Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Mozambique impressed with Indian renewable energy program

Mr Zeferino Alexandre Martins minister of education of the Republic of Mozambique called on minister of new and renewable energy Dr Farooq Abdullah in New Delhi.

Dr Abdullah explained to him the initiatives taken by India in the field of renewable energy.

Referring to the decisions taken at the recently concluded India Africa Forum Summit held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Dr Abdullah said that a number of new projects in the field of renewable energy will be taken up in the African countries which include installation of biomass gasifier systems, solar charging stations and... Read more..

Himachal afforestation scheme gets UN nod

India's first multi-million public afforestation scheme in Himachal Pradesh has been registered for carbon trading by the UN, an official statement said here Sunday.

 
"The United Nations has registered the Rs.337 crore Mid-Himalayan Watershed Development Project for carbon trading scheme under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change," the statement, quoting Chief Project Director R.K. Kapoor, said.

Carbon credits provide a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by giving them a monetary value. A credit gives the owner the right to emit one... Read more..

City's public transport projects get a push

 In a major push to the city's transport projects, including the proposed metro rail, the Parliamentary Consultative Committee (PCC) on urban development has emphasised on better transport for non-metropolitan cities, with the help of the Central government.

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has decided to seek Central funds for implementation of the ambitious metro railway project under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) phase II. The Central government has started the process to implement phase II of the JNNURM.

The public transport initiatives... Read more..

Climate change a major challenge to India's agriculture, says PM

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, on Saturday said that climate change has emerged as a major challenge to India's agriculture.

Addressing the 83rd foundation day of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) here, Dr. Singh said: "The immediate problems that our farmers face relate to intra-seasonal variability of rainfall, extreme events and unseasonal rains. These aberrations cause heavy losses to our crops every year. There is therefore an urgent necessity for us to speed up our efforts to evolve climate-resilient crop varieties, cropping patterns and management... Read more..

Harvesting rainwater mandatory in Haryana

 Chandigarh All the houses in Haryana with a floor area of 100 square yards or more will have to harness rainwater, said Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Friday. Stating that, rainwater has been made mandatory in state, the CM said water resources being limited masses would have to take measures to conserve it.

“This message will have to be spread in whole of the country so that people understand the importance of conserving water. All the civilizations of the world have flourished along rivers,” Hooda said, adding It was a matter of regret that pollution is at all time high... Read more..

Solar mission: Firms tie up Rs 4,500 cr for projects of over 500 MW capacity

 Most of the companies that have won bids to put up solar power projects under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission have achieved financial closure.

The total capacity of all the projects that have confirmed financial closure exceeds 500 MW, Mr Anil Agarwal, Chief Executive Officer, NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN) – the nodal agency for conducting the selection process for the first stage of JNNSM – told Business Line today.

The ‘500-plus MW' includes all the seven solar thermal projects, whose total capacity is 470 MW. At an approximate cost of Rs 12... Read more..

Solar energy being promoted in Manipur

 In an endeavor to promote the usage of solar energy, the Manipur Renewable Energy Development Agency (MANIREDA) has set a target for providing 10,000 solar water heaters under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Energy Mission.

 
The agency recently organized a one-day workshop on solar thermal system that laid stress on the need to use solar and wind energy to meet the power shortage in the region.

 
  E-mail Article
  Printer Friendly
  Text-Size    

 
MANIREDA aims to set up solar water heaters, lights, cells, biogas plants and... Read more..

Energy-efficient LED streetlights long way off

With the project of replacing ordinary streetlights with LED ones in limbo, the municipal corporation (MC) authorities are at their wits' end. In June, the Energy Efficiency Service Limited (EESL) had rejected the proposals of two agencies, out of three finalized by MC, and asked them to submit the project report again by reducing the streetlights.

But even after doing this, the authorities are doing nothing but sending reminders to EESL, seeking permission to invite companies for the project.

To change over to energy efficient streetlights, authorities had selected 5,000... Read more..

Sharma to review textiles industry performance tomorrow

Amid crisis in Tirupur over closure of 1,000 textiles units, Commerce and Industry and Textiles Minister Anand Sharma has decided to hold a review of the performance of the various segments of textiles industry tomorrow.

The minister would meet the ministry's senior officials along with various stakeholders of the sector, including Confederation of Indian Textiles and Industry, Texprocil and Apparel Export Promotion Council.

  
"The main issue of discussion will be as to how to reopen the units in Tirupur that were shut down on court orders for violation of pollution... Read more..

Sidbi ropes in BEE to promote green tech for MSMEs

The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has signed an agreement with the Bureau for Energy Efficiency (BEE) to create energy efficient technologies for the MSME sector.

The agreement will also help in creating awareness and capacity-building of local business development service providers to implement similar technologies, an official release issued said today.

"The agreement will facilitate energy efficiency improvement through capacity-building among MSMEs and extend financial support for preparing investment-grade proposals for energy efficiency improvements... Read more..

India to start renewable energy projects in Africa: Farooq

India will start several renewable energy projects in Africa which will include installation of biomass gasifier systems and solar charging stations along with electrification of houses in rural areas there.

New and Renewable Energy Minister Farooq Abdullah, in his interaction with Mozambique Education Minister Zeferino Alexandre Martins, said that at the recent India-Africa summit, it was decided that several renewable energy projects will be started in the continent.
"This will include installation of biomass gasifier systems, solar charging stations and electrification of a... Read more..

'Garbage mess is offshoot of civic apathy'

 People's insensitivity in dumping waste in public places and the failure of self-governing bodies to set up a solid waste management (SWM) programme needs a regimen of deterrence through fines and penalties, say garbage managers and environmentalists.

Though civic bodies and a few panchayats have a garbage collection system in place, random littering and throwing of garbage in plastic bags in public places nullifies their efforts. This growing culture of civic irresponsibility and callous disposal of waste needs to be tackled firmly.

"A change in mindset that waste... Read more..