Political
Politics of food security
Posted on 28 Sep, 2010 11:42 AMThe revelation by the Union Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar in the Lok Sabha on 26 July 2010 that over 11,700 tonnes of foodgrains worth Rs 6.86 crore were found "damaged" in government godowns is astonishing in a country where many people go without food.
Successful innovations in solid waste management systems: Examples from five local bodies in Tamil Nadu
Posted on 28 Sep, 2010 11:32 AMThis booklet about the work of Exnora Green Pammal (EGP), produced by UNICEF and published by the Government of Tamil Nadu, illustrates examples of the implementation and impact of solid waste management innovations in five localities in Tamil Nadu. The solid waste management systems in these localities are widely regarded as successes that deserve replication.This document has been produced to inspire and enable more local body authorities to emulate such successes in other parts of the country.
Improving solid waste management services in India is an urgent challenge for all levels of the government. Littering and the indiscriminate disposal of solid waste are widely practiced, polluting India's air, water, soil and inhabitants. Such pollution impedes India's efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).The nation's measures to combat malaria and other diseases (MDG 6), reduce child mortality (MDG 4), and ensure environmental sustainability (MDG 7) are all hampered by the unsightly and unhygienic conditions created by the accumulation of waste.
Grand Challenge: Create the next generation of sanitation technologies
Posted on 28 Sep, 2010 10:56 AM
Water security vs national security published in Third Concept September 2010 : Countries that share a river face a higher probability of engaging in military disputes
Posted on 28 Sep, 2010 10:15 AMThere has been growing public and policy preoccupation in recent years with potential climate impacts on water security in the wake of the worsening risk of global warming. In 1991, then–UN secretary general Boutros Boutros-Ghali pronounced that “the next war will be fought over water, not politics.” In 2001, Kofi Annan warned that “fierce competition for fresh water may well become a source of conflict and wars in the future.” And present UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon has argued that the ongoing Darfur crisis grew at least in part from desertification, ecological degradation, and a scarcity of resources, foremost among them water. Apart from this chorus of concern, many policy scholars have asserted that, as population growth and economic development raise pressures on demand and environmental pressures degrade supplies, resource scarcities could precipitate violent international conflicts, with shared rivers an especially dangerous flashpoint.
Fluid Mechanics, Hydraulics, Hydrology and Flow - A Civil Engineering Course under the National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning
Posted on 28 Sep, 2010 08:04 AMThis Civil Engineering Course under the National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) on the broad subject of Fluid Mechanics, Hydraulics, Hydrology and Flow is being carried out by the Indian Institute of Technology’s and Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore as a collaborative project supported by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (Government of India) to enhance the quality of engineering education in the country, by developing curriculum based video and web courses. In these web based lectures, the authors have developed the subject in detail and in stages in a student-friendly manner. The broad group of Fluid Mechanics, Hydraulics, Hydrology and Flow is structured into modules on the following topics:
Solids, Materials and their Mechanics – A Civil Engineering Course under the National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning
Posted on 27 Sep, 2010 09:31 PMThis Civil Engineering Course under the National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) on the broad subject of Solids, Materials and their Mechanics has been developed by Indian Institute of Technology’s and the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore as a collaborative project supported by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (Government of India) to enhance the quality of engineering education in the country, by developing curriculum based video and web courses. In these web based lectures, the authors have developed the subject in detail and in stages in a student-friendly manner.
Water law and policy in India - Capacity building workshop for women in Chitrakoot, Uttar Pradesh
Posted on 27 Sep, 2010 03:30 PMWater law and policy framework in India has undergone significant changes in the last couple decades. Given the complex nature of the law and policy framework, the awareness among common people is minimal or nil. This is an irony given the fact that recent law and policy changes call for ‘users’ to be as a key player in the management and development of water.
Good water supply and sanitation is a major input for good health of population - India Health Report 2010
Posted on 27 Sep, 2010 12:49 PM
Last week saw the publication by BS Books of the India Health Report 2010 (henceforth referred to as IHR10), edited (and mostly written) by Ajay Mahal, Bibek Debroy and Laveesh Bhandari. For anyone interested in India’s health status, access to health care and medicines, emerging health problems, the infrastructure of health services, medical ethics, health-care financing, government programmes and regulations and key issues in health sector reform, this 138-page report is an excellent introduction-cum-survey. Here I provide a highly selective summary to whet the appetite of readers to peruse the full report.
Water plumbing sanitation and health; Issues and Challenges - A trans disciplinary approach, Bangalore University, Bangalore
Posted on 27 Sep, 2010 10:59 AMInternational Conference
Theme: “Water Plumbing sanitation & Health; Issues & Challenges-A trans disciplinary approach”