Baksa ,Kokrajhar districts hit by violence
3052014
Assam, the death toll has gone up to 28 in recent violence in Bodoland Territorial Area Districts. IGP, L R Bishnoi said that 8 more bodies were recovered today in Baksa district. He said that 14 miscreants in Baksa and 8 in Kokrajhar district have been arrested so far for their involvement in the violence. Bishnoi said that most of them are linkmen of the banned outfit National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Sangbijit group). He said that strict vigil is on but ruled out imposition of shoot at sight order in violence-hit areas.
Additional DGP, A P Rout said that situation is improving in Kokrajhar district. Meanwhile, indefinite curfew is on in Baksa district as a precautionary measure. But curfew has been relaxed in Chirang and Kokrajhar district for three hours from 12 noon.
Curfew has also been imposed at the adjoining areas of violence-hit districts. Hundreds of trucks and buses have been stranded at national highways. The Army is staging flag march.
The Special Investigation Team, SIT, is likely to begin their investigation this afternoon. The Assam Border Area Development Minister Siddique Ahmed has today demanded arrest of former minister and senior MLA of Bodoland People’s Front, Pramila Rani Brahma for allegedly making inflammatory remarks recently. Relief camp has been set up in Baksa district. Assam Governor J B Patnaik has condemned the violence and appealed all to maintain peace and order.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Office sources said National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon this morning briefed the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh about the Assam situation. Dr Singh held discussions with the Cabinet Secretary and directed him to extend all help to the State government to ensure peace.
Bodoland People’s Front ruled out any role in the violence.
Additional DGP, A P Rout said that situation is improving in Kokrajhar district. Meanwhile, indefinite curfew is on in Baksa district as a precautionary measure. But curfew has been relaxed in Chirang and Kokrajhar district for three hours from 12 noon.
Curfew has also been imposed at the adjoining areas of violence-hit districts. Hundreds of trucks and buses have been stranded at national highways. The Army is staging flag march.
The Special Investigation Team, SIT, is likely to begin their investigation this afternoon. The Assam Border Area Development Minister Siddique Ahmed has today demanded arrest of former minister and senior MLA of Bodoland People’s Front, Pramila Rani Brahma for allegedly making inflammatory remarks recently. Relief camp has been set up in Baksa district. Assam Governor J B Patnaik has condemned the violence and appealed all to maintain peace and order.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Office sources said National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon this morning briefed the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh about the Assam situation. Dr Singh held discussions with the Cabinet Secretary and directed him to extend all help to the State government to ensure peace.
Bodoland People’s Front ruled out any role in the violence.
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Student protest lead to violence in Ethiopia
3052014
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The Ethiopian government says at least 11 students have been killed in clashes with the police in a region that has long been the scene of a secessionist movement.
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The government said in a statement late on Thursday that violence had erupted in a number of university campuses across Oromia state as ethnic Oromo students protest a plan by the central government to expand the capital, Addis Ababa, into parts of Oromia.
The violence is spreading from the campuses into nearby towns, causing serious damage to property.
Protesters set fire to a bank, a gas station and some government buildings, according to police.
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Bolivia sets national elections for October 12
3052014
Bolivia’s election tribunal on Wednesday set presidential and congressional polls for October 12 — with President Evo Morales a favorite to win a third mandate.
“The general elections for president, vice president, senators, deputies and representatives… will be held Sunday October 12 this year,” the tribunal president, Wilma Velasco, told reporters at a press conference.Velasco said a potential presidential runoff — to be held if no one candidate obtains a majority of votes — would be December 7.
The new term is set to begin on 22nd January 2015 and run for five years.
The latest polls put Morales in the lead to win the presidential vote, with opposition divided among several possible candidates.
The leftist leader, who is in the midst of his second term, currently has 38.3 per cent of the vote, well ahead of his nearest rival, businessman Samuel Doria Medina, polling at 14 per cent.
Another top opposition candidate is the influential governor of the eastern region of Santa Cruz, Ruben Costas.
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Categories : Politics, Uncategorized, world News
Nigeria police: 276 abducted girls still missing
3052014
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The number of kidnapped schoolgirls missing in Nigeria has risen to 276, up by more than 30 from a previous estimate, police said, adding that the actual number abducted by Islamic extremists on 14th April was more than 300.
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Police Commissioner Tanko Lawan said the number of girls and young women who have escaped also has risen, to 53.
He told a news conference last night in Maiduguri, the northeastern capital of Borno state, that the figures keep increasing because students from other schools were brought into one school for final exams last month after all schools in Borno state were shut because of attacks by Islamic extremists.
Communications are difficult with the military often cutting cell phone service under a state of emergency and travel made dangerous on roads frequently attacked by the militants.
“The students were drawn from schools in Izge, Lassa, Ashigashiya and Warabe A and that is why, after the unfortunate incident, there were various numbers flying around as to the actual number of girls that were taken away,” Lawan said.
Hundreds of women protested in at least three cities this week to express their outrage that the girls have not been found.
Two bombings in three weeks have also hit the nation’s capital, Abuja.
Reports this week indicated some have been forced into “marriage” with their extremist abductors, who paid a nominal bride price equivalent to USD 12.
Other reports that also could not be verified said some have been taken across borders, to Chad, Cameroon and to an island in Lake Chad.
The reports come from parents and legislators who are in touch with villagers who have seen the girls with their abductors.
As the students, aged between 15 and 18, endure a third week of captivity President Goodluck Jonathan referred to them publicly for the first time at a May Day rally on Thursday.
Jonathan, a southern Christian who has been accused of insensitivity to the plight of mainly Muslim residents of the northeast, vowed “we must find our missing girls” and “the perpetrators must be brought to book.”
He said “the cruel abduction of some innocent girls, our future mothers and leaders, in a very horrific and despicable situation in Borno state is quite regrettable.”
“We shall triumph over all this evil that wants to debase our humanity,” he added.
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Ukraine OSCE hostage crisis at critical stage: Germany
3052014 |
Efforts to free a group of international observers held by pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine have reached a critical phase, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Friday.
Speaking to reporters after talks with Swiss counterpart Didier Burkhalter, Steinmeier said he could not elaborate on efforts to free the men, given the “highly sensitive stage of the ongoing negotiations”.Neutral Switzerland is currently at the helm of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which sent the observers to Ukraine.
“Our goal is the unconditional release of the hostages in Slavyansk,” said Burkhalter.
Eight OSCE observers, four of whom are Germans, were captured last Friday in the flashpoint town of Slavyansk in mainly Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine.
They were presented to the media Sunday as “prisoners of war” in what Germany said was a “repugnant” display.
Berlin has been pushing Russian President Vladimir Putin to persuade the pro-Moscow rebels to free the observers.
One of the hostages, a Swede who was said to suffer from diabetes, was freed late Sunday, but the Germans, a Pole, a Dane and a Czech are still being held.
The rebels also captured four Ukrainian OSCE representatives, but they have not been seen in public since.
In Berlin, German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen in a statement said based on information from European counterparts the hostages were as of early today “doing well under the circumstances”.
She did not provide further details. Steinmeier called the Ukraine crisis a “huge challenge for all concerned”, saying clashes today showed the violence in the embattled country was far from over.
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350 dead as landslide hits Afghan villages Mazar-i-Sharif
3052014
Updated on : 03-05-2014 08:58 AM
A landslide in northern Afghanistan killed at least 350 people on Friday, officials said, with hundreds also feared missing as a major rescue operation was launched to find survivors in villages buried under mud.
The first emergency teams on the scene in Badakhshan province started digging through rocks and dirt as local authorities, the United Nations and the NATO-led military force raced to assess the damage and provide help.”The number of deceased has increased to 350,” the UN mission in Afghanistan said in a statement.
“A response is being mobilised for those who survived but were displaced, with some partners already on the ground. “(NATO’s) Regional Command in the north in contact with the Afghan National Army in regards to search and rescue efforts.”
Badakhshan is a remote province in northeast Afghanistan bordering Tajikistan, China and Pakistan.
“It is a disaster. The landslide has affected around 1,000 families,” Sayed Abdullah Homayun Dehqan, provincial director of the Afghan National Disaster Management Authority said.
“Around 300 families are missing, that could involve around 2,000 people. The people are working to remove the rocks, so far three bodies have been recovered.
“Around 700 families were rescued, we have sent in some basic assistance such as tents and blankets.” The UN said that it was helping to coordinate local authorities to rescue those still trapped, but that road access to the area could not take heavy machinery.
“About 350 to 400 houses were destroyed in Argo district as a result of heavy rains that triggered landslides,” Badakhshan province deputy governor Gul Mohammad Baidaar said.
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Ukraine violence spreads southern city of Odessa,
3052014
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More than 30 people were killed in a “criminal” blaze in Ukraine’s southern city of Odessa, as violence spread across the country on Friday during the bloodiest day since Kiev’s Western-backed government took power.
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Ukraine’s interior ministry said at least 31 people had died in the fire with local media reporting that pro-Russian militants were believed to have been in the building at the time.
Most of those who were killed died from smoke inhalation, while others perished trying to escape by jumping out of windows.
News of the deaths came after a day of violent clashes between pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian militants, with reports of renewed fighting in Slavyansk late Friday leading to the death of two more Ukrainian soldiers, meaning at least nine people had been killed in clashes in the flashpoint town throughout the day.
The diplomatic war of words also intensified as the United States threatened to hit Russia with new sanctions within three weeks over what Washington called its continued “destabilisation” of Ukraine.
US Secretary of State John Kerry also Friday evening announced the postponement of a phone call with the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as tensions mounted.
While Obama was speaking, an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council took place at Russia’s request, to complain about the Ukrainian army’s assault on the flashpoint town of Slavyansk.
The Kremlin said the raid was “leading Ukraine towards catastrophe” and pronounced dead a peace deal struck in Geneva last month to ease the worst East-West confrontation since the Cold War.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev urged the Western- backed leaders in Kiev to “stop killing their citizens,” saying the raid was “a sign of criminal helplessness”.
Ukraine’s interim president Oleksandr Turchynov said “many rebels” had been killed in the military’s pre-dawn raid on the eastern town of Slavyansk and confirmed the loss of two servicemen after insurgents shot down two helicopter gunships.
Rebels later said three of their number and two citizens were killed in what they said was a “full-scale attack”.
They vowed to defend the town, which has become the epicentre of tensions in increasingly volatile eastern Ukraine.
Kiev said its military overran nine rebel checkpoints and scores of soldiers, backed by armoured vehicles and helicopters, appeared to entrench their positions, tightening their encirclement of the flashpoint town.
The attack seemed to dash hopes of a quick release of seven European monitors being held in Slavyansk, with one senior rebel leader saying it would result in a “delay”.
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Merkel arrives at White House
3052014
President Barack Obama welcomed Germany’s Angela Merkel to the White House on Friday, seeking to secure united European backing for tougher sanctions on Russia’s economy should the Kremlin escalate the crisis in Ukraine.
The president and the Chancellor met days after both the United States and the European Union imposed new sanctions on key political and business figures around President Vladimir Putin.The measures followed the failure of a deal brokered in Geneva to de-escalate tensions in Ukraine and the refusal of Russia to rein in pro-Moscow separatist groups in southeastern Ukraine.
So far, the sanctions adopted by either side have been limited to personal visa and asset bans against prominent people in Putin’s inner circle, branded “cronies” by the White House.
But Washington warns that it will impose tougher sanctions that will hit directly at key sectors of the Russian economy, if Putin for instance marches troops currently massed on the border of Ukraine directly into the country.
Such a scenario would entail a tough political choice for European leaders like Merkel, who are under intense pressure from powerful business interests dismayed at the potential loss of important markets and investments in Russia.
On Thursday, White House spokesman Jay Carney denied Washington and the EU had butted heads over possible new sanctions.
“There has been a great deal of collaboration and cooperation in that effort between the United States and the EU, as well as all the members of the G7, so we expect that effort to continue,” he said.
“We expect to continue a path that sees an international coalition escalating the costs that Russia will have to endure and pay if Russia refuses to keep its commitments.”
Carney added that the United States and EU members each have “a different kind of economic relationship with Russia, and so sanctions will affect different nations differently.”
After their talks Merkel and Obama will hold a press conference in the Rose Garden of the White House, the site of a sumptuous state dinner hosted by the US leader for his guest three years ago.
Since then, relations between Berlin and Washington have been hit by the continuing damaging fallout over revelations of National Security Agency (NSA) spying in Germany, including the tapping of Merkel’s mobile phone, which the US says has now been stopped.
Obama has sought to mend fences with Merkel after the revelations by fugitive intelligence contractor Edward Snowden.
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Commission to probe snoopgate to be in place by 16th May: Govt
3052014
A judicial commission to probe ‘snoopgate’ allegedly involving Gujarat CM Narendra Modi will be in place before the Lok Sabha poll process comes to an end on 16th May, the govt asserted rejecting questions raised by the BJP over it.
The assertion by Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and Law Minister Kapil Sibal evoked sharp reaction from BJP which said it reflects arrogance of UPA which, it claimed, is being voted out of power soon.
The government had decided four months back to set up the inquiry commission but the process has got delayed reportedly because of its inability to zero in on a judge.
“The Cabinet had taken the decision to appoint a Commission of Inquiry to probe the incident of snooping on a woman in Gujarat. We will soon appoint the judge….before May 16,” Shinde told a press conference in Shimla on Friday.
Shinde was asked whether the appointment of a judge in the midst of Lok Sabha elections would not amount to violation of the Model Code of Conduct.
“It will not as the decision had been taken by the Union Cabinet much before the model code of conduct came into force,” he said.
The Union Cabinet had decided on 26th December 2013 to set up a Judicial Commission of Inquiry to probe charges of spying on a woman in 2009, triggering a political row.
“I am worried. The way the Chief Minister of Gujarat had snooped into the life of a woman, I am really worried what will happen to the women of the country if he becomes the Prime Minister,” Shinde said.
In New Delhi, Law Minister Kapil Sibal also said that a judge will be appointed by 16th May.
He rubbished the contention by BJP leader Arun Jaitley that he would be surprised if there is a judge who has “agreed to ‘lend’ himself to the UPA”.
BJP leader Subramanian Swamy said EC would be approached if the announcement is made during the polls.
Sibal said BJP is worried as its leaders know that “once the Commission is set up there is no saving for Narendra Modi because there is documentary evidence of what he (Modi) has done and how he has snooped the activities of a young girl.”
Asserting that “You will get a snoopgate judge before May 16″, he said, I don’t know why these people are so worried, why leaders of BJP are worried and why they are making public statement that no judge should join this Commission.”
He said, “They (BJP) are worried about the national Commission set up by the Centre and I think, they should continue to be worried because the Commission will be set up and he will be investigated and he will be brought to book.”
BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said the government assertion was nothing but a reflection of arrogance of the UPA government, which, he claimed, would be voted out of power.
“The two honourable ministers….along with the entire Congress party would be defeated conclusively after 10 days and yet the arrogance of having the inquiry.
“I would expect that so many judges have refused in the past and the sanctity and dignity of the judiciary will not be compromised for ulterior motive of the Congress party,” he said.
The government had announced that the Commission, to be headed by a retired Supreme Court judge or a retired Chief Justice of a high court, will also look into charges of snooping on Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh by the previous BJP government when he was in the opposition as well as the leaking of the call data records (CDR) of Jaitley in Delhi.
The Union Cabinet took the decision under the Commissions of Inquiry Act under which the Modi government had already set up a similar panel.
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MONACO | NEWS | PLACES TO VISIT
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Model Tripartite Agreement (MTA) for Road Sector PPP Projects
3052014
The Empowered Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) constituted by the Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure (CCI), has under the Chairmanship of Secretary, Economic Affairs, in its meeting recently approved the Model Tripartite Agreement (MTA), for take-out financing of PPP projects in Ports Sector.
The salient features of the MTA are:
- A body corporate constituted under the provisions of the Major Port Trusts Act, [1963], and having its principal administrative office at referred to as the “Concessioning Authority” which expression shall, unless repugnant to the context or meaning thereof, include its administrators, successors and assigns.
- A company registered under the Companies Act, 1956, acting, duly authorised by the resolution passed at the meeting of its Board of Directors and having its registered office hereinafter referred to as the “Concessionaire”.
- Provisions of this Agreement, issue Bonds for the amounts subscribed by the Debt Fund; provided that the total value of such Bonds shall not exceed 94% (ninety four percent) of compensation payment from the Concessioning Authority on day of signing this Tripartite Agreement.
- The tenor of the Bonds, in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement shall be such that at least 50% (fifty per cent) and 75% (seventy five per cent) of the total nominal value thereof shall be fully redeemed by the Concessionaire no later than the expiry of 75% (seventy five per cent) and 85% (eighty five per cent) of the Concession Period respectively and the balance, if any, shall be redeemed no later than 2 (two) years prior to the expiry of the Concession Period.
- The Concessionaire agrees and undertakes that upon completion of the tenor of the Bonds, it shall redeem the same by making full and complete payment of the outstanding principle and the interest thereon.
- The Parties agree and confirm that in the event of default in Debt Service by the Concessionaire, the Lenders shall have the right to enforce termination of the Concession Agreement in terms of Clause [15.1(a)(xi)] and [17] of the Concession Agreement, whichinter alia requires the Concessioning Authority to pay compensation in accordance with the provisions of the Concession Agreement.
- This Agreement constitutes its legal, valid and binding obligation, enforceable against it in accordance with the terms hereof, and its obligations under this Agreement will be legally valid, binding and obligations enforceable against it in accordance with its terms.
The annexure is attached herewith for your ready reference.
Warm regards,
Dr. S P Sharma
Chief Economist
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Neat and clean innovation’
3052014The idea of sanitation has raised many challenges down the years
Often managers view innovation through the narrow lens of creativity, product development and technology. Successful innovation is far more holistic and has additional dimensions of experimentation, business model, sociology and execution.
According to bokardo.com, Steve Jobs expressed the view, “It is a disease to think that a really great idea is 90 per cent of the work.” Jobs argued that an idea is quite valueless until it converts into a product manifestation through craftsmanship, which is what stands between a great idea and a great product. An idea turns, twists, mutates and changes all the time as it is designed into a product. In this process of innovation, novelty and consumer delight are added. The final product may bear little resemblance to the original idea.
Consider innovation in the context of the mundane, unspeakable subject of sanitation. The idea of sanitation has provided more and more challenges, both technical and sociological, with every new product form.
The Indus Valley civilisation existed 30 centuries before Christ and was prominent in hydraulic engineering. Those people had sanitation devices that were the first of their kind. Individual homes sported the earliest known system of flush toilets that were connected to a common sewerage system. The sewers, 1.5 metres deep and one metre wide, were made from bricks and joined together seamlessly. It is amazing that our society with this pioneering heritage of sanitation is today the world’s largest open defecator.
The Housesteads Fort on the Hadrian Wall attests to latrines as the best preserved feature of sanitation in the Roman civilisation, which is noted for innovations in waste management. Waste flushed from latrines flowed via a central channel into a main sewage system, and onto a river.
In 1186, in the palace of the Roman Emperor in Erfurt, Germany, the fumes from the palace cesspools of sanitary waste caused the floorboards to gradually rot. One day the floors collapsed and hundreds of the emperor’s guests fell into the cesspool and drowned in human excrement.
Around the 16th century, early forms of the water closet started to appear. British nobleman John Harrington built what he called a “privy of perfection” for Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth I in 1596. This device washed away the waste but lacked the means to remove the fumes. Around 1920, Mahatma Gandhi had stated that “sanitation is more important than independence.”
In 1999, when British Medical Journal polled experts about what they considered the greatest medical advance since 1840, the majority cited public sanitation, ahead of antibiotics and anaesthesia. After so many centuries, the idea of sanitation is alive and kicking, vibrant and attracting the best minds of the world to create more innovative product manifestations of an idea for human convenience.
The innovation challenge seems to have increased in intensity despite centuries of work. Broadly, there are three kinds of sanitation facilities. The upper end of the market is served by flush toilets. The middle end of the market is served by pit latrines. The bottom end means open defecation. Of the seven billion people on the planet, about one billion defecate in the open. Another 1.5 billion people have no access to flushed toilets. That makes 2.5 billion people completely vulnerable to the ill effects of a poor sanitation system.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has challenged scientists to reinvent the toilet. Under this programme, an Indian company, Eram, has designed an eToilet that can be self-sustaining: it can generate its own energy and water from the waste and further, eToilets can be interconnected through an electronic network. One Washington-based company has designed a power plant that could feed off the waste from a small city. The University of West England has showcased a urine-powered fuel cell to charge cell phones overnight. Another team from the University of Colorado has devised a system of concentrating solar power and generating enough heat to kill pathogens in the waste and produce “biochar” as a cooking fuel or fertiliser. One fears that such solutions, while being innovative and capable of winning prizes, will be irrelevant to the billions who suffer the sanitation problem.
Bindeshwar Pathak is famous for founding Sulabh in 1970. A two-pit flush toilet, a pay-for-use system and hygienic on-site waste disposal are some of its features. The UN Centre for Human Settlements has lauded this great innovation. While this technology is hugely successful, it has not yet dramatically enough reduced the incidence of open defecation in the country.
The problem is not just one of technology, but also involves social attitudes. When problems like open defecation persist for long, human beings learn to ignore it. Village leaders should play an important part in convincing people to be hygienic, and follow good sanitation practices. There has even been a suggestion that families who do not use toilet facilities, should not be eligible for government grants. There are several good organisations, particularly in rural areas, called the rural sanitary marts. They provide good service to bring about awareness. Some of them even construct toilets. They need to be strengthened.
Corporations are trying to address the social problem. Sushanta Sen of the Confederation of Indian Industry authored the report “Corporate Involvement in Sanitation” in 2013 and managed to assemble over 60 companies into a first effort last year. With corporate social responsibility becoming mandatory, much more can be expected of this marvellous initiative. Neighbouring Bangladesh undertook a massive public programme around 2000, involving NGOs, entrepreneurs and a National Sanitation Strategy. The results may qualify as a revolution; it has shifted peoples’ attitudes to open defecation. In the Demographic Health Survey done recently, it was found that only five per cent of Bangladeshis defecated in the open, whereas in India, the corresponding number is 57 per cent. Surely, India can do better!
According to bokardo.com, Steve Jobs expressed the view, “It is a disease to think that a really great idea is 90 per cent of the work.” Jobs argued that an idea is quite valueless until it converts into a product manifestation through craftsmanship, which is what stands between a great idea and a great product. An idea turns, twists, mutates and changes all the time as it is designed into a product. In this process of innovation, novelty and consumer delight are added. The final product may bear little resemblance to the original idea.
Consider innovation in the context of the mundane, unspeakable subject of sanitation. The idea of sanitation has provided more and more challenges, both technical and sociological, with every new product form.
The Indus Valley civilisation existed 30 centuries before Christ and was prominent in hydraulic engineering. Those people had sanitation devices that were the first of their kind. Individual homes sported the earliest known system of flush toilets that were connected to a common sewerage system. The sewers, 1.5 metres deep and one metre wide, were made from bricks and joined together seamlessly. It is amazing that our society with this pioneering heritage of sanitation is today the world’s largest open defecator.
The Housesteads Fort on the Hadrian Wall attests to latrines as the best preserved feature of sanitation in the Roman civilisation, which is noted for innovations in waste management. Waste flushed from latrines flowed via a central channel into a main sewage system, and onto a river.
In 1186, in the palace of the Roman Emperor in Erfurt, Germany, the fumes from the palace cesspools of sanitary waste caused the floorboards to gradually rot. One day the floors collapsed and hundreds of the emperor’s guests fell into the cesspool and drowned in human excrement.
Around the 16th century, early forms of the water closet started to appear. British nobleman John Harrington built what he called a “privy of perfection” for Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth I in 1596. This device washed away the waste but lacked the means to remove the fumes. Around 1920, Mahatma Gandhi had stated that “sanitation is more important than independence.”
In 1999, when British Medical Journal polled experts about what they considered the greatest medical advance since 1840, the majority cited public sanitation, ahead of antibiotics and anaesthesia. After so many centuries, the idea of sanitation is alive and kicking, vibrant and attracting the best minds of the world to create more innovative product manifestations of an idea for human convenience.
The innovation challenge seems to have increased in intensity despite centuries of work. Broadly, there are three kinds of sanitation facilities. The upper end of the market is served by flush toilets. The middle end of the market is served by pit latrines. The bottom end means open defecation. Of the seven billion people on the planet, about one billion defecate in the open. Another 1.5 billion people have no access to flushed toilets. That makes 2.5 billion people completely vulnerable to the ill effects of a poor sanitation system.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has challenged scientists to reinvent the toilet. Under this programme, an Indian company, Eram, has designed an eToilet that can be self-sustaining: it can generate its own energy and water from the waste and further, eToilets can be interconnected through an electronic network. One Washington-based company has designed a power plant that could feed off the waste from a small city. The University of West England has showcased a urine-powered fuel cell to charge cell phones overnight. Another team from the University of Colorado has devised a system of concentrating solar power and generating enough heat to kill pathogens in the waste and produce “biochar” as a cooking fuel or fertiliser. One fears that such solutions, while being innovative and capable of winning prizes, will be irrelevant to the billions who suffer the sanitation problem.
Bindeshwar Pathak is famous for founding Sulabh in 1970. A two-pit flush toilet, a pay-for-use system and hygienic on-site waste disposal are some of its features. The UN Centre for Human Settlements has lauded this great innovation. While this technology is hugely successful, it has not yet dramatically enough reduced the incidence of open defecation in the country.
The problem is not just one of technology, but also involves social attitudes. When problems like open defecation persist for long, human beings learn to ignore it. Village leaders should play an important part in convincing people to be hygienic, and follow good sanitation practices. There has even been a suggestion that families who do not use toilet facilities, should not be eligible for government grants. There are several good organisations, particularly in rural areas, called the rural sanitary marts. They provide good service to bring about awareness. Some of them even construct toilets. They need to be strengthened.
Corporations are trying to address the social problem. Sushanta Sen of the Confederation of Indian Industry authored the report “Corporate Involvement in Sanitation” in 2013 and managed to assemble over 60 companies into a first effort last year. With corporate social responsibility becoming mandatory, much more can be expected of this marvellous initiative. Neighbouring Bangladesh undertook a massive public programme around 2000, involving NGOs, entrepreneurs and a National Sanitation Strategy. The results may qualify as a revolution; it has shifted peoples’ attitudes to open defecation. In the Demographic Health Survey done recently, it was found that only five per cent of Bangladeshis defecated in the open, whereas in India, the corresponding number is 57 per cent. Surely, India can do better!
The writer is Director, Tata Sons.
gopal.gopalakrishnan@amp115.hbs.edu
gopal.gopalakrishnan@amp115.hbs.edu
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Qamar Waheed Naqvi resigns saying Modi interview was ‘fixed’
3052014
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Categories : Automobile, Business, CSR, culture, Education, Media, Politics, Uncategorized
1st BFI-IMG Reliance National School & College Basketball League for Boys & Girls 2014
3052014
1st BFI-IMG Reliance National School & College Basketball League for Boys & Girls 2014 being held at the Thyagaraj Stadium, New Delhi.
School Girls
1) St Joseph HS, Chennai 56 (Devi 19, Nishanti 15, Ishwarya 14) bt Modern School, New Delhi 52 (Madhu 34, Shivika 6) [QT wise scores: 16-12; 10-9; 11-15; 19-16]
2) School Boys
1) Fr. Agnels, Mumbai 85 (Vaishakh 26, Rohan 25, Tanmay 18) bt Oxford Senior Secondary School, New Delhi 78 (Saurav 20, Abhishek 18) [QT wise scores: 4-25; 21-16; 22-18; 24-12; 7-14(Extra Time)]
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Internship for Business Adm, Journalist Media desk, Content writers, Video-news
3052014
Internship: The students or a working professional keen on gaining experience in development journalism,analyse reports, write, edit, visualise, we solicit you to apply as an intern with Sagar Media Inc.
Our efforts to bring in the Global expertise which are strongly self-motivated, energetic team appreciated for decisive and strategic management style.
Thus resulting in high levels of quality levels of Education, health and infrastructure for developing township,cities and states with their intrinsic values without logistic supports.
Our team is also experts in providing logistic supports in productivity, Brand strategist with proven ability to be on the top slot of providing Production, suppliers market research,engineering,marketing, services to most of the well known companies, houses, government undertaking, public sector in this part of the world.
We believe that each student must
•Thrives on a dynamic and challenging environment and have outstanding communication, presentation and interpersonal skills. Calm under pressure; an effective negotiator.
•Experienced in developing long-term customer relations; many quality business contacts. Exceptional in restructuring ineffective processes, cost containment and improving the bottom line results.
• Train for Excellent at identifying and solving problems,before they become critical. Analyze situations rapidly, make decisions and meet demanding objectives. Strong business acumen, able to quickly access and act on organizational challenges and opportunities.
Those look for Foreign companies to be represented by individuals private Limited company in India, Experienced in developing long-term customer relations, many quality business contacts. Exceptional in restructuring ineffective processes, cost containment and improving the bottom line results. Brand strategist with proven ability to be on the top slot of providing services to most of the well known companies, houses, government undertaking, public sector in this part of the world.
All India distributors needed by Singapore based company innovation now in India by Eubiq India Pvt Ltd
Micro finance with venture capital for individual projects or company may call our desk at.
For detail send to
nksagar_1@yahoo.com,
Nksagar@rediffmail.com,
Mobile No 9810974027
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