The rural non-farm economy in India: Some policy issues

The annual growth rate of the male workforce in the rural non- farm sector in India was 4.3 per cent during 1977-88 and 2.0 per cent during 1988-2000, whereas in agriculture it was only one per cent during 1977-99. Thus the non-farm sector in India has immense potential to generate new jobs with relatively low direct investments. However its expansion depends upon a number of factors, which are influenced by government policies – directly or indirectly. These are discussed in this report

Precise time and frequency intercomparison between NPL, India and PTB, Federal Republic of Germany via satellite symphonie-1

A time and frequency intercomparison experiment conducted using Earth stations in New Delhi, India and Raisting, FRG is described. The NPL clock was placed at New Delhi Earth Station and the Raisting Clock was calibrated with PTB/Primary standard via LORAN-C and travelling clocks. The random uncertainity of time comparisons, represented by two sample Allan Variance sigma (30 seconds), was less than 10 nanoseconds. The relative frequency difference between the NPL and Raisting Clocks, SNPL, RAIS, as measured over the 44 days period was found to be -15.7 x 10 to the -13th power. The relative frequency difference between PTB Primary Standard and Raisting Clock, SPTB, RAIS, during this period, was measured to be -22.8 x 10 to the -13th power. The relative frequency difference between NPL clock and PTB Primary Standard, SNPL, PTB, thus, is +7.1 x 10 to the -13th power. The clock rate (UTC, India) of +7.1 + or - 0.5 x 10 to the -13th power, agrees well with that obtained via VLF phase measurements over one year period and with USNO travelling clock time comparisons made in September, 1980

Comparisons of Abiotic Constraints to Chickpea Production in WANA and SAT

'rhe nlajor objective of this sccti~rils to sumrnarizr abiotic constraints affecting chickpea produc:tion ilc.ross the WANA region. 'l'hesr ronstraints will be compared with thost* in the SAT. For this purpose, thc chickpea-growing regions of Sot~thA sia will be corrsidcrt-d as rcprrsentativc of' SAT cnvironmcnts, although it is rccogni~edth ut the c:roy is grown, but to a much lesser cxtcnt, in ottrcr SA'T envirnnmt*nts such as in Australia, Mcxico, and eastern Africa. 'Thesc constraints will then be prioritized in terms of yield loss and potcrrtial fi)r allcviatiun, on the basis of current knowledge. Ways of appropriately mapping these constraints using geagraptlic informstion systctns (GIs) technology will also be considered. I t is intended that these efforts will assist in the formulation of relevant research agendas aimrd at allcviatlon of the stresses, with rational allocation of tasks hztwccn national agricultural research systcrns (NARS) and internationill agriculttiral rcsearch centers (IAHC:)

Preparation of Pre-Reduced Briquettes and Studies on the Kinetics of the Process Under Reduced Pressure

INVESTIGATIONS has been carried out to find the optimum conditions for the production of highly reduced iron ore briquettes suitable as a blast furnace feed from Indian ore fines and low grade coke/wool charcoal under reduced pressure 1 x 101 mm. (Hg.) The effects of time (1/4 hr. to 6 hr.) temperature (950°C to 1150°C and Fe20 1,C ratio (1/3 to 1/5) on the rate of reduction of iron ore brique-ttes have been studied. From the kinetic results, a mecha-nism for reduction of iron oxide in iron ore briquettes is proposed and optimum conditions for production of highly reduced iron ore briquettes are summarised

Superconductivity induced by spark erosion in ZrZn2

We show that the superconductivity observed recently in the weak itinerant ferromagnet ZrZn2 [C. Pfleiderer et al., Nature (London) 412, 58 (2001)] is due to remnants of a superconducting layer induced by spark erosion. Results of resistivity, susceptibility, specific heat and surface analysis measurements on high-quality ZrZn2 crystals show that cutting by spark erosion leaves a superconducting surface layer. The resistive superconducting transition is destroyed by chemically etching a layer of 5 microns from the sample. No signature of superconductivity is observed in rho(T) of etched samples at the lowest current density measured, J=675 Am-2, and at T < 45 mK. EDX analysis shows that spark-eroded surfaces are strongly Zn depleted. The simplest explanation of our results is that the superconductivity results from an alloy with higher Zr content than ZrZn2.Comment: Final published versio

Electrically controlled topological micro cargo transportation

We demonstrate electrically controlled linear translation and precision positioning of a colloidal particle in a soft matter device. The basis of transportation is the time dependent electric field reconfiguration and manipulation of a topological line defect between two distinct hybrid aligned nematic liquid crystal domains having opposing tilt orientations. Deliberately tuning an applied voltage relative to a low threshold value (5.7 V at 1 kHz) permits defect trapping of the colloidal particle and allows subsequent control over the particle’s velocity and bidirectional linear movement over millimeter distances, without the need for externally imposed flow nor for lateral confining walls