Latest news with #PressTrustofIndiaSingapore
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
14-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
India must promote efficient products, services in water resources: Expert
Speaking on the sidelines of Ecosperity Week 2025 held from May 5-8 here, Ghosh noted improvements in the expansion of water infrastructure in the country Press Trust of India Singapore Having put its renewable energy programme in progress mode, India needs to now promote the use of efficient products and services for its water resources, given the country is critically vulnerable to climate change, an environment expert said at a conference held in Singapore. I think it is important that India's Bureau of Water Use Efficiencysimilar to BEEensures that its activities, whether developing standards or regulatory direction, lead to the promotion of efficient use of water in irrigation, municipal and industrial sectors, said Dr Arunabha Ghosh, CEO of the New Delhi-based Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW). The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) is a renewable energy-guiding group in India. Ghosh said while work was being done on managing resources, water conservation needs to be scaled up across the country. Speaking to PTI on the sidelines of Ecosperity Week 2025 held from May 5-8 here, Ghosh noted improvements in the expansion of water infrastructure in the country, such as the Jal Jeevan Mission that provides functional tap connection within the premises of rural households, but was quick to add that there are a lot of areas for efficient use of water, especially in the agriculture sector. He said India has some 140 million hectares under agriculture and farming, where one of the most unproductive and age-old practices is to flood the fields for some seasonal crops. This is where water is being wasted for non-beneficial consumptive purposes, he pointed out, making an urgent call to educate farmers on water use and installation of technology-driven irrigation systems. The latter includes drip and sprinkler irrigation technologies. Among other developments, natural farming has started in Andhra Pradesh which requires consciously lesser use of water. It is now a national initiative and aims to reduce or eliminate fertilizer use and save water while gaining from increased farm output. CEEW's survey of 31 sustainable agricultural practices finds that five of them have exceeded 5 million hectares, showing the potential for more sustainable practices. Water harvesting is one of them, he added. Ghosh said retaining soil moisture is a hugely important approach for not just conserving water but also improving crop yields. If you flood your fields, your output actually comes down." Water conservation and water adaptation should not be an environmental sustainability agenda but an actual economic growth agenda, he stressed. By conserving water, farm output will go up, while the saved water can be reallocated for industry and domestic use which then can increase industrial production and have public health benefits, respectively. This way we are generating higher output from agriculture and industry, and helping contribute to the country's growing economy, said Ghosh, who, through 15 years of leading CEEW, participated in a large number of national and state-level studies and projects. He pointed out that less than 30 per cent of domestic wastewater was treated in urban areas in 2021. We need to ensure that waste water is not only treated and reused in a beneficial way but that no untreated effluent and residue flow into our rivers or lakes. We have to look at how that treated waste water can be reused to the maximum benefits of our fast-growing economy, he said, citing Singapore as an example for recycling waste water. The South East Asian island state, short of natural resources, harvests rainwater, and source water from other sources including imports of raw water from a river in neighbouring Malaysia, and treats its domestic wastewater for reuse, the latter constitutes about 40 per cent of its water supply. India is now also thinking of how the treated water will be used for industries or horticulture among others, Ghosh said. Our estimation is that several billions of dollars of income can be generated from reusing treated domestic wastewater in agriculture. He cited the example of Tamil Nadu, where industry was told some two decades ago to harvest rainwater or reuse treated wastewater or else municipal water would not be supplied. Such pressure can be applied in other industrial regions, especially smart cities and industry-specific corridors being established in the country, he said. Further, he underscored the need to understand the linkages between energy and water. The PM Kusum is the world's largest scheme of solar-based irrigation, he said, adding that it can be scaled further to convert existing electric and diesel pumps to solar-powered pumps or solarise energy feeders for pumping groundwater. India, he said, is a highly climate-vulnerable country. CEEW sees the need for developing a high-resolution climate resilience atlas for India as 75 per cent of the country's districts are now hotspots for extreme climate events floods, droughts, and cyclones among others, Ghosh added. Further, water leakages in cities need urgent checking by using sensors and SCADA systems. Pune, Nagpur and part of Delhi have already put in place such checking and control of some of the leakages from piped waters through installing bulk water flow meters, Ghosh said. Ultimately, citizens and economic agents have to understand that conservation and efficiency are actually good for them and the country's budget. Only then will efforts to conserve water scale up. If just left to monetary measures, water management will remain inefficient, he said.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
08-05-2025
- Business Standard
Singapore issues advisory, asks citizens to defer travel to J&K, Pakistan
Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on Wednesday asked travellers to exercise caution, particularly in border regions between Pakistan and India Press Trust of India Singapore Singapore has advised its citizens to defer all non-essential travel to Jammu and Kashmir in India, and to Pakistan, amid tensions between the two neighbours. Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on Wednesday asked travellers to exercise caution, particularly in border regions between Pakistan and India. "Singaporeans in India and Pakistan are advised to remain vigilant and take all necessary precautions for personal safety, including avoiding large gatherings, monitoring local news closely, heeding instructions of local authorities, and eRegistering with MFA," the ministry said in a statement. The latest advisory is an update on the one issued on April 30, which only cautioned travelling to "high-risk areas" in Pakistan. The advisory added that Singaporeans in India and Pakistan can also seek consular assistance. Travel agencies in Singapore are re-evaluating tours to Jammu and Kashmir, and Pakistan. The tension in the region has disrupted travel, with more than 50 flights to and from Pakistan being cancelled and several Asian airlines re-routing or cancelling their flights. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
03-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Singapore votes amid US-China trade tensions, ruling PAP seeks re-election
Voting began at 8 am on Saturday at 1,240 stations set up island-wide, with polling polling booths set to be be closed at 8 pm and results expected late at night Press Trust of India Singapore A total of 2,758,846 registered Singaporean voters are heading into polling booths for the 19 General Election 2025 (GE2025) to elect the next government which is set to face strong global headwinds caused by trade tariffs announced by the United States, the biggest trading partner of the Southeast Asian city-state. Voting began at 8 am on Saturday at 1,240 stations set up island-wide, with polling polling booths set to be be closed at 8 pm and results expected late at night. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, completing nearly a year in office, is seeking a fresh mandate for the ruling People's Action Party (PAP), which has governed the city-state since independence and steered its development into a global financial hub. Singapore is in the cross road between US and China trade war, a diplomatic source said, adding that the trade focused island has strong diplomatic and economic relations with both the giant economies, a fall off from which will affect its future progress. Multinational corporations and Asian businesses, using Singapore as a springboard into Asian markets, are closely monitoring GE2025, the source said. A total of 92 out of 97 parliamentary seats are being contested by 211 candidates across various political parties. Cost of living, housing, and the rising number of foreign workers have emerged as key election issues. Singapore's total population stood at approximately 6.04 million as of June 2024, a 2 per cent increase from the previous year, mainly driven by the growth in the non-resident population, according to the Population-in-Brief report. On April 23, nomination day, PAP won five seats uncontested in the Marine Parade-Braddell Heights Group Representation Constituency (GRC). Under Singapore's electoral system, GRCs are similar to party block voting systems in some other countries. More than 18,000 Singaporeans overseas have also begun voting at Singapore missions in Dubai, London, Washington, New York and San Francisco, which opened their polling stations at 8 am local time on May 2, according to The Straits Times. Eleven political parties and two independents are contesting in 32 constituencies. The PAP is fielding candidates in all constituencies, while the opposition Workers' Party (WP) is contesting 26 seats in eight constituencies. The Progress Singapore Party (PSP) has fielded 13 candidates across six constituencies. Other parties in the fray include the Singapore People's Party (SPP), Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), People's Power Party (PPP), People's Alliance for Reform (PAR), Red Dot United (RDU), National Solidarity Party (NSP), Singapore United Party (SUP), and Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA). (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
