There has been a huge increase in the use of open-loop scrubbers in ships in just last one year, even as a debate about their viability in mitigating sulphur emissions from ships has also escalated.

The International Maritime Organisation's (IMO) adopted the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) Annex VI in 2008 that regulates the prevention of air pollution from ships and prohibits deliberate emissions of ozone-depleting substances such as sulphur oxides and nitrous oxides.

Following the adoption, exhaust scrubbers have become one of the most preferred ways of reducing sulphur exhaust as they 'scrub' pollutants out of emissions.

Source

In December 2017, the Cabinet Committee on Security cleared the India-based Neutrino Observatory project, to be built at an investment of Rs 1,500 crore. It is the latest in a series of neutrino detectors, neutrino factories and experiments being set up worldwide to promote research in particle physics.

• What is a neutrino?
  • Neutrinos are the smallest particles that form the universe.
• Who else has a neutrino facility?
  • Underground: SNO, Canada, Kamioka in Japan and Gran Sasso, Italy.
  • Underwater: Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, Antarctica. Antares - under Mediterranean sea off coast of Toulon, France.
• Who is in-charge of the project?
  • The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research is the nodal institution. The observatory is to be built jointly with the Department of Atomic Energy and the Department of Science and Technology.
• What's special about locating the INO in the South?
  • A project report says most of the neutrino detectors are at latitudes over 35 deg. It is possible to push such a detector down to almost 8 deg latitude in South India, within proximity to the Equator. This permits neutrino astronomy searches covering the whole celestial sky and study of solar neutrinos passing through the Earth's core
• Why are the locals opposing it?
  • Locals fear that the excavation and blasts needed to bore the tunnel in the mountains will endanger the biodiversity of the Western Ghats. Some of the concerns voiced range from radiation, structural damage to the mountain to emission of hazardous chemicals
• The Kolar Gold Field mines housed one of the earliest laboratories to study and detect neutrinos. It was located at a depth of 2,000 m. The first atmospheric neutrinos were detected here in 1965. The laboratory was shut following the closure of the mines.

Refer: "

All the above are the goals of the planning system in India between 1950-1990.

Foot loose industries can be located in a wide variety of places. They are not dependent on any specific raw material, weight losing or otherwise. They largely depend on component parts which can be obtained anywhere.

They produce in small quantity and also employ a small labour force. These are generally not polluting industries. The important factor in their location is accessibility by road network. "

Kalbelia is a sensuous folk dance performed by the women of the Kalbelia community of Rajasthan. The costumes and dance movement are similar to that of the serpents. 'Been' (wind instrument played by snake charmers) is the popular musical instrument of this dance form. The UNESCO has inscribed Kalbelia folk songs and dances in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010. "