The IMF’s April 2025 Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa presents a clear warning: regional growth is slowing, debt pressures are mounting, and donor assistance is declining. Yet the report outlines critical opportunities particularly in domestic revenue mobilization, structural reform, and private sector activation that can shape a more resilient …
RESEARCHERS have been trying to evolve a refrigerator that would cut down on power consumption and at the same time prevent the depletion of earth's ozone layer. Now, scientists from the Russian Institute of Light Alloys (VILS) in Moscow have successfully tested a new refrigerating unit that neither uses an …
DO ECO-MARKS and green logos endorsed on products really help the consumer to make an environment-friendly choice? May be not. A recent survey by the National Consumer Council in UK has found that green claims on products had the consumers baffled. Sample a few: Dishwasher liquid: "Easy on the environment"- …
CARS in the country are going green - not that they are going to run on electricity or hydrogen. The new generation automobiles in the country will be using natural jute fibre as car components. As part of the experiment, metallic or synthetic interiors and other auto components - most …
"Following the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992, there had been a worldwide interest in developing and promoting 'green technologies'. After that. the International Business Council's book, Changing Course, came up with the theory that good ecology is also good business. All this has generated much interest …
WITH the air in France turning out to be a potential killer, the government has decided to develop 'green pqtrol' by AD 2000. The bio-fuel will contain organic elements such as diester, derived from rapeseed, and ethanol, -extracted fr 'or beetroot. The bio-fuel canreportedly reduce the emission of pollutants like …
GREEN cars are winding their way to an era of less polluted Istreets. General Motors (GM), the world's largest automobile 'manufacturer, has announced 'that it would begin selling the Electric Vehicle (Ev) I electric motor cars in Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix and Tucon in the us from late 1997. …
A FULL bench of the Supreme Court has, on February 14, directed the motor vehicle authorities to "deal with" those car owners in the four metros (Mumbai, Delhi, Madras and Calcutta) who have removed or in any manner tampered with the catalytic converters (cc) fitted to their vehicles. The bench …
• low lead petrol (0.15 gm/l) was supplied in four metros since June 1994 (leaded petrol has 0.56 gm/l of lead) • ULP ,'I/as supplied to four metros since April 1, 1995 .low lead petrol was supplied to the Taj trapezium from September 1,1995 • countrywide low lead petrol to …
HANDMADE paper or recycled paper is in hot demand these days as wood for the paper industry is becoming a scarce resource. IRED-Forum, No 54, brought out by a Geneva-based NGO, Development Innovations and Networks, offers a simple and easy method to make recycled paper at home. For papermaking, one …
As SPACE research becomes costlier, inexpensive propulsion systems are being widely sought. Research with a view to achieving a major reduction in the cost of satellite operation is now underway at the University of Surrey. At present, it is necessary to employ costly propulsion systems using either solid or liquid …
TRACKING DOWN TUMOURS: Cancer detection will be much easier with the help of a cancer monitoring device developed by the Bangalore-based Defence Bio-Engineering and Electro-Medical Laboratory. The tab has designed a software for cervical cancer detection and is developing other devices that would diagnose breast cancer and oral cancer on …
INDIA's first home-made, environment-friendly biopesticide promises a bountiful harvest for both manufacturers and farmers. The biopesticides, Trichoderma harzianum and Gliocladiuni virens, have been prepared from soil-based micro-organisms and fungi, through university-industry collaboration, said A N Mukhopadhvay, dean, G B Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, UP, during a presentation …
GREEN thinking which has enveloped organizations worldwide, has meant that environmental considerations are uppermost when starting new industrial ventures and in minimizing the ill-effects of their present activities, products and services on the environment. While this is easier said than done, it can be achieved through a commitment to an …
Most water starved nations cannot afford the extravagance of purifying water for agriculture through conventional desalination techniques. The London-based Light Works may have just the answer: a cost-effective system for producing pure water in hot coastal regions, which is then used to irrigate crops. Its prototype greenhouse, built on the …
ANXIOUS to curb air pollution, the US government is tightening the screws on automobile manufacturers. Air quality laws in California and Massachusetts now stipulate that 2 per cent of the total sales in the car market by 1988 should comprise "zero emission" vehicles, a requirement that only electric cars can …
Indian agriculturists have evolved indigenous technology for producing stable and cost-effective biopesticides. These cellular pesticides, based on mutations of the toxic Bt gene, are cheaper and more stable in field conditions than the conventional patented Bt gene-based biopesticides being manufactured by multinational corporations. Besides, the conventional pesticides require repeated spraying …
COMPUTERS:Computer-chip manufacturing technology is about to undergo a revolutionary change. The 4 US-based bigwigs - IBM, AT&T;, Motorola and Loral - have put their heads together to develop semiconductors through X-rays instead of ultraviolet tight. These, they claim, would be vastly more powerful than those in use today. "We see …
THE government of Delhi has decided to promote the use of compressed natural gas (CNG) as an alternative, less polluting fuel. More CNG outlets are to be opened in the near future in Delhi, as well as the neighbouring states of Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. Besides, Delhi's Lt …
COMPRESSED Natural Gas (CNG)-fuelled 4-wheelers may soon be commercially viable in Delhi following the equipping of a petrol station with facilities to supply the petrol substitute. The station is registering a select number of applicants to convert vehicles to run on petrol and CNG in dual fuel mode. Last year, …
FRANCE'S pioneering "green oil" fuel, being pushed by the nation's powerful farmers' lobby, is catching Europe's attention. Already, filling stations in several French metros supply green oil, which is produced with grain, oilseeds or sugarbeet. Although it is not considered a substitute for petrol and diesel, European Union states are …
