The Competition World

Mayank   Agrawal *  On the path of a fundamental transformation with the main objective of providing reliable electricity to all households at reasonable rates, Power Sector in India  has witnessed a major thrust in power generation in the last 4-5 years. However, in spite of manifold increase in generation capacity, the country is facing a peaking power shortage though the power generation is showing increasing trend. In the beginning of 11 th  Plan, peaking shortage was 13 per cent and energy shortage was 10 per cent and it has come down to 10 per cent and 7.5 per cent as on 31.3.2011. In order to bridge the existing gap between demand and supply and to meet the rapidly growing future requirements, there is a need to increase the installed capacity in the country. Fuelling this growth is going to be an enormous task. One of the most crucial and important aspects in the production of electricity is the timely availability of requisite Balance of Plant systems for th...

Tiger -  large carnivore of the cat family, Panthera tigris, found in the forests of Asia. There are six subspecies of P. tigris: Amur or Siberian, Sumatran, Malayan, North Indochinese, Bengal, and South China or Amoy. Tigers are the largest species of the cat family. Male tigers are generally about 8 to 10 ft (2.4-3 m) long, including the 3-ft (1.8-m) tail. The Siberian tiger may be 13 ft (4 m) long, including the tail, and weigh 290 kg, much larger than any lion. The coat of the tiger is orange-yellow with numerous prominent black stripes; black and albino specimens are sometimes found. The Siberian tiger tends to be the lightest in coloring. The male tiger has no mane comparable to that of a lion , although it may have a ruff around the sides of the head.                 India holds over half the world's tiger population. According to the latest tiger census report released on March 28, 2011 by the National Tiger Cons...

Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission National Solar Mission : The NAPCC aims to promote the development and use of solar energy for power generation and other uses with the ultimate objective of making solar competitive with fossil-based energy options. The plan includes: Specific goals for increasing use of solar thermal technologies in urban areas, industry, and commercial establishments; A goal of increasing production of photovoltaics to 1000 MW/year; and A goal of deploying at least 1000 MW of solar thermal power generation. Other objectives include the establishment of a solar research center, increased international collaboration on technology development, strengthening of domestic manufacturing capacity, and increased government funding and international support. National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency : Current initiatives are expected to yield savings of 10,000 MW by 2012.  Building on the Energy Conservation Act 2001, the plan recommends: Mandating sp...

Kalpana Palkhiwala * The National Mission for a Green India is one of the eight Missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change. The Green India Mission recognizes that climate change phenomena will seriously affect and alter the distribution, type and quality of natural resources of the country and the associated livelihoods of the people. GIM acknowledges the influences that the forestry sector has on environmental amelioration though climate mitigation, food security, water security, biodiversity conservation and livelihood security of forest dependent communities. The Key Innovations are the focus on quality of forests, ecosystem services, democratic decentralization, creating a new cadre of Community Youth as Foresters, Adoption of Landscape-based Approach and Reform Agenda as conditionality. Total Mission Cost is Rs 46,000 crore for a period of 10 years covering both Centre and States.              ...

Kalpana Palkhiwala * Aerosols influence climate indirectly by changing cloud properties and precipitation and hence can have a profound impact on the hydrological cycle. Among the various aerosol types, black carbon aerosols have greater impact because of the high absorption of solar radiation. Hence it is essential that measurements of black carbon aerosols from ground, aircraft and space are necessary to answer crucial questions related to the impact of black carbon on climate. Several studies have suggested that aerosols may modify global warming by changing the planetary albedo , but the magnitude of the impact of aerosol on climate is still uncertain says IPCC 2007.  Measurement of Aerosols over Indian Region: Current Status      There is a large spatial and temporal variability of aerosols in India and hence several field campaigns were undertaken to characterize the optical, physical and chemical properties of aerosols and their radiative impact. The maj...

The political system of Iran is quite a complex one and combines elements of a modern Islamic ideology with democracy. The entire system functions under a Supreme Leader who is appointed by the Assembly of Experts and is the chief of state while the President is Head of Government. Here is an overview of the structure of the political system of Iran -     Supreme Leader The Supreme Leader holds the highest position in the political power structure of Iran who is in charge of defining and supervising the general policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Presently the Supreme Leader is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei whose major responsibilities include- Appointment of the head of the judiciary Appointment of the clergy members on the Council of Guardians Appointment of the commanders of all the armed forces Appointment of the Friday prayer leaders and the head of radio and TV The Supreme Leader is also responsible for confirming the President's election.  The Executive...

Education for Girl Child The global community and the world bodies like the United Nations time and again underline the need to focus on urgent national and international steps to be taken for ensuring education for the girl child. Hundreds of millions of young children, mostly girls, throughout the world are often deprived of education along with other essential needs like adequate food, clothing and health care. Going by these yardsticks, the development of a Nation is truly measured by many indicators and among them literacy levels especially of women and girl children are vital.  The literacy drive among the girl child would work as a catalyst for social uplift and thereby ensure National progress. Keeping this as the desired endeavour , eradication of illiteracy and bringing the girl child into the realm of education has been a major National concern for last so many decades.  Here, it would be only relevant to point to a publication by the Directorate of Adult Education,...