What is generality principle in political science?

This refers to the political belief that laws created by the state need to apply equally to all groups of people in order to avoid any form of discrimination. According to this principle, a law that applies to blacks, for example, must apply to whites as well. Proponents of the generality principle believe that this is essential to uphold fairness and justice in society. However, opponents of the principle believe that the principle would make sure that even bad laws apply to the entire population. This, they argue, would be far worse for the welfare of society as no group would then be able to escape from the destructive effects of poor laws.

Source: The Hindu, 27/09/2018

IISc Bengaluru tops India in global list of best institutes

The Times Higher Education’s (THE) world university rankings 2019, released on Wednesday, show Oxford continues to hold the first place, Cambridge second, and Stanford third. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology rose one place to number four.

No Indian institution figures in the top 250 of the Times Higher Education’s (THE) world university rankings 2019, though the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, has retained its position as the highest-ranked centre in the country, while the Indian Institute of Technology-Indore has risen to the highest position behind it.

The rankings, released on Wednesday, show Oxford continues to hold the first place, Cambridge second, and Stanford third. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology rose one place to number four.

There was some good news for India: number of Indian institutions in the rankings increased from 42 last year to 49, making it the fifth best-represented nation. India is the most-represented country in the table when those in the top 200 are excluded.

The India group in the ranking was again led by the Indian Institute of Science, which retained its position in the 251-300 band. But IIT-Indore became India’s second highest-ranked university – and a global top 400 institution – with its strong score for research volume and research impact.

It overtook the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay, which slipped from the 351-400 band to the 401-500 band.

Pradeep Mathur, director of IIT-Indore, told THE: “Our efforts in making research the focus of the institute is now reflected in the form of citations and other impact metrics of research. We continue to make research the focus of all our programmes which is why you see even our undergraduate students are active participants of research projects and collaborations within India and internationally too.”

Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (headquartered in Tamil Nadu) saw a rise, from the 801-1000 band to the 601-800 band this year, with a particular improvement in its citation impact (research influence) score.

However, while some institutions gained this year, the majority of India’s universities remained static or declined, struggling amid increased global competition, according to the global list.

Source: Hindustan Times, 26/09/2018

We need to mainstream the climate conversation

Instead of thinking only about vehicular emission, green cars, and carbon footprint, there needs to be a conversation happening around better and equitable management of water and waste and building resilience of our cities and villages

In an interview with The Guardian recently, one the world’s most eminent climate scientists Michael Mann said: “The impacts of climate change are no longer subtle…. We literally would not have seen these extremes in the absence of climate change” . While it is reassuring for climate scientists to see their predictions coming true, Mr Mann, the director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University added, “… as a citizen of planet Earth, it is very distressing to see that as it means we have not taken the necessary action.” The effects of this inaction are visible across the world. In India, in a span of two months, we have seen the severe impacts of extreme weather events: Higher-than-normal rains devastated southern India, and now it’s northern India that is facing the same challenge. In other parts of the world, Hurricane Florence flattened the Carolinas in the US and Super Typhoon Mangkhut did the same to parts of the Philippines.

While the science of attribution – looking at how much climate change increases the odds of any one particular event occurring – has advanced remarkably, it still takes time for scientists to determine the link between climate change and specific weather events. Yet there is ample evidence, as Mr Mann said, that shows that climate change is indeed the culprit behind such extremities. Since the world doesn’t have the luxury of time to wait for scientists to establish these linkages in each and every case, it is critical that the world’s -- and India’s -- priority be the reduction of the risks by making smart investments to ensure communities and expensive infrastructure are more climate-resilient.

One of the fundamental components of building this much-needed resilience is to mainstream the climate conversation, which unfortunately still remains an elite topic in India (though poorer sections will be hit much harder). So instead of only thinking about vehicular emission, green cars, and carbon footprint, there needs to be a conversation happening around better and equitable management of water and waste and building resilience of our cities and villages.

Source: Hindustan Times, 26/09/2018

A Path So Expansive

The route to peace is paved with hope, not despair. Similarly, the route to enlightenment and merging with the Paramatma is full of unconditional love and hope. To aspire to be one with the Paramatma is to be free of ego and power struggle. To become a Paramatma is no mean task, and in aspiring for it, there is no objection. The ambition of attaining a small post is fraught with danger. If you wish to become prime minister, you will face innumerable obstacles, jealousies and other problems. All these posts come with conflict and opposition. Those in small posts are always wary of others grabbing their posts. But the post of the Paramatma is very large, expansive. Anybody who wants this post can aspire for it without creating any objection, jealousy or conflict. The path to become the Paramatma is so large that all the small paths get contained in it. It is the path of optimism. The path of spirituality, of meditation, can never be seen as the path of despair. Only those come who are satiated with the materialistic path. They then find peace. A peaceful life and mind do not come from wealth or prosperity. There is no alternative to this peace. Its only way is through mental concentration, steadying the mind and to change the functioning of the glandular system. This way, the thoughts and waves that come to mind are assuaged. Thoughts and waves create opposing actions, causing restlessness. To negate this and achieve balance is the way to peace

Source: Economic Times, 27/09/2018

New institutions outrank old powerhouses in Times list

Nine-Year-Old IIT-Indore In Global Top 400

New institutions have edged past the traditional IITs in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2019 on Wednesday. The country is led again by the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, which retains its position in the 251-300 band. But in an impressive debut entry, the nineyear-old Indian Institute of Technology, Indore (IIT-Indore) became India’s second highest-ranked university — and a global top 400 institution — with its scores buoyed by research volume and research impact. IIT-Indore overtook IIT-Bombay, which slipped from the 351-400 to 401-500 banding. Another surprise this year has been Jagadguru Sri Shivarathreeswara University, Mysore, which is among the top five Indian institutes and is ranked among the top 500 global universities. Globally, Oxford University claimed first position for the third consecutive year, also topping the list for its the research pillar (volume, income and reputation). Cambridge retained the second spot, while Stanford in the US holds steady in third. India again increased its presence, claiming 49 places this year, up from 42 – the fifth best-represented nation in the world, but a majority of institutions either stagnated or declined in the 2019 table. In a statement issued to THE, Pradeep Mathur, director of IIT Indore, said: “Our efforts in making research the focus of the institute is now reflected in the form of citation and other impact metrics of research. We continue to make research the focus of all our programmes which is why you see even our undergraduate students are active participants of research projects and collaborations within India and internationally too.” Among the previously ranked Indian institutions, Amrita University saw an impressive rise in the 2019 table—from the 801-1,000 band to 601-800 this year. Phil Baty, editorial director of Global Rankings for THE, said: “India is bursting with innovation and ambition. The nation has serious potential to grow into a leading player in global higher education. But while it increases its presence again in this year’s table, the majority of its universities remained immobile, struggling against increased global competition. Sustained investment, a continued drive to attract leading global talent, and a strengthened international outlook will be key to boosting its global reputation and research influence.” The United States remains the most-represented nation in the table, with 172 institutions, up from 157. However, marked improvement comes from China, with Tsinghua University now its new number one, supplanting the National University of Singapore as Asia’s top institution.

Source: Times of India, 27/09/2018

What is ecological succession in ecology?

This refers to the progressive changes that happen to the biological structure of an ecological community. Over time, there are changes that take place in the composition of species that constitute an ecological community. In the case of primary succession, a region that is uninhabited by any species gets occupied by a few species over a period of time. In other cases, a preexisting group of species is replaced by a new group of species, a process called secondary succession. As a general rule, it is believed that ecological communities move from possessing very little species diversity to a more stable state where they house an array of species.

Source: The Hindu, 26/09/2018

Building from debris

Construction and demolition waste is an environment and public health hazard. Its recycle and reuse offers a sustainable solution.

India is urbanising faster than its urban planners can handle. We are building roads, bridges, fly-overs, factories, commercial complexes and also building and renovating our homes and residential properties (sometimes to upgrade the buildings or to take advantage of higher FSI regulations now allowed in many cities). But we do not pay sufficient heed to the construction and demolition (C&D) waste we generate, for example, bricks, concrete, stones, hard core subsoil, topsoil, timber, glass, gypsum, ceramics and also plastics. Neglecting this waste has consequences for public health as well as the environment.

There is no agreement on the volume of C&D waste. The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change in 2010, put the annual estimate of C&D waste at 10-12 million tonnes. The Central Pollution Control Board settled for 12 million tonnes in 2011, but its Guidelines Document of 2017 has upped the estimate to 25-30 million tonnes, based on information from the Ministry of Urban Development. The Centre for Science and Environment, swung to the other extreme and estimated C&D waste at a humongous 530 million tonnes for 2013, as they include the waste from renovations/repairs, assuming that one-third of the existing stock of buildings carried out renovations/repairs in 2013.

The most recent annual estimate of C&D waste in Indian cities is 165-175 million tonnes, jointly prepared for the period 2005 to 2013, by two government agencies, the Building Materials and Technology Promotion Council, and the Centre for Fly Ash Research and Management. This waste is dumped illegally on vacant sites, on the sides of highways, below fly-overs, beside lakes and rivers, in other low-lying areas and open stormwater drains. Delhi and Bengaluru provide glaring examples of this practice, commonly known as “fly-tipping”. In Bengaluru, C&D waste is increasingly being used to encroach on lake-bed land for construction.

Delhi’s air pollution is in no small measure due to the high presence of particulate matter (PM 2.5 and PM 10), resulting from the construction debris strewn around the city. Waterlogging, with all its adverse impact on public health and the environment, is another consequence as the runoff from smooth surfaces is trapped in the debris.

Other countries have faced similar challenges and have done something about it. Germany faced huge issues in disposing of the post-war bomb rubble. Stuttgart solved this problem by creating a mini-hillock outside the town which is now a recreational hand-gliding spot. While C&D waste was earlier typically sent to dump sites in many countries, in the past 20 years or so there has been a greater appreciation of the reuse and recycling possibilities of the waste into construction material (recycled aggregate concrete, manufactured sand, etc.) and its implication for the conservation of natural resources.

An EU study has calculated that an average of 28 per cent of all C&D waste was recycled in EU countries in the late 1990s. Since then, most EU members have set goals for recycling C&D waste that range from 50 per cent to 90 per cent of their C&D waste production. The UK’s use of recycled aggregates (materials formed from a mass of fragments or particles loosely compacted together) is the highest in Europe and accounts for 25 per cent of all aggregates used in construction. This has created a vibrant recycling industry, which promotes innovation and new products and their uses, while the International Recycling Federation works to harmonise quality standards for recycled materials.

Even in the US which is known for its proliferation of landfills, California, the most progressive state, has promulgated an ordinance which requires 50 per cent recycling of C&D waste and 75 per cent diversion of inerts away from landfills.

Closer home, Singapore was recycling 98 per cent of its construction waste by 2007. Hong Kong has been recycling its waste to produce recycled aggregates (RA) for use in government projects and R&D work. In Taiwan, a comprehensive plan for the management of C&D waste was put in place in 1999 as a response to the challenge posed by the severe earthquake that year, which damaged about 100,000 dwellings.

India’s record, by comparison, is very poor. Until two years ago, C&D waste was not even looked at separately from the municipal solid waste (MSW). The Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000, merely stated that C&D waste be “separately collected and disposed of in accordance with State laws”. Only there were hardly any state laws! But in 2016, recognising the importance of growing volumes of C&D waste in urban areas and the significant differences in the origin and quality of this waste and in the methods of its recycling and reuse, the Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules 2016 were separately notified by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, and the Solid Waste Management Rules (2016) superseded the 2000 Rules. This reflected the growing recognition of the need to manage C&D waste separately from the municipal solid waste.

The presence of C&D waste in the mixed waste reduces the effectiveness of composting or biomethanation and also reduces the calorific value and combustibility of the MSW. The presence of MSW in debris similarly reduces the quality of recycled C&D waste. While builders and renovators must keep C&D waste unmixed, urban local bodies must ensure that the Rules are enforced. For example, the Rules specify that all government construction projects, at all levels, should utilise between 10 and 20 per cent of C&D recycled products (aggregates, kerb stones, paver blocks, tiles and manufactured sand). This has not happened despite the orders of the National Green Tribunal and other regulatory bodies.

In Delhi itself, which has three C&D waste recycling plants set up by IL&FS Environment, at Burari (2000 TPD capacity), Shastri Park (500 TPD capacity) and Mundka (150 TPD capacity), the government projects have used only 200,000 tonnes of recycled material per annum even as the C&D waste generated has reached 1.5 million tonnes per annum.

The C&D waste recycling industry is in a very nascent stage in India. The challenge is to ensure that C&D waste comes to the recycling plants as segregated input, and the recycled products are picked up for use in construction. The government has to build awareness of the value of recycled products and also provide standard codes to ensure adherence to quality. The government also has to set an example in its own construction activity by complying with the Rules. At the same time, the incentives also have to be aligned for the private sector, for example, the imposition of a reasonable charge for disposal at dumpsites can induce builders or owners to divert the C&D waste to recycling plants. An important additional step in this direction would be to reduce GST rates on products using recycled materials.

Last but not least, effective management of C&D waste helps in curbing excessive consumption of natural resources and contributes to sustainable development. For example, the demand for sand is expected to more than double between 2010 and 2020. In India, we primarily use river sand for construction. The Supreme Court has recently warned about the adverse environmental consequences of riparian sand mining. Increasing demand, easy availability and limited government oversight have given rise to a thriving illegal trade in sand. Manufactured sand from C&D waste provides an environmentally sustainable alternative.

Since almost 60 per cent of the stock of buildings projected to be there in 2030 is yet to be built, sustainable construction and effective management of C&D waste assume even greater significance.

Source: Indian Express, 26/09/2018