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Sustainability Outlook Headlines
Ujjivan SFB inks pact with Green Shuttle for EV financingUjjivan Small Finance Bank has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Green Shuttle Technology Pvt Ltd for financing electric three-wheelers. Established in Chakan (Pune) last year, Green Shuttle Technology is an ARAI-(Automotive Research Association of India) certified manufacturer of electric vehicles such as E-Garbage Vehicle, E-Rickshaw, E-Cart, E-Mini Flat Loader and E-Scooter. “This partnership is aimed at benefiting all the passenger and cargo delivery segments of Green Shuttle Electric... Read more.. |
Economic Survey Pitches For USD 330 Billion Investment in Renewable EnergyThe Economic Survey 2018-19 tabled in Parliament has pitched for fresh investments to the tune of a massive USD 330 billion in the renewable energy sector over the next decade through 2030. This comes a day before the Modi government presents the Union budget for 2019-20. The Survey said that “Broad estimates suggest that additional investment in renewable plants for up to the year 2022 (without transmission lines) would be about $80 billion at today’s prices and an investment of around USD 250 billion would... Read more.. |
One Climate Crisis Disaster Occurs Every Week, U.N. Official WarnsTop United Nations official has issued a stark warning regarding climate change, pointing out that “lower-impact” climate crisis disasters capable of causing death, displacement and suffering now occur at a rate of about one a week. Speaking with the Guardian’s Fiona Harvey, Mami Mizutori, the U.N. secretary-general’s special representative on disaster risk reduction, says these smaller-scale events—including intense heatwaves, storms and flooding—are often overshadowed by catastrophic disasters like India’s... Read more.. |
Budget 2019: Boost for EVs evokes mixed reactions from auto industryHome-grown carmakers have lauded the government’s resolve to promote electric-driven mobility, even as the local arms of global firms rued that the fiscal incentives in the Budget leave out other clean vehicle technology options. “As an industry, we could not have asked for more. The onus is now on us to make it work,” said Pawan Goenka, managing director, Mahindra & Mahindra, on the measures announced in the Budget to promote electric vehicles (EVs). Shailesh Chandra, president–electric mobility business... Read more.. |
India to consider communal cooling hub potentialProject launched on World Refrigeration Day will bring together academics and researchers from the UK and India to rethink how multiple cooling needs are met in rural communities Community ‘cooling hubs’ that would address a range of needs, such as protecting food supplies, students and medicines from high temperatures, are to be trialled in India as part of a collaboration with clean cold academics. The University of Birmingham is using an ongoing partnership with the National Centre for Cold-chain... Read more.. |
Budget announcements to promote Make in India initiatives, MSMEs: DPIITThe budget announcements made by the government would help promote Make in India initiatives, MSMEs and budding entrepreneurs, a top official said. Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade Ramesh Abhishek said the proposals announced for further liberalsing foreign direct investment (FDI) norms would help attract overseas capital. "The Budget has laid down a comprehensive roadmap to boost economic activities and promote (micro, small and medium enterprises) MSMEs, make in india... Read more.. |
Fuel price hike aimed to boost public transport:NirmalaAs petrol and diesel price hike became effective Saturday onwards, leading to protests in some pockets, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the move to raise prices of transport fuel was aimed at inculcating a habit in people to use public transport. "If I am investing in better metros, better transport and also in the future of public transport, I would expect there would be a behavioural shift towards more public transport usage rather than insisting on having your own car and a single passenger... Read more.. |
Indian Renewable Energy Companies Continue To Face Financial ChallengesFinancial and project implementation troubles for Indian renewable energy developers do not seem to cease, with little to no solutions to the existing challenges and new ones coming up frequently. We recently covered a story about several solar power developers who were awaiting payments for the energy their power plants generated over the last few months in the state of Telangana. As many as 200 solar power project developers await payments of US$300 million for energy generated since July 2018. These... Read more.. |
IFC Partners with Levi Strauss and Co. to Reduce Emissions, Water Use in Textile FactoriesIFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&Co.), one of the world’s leading brand name apparel companies, signed a cooperation agreement that will help LS&Co. meet its corporate sustainability objectives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and water use in its supply chain. IFC will work with 42 designated LS&Co. suppliers and mills in 10 countries to identify and implement appropriate renewable energy and water-saving interventions that will reduce greenhouse gas... Read more.. |
Srinagar gets first fleet of 20 electric buses, to be launched todayAiming to reduce pollution level, the Srinagar city has got a fleet of 20 electric buses, to be launched for public service on Monday, July 8. The Jammu and Kashmir State Road Transport Corporation (JKSRTC) had purchased 40 electric buses under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing Hybrid and Electric (FAME) Vehicles scheme of the Central Government. Under this scheme, both Jammu and Srinagar get 20 buses each, including charging points. However, due to the difficulties in transportation of these buses on the... Read more.. |
India will need $250 bn in green energy funds from 2023 to 2030India’s emerging green economy will require additional investments of around $80 billion till 2022, growing more than threefold to $250 billion during 2023-30, said the Economic Survey 2019, which was presented in Parliament on Thursday. The investment estimates, which have been made at current prices, come at a time when India has become one of the top renewable producers globally with ambitious capacity expansion plans. The country has an installed renewable energy capacity of about 80 gigawatts (GW) and is... Read more.. |
Budget 2019 likely to drive-in enhanced sops for EV manufacturingElectric vehicle manufacturing is likely to get a boost from the full Budget 2019-20. According to highly-placed sources, tax incentives and other sops might be given to the industry for manufacture of EVs in the Budget 2019-20 which will be presented to the Parliament on Friday. In 2015, the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric vehicles (FAME) scheme was launched with an outlay of Rs 795 crore. The initial outlay was for a period of two years, commencing from April 1, 2015, but was extended up to... Read more.. |
Energy Poverty More Pervasive in India Than Income Poverty: Economic SurveyThe Economic Survey 2018-19 on Thursday highlighted two important facts — that India’s energy consumption is low and needs to be increased to achieve higher developmental standards, and that while the country’s shift towards renewable energy is laudable, there’s more to be done. Misplaced Focus on Increasing Energy Usage The survey lays strong emphasis on increasing the overall energy usage in the country. “Energy poverty has been more pervasive in India than income poverty,” the survey stated, adding that if... Read more.. |
Indian Railways’ renewable energy usage up by 6,900 per centThe Indian Railways’ dependence on renewable sources of energy for running trains has gone up by a staggering 6,900 per cent over the last five years, data from the railway ministry has revealed. While in 2014-15, the railways sourced only 0.03 per cent of energy from renewable sources, the number went up to 2.1 per cent in 2018-19. The total consumption of electricity by the railways also has gone up in five years. In 2014-15, railways used a total of 18,426 million units of electricity to propel its trains... Read more.. |
IKEA pushes ahead with its sustainability goalsIngka Group and IKEA India are taking the next step in transforming the business by integrating sustainability in its core retail business. As part of that initiative, Country Retail Managers will be accountable for implementing IKEA’s sustainability strategy, People & Planet Positive, in their respective countries. In India, IKEA will shift to electric vehicles for delivery services by 2025. Last year, the Better Air project was initiated with the goal of converting rice husk that is a major cause of... Read more.. |
Tirupati international airport will run on solar energy nowTirupati airport has gone solar. It has now joined the list of airports powered by solar energy. Vijayawada airport is the only other airport in the state to have solar energy facility. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Thursday inaugurated one megawatt power solar plant at Tirupati international airport. The power plant was installed by Fourth Partner Energy. S Sreekumar, regional executive director, AAI, turned on the plant. He said, “our aim is to ensure that Tirupati, along with all airports across... Read more.. |
Solar scheme to assure Rs 1 lakh income for farmersThe central government will launch a solar scheme for farmers that will ensure a minimum annual income of Rs 1 lakh. Power Minister R.K. Singh on Thursday informed the Lok Sabha during Question Hour that farmers can use their land to install solar panels and the power generated will be bought by the government. The farmers who don't have the capital can lease the land to developers to set up the solar panels. If given to the developers, the farmer will get at least 30-35 paise per unit to ensure an annual... Read more.. |
Govt mulling ban on petrol, CNG two- and three-wheelers: GadkariThe government is mulling a ban on all petrol and CNG-operated two and three wheelers by 2025 to promote electric vehicles. “NITI Aayog, in its meeting held on May 14, 2019 regarding national mission for transformative mobility and battery storage has formulated an action plan to run electric two-wheeler and three-wheeler vehicles and has proposed to ban all IC (internal combustion) engine powered two-wheelers and three-wheelers in India starting in 2025 for two-wheelers and in 2023 for three-wheelers,” road... Read more.. |
Gujarat to increase green energy capacity to 30,000 MW by 2022Gujarat government, which allocated Rs 1,000 crore for a new rooftop solar power generation scheme, also announced plans to increase power generation capacity from renewable sources to 30,000 megawatts (MW) in the next three years. This number is more than three times the current renewable energy capacity. The state also plans to sell a third of this power to other states in 2022. In 2013, renewable energy capacity in Gujarat was 4,126MW, which has risen to 8,885MW today, finance minister Nitin Patel said on... Read more.. |
Government targets at adding 1,190MW of hydropower capacity in 2019India aims at adding 1,190 MW of hydropower capacity in the current year, which will take the total capacity to more than 50,000 MW. India has 45,399 MW of large hydel plants and 4,594 MW of small ones. Last year, the government had targeted hydel capacity addition of 840 MW but it managed to achieve only 140 MW. This year, central sector NEEPCO aims at adding the highest capacity of 600 MW at Kameng Hydel Power project in Arunachal Pradesh. The government of Himachal Pradesh will be adding another 211 MW in... Read more.. |
Renewable energy industry awaits huge stimulus for investmentThe World Bank's Economic Prospects Report has forecast India's economy to grow by 7.5 percent during this and the next two fiscals, retaining its top spot as the fastest-growing major economy. India's growth estimate is the brightest spot in a grim forecast for the world economy. The continuation of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, augurs well for key sectors of the economy, including the renewable energy sector, which has been its focus area. The... Read more.. |
Andhra Pradesh to renegotiate renewable pacts citing high ratesAndhra Pradesh will renegotiate some power purchase agreements for renewable projects to improve the finances of its electricity retailers. The state’s distribution companies, or discoms, owe 200 billion rupees ($2.9 billion) to generators mainly because of “abnormally priced" wind and solar power purchase agreements, according to a July 1 document posted on the state government’s website. “In order to ensure that consumers are provided with affordable power and discoms are pulled out of the financial... Read more.. |
Mission Pani: Community-led movement on water conservation is key to prevent national crisisThe water crisis in Chennai, and droughts witnessed in Maharashtra and several other states this year, are likely to heighten if India fails take efforts to conserve water and replenish the low groundwater level as soon as possible. In fact, by 2030, India will need 1,498 BCM, more than twice the 744 BCM water supply it is estimated to have around that time, creating a severe water crisis in the country. It was in order to drive people's attention to this issue (and the crisis that India faces ahead) that... Read more.. |
Renewed push for reforms in key sectorsWith India’s GDP growing at a five-year low of 6.8 per cent in 2019 and an ever-increasing younger workforce wanting more and more jobs, the new NDA Government has its task cut out for it. The following should be the key economic priorities of the Indian Government for the next five years. Priority 1: Jobs for Skill-Based Economy One of the biggest challenges facing the newly-elected Indian Government is the lack of skills-based jobs. As per the latest data released by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO... Read more.. |
Second phase of FAME to focus on electrification of public transport: GovtThe second phase of Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India (FAME India) scheme will focus on supporting the electrification of public and shared transportation over the next three years, the government said on Tuesday. It will support through subsidies 7,000 e-buses, five lakh e-three-wheelers, 55,000 e-four-wheeler passenger cars and 10 lakh e-two-wheelers to provide affordable and environment-friendly public transportation options for the masses. With budgetary support of Rs 10,000... Read more.. |
