Showing posts with label MISSIONS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MISSIONS. Show all posts

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Union Cabinet approved Swachh Bharat Mission for Urban Areas

The Union Cabinet on 24 September 2014 approved Swachh Bharat Mission for Urban Areas. The mission will begin from 2 October 2014 and will be implemented over a period of five years.
The mission will be implemented in over 4041 statutory towns of the country and will cost around 62009 crore rupees of which 14623 crore rupees will be borne by the Union Government.
The Mission is the urban component of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and will be implemented by Union Ministry of Urban Development. The rural component of the Mission will be implemented by Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
Main elements of the Mission
  • The Mission includes elimination of open defecation, conversion of insanitary toilets to pour flush toilets, eradication of manual scavenging, Municipal Solid Waste Management.
  • The Programme consists of components for providing (i) Individual household toilets; (ii) Community and public toilets; and (iii) Municipal Solid Waste Management in all 4041 statutory towns
  • It would cover 1.04 crore households, provide 2.5 lakh seats of community toilets, 2.6 lakh seats of public toilets and solid waste management facility for all towns.
Aim of the Mission
  • It aims towards bringing a behavioural change in people regarding healthy sanitation practices and generating awareness among citizens about sanitation and its linkages with public health.
  • It also aims at strengthening of urban local bodies to design, execute and operate systems to fulfill these objectives and creating an enabling environment for private sector participation in capital expenditure and operational expenditure.
Background
The plan of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan was mentioned in the Union Budget 2014-15 by the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on 10 July 2014. The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan was proposed in the Union Budget under Drinking Water & Sanitation plan. As proposed, the Abhiyan will cover every household with sanitation facility by the year 2019.

Monday, August 18, 2014

National Project on Climate Resilient Agriculture

Climate Change, caused by the increased concentration of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere, has emerged as the most prominent global environmental problem. Most of the countries including India are facing the problems of rising temperature, melting of glaciers, rising of sea-level leading to inundation of the coastal areas, changes in precipitation patterns leading to increased risk of recurrent droughts and devastating floods, threats to biodiversity, an expansion of pest and a number of potential challenges for public health.

Realizing that the climate change is likely to have major impacts on agriculture, the Government through Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has assessed the impact of climate change on Indian agriculture under different scenarios using crop simulation models. 

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has conducted climate change impact analysis on crop yields through various centres in different parts of the country using crop simulation models (INFO-CROP and HAD CM3) for 2020, 2050 and 2080.

The results indicate variability in temperature and rainfall pattern with significant impacts on crop yields. These studies projected reduction in yields of irrigated rice by about 4% in 2020, 7% in 2050 and 10% in 2080. 

Rainfed rice yields are likely to be reduced by 6% in 2020, but in 2050 and 2080 they are projected to decrease only marginally (<2.5%). Climate change is projected to reduce timely-sown irrigated wheat production by about 6% in 2020. In case of late sown wheat, however, the projected reductions are to the extent of 18, 23 and 25 percent in 2020, 2050 and 2080 respectively. Yields of irrigated kharif maize may decrease by about 18% in 2020 and 2050 and about 23% in 2080 due to climate change. Rainfed sorghum yields are projected to decline marginally (2.5%) in 2020 scenario and by about 8% in 2050. 

The Government through Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has initiated a network project on ‘National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture’ (NICRA) to enhance resilience of Indian agriculture through Strategic Research on adaptation and mitigation (covering crops, livestock, fisheries and natural resource management), Technology Demonstration, Capacity Building and Sponsored/Competitive Grant Projects. 

Objectives: 

 To enhance the resilience of Indian agriculture covering crops, livestock  and fisheries to climatic variability and climate change through development and application of improved production and risk management technologies
  To demonstrate site specific technology packages on farmers’ fields for adapting to current climate  risks
 To enhance the capacity building of scientists and other stakeholders in climate resilient agricultural research and its application.

XII Five Year Plan objectives related to the project are: 

 Strengthening the existing network research on adaptation and mitigation (food crops, horticulture, livestock and fishery) with more infrastructure and capacity building.
 Setting up of high through put phenotyping platforms and temperature, CO2, ozone gradient facilities at identified locations/ institutions including North East region.
 Strengthening research on  climate sensitive crops like cotton, maize, sugarcane, onion, etc. which are critical for India’s farm GDP/exports but not covered in the XI Plan.
 Projected impacts on water availability at the river basin level and participatory action research at large number of sites on evolving coping strategies through water saving technologies.
 Evolving a national level pest and disease monitoring system to assess the changing pest/disease dynamics under changed climate (both in crops and livestock).
 Strengthening crop simulation and climate scenario down-scaling modeling capabilities at major Institutes and a dedicated unit at IARI, New Delhi.
 Piloting the operationalization of the district/block level agromet advisory services through KVKs/district line departments and contingency plans during droughts and floods.
 Expanding the technology demonstration and dissemination to 130 vulnerable districts of the country.

National Solar Mission

To develop solar energy as an effective alternative source of power, the government of India, on 11 January 2010, launched the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM), under the brand name "Solar India”. The main target of the Mission is to deploy 20,000 MW of grid connected solar power by 2022. Besides, JNNSM is also working on reducing the cost of solar power generation through aggressive R&D, development of critical raw materials indigenously, and formulation of large scale deployment goals.

JNNSM is a major initiative to promote ecologically sustainable growth and, at the same time, address the energy security challenges faced by India.

The infrastructure and technology cost to develop solar energy parks is very high at the moment, as compared to the power sources such as coal, and even oil. For solar energy to become one of the prime sources, it is important that rapid scale-up of capacity and technologies is achieved so that the cost can be driven-down towards parity with current sources of power. It is hoped that JNNSM will achieve parity with coal-based thermal plants by 2030.

The Mission is also encouraging use of number of off-grid solar applications, especially in the rural areas, which are already cost-effective.

Fortunately, India has a vast solar energy potential. Approximately 5,000 trillion kWh per year energy can be produced using solar power. However, the constraint is on availability of space to put the solar panels and development of effective storage. Besides, the monsoon period has its own disadvantage vis-a-vis solar power due to extended cloud cover in the monsoon months. To develop solar power resource the Indian scientists and engineers will need to (i) develop solar panels that can create more energy per sq meter, (ii) batteries that have higher capacity to store energy while occupying lesser space, and (iii) photo-voltaic cells that can produce energy even during the cloud cover. Theoretically, a small fraction of the total incident solar energy (if captured effectively) can meet the entire country’s power requirements. 

Electricity generation using domestic coal is the cheapest source of electricity today. However, this will change in the future as coal availability is finite. Increasing demand for power will require coal to be imported and this will further increase the generation cost. On the other hand, development of hydro power is proving to be very detrimental to environment and is being discouraged. Dependence on diesel generation is too costly. Thus, the best energy resource left to meet effectively the demands of tomorrow is solar power. The situation, thus, demands urgent development of a solution that is both feasible and cost effective.

Objectives and Targets
The main objective of the JNNSM is to make India a global leader in solar energy. The first step in this direction is to set-up an enabling environment for solar technology penetration in the country. In the first phase of the Mission (up to 2013) the focus was on promotion of off-grid systems to provide electricity to areas which either do not have access to commercial energy grid or scope for capacity addition in the grid; capturing of the low-hanging options in solar thermal.

The second phase (2013-17) will see aggressive capacity building and more competitive solar energy penetration in the country. The target is to ramp up the grid-connected solar power generation capacity to 4000 MW by 2017, through the mandatory renewable purchase obligation by utilities backed with a preferential tariff.

The ambitious target of 20,000 MW or more solar power by 2022 will be dependent on the lessons learned from the first two phases, which if successful, will help to achieve grid-competitive solar power.

The Mission also promoted solar heating systems in the first two phases, which are already using proven technology and are commercially viable.

As a first step, solar heaters have been made mandatory in building bye-laws and by incorporating their use in the National Building Code. For certification and rating of manufacturers of solar thermal applications, an effective mechanism has been put in place. Local agencies and power utilities are facilitating promotion of the individual devices. A support mechanism has also been put in place for upgrading the technologies and manufacturing capacities.

A major key to success of solar power development lies in decentralized and off-grid applications. The remote and far-flung areas that have limited or no access to light and power can leap-frog the fossil fuel growth trajectory, and move straight to solar power. In any case, solar power is more cost effective in these areas as cost of existing grid penetration in these areas is already very high. The only deterrent is high-end initial cost. A government support mechanism to set-up such decentralized solar power applications becomes a must.

JNNSM is also working under the ongoing remote village electrification programme of MNRE to provide solar lighting systems to about 10,000 villages and hamlets. To enable indigenization as well as lowering of prices, the subsidy and the demand so generated is being leveraged through the scale effect. 

To promote solar lights through market mode, for villages which are connected to grid, banks are being enabled to offer low cost credit.

In special category States, as well as remote and difficult areas like Ladakh region of J&K, Andamans and Lakshadweep islands, stand-alone rural solar power plants are being encouraged, as also promotion of other off-grid solar applications, including hybrid systems to meet power, heating and cooling energy requirements currently being met by use of diesel and other fossil fuels. 

Schools are being encouraged to use solar energy to power their computer labs, as also other computers being used to assist in teaching. 

Some areas where solar power is already being used successfully are: Running of Management Information System (MIS) for better management of forests in MP, powering milk chilling plants in Gujarat, empowering women Self Help Groups (SHGs) involved in tussar reeling in Jharkhand, and cold chain management for Primary Health Centres (PHCs).

A soft re-finance facility has been created through Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) for which Union government is providing budgetary support. NBFCs and Banks will, in turn, be re-financed by IREDA with the condition that loans to consumers be given at interest rate that is not more than 5 per cent. 

The bulk of India’s solar PV cell industry is dependent on imports of the critical raw material and components. For India to become a leader in solar power generation it is important that not only high-quality manufacturing facilities are created, including for manufacture of critical silicon material. There is also a need to create low-cost, high quality manufacturing facilities. Urgent need is to develop manufacturing capacities for medium and high temperature applications. If supported well, both on policy and financial front, and backed by proper R&D, the SME sector of the country can become the backbone for manufacture of various components and systems for solar systems. 

The Mission has also spelled out the domestic content requirement, under which developers must use Indian-manufactured solar cells and modules, to encourage development of indigenous technology that, in turn, will help in not only reducing the cost but also decrease dependence on foreign technology for this critical energy resource. 

The Mission plans to remain technology neutral, allowing technological innovation and market conditions to determine technology winners. There is also a move to set up a Solar Research Council that will oversee the strategy, taking into account availability of research capabilities, resources, as also possibilities of international collaboration.

Under a major R&D project, focus is on reducing cost, improving efficiency, testing hybrid co-generation, lack of convenient and cost-effective storage, and constraints of variability and space-intensity.

The R&D strategy is dealing with five categories: i) Basic research having long term perspective for the development of innovative and new materials, processes and applications, ii) Applied research aimed at improvement of the existing processes, materials and the technology for enhanced performance, durability and cost competitiveness of the systems/devices, iii) Technology validation and demonstration projects aimed at field evaluation of different configurations including hybrids with conventional power systems for obtaining feedback on the performance, operation-ability and costs, iv) development of R&D infrastructure in PPP mode, and v) support for incubation and start ups.

Technology cannot develop and sustain without availability of well-trained human resource. JNNSM has planned an ambitious human resource development programme, across the skill-chain, to support the expanding solar energy programme, both for applied and R&D sectors. More than 1000 young scientists and engineers have been incentivized to get trained on different solar energy technologies.

To develop and design specialized courses in Solar Energy premier engineering colleges and IITs are being involved. Many of the leading engineering colleges are already teaching solar energy at graduation and post graduation level. Some IITs and Regional Engineering Colleges have also setup Centres for Energy studies. 

There is also now available a government fellowship programme to train 100 selected engineers and scientists in Solar Energy in world class institutions. 

A National Centre for Photo-voltaic Research and Education has been established at IIT, Mumbai. It is part of the efforts to develop the human resource and implementation of the technology.

Creating a policy and regulatory environment, which encourages large-scale investment of capital in solar energy applications, technical innovations and steps to lower the cost is among the main objectives of the Mission. In the long run, establishment of a sector-specific legal and regulatory framework for the development of solar power is envisaged. Work is also being done to embed the activities of the Mission within the existing framework of the Electricity Act 2003. 

Taking in account the latest technology and cost concerns, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission has issued guidelines for fixing feed-in-tariff for purchase of Solar power. These will be revised on an annual basis. It has also been stipulated by the CERC that the Power Purchase Agreements between the utilities and the solar power promoters be for a minimum period of 25 years.

To encourage a rapid scale up, and to enable an early launch of "Solar India”, the Ministry of Power, the NTPC and the Central Electricity Authority are cooperating to bring a scheme that will simplify the off-take of solar power and minimize the financial burden on the government.

One major issue that needs to be sorted out is tariff and bundling of solar power with the existing grid. Ways and means have to be devised to ensure that solar power utilities get their due cost (which at present will be higher than the traditional power sources) as also get paid in time by the distribution companies. Without this mechanism in place not many investors will be willing to set up solar power plants. 

One option being explored by the Mission is to bundle the solar power with cheaper un-allocated quota of the Central stations and sell this (bundled power) to State distribution utilities at the CERC regulated price. The gap between sale price of power and average cost of power can be brought down this way. However, for this to work, power will have to be purchased by an entity and re-sold to the State power distribution utilities. 

To begin with, the Union Ministry of Power has designated NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd. (NVVN), a wholly owned subsidiary of NTPC, which is engaged in the business of trading of power, as a nodal agency for entering into a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with solar power developers to purchase solar power fed to 33 KV and above grid, in accordance with the tariff and PPA duration fixed by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission. In the first phase, this arrangement will be limited to a maximum anticipated capacity of 1000 MW. 

The State utilities will be entitled to use the solar part of the bundled power for meeting their Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPO) under the Electricity Act, 2003.

Replacement of the conventional power and diesel-based power with rooftop solar PV and other small solar power plants, connected to LT/11 KV grid, is also being encourage by the Mission. A generation based incentive will be payable to the utility as per formula devised by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission. 

National Mission for Green India

The National Mission for a Green India, as one of the eight Missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), recognizes that climate change phenomena will seriously affect and alter the distribution, type and quality of natural resources of the country and the associated livelihoods of the people. The Mission (henceforth referred to as GIM) acknowledges the influences that the forestry sector has on environmental amelioration through climate mitigation, food security, water security,biodiversity conservation and livelihood security of forest dependent communities.

The objectives of the mission are three-fold:

• Double the area to be taken up for afforestation/eco-restoration in India in the next 10 years, taking the total area to be afforested or eco-restored to 20 million ha.(i.e., 10 million ha of additional forest/non forest area to be treated by the Mission, in addition to the 10 million ha which is likely to be treated by Forest Department and other agencies through other interventions).
• Increase the GHG removals by India's forests to 6.35% of India's annual total GHG emissions by the year 2020 (an increase of 1.5% over what it would be in the absence of the Mission). This would require an increase in above and below ground biomass in 10 million ha of forests/ecosystems, resulting in increased carbon sequestration of 43 million tons CO2-e annually .
• Enhance the resilience of forests/ecosystems being treated under the Mission enhance infiltration, groundwater recharge, stream and spring flows, biodiversity value, provisioning of services (fuel wood, fodder, timber, NTFPs, etc.) to help local communities adapt to climatic variability.

The Mission targets can be classified as:
• 2.0 m ha of moderately dense forests show increased cover and density.
• 4.0 m ha of degraded forests are regenerated/afforested and sustainably managed.
 0.10 m ha of mangroves restored/established.
 0.10 m ha of wetlands show enhanced conservation status.
 0.20 m ha of urban/peri urban forest lands and institutional lands are under tree cover.
 1.50 m ha of degraded agricultural lands and fallows are brought under agro-forestry.
•  0.10 m ha of corridor areas, critical to wildlife migration are secure.
• Improved fuel wood use efficiency devices adopted in about 10 million households (along with alternative energy devices).
 Biomass/NTFP based community livelihoods are enhanced that lead to reduced vulnerability.

Some key highlights of the Mission strategy are listed below:

1. Holistic view to “greening” (broader than plantations):

The scope of greening will not be limited to just trees and plantations. Emphasis will be placed on restoration of ecosystems and habitat diversity e.g. grassland and pastures (more so in arid/semi-arid regions), mangroves, wetlands and other critical ecosystems. It will not only strive to restore degraded forests, but would also contribute in protection/enhancement of forests with relatively dense forest cover.

2. Integrated cross-sectoral approach to implementation:

The Mission would foster an integrated approach that treats forests and non forest public lands as well as private lands simultaneously, in project units/ sub-landscapes/sub-watersheds. Drivers of degradation e.g. firewood needs and livestock grazing will be addressed using inter sectoral convergence (e.g. livestock, forest, agriculture, rural development, energy etc.)

3. Key role for local communities and decentralized governance:

Local communities will be required to play a key role in project governance and implementation. Gram Sabha and its various committees/groups including JFMCs, CFM groups, Van Panchayats, etc. would be strengthened as institutions of decentralized forest governance. Likewise, the Mission would support revamping/strengthening of the Forest Development Agencies. The Mission would support secured community tenure, capacity building for adaptive forest management and livelihood support activities e.g. community based NTFP enterprises.

4. Vulnerability' and 'Potential' as criteria for intervention:

An overarching criterion for selection of project areas/sub-landscapes/sub-watersheds under the Mission would include vulnerability to climatic change projections and potential of areas for enhancing carbon sinks.

5. Robust and effective monitoring framework:
A comprehensive monitoring framework at four different levels is proposed. In addition to on-ground self- monitoring by multiple agencies, the Mission would support use of modern technology like Remote Sensing with GPS mapping of plot boundaries for monitoring at output/ outcome level. A few identified sites within the project area will be selected for intensive monitoring using additional parameters like ground cover, soil condition, erosion and infiltration, run-off, ground water levels to develop water budgets as well as biomass monitoring indicators. The Mission would also commission a comprehensive research needs assessment in support of Mission aim and objectives. The Mission would set up a cell within Mission Directorate to coordinate REDD Plus activities in the country.