Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Hero Cycles seeks incentives under FAME2, to promote its e-bikes

Country’s biggest bicycle maker Hero Cycles on Tuesday said that if electric bicycles come under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India (FAME2 Scheme), the company can bring more products at lower cost, as low as ₹10,000. “I want to ask the government what is the reason that they can’t bring the e-bicycles under that scheme? They say it doesn’t come under the Motor Vehicle Act under the EV category. But these e-bicycles have the similar motor, semiconductor, battery and charging system, so why not? If that happens, Hero will bring out an e-bicycle at ₹9,999,... Read more..

One of India’s largest coal-mining states says it will not build new coal power plants

The future of coal in India may not be as bright as some previously assumed.

The central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, home to the country’s third-largest coal reserves, will not build any new coal power plants, Shailendra Kumar Shukla, chairman of Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company, a state-owned utility, told Quartz India.

This comes only days after the government in the western state of Gujarat announced it will not give permission to build new coal power plants. Neither state, however, has made the decision permanent via legislation.

Bold call
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On World Ozone Day, India’s Cooling Action Plan gets UN applaud

At an event to mark the World Ozone Day 2019 in New Delhi, Union Minister of State (MoS) for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Babul Supriyo said that the World Ozone Day offers an opportunity to focus global attention and action on the vital environmental issue of protection of the stratospheric ozone Layer. Shri Babul Supriyo highlighted the fact that India became one of the first countries in the world to launch a comprehensive Cooling Action plan in March, 2019, which has a long term vision to address the cooling requirement across sectors such as residential and commercial... Read more..

T.N. releases e-vehicle policy; rolls out a slew of concessions

In an attempt to give a boost to the manufacture and use of electric vehicles in the State, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Monday released the Tamil Nadu Electric Vehicle Policy, 2019, which provided for various concessions to manufacturers and users of e-vehicles. The policy called for 100% road tax exemption till December 30, 2022, besides a waiver of registration charges for electric two-wheelers. These sops are expected to push up sales of electric vehicles. Industries Minister M.C. Sampath and Transport Minister M.R. Vijayabhaskar received the first copies of the policy at... Read more..

These Low-Cost Solar Roofs Can Be Used in Your Homes & In E-Carts For Vendors!

Zahara Begum, 55, is a street vendor residing in Hyderabad, who sells fried fish. Her work begins at the crack of dawn and carries on till about 11:30 pm. “I make about Rs 400 every day, and till about two months ago, I would have to spend almost half of that amount on renting the food cart, which left me with very little money. In addition to that, the cart did not come with a roof, so when it would rain, the business would suffer, and the flimsy tarpaulin would barely provide any shelter,” she says. Today, Zahara is a happy woman. She has been using a solar powered e-cart that can power... Read more..

At UN Climate Summit, green funds, collective commitment in focus

On September 23, when the world meets at the UN Climate Summit in New York, world leaders will speak about their commitment to preventing dangerous climate change impacts by keeping global temperature rise under two degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels. At the same time, sticky issues such as delivering on the $100 billion Green Climate Fund and the principle of common but differentiated responsibility (CBDR) based on the different capabilities of economies are likely to be discussed at the forum. Days ahead of the summit, called by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to urge... Read more..

Rs 50,000 crore Japanese EV boost in Gujarat

Japanese majors Suzuki Motors, Toshiba and Denso have formed a consortium to set up a plant for manufacturing lithium-ion batteries and electrodes in Gujarat. The plant will come up near Hansalpur in Gujarat. The proposed lithium-ion battery plant will be the biggest in the world, claimed sources in the know. Although the investment figures have not been disclosed yet, it has been learnt that the consortia is likely to invest Rs 30,000 crore to Rs 50,000 crore in a phased manner over eight years. The investment will depend on growing worldwide demand for electric vehicles, sources said.... Read more..

24 MW Arunachal Pradesh hydroelectric project becomes functional

Arunachal Pradesh has added another feather in its development trajectory with the commissioning of the 24 megawatt Dikshi Hydroelectric Project at Rupa in West Kameng district of the state. Chief minister Pema Khandu inaugurated the project at Rupa on Friday in the presence of deputy chief minister Chowna Mein, MLAs Phurpa Tsering, Jambey Tashi, Dorjee Wangdi, Tsering Tashi, Dongru Siongju and others, an official communique stated. Khandu formally inaugurated the project by switching on the device at the power house. The project was constructed by Devi Energies Private Limited. In the... Read more..

Walmart Foundation Announces Two New $4.8 Million Grants Benefitting Indian Farmers

Walmart Foundation Aug. 27 announced that it has provided $4.8 million in grants to Digital Green and TechnoServe in India as a way to help deepen its commitment to improving farmer livelihoods in the country. The grants will enable programs that help smallholder farmers have access to agriculture technology, training on sustainable farmer methods, enhanced access to formal markets, and skill and capacity building for farmer producer organizations, the organization said in a news release. The Walmart Foundation’s grant of $1.3 million to Digital Green will help develop “Farmstack,” a... Read more..

UP: Electric buses for four more cities

The plan to operate electric buses in the state just got bigger with 15 cities set to get green wheels instead of the initial 11. The state government - under its Electric Vehicle Manufacturing and Mobility Policy, 2019 - will operate the buses in Gorakhpur, Shahjahanpur, Jhansi and Meerut while the Centre will subsidise operations in 11 other UP cities under the second leg of its FAME scheme. The 11 cities on the e-vehicle subsidy list are Lucknow, Kanpur, Prayagraj (Allahabad), Agra, Ghaziabad, Varanasi, Mathura-Vrindavan, Aligarh, Saharanpur, Moradabad and Bareilly. Lucknow, Kanpur and... Read more..

Hiranandani arm GreenBase, Vestas India ink deal to build wind turbine park in Chennai

GreenBase, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hiranandani Group, has inked a deal to build a wind turbine park and warehousing set-up for the wind turbine manufacturing multinational Vestas India in Chennai. The built-to-suit development will be spread over half a million sq ft at the Industrial and Logistics Park, located within Hiranandani Parks, Oragadam. Vestas India is setting up an assembly and warehousing facility, which will be spread over 23 acres at the Industrial and Logistics Park. "This project by Vestas will result in creation of new jobs as also business opportunities for allied... Read more..

Investing in climate adaptation can stimulate trillions in benefits

Unless you are the President of the United States or some such exalted position that allows you to be out of touch with reality, it is really impossible for sane and rational people to ignore the impending impact of climate change. Because it is not really impending anymore. Climate change is here, disrupting our lives, changing crop cycles, and bringing about destruction, drought and death in various parts of the world. Impacted are the most vulnerable. Farmers, marginalised people, women, children – as nature wreaks havoc on everything in its path. In a recent report by the Global... Read more..