The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has published the R&D; Roadmap for Green Hydrogen Ecosystem in India. This document was published on 13th October, 2023. One of the central pillars of the National Green Hydrogen Mission is the establishment of a supportive research and innovation ecosystem for green hydrogen …
What do you think of Agenda 21, especially as there are so many who would prefer to find fault with the document? It's a broadbased question. Agenda 21 should be taken for what it is -- a broad inter-governmental agreement on a number of principles and objectives that is long …
BIRDS are among the most fascinating of creatures. They tirelessly build exquisite nests and care for their eggs and nestlings. But even birds have their parasites, the most famous being the cuckoo, which never builds its own nest and spends no effort in incubating its eggs or caring for its …
ALL THROUGH the second half of the 20th century, whenever Western governments have seen their industries lagging behind globally, they have resorted to updating their technology policies. The result has been that technology strategies became the key to economic growth not only in the US and in several European nations, …
THE INTERNATIONAL Institute of Environment and Development (IIED) in London has been conducting research on environment- and development-related policy issues for the past 20 years. Policies for a Small Planet is its vision of "sustainable development" prepared for the 1992 Earth Summit and could well rate as one of its …
"OUR ANGER has grown to its highest level," fumed Kazuo Shima, the Japanese delegate to the annual general meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), after Tokyo's attempts at yen diplomacy failed to prevent an extension of the global ban on commercial whaling (Down To Earth, April 30, 1993). The …
SCIENTISTS have found in the foothills of the Andes mountains the remains of what they contend is the earliest dinosaur. Unlike its giant descendants, the discovery by a US-Argentinian team measured just over a metre from nose to tail-tip and weighed only 11 kg. The newly-found dinosaur has been named …
MANY OF the nation's premier scientific establishments have utilised government funding poorly and failed to meet their 1991-92 objectives, complains the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). The CAG report, placed before Parliament on May 7, made its complaint on the basis of an audit of the working …
SHEEP treated with a protein found in the salivary glands of male mice can shed their fleece on their own. Scientists use the protein produced artificially through genetic manipulation in a technique called biological wool harvesting. The technique has been found to be so effective nets have to be put …
• Although the ministry of non-conventional energy sources spent Rs 69 crore -- 62 per cent of its expenditure on solar energy programmes -- on installing solar photovoltaic devices during 1986-92, evaluation studies indicate most of the units are not functioning because of "lack of proper maintenance, poor performance of …
SURROUNDING a potential target by an army of bodyguards may actually increase the risk of assassination, according to researchers at Middlesex University, London (New Scientist, April 3, 1993). Too many guards increase the risk as it is probable the bodyguards may accidentally harm the person they are meant to protect. …
A NEW variety of potato has its own armour against pests and does not need a helping hand from insecticides. Its armour of hair traps and kills insects trying to feed on it (Ceres, Vol 25, No 2). The hairy potato marks the first success for plant breeders trying to …
THIS IS probably one of nature's most intriguing survival games, involving two innocent players and a cunning third who eventually outwited. Caterpillars of the blue butterfly, Maculinea rebeli, masquerade as larvae of the red ant, Myrmica schencki, so that they can obtain free lodging and boarding at the ants' expense. …
NOT ALL scientists go along with Darwin's view that male birds evolved long tails for purposes of sexual selection. A group of British zoologists suggests the long tails may have evolved as a result of natural selection, making them a fitter species. They say the long tails are not mere …
THE GOVERNMENT has decided to allow higher royalty payments than its present 8-per cent ceiling, on a case-by-case basis, to improve the quality of technology being imported. Finance secretary Montek Singh Ahluwalia says royalty payment norms are being reviewed, indicating a change of heart that hopefully will reassure multi-national companies …
WERE IT not for the Moon, the climate on Earth would be dramatically different, say French geophysicists who have studied the effect on climate of the Earth's obliquity. The term refers to the angle through which Earth's spin axis leans away from the perpendicular to its orbital plane. The obliquity …
SCIENTISTS are using the latest equipment and most modern techniques to measure to an accuracy of 10 cm the height of Mt Everest and test the validity of an American astronomer's announcement in 1987 that Mt K2 (Godwin Austen) is the world's highest peak. Giorgio Poretti, who is implementing a …
WASPS, bees and ants are known to live in highly organised colonies with an elaborate division of labour among the occupants, who are separated into different "castes", each performing specific functions, and who are also physically different and with a rank in colony hierarchy. However, Ropalidia rufoplagiata wasps, studied by …
SOME HIMALAYAN species of Ficus -- the genus to which the pipal and the banyan belong -- yield fruit that have high nutritive value and are excellent for making into jams and jellies. Scientists say these species should be considered favourably for social and agroforestry programmes. P P Dhyani and …
HUMANS are not the only animal species to possess a sense of beauty. Recent research bears out the controversial view of 19th century British naturalist Charles Darwin that animals have an eye for beauty. He offered this as an explanation for the preference of females for the gaudiest males. The …
THE SUB-TITLE of the book: Research Strategies and IRRI's Technologies Confront Asian Diversity (1950-1980) says what the book is all about. The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), set up near Manila in 1960, was conceived and financed by the Rockefeller and Ford foundations. This book is about IRRI's planning and …
