Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Surat's experiment with plastic roads

In a first, Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) has successfully devised a unique technique to deal with disposal of plastic waste. The plastic waste generated in the Diamond City will be used in the construction of asphalt roads.

The civic body has started a pilot project for constructing roads using plastic waste in three municipal zones namely Katargam, Varachha and Udhna adopting Indian Road Congress' (IRC... Read more..

Delhi Pollution Control Committee to explain how Okhla plant got okayed

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday summoned Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) officials, who had given a "consent to operate" certificate to the Okhla waste-to-energy plant in 2011. The plant had claimed that it would use refuse derived fuel (RDF) and biomethanation technology for waste management, but ended up using an "experimental Chinese technology", which incinerates unsegregated waste. NGT asked as to how this lapse was allowed to pass.

... Read more..

Indian Railways Partners With United Nations For Setting Up 5 Gigawatts Of Solar Power Capacity

In a bid to enhance its renewable energy production, Indian Railways has just announced its partnership with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). 

The capacity addition will be a mix of rooftop and ground-mounted projects.

So far, only Gujrat and Rajasthan have shown their capacity of holding solar... Read more..

Hindustan Zinc enters solar energy biz, to invest Rs 630 crore

Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL) today said it is foraying into solar energy business and will set up 115 MW of solar energy projects with an investment of Rs 630 crore. 

The company led by billionaire Anil Agarwal already produces 474 MW of thermal power and 274 MW of wind energy. 

"Hindustan Zinc has been working... Read more..

NEXTracker launches storage offering

Solar tracking manufacturer NEXTracker has unveiled a storage solution paired with its PV tracking infrastructure.

The NX Fusion Plus includes a tracker, inverter, battery and software. While the hardware synergies may not be obvious, the Flex-owned company claims that with the objectives of its tracker and storage aligned, it is well-placed to offer both together.

... Read more..

Detailed Project Report to be prepared on cleaning Muttar in Kochi

Irrigation department will be preparing a detailed project report (DPR) for dredging and cleaning river Periyar at Muttar (Muttarpuzha).

Many including people in nine wards of Eloor municipality and several companies depend on for drinking water.

It was following a joint inspection along the river conducted... Read more..

Cabinet clears easier labour laws, tech upgradation for textiles sector

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a set of reforms, including simplified labour laws and technology upgradation for the made-ups sector. “The interventions are expected to boost employment in the textiles sector and create jobs for up to 11 lakh persons, lead to increase in exports and enhance benefits to the workers in the textiles and apparel sector,” said an official release.

Made-ups, which... Read more..

Maharashtra to clean-up Ulhas river, as conveyed to NGT

The Ulhas river clean-up will be taken up under the state government's Amrut scheme. The Ulhas and Waldhuni rivers cover 122 km long stretch. The Ulhas river originates in the Sahyadri hills at Karjat and flows down to the Thane creek, a distance of 122 km where it meets the Arabian sea. The Waldhuni river originates in the Ambernath hills.

In an affidavit filed before the National Green Tribunal, Pune Bench... Read more..

PSUs to invest Rs 3 lakh crore in hydrocarbon sector in 3 years: DIPP secretary Ramesh Abhishek

The government expects foreign direct investment in the hydrocarbon sector to pick up but the key driver will continue to be the public sector companies, which will invest Rs 3 lakh crore over the next three years, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) secretary Ramesh Abhishek said. 

The sector attracted 40 per cent more FDI in the sector in the past two and a half years than in the previous... Read more..

Climate Change: Nagaland pitches project for Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC)

Nagaland has also submitted to the central government a project for capacity building as part of the Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) movement, which, in this case, concerns with environment with Climate Change as the larger perspective. 29 states and union territories, Nagaland included, have submitted their projects for capacity building. Minister of State (Independent Charge) in Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Anil Madhav Dave told the Rajya Sabha on December 5.... Read more..

India in talks to build Hyperloop; two Indian companies involved in the project

For the past two weeks, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has had a piece of paper on his desk, waiting for a signature that could lead to people being able to travel from Chennai to Bengaluru in 30 minutes — for a fraction of the cost of an airplane ticket. 

The paper is a Letter of Intent (LoI) from Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT), a US startup which is hoping to revolutionise travel. The... Read more..

Energy sector stocks all fired up with low downside risks

Whenever a structural shift in macro parameters is in progress, the conventional wisdom of a portfolio manager suggests a switch to stocks that have lower risk of an earnings downgrade in the near term. 

After demonetisation, India's energy sector has offered that succour to investors. It has reported maximum earnings upgrades in the past four weeks -thanks to favourable prices of crude oil and its... Read more..