Should solar thermal be preferred over photovoltaic solar power ? Concentrated solar power (CSP) or solar thermal technology is to be given substantial allocation in the second phase of the national solar mission (2013-2017). This was revealed by the joint secretary in the ministry of new and renewable energy, Tarun Kapoor, at the third concentrated solar thermal power summit on March 14, organised in Gurgaon. He stated that detailed plans would be revealed in the next few months. At the same time he admonished the industry.

A number of solar mission projects operational only on paper. The Government has decided to act tough with 14 companies which did not commission their solar power projects in time. NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited (NVVN), the power trading arm of the state-owned National Thermal Power Corporation, penalised them by encashing a part of their bank guarantees. These erring firms are among the 28 that were awarded solar photovoltaic projects under batch one of first phase of Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM). The date of commissioning of these plants was January 9.

Proposed fuel economy standards for cars are so lax that some car makers can get away by not doing anything for the first few years. This can jeopardise energy security and climate mitigation plans.

Proliferating diesel cars are a public health risk and drain the exchequer. The Union Budget of 2012-13 needs to take the urgent decision to tax diesel cars higher to prevent misuse of the under-taxed and under-priced fuel in cars. The government and the oil marketing companies cannot continue to shoulder the burden of subsidies and under recovery for luxury use. Increased use of diesel by cars will also increase public health risks.

Canada heaves sigh of relief. The European Union’s plan to rank oil extracted from tar sands as highly polluting hit a roadblock as its fuel quality directive committee (a group of experts) could not reach a unanimous decision in the voting held on February 23. The oil extracted from tar sands, like those found in the Canadian province of Alberta, was to be given a default value of 107 grams of CO2 equivalent per megajoule (MJ).

It is a government agency that was set up specially to fund non-profits working on rural development. But of late the Council for People’s Action and Advancement of Rural Technology (CAPART) has been plagued by allegations of corruption and inefficiency. After a few failed attempts to reform CAPART, the government has now decided to overhaul the agency which has close to 12,000 NGOs associated with it.

Restoring traditional water structures hold key to making the region water secure.
Read More - http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/kathmandu-valley-losing-its-ancien...

The Supreme Court has reiterated the Karnataka High Court order, directing the Centre to pay the minimum daily wage rate applicable in Karnataka to labourers employed in the state under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). The Centre had fixed the wage rate for agricultural workers in Karnataka at Rs 82, as per a January 2009 notification; the high court held that the appropriate wage rate of Rs 119.42 should be paid. (Karnataka's minimum wage rate has since been revised to Rs 145 and MGNREGS wage to Rs 125).

Activists say similar plants elsewhere in the country are lying defunct. The small municipality of Bhagalpur in Bihar is considering setting up a waste-to-energy plant in the city. On February 19, the city municipal corporation selected one of the proposals submitted to it to manage the city's waste. The proposals were submitted in response to a request sent out by the municipality in December last year. The proposal under consideration is based on private-public partnership model that promises to generate three megawatts (MW) electricity.