Development Watch – Week #1 August ’22

Development News

---

Rs. 55 Crores Savings through Renewable Power usage

Southern Railway has saved Rs. 55 Crores by harnessing alternate sources of energy. It is on a mission to reduce its carbon footprint. A generation of 91.56 million units of wind power led to cumulative savings of Rs. 48.54 Crores. Through solar energy, it generated 16.30 million units between 2017-2022, which led to saving of Rs. 6.45 Crores.Dr. MGR Chennai Central Railway Statoin has become the first in the region to provide 100% of its day time energy requirements through solar power.

Bharat Forge to manufacture High Speed Trains in India

Bharat Forge has entered a joint venture with Talgo for manufacturing high speed trains in India. Talgo is a wholly owned subsidiary of Spain-based high-speed passenger train manufacturer Patentes Talgo. It has more than 75 years of experience in design, manufacturing and maintenance of trains. There will be focus on setting up manufacturing, maintenance and life-cycle support hub for new generation, energy efficient, lightweight aluminum high speed railway trains. The government recently floated a tender for 100 Vande Bharat trains, having maximum speed of 200 kmph.

Airlines asked to boost Engineering capabilities after Safety incidents

Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked airlines to increase engineering capabilities at all base and transit stations. This comes up after a series of safety-related incidents in recent weeks. Airlines have also been asked to take appropriate mitigation actions and greater internal surveillance to ensure safety of air operations. Between May 2 and June 6, DGCA conducted special safety checks of 300 aircrafts. of these, 62 planes belonged to SpiceJet airlines. DGCA prevented the use of 10 airplanes until the airline was able to rectify all reported defects or malfunctions.

Carbon-Credit Market for Energy, Steel and Cement

PMO and NITI Aayog may be planning to start a carbon trading market for major emitters in energy, steel and cement industries. It is part of the efforts to expedite the transition to cleaner fuels. The market would initially be limited to hard-to-abate sectors. This would allow participants to trade credits earned from cutting emissions. One of the goals is to ensure state-owned energy firms like ONGC, Indian Oil Corp and NTPC, along with steel and cement companies, can benefit from planned investments in carbon-capture projects.

750 rural Indian Girls create AzaadiSAT for ISRO

The flight is scheduled for August 7, when India’s small satellite launch vehicle (SSLV) would take flight. It will carry AzaadiSAT, a microsatellite with 75 small payloads developed by an all-girls team from rural government schools across India. The SSLV would leave for its maiden spaceflight from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. It will carry one of India’s experimental Earth Observation Satellite EOS-02 which is used in mapping and developing various GIS applications. The project was coordinated by Space Kidz India (SKI), a Chennai-based space startup. The girls, from Classes 8-12, were selected from 75 government schools. Space Kidz India led the work on AzaadiSAT along with NITI Aayog. Their team taught the girls to build small experiments. The main systems, including the onboard computer, flight software, electrical power system, telemetry and telecommand were developed and tested by SKI team.