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India Ranks Poorly In Commonwealth Youth Index
http://diasindia.com/india-ranks-poorly-in-commonwealth-youth-index/

India Ranks Poorly In Commonwealth Youth Index India Ranks Poorly In Commonwealth Youth Index India has ranked very poorly at 133 in a new Global Youth Development Index compiled by the Commonwealth Secretariat on the countries’ prospects for young people in employment, education, health, civic and political spheres. India ranked 133rd in the in...

India Signs Guarantee Agreement with the World Bank

A Guarantee Agreement for World Bank (IBRD) lending of US$ 650 million to the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd. (DFCCIL) for Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor-III (EDFC-III) Project has been signed between the Government of India and the World Bank.

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India Signs Guarantee Agreement with the World Bank

A Guarantee Agreement for World Bank (IBRD) lending of US$ 650 million to the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd. (DFCCIL) for Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor-III (EDFC-III) Project has been signed between the Government of India and the World Bank.

About Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor-III project:

The objective of the EDFC-III Project is to augment rail transport capacity, improve service quality and enhance freight carriage throughput on the 401 km Ludhiana-Khurja section of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor.

It also aims to develop institutional capacity of DFCCIL to build, maintain and operate the entire DFC network.

This project is in continuation of Phase-I and II of the EDFC Projects being implemented by the DFCCIL with the World Bank loan of US$ 975 million and US$ 1100 million respectively on the Dadri-Khurja-Kanpur and Kanpur-Mughal Sarai stretches of the Eastern Rail Corridor (Ludhiana-Delhi-Kolkata).


Significance of this project:

The project will directly benefit the power and heavy manufacturing industries of Northern and Eastern India, which rely on railway network for transportation of their material inputs and also for the distribution of bulk processed and semi-processed commodities and consumer goods. Railway passengers will also be benefitted through decongestion of the existing passenger lines.
Sources: pib.

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In revised offer, China wants to work as construction contractor in Gwadar

China has withdrawn its offer of setting up a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at Gwadar Port on the build-and-operate model and now wants to work as an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for the project.

“In response to the revision of offer by China, Pakistan will own and operate the terminal and award EPC contract to the Chinese company working on the Gwadar LNG pipeline project under a government-to-government arrangement,” an official told The Express Tribune.

Chinese offer to finance whole $2b LNG project

The government is also considering setting up two jetties at Gwadar Port with two floating LNG terminals at a cheaper cost for handling 1.2 billion cubic feet of imported gas per day (bcfd).

According to the official, a meeting of the price negotiation committee has already been held. The Exim Bank of China will provide financing at the rate of London Inter-bank Offered Rate (Libor) plus 2%.

During initial negotiations, the official said, it was discussed that tolling fee for the Gwadar LNG terminal would be 30 to 32 cents per million British thermal units (mmbtu) due to lower government profit.

Earlier, the lowest bidder for the second LNG terminal, to be set up at Port Qasim, had quoted a fee of 41.70 cents per mmbtu.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources is working on the project plan for the Gwadar LNG terminal, which will be sent to the Planning Commission for approval.

According to the official, one more floating ship will be installed at Gwadar Port with 10% additional cost. It will help store LNG in case of congestion at Karachi Port.

China irked by delay in Gwadar project

The Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) has given its approval for the Gwadar LNG pipeline, which will give a good signal to Iran, as Pakistan has planned to extend the pipeline by 80 km to connect it with the Iranian border.

The government is pushing ahead with this project as an alternative because of international sanctions on Iran in the past. The official pointed out that the government would be able to import 2.4 bcfd of LNG through the terminals at Karachi and Gwadar. This way, the entire deficit of 2.4 bcfd will be met.

At present, the country produces 4 bcfd of natural gas compared to demand for 6.4 bcfd.

One LNG terminal is already running at Port Qasim with a handling capacity of 600 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd). A contract for second terminal at the port, which will also have the 600-mmcfd capacity, has been awarded and work is going on.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 21st, 2016.

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India takes the lead in BRICS

BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) is a formidable economic and political force to reckon with. The high economic growth of the BRICS economies and their demographic dividends indicate a structural edge possessed by the BRICS economies relative to the rest of the world. In 2015 with 53.4 per cent of the world’s population, BRICS countries accounted for a total nominal GDP of US$16.92 trillion — equivalent to 23.1 per cent of global GDP. In the same year, BRICS accounted for 19.1 per cent of world exports and, between 2006 and 2015, intra-BRICS trade increased 163 per cent from US$93 billion to US$244 billion.

In October 2016, India will chair the eighth annual BRICS summit in Goa. The eighth summit promises to have a focus on Asia with the leaders of Afghanistan and the Maldives invited, as well as occurring alongside a meeting between BRICS and the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC). This is an international organisation comprising a group of countries including Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal.

India’s core themes as it chairs BRICS will be building responsive, inclusive and collective solutions for the grouping. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, India will adopt a five-pronged approach comprising institution building, implementation, integration, innovation and continuity with consolidation. India’s emphasis will be on carrying out previous commitments flowing from past summits and exploring synergies among the existing political and economic mechanisms. The grouping has been pushing for greater economic growth among the member countries and reform of global financial institutions.

In recent years, India has been the brightest spot in the grouping and is currently one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Chairing the BRICS summit provides India with a good opportunity to drive its own agenda of increasing investment in its priority projects, especially in the infrastructure sector, and discussing trade barriers.

India is expected to seek cooperation on standards and technical regulations and propose a mechanism to resolve issues relating to non-tariff barriers hurting trade between BRICS member countries. India is also hoping for a visa pact in the current summit to allow multiple-entry business visas for longer periods of time.

An important aspect of the summit will be the strengthening of the BRICS–G20 relationship. Innovation and inclusiveness formed part of the G20’s agenda and will be a focus of the BRICS summit too. This will provide an opportunity to further enhance cooperation in global governance with a focus on innovative and sustainable development.

Recently the idea of a floundering BRICS has also been discussed. With the economies of Russia and Brazil lagging behind because of the crash in oil and commodity prices, and both China and South Africa in the midst of major domestic turmoil, India — which is becoming the world’s most favoured destination for FDI — is certainly an outlier in the group. Undoubtedly the cooperation between BRICS members could be limited by the slowdown in these economies, but the strategic and economic opportunities India has as a member are far greater than if it were not.

At the same time, India–China relations could get in the way of BRICS functionality. China’s consistent efforts to establish its status as the premier regional power increases the risk of divergence and friction. India’s ability to use the BRICS summit to raise its international stature will be limited as long as Indian and Chinese economic interests do not align.

It remains to be seen whether these two countries will cooperate or continue to compete with each other. In the meantime, it would be best for India to use the summit to showcase its own achievements and try to increase investment in India’s infrastructure development.

India should also use the summit to strengthen the existing multilateral and bilateral relations between member countries and work towards increasing the competitiveness and economic growth of the BRICS economies so that the partnership remains intact.

Forums like BRICS help bring countries together and coordinate approaches to tackling the challenges confronting the global economy. As chair, India has the opportunity to steer the BRICS nations in the right direction while also providing many opportunities domestically.

Author: Geethanjali Nataraj, Brookings India
Story Source :eastasiaforum.

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Magnetic oceans and electric Earth

Oceans might not be thought of as magnetic, but they make a tiny contribution to our planet's protective magnetic shield. Remarkably, ESA's Swarm satellites have not only measured this extremely faint field, but have also led to new discoveries about the electrical nature of inner Earth.

The magnetic field shields us from cosmic radiation and charged particles that bombard Earth from the Sun. Without it, the atmosphere as we know it would not exist, rendering life virtually impossible.

Scientists need to learn more about our protective field to understand many natural processes, from those occurring deep inside the planet, to weather in space caused by solar activity. This information will then yield a better understanding of why Earth's magnetic field is weakening.

Although we know that the magnetic field originates in different parts of Earth and that each source generates magnetism of different strengths, exactly how it is generated and why it changes is not fully understood.

This is why, in 2013, ESA launched its trio of Swarm satellites.

While the mission is already shedding new light on how the field is changing, this latest result focuses on the most elusive source of magnetism: ocean tides.

When salty ocean water flows through the magnetic field, an electric current is generated and this, in turn, induces a magnetic response in the deep region below Earth's crust -- the mantle. Because this response is such a small portion of the overall field, it was always going to be a challenge to measure it from space.

Last year, scientists from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH Zurich, showed that if it could be measured from space -- never done before -- it should also tell us something about Earth's interior. However, this all remained a theory -- until now.

Thanks to Swarm's precise measurements along with those from Champ -- a mission that ended in 2010 after measuring Earth's gravity and magnetic fields for more than 10 years -- scientists have not only been able to find the magnetic field generated by ocean tides but, remarkably, they have used this new information to image the electrical nature of Earth's upper mantle 250 km below the ocean floor.

Alexander Grayver, from ETH Zurich, said, "The Swarm and Champ satellites have allowed us to distinguish between the rigid ocean 'lithosphere' and the more pliable 'asthenosphere' underneath."

The lithosphere is the rigid outer part of Earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle, while the asthenosphere lies just below the lithosphere and is hotter and more fluid than the lithosphere.

"Effectively, 'geo-electric sounding from space', this result is a first for space exploration," he continues.

"These new results are important for understanding plate tectonics, the theory of which argues that Earth's lithosphere consists of rigid plates that glide on the hotter and less rigid asthenosphere that serves as a lubricant, enabling plate motion."

Roger Haagmans, ESA's Swarm mission scientist, explained, "It's astonishing that the team has been able to use just two years' worth of measurements from Swarm to determine the magnetic tidal effect from the ocean and to see how conductivity changes in the lithosphere and upper mantle.

"Their work shows that down to about 350 km below the surface, the degree to which material conducts electric currents is related to composition.

"In addition, their analysis shows a clear dependence on the tectonic setting of the ocean plate. These new results also indicate that, in the future, we could get a full 3D view of conductivity below the ocean."

Rune Floberghagen, ESA's Swarm mission manager, added, "We have very few ways of probing deep into the structure of our planet, but Swarm is making extremely valuable contributions to understanding Earth's interior, which then adds to our knowledge of how Earth works as a whole system."

Summary:
Oceans might not be thought of as magnetic, but they make a tiny contribution to our planet's protective magnetic shield. Remarkably, ESA's Swarm satellites have not only measured this extremely faint field, but have also led to new discoveries about the electrical nature of inner Earth.
Source:
European Space Agency
Journal Reference:
A. V. Grayver, N. R. Schnepf, A. V. Kuvshinov, T. J. Sabaka, C. Manoj, N. Olsen. Satellite tidal magnetic signals constrain oceanic lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary. Science Advances, 2016; 2 (9): e1600798 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1600798

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In Historic Kigali Agreement, India Agrees To 'Freeze' Use Of Air Conditioning Gas :

India on Saturday was among the 197 nations to sign a binding agreement in Rwanda's capital Kigali to phase out the use of hydrofluorocarbon or (HFC) gases, primarily found in air conditioners. The deal comes two weeks after India ratified the Paris agreement on climate change.

In the landmark step, the nations have struck a legally-binding deal after intense negotiations to phase down hydrofluorocarbons.

Unlike other heat trapping gases like carbon dioxide, HFC gases are considered to be more potent in their ability to trap heat and cause global climate change.

While India had all along said that it wanted to be a part of a global effort to combat climate change, it had also maintained that a switch over to alternate gases would be expensive.

Terming the deal as historic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the countries for coming together for contributing to a greener Earth and said it would provide a mechanism for countries like India to access and develop technologies that leave a low carbon footprint.

Indian officials led by Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave had conducted two rounds of meetings with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Kigali before signing of the agreement.

The agreement binds India to reduce the use of HFC gasses by 10 per cent by 2032, while developed countries have to start making reductions by 2019. In exchange to this, India has agreed to a 'freeze year' of 2028 by when its HFC use cannot grow any further.

It has however said that it will review the technology available in 2022 to determine if it can meet the 2028 deadline for a freeze year or push it by 2030.

"Agreement will lead to a reduction of 0.5 degree in global temp by the end of the century & enable us to achieve the goals set in Paris," PM Modi said.

Scientists have warned that unless drastic steps are taken to prevent temperature rise, the world will witness more intense weather phenomenon like hurricanes, rainfall and expected to have far reaching and irreversible changes across the planet.

India-Russia 17th Annual Summit held in Goa :

India and Russia will review strategies to boost bilateral trade and investment, while committing to improve ease of doing business, including liberalising travel regime, in their countries.

It was issued after the meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the ongoing summit of the BRICS group, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The year 2017 marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, a number of commemorative celebrations marking the important milestone is planned.India and Russia have finalised a general framework agreement for unit 5 and 6 of Kudankulam nuclear plant.

Russia had last month revealed that the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) in Tamil Nadu could, in the near future, be operating on the newer generation TVS-2M fuel assembly, which offers increased uranium capacity, improved heat reliability and enhanced operational safety.

The first two 1,000 MW units are operational at the Russian-built nuclear plant while four more are in the pipeline. Russia has offered India a new range of reactor units — the VVER-Toi (typical optimised, enhanced information) design — for the third and fourth units of the Kudankulam project.

The most strategically important decision is the inter-governmental agreement for the purchase of S-400 ‘Triumf’ long-range air defence missile system which has the capability to destroy incoming hostile aircraft, missiles and even drones at ranges of up to 400 km.

It is capable of firing three types of missiles, creating a layered defence, and simultaneously engaging 36 targets. If India signs the deal, it would be the second customer of the prized missile system after China which had struck a $3 billion contract last year.

India and Russia announced plans to set up a joint venture to build helicopters in India, which will also buy surface-to-air missile systems from its former Cold War ally, as the two tighten their military relationship.

The pacts were signed after summit talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India’s western resort state of Goa, where leaders from the BRICS group of emerging nations are meeting.

Indian military officials have the plan is for the joint venture to build at least 200 Kamov helicopters required by the country’s defence forces, and is part of Modi’s drive to build a defence industrial base in the south Asian nation.

India and Russia on October 15 signed 16 agreements across multiple sectors following delegation-level talks co-chairedd by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Goa.

Among the agreements signed were,
Procurement of the S-400 air defence system and construction of four Admiral Grigorovich-class (Project 11356) guided-missile stealth frigate in India.

Another agreement was signed to set up a joint venture to manufacture 200 Kamov 226T helicopters.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed for setting up an investment fund of $1 billion.

Agreements were also signed for developing smart cities in Andhra Pradesh and Haryana, and for developing transport logistics systems for such cities.

Another important agreement was signed for the joint study of a gas pipeline to India from Russia.

What is an Environmental Movement ?

An environmental movement can be defined as a social or political movement, for the conservation of environment or for the improvement of the state of the environment. The terms ‘green movement’ or ‘conservation movement’ are alternatively used to denoted the same.

The environmental movements favor the sustainable management of natural resources. The movements often stress the protection of the environment via changes in public policy. Many movements are centered on ecology, health and human rights.

Environmental movements range from the highly organized and formally institutionalized ones to the radically informal activities.

The spatial scope of various environmental movements ranges from being local to the almost global.

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