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This Dussehra will see two evils reduced to Ashes- The Ravana and The Plastic

Plastic waste Ravana
Cement Industry in collaboration with Ministry to dispose of Ravana, made up of Plastic waste

For ages, Dussehra epitomises Victory of Good over Evil. But this Dussehra is going to live up to that victorious spirit quite literally– against the demon of single-use plastic. In an innovative green initiative, the Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Jal Shakti and Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs will dispose of 25-30 ft effigies of Ravana, made out of plastic waste in an eco-friendly way across a few cities in India.

Ravana effigies will be disposed of mechanically in a representative cement plant at the Ramlila grounds. The plastic will be put in a cement kiln where the temperature will be so high that it does not impact the environment and its residue will not be left. As of now cement plants already burn plastic waste for energy.

The intent is to personify Ravana in its plastic form as a demon, bad for the society and environment. This initiative also highlights the role that the Cement Industry can play in, helping overcome this menace in its plants in an environmentally friendly manner.

Announcing the initiative at the CMA CONSERVE Conference recently, Shri Durga Shankar Mishra, Secretary of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs said “Single-use Plastics can be disposed in cement kilns and there will be no environmental issues as it uses high temperature where hazardous gases get absorbed. Very happy to hear about the plastic Ravana initiative on 8th October where CMA would showcase the process they are using to manage single-use plastic waste.”

The Cement Industry has collaborated with the Ministry on various initiatives under the Swachhata Hi Sewa. The first phase from September 11 to October 2, 2019, focused on awareness creation against Single-Use Plastic (SUP). During this period, CMA and the Cement Industry have undertaken extensive initiatives across 16 States, covering 377 Villages, and sensitising over 1 lakh people through training, mass awareness and waste Shramdaan activities.

In the next phase of SHS, the CMA Member Companies have extended solidarity to Swachhata hi Sewa by coming forward in a big way in working with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) to coordinate a seamless network for the disposal of plastic waste in the Cement Plants across the Country. Both sides look forward to evaluating this experience to look at future possibilities for the disposal of plastic waste by the Cement Industry in an environmentally friendly manner.

73 per cent of millennials in 15 countries lament mental health trauma in war zones

icrc logo
International Committee of the Red Cross

Geneva: “War is the greatest plague that can afflict humanity… .it destroys states, it destroys families,” so said, Martin Luther. But an international survey has recently added another dimension to this saying— the often neglected and generally invisible yet widespread mental health trauma of the war victims. 

An Ipsos survey commissioned by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says nearly three in four millennials 73 per cent survey across 15 countries point out that mental health needs are as important as water, food, and shelter for victims of wars and armed violence. 

The data, taken from the survey of more than 15,000 people aged 20 to 35, shows a growing awareness of the importance of mental health in conflict situations.

Of the 15 countries surveyed, the highest support for mental health among millennials came from Syria, where 87 per cent of roughly 1,000 respondents said mental health needs are as important as water, food and shelter for victims of armed conflicts. The next highest countries were Indonesia (82 per cent), Ukraine (81 per cent) and Switzerland (80 per cent).

“Mental health services have for too long been an after-thought in conflict settings. When traumas are invisible, they can be easily overlooked or deprioritized. Yet war has a devastating impact on the mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of millions. New mental health problems can appear, and pre-existing conditions may resurface. For some the effects will be life-threatening,” said ICRC President Peter Maurer.

More than one out of five people in conflict-affected areas live with some form of mental health condition, from mild depression and anxiety to post-traumatic stress disorder. That is three times more than the general population worldwide suffering from these conditions. The mental health and psychosocial needs of people caught up in conflict must be a part of the growing attention given to mental health around the world.

“Supporting people’s mental health can be lifesaving in times of war and violence, just as much as stemming a bleeding wound or having clean water. Hidden wounds are no less dangerous,” said Mr. Maurer.

This week, coinciding with World Mental Health Day, the ICRC is calling on all States to prioritize mental health and psychosocial support in situations of violence and armed conflict, as critical to the first wave of humanitarian assistance, and as an integral component in domestic and international emergency response systems

Struggling with oral health issues? Log on to first of its kind e-DantSeva for help

HEALTH ORAL
Health Minister Harsh Vardhan launching two oral health initiatives.

New Delhi: In a first in India, the Government has launched maiden one of its kind national digital platform on oral health information and knowledge dissemination, e-DantSeva, which will reach out to more than one billion people with one click on a dedicated website and mobile application. Not leaving behind the visually impaired, a Braille booklet and Voice over on Oral Health Education has also been released.

“Dental caries/cavities and periodontal disease remain the two most prevalent dental diseases of the Indian population and dental infections have a potential for serious diseases/infections,” said Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan while launching the two oral health initiatives.

He further added that oral health is indispensable for the wellbeing and good quality of life. “Poor oral health affects growth negatively in all aspects of human development,” he said. 

This initiative of the Ministry with AIIMS and other stakeholders aims to sensitize the public about the significance of maintaining optimum oral health and equips them with the tools and knowledge to do so, including awareness on the nearest oral health service facility. The website and mobile application provide oral health information gathered from authentic scientific resources and connect the public to timely advice for managing any dental emergency or oral health problem.

e-DantSeva contains information about the National Oral Health Program, detailed list of all the dental facility and colleges, Information, Education and Communication (IEC) material and a unique feature called the ‘Symptom Checker’, which provides information on symptoms of dental/oral health problems, ways to prevent these, the treatment modes, and also directs the user to find their nearest available dental facility (public and private sectors both).  The website also provides GPRS route/images/satellite images of the facility for easier access to the general population.

National Oral Health Programme (NOHP) in its current form was introduced in 2014. The Center for Dental Education and Research (CDER), AIIMS, New Delhi functions as the National Center of Excellence for Implementation of NOHP. The Centre has been instrumental in providing consultation and support for the research and other activities for the National Oral Health Program.

Also present at the function were Smt. Preeti Sudan, Secretary (Health) and Prof. Randeep Guleria, Director, AIIMS New Delhi, Dr O P Kharbanda, Chief, Centre for Dental Education and Research, AIIMS, Dr Ashok Dhoble, Secretary, Indian Dental Association and students and faculty from Blind Relief Association (BRA) along with other senior officers from the Health Ministry and faculty of AIIMS.

 

CSE questions sustainability of India’s ‘Open Defecation Free’ feat

Open Defecation Free
4303 cities now declared Open Defecation Free

New Delhi: The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has sought to punch holes in the sustainability aspect of the official claims and proclamations that India has become open defecation free (ODF) on October 2, 2019, saying the landmark feat may get reversed if a recent investigation by its Down to Earth magazine is to go by.

Is it a case of “professional pessimism?” No, the CSE disagrees, pointing out that even if toilets have been built and are being used, the trend can reverse. A case in point is Haryana, which had declared itself ODF in 2017. According to Down to Earth investigation people there are slipping back to the old habit of open defecation.

Sunita Narain, Director General, CSE says: “There is also the question of ‘safe’ disposal of the waste generated by these toilets.”

According to the National Annual Rural Sanitation Survey (NARSS) 2018-19, the nationwide survey undertaken by the government to establish SBM’s success, disposal is “safe” if the toilet is connected to a septic tank with a soak pit, single or double leach pit, or to a drain. “This is an inadequate and erroneous definition of ‘safe’,” said Narain. She also pointed out that these are only systems for containment of the excreta, not its disposal.

According to the Survey, roughly around 34 per cent of toilets are septic tanks with a soak pit; another 30 per cent are double leach pits, and another 20 per cent are single pits. NARSS assumes that these toilets will safely decompose the excreta in-situ.

This will completely depend on the quality of the construction of the toilets, CSE researchers said. “This is the crux of the problem. If the septic tanks or double leach pit toilets are constructed well, then the excreta will be safely decomposed and when removed, will be safe for reuse on land.”

The CSE’s ground surveys in peri-urban India have found that the quality of septic tanks is poor; waste is unsafely disposed of by tankers on the land and in open drains, or worse, in waterbodies.

“The question that we need to ask ourselves is will this lead to another, a far bigger challenge when the pits are emptied and not-yet-decomposed waste is dumped into water bodies or in the fields? The resultant soil and water contamination can be catastrophic for public health,” said Narain.

In the past four years, India has built 100 million toilets in about 0.6 million villages and another 6.3 million in its cities. By all accounts, it is an incredible feat. As per a 2019 report of the Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for water supply and sanitation, of Unicef and the World Health Organization (WHO) between 2000 and 2014, open defecation decreased by some 3 percentage points a year while between 2015 and 2019 it reduced at over 12 percentage points a year.

According to the government estimates, by February 2019, over 93 per cent of the country’s rural households had access to toilets and over 96 per cent of them used the toilets, suggesting an important change in behaviour. Ninety-nine per cent of the toilets were found to be well maintained, hygienic and in 100 per cent of these toilets, excreta was “safely” disposed of.

At last, she said and asked, “However, the scale of this transition is so massive that it will mean new, bigger challenges. Will the extraordinary success of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) stand the test of time? How will the over 100 million toilets be maintained and kept functional? Will people continue to use them? Will the millions of tonnes of waste generated by these toilets be managed and disposed of efficiently, without polluting the environment? How will we make this success sustainable, make it last?”

 

Protect and promote mother tongues: Naidu

venkaiah naidu
File Photo: Vice President of India M. Venkaiah Naidu

Bhubaneswar: In what may be perceived as a pacifier to the recent language row, Vice President of India M. Venkaiah Naidu has called for dedicated measures to preserve, protect and promote mother tongues.

“More and more people should be encouraged to write poetry, stories, novels, and dramas in their native languages. Poetry can serve as a powerful catalyst to hasten the process of social transformation,” he told the 39th World Congress of Poets (WCP) here in Odisha. 

Addressing the valedictory session of the Congress, Naidu said poets have the capability to be influencers and opinion-makers and urged them to use their unique ability to shape people’s thoughts, feelings, and attitudes to build a better world.

Poets from various nations participated in the Conference.

Congratulating the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) and Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) for organizing a confluence of talented poets, the Vice President said that he was deeply touched by the theme of the poetry conference– “Compassion through Poetry”.

Observing that compassion was innate to all of us, he said “we must realize this and practice it consciously till it becomes our habit and all our actions, subconsciously, exhibit compassion, kindness, and positivity. ‘Compassion begets compassion’, he added.

Shri Naidu said that poetry was one of the finest expressions of human emotions and conveys the deepest insights, a wide range of emotions and elevates the human experience to the highest levels of consciousness. ‘Poetry has a great impact on the inner chemistry of human emotions. How we perceive, how we respond and how we behave – all this is shaped by literature and fine arts to a large extent’, he added.

The Vice President said that India’s tryst with poetry was as old as its civilization. He spoke of the great Indian epics Ramayana & Mahabharata and said that they were among the finest specimens of poetry ever written, the celebrated world over for the grandeur of their themes, their extraordinary literary heights and the depth of messages they convey.

Vice President said that Indian tradition has relied on poetry for transmission of wisdom and even scientific knowledge. He urged schools to make poetry reading and appreciation a compulsory part of the curriculum. He also asked universities to encourage literature, arts, and humanities education.”We need poets and writers and artists and singers as much as we need doctors, engineers, and scientists”, he underscored.

Faceless e-Assessment scheme launched for the ease of income tax payers

e-Assessment
Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey launches e-Assessment scheme

New Delhi: The much-touted and talked-about faceless assessment of taxpayers has become a reality with the launch of the National e-Assessment Scheme (NeAC) on October 7, 2019. The assessment of income tax returns through electronic communication between tax officials and taxpayers that will impart greater efficiency, transparency, and accountability in the assessment process was launched by Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey.

The new initiative of faceless assessment is expected to increase the ease of compliance for
taxpayers. This is another initiative by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) in the field of ease of compliance for our taxpayers. It will impart greater efficiency, transparency, and
accountability in the assessment process and optimizes the utilization of resources through
economies of scale.

CBDT Chairman P.C. Mody and Members P.K. Das, Shri Akhilesh Ranjan and
Prabhash Shankar was also present on the occasion.

While inaugurating the NeAC, Pandey said, “It is the matter of great pride and achievement
for the Income Tax Department to bring NeAC to life in a small span of time.” Retracing the
origins of NeAC in 2017, Shri Pandey lauded the IT Department for striving to achieve
transparency with speed.

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“With the launch of NeAC, the Income Tax Department will usher in a paradigm shift in its
working by introducing faceless e-assessment to impart greater efficiency, transparency and accountability in the assessment process,” Shri Pandey added.

In the first phase, the Income Tax Department has selected 58,322 cases for scrutiny under the faceless e-Assessment Scheme 2019 and the e-notices have been served before 30th of September 2019 for the cases of Assessment Year 2018-19.

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Under the new system of faceless e-Assessment, taxpayers will receive notices on their
registered emails as well as on registered accounts on the web portal www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in with real-time alert by way of SMS on their
registered mobile number, specifying the issues for which their cases have been selected for scrutiny. The replies to the notices can be prepared at ease by the taxpayers at their own residence or office and be sent by email to the National e-Assessment Centre by uploading the same on the designated web portal.

NeAC will be an independent office to look after the work of the e-Assessment scheme which is recently notified for faceless e-assessment for income taxpayers. The NeAC in Delhi to be headed by Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (Pr.CCIT).

The setting up of NeAC of the Income Tax Department is a momentous step towards the
larger objectives of better taxpayer service, reduction of taxpayer grievances in line with
Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Digital India’ and promotion of Ease of Doing Business.

There would be 8 Regional e-Assessment centers (ReAC) located in Delhi, Mumbai,
Chennai, Kolkata Ahmedabad, Pune, Bengaluru and Hyderabad comprised of assessment
unit, Review unit, Technical unit and Verification units.

EESL undertaking world’s largest streetlight replacement programme  

EESL
SLNP aims to replace 1.34 crore conventional streetlights in India with smart LEDs

New Delhi: The world’s largest streetlight replacement programme, which entails illuminating of 3.6 lakh kilometres of roads across India with 1.34 crore smart LED lights, is being implemented by the Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of the PSUs under the Union Power Ministry.

So far, one crore smart LED streetlights have been installed under Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP).

By March 2020, SLNP aims to replace 1.34 crore conventional streetlights in India with smart LEDs.

This ambitious goal will make a tremendous difference, enabling peak demand reduction of about 1500 MW, annual energy savings of 9 billion kWh, and reduction in 6.2 Million tons of CO2 per year.

EESL has an ambitious plan in this portfolio for the next 4-5 years where it intends to bring investment to the tune of INR 8000 crore by 2024 by covering entire rural India.

It is expected that more than 30 million LED streetlights would be retrofitted/installed by EESL.

The states already covered are Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, West Bengal, Sikkim, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tripura, Telangana, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Pondicherry, Port Blair, Lakshadweep and Rajasthan.

This has helped generate employment for around 13000 people in the country, according to EESL.

The installation of 1 crore LED streetlights has resulted in annual energy savings of 6.71 billion kWh and avoided 1,119.40 MW of peak demand, resulting in reduction of GHG emission by 4.63 million tCO2 every year, it said.

Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power, New & Renewable Energy, R K Singh recently said, “Energy efficiency and conservation are important pillars of India’s efforts in moving towards a sustainable future.”

He said replacing of streetlights with LED lights is not only illuminating the lives of citizens and enabling more savings but also empowering people with better and safe mobility.

“The government believes in empowering people and enabling access to power for all. The Street Lighting National Programme will benefit the people and would lead to a reduction in dark spots and increased security,” the Minister said.

Under the programme, Andhra Pradesh is leading the way amongst the states, with an installation of 28.9 lakhs LED streetlights followed by Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh with 10.3 Lakhs and 9.3 lakhs respectively.

As on date, 1,502 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) across India have been enrolled under the programme and out of these ULBs, work has been completed in around 900 Urban Local Bodies.

Applauding the achievement, Sanjiv Nandan Sahai, Special Secretary in the Ministry of Power, said, “This is a major milestone in the nation’s journey towards increased energy efficiency and environmental sustainability.”

He said it shows how synergy and collaboration between the various stakeholders can enhance infrastructure and promote energy conservation.

“I congratulate EESL for their relentless efforts and all stakeholders for their strong partnership in making our nation climate smart,” Sahai said.

To bring large scale transformation, EESL adopted Pay-As-You-Save (PAYS) model where EESL makes the entire upfront investment in installation of the LED streetlights and no additional budget allocation from the municipalities is required.

The contract with the municipalities/ULBs is for a period of 7 years. The seven-year contract with the local bodies guarantees a minimum energy saving of typically 50% and provides free replacements and maintenance of lights at no additional cost to the civic partners.

The municipalities pay EESL from their savings in energy and maintenance cost over a 7-year period, making the LED lights affordable and accessible.

Under SLNP, the EESL procurements conform to BIS specifications and carry a 7-year warranty against technical defects. EESL conducts appropriate quality checks right from the bidding stage to the field level.

This has resulted in the LEDs’ overall technical fault being less than 2% in the 1 crore streetlights installed by EESL in the country.

EESL has maintained an uptime of 97% for all streetlights across the country. Furthermore, to provide ‘future-readiness’ to the LED lights, EESL installs web-based Centralised Control and Monitoring System (CCMS) to enable remote operation and monitoring of the streetlights enabling additional operational savings.

CCMS provides real-time information on energy consumption the streetlights.

EESL undertakes social audits in the ULBs where the project is under implementation and post the completion of the project.

These social audit results have shown that about 99 per cent of respondents feel more comfortable with the LED installations. They also feel that there is significant improvement in safety and business activities.

 

NITI Aayog and UNICEF India give ‘The Gandhian Challenge’ to Children

UNICEF India
UNICEF India along with NITI Aayog give ‘The Gandhian Challenge’ to Children

New Delhi: Coinciding with 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, NITI Aayog (Atal Innovation Mission and Atal Tinkering Labs) and UNICEF India are these days busy giving ‘The Gandhian Challenge’ to children across the country. The motive is to ideate and develop innovative solutions for a sustainable India, using Gandhi’s principles.

The winners of ‘The Gandhian Challenge’ will be awarded by NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and UNICEF on Children’s Day. The contest, which is open for every child in India from 2nd to 20th October 2019, also celebrates 70 years of partnership between Government of India and UNICEF India to enable ‘Every Right for Every Child.’

“Through this partnership, AIM and UNICEF recognise every child’s ability and right to voice their dreams for a world of their choice, following Gandhiji’s principles. Our aim is to support them to thrive as young innovators and entrepreneurs,” said Mr R Ramanan, Mission Director AIM.

‘Encouraging meaningful participation of children is a core right of every child. It allows us to understand their point of view and envisage solutions through a child rights lens,” said Dr Yasmin Ali Haque, Representative UNICEF India. “Meaningful participation by children and young people and building their critical thinking skills is an essential part of Generation Unlimited,” she added.

All applications must be submitted on the challenge page on the Government of India’s citizen engagement portal. All applications must have an Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL) code. Children in schools without an ATL can obtain the ATL code by visiting or calling the nearest ATL school. The list of nearest ATL schools in every district can also be accessed on the challenge page mentioned above.

The most innovative, sustainable solutions/ideas will be showcased as a symbol of a larger movement by children taking root in every district of India. Children across India can access more than 8000 Atal Tinkering Labs across all districts to support their innovative ideas.

In ATLs, students of class 6th to 12th acquire a problem-solving attitude, develop innovative solutions leveraging technologies like 3D printers, robotics, miniaturised electronics, Internet Of Things (IOT) and programming and Do It Yourself (DIY) kits, with support from teachers and mentors.

India pitches for cotton as a global commodity, announcespartnership with 5 African Nations on World Cotton Day

Smriti Irani addresses opening session of World Cotton Day in Geneva

Geneva: With Mahatma Gandhi being the chosen icon for the first-ever World
Cotton Day, the India Story writ large here at the event to mark the Day that also
saw New Delhi pitching for cotton to be recognised as a global commodity.

“As one of the world’s largest producers and consumers of cotton, India supports the
World Cotton Day as an opportunity to recognise the significance of cotton as a
global commodity, and, more importantly, as a source of livelihood for millions of
small and marginal farmers in developing countries,” said Union Minister of Textiles
Smriti Zubin Irani, at the opening session of World Cotton Day here recently.

Irani said that it is fitting that Mahatma Gandhi has been chosen as the icon for the
World Cotton Day and to mark the celebration of the first World Cotton Day, India
will gift a replica of Mahatma Gandhi’s Charkha to the WTO.  She also informed
that a live demonstration of the Charkha has been arranged a by Pitta Ramulu, National Award-winning weaver from India.

World Cotton DayThe Textiles Minister also announced the launch of the second phase of the Cotton
Technical Assistance Programme (TAP) for Africa at the Partners Conference in
Geneva. In the five-year-long second phase, the programme will be scaled up in size
and coverage and will be introduced in five additional countries, namely Mali,
Ghana, Togo, Zambia and Tanzania. The Cotton TAP programme will now cover 11
African countries including the C4 (Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali). India
implemented a Technical Assistance Programme (TAP) for cotton in 6 African
countries, namely – Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Malawi, Nigeria and Uganda from
2012 to 2018.

The Textiles Minister also informed that cotton farming and the domestic cotton
textile industry continues to be important pillars of India’s economy. As a country of
8 million small and marginal cotton farmers, India is sensitive to the challenges
faced by the cotton sector in developing countries and India has been a proponent for
the elimination of asymmetries and imbalances in the WTO agreements that lead to a
distortion of global cotton markets, the Minister added.

There has been a major shift in Govt way of handling terror strike: IAF Chief

IAF Foundation Day
IAF marks 87th Anniversary on Tuesday

Ghaziabad: There has been a major shift in Government’s way of handling terrorist attacks, Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria said in his message on 87th Anniversary of Indian Air Force (IAF) Day that was celebrated at Hindon airbase in Ghaziabad today, showcasing the country’s air-borne valour.

Indian Air Force Day“The strategic relevance of this (Balakot air strikes) is the resolve of the political leadership to punish the perpetrators of terrorism. There is a major shift in the Government’s way of handling terrorist attacks,” he said.

Army chief General Bipin Rawat and IAF Chief, Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria were present on the occasion.

Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar

A highlight of the event was Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who shot down Pakistan’s F-16 jet during a dog fight on February 27 earlier this year, flying MiG-21 Bison aircraft above the Air Force Day Parade.

Three Mirage 2000 aircraft and two Su-30MKI fighter aircraft also flew in ‘Avenger formation’. The fighter planes were flown by pilots who took part in Balakot airstrikes in Pakistan.

Earlier, the chiefs of three services paid floral tributes at the national war memorial to mark the occasion.

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