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Sustainability Outlook Headlines
With investors looking for sunrise sectors, volatility to continueUS Federal Chairman Ben Bernanke, last week, had decided not to start shutting the liquidity tap giving the markets worldwide a surprise boost. Indian stock markets also rejoiced with strong gains. The $85-billion bond buying programme will continue to help capital markets across the world stay afloat thanks to the liquidity quotient. But will that help the Indian stock markets? Yes and no. Yes, because it may help the Indian large-caps and shares where foreign institutional investors’ have high stake to remain relatively stable in... Read more.. |
Delhi wants rich nations to 'lead in emission cuts'India on Thursday expressed disappointment over emission reduction obligations by developed countries and said rich nations should take the lead in this area. Studies have revealed that developing countries have pledged more by way of emission cuts than developed nations in the pre-2020 period, Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty, secretary (Economic Relations) at the ministry of external affairs, said at the Climate Policy and Business Conclave organised by FICCI. “This is a complete inversion of the... Read more.. |
The Japan-India Nuclear Energy DealJapanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is coming to India to discuss a ‘range of issues;’ the truth is that he is coming here as chief salesman of global nuclear industry, now collapsing under the collective onslaught of nuclear scientists, nuclear power plant engineers, physicists, investigative journalists and people. Shinzo is known for many things: dogged attempts at reviving Japan’s nuclear industry, his alleged connections with Japan’s notorious mafia, Yamaguchi-gumi. And now India has a rare... Read more.. |
Ganesh Chaturthi festivities wreak havoc on city lakesFestivities connected with Ganesh Chaturthi, especially the immersion of idols, have taken a heavy toll on the city’s lakes. This is despite the fact that artificial ponds “Kalyani” were constructed next to lakes for the immersion of idols. The city’s major lakes (Ulsoor, Yediyur, Sankey, Lalbagh and Shivapura) have witnessed a sharp spike in pollution parameters. The pH level (acidity measurement) has gone up by 20%, dissolved oxygen (DO) has come down by about 70% and the BOD (bio chemical... Read more.. |
World Bank aid to check flow of sewer water into Ganga at KanpurThe World Bank had agreed to finance a Rs 443 crores project to check the flow of sewer water into Ganga. Under this project, 250km of new sewer lines would be laid in the city. A team of World Bank had visited various wards of the city with the officials of Jal Nigam and held discussions with the corporators and residents. Sewer line laying work under Jawahar lal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNRUM) is going on in the city. National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) had got a sanction... Read more.. |
India not to water down nuclear liability lawIndia will not water down its nuclear liability law to enable international vendors to enter the domestic nuclear power market, the department of atomic energy said on Thursday. The government had repeatedly said that contracts between foreign vendors and Nuclear Power Corp. of India Ltd, which would be the operator of nuclear power plants in the country, “will be subject to Indian law”, the department said. “The contracts, which will have to be approved by the competent authority of the government, will be fully consistent with Indian law,” its statement said. “There is no... Read more.. Date : Sep 20 Source: Livemint
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Ban on industrial clusters lifted in BengalThe ministry for environment and forests (MoEF) in a recent circular has lifted the moratorium on setting up of industrial clusters in Haldia, Asansol and Howrah, thus clearing the hurdle to industrial initiative in the areas. The ban was imposed in 2010. The decision has come as a reprieve to the Mamata Banerjee government as the chief minister along with others had been writing to the Centre to lift the moratorium in view of the state's concerted green effort to bring down the comprehensive environment pollution index (CEPI) in... Read more.. |
Energy audit puts govt buildings on power saving modeHuge electricity bills of various government buildings in Uttar Pradesh are on their way to becoming a thing of the past, as recommendations of the energy audit undertaken by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency point towards possibility of huge energy saving in these buildings. Documents available with TOI indicate that after only partial implementation of the recommendations, the average monthly saving of Shastri Bhawan was Rs 7,42,158, while of Bapu Bhawan Sachivalaya was Rs 1,98,540. Shakti Bhawan, which houses the office of the UPPCL registered a monthly saving of Rs... Read more.. |
Can Four Indians Feed Millions Across The Globe?Yes! Four Indian students from Asian Institute of Management (AIM), Philippines answered the call of former USA President Bill Clinton through HULT prize competition to solve the burgeoning food insecurity problem within urban slums. Raj Bordia, Ravindra Rapeti, Saurabh Bathla and Shivesh Gaurav are currently pursuing their Masters in Business Administration (MBA) at AIM, Manila. The task on hand for them is immense as they push themselves to build a social venture in order to serve nutritious food to 20 million urban slum dwellers across the globe. ... Read more.. Date : Sep 20 Source: Huffington Post
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Rich nations should lead in reducing emission: IndiaIndia Thursday expressed disappointment over emission reduction obligations by developed countries, and said rich nations should take the lead in this area. Studies have revealed that developing countries have pledged more by way of emission cuts than developed nations in the pre-2020 period, Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty, secretary (economic relations) at the ministry of external Affairs, said at the Climate Policy and Business Conclave organised by FICCI. "This is a complete inversion of the... Read more.. |
2.8 GW Solar PV Capacity Expected To Be Added In India In 2014States across India are competing with each other to install large-scale solar power projects. A number of states have announced ambitious solar power policies and also organised competitive auction of solar power projects, reaping massive response in most cases. A number of these auctions took place in late 2012 and early 2013. All these projects are now expected to be commissioned in 2014. The likelihood of most of the projects meeting their commissioning deadline is quite high as the state solar power policies have a clause to... Read more.. |
Ghaziabad most polluted industrial cluster in the countryGhaziabad, which is part of the National Capital Region (NCR), is the most polluted industrial zone in the country, which means environment ministry will not clear any new industrial project in the booming township. The country's pollution watchdog, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), had found the implementation of an environment management plan more than two years ago had failed to reduce pollution in eight of the 47 critically polluted clusters studied for air, land and water pollution levels. ... Read more.. Date : Sep 19 Source: Hindustan Times
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India's free lunches exact a high priceIn spite of India's much-publicized national renewable energy policy as part of its international commitments to reduce carbon emissions, its Mid Day Meal (MDM) Scheme, the world's largest school lunch program, has no energy conservation or even a fuel policy in its workings. Approximately 120 million children in 12.65 million schools around the country get a hot, cooked meal at lunch time every day. The ruling Congress coalition government's flagship MDM Scheme, and one that it counts as a voter's favorite in the upcoming... Read more.. |
Power Ministry plans to set up National Smart Grid Mission by 2014Power Ministry proposes to establish a National Smart Grid Mission(NSGM) by 2014 on the lines of the National Mission for Electric Mobility launched recently by the Ministry of Heavy Industries. The objective is to transform the Indian power sector into a secure, adaptive, sustainable and digitally enabled ecosystem that provides reliable and quality energy for all with active participation of stake holders. Power Ministry in its "Smart Grid vision and road map for India" released last week... Read more.. |
Indian nuclear plants register 379 reactor years of operation, 80% capacity factorThe Indian nuclear power sector has registered over 379 reactor years of safe operation as on date. The average annual availability of the Indian nuclear power plants (NPPs) has remained at 90%. Six of the 19 reactors, currently under operation, have logged continuous operation of more than 300 days during the year, informed Dr RK Sinha, chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). One reactor year means one reactor in operation for one year. 379 reactor years means the accumulated experience achieved by 19 reactors in operation... Read more.. |
Rs 950cr lifeline to power unitsThe state looks all set to get a Rs 950 crore lifeline from World Bank to revamp its old power generation units. West Bengal Power Development Corporation (WBPDCL), the state power generation utility, has at least six 30- to 50-year-old thermal units at Kolaghat and Bandel power stations that have outlived their age. Ashish Khanna, India energy team leader of the World Bank, told TOI that the international organization was collaborating with different states to refurbish power units that are old and have become inefficient. He said it has identified two such units in West... Read more.. Date : Sep 19 Source: Times of India
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Bihar undertakes water conservation with afforestationConcerned over depleting water resources due to soaring population, Bihar government has undertaken an exercise to conserve water along with large scale afforestation. The forest department is carrying out the exercise of water harvesting on mountains by building small structures, secretary environment and forest Dipak Kumar Singh said. The task had been successfully carried out in Gaya, Rajgir, Banka, Rohtas, Kaimur and Jamui having large forest cover alongside mountains, he said. Singh said that since the mountains were near the town, the ground water level was... Read more.. Date : Sep 19 Source: Times of India
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DoT panel recommends mass solar cell towers for BSNLA telecom department (DoT) panel has recommended that staterun telecom company Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) be tasked with expediting mass solarisation of its cell towers in India's powerstrapped rural zones with support from Universal Services Obligation Fund (USOF). The proposal is seen as the first step by the government to address the telecom sector's concerns about the prohibitive capex costs of deploying green energy technologies like solar for powering cell towers in line with the DoT's green telecom policy unveiled in January 2012. In an internal note seen by ET,... Read more.. Date : Sep 19 Source: Times of India
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Not yet time to impose fuel efficiency norms: Oscar"We cannot implement the norms at the cost of the industry being hurt" The Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Oscar Fernandes, on Wednesday defended the move to delay and dilute the proposed norms on fuel efficiency for cars. Speaking to IBN7 news channel here, the Minister reacted to the story The Hindu carried on Wednesday. “India’s priority is to provide jobs to people, advance the industry and along with it, to save oil. But we cannot do so now [implement the fuel efficiency norms] at the cost of the industry being hurt,” he said, adding: “The time to impose... Read more.. Date : Sep 19 Source: The Hindu
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Ban on project approvals for eight critically polluted industrial areasThe environment ministry will not provide project clearances in eight important but critically polluted industrial areas in the country, a ban that is likely to hurt further corporate investment. The ministry had since January 2010 imposed a moratorium at 43 industrial clusters—including Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, Indore in Madhya Pradesh, Ludhiana in Punjab, Panipat in Haryana and Vapi in Gujarat—that was later lifted in 26 locations in fiscal year ended March 2011. It has now re-imposed the ban on approvals in eight such regions after the Central Pollution Control Board... Read more.. Date : Sep 19 Source: Livemint
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13th Plan to Focus on Super Critical & Ultra Super Critical Thermal Plants, says B K ChaturvediThe government has identified 600-odd power guzzling industries such as fertilizers, steel, cement and paper for which standards will be laid down for achieving energy efficiency. If these industries fail to adhere to the prescribed norms, they will be penalized, said Mr. B K Chaturvedi, Member (Energy), Planning Commission, while addressing the curtain raiser conference on ‘States and Climate Change’ of the ‘India Climate Policy and Business Conclave 2013’ beginning today. FICCI in association with the Ministry of Environment & Forest, Government of India, the... Read more.. |
Scorched Earth Policy: Indian Country Among Climate Hot SpotsSouthern and southeastern Asia, western and central Europe, eastern South America and southern Australia are among the regions most vulnerable to climate change on Earth, a new map compiled by the Wildlife Conservation Society shows. But Turtle Island and much of Indian country are not far behind. This map, unlike previous assessments, factors in the condition of the areas surveyed rather than simply looking at climate change’s effects on landscapes and seascapes. The human activity that has shaped many of these regions already must... Read more.. |
FICCI outlined a 7-point package of measures at India Climate Policy and Business Conclave 2013To enhance climate change initiatives at the state level, FICCI has outlined a 7-point package of measures at the ‘India Climate Policy and Business Conclave 2013’, organised by FICCI in association with the Ministry of Environment & Forest, Government of India, the World Bank and German Environment Ministry. The measures are: • Create a mechanism for sharing of knowledge and experience of projects at the state and local levels domestically and globally to serve as best practices for others to emulate. • Countries can collaborate in replicating initiatives and... Read more.. |
Grid-connected land to be available for renewable energy unitsThe West Bengal government will make grid-connected land available for setting up renewable energy projects - mainly solar and wind - in Kharagpur and Mandarmani respectively. Stating this at the 4th Energy Conclave, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Eastern Region, the state's power secretary Malay De today promised assured fuel linkage for forthcoming expansion plans. De, who is also the convener of the conclave, attended by all stakeholders - from policymakers, key... Read more.. |
Planning Commission's task force to expand renewable energy usagePlanning Commission has formed a task force, under the chairmanship of member B K Chaturvedi, to look into ways of expanding the usage of more renewable energy in the country and coordinate different activities related to solar energy. “...task force we have made and talking to the states for better implementation, better governance for these issues. The idea is that overall power is expanding, so as we expand more and have more power, share of renewables should go up,” Chatuvedi told reporters on the sidelines of a FICCI (... Read more.. |
