News Bulletin: June 2022 – Issue 1
1. Expert Explains Why There Are No Bridges Across The Amazon River
An expert has revealed why there are no bridges over the 4,000-mile long Amazon river, which runs through multiple different countries.
Unlike some small, lazy rivers where a few big stones are enough to allow a person to get across, the Amazon river is not one you can conquer without a bit of help.
The world’s second-longest river, the width of the Amazon averages between two to six miles depending on the area, and can even reach up to 30 miles wide during rainier periods.
Source: Unilad
2. Icebergs and fog: These unconventional sources can help beat global water scarcity
Air, continental shelves and even cargo ships contain millions of cubic kilometres of water that can help reduce shortage of water across the world for drinking, sanitation, agriculture and economic development, new book has claimed.
Unconventional Water Resources — compiled by experts at the United Nations University’s Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), UNU Institute for Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Resources and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, — has showcased the potential of resources such as offshore and onshore deep groundwater, irrigation water, municipal wastewater, and water vapour trapped in fog.
Source: Down to Earth
3. Role of an individual in protecting the environment
Our personal activities/ actions can either improve or deteriorate the environment quality. Human actions cause many environmental problems. There are many serious environmental threats, like global warming, climate change, deforestation, air and water pollution. All of us are equally responsible for these problems in one or other way by neglecting the environment. That means all of us can fix the problems if we understand our roles and responsibilities by protecting it. There are actions people can opt daily to protect the environment like recycle, reuse, compost, and use of green fuels and vehicles.
Source: Rising Kashmir
4. Global container shipping the worst for 50 years reports Drewry
A continuous deterioration in the accuracy of transit and arrival times in global container shipping means the sector is in the worst state it has been in for 50 years, according to Drewry Shipping Consultants.
The situation is not expected to start improving until the first half of 2023 and that is having an impact on the automotive industry at a time of wider supply chain uncertainty.
However, speaking at this month’s Automotive Logistics and Supply Chain Europe conference, Philip Damas, Drewry’s managing director, said there were contingency measures the automotive industry could take.
Source: Auto Motive Logistics
5. Map of India’s Top Renewable Energy Projects, Including World’s Largest Solar Park
This article is part of a deep dive to celebrate Environment Day by highlighting individual and community action that leads to large scale impact on the planet. It Starts With Me is the second chapter of ‘Shaping Sustainability’, an exclusive series by The Better India, to give our readers an in-depth understanding of how Indians are making sustainability a priority in all walks of life. Find more stories from the series here
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the COP26 Summit in Glasgow that India’s goal is to achieve a lofty capacity of 500 GW of renewable energy by the year 2030.
Source: The Better India
6. Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned ten projects under Coastal thematic circuits
Shri Gangapuram Kishan Reddy, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Development of Northeastern Region, Government of India, said that cruise tourism is one of the most vibrant and fast-growing sectors of the leisure and travel industry. The promotion of coastal tourism through beach tourism, lighthouse tourism, and cruise tourism will help communities such as fishing communities to find other livelihood opportunities and supplement their income.
Source: APN News
7. Inland vessel market 2022-2030
The global inland vessel market value was more than $1,589.24 billion in 2020. The inland vessel market is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.5% during the forecast period from 2021-2027.
The global inland vessel market value was more than $1,589.24 billion in 2020. The inland vessel market is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.5% during the forecast period from 2021-2027.
Source: CV Farmer and Miner
8. Goa govt to explore possibility of operating more inland waterway routes to decongest roads:
Minister
The Goa government is contemplating the possibility of opening up more routes in inland waterways to reduce the traffic congestion on roads, state Minister Subhash Fal Dessai said on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters in Margao city, the minister for river navigation said his department has been traditionally operating fewer ferry boat routes to cater to the demand of people, especially those living on islands.
Source: The Print
9. Union Power Secretary Reviews Thermal Coal Coastal Shipping Through Paradip Port
The ongoing peak summer coupled with reviving the Indian economy has resulted in power shortages in several states. In this background, Alok Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Power along with Addl. Secretary Vivek Kumar Dewangan made a whirlwind tour to Paradip Port for taking stock of domestic/imported thermal coal evacuation systems.
Hon’ble Secretary was extended a warm welcome by P.L. Haranadh, Chairman, PPA at the Wet Basin and Ceremonial Guard of Honour was given by CISF Unit, PPA.
Source: Pragativadi
10. New Zealand pumps millions of dollars to develop coastal shipping network
The New Zealand government’s decision this week to pump NZ$30m ($19.4m) into a coastal shipping initiative has been hailed by local unions as the “biggest turnaround for the industry this century”.
Funding for coastal shipping funding has been earmarked via the National Land Transport
Programme (NLTP) to improve domestic shipping services, reduce emissions, improve efficiency and upgrade maritime infrastructure.
Source: Splash 24*7
11. South Africa Seeks Indian Investments In Special Economic Zones
Indian companies can reduce their lead time to access the African market to three days from eight days by investing in South African Special Economic Zones, said a top official from the South African consular office in Mumbai.
“There are more than 13 Special Economic Zones in South Africa, where Indian companies can invest and export to entire Africa, USA and European Union, with which we have trade agreements,” said Andrea Kuhn, Consul General, Consulate General, South Africa in Mumbai.
She was speaking at an interactive session organised by MVIRDC World Trade Center Mumbai and the ‘All India Association of Industries’.
Source: Business World
12. World-class road connectivity, infra development to change Industrial landscape in Gujarat
The Government of India has taken many steps in recent years to improve the country’s
infrastructure and make it more globally competitive. One of the most important aspects of this is developing world-class road connectivity. By building highways and expressways that meet international standards, the government is making it easier for businesses to move goods and services around the country.
In addition, the government is also investing in other areas of infrastructure, such as power generation and distribution, telecommunications, and railways. By improving the country’s infrastructure, the government is making it easier for Industries and businesses to operate in India and making the country more attractive to foreign investors.
Source: Financial Express
13. Quality of rural roads should be at par with national highways: Giriraj Singh
The quality of rural roads should be at par with that of national highways, Union Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh said on Tuesday while asserting that roads constructed under the PMGSY are lifelines of villages.
Addressing the International Conference – ‘New Technologies and Innovations in Rural Roads’, Singh advocated for the use of green technologies especially using waste as it makes the road construction more environment friendly.
New technologies like full-depth reclamation, cement treated sub-base, nanotechnologies, and others are being used in the construction of rural roads, these technologies help in the reduction costs cost by 10 to 15 percent per km.
Source: Devdiscourse
14. How PM developed urban infrastructure with swanky expressways, railways and airports
Modi Govt 8 Years: Better infrastructure is one of the most important requirements for a strong economy as it helps set new businesses, and eases commute and logistics. The Narendra Modi government came to power on the plank of development and has focused immensely on developing better infrastructure across all sectors be it national highways, trains, new airports among others.
The pace of development both on approval of projects and execution has been impressive unlike situation during previous governments when projects were merely passed on paper but less executed on ground.
Source: India TV News
15. Powering the Way to a Decarbonized Future through Utilities Substation Modernization
In the future, there will be new digital platforms across the entire utility value chain. Delivering intrinsic security and ensuring cyber resilience for those platforms; supporting digital transformation, especially around grid monetization.
Currently in the power sector, distributed energy resources coming in at the edge of the grid are disrupting the entire industry. Grid architecture is moving from the traditional centralized generation to bidirectional, distributed generation in which the electricity can flow from the edge of the grid.
Source: TD World
16. Railways to invest over Rs 95,261 cr to link northeastern state capitals
The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) would invest over Rs 95,261 crore to execute 21 projects including connecting the state capitals of three northeastern states — Manipur, Mizoram and Meghalaya by 2023, and Nagaland capital Kohima by 2026, an official said on Friday.
Source: Business Standard
