Circular economy gets fillip as PM launches SHS 19

by | Sep 11, 2019 | Circular Economy, Sustainability

Swachhata Hi Seva 2019 lays special focus on plastic waste awareness, and recycling and effective disposal of the collected plastic waste.
Share to lead the transformation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched Swachhata Hi Seva (SHS) 2019, a massive countrywide awareness and mobilization campaign on Swachhata in Mathura. SHS 2019, with special focus on ‘plastic waste awareness and management’ is being organized from 11 September to 2 October 2019, as the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) is poised to dedicate an ODF India to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary. The launch of SHS was organized jointly by the central Departments of Animal Husbandry and Dairying and Drinking Water and Sanitation and the Government of Uttar Pradesh.

The Prime Minister also visited the Pashudhan Arogya Vigyan Mela, where he saw cows being operated upon to remove plastic waste from their stomachs. He then interacted with a group of women from Uttar Pradesh who segregate plastic waste into recyclables and non-recyclables, and in a unique gesture, also participated in the segregation activity himself.

Plastic recycling is an important part of global recycling economy, which is currently valued at $317 billion and employees millions of people. Recycled PET can be used to make many new products, including fiber for polyester carpet; fabric for T-shirts, long underwear, athletic shoes, luggage, upholstery and sweaters; fiberfill for sleeping bags and winter coats; industrial strapping, sheet and film; automotive parts, such as luggage racks, headliners, fuse boxes, bumpers, grilles and door panels.

Addressing an audience of about 20,000 farmers, sarpanches, women groups and swachhagrahis, the Prime Minister urged all citizens to free their houses, offices and work space from single use plastic. Drawing people’s attention to the hazardous effects of such plastic for the environment, and for the health of animals and aquatic life, he reiterated his appeal to use cloth or jute bags while going out for shopping and to use metal or earthen glasses for serving water in offices. He asked people to collect all the plastic waste from their surroundings at an identified place and to ensure its safe disposal with the support of the local administration during the Swachhata Hi Seva.

Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath applauded the positive impacts of the SBM and highlighted the contribution of SBM in dealing with the menace of deadly disease Encephalitis in eastern UP. He added that the significant increase in the sanitation coverage under SBM will now be leveraged for achieving the goal of plastic waste free India on the lines of ODF India.

Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Minister of Jal Shakti said that the entire world is eagerly waiting for the day when India becomes ODF. He said that the SHS 2019 campaign would give a big boost to generate mass awareness on plastic waste and its subsequent collection, recycling and disposal, and will be a new Jan Andolan for protecting environment under the inspiring leadership of the Prime Minister.

This year’s Swachhata Hi Seva will see mass awareness generation activities on plastic waste management from 11 September to 1 October; nationwide Shramdaan for plastic waste collection and segregation on 2 October; and recycling and effective disposal of the collected plastic waste from 3 October to 27 October 2019 (Diwali). The Prime Minister has also written personal letters to all Sarpanches and Swachhagrahis, motivating them make the Swachhata Hi Seva 2019 a grand success. These letters were read out today at special Gram Sabhas across the country.

The aim is to equip masses with the knowledge to distinguish between recyclable v/s non-recyclable plastics. The govt. plans to eliminate the use of non-recyclable plastics such as poly bags, straws/stirrers, thermocol decoration, plastic cups etc. and promote the collection and recycling of PET bottles (water/oil/juice/cola bottles), HDPE containers (shampoo/conditioner bottles) to generate revenue and lakhs of jobs for our nation.

The logo of this year’s ‘Swachhata Hi Seva’ mission depicts a plastic bottle and a human hand inside of a recycling sign, denoting shraamdan for plastic recycling to promote circular economy to generate revenue and lakhs of jobs for our nation. The plastic PET bottle is included in the logo since it is the most recycled type of plastic globally.

“The government aims to tackle the plastic pollution issue by weeding out its roots. Technically, all plastics are recyclable but not everything that’s ‘recyclable’ actually gets recycled. The journey of recycling starts with consumers responsibly segregating and disposing various materials like paper, wood, plastic, metals, debris, glass etc. The next step is to have an effective collection & waste management system in place to send plastic waste to the recycling units. In the absence of a robust waste collection and disposal mechanism, a lot of waste is ending up in landfills and water bodies. The need of the hour is to replace the existing linear economic models with circular economic models to eliminate waste by increasing reusability and ensuring recycling of highly recyclable plastic waste such as small and big plastic bottles. Our country has an army of 40lakh ragpickers, which can be mobilized to make our country a Plastic Waste Free India,” Commented Vinod Shukla, President – Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Smriti Manch, a national NGO working for the upliftment of ragpickers. He is the nephew of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay.

The plan is to collect PET bottles through nationwide shraamdan since it is the highest recycled plastic type in India. As per the report released by the National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) – CSIR, the current recycling rate of PET bottles is 80% in India, more than the USA, Japan, Europe, and China. Another 10% get reused in Indian households. This includes PET bottles, containers, and jars with a capacity of 150 ml to 20 liters.

“Plastic, which has been named as one of greatest invention of 21st century, is being defamed as the curse to humanity, since it is a new material compare to metals, glass, which we are using since centuries. The awareness about the use and end-of-life treatment of plastic waste is not well understood amongst key stakeholders hence it is being littered irresponsibly and became a global environmental challenge. But every great challenge comes with a unique growth opportunity and same is the case for plastics, especially for highly recycled plastic types such as PET. The Indian PET bottles recycling generate 3,500 crore annually. The need is to open avenues to ensure the collection and repurposing/recycling/upcycling of highly recycled plastics such as water/juice/cola/oil bottles,” said Sachin Sharma, Director, Gem Enviro Management, which is one of the largest plastic recyclers in India.

Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Giriraj Singh, Minister of State, Jal Shakti, Rattan Lal Kataria, other ministers from the State and local MP and MLAs also participated in the event.

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Blending power with renewable energy is the way ahead: Pradhan

Blending power with renewable energy is the way ahead: Pradhan

Dharmendra Pradhan

The goal is to have 40% electricity generation capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030: Pradhan (Pix source: PIB)

Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Dharmendra Pradhan has said that India’s growing energy sector is attractive for foreign investors. Speaking at Bloomberg NEF New Delhi Summit today, he said that it has repeatedly received funding from sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, long-term strategic investors from Western countries, Asian Countries and the Middle East, said a PIB release.

Pradhan said India remains a bright spot in the global economy. With strong domestic economy and supportive policy environment, the Government is committed towards achieving holistic, inclusive and sustainable economic development. India will become 3 trillion-dollar economy this year and aims to achieve a 5 trillion-dollar target in the near future. To achieve this target, India needs secure, affordable and sustainable energy to sustain the high growth and provide energy access to 1.3 billion people. Therefore, it is important for us to tap every source of energy. “We have taken several measures to overhaul the hydrocarbon sector to ensure energy security for the country while pursuing a green path to progress,” he said.

On the issue of energy landscape, the Minister said that it is passing through a big change – making way for clean energy technologies. “In a drive to provide energy access to all in a sustainable manner, our Government has taken a big responsibility by making global commitment to reduce emissions intensity of its GDP by 33–35% from 2005 levels. One of the main strategies India is planning to adopt towards achieving this goal is by having 40% electricity generation capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030,” he added.

Appreciating the oil and gas companies for investing in developing renewable energy projects for self-consumption and for supplying to the grid, Pradhan said oil marketing companies are providing soft loans and subsidies to petrol pump dealers to install solar rooftops. He said, “This is the right time to think of sale options like blending electricity generated from gas power plants with renewable energy. This will further aid the process of emission reduction.”

Pradhan said the Government is committed towards clean energy, which extends beyond just electricity. The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana has transformed the lives of millions of poor households by ensuring access to clean cooking fuel. “More than 75 million LPG connections have been provided under the Ujjwala Yojana so far, which has resulted in enhancing the LPG penetration in India to around 95% as against 56% in May 2014. The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana has saved millions of women and children from the health hazards of smoky kitchens,” he said.

On the issue of city gas network, Pradhan said that only 20% of the population was covered under it in 2014 but with the success of the 10th CGD Bid Round, CGD network will expand to nearly 70% of our population. CGD would be available in 228 geographical areas comprising 402 districts spread over 27 States and Union Territories covering 53% of the country. The recently-concluded 9th and 10th CGD rounds will require investment of one lakh twenty thousand crore rupees.

The Minister said that many of our refineries are today close to large urban clusters, and as part of their focus as good corporate citizens, all have shifted to cleaner natural gas for their energy needs. In addition, the government has already implemented fuel efficiency norms for commercial heavy vehicles. “To tackle pollution issues, we are looking at gas-based transportation solutions. We are switching to BS-VI fuels from 1st April 2020. The National Capital Territory of Delhi has already switched to BS-VI fuels in April last year. We are promoting the use of CNG, bio-CNG and LNG in transportation sector. We are setting up bio-refineries and targeting newer sources of ethanol. The ethanol-blended program will enable OMCs to sell 10% blended petrol,” Pradhan said.

On the bio-diesel program, the Minister said “I am confident that we will soon be rolling out initiatives to enable achievement of 5% biodiesel blended diesel across country.” He said, “we will promote EVs, but it will be a holistic and integrated planning, where I have mentioned in my recent statements that all forms of transportation, which are clean and affordable, will be considered in our Energy Policy.”

The Minister said, “We are mindful of the difficulties being faced by investors in some instances where State Government is trying to renegotiate some of the executed contracts. Our Government has requested State Governments to reconsider their decision, as this will jeopardize future investment in not only the concerned state but also the country as a whole.

1.5GW solar PV tenders floated for govt. producers

1.5GW solar PV tenders floated for govt. producers

grid connected solar

Grid connected solar (Representative image).

Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has floated a request for selection (RfS) document for selection of solar power developers for the next tranche of solar PV power projects in India.
As part of Tranche II of Phase II, the project will identify successful developers for setting up 1500 MW grid-connected solar PV power projects.
However, only government producers are allowed to participate as bidder under this RfS. Government producers can be any entity which is either directly controlled by the central or state governments or is under the administrative control of central or state government or a company in which government is having more than 50% shareholding.
The scheduled commissioning date for commissioning of the full capacity of the project shall be the date as on 24 months from the date of issuance of LoI. The maximum time period allowed for commissioning of the full project capacity shall be limited to 30 months from the date of issuance of LoI.

SECI is a CPSU under the administrative control of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), and has a major role to play in the sector’s development. The company is responsible for implementation of a number of schemes of MNRE, major ones being the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) schemes for large-scale grid-connected projects under JNNSM, solar park scheme, and grid-connected solar rooftop scheme.

GST sops for EVs, charging come into force

GST sops for EVs, charging come into force

ev-charging

GST on EVs and EV charging is down to 5%.

The recently slashed GST rates on all electric vehicles (EVs) have come into effect from today. All EVs, small or big, personal or commercial, will be costing 7% less as compared to the day before. The rate cut was announced only five days ago at the 36th GST Council meeting chaired by Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and attended by Union Minister of State for Finance & Corporate Affairs Anurag Thakur besides Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey and other senior officials of the Ministry of Finance. In the meeting held on 27 July, the GST rates were cut to 5% from 12% earlier. see news)

As announced in the meeting, the GST rates have also come down from today on chargers or charging stations for EVs. As against 18% earlier, a new rate of 5% has become applicable from today.

Additionally, hiring of electric buses with carrying capacity of more than 12 passengers by local authorities will be completely exempted from GST.

Atal Community Innovation Centre launched

Atal Community Innovation Centre launched

Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Dharmendra Pradhan launched Atal Community Innovation Centre (ACIC) in New Delhi, to encourage the spirit of innovation at the community level. This initiative aims to encourage the spirit of innovation through solution-driven design thinking to serve society, a PIB release said.

Speaking on the occasion, Pradhan said, Atal Innovation Mission has a key role to perform in order to achieve the target of five trillion dollar economy by 2025. He urged the NITI Aayog to open innovation Centres in all Gram Panchayats of the country to promote local innovation. Pradhan said innovation is part of every Indian’s daily affairs and there is need to support and promote them.He said that traditional and conventional knowledge available in the country needs to be supported and brought into the mainstream, through innovative mechanism.

Dharmendra Pradhan

The minister urged for innovative mechanism to harness and support traditional knowledge in the country.

Lauding the efforts of NITI Aayog in coming up with the idea of ACICs, the Minister said that they will make available cutting-edge innovation platforms across all corners of our country, with a focus on Aspirational Districts, Tier 2 and 3 cities and to North-east and J&K which will give a fillip to the skill development and employment opportunities in these areas. ACIC’s grassroot-level approach shall focus on a community oriented problem solving through small ideas with a big impact. ACICs will become a conduit for CSR funding by private and public sector firms in addition to direct funding through Atal Innovation Mission (AIM).

Pradhan said reducing the lab to land distance is one of the key objectives of AIM and Atal Community Innovation Centre will help in further strengthening our mission to strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem of India. ACICs will add a new chapter to India’s innovation story. It is a platform where the most innovative minds of the country can get access to solutions to modern entrepreneurial challenges.

The Minister also said that India produces approx. 600 MMT of non-fossilised biomass through farm waste, which if converted to energy can help usher prosperity in rural economy, promote a sustainable energy future & make our Annadatas, our ‘Urjadata’, in line with Hon. PM’s vision of Waste to Wealth creation. This is a CSR initiative in true sense.He expressed full support for the culture of innovation in the Country and assured that the public sector undertakings from Steel and Petroleum Sectors will provide support and hand-holding in this innovation mission. “I have asked Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) to support this initiative, I also request NITI Aayog & AIM to innovate ACICs to help in finding innovative solutions to extract consumable energy from Biomass available in the country”, Pradhan said. The Minister added that Unique and incentivized solutions offered by ACICs will encourage students, researchers and other individuals/group of individuals to ideate and design novel solutions. ACICs will also connect innovative thinkers to our market and mainstream economy.

ACIC is a new initiative of Atal Innovation Mission to support community innovation drive in the country. The program is directed to encourage the spirit of innovation through solution driven design thinking to serve the society. It will focus on underserved and unserved regions of the country which at present lack a vibrant start-up and innovation ecosystem. ACIC will be established either in PPP mode or with support of PSUs and other agencies. The maximum grant-in-aid support form AIM will be up to 2.5 crores subject following compliance to ACIC guidelines and contributing matching form the host institutions and their funding partners.

Following are the distinguishing features of the program:

  • Enabling infrastructure for building innovation ecosystem in above proposed areas.
  • Community oriented approach to innovation by enabling solutions through advanced tinkering
  • Offer opportunities to innovators to ideate in areas of societal importance
  • Capacity building of communities in evolving technologies and taking their solutions from ideation to prototype.
  • Promoting design thinking process to spur innovation
  • Providing a framework to engage local industries to facilitate offering of innovative solutions in their products, services and processes
  • Public private Partnership (PPP) mode to ensure financial sustainability and participationof central agencies, PSUs etc. to mobilize resources for running the program
  • Offer an opportunity for everyone to innovate, ideate and design impactful solutions, irrespective of their age.
  • One of the unique feature of this program wherein talented students and youth of ITI and Diploma will be offered opportunity to display their and build innovative solutions through ACIC.
  • The program will offer a big leapfrog jump towards establishing Indian for further scale up the ranking in Global Innovation Index.

The Vice-Chairman of the NITI Aayog Rajiv Kumar and CEO of the Aayog Amitabh Kant also spoke on the occasion.

A new logo, posters, brochure and video, AICC website, and application portal were also launched on the occasion.

Innovate to turn biomass into energy: Pradhan

Innovate to turn biomass into energy: Pradhan

Dharmendra Pradhan

The minister says 600 MMT of non-fossilized biomass could be converted to energy.

Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Dharmendra Pradhan has said that India produces approximately 600 MMT of non-fossilized biomass through farm waste, as per a Press Information Bureau release. This, if converted to energy, can help usher prosperity in rural economy, promote a sustainable energy and make our Annadatas (foodgrains providers), our Urjadatas (energy providers), in line with PM’s vision of Waste to Wealth creation.

Pradhan was speaking at the launch of Atal Community Innovation Centre (ACIC) in New Delhi, which has been set up to encourage the spirit of innovation at the community level across the country.

Noting that this was a CSR initiative in true sense, Pradhan expressed full support for the culture of innovation in the country and assured that the public sector undertakings from steel and petroleum sectors will provide support and hand-holding in this innovation mission. “I have asked Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) to support this initiative, I also request NITI Aayog & AIM to innovate ACICs to help in finding innovative solutions to extract consumable energy from Biomass available in the country”, the minister said. He added that unique and incentivized solutions offered by ACICs will encourage students, researchers and other individuals/group of individuals to ideate and design novel solutions. ACICs will also connect innovative thinkers to our market and mainstream economy.

India holds energy talks with Niger, Togo, and Tonga

India holds energy talks with Niger, Togo, and Tonga

Amina Moumouni, the Minister of Energy, Niger.

Marc Dederiwe Ably- Bidamon, Minister of Energy and Mines, Togo.

Union Minister of State for Power and New & Renewable Energy (IC) and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship RK Singh held bilateral meetings with Energy Ministers of Niger, Togo, and Tonga on 30 July. The bilateral talks were held with Amina Moumouni, the Minister of Energy, Niger; Marc Dederiwe Ably- Bidamon, Minister of Energy and Mines, Togo and Poasi Mataele Tei, Minister of Energy, Tonga in New Delhi, a PIB release said.

Poasi Mataele Tei, Minister of Energy, Tonga.

The meetings were held on the sidelines of first International Solar Alliance (ISA) Standing Committee Meeting in New Delhi. During the meetings, the Minister discussed various issues pertaining to ISA and areas of bilateral cooperation between India and these countries in Energy sector.

The ISA is an alliance of more than 122 countries headquartered in India. As the largest grouping of countries after the United Nations, ISA’s objective is to leverage solar energy in an efficient manner in order to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. As per the International Solar Alliance (ISA), it is conceived as a coalition of solar resource rich countries to address their special energy needs and provide a platform to collaborate on addressing the identified gaps through a common, agreed approach. The initiative was first proposed by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015.

 

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