In Brief – September 2017
The Indian Government has launched a 3.35-minute video of the National Anthem in sign language. Directed by filmmaker Govind Nihalani, the video features film star Amitabh Bachchan performing the Anthem in sign language, along with differently-abled children, against the backdrop of the Red Fort. Apart from Delhi, the video was also launched in Goa, Bhopal, Chandigarh and Kolhapur.
It is sad to know that only 62.81 per cent schools in the country have electricity, the Minister of State for HRD Upendra Kushwaha informed the Rajya Sabha. While Jharkhand is at the bottom of the list with only 19 per cent schools with access to electricity, Delhi, Chandigarh, Dadar and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep and Puducherry top the list with all schools having electricity. Assam has 25 per cent schools with electricity, while Meghalaya has 28.5 per cent. Others in the list include Bihar (37.78), Madhya Pradesh (28.8), Manipur (39.27), Odisha (33.03) and Tripura (29.77).
The Indian Railways has introduced a solar-powered DEMU (diesel electrical multiple unit) train from the Safdarjung railway station in Delhi. The train runs between Sarai Rohilla in Delhi and Farukh Nagar in Haryana. Sixteen solar panels, each producing 300 Wp (Watt-peak), are fitted in six coaches. The train has a power back-up and can run on battery for at least 72 hours. The solar panels, currently installed on non-AC coaches, generate about 17 units of power in a day which enables the lighting system in the coach. The solar power will reduce 2.7 lakh tonnes of carbon dioxide emission and save Rs 672 crore a year.
Monkeys wait to serve customers at the Kayabukiya tavern in Japan. The uniformed macaques, Yat-chan and Fuku-chan, are certified restaurant employees. While Fuku-chan is quick to give diners a hot towel to help clean their hands, twelve-year-old Yat-chan is the crowd-pleaser as he moves quickly between tables taking customers’ orders. If they do a good job, they are given soya beans as tips and their salaries come in the form of bananas. The restaurant owner Kaoru Otsuka is training three more baby monkeys for the job.
From cradles to coffins, and every furniture in between, Mumbai-based Paper Shaper, a cardboard manufacturing company is making durable, lightweight, recyclable and eco-friendly cardboard furniture with a shelf-life of up to seven years. This eco-friendly furniture, an alternative to wooden, metal and plastic furniture, is portable, durable, easy to assemble and store, as also recyclable. The price starts at Rs 3,000.
Compiled by K T P Radhika
