Moser Baer Signs Agreement with Tamil Nadu on Photovoltaic Plant

Moser Baer, a world leader in manufacture of removable data storage media, signed in June 2008 a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government ofTamil Nadu on setting up a facility to manufacture siliconbased photovoltaic thin film modules and allied products.

Moser Baer will invest over Rs. 2,000 crore in the facility that will come up in the Oragadam high technology Special Economic Zone (SEZ). It was disclosed byDeepak Puri, Chairman and Managing Director, Moser Baer India. This is the second such facility that will come up in Oragadam. In March, 2008 the Tamil Nadugovernment had signed an MoU with Signet Solar for manufacturing photovoltaic thin film modules.

With the establishment of this facility of Moser Baer, Tamil Nadu is expected to consolidate its position as the leader in the manufacture of electronic hardware andemerge as the preferred centre for the manufacture of photovoltaic thin film models.

The facility would provide livelihood to many and retain bright young people in the State. Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi is very much interested in this hightechnology venture as he aims at creating a million jobs in the State in the shortest possible time. The facility is expected to be launched as early as possible. G. Rajeswaran,President and CTO, Moser Baer Photovoltaic Ltd., India said that the plant would start production within a year after the launch.

Delhi Metro Turns Out to be Most Comfortable

The Delhi Metro railway is one of the most comfortable means of public transport, according to a study conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhiusing equipment developed in the United Kingdom.

The study used vibration levels experienced by passengers in the metro as a measure of the comfort level and compared it with international standard ISO 2631-4-1997.

According to the study, the vibration inside the train was less than 0·315 metres per second squared m/s2, which is the most comfortable level according to ISO standards.

The study titled ‘Real Time Ride Comfort’, was conducted by Sham Rane, a postgraduate mechanical engineering student of IIT Delhi. It used a device called Potentiometer,developed jointly by Loughborough University UK, and IIT, Delhi, for the first Lime in India.

A group of ten IIT students travelling on the Metro used the potentiometer and by rotation of a knob on the device they did a continuous judgement of their comfortlevel. The data regarding vibration and human responses were then recorded by a central computer and the real ride comfort was assessed.

The study was conducted on elevated and underground sections of all three operational lines of the Delhi Metro and results from all sections were within the most comfortable category. No commuter said the metro ride was uncomfortable.