China's exports see sharp increase
China’s exports jumped by 46% in February compared with a year ago, raising hopes of a strong recovery in global trade.
The increase was higher than analysts’ expectations of a rise of between 35% and 40%.
It is likely to increase pressure on the Chinese government to raise the value of the yuan, which the US in particular complains is undervalued.
China’s imports also rose strongly, increasing by 44.7% last month.
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 The recovery seems to have gained legs and this will give China’s government more confidence to start revaluing the yuan  Ren Xianfang, IHS Global Insight
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The big growth in imports was helped by the government’s economic stimulus spending.
The rise in imports reduced China’s trade surplus to a one-year low of $7.6bn (£5bn) for February.
Yuan to rise?
Beijing had kept the yuan at the same level against the US dollar for 18 months, to help its exporters.
This has angered the US, which says the Chinese government keeps the yuan unfairly undervalued, and Washington continues to call on Beijing to allow the currency to float freely to reflect its true market value.
“The recovery seems to have gained legs and this will give China’s government more confidence to start revaluing the yuan,” said Ren Xianfang, an economist at IHS Global Insight in Beijing.
However, China’s central bank governor, Zhou Xiaochuan, said at the weekend that the government was “very cautious” about easing exchange rate controls because the global economic outlook was still uncertain.
‘Pretty impressive’
Analysts said that while the 46% growth in exports in February was obviously very strong, it was inflated by the comparison with February 2009, when shipments fell by 25.7%.
However, last month’s big rise in exports came despite factories across the country being closed for up to five days over the Chinese New Year.
Last year the New Year festival fell in January.
“There were five fewer [business] days in February this year than last year, which makes [the export] number pretty impressive,” said Royal Bank of Canada senior strategist Brian Jackson.
Reference Link
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8559088.stm
Courtesy
BBC News
Prototype Solar Power-Assist for Buses
Sunpods Inc. is California-based manufacturing company. They produce modular, fully integrated and tested solar power generation systems. Recently they have come out with an idea of the first solar power-assist system for buses. They should be applauded for developing it in a mere six weeks. Their partner is Bauer Intelligent Transportation. The system developed by Sunpods will help Bauer to meet strict anti-pollution standards laid down by the State of California. California state law since 2008 has disallowed diesel vehicles to remain idle for more than five minutes. Now more than 25 states across the United States have anti-idling laws.
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Gary Bauer, founder and owner of Bauer’s Intelligent Transportation says, “We support the state’s strong commitment to reducing pollution. At the same time, as a transportation provider, we wanted to meet our customers’ requirements for comfort and connectivity. SunPods was able to make our vision a reality in less than 6 weeks. We’ve been testing the bus for the past 4 weeks and we’re impressed with the reliable performance.”
SunPod’s solar power-assist system has already been tested on a Bauer IT bus since January 2010. Bauer IT finds the performance of the solar power-assist system quite impressive. SunPods’ modular solar power assist system is made up of four thin film solar panels. They will be mounted across the length of the bus. These panels will help in charging an on-board deep cycle battery bank. When the bus engine is inactive the work of the batteries would be to power the air-conditioning and wireless connectivity equipment. This will facilitate the bus companies to meet anti-idling standards without putting passengers to discomfort.
Dan Jaeger, president and co-founder of SunPods expresses his thoughts, “We are really pleased to collaborate with an innovative company like Bauer IT. As a company, our focus is on reducing installation costs to make solar power more cost-effective and, thereby, increase adoption. With Bauer IT’s support, we have created a solar power assist system for luxury buses across the US.”
Bauer IT is an environmentally friendly transportation company. They have already taken many steps to reduce pollution. They possess a fleet of bio-diesel, EGR and propane vehicles. Bauer IT has installed in its buses the clean burning Series 60 engines. Series 60 engines use exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) technology and diesel particulates filters. They way they fully fulfill all EPA emission requirements. The requirements laid down conditions for a 90% reduction in particulate matter. Another condition is they should observe more than 50% reduction in nitrogen oxide (NOx). EGR technology circulates cooled exhaust gas back into the engine air intake. This helps in lowering combustion temperatures and ultimately reducing the formation of NOx.
The buses have another mechanism working for them i.e. ZF Astronic transmission. It is a 12-speed manual transmission but its beauty is it behaves like an automatic version. ZF Astronic transmission takes into account the load, speed and road conditions. Then it analyzes these parameters and the transmission decides which is appropriate “shifting.” Fuel economy tests demonstrate a more than 6% increase in performance.
Reference Link
http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/prototype-solar-power-assist-for-buses/
Courtesy
AENews Network
LEED Gold certification for Assembly building
“It has become India’s largest governmental green building”
CHENNAI, India: The new Legislative Assembly building on Omanthoorar Estate on Tuesday received LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold Certification from the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC).
LEED is an ecology-oriented internationally recognised building certification programme run in India jointly by the Indian and the U.S. Green Building Councils.
According to the certificate, the building has become India’s largest governmental green building. Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi visited the building on Tuesday and congratulated the officials on the achievement of the green rating.
The project is the single largest green initiative of a public facility of this scale and importance in the country.
The building would use less water, consume less energy, preserve natural resources, generate less waste and provide healthier space for occupants, as compared to a conventional building.
The building has set the tone for future developments in this region, said Deepa Sathiaram, Director of En3 Sustainability Solutions, the consultant of the project.
The building was awarded the certification for adhering to guidelines of green buildings on site management, water efficiency and water use reduction, energy efficiency, enhanced indoor environmental quality and conservation of materials and resources.
The entire site has been well-planned with lot of open and landscaped space to promote bio-diversity and has made provisions to promote alternative transportation. The exterior design has been planned to reduce heat ingress into the building by maintaining landscaped space to cool the exterior and by shading the walkways, roads and car parks.
A combination of a reflective roof and a green roof insulates the roof, filters stormwater and further reduces heat islands on the building exterior.
Another key aspect is the building’s shape and exterior cladding. It is designed as a smooth arc which gleams obliquely against the linearity of the neighbourhood.
The exterior of the building has shaded windows, energy efficient glazing and a screen that incorporates traditional ‘kolam’ designs.
The facade achieves a thermal break between the exterior and interior, facilitating more efficient cooling and reduced direct heat radiation, Ms. Sathiaram said.
Detailed computer-based energy models of the building to develop ventilation and energy strategies were deployed to make the necessary trade-offs to achieve a good level of energy performance.
Reference Link
http://www.hindu.com/2010/03/10/stories/2010031061350300.htm
Courtesy
The Hindu
Wonderful honour for women winners
The Department of Public Libraries has organised an expo of books on women
For inspiration:Visitors having a look at the books on display at an exhibition in Central Library in Tiruchi.
TIRUCHI, India: At a time when government departments, various organisations and educational institutions celebrated the International Women’s Day by organising functions and taking out rallies, etc., across the district, the Department of Public Libraries preferred to celebrate the event in a novel way.
The Department has organised a week-long exhibition of books on titles concerning women and their achievements in different fields at the District Central Library and at its branches functioning in different parts of the district. The event commenced on Monday.
A large number of books on different titles in both English and Tamil – ‘Women role models’; ‘Biographies of great women’; ‘Role of women in freedom movement’; ‘Women in modern India’; ‘Education for women’; ‘Achievement of women in the field of science and technology’; ‘Violence against women’, ‘Women and the law’, ‘Top women scientists of the world’; ‘Liberation of Muslim Women’ etc., have been the major attractions in the show put up at the District Central Library.
Not only regular visitors to the library are enthused by the expo, but women, particularly college students, have started visiting in good number ever since the show commenced on Monday, says A. P. Sivakumar, District Library Officer.
Some of the titles displayed at the exhibition were fetched especially for this show, he added.
To create awareness and explain the achievements by women in different fields to rural masses, the department has organised similar expos in about 50 branch libraries in the district. The exhibition will go on till March 15 (from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.).
Reference Link
http://www.hindu.com/2010/03/10/stories/2010031059670600.htm
Courtesy
The Hindu
Women urged to strengthen anti-plastics campaign
Welfare aid disbursed to differently-abled, underprivileged women – Photo: Special Arrangement
Much-needed: Indu K. Mallah, president, All India Women’s Conference, the Nilgiris chapter, distributing blankets at Finger Post ,near Udhagamandalam, on Monday.
Udhagamandalam, India: Women should help make the anti-plastics campaign in the Nilgiris meaningful. This was emphasised at a function organised by the All India Women’s Conference (AIWC), the Nilgiris chapter, at Finger Post near here on Monday to mark the International Women’s Day celebrations.
Lamenting that the campaign, launched about a decade ago, has over the past many years not been serving its purpose, the president of the chapter Indu K. Mallah opined that the residents should shoulder the blame to a significant extent for the campaign losing steam.
Pointing out that the growing practice of setting ablaze discarded plastic items has become a major health hazard, she regretted that not many are aware that it is carcinogenic.
Exhorting women not to patronise banned plastic items like carry bags and disposable cups and plates, she urged them to strike a balance between their rights and responsibilities.
She felt that it would be a fitting tribute to the centenary of the International Women’s Day.
Stating that the women’s movement has evolved from women’s welfare to women’s development to their empowerment, she said that awareness about women’s rights and achievements in various fields is on the rise.
If all the women do what is expected of them, social justice will come to their doorsteps. Activist Jayamma welcomed the gathering and activist D. Josephine proposed a vote of thanks. Distribution of blankets and cooking accessories to differently-abled and underprivileged women formed part of the occasion.
Reference Link
http://www.hindu.com/2010/03/10/stories/2010031052010300.htm
Courtesy
The Hindu
City girl creates academic history
Naina is just nine and is writing the Inter examination
At age 8, Naina clears tenth grade International General Certificate of Secondary Education exam
Makes a mark in music and also records an album on Ramayana ‘slokas’
Prodigious: Naina, the youngest girl to write Intermediate examinations starting today.
HYDERABAD, India: As the Intermediate examinations begin today with controversies surrounding it over valuation of scripts, a city girl will be creating history by being the youngest person to write the examinations.
Naina, studying in the CEC stream at St. Mary’s Junior College, Yousufguda, is just 9 years and 11 months old and perhaps the youngest student to be allowed to sit for the examination. The girl, who earlier achieved the rare distinction of clearing the tenth grade International General Certificate of Secondary Education examination in 2008 at the young age of 8, will be taking the exam at Sultan-ul-Uloom Junior College in Banjara Hills.
Naina, who has represented the State in table-tennis at the junior level, was promoted by her parents who recognised her innate talent of picking up difficult words and tough slokas from the Gita easily at a very young age.
Memory practice
She was trained by her father, Ashwani Kumar, who was a teacher at that time, in memory practice and that helped her to be different from other students. The gifted child then obtained permission from University of Cambridge, London, for the ‘O’ level examination, which is considered equivalent to SSC examinations.
A multi-talented personality, Naina writes with both hands and also made a mark in music, recording an album on Ramayana ‘slokas’. She is also adept at computers and piano, which she learnt from her parents.
Reference Link
http://www.hindu.com/2010/03/10/stories/2010031060880200.htm
Courtesy
The Hindu
Students take up recycling
Hyderabad, India: The civic bodies of the twin cities might have passed orders to ban use of plastic in several areas. But when it comes to implementing laws, the impact is hardly seen. This is where the Green Baton Project is trying to make a difference.
Started in August last year in Pudami Neighbourhood Schools run by Dr. Reddy’s Foundation, the project aims to create awareness among children regarding environmental issues such as recycling, global warming and ill effects of using plastic. “We have 33 schools from the foundation who are attending workshops, interactive sessions and being shown films and presentations on environmental issues,” says Madhusree Vemuru from Dr. Reddy’s Foundation.
But this is not all. The Green Baton Project is also a part of the Global Schools Partnership, an initiative of the UK Government where the Pudami School at Hayatnagar has collaborated with West Rise Primary School, East Bourne, Sussex to work on the project. The three-year partnership among both schools will see over 500 students working on more projects that aim to have a global impact.
Implementing what they’ve learnt in workshops, students from classes I to V involved in the project initiated a paper bag campaign in their localities to reduce the usage of plastic. As part of the project, students make paper bags out of old newspapers and distribute them to local grocers in their areas and spread the word about environmental damage from plastic bags.
The paper bags made by students of both schools will be branded as ‘Pudami West Rise Eco Friends Project. “Our school has already started creating awareness among children by placing recycle bins and mobile recycling centres where both students and parents participate,” says Elaine Goff, International Co-ordinator of the Green Baton Project. “We encourage students to generate our own soil through composting,” adds Susan Johnson, a teacher from West Rise Primary School.
Reference Link
http://www.hindu.com/2010/03/10/stories/2010031061520300.htm
Ivorian who survived a coup to lead major firm – Prudential chief executive Tidjane Thiam
He is the first black chief executive of a FTSE 100 company – though he hates people dwelling on that.
He is only 47, but has already been a government minister in Ivory Coast as well as a top businessman.
Last week, Tidjane Thiam, chief executive of the Prudential, launched an audacious bid to buy AIA, the Asian arm of US-based insurer AIG.
To pay for it, he is asking shareholders to stump up for Britain’s biggest ever rights issue. If he succeeds, he will double the size of Prudential, making it the largest life insurer in the world outside China, with 80% to 90% of its business in Asia.
If he fails, according to one investor, he will be toast.
So who is Tidjane Thiam, and what makes him tick?
He has had an extraordinarily dramatic life, and he could not be more different from the traditional “man from the Pru”.
Competitive
As he puts it himself, he is “black African, francophone and six foot four”.
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EDUCATION
Best baccalaureate grades in Ivory Coast
First Ivorian at elite Ecole Polytechnique in Paris
Top of his year at Ecole Nationale Superieure des Mines
INSEAD, French top business school
World Bank young professionals programme
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Mr Thiam was born the youngest of seven children in Ivory Coast. His mother was the niece of a former president but never went to school, and taught herself to read as an adult.
His father was a journalist, then a diplomat. Depending on who was in power, he was either a minister or a political prisoner.
Mr Thiam loved getting A grades – he was very competitive and always wanted to do better than his older brothers.
Robert Greenhill, now the managing director of the World Economic Forum in Davos, was Thiam’s room-mate at business school INSEAD.
He says that Mr Thiam “had a great combination of a first class mind, with a really passionate interest in people and in issues and, which is rare in MBA students, great courage in just doing what he believed was right”.
Back to Ivory Coast
Mr Thiam joined the management consultancy McKinsey in 1986, working in Paris and then London.
But in 1994 the then Ivorian President, Henri Konan Bedie, asked him to run the agency in charge of all Ivory Coast’s infrastructure projects.
At the time, Mr Thiam also had an offer to join Goldman Sachs, but turned it down to return to his home country.
He arrived in the middle of an economic crisis that triggered a 50% devaluation of the currency. As a result, he was not paid for six months, nor were his 4,000 staff. It taught him a lot, he has said, about leadership and people.
Robert Greenhill admires Thiam for combining intellect with people skills
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What made him spurn a highly lucrative job for penury in the Ivory Coast?
His old friend and colleague, Dr Aka Manouan thinks it was “because he loved his country – Ivory Coast first of all, but also Africa more generally”.
“He really wanted to offer all that he had learnt overseas to his country. As he liked to say, ‘the development of Africa will be done by Africans themselves’, international donors can help, but it’s us who will develop the country.”
The two men worked together, often negotiating through the night, on bringing in private sector and World Bank money to build an airport, an electricity plant, hospitals and schools.
Coup survivor
In this job, and afterwards, when he was made Minister of Planning and Development, Thiam was determined to fight corruption, which made him unpopular with the old guard, and put his life in danger.
In 1999, when Mr Thiam was abroad for Christmas, the Ivorian government was overthrown.
Robert Greenhill, his old room-mate, remembers that Mr Thiam went back “to ensure that his people were safe, and so he put himself personally at risk in order to meet the commitment he had to the people who worked for him. And that is absolutely Tidjane.”
He was put under house arrest, but not imprisoned.
Then the military government asked him to work for them instead. He refused, and left the country.
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LISTEN TO THE PROGRAMME
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“I lost absolutely everything,” Mr Thiam has said. “For six months, I had no job, no career, nothing at all. It taught me a lot about myself. If you’ve been in a situation where you have nothing, there’s nothing much you’re afraid of.”
Mr Thiam eventually rejoined McKinsey in Paris, before moving to the British insurance company Aviva (then Norwich Union) in 2002.
He warned the head-hunters that if Aviva did not want a black African francophone, there was no point him going to the interview. He felt he had suffered before because of his race.
But he is impressed by how accepting Britain has been.
To the Pru
Mr Thiam’s wife, Annette, is African-American. Also extremely bright, she is a lawyer who used to work for Joe Biden before he became Obama’s vice-president.
They have two teenage sons who, like their father, are ardent Arsenal fans.
Mr Thiam moved to Prudential as finance director in 2008 and made a splash when he was named as the first black chief executive of a FTSE 100 company just a year later.
Prudential may become the world’s largest life insurer outside China
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Old hands have worried about the number of people he has brought in from McKinsey.
But he is a popular boss, admired for his intellect, straight-talking, approachability and strategic vision.
Stephen Whitehead of Prudential thinks Mr Thiam’s experience of being a politician has helped him in the business world.
“He is very good at building consensus and at persuasion,” said Mr Whitehead. He recognises that you have to carry people with you, and he is very good at that.”
His old friend Stephen Greenhill is sure that Mr Thiam wants to be able to say at the end of his life, that “‘I have made a positive difference.’ I am sure he passionately believes that.”
Reference Link
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8552164.stm
Courtesy
BBC News
Toothbrush tech helps buses go green
South Korea is trialling a new way to turn public transport green by using a technology popular in electric toothbrushes and razors to power buses and cars.
The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technologyhas unveiled a new electric transport powered by recharging strips embedded in roads that transfer energy through magnetic connections. There are no direct connections with wires.
Vehicles with sensor-driven magnetic devices on their underside suck up energy as they travel over the strips embedded a few centimetres (inches) under the road.
“The technological concept behind the idea has been around for about 100 years. We have found a better way to transfer the electricity to make it practical,” said project member B K Park.
The university, about 140 kilometres south of Seoul, has four prototype buses using the technology on its campus and is in talks with Seoul and other cities to have buses running in the next three years using the system called “online electrical vehicle.”
The bus moves on a road embedded with a power strip, which provides an inductive charge (Source: Choi Bu-Seok/Reuters)
Charging strips
The strips, which are attached to small electrical stations, are laid in bus lanes and roads running up to intersections so that vehicles can power up where traffic slows down.
The strips are in segments of several tens of metres in length and vehicles receive what is termed ‘microcharges’ each time they pass over one.
“These vehicles are not like mobile phones that need to be charged for hours. Microcharges are quite efficient,” says Park.
Unlike electric lines used for trams, vehicles do not need to be in constant contact with the strips and a person can touch the lines without receiving a shock.
The system allows electric cars and buses to cut down on battery size and extend ranges.
Inductive charging
The non-contact transfer of electricity, also called inductive charging, works by magnets and cables on the underside of the vehicle making a connection with the current in the recharging strip to receive power as they travel over it.
It is used in some brands of electric toothbrushes that are sealed and water resistant, which do not need to be plugged into anything but use a magnetic connection to receive energy while resting in a cradle.
The online electrical vehicle system so far has proven safe to humans and machinery.
The cost of installing the system is an estimated 400 million won (AU$386,777) per kilometre of road.
– Jon Herskovitz for Reuters
Reference Link : http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2010/03/10/2841709.htm
Courtesy : Science News Daily, ABC News, Reuters
Brain-dead man's kidneys transplanted
KOZHIKODE, India: The kidneys of Hashim, a 43-year-old man from Malappuram district, who was declared ‘brain dead’ following brain haemorrhage have given a new lease of life to two persons who were on dialysis owing to kidney failure.
Hashim, before being admitted to Baby Memorial Hospital on March 4 with brain haemorrhage, had told his relatives that he wished to donate a kidney to his brother, Shamsuddin, who was on dialysis. After doctors declared Hashim brain dead, his wife and relatives gave their consent to donate his kidneys.
One kidney from Hashim was used on Shamsuddin in a transplant surgery conducted at Baby Memorial Hospital. This is reportedly the first cadaver kidney transplant conducted in north Kerala. It was performed by Roy Chaly, a senior surgeon who was on the team of doctors who performed the first kidney transplant at Government Medical College Hospital years ago, and Paulose Chaly.
The second kidney harvested from Hashim was donated to 17-year-old Santhosh who was on dialysis at Government Medical College Hospital. The patients were well on the road to recovery, hospital authorities said on Tuesday.
Reference Link
http://www.hindu.com/2010/03/10/stories/2010031052320300.htm
Courtesy
The Hindu
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