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20/02/2014

Indian govt approves Rs 650 crore for Nano mission – The Times of India

Union Cabinet on Thursday gave its approval for continuation of Nano mission – a mission on Nano Science and Technology – in its second phase in the 12th Plan Period (2012-17) and sanctioned Rs 650 crore for the purpose.

Nano Technology is a knowledge-intensive and “enabling technology” which is expected to influence a wide range of products and processes with far-reaching implications for the national economy and development.

“The mission’s programmes will target all scientists, institutions and industry in the country. It will also strengthen activities in nano science and technology by promoting basic research, human resource development, research infrastructure development, international collaborations, orchestration of national dialogues and nano applications and technology development”, said an official statement of the government.

The Nano mission, in this new phase, will also make greater effort to promote application-oriented R&D so that some useful products, processes and technologies also emerge. It will be anchored in the Department of Science and Technology and steered by a Nano Mission Council chaired by an eminent scientist.

The government had launched the Nano mission in May 2007 as an “umbrella capacity-building programme”.

As a result of the efforts led by the Nano mission, India is at present amongst the top five nations in the world in terms of scientific publications in nano science and technology (moving from 4th to the 3rd position).

The Nano mission itself has resulted in about 5000 research papers and about 900 Ph.Ds and also some useful products like nano hydrogel based eye drops, pesticide removal technology for drinking water, water filters for arsenic and fluoride removal and nano silver based antimicrobial textile coating.

Under the mission, Indian scientists have been given access to global state-of-the-art facilities like the Photon Factory at Tsukuba, Japan and PETRA III in Hamburg, Germany.

via Govt approves Rs 650 crore for Nano mission – The Times of India.

Posted in Good news, India alert, innovation, Politics, Technology | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Cabinet of India, Department of Science & Technology, Hamburg, India, Nano, Nano Mission Council, Nano Science and Technology, Nano Technology, Nanotechnology, Photon Factory, science and technology, technology development, Tsukuba Ibaraki

20/02/2014

China charges former mining magnate with murder, gun-running | Reuters

Prosecutors in central China on Thursday charged the former chairman of Hanlong Mining, which had tried to take over Australia’s Sundance Resources Ltd, with murder, gun-running and other crimes as part of a “mafia-style” gang.

Police last year announced the detention of Liu Han and an investigation into his younger brother Liu Yong – also known as Liu Wei – on suspicion of various criminal activities.

In a report carried by the official Xinhua news agency, prosecutors in the central province of Hubei said the two Lius set up the gang in 1993, along with 34 others, which “carried out a vast number of criminal activities”.

The gang was responsible for nine murders, the report said.

via China charges former mining magnate with murder, gun-running | Reuters.

Posted in China alert, corruption, Good news, Politics, Rule of law | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Australia, Central China, China, crime, gang, Hubei, Liu, Liu Han, Liu Wei, Liu Yong, Sichuan, Sundance Resources, Sundance Resources Ltd

18/02/2014

* China tells police to go nationwide with vice crackdown | Reuters

China’s government told police across the country to get tough on prostitution, gambling and drugs following an expose in the “sin city” of Dongguan, where a crackdown on prostitution led to the detention of nearly 1,000 people this month.

The announcement, on the Ministry of Public Security‘s official website late on Monday, said investigations had begun in several provinces, and police had broken up 73 vice rings and closed down 2410 prostitution and gambling dens over the past week.

China outlawed prostitution after the Communist revolution in 1949, but it returned with a vengeance following landmark economic reforms three decades ago, and has helped fuel a rise in HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.

Gambling is also banned in China with the exception of heavily regulated state-sanctioned lotteries.

While periodic sweeps against vice have been carried out, it has thrived. Law enforcement is often lax.

In a warning to what the authorities call the “protective umbrella” of official collusion, the ministry said officials would be “seriously investigated, and crimes will be resolutely investigated in accordance with the law”.

via China tells police to go nationwide with vice crackdown | Reuters.

Posted in China alert, Good news, Illegal practices, law enforcement, Politics | Leave a Comment »

Tags: China, crackdown, Dongguan, Gambling, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Public Security of the People's Republic of China, Police, Prostitution, Sexually transmitted disease

17/02/2014

India Budget Plans 2 Gigawatts Solar Farms to Double Capacity – Businessweek

India plans to start work on at least 2 gigawatts of solar farms in the year starting April that would nearly double its current photovoltaic capacity.

English: Solar power plant at Om Shanti Retreat Centre, Gurgaon (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The proposed new capacity would take the form of four so-called mega solar power projects capable of generating more than 500 megawatts each, Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said today in New Delhi in a speech announcing an interim budget that would provide funds until a new parliament is elected in national polls due by May.

A record 15 percent of about 800 million voters will be eligible to cast ballots for the first time as the rising cost of electricity turns into an electoral issue. With the solar farms announced today and already existing targets, India is planning a sixfold increase in solar capacity by 2017 to reduce blackouts and diversify away from coal and gas-fired plants hamstrung by fuel shortages.

via India Budget Plans 2 Gigawatts Solar Farms to Double Capacity – Businessweek.

Posted in Economics, Electricity, Good news, India alert, solar power | Leave a Comment »

Tags: India, Om Shanti Retreat Centre, palaniappan chidambaram, solar farms, Solar power

17/02/2014

India budget-2013/14 agri exports likely to touch $45 bln vs $41 bln in 2012/13 | Reuters

India’s Finance Minister P. Chidambaram told parliament on Monday that India’s 2013/14 agricultural exports were likely to touch $45 billion vs $41 billion in 2012/13.

Chidambaram was presenting an interim budget to tide public finances over until a new government is formed after elections due by May.

via India budget-2013/14 agri exports likely to touch $45 bln vs $41 bln in 2012/13 | Reuters.

Posted in agriculture, Economics, food security, Good news, India alert | Leave a Comment »

Tags: agricultural exports, Asia, Chidambaram, export, finance minister, Gross domestic product, India, interim budget, p chidambaram

17/02/2014

China says keen on meeting with Taiwan president, but no rush | Reuters

China said on Monday it was keen on a meeting between President Xi Jinping and Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou, but signaled it was in no rush to set a venue or timeframe for what would be a historic get-together.

Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Minister Wang Yu-chi (2nd R) and Vice Minister Wu Mei-hung (R) pay their respect to the statue of party founder Sun Yat-sen during their visit at Sun Yat-sen mausoleum in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, February 12, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer

Since taking office in 2008, Ma has signed a series of landmark trade and economic agreements with China, cementing China’s position as Taiwan’s largest trading partner.

But Taiwan said last week that China had rebuffed as “inappropriate” a request for the two men to meet at an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Beijing.

Fan Liqing, spokeswoman of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, told reporters the subject of a Xi-Ma summit was “not a topic for discussion” during last week’s landmark meeting between top Chinese and Taiwan government officials.

That meeting was an important step in pushing overall cross-Strait relations, she said, adding that further steps would follow, promising to benefit people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

“As for a meeting between the leaders on both sides of the Strait, we have said many times that this is something we have upheld for many years, and we have always had an open, positive attitude towards it,” Fan said.

via China says keen on meeting with Taiwan president, but no rush | Reuters.

See also: https://chindia-alert.org/2014/02/14/china-dashes-taiwans-hope-of-meeting-between-leaders-at-apec-reuters/

Posted in China alert, Good news, Politics | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Beijing, China, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, Ma Ying-jeou, President Xi Jinping, Reuters, Taiwan, Taiwan Affairs Office, Taiwan President Ma, Xi JinPing

14/02/2014

E-Commerce Gives a Lift to China’s Rural Farmers – Businessweek

A recent series of food safety scandals has created a hunger in China’s big cities for natural or traditionally grown food, absent buckets of fertilizer and pesticide. Two beneficiaries of this new market are Li Chengcai, 83, and his wife, 76-year-old Cheng Youfang, who grow white radishes in fields shadowed by the Yellow Mountain range. They get orders online from distant urban customers willing to pay more for flavorful, safe food.

The couple lives in Bishan, a village of 2,800 residents, in an old stone home on a narrow street lined with crumbling mansions. Rich merchants built the homes more than a century ago when the village, in southern Anhui province, was in its heyday. Many villagers, including their four daughters, have left for the cities. In 2011, China’s population was more than half urban for the first time. But Li and Cheng, who are illiterate and speak only their local dialect, say they have no plans to leave. Fortunately, a new opportunity has come to them—as it may to many more farmers in the next few years.

About a year ago, Zhang Yu, a 26-year-old “young village official”—that’s her actual title—knocked on Li’s door. In the summer of 2012, as national newspapers carried heated debates about genetically modified organisms and food safety, Zhang and a few other young colleagues had an idea. In their capacity as village officials they launched an account on Sina Weibo, a microblogging site, to post items about the fresh, traditionally grown produce of the Yellow Mountain region. Soon afterward they began an online store through Alibaba Group’s Taobao.com platform to connect local farmers with urban buyers. The first order, for 5 pounds of sweet corn, came from a resident of the wealthy port city of Dalian.

via E-Commerce Gives a Lift to China’s Rural Farmers – Businessweek.

Posted in China alert, eCommerce, Economics, food safety, Good news, Social & cultural, Technology | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Alibaba Group, Anhui, China, E-commerce, food safety, Sina Weibo, Village, Yellow Mountain, Zhang Yu

13/02/2014

* China spends billions on rural education – Xinhua | English.news.cn

The Chinese central government has invested 61.8 billion yuan (10.1 bln U.S. dollars) improving schoolhouses and educational facilities in rural areas over the past four years.

Since 2010, 39.9 billion yuan from the central budget has been used in schoolhouse renovation and 21.9 billion yuan in educational equipment, said Liu Limin, deputy minister of education, at a press conference on Thursday.

Money was also used to build cafeterias at schools in 699 “poor” counties, after media reports exposed that some students in remote villages have to cook for themselves during study time, according to Liu.

The deputy minister revealed that the ministries of education and finance and the National Development and Reform Commission jointly worked out a plan on improving the level of education in poor areas at the end of last year.

The plan aims at completing six major tasks in three to five years, including improving basic school facilities like teaching equipment, sports grounds and toilets, promoting digital teaching methods and improving the quality of teaching staff, according to Liu.

He also said that the ministry will try to ensure better compulsory education and care for 23 million rural left-behind children at school age, who stayed alone or with their relatives while their parents go to cities to make a living.

via China spends billions on rural education – Xinhua | English.news.cn.

Posted in China alert, Economics, education, Good news, Social & cultural | Leave a Comment »

Tags: China, compulsory education, deputy minister of education, Education, educational facilities, Liu Limin, National Development and Reform Commission, NetEase, Rural area, rural areas, rural education, The Chinese central government

13/02/2014

* India Approves Paying $54-a-Ton Subsidy for Raw Sugar Exports – Businessweek

India, the world’s biggest sugar producer after Brazil, will introduce a subsidy on raw sweetener exports to boost shipments amid a domestic glut, a government official said.

The cabinet approved a 3,333 rupees ($54) a metric ton subsidy for exports in February and March and will review the amount in April, the official, who asked not to be named because the person isn’t authorized to speak to the media, said in New Delhi yesterday after the cabinet meeting. That’s 67 percent more than the 2,000 rupees previously proposed by the Food Ministry. India will subsidize as much as 4 million tons in the next two years, the official said.

Bajaj Hindusthan Ltd., Balrampur Chini Mills Ltd. (BRCM) and other mills are counting on government support to increase shipments and trim record losses as cane costs climb and prices drop. The subsidy will help spur exports from India and help the country compete with supplies from Thailand, Michael McDougall, a senior vice president at Newedge Group in New York, said by phone yesterday. Refineries including Dubai-based Al Khaleej Sugar Co. will benefit from Indian supplies, he said.

via India Approves Paying $54-a-Ton Subsidy for Raw Sugar Exports – Businessweek.

Posted in agriculture, Economics, exports, Good news, India alert | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Bajaj Hindusthan Ltd., Balrampur Chini Mills Ltd., Brazil, Dubai, export, Food Ministry, government official, India, New Delhi, Newedge Group, Subsidy, Thailand

13/02/2014

* Rice Exports From India Climbing to Record on Mideast Demand – Businessweek

Rice shipments from India, the world’s largest producer after China, will probably expand to a record as buyers from Iran to Saudi Arabia boost purchases of aromatic basmati grain used in biryani and pilaf dishes.

Exports are set to increase 7.8 percent to 11 million metric tons in the 12 months through March from a year earlier, said M.P. Jindal, president of the All India Rice Exporters Association. Sales of basmati may jump 14 percent to 4 million tons as cargoes of non-basmati varieties advance 4 percent to 7 million tons, he said in a phone interview.

Shipments are increasing from India as Thailand, once the world’s biggest supplier, is also set to boost exports. The Southeast Asian country has built record stockpiles big enough to meet about a third of global import demand under a buying program that started in 2011. Farmers are demanding the government sell the reserves to pay for their crop.

via Rice Exports From India Climbing to Record on Mideast Demand – Businessweek.

Posted in agriculture, Economics, exports, Good news, India alert | Leave a Comment »

Tags: All India Rice Exporters Association, Basmati, China, India, iran, middle-east, Rice, Rice Exports, Saudi Arabia, Thailand

CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon

Chindia Alert: You’ll be Living in their World Very Soon

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Indian govt approves Rs 650 crore for Nano mission – The Times of India

China charges former mining magnate with murder, gun-running | Reuters

* China tells police to go nationwide with vice crackdown | Reuters

India Budget Plans 2 Gigawatts Solar Farms to Double Capacity – Businessweek

India budget-2013/14 agri exports likely to touch $45 bln vs $41 bln in 2012/13 | Reuters

China says keen on meeting with Taiwan president, but no rush | Reuters

* India Approves Paying $54-a-Ton Subsidy for Raw Sugar Exports – Businessweek

* Rice Exports From India Climbing to Record on Mideast Demand – Businessweek

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