Green activists are livid with Centre postponing the compliance date for thermal power plants to install emission regulation machinery for the sixth time.
According to the authorities, the land clearance is essential for the implementation of a high-investment power project estimated around Rs 40,000 crore.
Fly ash is the residue of coal combustion, which, if disposed of improperly, is hazardous. New govt rules include a system of environmental compensation based on polluter-pays principle.
The short supply may force plants to buy expensive imported coal or pay hefty premiums at domestic auctions, and raise costs across an economy already battling high fuel prices.
According to New Delhi-based CEEW, closing down old plants, which consume more coal than new ones, can help reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, clean up air and reduce soil & water pollution.
With goods trains not plying in Punjab since 2 Oct, both govt & private thermal plants are facing acute coal shortage. Urea for farms is also not reaching state, leading to shortage.
For an industry globally classified as hazardous, protections such as health insurance and a provident fund for workers are necessities. In Sivakasi, they remain elusive.
The industry forecasts exports are set to grow 16% in 2025-26, boosted by surplus domestic production and a drive to push into 26 underserved global markets with strong potential.
Indigenisation level will progressively increase up to 60 percent with key sub-assemblies, electronics and mechanical parts being manufactured locally.
It is a brilliant, reasonably priced, and mostly homemade aircraft with a stellar safety record; only two crashes in 24 years since its first flight. But its crash is a moment of introspection.
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