Development Watch – Week #1 January ’24

Development News

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2024 Action plan for green energy targets

In 2024, popularization of solar rooftops must be undertaken in mission mode. This is India’s big opportunity. Despite successes in renewable energy, we have been unable to make a breakthrough in solar rooftops. Many state electricity regulatory commissions (SERCs) have not yet adopted gross-metering. With gross-metering, consumers will be able to sell excess electricity generated back to the grid. This would also reduce their power bills. Furthermore, the power generated through solar rooftops will be consumed locally, reducing transmission and distribution losses. Through the National Green Hydrogen Mission, India would also become a global green hydrogen hub. During India’s G20 presidency, green development took centre stage.

EV Investments from Germany, UK and Korea

India is looking to bring in potential investors from foreign countries, including Germany, Britain and South Korea, under its new Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy. It would help attract EV manufacturers and encourage greater investment in the sector. The new policy would also benefit Indian carmakers.

Data Centre and Aerospace Park in Telangana

Adani Group held discussions with Telangana Government to set up a data centre and aerospace park in the state. CEO of Adani Ports and SEZs and CEO of Defence and Aerospace met Chief Minister Revanth Reddy in Hyderabad. The state government would provide the required amenities, infrastructure and subsidies to new industries to promote industrial growth and create more employment opportunities. The Telangana Government is inviting investments from Adani Group to set up industries. State Industries Minister, Chief Secretary and IT Minister were also present in the meeting.

Self-reliance in Energy, Infra, Defence and Space sectors

State-owned engineering firm BHEL is making India self-reliant in energy and infrastructure sectors and also contributing significantly to defence and space segments. Recently, the Union Heavy Industries Minister inaugurated the newly-constructed BHEL Sadan in Noida, on the occasion of BHEL Day. India has set a target of ‘net zero’ carbon emissions by 2070. BHEL Sadan is equipped with a 30-kW solar power system. It has a seating capacity of over 2,000 people and will facilitate all the Delhi-NCR based offices to work from a single office. It will result in better coordination and improved performance. BHEL has also signed an MoU with Coal India and NLC India for commercial size coal gasification projects.

Solar micro grids to light up over 9,000 households in Tripura

The central government has sanctioned Rs. 81 Crores to Tripura for setting up 274 solar micro grids in remote areas of the North Eastern states to power over 9,250 houses. Under the project of Ministry of Development of Northeast Region (DoNER), the micro grids will be established in hamlets in Dhalai, Unakoti and South, West and North Tripura districts. in these parts of the state, conventional electricity appears non-profitable to the state power utility due to low population density and geographical isolation. Each micro grid will have installed capacity ranging from 2 KW to 25 KW depending on population of a particular habitation. The tariff are not yet finalized yet, the beneficiary needs to pay a small amount for power consumption. According to TREDA estimation, Tripura has a solar power potential of 2,000 MW. Presently, of this only 19.50 MW is being generated. The state has also unveiled Tripura Energy Vision of generating 500 MW of solar power by 2030.

Problems in Red Sea not impacting India’s maritime trade

According to the Shipping and Waterways secretary, the ongoing Red Sea conflict will have no impact on India’s maritime trade with the rest of the world. The Bab-el-Mandeb Strait is an essential trade route that connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. It separates Africa from the Arabian Peninsula. The situation around the Strait is a crucial shipping route connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean, has escalated due to recent attacks by Yemen-based Houthi militants. The strait is vital for 30% of global container traffic. It has seen increased tensions with various incidents in 2023, including attacks and military manoeuvres by regional and global powers.

Use of waste for building Roads and Highways

The government has decided to link road construction with Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0. This would pave the way for the use of inert material from solid waste in the building of embankments across national highways. As per assessment by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, there is a draft policy on the use of inert waste material that does not disintegrate naturally. About 170 million tonnes of waste is accumulated at 2,304 dump sites in India. The inert material available from these sites can be potentially utilized in the construction of embankments for National Highways and state roads, the Ministry said in an office memorandum.

NHAI-ISRO to develop Green Cover Index

National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will prepare a Green Cover Index in the next 3 years. This is being done in collaboration with the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), an arm of the ISRO. Presently the monitoring of plantations relies on site visits by field personnel. The NSRC will undertake a comprehensive pan-India estimation of green cover for National Highways using high resolution satellite imagery. It will also facilitate targeted interventions in regions that are reported to lack adequate green cover. This approach promises to provide a time-saving and cost effective solution to generate a macro-level estimate of the greenness along National Highways. The aim is to capture the Green Cover Index region-wise for National Highways in the first assessment cycle. Subsequent annual cycles will focus on estimating the growth patterns of green cover for National Highways using scientific techniques.

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