Benefits in UDAY scheme approved by GOI recently

Benefits in UDAY scheme approved by GOI recently

UDAY is a path breaking reform for realizing the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of affordable and accessible 24x7 Power for All. It is another decisive step furthering the landmark strides made in the Power sector over the past one and a half years, with the sector witnessing a series of historic improvements across the entire value chain, from fuel supply, to generation, transmission and consumption. Financially stressed DISCOMs are not able to supply adequate power at affordable rates, which hampers quality of life and overall economic growth and development. Efforts towards 100% village electrification, 24X7 power supply and clean energy cannot be achieved without performing DISCOMs. Power outages also adversely affect national priorities like “Make in India” and “Digital India”. In addition, default on bank loans by financially stressed DISCOMs has the potential to seriously impact the banking sector and the economy at large.

UDAY assures the rise of vibrant and efficient DISCOMs through a permanent resolution of past as well as potential future issues of the sector. It empowers DISCOMs with the opportunity to break even in the next 2-3 years. This is through four initiatives (i) Improving operational efficiencies of DISCOMs; (ii) Reduction of cost of power; (iii) Reduction in interest cost of DISCOMs; (iv) Enforcing financial discipline on DISCOMs through alignment with State finances. Operational efficiency improvements like compulsory smart metering, up-gradation of transformers, meters etc., energy efficiency measures like efficient LED bulbs, agricultural pumps, fans & air-conditioners etc. will reduce the average AT&C loss from around 22% to 15% and eliminate the gap between Average Revenue Realized (ARR) & Average Cost of Supply (ACS) by 2018-19.

Reduction in cost of power would be achieved through measures such as increased supply of cheaper domestic coal, coal linkage rationalization, liberal coal swaps from inefficient to efficient plants, coal price rationalization based on GCV (Gross Calorific Value), supply of washed and crushed coal, and faster completion of transmission lines. NTPC alone is expected to save Rs. 0.35 / unit through higher supply of domestic coal and rationalization / swapping of coal which will be passed on to DISCOMs / consumers.

UDAY is optional for all States. However, States are encouraged to take the benefit at the earliest as benefits are dependent on the performance.

We use helium in balloons

We use helium in balloons

Helium is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2.Helium is a colorless, tasteless and odorless gas. Helium is the second most common element in the Universe (after hydrogen), making up around 24% of its mass. Helium is part of a group of chemical elements called noble gases, the other five that occur naturally are neon, argon, krypton, xenon and radon. Under normal conditions they share similar properties, including being less likely to participate in chemical reactions due to their outer shell of electrons being full. Helium is the second least reactive element after neon. French and English astronomers Pierre Janssen and Norman Lockyer are jointly credited with discovering helium after spectral analysis of sunlight following a solar eclipse in 1868. The word helium comes from the Greek word meaning sun (helios). It was named by Lockyer and English chemist Edward Frankland. The USA is the world’s largest supplier of helium, with many reserves found in large natural gas fields.

The rate at which helium is currently being used by humans is much faster than the rate at which the reserves are being replenished. New technologies for obtaining or recycling helium are one way for gas companies to help slow this problem. Because helium is lighter than air it is commonly used to fill airships, blimps and balloons. While hydrogen is 7% more buoyant than helium it has a much higher fire risk. You might notice the helium balloon you got from the amusement park slowly falling to the ground after a few days, this happens as the helium gradually leaks from the balloon.

Because helium is less dense than normal air, when inhaled from a source such as a helium balloon it briefly changes the sound of a person’s voice, making it much sound much higher. However, breathing in too much helium can be very dangerous, potentially choking people due to a lack of oxygen. Helium can be in a liquid and even solid state but they can only occur at temperatures near absolute zero. Liquid helium is used to cool metals for superconductivity use. The European Organization for Nuclear Research’s (CERN) Large Hadron Collider uses liquid helium to maintain an extremely low temperature. Helium is often used in space programs, displacing fuel in storage tanks and having other rocket fuel applications.

other scientists have warned that helium is becoming so scarce that research that makes use of its cooling power may have to be limited or stopped. Although it is the second most abundant element in the universe, helium cannot be manufactured, and once released into the atmosphere is lost for ever. Most of our supplies are extracted from the earth's crust.

Terrorism anywhere is terrorism everywhere

Terrorism anywhere is terrorism everywhere.

Dr. Martin Luther King once said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”  The violent attacks against Israelis are no different, no less unjust than the shootings of innocent civilians in France or anywhere else.

Currently terrorism has been most commonly and systematically employed as a tactic in conflicts. Terrorism is the form of violence against civilians and asymmetric confrontation against a stronger opponent. Terrorism occurs when ideological motivation meets with operational capability. The way in which a terrorist group shapes its radical worldview and disseminates it to audiences worldwide plays an important role in the public interface between the group and its target audience. Using terrorist propaganda, a group can successfully radicalize and indoctrinate public into terrorist sympathizers, mobilize terrorist supporters, and recruit terrorist members.  

Terrorist organizations target the disaffected members of a population by attempting to convince them that there is an alternative way of thinking that will make their lives more meaningful and simpler. If the population has a large number of disaffected individuals susceptible to the ideology, enough of them can be recruited. Once recruited, they soon take part in terrorist actions that validate and strengthen the ideology they share. Thus, the war on terror ought to be called ‘the ideological battle against radical extremists who happen to use terror as a weapon to disrupt the conscience of the free and peaceful world. Terrorist actions conducted on the territory of more than one state or involving citizens of more than one state as victims or perpetrators bring an international element.

An effective and multipronged approach for an ideological response to fight with terrorism should conceptualize counterterrorism, not only as a military or law enforcement problem but as a war of ideas as well. Governments which develop foreign policies that strengthen this network will find themselves with improved security at home. Who have come to the point where terrorism anywhere is terrorism everywhere. If terrorists maintain a network of networks, then governments must do the same. Once equally common, piracy, slavery, and genocide have been systematically diminished through collective efforts overtime. Most importantly, such efforts destroyed the ideologies that legitimated these behaviors. Governments must go after ideologically motivated terrorists with the same kind of collective approach.