Daily Archives: October 26, 2017

Govt revises pension for 1,119 royal family members

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Thiruvananthapuram:

As many as 1,119 pensioners belonging to Travancore and Kochi royal families will reap benefits as government has decided to revise the family and political pensions.

On Wednesday, cabinet decided to unify and increase the pension to Rs 3,000/month for all those members who have been drawing the pension as on July 1, 1949 (as per revenue department’s order on Aug 29, 1969) which is the criteria for granting pensions to royal family members.

Also, the government is battling a string of anomalies that are prevailing among pensioners belonging to royal families in the state. While Travancore and Kochi royal families draw pension from Kerala, members of former princely states of Malabar (part of British India) have been drawing pension from the Centre, titled Malikhan.

In 2012, the UDF government had enhanced the pension of Njavakkattu, Meenachil royal families to Rs 3,000 with retrospective effect from January 1, 2011.But others will be eligible for the increased pension from the date the government issues an order based on the latest cabinet decision. This is likely to be challenged legally in the court.

Also, the recipients of Malikhan, that includes Zamorins of Kozhikode, Chirakkal/Kolathiri family, Kadathanad/Kurumbranad family, have also taken up pension issues with the government. In 2013, the UDF government issued an order saying that since the members belonging to Zamorin family had wilfully handed over their properties worth crores to the government after the formation of the state, they will be granted family and political pensions, and on the basis of this, the government issued an order granting Rs 2,500 per month as pension to 826 family members. The order that came into effect from June 2013, granted pension to even a minor (four years old). Sources said that this was a grave mistake, and this financial assistance was originally intended to be titled as a grant or allowance that should not have been categorized as family and political pension.

With the decision, several representations have come to the government from all other branches of families receiving Malikhan saying that their central pensions are meagre and hence state should grant pensions just like the Zamorin families. The representations are now under the consideration of the government. “The worst part is that even those who are financially well-off are availing pensions. There is no system in the government whereby their actual financial position can be assessed and pensions are granted only on the basis of their economic condition,” sources said.

In addition, the government is also paying annual allowances to key members of Travancore and Kochi families, which are revised from time to time. Nine members of Travancore family were granted an annual allowance that was last revised in January 2010. The amount ranged from Rs 39,000 to Rs 4,91,000. Key members of Kochi royal family receive anything between Rs 9,000 and Rs 20,000 as monthly pension.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Thiruvananthapuram News / TNN / October 26th, 2017

Organic near-infrared filter developed by NIIST team

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A. Ajayaghosh, right, and Samrat Ghosh. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Can be used in night vision glasses and night photography

An organic filter that allows only near-infrared (NIR) light to pass through has been developed by scientists at the CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR-NIIST) based in Thiruvananthapuram.

The new NIR filter can be used for night vision glasses, night photography, and will have applications in security and forensics such as identifying blood stains on a dark fabric.

Currently available inorganic filters are expensive and brittle whereas organic filters are easy to process and flexible too.

The filter was prepared by mixing a black dye (diketopyrrolopyrrole or DPP) having an amide group that helps the molecules to be in close contact with each other and interact, leading to changes in their optical properties.

“The amide group helps in binding and self-assembly of the molecule leading to the formation of a soft organogel,” says Ayyappanpillai Ajayaghosh, Director of NIIST, who led the team of researchers.

Organogel is key

The organogel-based filter has the ability to absorb both ultraviolet and visible light while allowing the near-infrared light alone to pass through. The nanofibres formed through the self-assembly of the DPP molecules are responsible for the broad light absorption of the material, making it appear dark.

The researchers developed the filter by mixing the organogel with a transparent polymer (polydimethylsiloxane). The addition of the dye turns the transparent polymer into a semi-transparent one and the filter appears black as it absorbs most of the ultraviolet-visible light.

“Only very little of the organogel has to be added to the polymer to make the filter. The material is present throughout the polymer matrix even though very little is added,” says Samrat Ghosh from the Chemical Sciences and Technology Division at NIIST and the first author of the paper published in the journal Advanced Materials.

The filter was found to absorb light from 300-850 nm (both ultraviolet, visible and a part of NIR light) and transmit NIR light from 850-1500 nm. The researchers tested it for night photography and found the filter responsive only to NIR light.

Dried blood stains on a black cloth that remained invisible to naked eyes became clearly visible and detectable when viewed through a camera with the NIR filter. Tampering of a cheque which was not discernible to naked eyes could be easily identified when viewed through a camera with the filter.

A potential application of the new material is in the design of hidden security codes on documents which can be viewed only through a NIR-readable camera.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sci-Tech> Science / by R Prasad / October 24th, 2017