All that was discussed in the House through the day
The Government of India has undertaken a nuclear power expansion programme to provide the country with clean electricity, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology, Jitendra Singh told the Lok Sabha February 10, 2022.
India is pursuing an indigenous three-stage nuclear power programme. Besides, light water reactors based on foreign cooperation are also being set up as additionalities, Singh said.
The actual commercial generation of nuclear energy has increased to 43,918 million units in 2021, from 34,162 million units in 2014. The share of nuclear energy in the total electricity generation in the country has remained around 3-3.5 per cent since 2014. (India Science Wire)
Deep Ocean Mission
The overall estimated cost of the Deep Ocean Mission is Rs 4,077 crore, for a period of five years (2021-2026). Allocations of Rs 150 crore and Rs 650 crore have been made for the mission during 2021-22 and 2022-23.
Direct revenue generation is not relevant for this mission as it entails purely research and technology development activities, Singh told the Rajya Sabha.
Energy storage
The Government of India supports research projects to enhance the technology for storage of energy. Several academic institutions and research and development laboratories are pursuing research work on storage of energy, Singh told the Rajya Sabha.
Unemployment rate
India’s estimated Unemployment Rate for persons aged 15 years and above during 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20 was six per cent, 5.8 per cent and 4.8 per cent respectively.
These figures were according to the annual Periodic Labour Force Survey conducted by the National Statistical Office, Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Rameswar Teli, told the Rajya Sabha.
Forest cover
India’s moderately dense forest cover is 306,890 square kilometres according to the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2021. The moderately dense forest cover has decreased by 1,582 square kilometres, as compared to the previous assessment ie ISFR 2019, Minister of State in the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ashwini Kr Choubey, told the Rajya Sabha.
North East forests
North East India shows an overall decrease of 1,020 square kilometres of forest cover, according to the ISFR-2021. The loss in forest cover in the North East may be attributed mainly to shifting cultivation prevalent in these States, apart from natural calamities, anthropogenic pressure and developmental activities, Choubey told the Rajya Sabha.
Human-elephant conflict
There were 93 elephant and 461 human deaths due to human-elephant conflict in 2020-21, Choubey told the Rajya Sabha.
Nitrous oxide
India’s total Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, excluding Land Use Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) in 2016, were 2,838.89 million tonne carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) and 2,531.07 million tonne CO2e with the inclusion of LULUCF.
These figures were according to India’s third biennial update reports submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in February 2021, Choubey said.
India’s total GHG emissions also include nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from agriculture, energy, waste, forestry and industrial processes and product use sectors.
The largest source of N2O emissions in India is agriculture (72 per cent). The majority of agricultural emissions result from application of nitrogenous fertilisers such as urea. In addition, application of farm yard manure, green manure and crop residues contribute small amounts of N2O emissions, Choubey said.
E-wastes
India generated an estimated e-waste of 1,014,961.21 tonnes and total plastic waste of 34,69,780 tonnes in 2019-20, Choubey told the Rajya Sabha. These figures were estimated by the Central Pollution Control Board on the basis of sales data of 21 types of notified electrical and electronic equipment.
Mangrove conservation
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), India, has reached out to citizens in nine states to conserve mangroves through its Magical Mangroves campaign. The states include Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Odisha, West Bengal and Karnataka, Choubey told the Rajya Sabha.
We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. This will mean a lot for our ability to bring you news, perspectives and analysis from the ground so that we can make change together.
.png)
Comments are moderated and will be published only after the site moderator’s approval. Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name. Selected comments may also be used in the ‘Letters’ section of the Down To Earth print edition.