by rakesh | Sep 23, 2006 | Rajasthan
In her message Smt. Raje said that ‘Navratra’ was a sacred festival of worship of goddess Durga. She said that we worship that eternal force on the occasion which protects the universe with her power.
Expressing her views on ‘Navratra’ festival, the Chief Minister said that every citizen should take a resolution on this sacred festival that he would create an atmosphere of social awareness for putting a check on the practice of female foeticide, otherwise the ratio between male and female would be disturbed and a situation of disparity be created in the society.
She said that people should also celebrate the birth of daughter like the sons in the family so as to promote homogeneity in the society. Smt. Raje also wished happy life and prosperity for the people of the state on the occasion.
by rakesh | Sep 23, 2006 | India News
“I thank Your Excellency for giving us an overview of the status of Commonwealth Action Programme for Digital Divide (CAPDD) which has recently been renamed as the Commonwealth Connects Programme (CCP).
Bridging the digital divide among different countries as also within them, is a major challenge of globalization in the modern world. India is one of the countries which has made rapid strides in the area of information and communication technology. Concomitant with our ongoing efforts to ensure that the benefits of the progress made in the ICT sector reach all sections of our society, India has been in the forefront of taking initiatives to promote cooperation among developing countries in this crucial area. India’s pan-Africa E-network is a good example in this context.
India is strongly committed to CAPDD adopted at the last CHOGM in Malta in November, 2005, and had announced a commitment of one million Euros for this programme. We have designated a senior official to represent our Government on the Steering Committee and have already disbursed the first tranche amounting to Euro 175,000; an equal amount would be released before the end of the current financial year. We shall continue our efforts not only to meaningfully contribute to the implementation of this programme, but also to learn from the experiences of others.
I am glad to convey that our Prime Minister has, in principle, agreed to inaugurate the International Partnership Summit of the Commonwealth Connects Programme proposed to be held in New Delhi, preferably in the first quarter of 2007.
I have the further pleasure to announce that in addition to our existing commitments, India is willing to provide up to five experts for periods up to six months for assisting other Commonwealth countries in developing ICT capacity and strategies.
We are also ready to provide between 50-70 training slots for capacity building in reputed institutions in India to fellow developing countries in the Commonwealth, through the Commonwealth Secretariat, in some other selected areas. These slots are in addition to the existing courses offered bilaterally to several countries in the Commonwealth under our ITEC programme”.
by rakesh | Sep 21, 2006 | Env & Geography
Rabies is mainly a problem of developing world – Asia and Africa where 99% of all human deaths estimated to be over 50,000 occur globally every year. Though the exact statistical data is not availwable but it is estimated that in India alone approximately 20,000 people die of Rabies every year, besides it causes a large number of deaths in domestic and wild animals. Moreover, there is a huge expenditure incurred on post- exposure vaccination. Therefore, there is an urgent need to control and finally eradicate this dreaded disease from India as has been achieved by several South-East Asian countries like Malaysia and Singapore.
The main vector of rabies in India is the dog. The twin strategies to control and eradicate rabies in India will be:
a) To achieve at least 80% prophylactic immunization of dog population (owned / stay / community)
b) To push forward the existing ABC/AR programme for stray/ community dogs on war footing to control their population.
The WHO at its Fourth International Symposium on Rabies Control in Asia stated:
“Elimination of Rabies in human requires control of rabies in dogs”. Dr. F.X. Meslin of the Communicable Diseases Surveillance Department of WHO says: “Rabies elimination by vaccination of the dog population is the most cost beneficial strategy.” It has also been repeatedly stressed that once we reach the threshold figure of 70% of a dog population being vaccinated, the propagation of rabies is virtually halted.
The Animal Welfare Board of India, Ministry of Environment and Forests is presently engaged in controlling the population of stray dogs through its Animal Birth Control/Anti-Rabies inoculation programme(ABC/AR) being carried out through the medium of NGOs, SPCAs and AWOs throughout the Country. Over 70,000 stray/community dogs are being sterilized/ neutered every year and given Anti-Rabies vaccine. These dogs are relocated to their original habitat with efforts of local bodies after the sterilization. This programme has significantly reduced the incidence of Rabies in several Metros such as Delhi, Jaipur, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, Banglore, Kalimpong & Kolkata.
One of the major problems encountered in control of rabies is the mass immunization of stray/community dogs which are not accessible for injectable rabies vaccine – recommended by WHO for immunization of stray/community dogs – the problem can now be addressed.
WHO also recommended controlling the rabies population of dogs through ABC programme rather than killing them, which is inhuman and does not go well with our culture ethos of love and compassion for animals.
The entire success of this project rests on the realm of local Municipal bodies, Rural Administration and State Veterinary Services which come under the State Governments.
by rakesh | Sep 19, 2006 | Env & Geography
“Solar-B will record how energy stored in the solar magnetic field is released as that field rises into the sun’s outer atmosphere,” said Larry Hill, Solar-B project manager at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
Solar-B’s three instruments — the Solar Optical Telescope, the X-Ray Telescope and the Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer — will perform coordinated measurements of the different layers of the solar atmosphere. Continuous, simultaneous observations of specific solar features by all three instruments will enable Solar-B to observe how changes in the magnetic field at the sun’s surface spread through the layers of the solar atmosphere.
JAXA is the overall lead for the Solar-B mission, the spacecraft, the launch vehicle and management of space operations. NASA provided the Focal Plane Package for the Solar Optical Telescope, and components for the Solar X-ray Telescope and the Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer, as well as engineering support for integration of the instruments.
The Solar Optical Telescope will be the first space-borne instrument to measure the strength and direction of the sun’s magnetic field in the sun’s low atmosphere, also called the photosphere.
The sun’s outer atmosphere, the corona, will be captured by the X-ray Telescope. The corona is the spawning ground for solar flares and coronal mass ejections. Powered by the sun’s magnetic field, this explosive solar activity produces significant effects in the space between the sun and Earth. By combining observations from Solar-B’s optical and X-ray telescopes, scientists will be able to study how changes in the sun’s magnetic field trigger these powerful events.
The Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer will measure the speed of solar particles. The spectrometer provides a crucial link between the other two instruments, measuring the layers that separate the photosphere from the corona – an area known as the chromosphere and the chromosphere-corona transition region. The spectrometer will also be able to measure the temperature and density of solar plasma – the hot, ionized gas surrounding the sun.
“The information that Solar-B will provide is significant for understanding and forecasting of solar disturbances, which can interfere with satellite communications, electric power transmission grids, and threaten the safety of astronauts traveling beyond the safety of the Earth’s magnetic field,” said John M. Davis, Solar-B project scientist at NASA Marshall.
After its launch from Uchinoura Space Center in Kagoshima, Japan, the Solar-B spacecraft will circle Earth in an orbit that places the instruments in continuous sunlight for nine months each year. Following launch, NASA and the science teams will support instrument operations and data collection from the spacecraft operations center at JAXA’s Institute of Space and Astronautical Science facility.
NASA; Lockheed Martin, Palo Alto, Calif.; the High-Altitude Observatory, Boulder, Colo.; JAXA’s Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (JAXA/ISAS), Sagamihara, Japan; and the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), Tokyo, participated in the development of the instrumentation for the Solar Optical Telescope. The X-ray Telescope was built by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, Mass.; JAXA/ISAS; and NAOJ. The spectrometer was developed by the Mullard Space Science Laboratory of the University College London, United Kingdom; the Naval Research Laboratory, Washington; and NAOJ.
Solar-B is a collaboration among the space agencies of Japan, U.S., the United Kingdom and Europe. The mission is part of the Solar Terrestrial Probes Program within the Heliophysics Division of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
by rakesh | Sep 17, 2006 | Env & Geography
Males and females are of similar size and are difficult to tell apart without internal examination.
Adélie penguins breed between October and March on areas of rock in colonies of varying size. They start breeding at 3-5 years of age and live up to 20 years.
They make nests out of small stones, lay two eggs, and raise up to two chicks per nest, depending on food availability. Chicks are about two months old when they fledge.
Males and females share incubation and chick rearing duties almost equally.
Adélie penguins feed mainly on krill (Euphausia crystallorophias and E. superba), but will also eat fish, squid and other crustaceans.
Breeding adults travel between 5 and 120 km offshore to catch food for their chicks. Feeding trips range from 5 to 72 hours in duration.
Adélie penguins are capable of diving to depths of up to 175m but usually feed within the upper 70m of the water column.
Written by Judy Clarke, AMLR Program, and Maria Clippingdale, AADC.
© Australian Antarctic Division 2006
Kingston Tasmania 7050
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