Political

 Solar insolation changes are amongst various factors that affect sea-surface temperature, which in turn modulate global climate. Out of all the oceanic regions, equatorial region receives the maximum solar insolation and thus is the locale for the warmest waters. However, how the equatorial sea-surface temperature affects global climate, is still not clear.

 A key factor in the long-term viability of aquifer storage and recovery is the extent of mineral interaction between two dissimilar water types, their recoverable fractions and consequent impact on water quality and aquifer stability.

Indigenous knowledge is the basis for local level decision making in agriculture, healthcare, food preparation, education, natural resource management, and a host of other activities in rural communities.

 Even with its questionable merit, the superbug study has identified the need for us to question the focus that we have on finding  narrow solutions to health issues .It has also highlighted the urgent need to address the broader infrastructural needs of the country such as access to safe drinking water and sanitation

Image source: Wikimedia Commons  

The superbug study

New Delhi and the world was hit by panic last week because of a recent study published in the journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases  , which found a high level of water contamination acquired from drains and public taps across India's capital city. The water was allegedly contaminated with superbugs, or what has been referred to as bacteria carrying the NDM 1 gene. Four percent of drinking water samples (2 of 50 samples) and 30 percent of drain samples (51 out of 171 samples) were found to be contaminated with superbugs [1, 2].

 Rice is the main crop cultivated in the State and several indigenous technologies are being used by farmers for seed germination, preventing the crop from insect/pest attack in the field as well as for storage.

The National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) with its headquarters at Dona Paula, Goa and regional centres at Kochi, Mumbai and Visakhapatnam, is one of the 38 constituent laboratories of the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi. The institute has grown today into a large oceanographic laboratory of international repute. The focus of research has been on observing and understanding the special oceanographic features that the North Indian basin offers. The inferences from this research have been reported in about 5,000 research articles so far.

With more than 250 laboratories and research groups, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne) is one of Europe’s most innovative and productive technology institutes. 

To help professionals to adapt to today’s globalized world, situations and promote an interdisciplinary and multicultural approach to these problems, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne with the support of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, is organizing a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Management of Development Projects (MaDePro) targeted at project managers, engineers, architects, social scientists and other equivalent university graduates. The program is based on three different aspects: knowledge, practice and skills.

 As the concrete jungle of Greater Mumbai reaches Bhuigaon and overuse of groundwater sucks in the sea water, the traditional wells are under threat.

• SACOSAN IV Sri Lanka
  The South Asia Conference on Sanitation (SACOSAN IV) is scheduled for Sri Lanka from 4th to the 7th April in Colombo. The Conference is a unique bi-annual inter-ministerial meeting that has an exclusive focus on sanitation and hygiene in south Asia.