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Sea water desalination through solar thermal forward osmosis brings relief to drought prone Tamil Nadu village

By
The Commune
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Narippaiyur, a village in Ramanathapuram District, a drought prone area situated in the South East corner of Tamil Nadu will benefit from 20,000 litres per day of fresh water produced from sea water – thanks to the solar thermal Forward Osmosis (FO) sea water desalination system installed in the place.

The customized demand driven convergent water solution through FO will supply two litres of good quality drinking water per person per day for 10,000 people in the village, successfully overcoming a major drinking water shortage in the village. The FO system facilitates high recovery, low energy consumption, potential for resource recovery, especially in solutions of high osmotic pressure, less fouling of the membrane because of low pressure operation, easier and more effective cleaning of the membrane, longer membrane life and lower operating costs.

Tamil Nadu IIT Madras in collaboration with Empereal – KGDS Renewable Energy have successfully established and demonstrated this system to address prevalent and emerging water challenges in Mission Mode in the village.

Ramanathapuram District, situated in the South-East corner of Tamil Nadu, is severely affected by scarcity of potable water due to salinity, brackishness and also poor sources of ground water. The district of 423000 hectares has a long coastal line measuring about 265 kilometres accounting for nearly 1/4th of the total length of the coastal line of the state.

The Water Technology Initiative, Department of Science & Technology (DST) has supported this field based effort in the district through the consortium members led by Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM), KGiSL Institute of Technology (KITE), Empereal– KGDS Renewable Energy (P) and ICT Mumbai.

The sea water FO technology operates at near 2 bar pressure unlike sea water RO that operates at 50 bar pressure. It is versatile, has high energy efficiency and low operation and maintenance costs compared to other technologies.

The produced water will be supplied to the local people with the support of villagers and panchayat. This initiative of DST can pave way for scaling up the emerging technology in various coastal rural areas of the country to address drinking water shortage.

(Published from PIB)

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Finance Ministry refutes news media reports of alleged black money held by Indians in Switzerland

By
The Commune
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forex reserves india

Following reports have appearing in the media stating that funds of Indians in Swiss Banks have risen to over ₹ 20,700 crore at the end of 2020 adding that this is also the highest figure of deposits in the last 13 years, the Finance Ministry has refuted and has issued a statement regarding the same.

“Media reports allude to the fact that the figures reported are official figures reported by banks to Swiss National Bank (SNB) and do not indicate the quantum of much debated alleged black money held by Indians in Switzerland. Further, these statistics do not include the money that Indians, NRIs or others might have in Swiss banks in the names of third–country entities.”, the press release from Finance Ministry said.

It said that the customer deposits have actually fallen from the end of 2019. “The funds held through fiduciaries has also more than halved from end of 2019. The biggest increase is in “Other amounts due from customers”. These are in form of bonds, securities and various other financial instruments.”, the press release added.

It is pertinent to point out that India and Switzerland are signatories to the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (MAAC) and both countries have also signed the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) pursuant to which, the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) is activated between the two countries for sharing of financial account information annually for calendar year 2018 onwards.

“Exchanges of Financial Account information in respect of residents of each country have taken place between both countries in 2019 as well as 2020. In view of the existing legal arrangement for exchange of information of financial accounts (which has a significant deterrent effect on tax evasion through undisclosed assets abroad), there does not appear to be any significant possibility of the increase of deposits in the Swiss banks which is out of undeclared incomes of Indian residents.”, the Finance Ministry said.

The Ministry also listed out four points explaining the increase in deposits:

  1. Increase in the deposits held by Indian companies in Switzerland owing to increased business transactions
  2. Increase in deposits owing to the business of Swiss Bank branches located in India
  3. Increase in Inter- bank transactions between Swiss and Indian Banks
  4. A capital increase for a subsidiary of a Swiss Company in India and

Increase in the liabilities connected with the outstanding derivative financial instruments

“The Swiss Authorities have been requested to provide the relevant facts along with their view on possible reasons for increase/decrease in the light of the media reports highlighted above.”, the statement concluded.

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India Army to raise procurement of extreme cold weather clothing system to counter China in Ladakh

By
The Commune
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As China keeps strengthening its position in Eastern Ladakh and has also increased its deployment of troops in several extreme high altitude areas, the Indian Army is looking at raising procurement of special clothing and mountaineering equipment.

The Indian army on Thursday (June 17) released a list and projected figures of higher procurement of 17 types of special clothing and mountaineering equipment and priority will be given to Indian manufacturers, who make the said equipment, under the Make of India initiative as most of these items are imported.

Also, special clothing and mountaineering equipment will have to be procured from indigenous sources starting January 2023 because it falls under the “second positive indigenisation list” of 108 items notified by the Ministry of Defence last month given in the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020.

As per the army’s projections, it needs 50,000 to 90,000 sets of Extreme Cold Weather Clothing System and a similar number of special sleeping bags, rucksacks, summer suit for super high altitude area, multipurpose boots and snow goggles.

Additional requirements include about 12,000 special woollen socks, about three lakh sets of two- and three-layer gloves, about 500 High Altitude Pulmonary Oedema (HAPO) chambers, which is a mandatory requirement for providing emergency treatment to soldiers deployed in extreme cold and high altitude areas.

Along with this, the Army has projected an annual requirement of 3,000 to 5,000 avalanche airbags and a similar number of avalanche victim detectors.

These types of equipment are a must for the Indian army to operate super-high altitude areas and “Every individual being inducted is given a fresh set of such clothing and with the additional troops an annual requirement of approximately 30,000 such sets is expected,” the officer said on condition of anonymity.

“While jackets, trousers and gloves are a part of the personal protective equipment of a soldier, avalanche victim detectors and avalanche cords are rescue equipment while HAPO bags are essential life-saving equipment,” the officer said.

It is also the fact that the Indian army suffers more casualties in Siachen and many higher super high altitude posts due to weather as compared to enemy action and as per data shared in the Parliament, 74 Army personnel had died due to avalanches in three years till 2019.

“This clothing and equipment is essential to protect the soldier from the elements and assist in his duties. It is currently being procured from various countries and especially due to the sudden situation last year, emergency procurement was made from few countries as they were not available with Indian manufacturers,” said the second officer, who didn’t wish to be named.

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DMK cadres assault ADMK cadres with sickles in Ramanathapuram

By
The Commune
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Tension erupted in the Kamuthi area of Ramanathapuram district as three ADMK members were severely assaulted with lethal weapons by DMK cadres.

It is said that the relationship between ADMK and DMK members in Muthupetti village in Kamuthi was already hostile due to local body elections.

In this situation, DMK cadres from Ammanpatti assaulted ADMK cadre Muthu Irulandi, his son Muthu Ramalingam and ADMK IT wing union secretary Kannan in Muthupatti village. ADMK cadres were bleeding after being assaulted with a sickle and were taken to the Ramanathapuram government hospital. Muthuramalingam was severely injured and still is in critical condition.

Police filed an FIR and investigated the case after receiving the complaint. According to preliminary inquiry, the assaulters have been identified as Ravikanth and Maruthu from the DMK party.

The case is currently being investigated further.

(with inputs from NewsJ)

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Climate change to increase sea level in Lakshadweep Islands, will affect airport & residential areas: Study

By
The Commune
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Sea-level will rise around the Lakshadweep Islands in the range between 0.4 mm/year to 0.9 mm/year, says a study conducted projecting different greenhouse gas scenarios.

The study highlights that the worst possible inundation scenarios projected for Lakshadweep Islands are almost similar under different emission scenarios projected and all the islands in the archipelago would be vulnerable to impact from sea-level rise.

One of the major threats in the coming years is rising sea level and its significant impact on small islands and this is for the first time, that climate model projections were used to assess the potential areas of inundation over the archipelago of Lakshadweep Islands in the Arabian Sea.

A team of scientists including Aysha Jennath, Athira Krishnan, Saikat Kumar Paul, Prasad K. Bhaskaran jointly from the Department of Architecture & Regional Planning and Department of Ocean Engineering & Naval Architecture, IIT Kharagpur, with support from the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India under the Climate Change Programme (CCP), studied the Climate projections of sea level rise and associated coastal inundation in atoll islands, a ring-shaped coral reef or island.

The study estimated that smaller islands Chetlat and Amini are expected to have major land-loss. Projection mapping indicated that about 60%-70% of existing shoreline would experience land-loss in Amini and about 70%-80% in Chetlat. The present work highlights that, larger islands Minicoy and the capital Kavaratti are also vulnerable to sea-level rise, and expected to experience land-loss along 60% of the existing shoreline. Sea-level rise effects are seen to have the least impact on Androth Island under all emission scenarios.

The research that was published in the journal ‘Regional Studies in Marine Science, Elsevier recently showed that the coastal inundation could have wide socio-economic impact. According to the team, projected inundation due to sea-level rise can impact the islanders as residential areas are quite close to the present coastline. Also, the only airport in the archipelago is located at the southern tip of Agatti Island, and has a high likelihood of damage due to inundation from sea-level rise.

The authors have suggested that keeping in view the impacts from projected sea-level rise for Lakshadweep, it is necessary to have appropriate coastal protection measures and best-practices to formulate planning guidelines.

This study also opens up a new outlook and dimension on future research to assess the directional nature of wave energy, impact of storminess in the Arabian Sea region, islands that are exposed and sheltered and amenities such as potable water, sanitation and so on.

This noteworthy study has practical value and can be immensely useful to policy makers and decision making authorities for both short and long-term planning that benefit the population in Lakshadweep Islands.

(Published from PIB)

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Dindigul BJP office bearer arrested for criticizing DMK government, released after protest

By
The Commune
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BJP IT wing office-bearer Saravana Kumar from Dindigul was arrested for allegedly criticizing the DMK government and later released following a protest by BJP cadres in front of the police station.

On Friday, BJP IT Wing office-bearer Saravana Kumar from Dindigul, who had a political discussion with a DMK executive on a social media platform, was arrested by the police for criticizing the DMK government.

BJP cadres lead by Palani Kanagaraj, Dindigul district secretary, staged a demonstration in front of the police station and courted arrest demanding the release of Saravana Kumar.

After learning about the incident, Nirmal Kumar, the BJP’s State President for IT and Social Media, organized a protest throughout the district and a roadblock in front of the police station.

https://twitter.com/CTR_Nirmalkumar/status/1405797227637841921?s=20

Police decided to release all BJP cadres and leaders, including Saravana Kumar, after realizing the situation was getting out of control.

Saravana Kumar was released on his own bail, while a complaint was filed against DMK executive Ganeshan for making derogatory comments against Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media.

Several BJP leaders criticized the DMK government for its intolerance and suppression of critics. CTR Nirmal Kumar said in a tweet that the BJP isn’t like the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which mortgaged the party and Tamil Nadu to the Italian Congress. He went on to say that any threat from the DMK would simply speed up their opposition to the party.

https://twitter.com/CTR_Nirmalkumar/status/1405906070875168770?s=20                                              

BJP spokesperson SG Suryah criticized the DMK government for suppressing the critics by arresting political workers ever since they came to power on May 7th. He thanked BJP Tamil Nadu IT wing President CTR Nirmal Kumar and District Secretary Palani Kanagaraj for successfully organizing the demonstration and securing the release of the detained BJP office-bearer.

In a series of tweets, Tamil Nadu BJP spokesperson Narayanan Tirupathi criticized the DMK government for being intolerant and suppressing freedom of speech.

 

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Parliament saves ₹9 crores annually by doing away with canteen subsidy

By
The Commune
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On Thursday (June 17), Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla posted on social media that the Parliament has made a record by saving a whopping ₹249 crores for the financial year 2020-21.

He said that the 17th Lok Sabha cut down on unnecessary expenditure by emphasizing on financial reforms.

“₹151.44 crores were saved in the first year, this year the figure of saving was 249.54 crores which is about 100 crores more than last year.”, he said.

He also said that the Parliament has saved ₹9 crores annually by ending the canteen subsidy.

Earlier, the Parliament spent canteen received a subsidy of ₹14 crores every year. One plate of vegetarian meals used to cost just ₹18. A bowl of boiled vegetables costed just ₹5. A chicken biryani was sold at ₹65. Now, the rates have been revised to ₹100, ₹50 and ₹100 respectively. Fish and chips which was sold for a meagre ₹25 now costs ₹110.

The 17th Lok Sabha chose to do away with food subsidy unanimously. It was noted that apart from Parliamentarians, the staff and media persons too enjoyed food at subsidized rate.

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Complaint filed against alleged unauthorized installation of Tipu Sultan statue in AP

By
The Commune
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tipu sultan

A complaint has been filed by legal activism organization Legal Rights Protection Forum (LRPF) against the proposed installation of Tipu Sultan statue at Proddutur Town in Kadapa District, Andhra Pradesh.

The complaint pointed out the Supreme Court judgement which states that installation of statues at public places is illegal.

The Transport, Roads & Buildings Department of the Government of Andhra Pradesh had also issued an order in 2013 in abidance of the Supreme Court’s judgement in which it said that the Government hereby has decided to not given permission for installation of any statue or construction of any structure in public roads, pavements, sideways, etc.

“Hence, the proposed construction of the statue at Produttur town is a clear violation of the G.O. No. 18 and tends to the contempt of the Supreme Court’s orders.” the complaint by LRPF noted.

It was reported that the Member of Legislative Assembly from Proddutur Constituency R. Shiva Prasad Reddy had earlier performed special prayers at Maidukur Road-Jinnah Road Junction, the site where the statue is proposed to be installed. Local Muslims had approached the legislator with the proposal.

The Andhra Pradesh unit of the BJP has warned of protests and demolition of the structure if built. It has said that the move could cause communal tension in the area and has instead asked for the statue of Abdul Kalam be built.

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ECI releases an Atlas on General Elections 2019

By
The Commune
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Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra along with Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey released ‘General Elections 2019 – An Atlas’ on June 15, 2021.  Sushil Chandra commended the officers of the Commission for compiling this innovative document and hoped that this would inspire academicians and researchers to further explore the vast landscape of the Indian elections.

The Atlas encompasses all the data and statistical figures of this monumental event. It has 42 thematic maps and 90 tables depicting various facets of the elections. The Atlas also shares interesting facts, anecdotes and legal provisions related to the Indian elections.

Since the first General Elections in 1951-52, the Commission has been publishing compilation of electoral data in the form of narrative and statistical books. 17th General Elections conducted in 2019 were the largest democratic exercise in human history which witnessed the participation of 61.468 crore voters at 10.378 lakh polling stations spread over 32 lakh square kilometer territory of India.

In Indian elections, electoral data is primarily collected during the preparation of Electoral Roll by the Electoral Registration Officers and also in the process of conduct of elections by the Returning Officers. This data is then collated by these statutory authorities. Thereafter, after the culmination of the electoral process, the Election Commission of India collects this electoral data and prepares various reports for compilation, record and dissemination purposes.

In October 2019, the Commission released statistical reports based on the electoral data made available by the Returning Officers of 543 Parliamentary Constituencies. The maps and tables as placed in this Atlas depict that information and provide for better understanding and appreciation of electoral diversity of the country. In addition to contextualizing the data, these detailed maps reveal electoral patterns at various levels as well as indicate its spatial and temporal settings. With an aim to better visualize and represent the electoral data, this Atlas serves as an informative and illustrative document that brings to light the nuances of the Indian electoral process and empowers readers to analyse trends and changes.

The Atlas brings out salient features such as data of the 23 States and Uts where women voting percentage was more than the male voting percentage; information about the largest & smallest parliamentary constituency in terms of electors, candidates and performance of political parties amongst other parameters.

The Atlas depicts the electors data in different categories and through various comparison charts like Elector Gender Ratio and electors in different age categories. The 2019 General Elections witnessed the lowest gender gap in the history of Indian elections. The Elector Gender Ratio which has shown a positive trend since 1971 was 926 in 2019 General Elections.

The Atlas also compares the average number of electors per polling station in different states during 2014 & 2019 General Elections. The Election Commission of India set up over 10 lakh polling stations in General Elections 2019 with the lowest number of electors per polling station (365) in Arunachal Pradesh.

Amongst the various other categories, the atlas compares the number of contesting candidates in the General Elections since 1951. In the 2019 General Elections, there were 8054 qualified contesting candidates after rejection of nominations & withdrawals from a total of 11692 nominations filed across the country.

To check out the details, the e-Atlas is available at https://eci.gov.in/ebooks/eci-atlas/index.html. Suggestions, if any, can be shared with the EDMD division of the Commission.

(Published from PIB)

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Isha to host online music and Yoga program in run-up to Yoga Day

By
The Commune
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Isha announced that it will host a unique live online music and Yoga event tomorrow at 6 p.m. as a precursor to the International Day of Yoga on 21st June.  It will be telecast live on Isha’s official YouTube channel and on Sadhguru Tamil Channel.

The 90-minute event will feature renowned musicians Padmasree Dr. Sirkazhi Sivachidambaram, Kalaimamani Smt. Gayathri Girish and Smt. Anusha Thiagarajan. Other performers include the mandolin duo U.P. Raju and Nagamani Raju;  violinist S. Radhakrishna from Neyveli; Rajaraman (Kadam music); and N. Ramakrishnan (Mridangam music).

The event will also feature a short talk by Sadhguru about Yoga Day followed by a demonstration of ‘Simha Kriya’.  Specially designed by Sadhguru to strengthen the immune system, this 3-minute Yogic practice has gained widespread global popularity after it was scientifically tested and was proven to enhance the body’s immune system.

The objective of the event is to help people overcome stress and fear due to COVID and learn simple practices to keep the body and mind healthy.

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TheCommune
The Commune is a news and views portal focusing on social and political issues of the southern part of India with a focus on Tamil Nadu.
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