Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Environment ministry’s expert panel to ignore ‘anti-development’ groups

An expert panel of the Union environment ministry will no longer consider representations made by “anti-development” civil society groups against projects which are under the final stage of consideration. Stalling projects at that stage has financial implications for the developers and the nation, the panel decided.

At the 30 December meeting of the environment ministry’s expert appraisal committee (EAC) for... Read more..

Expert bats for using solar power in cooking at Vadodara

Hundred units of fossil fuel is used to produce one unit of food - consumption of which leads to lifestyle diseases like cancer and diabetes. In contrast, one unit of solar energy can produce 100 units of food which is natural. This is what Vandana Shiva, renowned environmental activist and policy researcher, said here on Monday.

Shiva was one of the speakers at the inaugural day of the 6th Solar Cookers... Read more..

India does not need any more coal-based power units till 2027: Central Electricity Authority

The country’s peak power demand at the end of the financial year 2021-22 will be 235 giga watt (GW), down 17% from the estimate made in 2012, the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has said. With this revision, taking into account the lower-than-estimated economic growth in the five years to March 31 2017, the CEA reckons that the country wouldn’t need any more coal-based power stations, other than the 50-GW under-construction capacity, till 2027.

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Indian government's new power plan: Heavy electricity users will now pay lower tariffs

Major reforms of power tariffs are on the horizon as an official committee has recommended lower tariffs for heavy users to encourage electricity consumption as the country moves from a deficit to surplus situation. In India, power consumers have always been paying higher bills for higher consumption. Slabs are fixed and if you fall in the higher consumption range, you pay more. It's time the country doles out incentives for high power consumption, a committee constituted to advise the government on ways to... Read more..

SECI’s 1 gigawatt wind power tender sees high interest

In what may help reduce wind energy tariffs in the country, the 1 gigawatt (GW) tender floated by state-run Solar Energy Corp. of India (SECI) has received 2.6 times the quantum of bids offered for the grid linked capacity.

Experts say this may potentially bring down wind energy tariffs which currently ranges from Rs3.9 per unit to Rs5.9 per unit.

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Allow projects only if they have waste management plan: NGT

Any development project, which is bound to generate waste and sewage, should not be granted clearance unless its plan provides for proper collection, processing and disposal of sewage and garbage, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has said.

“It needs no wonders to understand that any development, residential, industrial or commercial is bound to generate municipal waste and sewage. Thus, when plans are made... Read more..

Indian madeups units to get 10% more subsidy under ATUFS

Under the Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS), Indian producers of madeups like blankets, curtains, crochet laces and bedsheets are now eligible for an additional 10 per cent capital investment subsidy (CIS) of up to Rs 20 crore. The additional subsidy will be disbursed after a period of three years and is subject to a verification mechanism.

A notification from the textiles ministry informed... Read more..

Centre calls national review meet to push clean energy projects

Removing squatters from good wind potential sites, inordinate delays in signing of power purchase agreements, timely payments and distribution firms shying away from procuring electricity generated from wind energy projects will be some of the issues that the National Democratic Alliance-led Narendra Modi government plans to discuss at an apex meeting of states and the nodal agencies for ironing out issues plaguing the green energy sector.

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Three-year project launched to increase solar heat energy in industrial processes

The Solar Thermal Federation of India (STFI) and the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce (IGCC) have teamed up for international ‘Solar Payback’ project, which aims to increase the use of solar thermal energy in industrial processes.

Supported by the German Federal Environment Ministry funded by the International Climate Initiative, the three-year project will be implemented in India, South Africa, Mexico and... Read more..

On-road emission tests to be mandatory from 2020

On-road emission tests for vehicles plying on Indian roads will be mandatory once the Bharat Stage VI norm kicks in from 2020, for which testing agency ARAI is developing a unified test cycle.

The Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) is currently working on devising ways to determine on-road emission benchmarks at different stages of the vehicle lifetime in the aftermath of the Volkswagen emission... Read more..

Air pollution in India rises 13% in 5 years

The world is becoming cleaner even as India, almost as a whole, is getting a lot filthier, a new report by Greenpeace India shows.

China, which was roundly criticised across the globe for being its infamous haze and air pollution, has been steadily getting cleaner, with air pollution levels having dipped by about 17 per cent between 2010 and 2015.

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Aurangabad municipal corporation to receive Rs 90 crore within a week

The civic body is expecting a fund of Rs 90 crore within a week from the state government to develop state-of-the-art civic amenities here under the smart city project. The municipal authorities on Thursday told TOI that the central government has already allotted the fund to the state government which will be soon diverted towards the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC).

Om Prakash Bakoria, municipal... Read more..