writingonblog uncensored: Toray Creates World’s First Porous Carbon Fiber wi...

writingonblog uncensored: Toray Creates World’s First Porous Carbon Fiber wi...: New material could benefit environment by enhancing performance of advanced gas separation membranes Tokyo: Toray Industries, Inc., anno...

writingonblog uncensored: Toray Creates World’s First Porous Carbon Fiber wi...

writingonblog uncensored: Toray Creates World’s First Porous Carbon Fiber wi...: New material could benefit environment by enhancing performance of advanced gas separation membranes Tokyo: Toray Industries, Inc., anno...

Toray Creates World’s First Porous Carbon Fiber with Continuous Pore Structure

New material could benefit environment by enhancing performance of advanced gas separation membranes

Tokyo:
Toray Industries, Inc., announced today that it has created
the world’s first porous carbon fiber with a nanosized continuous pore structure. Using this
fiber as a support layer could lighten advanced membranes used in greenhouse gas separation
and hydrogen production and make them more compact, thereby enhancing performance.
The company will keep pushing ahead with R&D for this new material to foster carbon recycling,
collaborating with other entities in developing applications to sustainably tap hydrogen energy
and shrink environmental footprints.
Absorption- and adsorption-based facilities conventionally separate carbon dioxide, biogas,
hydrogen, and other gases. The issue with such setups, however, is that they are large and
consume a lot of energy, resulting in heavy carbon dioxide emissions. Gas separation
methods employing membranes have thus attracted considerable attention. But despite
ongoing research, no membranes have yet combined satisfactory gas separation
performance and durability.
Toray’s new material is chemically stable because it comprises carbon, and offers outstanding
gas permeability. The material employs thin, flexible fibers, so when it is used to support gas
membranes a module can house many of them. Modules can thus be compact and light.
Such support makes it possible to combine a range of gas separation layers.
Toray looks to contribute to the swift commercialization of advanced separation membranes
that are vital to materializing eco-friendly natural gas and biogas purification and hydrogen
production.
Toray innovated its new material by combining its outstanding polymer technology with its
market share-leading carbon fiber technologies and water treatment and other separation
membrane technologies.
Harnessing its polymer technology enabled the company to create a porous carbon fiber
with uniformly continuous pores and carbon. It is possible to set nano- through micro-level
pore sizes for porous structures. Another possibility is to create a hollow fiber-shaped porous
carbon fiber in the center of a fiber.
Prospective applications leveraging the excellent adsorption of Toray’s new material include
electrode materials and catalyst carriers (base substances for fixing other substances) in
high-performance batteries.
―2/2－
Toray will open its R&D Innovation Center for the Future in December this year. The new
facility will serve as a global headquarters for strategic innovations by engaging with
academic institutions and key partners from diverse fields. The company will collaborate with
several partners in efforts leveraging its new material in a drive to commercialize more
advanced gas separation membranes.
Under the Toray Group Sustainability Vision, the company looks to keep developing
technologies that help materialize low-carbon economies by 2050 by contributing to
resolutions of environmental, resources, and energy issues.
Hollow porous carbon fiber and internal porous structure
Image of porous Carbon Fiber with Continuous Pore Structure
About Toray
Toray is a leading global company in innovative technologies and advanced materials.
Since its foundation in 1926, the Company has contributed to society through the
creation of new value and addressed global challenges by delivering high value-added
products including fibers and textiles, resins and films, and carbon fiber composite
materials. It operates in 26 countries and regions with about 48,000 employees
worldwide.
For more information, please visit our website at www.toray.com.

writingonblog uncensored: The state govt plans a web portal at a cost of Rs ...

writingonblog uncensored: The state govt plans a web portal at a cost of Rs ...: C Shivakumar CHENNAI: People in Tamil Nadu may soon be able to avail all the necessary permits and certificates for buildings in a...

The state govt plans a web portal at a cost of Rs 36 Cr for a comprehensive portal for the entire state

C Shivakumar


CHENNAI:


People in Tamil Nadu may soon be able to avail all the necessary
permits and certificates for buildings in a single web portal. This
will be a single stop for a range of services from building permits,
occupancy certificate or completion certificate. The state government
has embarked on building a single window portal at a cost of Rs 36
crore for this, it is reliably learnt.


Tamil Nadu e-Governance Agency sources said that the agency has been
engaged to help develop and maintain the state-wide portal and it will
soon be calling for tenders for the project.


People can submit the application online and it will be processed
through the software. The services will include processing of planning
permissions, building permission applications, completion certificate
and occupancy certificate. Builders will also be able to apply for
layout approval for lands coming under the jurisdiction of the
Directorate of Town and country planning (DTCP), Greater Chennai
Corporation and the Commissionerate of Municipal Administration.


The webn platform will be citizen oriented to facilitate transparency,
comfortable filing from the end user’s side and also keep digitised
records for the future use by the authorities.


Interestingly, this comes after Chennai Metropolitan Development
Authority has recently implemented a web portal for the approval
respective to their jurisdiction.


The single window portal bids are being floated after State Single
Window Monitoring Committee has urged the IT department to ensure
uniform software technology framework for all government service
delivery portals to make integration of services easier. There have
been issues with certain departments still processing applications
under the offline mode, the committee has stated.


The construction permit approval was suggested in Business Reform
Action Plan (BRAP) 2017 but it was not implemented. Builders
Association of India Chairman Southern centre S Rama Prabhu welcomed
the move to have a single window portal. “Now we have been made to run
pillar to posts. Once the single window portal is introduced, it will
cut red tape,” he said.


The portal will also have details about architects, licensed
surveyors, engineers who have been mandated to register their profile.
The portal will be integrated with the CMDA portal. It will also have
master data like districts, cities, taluks, towns, village panchayat,
blocks etc and the application will be routed to the concerned
department as per the work flow.


It is learnt that list of 11 reform recommendations has been suggested
for Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority and other agencies
under the Business Reforms Action Plan, which includes developing a
single window system that could provide 16 services and construction
permits besides having an online information wizard which will provide
a comprehensive list of licenses, registrations required for
undertaking a specific business and providing links to online
application forms for licences or no-objection certificates required
by users

writingonblog uncensored: Rosatom seeks collaboration with India in developi...

writingonblog uncensored: Rosatom seeks collaboration with India in developi...: Chennai: Russian’s  Rosatom  State Atomic Energy Corporation  has evinced interest in working with Indian companies in developing small...

Rosatom seeks collaboration with India in developing small and medium sized reactors

Chennai:

Russian’s Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation has evinced interest in working with Indian companies in developing small and medium sized nuclear reactors.

Nikita Mazein, Vice President of Rusatom Overseas (a division of Russia’s Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation) revealed this during the 11th edition of Nuclear Energy Conclave organised by the Indian Energy Forum.

“Rosatom is developing small and medium-sized solutions based on light water reactor unit of Russian design. In Russia, we have commissioned and will so be operationalizing the first Floating Nuclear Power Plant this year,” Mazein said addressing the conclave.

Hinting here is need to explore the possibility of such projects in the coastal areas of India, he said the segment can provide opportunity for furthering the nuclear cooperation between India and Russia.

Rosatom is the main equipment supplier and technical consultant in the construction of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant. Russia and India have an action plan document for the construction of second nuclear power plant. The two countries are planning to develop a project of up to six nuclear power units of Russian design at a new site in India.

“We are looking for cooperation to execute projects not only in India but also in third countries. We are discussing with our partners in India how to execute the localization agreement signed three years ago. We are talking with stakeholders about developing new power plant projects,” he added, citing the success of nuclear reactors based on Russian design, which have seen one reactor being commissioned almost every year for the last 14 years.

Mazein also articulated India’s need to reduce cost and recurring costs for nuclear power to make it more competitive. He said that cooperation could also be expanded to other sectors like health and agriculture.

According to World Nuclear Association, small units are seen as a much more manageable investment than big ones whose cost often rivals the capitalization of the utilities concerned.An additional reason for interest in small and medium reactors is that they can more readily slot into brownfield sites in place of decommissioned coal-fired plants, the units of which are seldom very large – more than 90 per cent are under 500 MWe, and some are under 50 MWe. Small modular reactors (SMRs) are defined as nuclear reactors generally 300MWe equivalent or less, designed with modular technology using module factory fabrication, pursuing economies of series production and short construction time.

writingonblog uncensored: 3,350 pending cases in HC for which state has not ...

writingonblog uncensored: 3,350 pending cases in HC for which state has not ...: C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI: Are the state government departments monitoring the pending cases? The pending cases in which counter affidav...

writingonblog uncensored: 3,350 pending cases in HC for which state has not ...

writingonblog uncensored: 3,350 pending cases in HC for which state has not ...: C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI: Are the state government departments monitoring the pending cases? The pending cases in which counter affidav...

3,350 pending cases in HC for which state has not filed counter affidavits!

C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI:

Are the state government departments monitoring the pending cases?

The pending cases in which counter affidavits have not been filed by the state departments has gone up from 2,063 cases to 3,350 cases in the last two months sparking a concern from the state Chief secretary.

It is learnt that during a high level meeting held recently, the chief secretary has observed that many departments have pendency of over 100 cases.

These include school education department, Municipal administration and Water Supply, Health and Family Welfare, Home, Housing, higher education, revenue and higher education which has pendency of over 100 cases.

Interestingly, during the earlier meeting the number of pending cases had gone up from 2,063 cases to 3,116 cases. At that time, sources said the pending cases had gone up with the integration of court cases with that of the office of government pleader. Interestingly, at that time there were 513 pending cases and the state had filed counter affidavits in only 56 cases.

This comes as the state is planning mechanism to monitor the pending cases in courts across the state through National Informatics Commission (NIC) which is extending the software application to the entire state. Currently, Court Case Monitoring System, the web-enabled system collects information on court cases of all the departments in the secretariat only.

During the high level meeting it was also observed that seven contempt cases are still pending for want of filing counter affidavits.  Top officials were asked to take action in filing the counter affidavits and following up the cases.

It is learnt that many state departments have convened a meeting to cut down on pending cases. It is learnt that the housing department, which alone has a total of 184 cases pending for which counter affidavit has yet to be filed, has asked officials to file counter affidavits at the earliest.

Meanwhile, efforts are on to enter the pending cases of Supreme Court in the software so that the status of pending cases will be reviewed by secretaries of the departments.

It is learnt that there are more than 1,000 cases pending before the Supreme Court and while efforts are on to dispose the pending cases, the state is finding a major challenge in clearing the pending bills of legal counsels hired by it. It is learnt that the chief secretary has urged all secretaries to follow up the pending fee bills of senior counsels so that they are settled at the earliest.

writingonblog uncensored: Could Houston University have Tamil Chair?

writingonblog uncensored: Could Houston University have Tamil Chair?: CHENNAI: Could Houston University, the third largest University in Texas in United States, have a Tamil Chair? After a Tamil Chair was s...

Could Houston University have Tamil Chair?

CHENNAI:

Could Houston University, the third largest University in Texas in United States, have a Tamil Chair? After a Tamil Chair was set up in Harvard University, there has been an effort to set up a Tamil Chair in Houston University and the Deputy Chief Minister O Paneerselvam has promised to consult with Chief Minister Edapaddi K Palaniswami and arrange for appropriate support from the Government of Tamil Nadu for setting up Tamil chair in Houston.

Speaking during a meeting with Renu Khator, Chancellor of Houston University,in United States, after having discussions with the members of the Indian American community of the Greater Houston area yesterday at the event in the Meenakshi temple, he said.

Thanking the University Chancellor Khator, he said the effort to endow a Tamil chair in the University of Houston is very appropriate and timely.  “I am aware that there is an expectation that the Government of Tamil Nadu should also contribute its mite to the establishment of a chair for Tamil in the University of Houston.  I assure you that on my return to Chennai I will consult with the Chief Minister and arrange for appropriate support from the Government of Tamil Nadu to the Tamil chair here in Houston,” he added.

Stating that the fervour to preserve Tamil culture and heritage and to work for the greater glory of the language is inspiring, the deputy chief minister has stated that the Tamil community has also very successful in the United States.  "Starting off as professionals and academics, many have now branched into business and entrepreneurship.  What is remarkable is the emotional connect they retain with their heritage and culture.  This reflects the inclusiveness of American society," he added.

This comes after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has announced in the assembly to create Tamil Chairs in renowned Universities in the world to promote Tamil Culture. The state has already contributed in setting up of Tamil Chair in Harvard University.

During the announcement, the Chief Minister has said said a Tamil Chair will be created in Oxford University in London, Johannesburg University in South Africa, University of Malay in Malaysia and in University of Jaffna in Sri Lanka.  Besides, Tamil chairs would be created in prominent educational institutions across the  globe as well as in other States too.

writingonblog uncensored: TN releases first instalment of 66.67 crore for fi...

writingonblog uncensored: TN releases first instalment of 66.67 crore for fi...: CHENNAI: The state government has provided administrative sanction of Rs 266.70 crore and financial sanction of Rs 66.67 crore as first i...

writingonblog uncensored: TN pilot on digitising service records, pensions a...

writingonblog uncensored: TN pilot on digitising service records, pensions a...: C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu government is planning to complete the pilot of Integrated Financial and Human Resources Management S...

TN pilot on digitising service records, pensions and govt bills in 5 five districts under IFHRMS to be completed by Nov; entire state to be covered by Jan 1, 2020

C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI:

Tamil Nadu government is planning to complete the pilot of Integrated Financial and Human Resources Management System (IFHRMS), a first of its kind in the country that ensures digitisation of the treasury system seamlessly integrating it with human resource and budget management, in seven locations including five districts by the end of November before rolling it out across the state by December 31 this year, according to Tenkasi S Jawahar, principal secretary and commissioner of treasuries and accounts.

Around 9.30 lakh government employees pay details, promotion, transfer, leave and other service details besides 7.20 lakh pensioners details and other bills will be digitised as a result the entire system will be handling transactions worth Rs 2 lakh crore, says Jawahar.

"We are trying to make it 100 per cent foolproof as a result we are facing technical issues like system getting slower and other issues. we are trying to resolve it. the system as a pilot will be be implemented in Salem, Theni, Karur, Ariyalur and Kanyakumari districts besides Pay and accounts office in Madurai and Secretariat by the end of November after which it will be rolled out across the state by the end of this year," said Jawahar.

Once IFHRMS is implemented, the 18,000 drawing and disbursing officers (DDOs) will be able to submit bills to the treasury online. This system will provide real time data on revenue and expenditure. It will also be linked to Income Tax department, Reserve bank of India and Comptroller and Auditor General of India, GST network as well as other banks. "usually, it takes 18 days to clear the salaries or bills but with the implementation of IFHRMS, it will take one day, says Jawahar.

It is learnt that mapping of data is very crucial and unsanctioned posts should not come into IFHRMS besides 100 per cent compliance is required for implementing it. "The post-mappping data has been validated," says Jawahar.

Meanwhile, additional systems has been provided to all subordinate offices of treasuries department andf officials are being trained in IFHRMS in each department. "The entire money from this project is funded by the state government. The project is worth rs 291 crore with five-year handholding by Wipro, which is playing the role of system integrator in the project. The other players include Accenture and Pricewaterhousecooper, the third party audit agency.  We have spent Rs 100 crore on hardware. We are dependent on Tamil Nadu State Wide Area Network (TNSWAN) but are keeping Aittel Rowers in our site as standby," said Jawahar.

TN releases first instalment of 66.67 crore for financial support to farmer producer companies

CHENNAI:
The state government has provided administrative sanction of Rs 266.70 crore and financial sanction of Rs 66.67 crore as first instalment for the financial year 2019-2020 for financing Farmer Producer Companies in the state through Tamil Nadu Small Farmer Agri Business Consortium (TNSFAC).
The funds will be provided to the Farmer Producer Companies under three components – Mezzanine Capital Assistance (Rs 50 crore), Credit Guarantee (Rs 50 crore and Revolving fund (Rs 166.70 crore).
This comes after Tamil Nadu Farmer Producer Organisation Policy is being formulated to address the issues and challenges faced by Farmer Producer companies.
According to a GO released on Friday, the fund was formulated after holding consultations with stakeholders, including farmers, farmer producer companies, officials, bankers, with NABKISAN, a subsidiary of National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development to design solutions faced by the companies and their financial requirements.
Currently, there are 500 Farm Producer Companies registered with Tamil Nadu of which 130 farmer producer companies have been promoted by Department of Agricultural Marketing and Agri Business. It is learnt that most of the companies are start-ups of not more than five years and face challenges relating to mobilization of members, organizational cohension, statutory compliance, entrepreneurial capability, business and marketing acumen and strategy, financial resources etc.
According to a Government Order released on Friday, Credit Guarantee Fund will provide easy access to bank credit. It will provide 50 per cent guarantee against defaults by farmer producer companies which would eventually be written off by lending agency. Ther companies may be supported for two to three cycles of funding or maximum of three to five years.
Similarly, Mezzanine Capital Assistance, will be a margin fund corpus constituted with a lending agency which will invest in the capital of Farmer Producer companies.
“Since there is no provision for subscribing to capital by non farmers, the investment will be made in the form of cumulative redeemable long term preferential capital or debenture at nominal rates. The preference capital or debenture will be redeemable after five years and repayment will be at the end of fifth year,” the GO said. The invested fund would have the features of capital and form part of the own funds without any voting right, the GO added.
Under Revolving fund, the state will create a corpus in the lending agency where in the corpus fund will be blended by the lending agencyand lent to farmer producer companies at concessional rates. On recovery, the part principal amount will be re-credited to the corpus fund and again used for lending. The revolving fund will be provided for a maximum period of three years.
The state will form a committee on Farmer Producer Organisational Financing which will oversee formation, financing and market integration of collectives on a quarterly basis.
The implementing agency will be Department of Agricultural Marketing and Agri business through TNSFAC. NABKISAN which has invested 10pc stake will be the implementing partner.
Pending approval of the legislature, the expenditure may be initially met by drawal of advance from the contingency fund, the GO added.

TN plans to revise development charges to boost non-tax revenue

C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI:
In a bid to strengthen Tamil Nadu's non-tax revenues, the state government is looking at revising the development charges, open space reservation area charges and centage charges.
A high level meeting is scheduled this week where in new rates could be announced.
This could boost the state coffers where in additional revenue earned could be more than Rs 100 crore per annum. This comes as Tamil Nadu has estimated to generate Rs 13,327 crore (7% of the revenue receipts) through non-tax sources in 2019-20.
Non-tax sources include interest receipts, dividends, and royalties, among others. It is learnt that this is a decrease of 9.3 per cent over the 2018-19 revised estimate.  In 2018-19, non-tax revenue is estimated to increase by Rs 3,399 crore at the revised stage, a 30.1 per cent increase over the budgeted estimates.
Official sourcessaid  that since the last 13 years, the Open space Reservation (OSR) area charges, development charges, Centage charges for plots and partition of land charges has not been revised.
The idea is to strengthen the non-tax revenue base and augment resources. According to information available, currently the centage charge which is Rs 300 per plot  is likely to be increased to Rs 1,000.
Similarly, the charges for partition of land, which is now being charged Rs 6,500 per application may be increased to Rs 10,000 per application. This could increase the additional revenue per annum for government to Rs 5.50 crore per annum.
The OSR area charges for lesser than 2,500 square metres per site, where in the charges are nil, and for the site which is greater than 2,500 square metres site, where in the charges is 10 per cent of the land value is likely to be evaluated on two times the Guideline value of the land. This is likely to enhance the state coffers by Rs 15 crore to Rs 20 crore per month.
Meanwhile, the development charges where in the maximum was Rs 25 per square metre and Rs 50 per square metre for land and building respectively is likely to be increased. As per the proposal, the minimum charges for land is fixed at Rs 50 per square metre and maximum as Rs 250 per square metre.Similarly for building, the minimum is Rs 100 per square metre and maximum is Rs 500 per square metre.
Ajit Chordia, former president of Confederation of Real Estate Development Authority of India and managing director of Olympia Group told Express that any move to increase non-tax revenues by increasing development charges would be a retrograde step. “When the real estate is looking for stimuli, the move would be anti-stimuli and would have impact on real estate sector, said Chordia.

TN has highest number of detenues in India, says NCRB data

CHENNAI:
A total of 2,096 Indian prison inmates consisting of 2,039 Males and 57 Females were confined in various jails in the country with Tamil nadu recording the highest number of detenues.

According to National Crime Records Bureau data at the end the year 2017 which was released on Monday, the state has reported 810 detenues, the highest in the country, followed by Gujarat (345) and Karnataka (211) accounting for 38.6%, 16.5%, 10.1% of the total Detenues inmates respectively.

These three states have contributed to 65.2 per cent of total Detenues. Nearly 54pc Detenues ((1,122)) were in the age group 30 years to below 50 years  followed by 40.6 per cent ((850) ) in the age-group of 18 years to below 30 years.

The report said of the 16.55 lakh inmates jailed in 2017, 41,378 languish in tamil nadu prisons. The report states that the number of inmates in the prisons has increased by 17.02 per cent during 2012-2017 (from 3,85,135 inmates in December 31, 2012 to 4,50,696 inmates in
December 31, 2017).

Among the inmates, number of convicts during 2012-2017 has increased by 8.89 per cent whereas the number of undertrial inmates has increased by 21.13 per cent. Also, the number of detenues has increased by 11.13 per cent during the same period. The report also states that Tamil nadu has 71 of the 2,250 foreign undertrails languishing in its jail. The 2,250 undertrails belong to nationalities of Bangladesh, Nepal, Nigeria, Myanmarese, Chinese, japanese, canadians, South East asian nations, Sri lankan and Pakistanis among others.

The report also states that total of 396 convicts were lodged in various jails of the country for committing offences against Public Tranquility (Rioting only) under Indian Penal Code (IPC) as on December 31, 2017. Maharashtra has reported the highest number of convicts (129) followed by Tamil Nadu (60) and Haryana (29) accounting for 32.58 per cent, 15.15 per cent and 7.32 per cent of the total convicted inmates lodged under offence against Public tranquility.

The report also states that a total of 498 convicts were lodged in various jails of the country for committing offences against SC/ST-related acts under Special and Local Laws (SLL) as on December 31, 2017. Uttar Pradesh has reported the highest number of convicts (211) followed by Rajasthan (61) and Tamil Nadu (53), accounting for 42.37 per cent, 12.25 per cent and 10.64 per cent of the total convicted inmates lodged under SLL crimes which are specific to crime against SC/ST respectively.

writingonblog uncensored: Chennai Metro could save 20pc in cost of construct...

writingonblog uncensored: Chennai Metro could save 20pc in cost of construct...: Chennai: Chennai Metro rail could save 20 per cent in cost of construction in the second phase if the five-dimensional building inform...

writingonblog uncensored: Chennai Metro could save 20pc in cost of construct...

writingonblog uncensored: Chennai Metro could save 20pc in cost of construct...: Chennai: Chennai Metro rail could save 20 per cent in cost of construction in the second phase if the five-dimensional building inform...

Chennai Metro could save 20pc in cost of construction if they adopt 5D BIM, says expert

Chennai:

Chennai Metro rail could save 20 per cent in cost of construction in the second phase if the five-dimensional building information modeling, a digital project management platform is introduced, according to regional sales director, Trimble buildings, India and SAARC, Harsh Pareek.

The five-dimensional (5D) Building information system refers to the intelligent linking of individual three-dimension Computer Aided Design (CAD) components or assemblies with time schedule.

Sketchpad” the first computer-aided design (CAD) with the graphical user interface led the way for human-computer interaction but more than that it broke the new ground for modeling programs in the construction industry resulting in the evolvement of BIM.

The 5D BIM will help project managers simulate models that show how changes in design, construction materials and layouts can change the face of the projects for the better. The total cost of the second phase of Chennai Metro rail project is estimated to be Rs 60, 335 crore.

However, the challenge is implementing 5D BIM in Chennai Metro Rail is that it has different stakeholders in the whole process. Paul Wallet, regional director, Trimble Buildings told Express that the key for the success of 5D BIM is that the information flow should be throughout the construction of the project from one stakeholder to another . “It should bring all stakeholders in one page,” he says.

Interestingly, Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation has implemented 5D BIM, which is expected to save cost and reduce litigations from the twenty-thousand-crore-budget-projects being implemented in Nagpur and Pune. Wallet said that the Nasdaq listed Trimble's clients in India have been large construction firms such as L&T, Shapoorji Palloonji and its products have been used in construction of various metro and airport projects. "Our prducts have been used in the first phase of Chennai Metro and we hope our clients would offer the digital know-how in the construction of second phase," says Harsh Parekh.

Meanwhile, Wallet also highlighted that  Trimble will be setting up a technology lab at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, to serve architecture, engineering and construction students.

The lab would expand the IIT Madras leadership in training and research in 3D building design, digital fabrication and sustainable built environment.

writingonblog uncensored: India’s domestic air traffic declines first time i...

writingonblog uncensored: India’s domestic air traffic declines first time i...: CHENNAI: India's monthly domestic airline traffic for April this year declined for the first time in six years when compared to t...

writingonblog uncensored: India’s domestic air traffic declines first time i...

writingonblog uncensored: India’s domestic air traffic declines first time i...: CHENNAI: India's monthly domestic airline traffic for April this year declined for the first time in six years when compared to t...

India’s domestic air traffic declines first time in six years

CHENNAI:

India's monthly domestic airline traffic for April this year declined for the first time in six years when compared to the year-ago traffic, according to International Air Transport Association (IATA) which represents some 290 airlines comprising 82pc of global air traffic.

IATA said that India’s airlines’ traffic actually fell 0.5pc  year-over-year, reflecting the impact of the shut-down of Jet Airways.

The reduction in flight operations of Jet Airways—which stopped flying in April has hit India's domestic aviatic sector with domestic traffic rising just 3.1 per cent in March also, down from February’s growth of 8.3pc. The dip in domestic traffic is well-off the torrid five-year average growth pace of close to 20pc per month.

This comes as IATA announced global passenger traffic results for April 2019 showing that demand (revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) rose by 4.3pc compared to April 2018. April capacity (available seat kilometers or ASKs) increased by 3.6%, and load factor climbed 0.6 percentage point to 82.8%, which was a record for the month of April, surpassing last year’s record of 82.2pc

"Driven by tariffs and trade disputes, global trade is falling, and as a result, we are not seeing traffic growing at the same levels as a year ago. However, airlines are doing a very good job of managing aircraft utilization, leading to record load factors.” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

The grounding of Jet Airways has impacted industry's capacity by as much as about 14 percent, and this has resulted in a 4.2 percent fall in domestic air traffic to 10.99 million in April

writingonblog uncensored: Draft Housing Policy proposes for reduction of sta...

writingonblog uncensored: Draft Housing Policy proposes for reduction of sta...: C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI: The proposed state urban housing and habitat policy of Tamil Nadu has suggested for reduction of stamp duty fr...

Draft Housing Policy proposes for reduction of stamp duty to make housing affordable

C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI:

The proposed state urban housing and habitat policy of Tamil Nadu has suggested for reduction of stamp duty from 11pc to 7pc to make dwelling units more affordable, according to information available with Express

The comes after the final draft Urban Housing and Habitat Policy being developed by Ernst and Young has been submitted to German Agency for International Cooperation or (GIZ), an international enterprise owned by the German Federal Government, appointed the agency to understand the current housing scenario and formulate the all-inclusive housing and habitat policy for Tamil Nadu.

The proposed draft comes in the wake housing demand in Tamil Nadu is estimated to be 1.39 million as per the survey conducted  across the cities in the state under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) – Housing for All mission.

S Sridharan, the chairman of Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India, Tamil Nadu, has said that the suggestion made under the draft is a welcome move and said that Tamil Nadu is paying the highest stamp duty of 11pc across India.

“The reduction in stamp duty will provide a huge relief to the realty sector which is further burdened with 5pc Goods and Service Tax,” he added.

Sridharan said that CREDAI will be putting forth their suggestion to reduce the stamp duty with immediate effect as it will provide relief to the customer and improve business scenario in the state.

The draft also suggested Infrastructure and amenities (I&A) fund to be maintained at State level and to be utilised for financing development of infrastructure across cities including slum upgradation, affordable housing and new areas.

A differentiated structure of I&A charges shall be evolved to lower overall cost for affordable housing, the draft has stated.

writingonblog uncensored: Land use laws key to health, well-being of Indians...

writingonblog uncensored: Land use laws key to health, well-being of Indians...: C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI: Radical changes are required in the India’s laws pertaining to built-in environments, roads and transport syst...

Land use laws key to health, well-being of Indians, says Lancet

C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI:

Radical changes are required in the India’s laws pertaining to built-in environments, roads and transport systems including public transport for active living and physical activity in daily living, according to Lancet Obesity Commission Report- India perspective.

The report by Dr Shifalika Goenka – Commissioner on the Lancet Obesity Commission states that built environment and land use laws have a profound impact on health and wellbeing and need urgent attention in India.

“This should become a mandatory requirement

through legislation. Health considerations should become the basis of thinking of laws related to road design, pavements and pedestrian pathways, urban design and built  environment, green areas available to the public, agriculture zoning, land use and built up- area including FSI,” the report adds.

This comes after Lancet Commission, a three-year project by 43 experts from a broad range of expertise from 14 countries, stated that powerful vested interests, misplaced economic incentives are major drivers of joint pandemics of obesity, undernutrition and climate change.

Terming the global interplay of obesity, undernutrition and climate change as ‘The Global; Syndemic’, Lancet Commission says that it is driven by food and agriculture policies, transportation, urban design and land use systems that promote overconsumption and inequalities.

Calling for establishing of Framework Convention on Food Systems similar to global conventions for tobacco control and climate change to restrict influence of food industry in policy making, the report by the commission states that supporting active transportation through infrastructure, taxes and subsidy shifts and social marketing strategies will lead to increased physical activity and less sedentary time, with an impact on obesity prevention, cheaper transport access to healthy food and employment, potentially reducing poverty and undernutrition and lower green house gas emissions from transportation.

The report calls for fostering active transportation through contextually relevant interventions towards pedestrian, safety and comfort should become a mandatory requirement across

Departments in India.

“Pedestrian prioritization over motorised transport which ensures safety from accidents is urgently required. Some of the India specific measures urgently required are -- wide pedestrian paths, preferably as wide as the width of the road on either side are required. These should be well maintained and free of encroachments. The width of the motor-carriageways (roads for motorized

transport) should not exceed 2 car lanes on each side,” the report stated.

“Anything more than two car lanes within a city or town, is threatening to pedestrians and also becomes difficult to cross on foot,” the report added.

The report also states that worksite and buildings construction should make stairwells as the centre in planning rather than escalators. “Attention to the quality of the staircases and possible sites of

physical activity, making buildings disabled friendly is an understood mandate which synchronizes with ours,” the report added. The report also suggested encouragement of indigenous drinks with large scale training for hygiene and use of “potable water” with regular quality checks is required.

Factfile:

--- 38pc of the children under 5 are stunted (too short for their age an indicator of chronic undernutrition); 21% are wasted (too thin for their height; acute under nutrition); and 36% are underweight and 58% are anaemic.

--- The prevalence of diabetes has increased in every state since 1990 to 2016. The number of people with diabetes in India increased from 26·0 million in 1990 to 65 in 2016. The most important

risk factor for diabetes is overweight to which 36% of the diabetes related burden could be attributed. --- The prevalence of overweight in adults in India increased from 9pc in 1990 to 20·4% in 2016

--- 650m Indians will be affected by climate change leading to high heat and precipitation which is going to have a major dent on agriculture, production, and overall productivity and heat related morbidity.

--- In the absence of a major climate mitigation, nearly 148 million Indians will be living in

these severe hotspots in 2050

writingonblog uncensored: Power of Attorney for immovable property executed ...

writingonblog uncensored: Power of Attorney for immovable property executed ...: CHENNAI: Any Power of Attorney relating to immovable property executed outside India does not require compulsory registration, acc...

Power of Attorney for immovable property executed outside India does not require compulsory registration

CHENNAI:

Any Power of Attorney relating to immovable property executed outside India does not require compulsory registration, according to Inspector general of Registration J Kumaragurubaran.

However, any further document presented consequently based on such unregistered power of attorney executed outside India can be accepted for registration, Kumaragurubaran.

This clarification by the Inspector General of Registration comes after there has been confusion among the registering officers in registering movable and immovable properties.

Kumaragurubaran also clarified that if one or more individuals are granting power of attorney relating to immovable property (other than those executed outside India) to one or more persons, then registration becomes compulsory on or after December 1, 2012 as provided in Tamil Nadu Act 29 of 2012.

He also said if the power of attorney granted in respect of movable property then registration is optional and if it is granted for immovable property before December 1, 2012 then the registration is also optional.

Similarly, there is no bar for a power of attorney being registered outside the state of Tamil Nadu if the principal happens to reside ordinarily in a place which is situated in a state other than Tamil Nadu. “The power of attorney registered with registrar or sub-registrar of other states in India, within whose jurisdiction the principal ordinarily resides can be used for execution and registration of further documents in Tamil Nadu for properties situated in the state,” he said. However, compliance of provisions contained under registration Act need to be insisted, he added.

However, the registering officer in such cases should keep registration of further document pending and verify the genuineness and subsistence of power of attorney with concerned authorities.

Meanwhile, the power of attorney executed outside India and not having property details will not be accepted for registration. He also clarified that a power agent can’t appoint a sub-agent for registration of document relating to immovable property and as such any document presented by sun-power agent can’t be accepted for registration.

writingonblog uncensored: Chief administration officer of Koyambedu market t...

writingonblog uncensored: Chief administration officer of Koyambedu market t...: C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI:  The Chief Administrative officer of Market Management Committee S Rajendran has been transferred on Wednesday af...

Chief administration officer of Koyambedu market transferred abruptly

C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI: 

The Chief Administrative officer of Market Management Committee S Rajendran has been transferred on Wednesday after a section of traders complained against him to Deputy Chief Minister O Paneerselvam.

While the orders were passed on January 23, he has been relieved of his charges on Saturday with member secretary of Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority holding the additional.

It is learnt that S Govindarajan, special District Revenue Officer (Land Acquisition), Chennai-Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor, Salerm is likely to take over as new District Revenue officer and Chief Administrative officer of Koyambedu Market from next month.

The transfer of Rajendran has been hailed by a section of traders in Koyambedu who have put up posters hailing the decision of Deputy Chief Minister O Paneerselvam. A trader on anonymity said that his high-handed activities during checks have made him unpopular in the market.

However, another section of traders hailed him for his crackdown on encroachments in Koyambedu market.

It is learnt that the move by Rajendran in taking away the land of a private corporate house near the bio-methanation plant has been one of the prime reason for his transfer.

CMDA has allotted a land, acquired by it in the 1980s from Tamil Nadu Housing Board for vermin-compost, separation of garbage for the bio-methanation plant as well as banana stem process but it could hardly be put into use due to a court battle over the rights of the land. It is learnt that then officials at Market Management Committee allegedly failed to initiate action as a result the land titular rights already got shifted from various persons.

Interestingly, during Pongal much to the surprise of traders and residents, the land had a government banner claiming that it belonged to Biomethanation Plant and government buses were stationed on it. Within 24 hours, the banners got removed and the private party sealed the premises.

Market sources claim this could be one of the action which could have cost Rajendran his job. When Express tried to contact Rajendran, he did not respond.

writingonblog uncensored: CPCB directs TAW Tannery to close operations

writingonblog uncensored: CPCB directs TAW Tannery to close operations: C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI: T Abdul Wahid Tanneries (TAW), one of the largest exporters of leather to America and Europe, is under the sc...

CPCB directs TAW Tannery to close operations

C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI:

T Abdul Wahid Tanneries (TAW), one of the largest exporters of leather to America and Europe, is under the scanner of Central Pollution Control Board after its tannery in Solur Village in Ambur has been directed to be shut down for non-compliance of norms.

The unit has been directed to close all manufacturing activities with immediate effect and the operations could be re-started only after getting written permission from CPCB.

Central Pollution Control Board took the action after a team of scientists from CPCB's Regional directorate in Bengaluru found that the tannery, which is engaged in processing of semi-finished leather so as to produce finished leather, did not have consent from Tamil Pollution Control Board to operate after the earlier consent to Operate expired on March 31, 2018.

The inspection report had stated that the unit has applied for renewal of consent on April 2018. The report also found that the online contionious monitoring system with respect to flow meters is yet to be activated and connectivity to CPCB server is yet to be established.

It has also directed TAW to construct adequate shelter for storing dust collected from the bag filters of the plant and to dispose it to authorised agents and maintain record on the same. The report also wanted TAW to restudy the water circulation system adopted in the spray drier and minimise sudden load to Effluent Treatment Plant.

It is learnt that CPCB has directed the chairman of Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited to disconnect the power supply of TAW with immediate effect. It has also written to the state pollution control board to ensure compliance of CPCB directive.

T Abdul Wahid Tanneries is located strategically between Chennai and Bangalore and consists of Tannery 1 & 2. Tannery 1 is a well equipped tannery with state-of-the-art machinery procured from the best manufacturers. The product lines processed in here are goat skins, cow calf and cow hides, with processing facilities from beam house upto crusting. Equipped with a state-of-the-art effluent treatment plant (ETP) with a 2 stage reverse osmosis system and chrome recovery plant (CRP) the tannery focuses on the importance of environmental protection.

Tannery 2 is equipped with world class post tanning and finishing operations to cater to the requirements of top brands in the industry. A Research and development (R&D) division of the tannery plays a key role in continuously developing and catering to the ever changing trends of the fashion and leather industries. Officials from the company could not be contacted.

writingonblog uncensored: Rs 13.8 crore smart flood protection wall to prote...

writingonblog uncensored: Rs 13.8 crore smart flood protection wall to prote...: C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI: Chennai Corporation will be building a Rs 13.80 crore worth smart flood protection wall from Ambattur to a rai...

Rs 13.8 crore smart flood protection wall to protect Ambattur from flooding

C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI:

Chennai Corporation will be building a Rs 13.80 crore worth smart flood protection wall from Ambattur to a railway portion in Korattur to prevent inundation in these areas.

The construction of the flood protection wall will help prevent flooding in the areas of Korattur, Pattravakam,  Ambattur and Ambattur SIDCO Industrial Estate.

This comes after Southern Railways has accorded permission for carrying out the construction of flood protection wall in the railway portion by Greater Chennai Corporation without any lease payment.

It is learnt that Chennai Corporation is thinking of introducing smart elements like placing of sensors which can detect the effluents if anything discharged by the industries situated in Ambattur that is polluting the Korattur lake.

It is learnt that the release of effluent by industries illegally has been a cause of concern for officials and residents. Sources say that the sensors will generate alarm if they trace any effluents and this will be passed on to the Integrated Command and Control Centre which will be connected to the wall.

As a result action could be taken against such industries through Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board.

By construction of this flood protection wall, spreading of water to wide span covering Railway arch and adjoining area of 25 metres to 30 metres will be reduced to four metre by which the water flow can be streamlined, sources added.

This will result in preserving the eco system of the water body as well as flooding in Chennai city. Moreover, mosquito menace problem and other health hazards will be considerably reduced. This project is one of the Disaster Management component of Smart city Proposal.

Initially, the project was facing hurdles following a tussle between the state and Southern Railways over the construction of flood protection wall and canal and canal lining under World Bank funded Integrated Storm Water Drain scheme. It is learnt that 1200 metres length of Canal cannot be carried out due to objection by Southern railways as the land belongs to them.

Southern railways had insisted on making payment of Rs 29 crore for the construction of flood protection wall in the railway land portion as lease amount for a period of 30 years as per market value. However, the issue was resolved after talks with railway officials, sources added.

writingonblog uncensored: State Finance Commission asks TNSCB to work out al...

writingonblog uncensored: State Finance Commission asks TNSCB to work out al...: C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board has been asked to work out alternative managerial models that can be attempted ...

State Finance Commission asks TNSCB to work out alternate models to ensure affordable home reach beneficiaries

C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI:

Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board has been asked to work out alternative managerial models that can be attempted to ensure affordable housing apartment blocks cater to truly deserving beneficiaries, according to Fifth State Finance Commission recommendations.

The recommendation which was put forth before the housing department also stressed that the apartments are well maintained and financially sustainable.

It also suggested that such models should be operationalised using Shelter Fund and Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Fund Management Corporation (TNIFMC).

Shelter fund was created by the state government in July 21, 2017 to fund the ambitious housing project for affordable homes for poor. The new draft housing policy has suggested that the fund could be directed towards creating land bank for priority sector lending under affordable housing.

The idea is to help the state pool funds for purchasing land and developing affordable housing projects for economic weaker section and low income group.

It has also suggested that Slkum Clearance Board should work out Public Private Partnership models which would enable the creation of affordable housing stock, both on ownership and rental models, where the government or government entities, including urban local bodies can participate through provision of land as their equity contribution.

It is learnt that the state government has sought an action taken report on the recommendations which could be deliberated during a high level committee meeting, sources said.

Independent policy researcher Vanessa Peter told Express that the recommendations are positive one but stressed on the need for a monitoring mechanism to ensure the affordable homes for poor and quality driven.

She also said that the finance commission should specifically mention what the alternative models are. “if it is a public private partnership model, it should be a transparent one and the role of private players should not supersede that of government, she added.

Factfile:

1.  Tamil Nadu has carried a demand assessment of 8.30 lakh houseless households in urban areas of the state under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana's four components

2.  Tamil Nadu will be building 2.66 lakh affordable homes for slum dwellers by partnering with private realty developers.

3.  Under this scheme, houses will be built for slum dwellers at an affordable rate by using the expertise of private developers.

4.  The state housing department will have to engage Third Party Quality Monitoring Agencies (TPQMA) to ensure quality of construction.

5.  It is learnt that Centre has asked the state to draw up quality monitoring and assurance plans involving third party agencies

writingonblog uncensored: Emirates introduces entertainment playlist syncing...

writingonblog uncensored: Emirates introduces entertainment playlist syncing...: CHENNAI: Emirates has introduced an innovative new function on its app to allow customers flying from Chennai to create bespoke playlist...

Emirates introduces entertainment playlist syncing ahead of travel

CHENNAI:

Emirates has introduced an innovative new function on its app to allow customers flying from Chennai to create bespoke playlists ahead of their flight and sync it to their seats once on board.

Customers can plan their trip more effectively and maximise their onboard experience by using the Emirates app to browse the expansive entertainment catalogue at any time. Keeping in mind the passion for music amongst Indians, this will only further intrigue the music lovers to plan more for musically enthralling journeys, an Emirates release  said.

Emirates’ inflight entertainment has reached a new milestone of over 4,000 channels of on-demand entertainment. The catalogue includes over 1,000 movies, more than any other airline, popular television box sets, tens of thousands of music tracks, podcasts and games.

The syncing capability is currently available on over 100 Emirates Boeing 777 aircraft travelling from all the nine cities, including Chennai,  in India and will be made available progressively across the entire fleet, including A380 aircraft in the coming months.

writingonblog uncensored: Chennai ranked lowest when it comes to awareness o...

writingonblog uncensored: Chennai ranked lowest when it comes to awareness o...: C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI: If you met with an accident in Chennai, people will think twice of rushing you to hospital as the city is ranked...

Chennai ranked lowest when it comes to awareness on Good Samaritan Law

C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI:

If you met with an accident in Chennai, people will think twice of rushing you to hospital as the city is ranked lowest when it comes to the awareness of Good Samaritan Law enforced on March 30, 2016 after a Supreme Court intervention. 

As per the study conducted by SaveLIFE Foundation, Chennai fares poor when it comes to awareness of Good Samaritan Law. 

The study says only seven per cent in Chennai are aware about the law. The study ponts out that while the behavior of bystanders to facilitate care for crash victims increased in many cities after the passage of law, in Chennai the response was meager 5 per cent.

The study also stated that none of the police officials surveyed in Chennai were trained on GSL guidelines. The study also stated quoting 89.6 respondents that police police official did not call the ambulance immediately to help the road crash victim.

In 2012, SaveLIFE Foundation filed a Writ petition in Supreme Court under Article 32 of the Constitution of India in public interest for the development of supportive legal framework for the protection of Good Samaritans, i.e., bystanders who render help to the injured persons or a person in distress on the road. 

The objective of the petition was to create an enabling legal framework for the comprehensive protection of Good Samaritans from ensuing legal and procedural hassles as it will help save victims of road accidents who die in the first 15 minutes due to serious cardiovascular or neurological injuries and can be saved by providing basic life support during the “Golden Hour.”

The study has been conducted in 11 cities across the country with a total sample size of 3667 respondents including Good Samaritans (who have helped road crash victims post 2016 Judgment), Police Officials, Hospital Administration, Medical Practitioners and Trial Court Lawyers.

Overall, the only 16 per cent people surveyed across the country were aware about the Good Samaritan Law in India. The awareness has been low among the other southern metros as well with Bengaluru having eight per cent awareness and Hyderabad 11 per cent. On the contrary, Indore had highest recall of the law followed by Jaipur, Mumbai and Delhi. 

Factfile:

--- 74% bystanders are unlikely to assist a victim of serious injury irrespective of whether they are alone at the spot or in the presence of others.

---  88% of the bystanders who were unlikely to help a victim hesitated to do so as they believed that Good Samaritans

were subjected to legal hassles and mistreatment by Police.

---- 77% of those who were unwilling to help a victim felt that hospitals unnecessarily detained Good Samaritans and often

demanded money from them for treatment of victims.

---- 37% bystanders were unaware of where to take the victim for emergency trauma care.

---- 88% of those surveyed expressed the desire for a Law that could create a supportive environment to assist injured

victims