Living happily in a material world: Material purchases can bring happiness

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December 26, 2015

Summary:Researchers have shown that material purchases, from sweaters to skateboards, provide more frequent happiness over time, whereas experiential purchases, like a trip to the zoo, provide more intense happiness on individual occasions.

With holiday shopping season in full swing, everyone’s looking for the perfect gift. For those who like to shop, there’s good news: Material things can bring happiness. In a recent study from the journalSocial Psychological and Personality Science, researchers have shown that material purchases, from sweaters to skateboards, provide more frequent happiness over time, whereas experiential purchases, like a trip to the zoo, provide more intense happiness on individual occasions.

The majority of previous studies examining material and experiential purchases and happiness focused on what people anticipated about shopping or remembered about items and experiences. The University of British Columbia’s Aaron Weidman and Elizabeth Dunn wanted to know how people felt in the moment, say the first weeks with a new sweater or tablet computer. To answer this question, they assessed the real-time, momentary happiness people got from material and experiential purchases, up to five times per day for two weeks. Material purchases consisted of items such as reindeer leggings, portable speakers, or coffee makers, and examples of experiential purchases were a weekend ski trip, tickets to a hockey game, or spa gift cards.

By having people record their thoughts in the weeks following their purchases, as well as one month after their purchases, the researchers showed that material and experiential purchases bring happiness in two distinct flavors. Material purchases bring repeated doses of happiness over time in the weeks after they are bought, whereas experiential purchases offer a more intense but fleeting dose of happiness. Additionally, when people looked back on their purchases 6 weeks after Christmas, they felt more satisfaction about experiential purchases.

“The decision of whether to buy a material thing or a life experience may therefore boil down to what kind of happiness one desires,” says Mr. Weidman, “Consider a holiday shopper deciding between tickets to a concert or a new couch in the living room. The concert will provide an intense thrill for one spectacular night, but then it will end, and will no longer provide momentary happiness, aside from being a happy memory. In contrast, the new couch will never provide a thrilling moment to match the concert, but will keep the owner snug and comfortable each day throughout the winter months.”

As you go forth in your holiday shopping this season, either for yourself or others, think about what form of happiness you want, before making a purchase.

Source:Society for Personality and Social Psychology

(http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/12/151221194128.htm)

DNA damage seen in patients undergoing CT scanning, study finds

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saurabh

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December 25, 2015

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Summary:Using new laboratory technology, scientists have shown that cellular damage is detectable in patients after CT scanning. In this study, researchers examined the effects on human cells of low-dose radiation from a wide range of cardiac and vascular CT scans. These imaging procedures are commonly used for a number of reasons, including management of patients suspected of having obstructive coronary artery disease, and for those with aortic stenosis, in preparation of transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

Using new laboratory technology, scientists have shown that cellular damage is detectable in patients after CT scanning, according to a new study led by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

“We now know that even exposure to small amounts of radiation from computed tomagraphy scanning is associated with cellular damage,” said Patricia Nguyen, MD, one of the lead authors of the study and an assistant professor of cardiovascular medicine at Stanford. “Whether or not this causes cancer or any negative effect to the patient is still not clear, but these results should encourage physicians toward adhering to dose reduction strategies.”

The study will be published online July 22 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Imaging. Won Hee Lee, PhD, and Yong Fuga Li, PhD, both postdoctoral scholars, are the study’s other lead authors.

“The use of medical imaging for heart disease has exploded in the past decade,” said Joseph Wu, MD, senior author of the study. Wu is a professor of medicine and of radiology and the director of the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute. “These tests expose patients to a nontrivial amount of low-dose radiation. But nobody really knows exactly what this low-dose radiation does to the patient. We now have the technology that allows us to look at very subtle, cell-level changes.”

Along with the burgeoning use of advanced medical imaging tests over the past decade have come rising public health concerns about possible links between low-dose radiation and cancer. The worry is that increased radiation exposure from such diagnostic procedures as CT scans, which expose the body to low-dose X-ray beams, can damage DNA and create mutations that spur cells to grow into tumors.

‘Legitimate concerns’

But there has been limited scientific evidence to date that shows the effects of this low-dose radiation on the body, according to the study. Currently, there is a bill winding its way through Congress to fund more research on the health effects of low doses of radiation, Wu said. This study’s findings point to the need for more research, he said.

“I think there are legitimate concerns about the exposure to low-dose radiation, but the problem is that it is difficult to prove a causal relationship with cancer,” Nguyen said. “Even though we show some damage is occurring at a cellular level, this damage is being repaired. It is the damage that escapes repair, or the cells that are not eliminated and are mutated, that go on and produce cancer. We can’t track those cells with current technology.”

In this study, researchers examined the effects on human cells of low-dose radiation from a wide range of cardiac and vascular CT scans. These imaging procedures are commonly used for a number of reasons, including management of patients suspected of having obstructive coronary artery disease, and for those with aortic stenosis, in preparation of transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

A CT scan, which is used for imaging and diagnostic procedures throughout the body, exposes patients to at least 150 times the amount of radiation from a single chest X-ray, the study said.

In 2007, the National Cancer Institute estimated that 29,000 future cancer cases could be attributed to the 72 million CT scans performed in the country that year.

Increase in DNA damage, cell death

But the reliability of such predictions depends on how scientists measure the underlying link between radiation and cancer in the first place, Nguyen said.

“Because we don’t know much about the effects of low-dose radiation — all we know is about high doses from atomic bomb blast survivors — we just assume it’s directly proportional to the dose,” said Nguyen. “We wanted to see what really happens at the cellular level.”

Researchers examined the blood of 67 patients undergoing cardiac CT angiograms. Using such techniques as whole-genome sequencing and flow cytometery to measure biomarkers of DNA damage, researchers examined the blood of patients both before and after undergoing the procedure.

Results showed an increase in DNA damage and cell death, as well as increased expression of genes involved in cell repair and death, the study said. Although most cells damaged by the scan were repaired, a small percentage of the cells died, the study said.

“These findings raise the possibility that radiation exposure from cardiac CT angiography may cause DNA damage that can lead to mutations if damaged cells are not repaired or eliminated properly,” the study said. “Cumulative cell death after repeated exposures may also be problematic.”

“We need to learn more because it’s not a benign effect even at these low dosages,” Nguyen said. “Our research supports the idea that maybe physicians shouldn’t just use the best image quality in all cases. We shouldn’t eliminate CT scans because they’re obviously important, but you can make it safer by reducing the doses, by getting better machines and technology, and by giving patients something to protect them.”

Nguyen added: “It is important to note that we did not detect any DNA damage in patients receiving the lowest doses of radiation and who were of average weight and had regular heart rates.”

Source:Stanford University Medical Center

(http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150722144634.htm)

Scientists manipulate consciousness in rats

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saurabh

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December 25, 2015

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Summary:Scientists showed that they could alter brain activity of rats and either wake them up or put them in an unconscious state by changing the firing rates of neurons in the central thalamus, a region known to regulate arousal.

Scientists showed that they could alter brain activity of rats and either wake them up or put them in an unconscious state by changing the firing rates of neurons in the central thalamus, a region known to regulate arousal. The study, published in eLIFE, was partially funded by the National Institutes of Health.

“Our results suggest the central thalamus works like a radio dial that tunes the brain to different states of activity and arousal,” said Jin Hyung Lee, Ph.D., assistant professor of neurology, neurosurgery and bioengineering at Stanford University, and a senior author of the study.

Located deep inside the brain the thalamus acts as a relay station sending neural signals from the body to the cortex. Damage to neurons in the central part of the thalamus may lead to problems with sleep, attention, and memory. Previous studies suggested that stimulation of thalamic neurons may awaken patients who have suffered a traumatic brain injury from minimally conscious states.

Dr. Lee’s team flashed laser pulses onto light sensitive central thalamic neurons of sleeping rats, which caused the cells to fire. High frequency stimulation of 40 or 100 pulses per second woke the rats. In contrast, low frequency stimulation of 10 pulses per second sent the rats into a state reminiscent of absence seizures that caused them to stiffen and stare before returning to sleep.

“This study takes a big step towards understanding the brain circuitry that controls sleep and arousal,” Yejun (Janet) He, Ph.D., program director at NIH’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).

When the scientists used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to scan brain activity, they saw that high and low frequency stimulation put the rats in completely different states of activity. Cortical brain areas where activity was elevated during high frequency stimulation became inhibited with low frequency stimulation. Electrical recordings confirmed the results. Neurons in the somatosensory cortex fired more during high frequency stimulation of the central thalamus and less during low frequency stimulation.

“Dr. Lee’s innovative work demonstrates the power of using imaging technologies to study the brain at work,” said Guoying Liu, Ph.D., a program director at the NIH’s National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB).

How can changing the firing rate of the same neurons in one region lead to different effects on the rest of the brain?

Further experiments suggested the different effects may be due to a unique firing pattern by inhibitory neurons in a neighboring brain region, the zona incerta, during low frequency stimulation. Cells in this brain region have been shown to send inhibitory signals to cells in the sensory cortex.

Electrical recordings showed that during low frequency stimulation of the central thalamus, zona incerta neurons fired in a spindle pattern that often occurs during sleep. In contrast, sleep spindles did not occur during high frequency stimulation. Moreover, when the scientists blocked the firing of the zona incerta neurons during low frequency stimulation of the central thalamus, the average activity of sensory cortex cells increased.

Although deep brain stimulation of the thalamus has shown promise as a treatment for traumatic brain injury, patients who have decreased levels of consciousness show slow progress through these treatments.

“We showed how the circuits of the brain can regulate arousal states,” said Dr. Lee. “We hope to use this knowledge to develop better treatments for brain injuries and other neurological disorders.”

This work was supported by grants from the NIH (NS087159, EB008738, MH087988); the National Science Foundation (CAREER Award, 1056008); the Okawa Foundation for Information and Telecommunications; the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation: the Mathers Charitable Foundation; Stanford Bio-X; James and Carrie Anderson Fund for Epilepsy Research; Littlefield Funds.

Source:NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

(http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/12/151217151716.htm)

Ananth Kumar calling on the Union Home Minister, Rajnath Singh, New Delhi

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saurabh

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December 25, 2015

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The Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers, Shri Ananth Kumar calling on the Union Home Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh, in New Delhi.

Minimum Government Focus : Secy- Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances

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saurabh

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December 25, 2015

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PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry organized a Convergence Thinkfest in which Secretary, Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances, Mr. Devendra Chaudhry was the keynote addressee who reiterated that the focus of the government of the day is on minimum government and maximum governance.

According to him, under the Prime Minister Mr. Modi, the governance is moving towards minimum interference and awarding performance, results of which has begun to surface and shortly these will become visible and much more pronounced.

Mr. Chaudhry held that the slogan of the Prime Minister ever since the new government came into being is on minimum government and maximum governance and the feedback being received by various quarters of the governments are encouraging on this front as the days advance even the minimum government will further boost up this initiatives to ensure that the minimum government leads to yielding maximum results.

Among others who endorsed the views of expressed by Mr. Chaudhry comprised National Convenor, NFAC, Ms. Rashmi Singh and Convenor of NFAC, Dr. Gyanendra Kumar; Additional Secretary, Administrative Reforms, Ms. Usha Sharma and Mr. Aditya Vidyasagar among others.

Building a Safe and Environmentally Sound Road Network

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saurabh

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December 25, 2015

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The year 2015 has seen strengthening of the resolve of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to create and maintain a countrywide network of road infrastructure that is mechanically strong, designed to ensure safety for commuters and is compatible with the requirements of efficient and sustainable development. The period has seen a lot of intense and focussed activity in the sector with the Ministry having taken several initiatives towards fulfilment of its larger objectives.

STATUS OF ROAD NETWORK IN THE COUNTRY: A SHORT BACKDROP

India has about 52.32 lakh kilometers of road network, which is the second largest in the world. The length of various categories of roads is as under:-

National Highways 1,00,475 km

State Highways 1,48,256 km

Other Roads 49,83,579 km

During the current FY till 30.11.2015, 5331 Kms length of National Highways have been awarded while 3480 Kms have been constructed.

MAJOR HIGHWAY PROGRAMMES CURRENTLY UNDERWAY

1. National Highways Development Programme

2. SARDP-NE (Special programme for NE)

3. LWE (Left Wing and Extremist affected areas)

National Highways Development Project (NHDP) – Updates as on 30.10.15

The Government launched (NHDP) to upgrade and strengthen National Highways. The phase-wise details of NHDP are as follows:

Sl. No.	NHDP Component	Total Length(km)	Completed length(km) as on 30.10.15	Under implementation(km)	Balance for award of civil works (km)	Estimated Cost (Rs. in Cr.)
1.	GQ under NHDP Phase I	5,846	5,846	0	0	30,300 (NHDP Phase I) + 34,339 (NHDP Phase II) = 64639
2.	NS-EW Corridors under NHDP Phase I & II	7,142	6,414	461	267
3.	Port Connectivity under NHAI	402	379	23	0
4.	Other NHs with NHAI	1859	1518	341	0
5.	NHDP Phase III	12,403	6,634	3,602	2,167	80,626
6.	NHDP Phase IV	20,000	2,441	8,034	9,525	27,800
7.	NHDP Phase V	6,500	2,264	1,401	2,835	41,210
8.	NHDP Phase VI	1,000	0	135	865	16,680
9.	NHDP Phase VII	700	22	19	659	16,680
	Total	55,852^#	25,518	14,016	16,318	247,635

(# included 48428 km of total NHs, 24km length of Chennai—Ennore port connectivity road, 700kms NH length under NHDP –VII, other than overlapping length of NHs (5700 kms NH length is common under NHDP-I and NHDP-V).

Improvement of road connectivity in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected areas

The Government has approved a scheme for development of about 1,177km of NHs and 4,276km of State Roads in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected areas as a Special Project with an estimated cost of about Rs. 7,300 Crore.

· Development of Vijayawada Ranchi route

Out of 1,622 km long LWE affected Vijayawada – Ranchi route, development of 600 km (net length 594 km) of State Roads in Odisha (548 km Newly declared NH and 46 km SH), not covered in any Central or State Scheme has been approved by the Government at a cost of Rs 1,200 crore on 4^th November, 2010.

So far, the detailed estimates for all the 9 packages in an aggregate length of 594 km have been sanctioned at an estimated cost of Rs. 1,333 crore and works were awarded. Out of these, 2 Nos works covering 157 km length were terminated and they have been re-awarded.

Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for North-Eastern region (SARDP-NE)

The scheme has been envisaged to be taken up under three parts as under:-

Phase ‘A’ of SARDP-NE approved by the Government envisages improvement of about 4,099 km length of roads (2,041 km of NH and 2,058 km of State roads).

Phase ‘B’ of SARDP-NE, covers 3,723 km (1,285 km NHs and 2,438 km of State roads) of road. Phase ‘B’ SARDP-NE shall be taken up after completion of Phase ‘A’, which is targeted for completion by March 2017.

Arunachal Pradesh Package: The Arunachal Pradesh Package for Road & Highways involving development of about 2,319 km length of road (1,472 km of NHs & 847 km of State / General Staff / Strategic Roads) has also been approved by the Government. Projects on 776 km are to be taken up on BOT (Annuity) mode and the remaining are to be developed on item rate contract basis.

Balance length of NHs to be covered under NH (O)

Sl. No.	Item	Length (km)
(i)	Total length of NH Network	1,00,475
(ii)	Length of NH under various phases of NHDP	48,428^$
(iii)	Length of NH under Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for North-East Region including Arunachal Pradesh Package	5,562
(iv)	Development of road (NH) in Left Wing Extremism affected areas	1,177
(v)	Length with NHIDCL	1,164
(vi)	NHIIP (Externally aided projects)	1,120
(vii)	VGF / EPC Scheme under NH(O)	1,730
(viii)	Vijayawada Ranchi Corridor	548
	Total from (ii) to (vii)	59,575
	Balance length of NHs to be covered under NH(O)	40,900

^$– Out of this 32,155 km is entrusted with NHAI.

Major Schemes for development of Non-NHDP NHs through NH (O)

National Highway Interconnectivity Improvement Program (NHIIP) under proposed World Bank Loan Assistance

About 1,120 km length of NHs are proposed to be improved to 2-lane NH standards following corridor development approach under the World Bank Loan Assistance in Phase-I. DPR preparation for all 11 stretches in Phase- I has been completed and 10 Contracts out of total 15 nos. have been already awarded. Loan Agreement for Phase-I (1,120 km under first tranches of Loan Assistance of US$ 500 Million) was signed with World Bank on 1 July, 2014.

For the proposed execution of projects under World Bank Loan Assistance as mentioned above, the cost of LA and utility shifting are to be borne by the Government of India as per the policy of the World Bank.

Ministry’s initiatives to leverage more resources through Private Sector Investment for development of non-NHDP NHs

About 17 projects of about 1,950 km length were identified as non-NHDP NH Sections for taking up on BOT(Toll) basis through private sector participation. However, 13 projects for about 1395 km length have been awarded under BOT (Toll) basis and a length of 846 has already been completed. The remaining stretches which could not be awarded under BOT (Toll) basis, are being awarded under EPC Mode under NH (O).

For BOT (Toll) projects, the cost for preconstruction activities are to be met from the available allocations under NH(O). The Viability Gap Funding (VGF) upto 20% of the Total Project Cost (TPC) for these projects are proposed to be met from the support from the Ministry of Finance under its VGF Scheme; the balance VGF upto 20% is to be met from available allocations of the Ministry under NH (O). Taking up of these projects on BOT (Toll) would ensure their proper long term operation and maintenance.

New Initiatives

1. Bharat Mala -5500 km – to develop roads along the international borders and coastal areas

2. Special Scheme – 6000 km – roads facilitating connectivity to religious /tourist places and providing connectivity to backward regions

3. District Connectivity – development of National Highways providing connectivity to district headquarters

4. Setu Bharatam – All the level crossings and narrow/weak bridges to be replaced by Railway Over / Under Bridges and new constructions

PROPOSED EXPRESSWAYS

(i) The Government of India has approved a plan for constructing 1000 km of Expressways under NHDP Phase-VI at a cost of Rs. 16,680 Cr. on DBFOT basis. As per approval of the Cabinet, main criteria for selection of Expressway corridors will be the traffic volume and it was approved that the highest density corridor i.e. Vadodara-Mumbai Corridor (400km) be given top priority. It was also decided that remaining 600 km will be selected out of the routes identified on the basis of traffic volume. The high density corridors approved under NHDP Phase-VI are as under:

· Vadodara-Mumbai Corridor (400 km)

· Delhi-Meerut (66km) on NH-58

· Bangalore-Chennai (334 km) on NH-4

· Delhi-Jaipur (261 km) on NH-8

· Delhi-Chandigarh (249 km) on NH-1 and NH-22

· Kolkata-Dhanbad (277 km) on NH-2 and

· Delhi-Agra (200 km) on NH-2.

In addition to above, Government has approved to take up Eastern Peripheral Expressway-135 km, which is not a part of NHDP Phase VI.

(ii) The Government has prioritized the following Expressways:

· Eastern Peripheral Expressway

· Delhi-Meerut Expressway

· Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway

In addition to the above the Government is also considering construction of a few more Expressways as follows:

· Nagpur – Mumbai

· Jaipur – Ajmer – Ahmedabad

· Nagpur – Hyderabad

· Pune – Hyderabad

· Hyderabad – Bangalore

· Amravati – Hyderabad- Bangalore

· Delhi – Amritsar- Jammu- Katra

Targets for 2015-16

During this year 2015-16, the Ministry has target to award 10,000Km of National Highways, which is 25% more than the stretches awarded during last year. Similarly, Ministry has target to complete work in 6300 km of stretches, which is around 45% more the km completed during the last year.

PPPs showing signs of recovery

PPPs are also showing signs of recovery. In 2015 -16, 7 PPP projects with aggregate length of 874 Kms and cost of Rs 11,927 Cr. have been awarded so far.

MAJOR POLICY INITIATIVES

The Government has progressively taken many policy decisions in the sector, designed to facilitate the execution of work and make it speedier, more efficient and transparent. After the important initiatives taken in 2014 which include empowering Ministry of RT&H to decide Mode of Delivery of projects, giving it enhanced appraisal powers and providing a mechanism for inter-ministerial coordination, some of the major initiatives of 2015 are as follows:

1.Exit Policy – This is aimed at improving the availability of equity in the market. The Exit Policy framework permits concessionaires/developers to divest 100 percent equity and exit all operational BOT projects two years after completion of construction. This would help unlock equity from completed projects making it potentially available for investment into new infrastructure projects across the country.

2. Fund Infusion To Salvage Languishing Projects – This initiative authorizes the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to intervene in projects that are in the advanced stage of completion but are stuck due to lack of funds. NHAI has been authorized to provide funds to such projects from within its overall budget/corpus on a loan basis at a pre-determined rate of return. This loan is to be recovered along with interest as the first charge from the toll receipts immediately after completion of construction.

Out of a total of 73 languishing projects, issues have been resolved for 19. Contracts for another 39 projects have been terminated and the same are being restructured and rebid.

3. Rationalized compensation to concessionaires for languishing NH projects in BOT mode for delays not attributable to concessionaires – the Cabinet has approved the same which would add to the comfort level of prospective project concessionaires.

4. Amendments to the Model Concession Agreement – A committee under the Chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary has been authorized to make amendments. Certain changes have been approved by the Committee.

5. Segregation of Civil Construction cost from Capital Cost of National Highways projects for appraisal and approval – The Government has approved segregation of construction cost from cost for land acquisition, centages and pre-construction activities for the purpose of appraisal and approval of National Highways projects for the following dispensation:

(a) All NH projects with a civil construction cost of up to Rs.1000 crore shall be appraised by SFC/EFC/PIB headed by secretary, Road Transport and Highways and approved by Minister, RT&H.

(b) All NH projects with a civil construction cost above Rs.1000 crore shall be appraised by PPPAC/EFC/PIB headed by Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs/Expenditure and approved by CCEA.
This measures will help cut down delays in the process of appraisal and approval of NH projects.

6. Hybrid Annuity Mode of Delivery – A new mode of delivery under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode, namely Hybrid Annuity Model, is being promoted for awarding road projects for implementation under which 40% of project cost is being provided by the Government to the concessionaire. Remaining 60% is to be arranged in form of debt and equity to be compensated over 15 years as bi-annual annuities.There is separate provision for O&M payments by the Government to the concessionaire. The private party does not have to bear the traffic risk. All the payments have been inflation indexed by a Price Multiple Index which is a weighted average of WPI and CPI (IW) on 70:30 bases. This mitigates the inflation risk for the developer.

21 Highways projects have been identified to be implemented on this Model in the current fiscal.Confidence of the stakeholders in this model is evident from the fact that for the Meerut-Bulandshahr project, 4 bids have been received till the Bid Due Date of 09.12.2015. The bids are currently under evaluation.

7. NHAI Issues Tax Free Infrastructure Bonds – National Highways Authority of India is raising funds through public issue of tax free, secured, redeemable non-convertible bonds with Face Value of Rs 1,000 each for an amount of Rs 1,000 crore with an option to retain over subscription of upto additional Rs 9,000 crore, aggregating upto a total of Rs 10,000 crore.

8. Road Transport and Safety Bill, 2015- Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is working on a proposal to replace the “Motor Vehicles Act, 1988” with a new Act namely “The Road Transport and Safety Bill, 2015” which inter-alia proposes to put in place the National Road Safety and National Transport Authority which would be tasked to address the engineering, education, enforcement, monitoring and emergency care standards for road safety. The Bill also tries to remove the practices which are adverse to road safety and efficient use of transport system. It also proposes to bring Multi Modal Coordination Authority to improve the efficiency in the transport sector. On the advice of PMO, the latest version of the Road Transport and Safety Bill, 2015 was sent to all the States/UTs on 4^th June, 2015 seeking their comments/views. About twenty State Governments/UTs have so far furnished their comments. Reminders to States/UTs from where comments/suggestions have not been received were sent.

PROMOTING ROAD SAFETY

“Government of India is committed to improving safety, efficiency and sustainability in the transport sector and believes that only a safe system can be sustainable in the long run.” Minister of Road Transport and Highway Shri Nitin Gadkari said this while addressing the global conference on traffic safety in Brasilia in November this year. This is a reiteration of the government’s objectives to make Indian roads safe for the public and bring down the number of fatal accidents. The government has taken many steps in this direction during the past years and efforts continued in this direction during 2015. The highlights of the initiatives are as follows:

1. Road safety is being accorded highest priority and safety elements are being incorporated into designing of roads.

2. Steps are being taken to identify black spots on highways and take remedial measures to reduce accidents at these spots.

3.Road Transport and Safety Bill, 2015, which is in an advanced stage of consideration by the government, proposes an integrated approach to road safety and road transport .

4. Integrated Vehicle Registration and Driving License System – Government had developed applications http://vahan.nic.in for vehicle registration and Sarathi for driving licence. NIC has seen 100 % success in the deployment of these across the country. State Registers and National Registers have been created to consolidate the data base and all states and UTs have been connected. The National Registry contains more than 16 crore vehicle records and 6 crore license records. The State Transport Departments have access to the digitized data on registration and license. Various government and non government agencies also have access to the data. Various citizen-centric services are being rolled out based on the NR and SR applications. Vahan and Sarthi applications are now being revamped into web enabled, centralized architecture to provide unified, cloud enabled delivery of services. The application will be designed to meet the different requirements of various states and UTs and will have features like single sign on, biometric authentification, multiple option for e payment, SMS intimation etc. States are also being given incentives to enter their data so that there can be a single data base for the whole country.

5. Automated Camera Based Driving Test System – This test system developed by CIRT Pune provides an unbiased and transparent driving test mechanism with lesser human intervention, It is being used for testing license aspirants in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad regions. The system is also being set up at Chandigarh .

6.Cashless Treatment for Road Accident Victims – This project was launched in August 2014 on a pilot basis on the following stretches of National Highway-

i. Vadodara-Mumbai stretch of NH 8

ii. Ranchi – Rargaon – Mahulia stretch of NH 33

The purpose was to provide prompt medical care to accident victims during the Golden Hour. A toll free number 1033 has been started for reporting accidents. A 24X7 Call Centre has been set up to receive reports of accidents, deploy ambulances, alert police, hospitals and other such agencies.

7. Safety of Women in Public Transport Under Nirbhaya Fund Scheme – This is a scheme that proposes to provide for the safety of women in public transport A contract was signed between MoRTH and Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit Systems Ltd (DIMTS) to provide Project Management Consultancy for smooth implementation of the project. Under this scheme, following activities have been undertaken:-

Concept Report, Technology Analysis Report, Detailed Specification document for GPS and detailed specification document for CCTV have been finalized.

Draft Request for Proposal for selection of agency for design, implementation, operation and maintenance of the back-end system for National Level Vehicle Security & Tracking System and Draft Detailed Project Report has been submitted by Consultant.

(i) A core committee was formed under the chairmanship of Prof. N. Balakrishnan to review the schemes under “Nirbhaya Fund”. The Committee recommended for implementation of the MoRTH scheme on a pilot basis at two cities before its roll out on a national level.

(ii). The Principal Secretary to Prime Minister in meeting held on 19.05.2015 has directed MoRTH to re-examine the objectives of the scheme in line with core committee recommendations.

(iii) At present, feasibility of the scheme is being re-examined in line with core committee recommendations.

PROMOTING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOMNENT

Many initiatives were taken by the Ministry to promote sustainable development. These include :

1. Green Highways (Plantation, Transplantation, Beautification and Maintenance) Policy – 2015

The Government has launched the Green Highways (Plantation, Transplantation, Beautification and Maintenance) Policy – 2015. The vision of the Policy is to develop eco-friendly National Highways with the participation of community, farmers, NGOs and private sector. The policy will help to improve aesthetics of the project corridors and places of importance by planting selective ornamental trees, landscaping and turfing with grasses and ornamental shrubs. The plantation along the highway will help to reduce the impact of air pollution and dust and will check soil erosion at the embankment slopes.

2. Ethanol – Fuelled Bus- Notification was issued for mass emission standards for flex-fuel ethanol E85 and ED95 . This Notification will enable vehicle manufacturers to manufacture vehicles running on bio-ethanol E85 and ED95. A bio-ethanol fuel bus is already under trial in Nagpur.

3.E-rickshaws and E-carts – After laying down statutory norms / specifications for construction and maintenance of E rickshaws and facilitating their registration last year, the Government promulgated an Ordinance for giving relief to drivers of E-rickshaws and E-carts. The Ordinance enables the grant of driving licence for E-Rickshaw and E-Cart drivers holding LMV licence, without waiting for the prescribed one year period required for transport vehicles.

4. Bio- CNG and Bio- Diesel – Notification has been issued for norms for the use of Bio-CNG for testing and exhaust emission for vehicles running on Bio-CNG. With this notification, the vehicle manufacturers can manufacture, sell and get vehicles fuelled by Bio-CNG in the country. Draft Notification was also formulated for Mass Emission Standards for Bio-diesel (B 100) fuelled vehicles. Oil Marketing Companies launched Bio Diesel supplies in some retail outlets at Delhi, Vijayawada, Haldia and Vizag.

5. BS IV Compliance for 4 wheelers- Notification was issued for introduction of BS IV compliant four wheel motor vehicle according to which Mass Emission Standards for Bharat Stage IV shall come into force all over the country from 1^st April 2017. With this only those newly manufactured four-wheeled vehicles, which are complaint with the BS-IV standards will be allowed to be registered and move on roads with effect from the notified dates.

6. BS V and VI Norms – Draft notification has been issued advancing the date for implementation of BS-V norms roll out from 1^st April 2020 to 1^st April 2019 and BS-VI norms from 1st April 2024 to 1^st April2021 for automobile sector.

7. Scientific Studies on Designing Greenbelt -NHAI approved a pilot project submitted by National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur for undertaking scientific studies on designing greenbelts along national highways. The project will be implemented on a 5 km stretch on NH-7 between Jam and Hinganghat in Nagpur region.

8. Conversion of Diesel buses to battery powered Electric – As part of a pilot project to convert diesel buses to battery operated electric buses, the first prototype of one such bus was demonstrated in Parliament in the presence of the Prime Minister. The bus will be used by Members of Parliament. 10 more diesel buses are proposed to be converted to electric for State Transport authorities.

E-GOVERNANCE INITIATIVES

The Ministry of RT&H has brought in a number of e-governance initiatives which include

1. Electronic Toll Collection – In order to remove traffic bottleneck at toll plazas and ensure seamless movement of vehicles and hassle-free collection of toll, the Government will implement a nation wide Electronic Toll Collection based on passive Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) conforming to EPC Gen-2, ISO 18000-6C standards.. For this, EFC equipment installation is completed at 248 Fee Plazas and integration with Central Clearing House (CCH) is completed on 179 Fee plazas. Interoperable EFC has been commissioned on Delhi-Chandigarh and Chennai-Bengaluru stretches of National Highways.

2.Over Dimensional (OD) and Over Weight Cargo (OWC)- A web portal has been launched for online approval of movement of Over Dimensional (OD) and Over Weight Cargo (OWC). This is expected to ensure smoother movement of heavy transport and make system corruption free.

3. Online Bill Payment – New Web Based System inaugurated to make payment process for National Highway works more transparent. The new monitoring system is also expected to facilitate easy communication between various offices and allow a user to track the status of a bill.

4. INAM-PRO- a web portal was launched to facilitate monitoring of supply of cement and expedite placing of purchase orders by users . The portal, designed by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways is designed to ensure complete transparency in the supply of cement, so as to achieve reduction in the cost of construction of rigid pavement.

5.Road Asset Management System (RAMS) – A state of the art integrated data collection system was launched. The system will compile information on road assets, condition of the pavements and traffic through use of laser technology. It will assist in developing an accurate and scientific maintenance planning mechanism, finalizing road safety measures and development of the National Highways network in India. The data collected will be stored and managed through a web based application, which will be hosted in the public domain. The application, when fully developed, can also be accessed by smart phones. The development of Road Asset Management System (RAMS) for the entire National Highways along with collection of requisite data over 3,000 km of the pilot road network is underway as part of the Prime Minister’s Digital India initiative. The data collection over the pilot network of 3,000 km commenced from Nagpur on 5 May 2015 on trial basis.

6 .Toll Management Systems- Toll Management Systems including CCTV Surveillance, Weigh-in Motion, Static Weigh Bridge, at Toll Plazas of Public Funded Projects are being implemented

7.National Highways Toll Information System – A web portal www.nhtis.org has been launched to provide road users valuable information about the National Highways and Expressways, including applicable user fee rates at Toll plazas.

8. e-Pace – (Project Appraisal and Continuing Enhancement ) is a tool that captures all information about projects being executed by Ministry of RT&H, NHAI and NHIDCL across its entire lifecycle.. The information will be in public domain. The tool will help in monitoring of the projects and accelerating their speed.

. Data for over 1500 projects have been entered so far

Automatic Traffic Counter and Classifier (ATCC) -To standardize the process of data collection and creating of central data repository, traffic surveys on National Highways using Portable Automatic Traffic Counter and Classifier (ATCC) Systems is being conducted. Total 1609 locations have been divided in 7 zones. 1^st round of surveys have been completed on 1410 locations. The data for 830 locations have been uploaded on the web server.

Integration of border check posts with fee plazas – AS-IS study for integration of border check posts with fee plazas on the NHs on the direction of the PMO, has been completed.

CITIZEN CENTRIC INITIATIVES

Wayside Amenities – 39 locations have been finalized for setting up of wayside amenities on National Highways. The proposed amenities include parking, restaurants/ low cost dhabas, telephone booth, WiFi, ATM, fuel station, rest room, repairshops, chemist shops, handicraft shops etc.

2. Discontinuation of toll at 65 fee plazas.

24×7 Unique Toll Free Helpline Number “1033” for Road users. on National Highways has been commissioned.

National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008 has been amended further to incorporate stringent fee rates for preventing overloading and ensuring road safety.

GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS

1.Transport cooperation between India and Republic of Korea -A Framework of Cooperation in the field of Road Transport and Highways between the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of the Republic of Korea was signed on 18.05.2015.

2.Indo –US Transportation Partnership – A Memorandum of Cooperation between the Ministries of Railways, Road Transport and Highways and Shipping of the Government of India and the Department of Transportation of the United States of America for a India-US Transportation artnership was signed on 08.04.2015 during the visit of Secretary of US Transportation Department to New Delhi.

3.BBIN Motor Vehicle Agreement -India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh (BBIN) signed a landmark Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA) for the Regulation of Passenger, Personnel and Cargo Vehicular Traffic among the four South Asian neighbours in Thimpu,. The MVA agreement between sub-grouping of four SAARC nations, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) will pave the way for a seamless movement of people and goods across their borders for the benefit and integration of the region and its economic development.

4.Passenger bus service between India and Bangladesh- An Agreement between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh for passenger bus services between the two countries was signed on 06.06.2015 at Dhaka and bus services on Guwahati-Shillong-Dhaka route and Kolkata- Agartala via Dhaka route were flagged off by Prime Ministers of both countries at Dhaka on 06.06.2015.

5. The first BBIN Friendship car rally started from Bhubaneswar on 14^th November, went through eastern and north eastern states of India, Bhutan and Bangladesh and ended at Kolkata on 3^rdDecember. The rally, which covered about 4700 km, focused on “Safe Motoring” apart from Regional Connectivity.

6. India, Myanmar and Thailand (IMT) Motor Vehicle Agreement A meeting of Transport Secretaries of India, Myanmar and Thailand (IMT) was held on 13-14^th July, 2015 in Bangkok for finalizing the text of Protocol and its Schedules which would be part of the IMT MVA. The three countries have agreed in the meeting that the IMT MVA text of which has already been agreed to by the countries can be signed during a Transport Ministers’ meeting of three countries in Myanmar after the respective country Governments would complete their internal approval processes.

7. India, Myanmar and Thailand (IMT) trial run for passenger vehicles is being organized between India and Myanmar from Imphal in Manipur to Nay Pyi Taw in Myanmar.

8.India-Nepal Cross Border Transport Facilitation- The First meeting of India-Nepal Cross Border Transport Facilitation Joint Working Group (CBTFJWG) under the Motor Vehicle Agreement between India and Nepal for regulation of vehicular traffic between the two countries was held at New Delhi on 16-17 July, 2015. The CBTFJWG took various decisions required under the Agreement for its smooth implementation. The following 4 new routes among the various routes proposed by both sides, was agreed upon for starting regular bus services between the countries after the operators of the services from either side are mutually identified:-

(i) Kathmandu- Patna- Bodhgaya

(ii) Mahendranagar -Delhi

(iii) Siliguri- Kakarbhitta- Kathmandu

(iv) Jankapur- Patna

SADHVI NIRANJAN JYOTI STRESSES ON SKILLING IN FOOD PROCESSING

By

saurabh

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December 25, 2015

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A National Conference on Skill Development in Food Processing Sector Bridging the Gap ~ Building the Nation was organized here today by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry in which Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti was the chief guest.

In her remarks, the Minister announced that the government of the day has already approved 138 food processing projects without revealing the investment in them, hoping that with the execution of the approved projects, the food processing sector is likely to transform in next few years.

According to her, it is these food processing projects among other initiatives of the government, the make in India will prosper and better take off with food processing sector – the key focus area of the Prime Minister.

Referring to skilling, the minister remarked that the skilling is already scaling up in the 11 states and gradually it will expand and cover the rest of India, the advantage of which will definitely percolate down to food processing sector. “The skilled resource on this front will be absorbed in the proposed mega food parks that will not only drastically curtail the wastage of food products but enable farmers their due”, she said.

In his welcome remarks, President, PHD Chamber, Dr. Mahesh Gupta emphasized that to realize the maximum potential in food processing sector, skill development is vital. The government should focusing on skill development in various sectors. In a vast country like India swift growth in the economy can only be achieved through sufficient skilled manpower which should match the requirement of the industry. Institutions like NIFTEM who are developing and training our youths should develop the curriculum and training modules in accordance with the changing scenario.

Vice Chancellor, NIFTEM, Dr. Ajit Kumar in his observations shared the initiatives of the university for skill development in food processing sector, adding that government’s support in terms of policies and grants for skilling is the need of hour and the forthcoming budget should have special provisioning to further upgrade skills so that it acquires the required momentum.

Among other who participated in the Conference comprised Mr. N M Kejriwal, Senior Member, PHD Chamber its Secretary General Mr. Saurabh Sanyal; Mr. Amit Lohani, Founder Director, Forum OF Indian Food Importers; Dr. R.S Khanna, Chairman, Kwality Dairy Ltd.; Dr. Anup Kalra, ‎Executive Director, Ayurvet Limited; Dr. Harsev Singh, Chief Executive Officer, Reliance Dairy; Mr. Amit Dhanuka, CEO, Kejriwal Bee Care India Pvt. ltd.; Mr. Sunil Goel, Managing Director, Global Hunt.

RBI to Support NBFCs by Approving New Variants: RBI Deputy Governor

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saurabh

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December 25, 2015

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CII Logo

For development needs of the nation RBI will continue to approve of new types of NBFCs. Myth that NBFCs compete with Banks, they complement them. CII BCG whitepaper on the NBFC sector released.

The Non-Banking Financial Companies sector, NBFCs received a major boost today at the Confederation of Indian Industry – CII’s 1st NBFCs Summit with the theme ‘Regulatory Paradigm & Contours of Growth – Vision 2020’. Despite global reservations on the sector, Mr R Gandhi, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India said, “The Reserve Bank is allied to the developmental needs of the economy and therefore will continue to approve of new types of NBFCs if the economy will so require them.”

“World over there is an awakening post the financial crisis of 2008 about the existence, contribution, magnitude, significance and risk of the NBFC sector. From benign neglect to indifference of this sector, the world has now become anxious and seriously concerned about it. This has resulted in enhanced attention, monitoring and regulation of the sector. While the world sat up and noticed the sector recently, India had understood its relevance way back in 1963, chapter 3B dealing with regulations of Non-Banking Financial Institutions was added to the Reserve Bank of India Act 1934. It recognised that non-banking financial activities are an integral part of the financial system and compliments commercial banking. Only appropriate vigilance will be required,” said Mr. Gandhi.

Mr. Gandhi also praised NBFCs when he said, “NBFCs can be advantageous due to their ability to lower transaction costs, quick decision making, customer orientation and prompt delivery of services. In terms of products and services offered, NBFCs complement banking services. They have their risk elements that have led to continuous monitoring and assessment. However RBI has been dynamically making regulatory framework suitable for the day.”

Talking about the future of NBFC Mr. Gandhi said, “In my opinion, prospects for sector are not going to be uniform. Different segments of the sector are posed for different prospects and challenges. Infrastructure NBFCs will have a greater scope in the coming years both because economic growth will bring forth new projects and banks having a restrained approach towards such projects.”

Speaking at the summit, Mr. Y M Deosthalee, Chairman, CII National Committee on NBFCs and Chairman & Managing Director L&T Finance Holdings Limited, said, “NBFCs in India have evolved over the past five decades to emerge as a notable alternate source of credit intermediation to meet the diverse financial needs of the economy. The resultant capital formation has become a catalyst for India’s growth and development. Over the years, NBFCs have exhibited an ability to create innovative products and reach out to new client segments and regions, those which banks have typically been slow to expand into. NBFCs thus play a proactive and complementary role to the banking system by broadening access to financial services, enhancing competition and diversifying the financial sector.”

He highlighted their importance in the growth of the economy when he said that, “Establishing their strong presence as an integral part of the Indian financial system, NBFCs have played a vital role in providing credit to growth-enhancing sectors (such as MSMEs) through products like project finance, transport fleet finance, trade finance, equipment finance and microfinance.”

He also talked about a key pain point for NBFC that of being considered ‘shadow banks’ after the global financial crisis in 2007-08. “Shadow banking activities constitute a very useful part of the financial system. Their main advantage lies in their ability to lower transaction costs of operations, quick decision-making ability, customer orientation and their prompt provision of services. In the Indian context however, it may be a misnomer to term NBFCs as shadow banks, since NBFCs have been brought under progressively prudential regulations by RBI and many of the activities which contributed to the global crisis are either not allowed, or, if allowed, are allowed in a regulated environment with appropriate limits.”

Mr Ramesh Iyer, Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services, put the NBFC sector into perspective when he said, “While we are all under the financial umbrella, I do not believe NBFCs compete with one another. Each one of us is a niche. Some have chosen a particular geography, some focus on products while others have segmented themselves only on customers. It is also a myth that we compete with banks because we service different needs and different customers. We do not compete with Banks, we complement them. It is hence with certainty that I say that NBFCs have a great future.”

Mr. Iyer stressed that the greatest strength of the NBFC sector are customer, “Historically NBFCs are focussed on customers more than on products. Everything we do: our products, processes, channels etc. are all customer driven. This has helped us differentiate between intentional and circumstantial defaulters and that I think has been a key success factor of NBFCs. Our processes have an ability to ensure that over a period of time we are able to understand and hence service customers well.”

Our other strength is that we have continuously been able to innovate products. We have gone deeper and expanded the market by pricing better than others. We have recruited people from local markets that has helped us individualize products. We have invested in technology that has helped us control and bring down costs. These have resulted in the successes of the NBFC sector.”

Talking of the future he said, “Our future rests on investments in technology. It will decide how fast and well we grow. We also have to go to banks on a partnership mode and say that together we will sever every need of the customer. Unless we partner, costs will not come down.” He also addressed the need to reposition NBFC in the mind of the various stakeholders. “Every stakeholder – bankers, customers, regulators, training agencies, promoters – has a doubt about NBFC. This despite the fact that NBFC are India’s best promotors and that this industry has never defaulted on its bank loans. We have to zero in on one point of each stakeholder and go and collectively address and convince them. This way we will raise the level of the industry substantially high.” He ended by coining a new term for NBFC to call it Need Based Finance Companies.

CII and technical partner Boston Consulting Group (BCG) released a whitepaper on the potential of NBFCs in India, including outlining ways to accelerate their growth in the country. Mr Saurabh Tripathi, Partner and Director, BCG said, “Traditional sources of advantage for NBFCs will erode over time with deepening of banking in the country. It is imperative that NBFCs harness latest trends in technology, digital adoption by customers, and the web of partnerships to innovate and come up with new models. NBFCs are likely to benefit from these underlying trends and developments in the Indian market.”

Selection for position of DIRECTOR (ENGINEERING), MECON

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saurabh

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December 25, 2015

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The Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) is seeking qualified candidates for the post of DIRECTOR (ENGINEERING), MECON.

Last date of receipt:24 February 2016.

More:http://pesb.gov.in/Vacancy/MECON-DIR-ENGG.pdf.

Important for the Govt. and Opposition to work together – Anand Sharma

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saurabh

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December 25, 2015

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Mr. Anand Sharma, MP and Deputy Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, has declared that the Government and the Opposition have engaged in a constructive manner on various occasions in the recent past. “We have lent our support for passage of some of the key bills in the Parliament recently. We feel that it is extremely important for the Government and the Opposition to work together. And this is most imperative to assure that the aspirations of our young population are met. About two third of our population is below 35 years of age, which is a massive 800 million people. It is for this youth to dream and for us to work towards the fulfillment of their dreams,” he said while addressing FICCI’s 88th Annual General Meetinghere . Mr. Sharma said, “We have been the real authors of GST and we have put across some very genuine concerns. The Opposition is ready to debate with the Government on this.

The country will have a GST and there is no doubt about that. “ He said that at this juncture, there is a need for policies that reflect continuity, predictability and stability, which at present is being threatened. “Merely rebranding and repackaging of policies would not help the economy which at present is sputtering,” he added. The present Government, Mr. Sharma said, needs to decentralize and delegate, in order to meet its claim of improving the governance situation. He said, “There is a need to undertake a realistic appraisal of where we stand today in terms of our economic situation. If we look at the GDP number there has been only a marginal improvement in growth if go by the new base year numbers. Private investments remain weak and credit offtake has witnessed a significant decline. Issue of banks and related NPAs remains a major concern. On the external front, our exports have been on a downtrend for twelve consecutive months and we are nowhere close to meeting our export target. These numbers depict the hard reality and we should not be misled into believing what is conflicting with the realities.”

Scientists blueprint tiny cellular ‘nanomachine’

By

saurabh

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December 25, 2015

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Summary:Scientists have drawn up molecular blueprints of a tiny cellular ‘nanomachine,’ whose evolution is an extraordinary feat of nature, by using one of the brightest X-ray sources on Earth.

Scientists have drawn up molecular blueprints of a tiny cellular ‘nanomachine’, whose evolution is an extraordinary feat of nature, by using one of the brightest X-ray sources on Earth.

The scientists produced the structural map of this nanomachine — diacylglycerol kinase — by using a “hit and run” crystallography technique. In doing so, they have been able to understand how the tiny enzyme performs critical cellular duties — answering questions that have been on the table for over 50 years about this ‘paradigmatic protein’.

Kinases are key players in metabolism, cell signalling, protein regulation, cellular transport, secretory processes, and many other cellular pathways that allow us to function healthily. They coordinate the transfer of energy from certain molecules to specific substrates, affecting their activity, reactivity, and ability to bind other molecules.

Diacylglycerol kinase, the focus of this study, plays a role in bacterial cell wall synthesis. It is a small, integral membrane enzyme that coordinates a particularly complex reaction: its lipid substrate is hydrophobic (repelled by water) and resides in cell membranes, while its co-substrate, ATP, is entirely water soluble.

How it does this had remained a mystery for decades, but the newly produced blueprints have answered these questions.

“How this diminutive nanomachine, less than 10 nm tall, brings these two disparate substrates together at the membrane interface for reaction is revealed in a molecularly detailed crystal structure. It is the smallest known kinase, and seeing its form with crystal clarity is now helping us to answer questions that formed from over 50 years of work on this paradigmatic protein,” said Professor of Membrane Structural and Functional Biology at Trinity College Dublin, Martin Caffrey.

Figuring out how this tiny machine works at the molecular level was enormously facilitated by our use of one of the brightest X-ray sources on Earth, the X-ray free-electron laser at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center.

Professor Caffrey added: “This instrument produces bursts of X-rays just femtoseconds (a quad-trillionth of a second) long. With these short bursts we were able to obtain structural information about the enzyme before it vaporized through radiation damage in what I tritely refer to as ‘Hit and Run’ serial crystallography.”

According to Petra Fromme, the director of the Center for Applied Structural Discovery at Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute and a co-author of the current study, “this is the first structure of a protein that is a membrane-integral enzyme and important biocatalyst in the cell.” (Biocatalysts speed up the rate of critical biological reactions.)

The tiny kinase is one of the research targets for the NIH funded Center for Membrane Proteins in Infectious Diseases at ASU, which is devoted to unraveling the molecular basis of viral and bacterial proteins involved in diseases as well as the human proteins defending the body from pathogen attack.

The ASU team contributed to the work with expertise in crystal growth and sample injection, as well as data collection and evaluation.

In the future, the scientists hope to extend their free-electron laser work to make ‘X-ray movies’ of this remarkable nanomachine, so as to watch how it ‘does chemistry’ in atomic detail in real time.

The article describing the work has just been published in the leading journalNature Communications.

The team of researchers at ASU includes the faculty Wei Liu, Petra Fromme and Raimund Fromme from the School of Molecular Sciences, and John Spence, Uwe Weierstall and Nadia Zatsepin from the Department of Physics, the researcher Ingo Grotjohann as well as the graduate students Shibom Basu, Christopher Kupitz and Kimberley Rendek.

Source:Arizona State University(http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/12/151218084501.htm)

Black holes could grow as large as 50 billion suns before their food crumbles into stars, research shows

By

saurabh

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December 24, 2015

0

Summary:Black holes at the heart of galaxies could swell to 50 billion times the mass of the sun before losing the discs of gas they rely on to sustain themselves, according to research.

Black holes at the heart of galaxies could swell to 50 billion times the mass of the sun before losing the discs of gas they rely on to sustain themselves, according to research at the University of Leicester.

In a study titled ‘How Big Can a Black Hole Grow?’, Professor Andrew King from the University of Leicester’s Department of Physics and Astronomy explores supermassive black holes at the centre of galaxies, around which are regions of space where gas settles into an orbiting disc.

This gas can lose energy and fall inwards, feeding the black hole. But these discs are known to be unstable and prone to crumbling into stars.

Professor King calculated how big a black hole would have to be for its outer edge to keep a disc from forming, coming up with the figure of 50 billion solar masses.

The study suggests that without a disc, the black hole would stop growing, meaning 50 billion suns would roughly be the upper limit. The only way it could get larger is if a star happened to fall straight in or another black hole merged with it.

Professor King said: “The significance of this discovery is that astronomers have found black holes of almost the maximum mass, by observing the huge amount of radiation given off by the gas disc as it falls in. The mass limit means that this procedure should not turn up any masses much bigger than those we know, because there would not be a luminous disc.

“Bigger black hole masses are in principle possible — for example, a hole near the maximum mass could merge with another black hole, and the result would be bigger still. But no light would be produced in this merger, and the bigger merged black hole could not have a disc of gas that would make light.

“One might nevertheless detect it in other ways, for example as it bent light rays passing very close to it (gravitational lensing) or perhaps in future from the gravitational waves that Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity predicts would be emitted as it merged.”

Source:University of Leicester(http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/12/151218085632.htm)

IndianBureaucracyPRO

Indian Bureaucracy

1. National Highways Development Programme

2. SARDP-NE (Special programme for NE)

3. LWE (Left Wing and Extremist affected areas)

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· Development of Vijayawada Ranchi route

New Initiatives

1. Bharat Mala -5500 km – to develop roads along the international borders and coastal areas

2. Special Scheme – 6000 km – roads facilitating connectivity to religious /tourist places and providing connectivity to backward regions

3. District Connectivity – development of National Highways providing connectivity to district headquarters

4. Setu Bharatam – All the level crossings and narrow/weak bridges to be replaced by Railway Over / Under Bridges and new constructions

· Vadodara-Mumbai Corridor (400 km)

· Delhi-Meerut (66km) on NH-58

· Bangalore-Chennai (334 km) on NH-4

· Delhi-Jaipur (261 km) on NH-8

· Delhi-Chandigarh (249 km) on NH-1 and NH-22

· Kolkata-Dhanbad (277 km) on NH-2 and

· Delhi-Agra (200 km) on NH-2.

(ii) The Government has prioritized the following Expressways:

· Eastern Peripheral Expressway

· Delhi-Meerut Expressway

· Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway

· Nagpur – Mumbai

· Jaipur – Ajmer – Ahmedabad

· Nagpur – Hyderabad

· Pune – Hyderabad

· Hyderabad – Bangalore

· Amravati – Hyderabad- Bangalore

· Delhi – Amritsar- Jammu- Katra

MAJOR POLICY INITIATIVES

Out of a total of 73 languishing projects, issues have been resolved for 19. Contracts for another 39 projects have been terminated and the same are being restructured and rebid.

3. Rationalized compensation to concessionaires for languishing NH projects in BOT mode for delays not attributable to concessionaires – the Cabinet has approved the same which would add to the comfort level of prospective project concessionaires.

4. Amendments to the Model Concession Agreement – A committee under the Chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary has been authorized to make amendments. Certain changes have been approved by the Committee.

1. Road safety is being accorded highest priority and safety elements are being incorporated into designing of roads.

2. Steps are being taken to identify black spots on highways and take remedial measures to reduce accidents at these spots.

3.Road Transport and Safety Bill, 2015, which is in an advanced stage of consideration by the government, proposes an integrated approach to road safety and road transport .

6.Cashless Treatment for Road Accident Victims – This project was launched in August 2014 on a pilot basis on the following stretches of National Highway-

i. Vadodara-Mumbai stretch of NH 8

ii. Ranchi – Rargaon – Mahulia stretch of NH 33

The purpose was to provide prompt medical care to accident victims during the Golden Hour. A toll free number 1033 has been started for reporting accidents. A 24X7 Call Centre has been set up to receive reports of accidents, deploy ambulances, alert police, hospitals and other such agencies.

PROMOTING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOMNENT

Many initiatives were taken by the Ministry to promote sustainable development. These include :

1. Green Highways (Plantation, Transplantation, Beautification and Maintenance) Policy – 2015

2. Ethanol – Fuelled Bus- Notification was issued for mass emission standards for flex-fuel ethanol E85 and ED95 . This Notification will enable vehicle manufacturers to manufacture vehicles running on bio-ethanol E85 and ED95. A bio-ethanol fuel bus is already under trial in Nagpur.

6. BS V and VI Norms – Draft notification has been issued advancing the date for implementation of BS-V norms roll out from 1st April 2020 to 1st April 2019 and BS-VI norms from 1st April 2024 to 1st April2021 for automobile sector.

2.Over Dimensional (OD) and Over Weight Cargo (OWC)- A web portal has been launched for online approval of movement of Over Dimensional (OD) and Over Weight Cargo (OWC). This is expected to ensure smoother movement of heavy transport and make system corruption free.

3. Online Bill Payment – New Web Based System inaugurated to make payment process for National Highway works more transparent. The new monitoring system is also expected to facilitate easy communication between various offices and allow a user to track the status of a bill.

6 .Toll Management Systems- Toll Management Systems including CCTV Surveillance, Weigh-in Motion, Static Weigh Bridge, at Toll Plazas of Public Funded Projects are being implemented

7.National Highways Toll Information System – A web portal www.nhtis.org has been launched to provide road users valuable information about the National Highways and Expressways, including applicable user fee rates at Toll plazas.

. Data for over 1500 projects have been entered so far

CITIZEN CENTRIC INITIATIVES

2. Discontinuation of toll at 65 fee plazas.

7. India, Myanmar and Thailand (IMT) trial run for passenger vehicles is being organized between India and Myanmar from Imphal in Manipur to Nay Pyi Taw in Myanmar.

(i) Kathmandu- Patna- Bodhgaya

(ii) Mahendranagar -Delhi

(iii) Siliguri- Kakarbhitta- Kathmandu

(iv) Jankapur- Patna

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6. BS V and VI Norms – Draft notification has been issued advancing the date for implementation of BS-V norms roll out from 1^st April 2020 to 1^st April 2019 and BS-VI norms from 1st April 2024 to 1^st April2021 for automobile sector.