The dismal situation and poor quality of life in rural India is because of unavailability of energy. It is shown that sophisticated technology can help solve this and other problems of rural areas. A call is made to the global technological community to help provide such technologies. Finally issues of how much energy is needed for sustainable development are discussed.

The combination of a booming cement market in India together with constantly rising energy costs are leading to increased usage of secondary fuels in the cement industry. Tecprosystems Pvt Ltd, India, with the support of MVW Lechtenberg, Germany is now starting the construction of a secondary fuels processing plant in Ajmer in the state of Rajasthan. July-Sep 2007

This article is based on extracts from a recent report published by the World Alliance for Decentralised Energy (WADE) entitled 'Concrete Energy Savings'. The WADE report establishes that significant untapped potential for onsite power in the cement industry remains despite the many benefits it offers, both to society in general and, in many cases, for plant managers. July-Sep 2007

Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF) is a solid fuel prepared from non hazardous waste, meeting the classification and old fuel and specification requirements of CEN-TS15359. SRF is processed, homogenized and upgraded to a quality that can be traded amongst producers and users. (July-Sep 2007)

In India, Grasim (an Aditya Birla Group Company) has taken the initiative to burn waste as fuel in its kilns. The company has established waste handling facilities at two units, Grasim South Cement and Vikram Cement. The company has also installed a municipal solid waste processing plant. July-Sep 2007