Day: March 17, 2022

Snapchat: share your every moment

Snapchat Logo

Snapchat is an American multimedia instant messaging app developed by Snap Inc., which is originally called Snapchat Inc. It is a mobile app for Android and iOS devices. The app is often called Snap by its users. The app has evolved from originally focusing on person-to-person photo sharing to presently featuring users’ “Stories”. The content is in chronological order, along with “Discover”. It also allows users to keep their photos in the “my eyes only”, which is also protected with a password. It has limited use of end-to-end encryption.

Evan Spiegel, Boby Murphy, and Reggie Brown are the original authors of Snapchat. It was released in September 2011. Snapchat has 82.0 MB size in Android phones and 223.1 MB in iOS. There are total 37 languages available on Snapchat. Some of them are English, Arabic, German, Greek, Korean, Japanese, Hindi, Marathi, Chinese, etc.

From left to right: Boby Murphy, Evan Spiegel, Reggie Brown

Primarily Snapchat was focused on private, person-to-person photo sharing. But now it is also used for a range of asks, including sending videos, live video chat, messaging. It includes photo sharing, instant messaging, video chat, and multimedia. Other features include the ability to add filters and AR-based lenses to snaps and shows live location on the world map. As of July 2021, Snapchat had 293 million daily active users, having 23% growth over a year. On average, more than four billion Snaps are sent daily.

In September 2015, an 18-year-old was using a Snapchat feature called “Lens” to record the speed she was driving her Mercedes C230 when she crashed into a Mitsubishi Outlander in Hampton, Georgia. Also during the 2020 lockdown to inhibit the spread of COVID-19 in France, the app emerged as a hub for the dissemination of revenge porn of underage girls.

Black Holes – The Hawking Radiation, definition and facts

When a massive star dies, it leaves a small but dense remnant core in its wake. If the mass of the core is more than 3 times the mass of the sun, the force of gravity overwhelms all other forces and a black hole is formed. Imagine the size of a star is 10times more massive than our sun being squeezed into a sphere with a diameter equal to the size of New York City. The result is a celestial object whose gravitational field is so strong that nothing, not even light can escape it. The history of black holes was started with the father of all physics, Isaac Newton. In 1687, Newton gave the first description of gravity in his publication, Principia mathematica, that would change the world. Then 100 years later, John Michelle proposed the idea that there could exist a structure that would be massive enough and not even light would be able to escape its gravitational pull. In 1796, the famous French scientist Pierre-Simon Laplace made an important prediction about the nature of black holes. He suggested that because even the speed of light was slower than the escape velocity of black hole, the massive objects would be invisible. In 1915, Albert Einstein changed physics forever by publishing his theory of general relativity. In this theory, he explained space time curvature and gave a mathematical description of a black hole. And in 1964, john wheeler gave these objects the name, the black hole.

The “Interstellar” black hole was created using a new CGI rendering software that was based on theoretical equations provided by Thorne.

In classical physics, the mass of a black hole cannot decrease; it can either stay the same or get larger, because nothing can escape a black hole. If mass and energy are added to a black hole, then its radius and surface area also should get bigger. For a black hole, the radius is called the Schwarzschild radius. The second law of thermodynamics states that, an entropy of a closed system is always increases or remains the same. In 1974, Stephen hawking– an English theoretical physicists and cosmologist, proposed a groundbreaking theory regarding a special kind of radiation, which later became known as hawking radiation. So hawking postulated an analogous theorem for black holes called the second law of black hole mechanics that in any natural process, the surface area of the event horizon of a black hole always increase, or remains constant. It never decreases. In thermodynamics, black bodies doesn’t transmit or reflect any radiation, it only absorbs radiation.

When Stephen hawking saw these ideas, he found the idea of shining black holes to be preposterous.  But when he applied the laws of quantum mechanics to general relativity, he found the opposite to be true. He realized that stuff can come out near the event horizon. In 1974, he published a paper where outlined a mechanism for this shine. This is based on the Heisenberg uncertainty Principe. According to the principle of quantum mechanisms, for every particle throughout the universe, there exists an antiparticle. These particles always exist in pairs, and continually pop in and out of existence everywhere in the universe. Typically, these particles don’t last long because as soon as possible and its antiparticle pop into existence, they annihilate each other and cease to exist almost immediately after their creation.

In 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration produced the first-ever image of a black hole

In the event horizon that the point which nothing can escape its gravity. If a virtual particle pair blip into existence very close to the event horizon of a black hole, one of the particles could fall into the black hole while the other escapes. The one that falls into the black hole effectively has negative energy, which is, in Layman’s terms, akin to subtracting energy from the black hole, or taking mass away from the black hole. The other particle of the pair that escapes the black hole has positive energy, and is referred to as hawking radiation. Due to the presence of hawking radiation, a black hole continues to loss mass and continues shrinking until the point where it loses all its mass and evaporates. It is not clearly established what an evaporating black hole would actually look like. The hawking radiation itself would contain highly energetic particles, antiparticles and gamma rays. Such radiation is invisible to the naked eye, so an evaporating black hole might not look like anything at all. It also possible that hawking radiation might power a hadronic fireball, which could degrade the radiation into gamma rays and particles of less extreme energy, which would make an evaporating black hoe visible. Scientists and cosmologists still don’t completely understand how quantum mechanics explains gravity, but hawking radiation continues to inspire research and provide clues into the nature of gravity and how it relates to other forces of nature.

 

The Large Hadron Collider – Most Powerful Particle Accelerator

 The smallest thing that we can see with a light microscope is about 500 nanometers. A typical is anywhere from 0.1 to 0.5 nanometers in diameter. So we need an electron microscope to measure these atoms. The electron microscope was invented in 1931. Beams of electrons are focused on a sample. When they hit it, they are scattered, and this scattering is used to recreate an image. Then what about protons or neutrons? Or what about quarks? The quarks are the most fundamental building blocks of matter. So how did we find such small particles exist? The answer is a particle collider. A particle collider is a tool used to accelerate two beams of particles to collide since 1960s.

The largest machine built by man, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is a particle accelerator occupying an enormous circular tunnel of 27 kilometers in circumference, ranging from 165 to 575 feet below ground. It was situated near Genoa, Switzerland. It is so large that over the course of its circumference crosses the border between France and Switzerland. That’s the giant collaboration going on between over 100 countries and 10,000 scientists. The tunnel itself was constructed between 1983 and 1988 to house another particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider, which operated until 2000, its replacement, the LHC, was approved in 1995, and was finally switched on in September 2008.

Working of the Large Hadron Collider

 The LHC is the most powerful particle accelerator ever built and has designed to explore the limits of what physicists refer to as the standard Model, which deals with fundamental sub-atomic particles. There are two vacuum pipes are installed inside the tunnel which intersects in some places and 1,232 main magnets are connected to the pipe. For proper operation, the collider magnets need to be cooled to -271.3 °C. To attain this temperature, 120 tons of liquid helium is poured into the LHC. These powerful magnets can accelerate protons near the speed of light, so they can complete a circuit in less than 90 millionths of a second. Two beams operate in opposite directions around the ring. At four separate points the two beams cross, causing protons to smash into each other at enormous energies, with their destructions being witnessed by super-sensitive instruments. But it’s not that easy to do this experiment. Each beam consists of bunches of protons and most of the protons just miss each other and carry on around the ring and do it again. Because, atoms are mostly empty space so getting them to collide is incredibly difficult. It like colliding a needle into a needle, provided that the distance between them is 10 kilometers.

The aim of these collisions is to produce countless new particles that stimulate, on a micro scale, some of the conditions postulated in the Big Bang at the birth of the universe. Higgs Boson was discovered with the help of LHC. This so called ‘God Particle’ that could be responsible for the very existence of mass. If it disappeared, all particles in the universe will become absolutely weightless and fly around the universe in the speed of light, the exact value is 299,792,458 m/s. that mean we can reach our moon in 1.3 seconds from earth.

“When you look at a vacuum in a quantum theory of fields, it isn’t exactly nothing.” – Peter Higgs

Public Relations

When the COVID-19 pandemic situation began and the whole world went into lockdown, the taxi and food delivery services company, Uber, released a video on YouTube called “Thank You for Not Riding” that was part of the campaign #MoveWhatMatters. The campaign was an effort by the company of thanking its customers for reducing travel and maintaining social distancing. They compensated Uber drivers around the world who were not able to work for many months and provided free rides and food deliveries to front-line healthcare workers and citizens. This was Uber upholding the responsibility it has in such a challenging situation. In the last two years, a lot of interesting public relations campaigns have been taken up by companies and organizations across the world.

Public Relations or PR refer to the process of communication between an organization, company, or individual, and the public. It is the art and science of talking to the right audience in the right way. Public relations can influence and shape a company’s image, reputation and brand perception. A PR specialist or PR Officer is responsible for maintaining the image of the company they work for. To ensure the company’s good image, they can formulate communication plans and use media and other direct and indirect mediums.

The primary aim of PR is to maintain a good relationship with the public, their target audience, investors, employees and stakeholders which would help the company get a positive reputation, encouraging people to believe the company is honest and relevant.

If PR is related to maintaining a company’s relevance within the public, how is it really different from advertising? Here is the difference. Advertising is paid promotion while PR is earned. Companies pay newspapers, television channels and other media to display their Ads but PR promotes a brand using editorial content appearing in various media. Audiences usually look at Ads skeptically while PR promotions help in building trust in the audience because it has a third-party validation by the medium in which it is promoted. They are also cheaper compared to advertising and marketing services in the industry.

PR is influential in building brand reputation. A good PR agency can help a company improve its credibility and reputation. They make sure the company is getting proper attention and positive feedback for all of their projects, works and news updates. PR also has a very important role to play in crisis management or situations in which the image of a company may be in danger, which may be due to some miscommunication. It is the PR team’s responsibility to communicate with their target audience and public and clear the possible misconceptions. They have to work to get rid of the negative publicity the company may have received.

Here are two more examples of great PR campaigns in India:

#TouchOfCare by Vicks:

Companies often try to bring attention to compelling public issues with their campaign. In 2017, Vicks released a heartwarming video as part of its campaign #TouchOfCare. The video showed how Gauri, a transgender woman, raised an orphan girl, Gayatri, with all the love and care in the world, even when she faced struggles in society. Vicks believes that everyone deserves to be cared for and receive the touch of care. With this video, they showed how everybody needs someone to care and love them, whether they are connected by blood or not. The video got lots of positive feedback, generating about 4 million views in the first 48 hours in which it was released.

#ItsJustAPeriod by Stayfree

Stayfree launched the campaign #ItsJustAPeriod in 2020 to encourage period-related conversations and remove the stigma associated with it in Indian families, particularly as India went into lockdown and schools closed. A video was released on YouTube with many actors and influencers coming forward in support of the movement. With the majority of the Indian population at home, this campaign was able to get a huge social media outreach, with 10.17 million engagements collectively on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.

Why Higgs Boson called God’s particle

In 1964 peter Higgs with five scientists proposed a theory called the Higgs mechanism to explain the existence of mass in the universe. Before 1930s, atoms were considered as the fundamental particles. Then we found electron, protons and neutrons as atomic particles. Later we found that protons and neutrons are made up of even more small fundamental particles called quarks. Quarks are the fundamental building blocks for the whole universe. The key evidence for the existence of these elementary particles came from a series of inelastic electron-nucleon scattering experiments conducted between 1967 and 1973 at the Stanford linear accelerator center. They are commonly found in protons and neutrons. There are six types of quarks, up quark, down quark, top quark, bottom quark, strange quark, charm quark. They can have positive (+) or negative (-) electric charge. Up, charm and top quarks have a positive 2/3 charge. Down, strange, bottom quarks have a negative 1/3 charge. So protons are positive because there are two quarks (+2/3) ups and one down quark (-1/3), giving a net positive charge (+2/3+2/3-1/3 =1). These three quarks are known as valence quarks, but the proton could have an additional up quark and anti-up quark pair.

The Higgs mechanism theory

In the second half of the 20th century, physicists made a developed a theory called a standard model of particle physics. They theorized about twelve fundamental particles that make up all matter, and four particles called bosons are responsible for three fundamental forces of nature. It includes strong force, weak force, and electromagnetism. Gravity is another force, it is not a part of this model but, it can be modeled using general relativity. With these fundamental particles in the standard model and gravity, we can build almost everything in the entire universe. However until 2012, the standard model was an underlying theory. Because all forces carrying particles should be massless. So, although the photons are massless, experiments show that the weak forces bosons have mass. So that was a promising model that could be used to explain our universe. But perhaps, it would need to be thrown out because it had the seemingly fatal flaw in being inconsistent regarding the way the weak force worked in the late 1950s physicists had no idea to resolve these issues all attempts to solve this problem. But indeed it created new theoretical problems. In 1964, Peter Higgs hypothesized that perhaps the force articles were massless but gained mass when they interacted with an energy field that is the reason for the existence of the entire universe.

During the very early moments following the big bang, in the universe, the elementary particles were massless and they were pure streams of energy that move at the speed of light. As the expansion of the universe was proceeding, density and temperature decreased below a certain key value. According to the theory, the Higgs field interacts with particles and can give them mass. It is theorized that different particles interact differently with the field, the particles that interact with it more intensely have greater mass and particles that don’t interact with it that much have lower mass. Just imagine Higgs field as water, pointed shape objects interact lesser with water and cube shaped objects interact more with it. Some particles don’t interact with the field like photons are massless. A fundamental part of the theory was the presence of a specific particle; it’s called the Higgs boson. A boson that would allow the Higgs mechanism to unfold correctly to give mass to all other particles.

CERN’s discovery of a new particle

Even though Higgs theorized it, scientists can’t able to prove that until 2012. The particle accelerators had to possess a huge amount of energy to detect them. Finally, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the CERN’s particle accelerator has been turned on in 2008 and managed to recreate the required energy and temperature conditions in 2012. The Higgs boson was finally experimentally detected and on 4th July, a conference held in the CERN auditorium announced the discovery of a particle compatible with the Higgs boson. The machine accelerates Hadron bundles at close to the speed of light and collides them each other in opposite directions. At four separate points the two beams cross, causing protons to smash into each other at enormous energies, with their destructions being witnessed by super-sensitive instruments. Even if LHC is the world’s largest particle accelerator, it had to work hard to detect Higgs boson. If the Higgs field doesn’t exist, all particles in the universe will become absolutely weightless and fly around the universe in the speed of light. For This reason Higgs boson is often called as the ‘God particle’.

 

 

 

SCHEMES FOR PROGRESS OF INDUSTRIES

 Government of India has continuously been promoting the progress of industries throughout the country through various policy measures/schemes.

Government has taken a number of recent initiatives under the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 on industries. Some of the initiatives are: Rs. 20,000 crore Subordinate Debt for stressed MSMEs, Rs.3 lakh crore Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for Businesses, Rs. 50,000 crore equity infusion through MSME Self-Reliant India Fund, New Revised criteria of classification of MSMEs, New Registration of MSMEs through ‘Udyam Registration’ for Ease of Doing Business and no global tenders for procurement up to Rs. 200 crore for promotion of domestic manufacturing.

Besides above, Central Government has also taken following measures to promote industrial development:- announcement of Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme , launch of the PM GatiShaki – a National Master Plan for multi-modal connectivity to reduce logistic cost and create world class infrastructure, implementation of various industrial corridor projects to develop greenfield industrial nodes and to facilitate provision of plug and play infrastructure, reducing compliance burden on citizen and business to simplify, decriminalize & remove redundant laws, setting up of Empowered Group of Secretaries (EGoS) and Project Development Cells (PDCs) to monitor investment projects, building a strong eco-system for nurturing innovation and Startups in the country with the help of schemes such as Fund of Funds for Startups Scheme (FFS), and Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) schemes, launching of GIS-enabled India Industrial Land Bank, Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI),  Scheme for Promoting Innovation, Rural Industry and Entrepreneurship (ASPIRE), Credit Guarantee Scheme (CGTMSE), Micro & Small Enterprises – Cluster Development Programme (MSE-CDP), National Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Hub (NSSH).

State Governments also promote industrial development through various initiatives / schemes.

INVESTMENT IN INDUSTRIAL SECTOR

 Recently Government has taken various steps to boost domestic investments in India. These include Promoting FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) and improve Ease of Doing Business, Make in India initiative, National Infrastructure Pipeline, Reduction in Corporate Tax, easing liquidity problems of NBFCs (Non Banking Financial Companies) and Banks, trade policy measures, constitution of Investment and Project Development Cells, One District One Product (ODOP), and PLI (Production Linked Incentive) Scheme for 14 key sectors etc. Government of India has also taken up various Industrial Corridor Projects as part of National Industrial Corridor Programme which is aimed at development of greenfield industrial nodes/regions which can compete with the best manufacturing and investment destinations in the world.

The time taken for completion of a project depends on factors like type of project, number of stakeholders, statutory clearances, various other issues related to project etc.

In order to minimize delays and for timely completion of projects, the Government has institutionalized a monitoring mechanism called Project Monitoring Group (PMG) for various infrastructure and industrial projects above Rs. 500 Crore.  The PMG reviews such projects and resolve issues related to various central ministries as well as State Government.  Private Companies can also upload their issues on this portal and get their issues resolved.  As per available information, out of total 1805 Projects on the PMG Portal, 442 Projects under implementation have reported issues.  Further, 421 projects have been commissioned after resolution of issues. 

Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) also has 32 greenfield industrial nodes across 11 Industrial Corridors in the country.  National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC) as well as DPIIT monitors these project on regular basis. 

The Government has also developed PM GatiShakti National Master Plan which is supported by a digital platform to enable synchronized planning for providing multi-modal infrastructure connectivity to various economic zones, including industrial parks and clusters.

INDUSTRIAL CORRIDORS

 The status of Chennai-Bengaluru (CBIC), Bengaluru-Mumbai (BMIC) and Hyderabad-Bengaluru (HBIC) is as under:

  1. Chennai Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC): Three nodes namely Tumakuru in Karnataka, Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Ponneri in Tamil Nadu have been identified for development under CBIC. Status of these Nodes is as under:

Krishnapatnam Node: Project was approved by Government of India on 30th December, 2020. Detailed master planning and preliminary engineering activities for an area of 2,500 acres, as an activation area, have been completed. Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) tendering work for implementation of trunk infrastructure has been initiated.

Tumakuru Node: Project was approved by Government of India on 30th December, 2020. Detailed master planning and preliminary engineering activities for an area of 1,736 acres, as an activation area, has been completed. Environment Clearance has been obtained. EPC tendering work for implementation of trunk infrastructure has been initiated.

Ponneri Node: Consultant has been appointed for carrying out Detailed Master Planning and Preliminary Engineering for an area of 4,000 acres.

  1. Bengaluru Mumbai Industrial Corridor (BMIC): The Perspective Plan of BMIC has been completed. Government of Karnataka and Government of Maharashtra has confirmed availability of land for development of industrial node at Dharwad and Satara respectively. Consultants have been appointed for Detailed Master Planning and Preliminary Engineering for both the nodes.
  2. Hyderabad Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (HBIC): Orvakal node in Andhra Pradesh has been identified for development under HBIC. Consultants have been appointed for Detailed Master Planning and Preliminary Engineering. Site survey, preparation of base map, technical assessment & land suitability, preparation of preliminary master plan, etc. have been completed by the consultant.

Above Industrial Corridors are at different stages of implementation. Out of three nodes to be developed in CBIC, land has been made available in two nodes, – Krishnapattnam and Tumakuru. These are scheduled to be developed by 2026. For other corridors/nodes, since project development activities are going on, the timelines can be ascertained after availability of land and competent approval.

The status of Amount allocated, released and spent on the development of Industrial corridors is as under:

 (Rs. in crore)

 

s. No.

Name of the Industrial Corridor

Node/Project

State

Project Implementation Fund (PIF)

Project Development Fund (PDF) Spent *

Funds Allocated (as per CCEA Approval)

Funds Released by DPIIT to NICDIT
(Equity)

Amount transferred by NICDIT to SPV managed by State Govt.

1

Chennai Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC)

Krishnapatnam

Andhra Pradesh

Equity: 621 cr
Debt: 459 cr

533.86

522.10

9.43

Ponneri

Tamil Nadu

Not yet approved

2.50

2.50

0.51

Tumakuru

Karnataka

Equity: 608 cr
Debt: 433 cr

586.74

586.74

7.86

2

Hyderabad Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (HBIC)

Orvakal

Andhra Pradesh

Not yet approved

0.00

0.00

0.38

3

Bengaluru Mumbai Industrial Corridor (BMIC)

Dharwad

Karnataka

Not yet approved

0.00

0.00

4.22

Satara

Maharashtra

Not yet approved

0.00

0.00

 

* PDF are released to NICDIT for Industrial Corridor Project and the same is spent based on the project development activities being undertaken for different projects.

MAKE IN INDIA

 ‘Make in India’ is an initiative which was launched on 25th September, 2014 to facilitate investment, foster innovation, build best in class infrastructure, and make India a hub for manufacturing, design, and innovation. It is one of the unique ‘Vocal for Local’ initiatives that promoted India’s manufacturing domain to the world.

 

‘Make in India’ initiative has significant achievements and presently focuses on 27 sectors under Make in India 2.0. Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) coordinates action plans for 15 manufacturing sectors, while Department of Commerce coordinates 12 service sector plans. Investment outreach activities are done through Ministries, State Governments and Indian Missions abroad for enhancing international cooperation and promoting both domestic and foreign investment in the country.

 

In addition to ongoing schemes of various Departments and Ministries, Government has taken various steps to boost domestic and foreign investments in India. These include the introduction of Goods and Services Tax, reduction in Corporate taxes, financial market reforms, consolidation of public sector banks, enactment of four labour codes, improving ease of doing business, FDI policy reforms, other sectoral reforms, reduction in compliance burden, policy measures to boost domestic manufacturing through public procurement orders, Phased Manufacturing Programme (PMP), to name a few.

 

The series of measures taken by the Government to improve the economic situation and convert the disruption caused by COVID 19 into an opportunity for growth includes Atmanirbhar packages, introduction of Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme in various Ministries, investment opportunities under National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) and National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP), India Industrial Land Bank (IILB), Industrial Park Rating System (IPRS), soft launch of the National Single Window System (NSWS), etc.

 

In addition, Government of India is developing various Industrial Corridor Projects as part of National Industrial Corridor Programme which is aimed at development of greenfield industrial regions/nodes which can compete with the best manufacturing and investment destinations in the world. GoI has accorded approval for development of 11 Industrial corridors (32 projects) in four Phases. Under Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) Project, 04 greenfield industrial nodes have been developed under Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC).

 

Further, PM GatiShakti National Master Plan provides a transformative approach for ensuring multimodal connectivity to various economic zones. Minimizing disruptions, ensuring quick completion of works with cost efficiency are the guiding principles for the development of infrastructure as per the National Master Plan. Boost in economic growth, attracting investments and enhancement of country’s global competitiveness, are some of the expected outcomes.

 

The reforms taken by Government have resulted in increased Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows in the country. FDI inflows in India stood at US $ 45.15 billion in 2014-2015 and have continuously increased since then, and India registered its highest ever annual FDI inflow of US$ 81.97 billion (provisional figures) in the financial year 2020-21.

 

Keeping in view India’s vision of becoming ‘Atmanirbhar’ and to enhance India’s Manufacturing capabilities and Exports, an outlay of INR 1.97 lakh crore (over US$ 26 billion) has been announced in Union Budget 2021-22 for PLI schemes for 14 key sectors of manufacturing, starting from fiscal year (FY) 2021-22. With the announcement of PLI Schemes, significant creation of production, skills, employment, economic growth and exports is expected over the next five years and more.

 

The activities under the Make in India initiative are also being undertaken by several Central Government Ministries/ Departments and various State Governments. Ministries formulate action plans, programmes, schemes and policies for the sectors being dealt by them, while States also have their own Schemes for attracting investments.

 

Varied Efforts Underway to Further Increase Production

 Owing to Covid-19 pandemic, the subdued demand in power and non-power sectors had adversely affected coal dispatch from the coal companies. The pithead coal stock at Coal India Limited was 99.33 Million Tonnes (MT) as on 1st April, 2021 and 28.66 MT at the Thermal Power Plants end. The coal production got regulated due to high levels of coal inventory and less demand from the consumers.

There is no shortage of coal in the country. Due to increased demand of power, less power generation by imported coal based power plants and some interruption in supply of coal due to heavy rains, the coal stock at the power plants depleted to 7.2 MT as on 8th October, 2021. Subsequently with increased coal supplies, the coal stock has started increasing and has now reached 26.5 MT as on 09.03.2022 with respect to the plants based on domestic coal. In addition, coal stock at Coal India Limited (CIL) and Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) pithead as on 13.03.2022 is 47.95 MT and 4.49MT respectively.

The following action has been taken by Government to further enhance the production and supply of coal in the country:

  1. Commercial Auction of coal on revenue share mechanism: Auction of commercial mining on Revenue Sharing Mechanism was launched on 18.06.2020 by Hon’ble Prime Minister. Under this scheme, total of 2 tranches have been successfully completed and third Tranche is currently under process. From these two tranches total of 28 coal mines have been successfully auctioned for which Vesting order have in signed for 27 coal mines.
  2. Allow sale of excess coal production: The Ministry of Coal has amended Mineral Concession Rules, 1960 with a view to allowing sale of coal or lignite, on payment of additional amount, by the lessee of a captive mine up to 50 percent of the total coal or lignite produced in a financial year, after meeting the requirement of the end use plant linked with the mine. The Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Act had been amended in 2021. This is applicable for both the private and public sector captive mines. With this amendment, the Government has paved the way for releasing of additional coal in the market by greater utilization of mining capacities of captive coal and lignite blocks,which were being only partly utilized owing to limited production of coal for meeting their captive needs.
  3. Rolling auction: In order to expedite the process for conducting auction and to carryout more rounds of auction in a year, a mechanism of rolling auctions of coal mines has been planned. Under this mechanism, upon completion of the electronic auction process of a tranche, the next tranche of auction would be launched for following mines:

a. Mines where no bid or only single bid was received in the previous tranche of auction (except for those mines where Ministry of Coal decides to go for second attempt of auction)

b .New mines, if any, identified by Ministry of Coal.

In the current III tranche of commercial auction, total of 48 coal mines have been rolled over from the II tranche of mines.

  1. Single Window Clearance: The Union government has already launched Single Window Clearance portal on 11.01.2021 for the coal sector to speed up the operationalisation of coal mines. It is an unified platform that facilitates grant of clearances and approvals required for starting a coal mine in India. Now, the complete process shall be facilitated through Single Window Clearance Portal, which will map not only the relevant application formats, but also process flow for grant of approval or clearances.

Considering the increased demand as projected by the Ministry of Power, Coal India Limited (CIL) has already taken steps to augment the dispatch & build-up stock at power plants end which is as under:

    • CIL has planned to supply 565 Million Tonne (MT) during 2022-2023 to the power sector to meet the generation requirement of domestic coal-based power generators.
    • CIL has already additionally allocated 11.2 MT of coal from its high stock mines through RCR mode which is to be lifted from different Goods Shed/Private Washeries to build up stock at the plant end.
    • Railways are regularly being requested to give priority in supply of rakes to the power generators.
    • CIL has already started building stock at its railway sidings to facilitate adequate rake loading for power sector.

 The number of functioning coal mines in India as on 31.03.2021 is 442.

The details of production and consumption of coal in the country during the year 2020-21is as under:

(Fig. in MT)

Year

Domestic

Production

Domestic Dispatch

Total Import

Total Consumption (Domestic Dispatch + Import

% Import

2020-21*

716.08

690.88

215.25

906.13

23.75

India Needs 1.3 to 1.5 Billion Tonnes of Coal by 2030

 Due consultations were held for finalizing India’s approach for negotiations at COP 21 and prior to signing the Paris Agreement. As per Economic Survey, the demand for coal is expected to remain in the range of 1.3-1.5 billion tonnes by 2030.

Coal is the most important and abundant fossil fuel in India and accounts for 55% of the country’s energy need. Commercial primary energy consumption in India has grown by about 700% in the last four decades. The current per capita commercial primary energy consumption in India is about 350 kgoe/year. Coal is not only the primary source of energy in the country but is also used as an intermediary by many industries such as steel, sponge iron, cement, paper, brick-kilns etc. Similarly, with increase in growth of industries using coal, their demand for coal has also been increasing; hence, there has been an overall increase in the demand of coal over the years.

Being an affordable source of energy with substantial reserve, coal is going to stay as major source of energy in the foreseeable future. Despite push for renewables, country will require base load capacity of coal-based generation for stability and also for energy security.

Overarching decisions titled ‘Glasgow Climate Pact’ reflect the following agreement between parties with regard to coal and fossil fuel subsidies:

‘Calls upon Parties to accelerate the development, deployment and dissemination of technologies, and the adoption of policies, to transition towards low emission energy systems, including by rapidly scaling up the deployment of clean power generation and energy efficiency measures, including accelerating efforts towards the phasedown of unabated coal power and phase-out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, while providing targeted support to the poorest and most vulnerable in line with National circumstances and recognizing the need for support towards a just transition’.

It is evident that above paragraph is not mandating the phase down of coal power, and it is not setting any timelines for the phase down. Further, the paragraph is only ‘calling upon’ Parties to accelerate efforts towards the phase down of unabated coal power in line with national circumstances and recognizing the need for support towards a just transition. Paris Agreement is a multilateral treaty for combating climate change.

Accordingly, while India has committed to clean energy; the pace of transition to cleaner energy sources in India is to be viewed in the light of national circumstances, and principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, the transfer of climate finance and low cost climate technologies.

Pune Airport to get new terminal building with enhanced capacity

 New Integrated Terminal Building with enhanced capacity and world-class facilities is under construction at AAI’s Pune Airport, which will reduce congestion during peak hours at the airport.AAI has undertaken the construction of the Terminal Buildingat the cost of Rs. 475Cr.More than 55% of the work has been completed and construction of the new building is likely to be completed by August 2023.

The existing terminal building with built-up area of only 22,300sqm.has the capacity to handle passengers up to Seven Million Passengers per annum (MPPA).AAI has undertaken the work for construction of the state-of-the-art New Terminalwith massive built up area of more than 5,00,000 sq.ft. The new terminal integrated with the existing terminal, will have a built-up area of 7,50,000 Sq.ft. with passenger handling capacity of 16 MPPA.

The swanky new integrated terminal building (including old building) will be centrally air conditioned with provision of 10 passenger boarding bridges, 72 Check-in Counters and In-line Baggage handling system. The building will be an energy efficient building with Four-Star GRIHA rating. Provision of 36000 sq. ft. space for F&B and retail outlets has been reserved for refreshment/pleasure of the passengers. A huge canopy on city side of the existing building & new building together will give a magnificent look to the airport from city side.

The strongest intention of the project for new terminal building is the search for unity and continuity between the old and the new. Stretching over 360 meters in length, the Verandah is a unifying façade that not only provides protection from sun and rain but also serves as a grand urban fresco telling the story of rich social, historical, artistic and immaterial culture of Pune & Maharashtra. The facia of the public area below the great Verandah is supported with beautiful Maratha arches and decorated columns with a finish of local dark stone which is commonly seen in most of the heritage structures around Maharashtra. The new forecourt garden design is directly inspired by one of the most recognisable landmarks of Pune – The Shaniwar Wada Gardens.

To give a permanent solution to the parking issue, a multilevel car park (Ground plus three storeyed &two basementfloors) with a cost of Rs. 120 Cr. is also under construction and is likely to be commissioned by July 2022.The multi-level car parking will have capacity for parking of 1024cars and will be connected to the departure area of existing building with a sky bridge with provision of staircase, escalators & elevators at building side for dropping/ going up.

Hon’ble PM has recently highlighted the significance of modern infrastructure and transport facilities for Pune city, which has reinforced its identity in the fields of Education, Research & Development, IT and Automobile.The revamped terminal building of Pune airport will be an addition to his vision of infrastructure led growth under PM-Gati Shakti National Master Plan.

 

Status of Terminal Building Work at Site

 

 

Status of Terminal Building Work at Site

 

 

Status of MLCP Work at Site

 

 

 

Perspective Design – New Integrated Terminal Building (Elevation- City side view)

 

 

Perspective Design – New Integrated Terminal Building (Elevation- Air side view)

 

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Achievements of women in Aviation Sector

 Ministry of Civil Aviation, in association with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce Industry (FICCI),today organized an event to acknowledge and felicitate the contribution of women and to celebrate Women’s Achievements in Indian Aviation sector.

The event was graced byUnion Minister of Civil Aviation, Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia asthe Chief Guest. Other dignitaries include Shri Rajiv Bansal, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Smt. Usha Padhee, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Smt. AshmitaSethi, Co-Chairman, FICCI Aviation Committee & Managing Director of Pratt & Whitney India and Smt. Radha Bhatia, President, Women in Aviation – India Chapter.The ceremony was also attended by the members of Women in Aviation International – India chapter, top dignitaries of MoCA, FICCI and representatives of airlines.

The Indian Civil Aviation sector has seen an increase in the participation of women. They are showing their mark in the airline industry and are pursuing careers as aircraft engineers, pilots, firefighters, ground crew, airport security etc registering their presence in the aviation industry.

Dwelling on the achievement of women in the sector, Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Union Minister of Civil Aviation said “This is a landmark day to be remembered. The success of women in aviation is not confined to airports or airplanes but to a much larger ecosystem. 15% of our pilots in India are women which is 3 times more than the global average. But this 15% is not good enough as women have surpassed various odds and stereotypes and I firmly believe there must come a day in India that this 15% must reach 50% of our pilot strength in our country. For this to achieve, we must start from having easy access to STEM education to our young girls in their early education”.

The Minister further added “In next decade, the backbone of Indian infrastructure is going to be civil aviation which transports roughly 144 million people and have a growth potential double that of Indian Railways. Therefore, there is a need to train more pilots. For this, we have come out with a new FTO policy in which we are looking to setup 9 new FTOs in 5 new cities as this will help in reducing the outflow of foreign exchange in training our pilots abroad and unleashing another avenue for our women to participate much greater in civil aviation.”

20 women achievers who have played a significant role in the aviation sector, were felicitated during the event. (List in Annexure I)Apart from Felicitation ceremony, a book was also released titled “From Sarees to Strip – TrueStories of Commercial Women Pilots in India”authored by Manisha Puri depicting the ascendency of women in Indian Aviation.

 

 

Annexure-I

Ms. Neerja Sodhi

Manager Commercial (Retd.) Air India

Neerja has over 33 years of rich, diverse experience in various aspects of public relations, airline operations and management with Air India. Neerja has also spearheaded the Premium Care Unit at Delhi Airport

Capt. Kunjal Bhatt

Capt.Bhatt is the first woman ‘Head of Training’ at Indira Gandhi RashtriyaUranAkademi. She is currently the Chief Flying Instructor at IGRUA.

Ms. Shital Mahajan Rane

Shital Mahajan is a professional woman skydiver and Padmashri awardee 2011. Since 2012, Shital has represented India in Skydiving Championships around the world. Shital Mahajan is the first Indian woman to perform a parachute jump at the North Pole & the bottom of the world, South Pole in minus 37/38 degrees Celsius.

Dr. Sarita Ahlawat

Dr Sarita Ahlawat is the Co-Founder of Botlab Dynamics Pvt. Ltd. a Robotics start-up specializing in building drone swarm technology incubated at IIT Delhi. She is responsible for the swarm drone show at the Beating Retreat 2022.

Capt. Nivedita Bhasin (Retd.)

Capt. Nivedita Bhasin is India’s pioneer Woman Pilot of Indian Airlines (now Air India). Capt Nivedita Bhasin became the world’s youngest Woman Jet Commander, and the world’s first Woman Airline Pilot to fly the Dreamliner, Boeing 787. Recently, Capt. Nivedita Bhasin superannuated after a glorious Airline flying career that spanned more than 37 years. Nivedita is one of the founding members of the women in aviation India chapter.

Ms. Neelu Khatri

Neelu Khatri – Co-Founder and Senior Vice President, Akasa Air. Akasa Air is scheduled to commence operations in the summer of 2022 . Prior to this, Ms.Khatri was the President of Honeywell Aerospace in India handling the defence, aerospace, aviation and space business.

Captain Anushree Varma

Chief of Flight Safety, Safety Manager, SpiceJet

Captain Varma literally grew up in SpiceJet to become one of the youngest Chief of Flight Safety professionals for a scheduled airline in the history of Indian Civil Aviation. She is a trainer on Boeing 737 aircraft and has headed the Pilot Recruitment Cell.

Flt. Lt. Shivangi Singh

Flt Lt Shivangi Singh was born on 24th July 1995, in Varanasi(Uttar Pradesh). She has done schooling from St. Josephs’ Convent School, B.Sc. (Phy and Maths) from Sunbeam College (Varansi). Shivangi has taken part in Republic Day Parade through NCC Air wing and had the privilege of representing my country as Youth Ambassador through Youth Exchange Program in Bangladesh. She joined IAF academy at Dundigal in Jul 2016. After doing basic military training and studying ground subjects related to aviation, she started flying Pilatus PC-7 Mk-II as part of stage-1 training, in Jan 2017. By the end of stage-1 training, she was shortlisted to join Fighter Stream of Indian Airforce. After successful completion of training, Shivangi got commissioned in Fighter Streams in Dec 2017. Afterwards she flew Basic Fighter Jet, Hawk Mk-132 and got posted to a Fighter Sqn in Feb, 2019 where she flew Mig-21 Bison and became the youngest fully Operational pilot in Mig-21 Bison. She currently flies Rafale.

Tulsi Nowlakha Mirchandaney

She is the MD and Accountable Manager of Blue Dart Aviation, India’s only scheduled domestic cargo airline and longest serving private carrier. She has been actively associated with India’s airline industry for the past 52 years and with Blue Dart for 27 years.

Ritika Modi

Uniglobe Travel

Ritika as an entrepreneur, launched her own travel company – Mod Travels, in the early nineties PAN India, which today is a leading name in the Indian travel industry diaspora. She led it to confer as the Most Preferred Operator for Business Travel by CNBC Award in 2013. Under the leadership and able guidance of a travel veteran, UNIGLOBE in no time has expanded to 50+ locations across India and Bangladesh, with an annualized turnover of over INR 2,000+ Crores, making it the largest single-brand travel franchise network in the South Asia Region.

Mrs. Sophiya T V

Mrs. Sophiya Anil is a heavy equipment operator at Bird Worldwide Flight Services . She holds a heavy equipment driving license and operates the DBT/EBT and Ramp Vehicles.

Mrs. Bini T I

Bini T. I. is the General Manager, Civil Engineering, Cochin International Airport. She has been instrumental in the planning and construction of the airport from inception to full operational capability in 1999. She spearheaded the development of the New International and Domestic Terminals. She constituted a team of lady engineers to complete the runway re-carpeting in 2020.

Capt. Mayuri Deshmukh

Capt. Mayuri Deshmukh of Pawan Hans Ltd, has created history in India by becoming the country’s first female Off Shore Captain. Through organizations like Pawan Hans Ltd and ONGC Capt. Deshmukh fulfilled her dream of flying offshore.

Capt. Ashima Mendiratta

Capt Ashima Mendiratta is a passionate and dedicated helicopter pilot for Pawan Hans Ltd . She is the youngest female to become Pilot In Command in Indian Civil Aviation Industry on multi engine helicopters.

Capt. Neha Malhotra

Ms. Neha is one of the first few approved DGCA Drone Instructors. She has started a DGCA approved Remote Pilot Training Organization (Drone Academy) by the name of Ganpati Aviation Solutions LLP.

Ms. Kanika Tekriwal

Ms. Kanika Tekriwal, CEO & Co-Founder, JetSetGo, which currently manages and operates India’s largest private jet and helicopter fleet.

Lt. Commander Pushpa Pandey

Lt. Commander Pushpa Pandey is with Bangalore International Airport Limited, with experience in Air Traffic Control, Airspace redesignation, Airside Operations, Aircraft Safety and Emergency Response Planning. Prior to joining BIAL, she was working as Commissioned Officer in Indian Navy (2002-2023).

Ms. Kiranjeet Jain

Ms. Kiran Jain is an aviation management professional with over 25 years of experience in aviation, in both airports and airlines. Currently, Kiran is the Chief Operating Officer of Noida International Airport, one of the first woman COOs at an airport in India and is part of the founding members of the women in aviation India chapter.

Mrs. M. Sathiyavathy

Smt. M. Sathiyavathy who hails from Chennai, is a Post Graduate & gold medalist in Mathematics from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. She then joined the Indian Revenue Service in 1981 and thereafter the Indian Administrative Service in 1982. Ms.Sathiyavathy was the first and only female DGCA, Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Ms. Parul Kulshreshtha

Head of GMR Aviation Academy.

Ms. ParulKulshreshtha is an awarded young leader with experience in Aviation, Air Cargo, Vaccine Logistics, Infrastructure, Aviation Education and Training. She is currently the Chief of GMR Aviation Academy. She is also currently the Chairman of Air Cargo Forum India (ACFI), Hyderabad Chapter.

Lt. Cdr. Swati Bhandari

Lt. Cdr. Swati Bhandari is a commissioned Indian Navy Officer. She is fully qualified on P8I Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance &Anti Submarine Warfare (LRMR-ASW) aircraft. She holds the highest CAT ‘A’ qualification and is also the youngest woman in India to be awarded Mission Controller and Captain of Aircraft clearance on P8I Aircraft.

Capt. Zoya Aggarwal:

Captain Zoya Agarwal is a Commander with Air India and the youngest woman to fly Boeing 777 in 2013. In 2021 Zoya led the historic Polar flight where she led an all-women’s crew across the North Pole over the longest route in the world creating World Aviation history. Zoya is a global spokesperson with UN women for generation equality. Zoya has given 11 Ted X and Ted Talks and has also been covered by platforms such as BBC, CNN, and Forbes etc.

Capt. Vandita Verma

Line Training Captain, Flight Operations, Indigo Airlines Capt. Vandita Verma, took the lead to be proactive and resourceful during the second wave of Covid and developed a website that provided extended support regarding RTPCR test, Plasma, Food for patients and family, setup of Home care unit and many more. This website validates the authenticity of such information from various sources before sharing with people who needed the most.

Ms Yasmin Ali

Lead Cabin Attendant, Inflight services, Indigo Airlines, Ms. Yasmin Ali is being felicitated for her courage, presence of mind and compassion she displayed during a road accident in which she also coordinated with the base and transport team and arranged for the casualty to be taken to a hospital while she reported to the base to operate this rescue flight she had willingly agreed to undertake.

Lucky Verrma Bhasker

Head-Airside Operations, DIAL

Started her career with Airport Authority of India and has successfully led several critical functions of Aviation business such as Airport Operations (Airside & Terminals), Hub development for Aviation Services, Course Developer & Business Development for GMR Aviation Academy. Her key achievements include first ISO certification of IGI Airport. She was also the core task force member during IC-814 hijack.

Bibiana Audreydas

Head Terminal Operations, GHIAL (RGIA)

Bibiana is a seasoned professional in the field of Quality Management, Customer Services and Operations. She has a diversified experience of around 30 years in hospitality, Tourism & Travel and aviation sector including airlines and airports. She was awarded ‘Woman Leader of the Year 2018’, by UBS Transformance.

Charulatha Pasupuleti

GM / Sr. Specialist, GHIAL (RGIA)

Charulatha, joined as GET and is currently working as GM. She is Technical Specialist in Airport Development Strategy and Design Management with Degree in Mechanical Engineering having rich expertise in design and assessment of Mechanical & Airport Systems, Aerodrome Master Planning, Operations & Terminal Planning, Capacity Planning. A core project management professional, who has spent 17 years in GMR Group. Charulatha has led various Airport Concession bids on behalf of GMR such as, Ibrahim Nasir International Airport, Male Mactan-Cebu International, Airport-Philippines, Mopa Airport, Kasteli Airport Crete – Greece, etc.

Gayathri Venkteshwaran

Jt. General Manager (Finance), AAI

Geeta Gauba

Deputy General Manager (Land Management), AAI

Jyoti Dhingra, Sr. Manager (Customer Engagement), Vistara

With Vistara since 2015 (inception phase)

COVID-19 outbreak disrupted airline operations and with that, the travel plans of thousands of our customers. Announcement of lockdown further added to the problem. She took up the challenge and was able to shift the contact center team, telephony system and technology to the homes of customer service agents within a day. Throughout Wave 1 and Wave 2 lockdown, contact center operations were running seamlessly.

 

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 National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) under the aegis of the Department of Pharmaceuticals fixes the ceiling price of scheduled medicines as per provisions of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013. In case of non-scheduled medicines, a manufacturer is at liberty to fix the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) launched by it, but is not allowed to increase the MRP of such formulations by more than 10% per annum. NPPA has fixed ceiling prices of 886 scheduled formulations & 4 scheduled medical devices and fixed retail prices of 1,817 new drugs. In addition, it has fixed the ceiling price of Orthopedic Knee Implants under Para 19 of DPCO, 2013 in public interest. Moreover, under “Trade Margin Rationalisation” Approach, the NPPA has fixed Trade Margin of non-scheduled formulations of 42 select Anti-cancer medicines and recently during COVID-19 pandemic, regulated the prices of Oxygen Concentrators, Pulse Oximeter, Blood Pressure Monitoring Machine, Nebulizer, Digital Thermometer and Glucometer.

With an objective of making quality generic medicines available at affordable prices to all, Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) has been launched by the Government wherein dedicated outlets are opened to provide quality generic medicines at cheaper rates to the citizens. Under the Scheme, till 28.02.2022, about 8,689 Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras (PMBJKs) have been opened across the country, covering all districts of the country.  Jan Aushadhi Medicines are cheaper by 50 -90% of market prices of branded medicines. During the current financial year (till 28.02.2022), total sales of Rs. 814.21 cr. has been achieved, which has led to estimated savings of approximately Rs. 4,800 cr. to the citizens.

In order to attain self-reliance in the pharmaceutical sector, develop global champions and to retain the position of the country as ‘Pharmacy of the world’, the government has launched two Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes. PLI scheme for promotion of domestic manufacturing of critical Key Starting Materials (KSMs)/ Drug Intermediates (DIs)/ Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) was launched with a total financial outlay of Rs. 6,940 crore.  Under the scheme, 49 applicants have already been approved. The other PLI Scheme for Pharmaceuticals has a total financial outlay of Rs. 15,000 crore. Under this scheme, 55 applicants have been selected. In addition, the department has launched a Scheme for Promotion of Bulk Drug Parks with a total outlay of Rs. 3,000 cr wherein financial assistance is to be provided for creation of Common Infrastructure Facilities in 3 Bulk Drug Parks.