JAIPUR: Residents of Pink City woke up to the coldest morning of the season on Monday when the city recorded a minimum temperature of 2.3 degrees Celsius, almost 5 degrees below the normal minimum. In most places of the state, shivering cold conditions threw life out of normal gear with Churu recording minus 2.7 degrees and Mount Abu recording minus 0.5 degrees - the two most coldest places in the state.

The two places were followed by Pilani which recorded a minimum temperature of minus 1.4 degrees Celsius, Karauli 0, Sriganganagar 0.4, Vanasthali 0.8, Dausa and Rajsamand 1.5, Bharatpur 1.9, Fatehpur 2.1, Bikaner 2.6, Chittorgarh and Sawai Madhopur 2.8, Bundi 3, Udaipur 3.2, Pali 3.6, Sikar 3.8, Jaisalmer 4, Kota 6.2 and Jodhpur 6.9 degrees Celsius.

With no rain or dust, November was one of the better months for solar power plants in the country

The ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) recently released data of power generation from solar plants constructed under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) for November. And the results span from very good to dismal. November means short days for the solar plants, but according to Vineet Mittal, managing director of Welspun Energy, a solar power developer: “November is one of the better months with no rain or dust and with lower temperatures, closer to the conditions they are made for, increasing output from the cells.”

A recent incident of alleged poaching of a Great Indian Bustard -- the State bird of Rajasthan listed in the “critically endangered” category -- near the famous Sam sand dunes in Jaisalmer district has shocked environmentalists who have blamed poor wildlife management and lack of protective measures for the crime.

Some hunters travelling in two vehicles allegedly shot dead a Great Indian Bustard in broad daylight in Sudasari area forming part of the Desert National Park on December 20 and took away the dead bird. A shepherd saw the act and complained to the forest authorities.

JAIPUR: Anticipating the critical situation and high probability of extinction of the Great Indian Bustard (GIB), the state forest department is ready with an action plan to revive the population o

JAISALMER: For the first time in India, groundwater surveys using heliborne transient electromagnetic technique will be tried for aquifer mapping.

Mumbai Soaring crude prices and pressure back home to keep rates lower is forcing government-run hydrocarbon firms to diversify into non-oil and gas sectors.

Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), which supplies crude to oil refiners at a lower price as part of a government subsidy plan, said its board has approved a plan to enter nuclear power and will soon start discussions with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) for partnering their projects.

JAIPUR: After identifying ten more districts with poor water quality in the state, the medical health and family welfare department has decided to conduct a survey to find out the health related problems people are facing due to the presence of fluoride in water.

Jaipur is one of the 10 districts where the department under the National Programme for Prevention & Control of Fluorosis (NPPCF) would conduct a door-to-door survey. Dungerpur, Jaisalmer, Udaipur, Pali, Jalore, Dausa, Churu, Sikar and Bikaner are the other nine districts where the water quality has raised concerns.

After GAIL found new oil reserves in Ganganagar last month, now Focus Energy last week hit upon huge reserves of gas in three wells in SJL field at RJON/06 in the Shahgarh Bulj area in Jaisalmer at a depth of 3,170m.

Focus Energy is still digging four new wells where the chances of finding gas reserves are high. Focus Energy is using modern technology for exploring oil and gas. The firm has also applied to the state government for making new air strip to ferry the experts in charted planes. The Ministry of defence has also approved it.

Jaipur: The UPA’s mid-day meal programme in Rajasthan is in tatters. The recently released Monitoring Institutions (MIs) report has revealed glaring anomalies in implementation of the scheme with many children in the state not getting any benefits and some actually going hungry.

According to a report, the scheme is not being implemented on a regular basis in some schools in the Pali district. The findings, based on figures between April 2011 and September 2011, were shared recently by the Union HRD ministry.

Jaisalmer: Rajasthan’s desert region has gone from grey to green in little more than a month.