Construction Sector pays Rs. 259 per hour - online survey

Information Technology Sector pays the highest wages

A Survey has come out with median wages across various sectors. It is an index presented by Monster India and Paycheck.in, alongwith Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Larger companies pay higher than smaller ones. Higher median wages were paid by foreign firms and comparatively lower median wages paid by domestic companies. Construction Sector pays Rs. 259 per hour. IT Sector pays Rs. 341.8 per hour. This is an online volunteer survey, and thus the data in all likelihood is biased towards those who have internet access. This data was able to capture only the organised sector in India, NOTE.
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"... The report looked into overall median wages in India’s economy as well as median wages by several sectors such as construction and technical consultancy, education and research, financial services, banking and insurance, healthcare, social work, IT services, legal and market consultancy, business activities, manufacturing, transport and logistics. According to the index, finance pays the second-most lucrative salary of Rs 291 an hour. ... the median gross salary in the construction sector stood at Rs 259 an hour, healthcare (Rs 215), legal (Rs 215.6), and manufacturing and transport (Rs 230.9). ..."
"... Likewise, satisfaction with life is higher in the manufacturing sector compared to other sectors.
The analysis takes into account the period between first quarter of 2012 up to December 2014 for wages and till the first quarter of 2014 for working conditions and satisfaction.
The sample used for the analysis consists of 35,929 respondents, approximately 85.7 per cent of which were men. Respondents from different age groups, varied industries, and various hierarchical positions in their respective occupations were included in the sample. ..."

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Find this at http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/it-sector-offers-highest-wage-at-341-8-hr-survey-115012000793_1.html .

Bhubaneswar Housing Project Precast Construction Technology

Bhubaneswar to herald Precast Technology usage in Odisha Construction Projects

The Bhubaneswar Development Authority has decided to introduce the Precast Construction Technology to speed up building its affordable housing project. There will soon be a shortage of 1 Lakh Housing Units in the city. They are saying that if more than 4000 Units are constructed using precast technology then the cost will come down by 10 percent. This technology may then be spread elsewhere in Odisha.
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"... In precast technology, the raw materials used for construction are created by casting the mould in a controlled environment and transported to the project site.
Highlighting the increasing requirement for affordable houses in the Capital, Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) Minister and chief guest of the seminar Pushpendra Singhdeo said the city's current population of 10 lakh is expected to cross 30 lakh by 2030. To meet the housing requirement, the State Government has decided to construct 15,000 housing units in the city every year. Currently, about 42 per cent of the city's population are living in slum areas. ..."
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Find this at http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/Precast-Technology-to-be-Used-in-BDA-Housing-Project-Plan/2015/01/14/article2618905.ece .

Hindu Mahasabha may build temple to Godse

Godse's Temple

Nathuram Godse, who shot dead Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, may have a temple built to him.
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"... It's the same plot of land on which the Bharat Mata Temple was to be built, ..."

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Find this at http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/Hindu-Mahasabha-to-build-Godses-temple/articleshow/45610617.cms .
[What should Nathuram Godse's temple be like?, we at ANI ask.]

India is co building the largest telescope in the world

Largest telescope in the world.

India will co-build, along with USA, China, Japan, the largest telescope in the world. Canada is also expected to join.
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"... The next-generation 30-meter telescope, which is being built at Mount Mauna Kea on an island in Hawaii at a height of 4,050 meter (half the size of Himalayas), is expected to give a major boost to the field of astrophysics and understanding different facets of the Universe. ..."
"... On its part, India will contribute 30 per cent of the amount to the total pool of constructing infrastructure facilities like the access road and buildings while 70 percent will be used in providing high quality sensors and actuators. ..."
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Find this at http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/science/india-joins-project-to-build-worlds-largest-telescope-in-us/articleshow/45354534.cms .

Indian Boomer Makes Progress - Navy's SSBN programme

India's first self built SSBN (Nuclear Ballistic Missile Submarine) Arihant makes progress

The 6,500 ton Arihant is India's first domestically built SSBN and has begun sea trials. It might end up more as a technology demonstrator though.
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"... Arihant is based on the Russian Navy’s Akula-class design and can field 12 Sagarika submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) with nuclear warheads. The missiles are capable of a range of about 435 miles.
The class has been under development for decades ... that has attempted since the 1970s to create a domestic Indian nuclear submarine, according to Naval Institute’s Combat Fleet’s of the World. ..."

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Find this at http://news.usni.org/2014/12/16/new-indian-boomer-starts-sea-trials .

Women On Construction Sites - Not Easy

Discrimination Towards Women Labourers on Construction Sites in India

Extracts, excerpts: two types of construction workers - living in cities - migrants - migrants have a harder time - Women in Informal Employment: Globalising and Organising - no community - living conditions much worse - no water supplies and toilets -  nowhere to leave children when work - workers recruited from villages by contractors - contractors responsible for accommodation, transport to and from site, and decide pay and working conditions - Women laborers say paid less than men - Female workers in Delhi earned 250 rupees ($4) a day compared to 450 rupees paid to men for same work. ... But - awakening among contractors - Companies themselves now recognize social care - Basic minimum facilities - crèches provided on sites - Organizations Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) - female trade union - 1.3 million members - say most female laborers unaware of rights - SEWA formed a cooperative of female laborers in Ahmedabad - on-the-job training to develop skills ranging from cleaning, carrying and shoveling to masonry, carpentry and plumbing.
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"... Across towns and cities in India, it is not uncommon to see women like Kamlesh cleaning building sites, carrying bricks and or shoveling gravel - helping construct the infrastructure necessary for the country's economic and social development.
They help build roads, railway tracks, airports, and offices. They lay pipes for clean water supplies, cables for telecommunications, and dig the drains for sewage systems.
But although women make up at least 20 percent of India's 40 million construction workers, they are less recognized than male workers with lower pay and often prone to safety hazards and sexual harassment. ..."
"... Another challenge faced by women as well as men is the lack of financial compensation when they get sick, say activists.
"Women in the construction industry in India do the lift-and-carry work. They climb the scaffoldings with the bricks and soil on their heads. The hazards they face are often much higher than men," said Chen.
"Their body is their only asset. Safety and health is a big issue. If they are sick or injured and can't work, they lose money. There are no benefits as they work in many different places, for different employers and are paid on a daily basis."
Industry officials admit the discrimination in wages and recognition of skills of female workers, but say attitudes are beginning to change among the country's bigger companies. ..."

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Find this at http://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-women-construction-idUSKBN0KL00920150112 .

Temples were dismantled in India and shipped to Cambodia!

Angkor Vat and Cambodian temples built in India?

A mystic says that the Cambodian temples at Angkor Vat and elsewhere were built and carved in Tamil Nadu and then transported alongwith elephants to Cambodia. The stones were numbered and dismantled before shipping them. Once in Cambodia they were reassembled and re-carved. Cambodians were not adept at assembling temples, the mystic says. He is Swami Nithyananda. But then the temples have foundation inscriptions that mention the year of their consecration. They say that this means that the assertion is incorrect. A believer says that Nithyananda has the "highest genes on the planet".
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"... The Funan period saw extensive Indianisation in the region, in particular from the north Indian Gupta dynasty and the Pallava dynasty of Tamil Nadu, the latter of whom Nithyananda credits with this remarkable feat of engineering and logistics. ..."
"... On the question of dating the temples, ... there is naturally some academic debate about the flows of trade and culture between this region and the Indian subcontinent. “There is obviously some Pallava influence on Khmer culture, among others, but to suggest that it was transplanted here wholesale is frankly ludicrous, and flies in the face of an overwhelming body of evidence to the contrary.”
More fatally to the Swami’s claims, there are hundreds of temples scattered across Cambodia whose construction corresponds with the Pallava dynasty’s time in Cambodia. These are all, however, constructed from brick, not stone, and were not carved. ..."

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Find this at http://www.phnompenhpost.com/mystic-claims-angkorian-temples-built-india .

Solar Power meets most of this Green Building's energy requirements

"Net Zero Energy" Consuming Building, India's First - Indira Paryavaran Bhawan

Indira Paryavaran Bhawan, india's first 'Net Zero Energy' consuming building is constructed in such a way so as to meet most of its annual energy requirements through solar power. It's a green building which comprises India's largest roof-top solar panel. They say that it is state of the art landmark building. It has a green building rating of 5 Star of GRIHA and Platinum rating of LEED India.
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"... The 'Net Zero Energy' building - also called Net Zero Building - is a structure with zero net energy consumption where the total amount of energy used in the premises on an annual basis is more or less equal to the amount of renewable energy created on the site. ..."
"... building that is based on conservation of natural areas and trees to reduce adverse environmental impact, provide adequate natural light, shaded landscaped areas to reduce ambient temperature, maximize energy saving system and minimize operation cost by adopting green building concepts. ..."
"... Architectural design of the building is primarily based on following concepts:
* Preservation of maximum possible number of trees standing over the site * Solar Passive Architecture with proper orientation and shading of Fenestrations * Appropriate building envelope design with envelope insulation to reduce heat intake * Use of permanent, durable and local materials such as sand stone on exterior face, low heat transmission glass and reflective roofing * Priority for pedestrians in the front, with vehicular access on the sides of the building * Reduction of conventional lighting load by ensuring 75% day-light use * Natural ventilation due to stack effect * The building is designed in such a way that there is free ventilation across the entire building
Energy conservation measures:
* Utilization of High Efficiency Solar Panels to achieve Net Zero criteria. Energy efficient T-5 and LED fixtures * Innovative chilled beam system for cooling * Pre-cooling of fresh air from exhaust using heat recovery wheel in order to reduce load on chiller plant * Water cooled chillers * Double skin air handling units with variable frequency drives * Geo thermal heat exchange technology used for heat rejection from Air-conditioning system * Innovative energy saving regenerative lifts which have been installed for the first time in government institutional building. ..."
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Find this at http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/UN-secretary-general-visits-Indias-first-Net-Zero-Energy-consumption-building/articleshow/45872916.cms .

Road Construction India over the next few years

Road Construction 30 km a day

The Govt has set a road construction target of 30km a day in 2 years. Rs. 5 Lakh Crore investment would be made.
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"... According to sources, the ministry has an ambitious target to award about 40,000 km of national highways during the next five years to push road construction. ... the government would provide all possible support to the industry including lowering interest rate on loans to execute more projects through the public-private-partnership (PPP). ..."
"... by International Road Federation ... while the government's focus is to build more roads to improve mobility, it is determined to lower the number of deaths due to crashes. "There are five lakh road accidents in which 1.5 lakh people lose their lives... decided to provide 50% financial assistance to all one million-plus cities, if they under take research and study on how to make its roads safe," ..."
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Find this at http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Govt-sets-road-construction-target-of-30km-a-day-in-2-years/articleshow/45904696.cms .
Read also about the Road Transport and Safety Bill. The Law is being overhauled.

1200 metres high tower in 1 sqkm land area, and costing Rs. 120 Crores

India to have World's tallest tower

A developer plans to build a 1.2 km high tower in Dream City, Khajod, Surat, Gujarat and will cost Dh697m or Rs. 1.2 Billion (Rs. 1200 Million or Rs. 120 Crore). He seeks an area of 1 sqkm. They are talking about using a new patented technology for the construction.
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"... The 828-metre Burj Khalifa is the world’s tallest tower and houses 900 apartments, 144 private Armani Residences, the tallest observation deck.
Burj Khalifa holds number of Guinness World Records titles such as tallest Building; tallest man-made structure on land ever; highest residential apartments (385 metre); most floors in a building (160); highest restaurant from ground level (441 metre); tallest elevator (504 metre) and highest observation deck (555.7 mertre).
Dubai is also already home to Princess Tower (414 metre), the world's highest residential tower and JW Marriott Marquis (355 metre), the world's highest hotel and Infinity Tower (310 metre), the world's tallest tower featuring a 90-degree twist. ..."
"... The world’s tallest statue – ‘Statue of Unity’ – is being built in Gujarat, the ..."

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Find this at http://www.emirates247.com/business/economy-finance/indian-developer-plans-to-build-world-s-tallest-tower-2015-01-03-1.575234 .

Detailed guidelines for making aircrafts - 7000 BC India

Ancient Indian Maha Rishi Bharadwaj had written about planes and diet of pilots

According to a paper the ancient Indian sage Maharshi Bharadwaj had given detailed guidelines for making aircrafts. It says that sages and scientists had written about them as early as 7000 BC. In fact the presenter of the paper at the Indian Science Congress exhorted young scientists to attempt making metal alloys as per the Maharshi's book 'Vimana Samhita' for plane making. [Yes, that's great.]
And India also had a radar system! [ :-) ] And there a prescribed diet for pilots. Pilots had to wear clothes made out of vegetation grown underwater.
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"... There are 97 reference books for aviation. In Brihatvimanshastra, he has given 500 guidelines ... The Maharishi ... defined an aeroplane as “a vehicle which travels through air from one country to other, from one continent to other, from one planet to other.” ... Captain Bodas also spoke of the “jumbo” aeroplanes of ancient India. “The basic structure was of 60 by 60 feet and in some cases, over 200 feet,” he said, some with “40 small engines”.
The ancient Indian radar system was called, rooparkanrahasya. “In this system, the shape of the aeroplane was presented to the observer, instead of the mere blimp that is seen on modern radar systems,” he said. ..."

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Find this at http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/first-man-to-build-and-fly-an-aircraft-was-indian/article6753840.ece .

3D Printing and Apartment Building

World's first 3D Printed apartment building in China

A Chinese Company has demonstrated the construction of world's first 3D-printed apartment building from a special print material. WinSun printed 10 houses in 24 hours using a proprietary 3D printer that uses a mixture of ground construction and industrial waste such as glass and tailings around a base of quick-drying cement mixed with a special hardening agent. The computer controls the extruder arm to lay down the material like a baker with a cake. The walls are hollow inside with a zig-zag pattern to provide reinforcement and also space for insulation. This process saves between 30 and 60 percent of construction waste, and can decrease production times by between 50 and 70 percent, and labour costs by between 50 and 80 percent. The construction method is both environmentally fine and cost effective. Recycled materials are used.
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"... Now, WinSun has further demonstrated the efficacy of its technology -- with a five-storey apartment building and a 1,100 square metre (11,840 square foot) villa, complete with decorative elements inside and out, on display at Suzhou Industrial Park.
The 3D printer array, developed by Ma Yihe, who has been inventing 3D printers for over a decade, stands 6.6 metres high, 10 metres wide and 40 metres long (20 by 33 by 132 feet). This fabricates the parts in large pieces at WinSun's facility. The structures are then assembled on-site, complete with steel reinforcements and insulation in order to comply with official building standards. ..."

 

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Find this at http://www.cnet.com/au/news/worlds-first-3d-printed-apartment-building-constructed-in-china .

India is building solar plants over canals to save land, water

India figures canal tops are fine places to install solar power plants!

India is exploring places to install solar plants, and that includes the top of canals. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon inaugurated a new "canal-top" solar energy plant in Vadodara, Gujarat. The investment target for solar alone is raised to $100 billion. They say that by 2022, India would scale up solar power to over 10 percent of its total energy mix.
An earlier 10 MW plant on the outskirts of Vadodara is built across 3.6 km of irrigation canal, and has 33,800 solar panels mounted on steel scaffolding. It's connected to the state grid. On a good day, the plant generates 50,000 units of electricity (1 unit equals 1 hour of 1,000-watt usage), and is scheduled to produce 16.2 million units in its first year, declining 1 percent annually as the panels degrade. Find mention also about the Sardar Sarovar project, a hydropower and irrigation scheme meant for 1.8 million hectares (4.45 million acres) of land in Gujarat and Rajasthan through 75,000 kms of canal.
Lower temperatures due to the water body below the canal-top plants boost panel efficiency by around 7 percent. But the higher construction cost of these plants because of the use of more structural steel is a disadvantage.
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"... "I saw more than glittering panels – I saw the future of India and the future of our world," said Ban. "I saw India's bright creativity, ingenuity and cutting-edge technology."
Experts identify two major advantages in building solar plants atop canals: efficient and cheap land use, and reduced water evaporation from the channels underneath. ..."
"... As part of that effort, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy plans to create 100 megawatts (MW) of capacity from grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants built on top of canals and on their banks ..."
"... The cost of producing 1 unit of electricity at the Vadodara plant is 6.5 rupees ($0.105). ... canal-top plants are more expensive to maintain ... the company incorporated side bars on the scaffolding and walkways between the panels so they can be reached easily for cleaning. ... another smaller plant in Gujarat, ... along a 750-metre stretch of canal, the 1 MW plant has so far generated 4.35 million units of electricity. ..."
"... The 1 MW canal-top plant cost $2.8 million, ... whereas a 1 MW land-based solar plant costs $2.3 million.
Another problem is that PV panels are usually mounted facing southwards for optimal performance, but a canal might curve and change direction. Using only north-south stretches of water could limit the scale of canal-top plants, ... Long-term exposure to environmental stresses and ingress of water into the panels could reduce their performance, ... Further concerns centre on the potential environmental impacts of canal-top plants on their surroundings, as the risks remain unclear. ... canal water could be contaminated by chemicals used on the plant’s scaffolding for maintenance. But ... fears may be unfounded because the canal water is flowing, not stagnant. ..."

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Find this at http://in.reuters.com/article/india-solar-idINKBN0KP0ZO20150116 .

How to build solar energy in India? Distributed Solar Energy Plan.

Distributed Energy Plan well suited for India in its quest for Solar Power Grid Plugging.

India is moving towards solar energy but it is doing so by incorporating that in mega projects. It is doing so by installing 500 MW scale or more projects. This opinion says that India should also opt for 'residential solar'. They say that India can't get its centralised fossil fuel industry to run properly, and megasolar projects can actually add to the problem. According to them there is a connection. Well?.. They also cite SunEdison, SunPower, Tesla Motors, SolarCity, the Solar Companies. Roof top or small solar projects types of distributed energy sources is a solution for India.

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"... The better solution for supplying energy to India's remote, underserved population would be through distributed energy sources like rooftop or small solar projects. ... 2 GW of 20 GW built by 2022 should be distributed solar, but those projects have been slow to develop. ..."

"... SunEdison ... it is working with Omnigrid Micropower Company to build 5,000 solar projects in rural India over 3-5 years, totaling 250 MW. For perspective, these projects would average 50 kW in size, about 10 times the size of an average residential installation in the U.S. ...

"... but reliable mini-grids could prove to be far more valuable for India, increasing the reliability of the grid while simultaneously lowering costs for customers. Even distributed solar is competitive with grid prices if financing is available for these projects.

The next step would be adding storage to these mini-grids, allowing for 24/7 power in remote towns. Storage is something that's beginning to gain acceptance around the world, so it's a possible solution to India's power issues. In time, this will help with reliability, and potentially bring economic growth to regions of India that have yet to develop. ..."

Residential Solar is the way for India, they say.

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Find this at http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/01/17/this-is-how-india-should-be-building-solar-energy.aspx .

Tokyo is quiet and speaks through its visuals

Public choreography repeated seamlessly

They say it is "public choreography that is repeated seamlessly hundreds of times a day". Wow! What a thing to say. The rush is silent. :-)The cacophony is absent and rather there are visual delights.
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"... Serene and surprisingly quiet, Tokyo is a city of visuals. Deliberate design, architecture, interiors and fashion dominate every space. People speak in controlled tones and even trains pass without the usual cacophony. It is in the palpable influence of the traditions of ikebana and origami, the wavering lines of the buildings in Aoyama, the bright interiors in Ginza and the earth toned hues of older structures which will stir you. It is all these stimuli ..."
"... Seven Japanese architects have won the Pritzker prize, the most recent of whom have been Toyo Ito in 2013 and Shigeru Ban in 2014. They are national stars, and everyone knows their names. Modern buildings are labelled with the year of design and the name of the architect – from Tadao Ando’s Tokyo Skytree to Jun Mitsu’s De Beers Ginza Building. ..."

 

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Find this at http://www.vogue.in/content/tokyo-design-post .

Visiting Card Ether Domains

Project Handlers

The photo is the Visiting Card image of Ether Domains, the handlers of this project, News Architecture India.

Visiting Card of Ether Domains - handlers of the Project

AutoCAD was so useful!

Green alternative - Waste as house building material

Rice Waste to Green Wood to low cost homes implies local sustainable solution! :-)

Bisman Deu, a School student uses rice husks as a house building material. Her innovation was featured in Unicef's 2015 state of the world's children report.
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"... and, for every five tons of rice harvested, one ton of husk is produced. The cereal residue has little commercial value for farmers, but ..."
"... Mixing the waste with a resin and pressing the mixture into particleboards, she came up with what she calls “green wood”. ..."
"... the product is fungi- and mould-proof, making it a viable option for building houses. Deu also plans to use the material to build low-cost school furniture. “I think it could be a local, sustainable solution to some of the problems we see ..."

 

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Refer http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/jan/04/rice-waste-green-wood-low-cost-homes-india .