India’s first automated transport system in offing

Public transport system in Punjab will never be the same with the introduction of eco-friendly and carbon positive vehicles — pods. To be launched in Amritsar in January 2011, the elevated personal rapid system will be computer-controlled and battery-operated.

Once the rapid system becomes operation, Amritsar will become the second city in the world after London to have it.

The Rs 325 crore projects, to be undertaken under public-private-partnership mode (PPP), will be executed by the Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB).

“A proposal to develop clean urban transport system submitted by Fairwood India and ATS Company of the United Kingdom was approved recently,” PIDB Managing Director Sukhbir Singh Sandhu said.

The project is expected to be complete by March 2012. The public rapid system will provide round-the-clock transport facility, with empty cars waiting offline at stations for passengers. Ticketing will be automated and journeys uninterrupted.

“The new transport system will be developed in a phased manner with first phase covering the most congested areas, including the Golden Temple and Jallianwala Bagh. Average journey will be of eight minutes. There will be a central control room with 100 per cent power back up,” Sandhu informed.

The new rapid transport system will ease the traffic on the already chaotic roads. There are around 50,000 tourists visiting Amritsar every year. Therefore, they will get world-class transportation facilities.

While the system is energy saving and completely pollution and noise free, it has a capacity to accommodate burgeoning population of commuters,” the PIDB Managing Director added.

India accords legal backup to UID project

The Union Cabinet on Friday approved a Bill to accord legal backup to the project providing unique identification numbers for the residents of the country.

The Bill titled the National Identification Authority of India Bill, 2010 was approved by the cabinet in its meeting here chaired by Prime Minister Monmohan Singh, an official release said.

The cabinet also decided to give the go-ahead to the introduction of the Bill in Parliament in its upcoming Winter Session, reports IANS.

"The Bill seeks to constitute a statutory authority to be called the National Identification Authority of India (NIAI) and lay down its powers and functions, besides the framework for issuing unique identity (UID) numbers to be known as Aadhaar numbers," the statement said.

The law will empower the NIAI to issue Aadhaar numbers to individuals residing in India, besides certain other classes of individuals, the manner of their authentication and other related and incidental matters, the statement said.

The project will involve an expenditure of Rs.3,023.01 crore which includes a sum to fund the various components of the project by March 2011 and recurring establishment costs for the entire project phase of five years ending March 2014.

"The UID project is primarily aimed at ensuring inclusive growth by providing a form of identity to those who do not have any identity," the statement said, adding that it seeks to provide Aadhaar numbers to the marginalised sections of society and thus would strengthen equity.

Apart from providing identity, the Aadhaar number will enable better delivery of services and effective governance, the statement said.

Hi-tech weather forecasting system launched

India on Thursday launched an integrated forecasting and communication system for making accurate meteorological predictions that will place the country at par with the best technologies available anywhere in the world.

The Rs 10 billion system has been set up under the guidance of Meteo France International, which works with Met France for weather predictions, reports IANS.

"It is an important day for the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) as the system will bring India in the forefront of weather forecasting," Science and Technology Minister Prithviraj Chavan said.

Explaining the working of the system, Chavan said, "The data from various observatories, sensors, Doppler radars and automatic weather stations will be collected. These will be run in various computer models and weather experts will come out with forecasts."

The system will provide weather predictions of location-specific areas in a customised manner.

"Sitting here in Delhi we can pick up data from any radar spread across the country and make weather forecasts for any part of the country," IMD Director General AK Tyagi said.

Tyagi said the hi-tech system will be a value addition for the aviation sector, agro-met services, disaster management and other services provided by IMD.

Now Railways Opt for Unique Identity : Indian Railways to use 5-digit numbering system for trains

 The Indian Railways will switch over to a five-digit numbering system for passenger trains from the present four-digit one from December, the Railway Ministry said on Thursday.

It said the new system has become necessary as the four digit numbering system can be used to enumerate a maximum of 9,999 trains, while the Indian Railways runs more than 10,000 trains every day, the Ministry in a statement said.

The new numbering system would be more scientific, logical, uniform and computer-friendly, it added, reports IANS.

The need to use a new numbering system has also arisen to integrate the passenger and suburban train services in various information systems and software applications.

While switching over to the new numbering system, the names of various trains will remain unchanged.

To make the transition smooth, digit one will be prefixed to the exiting 4-digit numbers of all the regular express, mail and superfast trains, which have a mail or express character during any part of their journeys.

Such trains with their numbers starting with digit one will include all Durontos, Yuva Trains, Rajdhani Express, Shatabdi Express, Jan Shatabdi Express, Garibrath Express and Sampark Kranti Express.

On the other hand, the number of special trains run by the Railways to clear holidays or festival rush, would start with digit zero with its remaining four digit numbers styled as the numbers of equivalent mail or express trains, running between the two destinations.

This numbering scheme shall also apply to special trains run on full tariff rates (FTR) basis, the Ministry said.

It added that the passenger trains and the suburban trains are also proposed to be renumbered and brought under this new five-digit system. Separate notifications on such changes will be issued by the respective zonal railways.

The new system will go a long way in monitoring the movement of trains more effectively on all-India basis and in facilitating dissemination and management of train information more scientifically benefiting the public, it said.

This major initiative will also create a unique "train number" which will be a national level identity for each train and will cover all the passenger trains, the Ministry said.

How to stay awake in seminars...

How to stay awake in seminars... 

Do you keep falling asleep in round-tables and seminars?
What about those long and boring conferences?

Here's a way to change all of that.

1. Before (or during) your next meeting, seminar, or conference call, prepare yourself by drawing a square. I find that 5" x 5" is a good size. Divide the card into columns - five across and five down. That will give you 25 one-inch blocks.

2. Write one of the following words/phrases in each block:

* synergy

* strategic fit

* core competencies

* best practice

* bottom line

* revisit

* expeditious

* to tell you the truth (or "the truth is")

* 24/7

* out of the loop

* benchmark

* value-added

* proactive

* win-win

* think outside the box

* fast track

* result-driven

* empower (or empowerment)

* knowledge base

* at the end of the day

* touch base

* mindset

* client focus(ed)

* paradigm shift

* game plan

* leverage

Like this: 

synergy	strategic fit	core competencies	best practice	bottom line
revisit	expeditious	to tell you the truth (or "the truth is")	24/7	out of the loop
benchmark	value-added	proactive	win-win	think outside the box
fast track	result-driven	empower (or empowerment)	knowledge base	at the end of the day
touch base	mindset	client focus(ed)	paradigm shift	game plan

3. Check off the appropriate block when you hear one of those words/phrases. 

4. When you get five blocks horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, stand up and shout "BULLSHIT!"

Testimonials from satisfied "Bullshit Bingo" players:

  

·

       "I had been in the meeting for only five minutes when I won." - Adam, Atlanta 

·

       "My attention span at meetings has improved dramatically." - David, Florida 

·

       "What a gas! Meetings will never be the same for me after my first win." - Dan, New York City 

·

       "The atmosphere was tense in the last process meeting as 14 of us waited for the fifth box." - Ben, Denver 

·

       "The speaker was stunned as eight of us screamed 'BULLSHIT!' for the third time in two hours." - Paul, Cleveland