Rising demands of new middle class will be explosive in emerging nations, says new study

India needs to put in place a smart policy to ensure energy efficiency as it urbanises and builds infrastructure rapidly, a top executive of global oil and gas firm Shell says. “A probably biggest social phenomenon of our age is urbanisation, and the way urban centres are structured have huge impact on energy efficiency,” Jeremy Bentham, VP, global business environment, at Royal Dutch Shell, told ET at the launch of Shell’s new study on the future of energy sector.

Feeling the heat
A study was carried out by Scientists of Jammu’s Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agriculture, Science and Technology to find decadal temperature trends across different zones of the state

The focus was to study the rise in temperature over a 10-year period for 30 years. The average high in summer and winter temperature could be 1.2°C to 1.5°C, which is not a good sign for the Himalayan region, says the study

Suggests highest qualified professionals at government housing wings

Achieving equitable urbanisation in Bangalore still remains a concern. Rapidly growing cities across the globe evoke similar sentiments.
Encrusting his suggestions in the context of development of Bangalore, Alfredo Brillembourg, professor of Architecture and Urban Design at the Department of Architecture, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, gave pointers to the government and builders in the City to achieve sustainable development.

Over 3,000 trees, including those falling within the Narpuh Reserve Forest in eastern Meghalaya, might face the axe for the proposed widening of the National Highway 44 which connects the state to

Survey in March records steady depletion

While skyscrapers increase in height and density at the cost of natural water resources like paddy fields, the groundwater level in the district has touched a new low this year. A March-2013 survey by the Groundwater Department of their 54 sample wells across the district show a steady depletion, ranging from 1 m to 20 cm, in groundwater level.

The government has started mapping the entire network of motorable roads in the country as part of its plan to implement scientific transport management.