Eco friendly wall

Origami workshop

Visit of traffic police station

Child Rights

FACT SHEET: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child

Article 1 (Definition of the child): The Convention defines a 'child' as a person below the age of 18, unless the laws of a particular country set the legal age for adulthood younger. The Committee on the Rights of the Child, the monitoring body for the Convention, has encouraged States to review the age of majority if it is set below 18 and to increase the level of protection for all children under 18.

Article 2 (Non-discrimination): The Convention applies to all children, whatever their race, religion or abilities; whatever they think or say, whatever type of family they come from. It doesn’t matter where children live, what language they speak, what their parents do, whether they are boys or girls, what their culture is, whether they have a disability or whether they are rich or poor. No child should be treated unfairly on any basis.

Article 3 (Best interests of the child): The best interests of children must be the primary concern in making decisions that may affect them. All adults should do what is best for children. When adults make decisions, they should think about how their decisions will affect children. This particularly applies to budget, policy and law makers.

Article 4 (Protection of rights): Governments have a responsibility to take all available measures to make sure children’s rights are respected, protected and fulfilled. When countries ratify the Convention, they agree to review their laws relating to children. This involves assessing their social services, legal, health and educational systems, as well as levels of funding for these services. Governments are then obliged to take all necessary steps to ensure that the minimum standards set by the Convention in these areas are being met. They must help families protect children’s rights and create an environment where they can grow and reach their potential. In some instances, this may involve changing existing laws or creating new ones. Such legislative changes are not imposed, but come about through the same process by which any law is created or reformed within a country. Article 41 of the Convention points out the when a country already has higher legal standards than those seen in the Convention, the higher standards .

Article 5 (Parental guidance): Governments should respect the rights and responsibilities of families to direct and guide their children so that, as they grow, they learn to use their rights properly. Helping children to understand their rights does not mean pushing them to make choices with consequences that they are too young to handle. Article 5 encourages parents to deal with rights issues "in a manner consistent with the evolving capacities of the child". The Convention does not take responsibility for children away from their parents and give more authority to governments. It does place on governments the responsibility to protect and assist families in fulfilling their essential role as nurturers of children.

Article 6 (Survival and development): Children have the right to live. Governments should ensure that children survive and develop healthily.

Article 7 (Registration, name, nationality, care): All children have the right to a legally registered name, officially recognised by the government. Children have the right to a nationality (to belong to a country). Children also have the right to know and, as far as possible, to be cared for by their parents.

Article 8 (Preservation of identity): Children have the right to an identity – an official record of who they are. Governments should respect children’s right to a name, a nationality and family ties.

Article 9 (Separation from parents): Children have the right to live with their parent(s), unless it is bad for them. Children whose parents do not live together have the right to stay in contact with both parents, unless this might hurt the child.

Article 10 (Family reunification): Families whose members live in different countries should be allowed to move between those countries so that parents and children can stay in contact, or get back together.

Refernces:

http://www.childlineindia.org.in/pdf/Law-Manual.pdf

http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf

life cycle assessment of plastic and glass

Plasttic

The life cycle of a plastic bottle starts, obviously, with the creation of the plastic used to make it. The vast majority of plastic bottles are manufactured from petroleum, some of which comes from deposits as much as three billion years old. Some manufacturers use bioplastics made from plant materials to create their plastic bottles, out of concern for the environment.

Once oil has been extracted, it is typically moved into container tankers for shipping to refinery facilities. At a refinery, the oil can be submitted to a variety of distillation processes, such as fractional distillation, where the crude oil is heated, causing its various components to separate so that the refinery can make gas, fuel oil, plastics, and a variety of other products. Crude oil can also be “cracked” with chemical catalysts to generate hydrocarbon chains of a desired length; this practice is common, because demand for various petroleum products constantly fluctuates, and cracking ensures that oil is used extremely efficiently and generates the maximum possible profit.

Most plastic bottles are made from polyethylene terephtalate (PET) plastic, and almost all water bottles come from virgin plastic; an estimated 30% of the world's PET goes into plastic bottles. The plastic used in plastic bottles is made by mixing hydrocarbons extracted from crude oil with chemical catalysts, triggering polymerization.

 Next, manufacturers produce plastic pellets, which are melted down into “preforms,” which look like small test tubes; the preforms, in turn, can be heated, causing them to expand and turn into conventional water bottles. Typically bottling companies order preforms, expanding the water bottles at their own facilities as needed.

Water bottles produced from bioplastics are made from plant materials which are processed to form polymers. Bioplastics are believed to be better for the environment, since they do not require the extraction and handling of crude oil, a non-renewable resource, and companies which manufacture them often try to use the best possible environmental practices. Furthermore, bioplastics decompose rapidly; the life cycle of a plastic bottle made from bioplastic is extremely short. In fact, some bottles made from bioplastics will even start to deform and leak if they are kept on the shelf too long.

However, bioplastics are not without environmental issues. The production of such plastics requires dedicating large areas of farmland to the production of crops for plastics, rather than food, and these crops eat up a great deal of water, fuel, and other resources. Bioplastics must also be manufactured with the assistance of a variety of chemicals, and, like regular plastics, they require shipping to an end destination, consuming more fuel along the way. Because they are designed to be disposable while still being relatively environmentally friendly, some activists fear that they may also distract consumers from more environmentally friendly choices, like reusable glass and metal containers.

Depending on the size of a bottling plant, a company will either order preforms and use them as needed, or it will order plastic bottles which are ready for use. The plastic bottles must be sterilized so that they are safe for beverages, and then they are filled, capped, labeled, packed into cases, and prepared for shipping. At this stage in the life cycle of a plastic bottle, the bottle could end up in any number of places, from a relief camp for refugees to the shelf at a high-end supermarket.

When a plastic bottle enters a landfill, it can take hundreds of years to decay, and it can have a profound environmental impact. The route to the landfill is often quite long, as plastic bottles are a very common form of litter around the world, requiring volunteers or government agencies to collect such bottles and bring them to a facility for recycling or other forms of disposal. As plastic bottles decay, they take up precious landfill space, and some leach harmful chemicals into the ground, potentially polluting the soil and water.

Glass

From the 19th century, various types of fancy glass started to become significant branches of the decorative arts. Objects made out of glass include not only traditional objects such as vessels (bowls, vases, bottles, and other containers), paperweights, marbles, beads, but also an endless range of sculpture and installation art as well. Colored glass is often used, though sometimes the glass is painted, innumerable examples exist of the use of stained glass.

Following the glass batch preparation and mixing, the raw materials are transported to the furnace. Soda-lime glass for mass production is melted ingas fired units. Smaller scale furnaces for specialty glasses include electric melters, pot furnaces, and day tanks.

After melting, homogenization and refining (removal of bubbles), the glass is formed. Flat glass for windows and similar applications is formed by thefloat glass process, developed between 1953 and 1957 by Sir Alastair Pilkington and Kenneth Bickerstaff of the UK's Pilkington Brothers, who created a continuous ribbon of glass using a molten tin bath on which the molten glass flows unhindered under the influence of gravity. The top surface of the glass is subjected to nitrogen under pressure to obtain a polished finish Container glass for common bottles and jars is formed by blowing and pressing methods. Further glass forming techniques are summarized in the table Glass forming techniques.

Once the desired form is obtained, glass is usually annealed for the removal of stresses. Surface treatments, coatings or lamination may follow to improve the chemical durability (glass container coatings, glass container internal treatment), strength (toughened glass, bulletproof glass, windshields), or optical properties (insulated glazing, anti-reflective coating).

CNG Vehicle

CNG stands for compressed natural gas. It is one of the most viable alternatives to traditional fuel 
energy resources for the automotive industry. CNG is low in pollutants, high in calorific value and 
heat yield, economical and available in abundance globally. Reasons for switching over to this 
alternate fuel are mainly: 
1. Economic benefit: the cost of CNG is almost a third of the cost of petrol in terms of calorific value 
resulting in substantial saving in fuel cost, and investment on the CNG kit is paid back in a short 
period 
2. Environment friendly: the use of CNG as a fuel reduces vehicular exhaust emissions significantly. 
Carbon monoxide emissions are reduced by 70 to 90% and hydrocarbon emissions by 40 to 60% as 
compared to vehicles that use the conventional fuel - petrol. Carbon dioxide emissions, a cause for 
global warming, are also reduced significantly by 10% 
3. 100% income tax depreciation: corporate organisations, firms, etc. Can claim 100% depreciation 
on a CNG conversion kit as this is a pollution controlling equipment. Organisations that buy CNG 
conversion kits should consult their income tax consultants and avail of the depreciation benefits 
4. Flexibility and ease of use: the basic engine characteristics of a vehicle are retained while 
converting it to run on CNG. The vehicle therefore is capable of running either on petrol or CNG at 
the flick of a switch on its dashboard. 
Disadvantages 
1. loss of luggage space. 2. CNG cylinders take up a lot of storage space and generally have to be 
placed in the boot of the car. 3. The body of the cylinders too have to be made of good grade steel 
capable of handling the roughs and toughs of travelling. 4. The cost of conversion too is another 
major determining factor. The conversion kit can cost from Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 35,000. But experts 
claim that this cost can be recovered from the fuel savings. Finally, based on its characteristics. CNG 
may slightly hamper vehicle performance. 

Food Adulteration

Food Adulteration Detection Home Based Methods

Common spices:

Common spices like turmeric, chilly and curry powder are also adulterated by colours.
Spices (ground) are adulterated by red bran and saw dust. Sprinkle on water surface. Powdered bran and sawdust float on the surface.
Coriander powder is adulterated with dung powder. To find out, soak in water. Dung will float and can be easily detected by its foul smell.


Cumin seeds:

Grass seeds coloured with charcoal dust is used. Rub the cumin seeds on palms. If palms turn black adulteration in indicated.

Asafoetida (Heeng):

Items like soap stone and other earthy matter is used for adulteration. Shake a little quantity of powdered sample with water. Soap stone or other earthy matter will settle at the bottom.

 TUMERIC
Adulterant
Metanil Yellow and Kesari Dal (Added to enhance the yellow color of a food substance)

Test
Dissolve half a spoon full of turmeric powder in 20 ml of lukewarm water. Add a few drops of lemon juice or any commonly available acid at home. If the water turns pink, violet or purple, it shows the presence of Metanil yellow.


Harmful Effects
It's highly carcinogenic and if consumed over a continuous period of time it can also cause stomach disorders.




2. GREEN CHILIES, GREEN PEAS, OTHER GREEN VEGGIES

Adulterant
Malachite Green (To accentuate the bright, glowing green color of the vegetable)


Test
Take a small portion of the sample and place it over a moistened white blotting paper. Colored impressions on the blotting paper indicate the presence of Malachite green.


Harmful effects
It's a colored dye that has proven to be carcinogenic for humans if consumed over a long period of time.




3. MUSTARD SEEDS AND MUSTARD OIL

Adulterant
Argemone seeds (used to add bulk and weight)


Test
When pressed or crushed, argemone seeds are white inside and have a rough outer surface whereas mustard seeds are smooth on the outside and are yellow on the inside.


Harmful effects
The consumption of these could cause epidemic dropsy and severe glaucoma. Young children and senior citizens with poor immunity are more susceptible this.



4. EVAPORATED MILK, CONDENSED MILK AND SOME SOY MILKS

Adulterant
Starch (used to give it a thick, rich texture)


Test
Take a small sample of the product in a test tube, add 20 ml of water and bring to a boil. Cool to room temperature and add a drop or two of iodine solution. If the solution turns blue, it marks the presence of starch.


Harmful effects
Unhygienic, unprocessed water and starch can cause stomach disorders. Starch greatly reduces the nutritional value of the ingredient.



5. ICE CREAM

Adulterant
Washing powder (used to add a bright white sheen and lightness of flavor)


Test
Squeeze a few drops of lemon juice on the ice cream. If it starts to froth and bubble, it marks the presence of washing powder.


Harmful effects
It can cause severe stomach and liver disorders



6. BLACK PEPPER

Adulterant
Papaya seeds (used to add bulk)


Test
Float the sample in alcohol. Mature black pepper corns will sink where as papaya seeds will float to the surface.


Harmful effects
Papaya seeds can cause serious liver problems and stomach disorders.



7. INSTANT COFFEE

Adulterant
Tamarind seeds, chicory powder (used to add bulk and color)


Test
Gently sprinkle coffee on the surface of water in a glass. The coffee will float whereas chicory will start to sink within a few seconds. Also, the falling chicory powder will leave a trail of color behind due to the large amounts of caramel it contains.


Harmful effects
These can cause diarrhea, stomach disorders, giddiness and severe joint pains.

RTI (Right to information)

RTI (Right to information)

What is RTI?

The Right to Information Act (RTI) is an Act of the Parliament of India to provide for setting out the practical regime of right to information for citizens" and replaces the erstwhile Freedom of Information Act, 2002. 

The Act applies to all States and Union Territories of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir has its own act called Jammu & Kashmir Right to Information Act, 2009.

Advantages 

The Indian democracy is going through a new phase. It is difficult to hypothesize about a real democracy without good governance, transparency and responsibility.

Right to information has made all these possible. It has brought the common citizen into a new democratic role where he can directly question the administration.

Video about RTI:-

click on the link RTI 

Effects of Mobile Rediation

What is radiation?

Radiation is energy travelling through space in the form of waves or particles. Some experts suggest a little radiation is a good thing and we all know of its uses in medical science to combat and diagnose some illnesses.

Radiation of mobile

The type of radiation emitted from mobile phones is electromagnetic radiation. It's present in mobiles because they use radio frequency waves to make and receive calls. The doses are considered to be very small as the emissions are low power. Nevertheless, there are ways in which you can reduce exposure to these waves.

The health risks

Despite extensive research on the subject, there has been no conclusive evidence that using a mobile phone causes long term harmful effects in humans.

The pace of mobile phone technology is advancing at a far quicker pace than the research required into the potential harm they can cause; much more research is needed  before we can know for certain the effects they have on human health. Nevertheless, mobiles do emit low doses of radiation so common sense dictates precaution should be taken when using them.

Studies have shown that exposure to the RF waves emitted from mobiles can cause:

·         slightly raised blood pressure at the time of use, pressure returning to normal when use is stopped direct brain warming after prolonged use, which disperses as soon as you stop using your phone and causes no harm

·         mild fatigue after prolonged use

·         A recent study in Sweden suggested that acoustic neuromas are twice as common in mobile phone users as in those who do not use mobiles.

There is no evidence that using a mobile phone causes:

·         tumours

·         memory impairment

·         cancer

·         brain damage

·         foetal damage

The health risk is considered to be small, although some individuals may be more susceptible to radiation than others. Whilst it's true that excessive exposure to RF waves causes heating.

Reduce exposure

Whilst there's no evidence that mobiles produce sufficient levels of radiation to cause any lasting ill effects, there's no harm in taking simple precautions to reduce the levels of radiation absorb from using your phone:

·         Moving phone 20cm away from your head reduces radiation doses by about 98%. So instead of placing it under your pillow when going to bed, leave the phone at a bedside table.

·         hands free headsets dramatically reduce radiation emissions into the brain

·         try not to chat for hours on end or, if you must, get a hands free kit

·         There are a few devices on the market that you can fit to your phone that reduce the emissions of radiation or allow the body to neutralise the effects, but beware of over-hyped promotions by these manufacturers using scare tactics to market their products.

·         It’s always sensible to take precautions where children are concerned as their developing brains and bodies are far more susceptible to radiation effects than adults, absorbing radiation at three times an adult's rate.

Mobile phone antennas and base stations

There's been a lot of controversy about radio antennas, mobile phone antennas and their emissions causing leukaemia and other diseases. The truth is, there is no conclusive evidence one way or the other, but here are few facts about levels of radiation transmission from mobile phone antennas:

·         to get a dose of radiation considered dangerous from a mobile phone transmission antenna, you'd have to be almost touching it

·         the antennas don't beam signals directly down, so they don't 'blow' radiation directly onto us below

·         the towers that support the antennas don't emit radiation

·         radiation dramatically and rapidly decreases as you move away from the mast - 10 metres away, the dose is 0.1% of what it was at 1 metre away; 0.0125% at 20 metres away and so on.

Corruption-What you think?

Views about corruption

Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.It is not easy to define corruption. But in a narrow sense, corruption is mostly concerned with bribe and it takes several forms. Corruption is a global phenomenon and it is omnipresent. Corruption has progressively increased and is now rampant in our society.

-Jalpa rathod

Corruption in India is a consequence of the nexus between Bureaucracy, politics and criminals. India is now no longer considered a soft state. It has now become a consideration state where everything can be had for a consideration. Today, the number of ministers with an honest image can be counted on fingers. At one time, bribe was paid for getting wrong things done but now bribe is paid for getting right things done at right time
-Sonal solanki

Indian administration is tainted with scandals. India is among 55 of the 106 countries where corruption is rampant, according to the Corruption Perception Index 2004 Report released by Transparency International India. Corruption in India leads to promotion not prison. It is very difficult to catch big shark. Corruption in India has wings not wheels. As nation grows, the corrupt also grow to invent new methods of cheating the government and public
.-Dharmishtha vala

The causes of corruption are many and complex. Following are some of the causes of corruption.Emergence of political elite who believe in interest-oriented rather than nation-oriented programs and policies. Artificial scarcity created by the people with malevolent intentions wrecks the fabric of the economy.Corruption is caused as well as increased because of the change in the value system and ethical qualities of men who administer. The old ideals of morality, service and honesty are regarded as an achromatic. Tolerance of people towards corruption, complete lack of intense public outcry against corruption and the absence of strong public forum to oppose corruption allow corruption to reign over people.Vast size of population coupled with widespread illiteracy and the poor economic infrastructure lead to endemic corruption in public life. in a highly inflationary economy, low salaries of government officials compel them to resort to the road of corruption. Graduates from IIMs with no experience draw a far handsome salary than what government secretaries draw. Complex laws and procedures alienate common people to ask for any help from government. 
-Vishal gohel

Election time is a time when corruption is at its peak level. Big industrialist fund politicians to meet high cost of election and ultimately to seek personal favour. Bribery to politicians buys influence, and bribery by politicians buys votes. In order to get elected, politicians bribe poor illiterate people, who are slogging for two times meal.
-Neel harsola

Is it possible to contain corruption in our society? Corruption is a cancer, which every Indian must strive to cure. Many new leaders when come into power declare their determination to eradicate corruption but soon they themselves become corrupt and start amassing huge wealth.
-prishita vekariya

There are many myths about corruption, which have to be exploded if we really want to combat it. Some of these myths are: Corruption is a way of life and nothing can be done about it. Only people from underdeveloped or developing countries are prone to corruption. We will have to guard against all these crude fallacies while planning measures to fight corruption.
-himanshi das 

Right to Information should be introduced, which will empower the citizens to ask for the information they want. Barring some confidential information, which concerns national and international security, other information should be made available to general public as and when required. Stringent actions against corrupt officials will certainly have a deterrent impact.
-Aryan patel

Corruption is an intractable problem. It is like diabetes, can only be controlled, but not totally eliminated. It may not be possible to root out corruption completely at all levels but it is possible to contain it within tolerable limits. Honest and dedicated persons in public life, control over electoral expenses could be the most important prescriptions to combat corruption. 
-shakshi rajyaguru

Corruption has a corrosive impact on our economy. It worsens our image in international market and leads to loss of overseas opportunities. Corruption is a global problem that all countries of the world have to confront, solutions, however, can only be home grown. We have tolerated corruption for so long. The time has now come to root it out from its roots.
-varun sagathiya

भ्रष्टाचार विश्वव्यापी समस्या तो है ही किन्तु भारत में ये बीमारी कुछ ज्यादा ही गंभीर हो चली है. हाल ही हुए कामनवेल्थ, 2-जी स्पेट्रम जैसे घोटालों ने ये साबित कर दिया है कि राजनीतिज्ञों और भ्रष्टाचार का चोली-दामन का साथ हो चुका है और देश ने यदि जल्द ही कोई उपाय नहीं किए तो फिर भारत को विश्व पटल पर शक्तिशाली और विकसित देश बनाने का सपना, सपना ही रह जाएगा.राजनैतिक-प्रशासनिक और आपराधिक गठजोड़ भ्रष्टाचार में वृद्धि के लिए सबसे ज्यादा उत्तरदाई हैं और इसमें कमी लाने के लिए जनलोकपाल क़ानून की दिशा में प्रयास किए जा रहे हैं. साथ ही लोगों की अपने क्षुद्र स्वार्थों के लिए भ्रष्टाचार में संलिप्तता स्थिति को और भी गंभीर बनाती है.
 -maya das