India has the most polluted air

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March 5, 2019

The recent data released by IQAir AirVisual and Greenpeace shows that seven out of top ten polluted cities in the world in 2018 are from India. Gurugram is the most polluted city. The rest three places went to Pakistan and Chinese cities, thus, making South Asia the most polluted region in the world.

Image source: BloombergThe index measures the presence of fine particulate matter known as PM2.5, a pollutant that can fester deep in the lungs and bloodstream of human beings.
India, the world’s fastest-growing major economy, makes up 22 of the top 30 most polluted cities, with five in China, two in Pakistan and one in Bangladesh. India racks up health-care costs and productivity losses from pollution of as much as 8.5 percent of gross domestic product, according to the World Bank.

The deteriorating condition of air quality in Delhi is well known. The smog near the Diwali period was like a silver lining for the air purifier companies. Also, a survey on NCR residents tells that 35% of the residents responded want to leave it forever. The result also showed the same as out of 7 cities, 4 are from NCR.

The reason for the pollution are many. Burning of stubble, wind direction, stagnant air, etc are the reasons apart from the obvious ones. In order to improve the quality of air, not only Delhites, but everyone living near the capital should take the responsibility. China did and so can we.

Its India vs. Pakistan in cyberspace

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Sugat Srivastava

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March 4, 2019

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After Pulwama attack, a lot of things happened which changed the dynamics of the Indo-Pak relationship. Most of the events related to diplomacy, battlefield, and economics. Cyberwar is something new. Hackers from Pakistan attacked over 90 Indian government websites and critical systems within hours of the Pulwama suicide strike by a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist.

The attacks were so ferocious that India has to turn offensive. The attackers were not able to breach firewalls and protective measures of critical systems. Financial systems and power grid management ones were specially targeted.

Interestingly, the attacks on the Indian networks came from Bangladesh – a country that is friendly to India. “The coordinated manner in which the attacks were carried out and the use of facilities in Bangladesh leaves us with no doubt about the nature of the attack,” an official said.

As the government became aware of the hacking attacks, the attackers tried another approach. They tried their luck on social media in the form of rumors, fake news, photoshopped images, etc. For instance, a photoshopped image of the mastermind behind the Pulwama attack, Kamran, did rounds on the internet. Another example is that a day after India’s strike on a Jaish camp in Pakistan, and on the same day as Pakistan’s attempted counter-strike, social media buzzed with the alleged sacking of Commander-in-Chief of the Western Air Command Air Marshal C Hari Kumar. Even as this was dying down, another rumor surfaced, talking of huge casualties to Indian forces in Rajouri.

After successive waves of attacks were thwarted, the government advised all departments to not violate “Standard Operating Procedures” and be on the alert. The exact nature and extent of India’s offensive operation, and the agencies behind this aren’t known, and none of the officials would elaborate on this point.

“Offensive capabilities did help India get a grip of the situation. There was damage in Pakistan too,” said a cybersecurity professional working in the private sector, and who advises the government.

Essar Oil & Gas gets environment nod to begin shale gas exploration in Raniganj

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Sugat Srivastava

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March 3, 2019

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Finally, Shale gas revolution is coming to India. ONGC drilled the first hole in 2013 near Jambusar, Gujarat. Now, Essar Oil & Gas Exploration and Production (EOGEPL) is set to begin exploring shale gas reserves in its Raniganj block in West Bengal.

All thanks to Hydrocarbon Exploration Licensing Policy (HELP), which allow operators freedom to explore both conventional oil and natural gas as well as non-conventional sources like coal-bed methane (CBM) and shale reserves within an exploration acreage. Previously, companies could explore only oil and natural gas or CBM depending on their license for the block.

Shale gas has abundant reserves around the world, which may be sufficient to meet the demand for clean energy for many years to come. Shale gas is found in unconventional reservoirs typically trapped in shale rock, having low permeability, originally deposited as clay and silt. This makes it more difficult and more expensive to extract because of the high upfront costs. Shale gas is generally found at 2000 to 5000 meters below the earth’s surface unlike conventional natural gas – trapped in sandstone rock having high permeability and can be easily assessed to be produced by traditional vertical drilling, found at 1500 meters.

The expert appraisal committee (EAC) in January 29 meeting allowed Essar to drill 20 wells to explore shale gas in its Raniganj CBM block. It has been awarded an exploration lease for shale gas, CBM, and hydrocarbons in the Raniganj block. EOGPL has got approval to drill 20 shale wells at a cost of Rs 10 crore. To start with, it will drill five wells in the block to test the shale potential. If this exploration is successful, the company would drill around 220-250 wells that will require an investment of Rs 7,000 crore.

EOGEPL has invested around Rs 4,000 crore in the Raniganj block, which will produce 1.7 million standard cubic meters per of gas from coal seams (CBM) in the next two years and ramp up to 2.5 MMSCMd in the next three to four years.

Timeline: How India retaliated after Pulwama Attack

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Sugat Srivastava

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March 2, 2019

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India would never forget the dreadful 14th February of 2019 when a suicide bomber crashes a car packed with 300kg of explosives into a convoy of Central Reserve Police Forces (CRPF). This attack took place in Pulwama, 20 km from Srinagar. It killed more than 40 Indian paramilitary personnel and injured at least 70. India vowed to retaliate and it did retaliate. Last 15 days saw a lot of events like encounters, airstrike, capturing, releasing of air force officer, etc. Let’s see how the events unfolded after Pulwama attack.

February 15 (Friday)

Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), terrorism organization whose ‘stated’ mission is to “free Kashmir from India”, claims responsibility for the bombing. It also released a video in which the bomber, Adil Ahmad Dar, a 20-year-old school dropout, in full battle gear and posing behind a row of scary looking guns, said he hoped to reach heaven by means of his attack on the Indian convoy.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, in Munich to attend a security conference, sent a video message saying he was saddened by “India’s ‘knee-jerk reaction’ leveling allegations without sharing any proof or evidence against Pakistan.”

February 16 (Saturday)

Diplomatic isolation and military strikes discussed amid domestic pressure to respond in kind to Pulwama terror attack.
India withdraws most-favored-nation (MFN) status to Pakistan after the Pulwama incident. India hikes the customs duty to 200 percent on all goods imported from Pakistan.
Pakistan Foreign Office cautions Indian government against any ‘misadventure’; urges the Indian side to share evidence of Pakistan’s involvement in the suicide attack.

February 18 (Monday)

Indian Army gunned down the mastermind behind the Pulwama attack. Ghazi Abdul Rasheed, the mastermind behind the dreadful Pulwama attack, was among the three Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists killed in the encounter, which claimed the lives of four army personnel, including a major.

February 20 (Wednesday)

India suspends key bus service from Srinagar to Muzaffarabad, the capital of the Pakistani territory of PoK.

February 22 (Friday)

India’s Union minister Nitin Gadkari says in New Delhi that India has decided to “stop” the flow of its share of water to Pakistan from rivers under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) after the Pulwama terror attack.

February 23 (Saturday)

Top separatist leaders arrested during overnight raids as India launches a major crackdown across the restive Kashmir valley.

February 24 (Sunday)

A senior police officer and a militant killed in a gunfight between security forces and militants in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district, police sources said. Deputy Superintendent of Police Aman Thakur and the militants were killed in Turigam village in fighting that also injured an Army Major.

February 25 (Monday):

India’s National Intelligence Agency (NIA) identifies the vehicle used in carrying out the attack in Pulwama. “The owner of the vehicle is identified as Sajjad Bhat, who has joined Jaish-e-Mohammed terror outfit”, NIA spokesman says.
The Indian and Pakistani armies trade fire at the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district. Indian Defence ministry spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Devender Anand said, “At about 6.30 pm today (Monday), Pakistan army initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by firing small arms along the LoC in Nowshera sector of Rajouri district.”

February 26 (Tuesday)

12 Indian Air Force Mirage 2000 jets drop 1,000 kg bombs in what it calls a ‘preemptive strike’ on suspected Jaish-e-Mohammed camps across the Line of Control (LoC) in Muzaffarabad sector at 3.30am.
6 bombs were dropped on terrorist camps by the Indian Air Force Mirage 2000s: Government sources told ANI

February 27 (Wednesday):

Pakistani jets have violated Indian airspace and dropped bombs. The jets entered border areas of Nowshera sector in J&K’s Rajouri district, reports said. Pakistan Air Force jets violated Indian airspace in Rajouri sector, dropped bombs near Indian army force.
An Indian military aircraft has crashed in Jammu & Kashmir’s Budgam. Pakistan captured Abhinandan Vardhaman, Wing Commander in Indian Air Force.
Pakistan Air Force’s F-16 that violated Indian air space shot down in Indian retaliatory fire 3km within Pakistan territory in Lam valley, Nowshera sector.

February 28 (Thursday):

Pakistan’s PM Imran Khan announced while addressing the joint sitting of Parliament of Pakistan that we’re releasing Abhinandan on 1st March 2019 as a “gesture of peace”.
A petition was filed before the Islamabad High Court seeking an injunction to stop his release. However, the case was dismissed by the court the same day.
Two terrorists killed by police in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara. A security personnel was also injured in the gunbattle in Handwara in the north Kashmir district.

March 1 (Friday):

Abhinandan Vardhaman crossed the border on foot at the border crossing at Wagah.

March 2 (Saturday):

Five security personnel, including a CRPF officer, were killed on Friday in an encounter with militants, while a civilian died in clashes near the site in Kupwara in Jammu and Kashmir.

Karachi Bakery in Bengaluru forced to cover signboard amidst protests

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Sugat Srivastava

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February 23, 2019

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A Karachi Bakery outlet in Bengaluru was forced to cover up the word ‘Karachi’ on its main name board on Friday. The protesters claimed that they believed Karachi Bakery was a Pakistan-based outlet. This comes more than a week after 44 CRPF personnel were killed in a terror attack in Kashmir’s Pulwama district.

The mob refused to disperse from the bakery and continued to protest from 8 pm to 8:30 pm. To placate the crowd, the establishment covered up the word “Karachi” in its signboard and put up an Indian flag. There was no property damage or violence at the site. Despite the protest, the bakery continued to operate until its scheduled closing time of 11 pm.

Karachi Bakery is not a Pakistan-based outlet. It was started in Hyderabad in 1953 by Khanchand Ramnani, who migrated from Karachi during the Partition. It has since grown into a nationwide franchise.

This is however not the first time that Karachi bakery is becoming a target. In 2016, they faced a boycott campaign, as they were reported to be selling Israeli dates as part of Ramadan gift hamper. Many social media users said that sentiments of Muslims were hurt as they perceive Israel to be an aggressor in the ongoing occupation of Palestine.

The nation has seen an increase in the number of attacks targetting Kashmiris. The link between those incidents and this one is the lack of knowledge. A mob can be incited easily if the goal is similar and requires violence. They don’t care about knowing the history of a place. People running the Karachi Bakery are Indians and doesn’t have any connection with Pakistan. Please maintain peace and think before attacking. We are somehow injuring our nation only through these actions.

Honda sold 2 crore Activa since it’s launch

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Sugat Srivastava

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February 22, 2019

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The most popular scooter in India – Activa crossed more than 2 crore purchases. It was first introduced in 2001 and is now in its 5th generation. Honda Motorcycle and Scooters India (HMSI), it’s manufacturer, gave full pages advertisements in newspapers to commemorate the milestone.

The Honda Activa is not just the single largest selling scooter in India, but has also been India’s largest-selling two-wheeler several times, surpassing the Hero Splendor to achieve that feat.

The 110 cc, Honda Activa is the best-selling model in HMSI’s scooter portfolio, which has several engine options and variants including the Honda Activa-i, Honda Activa 125 and the Honda Activa 5G.

Honda has expanded from one plant to four plants with annual capacity exceeding 64 lakh two-wheelers. Its investment in India now exceeds Rs. 9,800 crore. For Honda, nearly 30 per cent of its global two-wheeler sales come from India.

HRD min rolls out ‘digital boards’ without planning funds

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Sugat Srivastava

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February 21, 2019

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In another, ‘expected’ decision, the government plans to replace all traditional boards with digital boards. They plan to replace seven lakh boards within three years. A noble cause but forgot to allocate any funds.

HRD minister Prakash Javadekar rolled out the scheme to equip five lakh classrooms of the higher secondary and senior secondary schools (classes IX to XII) of the government schools as well as two lakh classrooms of the public-funded higher education institutes.
While the ministry aims to cover nearly 1.5 lakh secondary and senior secondary schools under the scheme by 2022, the university grants commission (UGC) has proposed to cover 300 universities and 10,000 colleges under the scheme in three years, starting from 2019.
India has nearly 15 lakh schools across the country and close to 50,000 higher education institutions. About 10% of the schools and higher education institutions are already equipped with digital boards.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley rolled the scheme in the last budget under ‘Operation Digital Board’ scheme. This scheme requires fund of 7000-10000 crores. The Finance Minister didn’t allocate or planned any funds.

When asked about the funds, Javadekar said not to worry and would soon plan the scheme properly. It is assumed that the funds could be made available for implementation of the ‘operation digital board’ in schools from Rs 36472.40 crore allocated to the school education department on the head of Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA).

The pedagogical improvement is the need of the hour. The problem is that the government again haphazardly revealed the scheme without planning from where these funds will come. This makes the scheme just an inflated bloat of election goodies.

‘Sunny Leone’ is the topper of PHED Bihar JE exam!

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Sugat Srivastava

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February 20, 2019

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Another feather on the hat for Sunny Leone as she topped the state government exam. She scored a whopping 98.5 marks to grab the state government job. The question is, how come the famous Bollywood actress became so sharp in academics all of a sudden? What is the catch? Let’s find out.

Sunny Leone, according to the official release by the PHED, Bihar is a 27-year-old single woman with five years of work experience. Her father is Leona Leone and she belongs to the unreserved category.

Brilliant Sunny Leone has scored 73.50 points in education and 25.00 points in experience in the Bihar Junior Engineer Exam.
The examination conducted by the Public Health Engineering Department, PHED will fill up 214 posts of Junior Engineer (Civil) in the state. The recruitment examination was conducted from January 15 to January 31, 2019. A total of 17911 candidates have qualified the written exam. Candidates who have qualified the examination will have to appear for interview round as well.

Beware: This image of terrorist Kamran is Photoshopped

By

Sugat Srivastava

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February 19, 2019

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The mastermind behind Pulwama attack died along with 2 other terrorists in an encounter which also took the lives of our four brave soldiers. The image regulated in the media is Photoshopped. Let’s know how.

The image was basically of a commando in a black uniform. The maker of the image cleverly fitted the head in this image. The left side of the arm is abnormally stuffed into the uniform. Besides, the uniform also has a name badge. The terrorist is also wearing a watch. He is also holding a walkie-talkie.

Walkie-talkie could be excused as terrorists have become technologically advanced due to proper funding from Pakistan. He has a name tag. Which terrorists’ organisation issue name badges to its terrorists? They always want to keep them under cover. Now coming to arms. Since the maker found a suitable head and body, the original torso was not convincing due to angle and face to body ratio. So, they inserted the left arm abnormally into the image in order to look convincing. The maker tried it’s best to make the image look intimidating.

In short, the image editor was not professional. He was careless. Conspirators, hire someone better next time.

The mastermind behind Pulwama attack is now dead

By

Sugat Srivastava

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February 18, 2019

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Giving the open charge to army has worked. They gunned down the mastermind behind the Pulwama attack. Ghazi Abdul Rasheed, the mastermind behind the dreadful Pulwama attack, was among the three Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists killed in the encounter, which claimed the lives of four army personnel, including a major.

After receiving the orders to act freely, India armed forces intensified its operations to hunt down terrorists after the Pulwama IED attack on February 14.

Kamran alias Ghazi Rasheed was encountered by the Indian Army along with two other terrorists. A joint team of 55 Rashtriya Rifles, CRPF, and Special Operation Group launched a cordon and search operation early on Monday, after receiving inputs on terrorists taking refuge in the area.

The 32-year-old, a Pakistani national, was a close and trusted aide of JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar. He was an Afghan war veteran and an IED specialist and joined the terror group in 2008. Reportedly, Ghazi had trained Pulwama suicide bomber Adil Dar and was commanding all Jaish operations in India. Ghazi was trained by the Taliban in Afghanistan and would train Jaish recruits in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.

One AK-47 rifle and one pistol were recovered from the militants at the encounter site. Meanwhile, Pakistan violated ceasefire in the Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday night. A cordon and search operation by the security forces was also started in Krawora village of the Shopian district.

Though this won’t bring back our martyred soldiers but would at least bring some justice to their souls.

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