Electric bus (e-bus) technology hit the Indian market in recent years as a solution to the environmental concerns posed by conventional fuel buses. However, large-scale adoption of e-buses is a non-starter due to the lack of an enabling ecosystem. Planning and technology selection are crucial to maximise the utilisation of e-buses, which will in turn lower upfront capital costs, while minimising the adverse effects on existing public transport operations.

The present study evaluates the performance of NASA's Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications Aerosol Reanalysis (MERRAero) over Indian cities by validating its PM2.5 concentrations (reconstructed using individual species concentrations) against that of the real-time hourly observations. The study period of the present analysis is between 2013 and 2015. Several performance statistics (mean bias, mean absolute bias, mean fraction, correlation coefficient, FAC2) are derived for the assessment, which was carried out on various temporal scales.

•Limited agreement between ambient and personal air temperature

•Overall moderate correlation between ambient and personal air temperature

•Nighttime predictors included household altitude, ceiling height, and income

•Daytime predictors included housing characteristics and GPS-tracked altitude

•Time in agricultural labour was predictive in women and time travelling in men

Stationary air-quality monitors do not capture spatial variations in air-pollution. Mobilemonitoring or "sensors on a mobile platform", is an increasingly popular approach to measure high-resolution pollution data at the street level. Coupled with location data, spatial visualisation of air-quality parameters helps detect localized areas of high air-pollution, also called hotspots. In this approach, portable sensors are mounted on a vehicle and driven on predetermined routes to collect high frequency data (1 Hz).

We propose a low-cost passive method for monitoring long-term average levels of light-absorbing carbon air pollution in polluted indoor environments. Building on prior work, the method here estimates the change in reflectance of a passively exposed surface through analysis of digital images. To determine reproducibility and limits of detection, we tested low-cost passive samplers with exposure to kerosene smoke in the laboratory and to environmental pollution in 20 indoor locations.

Understanding of electron–phonon coupling (EPC) in two-dimensional (2D) materials manifesting as phonon renormalization is essential to their possible applications in nanoelectronics. Here we report in situ Raman measurements of electrochemically top-gated 2, 3 and 7 layered 2H-MoTe2 channel based field-effect transistors. While the 

COVID-19 has definitely put the brakes on public transport. With physical distancing being the norm, many people who can afford to, are likely to avoid it, at least for a few more months.

But public means of transport such as the bus and metro will continue to be an efficient and affordable mode of transport for most commuters. Therefore, there is an urgent need to revamp and restructure the services with safety and sanity checks.

Reams of newsprint have been spent on the devastating blow to the job market and economy during the current pandemic. Amid this pall of gloom, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) brought comfort to 55 million households by ensuring livelihoods from April to August 2020. Many of those who got jobs under the scheme were the ones who had reverse migrated from cities due to complete shutdown during the pandemic.

•The study estimated the investment required to meet new emission standards for coal power plants in India till 2030.

•The cost of electricity generation from coal power plants will increase by 9–25% with pollution control technologies.

•Study also highlighted the challenges in implementing emission standards and provided suitable policy recommendations.