Publications
Ujjwala achieves target of 8 cr LPG connections but a lot remains undone
Article
| October 16, 2019
Providing LPG is necessary but not sufficient. The government needs to adopt supplementary measures to incentivize higher utilization of LPG to succeed in its objective of providing clean fuel.
Lighting up homes and making cooking cleaner in Karnataka
Article
| October 15, 2019
A pilot project in Karnataka's Chamarajnagar district brought solar lighting and clean cooking to the homes of the disadvantaged, saving fuel costs, reducing women's health risks, and providing employment opportunities
Roadmap for achieving additional 2.5-3 billion tons CO2e sequestration from forestry sector by 2030
Research Paper
| October 14, 2019
Forests are considered primarily as social and environmental resource, and secondarily as commercial resource in India. More than 350 million people derive their full or partial livelihood and sustenance need from forests. India has stabilized its forest and tree cover but quality of forests is degrading due to unsustainable harvest of fuel wood and other minor forest produce. Government of India has voluntarily communicated to UNFCCC to achieve additional 2.5-3 billion tons of CO2e by 2030 from forestry sector on 2nd October, 2015 which was further ratified on 2nd October, 2016.
Understanding India's electricity sector transition to renewables
Policy brief
| October 4, 2019
An overview of the emerging transition of the Indian power sector to higher share of renewable energy
Decarbonisation of Indian industry: Transitioning to a cleaner economy
Policy brief
| October 3, 2019
The paper looks at the need for Indian industry to transition to resource efficient, sustainable and low-carbon production, especially in hard-to-abate sectors
Mahatma Gandhi and the Environment
Article
| October 1, 2019
As India celebrates the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr John S Moolakkattu revisits Gandhi's thinking and views on environment. In his book, Mahatma Gandhi and the Environment, he says that Gandhi's environmentalism fitted in with his overall vision for India and the world that sought to extract from nature what is absolutely necessary for human sustenance. His ideas on environment are intimately linked with his ideas relating to the polity, economy, health, and development.
Plastic waste pollution: A minute to make, but years to break
Article
| September 27, 2019
Over the past decades, global plastic production and consumption have witnessed a meteoric rise. While the harmful effects of plastic utilization are many, we seem incapable of weaning ourselves away from it. Single-use plastic items have caused a lot of damage to the environment and there's an urgent need to collectively curb its usage, monitor its disposal, and, if possible, avoid using it altogether.
Balloons are ticking bombs
Article
| September 26, 2019
"Balloons are deadlier than bombs," says Maneka Sanjay Gandhi. Your celebration means the death of thousands of birds and animals annually. It is time you stopped wasting important resources like helium for meaningless rituals.
The role of business in restoring India's degraded land
Article
| September 20, 2019
Degraded land is an underperforming asset and poses significant risks to a wide spectrum of industries. There are, however, opportunities and benefits for businesses by adopting sustainable land management (SLM) in their value chains.
Changing role of chief sustainability officers
Article
| September 19, 2019
Sustainability in businesses has moved from a compliance based approach to an impact measurement and mitigation approach