GIS News

Disaster management facility proposed in Delhi

Ahmedabad, May 12, The United Nations will soon start a Regional Disaster Management Support Facility in New Delhi to step up its disaster management activities in the South Asian region.

This was announced here today by the UN assistant secretary general and assistant administrator of the Un Development Programme (UNDP), Dr. hafiz pasha.

Speaking at a conference on "Sustainable Recovery and Vulnerability Reduction" organized jointly by the governments of Gujarat and the centre in collaboration with the UN system in the wake of the Republic Day earth-quake devastating Kutch and other parts of Gujarat, Dr. Pasha, the highest ranking UNDP official for the Asia pacific region, said the support facility would work closely with the countries in the region in building capacities of the governments and the communities in disaster mitigation, preparedness and recovery.

The union home minister, Mr. L. K. Adwani, while delivering the key-note address at the conference, said the experience in the Gujarat earthquake and the natural calamities in other parts of the country earlier had shown that it would be desirable to set up a network of state of the art emergency operation centers at the national, state capitals and in the district headquarters of the disaster prone districts.

He underlined the necessity of setting up trained and well equipped urban search and rescue teams in about 30 locations in the country to begin with which need to be helped by the local fire and emergency service.

Pointing out that the was highly impressed by the mobile hospital units set up by Israel in quick time after the "January 26 earthquake, Mr. Advani said he had told each of the armed forces and the paramilitary units to have mobile hospital units ready for emergency services.

Some disaster medical assistance teams with mobile hospitals operation theatres, intensive care units, pathological laboratories and water treatment plant would need to be set up at national level with standing arrangement for aerial transportation support.

Similarly some specially trained teams for chemical, biological and radiological emergencies would also have to be raised and equipped. Besides laying stress on training sniffer does for detecting life, Mr. Advani said the scientific institutions would need assistance in fields of micro-seismic monitoring, creation of Geographical Information System and mapping facilities for disaster management, planning, preparation and mitigation.

Source : The Hindu, 13 may, 2001

Malaysia to use GSLV facilities

KUALA LUMPUR, MAY 13. India and Malaysia are poised to enlarge their ties by signing an agreement tomorrow that will allow Malaysia to use the GSLV and PSLV facilities to launch its own satellites as the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, arrived here this evening on a four-day visit. The memorandum of understanding between Antrix Corporation, a subsidiary of the Department of Space, and Malaysia's Astronautic Technology, will allow Malaysia launch satellites and its own Small Payload Orbit Transfer (Sport) module in a GSLV/PSLV mission ``subject to mission compatibility''. ``A number of important bilateral agreements are to be concluded, at both Government-to-Government and business-to- business levels. We hope these agreements will further strengthen our bilateral cooperation in the years ahead,'' Mr. Vajpayee said.

The two countries also agreed on a joint venture between Antrix Corporation and Binariang Satellite Systems to ``participate in a joint venture to create a joint platform which will provide C-band and Ku-band capacity''.

Source : The Hindu, 14 may, 2001

The importance of statistics

NEW DELHI, THE importance of reliable statistics for trade, government and industry to make informed decisions is increasingly being felt. The Prime Minister on Saturday highlighted the importance of a reliable statistical base when he urged the National Statistical Commission to submit its recommendations within two months.``I am sure that early implementation of these recommendations would lead to availability of reliable and timely data for development planning and informed decision making,ТТ Vajpayee said. The commission, he said, is looking into the need to improve data transmission and dissemination for dealing with the challenges thrown up by the changing economic environment. Dr Rangarajan, who delivered the keynote address, said the commission has a broad mandate and would submit recommendations regarding improvements in the individual time series as well as systemic improvements.

Ever since India became part of the IMF data standards, the need for reliable and accurate data, comparable to the international standards has been felt. At the time India decided to join the international data standards, it took this decision voluntarily on the grounds that it had the wherewithal to be able to put accurate and reliable data on the IMF data standards board. Being part of the International Data Standards imposes immense responsibility on the country, but now that India is integrated with the international financial markets, foreign investors pay greater attention to the statistics to judge the health of the economy and to make investment decisions.

From the domestic trade and industryТs point of view, accurate data is necessary to make investment decisions.

The Economic Times, May 13, 2001

Digital switch for Delhi streetlights

New Delhi, May 13, Streetlights of the Capital are all set to go digital, After its successful six-month trial run, the Delhi Vidyut Board is now planning large-scale introduction of electronic lighting systems which will automatically switch on/off at dawn and dusk. Signaling a shift from manual operations, the new system would spare DVB linesmen the trouble of manually switching the streetlights on/off twice a day. The DVB maintains about 3.5 lakhs streetlights in the Capital. Under the "Dusk-Dawn" system, the officials fix the time on the digital meter-enough for about 50 poles - and the system then automatically switches on/off changes are carried out.

The Hindu, May 14, 2001

Bringing home the spirit of adventure

While Indians might still be rejoicing and celebrating the country's most recent and successful space programme, much more excitement lies ahead. The leading Swiss watchmaker - Omega - is bringing to India a gamut of activities showcasing its association with space missions.

Come May 27, the Omega's brand ambassador, Mr. Eugene Cernan, one of the world's most experienced astronauts who is also the last man to have walked on the moon, will be on an "Indian expedition" for two days visiting Delhi and Mumbai and sharing his experiences on adventures in space besides unveiling a unique exhibition.

Omega, which has the distinction of being chosen to be flight-qualified for all NASA's manned space missions since 1962 saw its, "Speed master professional" model to become the first and only watch worn on the moon, will be providing platform to facilitate interaction with Mr. Cernan. He will be accompanied by our own space legend, Wg. Cdr. (Retd) Rakesh Sharma with Indian space enthusiasts keen on unraveling the mysteries of space.

The Hindu, May 14, 2001

Personalized health card for emergency

To the growing list of plastic cards, here's one more addition. This one will give all relevant health-related information of an individual which can come in handy for a doctor while responding to a patient's needs at time of emergencies.

Claimed as the first of its kind personalized health card, the "Medycard" has been launched by Medybiz, an internet and phone health services company, in Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai and Hyderabad. Users can carry the Medycard easily in their wallet, giving doctors immediate access to their concise medical history, current medications, allergies, the names and telephone numbers of the family members, friends and family doctor and other information necessary for treatment. In an emergency situation the victim is not in a position to communicate, the information that a passer by or doctor can get is restricted to the person's name and address. Medycard provides critical information which can help medical personnel make the right diagnosis and other right treatment.

At present, Medycard is valid in over 600 medical institutions across the country

The Hindu, May 14, 2001