Political
Census: India, a nation of 1.21 billion - Article from Down to Earth
Posted on 25 Apr, 2011 05:30 PM
India is the most populous nation after China (1,342 million). India hosts 17.5 per cent of the world’s population compared to China’s 19.4 per cent. Of 28 states and seven Union Territories, 20 states contribute to 98 per cent of India’s population.
Peel potential - Bananas can filter heavy metals from water - Article from Down to Earth
Posted on 25 Apr, 2011 12:26 PMCitizen's uprising against encroachment and pollution of Ram Nadi, an urban river in Pune, Maharashtra
Posted on 25 Apr, 2011 11:37 AMForwarded to the portal by: Parineeta Dandekar
Global equatorial sea-surface temperatures over the last 150,000 years: An update from foraminiferal elemental analysis – A paper in Current Science
Posted on 25 Apr, 2011 10:21 AMSolar insolation changes are amongst various factors that affect sea-surface temperature, which in turn modulate global climate. Out of all the oceanic regions, equatorial region receives the maximum solar insolation and thus is the locale for the warmest waters. However, how the equatorial sea-surface temperature affects global climate, is still not clear.
Artificial groundwater recharge and recovery of a highly saline aquifer – A paper in Current Science
Posted on 25 Apr, 2011 07:59 AMA key factor in the long-term viability of aquifer storage and recovery is the extent of mineral interaction between two dissimilar water types, their recoverable fractions and consequent impact on water quality and aquifer stability.
Role of indigenous knowledge system in conservation of forest resources – A case study of the Aka tribes of Arunachal Pradesh – A paper in the Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge
Posted on 23 Apr, 2011 09:01 PMIndigenous knowledge is the basis for local level decision making in agriculture, healthcare, food preparation, education, natural resource management, and a host of other activities in rural communities.
The Delhi superbug debate - A mirror reflecting our own inadequacies?
Posted on 23 Apr, 2011 07:12 PMEven with its questionable merit, the superbug study has identified the need for us to question the focus that we have on finding narrow solutions to health issues .It has also highlighted the urgent need to address the broader infrastructural needs of the country such as access to safe drinking water and sanitation
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
The superbug study
New Delhi and the world was hit by panic last week because of a recent study published in the journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases , which found a high level of water contamination acquired from drains and public taps across India's capital city. The water was allegedly contaminated with superbugs, or what has been referred to as bacteria carrying the NDM 1 gene. Four percent of drinking water samples (2 of 50 samples) and 30 percent of drain samples (51 out of 171 samples) were found to be contaminated with superbugs [1, 2].
History of irrigation in Bihar – Ancient, British and upto Pre-plan Period – A report by the Water and Land Management Institute, Patna
Posted on 23 Apr, 2011 10:29 AMIrrigation is being practiced there since ancient times dating back to Kautilya, who lived in Patliputra (now Patna), which was the capital of the mighty Mauryan empire (400 BC). Kautilya had laid down the principles on rainfall and irrigation in his famous book Kautilya Arthasashtra.
Traditional knowledge used in paddy cultivation in Raipur district of Chhattisgarh – A paper in the Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge
Posted on 22 Apr, 2011 07:42 PMRice is the main crop cultivated in the State and several indigenous technologies are being used by farmers for seed germination, preventing the crop from insect/pest attack in the field as well as for storage.
Applications invited for Ph.D. programme (Fall-2011 session) – National Institute of Oceanography – Apply by 20th May, 2011
Posted on 22 Apr, 2011 06:48 PMThe National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) with its headquarters at Dona Paula, Goa and regional centres at Kochi, Mumbai and Visakhapatnam, is one of the 38 constituent laboratories of the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi. The institute has grown today into a large oceanographic laboratory of international repute. The focus of research has been on observing and understanding the special oceanographic features that the North Indian basin offers. The inferences from this research have been reported in about 5,000 research articles so far.