Even a good policy with the best intentions can have unintended and adverse consequences. The Freight Equalization Scheme (FES) was one such policy meant to promote balanced industrial development throughout the country but ended up impeding the industrialisation of the mineral-rich eastern states. From 1956, consumers across the country got [...]

Odisha is known for coal. It is the second biggest coal-producing state, and by 2030, it will be the country’s top coal-producing state. So naturally, Odisha’s electricity production is heavily reliant on coal. Presently, more than 90% of electricity comes from coal-based power plants; renewable energy (RE) sources like solar, [...]

‘We need to act for the Amazon and act for our planet,’ said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when fires ravaged the Amazon rainforest in August 2019. He was joined by many Western countries in preaching the virtues of protecting the ‘global common’ for combating climate change. But the Western [...]

The writing is on the wall. A few days back, Coal India Limited (CIL), the world’s biggest coal producer and India’s largest CO2 emitter, announced its plans to become a ‘net-zero energy company’ by 2023-24. The company plans to install 3,000 MW of solar power to meet all its electricity [...]

Competition from Solar-plus-battery-Storage power seems set to challenge the viability of coal/gas-based power, and in the long run, of distribution companies (discoms).

Coal-fired Plants are brazening out meeting the new emission norms in the hope of another extension, courtesy confusion among govt authorities.

Renewable energy is clean energy, but it doesn’t always lead to green solutions. For clean energy to become green, solutions must be comprehensively designed. Updated: Aug 21, 2019

What would be the energy scenario in India in, say, 25 years from now? This is an important political enquiry as the path we choose would have a pivotal role in determining the country’s economic growth, social development and environmental sustainability. But, before gazing into the crystal ball, let’s analyse [...]

In the heydays of ‘India Shining’ in 2003, the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) had experimented with an alternate model to control pollution from industries. The model was named ‘Corporate Responsibility for Environment Protection’, or CREP. It was based on the principle of voluntary compliance: instead of the government [...]

An amendment was made recently in the Indian Forest Act of 1927, to remove bamboo from the category of trees. With this minor modification, bamboo grown on agricultural land will not require a transit permit (TP), for felling and transportation, from the forest department. However, bamboo grown in the forest [...]