UPSC PIB Summary Analysis Jun05

A Path breaking Journey in Renewable Energy through last 4 years

• Last 4 years have been path-breaking in India’s renewable energy landscape.
• Renewable power installed capacity has already reached over 70 GW. Over 40 GW renewable power capacity is under construction/tendered.
• Globally, India stands 4th in wind power 5th in renewable power and 6th in solar power installed capacity.
• Solar energy capacity increased by over 8 times from 2.63 GW in 2014 to 22 GW.
• Wind energy capacity increased by 1.6 times from 21 GW in 2014 to 34 GW.
• Trajectories for bidding 115GW renewable power projects upto March 2020 have been announced.
• We are well on track to achieving 175 GW target of installed renewable energy capacity.
• Trends suggest that the target will not only be achieved but exceeded.
• New schemes at advanced stages of being launched:

1. KUSUM (Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan)Scheme:

1. 27.5 lakh solar pumps (17.50 lakh standalone + 10 Lakh Grid-connected)
2. 10 GW of Solar Power Plants of intermediate capacity of 0.5–2 MW
3. 50,000 Grid-connected tube-wells/lift irrigation and drinking water projects  

2. SRISTI (Sustainable Rooftop Implementation for Solar Transfiguration of India) – new scheme for solar rooftop being formulated. 

3. Round the Clock renewables policy has been finalized. 

• For realising 175 GW target a number of policy measures have been taken. 

On 6 December 2017, the International Solar Alliance (ISA) has become first international intergovernmental organization headquartered in India. ISA is part of Shri Narendra Modi, Hon’ble Prime Minister of India’s vision to provide clean and affordable energy to all.

Mechanized facility for handling fertilizer cargo: Deendayal Port in Kandla

• The Standing Finance Committee of Ministry of Shipping has cleared a project for setting up an exclusive, fully mechanized handling facility for fertilizer cargo at Deendayal Port in Kandla.
• The facility will be developed at berth number 14 of the port, which is being constructed at an approximate cost of Rs.138 crore. The port will further invest approximately Rs.340 crore for the project from its internal resources. Initially, the proposed facility will handle 2.60 MMTPA and subsequently, this will be raised to 4.50 MMTPA.
• In the proposed project all activities, right from unloading of bulk fertilizer cargo from the ships to loading of the bagged fertilizer onto the wagons will be fully mechanized.
• The fertilizer cargo will be unloaded using Mobile Harbour Cranes onto Mobile Hoppers. The conveyor system, along with the tipper system, will transfer the cargo to the cargo storage shed of 38,500 m². 
• The storage shed will be equipped with 40 sets of bagging and stitching units which will feed the bagged cargo directly into wagons to reduce labour, movement and will optimize time and as such the logistic cost will come down.
• At present, the handling of fertilizer cargo at Deendayal Port involves multiple movements and agencies.  The mechanized facility will reduce the same and ensure faster delivery of the cargo to the end users. It will be beneficial to the farmers in terms of cost and faster delivery. For the fertilizer importers, the benefits of the proposed facility will be:

• Efficient operation due to end to end mechanization
• No contamination of fertilizer cargo due to dedicated mechanization and closed PEB Shed
• No internal vehicular movement for transfer of cargo
• Less number of labour required due to mechanization and no multiple handling
• One time transfer through equipment and conveyor
• Mechanized Dust Suppression to avoid dust
• Lower rake turn-around time
• Lower vessel turn-around time
• Lower logistics cost

• The tendering work for the project is in progress.   The facility is expected to be commissioned by October, 2020.

UP to achieve ODF status by 2nd October, 2018

• UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath reviewed the progress of the Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin (SBM-G) in Lucknow with all District Magistrates of the State through Video Conferencing last evening. Secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Government of India was also in attendance, along with Chief Secretary Uttar Pradesh and other senior officials of the state.
• The Chief Minister reiterated the state’s commitment to achieve open defecation free (ODF) status for UP by 2^nd October 2018, one year ahead of the national deadline of 2^nd October 2019.
• He highlighted the importance of making the SBM-G a Jan Andolan, and not just a government program. He said that the districts that have done well are the ones who have successfully gotten all sections of society involved.
• He also appealed to all DMs to take accountability and involve all sections of society in the mission, and spend at least one hour every day to personally monitor progress.
• He focused on the quality of the process being followed for behavior change triggering, and instructed the DMs to ensure timely payment of incentives to Swachhagrahis and masons.
• UP has made significant progress in the last six months, with the sanitation coverage for the state going past 70%. Seven districts and over 28,000 villages have been declared ODF in the state. Nationally, the sanitation coverage has increased from 39% in 2014 to nearly 85%, with over 3.75 lakh villages, 389 districts, 13 States and 4 UTs already declared ODF.

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