New Delhi : All who have been enjoying cleaner ghats at Varanasi would also soon bask in the pollution-free waters of the Ganges flowing by the spiritual city. Under Namami Gange programme, an all-encompassing approach has been employed to arrest pollution flowing into the river and ensure clean ghats. From sewage treatment plants to ghat improvement to river surface cleaning, several steps in a time-bound manner are being taken in Varanasi by National Mission for Clean Ganga to rid the city of river pollution.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency Varanasi will soon get two sewage treatment plants, STPs as part of the government’s bid to curb Ganga water pollution. 

In a statement, Water resource Ministry has said, the treatment plants, having a total 260 million litres daily (MLD) capacity will be commissioned at Varanasi’s Dinapur and Goitha before March next year. 

On the sewage management front, Varanasi town currently generates an estimated 300 MLD of sewage, which is expected to increase to 390 MLD by 2030. From the current capacity of three existing sewage treatment plants – Dinapur, Bhagwanpur and DLW, only 102 MLD of sewage is being treated while the remaining flows directly into river Ganga through Varuna and Assi rivers. To bridge this gap, a 140 MLD STP at Dinapur and a 120 MLD STP at Goitha are being constructed under Japan International co-operation Agency (JICA) assisted project and JNNURM scheme respectively. These projects are at advanced stage of construction and will be commissioned before March 2018. Apart from this, a 50 MLD STP at Ramana has also been awarded under Hybrid Annuity based PPP model to exclusively address the sewage treatment requirements of Assi BHU area. Concession agreement for this project has already been signed. Together, these STPs will create sewage treatment capacity of 412 MLD, adequate to meet the sewage treatment demands of the town till 2035.

The government had recently awarded contract for constructing 50 MLD capacity sewage treatment plants at Ramana in Varanasi. 

The Ministry said, these treatment plant will together create a total sewage treatment capacity of 412 MLD. It also said, to address the concerns of floating waste on the river, a trash skimmer is operational in Varanasi since April 2017 under river surface cleaning component. A cleaner Ganga would be incomplete without equally cleaner surroundings. Acknowledging this, the Government of India last year initiated cleaning works at 84 iconic and heritage ghats of Varanasi under Namami Gange programme which has shown positive results.

The Ministry said, the pollution from cloth washing activities on ghats, four dhobi ghats – Pandeypur, Nadesar, Bhavania Pokhran and Konia have already been renovated. 

The construction of three others at Bazardiha, Machodari slaughter house and Bhawania Pokhri is underway. 

It said, several members of the dhobi community have shifted to the new ghats, with many more being pursued for the same.

NEW DELHI : Every day in 2016, 15000 children died before their fifth birthday, 46% of them – or 7000 babies – died in the first 28 days of life, according to a new UN report.

Levels and Trends in Child Mortality 2017, reveals that although the number of children dying before the age of five is at a new low– 5.6 million in 2016, compared with nearly 9.9 million in 2000 – the proportion of under-five deaths in the newborn period has increased from 41% to 46% during the same period.

“The lives of 50 million children under-five have been saved since 2000, a testament to the serious commitment by governments and development partners to tackle preventable child deaths,” said UNICEF Chief of Health, Stefan Swartling Peterson. “But unless we do more to stop babies from dying the day they are born, or days after their birth, this progress will remain incomplete. We have the knowledge and technologies that are required – we just need to take them where they are most needed.”

At current trends, 60 million children will die before their fifth birthday between 2017 and 2030, half of them newborns, according to the report released by UNICEF, the World Health Organization, the World Bank and the Population Division of UNDESA which make up the Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (IGME).

Most newborn deaths occurred in two regions: Southern Asia (39%) and sub-Saharan Africa (38%). Five countries accounted for half of all new-born deaths: India (24%), Pakistan (10%), Nigeria (9%), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (4%) and Ethiopia (3%).

“To achieve universal health coverage and ensure more newborns survive and thrive, we must serve marginalized families,” says Dr Flavia Bustreo, Assistant Director-General for Family, Women’s and Children’s Health at WHO. “To prevent illness, families require financial power, their voices to be heard and access to quality care. Improving quality of services and timely care during and after childbirth must be prioritized.”

The report notes that many lives can be saved if global inequities are reduced. If all countries achieved the average mortality of high-income countries, 87% of under-five deaths could have been averted and almost 5 million lives could have been saved in 2016.

“It is unconscionable that in 2017, pregnancy and child birth are still life-threatening conditions for women, and that 7000 newborns die daily,” said Tim Evans, Senior Director of Health Nutrition and Population at the World Bank Group. “The best measure of success for Universal Health Coverage is that every mother should not only be able to access health care easily, but that it should be quality, affordable care that will ensure a healthy and productive life for her children and family. We are committed to scaling up our financing to support country demand in this area, including through innovative mechanisms like the Global Financing Facility (GFF). ”

Pneumonia and diarrhea top the list of infectious diseases which claim the lives of millions of children under-five globally, accounting for 16% and 8% of deaths, respectively. Preterm birth complications and complications during labour or child birth were the causes of 30% of newborn deaths in 2016. In addition to the 5.6 million under-5 deaths, 2.6 million babies are stillborn each year, the majority of which could be prevented.

Ending preventable child deaths can be achieved by improving access to skilled health-professionals during pregnancy and at the time of birth; lifesaving interventions, such as immunization, breastfeeding and inexpensive medicines; and increasing access to water and sanitation, that are currently beyond the reach of the world’s poorest communities.

For the first time, mortality data for older children age 5 to 14 was included in the report, capturing other causes of death such as accidents and injuries. Approximately 1 million children aged 5 to 14 died in 2016.

“This new report highlights the remarkable progress since 2000 in reducing mortality among children under age 5,” said UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Mr. LIU Zhenmin. “Despite this progress, large disparities in child survival still exist across regions and countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Yet many deaths at these ages are easily preventable through simple, cost-effective interventions administered before, during and immediately after birth. Reducing inequities and reaching the most vulnerable newborns, children and mothers are essential for achieving the SDG target on ending preventable childhood deaths and for ensuring that no one will be left behind.”

Kashmir : Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today celebrated Diwali with the jawans of Indian Army and BSF, in the Gurez Valley, near the Line of Control, in Jammu and Kashmir. This is the fourth successive Diwali that the Prime Minister has celebrated with jawans on the border.

Addressing the jawans PM, said that like everyone else, he too wishes to spend Diwali with his family. Therefore, he said, he had come among the jawans of the Armed Forces, whom he considers to be “his family.”

The Prime Minister said he gets new energy when he spends time among the jawans and soldiers of the Armed Forces. He appreciated their penance and sacrifice, amid harsh conditions.

He said that he had been told that the jawans present at the gathering regularly practice Yoga. He said that this would definitely enhance their abilities, and give them a sense of calm.

PM spoke of the new resolve that each Indian citizen must make for 2022, the 75th anniversary of independence. He also encouraged the jawans to innovate, so that their routine tasks and duties become easier and safer. 

Prime Minister said that the Union Government is committed to the welfare and the betterment of the Armed Forces, in every way possible. In this regard, he mentioned the implementation of One Rank, One Pension, which had been pending for decades.

“Protecting the Motherland, far from your loved ones, displaying the highest traditions of sacrifice, all soldiers at the nation’s borders, are symbols of bravery and dedication. I have an opportunity to spend the festival of Diwali with you. The presence of brave soldiers at the border, on this festive occasion, lights the lamp of hope, and generates new energy among crores of Indians. To accomplish the dream of “New India,” this is a golden opportunity for all of us to work together. The Army too is a part of it.” PM Modi wrote in the visitors book.

New Delhi : The biggest global event in adolescent health – The World Congress on Adolescent Health – is coming to India. Held only once every 4 years, the International Association for Adolescent Health’s 11^th World Congress on Adolescent Health, ‘Investing in Adolescent Health – the Future is Now’ will be held in New Delhi, India from27-29 October 2017. The world is home to 1.2 billion adolescents, and India has the largest population of adolescents in the world – 253 million[1]. This demographic makes India a potent host for a global conference on this theme.

According to Manoj Jhalani, Additional Secretary & Mission Director, MoHFW Â“The National Health Mission guidelines on adolescent health are a step forward in ensuring a healthy, young India. The government of India is deeply committed to streamlining efforts to ensure comprehensive approaches to dealing with adolescent health. Through various programmes and initiatives, different aspects of adolescent health including nutrition, sexual and reproductive health, NCDs, mental health and more, are being addressed in tandem with each other, incorporating a much-needed life-course perspective into overcoming public health challenges.”

“With the largest number of adolescents in the world, India is being watched by the world with hope, and we must lead the way in setting examples through our commitment to securing the health of young India. The upcoming World Congress, therefore, could not have come at a better time for India,” says Vandana Gurnani, Joint Secretary, MoHFW.

Dr. Ajay Khera, Deputy Commissioner, MoHFW, says, “The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is very happy to support the ‘11th World Congress on Adolescent Health’ being held by the International Association for Adolescent Health (IAAH). We are giving the highest priority to addressing adolescent health issues, and ensuring a healthy and bright future for our adolescents. Programmes like RKSK don’t just address maternal and child health needs but also talk about the risks of non-communicable diseases and drug abuse, and the necessity of addressing mental health issues.”

 

The World Congress seeks to cover topical themes through discussions in sessions such as ‘Global adolescent health: Opportunities and challenges’, ‘Programming for adolescent health in India: RKSK and beyond’, ‘Toward a gendered approach to adolescent health’, ‘Mental health and adolescents’, Â‘Early Adolescent Health and Development in Low and Middle-Income Countries’, ‘Social Media, Sexting, Addiction, Oh My! Adolescent Health in the Digital Age’, and more. There will also be debates on topics including the need for parents’ consent in their child’s clinical care or participation in health research; the role of brain imaging in adolescent care and health promotion; and on whether to promote condoms or contraceptives among adolescents.

 

The conference – the first-of-its kind to be held in India – will see the participation of prominent global public health experts as well as policy makers including the likes of Dr. Sunil Mehra, Executive Director, MAMTA Health Institute for Mother and Child, Mental Health expert Prof. Vikram Patel from Harvard University, David Ross from the World Health Organization, Prof. Susan Sawyer, President of the International Association for Adolescent Health, Prof. Robert Blumfrom Johns Hopkins University, Ms. Suzanne Petroni of International Center for Research on Women, Ms. Kate Gilmore, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and many more.

 

Globally, adolescence is demographically dense – a period which encapsulates tremendous change in relation to critical life events such as transitions from education to employment, and formation of families and parenting. Adolescence is also the period in which individuals experience the greatest change in health and health-related behaviours across their lifetime. Well recognized as a time of risk for health, increasingly adolescence is now recognized as a period of opportunity for health, in which individuals gain the assets and resources to sustain health across the life-course.

The mortality of adolescents globally stands at a staggering 1.3 million deaths per year. Unintended injuries such as road traffic accidents and drowning are the leading causes of death among adolescents, together with self-harm, interpersonal violence, communicable diseases and teenage pregnancy.[2] Tobacco, alcohol and other substance use contribute to health concerns among adolescents (e.g. injuries) and are associated with unemployment, accidents, depression and suicide during adolescence. Yet rather than being a passing phase, these behaviours and states risk reverberating across the life-course, contributing to the future burden of disease in adults and to that of the next generation.

 

The agenda for Sustainable Development Goals 2030 and the new Global Strategy on Women’s Children’s and Adolescents’ Health have brought adolescence to the centre-stage. These agendas recognize the opportunities and contribution of adolescence to achieving a wide array of global health priorities including improvements in communicable diseases (e.g. HIV) and non-communicable diseases, women’s health, mental health, nutrition, and more.  For example, over half of new HIV cases occur in adolescents, and more than 2 million adolescents are living with HIV. Addressing the global HIV epidemic – and other key global health agendas, will not be achieved without attending better to adolescent health and wellbeing.

The World Congress is being organized under the supportive leadership of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India. MAMTA Health Institute for Mother and Child (MAMTA) is the lead organisation that is hosting the World Congress with a consortium of partners including Pathfinder International, Population Foundation of India (PFI), Population Services International (PSI), and The YP Foundation. The World Congress also has scientific support from Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP), Federation of Obstetric and Gynecological Societies of India (FOGSI), Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and Trained Nurses Association of India (TNAI).

“Adolescents need to be at the centre of future investment in health and education for sustainable development”, says Dr. Sunil Mehra, Executive Director, MAMTA Health Institute for Mother and Child.

Professor Susan Sawyer, President, International Association for Adolescent Health, says, Â“This meeting couldn’t be better timed, as never before has there been such global recognition of the importance of advancing the health and wellbeing of adolescents, including in India. IAAH is delighted that the 11^th World Congress on Adolescent Health is in the country with the largest number of adolescents in the world. A groundswell of professionals, global partners and young people are coming to Delhi from all over the world to share ideas, evidence and actions to advance adolescent health. The world is looking towards India and we are confident this World Congress will deliver”.

The World Congress is anticipating around 800 international and national delegates including adolescent health experts from across the globe, academia, representatives from MoHFW – Government of India, national and global representatives of UN organizations, youth leaders from several countries including India who have made a difference in their communities, national and international NGOs, donor organizations, policy makers and corporates.

It is key to align the interests of the most important section of the population – the future agents of change – with the Government’s vision of ‘New India’. It is only by investing in the young people of today that we can safeguard the future as the future wealth of nations requires young people to be educated, empowered and healthy.

The World Congress will be an ideal platform for networking with global public health practitioners, share learnings from global case studies and successful interventions in adolescent health and policies, and an opportunity to track global policy developments and policy effectiveness in adolescent health. There will be a strong focus on gender norms and human rights. The World Congress will also conduct Skill Development Workshops on 26^th October with participants from around the world. The media is invited to attend all the sessions at the World Congress. An invitation with the detailed agenda of the World Congress will be shared soon.

NEW DELHI : After the Supreme Court banned the sale of fire-crackers in Delhi-NCR, it was expected that the air pollution in the capital and its vicinity will come down. But the cacophony of crackers and the smoke in the air have mocked the decision of the the Apex court.

SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research) estimated pollution levels to further increase on Friday with the air quality reaching the ‘very poor’ mark with a predicted AQI of 303. The city’s air quality is expected to remain in the ‘poor’ category till Sunday and improve from Monday onwards. On Thursday, while Delhi recorded ‘very poor’ air quality.

According to the Air Quality Index, the level of pollution in some areas rose up to 12 times higher. RK Puram recorded the highest level of micron as 999 at 11PM, ITO 340, Shadipur 420, New Delhi Embassy 427 and Mandir Marg 427. 

AQI level from 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 is satisfactory, 101-200 is moderate, 201-300 is poor, 301-400 is very poor, and 401 and above is severe.

Delhi has an air pollution problem. It is the 11th worst polluted city in the world, with an annual average PM2.5 measurement of 122. Average air-quality index reading for Delhi in October 2015 was considered “poor” according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s air quality index bulletin.

On the banks of Saryu river in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath Yogi celebrated the festival of lights ‘Diwali’ in the most unique manner by lighting up more than 2 lakhs ‘Diyas’ setting a world record.

According to mythological epic, it is believed that Lord Ram, popularly called as ‘Ramlala’ in Ayodhya, was born in the city of Ayodhya and returned to his homeland after the exile of 14 years. The day marked as the festival of Diwali in the country. 

CM Yogi’s decision to celebrate Diwali on the land which has always been in news for no reason other than the disputed ‘Ram Mandir-Babri Masjid’ controversy. Yogi in his speech said, “For 70 years, many have been deprived of food, power connections and (are) without a roof above their heads.The Centre and state governments’ efforts at providing them all this is Ram Rajya for them.” However, it came as a surprise as the saffron donned CM kept himself aside from making any comments on the temple issue, but the background seems to be different.”

Yogi now talks development. After appointed as the CM of UP, taking a cue from the former CM of Gujarat Narendra Modi, there have been instances when he appeared to be dissociating himself from the image of ‘communal-religious commentator’, an image which he has donned during his regime as the ‘Mahanth’ of Gorakhnath Temple in Gorakhpur. In the past he had said, “Agar mai sadak par Eid ke din namaz padhne pe rok nahi laga sakta to mujhe koi adhikar nahi ki main thano mein janmashtami ke parv ko rokun… koi adhikar nahi. (If I cannot stop anyone to reciting Namaaz on on roads then equally I have no rights to stop anyone to celebrate Janmashtmi in Police stations.). Yogi Adityanath is now trying to break his stereotype figure of ‘poster boy’ of BJP agenda in UP to a leader who talks development, and the BJP is looking to capitalise on him under project of ‘Project Yogi’.

Picking Ayodhya to celebrate Diwali underlines many hidden-unhidden agendas of the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) which embark the re-establishment of the Ram temple in the wake of ‘reincarnation’ of Ayodhya. Without even mentioning the name of controversial temple issue, Yogi has led the foundation of the temple and carved the way easier. This comes at a time when the BJP government is being criticised for the drop in GDP by 2% this quarter. The Modi government had to face backlash within the party when senior BJP leader and former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha condemned the move of Demonetisation and criticised the government to be ignorant on the topic of economy downfall. There has been a league of economists which comprises stalwarts like Arun Shourie and Subramaniyan Swami who have been a critique time to time. At this time Ayodhya can be a saving grace for BJP. 

Ahead of Gujarat Assembly elections, Yogi might be a star campaigner for BJP, like he did in Uttar Pradesh. Yogi said, “He can campaign wherever the party wants him to go. I will go to Gujarat also to campaign if the party says so.” 

According to TOI, Yogi reportedly said, “UP should become hub of tourism and we are starting this initiative from Ayodhya. People should stop talking negatively about Ayodhya since this town has taught the world about Ram’s good works. Under the PM’s vision, there will be no homeless in the country by 2022, no family will be without a toilet by 2019, and there will be electrification of all homes. For a person who has never used a gas stove or has not had light at home, when these promises are delivered it will be Ram Rajya. Ayodhya will not be neglected anymore.”

“The government will connect each house, whether it is in village, a city or in remote locations,” Modi said in his speech. “No poor person will have to pay for the connection–this will cost more than Rs 16,000 crore. We have decided that no poor person will bear this burden.”

Recently, the central government launched the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (or Saubhagya). The scheme seeks to ensure universal household electrification (in both rural and urban areas) by providing last mile connectivity.  The scheme is expected to cover three crore households.  Note that currently about four crore households are un-electrified.  A rural electrification scheme has also been under implementation since 2005.  In light of this, we discuss the current situation of, and key issues related to rural electrification in the country.

Regulatory and Policy Framework

Under the Electricity Act, 2003, the central and state governments have the joint responsibility of providing electricity to rural areas.  The 2003 Act also mandates that the central government should, in consultation with the state governments, provide for a national policy on (i) stand-alone power systems for rural areas (systems that are not connected to the electricity grid), and (ii) electrification and local distribution in rural areas.  Consequently, the Rural Electrification Policy was notified in August 2006.

The Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY), launched in 2005, was the first scheme on rural electrification.  In December 2014, Ministry of Power launched the Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY), which subsumed the RGGVY. Components of DDUGJY include: (i) separation of agricultural and non-agricultural electricity feeders to improve supply for consumers in rural areas, (ii) improving sub-transmission and distribution infrastructure in rural areas, and (iii) rural electrification by carrying forward targets specified under the RGGVY.

The total financial outlay for DDUGJY over the implementation period (until 2021-22) is Rs 82,300 crore which includes budgetary support of Rs 68,900 crore.  The central government provides 60% of the project cost as grant, the state power distribution companies (discoms) raise 10% of the funds, and 30% is borrowed from financial institutions and banks.

Status of Rural Electrification

As of August 2017, about 1% of the villages in India remain un-electrified (3,146 villages).  However, with regard to households, around 23% (4.1 crore households) are yet to be electrified.  Table 1 at the end of this post shows the status of rural electrification across all states.

Issues with rural electrification

An electrified village is defined as one that has the following: (i) provision of basic infrastructure such as distribution transformers and lines in the inhabited locality, (ii) provision of electricity in public places like schools, panchayat office, health centers, dispensaries, and community centers, and (iii) at least 10% of the total number of households in the village are electrified.

Therefore, a village is considered to be electrified if 10% of the total number of households in the village have been electrified.  This is apart from the basic infrastructure and electrification of certain public centers in the village.  The Standing Committee on Energy (2013) had observed that according to this definition, a village would be called electrified even if up to 90% of households in it do not have an electricity connection.It also noted that the infrastructure being provided under the scheme is highly inadequate, unreliable and unsustainable.  The Committee recommended that the actual electrification requirement of villages must be assessed, and it should be ensured that the state discoms provide electricity to the remaining households in the village.

Supply of Electricity

The Standing Committee had also noted that while the rural electrification scheme looks at creating infrastructure, the actual supply of electricity to households rests with the state discoms. These discoms are already facing huge financial losses and hence are unable to supply electricity to the villages.  Discoms continue to supply subsidised power to agricultural and residential consumers, resulting in revenue losses.  Further, the average technical and commercial losses (theft and pilferage of electricity) (AT&C losses) are at around 25%.  While the Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) has eased off some of the financial losses of the discoms, it remains to be seen whether discoms are able to reduce the cost-tariff gap and AT&C losses in the future.

It has been recommended that generation capacity should be augmented so that states can meet the additional demand under the rural electrification schemes. Further, the assistance to financially weaker states should be increased so that they can better implement the scheme.

Electricity to below poverty line (BPL) households

Under the rural electrification scheme, the cost for providing free electricity connection per BPL household is Rs 3,000.  It has been observed that this cost per household may be inadequate.Due to the low cost, the quantity and the quality of work has been getting compromised leading to poor implementation of the scheme.  It has been recommended that the Ministry should revisit the cost provided under the scheme.

The new electrification scheme: Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (or Saubhagya)

The new scheme, Saubhagya, seeks to ensure universal household electrification, that is, in both rural and urban areas.  Under Saubhagya, beneficiaries will be identified using the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011 data.  The identified poor households will get free electricity connections.  Other households not covered under the SECC, will be provided electricity connections at a cost of Rs 500.  This amount will be collected by the electricity distribution companies in 10 instalments.

The total outlay of the scheme will be Rs 16,320 crore, of which the central government will provide Rs 12,320 crore.  The outlay for the rural households will be Rs 14,025 crore, of which the centre will provide Rs 10,588 crore.  For urban households the outlay will be Rs 2,295 crore of which the centre will provide Rs. 1,733 crore.

The state discoms will execute the electrification works through contractors or other suitable agencies.  Information technology (mobile apps, web portals) will be used to organise camps in villages to identify beneficiaries.  In order to accelerate the process, applications for electricity connections will be completed on the spot.

So far the focus of electrification schemes has been on rural areas, where typically last mile connectivity has been difficult to provide. Saubhagya extends the ambit of electrification projects to urban areas as well.  While DDUGJY has focused on the village as the principal unit to measure electrification, the new scheme shifts the targets to household electrification.  While the target for ensuring electricity connection in each household will be a significant step towards ensuring 24×7 power, the question of continuous and quality supply to these households will still rest on the ability of the discoms to provide electricity.  Further, while the scheme provides for free connections, the ability of these households to pay for the electricity they consume may be a concern.

Source – PRS Legislative Research

New Delhi : The neighbourhoods of hospitals are declared as silence zones so that patients receiving treatment are not disturbed. So are areas around schools, colleges, courts and other such places that need to be noise-free. 

But how silent are so-called silence zones in India? 

A recent study across seven major cities has shown that much is left to be desired. A team of researchers monitored the noise levels at 17 sites declared as silence zones in Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Lucknow and found that none of them came anywhere near the national standard. 

As per the standards, the decibel level in silence zones should not exceed 50 dB during the day and 40 dB during the night. But, sound levels at the sites varied from 56 dB to even as high as 77 dB for the day time and from 51 dB to 75 dB for the night. 

The study also covered several residential colonies, commercial centres and industrial areas in the seven big cities. The situation in the residential areas is as bad as in ‘silence zones’.  The sound level was monitored in a total of 16 residential areas. Here too, none met the standards. The day levels varied from 58 dB to 86 dB and the night levels from 52 dB to 81 dB, way off the standard levels of 55 dB and 45 dB respectively.

The story was similar in the commercial centres. The study covered 25 of them. The day sound levels varied from 59.2 dB to 79.7 dB and the night levels from 57 dB to 79 dB against the standards of 65 dB and 55 dB respectively. 

Interestingly, the situation seemed to be much better in industrial areas. A total of 12 industrial areas were monitored and of them as many as 10 passed muster, with the sound levels below the standard of 75 dB for the day time and 70 dB for the night. 

The study was based on the data collected through the National Ambient Noise Monitoring Network of the Central Pollution Control Board. The Board had set up the network in two phases. The first batch of 35 monitoring stations was set up in 2011 and the second, again of 35 stations, in 2014. 

The study was conducted jointly by a group of researchers from National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and Delhi Technology University (DTU) besides the Central Pollution Control Board. A report on their findings has been published journal Current Science.

The researchers have suggested that the noising monitoring network be further expanded so that the authorities could develop detailed noise maps and institute remedial efforts for trouble spots such as installation of noise barriers for hospitals and other sensitive buildings, enforcement of speed limits for heavy vehicles traversing through residential areas, demarcation of no-honking zones and adoption of proper land use plans. 

Noting that several methods are available to cut down noise pollution, researchers said, “the best practical and economical options may be executed for each site after considering all the possible noise abatement alternatives”. 

The research team included N.Garg of NPL, A.K.Sinha, V.Gandhi, R.M.Bharadwaj and A.B. Akolkar of CPCB and M.K.Sharma and R.K.Singh of DTU.

New Delhi/Berlin : Within twenty months after announcement of the first confirmed detection of gravitational waves and within two weeks of the discovery winning the Nobel Prize, the LIGO-Virgo collaboration – that includes 40 odd scientists from 13 Indian institutions – has announced once again a breathtaking discovery – first ever direct observation of gravitational waves emerging from the merger of two neutron stars.  Earlier detections were black hole -black hole mergers. 

The announcement was made in a simultaneous worldwide press conference by the participating institutes coinciding the publication of results in the journal Physical Review Letters. 

David Reitze, executive director, LIGO Laboratory, Caltech announced that the US-based Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and the Europe-based Virgo have detected the fifth gravitational wave on August 17, 2017, which is a result of a collision of two neutron stars. While the last four discoveries were the result of the merger of two black holes for the first time astronomers have seen the merger of two neutron stars.

Rumours were circulating for more than a month that something huge has been discovered by the LIGO-Virgo collaboration, and finally, the discovery was announced on Monday in the US. In India, Dr. Tarun Souradeep, LIGO-India spokesperson made the announcement at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) in Pune. “Gravitational Wave detection of a binary neutron star merger, together with confirmation and identifying the location of the optical counterpart by conventional telescopes completes the integration of gravitational waves into astronomy,” said Dr.  Souradeep. 

When two black holes collide, we cannot see anything in any type of telescope, but when neutron stars bump into each other, they radiate in almost all wavelengths. “For the first time we were able to observe the afterglow of the event and make many inferences,” says Dr. Dipankar Bhattacharya of IUCAA, Pune, a lead institution from India participating in LIGO collaboration. The collision took place in the modest elliptical galaxy NGC4993 just 130 million light-years away in the Hydra constellation. This was the nearest gravitational source detected so far and hence was also the strongest.  

The event

When massive stars reach the end of their life, they explode spectacularly into a supernova, and the core of the star becomes highly dense neutron star. Massive than Sun, but the size just 20 kilometres across, neutron stars are the densest objects in the universe. A teaspoon of material would weight whole of Mount Everest.

  

Two neutron stars with 1.1 to 1.6 times the mass of the sun, tangoed around each other for about 100 seconds as they spiralled towards each and bumped into each other. The cataclysmic collision resulted in the generation of mighty gravitational waves, and emission of powerful gamma-ray burst, and energy in practically all over the electromagnetic spectrum. In addition to gravitational wave detectors, traditional telescopes could observe the event. 

“In this event named GW170817, the binary neutron stars have merged most likely into a black hole as the conserved mass after the collision is perhaps greater than the upper limit for a neutron star,” says Dr.  Bhattacharya. “Unlike the collision of a black hole, which leaves practically no afterglow, when neutron stars collide, they emit radiation at all electromagnetic wavelengths that helps us investigate how matter behaves in extreme conditions such as neutron stars,” says Samir Dhurde, Science Educator and Astronomer from IUCAA. “This is precisely the kind of signal that can significantly improve our understanding of the true nature of gravity and can provide new insights into the physics of ultra-dense matter”, says Dr. C K Mishra from IIT Madras.

Indian contribution

“AstroSAT was occulted by Earth and hence could not pinpoint the gamma-ray burst, but Indian telescopic assets like Himalayan Chandra Telescope and GMRT Pune played a significant role in the discovery,” says Dr. Bhattacharya. However, in the classical Sherlock Holmes style, ‘why the dog did not bark’, the non-detection of gamma rays by AstroSAT and the non-detection of gravitational waves by the third detector, Virgo, at Europe meant they were in the blind spots. Using this information, astronomers were able to infer that the location of the source of the gravitational wave was in the blind spots of both these detectors and hence they could easily pinpoint the location in the sky. 

Along with Fermi space telescope, Chandra X-ray Telescope, the Hubble Space Telescope and the Gemini South optical/infrared telescope, Indian astronomical assets were swung into action. “The Himalayan Chandra Telescope at Hanle, Ladakh, quickly ruled out any connection between the neutrinos observed from the same direction of the sky by the Ice Cube observatory in Antarctica. Further, observations with the GMRT radio telescope in Pune found that the emission from the GRB jet is weaker than normal, suggesting a wider spread of material” says Dr. Bhattacharya. 

“The Indian instruments significantly contributed to understanding the event” added Dr Tarun Souradeep. He is hopeful that that planned LIGO-India detector, jointly funded by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and the Department of Science & Technology (DST), “will increase the sensitivity of the international gravitational-wave network and help pinpoint the exact location of the gravitational wave event”.  

“This discovery so fundamental that it is definitely a strong candidate for another Nobel prize!” says Dr. Arun,Chennai Mathematical Institute, who was part of the team that studied the astrophysical implications of the joint detection. “The prospects for future is even more exciting. During next observation runs, these events may become routine and we may be up for many surprises. This is the true power of multi-messenger astronomy” he adds.

What does this discovery tell us?

Initially, gamma ray telescopes were sent in spacecraft to identify clandestine nuclear weapons tests, but the scientists were puzzled by the sudden high energetic burst of gamma rays from deep space. Each of these gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) spewed energy equal to energy radiated by the sun in 10 billion years which in a matter of seconds. Convinced that these GRBs could not be the telltale signature of atomic bomb explosions, astronomers looked for a different explanation. It was speculated that GRBs were results of collision of two neutron stars, but until now lacked direct evidence. The present discovery offers “first conclusive evidence that short gamma-ray bursts, often seen by orbiting satellites, are indeed created by colliding neutron stars” says Niruj Ramanujam, chairperson of POEC, Astronomical Society of India.

While Hydrogen, Helium with a small amount of lithium were created from the process of big-bang, elements such as oxygen, carbon were formed in the nucleosynthesis in ordinary stars like our Sun. It is the process of the conversion of one element into another, through nuclear fusion that generates energy in stars and makes it glow. However, computations showed that only elements up to Iron in the periodic table could be cooked inside the stellar core. How does gold, platinum, and other higher elements are formed was a mystery. Astronomers claimed that higher elements were created in the cataclysmic events like ‘kilonova,’ a collision of two neutron stars. Spectral study of the afterglow of this event has shown that gold, platinum, and other higher elements were indeed formed, as computed, as an after effect of the collision. “We may have just discovered the source of the cosmic gold that adorns every piece of jewellery and ornament on Earth” said Dibyendu Nandi IISER Kolkata, a member of the team. 

Near-simultaneous detection of the gravitational waves and gamma rays indicate that gravitational waves travel at the speed of light as predicted by Einstein. Until now there was no direct evidence. 

Measurements from this event also has provided an entirely new measurement of the rate at which the universe is expanding. Called Hubble constant this number is important to determine the age of the universe, make sense of dark matter and dark energy. Until now other means off determining this constant has been dogged in controversy and the rate was thought to be anywhere between 67 to 72 kilometres per second per megaparsec.  Gravitational waves is one of the cleanest way to compute the number and preliminary computation from LIGO data yields a value of 70 kilometres per second per megaparsec.

What are gravitational waves

The universe painted by the Newtonian gravity is placid;  two perfectly stable masses could orbit their center of gravity for eternity. But General Relativity tells us that slight amount of energy would be lost when each of the masses is accelerated as they pass through the respective gravitational field. This energy is radiated into space as gravitational wave predicted Einstein about a century ago. Slowly and steadily, over a period of time, the system will decay, and both masses will come closer and closer, finally swirl rapidly, close to the speed of light,  and end in a collision. The gravitational waves generated during the death dance would be stronger and would have detectable disturbances in the space-time fabric millions of light years away. 

As the oscillation of electric charge in the magnetic field produce electromagnetic waves, oscillation of masses in a gravitational field, Einstein said, would produce gravitational waves. The energy carried by the gravitation wave is so small, Einstein was skeptical if ever we could detect them. Physicists Rainer Weiss, Kip Thorne, and Barry Barish were awarded this year’s Noble prize was designing, constructing and demonstrating a viable gravitational detector that is so sensitive that even a change of length of one atom size between Earth and Sun could be detected using sophisticated interferometry and complex computer programmes to detect the true fingerprint of gravitational wave from astounding background noise. 

NEW DELHI: You  don’t have to travel to Japan or the U.S. to witness the Cherry Blossom Festival. It’s here in India’s North-East. The grandeur of Cherry Blossoms in Autumn this November will be up for a visual treat in Meghalaya as the picturesque North-Eastern State is hosting the 2nd Cherry Blossom Festival from November 8 to 11. 

The Cherry Blossom Festival in Shillong will celebrate the flowering in this International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development with several cultural events. Travellers can join night walks under the illuminated cherry blossoms led by volunteers at Ward’s Lake. Alongside, there will be stalls showcasing the region’s food, wind and crafts and Japan Higher Education Fair. 

Organised by the Government of Meghalaya in asosciation with Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development (IBSD) and Indian Council For Cultural Relations (ICCR), the Cherry Blossom Festival was initiated in May 2015. Talking to mediapersons here, Meghalaya Chief Minister Dr. Mukul Sangma said the festival is aimed at giving a boost to the tourism in the State and the North-East region and generate employment for the youth in the tourism sector. 

Cherry Blossom festivals have generated huge employment and revenues for various cities and countries as a large number of visitors from different parts of the world throng Japan, New Zealand and parts of South Korea to witness the Cherry Blossom. In Washington DC alone, festival typically brings more than 1.5 million visitors and brings in 400 million dollars worth of revenue every year. 

“Tourism is one sector which holds great potential for the youth to get employment, India’s diversity and picturesque regions can certainly promote tourism in a big way which in turn can provide jobs to the youth. Government jobs are limited and competition is very stiff, young people have to look for opportunities in other sectors as well,” said Dr. Sangma.