Publications
Greening the Grid - How Close is India to Meeting its Renewable Energy Targets?
Article
| August 12, 2021
In this article, Dhruv Suri, Jai Shekhar, and Azade Y Aria discuss India's trajectory towards planned renewable energy targets and describe the implications of myopic thinking on future progress. They also stress on the fact that merely increasing renewable energy targets and installing new capacity is simply not enough. Economically maintaining a balance of supply and demand and designing technically reliable grids while adopting an overarching systems-level approach are the need of the hour.
Co-innovation of low-carbon technologies for SMES: A framework for strengthening technology cooperation between Japan and India
Policy brief
| August 11, 2021
Co-innovation can enhance cooperation with Japanese firms and facilitate the successful transfer of low carbon technologies in small and medium enterprises in India to further the country's energy transition
Resolving the Crisis in Power Distribution in India
Policy brief
| August 5, 2021
The discussion paper on 'Resolving the Crisis in Power Distribution in India' explores possible ways to address the challenges faced by the distribution sector.
Food and Land Resources: Incorporating Watershed-Based Approaches for Better Sustainability-Productivity Balance
Policy brief
| August 4, 2021
The overall purpose of watershed programmes is to enhance incomes, provide food security through sustainable agriculture and prudent management of natural resources. This directly corresponds to SDG 1 and 2, i.e. No poverty and Zero Hunger respectively.
Air quality forecasting using artificial neural networks with real time dynamic error correction in highly polluted regions
Research Paper
| July 22, 2021
Air pollution is an important issue, especially in megacities across the world. There are emission sources within and also in the regions around these cities, which cause fluctuations in air quality based on prevailing meteorological conditions. Short term air quality forecasting is used not to just possibly mitigate forthcoming high air pollution episodes, but also to plan for reduced exposures of residents.
Potential for electrifying Indian MSMEs
Policy brief
| July 9, 2021
Switching to electricity-based systems can conserve energy and reduce carbon emissions among MSMEs Despite barriers, electrification of MSMEs is a 'low-hanging fruit' in the decarbonisation of Indian industry.
अपशिष्ट जल किसानों के लिए बन सकता है संसाधन
Article
| July 8, 2021
किसान उपलब्ध मीठे पानी के संसाधनों का अति उपयोग नहीं करना चाहते, वे भूजल का संरक्षण करना चाहते हैं। सीवेज का पानी आसानी से उपलब्ध है लेकिन बुनियादी ढांचे और उचित उपचार की कमी के कारण, आंशिक रूप से उपचारित नगरपालिका अपशिष्ट जल और अनुपचारित सीवेज ने समय के साथ मिट्टी की गुणवत्ता, दूषित भूजल और फसल की उपज को कम कर दिया है।
Hope on Climate Change: Reasons to be optimistic
Article
| July 5, 2021
The total commitments made under the Paris Agreement were too little to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius, whereas scientists agree that limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is vital. Ajay Shankar says that recent developments give cause for optimism for the first time as the President of the USA has brought the USA back into the Paris Agreement and is providing leadership for a net carbon-neutral global economy.
Tourism in the new normal post Covid-19: Is eco-tourism the solution?
Article
| July 5, 2021
The acknowledgement by policymakers, host communities, and even some travellers on the negative effects of mass tourism have led to formulation of policies on sustainable tourism Sustainable tourism builds on the basic principles of local procurement while assimilating local culture.
Nanoscale 2D semi-conductors – Impact of structural properties on light propagation depth and photocatalytic performance
Research Paper
| June 29, 2021
The performance of photocatalytic materials are largely dictated by the crystalline and optical properties of the semi-conductors. The density of photo-generated electron and hole pairs is greatly influenced by the light penetration in photocatalytic material, leading to specific degradation kinetics. In this work, the relationship between the metal oxide film thickness and the overall materials optical and photocatalytic performances are systematically established for the first time.