1. CDRI to launch infrastructure resilience project for small island nations at COP 26 : COASTAL INFRASTRUCTURE
India, Australia and UK are likely to pledge 10 million dollars each for the project and other CDRI initiatives. Other countries are also likely to contribute. Japan and US have offered support in kind, mainly in technical expertise.
The Coalition of Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), a global partnership of 27 countries initiated by India in 2019, will be launching a programme to help small island states develop resilience to climate crisis at the upcoming Glasgow climate change conference COP 26 (October 30 to November 12).
Source: Hindustan Times
2. G20 Climate Risks: Everything We Know about Climate Change and the Future : COASTAL INFRASTRUCTURE
On the eve of the G20 meeting in Italy, the CMCC Foundation—Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change releases the G20 Climate Risks Atlas. Impacts, policy, economics, a series of country factsheets that summarizes scientific projections of how climate impacts will play out in the world’s most industrialized countries over the coming decades.
Based on the most advanced scientific knowledge available on the topic, the study is the first of its kind, and the Atlas is easy to be consulted, designed with a mix of infographics, maps and short narrative descriptions in a simple language. Impacts, risks, and interactions with climate change that are expected by the middle and end of the century are assessed at the national level, under different degrees of warming and development models, with an in-depth analysis of key sectors of the G20 economies.
Source: Laboratory Equipment
3. How a national logistics policy can bridge India’s supply chain gaps : BUSINESS PARKS/ ECONOMIC ZONES
The aim is to bring all stakeholders under one umbrella using technology.
The logistics industry would be a key enabler of India’s journey to becoming a $5-trillion economy, but before that it needs a massive course correction. Logistics cost in India is estimated to be around 13 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) (around $400 billion) against the global average of nearly eight per cent, according to a 2020 report by management consulting firm Arthur D. Little India in collaboration with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). This amounts to a competitiveness gap of around $180 billion per annum. The report also says that if the supply chain inefficiencies are not adequately addressed, the chasm could further widen to $500 billion by 2030.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
4. J&K administration signs MoU with Dubai govt to develop real estate, industrial parks : BUSINESS PARKS/ ECONOMIC ZONES
In a significant step towards developing the industrial sector and other business enterprises in the Union Territory, the Jammu and Kashmir administration on Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Dubai government for development of real estate, industrial parks, and more.
Source: India Today
5. Floating Solar Panels in the Ocean : FLOATING STRUCTURES
Nonrenewable fossil fuels are driving global climate change. With the growing demand for energy across the world, the planet must move to renewable energy sources rapidly to meet internationally agreed targets to reduce carbon emissions. Solar floating photovoltaic systems show enormous potential as part of the renewable energy mix. A 2021 paper published in the journal Energies has explored this topic of research.
Offshore Energy: A Viable Alternative to Fossil Fuels
Offshore wind turbines have been around since the early 1990s and have grown in number and areas of deployment, with tidal and wave power also in the mix. Growth in energy consumption, environmental issues, and a lack of habitable land has led to the increasing deployment of energy production in offshore areas.
Solar floating photovoltaic systems (FPVs) are a new solution. However, offshore solar energy solutions have been largely unexplored thus far, even though most of the exploitable energy in marine environments comes from the sun. It is estimated that as much as 70% of the global energy supply in the oceans is solar.
Source: Azom
6. Waterways the new highways for economic resurgence of Kashmir : INLAND WATERWAYS
Kashmir- ‘The Paradise on Earth’ is struggling from last 31 years to revive its paralysed economy. Conflict zones like Kashmir needs bespoke economic solutions. Ever since our independence in 1947 and more specifically since the emergence of armed terrorism, the policy makers have ignored the impervious socio- cultural structure of Kashmir thus setting it up for failure.
Earlier policy makers have generally blamed Article 370 as a primary cause of systematic economic collapse. Despite the abrogation of the special status the economic revival is far from the flight mode. Special policies have to be adopted and specific economic zones have to be established for the economy of Kashmir to be revived and transformed from being a dependency to a contributory one.
Source: Business World
7. PWC Transport and Logistics Barometer : LOGISTICS
2021 Mid-year analysis of M&A deals, joint ventures and strategic alliances in the transport and logistics industry
In the first half of 2021, COVID-19 continued to affect the transportation and logistics (T&L) industry. Despite the disruptions, it has also presented new opportunities but with that comes its own challenges. The global economy may have already reached pre-pandemic levels of activity, but the recovery is highly uneven, riddled with uncertainty and many points of friction.
In Asia Pacific, even as mega deals return to pre-crisis levels and the region dominates in terms of the total number of T&L deals announced, regional distortions remain with Asia and the US recovering much faster from the economic shock than Europe. Most T&L sub-sectors have developed positively in H1 2021. The aviation sector, however, continues to operate significantly below pre-COVID-19 levels in the passenger business. As vaccination rates around the world increase, we expect H2 2021 to ride on the positive progress of the earlier half of the year with higher levels of activities and deals.
Source: PWC
8. 35 multi-modal logistics parks to come up under Bharatmala project: Gadkari : LOGISTICS
Nagpur, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said around 35 multi-modal logistics parks will come up in the country under the Bharatmala project, and four are proposed in Maharashtra. Gadkari was speaking at the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and National Highways Logistics Management Ltd (NHLML), a special purpose vehicle of NHAI, for a multi-modal logistics park at Sindhi in the Wardha district of Maharashtra.
Gadkari was speaking at the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and National Highways Logistics Management Ltd (NHLML), a special purpose vehicle of NHAI, for a multi-modal logistics park at Sindhi in the Wardha district of Maharashtra.
Source: Economic Times
9. ₹12,000 crore to upgrade railway stations, boost amenities : RAILWAYS & METRO
In a major plan to boost passenger amenities, the Indian Railways plan to spend ₹12,000 crore to upgrade major railway stations across the country. Of the 21 stations identified in the first phase, six have been chosen from Southern Railway comprising the States of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry.
After reviewing the ongoing modernisation works of railway stations, a proposal for the introduction of “major upgradation of Railway Stations on Indian Railways” costing ₹12,000 crore under the Head of “Passenger Amenities” would be processed for inclusion in the supplementary budget for the year 2021-22.
Source: The Hindu
10. Bangladesh looks to nuclear to raise clean energy share : RENEWABLE ENERGY
The government of Bangladesh is pushing ahead with plans for new nuclear power plants to form the backbone of its energy mix, a strategy that has been criticized by the country’s renewable energy industry.
Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, energy adviser to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, said small-sized modular nuclear reactors are available nowadays which can be used for power generation in small plants.
Source: PV Magazine
11. Renewable energy jobs grew globally in 2020 despite COVID-19 crisis : RENEWABLE ENERGY
The number of jobs in renewable energy worldwide increased in 2020, despite the huge economic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the growing industry holding up better than fossil fuels, international agencies said on Thursday.
In an annual report on clean energy employment, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) said there were 12 million jobs in renewable energy and its supply chains last year, a third of them in solar power.
Source: Reuters
12. Three Ways Utilities Can Use AI to Boost Operations : RESOURCES AND UTILITIES
Organizations are clamoring to be able to use all of the data that’s being collected through digital tools. For utilities, this can be a particularly daunting challenge due to the industry’s reliance on equipment, mobile devices and the Internet of Things. All this data can have a major influence over the success of organizations, but only if it’s used in the right way.
This is where artificial intelligence has had a big impact in other industries. Financial services have used it to craft personalized experiences for customers, retailers have used it to help determine when to restock, and nonprofits have used it to optimize fundraising. The energy and utilities sector can similarly harness the power of AI to streamline operations and optimize output.
Source: BizTechMagazine
13. Gatishakti: Digitising the power of speed : ROADS & HIGHWAYS
Having a digital aspect to Gatishakti is critical to sustain the digital growth along with the physical growth of infrastructure, writes Dr. Jaijit Bhattacharya.
It is critical to roll out digital infrastructure along with the Gatishakti program so as to be able to support the growth of the country. Not doing so would be an enormous economic loss for the nation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Rs 100 crore Gatishakti program literally means the power of speed. It is essentially a grand orchestration of building infrastructure in the country on an unprecedented scale. India desperately needs an integrated plan for speeding up cargo movement in the country.
Source: India Today
14. India’s road network can pave the path to rapid economic recovery in coming years : ROADS & HIGHWAYS
The pulsating economy of a country depends on the roads that serve as its arteries. Therefore, road transport has emerged as a dominant segment with a share of 4.8 per cent in India’s GDP. India witnessed a historic moment on September 9, 2021, when an Emergency Landing Strip (ELF) was dedicated to the nation at Gandhav-Bhakasar section on National Highway-925 at Barmer, Rajasthan, for Indian Air Force. This was the first time that a National Highway was used as an ELF for aircraft. The area, located near the international border, highlights the importance of road construction in strengthening the country’s security networks and infrastructure. In recognition of this, 12 more ELFs are being constructed across the country.
Source: Financial Express
15. The environmental impact of rocket launches: The ‘dirty’ and the ‘green’ : WATER & ENVIRONMENT
When it comes to their environmental impacts, not all rocket fuels are equal. Which are the industry’s ‘dirty secrets’ and which technologies might satisfy even Greta Thunberg?
Here’s a look at commonly used rocket propellants and their impact on the environment. The research is limited and experts caution that not enough data has been gathered to precisely assess the impacts of various types of rocket propellants and rocket engines on the climate and the environment. So keep that in mind in our rocket fuel analysis below.
Source: Space
16. CoP 26: ‘Every third child is severely exposed to water scarcity’ : WATER & ENVIRONMENT
Various United Nations bodies October 29, 2021 made an urgent appeal to countries to make water an integral part of the fight against climate change. The Conference of Parties (CoP 26) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) starts in Glasgow October 31.
A letter addressed to heads of countries by UN agencies like World Meteorological Organization, World Health Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization, IFAD, Unesco, Unicef, United Nations Environmental Programme, UN University, the UN Economic Commission for Europe and the Global Water Partnership (GWP), said: Accelerated action is urgently needed to address the water-related consequences of climate change that impact people and the planet.
Source: Down To Earth
