National Disaster Management Agency- Can it manage Tsunami's?

Vision
To build a safer and disaster resilient India by developing a holistic, pro-active, multi-disaster and technology-driven strategy for disaster management through collective efforts of all Government Agencies and Non-Governmental Organisations
Role
NDMA as the apex body is mandated to lay down the policies, plans and guidelines for Disaster Management to ensure timely and effective response to disasters. Towards this, it has the following responsibilities:-

Lay down policies on disaster management

Approve the National Plan;

Approve plans prepared by the Ministries or Departments of the Government of India in accordance with the National Plan

Lay down guidelines to be followed by the State Authorities in drawing up the State Plan

Lay down guidelines to be followed by the different Ministries or Departments of the Government of India for the Purpose of integrating the measures for prevention of disaster or the mitigation of its effects in their development plans and projects

Coordinate the enforcement and implementation of the policy and plan for disaster management

Recommend provision of funds for the purpose of mitigation

Provide such support to other countries affected by major disasters as may be determined by the Central Government

Take such other measures for the prevention of disaster, or the mitigation, or preparedness and capacity building for dealing with the threatening disaster situation or disaster as it may consider necessary

Lay down broad policies and guidelines for the functioning of the National Institute of Disaster Management.

Friday, 11 Mar 2011
TSUNAMI IN JAPAN
After seeing the news reports of today’s devastating Tsunami in Japan, people were reminded of the worst memories of 2004 Tsunami that hit the Indian Ocean and there have been apprehensions and constant enquires about today’s Tsunamis’ impact in the Indian Coast.
The Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre located in INCOIS, Hyderabad generated a bulletin within 8 minutes of the occurrence of a devastating tsunami that hit the coast of northeast Japan today in the aftermath of an 8.6 magnitude earthquake about 80 miles offshore and its location was off Honshu, Japan's most populous island. The quake's epicenter was 373 kilometers (231 miles) away from Tokyo, as per United States Geological Survey.
Based on the bulletin issued by INCOIS, Shri M.Shashidhar Reddy, Hon’ble Vice Chairman, National Disaster Management Authority, speaking to the media outside Andhra Pradesh Assembly in Hyderabad today, said that there is no threat for the Indian Ocean in the aftermath of this Tsunami. He further said that he has appraised the Prime Minister’s Office and also personally spoke to the Union Home Minister about the present situation.
He also stated that NDMA Control Room is constantly monitoring the situation.
NDMA official Webpage
NMDA without a Mission- Can it take on a Tsunami creating 10M Tidal waves on the shores Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea?
Click here to read RMS Blog Posts on NDMA
Can Corrupt NDMA Officials filling his own coffers manage National Disasters?
NDMA Secretary takes Rs50 lakhs bribe from distiller

Lt Gen Prakash Menon, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, PhD

Lieutanant General Prakash Menon, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, PhD has been commandant of the prestigious National Defence College, New Delhi for the past two years. In 39 years of service, the general has earned the reputation of a “ Soldier Scholar”. He has been an outstanding Commander in the field. His command at the Battalion, Brigade and Divisional levels in counter insurgency environment of Jammu and Kashmir has been commendable; earning him two military awards for distinguished service. As a company commander in 1989, he was awarded for his performance during active operations on the Siachen Glacier. He is one of the rare Generals to have been awarded a PhD for his thesis on “Nuclear Deterrence and Limited War in the Indo Pak context” by the Madras University.
He has been nominated by the Cabinet as a member of expert group for establishment of the Indian National Defence University (INDU).
ASIAN SECURITY CONFERENCE 2011 Towards A New Asian Order

China defies global censure, to build giant N-Plant in Pakistan

21/09/2010
China defies global censure, to build giant N-Plant in Pak
Beijing/Washington: Unfazed by global concerns, Beijing and Islamabad are in talks to set up a new giant one gigawatt atomic power plant in Pakistan, as China is set to expand its investment in nuclear power generation by nearly USD 120 billion over the next decades.

US and India have both expressed concern after China signed a deal in February to build the additional two 300-MW reactors.

Qiu Jiangang, Vice President of the state run China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), which has already helped built Pakistan's main nuclear facility at Chashma in Punjab province, said his company was in talks to set up another giant nuclear plant in Pakistan, 'Wall Street Journal' reported.

"Both sides are in discussion over the CNNC exporting a one gigawatt nuclear plant to Pakistan", he told a meeting in Beijing without giving any details.

Besides the main plant at Chashma, the Chinese company is completing a second reactor there and has contracts to build two more 300 megawatt reactors.

China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) has already helped built Pakistan's main nuclear facility at Chashma in Punjab province.

Qiu said, that the first reactor was operating safely and the second one was being tested and expected to start formal operations by the end of the year.

US and India have both expressed concern after China signed a deal in February to build the additional two 300-MW reactors.

Quoting US officials, 'Wall Street Journal' said, such plans required special exemption from the 46-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), which China joined in 2004 and which is supposed to regulate the global nuclear trade.

Besides the main plant at Chashma, the Chinese company is completing a second reactor there and has contracts to build two more 300 megawatt reactors.

The paper said, Vann H Van Diepen, the US acting assistant secretary of state for nonproliferation had suggested before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in July that the US would vote against such an exemption.

Pakistan is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty and there are concerns by US, Western Nations and India that Pakistan's nuclear material may fall into the hands of Al Qaeda and Taliban who are based close to the Pakistani capital.

The Chinese plans to export yet another nuclear plant to Pakistan comes as Beijing has unveiled plans to invest nearly USD 120 billion to increase nuclear power generation to 70-80 gigawatts by 2020, the 'China Daily' reported today.

The paper said to fund the new spending spree CNNC would list its subsidiary CNNC Nuclear Power Co Ltd.

China has stepped up investment in nuclear power in an effort to slash its carbon emissions and reduce the nations reliability on coal for energy needs.
Read more
China defies global censure, to build giant N-Plant in Pak
Pakistan plans nuclear power surge

Middle East: Iran, Sun Tzu and the dominatrix

THE ROVING EYE May 22, 2010
Iran, Sun Tzu and the dominatrix By Pepe Escobar
Let's face it: Hillary Clinton is one hell of a dominatrix.
At first the United States Secretary of State said the Brazil-Turkey mediation to get Iran to accept a nuclear fuel swap was destined to fail. Then the US State Department said it was the "last chance" for an agreement without sanctions. And finally, less than 24 hours after a successful agreement in Tehran, Hillary whips the UN Security Council into submission and triumphantly proclaims to the world a draft resolution for a fourth UN round of sanctions against Iran has been reached.
Read more: Iran, Sun Tzu and the dominatrix By Pepe Escobar

National Security: India- Japan launch Defence Plan

India and Japan will launch a defence action plan to firm up their strategic partnership that includes jointly combating maritime piracy and give a push to negotiations over a key economic agreement that can multiply their bilateral trade manifold.

The two sides on Monday signed agreements to build eco-friendly cities along the Rs.3.6 lakh crore ($72 billion) Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor, setting the tone for talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Japanese counterpart Yukio Hatoyama on Tuesday. Hatoyama began his three-day visit to India Sunday and arrived in the Indian capital for talks Monday afternoon.

However, a civil nuclear deal looks unlikely with a Japanese official Monday urging India to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), opposed by New Delhi which regards it as "unfair and discriminatory."

The two leaders will discuss a host of bilateral, regional and global issues, including an ambitious plan to scale bilateral trade to $20 billion by 2010, the UN reforms, nuclear issues, and coordination over climate change negotiations in the aftermath of the Copenhagen accord.
Read the full account
India, Japan to launch defence action plan

ISRO Chief spills the beans about Higher Education in India

Bangalore: ISRO chairman G. Madhavan Nair, who is to retire by this month-end after an illustrious career at the space agency, feels that the country’s higher education system is not up to the mark, churning out graduates only for routine jobs.

Mr. Nair, also Secretary in the Department of Space, called for improving quality to produce high-class technologists and scientists.

‘Not up to the mark’
“The level of education and knowledge being imparted by many colleges... they are not up to the mark. Instead of concentrating on quantity, these institutions should concentrate on quality,” Mr. Nair told PTI in an interview.

"I am not happy with the education system in the country. The bulk of applicants (who applied for scientific and engineering jobs at ISRO this year)... they are not able to get even 50 per cent marks in our entrance tests."

Nair said if the quality level is not up to the mark, then one would only get people for clerical or routine jobs. If real technologists for manufacturing and scientific research were to be produced, the quality had to be far better.

Appointed as ISRO chairman, Nair's tenure saw realisation of 27 space missions, of which 25 were successful, with India's maiden moon mission Chandrayaan-1 being the pinnacle of glory for the country's space agency. Nair got two extensions in 2005 and 2007.- PTI
ISRO chief to retire by month-end

Fake degrees
Compounding the problems of poor quality of Higher education is the Fake Degrees, where detection and conviction is almost negligible. The Courts and Judiciary which have pending and backlog cases for the next 450 years is likely to enhance rapidly Fake Degrees in India and its export to other nations. Are we producing Scientists, Technocrats, Engineers for research or Bureaucrats and clerks for routine white collar jobs?

Why India is not a great nation?

Major General Mrinal Suman, AVSM, VSM, PhD, commanded an Engineer Regiment on the Siachen Glacier, the most hostile battlefield in the world. A highly qualified officer (B Tech, MA (Public Administration), MSc (Defence Studies) and a Doctorate in Public Administration) he was also the Task Force Commander at Pokhran and was responsible for designing and sinking shafts for the nuclear tests of May 1998.

As India celebrates 62 years of Independence, one tends to wonder: what makes nations great? Why is the US an undisputed world power? Why has Britain remained undefeated for centuries? Why has India succumbed to foreign rule so often? Why is India still struggling with internal dissensions and fissiparous forces? What does India lack?
Click link below for answers
Why India is not a great nation? click me

Engineering Marvels of Electricity Boards

Challenge to all who know how to solve the problems mathematically? Please solve it.
1. Kirchoff's Current Law (KCL):
At every node, the sum of all currents entering a node must equal zero.
2. Kirchoff's Voltage Law (KVL):
The voltage law says that the sum of voltages around every closed loop in the circuit must equal zero.
Exercise:
Please apply Kirchoff's Current and Voltage laws to the following electricity nodes.


Click images for the full pictureKirchoff ka baap bhi solve nahi kar sakta. Wonder how electricity is supplied to our cities and villages. Amazing electricity distribution at Ground Zero!

Indian armed forces confident about nuclear arsenal

The scientists said the tests were enough and tested. We believe the scientists. click me

Rajat Pandit, TNN 28 August 2009, 01:29am IST
Indian armed forces seem quite confident about the country's nuclear arsenal despite the controversy over the "yields'' of the 1998 Pokhran-II nuclear tests, which included a 15 kiloton fission device, a 45 kiloton thermonuclear device (hydrogen bomb) and three sub-kiloton devices.

Outgoing Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta, also the chairman of the chiefs of staff committee, on Thursday said India had "a credible minimum nuclear deterrent" in line with its no-first use (NFU) policy.

"We are a nation which maintains a credible deterrent...more than enough to deter anybody, "said Admiral Mehta. And should someone do the unthinkable by launching a first-strike, then the "consequences will be more than what they can bear".

Asked about former DRDO scientist K Santhanam's statement that the hydrogen bomb tested during Pokhran-II was actually "a fizzle", Admiral Mehta said, "As far as we are concerned, scientists have given us a certain capability which is enough to provide requisite deterrence...the deterrent is tried and tested."

That may well be so but there are still some lingering doubts over whether India has a swift and assured second-strike capability, crucial for a country like India whose nuclear doctrine is centred around the NFU policy.

The doctrine, on its part, declares that nuclear retaliation to a first strike will be "massive and designed to inflict unacceptable damage". This connotes a robust stockpile of nuclear warheads, safe and ready for use if needed. Estimates indicate India's weapons-grade plutonium stockpile is enough for 80-90 warheads at present.

Pakistan, on its part, has deliberately kept its nuclear policy ambiguous in the belief it deters India from undertaking any conventional military action against it.

Moreover, recent reports indicate Pakistan has pressed the throttle to enhance its arsenal much beyond 60 nuclear warheads as well as supplement its ongoing enriched uranium-based nuke programme with a weapons-grade plutonium one.

But more than the actual number of nuclear warheads, the worry of the Indian armed forces has been the gap in their delivery systems. Pakistan, for instance, is well ahead in the missile arena, borrowing as it has heavily from China and North Korea.

China, with its long-range ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles) and SLBMs (submarine-launched ballistic missiles), is in a different league altogether. Its road-mobile DF-31A missile, for instance, can hit targets 11,200 km away, while JL-2 SLBM has a reach beyond 7,200 km.

India, of course, has no ICBM or SLBM. While it's developing the 3,500-km Agni-III and 5,000-km Agni-V ballistic missiles, the only missiles available to armed forces as of now are Prithvi (150 to 350-km range), Agni-I (700-km) and Agni-II (2,500-km). But they, too, have not undergone the rigorous testing nuclear-capable missiles should undergo.

IAF has some fighters like Mirage-2000s jury-rigged to deliver nuclear weapons but the Strategic Forces Command has no dedicated bombers. Similarly, Navy has only two "dual-tasked'' warships armed with Dhanush (variant of Prithvi with a 330-km range) missiles, INS Subhadra and INS Suvarna.

Moreover, the nuclear-powered submarine INS Arihant, which was launched on July 26, will take at another two to three years to become fully operational. And it will be equipped only with 700-km range missiles to begin with.
Indian armed forces confident about nuclear arsenal

Armed forces will need Chief of Defence Staff in future: Mehta
New Delhi, Aug 27 (PTI) Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta today said the present system of having a chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) was working fine but the armed forces would need the services of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) as they move towards a larger strategic setup.

"Within the existing limitations, it (COSC system) is working fine.. but in the due course of time as we go on to have a larger strategic set up, we will certainly need a CDS," he told reporters here. "It would be difficult for one of the services chiefs to devote so much of time," he added.
PTI: Armed forces will need Chief of Defence Staff in future: Mehta

Dr Manmohan Singh a formidable intellectual and leader of intergrity

Dr Manmohan Singh is the 17th and current Prime Minister of India. Singh is a member of the Indian National Congress party and became the first Sikh to become Prime Minister of India on May 22, 2004. He is one of the most qualified and influential figures in India`s recent history, because of the economic liberalisation he started in 1991 when he was Finance Minister. Manmohan Singh is an economist by profession, and has formerly served in the International Monetary Fund. Singh is also known to be an unassuming politician, enjoying a formidable, highly respected and admired image.

Singh's image is of a formidable intellectual, a political leader of integrity (a prevalent public perception denounces most national bureaucracies as corrupt and tainted), someone who is compassionate and attentive to common people, and as a recognised technocrat. Although legislative achievements have been few and the Congress-led alliance is routinely hampered by conflicts, Singh`s administration has focused on reducing the fiscal deficit, providing debt-relief to poor farmers, extending social programs and advancing the pro-industry economic and tax policies that have launched the country on a major economic expansion course since 2002. Singh has been the image of the Congress campaign to defuse religious tensions and conflicts and bolster political support from minorities like Muslims and Christians.

The Prime Minister`s foreign policy has been to continue the new peace process with Pakistan initiated by his predecessor, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Exchange visits by top leaders from both countries have highlighted this year, as has reduced terrorism and increased prosperity in the state of Kashmir. The peace process has also been used by the government to build stronger relations with the United States, China and European nations.

Dr. Singh is known as a bold leader. He made it clear in his address to Parliament in 2006 regarding his Nuclear Deal with US. He said he believed in taking India to new heights. Energy scarcity is hampering progress of the country. The speech gave signal of a new Manmohan Singh, who compelled his fellow parliamentarians to take a step forward for India`s sake. He reminded them of the fears and anxieties that existed when he announced reforms in the early 1990s.
Extracts from:
Dr Manmohan Singh

Indian Military: Be fast and precise

India Today Bureau January 9, 2009
The Indian armed forces must plan to take on potential adversaries
The problems of the Indian armed forces are in all three areas— organisation, equipment and doctrine, and, the joker in the pack—political direction.
In the early 1980s, the political directive to the three services was that they were to maintain “dissuasive deterrence” vis-à-vis Pakistan and “defensive deterrence” in relation to China. This meant that they had to have the capability of undertaking a deep offensive into Pakistan, but with regard to China the policy was to have the kind of defensive strength that would dissuade Beijing from a military strike. Factor in nuclear capability and the doctrine itself changes as was clear in the Kargil war when India insisted in limiting it to the incursion area. There have been several efforts to amend it—the “limited war” idea during General V.P. Malik’s time and the “cold start” doctrine during General S. Padmanabhan’s tenure.

Whenever political direction has been clear—1947, 1971, 1999—the armed forces have performed well. Whenever it has been confused or absent, there is frustration and disaster—1965 and 1962. The armed forces are treated as an ancillary department of the Government. They are consulted, but do not form the part of decision-making. The armed forces should become part of the national security decision making process and should be given clear politico-military directives.
Extracted from: Be fast and precise

Mumbai Mayhem: Pakistan deflects terror conflict

DH News Service, New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made it clear on Tuesday that India was not for war and asked Pakistan to make "objective efforts" to dismantle the "terror machine" in its territory instead of creating a war hysteria in the sub-continent.
Pakistan told to dismantle terror machine: PM decries war cry

Indian border security force soldiers on duty at the western sector of India-Pakistan international border at Ranjitpura village, Rajasthan state, India. Photograph: Vinay Joshi/AP
Pakistan moved troops away from its western border with Afghanistan, amid reports that thousands of soldiers were being redeployed along the eastern frontier with India yesterday, in what would be a major escalation of the confrontation between the two countries after the Mumbai terrorist attack last month. Most experts still believe that war between the nuclear-armed adversaries is unlikely but, if confirmed, the troop movements risk triggering a conflict, with both sides in a state of nervous high alert.
Pakistan 'deploys soldiers to Indian border'

Pakistan cancels army leave as India tensions rise
27 December 2008 | 01:39 | FOCUS News Agency
New Delhi/Islamabad. Pakistan canceled army leave and redeployed some troops Friday in a sign of rising tension with India, Reuters reported.
The United States urged both sides to refrain from further raising tensions, already high after India blamed Islamist militants based in Pakistan for attacks on Mumbai last month that killed 179 people.
The latest strains followed media reports in Pakistan and India that "several" Indian nationals had been held in the last two days after bombings in the Pakistani cities of Lahore and Multan.
The foreign ministry in New Delhi warned Indian citizens on Friday that "it would be unsafe for them to travel (to) or be in Pakistan."
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had earlier discussed tension with Pakistan during a scheduled meeting about military pay with the chiefs of the army, navy and air force, his office said. "The prime minister met the tri-services chiefs to discuss the pay commission issues but obviously the situation in the region was also discussed," said an official from Singh's office, who requested anonymity.
Pakistan cancels army leave as India tensions rise
US Urges Calm as Tensions Rise Between India and Pakistan

Call for stringent laws to counter terrorism

Dr Kalam is in the city to take class at the Indian Institute of Management- Ahmedabad (IIM-A), organised between September 13 and November 27, on energy security and water conservation among other key issues.

Addressing newspersons, Dr Kalam said that public awareness is essential to counter terrorism. The person who takes part in terrorist activities is also a member of a family and society at large. Good people should behave responsibly and immediately infrom authorities if they find any such elements among them.

Defending India's nuke deal with US, the former president said that the country lacks sufficient amount of uranium and it is needed for the nuclear reactors. The nuke deal with US will ensure a committed supply of uranium to the reactors. ''Our scientists are working on thorium-based reactors.
Stringent laws must to counter terrorism: Kalam
A website for Nation Building
A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF Dr APJ Abdul Kalam
Dr APJ Kalam's Speeches as President: 25 July 2002- 25 July 2007

Energy war: India and China face off in Central Asia

On the streets of Tashkent and Dushanbe, Bollywood numbers incite local people to break into impromptu jigs. And in the war-torn dustbowls of Afghanistan, American workers are building schools and hospitals in the middle of non-stop gunfire. The Indians are doing the same, at the risk of their lives. This is the soft side of the story — efforts to woo the Central Asian Republics.

The hard truths of the world's sudden love for the region are hidden behind the barbed wire fences and camouflaged battle gear. In the past few years, military bases have cropped up across the region. The Americans have several bases in Central Asia, including Afghanistan. The Russians, Nato and Chinese too have established military posts in the region. Even India can claim to have set up an air defence unit in Tajikistan.

Already branded villains of this scary scene, the two Asian countries will continue to guzzle more oil to feed their booming economies, even as demand for oil would fall in the industrialized world. In a report last week, the International Energy Agency (IEA) spoke about two future scenarios — the growth of "long-term demand led by China and India..." and "the supply threats, including increasing conflict...."
Energy war: India and China face off in Central Asia
Amazing Statistics: California Uses More Gas than China

Economics of Barrel of Oil

What is Barrel of Oil
Now hovering at $140
One barrel of oil is the same as:
159 litres (8 buckets of water)
The weight of a barrel depends on where the oil comes from However, there are about 8 barrels in a tonne.
1 Gal(US Liq)= 3.78541 L

Present cost $144
1 L Petrol in Chennai (India)= Rs55.00
1 Gallon in US= $4
1 L gasoline in US= 160/3.785= Rs42.20

Projected Cost at $200 a barrel
1 gallon in US= $6
1 L in India= Rs80.00

The standard barrel of crude oil or other petroleum product (abbreviated bbl) is 42 US gallons (34.972 Imperial gallons or 158.987 L). This measurement originated in the early Pennsylvania oil fields, and permitted both British and American merchants to refer to the same unit, based on the old English wine measure, the tierce.

Earlier, another size of whiskey barrel was the most common size; this was the 40 US gallons (33.3 imp gal/151.4 L) barrel for proof spirits, which was of the same volume as 5 US bushels. However, by 1866 the oil barrel was standardized at 42 US gallons.

Oil is not actually shipped in barrels since the introduction of oil tankers, but the 42-US-gallon size is still used as a unit for measurement, pricing, and in tax and regulatory codes. Each barrel is refined into about 25 gallons of gasoline, the rest becoming other products such as jet fuel and heating oil, using fractional distillation.

Oil passes $144 to set yet another record
World Bank warns G-8 group: World is entering "danger zone"

Nuclear endgame Unclear

Uninterrupted power generation is essential for the overall development of our Nation. In quantitative terms, the per capita consumption of electric energy is regarded as an indicative parameter of the socio economic growth rate of a nation. The present per capita generation is around 1.1 Kwh per day whereas the demand is around 5.5 kwh per day. We need to plan for projected Power generation to the tune of 6 times present generation to cope with the economic boom or else the economic boom will become elusive like the distant rainbow and just fade away.

Apart from coal, fossil fuels, hydro, windmill, solar the only other option is Nuclear Power if at all the Nation wants to sustain its economic front. The prices of fossil fuels are bound to gallop and cost of power production will also swell. The only sane solution seems to be Nuclear Power Reactors which are economically a viable option.

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