Subscribe
Nuclear power currently contributes about three per cent to the total electricity generated in India. Nuclear power plants generated 5,6681 million units of electricity in 2024-25, Jitendra Singh, minister of state for the Union Ministry of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences told the Lok Sabha.
The electricity produced from wind turbines can be utilised to generate water from moisture in air through condensation process. However, this technology is still at a nascent research and development stage, Singh told the Lok Sabha.
The Department of Science & Technology is in the process of considering the recommendation of the Expert Panel for five Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) testbeds in the cement sector in different parts of the country.
The objectives of these CCU testbeds are to capture Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emission from cement manufacturing and convert it into value-added products like synthetic fuels, urea, soda ash, concrete aggregates, and food-grade CO2. These testbeds are going to act as a platform for validating and demonstrating CCU technologies at small scale in real industrial settings through industry-academia collaborations.
This initiative has significant relevance to enable industrial decarbonisation in India, with special focus on emissions-intensive sectors like cement by promoting a circular carbon economy, thereby aligning well with India’s overarching target of net-zero by 2070, Singh told the Lok Sabha.
The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, being successfully implemented in all the states/Union territories including the Bundelkhand region, aims to supplement the food requirements of up to 75 per cent of the rural and up to 50 per cent of the urban population, which at Census 2011 comes to 81.35 crore (813.5 million) persons, Nimuben Jayantibhai Bambhaniya, minister of state in the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution told the Lok Sabha.
A total of 15.45 lakh (1.545 million) households in India and 5.23 lakh (523,000) households in Gujarat, including rural ones, have benefitted from rooftop solar installation under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana as of July 14, 2025, Shripad Yesso Naik, minister of state for new & renewable energy and power told the Lok Sabha.
The National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR), an attached office of the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences, has been monitoring shoreline erosion along the Indian coast since 1990 using remote sensing data and GIS mapping techniques. According to the shoreline change study by NCCR, the areas most affected by coastal erosion along the coastal regions of Kakinada district, Andhra Pradesh, are Bhairavapalem, Coringa Mangroves, West of Hope Island, Uppada, Nemam beach, Ponnada and Konapapapetta, Nitynand Rai, minister of state in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs told the Rajya Sabha.
To mitigate the risk of erosion, Fifteenth Finance Commission had recommended an allocation of Rs 1,500 crore from the National Disaster Mitigation Fund for the award period 2021-22 to 2025-26, Rai said.
The Department of Fisheries, Government of India, has requested all coastal states and Union Territories (UTs) to take necessary steps to review their respective Marine Fisheries Regulation Act (MFRA), George Kurian, minister of state for fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying told the Rajya Sabha.
The department has particularly referenced harvesting of wild shrimp and use of Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) in order to make the MFRA compatible for implementation of the marine turtle conservation programme, besides issuing notifications/circulars under the existing provisions of the act for the purpose of conservation as well.
All coastal states and Union territories were also requested to consider immediate declaration of turtle conservation zones, sensitisation of concerned authorities and fishermen for strict compliance of turtle conservation measures while fishing. All nine coastal states, namely Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal have amended their MFRAs to mandate TED use.
Generally, cattle dung and urine are used as manure in most dairy farms. Large farms usually have dung and urine handling systems to ensure proper storage and utilisation as organic manure. The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying is supporting the National Dairy Development Board in promoting the construction of biogas plants, which are considered the most effective method for managing dung waste, in line with the Central Pollution Control Board’s Guidelines for Environmental Management of Dairy Farms and Gaushalas issued in July 2021, S P Singh Baghel, minister of state for fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying told the Rajya Sabha.
The population of the Ongole cattle breed has increased from 634,000 to 703,000 (10.88 per cent) between the Livestock Census 2012 (Breed Survey Report 2013) and 2019 (Breed Report 2022), Baghel told the Rajya Sabha.