Latest news with #KSCSTE
The Hindu
17-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Superstitions becoming widespread in society, says Pinarayi
Superstitions stamped out years ago during the reformation movement are once again becoming widespread in society, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said here on Saturday. The Chief Minister was addressing professionals from the science and technology sector at Professional Connect 2025, a programme organised as part of the fourth anniversary of the government. He underscored the need to nurture scientific temperament and propagate scientific and technological knowhow for sustainable growth and development founded on social justice. 'We live in times when superstitions that were wiped out under the leadership of social reformers are returning and becoming widespread,' he said, adding that many national grants that supported research and higher education have now been either removed or reduced. Digital science parks Mr. Vijayan said the Kerala government has instituted the Kairali Research Prize and the Chief Minister's Postdoctoral Fellowship for promoting research in addition to starting centres of excellence in the higher education sector and translational labs in universities. Kerala is on the path of growth with digital science parks and AI hubs. The State is spending ₹600 crore on three digital science parks, he said. Science and technology are not separate from the lives of humans, Mr. Vijayan said, reiterating his government's plans for creating a knowledge-based society. K.P. Sudheer, Executive Vice President, Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE) and State Planning Board vice chairman V.K. Ramachandran and KSCSTE member secretary A. Sabu also spoke.
Time of India
13-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan to discuss long-term development plans with professionals
Thiruvananthapuram: In a bid to gather strategic insights for Kerala's long-term development, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan will hold an interaction with professionals from diverse sectors on Saturday. The session, titled ' Professional Connect 2025 ,' is scheduled from 9:30am to 1pm at the Sankaranarayanan Thampi Hall in the state legislative assembly under the leadership of Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE), the event aims to facilitate meaningful dialogue with experts in healthcare, education, life sciences, agriculture, IT, industry, finance, infrastructure development and green energy. The key objective is to generate actionable ideas that will contribute to the 'Vision 2030' roadmap for minister Pinarayi Vijayan will personally engage with the participants, listen to their suggestions and respond to emerging ideas and policy proposals during the session.V K Ramachandran, vice chairperson of the Kerala State Planning Board, will deliver the keynote address, setting the tone for discussions.
The Hindu
07-05-2025
- General
- The Hindu
‘CWRDM can take up environmental impact studies of river valley projects'
The Kozhikode-based Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM), an autonomous research institution under the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology, and Environment (KSCSTE), will now be able to conduct independent Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) studies for hydroelectric and irrigation projects. This follows the accreditation of the agency by the National Accreditation Board for Education and Training (NABET). According to CWRDM officials, the agency is the only one specifically accredited for river valley projects. So far, external private agencies had been roped in for the purpose. 'EIA is basically for reflecting the concerns of the people in an area where a proposed project is coming up. Being a government agency with over 40 years of experience in water-related research, we will be able to bring more credibility to the study,' a senior official said on Wednesday (May 7, 2025). The agency would now be able to evaluate the environmental concerns associated with large-scale water infrastructure projects, ensuring ecological balance while meeting developmental needs, the official added. The CWRDM has also become one of the five institutions in Kerala that can carry out EIA studies. Manoj P. Samuel, executive director of CWRDM, said that the NABET accreditation was a recognition of the agency's scientific integrity and technical capability. 'We can now formally contribute to safeguarding environmental concerns through EIA studies for various government projects across Kerala and other States,' he added. The CWRDM officials also claimed that the efforts would be to integrate environmental sensitivity into Kerala's water resource planning and management, at a time when the State is witnessing rapid infrastructure development and climate-related challenges. A release quoting A. Sabu, member secretary, KSCSTE, said that the accreditation was a significant milestone not just for CWRDM, but for Kerala as well. 'It empowers us to ensure that the growing water infrastructure projects are aligned with environmental sustainability. The CWRDM's legacy in water research and public service strengthens the state's capacity for data-driven, environmentally conscious development,' he added.
The Hindu
23-04-2025
- Science
- The Hindu
Region-specific adaptation strategies and integrated water resources management need of the hour for tackling climate change in Kerala, says study
A new paper in the Journal of Environmental Management (Elsevier) has highlighted the need for region-specific adaptation strategies and integrated water resources management in Kerala for tackling climate change challenges. The paper, 'Climate warming modifies hydrological responses in the southern Western Ghats and the western coastal plains (India): Insights from Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6-Variable Infiltration Capacity (CMIP6-VIC) simulations,' places special emphasis on Kerala. It observes that global warming could intensify the hydrological cycle across the study region, altering precipitation and temperature patterns, elevating the risk of floods, landslides and drought. Climate projections forecast an increase in temperature anomalies and extreme precipitation events (EPEs) during the monsoon season in future. Further, the region is projected to experience steadily increasing minimum and maximum temperatures throughout the 21st century at annual and seasonal scales under two shared socioeconomic pathway (SSP245 and SSP585) scenarios. The region is projected to experience up to a 20 % increase in annual precipitation, with EPEs potentially increasing by up to 16 %, it says. Integrated management of water resources is vital to ensure sustainable water availability, hydropower generation and farm productivity, it says. The study was carried out by a team from multiple institutions including those under Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE), Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) Delhi, Madras and Palakkad; National Institute of Technology, Warangal; Indian Institute of Human Settlements, Bengaluru, University of Mississippi, Pennsylvania State University and the Purdue University. The study was undertaken acknowledging the need for a region-specific assessment, especially in the context of the recurring disasters in Kerala, K.P. Sudheer, Executive Vice President, KSCSTE, and co-author of the paper, told The Hindu. In recent times, Kerala has experienced major disasters almost on a yearly basis, including the destructive floods of 2018 and 2019 and the 2024 Wayanad landslides. The paper notes that the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme precipitation events (EPE) pose significant challenges for society and planning engineers, particularly in the design of climate-resilient infrastructure. 'It is necessary to conduct thorough, scenario-based evaluations of potential future climate conditions to anticipate and mitigate unexpected consequences, including the elevated risk of flooding due to more frequent and severe EPEs. Incorporating climate change projections into the design of climate-resilient urban stormwater management infrastructure through rigorous modeling studies is also essential,' it says. The Centre for Water Resources Development and Management, Kozhikode, and the Institute of Climate Change Studies, Kottayam, were the KSCSTE institutions involved in the study.
