Decreasing trend in emigration from Kerala: Study

Thiruvananthapuram: Amid fears among emigrants from Kerala of  losing jobs in Saudi Arabia in the wake of new labour policy 'nitaqat', a recent study has indicated a decreasing trend in emigration from the state. 

The number of  Kerala emigrants living abroad in 2011 is estimated to be 2.28 million, up from 2.19 million in 2008, 1.84 million in 2003 and 1.36 million in 1998, indicating that the increase during inter-survey periods shows a decreasing trend, study by K C Zachariah and S Irudaya Rajan of Centre for Development Studies here. 

Irudaya Rajan told media that "Kerala is going to be out of the emigration picture in future". How the happenings in Saudi Arabia going to effect was a matter that 'we have to watch'. Probably it might further decrease the emigration now itself',he said. 

The survey point towards emergence of an era of decreasing trend in emigration from the state. Kerala's Gulf connection could reach its inflexion point in a matter of  4-5 years,the study said. The increase could vanish much before 2015 and the migration trend could very well slope downward, it was stated. 

Emigration from the state was dominated by Muslims whose share of the emigrants from the state (44.3 per cent) continued to remain very much higher than their share in the population (26.5 per cent). Migrants from the state are mostly Hindus, whose share of out-migrants (64.6 per cent) continued to remain much higher than their share in the population (56.8 per cent). 

Among the Muslims, 53.3 per cent of the households had at least one emigrant or return emigrant. However, among the Hindu households, only 19.6 per cent of the households had a non-resident Keralite. Among Christians only 21.3 per cent had one or more non-resident Keralites. 

Remittances from emigrants abroad to Kerala in 2011 were estimated to be approximately Rs 49,695 crore compared with Rs. 43,288 crores in 2008. Remittances were Rs. 63,315 per household in 2011 compared with Rs. 57,227 in 2008. Increase in remittances during 2008-11 (15 per cent) was much larger than increase in the number of emigrants (4 percent), the study said. 

Stating that the remittances, which is 31 per cent of state domestic product, from abroad plays a vital role in state's economy, emigration and the ensuing remittances continue to remain the single most dynamic factor in Kerala's economic scenario. 

Another study on emigrants returning to Kerala showed that there were roughly over 1.3 million return emigrants. The number of return emigrants was expected to increase to about 1.6 million by 2015. The study said largest number of emigrants from Kerala live in the United Arab Emirates, but the largest number of return emigrants was from Saudi Arabia. 

The average number of years of residence of return emigrants abroad was higher for emigrants to UAE than for emigrants to Saudi Arabia, which has one of  the lowest averages. The Gulf countries that are relatively more attractive for the Kerala emigrants are Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait, the study said.  

Decreasing trend in emigration from Kerala: Study

Thiruvananthapuram: Amid fears among emigrants from Kerala of  losing jobs in Saudi Arabia in the wake of new labour policy 'nitaqat', a recent study has indicated a decreasing trend in emigration from the state. 

The number of  Kerala emigrants living abroad in 2011 is estimated to be 2.28 million, up from 2.19 million in 2008, 1.84 million in 2003 and 1.36 million in 1998, indicating that the increase during inter-survey periods shows a decreasing trend, study by K C Zachariah and S Irudaya Rajan of Centre for Development Studies here. 

Irudaya Rajan told media that "Kerala is going to be out of the emigration picture in future". How the happenings in Saudi Arabia going to effect was a matter that 'we have to watch'. Probably it might further decrease the emigration now itself',he said. 

The survey point towards emergence of an era of decreasing trend in emigration from the state. Kerala's Gulf connection could reach its inflexion point in a matter of  4-5 years,the study said. The increase could vanish much before 2015 and the migration trend could very well slope downward, it was stated. 

Emigration from the state was dominated by Muslims whose share of the emigrants from the state (44.3 per cent) continued to remain very much higher than their share in the population (26.5 per cent). Migrants from the state are mostly Hindus, whose share of out-migrants (64.6 per cent) continued to remain much higher than their share in the population (56.8 per cent). 

Among the Muslims, 53.3 per cent of the households had at least one emigrant or return emigrant. However, among the Hindu households, only 19.6 per cent of the households had a non-resident Keralite. Among Christians only 21.3 per cent had one or more non-resident Keralites. 

Remittances from emigrants abroad to Kerala in 2011 were estimated to be approximately Rs 49,695 crore compared with Rs. 43,288 crores in 2008. Remittances were Rs. 63,315 per household in 2011 compared with Rs. 57,227 in 2008. Increase in remittances during 2008-11 (15 per cent) was much larger than increase in the number of emigrants (4 percent), the study said. 

Stating that the remittances, which is 31 per cent of state domestic product, from abroad plays a vital role in state's economy, emigration and the ensuing remittances continue to remain the single most dynamic factor in Kerala's economic scenario. 

Another study on emigrants returning to Kerala showed that there were roughly over 1.3 million return emigrants. The number of return emigrants was expected to increase to about 1.6 million by 2015. The study said largest number of emigrants from Kerala live in the United Arab Emirates, but the largest number of return emigrants was from Saudi Arabia. 

The average number of years of residence of return emigrants abroad was higher for emigrants to UAE than for emigrants to Saudi Arabia, which has one of  the lowest averages. The Gulf countries that are relatively more attractive for the Kerala emigrants are Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait, the study said.  

Global warming means seas freeze more off Antarctica

 Global warming is expanding the extent of sea ice around Antarctica in winter in a paradoxical shift caused by cold plumes of summer melt water that re-freeze fast when temperatures drop, a study showed on Sunday. 

An increasing summer thaw of  ice on the edges of Antarctica, twinned with less than expected snowfall on the frozen continent, is also adding slightly to sea level rise in a threat to low-lying areas around the world, it said. 

Climate scientists have been struggling to explain why sea ice around Antarctica has been growing, reaching a record extent in the winter of  2010, when ice on the Arctic Ocean at the other end of the planet shrank to a record low in 2012. 

"Sea ice around Antarctica is increasing despite the warming global climate," said Richard Bintanja, lead author of the study at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute. "This is caused by melting of  the ice sheets from below," he told media of the findings in the journal Nature Geoscience. 

Ice is made of fresh water and, when ice shelves on the fringes of Antarctica thaw in summer because of upwelling of warming sea water, the meltwater forms a cool layer that floats on the denser, warmer salty sea water below, the study said. 

In winter, the melt water readily turns to ice because it freezes at zero degrees Celsius, above sea water at -2C (28.4F). At a winter maximum in September, ice on the sea around Antarctica covers about 19 million sq kms (7.3 million sq miles), bigger than Antarctica's land area. It then melts away into the ocean as summer approaches. 

WINDS Among other scientists, Paul Holland of the British Antarctic Survey stuck to his findings last year that a shift in winds linked to climate change was blowing a layer of melt water further out to sea and adding to winter ice. 

"The possibility remains that the real increase is the sum of wind-driven and melt water-driven effects, of course. That would be my best guess, with the melt water effect being the smaller of the two," he said. 

Bintanja's study also said the cool melt water layer may limit the amount of water sucked from the oceans that falls as snow on Antarctica. Cold air can hold less moisture than warm. "Cool sea surface temperatures around Antarctica could offset projected snowfall increases in Antarctica, with implications for estimates of future sea-level rise," it said. 

The U.N. panel of climate scientists has estimated that sea levels will rise by between 18 and 59 cm (7-24 inches) this century, more if thaws of Antarctica and Greenland accelerate. The panel's main scenarios assume that Antarctica alone will make sea levels fall by between 2 and 14 cms this century because more snowfall will extract water from the sea. But Sunday's study said that Antarctica was losing about 250 billion tonnes of ice a year - equivalent to 0.07 millimetre(0.003 inch) of sea level rise a year, Bintanja said. 

"Antarctic mass loss seems to be accelerating," it said. Another study in Nature Geoscience said Antarctica's snowfall had been over-estimated by between 11 and 36.5 billion tonnes a year because of fierce winds blasting many regions. Strong winds created conditions to "sublimate" snow, or make it pass from a frozen state to a gas without first becoming liquid, a U.S.-led team wrote. 
Link to Antarctica melt water study.

Global warming means seas freeze more off Antarctica

 Global warming is expanding the extent of sea ice around Antarctica in winter in a paradoxical shift caused by cold plumes of summer melt water that re-freeze fast when temperatures drop, a study showed on Sunday. 

An increasing summer thaw of  ice on the edges of Antarctica, twinned with less than expected snowfall on the frozen continent, is also adding slightly to sea level rise in a threat to low-lying areas around the world, it said. 

Climate scientists have been struggling to explain why sea ice around Antarctica has been growing, reaching a record extent in the winter of  2010, when ice on the Arctic Ocean at the other end of the planet shrank to a record low in 2012. 

"Sea ice around Antarctica is increasing despite the warming global climate," said Richard Bintanja, lead author of the study at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute. "This is caused by melting of  the ice sheets from below," he told media of the findings in the journal Nature Geoscience. 

Ice is made of fresh water and, when ice shelves on the fringes of Antarctica thaw in summer because of upwelling of warming sea water, the meltwater forms a cool layer that floats on the denser, warmer salty sea water below, the study said. 

In winter, the melt water readily turns to ice because it freezes at zero degrees Celsius, above sea water at -2C (28.4F). At a winter maximum in September, ice on the sea around Antarctica covers about 19 million sq kms (7.3 million sq miles), bigger than Antarctica's land area. It then melts away into the ocean as summer approaches. 

WINDS Among other scientists, Paul Holland of the British Antarctic Survey stuck to his findings last year that a shift in winds linked to climate change was blowing a layer of melt water further out to sea and adding to winter ice. 

"The possibility remains that the real increase is the sum of wind-driven and melt water-driven effects, of course. That would be my best guess, with the melt water effect being the smaller of the two," he said. 

Bintanja's study also said the cool melt water layer may limit the amount of water sucked from the oceans that falls as snow on Antarctica. Cold air can hold less moisture than warm. "Cool sea surface temperatures around Antarctica could offset projected snowfall increases in Antarctica, with implications for estimates of future sea-level rise," it said. 

The U.N. panel of climate scientists has estimated that sea levels will rise by between 18 and 59 cm (7-24 inches) this century, more if thaws of Antarctica and Greenland accelerate. The panel's main scenarios assume that Antarctica alone will make sea levels fall by between 2 and 14 cms this century because more snowfall will extract water from the sea. But Sunday's study said that Antarctica was losing about 250 billion tonnes of ice a year - equivalent to 0.07 millimetre(0.003 inch) of sea level rise a year, Bintanja said. 

"Antarctic mass loss seems to be accelerating," it said. Another study in Nature Geoscience said Antarctica's snowfall had been over-estimated by between 11 and 36.5 billion tonnes a year because of fierce winds blasting many regions. Strong winds created conditions to "sublimate" snow, or make it pass from a frozen state to a gas without first becoming liquid, a U.S.-led team wrote. 
Link to Antarctica melt water study.

SC rejects patent protection for Novartis cancer drug

New Delhi : The Supreme Court Monday dismissed Swiss pharmaceutical chain Novartis AG's petition seeking patent protection for its anti-cancer drug, Glivec (Imatinib mesylate). The apex court bench of Justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana Prakash Desai dismissed with cost Novartis' plea challenging the Intellectual Property Appellate Board's decision declining the plea for patent of the drug that is used in the treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia and malignant gastrointestinal stromal tumours. The patent right for the drug was denied to Novartis in 2006 by the Chennai-based Intellectual Property Appellate Board. The legal battle for the patent of the blood cancer drug is being closely watched by international pharmaceutical firms. Novartis had been fighting a prolonged legal case for the patent of Glivec, a cost effective drug. Winning such a patent would have barred Indian firms from manufacturing generic drugs.

Five killed in South African chopper crash

Johannesburg: Five people were killed when a South African Air Force (SAAF) helicopter crashed Saturday night, Xinhua reported Sunday. The accident occurred when the A109 helicopter was on a routine patrol over the Kruger National Park in the northeastern Limpopo province, the SAAF reported. 'It was part of the anti-poaching operation.' The Kruger park, the largest reserve in South Africa, is home to many endangered rhinos. However, some of the rhinos would be targeted and killed by poachers every month for smuggling of horns. Due to poachers, the park authorities have requested the air force to use helicopters to combat them. The cause of the Saturday's accident could not be immediately ascertained and an investigation had been launched.

Five killed in South African chopper crash

Johannesburg: Five people were killed when a South African Air Force (SAAF) helicopter crashed Saturday night, Xinhua reported Sunday. The accident occurred when the A109 helicopter was on a routine patrol over the Kruger National Park in the northeastern Limpopo province, the SAAF reported. 'It was part of the anti-poaching operation.' The Kruger park, the largest reserve in South Africa, is home to many endangered rhinos. However, some of the rhinos would be targeted and killed by poachers every month for smuggling of horns. Due to poachers, the park authorities have requested the air force to use helicopters to combat them. The cause of the Saturday's accident could not be immediately ascertained and an investigation had been launched.

SC rejects patent protection for Novartis cancer drug

New Delhi : The Supreme Court Monday dismissed Swiss pharmaceutical chain Novartis AG's petition seeking patent protection for its anti-cancer drug, Glivec (Imatinib mesylate). The apex court bench of Justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana Prakash Desai dismissed with cost Novartis' plea challenging the Intellectual Property Appellate Board's decision declining the plea for patent of the drug that is used in the treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia and malignant gastrointestinal stromal tumours. The patent right for the drug was denied to Novartis in 2006 by the Chennai-based Intellectual Property Appellate Board. The legal battle for the patent of the blood cancer drug is being closely watched by international pharmaceutical firms. Novartis had been fighting a prolonged legal case for the patent of Glivec, a cost effective drug. Winning such a patent would have barred Indian firms from manufacturing generic drugs.

Ganesh files plea for divorce

 Thiruvananthapuram: Minister K B Ganesh Kumar filed a plea in the Thiruvananthapuram District Court seeking divorce from his wife Dr Yamini Thankachi. He filed the divorce plea through his lawyers K Ramkumar and Abdul Kharim. The court will take up the plea on April 30. The court would send a notice to Yamini only after hearing Ganesh's statement.

The minister had stated in his plea that his wife Yamini did not stand by him during his trials and tribulations. She had even manhandled him and was blackmailing him joining with his political rivals. The minister stated that he could not move forward together with her and cited incompatibility as the main factor.

Ganesh and Yamini who were living separately for many years decided to unite five years back. But many issues cropped up between them and in February Ganesh Kumar was allegedly beaten up by his lover's husband. Even Chief whip in the Kerala assembly P.C. George sought Ganesh Kumar's resignation on sleaze charge. The opposition too trained their guns in the Assembly demanding his resignation. With this, many wellwishers and friends tried for a reconciliation but nothing could succeed. It is learnt that property row for their children were the main reason for their dispute. 

Ganesh files plea for divorce

 Thiruvananthapuram: Minister K B Ganesh Kumar filed a plea in the Thiruvananthapuram District Court seeking divorce from his wife Dr Yamini Thankachi. He filed the divorce plea through his lawyers K Ramkumar and Abdul Kharim. The court will take up the plea on April 30. The court would send a notice to Yamini only after hearing Ganesh's statement.

The minister had stated in his plea that his wife Yamini did not stand by him during his trials and tribulations. She had even manhandled him and was blackmailing him joining with his political rivals. The minister stated that he could not move forward together with her and cited incompatibility as the main factor.

Ganesh and Yamini who were living separately for many years decided to unite five years back. But many issues cropped up between them and in February Ganesh Kumar was allegedly beaten up by his lover's husband. Even Chief whip in the Kerala assembly P.C. George sought Ganesh Kumar's resignation on sleaze charge. The opposition too trained their guns in the Assembly demanding his resignation. With this, many wellwishers and friends tried for a reconciliation but nothing could succeed. It is learnt that property row for their children were the main reason for their dispute.