My Scribles

The first unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) that tripped on October 22 is expected to be reconnected to the grid on Friday night/Saturday, said informed sources. Sources said, on Friday evening that the unit started operating at 25 percent level and is likely to be reconnected to the grid. The unit is expected to generate around 300 MW. According to Power System Operation Corporation Ltd, the KNPP's first unit with a total capacity of 1,000 MW tripped on October 22 early morning due to reverse power. On October 22, the first unit at KNPP was synchronized with the power grid at 2.45 a.m generating 75 MW of power. The power generation was increased to 160 MW. Nearly two hours later, the unit tripped though KNPP officials maintain that the plant was stopped. Speaking to IANS on Tuesday, KNPP site director R.S.Sundar said the unit would generate 300 MW in two/three days time. Queried about the tripping, a senior official of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (A...

After years of delay due to technical glitches and protests, the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in southern Tamil Nadu went on-stream on Tuesday. At 2.45am, unit-1 began transmitting 160MW of electricity to the southern grid. The Tirunelveli plant became functional more than a decade after construction began in 2001 and in the face of resistance from residents spooked by Japan's Fukushima crisis. The cost on the two units has so far exceeded Rs 14,000 crore. The synchronization process of feeding power to the grid took place even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wound up his visit to Moscow where talks were held for the supply of two more 1,000MW Russian reactors for Kudankulam. When fully commissioned, Kudankulam will be India's largest nuclear power plant. "Last night, 160MW was connected to the southern grid. This will be increased after checking the generators and conducting other tests," site director R S Sundar told TOI. The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (...

This year Indian GP will take place at Delhi Buddh International Circuit on October 26 to 27 2013 . All Eyes on Red Bull Driver Sebastian Vettel who is on verge of claiming the 4 the straight Championship in this weekend at Delhi . A Win or Completing the race anything above 5th place will ensure the victory . The Next in championship is the ferrari driver Alonso with a Huge gap of 100 point with only 3 more race remaining . The Indian GP was under the cloud of legal tangle on the issue on non payment of entertainment tax with Supreme court deciding to take up the issue after the race is over . However the organizing are facing the problem of lack of ticket being sold with only 27000 ticket sold till tuesday .

The Tata-Singapore Airlines (SIA) joint venture full service airline will soon take to the skies. The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) on Thursday cleared this proposal in which Tatas will have 51% stake, investing $51 million initially, and SIA will have 49% share and invest $49 million to begin with. Economic affairs secretary Arvind Mayaram told reporters that the deal was cleared without any riders for the proposed Delhi-based airline. Tata-SIA will now require security clearance from the home ministry along with nods from first the aviation ministry and then a licence from the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA). A Tata Group spokesman said: "We are yet to formally hear from the FIPB. We are delighted with the reports of approval. As and when the formal approval comes, we will progress with the subsequent stages of the process." However desperate to shrug off charges of inertia, UPA-II is keen that the airline starts within its remaining term. ...

The Cyclone Phailin is now behind us. The deadly cyclone, which created a national panic, seems to have failed to leave behind a trail of massive death and destruction. The people are heaving a sigh of relief and the life is slowly returning to normal across the coastal districts of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. The government's response to the cyclone has been really good. Even though the hundreds of villages and towns have been damaged by the cyclone, there has been no major loss of life, except a dozen people who died. First, the Met department got it right. It predicted the cyclone Phailin well in advance allowing the government to start a massive evacuation of people from the villages and towns close to the sea. The Indian Meteorology Department (IMD) constantly monitored the approaching cyclone and came out with 100 per cent correct predictions. It has also helped to create an awareness among the people. Lord Paul praises handling of cyclone Phailin, to contribute Rs 25 lakh T...

Smoke detectors frequently produce more headaches than useful warnings. The devices have an irritating habit of shrieking when there's no cause for alarm, and always seem to wait until the middle of the night to chirp when their batteries run low. Tony Fadell, a gadget guru who helped design the iPod and original iPhone while working at Apple, is counting on his latest innovation to prove that a smoke detector can be sleek, smart and appreciated. The device, called "Nest Protect," is the second product hatched from Nest Labs, a startup founded by Fadell in 2010 in an attempt to infuse homes with more of the high-tech wizardry that people take for granted in smartphones. The Palo Alto, California, company has 270 employees and has raised tens of millions of dollars from investors that include Google's venture-capital arm and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a venture capital firm with a long record of backing innovative ideas. The Nest Protect smoke detector can...

The dramatic shutdown of the US government has highlighted the political gridlock in Washington DC. Around 800,000 government employees have been sent home without pay, while 1 million more are being asked to work without pay. Tourists have been locked out of major US sites and there are warnings of broader dire consequences for the economy. The last shutdown 17 years ago lasted for 20 days and there are fears it could take a number of weeks for Congress to overcome this latest stalemate. The shutdown has raised plenty of questions from the ABC Fact Check audience about why it's happening, who is to blame and what might happen next. To provide some clarity on the matter, a selection of questions received on Twitter, Facebook and Reddit is answered below. Can you explain why it is a conflict between the Congress and president? Why they don't have the double dissolution option? - The federal government in the United States has shut down because Congress (the House of Re...

The US government began a partial shutdown on Tuesday for the first time in 17 years, potentially putting up to 1 million workers on unpaid leave, closing national parks and stalling medical research projects. Federal agencies were directed to cut back services after lawmakers could not break a political stalemate that sparked new questions about the ability of a deeply divided Congress to perform its most basic functions. After House Republicans floated a late offer to break the logjam, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid rejected the idea, saying Democrats would not enter into formal negotiations on spending "with a gun to our head" in the form of government shutdowns. In the hours leading up to the deadline, the Democratic-controlled Senate repeatedly stripped measures passed by the House that tied temporary funding for government operations to delaying or scaling back the Affordable Care Act healthcare overhaul known as Obamacare. Shortly after midnight, President B...

The stage is finally set for Assembly polls in four states - Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram - and the National Capital Delhi. The elections results will be known on December 8 and are being touted as the semi-final ahead of the next Lok Sabha elections due in 2014 April/May. The fight is between the Congress and the BJP in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Delhi. In the tiny state of Mizoram, the ruling Congress is facing the Mizo National Front (MNF). The Congress is in power in Rajasthan, Delhi and Mizoram. In Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the BJP has been in power for the past 10 years. For the first time, Delhi is witnessing a high decibel triangular contest with the newly founded Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of Arvind Kejriwal in the fray as a serious contender. The fight is between the Congress and the BJP in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Delhi. In Mizoram it is Congress vs Mizo National Front. Here is a look at why these elections are impo...

lackBerry Ltd, on the block as its smartphone business struggles, is in talks with Cisco Systems, Google and SAP about selling them all or parts of itself, several sources close to the matter said. Such a deal would be an alternative to the preliminary agreement reached weeks ago with a group, led by BlackBerry's biggest shareholder, Fairfax Financial Holdings, to take the company private for about $4.7 billion, a bid which has faced some skepticism because of financing questions. ALSO SEE BlackBerry looking at real estate sales to raise money: Report The company, based in Waterloo, Ontario, has asked for preliminary expressions of interest from potential strategic buyers, which also include Intel and Asian companies LG and Samsung, by early next week. Such a deal would be an alternative to the preliminary agreement reached weeks ago with a group, led by Fairfax. It is unclear which parties will bid, if any. But the potential technology buyers have been especially interested in B...

AirAsia India on Thursday announced that it has received a No Objection Certificate from the ministry of civil aviation and would apply for Air Operating Permit to kick-start its operations. Mittu Chandilya, CEO, AirAsia India said, "We will continue with our preparations and get ourselves ready for take-off once the air operator permit is acquired. We look forward to being one of the dynamic contributors to the development of the Indian aviation industry." Chandilya said AirAsia India was confident that it would be able to replicate the success of its counterparts in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. AirAsia India, a joint venture of Air Aisa, Tata Sons Ltd and Telestra Tradeplace, received a formal approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board of India in April. The airline currently has a fleet of three Airbus A320 aircraft and over 200 employees. The Malaysian parent company's chief Tony Fernandes terming the development as "very exciting", PT...

Tony Fernandes’ dream of making air travel affordable for India’s cab drivers with budget airline AirAsia India seems to be heading for a turbulent take-off. The announcement by the Tata Group, a partner in Air Asia’s Indian venture, that it plans to establish a full-service carrier in a joint venture with Singapore Airlines has caused more than a flutter. Arun Bhatia, the third partner in AirAsia India, said Friday that he wasn’t in the know and was “shocked” to hear the news of the Tata-SIA deal. He reportedly went on to term the move as “unethical”. Bhatia, who owns 21% of the new carrier and whose son Amit is married to steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal’s daughter, has offered to buy out the Tatas’ 30% share in AirAsia India. He’s likely to raise the issue at the carrier’s next board meeting on September 28. The Tatas have refuted the charge of a backdoor deal, saying that their talks with Singapore Airlines started around the same time that discussions on the joint venture with th...

After 17 yrs of trial , finally CBI court have convicted Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav & 5 other for various jail terms. But now Question is if Laoo is in Jail why others revealed by sinha are not behind the bars? ... If Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad is in jail, why is Chief Minister Nitish Kumar free? That is the big question doing the rounds in the political circles in Bihar at the moment. After all, didn’t one of the prime accused in the fodder scandal, Shyam Bihari Sinha, confess to the CBI that he also paid Nitish, (in the Samata Party then), Rs 1 crore of the scam money as election expenditure in 1994? It was finally Lalu’s association with Sinha, the central figure in the scam, which saw him thrown behind bars. Bihar’s opposition parties have started raking up the issue with great energy after the conviction of the RJD chief, particularly after the Jharkhand High Court on 20 September directed the CBI to explain why Nitish and his party colleague Shivanand Tiwari sh...