EducatorIAS

  In India, energy transition away from coal is not happening during the  foreseeable future. Although there will be push for renewable/non-fossil based energy, but share of coal in the energy basket is going to remain significant in years ahead. Coal demand in the country is yet to peak. The draft Economic Survey 2021-22 projects coal demand in the range of 1.3-1.5 billion tonnes by 2030, an increase of 63 per cent from the current demand. Targets: During the current year 2021-22, the coal production target of Coal India Limited (CIL) has been fixed at 670 Million Tonnes (MT). In 2021-22 (upto 10 th  March, 2022), Coal India Limited (CIL) has dispatched 506.29 MT, with a 23% growth over last year. Similarly, SCCL and captive coal blocks have dispatched 50.38 MT and 77.5 MT coal to power sector (upto 10 th  March 2022) which is 34.2% and 40% more than the same period of last year. Coal supplies to power sector is being regularly monitored by an Inter-Ministerial Sub ...

  The average annual water availability of any region of country is largely dependent upon hydro-meteorological and geological factors; and such water resources data is assessed basin-wise. The per capita water availability in the country is reducing due to increase in population. Also, due to high temporal and spatial variation of precipitation, the water availability in some regions of the country is much below the national average and this may result in water stressed / scarce conditions. Dynamic Ground Water Resources of the country are being periodically assessed jointly by Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and State Governments. As per the 2020 assessment, out of 6,965 assessment units (Blocks/ Taluks/ Mandals/ watersheds/ Firkas) in the country, 1,114 units in 15 States/UTs have been categorized as 'over-exploited' where the Annual Ground Water Extraction is more than Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource. Water being a State subject, steps for augmentation, conservat...

  Impact of climate change on water bodies is a dynamic process and quantum of this impact varies from time to time due to variable nature of climatic conditions. While country-wide assessment has not been performed to examine the impacts of climate change on soil erosion and sedimentation, there are studies conducted at the river basin scales in different regions of India that suggest an increase in soil erosion and sedimentation due to climate change. The observed and projected increase in erosion is mainly due to increase in heavy rainfall events and associated floods in the observed and projected future climate. Further, various agencies of the Government of India undertake research and development studies on the effect of climate change on various dimensions of water from time to time depending upon the prevailing conditions gauging the systematic linkages between climate and water.   The National Hydrology Project is being implemented which has resulted in improved ...

  The primary objective for deploying renewable energy in India is to advance economic development, improve energy security, improve access to energy, and mitigate climate change.   Sustainable development is possible by use of sustainable energy and by ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for citizens. Strong government support and the increasingly opportune economic situation have pushed India to be one of the top leaders in the world’s most attractive renewable energy market The sources of electricity production such as coal, oil, and natural gas have contributed to one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions. It is essential to raise the standard of living by providing cleaner and more reliable electricity .  India has an increasing energy demand to fulfill the economic development plans that are being implemented. The provision of increasing quanta of energy is a vital pre-requisite for the economic growth of a country .  The ...

  Even 30 years after normalisation, India-Israel relations continue to garner academic and media attention in both countries. Though military-security ties are dominant, relations encompass a host of non-traditional issues such as agriculture, water management, tourism and culture. Moreover, the entry of both countries into the mini-Quad (along with the United States and the United Arab Emirates) could transform their relations into a larger regional economic growth.   It has been 30 years since India and Israel normalised relations. However, these ties continue to dominate academic and media attention in both states. With hindsight, one could argue that establishing relations with Israel in January 1992 was the most defining moment of India’s post-Cold War foreign policy. Facing domestic political instability and severe economic crisis, Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao was confronted with a twin challenge of a disintegrating and disappearing Soviet Union and the emergence of...

  India’s trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates marks a new period of engagement in its external trade policy that could be increasingly conditioned by geopolitics and geo-economics.   India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) on 18 February 2022. The CEPA is expected to augment the current bilateral trade of  US$60 billion to US$100 billion  (S$80.73 billion to S$134.55 billion) in the next five years, including an increase in bilateral trade in services by US$15 billion (US$20.18 billion). The deal was concluded in a remarkably short period of time with the negotiations having begun only in September 2021.   The agreement with the UAE is the first trade agreement signed by India in several years. India’s external trade policy in the last seven to eight years has been marked by scepticism towards free trade agreements (FTAs). It had put on hold several ongoing trade talks, including those with ...

  The principle of ‘strategic autonomy’ that has long defined India’s post-Cold War foreign policy was applied largely in relation to the United States and the West. The war in Ukraine and India’s inability to call out Russian President Vladimir Putin’s brazen aggression reveals that the constraints on India’s freedom of action now come mostly from its dependence on weapons supplies from Russia. Given the depth of this dependence, reframing India’s ‘strategic autonomy’ is bound to take time.   As Indian diplomacy struggles to navigate the war in Ukraine, the question of India’s great power relations and its foreign policy doctrine have come into sharp focus. India’s reluctance to criticise the Russian aggression against Ukraine, and its repeated abstention in the United Nations Security Council’s (UNSC) debates on the issue, have met with some  criticism from its Western partners  but have been hailed in Moscow as a  “balanced and independent”  stand. While...