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70
million-year-old snake fossil found
in Gujarat
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The
Geological Survey of India has found
a 70 million-year-old snake fossil,
which represents the oldest snake
in the world, from the Lameta Formation
of Kheda district, Gujarat. The
well-preserved specimen, described
as one of the most exciting discoveries
by the GSI during its field season
of 2006-07 (October-September),
enhances knowledge of the origin
and evolution of snakes. This, along
with its findings on shrinking of
major glaciers due to global climate
change, is likely to figure at the
42nd meeting of the Central Geological
Programming Board (CGPB) in New
Delhi on Friday.
Diamond
exploration
The
GSI found additional gold resource
in Karnataka during 2006-07. This
finding is significant as India
is the world's biggest gold importer.
Diamond exploration too has led
the GSI to new finds in Andhra Pradesh.
'Hira ke khoj me', a video film
on diamond exploration by the GSI,
will be screened at Friday's meet.
Surveys for coal and lignite, ores
(especially iron ore), gold, platinum
group of metals and diamond would
be among the GSI's thrust areas
in 2007-08.
Courtesy:
www.hindu.com, September 28, 2007
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India
college students get chance at rocket
science
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India's
secretive defence research agency
has helped launch a university course
in missile sciences and opened its
labs to students, hoping to infuse
young talent into a stagnating technology
programme. India's missile programme
has built short- and long-range
missiles, including one that can
hit targets deep inside China. But
its projects have been hit by time
and cost overruns and the programme
has also struggled to attract young
engineers and scientists in the
face of stiff competition from the
more lucrative IT sector, experts
say. A first-of-its-kind masters
course in applied physics and ballistics,
launched this month at Fakir Mohan
University in Orissa, hopes to change
that, officials said. "Students
have high levels of creativity and
we hope their association will help
our research activities," W. Selvamurthy,
a top Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO) official, told
Reuters. "We expect the students
from this course to join DRDO after
completion of their studies," Selvamurthy,
who is DRDO's chief controller of
research and development, said by
telephone from New Delhi. Eighteen
students selected after a tough
screening programme for the two-year
course would not only study missile
engineering and new technologies,
but also get to use DRDO labs in
the area where the agency has missile
testing facilities, officials said.
"We are trying to open our labs
to more and more universities,"
Selvamurthy said. Formed in 1958
with a network of 10 laboratories,
DRDO today has 51 labs where 5,000
scientists and 25,000 other employees
work, according to the agency's
Web site. In April, DRDO successfully
tested its most ambitious and longest-range
ballistic missile, the Agni III,
which is capable of carrying a nuclear
warhead more than 3,000 km.
Courtesy:
http://in.reuters.com, September
18, 2007
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Centre
sanctions Bhagat Singh Chair in
JNU
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The
Centre has approved the setting
up of Bhagat Singh Chair at Delhi's
Jawaharlal Nehru University. The
Bhagat Singh Chair will focus on
the revolutionary movements in the
country since 1757, Professor Chaman
Lal from the Centre of Indian Languages,
JNU said in New Delhi on Friday.
"The government has sanctioned the
proposal for setting up of the Chair.
We are waiting for the government
to provide funds before the celebrations
of Bhagat Singh's birth centenary
begin on September 28," he said.
Lal, who has conducted extensive
research on the life and work of
Bhagat Singh, said the Chair will
be first of its kind in the country.
Outlining Bhagat Singh's freedom
struggle, he said over two lakh
people had filed petitions before
the then Viceroy Lord Mountbatten
to appeal against his execution.
Besides, lakhs of people had carried
out protests across the country
against the execution. Lal has also
written a letter to Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh [Images], requesting
him to take steps to build a Bhagat
Singh memorial in Lahore [Images].
"Bhagat Singh is loved by the people
of India and Pakistan. So, both
countries should come forward to
celebrate the centenary," he said.
The professor displayed the original
copy of Bhagat Singh's jail notebook,
which contains several letters written
by the revolutionary, including
one he wrote to his father.
Courtesy:
www.rediff.com, September 17, 2007
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Largest
tribal school to be India's first
tribal university
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With
more than 5000 tribal children from
districts of Orissa staying and
undergoing formal and vocational
education the Kalinga Institute
of Social Sciences (KISS) here,
it is now poised to enter the record
books as the Asia's largest residential
tribal school. "My dream is to eventually
have a complete tribal university
so that tribals who till now have
been a neglected lot both socially
and politically can come forward
to be part of the resurgent India,"
says philanthropist Achyuta Samanta.
The school's academic record can
be gauged from the fact that 90
per cent of its students clear Plus
Two and one even topped last year's
National Children's Science Congress.
The school offers free education
from KG to post graduation along
with all the facilities that most
of the students had not heard of
or dreamt about. From well stocked
library to hostel and computer centre
and vocational training centres
to complete medical care, tribal
children from most of the 52 tribes
in Orissa are a happy lot here.
"Back in the village there was hardly
any facility. This school gives
us everything that we wanted," says
Sunita Hasta, class XI, who was
selected as a young reporter and
represented India at a conference
in Belgium last year. Hailing from
Kuraput district in Orissa which
has a literacy level of under 37
per cent, she adds, "Studying along
with other students itself is a
very learning experience". KISS,
which was started by Samanta with
just 100 children in 1993 now offers
post graduate courses. Its degrees
are recognised by Utkal University,
Samanta says.
Courtesy:
www.economictimes.indiatimes.com,
September 04, 2007
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India
to set up Saarc varsity to promote
region
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India
has lined up a host of initiatives
to promote the Saarc region aggressively.
For starters, it has decided to
set up a Saarc University in the
country and introduce a liberalised
visa regime for students, teachers,
professors, journalists and patients
of this region. Announcing this,
Union external affairs minister
Pranab Mukherjee said on Saturday:
"The ministerial meeting on transport
which concluded on Friday has also
identified a select list of road,
rail and waterway corridors for
facilitating travel of people and
goods among Saarc member states.
This is an important step forward."
He was addressing a national seminar
organised by Federation of Indian
Chambers of Commerce & Industry
(Ficci) here. The minister elaborated
that the Saarc University would
be a centre of excellence where
young minds from the region would
be encouraged to respond to demands
of globalisation and opportunities
of regional cooperation. Lately,
terrorism has emerged as a major
concern in the region. To address
this, there will be a meeting of
home ministers of Saarc nations
who will not only address regional
security concerns such as transnational
crimes, terrorism, narcotics and
psychotropic substances, but also
look at measures on how national
legislation and procedures may be
harmonised for the benefit of victims
of crime and human trafficking and
explore how should they be rehabilitated,
Mr Mukherjee said. West Bengal chief
minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee,
who was present at the national
seminar, also felt that terrorism
in the region needed to be curbed.
He also urged Saarc nations to consider
providing concessions to tourists
to promote inter-regional tourism.
"We feel that more air routes should
open up in this region," Mr Bhattacharjee
said.
Courtesy:
www.economictimes.indiatimes.com,
September 02, 2007
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