Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Most states fail to stop decline in groundwater levels : Water Resources Ministry

Decline in ground water level due to overexploitation of available resources had prompted the Centre in 2013 to come out with a master plan for artificial recharge of ground water, specifying how different states would go about it on priority. But majority of the states have, so far, not implemented the master plan. 

Water resources ministry had recently told a Parliamentary committee that only six states —... Read more..

Andhra Pradesh Government plans preparation for action plan to retrofit all existing conventional Street Lights

As part of AP Govt’s pro-public policy of Energy conservation and in tune with the policy of the Govt. of India to take up energy efficiency activities in the Rural Areas, the Chief Minister N. Chandra Babu Naidu has directed the senior officials of the Panchayat Raj & Energy I&I departments to prepare a time bound action plan within 15 days to retrofit all the existing conventional Street Lights available to the extent of around 25 Lakhs with LED Street Lighting systems as was done in Municipalities... Read more..

Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) plans to award for wealth from waste for womenfolk in Hyderabad

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has decided to reward with gold or cash city women who contribute towards making the Swachh Bharat Mission a success. The GHMC is planning to introduce a scheme, which would provide gold as a prize to the womenfolk who segregate dry and wet waste at home, refrain from throwing waste at public places and hand it over to the GHMC personnel. Besides, those operating the tippers and rickshaw workers who collect the dry and wet waste separately would be rewarded... Read more..

Andhra Pradesh declares Year 2017 as Year of Energy Efficiency

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has wished the people of the state on the occasion of New Year and declared the coming year as 'Year of Energy Efficiency in the State'. 

"I wish people of my state a happy, healthy, prosperous, successful and energy efficient year," a release issued here said.

... Read more..

Solar power, green corridor blip on energy radar for 2017

Green seems to be the catchword for the government heading into the next year as it gears up to achieve 175 gigawatt of clean energy by 2022 through auction of 1,000 MW of rooftop solar power, Rs 13,000 crore investment in solar parks and a Rs 21,000-crore package to boost local manufacturing of panels. 

By all yardsticks, 2016 remains a watershed year when solar tariff slumped to Rs 4 per unit and wind... Read more..

Government sanctions Rs 200 crore for Tirupur dyeing industry

The government today sanctioned Rs 200 crore to the Tirupur dyeing industry which was on the verge of closure due to severe financial crisis.

The industry was facing problems on account of their huge investments in the first ever Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) projects in the country, the textiles ministry said in a statement.

... Read more..

At Kolkata, cooking emissions an overlooked contributor to air pollution

The skyline on this part of the country turns grey by afternoon. By dusk, a thick layer of smog envelops the horizon. With winter setting in, millions living in rural and suburban India has many reasons to worry about, one of it being air pollution.

The surroundings suffer from choking smog and acrid smell in the air, most of which are the result of smoke from chulhas and conventional cook stoves used by... Read more..

Talks deadlock between environment and water ministries, delays protection to eco-fragile areas of Uttarakhand

Three years after the Uttarakhand flash floods, the implementation of the Bhagirathi eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) is yet to take off.

The ESZ, which is expected to ensure "sustainable development" in the highly fragile areas from Gaumukh to Uttarkashi, may get further delayed now as the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) and the water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation ministry are... Read more..

Fish gene bank to help cope with climate change in Kochi

Experts have recommended setting up of a common gene bank for vulnerable fish species besides setting up fish sanctuaries for improvement of natural stocks in order to mitigate the impacts of climate change on fish stock and marine ecosystem.

The recommendations were made after the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) submitted the Country Status Report (CSR) about the impact of climate change... Read more..

Union Cabinet nod for ratifying International Solar Alliance agreement

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave post facto approval to India's ratification of the framework agreement of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) launched last year jointly by India and France at Paris on the sidelines of the 21st Conference of Parties on climate change. 

The ISA, headquartered in India with an interim secretariat at the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) premises in Gurugram, aims... Read more..

Vulnerability index: Most of the areas in Hyderabad are under threat

Urban planners need to find out ways to make Hyderabad resilient to hazards like climate change with strategies that are developed with area-wise focus. One such study was recently conducted on Hyderabad using remote sensing and GIS technology by a group of researchers from Samara National Research University, Russia.

The study reported that just 2.24 per cent of the city, or 32.28 sq km, is ‘resilient’ to... Read more..

Pollution forces Ikea's headquarter to head out of Delhi-NCR

About a decade ago, the Ikea group shifted its sourcing office from Delhi to Gurgaon to avoid the nightmarish traffic and worsening pollution levels in the National Capital. Now, as Gurgaon grapples with the same issues that Ikea thought it escaped then — traffic and pollution — the Swedish retail giant is preparing to move its corporate headquarters to a less toxic environment by mid-2018. “The corporate office is moving to Bengaluru for sure. New hires have to agree to be in Bengaluru,” said a person with... Read more..