Dehradun, Dec 24: Concerned over low productivity of forests, Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan on Saturday batted for making all-out efforts towards green cover expansion for climate change adaptation and its mitigation.
Efforts should be made towards generating more livelihood options through skill development programmes that encourage the communities to use forestry resource on a sustainable basis, he said.
The Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change, who visited the Forest Research Institute (FRI) here today as part of the ongoing review of the activities of the ICFRE and its affiliates stressed upon the need for making all-out efforts for green cover expansion which is a “must” for climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Research and development should be tailored in accordance with the changing social scenario and their results should reach people in the form of quality products, he said.
Vardhan also impressed upon the need to synergise the research activities at the institute and improve coordination within government departments for orienting research towards national-level goals.
Indore, Dec 23: After a brilliant display of batting, India bowlers bundled up the Sri Lankan side on 172 runs which led the men in blue to a 88-run victory in the second T20I of the three-match series at the Holkar stadium here .
With this win, the Rohit Sharma-led side has also clinched the series with a match to go.
Gandhinagar, Dec 23: Incumbent Vijay Rupani was on Friday elected the leader of the BJP legislature party in Gujarat, and will be the state’s chief minister for a second term, Union minister Arun Jaitley said.
Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel will continue to be the second in command, after he was declared the deputy leader of the legislature party by Jaitley, the central observer appointed by the BJP leadership for the election.
The BJP had registered a sixth straight Assembly poll win in the key western state on December 18, winning 99 seats in the 182-member House.
Though the Congress performed its best in many years, winning 77 seats, it could not unseat the BJP.
New Delhi, Dec 22: India on Thursday dismissed as `usual alarmist comments’ reports quoting Pakistan’s National Security Advisor Nasser Khan Janjua as having said that the US was siding with New Delhi and his warning of a possible “nuclear war” due to the delicate security situation in South Asia.
“The stability of the South Asian region hangs in a delicate balance, and the possibility of nuclear war cannot be ruled out,” Janjua was quoted by the Pakistani media as saying at a seminar in Islamabad.
When asked for his comments, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said during a media briefing: “We are used to these alarmist comments from Pakistan. It is very clear that there is political motive behind this. These reports should not be taken too seriously.’
Nellore(AP), Dec 22: The ninth edition of International Youth Sailing Competition will be held at Krishnapatnam Port in the district from December 27 to 31.
The YAI Senior and Youth National Championships will precede this and would be held from tomorrow till December 25.
Practice sessions were held today.
Around 150 sailors from across the world representing nine countries will take part in the Asian meet, the organisers said in a press note.
The national event would see the participation of about 300 sailors, they added.
The events are organised by Navayuga Sailing Academy, Tamil Nadu Sailing Association (TNSA) and Yachting Association of Andhra Pradesh (YAAP) under the aegis of the Yachting Association of India (YAI) and the Asian Sailing Federation (ASAF).
The youth sailing championship will feature the youth classes of boats, the Optimist, 29er and Laser 4.7 Laser Radial, 420 and the windsurfer class, RS1.
TNSA commodore Ashok Thakkar said, “There is tremendous potential for taking this sport to a greater level in India and with the kind of support we have received from the central and state governments, it is certainly possible.
New Delhi, Dec 20: Steel major Tata Steel today said its board has approved raising Rs 12,800 crore through a rights issue to finance organic and inorganic growth plans.
The board in its meeting today also approved a proposal to expand the capacity of Kalinganagar plant by 5 million tonne per annum (MTPA) to 8 MTPA with a total investment of Rs 23,500 crore, the company said in a statement.
The board also reviewed the financial strategy of the company in the light of organic and inorganic growth strategy of the company and approved financial plan to raise capital for the plan.
“The Board approved issuance of equity and equity linked instruments including ordinary shares of the company by way of a rights issue to existing shareholders on record date for an amount not exceeding Rs 12,800 crore…,” the statement said.
Tata Steel said that following the successful implementation of the phase 1 of the Kalinganagar Project in Odisha, “the board approved the next phase of expansion of capacity in Kalinganagar by 5 MTPA from 3 MTPA to 8 MTPA (million tonne per annum)”.
An amount of Rs 23,500 crore will be required for the project which the company aims at completing within 48 months from the date of commencement of construction, it said.
The total capacity of Tata Steel India operations following the expansion will be 18 MTPA. At present, Jamshedpur unit has a capacity of 10 MTPA and Kalinganagar, for which the decision was taken, is a 3 MTPA plant.
The mode of finance for the work will be “through a combination of debt and equity” and the project configuration and costs includes investments in raw material capacity expansion, upstream and midstream facilities, infrastructure and downstream facilities including a cold rolling mill complex, it added.
The decision was taken keep in view the requirement of automotive, general engineering and other value added segments, Tata Steel said.
Dhaka, Dec 20: Bangladesh and Myanmar today reaffirmed their commitment to begin repatriating Rohingya refugees from January, despite rights groups warning that their safety is still not assured should they return.
The foreign secretaries of Bangladesh and Myanmar met in Dhaka to finalise the agreement signed on November 23 for the voluntary return of nearly three-quarters of a million stateless Rohingya living in refugee camps along the border.
A new working group would “ensure commencement of repatriation within two months” by developing a timetable for the verification of refugee identities and logistics of their return, Bangladesh’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
“Now, we will start the next step of our work,” Bangladesh foreign minister A.H. Mahmood Ali told reporters after the meeting.
The reaffirmation comes a day after Human Rights Watch, citing analysis of satellite imagery, said Myanmar’s army burned down dozens of Rohingya homes within days of signing the repatriation deal with Bangladesh.
The watchdog said the deal was “a public relations stunt” and warned it contained no guarantee the Rohingya would be safe should they return to Myanmar’s conflict-wracked Rakhine state.
An estimated 655,000 refugees from the stateless minority group have poured across the border into Bangladesh since August, fleeing what the US and United Nations have described as ethnic cleansing.
Last week the group Doctors Without Borders released a survey which found that nearly 7,000 Rohingya had been killed in the first month of the Rakhine violence.
The military has put the number in the hundreds and denied targeting civilians or committing atrocities, while Myanmar’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi said major security operations stopped in early September.
Myanmar has in the past blamed fires in villages on Rohingya insurgents who on August 25 attacked security posts, killing a dozen police and triggering fierce army retribution.
Responding to international pressure, Suu Kyi’s civilian government signed an agreement with Bangladesh to start the repatriation of the stateless Muslim refugees within two months.
The agreement promises the “safe and voluntary return” of displaced Rohingya in Bangladesh — not just the latest 655,000 new arrivals but more than 70,000 from a separate influx in October 2016.
Testimonies gathered by AFP from displaced Rohingya in Bangladesh suggest few refugees wish to return to Myanmar, where many saw their villages burned to ashes and loved ones killed.
Dhaka, Dec 19: The Bangladesh Government has said a hydropower agreement with neighbouring countries — Bhutan and India — was imminent.
The Power Division officials said the agreement could happen as soon as January, according to the Dhaka Tribune.
Power Cell Director General Mohammad Hossain told Bangla Tribune that a tripartite investment proposal is in its final stages.
The agreement entails the construction of a 1,225MW hydropower plant in Bhutan with investment from all three countries.
Washington, Dec 19 : Human Rights Watch (HRW) has reported the burning of 40 additional Rohingya villages in Myanmar in a military campaign.
HRW’s Asia director Brad Adams, in a statement on Monday, citing analysis of satellite imagery, said the buildings in 40 villages were destroyed in October and November, increasing the total to 354 villages that had been partially or completely razed since last August.
‘The satellite imagery shows what the Burmese army denies: that Rohingya villages continue to be destroyed. Burmese government pledges to ensure the safety of returning Rohingya cannot be taken seriously,’ he said.
London, Dec 19: The UK today announced extending a pilot student visa scheme to 23 more universities under which Indian and other non-EU students will get six months time to find a job after finishing their course.
The scheme was introduced last year on a pilot basis in four British varsities — Oxford, Bath, Cambridge and Imperial College London.
Currently in its second year, the pilot scheme aims to streamline the process for international students looking to study a Masters degree course of 13 months or less in the UK.
It also provides greater support for students who wish to switch to a work visa and take up a graduate role by allowing them to remain in the UK for six months after they have finished their course.
Universities taking part in the scheme are given responsibility for eligibility checks, which means that students have to submit fewer documents than required in the current process alongside their visa applications.
The additional 23 universities to benefit this scheme include two in Scotland, two in Wales, one in Northern Ireland and others from across England.
Announcing this, Britain’s Immigration Minister Brandon Lewis said “I am delighted to announce the expansion of this pilot which is part of our ongoing activity to ensure that our world-leading institutions remain highly competitive”.
He also said that the UK continues to be the second most popular destination for international students and the number coming to study at our universities has increased by 24 per cent since 2010.
“This is a clear indication that genuine students are welcome and there is no limit on the number who can come to study in the UK,” he added.
Under the scheme, all students will continue to require Home Office security and identity checks, but those applicants who do not meet the prescribed immigration rules will be refused.
Indian students account for approximately 9,600 visas granted in 2016 (or 7 per cent), but in 2010 they accounted for around one in five of visas granted at 40,500.
Between April 2016 and April 2017, over 7,400 Indian students left Britain before the expiry of their student visas with only 2,209 choosing to extend their visas, according to the Office of National Statistics data.
Professor Sir Keith Burnett, President and Vice Chancellor of the University of Sheffield and founder of the UK-wide #WeAreInternational campaign said: International students are crucial not only to UK scholarship and teaching, but they play a huge role in the life and economy of towns and cities right across the UK.
“The extension of the Tier-4 visa pilot is therefore very welcome for all those universities and students who will benefit from it.
“I also hope that the experience of extending the pilot will give the UK the assurance it needs to further extend the pilot into mainstream policy for the good of the many talented students from around the world who wish to study in the UK,” he added.
Burnett also said that we do know that more needs to be done.
“The #WeAreInternational campaign will continue to work with universities up and down the country, as well as businesses and the National Union of Students, to make sure the value of international students is fully reflected in all aspects of government policy and we can increase opportunities for talented international graduates to remain in the UK for a period of work experience once they complete their studies.
“This will bring us in line with the experience in many other countries and the needs of our own economy,” he said.
The recent Home Office statistics show that the number of students applying for visas increased by eight per cent over the last year, and there has been a nine per cent increase in the number of students applying to Russell Group universities.
The recently included 23 universities will be able to apply the pilot to their 2018-19 intake.
New Delhi, Dec 18 : The ruling BJP at the Centre, fighting one of the most bitterly and closely contested Assembly elections, is all set to retain Gujarat and wrest hill state of Himachal Pradesh from the Congress with a convincing margin.
In Gujarat, the saffron party had won 22 seats, and the Congress 17 as per the Election Commission figures till 1430 hrs. The BJP is maintaining lead at 77 seats, and the Congress was ahead on 60 seats, as per the results and trends of counting of votes in the Assembly elections available at 1430 hrs.
In Himachal Pradesh, the BJP had bagged three seats so far as against two of the ruling Congress. However, the saffron party was leading on 40 seats and the grand old party on 19 seats in the 68 member Assembly.
Though these two imminent victories would be adding just another feather in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cap ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress can also take some satisfaction from its performance in Gujarat as it seems set to increase its tally by around 20 seats.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi campaigned tirelessly for about three months, giving some anxious moments to the ruling party.
Though the BJP is set to lose seats in Gujarat this time despite victory, its vote share has gone up. It has secured 49 per cent vote, around two per cent more than in the 2012 elections. The Congress has also increased its vote percentage having secured 41.4 per cent from 38.9 per cent last time.
New Delhi, Dec 18: Market watchdog Sebi will come down heavily on illicit ‘initial coin offers’ seeking public investments with promise of high returns from Bitcoins and other virtual currencies, amid a mushrooming of such schemes in the absence of any regulatory regime.
However, Sebi is not keen to take on the mantle of a regulator for such ‘trading’ — currently being offered on a number of so-called exchanges despite there being no rules in this regard — as the underlying product, which is Bitcoin or any such crypto currency, is not an approved product by RBI or any other agency, top officials said.
At the same time, Sebi cannot allow gullible investors to be taken for a ride with unlawful promises by these exchanges and those claiming to ‘mint’ crypto currencies. A number of them are suspected to be indulging in fraudulent activities without actually minting any such virtual currencies that require very complex algorithms, the officials noted.
A number of ‘coin offerings’ being made in India are nothing but fraudulent Ponzi or pyramid schemes, including some offering secondary trading in Bitcoins or other established virtual currencies, while many others are plain frauds without any such currency actually being in play, they added.
RBI has already made public its disapproval for all such currencies and has said it has not approved any of them, while tax authorities recently conducted searches at various exchanges and are believed to have collected information on lakhs of entities including HNIs who could have ‘traded’ there.
The regulators and government agencies are in a state of quandary as even imposing a tax would amount to giving a legal status to such currencies, for which any consensus remains elusive given the huge risks, including money laundering and terrorist financing, attached with such activities.
However, there is a kind of unanimity emerging about subjecting such trading to laws against black money, money laundering and frauds so that the interest of general public remains safeguarded, a senior official said, while adding that any final decision would be taken at highest level and a multi-regulatory panel may be assigned that job.
A gravity-defying bitcoin rally to over Rs 10 lakh a unit, interspersed with ‘stories’ of people making crores from thousands, has left the regulators flummoxed.
The RBI has been issuing warnings since 2013, the first time when the surge in bitcoins caught the attention of Indians, but the risks have multiplied manifold now in the wake of a significant spurt in the valuation of many such virtual currencies and a rapid growth in Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs).
Modelled on the Initial Public Offers or IPOs for issuance of new shares in the stock market, some entities have begun resorting to ICOs to raise funds from investors, including HNIs and other individuals, who are getting lured into claims of huge returns from bitcoins and other such variants — apparently getting minted in the digital world but also reaching the real world including as wedding gifts.