Saras prototype:
India's first civil plane Saras takes to the skies after nearly a
decade In 2009, the second prototype of Saras on a test flight crashed
on Bengaluru's outskirts, killing three IAF pilots and engineers. Since
then, the project was in limbo.
India wants NRI scientists to come home:
But won't spend on R&D. On the list of the top 2,500 global R&D
spenders, India’s presence extends to a mere 26 companies, versus
China’s 301. “Universities have students but need additional faculty
support, while
research institutes have qualified faculty but are starved of bright
young students brimming with energy and ideas.”
Price comparison: India is paying $115 million as the bare-bones cost of each Rafale fighter (with India-specific enhancements, spares, logistics and weapons all extra). In comparison, an F-35A (the air force version) cost just $94.6 million in February 2017. This is slated to become even cheaper.
Modi govt has let down Indian soldiers:
Defence budget is just 1.58% of GDP, the lowest since the 1962 war. The
figure was 3.18% in 1988. In comparison China spends 2.1% and Pakistan
2.36%. Only 3.6% of our defence budget is available for modernisation.
Pakistan’s nuclear black market: AQ Khan’s accomplices in nuclear sales were European engineers and ambitious businessmen out to get rich quick: “Urbane and educated, they stashed millions of dollars in secret bank accounts they also drove the business by always being on the lookout for promising new markets.”
Govt wants to tackle pollution only near NCR: "Somehow the budget seemed to have treated the air pollution as a Delhi-NCR problem. They're not considering it through a national dimension, the national scale of the air pollution crisis."
When it was said that Milk used to flow out of the Cows of Brindavan, when Lord Krishna played the flute. People called it a silly belief. Now when the foreigners provide us the video, we are amazed. pic.twitter.com/U5Zz1XY9fC
Trump quotes Modi to support Afghanistan stand: Senior administration officials said that the president has been
known to affect an Indian accent and imitate Indian PM Narendra Modi, who in an Oval Office meeting last year told him, “Never has a country given so much away for so little in return” as the United States in Afghanistan. To
Trump, Modi’s statement was proof that the rest of the world viewed the
United States as being duped and taken advantage of in Afghanistan,
these officials said.
Really? Chinese engineering has become so advanced that Germany has begun talks to buy sophisticated aerospace technology and manufacturing equipment for the production of high-performance jet engines.... China's next aircraft carrier will be a Massive Leap Forward
China to create new forests the size of Ireland: The government is currently promoting an “ecological red line” program which will force provinces and regions to restrict “irrational development” and curb construction near rivers, forests and national parks.
Survey: India's richest 1% grabbed 73% of wealth generation in 2017
Indigenous Peruvians seek to regain access to Incan temple: The most sacred temple in the Incan Empire came under Catholic control in the 16th century. The Spanish demolished much of the original temple of Coricancha after seizing its gold some 500 years ago, building the Santo Domingo Church on top of its ruins as part of the widespread practice at the time of transforming sacred native sites into Catholic ones.
Madrasas producing terrorists: 4% of Muslim children studied in madrasas in 2006. Today that number has increased to 10%.
Volocopter: Intel’s shiniest new toy takes off at CES
Hybrid-Electric Planes: Zunum Aero CEO Ashish Kumar is making hybrid-electric airplanes a reality
Cylinder deactivation:
2019 Chevy, GMC trucks get smarter fuel-saving cylinder deactivation
from Tula Tech, a California company founded by Adya Tripathi
Naval strategy: India's Aircraft Carriers Might Just Be the Ultimate Paper Tiger
Hindus penalized for 'Vikas Mandate': BJP-led Maharashtra govt to sell vast tracts held by temple trusts. The State Cabinet amended existing laws, allowing transfer of Devasthan Inams land held by individuals and 4,000 temple trusts, including the ones at Shirdi, Siddhivinayak, Pandharpur and Mahalaxmi in Kolhapur.... vikas gando thayo chhe
Shia board's warning: Shia Central Waqf Board urges govt to shut down madrassas in the country, alleging that education imparted in these Islamic schools encouraged students to join terrorist ranks.
Chinese H1-B: China is issuing long-term visas to lure highly skilled people from abroad to work in the country. Technology leaders, entrepreneurs and scientists from in-demand sectors are among those eligible to apply.
Dharma lesson by Max Muller: What India teaches us is that in a state advancing
towards civilization, there must be always two castes
or two classes of men, a caste of Brahmans or of
thinkers, and a caste of Kshatriyas, who are to
fight; possibly other castes also of those who are
to work and of those who are to serve. Great wars
went on in India, but they were left to be fought
by the warriors by profession. The peasants in their
villages remained quiet, accepting the consequences,
whatever they might be, and the Brahmans lived
on, thinking and dreaming in their forests, satisfied
to rule after the battle was over.
And what applies to military struggles seems to
me to apply to all struggles—political, religious,
social, commercial, and even literary. Let those
who love to fight, fight; but let others who are fond
of quiet work go on undisturbed in their own special
callings.
Moringa craze takes over: Drumstick leaves, the superfood of 2018... soon, poor Indians won't be able to afford it
Why fiber is good for you: Dietary fiber = undigested by humans = food for gut bacteria. Byproduct is short-chain fatty acids — absorbed by intestinal cells, which use it as fuel.
Clean meat: Cell-cultured “clean” meat is grown by extracting cells from an animal and then growing those cells in a bioreactor filled with a high-tech nutrient-dense liquid. The cells feed on the liquid and proliferate, producing chicken meat that’s molecularly identical to conventional meat without having ever slaughtered an animal.
Maneeshaa Panchakam: He who is firmly established in the Pure Consciousness – be he a Chandala (outcaste) or a Brahmana, such a one is indeed worthy of being a Guru.
..dridha prajna api yasya asti chet, chandaalah astu sah tu dvijah astu guruh iti..
Bollywood's lack of ideas: What happened to all those life-changing films like V. Shantaram's Do Aankhen Barah Haath (about prison reform), Mehboob Khan's Mother India (about matriarchal pride and dignity), Bimal Roy's Sujata (about eradicating the caste system).....?
Slam vs Slam: Islamic State declares war on rival Hamas with video execution
It's Time to End Pakistan's Double Game: Pakistan concocted a complex strategy of cooperating on logistics and occasional help with hunting Al Qaeda leaders in exchange for massive U.S. aid, while simultaneously building out a clandestine program to reconstitute the Taliban.
President @realDonaldTrump’s first tweet of 2018. A promising message to Afghans who have suffered at the hands of terrorists based in Pakistan for far too long. https://t.co/NJdYB5qOWl
Pro-booze govt: Uttarakhand amends excise rules to allow bars near highways
Subsidized by taxpayer: For every Amazon package it delivers, the Postal Service loses $1.46
Why is the United States Post Office, which is losing many billions of dollars a year, while charging Amazon and others so little to deliver their packages, making Amazon richer and the Post Office dumber and poorer? Should be charging MUCH MORE!
Micro-grids are the future: A network of about 20,000 homes with solar panels and energy-storage
batteries lets its members buy and sell excess energy to each other.
No point taking calcium and vitamin D supplements:
"Vitamin D is synthesized in the skin in response to ultraviolet-B
radiation in sunlight, and dietary sources of vitamin D are limited".
Exercising out in the sunshine should provide a person with all the
vitamin D they need.
Battle against smog:
Beijing’s improving air quality stands in stark contrast to India’s
capital New Delhi, where pollution has steadily become worse over the
past few years, and is now well above Beijing‘s.
