Coal or ‘black diamond’ as it is popularly known, is composed primarily of carbon and hydrocarbons, along with an assortment of other elements including sulphur. Coal as we are aware of is the buried and partly decomposed vegetation of the lost world, which has changed through immense period of geological time into brown or black […]
Continue Reading
With several mineral deposits, India ranks first in the production of coal, iron ore, chromite, mica, and bauxite. Besides, it has large deposits of building stones such as granite, marble, limestone etc. in addition to huge deposits of cement and steel grade limestone. India has a maximum number of mining leases of major and minor […]
Continue Reading
Since the days of the industrial revolution, coal has played a crucial role in the development of industry. It has been a source for power generation as well as a critical input for many major industries. As one of the fastest growing economies in the world today, India is also largely dependent on coal for […]
Continue Reading
Currently the oil market sentiment is depressive, as the world economy has seen a decline of crude oil prices by 75 per cent (Investing, 2016) and has settled at 29.42 USD in The New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) for the first time in 12 years (Puko, & Kantchev, 2016). This means that the crude prices […]
Continue Reading
It would appear that with about 3m of annual average rainfall and a variety of natural and man-made freshwater sources, Kerala, is a land of surplus water. But, studies by reputed research institutions in the State reveal that Kerala is no ‘safe state’ as regards fresh water availability. Ensuring uninterrupted year-round fresh water supplies remains […]
Continue Reading
Indian cities generate an estimated 38354 million litres per day (MLD) of wastewater. However, only 8.5 per cent of it is treated according to the Central Pollution Control Board. This is because the existing sewage infrastructure in cities is woefully inadequate to treat all the wastewater generated. Untreated water, unfortunately, can find its way into […]
Continue Reading
With poor sanitation estimated to cause 280,000 deaths per year worldwide, improving sanitation is a key policy goal in many developing countries. Yet governments and major development institutions disagree over how to address the problem. A new study released in Science in April, 2015 found that in Bangladesh, a community-motivation model that has been used […]
Continue Reading
With a service sector-led economic growth, the energy intensity of the Indian economy has been on the decline at a pace faster than the rest of the world (figure 1). The decline, according to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, 2015, Energy Statistics has been 1.3 per cent, as against -1 per cent the […]
Continue Reading
Mining of coal is one of the most destructive activity for the environment. Whatever the method of mining be—opencast or underground, green fields and forests cannot remain untouched. Since one has to rip off the surface layer to gain access beneath, a cavity results during and after mining. When monsoon rains fill these up, the […]
Continue Reading
Coal is the second largest source of energy worldwide, after mineral oil. In India, more than 80 per cent of thermal power generated is coal based. As per most projections, this coal-centric energy structure may continue for at least the next couple of decades. India is a leading coal producer, consumer and importer. Indian coal […]
Continue Reading