.Even in the past in case of an emergency situation the government has gone for purchase of fighter aircrafts on several occasions in the past, he claimed. Similarly, he said that in 1985, two squadrons of Mirage 2000 were procured from France, and later two squadrons of MiG 29 were purchased from the then Soviet Union.As Air Force is already facing a severe shortage of fighter aircraft in wake of India facing major security challenges, Mr Dhanoa admitted that purchase of 36 Rafale jets, which is two squadrons, would help the force deal with the situation.At present the Air Force has 31 squadrons of fighter jets against the sanctioned strength of 42 squadrons.

Acquisitions under this arrangement were faster and the quickest means of achieving operational capability of the IAF, the chief claimed. Procuring Rafale fighter jets and S-400 missile systems would further enhance IAFs capability, he added. "By providing the Rafale and S-400, the government is strengthening the IAF to counter the shortfalls of our depleting numbers,’’ Mr Dhanoa added. Dhanoa on Wednesday claimed that India was facing severe threat and security challenges unlike any other country in the world adding that Air Force had to enhance to further enhance its capacity since intentions of adversaries could well change overnight.S.Mr Dhanoa pointed out that all these procurements were being done under the umbrella of the inter-governmental agreement."

Whenever the government felt the air power element of the defence forces is likely to be in a disadvantageous position, it has gone in for emergency purchases of the aircraft under the umbrella of the inter-governmental agreement," the Air Force chief said.New Delhi: Air Force chief B. Mr Dhnoa said even in the past there were instances of similar "emergency" acquisitions and defended procure of only 36 Rafale fighter jets against the original proposal of 126 aircraft.Apart from Rafale government is also procuring a batch of S-400 air defence missile systems from Russia to further enhance Air Force’s capabilities. While justifying the decision to procure only two Rafale squadrons,"

Mr Dhanoa saidIndia procured two squadrons of MiG 23 MF jets after Pakistan received the first lot of F-16 aircraft in 1983.Mr membrane filtration sterilization Dhanoa claimed countries like China in India’s neighbourhood were not sitting idle and were modernising their Air Force capabilities significantly. "But even when we do have 42 squadrons, we will be below the combined numbers of two of our regional adversaries, he added while referring to China and Pakistan.While justifying purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets Mr Dhanoa claimed that there were example of similar purchases. The Air Force chief was speaking at a seminar on ‘IAF’s force structure, 2035’ in the capital.

Among the city elders who gathered in the front row was a delegation of Sikhs, all wearing black turbans — a symbol of mourning for the king.""Yala in the south is our next destination, on November 9," says Somtow. I joined the musicians in Bangkok as we boarded buses and drove north to Isan."It was hideously wet, yet the water felt like a blessing, a purification."Afterwards I wandered through the square to speak with the people of Korat. The second concert took place on October 27 in Nakhon Ratchasima." A young man with a tattoo of the Thai numeral 9 on his shoulder, said, "I feel that the message is that we must stay together and move forward, it was what the king would want. "Thais strongly believe in the power of water to wash away bad karma of the past, that is the purpose of the Songkran festival, and why people go to monks to be blessed with water.

It felt like the whole community was receiving a heavenly catharsis — that metaphorically Thailand is weathering the storm of losing our king."Maura Moynihan is an author and Tibet expert who has worked with Tibetan refugees in India for many years. Wichian Chanthranothai, governor general of the province, spoke from the stage: "Now we will stand and pray for nine minutes — for our king was the ninth ruler of the Chakri Dynasty. "I plan to do it in both languages; the original Royal Thai and the regional dialect. The anthem rose through the storm, the crowd began to sing, holding white candles shielded by cups that illuminated the avenues and sois that stretched to the edges of the city. It was the national anthem until Thailand became a constitutional monarchy in 1932, yet throughout King Bhumibol’s 70-year reign it was played before composite manufacturers every concert and film."

The mourners bowed their heads for nine minutes of silent prayer, without umbrellas or raincoats, undeterred by water and wind. People carried photographs that for decades have hung in every shop and café; the king playing piano and saxophone, painting Queen Sirikit, his favourite model, visiting wounded soldiers in the years of the communist insurgency, surveying upcountry projects with his maps, pencils and cameras, wiping his brow, holding hands with his people. In India, it is fire, in Thailand it’s water.As the Siam Philharmonic Orchestra rehearsed under an afternoon sky filled with brilliant sun and blue sky, as mourners filled the square and streets, the sea of black garments punctuated by white clad medics and green army fatigues. The event was held in Korat’s main square before a statue of the exalted warrior princess, Lady Suranari, who in 1826 thwarted the armies of King Anouvong of Vientiane. A lady in a black lace shawl, clasped by a jewelled emblem of the king, said: "Since the king died, every day I wake up and cry."

Somtow said afterwards.The Thai national anthem, Sanrasoen Phra Barami, dates from 1913, attributed to Prince Narisara Nuwattiwong, and later revised by Rama VI. It’s a great part of our life.The rain did not relent; Somtow had to rewrite the arrangement five minutes before the performance, for brass and chorus only, all other instruments would be ruined by water. As Somtow said after the concert in Korat: "The love people have for the king is real because he earned it. Yala is over 70 per cent Muslim, so it is vital to show the king was the protector of all religions of Thailand, that he was a symbol of religious tolerance. The airwaves of Thai television and radio are filled with songs, in both popular and classical styles, extolling the king’s life as man and monarch. Do not be afraid of the rain, let us thank the king for all he did for us. For me, music is an intricate and beautiful experience and everyone should appreciate all kinds of music.In this month of mourning for King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the people of Thailand are paying homage to their late sovereign in creative expressions of poetry, art and song.

Indeed, music can be found in everyone. When the concert ended, the rain subsided and the air filled with birds singing. And Somtow Sucharitkul, Thailand’s acclaimed composer and director of the Siam Philharmonic Orchestra, has started a musical pilgrimage to heal a grieving nation by performing the royal anthem throughout the country." When standing with the tens of thousands of Thai citizens who have come together to sing the royal anthem, the unique relationship between the Thai people and their gifted king is palpably felt. Somtow notes: "The royal anthem is so beautiful many people feel it’s the song that represents Thailand, so that is why it’s stayed so popular. He worked so hard for us."The first mass singing of the royal anthem commenced in Bangkok under Somtow’s baton on October 22, 2016 before the Grand Palace.

The concert stage was framed by screens showing film footage of the king’s 70 year reign and a giant portrait of Rama IX wearing the golden robes of his 2006 diamond jubilee celebration. Galleries and streets show murals and paintings of the king’s many roles: statesman, monk, soldier, son, husband and father, musician and artist.A concert held by Somtow Sucharitkul, Thailand’s acclaimed composer and director of the Siam Philharmonic Orchestra, in Korat on October 27. The king gave his whole life to the people of Thailand, we called him Dad."King Bhumibol once said: "Music is a part of myself, whether it is jazz or not. This concert made me feel that the king is still with us, that we can carry on as he did.As the hour for the concert approached, the evening sky filled with black clouds, the boom of thunder and a torrential downpour.

The MP infamously had an altercation with an Air India official last month, which quickly escalated into a fistfight. I believe that Air India’s initial step to put a travel ban on Gaikwad was an apt one. Would I have been let off this easily? Probably not. It would have become a rule and then the rule has to be followed. Him being in a respectable post, and misbehaving, was simply unacceptable. He has been composite material suppliers elected, and then he behaves like this. Consequentially, it led to him being boycotted by the national carrier. I wish they continued to blacklist him. It may be a favour from the airline’s part for him, or they don’t want to get into more troubles. However, the Indian Commercial Pilot’s Association sent a letter the minister of civil aviation Ashok Gajapati Raju seeking an unconditional apology to the officials. Other Federation of Indian Airlines member airlines followed suit. It’s disgusting that he did this, and it’s disgusting that the Parliament wasted so much time on this whole issue.

If a person is behaving badly, one needs to address it then and there. Instead, the need of the hour is to talk and settle the problem.‘It (blacklisting) was a very transparent way of reprimanding him’Madhu Saran, Social EntrepreneurPutting the MP on a no-fly list gave a strong message to wrongdoers. Air India being a government-run body had a lot of pressure and it’s quite understandable that they had to revoke their decision after all the threats they received from different sectors. You can’t pose a threat to people like this and just get away with it. Although it is unclear as to why the ban was lifted, it shows the pressure the airline has been under. One cannot have the VIPs of the country behaving this way. I keep wondering what repercussions I would have had to face had I misbehaved with an airline employee in such a manner.

The video of the event was circulated on social media platforms, and soon the MP gathered flak from several quarters. The move also showed that no MP could misuse his powers and humiliate the same people because of whom he was elected and had taken an oath to safeguard.‘Would I have been let off this easily? Probably not’Sushant Singh, Television Host, Savdhaan IndiaI think no-fly lists, in such cases, is an absolute necessity. You can’t possibly stop a person from doing something; it’s their right to fly.Prominent social servants and celebrities weigh in on the curious case of Ravindra Gaikwad.‘I strongly believe airlines should blacklist anyone who misbehaves’Ishika Taneja, Miss India Tourism Air India was setting a great example by barring Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad and ensuring that safety of others is more important to them. Even if a traveller makes a mistake, they correct them politely.

He harmed someone. Why are MPs getting such treatment? Are we trying to get out the message that some people are better than the others?I also think that had he issued an apology, it wouldn’t be an issue to lift the ban, but considering how Air India was literally forced to lift it, it isn’t acceptable. They should get what they deserve, however big or important they might be. I strongly believe that airlines should blacklist anyone who misbehaves with the staff and co-passengers.The ongoing spat between Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad, and Air India, is revealing a plot twist every passing moment.‘It’s disgusting the Parliament wasted so much time on this issue’Indrajit Lankesh, Kannada film director and producerIt is rogue behaviour on his part. Now, they have lifted the ban.

As a senior politician, what Ravindra Gaikwad did to a member of the crew is not correct. No matter how big his position is, one should behave properly in such a place.In the recent chain of events, Air India lifted that ban after being satisfied with the statement given by the MP. They are quite patient.‘One needs to address it then and there’Ganesh Nallari, DesignerBlacklisting someone from flying won’t solve the problem.‘No matter how big his position, one should behave properly’Subi Suresh, ActorThe cabin crew cares for us, and serves us during the flight. It was a very transparent way of reprimanding him. Just like a driver’s license is banned in a case of drunk driving, the same way this ban should have stayed. You should learn from the way the crewmembers handle travellers during flights.

Gaikwad’s attempts at securing a ticket on Air India have been thwarted several times, and has even led to Shiv Sena MPs threatening to disrupt aviation services in Mumbai, if his status as a flyer isn’t restored. We should give the same respect back to them. They should have gone ahead with the ban. It was a lesson for other people too. Six other domestic airlines too asserted their solidarity with Air India, banning Gaikwad from flying, and blacklisting him. If a man is going to behave like this on a flight and beat someone up with his chappal, then take his own time to apologise and waste people’s time and money on this, it’s ridiculous.

"My husband sent that video to me via WhatsApp.Boeing Co.The disaster has reignited concerns about safety in Indonesia’s fast-growing aviation industry, which was recently removed from European Union and US blacklists, and also raised doubts about the safety of Boeing’s new generation 737 MAX 8 plane.Three other objects in separate locations were reached by divers but turned out to be two sunken boats and a fish trap.At one point, the passenger who shot the video, Paul Ferdinand Ayorbaba, zoomed in on the flight number on his boarding pass. It was his last contact with me, his last message to me," said Inchy Ayorbaba, interviewed at the Jakarta police hospital where she had taken their three children for DNA tests.The messaging app’s timestamp showed the video was sent about 35 minutes before the plane took off, said Ayorbaba, who first saw the message at 6:30 am, some 10 minutes after the plane departed, and then went back to sleep. A remote-operated vehicle was sent to the black box location "but the currents on the seabed were very strong, the ROV was carried away," Syaugi said.

The location of the airplane’s "black box" flight data recorder has been identified, he said, but strong currents prevented it from being recovered.Data from flight-tracking sites show the plane had erratic speed and altitude in the early minutes of a flight on Sunday and on its fatal flight Monday.Indonesian airlines were barred in 2007 from flying to Europe because of safety concerns, though several were allowed to resume services in the following decade.Indonesian TV broadcast a smartphone video of passengers boarding Flight 610, its mundane details transformed into unsettling moments by knowledge of the tragedy that would transpire. He said the area is about 400 meters (1,300 feet) from the coordinates where the airplane lost contact. "We believe the fuselage will be around there, we hope that our target can be found. Later in the flight, a man who was either the captain or first officer walked through the plane and returned to the cockpit with what looked like a large manual.Lion Air, a discount carrier, is one of Indonesia’s youngest and biggest airlines, flying to dozens of domestic and international destinations.Several passengers on the Sunday flight from Bali to Jakarta have recounted problems that included a long-delayed takeoff for an engine check and terrifying descents in the first 10 minutes in the air.

It showed passengers’ boarding passes being checked and people walking along a concourse and then down stairs with bright red and white Lion Air jets visible on the tarmac. The ban was completely lifted in June.2 billion, and currently operates nine. In December 2014, an AirAsia flight from Surabaya to Singapore plunged into the sea, killing all 162 on board. It has been expanding aggressively in Southeast Asia, a fast-growing region of more than 600 million people. experts were expected to arrive in Indonesia on Wednesday and Lion Air has said an "intense" internal investigation is underway in addition to the probe by safety regulators.Searchers have sent 57 body bags containing human remains to police identification experts who on Wednesday said they’d identified their first victim, a 24-year-old woman, from a ring and a right hand.Syaugi said one of the ships with high-tech equipment being used in the search dispatched a remote-operated vehicle that recorded parts of the aircraft on the seafloor but not the 22-meter (72-foot) -long object detected at a depth of 32 meters (105 feet) that is believed to be the fuselage. "We saw belongings such as life jackets, pants, clothes scattered on the seabed," Syaugi said.Lion Air has said maintenance was carried out on the aircraft after the Sunday flight and a problem, which it didn’t specify, was fixed.

Musyafak, the head of Said Sukanto Police Hospital, said nearly 150 samples for DNA testing have been collected but more are still needed, especially from parents and children of victims.Anguished family members have been providing samples for DNA tests and police say results are expected within 4-8 days. The US lifted a decadelong ban in 2016.Search and Rescue Agency chief Muhammad Syaugi said the seafloor findings give the search team confidence they will find the body of the aircraft.Jakarta: The search for the crashed Lion Air plane has found aircraft debris and passenger belongings on the seafloor but the object thought to be the fuselage is still eluding it, an Indonesian official said Wednesday, as chilling video of passengers boarding the fatal flight emerged."The 2-month-old Boeing 737 MAX 8 jet plunged into the Java Sea early Monday just minutes after taking off from Jakarta, killing all 189 people on board. breathable membrane A part of the video shows passengers walking up the boarding stairs to a Lion jet. It also has ordered all Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes operated by Lion Air and national carrier Garuda to be inspected.

Two interviewed on Indonesian TV recalled details such as a strange engine sound, a smell of burnt cables, and panicked passengers crying out for God to save them as the plane rapidly lost altitude. "Of course there are lots of things we will ask them, we all have question marks here, ‘Why? What’s the matter with this new plane,’" Putut said.Lion Air’s technical director was removed from duty Wednesday at the order of the Transport Ministry.The crash is the worst airline disaster in Indonesia since 1997, when 234 people died in the crash of a Garuda flight near Medan. Lion has ordered 50 of the jets, worth an estimated USD 6..Daniel Putut, a Lion Air managing director, said Tuesday evening the airline has many questions for Boeing. Safety experts caution, however, that the data must be checked for accuracy against the plane’s black boxes.

This "silent killer" is very much like inflation. Air pollution, the author reminds us, affects the poor the most.Investment incentives for clean coal and efficient industrial equipment aligned with the excellent work already done by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, needs sustained support.The author points to the dire need for collective action by citizens to press government into doing more to avoid people from falling sick — often terminally with lung cancer; becoming prone to diabetes or deficient in Vitamin D because the healing rays of the sun are often shaded out by soot particles from burning biomass or poorly maintained coal-fired power plants — many of which are owned by the public sector. This government has the satisfaction that inflation has reduced during its term and continues to be low.

But simultaneous action is key on all the four main sources — power generation from big coal plants and distributed diesel generators used by the rich and by industry to fill the gaps in electricity supply; private vehicles particularly diesel cars, trucks and buses; coal-fired industries and the burning of biomass.Some of this pollution is due to the burning of rice stubble in November to clear the fields for the winter wheat crop. Much of this is because there is an empowered institution — the Reserve Bank of India which has a performance metric, since 2015, to keep inflation low. This is a lucidly written account of why India is so polluted. To the impatient reader these come as distractions from the main story.Read this in conjunction with Chapter 2 which is intriguingly titled, "Love in the Time of Air Pollution". Similarly, nimble, public sector incubators and "green" equipment supply aggregators, like the Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) should be networked into a pan-India "green" manufacturing community, which leads the way to uncover the piles of "gold" hidden under the pervasive soot.

The first three chapters like a novel with a bottom-up view of what air pollution means to the ordinary Indian and the havoc it can cause in everyday lives.The short point is there is contradictory evidence about the load of pollutants imposed from different sources.The political economy issue with enhancing the supply of quality public goods (like clean air) is that they are not as effective for getting votes as reducing the cost of private goods (food, fuel and fertiliser) for getting votes — the final metric in a democracy of how and where capital is allocated. This cloud of death hangs about the northern plains just below the Himalayan range. India is a soft state. The author purposefully dumbs down the narrative. The existing institutional architecture is weak and relies heavily on direct intervention by the Supreme Court to achieve this objective.The Great Smog of India is in the genre of everything-the-intelligent-person should know about air pollution in India. There are other point sources of emission like construction, industry and transport.

Unlike China, top-down directives are unlikely to work. It’s attractively written with an easy, breezy style.This would not however end air pollution in the Gangetic plain. It instantly sets the reader at ease that she is not about to be inundated with complicated scientific models and graphs about climate change.Managing air and water pollution is an executive responsibility. Clearly this is suboptimal. There is a great deal of overseas work on the source and health impacts of air pollution but relatively little about India. The costs associated with cleaning up our coal, biomass and oil economies is miniscule when compared with the likely health impacts of further neglect. We learn for instance that a million people — around 10 per cent of total deaths — die every year prematurely due to air pollution. Just `240 billion could virtually end pollution on this account by subsidising the purchase of farm equipment in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh which can cut the stubble, plant the wheat crop and grind the paddy straw into the soil as desirable, protective mulch for the wheat seeds.

But it would cut the peak loads which push air quality into the hazardous range during winter. He emphasises that the success and affordability of making better healthcare accessible to all — on which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid great stress — depends on ensuring that less people fall ill in the first place. The wonder is that this paltry sum is considered unaffordable as a public outlay.Sanjeev Ahluwalia is adviser, Observer Research Foundation.Smog is a North Indian problem caused by the mighty Himalayas which block the dust and soot, carried by strong winds from as far away ptfe membrane manufacturers as West Asia, from transgressing into Tibet and thence China. Such readers are advised to proceed directly to the last chapter. Spread across the affected population of at least 400 million citizens it amounts to just `600 per head — less than the cost of a tandoori chicken meal for two in a Punjab roadside dhaba.The book is an engaging, albeit rambling forest walk, with the author happily heading off into side trails, ranging from energy efficiency in the manufacturing sector to the economic history of agricultural production in North India; coal mining practices and the structure of the transportation market.

The way out is to make adequate capital allocations such that polluters — many of whom are public sector companies, like the oil companies, which have yet to roll out Bharat VI standard fuel — make the necessary capital investments and control end-of-pipe pollution emissions.The author is wise in limiting his objectives to build his narrative by aggregating existing literature.As elections near, all political parties race to appease poor Indians who are the largest voter group.Dealing with pollution requires a similarly empowered institution whose performance is tied solely to controlling pollution. But the title is just a hook to get the reader down to some serious reading about the sources of air pollution and the health impacts thereof.