Comprehensive Clean Air Action Plan for Gaya
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India, launched the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), which proposes strategies to reduce air pollution. The NCAP identifies 122 non-attainment Indian cities [cities that violate the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)]. Gaya—one of the five most polluted cities in the world, in terms of particulate matter (PM) (WHO, 2018) — has also been identified as one of the non-attainment cities under NCAP.
ClimathonBLR 2020
CSTEP, in collaboration with Melton Foundation, successfully concluded the 50-hour ClimathonBLR 2020 recently. Indu Murthy, who was one of the judges at the event, also moderated the launch panel discussion on November 5. The closing session with participants and judges was held on November 7, in which the Q & A round was moderated by Neha Sharma.
Continual Support for Implementation of UDAY Initiatives in Karnataka
Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY)—a flagship scheme of the Government of India that ran from November 2015 to March 2019—was aimed at reducing the aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses of state-owned distribution companies (DISCOMs) by 6%, from 21% in FY15 to 15% in FY19. However, only 50% of the target (18.2%) was achieved by the end of FY19, and there is still a long way to go to achieve the target.
On Peer-to-Peer Energy Trading Between Solar RTPV and EV Charging Station
The use of energy from a rooftop photovoltaic (RTPV) system for charging electric vehicles (EV) is environmentally advantageous and forms a true approach towards green mobility. Further, if solar energy is generated in close proximity to the EV charging points, it results in lower transmission losses and helps mitigate detrimental effects of sudden rise in EV demand on the grid.
Perils of low birth weight
In India, low birth weight (LBW) is still a largely unmapped territory. This was one of the concerns raised by the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in a report recently. While the World Health Organization (WHO) has set a target of reducing LBW globally by 30% by 2025, the absence of data at a granular level threatens to derail India's efforts at salvaging the situation.
Pressure-induced electronic and isostructural phase transitions in PdPS: Raman, x-ray, and first-principles study
Application of pressure is known to be an effective tool for tuning structural and electronic properties of transition metal dichalcogenides. In this work we present evolution of PdPS with pressure using Raman spectroscopy and synchrotron x-ray diffraction up to 26 GPa, complemented with first-principles theoretical analysis of PdPS under pressure up to 36 GPa.
Karnataka should trade excess solar power
Overachieving solar targets is resulting in new challenges for Karnataka. It is not only making the state power surplus but also impeding the development of new solar projects in Karnataka. Karnataka has emerged as one of the top-performing states with a solar capacity of 7,295 MW (as of Dec 2019) against the MNRE's (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy) state target of 5,697 MW by 2022, and state government's own target of 6000 MW by 2021.
Climate and Development: Navigating a Delicate Balance
India is attempting to navigate a delicate balance – achieving our development goals sustainably without compromising on our climate targets. The Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP) developed Sustainable Alternative Futures for India (SAFARI) to assess how demands arising from achieving sustainable development goals will impact our materials and resource demand.
Solar Mini-Grid for Improved Energy Access
This project explores a general case methodology for designing mini-grids through a pilot project implementation, to provide a sustainable, economically viable and reliable supply of power to remote areas that face zero-to-poor energy access.
How to make rooftop solar attractive to DISCOMs?
India has deployed roughly 300 MW of rooftop solar (RTS) capacity in the first quarter of 2020, taking the overall RTS capacity to 5.74 GW. Yet, the installed capacity falls abysmally short (14%) of the ambitious RTS target of 40 GW by 2022. To make matters worse, the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdown brought the RTS sector to a halt — creating a lot of uncertainty. Thus, a strategic and robust plan is essential to revive this segment, as the nation returns to normalcy.