A total of 25,202 public electric vehichle charging stations have been installed in the country as on December 10, 2024, said Nitin Jairam Gadkari, Union minister for road transport and highways to the Lok Sabha. The minister was citing data available with the Bureau of Energy Efficiency.
He added that up to December 15, 2024, a total of 19,26,172 electric vehicles have been registered in the country, according to the data available on the centralised Vahan four portal.
As per a recent IIT Kanpur report published in September 2023, the major contributors of PM2.5 during winter season are secondary inorganic aerosols (32 per cent), vehicular pollution (17 per cent) and biomass burning (24 per cent), said Kirti Vardhan Singh, Union minister of state for environment, forest and climate change, told the Rajya Sabha.
The decision support system of IITM-Pune, Union Ministry of Earth Sciences, has reported an average contribution of stubble burning towards PM2.5 in Delhi is 10.6 per cent, with a maximum contribution of 35 per cent during the period of October 8-December 7, 2024, Singh noted.
The other significant factors include coal and fly ash (7 per cent), domestic sources (3 per cent), municipal solid waste burning (3 per cent), soil and road dust (2 per cent), he added.
As on December 16, 2024, plantation of 1.02 billion seedlings have been planted under the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ campaign launched on June 5 on the occasion of World Environment Day, Singh told the Rajya Sabha.
The campaign was rolled out with the aim of halting and reversing land degradation, building drought resilience, preventing desertification and increasing the green cover of the country through voluntary planting of trees by all the citizens is envisaged.
Government agencies, village- level institutions, public representatives, educational institutions, youth, students and other stakeholders participated in the programme, the minister said.
Water quality of Firozpur Feeder Canal is not complying with the ‘C’ class of Water Quality Criteria for Designated Best Use with respect to Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) (BOD was found as 5mg / L against norm of 3 mg / L or less), CR Paatil, Union minister of Jal Shakti (water resources), told the Lok Sabha.
River Beas merges with the River Sutlej near Harike Barrage in Punjab. After confluence, the major part of the water is diverted through two canals namely Indira Gandhi Canal (Rajasthan canal) and Firozpur feeder.
The analysis results indicate that water quality of Indira Gandhi Canal is complying to the ‘C’ class of Water Quality Criteria for Designated Best Use, or drinking water source, after conventional treatment and disinfection, Paatil noted.
No fund has been sanctioned for the expansion of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers, said Raj Bhushan Choudhary, Union minister of state for Jal Shakti (water resources), told the Lok Sabha.
However, for the rejuvenation of River Ganga and its tributaries, including River Yamuna, the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has disbursed Rs 11,587.31 crore to various agencies for implementation of projects / interventions during the last five financial years and in the current financial year up to November 15, 2024, the minister noted.
The National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) has so far covered 57 rivers, spreading over 17 states in the country. The total fund released during the last five years and the current year (up to October 31, 2024) was Rs 1,445 crore, said Choudhary.
The vision for space in the 'Amrit Kaal' envisages, including other things, establishing an operational Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS) by 2035 and Indian Crewed Lunar Mission by 2040, Jitendra Singh, Union minister of state for personnel, public grievances and pensions, told the Rajya Sabha.
BAS will be the first National Space Laboratory to conduct multidisciplinary microgravity experiments and studies in the fields of science, technologies, medicine, agriculture, space manufacturing, among others.
BAS will also be acting as a platform for global and national collaboration, gateway to lunar exploration and beyond, and to help boost the space economy of the country,
India updated and submitted its National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan on October 31, 2024 on the Convention on Biological Diversity Portal during the recently concluded CBD COP16 at Cali, Colombia, noted minister Kirti Vardhan Singh.
The action plan was fully aligned with the four goals and 23 targets set under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), to be implemented in accordance with the national circumstances, priorities and capabilities.