Bengaluru is today synonymous with traffic and air pollution. Among Indian cities, Bengaluru ranked third in overall emissions and energy consumption in a recent survey by CSE (Centre for Science and Environment). PM2.5 and PM10 emissions contribute to much of the air pollution in the city, and 60-70% of these emissions originate from vehicles and road dust.

Cab aggregators have revolutionised commuting in cities by offering technology-based seamless connectivity. Along the way, they are also changing the way our cities function and grow. While these services were proposed to improve mobility, global case studies reveal that they significantly increase congestion and impact public transit ridership. However, by providing effective policy direction, city administrators can steer this revolution towards a more sustainable mobility system.

Thanks to favourable government policies and the reducing costs of technology, renewable energy is getting cheaper around the world. Today, it is cheaper to source energy from solar and wind plants than new thermal plants. This is great news for the renewable sector because market forces are now favourable for the large-scale adoption of solar and wind. However, one of the major drawbacks of increasing the share of renewables is that they threaten grid stability, owing to their fluctuating behaviour.

This article is first in the #Empower series of blogs by CSTEP, which aims to inform and interest the public in technical and policy issues that affect us on a day-to-day basis. In this and the next few articles, we will break down the journey of electricity from generation to consumption and elaborate on how every step of this journey has implications for you, the consumer. 

Migrant workers with no access to rations, families stuck in 60 sq. ft. shanties, domestic workers with no means to pay rent; the media has been abuzz with narratives on the quandaries of the informal sector following the national lockdown. While the Central and State governments tried to address their issues through measures like free rations and cash transfers, there have been "inadequacies and lapses", according to the Supreme Court. The absence of a comprehensive database on the sector contributes to these lapses to a large extent.

In the fight against COVID-19, India announced INR 1.70 lakh crore (0.8 per cent of GDP) stimulus package. The package covers food, cooking gas, and direct cash transfers to low-income households. It includes insurance cover for health workers and wage support to low-wage workers. Later on, in May 2020, the government announced INR 20 lakh crore (10 per cent of GDP) to revitalise the economy. This package is inclusive of the INR 1.7 lakh crore to make India self-reliant.

The temperature in the Indian subcontinent is set to increase 4 degree Celsius or more by the turn of the century, with frequent heatwaves persisting over longer durations. This and more such acute insights were revealed in a recent study released by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India. Based on a thorough assessment of the observed changes and future projections of temperature, rainfall, sea level, and extreme weather events such as droughts, floods, and heatwaves, the report is a clarion call for immediate action.

The Government of India plans to integrate 175 GW of variable renewables into the grid by 2022. At the same time, India's power consumption is steadily increasing. Hence, to ensure energy security and better utilisation of intermittent renewable generation, energy storage systems at the grid-scale are required. There is a range of grid-scale storage options, which can be incorporated in the Indian power grid.