Former Programme Director, Renewable Energy, Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi
Sunpower is for free
A new plan to popularise solar photovoltaic products has recently been launched in India
Cool reception to ambitious programme
Though the government boasts its improved chulha project has exceeded targets, officials admit the programme has been a failure because of lack …
Time to change
Restrictions on use of natural resources in protected areas are driving the local communities dependent on forest produce for their survival to a …
Ministry refuses to learn from experience
The MNES has proposed the establishment of a solar thermal power plant near Jodhpur, even though such plants have proved commercially unviable in …
Ministry gets a dose of perestroika
The ministry of nonconventional energy sources is being reoriented to improve efficiency and allow private-sector participation to develop the …
The will is there, but not the funds
India has prepared a detailed plan to phase out chemicals that destroy the ozone layer, but its implementation is subject to aid from the …
Flickering ray of hope for hill areas
Although small hydro electric schemes are considered ideal for remote hill villages, planners have overlooked crucial factors and not all …
France stops supply of uranium
Officials say the stoppage of enriched uranium for the Tarapur reactor will not affect India's peaceful nuclear programme
Coast Guard mops up another oil spill
The oil pipeline burst at Bombay High exposes maintenance lapses and highlights the urgent need for environment management plans to tackle such …
Bickering scuttles power-saving project
Two non-resident Indians blame inter-organisational rivalry for the rejection of their proposal to use compact fluorescent lamps, which will …
Spurt forecast in nonconventional energy
The nonconventional energy sector is seen as the mainstay of the nation's future power requirements and is all set for major expansion, following …
Coast Guard cleans up oil spill off Nicobar
Indian crews successfully contained a huge oil spill near the Great Nicobar island. Now, the ministry of environment and forests must assess the …
Farmers against even modest power rate hike
State ministers are giving the agriculture sector a breather by ignoring the Prime Minister's call to stop subsidising power supply and agreeing …
Polluting power plant back in operation
Delhi's Rajghat thermal power station, which was ordered closed for causing excessive pollution, has resumed functioning and has until March to …
Study warns of desolate energy scenario
The Tata Energy Research Institute's report on fuel consumption trends calls for a clear energy policy to prevent India from being trapped in an …
The eye in the sky
India is one of the few developing countries to have its own space satellite systems. And, now Indian planners are depending increasingly on …
Mud housing is the key
Mud's low cost and malleability makes it an ideal building material. But its use can be popularised only if such drawbacks as its …
Ministries clash over project clearances
Despite an acute power shortage in the country, the ministries of power and environment find each other the main obstacles in achieveing their …
India close to solar energy breakthrough
Solar energy is free, but harnessing it using conventional crystalline silicon cells is expensive. Efforts in India to produce an efficient, low-…
Wind power: up, up and down
Poorly implemented governmental policies are preventing the full exploitation of wind power which could supplement as much as 25 per cent of the …
Out in the cold
It is possible to design buildings that stay cool in summer and warm in winter and save energy. But interest in solar passive architecture …
Cloudy days for solar cooker
Subsidy amounts and sales figures may not always be indicators of commercial success. After a decade-old promotion campaign, only a few …
Substituting natural gas for diesel
Buses in the northern and western parts of the country may soon run on a mixture of diesel and natural gas
Poor pay for ecological neglect
Droughts seem to be here to stay. Wrong development policies, governmental indifference and relief schemes which don't work have led to …