India says is now third highest carbon emitter

Jairam Ramesh's comments come as negotiators from nearly 200 governments meet in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin. The U.N. talks aim to reach

agreement on what should follow the current phase of the Kyoto Protocol, the key treaty on climate change, which expires in 2012.

Indian per-capita emissions are still low but demand for energy is rising as the middle-class buys more cars, TVs and better housing. Much of that energy

comes from coal oil and gas, the main sources for planet-warming carbon dioxide.

But Ramesh said India's rush for wealth could not come at the expense of the environment.

Officials said his comments are the first time a government minister has said India has overtaken Russia as the third-largest source of greenhouse gas

emissions.

"We will unilaterally, voluntarily, move on a low-carbon growth path. We can't have 8-9 percent GDP growth and high-carbon growth," Ramesh told reporters on

the sidelines of a conference in the Nepalese capital.

"It has to be low-carbon 8 percent, 9 percent growth and that is the objective that we have set for ourselves," he said.

Poorer nations are now the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions and many big developing countries have taken steps to curb the growth of their

emissions but say they won't agree on absolute cuts, fearing this will hurt their economies.

India weathered the global financial crisis better than most, and is setting its sights on economic growth of almost 10 percent over the coming years. Its

economy currently grows at around 8.5 per cent.

"We are the third largest emitter of the greenhouse gases in the world ... China is number one at 23 percent, the United States is second at about 22 percent

and India is number three at about five percent."

GREENER PATH

In India, any talk of a low-carbon economy was once seen as politically very risky, given the economic costs involved. But Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in

January asked a panel to begin charting a path to a greener economy. The report is expected by the year-end.

Although India has announced a new climate plan which identifies renewable energy, such as solar power, as a key element, coal remains the backbone of energy

supply in a country where almost half the 1.1 billion population has no access to electricity.

"The gap between the second and the third (highest emitters) is very very high, but nevertheless we need to be conscious of our contribution," Ramesh said.

The fraught U.N. talks have been hobbled by lack of trust between rich and poor nations over climate funds, demand for more transparency over emissions cut

pledges and anger over the size of cuts offered by rich nations.

The risk of the talks stalling is so great that the United Nations has stopped urging nations to commit to tougher pledges to curb carbon emissions, fearing

further debate could derail already fraught talks on a more ambitious climate pact.

Anand Mahindra donates USD 10 mn to Harvard University

Mumbai, Oct 4 In one of the "largest gift" for the Harvard''s Humanities Centre, the University today said that its alumnus and Mahindra and Mahindra''s

Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Anand Mahindra, has given it USD 10 million in honour of his mother Indira Mahindra. The University has claimed that the

grant was the "largest gift" for the study of humanities in Harvard''s history and would advance the unique interdisciplinary collaborations led by Centre

Director, Homi Bhabha, a statement said.

Mahindra had graduated from Harvard in 1977 and earned an MBA degree in 1981. "This remarkable gift is a significant affirmation of the importance of the

humanities and the central place of the liberal arts in the University," Harvard University and Lincoln Professor of History''s President, Drew Gilpin Faust,

said.

Faust said that the grant had come at a time when it was vital to bring a humane and critical perspective to the urgent questions that confront the world.

"To address complex problems in an interdependent world, it is vital to encourage the cross-cultural and interdisciplinary exchange of ideas in an

international setting.

I am proud to be part of the intellectual legacy of India''s contribution to global thinking across the arts, culture, science, and philosophy. "I am

convinced of the need for incorporating social and humanistic concerns into the core values that inform the world of business and have sought to do so with

tremendous support from my peers and colleagues at work and beyond," Mahindra said.

Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said on Monday the country could not have high economic growth and a rapid rise in carbon emissions now that the nation

was the number three emitter after China and the United States.

India''s automobile export target of USD 12 billion may be achieved by 2014

India''s automobile export target of USD 12 billion may be achieved by 2014, two years before the target year laid out in Automotive

Mission Plan 2006-16 by the government, a study has said. "Indian automobile industry is confident of achieving its export target of USD 12 billion by

2013-14 itself, which will be good two years ahead of the target year of 2016 laid-out in Automotive Mission Plan (AMP) 2006-16," Ficci study said.

The country''s auto exports have been growing at a compound annual growth rate of more than 25 per cent in last five years, it said. In 2009, India''s

automobile exports, including tractors, passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles stood at USD 4.5 billion, the study said.

It said, while India has managed to be the seventh largest producer of vehicles in the world, it still remains a small player in the global market. "The

share of India in global automobile exports was a meager one per cent in 2009 and India ranks 22nd in automobile exports falling behind countries like

Thailand, China, Mexico, Brazil and Turkey," the study said.

The chamber said that there is also a need to revisit the targets set in AMP and perhaps there is also a need to scale-up the targets in the background of

robust growth of this industry in the last few years. "The government should aim at achieving a share of at least three per cent within the AMP by 2016," it

said.

As per the AMP, Indian automobile industry aims to achieve an output level of USD 145 billion by 2016, which would imply a domestic market of USD 82-119

billion and export market of USD 12 billion. "Auto exports can touch USD 17.7 billion by 2016," the study said.
New Delhi, Oct 5 India''s automobile export target of USD 12 billion may be achieved by 2014, two years before the target year laid out in Automotive Mission

Plan 2006-16 by the government, a study has said. "Indian automobile industry is confident of achieving its export target of USD 12 billion by 2013-14

itself, which will be good two years ahead of the target year of 2016 laid-out in Automotive Mission Plan (AMP) 2006-16," Ficci study said.

The country''s auto exports have been growing at a compound annual growth rate of more than 25 per cent in last five years, it said. In 2009, India''s

automobile exports, including tractors, passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles stood at USD 4.5 billion, the study said.

It said, while India has managed to be the seventh largest producer of vehicles in the world, it still remains a small player in the global market. "The

share of India in global automobile exports was a meager one per cent in 2009 and India ranks 22nd in automobile exports falling behind countries like

Thailand, China, Mexico, Brazil and Turkey," the study said.

The chamber said that there is also a need to revisit the targets set in AMP and perhaps there is also a need to scale-up the targets in the background of

robust growth of this industry in the last few years. "The government should aim at achieving a share of at least three per cent within the AMP by 2016," it

said.

As per the AMP, Indian automobile industry aims to achieve an output level of USD 145 billion by 2016, which would imply a domestic market of USD 82-119

billion and export market of USD 12 billion. "Auto exports can touch USD 17.7 billion by 2016," the study said.

High-tech PCR vans for Commonwealth Games

New Delhi, India: It will take only one minute for police control room (PCR) vans to reach any Commonwealth Games venue, with more than 100 deployed to respond to any emergency calls in New Delhi, India. All PCR vans are now equipped with GPS and GIS technology. An online city map has been installed at the Central PCR to track the movement of these vehicles.

Total 630 PCR vans will act as a one-stop shop for help, including information on transport and lodging and ferrying visitors to heritage sites. The vans have stretchers for medical emergencies, advanced equipment, a tour guide and water. 'They would guide the visitors, provide them with information on the Games schedule and tourist places, direct them to places to stay and - most importantly - protect them from touts and any misbehaviour,' said a senior police officer.

For the Games, 25 PCR vans have been stationed around the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, eight at the Games Village and two to six vehicles around the other Games venues. Delhi Police have earmarked 10 tourist PCR vans to transport visitors to the city's hot spots including heritage sites. According to officials, these vehicles would have young trained officers who understand English and can guide tourists. These vans will be placed at 10 places of tourist interest including Rajghat, India Gate, Red Fort, Qutub Minar, Palika Bazaar, Janpath, Paharganj, railway stations and the IGI airport.
High-tech PCR vans for Commonwealth Games
source Geospatial World Weekly

Little Master sachin Tendulkar

sachin Tendulkar has been the most complete batsman of his time, and arguably the biggest cricket icon as well. His batting is based on the purest principles: perfect balance, economy of movement, precision in stroke-making, and that intangible quality given only to geniuses: anticipation. If he doesn't have a signature stroke - the upright, back-foot punch comes close - it is because he is equally proficient at each of the full range of orthodox shots (and plenty of improvised ones as well) and can pull them out at will.

There are no apparent weaknesses in Tendulkar's game. He can score all around the wicket, off both front foot and back, can tune his technique to suit every condition, temper his game to suit every situation, and has made runs in all parts of the world in all conditions.

Some of his finest performances have come against Australia, the overwhelmingly dominant team of his era. His century as a 19-year-old on a lightning-fast pitch at the WACA is considered one of the best innings ever to have been played in Australia. A few years later he received the ultimate compliment from the ultimate batsman: Don Bradman confided to his wife that Tendulkar reminded him of himself.

Blessed with the keenest of cricket minds, and armed with a loathing for losing, Tendulkar set about doing what it took to become one of the best batsmen in the world. His greatness was established early: he was only 16 when he made his Test debut. He was hit on the mouth by Waqar Younis but continued to bat, in a blood-soaked shirt. His first Test hundred, a match-saving one at Old Trafford, came when he was 17, and he had 16 Test hundreds before he turned 25. In 2000 he became the first batsman to have scored 50 international hundreds, in 2008 he passed Brian Lara as the leading Test run-scorer, and in the years after, he went past 13,000 Test runs and 30,000 international runs.

He currently holds the record for most hundreds in both Tests and ODIs - remarkable, considering he didn't score his first ODI hundred till his 79th match. Incredibly, he retains a divine enthusiasm for the game, and he seems to be untouched by age: at 36 years and 306 days he broke a 40-year-old barrier by scoring the first double-century in one-day cricket. It now seems inevitable that he will become the first cricketer to score 100 international hundreds, which like Bradman's batting average, could be a mark that lasts for ever.

Tendulkar's considerable achievements seem greater still when looked at in the light of the burden of expectations he has had to bear from his adoring but somewhat unreasonable followers, who have been prone to regard anything less than a hundred in each innings as a failure. The aura may have dimmed, if only slightly, as the years on the international circuit have taken their toll on the body, but Tendulkar remains, by a distance, the most worshipped cricketer in the world.


Born April 24, 1973, Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra

Current age 37 years 163 days

Major teams India, Asia XI, Mumbai, Mumbai Indians, Yorkshire

Nickname Tendlya, Little Master

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm offbreak, Legbreak googly

Height 5 ft 5 in

Education Sharadashram Vidyamandir School

Commonwealth Gameswill result in economic impact of $4,940 mn

Commonwealth Games 2010 is expected to result in an overall economic impact of USD 4,940 million on India's GDP during a period of four years ending 2012 and create an employment opportunity close to 24.7 lakh.According to a Games Organising Committee document, this figure is almost three times the economic impact the 2006 Melbourne Games had on Australian GDP.
"It is estimated that the Commonwealth Games 2010 would result in an overall economic impact of approximately USD 4,940 million on India over the period of 2008-12," the document said.
It said the 2002 Manchester Games created an impact of nearly USD 3,400 million in Britain's, while the Melbourne Games created an impact of USD 1,600 million on Australia's GDP.
The OC estimates said the Delhi Games are also expected to create an "enormous employment opportunity" of close to 24.7 lakh jobs.