Hamza-Underground River

It is the longest known underground river-running for about a length of 6000km at a depth of nearly 4km.

It flows all the way from the Andean foothills to Atlantic coast like the Amazon river.

The river, named after an Indian born scientist Valiya Mannathal Hamza, along with Amazon is the unusual instant of a twin river system flowing at different levels of the earth’s crust in Brazil.

Difference between Amazon and Hamza

• Amazon is 1 to 100 km wide where as Hamza is 200 to 400 km in width.
• Flow speed in the Amazon is around 5 m/s  and less than a millimeter per second in Hamza.

Geological Factors which resulted in formation of Underground Ocean and Hamza

The world’s largest underground ocean, about the size of Arctic Ocean, is located 700 to 1400km below the ground and extends from Indonesia to Russia.

• It has been formed when the plate carrying the Pacific Ocean bottom gets dragged and ends up under the continental plate. Water at such depths would normally escape upwards but the unusual conditions that exist along the eastern Pacific Rim allow the moisture to remain intact.
• In the case of the Hamza, the porous and permeable sedimentary rocks behave as conduits for the water to sink to greater depths. East-west trending faults and the karst topography present along the northern border of the Amazon basin may have some role in supplying water to the river. 

Other underground water bodies

• The 153 km-long underground river in Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula
• The 8.2 km-long Cabayugan River in the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park in the Philippines.

These rivers are formed due to Karst topography

Karst topography

It  is a landscape shaped by the dissolution of a layer or layers of soluble bedrock, usually carbonate rock such as limestone and dolomite.

Due to subterranean drainage, there may be very limited surface water, even to the absence of all rivers and lakes. Many karst regions display distinctive surface features, with sinkholes or dolines being the most common.

Some karst regions include thousands of caves, even though evidence of caves that are big enough for human exploration is not a required characteristic of karst.  

Water in these places drills its way downward by dissolving the carbonate rock to form an extensive underground river system.

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Ujjawala

The Central Government is implementing ‘Ujjawala’, a comprehensive Scheme for prevention of trafficking and rescue, rehabilitation and reintegration of victims of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation since 4th December, 2007. The Scheme is envisaged for women and children who are vulnerable to trafficking and those who are victims of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation. However, sex workers who are voluntarily in the trade and wish to be rehabilitated, can also avail of rehabilitation services provided under the Ujjawala Scheme. 

Under the Scheme, 76 Protective and Rehabilitative Homes have been sanctioned, in the country, which can accommodate upto 3800 beneficiaries. These Rehabilitative Homes are given financial support for providing the inmates basic amenities such as food, clothing and shelter, medical care, legal aid, education in case the victims are children as well as for undertaking vocational training and income generation activities to provide the victims with alternate livelihood option.

 It has estimated that there were about 2.8 million prostitutes in the country of which 36% are children.  

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Post Office-Visa services

Currently visa related services are largely available in metros only and the people from smaller cities and rural areas have to travel long distances in order to avail these services. Lack of information is also a major area of concern as this allows unscrupulous elements to cheat unsuspecting and vulnerable people. Engagement of India Post towards provision of visa related services is expected to address this situation to a large extent. 

MOU

India Post has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with M/s VFS Global to provide visa related services for different countries through Post Offices.    

• Post Office counters will be used for fee collections, providing visa applications forms, dissemination of visa information, biometric enrollment and other visa application process related services. India Post and VFS are also planning to cooperate in utilizing India Post’s courier service, Speed Post for movements of passports to VFS offices and concerned embassies, and their delivery back to the applicants.
• Both the parties will also explore to provide any other service that India Post may want to provide through VFS global network on mutually accepted terms. 

VFS GLOBAL

VFS Global is in the business of visa application services and is working with 35 governments across the world with over 450 offices in 50 countries. India Post and VFS realize that there are many areas of mutual interest and synergy between India Post and VFS would benefit the public at large. 

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Development of Solar Cities

• The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is implementing a programme on ‘Development of Solar Cities’ which aims to reduce a minimum of 10% of the projected demand of conventional energy of the city through renewable energy installations and energy efficiency measures. 
• Sixty Cities are proposed to be developed as Solar Cities during the Eleventh Plan period including four Model Solar Cities and 10 Pilot Solar Cities. The Master plan for each Solar City is being prepared to assess and utilize various renewable sources including Solar, Wind, Municipal Waste etc. 
•  The Ministry is providing financial support up to Rs. 50 lakh for each solar city to the respective City Government for preparation of a master plan, setting-up institutional arrangements for the implementation of the master plan, awareness generation and capacity building activities.
•  So far, sanctions have been given for developing 36 Solar Cities including State Capitals in the Country. Besides this, the Ministry is also promoting renewable energy systems and projects on solar and municipal waste-to-energy technologies through fiscal and financial incentives in the cities under other national level programmes.

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Measures To curb Fake Currency

The steps taken by the Government to curb circulation of Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) in the country include 

1. Stepping up of vigilance by the Border Security Force and Custom authorities to prevent smuggling of fake notes
2. Dissemination of information on security features through print and electronic media and formation of Forged Note Vigilance Cells in all the Head Offices of the banks.
3. Additional security features have also been incorporated in the bank notes in 2005 to make counterfeiting very difficult.
4. To strengthen the security of bank notes further, incorporation of latest security features is underway.
5. A high Level Committee headed by the Union Home Secretary comprising officials from central agencies and other senior police officials has been constituted to monitor and draw a comprehensive strategy to combat FICN. Similar bodies have also been set up in the States.
6. In addition, Government of India have nominated the Central Bureau of Investigation as the Nodal Agency to monitor investigation of fake currency note cases. The RBI has also strengthened the mechanism for detection of counterfeit notes by the Banks

Source: PIB

Adverse Impact of IFCN on Indian Economy

The smuggling of a large amount of IFCN is simply economic terrorism. The funds generated so are additionally used to finance the terrorist activities in India. According to an unconfirmed report, ISI has an annual budget of Rs 1800 crore per year on organizing terrorist activities in India. It generates most of this requirement itself by printing and circulating fake currency, and smuggling of drugs to and through India for European and Amercian desitnations.

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Judicial Review in India

The Judiciary plays a very important role as a protector of the constitutional values that the founding fathers have given us. They try to undo the harm that is being done by the legislature by the legislature and the executive and also they try to provide every citizen what has been promised by the Constitution under the Directive Principles of State Policy. All this is possible thanks to the power of judicial review.

All this is not achieved in a day it took 50 long years for where we are right now, if one thinks that it is has been a roller coaster ride without any hindrances they are wrong judiciary has been facing the brunt of many politicians, technocrats, academicians, lawyers etc. Few of them being genuine concerns, and among one of them is the aspect of corruption and power of criminal contempt. In this paper I would try to highlight the ups and downs of this greatest institution in India.

The rule of law is the bedrock of democracy, and the primary responsibility for implementation of the rule of law lies with the judiciary.¹ This is now a basic feature of every constitution, which cannot be altered even by the exercise of new powers from parliament. It is the significance of judicial review, to ensure that democracy is inclusive and that there is accountability of everyone who wields or exercises public power. As Edmund Burke said: "all persons in positions of power ought to be strongly and lawfully impressed with an idea that "they act in trust," and must account for their conduct to one great master, to those in whom the political sovereignty rests, the people"

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Super Critical Technology

Supercritical & Ultra-supercritical technology

Definition

Conventional coal-fired power plants, which make water boil to generate steam that activates a turbine, have efficiency of about 32%.

Supercritical (SC) and ultra-supercritical (USC) power plants operate at temperatures and pressures above the critical point of water, i.e. above the temperature and pressure at which the liquid and gas phases of water coexist in equilibrium, at which point there is no difference between water gas and liquid water. This results in higher efficiencies – above 45%.

Supercritical (SC) and ultra -supercritical (USC) power plants require less coal per megawatt-hour, leading to lower emissions (including carbon dioxide and mercury), higher efficiency and lower fuel costs per megawatt.

Difference Super-critical technology is more efficient than the conventional sub-critical technology and higher super-critical parameters of 565/593 deg. C can lead to about 5% savings in fuel consumption as compared to typical 500 MW sub critical units. However, the super-critical technology being a new technology may involve higher capital cost for initial units and a part of the higher capital cost may get offset by savings in fuel. With new manufacturing entities being set up in the country, there may be reduction in capital cost in the long run. Generally, the super-critical technology is being adopted for large size units to achieve benefit of economies of scale and faster capacity addition. In India A capacity of about 4000 MW is likely to be added in the 11th Plan through super-critical units of which about 1980 MW has already been commissioned so far. In the 12th Plan, about 50% to 60% coal fired capacity addition is expected to be from super-critical units

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