135,585 suicides in India in 2011,West Bengal Tops

West Bengal has reported the highest number of suicides in India in 2011, according to a PTI report in The Deccan Herald, which cited National Crime Records Bureau data. Over all, 135,585 suicides were reported in India last year, up 25 percent from a decade earlier

At Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, 30,000 international patients came for treatment in 2011, of which 36 per cent, or over a third, were Afghans

Theodore Roosevelt who said "Here is your country. Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage, for your children and your children's children. Do not let selfish men or greedy interests skin your country of its beauty, its riches or its romance."

20 Chef trainees selected in on-campus recruitment at SICB

GANGTOK, 04 Oct: ( Source: Sikkim Now)

All twenty Chef trainees of State Institute of Capacity Building (SICB) have been selected in the on-campus recruitment conducted today.
A press release informs that out of the twenty trainees, however, 10 trainees were selected under on-job training whereas the remaining 10 trainees were directly recruited by reputed Hotels from Jaipur, Gujarat and Pune.
The Hotel Chamu Palace, Jaipur has appointed two trainees, The Fern (Gir Forest Resort), Gujarat also selected two trainees, Hotel Gold Palace (Resort and SPA), Jaipur has provided on-job training to four trainees.
Similarly, three trainees are placed at The Season at Pune, five trainees at Norbu Gang Resort, Pelling and three at Park Hotel, Kalimpong, the release mentions.
The SICB has been conducting the Chef training for the last one year and all the trainees are placed in good properties outside and within the state.  It may be mentioned that Chamu Palace, a reflection of the Royal Palaces of India, is a 300-year-old elegant fortified palace hotel and one of the places to visit in Rajasthan.
Considering the availability of job in five star properties outside the state and requirement of chefs within the state, the SICB is starting another batch of trainees from November 2012.  This is a highly technical training and the package of salary and facilities are also better than other jobs, the release adds. 

If Life is a Game...These are the Rules

An excerpt from

If Life is a Game...These are the Rules

by Chérie Carter-Scott

Choice is the exploration of desire and then the selection of action. In every moment, you are choosing either to align yourself with your own true path or to veer away from it. There are no neutral actions. Even the smallest gesture has a direction to it, leading you closer to your path or farther away from it, whether you realize it or not. Pure actions—like spending time with a beloved friend—bring you into alignment, whereas false ones—such as spending time with someone you really don't like, but to whom you feel obligated—alienate you from your truth. Every choice carries weight. Though used synonymously, choice and decision are not the same thing. Decisions are made in your mind, whereas choices are made in your gut. Think back to an authentic choice you made at some point in your life. Perhaps it was a strong pull to visit a foreign country, or a feeling that a certain romantic relationship needed to end, or the sense that you needed to leave your corporate job and start your own business. How did it feel to act on your choices? Remember that feeling. It is the essence of living aligned with your path

FM to Inaugurate Economic Editors’ Conference on Monday

FM to Inaugurate Economic Editors’ Conference on Monday

Press Information Bureau is organizing Annual Economic Editors’ Conference in the National Media Centre, Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi from October 8, 2012. The two day Conference will be inaugurated by the Finance Minister Shri P. Chidambaram. There will be separate sessions with the Ministers and senior officers of the key economic and infrastructure ministries participating in the Conference. The Conference will enable economic editors and journalists, invited from all over the country to interact with them and get a detailed background of the government’s policies and programmes. The media persons will get a comprehensive view of the overall economic scenario in the country and the latest initiatives and thrust areas of the Government. The Conference will also provide an opportunity to the Government to get feedback from the economic editors. Besides Finance Ministry, Ministries of Agriculture, Railways, Petroleum & Natural Gas, Communications & IT Road Transport & Highways, Civil Aviation, Power and Corporate Affairs are participating in the Conference. About 300 editors and financial writers including about 60 from regional press are expected to take part in the EEC-2012.

Railways to try anaerobic bacteria and vacuum technology in toilets

In the bio-toilet system, anaerobic bacteria consume the waste material and convert it into water and gas. The water passes through a chlorine tank and is discharged as clean water, while the gas generated evaporates

Jairam Ramesh's ministry offers to share half the installation cost for the entire system

Disha Kanwar / New Delhi Oct 06, 2012, 00:20 IST

Toilets in Indian Railways coaches will soon witness a makeover. The idea is for the conventional open lavatories to be replaced with squeaky clean ‘green toilets’.
For the railways, waste management is a major task, as it handles about 10 million long-distance travellers every day. This year, the railways will install bio-toilets in about 2,500 coaches.
The cost of doing so is expected to be around Rs 500 crore. Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has offered to share half the cost of equipping all new railway coaches and retrofitting all existing coaches with bio-toilets built by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
Indian Railways is also planning trials on vacuum toilets, similar to those used in aircraft. With this, the railways hope to offer an airline-like experience to commuters.
A senior rail official told Business Standard a global tender for 80 vacuum toilets for 40 coach sets, along with ground handling facilities at New Delhi, was under consideration.
A total of 68 bio-toilets based on anaerobic bacteria, imported from the US, and 436 bio-toilets based on anaerobic bacteria and developed indigenously by DRDO are already in operation in nine trains.
In the bio-toilet system, anaerobic bacteria consume the waste material and convert it into water and gas. The water passes through a chlorine tank and is discharged as clean water, while the gas generated evaporates. The technology used has been developed by DRDO, and is not used in any other railway system in the world.
“Based on the outcome of the trials, these bio-toilets will be fitted in the other trains. The timeframe for full implementation will depend on the outcome of the trials,” said the official.
The technology is not without its share of problems. As the bacteria can only decompose human waste, throwing plastic, polythene and napkins in the bio-toilets could affect the working of the system, the official informed.
A committee has been constituted to study the fitment of bio-toilets on existing coaches. The railways have an estimated 50,000 coaches. About 4,000 coaches are produced every year, which could be fitted with bio-toilets.
The other technology being used in the coaches of Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duranto trains is the controlled discharge toilet system (CDTS). In this, the toilet holds the contents until the train attains a speed of 30 kmph, after which the discharge takes place. The idea is to prevent the toilet from releasing contents at stations. So far, 5,300 CDTS units have been provided in 1,900 coaches, built under transfer of technology imported from Germany. “We are using CDTS technology in which discharge takes place outside the station. But, it only shifts the problem from the station area to an area outside station limits,” admitted a railway official. Source: Business Standard

sighting of a snow leopard in Uttarakhand

Predators in the snow

The recent sighting of a snow leopard in Uttarakhand is a good sign. But it also underlines the urgent need to protect the habitat of this endangered animal

Shishir Prashant / New Delhi Oct 06, 2012, 00:08 IST

source:Business Standard

As now leopard (Panthera uncia), the elusive large cat which lives in the snow-bound ranges of the upper Himalayas, has finally been sighted in Uttarakhand. A specimen of this endangered species was caught on a camera trap for the first time on April 10, 2011, and again in June this year. (A “camera trap” is a camera placed in the wild, especially in areas that wild animals are known to frequent. These are activated by light or motion and are now widely used in animal census.)

The snow leopard, known for its beautiful greyish-black fur, is a solitary animal but is occasionally found in family groups. It breeds in winter and cubs (two to three) are born after a gestation of 90-100 days. Snow leopards are a highly endangered species, their numbers steadily depleting as a result of poaching fuelled by the international demand for their fur and bones, and retaliatory killings by farmers who fear the predators will kill their livestock. The fall in the population of their prey — herbivores such as the Himalayan blue sheep (or bharal, as they are known in these parts), musk deer (kasturi mrig) and Himalayan tahr (thar) — owing to competition for food from livestock, is another factor affecting snow leopards, experts say.
The carnivorous animals are found all over central Asia, from Mongolia to China, across the Hindu Kush mountains in the north-west to Sikkim in the south-east, covering an area spanning over two million square kilometres. There are between 4,500 and 6,000 of the big cats left in the wild today. In India, the snow leopard population is estimated to be around 500. In Uttarakhand, the “him bagh” or “tharuwa”, as it is called, is thought to live at altitudes over 3,000 metres. Its presence has been confirmed in Protected Areas such as the Nanda Devi, Valley of Flowers, Gangotri and Govind National Parks, Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary and the buffer zones of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve.

 

“For the scientific community, it was a great moment,” says S Sathyakumar, a scientist at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII). “In the past few years, we were afraid that the snow leopard had vanished from Uttarakhand. But now, we know that snow leopards are present in the snowy wilderness of the high altitude regions of Uttarakhand,” he adds. WII is working with the state forest department officials to conduct research on the snow leopard. It was a joint WII-state forest department team that captured the first camera-trap images of the snow leopard at Malari in Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve.

“The conservation of the snow leopard is globally significant, and so it was great achievement,” says Dr V B Mathur, the dean of WII.

Snow leopard is the apex predator in the Himalayan ecosystem and its conservation will help the entire eco-system of the upper Himalayas. The principal prey of the animals are the wild sheep and goat found in these regions, but it also hunts small mammals such as marmot (locally called pheya), pika (runda) and the Galliformes or heavy, terrestrial birds like snowcock, monal and snow partridge. It is also an opportunistic predator which sneaks up on domestic livestock such as goat and sheep grazing on the high-altitude pastures during summer, and this is what brings it into conflict with humans.

The Indian government initiated its first Project Snow Leopard in 1989, but it never took off. It started a second project in 2006 on the lines of Project Tiger in the five Himalayan states of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. The project is an ambitious one that is focussed on the snow leopard, but also seeks to safeguard the habitat of other high altitude wildlife species. It aims to promote participatory conservation practices and collate scientific information on the snow leopard and other wildlife species of the Indian Himalayas.

Buddhist relic on display

VIVEK CHHETRI

A trumpet made of human bone (above) and another made of a goat horn that were on display. (Suman Tamang) source: The Telegraph Darjeeling, Oct. 5: An exhibition of Buddhist artifacts dating back to 2nd century B.C. and collected from Tibet, Bhutan, Myanmar, Sikkim and Darjeeling began in the Raj Bhawan here today. The statues and models depicting every stage of Lord Buddha’s life, transformation of Buddhism and evolution of Buddhist art form would be on display till October 11. It was one of the rare occasions when the gates of Raj Bhawan were thrown open for the public when the governor himself was present in Darjeeling. Along with Buddhist art, the exhibits also portray work from the Kushana period in the 2nd century B.C. The Kushanas were known for their carvings on schist stone. Every stage of Lord Buddha’s life, starting from the dream that queen Maya had about conceiving him, the birth, childhood, marriage, renunciation, attainment of bodhi, propagation of the doctrine to his demise, have been depicted at the exhibition called Buddhist Art and Crafts of South Asia. The event organised by the Indian Museum and the Inner Wheel Club was inaugurated by governor M.K. Narayanan this morning. “The organisers need to encourage people from outside Darjeeling to attend the exhibition,” he said. The exhibition at the Durbar Hall would be open from 11am to 5pm everyday. “The most interesting part of the exhibition is the depiction of the transformation of the medium of work and the interpretation of the teachings of Buddha. One cannot miss the transformation of medium from schist stone in the 2nd century B.C. to bronze and basalt from the 10th century B.C. through the 8th century B.C,” said Suzet Tamang, an art follower from Darjeeling. Some of the interesting exhibits include a trumpet made of goat horn collected from Lhasa and another made of human thigh bone found in Bhutan. “Indian Buddhism and its art and craft were initially disseminated beyond India in purely Indian forms. However, all Buddhist countries in Asia quickly developed their own particular artistic trend,” said Anup K. Matilal, the director, Indian Museum. He added that a huge crowd was expected. The artifacts will be taken back to the Indian Museum in Calcutta after the exhibition.

Preview of 6.9 Sikkim Rising Released

Exclusive HD Preview of 6.9 Sikkim Rising Released on Youtube Published: October 5, 2012

  By Mediakraft NEW DELHI, India, October 5, 2012 — /PRNewswire/ --Mediakraft announced that it has released parts of its exclusively shot Travelogue Documentary Series 6.9 Sikkim Rising on Youtube in its official Youtube Channel: MediakraftGlobal. Prior to this, Mediakraft launched its Online Channel SikkimRising.TV  which has been made exclusively for the Travelogue Documentary Series "6.9 Sikkim Rising", in which the filmmaker travelled around the hill state of Sikkim, India in October 2011, only three weeks after a devastating earthquake to document the massive destruction that took place there. Though it's a travelogue, which documents the natural disaster that took place on 18 September 2011, it is actually a story of hope and inspiration to billions worldwide. It's a story about how the people of Sikkim, the small Himalayan state in India, is returning to its feet after being devastated by the 6.9 MW earthquake last year on that unfortunate day. The series was shot within 22 days of the earthquake hitting Sikkim and carries exclusive footage and stories from the remotest parts of the state, stories and areas that were not covered by the National and International Media.After the official launch of the site on September 18th evening the Travelogue Documentary Series was made available worldwide on 28 September 2012 via VOD (Video On Demand) over Internet  at http://www.SikkimRising.TV.Presently Part 1 of the 6.9 Sikkim Rising Series titled "The Journey Beings" has been released over the internet. This part consists of a detailed overview of earthquakes and earthquake zones in India and South East Asia. This part also covers the documentary team's preparation for going into Sikkim to check the devastation just a few days after the earthquake. A well documented journey into West, South and East Sikkim with coverage of devastation and scenic beauty along with real life stories of people who survived the earthquake in those affected districts has also been portrayed in this part.6.9 Sikkim Rising is an independent production initiative undertaken by Mediakraft to help the earthquake victims of Sikkim, a disaster affected state in India. Shot within 22 days of the earthquake hitting Sikkim, it has spent over 9 months on the edit table. A team of over 30 professionals from New Delhi, Mumbai, Gangtok, Bangalore, Kolkata and Ahmedabad have collaborated together to make this venture possible. Help in making the series has come from some caring nationals from Sweden and Germany as well.Primarily made for distribution by Video on Demand (VOD) on Internet, first 15 minutes of the 6-hour plus long Travelogue Documentary Series has been made available on Youtube for the general public and national and international press and media executives to preview the series.6.9  Sikkim Rising was initially planned as a 40-minute documentary due for release in February/March in 2012 but while at the edit table the Producer/Director decided to make it into a 6.5 hrs mini-series divided into 4 parts. So effectively, 6.9 Sikkim Rising's initial launch target of March was shifted to September, the earthquake's anniversary month and has spent over 9 months on the edit table."While making the screenplay for the series I realised it would be a gross injustice if we do a commercial format 40-minute documentary. What I felt while shooting in Sikkim was that the journey we were going through, the experiences we were having, they could be understood only in the first person. You can't experience it in a 40-minute informative documentary. When was the last time my viewer crossed a landslide by foot? When was the last time when my viewer travelled on a road where huge rocks are hanging overhead? When was the last time my viewer crossed a road where 14 days ago a bus was stuck under rocks and debris and all roads were washed out? That's when it hit me... I need to make it into a travelogue so that people sitting in their homes can have a first person experience of whatever we faced. It's all there. All our journeys, all the incidents, all the wonderful and brave people we met. It's all there in the series. It was a journey of a lifetime for us, and I am sure that I have been able to bring it out exactly in the series so that our viewers can experience it too..." added Aditya who is also the Editor and Director of 6.9 Sikkim Rising.Presently 6.9 Sikkim Rising is being made available on a Paid VOD platform sponsored by Eggup.Com with a Ticket Price of $ 1.99/Rs.100 (INR) approximately (48hrs Rent) and $ 5.99/Rs. 300 (INR) approximately (Life Time Viewing) to recover its production costs. After registering at SikkimRising.TV viewers will be able to access the content from 5 devices which includes iPad and iPhone, viewers can also view the content from their PC and Mac. "We decided to keep the ticket price lower than that one has to spend to watch a movie in a hall (in-case of rent) or to buy a DVD (in-case of lifetime purchase) in India, so that more people can afford it. Internationally also we have introduced the same low rate so that everyone can afford it, " said Aditya. Chances of DVD release are also there in a few months time and talks are also on with National/International TV Stations to air the series.The launch of an online channel http://www.SikkimRising.TV by an independent media house also marks the beginning of a new era in Indian Television Industry where visionary media entrepreneurs can create their own projects without waiting for any approval from any specific TV channel and reach out to viewers directly via the VOD platforms of Internet, DTH and IPTV."Imagine a world of good informative content that we all producers and publishers can bring forward, which is normally disregarded by the mainstream channels as these stories are too niche in nature. Courtesy the new media revolution, now it's possible for us to cater directly to the niche audience that we are targeting, as it happens in the case of book publishing... SikkimRising.TV is a trendsetter that way." said Aditya. "We are calling it an Online Channel as we will keep doing Live Interviews, Studio Discussions, Live Press Conferences on various earthquake and humanitarian issues via our Live Video Section. We are also in talks with various producers to stream their environment related docs and shorts and music videos at SikkimRising.TV" added Aditya.  Mediakraft Pvt. Ltd. undertook this noble venture to make a travelogue documentary mini-series on the effects of the 6.9 MW earthquake that hit Sikkim on 18 September 2011 evening. The tremors of the quake were felt across the Indian subcontinent. In the course of the series the plight of the people of Sikkim will be highlighted along with in-depth coverage of the socio-economic problems being faced by Sikkim post the earthquake.The series intends to create international awareness as regard to what has happened in Sikkim and will highlight how Sikkim needs additional funding and an increase in tourism related revenues.Sikkim is in Zone IV of India's Earthquake Zonal map and was rocked by a series of aftershocks after the 6.9 MW earthquake that shook Sikkim on September 18, 2011. The 4.1 MW quake that took place on the anniversary of the 2011 earthquake in September 18, 2012 and other similar quakes keep disrupting normal life in Sikkim. Presently North Sikkim has been plunged into another crisis similar to that of last year as Flash Floods have wrecked havoc in the North and claimed scores of lives.  This highlights the cause Mediakraft and scores of other organisations and individuals are working for. The fight has not ended in Sikkim and public support is still required.

Read more here: http://www.heraldonline.com/2012/10/05/4315653/exclusive-hd-preview-of-69-sikkim.html#storylink=cpy

Altaf Qadri/Associated Press

Poor and landless people from rural communities taking part in “Jan Satyagraha” a monthlong march from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh to Delhi, organized to demand land rights for the poor.

Rush of candidates for common medical course admission test

PTI


New Delhi, Oct 5:  More than 38,000 candidates have got themselves registered within the first 24 hours of online registration for the common entrance test for admission to all post-graduate courses in medical colleges across the country from academic year 2013-14.

The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for postgraduate (NEET-PG) courses, applicable for admission to 20,000 PG medical seats in 350 medical colleges, is being held between November 23 and December 6 this year.

The first computer-based NEET-PG test, being conducted by National Board of Examinations (NBE), will be held at selected test centres across 33 cities.

The rush witnessed on the first day of opening of online registration brought about technical glitches as candidates complained of not being able to log on to the website.

While candidates complained of the website ‘crashing’ for a few hours during registration yesterday, NBE officials claimed there was no crash of their website.

“Some users may have experienced problem as candidates across the country tried to login at the same time... There were also 120 attempts to hack the website and we had to activate many fireballs,” NBE director Bipin Batra told PTI.

Denying any website crash, Prometric, which was appointed by NBE early this year to conduct the computer-based NEET-PG, said glitches could have taken place due to the heavy rush.

“Within the first 24 hours of online registration, over 38,000 candidates have successfully registered for NEET-PG, which translates to 1,600 transactions per hour,” Soumitra Roy, Prometric India MD said.

While the NEET-PG covers all medical colleges, the three national institutes of AIIMS, PGI Chandigarh and JIPMER, which have been set up by acts of Parliament, will not be covered.

The registration and scheduling for the exam, which began on October 4, will remain open until November 12, while voucher sales are available from October 4-10.

NBE officials said they are expecting around 90,000 to one lakh candidates to take this exam and feared that coaching centres may have created the panic situation.

“We have also created contingency seats at various centres across the country and the exam will be conducted in secure and controlled labs not connected to internet,” Batra said.

“Some waiting time can be expected depending on the candidates’ internet connection speed and the number of candidates accessing the registration system. We will endeavour to offer as many seats as feasible in candidates’ preferred locations, availability is on a first-come first-served basis,” said Roy.

How big is the Indian market for Nepal?

By Chandan Sapkota

Nepal is inherently dependent on India for pretty much everything. All of the petroleum products are imported from India. India is the biggest market for Nepal’s exports and imports (informal trade is also equally large). It is further facilitated by the free flow of goods (there are no tariffs imposed on manufacturing goods exported to India, but there exists some NTBs) and services between the two countries.  Each year, the largest share of FDI comes from India (also see this). Nepal is also importing increasingly large amount of electricity from India (this should have been the opposite!). Nepal signed BIPPA and DTAA with India last year. Nepal has pegged its currency to Indian rupee (maintaining which has been a cornerstone of Nepal’s monetary policy) and about one-third variability in prices is determined by the ones prevailing in the Indian market. India provides the only exit point for third country trade of Nepal. Overall, Nepal is economically, culturally, religiously and historically linked to India and the Indian economy.

Against this backdrop, it is often said that Nepal has a high potential to grow rapidly given the huge market potential in neighboring India and China, the two emerging economic giants of Asia. Most of the commercial  investments mention India as a promising market at some point of the proposal or business plan. Now, how big really is the Indian market for Nepali goods and services?

The adjoining five states matter the most than any other states of India because the cost of trade in these five states is relatively lower given their proximity and possibly complementary production structure. The adjoining five states are Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Sikkim.

The table below provides a snapshot of the potential number of customers (proxied by population size), increasing demand (proxied by real per capita income growth) and economic prospect (proxied by real GDP growth) of the adjoining five states, India and Nepal.

NPL-IND	Uttarakhand	Uttar Pradesh	Bihar	West Bengal	Sikkim	INDIA	NEPAL
Population in 2011, million	10.12	199.58	103.81	91.35	0.61	1210.19	26.6
Real GDP growth*	11.56	6.90	12.11	7.32	16.20	7.93	4.47
Real per capita income growth*	9.31	4.92	10.82	6.17	12.25	6.26	3.04

*Average between 2007/08 and 2011/2012; Source:Compiled from Planning Commission (India), and Economic Survey 2012 and Census 2011 (Nepal)

According to Indian Census 2011, the total population of the five adjoining Indian states is 400 million. The total population of India and Nepal is 1.21 billion and 26.6 million respectively. On an average, between 2007/08 and 2011/12, all the adjoining Indian states had real growth rate of about or above 7 percent. Real per capita growth was above 6 percent in all but Uttar Pradesh. With the relatively low real growth rate and per capita growth rate of Nepal, there exists a tremendous opportunity for Nepal to catch up if only it could cater to the already available markets with what they need the most: electricity.

Now, Nepal itself is facing long load-shedding hours. If Nepal is able to generate adequate electricity (that means facilitating construction of small, medium and big hydro projects with all possible support to investors), then it can consume first what is needed and then export the rest to the energy hungry adjoining Indian states. It would be a win-win strategy for both Nepal and India. India would be able to fulfill some of its electricity demand by importing from Nepal. Nepal would see huge investment, competitive manufacturing  and export sectors, spurring of economic activities, new jobs, higher income, and robust agriculture and industrial sectors. It will also strengthen fiscal position as revenue rises and could help maintain macroeconomic stability.

So, how big is the demand for electricity in the adjoining Indian states? Overall, India is anticipating 14,856 MW of electricity deficit (10 percent of total requirement) during peak time in 2012/13. Total energy requirement is estimated to be 985,317 GWh (India uses MU instead of GWh) but availability is expected to be 893,371 GWh only, resulting in 91,946 GWh of deficit. FYI, in India, kilowatt hour is referred to as a unit of energy and a million units (MU) is a gigawatt hour (GWh).

The table below shows requirement, availability and shortage of energy in the adjoining Indian states, whole of India and Nepal in 2011/12. Bihar had the highest shortage of electricity (21 percent of total energy requirement). Overall, throughout the year India had 8 percent shortfall of energy and Nepal had 20 percent.

NPL-IND	Uttarakhand	Uttar Pradesh	Bihar	West Bengal	Sikkim	INDIA	NEPAL
Energy requirement (GWh)	10,513	81,339	14,311	38,679	390	937,199	5,195
Energy availability (GWh)	10,208	72,116	11,260	38,281	384	857,886	4,179
Energy shortage (GWh)	305	9,223	3,051	398	6	79,313	1,016

Source: Compiled from Central Electricity Authority of India and Nepal Electricity Authority

In 2011/12, during peak load, Bihar had the largest shortfall (14.43 percent). Sikkim had a surplus supply of about 5 percent of total energy demand. Overall, India had deficit of 10.63 percent. These figures look miniature in front of 43.64 percent energy shortfall in supply compared to demand in Nepal during peak load. No wonder folks had their electronic equipment (for those who do not have alternatives such as invertors and/or solar batteries) nonoperational for over 15 hours each day during dry season. There exists a huge demand for electricity internally. If energy generation surpasses the internal demand, then there already is a readymade market for it in the adjoining Indian states.

NPL-IND	Uttarakhand	Uttar Pradesh	Bihar	West Bengal	Sikkim	INDIA	NEPAL
Energy peak demand (MW)	1,612	12,038	2,031	6,592	100	130,006	1,027
Energy peak supply (MW)	1,600	11,767	1,738	6,532	95	116,191	579
Energy peak shortage (MW)	12	271	293	60	(5)	13,815	448

Source: Compiled from Central Electricity Authority of India and Nepal Electricity Authority

Next year, Uttarakhand is expected to face 24.28 percent shortage of electricity (total) requirement. Sikkim is expected to have 87.53 percent surplus. Overall, India is expected to face 9.33 percent electricity shortage. During peak time, Uttar Pradesh alone is expected to see 2123 MW shortage of electricity. Energy requirement in Nepal next year is estimated to be 5350 GWh. During peak load, the demand for electricity in Nepal in 2012/13 is estimated to be 1163 MW. In 2016/17 and 2024/25 peak load is forecasted to be 1641 MW and 2951 MW respectively in Nepal.

Anticipated in 2012-13 (MU=GWh)
NPL-IND	Requirement	Availability	Deficit	Peak time deficit (MW)
Uttarakhand	11,322	8,573	2,749	86
Uttar Pradesh	87,153	70,509	16,644	2,123
Bihar	14,550	11,609	2,940	774
West Bengal	44,409	43,674	735	214
Sikkim	489	917	(428)	(41)
INDIA	985,317	893,371	91,946	14,856
NEPAL	5,350

Source: Compiled from Central Electricity Authority of India and Nepal Electricity Authority

BTW, of the total energy generation in 2011/12 in India, central government’s share was 41.54 percent, state government 41.94 percent, private IPPs 12.77 percent, private utilities 3.16 percent, and import from Bhutan 0.60 percent. In Nepal, of the total energy availability, the share of NEA hydro was 56.42 percent, NEA thermal 0.04 percent, import from India 17.85 percent and purchase from IPPs 25.69 percent.

There you go. Nepal already has a huge demand for electricity and if it is able to generate in excess of the domestic demand, then there is also a readymade, energy hungry market right next door. There is nothing to lose from generating more electricity by judiciously exploiting our natural endowment. Nepal has a bright future if it can continuously light bulbs and fire up electronic equipment!

Apart from the brief outline of Nepal’s dependence on India, below is a combo picture showing the increasing reliance on the Indian market for exports and imports.

Trade concentration with India is very high. The share of trade deficit with India in fiscal year 1974/75 was 78.81 percent. It decreased to 26.55 percent in fiscal year 1988/89 and then started increasing rapidly in the last two decades, reaching 65.87 percent in fiscal year 2010/11. The total trade deficit in 2010/11 was NRs 331.84 billion. Nepal is selling high amount of dollars to purchase Indian rupee, which in turn is used to purchase goods from India. Competitiveness of Nepali export items is going down. The reasons are: lack of adequate supply of infrastructure (mainly electricity), political instability/strikes, labor disputes, lack of innovation by private sector, and government’s inability to implement key reforms enshrined in major policy documents.http://sapkotac.blogspot.in/

(CJI), Altamas Kabir, begins his term with 63,749 cases pending in the Supreme Court.

 The new chief justice of India (CJI), Altamas Kabir, begins his term with 63,749 cases pending in the Supreme Court. His predecessors tried to push back the rising numbers but failed. Former chief justice S H Kapadia took up the top post in 2010 with a backlog of 55,018, but he has not been able to contain the flow of litigation.

Some of the 21 high courts have shown in recent months that they have disposed of more cases than were filed. This negative growth is claimed by the high courts of Delhi (-1.98), Chhattisgarh (-1.49), Gujarat (- 3.06), Patna (-3.65) and Rajasthan (-8.50). Some high courts are on the border line, like those of Andhra Pradesh (0.94), Bombay (0.21), Himachal Pradesh (0.59) and Punjab & Haryana (0.79).

 The situation in Sikkim is unbeatable, with two judges disposing of cases equal in number to those filed. In that blissful height, only 60 cases are pending.

Several district and subordinate courts also seem to be stirring, with better infrastructure, computerisation and hike in salaries. Courts in Tripura (-13.97) and Nagaland (-13.30) lead in this field. Among those that follow with good ranking are the Union Territory of Chandigarh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Sikkim. This would perhaps show that if adequate funds and facilities are available, the subordinate judiciary can turn around the general trend. The Planning Commission and Budget makers should take note of this reality.

Source: Business Standard

Oil retailers clarify on definition of single connection

Oil retailers clarify on definition of single connection

New Delhi, Oct. 4: 

A father and son living under the same roof and sharing the same kitchen will be treated as a single household, eligible for a single domestic LPG connection only.

The recent decision of public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs) to weed out multiple cooking gas connections has raised questions on how households will be defined. Besides, a single connection anyway provides for two cylinders (14.2 kg each).

Clarifying the issue, an oil company executive said that the companies were not making a distinction between whether it is a joint or a nuclear family.

“It is based on residential address and one home-one customer-one connection (two cylinders) concept,” the official said. 

BEWARE OF WATER BOTTLES.....ESPECIALLY AT THE AIRPORTS!!!

AT AIRPORT NEVER HELP ANYBODY TO HOLD, EVEN FOR A SHORT TIME, HIS OR HER WATER BOTTLE OR ANYTHING.

This warning has come from an officer working at the airport.
If you happen to buy a water bottle at the airport, please check the bottle.

BEWARE of fake water bottles.

Be careful! At the airport or close to any customs service, never accept or help somebody to hold his / her bottle of water or other objects, even for an elderly person or a pregnant women... you could be arrested for cocaine or any illegal drugs possession. In Singapore, that means Death Penalty!  Tell them to put them on the floor or other places... (Cocaine dealers are very smart nowadays).

Train Running Information Facility Expanded to Cover All Trains

To provide accurate train running information to the public, the Indian Railways has expanded the train running information facility. Now the information on the running of ,b>all trains is available atwww.trainenquiry.com.  Similarly this facility is available through SMS on 139. To avail this SMS facility, following procedure is to be adopted: Type SPOT and send it to 139 Earlier, train running information of only selected 36 important trains (Shatabdi, Rajdhani & Duronto) were available at website www.simran.in and through SMS on             9415139139      . Now, the information about all trains will become available on www.trainenquiry.com AKS/HK/LK/TR (Release ID :88133)