Farmers' market set to achieve record turnover
Kamakshy SKV turnover crosses Rs.2.5 crore
Farmers are given subsidies, loans
KATTAPPANA, India: The Swayasraya Karshaka Vipani (SKV) at Kamakshy under the Vegetable and Fruit Promotion Council, Keralam, (VFPCK) is all set to create record with the total turnover already crossing Rs.2.5 crore.
An official with VFPCK told The Hindu on Wednesday that the Kamakshy SKV had made the third highest business turnover in the State last year. This financial year, Mazhavannur SKV in Ernakulam district has also crossed the Rs.2.5-crore mark in sales turnover. “Only after getting the final figures of sales till March, we can know which SKV comes first this financial year” said the official. The Mazhavannur SKV emerged first last year.
However, the Kamakshy SKV will be setting a record in the sale of vegetables in the district. The Thopramkudy SKV has also crossed the Rs.2 crore mark.
Bindu Chandran, project resource group in-charge, said that when the last project report was released the total turnover of Kamakshy SKV was Rs.2.86 crore. She also said that the four SKVs in the Vathikudy grama panchayat in Idukki district are also major partners of VFPCK. Across the State, 237 SKVs are functioning under VFPCK.
The SKVs are major price stabilising agencies for vegetable farmers in the district. About 350 farmers and 25 self help groups are registered with the Kamakshy SKV. Bitter gourds, beans, tubers and plantain varieties are the major items marketed through the Kamakshy SKV.
According to Ms. Chandran, during the plantain season, which starts in April-May, on an average, 60 tonnes of plantain are traded a day. VFPCK gives subsidies to the farmers , besides making available bank loans for cultivation.
Reference Link
http://www.hindu.com/2010/03/04/stories/2010030457820300.htm
Courtesy
The Hindu
Award for Udayabhanu
KOCHI, India: Veteran singer and composer K.P. Udayabhanu has been adjudged the winner of this year’s ‘Raveendra Puraskaram’ instituted by the Raveendran Music Foundation.
The award consists of a purse of Rs.10,001, a citation, and a plaque. The jury chaired by music composer M.K. Arjunan reached the decision considering the number of melodious songs rendered by Mr. Udayabhanu and his contributions as a music composer. His contribution to the field of light music during his 38 years of service in All India Radio was also significant. He continues to popularise beautiful yesteryear compositions through his music troupe ‘Old is Gold.’ It was considering his life-long service to music that he was bestowed with the award, jury member Harippad K.P.N. Pillai said.
: Veteran singer and composer K.P. Udayabhanu has been adjudged the winner of this year’s ‘Raveendra Puraskaram’ instituted by the Raveendran Music Foundation.
The award consists of a purse of Rs.10,001, a citation, and a plaque. The jury chaired by music composer M.K. Arjunan reached the decision considering the number of melodious songs rendered by Mr. Udayabhanu and his contributions as a music composer. His contribution to the field of light music during his 38 years of service in All India Radio was also significant. He continues to popularise beautiful yesteryear compositions through his music troupe ‘Old is Gold.’ It was considering his life-long service to music that he was bestowed with the award, jury member Harippad K.P.N. Pillai said.
Reference Link
http://www.hindu.com/2010/03/04/stories/2010030450360200.htm
Courtesy
The Hindu
Police to launch SMS alert
Those in distress can send SMS to 94979 00000
Information on criminal activities can be sent
Home Minister to inaugurate facility today
Thiruvananthapuram, India: Mobile telephone users in the State can seek police help by sending distress messages as ‘SMS’ to the telephone number 94979 00000 from Thursday evening.
Inspector-General of Police Tomin. J. Thachankery said citizens should not use the facility to raise complaints about civic issues.
The service is chiefly intended to benefit those facing an immediate threat to their life or property. Citizens witnessing road accidents, crime, hit-and-run accidents, anti-social and terror-related activities, suspiciously abandoned bags and other containers can alert the police by sending an SMS to the number. The State Police SMS Message Centre at the Police Headquarters complex here can, if needed, relay the information from the public to as many as 15,250 mobile phones issued to police officials on law and order duty in the State.
It can also restrict the information to relevant groups. The National Informatics Centre has developed the software for the SMS Alert programme. Bharathiya Sanchar Nigam Ltd. is the service provider.
The public can use the facility to report specific instances in which the police have not acted satisfactorily on their complaints. Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan will inaugurate the new facility on Thursday.
Reference Link
http://www.hindu.com/2010/03/04/stories/2010030463710300.htm
Courtesy
The Hindu
World’s Largest Solar Boat Prepares for World Tour
PlanetSolar enjoys the distinction of being the largest solar-powered boat in the world, and it’s ready to take on the world. This beauty’s vital stats are: weight: 60-ton, a 470-square-meter are covered by 38,000 solar cells to generate 103.4 kW of energy. 18 million euro ($24.4 million) was spent to adorn this beauty in environmentally friendly way. SunPower Corporation has provided the all vital 38,000 black photovoltaic cells to generate power for this catamaran. These solar panels have a pretty decent conversion rate of 22%. This solar powered ship will be launched this month to get the real taste of water from the Knierim Yacht Club in Kiel, Germany.
Jorn Jurgens of SunPower expresses his joy, “We are proud to support the unveiling of the world’s largest solar boat. SunPower’s technology will enable the catamaran to circumnavigate the globe with the speed and performance expected from the planet’s most powerful solar.” This wonderful solar powered ship can cruise at an average speed of 8 knot (14.8 km/h) but is also capable of reaching a top speed of 15 knots. Apart from being the fastest solar boat to cross the Atlantic Ocean, SunPower will be the first to cross both the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
We are dependent on 90,000 ships for transporting of the world’s goods in exchange of 1.4 billion tonnes of CO2 per year. It amounts to twice the quantity of air transport. Now the United Nations Environment Program has come out with another dampener associated with progress i.e. sea transport, which will jump 70% by 2020 as global trade progresses. This project comes at an apt time. It wants to create an awareness regarding environmentally friendly fuels and to replace conventional fuels.
The 60 tonne vessel can hold 50 passengers. Raphaël Domjan is the skipper and chief executive and founder of the Planet Solar. Raphaël Domjan has chosen the perfect time to start a world tour with PlanetSolar. Domjan conceptualized the solar-powered vessel in 2004. PlanetSolar’s construction started early in 2008. Raphaël Domjan received funds from Rivendell Holding AG, a Swiss firm that invests in renewable energy. Raphaël Domjan will be assisted by navigator Gérard d’Aboville. He was the first sailor to row the Atlantic Ocean. They will begin the awareness solar power world tour in April. What a fine example of lead by example by this duo! They will highlight the role of sea transport in cutting down on global carbon emissions.
The solar panels installed on this ship will generate 103 kilowatts of power but the engine needs only 20 kilowatts. The rest of the power can be stored and utilized for other purposes. They needed an innovative battery storage system to store so much power so they opted for a lithium ion battery. This is being tested by a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems.
This ship will be launched in April. In May, the boat will make a public appearance at celebrations for the port of Hamburg. Later on the boat will be out for sea trials until September. In 2011, it is supposed to cover 40,000 km. PlanetSolar will depart from France to the Panama Canal, across the Pacific and Indian Oceans, through the Suez Canal and across the Mediterranean back to Marseilles.
Before PlanetSolar Japanese shipping giants Nippon Yusen Kaisha and Nippon Oil Corporation launched the Auriga Leader in late 2008 to be partially propelled by solar power.
Reference Link
http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/worlds-largest-solar-boat-world-tour/
Courtesy
AENews Network
Family and friends help Spanish youth survive recession
Despite being hit the hardest by Spain’s economic crisis, its unemployed youth are protected by a strong belief in family unity which permeates Spanish society. But as the BBC’s Sarah Rainsford finds, this may be to the detriment of drive and ambition.
I have only lived in Madrid for a few weeks, but it’s a huge contrast to my last posting to Istanbul.
Life in Turkey was fast, chaotic and full of passion – some of it uncontrolled (I was woken by fist-fights outside my window almost as frequently as the call to prayer.)
After the buzz of that life by the Bosphorus, Madrid moves at a far slower pace.
Its passions are understated. This is a capital city of long, lazy lunches – of taxis that stop at pedestrian crossings unprompted, and drivers who rarely use their horns.
After Besiktas or Galatasaray, a Madrid football match seems like an oasis of calm to me.
Maybe that cool character is one reason why Spaniards seem remarkably unruffled by the economic crisis that’s engulfed their country – the collapse of the construction sector that transformed Spain from one of Europe’s great success stories into a potential poor relation.
I’m thinking about young people here in particular. On the face of it, their situation is most alarming.
Recent demonstrators on Madrid’s streets were not disenchanted youth
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Losing faith
Forty three per cent of Spain’s under 25 year-olds are unemployed – well over twice the EU average. And yet, when the trade unions called protestors onto the streets last week, those young people were nowhere to be seen.
It’s true the demonstrations were about pension reform, but it was the unions’ first major challenge to the socialist government in six years and I had wondered whether Spain’s “disenchanted youth” might bring their own grievances.
Instead, it was a grey-haired crowd which ended the rain-sodden event, fists held high, with a burst of the workers’ anthem – the ‘Internationale’.
All the opinion polls now show that beyond union members, Spaniards across the board are losing faith in the government’s ability to deliver them from recession.
Prime Minister Zapatero is accused of improvising his economic policy.
Young people, hired on short-term contracts in the boom times, have borne the brunt of the layoffs. So why aren’t they angry?
Beer bills
I’ve lost count of all the Spaniards I’ve met in their 20s or even 30s who still live with their parents.
Take Azucena for example – a bright, media studies graduate who’s not had a paid job in two years. The closest she’s got was a three day aptitude test for a secretarial post.
Azucena has been applying for around 30 jobs a month and been plunged into despair – but at least living with her parents means she hasn’t been plunged into debt too.
Israel’s apprenticeship means he needs to stay living with his parents
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Then there’s Israel. He’s just got an apprenticeship at the Botanical Gardens, after dozens of other job applications were ignored.
His training pay is so low that he also lives with his parents. But with only beer bills – and no rent to worry about – I found Israel out enjoying himself with friends, at a comedy club.
“You have to laugh!” he said.
Spanish society acts as a cushion for the young in a crisis, and the family is at the heart of that.
Spain’s strong, traditional family unit was a key factor picked up by UNICEF when it rated Spanish children amongst the happiest in the developed world.
It’s now proving a protective haven for young adults. By contrast, UNICEF ranked British children most miserable.
Back home, talk of a “Broken Britain” is constant – the debate about family and community breakdown and our wayward youth and crime.
But there’s no talk of a Shattered Spain here. Not a whiff of it.
The Spanish government has been playing a protective role too by extending benefit payments to keep the frustration of the unemployed from boiling over.
But there are hints of a new approach.
No ambition
A plan to raise the retirement age – though that’s already being watered down by the unions, and talk, finally, of more flexibility in the labour laws to help young people back into the job market.
Some in business, though, blame young people themselves for their plight.
I met Alberto at the private TV channel he runs in Madrid. As he gave me a tour of its basement studios, he told me he despaired of Spanish youth.
Young Spaniards are taking comfort in tapas bars
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He claimed that most would prefer to stay in their hometown, unemployed, rather than seek their chances elsewhere.
“Friends, family and a favourite tapas bar – they are all more important to our youngsters than ambition or money,” Alberto said.
It’s certainly true that the tapas bars are buzzing. That is partly because for those who do have jobs, prices are cheaper now. It is also because Spaniards just cannot imagine life without them.
“This crisis is bad,” one girl told me, when I asked “but we’ve been through bad times before. It will pass.”
Reference Link
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/8547707.stm
Courtesy
The BBC
Guus Hiddink is ideal to lead Ivory Coast to World Cup
Guus Hiddink is ideal to lead Ivory Coast to World Cup
Hiddink is considering taking a fourth successive team to a World Cup
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There is perhaps no-one who embodies the image of the global game more than the much-travelled frequent flier Guus Hiddink.
The 63-year-old Dutchman has been approached to take on the challenge of leading a talented but stuttering Ivory Coast side to the World Cup.
Vahid Halilhodzic was relieved of his duties last week following a disappointing Africa Cup of Nations campaign and they have since suffered a deflating 2-0 defeat to Hiddink’s former team, South Korea, in London on Wednesday.
Were he to take on the challenge of taking the Elephants to South Africa, it would cap a remarkable period of globetrotting for Hiddink, even by the standards of one of the busiest and most in-demand coaches in the game.
The past 12 months have already seen him commit to three different coaching roles.
Just weeks ago, he confirmed he would not be renewing his contract with Russia and accepted the post of Turkey’s national coach.
Never one to remain idle, however, the Dutch coach is considering filling the time between his contract with Russia expiring in June and moving to Istanbul in August, by making the Ivory Coast the fourth team he has led to a World Cup finals, following the Netherlands (1998), South Korea (2002)and Australia (2006).
Hiddink is not averse to a bit of multi-tasking, having commuted between the Netherlands and Australia in the lead-up to the 2006 World Cup, in his dual role as PSV Eindhoven and Socceroos coach.
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PAUL FLETCHER BLOG
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In Germany, he led the Australians to the last 16 in only their second World Cup appearance, a feat the Ivorians will at least hope to emulate this time around.
To do that, though, they will need an international coach of Hiddink’s experience, after finding themselves in another tough group – a fate that prevented them from progressing in Germany four years ago.
On that occasion they ended up as underdogs in a group that included Argentina and the Netherlands, and now the Ivorians will have to overcome the odds once more after being drawn against Brazil, Portugal and North Korea in Group G.
Hiddink would certainly relish the opportunity to reunite with Elephants captain Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou, having led Chelsea to victory in England’s FA Cup final last year during a short period in charge of the London club, when he was again balancing dual responsibilities, this time with the Russians.
His stock was at its highest at that time, after proving highly popular in England and he looked certain to lead the Russians to South Africa until Slovenia became the only second-seeded European play-off team to progress with a shock win over Hiddink’s highly fancied team.
Ivory Coast’s players are in need of a boost ahead of the World Cup
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Since that rare blemish on his polished CV, Hiddink has been looking for a new challenge, and has certainly already found one with a young Turkish squad in the midst of a period of transition.
However, there is a more immediate challenge that must surely be tempting for a man who doesn’t shirk from one – that of trying to inspire the best from an Ivory Coast side, which is arguably the most talented of all the African teams competing on their home continent this summer.
He has had previous success in using home continent advantage to get the best out of a side, having exceeded expectations by getting South Korea to a World Cup semi-final as co-hosts eight years ago – an achievement which earned him honorary South Korean citizenship.
Four years later, he earned national hero status once again, becoming “Aussie Guus” down under when he managed to break the Socceroos cycle of perennially failing at the final hurdle to qualify for the finals.
And despite his disappointment with Russia, the fact that he was also linked with Nigeria, another of the African qualifiers to seek a new coach ahead of June, shows just how in demand he remains around the world.
Whether he can become an honorary Ivorian will of course depend on him being able to get the Elephants out of one of the toughest groups in South Africa, but given his track record, few would bet against it.
Reference Link
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/8549283.stm
Courtesy
The BBC
Steel plant achieves record turnover
‘This is despite lower net market sales realisations’
It registers growth of 20 per cent
CMD lauds significant success
VISAKHAPATNAM, India: The Visakhapatnam Steel Plant has achieved a phenomenal success by registering a turnover of Rs.9,000 crores with a month to go to complete the 2009-10 financial year.
This was possible despite lower net market sales realisations. The company owned by Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited achieved the target set by the Ministry of Steel by about 105 per cent. A significant aspect was that the sales volume of saleable steel achieved during 2009-10 (up to February) was about 2.67 million tonnes, surpassing the total saleable steel quantity of 2.62 million tonnes sold in the entire year of 2008-09. It registered a growth of 20 per cent over the corresponding period.
Thrust area
The thrust was on value added steel and, during the 11 months of 2009-10, the company sold 19.98 lakh tonnes of value-added steel compared to 16. 70 lakh tonnes sold in the corresponding period in 2008-09. Even in value-added steel sales, it surpassed last year’s quantity sold by February. For the entire year of 2008-09 the quantity of value-added steel sold was 19.81 lakh tonnes. RINL Chairman-cum-Managing Director P.K. Bishnoi complimented the “works and marketing collective” of the company for the significant performance.
Reference Link
http://www.hindu.com/2010/03/04/stories/2010030453250200.htm
Courtesy
The Hindu
VUDA gets recognition at national level
It bags award for provision of amenities at tourist destinations
Proud moment:Minister for Tourism J.Geetha Reddy and VUDA Vice-Chairman B.Sreedhar receiving national tourism award from Vice-President Hamid Ansari at New Delhi on Wednesday.
VISAKHAPATNAM, India: Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority (VUDA) has been awarded the National Tourism Award by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India for 2008-09.
The Ministry has selected VUDA for the special award in the ‘Best Civic Management of a Tourist Destination in India’ category for green practices.
There are only two awards in the category. While one award was jointly won by Tranquebar (Tarangambadi) in Tamil Nadu and Yanam in Pondicherry and the other was bagged by VUDA.
Andhra Pradesh Minister for Tourism J. Geetha Reddy and VUDA Vice-Chairman B. Sreedhar received the award from Vice-President Hamid Ansari at a function at Vignan Bhavan, New Delhi, on Wednesday.
Union Minister for Tourism Kumari Selja and the Minister of State Sultan Ahmed, and Secretary, Tourism, Sujith Benarjee were present. VUDA Divisional Forest Officer B.V.A. Krishna Murthy also attended the function at New Delhi.
Expressing happiness on receiving the award, Mr. Sreedhar said it was in recognition of the developments and amenities provided at all its tourism destinations.
User-friendly
VUDA, the second largest urban development authority in AP and the third largest in the country, has now earned recognition at national level with the award, he added.
The user-friendly amenities and arrangements, maintenance of facilities, waste management practices, encouragement of re-use and re-cycling systems, care for environment and green practices at Kailasagiri, Thotlakonda, VUDA Park and Submarine Museum have been considered and the award announced. The continuous efforts of the urban forestry wing and engineering officials under the supervision of B.V.A. Krishna Murthy, DFO, have made VUDA’s tourism spots user-friendly, according to a VUDA release.
Reference Link
http://www.hindu.com/2010/03/04/stories/2010030464380300.htm
Courtesy
The Hindu
‘Maths Day' observed
KURNOOL, India: Maths Day was observed at St. Joseph English Medium school here on Wednesday. Senior maths teacher Mohammad Hameed conducted the workshop for children from Class 1 to 3.
Addressing the children, Mr. Hameed said the workshop was meant for eliminating myths and phobia surrounding mathematics. He said mathematics was the easiest subject once the basics were learnt.
Unlike other subjects, mathematics required no rote memory as was required for science and social studies. Once mastered, the students would derive the pleasure of playing games .
He gave various tips, symbols, shortcuts and number games to the students. Workshop coordinator Prameela and others were present.
Mrs. Meena, wife of Collector, visited the workshop as guest of honour.
Reference Link
http://www.hindu.com/2010/03/04/stories/2010030453750300.htm
Courtesy
The Hindu
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