The Gist of Press Information Bureau (PIB): August 2014


The Gist of Press Information Bureau: August 2014


Road Safety in India on Priority

The UN General Assembly has adopted 2011-2020 as the Decade of Action for Road Safety and set a goal for reducing fatalities from road accidents by 50 percent during the period recognizing the severe impact of road accidents on global health.  Every year about 1.2 million people die and 50 million get affected in road accidents globally losing 1.2 trillion US Dollars in these accidents, says Mr. K K Kapila, Chairman, International Road Federation. According to the World Health Organization unless concerted action is taken, road traffic injuries are predicted to become the fifth leading cause of death in the world by 2030.

With the growing urbanization and vehicular traffic, the issue of safety on roads also keep growing in terms of concerns and solutions. The concern becomes all the more relevant in view of the fact that number of persons killed in road accidents in India is the highest in the world. More than 4.97 lakh road accidents in 2011 are reported to have claimed over 1.42 lakh lives.  These numbers translate into roughly one road accident per minute and one road accident death every four minutes for India. 

Though the data for the year 2012 shows a declining trend with over 4.90 lakh accidents claiming 1.38 lakh lives, still the number is too high to give reason to breathe easy. The analysis of road accidents in terms of causal factor’s reveals that drivers’ fault accounts for 78.7 per cent (3,85,934 accidents) of total road accidents. The reason behind fault may vary from alcohol/drugs to mobile addiction, overloading/overcrowding of vehicles, exceeding lawful speed and tiredness etc. Since drivers’ fault has been found responsible for about 80% road accidents, it is important to make them aware and realize that they are the killers on roads when they violate the laws/measures. The Ministry of RTH has taken steps to minimize road accidents in the country. The Government has approved a National Road Safety Policy. This Policy outlines various policy measures such as promoting awareness, establishing road safety information data base, encouraging safer road infrastructure including application of intelligent transport, enforcement of safety laws etc. The Government has constituted National Road Safety Council as the apex body to take policy decisions in matters of road safety. The Ministry has requested all States/UTs for setting up of State Road Safety Council and District Road Safety Committees.

The Ministry has adopted a multi-pronged strategy to address the issue of road safety based on four E’s of Road Safety that is Education, Enforcement, Engineering (roads as well as vehicles) and Emergency care. Road safety has been made an integral part of road design at the planning stage.  Road Safety Audit of selected stretches of National Highways/Expressways adopted. Driving training institutes being established, Tightening of safety standards of vehicles like helmets, seat belts, power-steering, rear view mirror and Publicity campaigns on road safety awareness.

Text books of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) syllabus in Class VI to Class XII. State Governments have also been advised to include Road Safety education in the curriculum of the schools administered by the State Education Board.

Providing cashless treatment to road accident victims for 48 hours at expenditure up to a limit of Rs. 30,000/-a pilot project launched on Gurgaon-Jaipur section of NH 8.

Identification of top 25 black spots in 13 States which account for 90% of road accidents in India. The short term remedial measures have been completed for most of the black spots identified.

Finalisation of National Ambulance Code based on the recommendations of the Working Group on Emergency care.This ’Code’ puts in place minimum standards and guidelines regarding the constructional and functional requirements of road ambulances in India.

Notifying Consignments protruding beyond the body of goods carrier as illegal.

The States have been advised to prepare action plan on road safety for their States. The States’ annual action plan on road safety needs to set ambitious but realistic targets for at least five years. All the States/UTs have been asked to identify a lead agency in the State and also set up Road Safety Fund at the State level by earmarking 50% of the funds generated from fines on account of violation of traffic rules.

Though UN decade of action plan to reduce road fatalities by 50% started in 2011, after three years much needs to be done. In India, budget for Road Safety needs to be enhanced and proper road safety plans/ mechanism to be in place in all the States. It needs to be ensured that orders relating to Road Safety that exist are followed strictly and violation punished. 

Conservation of Biodiversity

Conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity have been an integral part of Indian ethos. The varied eco-climatic conditions coupled with unique geological and cultural features have contributed to an astounding diversity of habitats, which harbor and sustain immense biological diversity at all levels. With only 2.4% of world’s land area, India accounts for 7-8% of recorded species of the world. In terms of species richness, India ranks seventh in mammals, ninth in birds and fifth in reptiles. In terms of endemism of vertebrate groups, India’s position is tenth in birds with 69 species, fifth in reptiles with 156 species and seventh in amphibians with 110 species. India’s share of crops is 44% as compared to the world average of 11%. India also has 23.39% of its geographical area under forest and tree cover. Of the 34 globally identified biodiversity hotspots, India harbor 3 hotspots, i.e., Himalaya, Indo Burma, Western Ghats and Sri Lanka. Western Ghats are recently included in World Heritage list. It is very rich in flora and fauna and serves as cradle of biodiversity. One of the most pressing environmental issues today is the conservation of biodiversity. Many factors threaten the world’s biological heritage. The challenge is for nations, government agencies, organisations and individuals to protect and enhance biological diversity, while continuing to meet people’s needs for natural resources. Efforts have been initiated to save biodiversity both by ex-situ and in-situ conservation. International Biodiversity day is celebrated across the globe on 22nd May every year. 

Biodiversity Act 2002

The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 is a federal legislation enacted by the Parliament of India for preservation of biological diversity in India, and provides mechanism for equitable sharing of benefits arising out of use of traditional biological resources and knowledge. The Act was enacted to meet the obligations under Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), to which India is a party. The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) was established in 2003 to implement India’s Biological Diversity Act (2002). The NBA is a Statutory, Autonomous Body and it performs facilitative, regulatory and advisory function for the Government of India on issues of conservation, sustainable use of biological resources and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of biological resources. 

Biospheres and Biodiversity Reserves 

The Indian government has established 18 Biosphere Reserves in India, which protect larger areas of natural habitat and often include one or more National Parks and Reserves, along buffer zones that are open to some economic uses. Protection is granted not only to the flora and fauna of the protected region, but also to the human communities who inhabit these regions, and their ways of life. Animals are protected and saved here. 

Hotspots

A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with a significant reservoir of biodiversity that is under threat from humans. Around the world, 25 areas qualify under definition of hotspots. These sites support nearly 60% of the world’s plant, bird, mammal, reptile, and amphibian species, with a very high share of endemic species. The biodiversity hotspots hold especially high numbers of endemic species, yet their combined area of remaining habitat covers only 2.3 percent of the Earth’s land surface. Each hotspot faces extreme threats and has already lost at least 70 percent of its original natural vegetation. Over 50 percent of the world’s plant species and 42 percent of all terrestrial vertebrate species are endemic to the 34 biodiversity hotspots. 

Uno Efforts for Conserving Biodiversity

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was signed in Washington, DC, on 3 March 1973. In August 2000, 152 States were parties to this Convention. The aim of CITES is to put a ban on international trade in wildlife. The World Conservation Union IUCN brings together States, government agencies and a diverse range of non-governmental organizations in a unique world partnership. IUCN seeks to influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature and sustainable use of natural resources. 

The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), 1992 known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is a multilateral treaty. The Convention has three main goals like conservation of biological diversity (or biodiversity); sustainable use of its components; and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources. The most significant feature of 1972 World heritage Convention is that it links together in a single document the concepts of nature conservation and preservation of cultural properties. The Convention recognises the way in which people interact with nature and fundamental need to preserve the balance between the two. The law of sea 1982, envisaged by UNO aims at protecting marine biodiversity and to control marine pollution.

Role of Wildlife Corridors in Biodiversity Conservation

A habitat corridor, wildlife corridor or green corridor is an area of habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities such as roads, development, or logging. This allows an exchange of individuals between populations, which may help prevent the negative effects of inbreeding and reduced genetic diversity that often occur within isolated populations. 

Wetlands Repositories of Biodiversity

Wetlands are complex ecosystems and encompass a wide range of inland, coastal and marine habitats. They include flood plains, swamps, marshes, fishponds, tidal marshes natural and man-made wetlands. 

The Convention on Wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, is an intergovernmental treaty which provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. 

Benefits of Biodiversity 

Biodiversity provides food from crops, livestock, forestry and fish. Biodiversity is of use to modern agriculture as a source of new crops, as a source material for breeding improved varieties and as a source of new biodegradable pesticides. Biodiversity is a rich source of substances with therapeutic properties. Several important pharmaceuticals have originated as plant-based substances, which are of incalculable value to human health. The industrial products like timber, oils, lubricants, food flavours, industrial enzymes, cosmetics, perfumes, fragrances, dyes, paper, waxes, rubber, latexes, resins, poisons and cork can all be derived from various plant species. Biodiversity is a source of economical wealth for many areas, such as many parks and forests, where wild nature and animals are a source of beauty and joy, attract many visitors. Ecotourism in particular, is a growing outdoor recreational activity. Biodiversity has also greataesthetic value. Examples of aesthetic rewards include ecotourism, bird watching, wildlife, pet keeping, gardening, etc. Biodiversity is also essential for the maintenance and sustainable utilization of goods and services from ecological systems as well as from the individual species. These services include maintenance of gaseous composition of the atmosphere, climate control by forests and oceanic systems, natural pest control, pollination of plants by insects and birds, formation and protection of soil. 

Threats to Biodiversity

The destruction of habitats is the primary reason for the loss of biodiversity in terrestrial and coastal ecosystems. Habitat loss could be attributed to conversion, habitat degradation and fragmentation. When people cut down trees, fill a wetland, plough grassland or burn a forest, the natural habitat of a species is changed or destroyed. 

Introduction of invasive species may cause disappearance of native species through biotic interactions. Invasive species are considered second only to habitat destruction as a major cause of extinction of species. Communities are affected by natural disturbances, such as fire, tree fall, and defoliation by insects. Man-made disturbances differ from natural disturbances in intensity, rate and spatial extent. For example, man by using fire more frequently may change species richness of a community. 

Exploitation, including hunting, collecting, fisheries and fisheries by-catch, and the impacts of trade in species and species’ parts, constitute a major threat for globally threatened birds (30% of all), mammals (33% of all), amphibians (6% of those assessed), reptiles and marine fishes (Baillie et al. 2004). Trade affects 13% of both threatened birds and mammals. 

Extinction is a natural process. Species have disappeared and new ones have evolved to take their place over the long geological history of the earth. It is useful to distinguish three types of extinction processes.   Over-fishing, habitat destruction, widespread marine pollution and human induced climate change threaten the survival of marine biodiversity.

Pollution, oil and gas drilling and oil spills may increase the risks of extinction by increasing mortality of marine organisms. The Silent Valley Project in Kerala was abandoned because it was considered as a threat to biodiversity in the region.

Biodiversity and Food Security

In a recent estimate it was speculated that over 25 per cent of the world’s plant species might be lost by the year 2025 AD, if the current rate of plant genetic erosion continues. Preserving this germ pool is an integral part of food security. It is evident that preservation of wide range of germ pool is an integral part of breeding programme. If we are unable to combat the problems of genetic erosion, it may lead to losing sources of resistance to pests, diseases and climatic stress and, finally, leading to crop failure in future. It is well-known that out of over 20,000 edible species only a few dozen of plants are domesticated and now feed most of the people. All types of protected area constitute over 12% of the total forest area of the country. This network of protected areas covers most of the representative habitat types in the country and affords protection both to the wild flora and fauna. International Biodiversity day is celebrated across the globe on 22nd May every year.

Heritage Conservation: Role of Scientific Methodology

It is said that “A people’s relationship to their heritage is the same as the relationship of a child to its mother”. Our heritage is our pride and we all have some responsibility to save and preserve it for our future generation. The Constitution of India under Article   51A (f) imposes duty on every citizen of India to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture.

Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has been instrumental for this sacred cause.  Different branches of ASI having technical expertise in different disciplines, work together in perfect coordination to accomplish this stupendous task. Science Branch of Archaeological of Survey of India is one of the oldest branches of ASI and was established in 1917 with an objective to share the responsibility of preserving monuments of the country in a scientific manner utilizing the best available traditional and modern methods of conservation. The main objective of providing scientific treatment to monument is to improve the aesthetic appeal of the monument, Remove all deleterious accretions and deposits, Neutralize harmful residues and prepare the surface for final preservative treatments.

There are different natural and manmade factors which are generally considered responsible for different conservation problems and cause damage to the building materials of a monument. Geological and mineralogical defects which develop during the genesis of rocks may be responsible for different conservation problems and consequent damage to the monuments. This is due to inherent weakness of the building materials.

Conservation problems are different for different geographical areas. For example the monuments at high altitude like monasteries of Leh and Ladakh face a different type of conservation problems which are generally related to specific clay based (adobe) structures and variable climatic conditions. Similarly the monuments of coastal areas face the problem of salt efflorescence. Crystallization of soluble salts in the matrix of stone, plaster, mortar etc. is a major cause of damage to the monument. This disrupts the pore structures of the stone and slowly damages the core of the building material which is difficult to be repaired. Burning of oil lamps and ingredients used for offering puja in the temples also cause damage to the monuments.

Further acts of human vandalism also invite many conservation problems. Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act – 2010 provides for the preservation of ancient and historical monuments, archeological sites, and remains of national importance and also provides penalty against acts of human vandalism.Science Branch of Archaeological Survey of India study the physical and chemical characteristics of building materials or the substrate (stone, rock mortar, plaster etc.). After proper diagnosis of conservation problems, an appropriate methodology is developed by experienced archaeological chemists using suitable chemicals, solvents and materials.

Biocide treatment helps to retard or check the recurrence of micro-vegetation growth on the monuments. After cleaning 2-3% aqueous solution/suspension of Sodium Penta Chloro Phenate is being used for this purpose. The efficacy of this treatment is further improved with water repellent treatment which is given to the monument just after this treatment on the dried surface. The Science branch laboratory of Archaeological of Survey of India at Dehradun works in collaboration with specialized scientific institutions so that appropriate bio-cide may be evaluated and selected for specific problems related to bio-deterioration of monuments.

The Taj Mahal, Kutab Minar, Caves of Ajanta, Meenakshi Temple, Rock shelters at Bhimbhetika, temples of Khajraho, Badal gate at Chanderi, Great Stupa of Sanchi, Jahaz mahal of Mandu, and many other heritage buildings reflects our impressive composite culture. Besides providing scientific treatment to the monuments of historical and social importance, there is a need to imbibe good conservation practices for protection of our heritage.

Solar Salt

Common salt touches the lives of almost everyone. Indian salt industry has made rapid strides during last six decades. From an import dependent nation at the time of Independence, today it ranks third amongst 120 salt producing countries, with an average annual production of about 24 million tonnes. The Indian Salt Industry after meeting country’s domestic requirements of 18 million tonnes, exports about five million tons of salt to 20 countries.

Out of the total of salt produced in the country annually, 70% salt is produced from sea brine and 28% salt comes from subsoil brines and the remaining 2% is produced from lake brines/salt rocks. Mandi in Himachal Pradesh is the only source of rock salt in India. In India, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan contribute to about 96% of the country’s salt production. Gujarat contributes 75% to the total production, followed by Tamil Nadu (11%) and Rajasthan (10%). Other states such as Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Karnataka, West Bengal, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Diu & Daman also contribute to a small extent. About 62% of the total production is from large salt producers, 28% is contributed by small scale producers and rest by medium scale producers. Most of the salt is produced by private sector only. The Indian salt industry uses labour intensive technology in contrast to high level of mechanization in salt industry of nations like Australia, Canada, France, USA etc. India exports surplus production of salt to the tune of about 35 lakh tonnes on an average. Major countries importing salt from India are Japan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, South Korea, North Korea, Malaysia, U.A.E., Vietnam, Qatar etc.

The salt content in the oceans is ‘virtually inexhaustible.’ Besides this there are substantial deposits of salt in major salt producing countries. There are mainly three ways of producing salt (a) direct mining of rock salt, (b) forced evaporation of brine, and (c) solar evaporation of brine. The most common and energy efficient method is progressive evaporation and concentration of sea, subsoil or lake brines in various condensing and crystallizing pans utilizing solar energy.

In general, purer the salt the more valuable it is. Moisture in salt, mainly due to the presence of excess impurities of magnesium salts, is also detrimental as it can lead to the caking up of salt besides being an unwanted baggage during transportation of salt. For example, if 10 million tonnes of salt has to be transported from the fields by road, a 4% moisture level in salt would amount to ca. 40,000 unnecessary trips! A dry salt thus helps reduce the carbon footprint.

The Indian salt industry in general lacks adoption of novel methods of solar salt production leading to inferior quality of harvested salt than countries such as Australia and Mexico. Improving the quality of such impure salt requires mechanical washing and other chemical treatments. CSIR-Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute, along with various State Governments and Salt Department, the Government is continuously pursuing the programmme of improving the quality of solar salt in a cluster development fashion as well as in the form of establishment of model salt farms which serve as demonstration units among the salt producers.

Indian salt industry is targeting production of 40 million tons salt by 2020 to meet its domestic requirement of 25 million tons an export about 10 million salt. It can be achieved by effective utilization of the available 6.1 lakh acre land and increasing productivity using modern technology. The slat industry is to be mechanized, merger of the salt works to increase the size of operation and use of solar plant in place of traditional electric / diesel power is to be encouraged.

This is Only Sample Material, To Get Full Materials Buy The Gist 1 Year Subscription - "Only PDF" Click Here


Click Here to Download More Free Sample Material 
 

<< Go Back To Main Page