The Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) scheme to encourage energy saving in energy intensive sectors such as power, steel and cement has begun to attract companies to its fold, according to CII Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Government of India, has included cement manufacturers among top nine energy consuming sectors which require efforts to improve efficiencies and bring down power consumption.

The Kerala Government is planning to raise Rs 1 lakh crore from a multilateral financial institution for funding the high speed rail corridor project. The project will connect Thiruvananthapuram with Udupi in Karnataka, said the Kerala Chief Minister, Mr Oommen Chandy. He was in the city for a roadshow to showcase the forthcoming ‘Emerging Kerala 2012' global investor meet, which would be held from September 12 to 14 in Kochi.

West Bengal has the highest number of red category industries causing high pollution, followed by Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, while 43 industrial clusters have been identified as “critically polluted”, the Lok Sabha was informed on Monday.

The Union Minister for Environment and Forests, Ms Jayanthi Natarajan, said during Question Hour that the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and IIT-Delhi had conducted a survey based on Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index (CEPI) for assessment of pollution load of industrial areas.

Taking a tough stand on environmental issues, the Gujarat High Court has directed steelmaker Electrotherm (India) Ltd to close down its manufacturing plant in Kutch district and quashed the environmental clearance granted to it by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest without holding a public hearing as per rules.

Electrotherm's 36,000 tonne per annum (tpa) facility for producing structural steel, alloy steel and stainless steel at Samkhiali in Bhachau taluka of Kutch district is also known for making of Yo-bikes, India's first battery-run two-wheelers.

The Maharashtra Government is planning to adopt the ‘Brazil pattern’ for boosting cotton yield in the State.

“It wants to boost productivity from 475 kg per hectare to 600 kg per hectare,” a senior Maharashtra Government official said.

Brazil, in spite of having just 14 lakh hectares of rain-fed land for cotton cultivation, produces about 1,495 kg of cotton per hectare. The global average is 745 kg per hectare.

The model is based on high density cultivation practices where, at times, about one lakh shrubs are planted in a one acre area, the official said.

Technicians dismantle e-waste from discarded electronic devices such as computer peripherals at Earth Sense Recycle unit in Andhra Pradesh.

Hindustan Zinc, a Vedanta Group company, has joined hands with Rajasthan Government to build a sewage treatment plant (STP) in Udaipur with an investment of Rs 170 crore.

A tripartite agreement was signed recently between Hindustan Zinc, Udaipur Municipal Corporation (UMC) and state-government owned Urban Improvement Trust. The 20 million litre per day STP will be on ‘Design Build Own Operate and Transfer’ basis. The treatment plant will treat domestic sewage and not industrial sewage.

India is projected to see a faster growth of 7.5 per cent this fiscal on the back of higher savings and investment rates, even as most of the Asia-Pacific economies are likely to expand at a slower pace, says a UN report.

“The Indian economy’s strong fundamentals, namely high saving and investment rates and rapidly expanding labour force and middle class will ensure a steady economic performance...

We expect it to expand by about 7.5 per cent in 2012-13,” UNESCAP Chief Economist Mr Nagesh Kumar said.

An inter-ministerial panel has been set up to find a solution to the dispute between the Ministries of Coal and Petroleum on simultaneous extraction of gas and coal.

The panel, headed by Member Planning Commission, Mr B. K. Chaturvedi, is expected to meet on May 16. Official sources said that the Petroleum Ministry wanted coal mine methane (CMM) extraction to be done on the lines of coal bed methane (CBM).
Extraction process

The Government of Puducherry will soon come out with an industrial policy targeted at non-polluting industries, particularly IT and ITeS sectors. The draft policy has already been prepared in consultation with various stakeholders, including institutions such as CII, he said.

Considering that there are good roads, availability of power, talent pool and connectivity to seaport (Karaikkal) as well as airport (in Chennai), “there is every reason for Puducherry to become a key investment destination,” said the Chief Minister of Puducherry, Mr N. Rangasamy.