Indian scientist in race to head Chinese institute
Bengaluru, July 6 : In a first, India-born geophysicist Paramesh Banerjee is among the four shortlisted to head the Institute of Geophysics, a top scientific organisation of China's Earthquake Administration (CEA). The other three candidates are Chinese.
"Final result is not out yet, but will feel proud to be the first Indian in that position," Banerjee, currently technical director of the Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS) at Nanyang Technical University (NTU), told this correspondent in an email.
"That's great news," Vineet Gahalaut, director of the National Centre for Seismology in New Delhi, told IANS.
"Paramesh was one amongst the few who initiated GPS measurements in India and, during the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake, he was the one who proposed that the giant earthquakes could cause deformation at distances as far as 2,500 km away which could be captured by the GPS."
Banerjee, who in 2017 was elected president of the Asian Seismological Commission (ASC), "has made tremendous impact in a short time", added Harsh Gupta, renowned seismologist and former secretary of what is now the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
Developing an earthquake resilient society is of utmost importance for the Asian region where almost 80 per cent of fatalities due to earthquakes occur, Gupta said.
"It is hoped that under the leadership of Paramesh Banerjee, if selected, such problems would be addressed."
An alumnus of the Indian School of Mines in Dhanbad, Banerjee worked at the University of California, Berkeley, he US and at the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology in Dehradun before joining Singapore's NTU in 2009.
Recipient of the Indian Geosciences Award in 2009 for his work on Himalayan tectonics, Banerjee, as technical director of EOS, has been responsible for establishing a vast network of geodetic and seismological instrumentation networks in seven Asian countries.
Asia, being the most vulnerable continent in the entire world, is also the least prepared to manage earthquake related disasters, Banerjee told IANS and pointed out that "lack of scientific and technological capacity is a major hindrance to properly orient government policies towards a better disaster mitigation plan".
During the ASC's General Assembly meeting held last May at Chengdu in China, Banerjee outlined a "Practical Approach Towards Safeguarding Asian Society from Earthquake related Hazards".
He said that resources from Asian countries can be combined to create a Pan-Asian centre which will serve as a hub for technology transfer, seismological and geodetic data processing centre.
"It will also carry out advanced geophysical projects like earthquake early-warning system, seismic monitoring network, airborne and other geophysical surveys for active fault mapping and subsurface investigations."
Banerjee, who has a commercial pilot license, flew over Nepal after the 2015 earthquake to construct a 3-D digital terrain map of the Himalayan faults.
"My main objective is to build a common platform that can help promote cooperation among Asian nations in seismic research to better tackle earthquake related disasters," he said.
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BJP to retain Assam, win Bengal; NDA to emerge strong in TN, Kerala, Pondy: Pradhan
Bengaluru (PTI): Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday said the BJP would retain power in Assam, while expressing confidence that there would be a change of government in West Bengal, citing people’s continued faith in PM Narendra Modi and the party.
Asserting that NDA is likely to return to power in the union territory of Puducherry, he expressed confidence that the BJP-led alliance would emerge strongly in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
The counting of votes for all five Assemblies—West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, and Assam—will take place on May 4.
Polls were conducted in a single phase in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, and Tamil Nadu, while West Bengal saw two phases of polling on April 23 and 29.
On April 9, Assam, Kerala, and Puducherry went to the polls, while Tamil Nadu voted on April 23.
“Beyond exit polls, all of us who worked in the election campaign this time in the five states (four states and one union territory) are confident that the BJP will retain power in Assam and that, for the first time in a long period, West Bengal is heading for a major change,” Pradhan said.
Speaking to reporters, the union education minister said there is significant anti-incumbency against the TMC government in West Bengal due to alleged misgovernance, appeasement politics, and corruption.
“The people of West Bengal are reposing their faith in the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the policies of the BJP and the leadership of the state BJP. I am confident there will be a change of government in West Bengal,” he added.
Pradhan said that, in all probability, the NDA (All India N R Congress–BJP alliance) will retain power in Puducherry.
“In Kerala and Tamil Nadu, I think we are all confident that our alliance will emerge strongly,” he added.
Several exit polls on Wednesday predicted a thumping victory for the BJP in Assam and a clear edge for the party over the ruling TMC in West Bengal, while projecting a return of the DMK government in Tamil Nadu and a comeback by the Congress-led UDF in Kerala after 10 years.
However, some pollsters predicted a big win for the TMC in West Bengal and a hung House in Tamil Nadu, with actor-turned-politician Vijay’s TVK emerging as a spoiler for the DMK. Almost all forecasts indicated a return to power for the AINRC-led NDA government in Puducherry.
