Wind energy systems are expected to play a crucial role in meeting India’s ambitious goal of 450 GW of renewable energy installed capacity by 2030, which includes 140 GW of wind energy. In addition to large wind turbines, small wind turbines with less than 50 kW capacity can contribute to this goal. Further, small wind turbines generate decentralised power and reduce energy bills for consumers and power purchase costs for distribution companies, as well as help manage peak demand periods.

There has in the last few years been a concerted push from policymakers and thought leaders in India to transition to a circular economy to, among other things, enable effective waste management. However, waste management in the solar photovoltaic sector still lacks clear directives.

India’s energy demand is expected to grow at about 3% per annum till 2040, which necessitates the development of more clean power sources to fulfil this demand. India aims to meet 50% of the nation’s energy requirement through green energy sources by installing 500 GW of non-fossil fuel-based energy sources. In this context, the Indian power sector has introduced various policies to encourage investors and developers to establish more renewable energy plants.

With India’s ambitious 2030 clean energy targets and the 2070 net-zero goal, more was expected from the Union Budget 2023-24 to increase the uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) and solar photovoltaics (PVs). Currently, the EV market is struggling because of low penetration rates, and solar PVs have high production costs. Integrating EVs and solar PV systems could be a viable option for electric mobility in India, but without concessional financing available, the cost of solar projects would be too high, resulting in increased EV charging costs for consumers.

Uttar Pradesh, the fourth largest state in terms of land area, is the most populated state in India, accounting for over 16% of the country’s total population. As of January 2023, the installed capacity for power generation in Uttar Pradesh was about 31.4 GW, with thermal energy accounting for the majority (82% of the total installed capacity), followed by solar energy (8%) and biomass (7%).

Featuring “green growth” as one of its seven priorities, Union Budget 2023-24 announced some encouraging initiatives towards meeting its environmental targets. While many of these would indirectly aid air pollution control – a critical component of green growth – comprehensive proactive steps to tackle the rising air pollution were given a miss.

The climate crisis is no longer a distant event that might happen in the future. It is here, bringing new and previously unimaginable challenges. Temperatures are rising, rainfall patterns are shifting, and extreme events such as record-high temperatures and heavy rainstorms are becoming more common.

This year in India, the month of February was the hottest so far since 1901. According to a study in The Lancet, published in July 2021, with two decades of data (2000-2019), more than five million people died on average each year worldwide because of extreme temperatures.

Over the past decade, digitalisation has been expedited across all industries. This has enabled businesses to store, manage, and remotely retrieve large amounts of both critical and non-critical data. In addition, improvements in the precision of global navigation systems, expansion of trade and commerce, increased access to quality education, and other data-intensive procedures have contributed to an elevated quality of life and heightened productivity.

With an increasing number of countries setting strong net-zero targets, there is a global push for the gradual discontinuation of fossil-fuel usage and the large-scale adoption of renewable energy (RE). In this context, green hydrogen is seen as the fuel of the future, with various governments and energy companies betting on it.

In recent years, blockchain technology has made significant strides across various industries, from finance to supply chain management.