Desalination is hardly a new idea, but the current methods
such as reverse osmosis (RO) and flash distillation are
energy intensive and require extensive infrastructure, thus
making them expensive. While investigating a new carbon
aerogel for using it as capacitors for energy storage, Michael
Stadermann and Ted Baumann at the Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory (LLNL), United States, realised that it
was promising for capacitive water desalination.
Aerogels, a special class of ultralow-density materials, have
a complicated, cross-linked internal structure that gives
them the highest internal surface area per gram of any
known material.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
New water desalination method
Anand Sharma Launches eBiz Portal Portal to Provide Secure one Stop Shop for all Investment and Business Related Information and Services 24X7
The Union Minister
for Commerce,
Industry & Textiles
Shri Anand Sharma
launched an eBiz
portal at the CII
Partnership Summit
in Agra today. The
portal is India’s
Government-to-
Business (G2B) portal
developed by Infosys
in a Public Private
Partnership (PPP)
Model. “This Mission
Mode Project will
mark a paradigm shift
in the Government’s
approach to providing
Government-to-
Business (G2B)
services for India’s
investor and business
communities,” said
Shri Sharma while
launching the portal.
In order to enable
businesses and
investors to save time
and costs and in order
to improve the
business environment
in the country, an
online single window
was conceptualised in
the form of the eBiz
Mission Mode Project
under the National
eGovernance Plan.
Shri Sharma said that
the “project aims to
create a business and
investor friendly
ecosystem in India by
making all business
and investment
related regulatory
services across
Central, State and
local governments
available on a single
portal, thereby
obviating the need for
an investor or a
business to visit
multiple offices or a
plethora of websites.”
Shri Sharma further
said that the core
value of the
transformational
project lies in a shift
in the Governments’
service delivery
approach from being
department-centric to
customer-centric.
“eBiz will create a
24x7 facility for
information and
services and will also
offer joined-up
services where a
single application
submitted by a
customer, for a
number of
permissions,
clearances, approvals
and registrations, will
be routed
automatically across
multiple
governmental
agencies in a logical
manner.” “An inbuilt
payment gateway will
also add value by
allowing all payments
to be collected at one
point and then
apportioned, split and
routed to the
respective heads of
account of Central /
State / Para-statal
agencies along with
generation of challans
and MIS reports. This
payment gateway is
the first of its kind
designed in India and
can become a
universal payment
gateway for all
eGovernance
applications,” added
Shri Sharma.
The Department of
Industrial Promotion
& Policy, Ministry of
Commerce & Industry,
Government of India,
is the Nodal
Government Agency
responsible for the
implementation of the
eBiz Project. Infosys
Technologies Ltd. has
been selected as the
Concessionaire/
Project
Implementation
Partner and is
responsible for the
design, development,
implementation and
maintenance of the
eBiz Solution.
Shri Sharma said that
the government is
“firmly committed to
wide-ranging
initiatives aimed at
fostering the business
environment in the
country in a holistic
manner. Our
approach includes
leveraging technology
to bring transparency,
improve efficiency
and promote
convenience. eBiz is
an important step in
this direction and we
are pleased to work
in partnership with
Infosys on this
project, which we
hope will become a
benchmark for
successful Public
Private Partnerships
(PPPs) in the
country.”
Speaking on the
occasion, Shri
Saurabh Chandra,
Secretary, Department
of Industrial Policy
and Promotion,
Ministry of Commerce
and Industry observed
that “the eBiz Project
is the first of its kind
ever implemented in
the country. It marks
the highest level of
maturity in web-
based eGovernance
applications as it
strives to achieve
horizontal integration
across various
verticals of Central
government, State
governments and
Para-statal agencies”.
The first phase of the
project, which was
being launched today,
provides an
interactive tool that
helps investors assess
the Licenses and
Permits requirements
while setting up and
operating a business
in India. The License
& Permit Information
wizard will provide
authentic information
24X7 to investors and
businesses by
providing answers to
questions in an
interview style
format.
Global Research Team Decodes Gene Sequence of Chickpea Will lead to fast development of varieties with higher yield, drought tolerance and disease resistance
In a scientific
breakthrough that
promises improved
grain yields and
quality, greater
drought tolerance and
disease resistance,
and enhanced genetic
diversity, a global
research team has
completed high-
quality sequencing of
not one but ninety
genomes of chickpea
(=gram / chana).
Nature Biotechnology,
the highest ranked
journal in the area of
biotechnology, has
featured the research
in its latest issue,
dated 27 January
2013.
The research
milestone was the
result of years of
genome analysis by
the International
Chickpea Genome
Sequencing
Consortium led by the
International Crops
Research Institute for
the Semi-Arid Tropics
(ICRISAT). The project
team had 49 scientists
from 23 organizations
in 10 countries,
including ICAR from
India.
The global research
partnership succeeded
in identifying - 28,269
genes of kabuli
variety of chickpea.
Re-sequencing of
additional 90 chickpea
types provided
millions of genetic
markers. This has
great potential in
developing drought
tolerant and disease
resistant varieties of
this important pulse
crop.
Chickpea or gram is
the second largest
pulse crop in the
world, grown in
about 11.5 million
hectares. It is grown
mostly by poor
farmers and in dry
areas. It is is highly
nutritious. While
India is the largest
producer (also
importer and
consumer) of
chickpea, it is grown
in a number of
African countries
including Ethiopia,
Tanzania and Kenya.
Chickpea is also an
important component
of the pulse industry
in Australia, Canada
and USA.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
3rd National Voters’ Day Celebrated Across the Country
| 3rd National Voters’ Day Celebrated Across the Country 2.32 Crore New Electors Registered and Handed over Voter ID Cards National Awards Presented for best Electoral Practices |
The Election Commission of India celebrated the 3rd National Voters’ Day across the country today. The theme for the 3rd NVD is ‘Inclusion’.
|
Padma Awards 2013
President has approved the conferment of 108 Padma Awards. These comprise 04 Padma Vibhushan, 24 Padma Bhushan and 80 Padma Shri Awards. 24 of the awardees are women and the list also includes 11 persons in the category of Foreigners, NRIs, PIOs and Posthumous awardees.
Padma Awards, the country’s highest civilian awards, are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The Awards are given in various disciplines/ fields of activities, viz- art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc. ‘Padma Vibhushan’ is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; ‘Padma Bhushan’ for distinguished service of high order and ‘Padma Shri’ for distinguished service in any field. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year. The awards are conferred by the President of India at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhawan sometime around March/ April.
Padma Vibhushan
Padma Bhushan
Padma Shri
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