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NITI Aayog Launches Geospatial Energy Map of India

By
The Commune
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Geospatial Energy Map of India was launched by Dr Rajiv Kumar (Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog), Dr V K Saraswat (Member, NITI Aayog), and Shri Amitabh Kant (CEO, NITI Aayog) on 18 October 2021. Dr K Sivan, Chairman ISRO & Secretary Department of Space attended the launch event.

NITI Aayog in collaboration with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has developed a comprehensive Geographic Information System (GIS) Energy Map of India with the support of Energy Ministries of Government of India. The GIS map provides a holistic picture of all energy resources of the country which enables visualisation of energy installations such as conventional power plants, oil and gas wells, petroleum refineries, coal fields and coal blocks, district-wise data on renewable energy power plants and renewable energy resource potential, etc through 27 thematic layers.

The map attempts to identify and locate all primary and secondary sources of energy and their transportation/transmission networks to provide a comprehensive view of energy production and distribution in a country. It is a unique effort aimed at integrating energy data scattered across multiple organizations and to present it in a consolidated, visually appealing graphical manner. It leverages latest advancements in web-GIS technology and open-source software to make it interactive and user friendly. The Geospatial Energy Map of India will be useful in planning and making investment decisions. It will also aid in disaster management using available energy assets.

Dr Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog, while launching the GIS-based Energy Map of India, stated GIS-mapping of energy assets will be useful for ensuring real-time and integrated planning of energy sector of India, given its large geographical distribution and interdependence. “Energy markets have immense potential to bring in efficiency gains. Going forward, GIS-based mapping of energy assets will be advantageous to all concerned stakeholders and will help in accelerating the policy-making process. Fragmented data has been brought together; this will be a great research instrument.”

The GIS based Energy Map of India can be accessed at– https://vedas.sac.gov.in/energymap.

(Published from PIB)

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Six new air routes flagged off expanding connectivity to north-east India

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The Commune
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Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, MoS, Civil Aviation, General Dr. V K Singh (Retd.) along with Rajeev Bansal, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) virtually flagged off 6 routes expanding the aerial connectivity of North-East India.

The routes commencing operations from today are Kolkata – Guwahati, Guwahati – Aizawl, Aizawl – Shillong, Shillong – Aizawl, Aizawl – Guwahati, and Guwahati – Kolkata.

Dr. R. Lalthangliana, Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Higher and Technical Education, Commerce and Industry, Shri. Robert RomawiaRoyte, Minister of State for Sports and Youth Services, Tourism and Information and Communication Technologyalong with other important members of the state government joined the event virtually from the Lengpui Airport, Aizawl, Mizoram.

Smt. Usha Padhee, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, along with other senior officials of the MoCA were also present at the ceremony held at MoCA.

Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya M. Scindia said, “Mizoram is the gateway to North-East India. The city has an immense amount of importance for its tourism & economic sector. We are committed to giving wings to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of making it possible that every state’s uniqueness must be experienced by all citizens of the country. I assure you, that MoS General Dr. V K Singh (Retd.) and I will personally visit Mizoram very soon.”

The minister further mentioned, “I am delighted to mention the fact that Alliance Air’s most ATR aircraft are deployed on the North-Eastern routes. Today, we are further establishing seamless connectivity across entire North-East India by connecting 4 cities with one flight.  This underlines the due importance given to the North-East by the Ministry of Civil Aviation under the leadership of our Prime Minister. Under the UDAN scheme,we have connected cities that had no mention on the aviation map of the country. We have already started 60 airports, and 387 routes, out of which 100 routes are awarded in North East alone, & 50 are already operational.  Moreover, In 2014, only 6 airports were operational in North East, now we have grown to 15 airports in a short span of 7 years. Therefore, this further highlights the due importance of the North-Eastern states for this government. In addition to this, under the KRISHI UDAN Yojna, we have identified 16 airports to enhance the export opportunities of the region establishing dual benefits of enhancement of cargo movements and exports.”

Today’s flight launch has expanded the aerial connectivity of the North-East by connecting multiple states hitherto not connected via flights. The flight connectivity on these routes has been a long-pending demand of the natives of the regions. Eastern India tempts tourists with wonderful verdant valleys, hilly streams, lush green forests, vast tea gardens, snowcapped mountain peaks, mighty rivers, tribal culture, its colourful fairs and festivals. These flights will open a seamless gateway and smooth aerial access option for nature lovers, travellers, tourists etc. Shillong is surrounded by hills from all sides. The city is famous for the presence of many well-reputed educational institutions, it is the hub of education for entire North-East India. Apart from being the beauty & education centre, Shillong also acts as the gateway  to  Meghalaya,  the  state  famous  for  heavy  rainfall,  caves,  tallest  waterfalls,  beautiful landscapes, and its rich heritage & culture. Aizawl is known as the home of the highlanders & is the seat of a rich tribal cultural extravaganza and is famous for its handicrafts. The town is blessed with exotic natural beauty.

With these new flights, travellers from Guwahati, Aizawl and Shillong will get multiple options for onward connectivity to the rest of the country.

In the constant endeavour to bolster the regional connectivity of the country, the first direct flight on the Tirupati-Delhi route was also started yesterday connecting one of the best heritage cities of the country with the capital of the country.

(Published from PIB)

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WHO asks Bharat Bio Tech for additional information on Covaxin

By
The Commune
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The wait for people in India who took the indigenous COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin, manufactured by Bharat Biotech just got longer as the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said it wants additional inputs from the vaccine maker.

India has now been waiting for a long time to get Emergency Use Listing (EUL) because many Indians who took Covaxin are planning international travel and without recognition, International travel will not be possible as countries won’t recognise these individuals as fully vaccinated.

In a statement, the WHO said, “while it is aware that many people are waiting for its recommendation for Covaxin to be included in the EUL, it clarified that it “cannot cut corners’ before recommending a product for emergency use, we must evaluate it thoroughly to make sure it is safe and effective,” said the agency.

WHO also said that Bharat Biotech – the manufacturer of Covaxin – has been submitting data to the WHO on a rolling basis and WHO experts have reviewed the data.

“WHO is expecting one additional piece of information from the company today. The timeframe for the WHO EUL procedure is dependent on how quickly a company producing the vaccine is able to provide the data required for WHO to evaluate the vaccine’s quality, safety, efficacy and its suitability for low- and middle-income countries,” said the body.

The agency said that when it is fully satisfied with the information provided that addresses all questions raised, the WHO and the technical advisory group will then complete the assessment and come to a final recommendation on whether to grant EUL to the vaccine.

Though Covaxin has received the support of the Indian government and the latter has strongly advocated its efficacy, but it is clear that the reason why WHO deferred its decision till October on the pretext of requiring additional data must be questioned.

There are reports that a group of pharmaceutical companies and the Chinese government are lobbying to ensure Covaxin is not given EUL because for some of the pharma giants, it would mean loss of revenue, and for China, the export of Covaxin would give India more recognition on the international diplomatic stage. 

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Uttarakhand administers 1st dose COVID-19 vaccine to 100% eligible population

By
The Commune
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fake coronavirus vaccines

Uttarakhand has become the fourth state to administer 100% of its eligible population with COVID-19 vaccine.

The other states that have achieved the feat are Himachal Pradesh, Goa and Sikkim along with Union Territories of Ladakh, Lakshadweep, Diu & Daman, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has congratulated the people of Devbhoomi for 100% first dose of Covid 19 vaccination for 18+ age group people. The Prime Minister has also said that this achievement of Uttarakhand is very important in the country’s fight against Covid-19.

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TN CM Stalin wishes for Milad-un-Nabi; didn’t wish for Ayudha Pooja, Vijayadasami

By
The Commune
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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday (October 18), extended his ‘heartfelt’ wishes to the ‘Muslim brotherhood’ on the occasion of Prophet Mohammad’s birthday Milad-un-Nabi.

In his wish CM Stalin said “I extend my heartfelt wishes to the Islamic community on the occasion of Milad-un-Nabi on behalf of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and its government formed by the ‘people’ which always has an affection to those who follow the path of the holy prophet.”

Just a few days before on October 14 and 15, Hindus across the world celebrated Ayudha Pooja and Vijayadasami on the respective days. However, CM Stalin did not extend his wishes for these festivals.

In August, when Hindus celebrated Vinayaka Chathurthi, he didn’t wish on that occasion too.

Know-it-all political commentator Sumanth C Raman took a jibe at CM Stalin selectively wishing for Milad-un-Nabi calling it as ‘true secularism’.

While it is one thing to stick to ‘rationalism’ and not wish for Hindus on their festivals as the President of DMK, it is expected that a Chief Minister who is supposed to be a leader for all acts without prejudice and bias.

Political observers and experts opine that by selectively wishing for only Muslims and Christians on their festivals and not extending privilege to Hindus, MK Stalin is violating his oath as Chief Minister.

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TNM’s Dhanya Rajendran makes distasteful remark on ‘Trishul’ weapon maker, deletes tweet later

By
The Commune
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Dhanya Rajendran, the Editor-in-Chief of digital news outlet The News Minute, made an absolutely distasteful remark on the Uttar Pradesh-based inventor who has made a non-lethal weapon named Trishul.

Noida-based start-up firm Apasteron Private Limited had been tasked by the Indian Armed Forces to come up with indigenous non-lethal weapons that can be used for combating Chinese forces who had used barbed clubs and tasers during the clash at Galwan Valley last year.

The company had developed ‘Trishul’, inspired by Lorsh Shiva’s three-headed spear and ‘Vajra’, a metal rod taser. The Trishul sends an electric shock and the spiked taser Vajra can be used for attacking enemy soldiers as well as puncture bullet-proof vehicles.

A video shared by ANI shows Chief Technology Officer of the company Mohit Kumar demonstrating the Trishul weapon in electric shock can be seen passing between the three heads causing a sound.

Reacting to this video, Dhanya Rajendran wrote on her Twitter “Sounds like he is farting. Oh, well!”.

 

This tweet has now been deleted.

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Indian Navy receives one more P-81 long-range maritime reconnaissance to keep eye on China

By
The Commune
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Indian Navy’s capability to defend our maritime interests and have a more robust presence in the Indian Ocean got bolstered when it received its eleventh P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft from Boeing.

Just last week, four more Rafale fighters landed in the Indian Airforce base in Jamnagar Gujarat, increasing the number to 29.

The aircraft is part of the second batch of four P-8Is bought by the Indian Navy and it landed in Goa today (October 18) from Seattle in the United States.

India already has ten of these aircraft in service making the Indian Navy is the largest foreign customer of the P8 platform and one more is likely to be delivered this year and six more are being procured. India had recently used the P-81 in Ladakh for electronic surveillance.

Before that, the P-81 was used effectively during the 73-day-long Doklam standoff as the technology in aircraft was sending live data to support decision making during the Doklam face-off”.

Also, the P-81 aircraft was also put to use “to keep an eye on Pakistani troops movement after the Pulwama terror attack in 2019.

The P-8Is come equipped with the AN/APY-10 radar, which its maker Raytheon describes as a “maritime, littoral and overland surveillance radar”, capable of monitoring ground movement, and is fully capable of providing data in all weather conditions, both at night and day.

The plane is equipped with Synthetic Aperture and Inverse synthetic-aperture mode, the AN/APY-10 radar can penetrate through clouds and foliage to give detailed images of the surface below and images produced by the radar in these modes can give the size of structures on the surface, movement, and change which would allow senior commanders to make correct decisions and there are other features in the P8 that remain classified when it comes to enemy’s dispositions on the ground.

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Persecution of Bangladeshi Hindus by radical Islamists continues for fifth day

By
The Commune
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bangladeshi hindus
Featured Image Credits: India Today

This year’s Dussehra festivities were marred with gloom and tragedy for Bangladeshi Hindus, as the Hindu minority in Bangladesh faced brutal persecution by the majority Muslim population.

Muslim mobs targeted Durga Puja pandals and attacked devotees in multiple cities of the Muslim-majority country, after rumours spread that one of the pandals had desecrated the .

These attacks on Hindus also come on the backdrop of the 75th anniversary of the Noakhali riots.

The violence, which started on October 13, has only escalated in the past five days.

Muslim mobs are now targeting Hindu homes and temples.

At Nanua Dighi in Comilla on the evening of October 13, a Durga Puja pandal was attacked and the idol was thrown into a pond.

Temples in Chandpur’s Hajiganj, Chattogram’s Banshkhali, Chapainawabganj’s Shibganj and Cox’s Bazar’s Pekua were also vandalised. Hindu devotees attending the Durga Puja festivities iin the temples were beaten up.

18 crude bombs were recovered from the gate of a Hindu temple in Khulna district.

In Bangladesh’s Noakhali area, an ISKCON temple was vandalised and at least one man was lynched by a mob of 200 people.

Over 60 houses of the Hindu community were also torched at a village in Rangpur district on the night of Oct 16.

https://twitter.com/UnityCouncilBD/status/1449808782582853638

 

https://twitter.com/UnityCouncilBD/status/1449802606897999877

Although Bangladeshi paramilitary forces were deployed across the country on Oct 15, violence continues unabated.

At least four people have been confirmed to have died and more than 100 others are wounded in the violence so far.

https://twitter.com/UnityCouncilBD/status/1450005122101174272

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami are allegedly behind these attacks.

Protests were also held in front of the Bangladesh High Commission in Kolkata against the killings.

Hindus in Bangladesh have faced persecution ever since Partition. Once comprising 30-31% of the total population in East Bengal, their numbers whittled down to 8% in 2020.

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Sri Lanka asks India, and not China, for $500 million credit to purchase crude oil as financial situation worsens

By
The Commune
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Sri Lanka which is going through its worst foreign exchange crisis has asked India for a $500 million credit line from India to pay for its crude oil purchase.

The country’s state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) owes about $3.3 billion to its government banks, namely: People’s Bank and Bank of Ceylon.

Sri Lanka’s energy minister Udaya Gammanpila has given his nation a stark reminder that the current availability of fuel in the island nation can be guaranteed only until January 2022.

“We are currently engaged with the Indian High Commission here to obtain the facility (USD 500 million credit line) under the India-Sri Lanka economic partnership arrangement,” Sumith Wijesinghe, Chairman of the CPC, was quoted by the Financial Express.

If the negotiations are complete, the monies will be utilised for purchasing their requirements for petrol and diesel and Finance Secretary S R Attygalle informed that the energy secretaries of India and Sri Lanka are slated to sign an agreement for the loan soon.

To ensure there is no panic, the Lankan government has put a stop to the expected retail price hike of fuel though they increased the prices of cooking gas and other essentials last week.

It must be noted that Sri Lanka asked India for a line of credit and not China because of the latter’s predatory financial practice with the island nation in massive debt.

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Ali Harbi Ali, the Somali Muslim who killed Tory MP David Amess was inspired and radicalised by Anjem Choudary

By
The Commune
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Ali Harbi Ali, the Somali terror suspect accused of stabbing to death senior Conservative party Member of Parliament Sir David Amess to death has been pictured for the first time.

Sir David Amess was a veteran Conservative party and was brutally stabbed to death when he was meeting constituents at Southend West on Friday afternoon. 

Police and intelligence officials are saying that the murder of the Tory politician was singled out for attack by a suspected Islamist extremist. he may not have been had a specific motive for the targeting of Sir David his alleged killer had plotted to kill any national politician.

According to a report published in The Telegraph, a government insider told the paper, ‘He was unlucky. He was not targeted because of his political party. David Amess was not specifically targeted.’

However, former friends of Ali, a British national of Somali heritage claim he was radicalised after watching YouTube videos of convicted hate preacher Anjem Choudary who has recently completed his prison sentence and probation and now is free to preach his violent and intolerant form of Islam in the UK.

Anjem Choudary is one of the most influential and dangerous radicalisers in the UK and his followers included Michael Adebolajo, who murdered Fusilier Lee Rigby in South London.

But what is disturbing is that the 25-year-old had been referred to Prevent, the Government’s counter-terrorism programme, several years ago – but that his behaviour was not considered to be extreme enough to alert MI5. 

Now British security services have warned Ministers that Britain could face a wave of terrorist attacks carried out by ‘bedroom radicals’ – so-called ‘lone wolf’ terrorists who turned to extremism after spending months at home during the Covid lockdown. 

‘Counter-terror police and MI5 have been concerned for some time that once we emerged out of lockdown there would be more people out on the streets and more targets for the terrorists,’ one security source told The Telegraph.

But many in the UK believe that a time has come to stop people like Anjem Choudary from spewing hate. One of Ali’s friends had said, “He watched a lot of extreme videos including those posted by Choudary and his followers. Everyone used to say to him, But he’s a hate cleric and hates the West’ but he didn’t care. He became a huge fan. He admired Anjem, said he was right and his cause was right. It disgusted me. We were all very, very worried. He became totally radicalised through the internet and now he’s a suspect in something as evil as this. It’s horrendous.”

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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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