Inside this issue
Energy India
There is an intrinsic relationship between energy uses and economic development and India needs, at the very least, to increase its primary energy supply by 3 to 4 times and, its electricity generation capacity/supply by 5 to 6 times of their 2003 levels.
Reducing atmospheric greenhouse gases, while increasing economic wealth is only achievable with an intelligent mix of all available energy sources.
Panchayats can be encouraged to take up decentralised power distribution which will lead to increased community ownership of projects, upkeep and maintenance of services. In fact since the estimated willingness to pay for electricity of the unelectrified households is at par with the connected households, Panchayats can generate fund through user fees.
The Indian electricity sector, despite strings of reforms during the last one and half decades, is still struggling to close the gap between demand and supply. Power sector targets set for the last three five year plans were not achieved. Providing electricity to much of the consumers, households and industries, at competitive rates with a good quality of service thus still remains a challenge.
Copenhagen calling
While the developed countries want the developing countries to put caps on greenhouse gas emissions (GGE), the emerging economies want the advanced countries to accept deeper cuts in GGE and also provide technology transfer besides financial help for adaptation and mitigation programmes.
Status evaluation
Poverty statistics related to income largely ignores the gender dimensions of deprivation which are picked up by other measures such as levels of malnutrition, hours of physical work, morbidity and differential access to basic social services.
Ample surplus rainwater is available in river basins of India. Any use and exploitation of this surplus rainwater must be based on an analysis of 4 to 10 times longer data of the past.
Interventions
For those not yet fixated on the inevitability of the use of modern materials for their much vaunted strength, mud houses can be a liberating way to meet housing needs, private and public, without extravagance but with elegance.
Reports and studies
The total forest cover of the country as per the 2007 assessment of State of Forest Report is 78.37 million hectares which constitutes 23.84 per cent of the geographic area of India.
Despite efforts to enhance domestic energy production and diversify fuel mix, India still faces energy and peak shortages of around 8 per cent and 12 per cent respectively, while a large section of the rural population continues to lack access to clean and efficient energy fuels to meet their daily requirements.
Traveller's diary
Abandoned by 1900 BCE with the drying up of Sarasvati, excavations at Banavali show the classical chessboard pattern of the Harappan era.
IN CONVERSATION WITH
India energy scenario is fast adapting to the changing climatic regimes with new low carbon technologies, energy efficiency and renewables striding into prominence. Shri H S Brahma, Secretary, Ministry of Power, Government of India, briefly interacts with G’nY team via email to lend us a glimpse of what is envisaged for the years ahead.
Shri S K Chaturvedi, CMD, Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd., in conversation with the editor, affably offers insights on issues of sustainable grid management and outlines mechanisms to increase grid efficiency. Optimistic about the sustainability of India’s energy scenario. Shri Chaturvedi feels that renewable energy will take great strides in the near feature.
In brief
Dear readers, Yes, we are poised on the brink of a grand transition. The emerging energy scenario is going to transform the world, perhaps just the way industrial revolution brought about unprecedented rapid changes. Stabilisation scenarios projected by various studies avert ‘dangerous’ climate
