'Won't Be Fit For Public Life If I Start Doing Hindu-Muslim': PM Narendra Modi

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said he won’t be fit for public life if he starts playing the Hindu-Muslim card. In an exclusive interview with News18 during his visit to Varanasi to file his nomination for Lok Sabha election 2024, PM Modi said it was his resolve to not do Hindu-Muslim. PM Modi filed his nomination as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Varanasi for Lok Sabha Polls. Varanasi is set to vote in the sixth phase of polls on June 1.

When asked whether Muslims will vote for him this election, the Prime Minister said, “I believe that the people of the country will vote for me. The day I start doing Hindu-Muslim, I won’t be fit to live in public life. I will not do Hindu-Muslim divide, this is my resolve.”

The Prime Minister further gave an example to explain how he would treat every person of the country equally irrespective of their caste or religion. “If I give a house, I am talking about saturation, 100 per cent delivery. This means, suppose there are 200 houses in a village – irrespective of which society, which caste, which religion – if there are 60 lakh Indians in those 200 houses, then those 60 lakh people should get what the government is giving. And when I say 100 per cent saturation, it means true social justice. It is true secularism. Then there is no possibility of corruption. You know, even if you get it on Monday, you will get it do sure,” PM Modi said.

When asked why he called out Muslims for “having more children”, the Prime Minister said, “I’m shocked. Why do people assume I’m talking about Muslims when I talk about people having too many children? Even poor Hindu families have this issue. They are not being able to give their kids proper education. I have neither named Hindus nor Muslims. I’ve just made an appeal that have only many kids as you can take care of.”

“My mantra is ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas‘. I don’t work for vote bank. If something is wrong, I’ll say it’s wrong,” the PM said.

SOURCE

Also Read | ‘Have A Lot of Muslim Friends. After 2002, Efforts Made to Tarnish My Image’: PM Modi To News18

Explore in-depth coverage of Lok Sabha Election 2024 Schedule, Voter Turnout, Upcoming Phase And Much More At News18 Website.

BRICS To Use Gold To Challenge US Dollar

The growingly popular BRICS alliance has continued to grow in numbers and support over the past year. In August 2023, the alliance agreed to expand its total members in 2024. Furthermore, the bloc announced the development of a new currency. This BRICS currency will be driven to fully ditch the US dollar in trade and usher in a new era.

The currency is expected to be backed by gold, a precious metal sought after by BRICS nations since the announcement. With gold on the rise, the precious metal is bullish and will be a battlefield for the West’s US Dollar and BRICS moving forward.

Russia has assumed the main leadership of the bloc alongside China. Since it invaded Ukraine, the country has sought alternative financial mechanisms. In turn, Russia and BRICS are looking to the growing momentum of gold to back their new currency. However, as the US dollar continues a slow decline, more countries including the US itself are also turning to gold as a global reserve. The precious metal is becoming evermore so precious, and will likely be a setting for a standoff between BRICS and the US dollar for some time.

In addition, many experts see Russia inspiring other countries to pursue gold-backed trade and currencies to abandon the US dollar. Countries in Africa, including Zimbabwe, have an interest in BRICS’ de-dollarization initiative and, thus also an interest in gold.

With further development to come, African nations are hoping to reach the levels of economic growth as their Western and northern counterparts and may see a gold-backed currency as the next step to reach those heights. Hence why interest in the bloc around the continent has grown significantly.

In a world where both BRICS and GOLD are bullish, the US dollar is at risk. As the bloc continues to fight the greenback, the precious metal as an asset

GeneralMCNews is a Patriot-supported publication.

30 New Countries Prepare To Join BRICS Alliance in 2024

A handful of developing countries are preparing to join the BRICS alliance in 2024. Developing countries from Asia, the global south, Africa, and even Europe are considering securing a spot in BRICS this year. The upcoming BRICS summit will be held in October 2024 in the Kazan region of Russia. The 16th summit will see a new influx of applications from countries that are preparing to join BRICS this year.

India’s Foreign Affairs Minister S Jaishankar confirmed that more than 2 dozen countries want to join BRICS in 2024. The development indicates that developing countries trust the alliance and want to distance themselves from the US dollar. The spiraling debt of $34 trillion is a burden to developing countries that hold billions in US dollars as reserves.

Therefore, developing nations are aiming to reduce the risk of debt by putting their local currencies first for trade. Read here to know how many sectors in the US will be affected if BRICS ditches the dollar for trade.

S Jaishankar said in a recent press conference that BRICS expansion could be on the cards in 2024. He explained that the alliance tested its mettle last year by asking how many countries wanted to join the bloc. To his surprise, he said that 30 countries expressed their interest and submitted their applications to join BRICS in 2024.

The Foreign Minister said that the new applications speak for themselves as countries see value in the BRICS alliance. “We tested it last year in the market, asking how many want to join BRICS. We got almost 30 countries who were willing to join BRICS. Clearly, 30 countries saw value in it, there must be something good with that,” he said to ANI.

Read here to know the full list of 30 countries that are preparing to join the BRICS alliance this year in 2024. Another round of expansion could take the alliance a notch higher making it financially stronger to take on the West.

From watcher.guru

India’s Foreign Exchange Reserves Jump $5.7 Billion To $622.47 Billion

Gold reserves increase $608 million to $48.088 billion during the week ended February 2, special drawing rights fall $58 million to $18.19 billion

India’s forex reserves jumped $5.736 billion to $622.469 billion for the week ended February 2, according to the latest RBI data. In the previous week, the overall reserves had increased by $591 million to $616.733 billion.

In October 2021, the country’s forex kitty had reached an all-time high of $645 billion. The reserves took a hit as the central bank deployed them to defend the rupee amid pressures caused majorly by global developments since last year. For the week ended February 2, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased by $5.186 billion to $55.331 billion, as per the data of RBI.

Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in foreign exchange reserves.

Gold reserves increased by $608 million to $48.088 billion during the week. Special drawing rights (SDRs) were down by $58 million to $18.19 billion, the central bank said.

India’s reserve position with the IMF was unchanged at $4.86 billion in the week.

The Rupee

Anil Kumar Bhansali, head of treasury and executive director of Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said, “Good inflows into the country have kept the dollar-rupee exchange rate on the lower side the week ended February 9, but with the RBI buying dollars kept the pair above 83.00. Today, oil was the major buyer with flows continuing unabated, as in equities though there is a sell-off, in the debt segment there is sufficient buying to ensure dollar inflows.”

He added that the rupee moved in a range of 82.82 to 83.07 during the week with RBI not allowing any downside below 82.80. The rupee is expected to be in the range of 82.80 to 83.30 next week as inflows continue and oil and RBI buy the downside in the pair.

SOURCE

Indian Youth, Brain Drain and Geopolitics

https://youtu.be/yVTNge3sXpg

Foreign Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar - Indian Youth, Brain Drain and Geopolitics

The Ranveer Show 314

BeerBiceps

In this exceptional episode of The Ranveer Show Podcast, we are pleased to welcome one of the most prestigious personalities of the Government of India, Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. 

 

He is an Indian diplomat and politician, serving as the Minister of External Affairs of the Government of India. In this informative episode, Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar talked about topics that are closely related to Geopolitics. 

 

He shares his experience of working with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and what are the challenges he has to face as the Minister of External Affairs. 

 

He further discusses the Role of Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing in the field of Geopolitics and put light on the situation of Brain Drain in the Country.

India: An emerging superpower

DW Documentary

India, the world’s largest democracy, turns 75.

With his special brand of non-violent resistance, Mahatma Gandhi paved the way for the country’s independence. He campaigned for a pluralistic, secular state and equal opportunities for all.

What remains of those ambitions, today? How far has India distanced itself from the ideals of equality and non-violence espoused by Mahatma Gandhi and other founding fathers? How are democracy, human rights and social justice faring today - and where is India headed?

These are the questions that form the basis for this film’s narrative. The film focuses on people still working today to keep Gandhi’s ideals alive - a challenge, as contemporary reality is often a world away from those goals.

Taken together, their stories form a mosaic representing the multi-faceted nation that is India. A nation marked by stark poverty and great wealth. On the one hand blighted by Hindu nationalism, violence against women and overwhelmed by major environmental problems. On the other, India fosters great geopolitical goals and has an ambitious space program.

Although discrimination on the basis of caste is banned by the constitution, the country continues to marginalize certain sections of its population; children continue to be exploited in urban brickyards; and indigenous populations are driven from their land to make way for corporate development.

At the same time, India is a highly spiritual place with a rich cultural history; a nation that comes up with innovative, critical and creative responses to all manner of problems.

Both films in this two-part documentary explore the intersections of these colliding worlds - brought to life through personal stories.

Contemporary accounts of India frequently look to the past, when the foundations were laid for the world’s largest democracy. One person in particular who was able to build a bridge between the past and the present is Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, who was murdered in 1948.

Arun lived with his grandfather for many years and relates personal anecdotes from that time. He captured his grandfather’s ideas in a well-respected book ("The Gift of Anger: And Other Lessons from My Grandfather Mahatma Gandhi”) and draws comparisons between India’s recent history and its current predicament.

The Indian academic and globalization critic Vandana Shiva sees a vast chasm between Gandhi’s ideals and the modern reality. Her stance is unequivocal: civil disobedience is necessary to this day.

https://youtu.be/fO-bgE1pkyQ

Part 1 India: An emerging superpower - Democracy, development, displacement

https://youtu.be/Z8S9VSlvAOI

Part 2 India: An emerging superpower - Climate, equality, space

India’s First Hydrogen Powered Trains

India’s first hydrogen powered trains are in the works. Over 11 metric tons less carbon dioxide will be emitted each year thanks to the trains.

Ballard Power Systems, a fuel-cell tech firm, has received a fuel cell module order from Medha Servo Drives, a rail system integrator, to create India’s first hydrogen-powered trains.

The two retrofitted diesel-electric commuter trains designed for Indian Railways will feature eight 100 kW FCmoveTM-HD+. They will be more efficient and have a higher power density than prior module generations.

The trains are set to enter service in 2024, with the possibility of further retrofits following the initial deployment.

Due to the fact that hydrogen is currently less expensive than diesel, the approximate investment in the hydrogen fuel cell venture will pay for itself in less than two years. The utilization of hydrogen will also decrease annual CO2 emissions by more than 11 metric tons and eliminate nearly a metric ton of particulate matter.

“Rail transportation is a critical piece of infrastructure across India, and we are proud to be taking the first steps to decarbonize this facet of our economy. With leading technology and strong project economics, we are optimistic about the future of zero-emission rail transport,” said Kasyap Reddy, Managing Director of Medha Servo Drives.

“Our progress in decarbonizing the rail market is just beginning, as we work with leading rolling stock manufacturers, integrators and operators globally. We are excited to grow our fuel cell business in India and to power the first hydrogen-powered, zero-emission passenger trains in the Indian market,” said David Mucciacciaro, Chief Commercial Officer of Ballard.

The Indian Railways Organization of Alternate Fuel (IROAF) welcomed bids in January 2021 to create a hydrogen fuel cell-based hybrid power train for retrofitting the 700 HP diesel-hydraulic locomotives that run on Himachal Pradesh’s Kalka-Shimla narrow gauge section.

Indian Railways hopes to save ₹23 million (~$309,718) annually by converting diesel-powered diesel-electric multiple units into a hydrogen fuel-based train. The technology will be evaluated on the diesel-electric multiple units on the 89-km Sonipat-Jind section of the Northern Railway.

Ballard and the Adani Group have signed a memorandum of understanding to assess the potential for fuel cell commercialization in India’s various applications. In order to manufacture fuel cells in India, the two parties will investigate their options.

SOURCE

Cold fusion (LENR) commercial breakthrough could END food and energy scarcity around the world

https://www.brighteon.com/ec65ffa3-f108-46b7-888d-5d3572a73f1d

(Natural News) Despite the persistent attempts by criminal governments and arrogant academics to crush the field of cold fusion, a commercial breakthrough has just been announced that marks a revolution for the future of our world. The Brillouin Energy Corp. has announced a breakthrough Hydrogen Hot Tube (HHT) Boiler System which uses solid-state low-energy nuclear reactions (LENR) to produce controlled excess heat through the fusion of hydrogen atoms into helium, releasing no emissions, no radiation and no “spent” radioactive fuel material like what we see in the nuclear power industry.

This breakthrough uses solid state metal lattice technology that was once dismissed by nearly all conventional physicists, yet has been reproduced and proven in hundreds of laboratories around the world over the last several decades. The technology — once dismissed as “impossible” by mainstream physicists — has now been validated, patented and published in numerous scientific journals, even as it is not yet fully understand by mainstream physicists. Only those who are ignorant and arrogant now dismiss the technology, while those who are informed are embracing this tech as a ready solution to help feed, heat and power the world.

Western Europe doesn’t need Russian gas if they embrace LENR “cold fusion” tech

In a world where Western Europe is now facing winters of energy scarcity due to war with Russia — and Russia’s sharply reduced gas outflows via Nord Stream 1 and other channels — the Brillouin Energy Corp has a ready solution to heat homes, commercial buildings and military infrastructure at a fraction of current cost, without needing any fossil fuels whatsoever. As announced on the Brillouin Energy website, “The HHT™ boiler system uses ordinary hydrogen to produce scalable heat on demand at an exceedingly low cost, without any emissions or other pollutants.”

At its current stage, the HHT is immediately applicable to dramatically lowering the cost of, and reducing the carbon footprint of, hot water boilers and hydronic (radiant) heaters on both a residential and commercial scale. With further development, this system can also power improved HVAC systems, and ultimately provide a dramatic breakthrough in generating electric power on a decentralized, pollution-free basis at the point of demand.

Cold fusion technology (LENR) produces excess heat in a slow, sustained fusion reaction that takes place at the nano scale. Unlike fossil fuels, it does not produce high energy combustion phenomena that would support high torque engine applications, so it’s not applicable to replace combustion engines in trains, trucks, automobiles or airplanes. Rather, it heats water through controlled solid-state nuclear fusion reactions. This hot water can be used in a simple radiant heat distribution system (boilers, industrial heaters, etc.) or, with additional development, it can be used to replace coal in coal-fired power plants. It can even be used (with substantial retrofitting effort) to replace nuclear fuel rods in nuclear power plants, eliminating the entire issue of radioactivity and spent nuclear fuel.

The solid-state LENR reaction consumes microscopic amounts of hydrogen atoms, fusing them into helium while releasing excess energy consistent with mass to energy conversions well known by the physics community. The energy density of water — which obviously contains hydrogen — is almost unimaginable. According to Brillouin, a single class of water contains enough hydrogen to power 30,000 homes for a year, assuming 100% conversion of hydrogen to heat via LENR fusion:

Additionally, climate cultists who currently despise CO2 — even though CO2 grows crops and “greens” the planet thanks to photosynthesis — should also embrace LENR technology, given that LENR produces no CO2 emissions whatsoever.

With a bit of additional engineering, Brillouin systems could be harnessed to generate electricity through the use of “micro boilers” that drive small turbines thanks to the effects of steam expansion. This means a small unit — perhaps the size of a refrigerator — could power a home and produce enough excess electricity to also charge electric vehicles.

One key advantage to this system is that turbines produce alternating current (AC) which is immediately usable by household devices, without needing to be transformed from direct current (DC) which is what solar panels produce.

From the Brillouin press release:

“This technology has been independently tested or validated by several of the world’s leading nuclear scientists and laboratories. Brillouin Energy is ready now to enter into the next phase: commercialization,” said David Firshein, CFO of Brillouin Energy. “The HHT test system that we are demonstrating at ICCF24 is the first ever licensable system that is transportable—it can be packed up and shipped to potential OEM License Partners for further testing and evaluation. This is a crucial step toward solving today’s massive challenges of energy security and climate change.”

On a large scale with additional engineering, these units could power naval vessels, industrial buildings, military bases, schools or even entire cities. Importantly, since water is readily available to every nation on Earth, this technology would sharply ease global dependence on fossil fuels — a source of conflict and resource wars.

While LENR won’t replace combustion engines anytime soon, the technology can quite quickly replace fossil fuel consumption in heating systems and large-scale power plants. This would dramatically reduce the world’s dependence on coal, natural gas and heating oil.

LENR technology may free humanity from the death grip of anti-human globalists

LENR has been systematically suppressed by governments for decades for the simple reason that governments don’t want humanity to be free. They use scarcity as a weapon of control, and with globalists now trying to achieve global depopulation, they are engineering food scarcity and energy scarcity as leverage to cause mass starvation and economic collapse. This means LENR technology may help free humanity from the death grip of anti-human globalists who are pursuing an agenda of mass extermination of the human race.

Food abundance can be easily achieved almost everywhere around the world when greenhouses can be affordably heated with cold fusion technology in the winter months. This allows year-round growing of local crops in colder regions such as Canada and Western Europe.

Additionally, LENR technology does not require the toxic heavy metals that are used to manufacture solar panels. The solar industry is being exposed as a major polluter, with toxic metals accumulating in landfill due to spent solar panels being discarded. Those metals are derived from mining operations that are often carried out in countries like China, in total disregard to ecological consequences.

LENR technology can also theoretically power water desalination plants around the world, providing fresh water for crop irrigation without any need to consume fossil fuels in the process.

With the ability to affordably heat greenhouses while also powering water desalination plants, LENR will mean affordable, abundant food for everyone once properly harnessed and engineered for these applications.

Essentially, the cost of food reflects the cost of energy, so any dramatic reduction in the cost of energy makes food far more affordable and readily available.

Brillouin Energy Corp is currently seeking investors as described on its “Opportunity” page. We cannot speak to the risks or rewards of investing in Brillouin, but we can tell you that some of the biggest corporations in the world are looking at this tech and evaluating it. It seems inevitable that someone is going to commercialize cold fusion and change the world. Right now, Brillouin seems to be at the head of the pack, although that’s no guarantee they will be the market leader five years from now.

Learn more in today’s Situation Update podcast that covers this breakthrough technology and its applications for humanity:

Brighteon.com/ec65ffa3-f108-46b7-888d-5d3572a73f1d

Discover more information-packaged podcasts, raw intel reports and interviews each day:

https://www.brighteon.com/channels/HRreport

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Download my current audiobooks — including Ghost World, Survival Nutrition, The Global Reset Survival Guide and The Contagious Mind — at:

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Indian scientists develop reactor for cost-effective production of hydrogen using sunlight and water

29 September 2021

A team of scientists has for the first time developed a reactor that produces a significant amount of hydrogen using sustainable sources such as sunlight and water, which is a low-cost and sustainable process, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) said Wednesday.

The INST team used the low-cost organic semiconductor in carbon nitrides.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/renewables/indian-scientists-develop-reactor-for-cost-effective-production-of-hydrogen-using-sunlight-and-water/articleshow/86624475.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

This is something that should make electric vehicles with their expensive batteries obsolete. In theory, cars should be able to generate enough hydrogen with solar panels on the roof or at home to drive virtually anywhere for free. It was India, along with China, that put an end to the artificial efforts of Western oligarchs to keep solar energy competitively expensive.

Solar energy is now one of the cheapest forms of energy in the world.

Japanese automakers and government officials have long complained that Western interference has prevented them from switching to hydrogen power. 

Now it looks like India, which is more independent than Japan, is ushering in the hydrogen age.

READ MORE

Biden regime defaults; is given until October 18th before all hell breaks loose

NITI Aayog vision for Great Nicobar ignores tribal, ecological concerns

March 20, 2021

Wildlife Board denotifies Galathea bay sanctuary to build port, trade zone. 

In what appears to a re-run of recent developments in Little Andaman Island (A bullet through an island’s heart, The Hindu, February 1), more than 150 sq. km. of land is being made available for Phase I of a NITI Aayog-piloted ‘holistic’ and ‘sustainable’ vision for Great Nicobar Island, the southernmost in the Andaman and Nicobar group. This amounts to nearly 18% of the 910 sq. km. island, and will cover nearly a quarter of its coastline. The overall plan envisages the use of about 244 sq. km. – a major portion being pristine forest and coastal systems.

Projects to be executed in Phase I include a 22 sq. km. airport complex, a transshipment port (TSP) at South Bay at an estimated cost of ₹12,000 crore, a parallel-to-the-coast mass rapid transport system and a free trade zone and warehousing complex on the south western coast.

Also read | ‘Any exploitation of Sentinel Island will wipe out tribals’

What stands out prominently in the whole process, starting with the designation in mid-2020 of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation (ANIIDCO) as the nodal agency, is the speed and co-ordination with which it has all unfolded. The other is the centrality of the NITI Aayog. First, on September 4, 2020, the Director, Tribal Welfare, A&N Islands, constituted an empowered committee to examine NITI Aayog’s proposals for various projects in Little Andaman and Great Nicobar Islands. A copy of the 2015 ‘Policy on Shompen Tribe of Great Nicobar Island’ was part of the communication sent out, giving an indication of the aims of the committee.

Significant changes have also been effected to the legal regimes for wildlife and forest conservation.

Ecological uniqueness

In its meeting on January 5, 2021, the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) denotified the entire Galathea Bay Wildlife Sanctuary to allow for the port there.

Also read | Hands off, eyes on the Sentinelese, says Anthropological Survey of India Deputy Director M. Sasikumar

The NBWL committee seemed unaware that India's National Marine Turtle Action Plan that was under preparation then (it was released on February 1, 2021) had listed Galathea Bay as one of the ‘Important Coastal and Marine Biodiversity Areas’ and ‘Important Marine Turtle Habitats’ in the country. It is included in Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ)-I, the zone with maximum protection.

Then, on January 18, another Environment Ministry expert committee approved a “zero extent” Ecologically Sensitive Zone (ESZ) for the Galathea NP to allow use of land in the south-eastern and south-western part of the island for the NITI Aayog plan. The October 2020 draft notification for this zero extent ESZ had ironically listed out in great detail the park’s ecological uniqueness – that it is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, houses a range of forest types, has one of the best preserved tropical rainforests in the world, is home to 648 species of flora and hosts 330 species of fauna including rare and endemic ones such as the Nicobar wild pig, Nicobar tree shrew, the Great Nicobar crested serpent eagle, Nicobar paradise flycatcher and the Nicobar megapode. It also notes that the park is home to the indigenous Shompen community.

The notification says that an ESZ is needed to protect the park from an ecological, environmental and biodiversity point of view, but goes on in the very next para to propose a zero extent ESZ for nearly 70% of the periphery of the park.

It is almost as if the unique diversity of life just listed suddenly disappeared because of an arbitrary line drawn to allow a slew of high value projects.

This is illustrated in the case of the Giant leatherback turtle and the Nicobar megapode, two charismatic species for whom Great Nicobar is very important. The beaches here, like at the mouth of the river Galathea in South Bay are among the most prominent nesting sites globally of the Giant leatherback. It for this reason that the bay was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1997, but has now been denotified to allow for the transhipment port.

Also read | How tsunami rehabilitation robbed the Nicobarese of their sense of home

In his 2007 study of the Nicobar megapode, the globally endangered bird unique to the Nicobars, K. Sivakumar of the Wildlife Institute of India documented 90% of this ground nesting bird’s nests to be within a distance of 30 m from the shore. He notes that the existing protected area network in Great Nicobar is not designed for the protection of the megapode and recommends that the entire west and southern coast of Great Nicobar – precisely the area sought for the NITI Aayog proposals – be protected for the megapode and other wildlife like nesting marine turtles. This is also in stark contrast to the current move to create a zero extent ESZ for the Galathea National Park.

Threat to Shompen

Similar concerns exist about the impact on the Shompen community. The proposed project areas are important foraging grounds for this hunter-gatherer nomadic community and the official Shompen Policy of 2015 specifically noted that the welfare and integrity of these people should be given priority “with regard to large-scale development proposals in the future for Great Nicobar Island (such as trans-shipment port/container terminal etc.)”. Now, large forest areas here could become inaccessible and useless for the Shompen.

Also read | The less known Shompens of Great Nicobar Island

Available evidence suggests that issues of the geological volatility of these islands are also not being factored in. The December 26, 2019, tender document by WAPCOS Limited for a ‘Traffic Study for Creating Transshipment port at South Bay, Great Nicobar Island’ justifies the port here by noting that “the topography of the island is best suited, which has not been damaged much even by the tsunami on 26.11.2004 (sic)”.

Yet, a 2005 Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) Special Earthquake Report by a multi-disciplinary team from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, recorded witness accounts of 8-metre-high tsunami waves hitting the Great Nicobar coast on December 26, 2004. “The lighthouse at Indira Point, the southernmost tip of the Great Nicobar Island, which was on high ground before the earthquake,” the report notes, “is now under water, indicating a land subsidence of about 3-4 m.”

Also read | How a bloody incident of piracy changed the lives of the Nicobarese forever

Loss of life and property then was limited because the Great Nicobar coast is largely uninhabited. This raises questions over safety of life, property and the investments in this zone and that too without accounting for the complex ecological, social and geological vulnerabilities here. Little, if anything, is also known of the NITI Aayog vision document itself – What is its rationale? What was the process of its creation? Which agencies/individuals were involved? What impact assessments, if any, have been done at all?

Neither the NITI Aayog nor the agencies that are facilitating it with zeal and efficiency have made this available.

(Pankaj Sekhsaria has been researching issues of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands for over two decades. He is also author of five books on the islands.)

China to build a major dam on Brahmaputra River

Amid simmering border tension with India along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh, China is planning to build a major hydropower project on Brahmaputra River in Tibet and a proposal for this has been clearly put forward in the 14th Five-Year Plan to be implemented from next year.

Response from India and Bangladesh:

Proposals for dams on the Brahmaputra have evoked concerns in India and Bangladesh, the riparian states, and China has downplayed such anxieties saying it would keep their interests in mind.

What are India’s concerns? 

-China’s dam building overdrive is a concern because there are no bilateral or multilateral treaties on the water.

-China believes dam building on the Brahmaputra helps it assert claim over Arunachal Pradesh.

-India believes China’s projects in the Tibetan plateau threaten to reduce river flows into India.

-Dams, canals, irrigation systems can turn water into a political weapon to be wielded in war, or during peace to signal annoyance with a co-riparian state.

-Denial of hydrological data becomes critical when the flow in the river is very high.

-China is contemplating northward re-routing of the Yarlung Zangbo.

-Diversion of the Brahmaputra is an idea China does not discuss in public, because it implies devastating India’s northeastern plains and Bangladesh, either with floods or reduced water flow.

Significance of Brahmaputra river for India:

The Brahmaputra flows for over 3,000km through Tibet, India and Bangladesh. 

It is crucial for India too as its basin is a critical water source for Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Nagaland and West Bengal.

The Brahmaputra valley supports the lives of several indigenous communities. 

Sources: the Hindu. Categories: INSIGHTS

Beyond Article 370: The Colonization of Kashmir and the Betrayal of Kashmiri Pandits

As per chatter in high-level bureaucratic circles GoI is in talks with foreign multinational corporations for development of Srinagar-Jammu Industrial Corridor, including Chinese ones. A major *Kashmir Development Summit* slated to be organised soon with global investors lined-up.

Meanwhile discussions are also underway for a possible deployment of *American missiles in Kashmir* - possibly Ladakh.

Washington withdrew from the *Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces INF Treaty*, the sametime military was deployed in Kashmir.

Both Australia and South Korea have categorically rejected US demand for the deployment of American ground-based missiles on their soil. Hence, India is on the cards now.

To this extent *Pentagon Chief Mark Esper* has stated in very clear terms that _*The US is looking to deploy new ground-launched, intermediate-range missiles in Asia*. We would like to deploy a capability sooner rather than later_.

Preparations for this began six months ago right after *Pulwama Attack* with US National Security Advisor *John Bolton*. Both Indian & American security officials have been working in close co-ordination since.

It were these security discussions referred to by Trump when he said about being asked to *mediate in Kashmir* issue. The reasons for this we have already analysed earlier.

As military was being deployed in Kashmir, simultaneously high-level security co-ordination with American officials was underway in *Washington & Bangkok*. It was this *Jaishankar-Pompeo* meet that was targeted in *Bangkok Blasts*, downplayed by the media.

Now heres the catch.

With Global Investors like Alibaba Group moving into Kashmir for development sending land prices soaring, it will be at the utter shock for the betrayed Kashmiri Pandits when they realize that they cant even afford to buy any land in their homeland.

This was exactly the plan charted out by *Mountbatten* for *Anglo-American military base in Kashmir under UN supervision* for domination of Asia.

Later in 1950 the *Joint Chiefs of Staff of American Armed Forces* had submitted a confidential report to *President Truman* recommending the construction of *Air Bases* in Kashmir and its conversion into an “independent” state under the trusteeship of United Nations.

*Dr. T.G. Spear*, Fellow of Selwyn College, speaking at the Cambridge branch meeting of the United Nations Association on December 13, 1951 declared to *turn Kashmir into an Asiatic Switzerland - totally subservient to Anglo-American lobby as its protectorate*.

Under garb of ensuring “independence” of Kashmir of protecting it against external aggression & of turning it into *Switzerland of East* a direct stronghold of US would come to be imposed through the Anglo-American dominated United Nations.

Allowing foreign corporations and missiles on our soil is a step in that direction

Various military agreements to that effect have already been signed under what is touted as *The Blueprint for Century of India-US Strategic Partnership*. Only thing is such agreements they also signed with Pakistan (for their Afghan war) - look where it got them.

The most critical question is what are we going to do about the *Karakoram Highway* leased to the Chinese by Pakistan which is a backbone of *CPEC* and which India already negotiated for with China - that we will not meddle with - in the wake of Balakot?

With the entry of these Multinational Corporations, Kashmir will be sold to the highest bidder. The only question is - *how many of them will be Kashmiri Pandits?*

For references https://twitter.com/GreatGameIndia/status/1158781034156027904?s=19

Follow *GGI* on Whatsapp. Click this link and *hit send* https://tinyurl.com/GGIUpdates

The Real Avatar: Mine - Story of a Sacred Mountain

https://youtu.be/R4tuTFZ3wXQ

What will one tribe have to do to save everything they know? 

UPDATE: Victory! The Dongria Kondh have stopped Vedanta from mining their sacred mountain.

http://bit.ly/azK6eR http://www.survivalinternational.org/...

Mine, narrated by Joanna Lumley, tells the story of the remote Dongria Kondh tribe's struggle to protect Niyamgiri, the mountain they worship as a God. London-based mining company Vedanta Resources plans a vast open-pit bauxite mine in India's Niyamgiri hills, and the Dongria Kondh know that means the destruction of their forests, their way of life, and their mountain God.

Anonymous Warns: The Fukushima Nuclear Leak Is The Biggest Threat To Humankind

https://youtu.be/3lF7y1X6BSc

The biggest threat to the world, as well as the most efficient and reliable source of energy, comes from the same thing: nuclear energy. All it takes is one mistake for the release of harmful nuclear radiation to cause a long-lasting and extremely negative impact throughout a given region of the world, similar to what happened in Fukushima, and Chernobyl.

Hack the plan, not the trees

IT PARKS, TEXTILE PARKS...WHERE ARE THE GREEN PARKS, ASKS HIGH COURT

READY FOR 2ND CHIPKO MOVEMENT Green Activists Say They Will Even Face The Axe To Save KBR Trees

28 April 2016

It's not the trees but the plan ­to build multilevel flyovers ­that has to be hacked! At the risk of sounding radical let me say it again. Hack the plan and not the trees.

Here's why.

Road widening and road building programmes are often proposed as a solution to traffic congestion, but there is clear evidence that these programmes are ineffective.

Case studies in the UK and the Netherlands have amply proved that the benefits from reduced congestion and shorter journey times are often short-lived as new road network capacity is taken up by new traffic growth. So build flyovers and promote use of private vehicles! Remember the Chennai story?

The city of Chennai earned the title 'city of flyovers', thanks to 21 elevated urban corridors which it hosts. It's common knowledge that despite the massive investment, the flyovers have failed to solve the problem of traffic congestion in the city .For the investment made, experts believe that the city could have strengthened its public transportation, or laid 2,000 km of dedicated cycle lanes across Chennai's streets or built an equivalent BRT (Bus rapid transit) network of 150 km.

For some of us who love Hyderabad for its beauty , here's some bad news. Flyovers can scar the urban fabric! Cairo is one sad example of flyovers marring the beauty of a city and please remember, it's just one example.

It is not just the beauty of the city or the wasted investment or the enhanced congestion, but it's also about health. Dust and other air pollution from construction can impact greatly the health and quality of life of people, with some studies reporting an increase in mortality due to chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and cancer. Cities in China have seen a rapid rise in neurological diseases like Alzheimers and stress-induced bipolar disorders due to noise and air pollution.

The phenomenon of flyover construction is best understood from the book 'Road to Ruin'. It says that roads are an invention that humans have come up with (short of aerial carpet bombing) to destroy community quality of life. As mentioned before, roads do promote auto-dependency and as communities do not interact closely like they do in 'walkable neighbourhoods', the quality of life hits a downward spiral. And that, in my opinion, is toxic to the health of a city.

In short, you as a citizen are getting ready for the future ­ with solar rooftops, rainwater harvesting pits, kitchen garden in balconies, locally-sourced material for your homes, bamboo furni ture, conservation classes, ozonized vegetables and pranayama for quality of life... And, the city is killing green, inviting concrete, ruining the thermostat, polluting air, smogging your lungs. Case studies prove it wrong. 'Science of City' does not support it. Citizens don't want it. Then why I pray this plan?

By Karuna Gopal 

The Times of India (Hyderabad)

(The author is President, Foundation for Futuristic Cities)

We Need Economic System Change Summit, not “Climate Change” MeetUp

DECEMBER 2, 2015

This week, 150 world leaders are kidding themselves by speaking and listening to themselves about how they can change the climate of the planet as if it is independent from the solar system climate.

They have falsely equated the amount of carbon emissions to the rising global temperature of the planet, and yet their travel to Paris alone is contributing hugely to the amount of carbon emissions they sought to lessen.

That’s not the only hypocrisy we can point out from these clowns.

The continued suppression of non-fossil fuel technologies, e.g. cold fusion, in favor of the more expensive solar and wind farms is proof enough that the ongoing climate change summit is not held to solve the problem they have imagined but only to socialize with their fellow psychopaths.

The release of cold fusion and other suppressed free energy technologies require a change of the economic system into one that is resource-based and anti-pyramidal structure in our society. These morons are not about to step down from their grand delusions.

Merkel spoke of decarbonization “by the end of the century” when they are all dead.

Obama advertised his government’s desire to helping poorer countries achieve “low carbon” with $50 million budget, when what the Third World wants is non-interference from the United States.

Xi shifted from “China carbon emissions to last at the end of the century” to “China carbon emissions will peak in 2030 at the latest”.

To China’s credit, of course, they are already mass producing and selling HHO generators to fuel internal combustion engines. But even so, China raised the orange “hazardous” alarm as smog levels are at its worst.

Why can’t China go all the way from fossil fuel to hydrogen economy right now?

It’s not for lack of political will but it has to do more of the world outside of China not being ready yet to transition from the old monopolistic enterprise into a new form of economic system where the people enjoys far more freedom that they currently have.

The ongoing “oil wars” in the Middle East is just one proof of that.

China doesn’t want more nukes dropped on its economic centers. In fact, it could be deliberately raising the air pollution bar to literally coerce the Climate Change Summit attendees to institute a realistic program that is not anchored merely on depopulation agenda, i.e. China has officially abandoned its decades old One-Child Policy.

China Hesitant to Admit it’s been Nuked

China ends one-child policy after 35 years

Not only that the global warming is a natural cyclical phenomenon, some G7 countries do possess the machine to alter the weather at will, and it is highly probable they are responsible for erratic weather patterns, or the persistent warming on one location only.

US Air Force Admits They Can Control Weather

Is California Gov. Jerry Brown Murdering His Own Constituents?

The technologies that can solve air pollution can also solve the people’s economic stagnation, but will effectively stave off the power of the Corporation, the majority of CEOs attending the Climate Change Summit in Paris don’t want to do that.

“Taken together, they commit the world to a reduction in fossil fuel demand by 30pc to 40pc over the next 20 years, and this is just the start of a revolutionary shift to net zero emissions by 2080 or thereabouts. “It is unstoppable. No amount of lobbying at this point is going to change the direction,” said Christiana Figueres, the UN’s top climate official.

Yet the energy industry is still banking on ever-rising demand for its products as if nothing has changed. BP is projecting a 43pc increase in fossil fuel use by 2035, Exxon expects 35pc by 2040, Shell 43pc and OPEC is clinging valiantly to 55pc. These are pure fiction.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11958916/Paris-climate-deal-to-ignite-a-90-trillion-energy-revolution.html

Yes, they are still debating on mere a pittance of reducing air pollution when it can be resolved to safe levels that nature’s vegetation can accommodate almost overnight, but the urge to profit is so hard to overcome.

That is the humongous conundrum the people of the planet is facing right now, and it would take no less than a people’s revolution to achieve a total change to a whole new system.

Is the world ready to evolve from being Sheeples to Sovereign Beings?

SOURCE

Are We in the Midst of a Great Awakening?

We are living through the most exciting times in human history. Breakthroughs in every area of science are opening our minds to the beauty and mystery of the material world. 

At the same time technology is giving us the power to make many of our dreams come true.

But what makes these times even more exciting is that we stand on the threshold of the greatest changes in human consciousness ever. 

Whether it is our relationships with our loved ones, our attitude to money, the ever-increasing pace of life, or the environmental crisis, everything is pushing us to wake up to our full mental potential. 

We are being called to rediscover for ourselves the profound truths of which the great saints and teachers have spoken for thousands of years.

At their core, they all have been urging us to become wiser, more compassionate, more psychologically healthy human beings.

To let go of our attachments to having things be a certain way, to be less materialistic, less egocentric, less greedy and hungry for power or status.

And through this shift in consciousness to find peace in the moment — the inner peace we have been yearning for all along, but fruitlessly seeking in the world around.

This is the next great frontier; not outer space but inner space. The exploration and development of human spirit. 

This is not an exploration to be conducted by some scientists in a laboratory; it is an exploration in which we are all personally engaged, and it is taking place in the laboratory of life. And it is already underway.

Look at the book bestseller lists. Hardly a week goes by without at least half of the top ten being about some form of personal development. Look at television, the specials on healing, the success of Oprah. 

Look at the Internet, the plethora of sites devoted to spiritual growth of one form or another. 

This is what people are hungry for today; this is the direction the collective consciousness is moving in.

And look at kids today. I know many in their teens and early twenties whose values and wisdom far outshine the liberated thinking of a couple of decades ago. 

Those of us who lived through the heydays of the sixties might have thought our philosophy of life was pretty cool; and by the standards of the time it probably was. 

But place some of the wiser kids of today back in that world, and they would stand out as beacons of enlightenment.

Spiritual exploration is not just some lofty work, to be undertaken by some select few who have renounced the worldly life. 

Every day we have the opportunity to learn a little more about ourselves, to let go a little more of attitudes that no longer serve us, to step back and be a little less attached to desires. 

In every unexpected situation when the world fails to match our expectations, when what is happening is not what we think should be happening, we can remind ourselves that we have a choice. 

We can either see the situation through the eyes of fear — all the ways in which it could lead us to suffer — or we can choose to see it through the eyes of love — as an opportunity for learning, growth, and greater understanding.

This shift in perception is a foundation stone of spiritual work. If we practice this in every situation in which we find ourselves, with every person we meet, then we can move from being the victim of our thoughts and feelings to being the master of them. 

And through that practice, we can help ourselves and each other to become happier, healthier, and more caring people.

By Peter Russell, Collective Evolution

INDIA’S SUPER SOLAR GRANNIES

Grandmothers in rural areas are quashing stereotypes and becoming solar engineers to help solve India’s energy issues, writes David W. Smith

At first, Indian villagers are bemused by the vision of Indian grandmothers climbing on to roofs carrying toolkits and solar panels. There are sniggers from youngsters as though the solar mamas are India’s answer to Monty Python’s Hell’s Grannies. Indian grandmothers are not supposed to be solar engineers. They have always been cooks, childminders and dispensers of homespun wisdom. So what are they doing carrying out technical installations beyond the ken of men decades younger?

But the “solar mamas” are well trained and highly professional. They have learned everything they need to know about solar panels on a six-month course at Barefoot College in Rajasthan. And the role they will play is critical in providing the energy supplies that allow remote areas of the developing world to surmount grinding poverty.InIndia,320millionpeopleremain unconnected to the grid and the figure for the whole world is 1.6 billion. These rural households rely on inadequate sources of energy such as candles and kerosene.

“These women have been written off in their communities as past their prime,” says Megan Fallone, head of global strategy and development at the Barefoot College. “They’ve never had a formal education so what could they possibly contribute beyond watching children and cooking and cleaning? But our model is about giving the least likely person the most responsibility. There’s an element of social justice as it’s empowering for them, but it’s also empowering for the whole community.”

Go granny

The grandmothers are perfectly placed to act as environmental stewards. Barefoot College realised long ago that it was pointless training men to install panels as they would invariably leave for the city. But the grandmothers stay embedded in the community and pass on their knowledge about sustainability to the next generation.

Bunker Roy founded Barefoot College in 1972 to help rural communities become more self-sufficient. There are Barefoot solutions for solar electrification, clean water, education, livelihood development, and activism. The illiterate solar mamas are trained from scratch to identify and code ‘colours’ using a local language for electricity system and tools. On completion of the course, their skills are impressive. They understand how resistors and electrical devices work. They can also handle charge controllers and advanced converters, as well as install solar panels and link them to batteries. And they are able to build solar lanterns and construct local electronic workshops where they carry out repairs.

International movement

The solar project started in India; since 1989, Barefoot College’s solar electrification programme has trained over 700 illiterate and semi-literate women as Barefoot Solar Engineers (BSE). Collectively, they have electrified 50,000 rural households in around 1,400 villages in 64 countries across Latin and South America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia to cover 600,000 people. Each solar mama fabricates, installs and maintains the systems for 50 households. Villages are divided into sets of 100 and two women work together. The solar mamas are also trained to train others. On average, each one teaches three other people to do the work. “If you asked the young men in the village, ‘would you want to be taught something by your grandmother?’, they would say ‘no way, my grandma has nothingtoteachme’andlaugh,” says Fallone. “But the minute they see the solar mamas doing something they never imagined they could do, they feel able to do it themselves.”

Funding for the Barefoot College programmes comes from many sources, including the Government of India and the UN Development Programme. But the villagers also have to contribute financially. “We ask them to replace what they spend on candles, kerosene, batteries and other forms of lighting and charging for mobiles. Sums are democratically agreed in the community and 30 per cent of the contribution pays the solar mama’s wages. She returns to the community as a professional and deserves to be paid,” says Fallone.

A number of private companies are also selling solar power models to rural India. There are various business models. One of the most prominent is Simpa Energy, which has sold its pay-as-you-go model to tens of thousands of Indians. Customers use their mobile phones to purchase an access code that they punch into a small box connected to solar panels on their houses. Within seconds, a bright LED light illuminates the room. Eventually, the customer pays for the system outright and power is free.

OMC Power has a different approach. The company builds mini solar power plants that charge everything from large cell phone towers to hundreds of small battery-powered LED lanterns. Each day, OMC delivers charged-up lanterns to customers, and then returns the following morning to pick up the lanterns for recharge.

Selco is another company offering loan instalments for solar systems that are comparable to monthly outgoings on kerosene and candles. After the initial expense, customers pay around US$3 a year in maintenance and every six years they pay for a new battery. Once the instalments on the loan are paid, they become asset owners.

Founder Harish Hande says: “They become less of a credit risk for the banks and can take out loans for other assets such as sewing machines. This decentralised solar model makes sense because it works by leapfrogging the centralised power generation. It democratises choice, energy andinnovation.Itgivesthepoorthechance to become micro-entrepreneurs.”

Professor Ashok Jhunjhunwala, an engineer at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras at Chennai, says there is no viable alternative for rural communities in India. “Without solar power they will stay below the poverty line. It’s liberating in many ways. It enables children to study properly in good light and adults to see well enough to make things. Electric fans allow people to work longer hours and get more rest and cell phone charging allows people to make calls and access the Internet.”

The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keen on solar energy and he recently increased India’s 2022 solar energy target five times from 20 to 100 gigawatts (GW). International companies are jumping at the opportunities. For instance, US-based SunEdison is planning to install more than 10GW of solar power in India in the next seven years, including a US$4 billion solar equipment factory. Meanwhile, India’s Adani Power has agreed to set up the country’s largest solar park, a 10GW facility in Rajasthan.

But most of this solar power will be transferred into the national grid. It’s not the democratised model Harish Hande speaks about. To achieve that on a mass scale, he says India needs to use its 20,000 vocational schools to teach the same techniques used by the solar mamas.

“The government can create an ecosystem that would create a solar revolution through local financial mechanisms and education. Right now everyone is still too fascinated by the national grid, which temporarily solves issue of power but not the issue of poverty. That’s what we can solve using solar.”

Professor Ashok Jhunjhunwala is confident that India can achieve the transformation it needs. “The government, NGOs and the private sector will do it together. To date the numbers of solar installations is relatively small, in the hundreds of thousands. But I am optimistic that through solar power we will see rural areas moving away from poverty to a different, more positive mindset within a decade.”

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Photo credit: DFID from Flickr

October 19, 2015

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