.

Narnaul in Haryana and Sikar in Rajasthan were the coldest cities in the plains where the minimum temperature was recorded at 3.0 degrees celsius, according to Skymet weather forecaster.

Apart from this, Ludhiana in Punjab recorded 3.5 degree celsius, Bhilwara and Churu in Rajasthan both recorded 4.2 degrees celsius.

Rewa in Madhya Pradesh recorded 4.5 degree celsius, Amritsar in Punjab and Hisar in Haryana recorded minimum temperature at 4.6 and 4.9 degree celsius respectively.

Raisen and Umaria in Madhya Pradesh Pradesh both shivered at 5.0 degrees celsius.

According to the Skymet weather, the weather activities have remained on the lower side in the Western Himalayas during the last few days as no active weather system has approached the northern hills after January 29

The first week of February too saw only light rain and snow.

By February 12, another western disturbance is likely to hit the northern hills and bring scattered rain and snow for Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Meanwhile, the minimum temperature in the national capital today rose to 6.6 degrees celsius from 6.0 degrees celsius recorded yesterday.

The maximum temperature today is expected to be around 22.0 degrees celsius, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Some isolated places like Odisha, Punjab, Haryana and northeast Rajasthan today witnessed Dense fog.

The weatherman has forecast that in East India there is no significant change in temperature for next 24 hours after that there will be a fall in temperature by 2 to 3 degrees, In West India the temprature is expected to rise by 2 to 4 degrees for next three days.

“No significant change is expected in minimum temperature for the rest of the country during next two to three days,” it added.

“The shallow to moderate fog is also expected over Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Jharkhand during next 3 days,” it added.

The overall air quality in the national capital today is in “very poor” category.

According to System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), the Air Quality Index (AQI) in the national capital stood at 305 which falls in the “very poor” category.

BBIN nations meet on MoU for motor vehicle agreement

New Delhi (NVI): Representatives of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal — BBIN nations — held a meeting here today to deliberate on a proposed MoU for implementation of motor vehicle agreement (MVA) regulation of passenger, personnel and cargo vehicular traffic between the member countries, Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

An MEA statement said that this was the first meeting of the group since its meeting in Bengaluru in January 2018, where the two protocols were discussed.

“The delegations also discussed a draft enabling MOU to be signed by Bangladesh, India and Nepal for implementation of the BBIN MVA by the three countries, bearing in mind the consent provided by the Royal Government of Bhutan for the entry into force of the MVA among Bangladesh, India and Nepal, without obligation to Bhutan, pending the completion by Bhutan of its internal procedures for ratification of the BBIN MVA,” an official statement said.

The delegations of Bangladesh, India and Nepal agreed to consider expediting the finalization of this MoU, expressing gratitude to Bhutan for offering its consent in this regard, it added.

The delegations of Bangladesh, India and Nepal agreed to consider expediting the finalization of this MoU, expressing gratitude to Bhutan for offering its consent in this regard, the statement said.

The meeting, which was held in a friendly and cordial atmosphere, agreed to endeavor to revert by May 2020 on the process of internal consultations by respective countries based on the discussions of the meeting.

The Bangladesh delegation was led by Mohammad Sarwar Mahmood, Director General (South Asia), Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Nepalese delegation was led by Mr Gopal Prasad Sigdel, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport. The Indian delegation was led by Vikram Doraiswami, Additional Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs.

The Bhutanese observer team was led by Pem Tshering, Legal Officer, Ministry of Information and Communications.

The meeting was held to discuss the passenger and cargo Protocols that are to give effect to the Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA) for the Regulation of Passenger, Personal and Cargo Vehicular Traffic between Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal, signed on 15 June 2015.

J&K: Rs 25 crore for ‘community bunkers’ in Kupwara, Baramulla

Representational Image (Pic courtesy: Kashmirlife.net)

Srinagar (NVI): In a bid to safeguard human lives at border areas in Kashmir, prone to cross border shelling, the J&K administration today said that it has sanctioned Rs 25 crore for construction of 125 community bunkers for Kupwara and Baramulla districts.

Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Baseer Ahmad Khan, said that Rs 5 crore has already been sanctioned for construction of 20 Community Bunkers in Bandipora district.

To phase out coal jobs, India needs nearly 30 times more solar power

New Delhi (NVI): India would need to scale up its current solar capacity to nearly 30 times, or about 1,000 gigawatts, to transition about half a million people directly working in coal mines, says a recent study.

The study– “Solar has greater techno-economic resource suitability than wind for replacing coal mining jobs”– has been published in the journal ‘Environmental Research Letters’.

The research has focused on India, China, the US, and Australia—countries that represent 70% of global coal production.

Funded by the Norwegian Research Council, the report is a collaborative work between researchers from the University of British Columbia, Canada, and the Chalmers University, Sweden.

Under the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015, India has vouched for clean energy and cutting on coal-based power. Coal mining directly employs over 7 million workers and benefits millions more through indirect jobs globally.

A number of environmental and climate change studies have advocated for cutting down on coal production to tackle climate change.

However, the challenge remains whether those employed in coal sector will be employed in clean energy based industry like solar and wind.

At the Paris Agreement in 2015, the world agreed to make efforts to limit the increase in global average temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to try its best to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius. However, to meet the 1.5-degree Celsius climate target, coal’s share in global energy supply should decline between 73-97% by 2050. But that would mean a near elimination of coal mining jobs.

Except for the US, each coal mining area would require several gigawatts (GW) of solar or wind power capacity locally to enable all coal miners in these areas to transition to solar or wind jobs, as per the study.

“It is clear that while solar has greater techno-economic resource suitability than wind for replacing local coal mining jobs, this suitability doesn’t exist in all coal mining areas,” the study said.

In India, states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Telangana and Madhya Pradesh, which account for over 85% of the country’s coal production. The study found that around each coal mine, nearly two gigawatts of solar power would need to be installed to absorb all coal miners working in the mines.

About 485,000 coal miners are involved in India in the production of over 700 million tonnes of coal annually, at present. There are also a large number of indirect jobs connected with the broader coal mining industry. For example, there are millions of people in coal mining towns across India, who run local tea stalls shops, restaurants, and grocery stores and thus if the coal industry declines, the survival of all these jobs will be difficult.

Sri Lankan PM meets President

New Delhi (NVI): Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is currently on a five-day visit to India, called upon President Ramnath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan here.

Welcoming the Lankan PM, President Kovind said that he firmly believes that India’s growth is linked to peace and prosperity in its neighbourhood. A stable and prosperous Sri Lanka is in the best interest of India, he said, adding that India has always been keen to strengthen the economic pillar of India-Sri Lanka’s bilateral relations.

There is a lot that can be achieved for our mutual growth and prosperity, the President said.

President Kovind strongly condemned the Easter terror attacks in Sri Lanka last year in which many lives were lost. During the meeting, both leaders committed to continue their resolve to fight and defeat terrorism.

Vice President visits Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam

Visakhapatnam (NVI): Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu arrived at Visakhapatnam today on a maiden visit to the Eastern Naval Command (ENC).

On arrival at INS Dega, the Vice President was received by Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C) ENC and officials from the District Administration.

Naidu reviewed a ceremonial Guard of Honour and thereafter held discussions with the FOC-in-C at HQENC. He was given a comprehensive briefing on the role and responsibilities of ENC.

The Vice President was also taken by boat for harbour familiarisation which was followed by a visit to the indigenously built stealth frigate INS Sahyadri where he was given a guided tour and an overview on the operational capabilities and combat prowess of the Indian Navy.

Later, the Vice President also interacted with naval personnel.

Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY awarded gold for e-Governance

New Delhi (NVI): The Government’s flagship scheme- Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY),   has been awarded gold for “Excellence in Government Process Re-engineering for Digital Transformation” for e-governance 2019-20.

The award was presented during the 23rd National Conference on e-Governance held in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Implemented by the National Health Authority along with its State counterparts, AB PM-JAY is the world’s largest publicly funded health assurance scheme covering 50 crore poor and vulnerable citizens. It is the flagship scheme of Government of India that provides a cover of up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation to over 10.74 crore vulnerable entitled families (approximately 50 crore beneficiaries).

The award seeks to recognise government projects that involved analysis and redesign of workflow and which resulted in improvement in outcomes related to efficiency, effectiveness of process, cost, quality, service delivery or a combination of these.

The purpose of the award is to recognise achievements in the area of e-Governance, disseminate knowledge on effective methods of designing and implementing sustainable e-Governance initiatives. This award encourages innovations in successful e-Governance solutions with promotion and exchange of experiences in solving problems, mitigating risks, resolving issues and planning for success.

Receiving the award on behalf of the National Health Authority, the apex organisation responsible for the design and implementation of the scheme, Indu Bhushan, CEO, AB-PMJAY and National Health Authority said, “It is a huge honour to receive this award today.”

Indu added, “This award is not only a recognition of the sophistication of the IT system that is the backbone of PM-JAY  but also of our efforts for moving towards universal health coverage through digital transformation.”

Talking about the IT system of AB PM-JAY, Kiran Anandampillai, Advisor IT, National Health Authority said, “We have created an IT platform with the focus to provide seamless, quality, affordable healthcare services to the poorest citizens in the remotest corners of India. We are building several layers of security to protect sensitive personal patient data therefore ensuring that there is no misuse of the data collected and used.”

 

Ten US refineries emitted excessive cancer-causing benzene in 2019: Report

Representational image

New Delhi (NVI):  Ten US oil refineries, including six in Texas, released the cancer-causing chemical benzene in concentrations that exceeded federal limits in 2019, according to government data published by the green group Environmental Integrity Project.

The study is based on the first full year of data reported by US refineries since a US Environmental Protection Agency rule was implemented in 2018. The rule requires continuous monitoring of air pollutants around plants to protect nearby communities, many of which are disproportionately poor, black and Hispanic.

“These results highlight refineries that need to do a better job of installing pollution controls and implementing safer workplace practices,” EIP Executive Director Eric Schaeffer said in a statement. “Now, EPA needs to enforce these rules.”

In an emailed statement, the EPA said that “it is important to note that benzene concentration levels monitored at the perimeter of a refinery do not reflect benzene levels in the community.” The agency added that its limits are stringent “in order to provide ample opportunity for early action.”

EPA said it would not comment on ongoing or potential enforcement actions.

Long-term exposure to benzene can cause blood disorders and leukemia, according to the agency.

Monitoring for benzene is meant to be a tool that allows for “early detection of potential problems,” said Ericka Perryman, a spokeswoman for the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers trade group, in a statement.

But the EPA’s data “is not intended as a measure of community exposure or health risk and could inadvertently provide misleading results to the public,” she added.

According to the report, benzene levels consistently exceeded the EPA standard of 9 micrograms per cubic meter of air at the fencelines of 10 of the more than 100 refineries examined by EIP. The EPA requires facilities that exceed that threshold to take corrective action, the report said.

Philadelphia Energy Solutions’ refinery in Philadelphia recorded the highest benzene concentrations, at nearly five times the EPA standard, the data shows. HollyFrontier Corp’s Navajo Artesia plant in New Mexico followed, with more than three times the federal standard.

Philadelphia Energy shut that refinery and filed for bankruptcy in July after a fire destroyed part of the plant.

Texas was the hardest-hit state, with six refineries exceeding the federal benzene standard, the report said. These are Total SA’s Port Arthur refinery, Chevron Corp’s Pasadena refinery, Flint Hills Resources’ Corpus Christi East refinery, Valero Energy Corp’s Corpus Christi East, Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s Deer Park and Marathon Petroleum Corp’s Galveston Bay, Texas, refinery.

Two other refineries listed are Chevron’s Pascagoula in Mississippi and PBF Energy Inc’s Chalmette Refining in Louisiana.

Unsung heroes behind the 96-hr-long airlift that brought back 640 Indians

Deepak Padmakumar and M Balakrishnan

New Delhi (NVI): When concerns about safety of Indians in coronavirus-hit Wuhan mounted last week, officers and other staff of the Indian Embassy in China were mobilised to help in their evacuation.

Two officers of Indian Foreign Service (IFS), posted in the Indian Embassy in China, particularly stood out in the 96-hour operation, which resulted in the airlifting of 640 Indians and 7 Maldivian nationals on board two special flights. The role of the crew of the two Air India flights also cannot be ignored in this special feat.

Wuhan is the epicentre of the outbreak of the deadly virus which has claimed hundreds of lives so far and it was a humongous task for the Indian Embassy to ensure safe evacuation of the Indians living there. The operation was dangerous because the virus is highly contagious and those undertaking it by entering Wuhan ran the risk of contracting it.

The government of India flew two Air India planes to bring home the evacuees.

Indian Ambassador to China Vikram Misri put on record his appreciation for the officials who worked behind the scenes to make the evacuation operation successful.

“Want to thank my team at @EOIBeijing which mounted a non-stop almost 96-hour long operation to coordinate a complex airlift under challenging circumstances for us, the passengers and local authorities in #Hubei and #Wuhan,” Misri tweeted.

“A special word of appreciation for two of our officers who are on board the plane – Deepak Padmakumar and M Balakrishnan – they showed exemplary fortitude and a real spirit of public service by traveling to ground zero in #Wuhan to coordinate airport arrangements. Kudos to both,” the Ambassador said in another tweet.

It was clear that the Indian Embassy was working day and night towards the success of the mission as Deepak Padmakumar and M Balakrishnan — both IFS officers– were on their toes to help Indians in coronavirus-hit China. Both IFS officers also belong to the same state- Kerala.

The Indian Foreign Service also lauded Deepak Padmakumar (IFS- 2014 batch) for doing a commendable job in the whole evacuation process.

“When the going gets tough, the tough get going! Kudos to the team @EOIBeijing for coordinating complex airlifts of 647 Indian and 7 Maldives citizens from #Wuhan, China. Deepak Padmakumar [IFS 2014] @deepaddy was our man on the ground,” read a separate tweet by Indian Foreign Service.

Apart from that, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has also appreciated the efforts by Air India team that was on board the two special flights to Wuhan for an impeccable operation to evacuate the stranded Indians.

“Saviour in the skies! Salutations and commendations to the @airindiain team, led by Capt Amitabh Singh, Director Ops, Air India, that flew into the epicentre of the Corona virus epidemic to evacuate fellow Indians. Kudos to everyone involved in the operation!,” reads a  tweet by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

While the Indian Embassy played a pivotal role in the evacuation process, the Air India team worked round-the-clock tirelessly to bring back the Indian nationals from the coronavirus hotbed.

Those evacuated are now undergoing quarantine at a special facility created by the Indian Army in Manesar and by Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) in Chawla Camp.

“10 of the evacuees who showed symptoms of the virus have been shifted to isolation,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said yesterday while informing the house on developments regarding the coronavirus outbreak.

FM says MSMEs can complain if banks deny loan without reason

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today said that micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) can complain if banks deny them loans without any reason.

The Finance Minister came up with the statement while interacting with traders at an event titled ‘Jan Jan ka Budget’ in Chennai. Her remarks came around a week after she presented the Union Budget in Parliament.

While speaking at an interactive session with traders and industry representatives today, she said, “If banks deny loans without reason to MSMEs, they should send their complaints by mail to a special centre which is to be announced shortly.” She said a copy of same should be sent to the bank manager.

“There is also plan by government to increase interaction of banking officials, officials of ministry to reach out to the MSME entrepreneurs at the field level,” she added.

Apart from this, the Union Minister said that the economy is at its “robust-level” and asserted the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the country is at an all-time high.

She exuded confidence that India will get back to 8 per cent growth and said the government is making efforts to pursue the goals.

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