The Bikaner Development Authority Bill, 2025, passed by the Rajasthan Assembly, aims to establish a Bikaner Development Authority to regulate development activities in the Bikaner district. The bill was passed by voice vote, with the opposition Congress walking out of the House due to insufficient discussion. The bill was introduced …
tapping the potential of wind power is no longer difficult or expensive. Technology to harness this natural force is not only improving, but more nations are finding this alternative source of p ower more desirable because it is locally available, cheap to produce and does not dirty the environment. It …
To attract private investment in the wind energy sector in 1993, the government announced a package of fiscal incentives. This included 100 per cent accelerated depreciation on the capital investment in the first year of operation; 35 per cent concessional duty on import of complete wind electricity generator; duty exemption …
In 1891, an innovative teacher called Poul la Cour of Denmark discovered that the traditional clapboard-sailed windmill, used to grind, corn could produce electricity, too. For many years, his discovery helped in lighting his high school and village houses. During both the world wars, dozens of crude wind turbines based …
The wind energy sector in India has problems aplenty. There are complaints of wind energy development not yielding proper returns to investors, grid failure and transmission losses, inappropriate sites and machinery and, last but not the least, corruption. At the same time, Western nations, particularly Germany, Spain and Denmark, have …
Worldwide wind energy capacity has reached 10,000 megawatt (mw), a record and another demonstration that wind is the fastest-growing of all renewable energy sources. Propelled by supportive new government policies
Gujarat has wind farms with a total installed capacity of 170 mw, mostly in the private sector, along the coast of Saurashtra and Kutch. It has the second highest number of wind energy generators (WEGs) in the country, though the installation count is one-fourth of that in Tamil Nadu. Tax …
Wind energy developers in Andhra Pradesh also seem to be taking a breather after the rush of activity in the early 1990s. "The establishment of new farms has been short of expectations,' says M Venkateswarulu of the Wind Developers' Association of Andhra Pradesh. With an installed capacity of 61.79 megawatt …
India relies heavily on coal-based thermal and hydel power plants for electricity generation, and on wood and crop residues for household energy needs in rural areas. All these are associated with environmental problems, including land degradation, water and air pollution, and depletion of biomass and soil capacity. There is a …
thirty-one years ago, Science magazine published the famous article on the tragedy of the commons by Garrett Hardin. The commons were defined as an expanse of land under collective or open use. Hardin's article argued that the commons necessarily collapse because of the inherent selfishness of people over shared resources. …
The world has sufficient resources to accelerate progress to accelerate progress in human development for all and to eradicate poverty. According to the United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Report 1998, the total additional yearly investment required to achieve universal access to basic social services would be an estimated US …
this is Baluchistan, in Pakistan's west. Infrequent floods, a hot, desert-like climate and an isolated location: Baluchistan's people have adapted themselves well to these disadvantages. They have used flood water irrigation (also called spate irrigation) to make the best of whatever little water nature sends their way. It is rather …
though called a "crab', the horseshoe crab is not really one in essence. It derives its name from shape of its shell, which closely resembles a horse's hoof. While most crabs have two pairs of antennae, a pair of mandibles or jaws and five pairs of legs, the horseshoe crab …
The Supreme Court (SC) ordered the closure and relocation of polluting industrial units in Delhi in 1996 (Down To Earth, Vol 7, No 16). That was part one of the order,which was implemented on time. However, part two of the order which pertains to taking over the vacated factory land …
MADHYA PRADESH (MP): Digvijay Singh(Congress) (Came to power in December 1993) • Encouragement to voluntary organisations to take up watershed improvement. Effectively resisted the Sardar Sarovar project. • Encouraged participation of NGOs and other institutions in environmental management. Launched JFM scheme. New environmental policy proposed in 1996. The Rajiv Gandhi …
You initiated this campaign against the new Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill. Do you think it will succeed? Has it become a political issue? It is a people's campaign. Despite the fact that the opposition against the Bill took off a little late, it has gained momentum in states like Orissa, …
THE bad news first: The space ship called Earth is in serious jeopardy. All of us (and future travellers) have no easy option. No one can shout, "Stop the ship, I want to jump off." No way. Now some of the cold facts to drive home the point: reckless overexploitation …
The us National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( nasa) and Central American Commission on the Environment and Development ( ccad ) will use existing satellite data to develop land-use maps of Central America. nasa and ccad recently signed a memorandum of understanding at the nasa headquarters in Washington , usa. …
A journalist in the Press Club of Delhi wanted to know how to start a non-governmental organisation ( ngo ). It is the fastest way to make money, he said. You get grants worth several lakh rupees for doing nothing, just a little bit of writing. Which goes to show …
DECENTRALISING power at the grassroots; level was on the national agenda for many years. It became a reality through the 73rd and 74th amendments to the Constitution in April 1993. The 73rd amendment, among other things, handed over the reins of power to the people at the panchayat level with …
RALEGAN SIDDHI. An enviable example of what human will and dedication can achieve against staggering odds. When Anna Hazare, then a jeep driver serving the Indian army, visited this drought-stricken village in Maharashtra"s Ambedkar district, the people here did not know what development meant. But now, they can probably teach …
