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According to a recent online survey by <a href="https://m.economictimes.com/industry/renewables/budget-2024-survey-whats-stopping-indians-from-buying-evs/articleshow/107132645.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">The Economic Times</a>, the majority of Indians cite one recurring issue holding them back from fully transitioning to an electric vehicle: range anxiety. Unlike petrol stations — whose vast numbers can almost rival the pani puri sellers in our country — <keyword id="20111395" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="charging-infrastructure" source="keywords">charging infrastructure</keyword> for EVs remainly severely limited in even our developed metro cities, much less the rest of the country. But imagine a future where a short chai and stretch break is enough to fully charge your electric car on a road trip. This once-futuristic vision is inching closer to reality, thanks to pioneering new study co-written by <keyword id="20756106" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ankur-Gupta" source="keywords">Ankur Gupta</keyword>, a researcher of Indian origin at the University of Colorado. The research, which leverages the movement of tiny charged particles called ions, holds immense promise in revolutionising <keyword id="20368669" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="energy-storage" source="keywords">energy storage</keyword>, making devices faster and more efficient than ever. Reports have suggested that this harnessing this technology could help charge a dead smartphone within a minute, or an electric car in just ten minutes. The charges that drive electricity work shockingly similar to fluids. For example, it isn’t entirely inaccurate to compare a battery to a pump that helps to maintain a constant flow of water. Gupta’s innovative research draws inspiration from similar fluidic processes, and pushes it to the extreme. The study repurposes chemical engineering techniques traditionally used for studying fluid flow in porous materials, such as oil reservoirs and water filtration systems. In particular, they focused on <keyword id="21612024" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="supercapacitors" source="keywords">supercapacitors</keyword> — battery-like energy storage devices used in EVs known for their rapid <keyword id="6453703" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="charging" source="Orion">charging</keyword> capabilities and longevity. “Supercapacitors are prized for their speed,” Gupta explained. “Our challenge was to accelerate the charging and discharging processes by enhancing ion movement efficiency.” You can think of an ion as a frenzied atom or molecule that carries a charge. This makes them highly reactive and constantly attracted to other particles with the opposite charge. The flow of ions makes part of what we know as current in our electronics. Meanwhile, supercapacitors store energy by accumulating ions in their pores. Gupta’s team discovered that ion movement at the intersections of these pores deviates significantly from what Kirchhoff’s law describes. This law, established in 1845, governs current flow in electrical circuits and is a cornerstone of electrical engineering. Ankur’s research is thus, quite literally, rewriting electrical engineering as we know it. By harnessing what they learned from this groundbreaking research, Gupta and his team believe that we can massively improve the movement of ions through supercapacitors, thereby improving the rate with which we charge and release energy. The implications of this research extend beyond personal electronics to <keyword id="19895203" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="electric-vehicles" source="keywords">electric vehicles</keyword> and power grids, where efficient energy storage is crucial to balancing supply and demand. As the global demand for efficient and sustainable energy solutions grows, Gupta's research marks a pivotal step forward. It opens up a world of possibilities for energy storage innovation, potentially making ultra-fast charging a commonplace feature in the near future. “The future of our planet hinges on <keyword id="21427498" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="energy-innovation" source="keywords">energy innovation</keyword>,” Gupta remarks. “We found the missing link.” The findings of this research have been published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and can be accessed <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2401656121" data-type="tilCustomLink">here</a>.

Goodbye, EV range anxiety? Indian-origin researcher unveils technique to fully charge electric vehicles within minutes!

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Firebricks have been around for thousands of years.</li><li>Industries use them to store heat from burning <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/exxon-acquisition-permian-basin-pioneer-fossil-fuels-energy-transition-2023-10">fossil fuels</a>; newer versions conduct electricity.</li></ul>Industrial manufacturers make materials like aluminum and glass for everything from <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy02osti/32135.pdf">beverage containers</a> to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785423024006">aircraft parts</a>. They're also responsible for 17% of global carbon dioxide emissions, according to recent research published in <a target="_blank" href="https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae274">PNAS Nexus</a>.That's a problem. Countries are struggling to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/carbon-emissions-2022-record-renewables-growth-solar-wind-iea-2023-3">cut CO2 emissions</a> as the climate crisis worsens. And switching these major manufacturers to cleaner sources of energy, like wind and solar, would help significantly.But when the sun isn't shining or wind isn't blowing, these manufacturers need to rely on stored energy. Batteries are one option, but some scientists think an ancient technology, firebricks, is a cheaper and easier solution.<h2 id="4d66210e-a897-4885-9d6c-45b833a3fd2c">Firebricks are cheap and effective</h2><div type="image" title="A hand holds a thin grayish brick with white speckles" height="683" width="1024" msid="112508425" hostid="261" sizebytes="28908"></div>If you have a brick fireplace, you might notice the bricks stay warm for a while after the fire goes out.People have used bricks to<a target="_blank" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352409X23000287"> help keep</a> kilns and ovens hot since the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bronze-age-lost-tomb-ireland-rediscovered-photogrammetry-2024-1">Bronze Age</a>. Even modern industrial manufacturers use firebricks in daily operations.They stack the bricks in tall rows, heat them up to extremely high temperatures, and then blow air through channels to harness the heat for melting glass or metal, for example.Heating up the bricks causes carbon emissions since manufacturers typically burn fossil fuels to do it.However, a few new companies think they've figured out how to use electricity from the grid to heat up the bricks instead.Electrified Thermal Solutions and other companies make firebricks that <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/power-grid-transmission-renewable-energy-nimby-states-ferc-2024-5">conduct electricity</a>."A normal firebrick is an insulator like rubber. Electricity just doesn't go through it," MIT professor Charles Forsberg, an advisor to the company, said.However, when you add compounds like chromia and nickel oxide the firebrick becomes an electrical conductor.Forsberg said these conductive bricks function similarly to an <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gas-stove-debate-cooking-induction-electric-kitchen-2023-1">electric oven</a>, except the firebrick can handle heat that would melt your oven's wires."It's a way to heat firebricks to a blazingly hot temperature," he said. It can <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/05/25/science/race-clean-up-heavy-industry-heats-up/">reach</a> 3,270 degrees Fahrenheit, more than hot enough to melt steel, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/05/25/science/race-clean-up-heavy-industry-heats-up/">The Boston Globe reported</a>.Instead of storing the electricity like a battery, the bricks would store heat. So, a steel mill, for example, could take <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow noreferrer" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/modernize-us-electric-grid-what-it-will-take-2024-5">electricity from the grid</a>. The high electrical current would heat up the oxides inside the firebricks, and the bricks would retain the heat, which the manufacturer could then use to melt metal.Of course, there's still the issue that electricity from the grid often comes from fossil fuels. But eventually, as more renewable energy feeds the grid, this could help major manufacturers drastically reduce carbon emissions, and also save a lot of money.Mark Jacobson, a professor at Stanford University, estimated in the PNAS Nexus study that transitioning 149 countries entirely to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-renewable-energy-transition-solar-electric-vehicles-hit-records-2024-2">renewable energy</a> by 2050 would cost about $59 trillion. He and his colleagues used computer models to examine two options: one where industries used firebricks and one where they relied on technologies like electric furnaces and boilers and stored energy in batteries.Implementing firebricks saved over $1.2 trillion dollars worldwide, he told Business Insider.The savings partially come from the bricks' cheap cost, which are about a tenth of the price of traditional storage batteries, Jacobson said. "When we use firebricks, we reduce the cost of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/california-was-battery-powered-twice-last-week-2024-4">batteries</a> because we need fewer batteries," he said.<h2 id="518d0dd9-00e6-4e75-b1be-eeb5884abf76">Making small changes for big emissions savings</h2><div type="image" title="Two people stand in front of a device that looks like a large refrigerator" height="683" width="1024" msid="112508428" hostid="261" sizebytes="72432"></div>Forsberg said early adopters of conductive firebricks might still use <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/natural-gas-biden-exports-pause-energy-costs-less-predictable-2024-2">natural gas</a> or oil if they run out of stored heat."Someday in the future, it may all be electric," he said, "but my guess is in the near term, most of the people who need high-temperature heat are going to buy a cheap <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-ban-gas-stoves-in-new-buildings-emissions-reduction-2023-4">gas burner</a>."It's also going to take a while to get these new firebricks installed. Jacobson said the first adopters might be companies that need to replace their equipment or newcomers starting from scratch. Once they do, though, "I think they'll find that it's actually much more beneficial," he said.Electrified Thermal Solutions is working on one of its first industrial applications, <a target="_blank" href="https://electrifiedthermal.com/kentucky-governor-announces-ets-available-for-doe-funding-to-help-electrify-chemical-plant/">replacing</a> gas boilers in a Kentucky chemical plant.Another company, <a target="_blank" href="https://rondo.com/calgren-case-study">Rondo</a>, has installed its technology in a biofuel company in California. Rondo said its system reduces CO2 emissions and lowers the cost of energy because it requires less electricity than hydrogen fuel.Having a few successful example projects might help change some minds in other industries, Jacobson said.Forsberg said one of the biggest benefits of the newer firebrick technology is that it updates processes many industries have in place. "The goal is minimum change," he said. "If you want to cause a revolution in technology, don't change anything you don't have to change."

Researchers want to combine an ancient technology with clean energy to save over $1 trillion worldwide

<ul><li><keyword id="20940216" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Synology" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Synology" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Synology">Synology</keyword> has showcased its upcoming enterprise solutions in India.</li><li>The Taiwanese <keyword id="20653112" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="storage-solutions" source="keywords">storage solutions</keyword> provider has revealed its enterprise-level solution blueprint for India.</li><li>The company has announced new GenAI-powered features for its Office Suite.</li></ul> Taiwanese storage solutions provider Synology has launched its new enterprise-level solution blueprint in India at its Synology Solution showcase held in India. The announcement comes as the first enterprise application blueprint in India and is a significant part of the company’s expansion plans in India. Since 2021, the company has recorded a 600% growth in business sector revenue in India, contributing to a total revenue growth of 350%. The company showcased its latest offerings in data protection, storage, and surveillance, emphasizing solutions designed to address the growing demands of modern enterprises. <h2>Synology showcases new products</h2>The company showcased its upcoming products, including the ActiveProtect appliances, which were first<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/synology-introduces-new-products-aimed-at-data-protection-and-scalability/articleshow/110711086.cms"> announced</a> during the company’s Synology Solution Exhibition 2024. The ActiveProtect lineup includes dedicated backup systems that are optimised for rapid deployment and scalability. This backup solution is aimed at simplifying deployment and it can manage up to 2,500 multi-server environments across multiple sites. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111748677" title="Synology bets big on the Indian market amid strong growth, growing demand" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> “The ActiveProtect series focuses on data recovery and immutability, making it a reliable tool for IT professionals to ensure data security. Its multi-site friendly design aligns perfectly with India's business structure,” said Russell Chen, country manager, SAARC Region, Synology. The company also showcased its scale-out storage solutions and advanced surveillance solutions at the event. “Driven by the demand of technology trends, such as AI, IoT, digital transformation, and so on, Synology has performed exceptionally well in the Indian enterprise market, especially in sectors like government, manufacturing, and media and entertainment. Moving forward, we will continue to dedicate ourselves to meeting the modern storage needs of growing enterprises,” said Michael Chang, APAC sales head, Synology. The developing scale-out solution delivers scale-out storage, supporting both file and object storage and performance growth when adding additional storage servers. Synology also introduced its C2 Surveillance Station, which is a cloud-based video surveillance solution with edge AI and multi-layer encryption. The company is enhancing its <keyword id="19999884" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="AI-capabilities" source="keywords">AI capabilities</keyword> with the Synology AI Console, integrating GenAI into the Office Suite. According to the company, this will allow organisations to use the latest large language models (LLMs) while maintaining strict control over data privacy and security. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/diwali-gift-zomato-platform-fee-increased-to-rs-10-ahead-of-the-festive-season/articleshow/114493617.cms">Diwali gift from Zomato – Platform fee increased to ₹10 ahead of the festive season</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/webstories/afcons-infrastructure-ipo-gmp-risk-factors-and-all-you-need-to-know/slidelist/114490954.cms">Afcons Infrastructure IPO – GMP, risk factors and all you need to know</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/snapdragon-8-elite-announced-to-power-iqoo-13-oneplus-13-xiaomi-15-series-and-more/articleshow/114463844.cms">Snapdragon 8 Elite announced, to power iQOO 13, OnePlus 13, Xiaomi 15 series and more</a>

Synology introduces new enterprise solutions, reports significant growth in India

<keyword id="4625572" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="indian-renewable-energy-development-agency" source="Orion">Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency</keyword> Ltd (<keyword id="391336" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="ireda" source="Orion">IREDA</keyword>) has opened an office in <keyword id="6424024" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gift-city" source="Orion">GIFT City</keyword> at Gandhinagar which will specialise in providing debt options denominated in <keyword id="90766" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="foreign-currencies" source="Orion">foreign currencies</keyword> to facilitate natural hedging and significantly reduce the financing costs for green hydrogen and renewable energy manufacturing projects, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy said on Thursday. The strategic initiative which would contribute to the country's journey towards a greener future was highlighted by IREDA chairman and managing director (CMD) Pradip Kumar Das at a panel discussion on 'Future Growth Opportunities for Long Duration <keyword id="1609428" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="energy-storage" source="Orion">Energy Storage</keyword>', held at the World Future Energy Summit 2024 in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. The IREDA CMD emphasised the critical role that energy storage will play in achieving the <keyword id="13194051" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="national-green-hydrogen" source="Orion">National Green Hydrogen</keyword> Mission's ambitious target of producing over 5 million metric tons of hydrogen per annum by 2030. The CMD emphasised the need to enhance research and development efforts to reduce cost and improve the performance of energy storage solutions. It was necessary to implement policies that strengthen the supply chain network, and providing competitive and tailored financial solutions will encourage investment in energy storage projects, he added. India has taken active steps in this direction, which include the formulation of a storage requirement roadmap up to 2047, technology-agnostic storage tenders, and supportive government interventions for battery manufacturing and pumped storage hydropower projects. The Central Electricity Authority of India projects a storage requirement of nearly 400 gigawatt-hours (GWh) by 2030-32, with an estimated investment exceeding Rs 3.5 lakh crore.

IREDA's GIFT City branch to give special foreign currency loans for green projects

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Vultr operates global data centers to enhance AI computing capabilities and speed.</li><li>Sovereign clouds ensure data is stored locally, aiding compliance and national security.</li></ul>Most of our online work <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-nvidia-cloud-ai-anthropic-2023-10">happens in the cloud</a> these days, though we likely don't know where the computing is actually happening. The location of the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-data-center-demand-nvidia-databank-2024-8">data center</a> that houses our spreadsheets and shopping lists doesn't matter much to most of us until it does.In the age of AI, where computations are becoming more complex by the day, some nations are looking to make sure some of that power is within their borders. It's good business, but it's also a matter of pride, practicality, and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-sam-altman-infrastructure-artificial-intelligence-data-centers-2024-9">national security.</a>Vultr is a cloud service provider and data center operator founded in 2014. The company started buying Nvidia GPUs in 2021, getting to the AI cloud computing business earlier than most. It operates data centers globally, with both traditional computing and AI servers for public cloud clients, along with companies and countries that want their own private clouds. CEO J.J. Kardwell describes the company as the largest privately-held cloud computing platform in the world.A large global footprint, with more than 30 data centers on six continents, helps with computing speed, especially for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nvidia-competition-sambanova-groq-cerebras-show-faster-inference-speed-2024-9">AI inference</a>. It also makes the Vultr boss well-positioned to explain a phrase frequently on the lips of AI luminaries like <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nvidia-ceo-jensen-huang-countries-need-own-ai-systems-2024-2">Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang:</a> sovereign AI.This Q&amp;A has been edited for clarity and length.BI: What is a sovereign cloud?Sovereign cloud is the delivery of cloud infrastructure as a service, typically inside a country. It guarantees data is stored locally, which ensures it's used strictly for the intended purposes and not transferred outside of national borders without explicit authorization. That's the essence of it.The higher levels of sovereignty involve no communication, no information whatsoever, even at a control plane level, passing outside of a country. Every single interaction, even with a platform, happens in-country. This helps ensure data sovereignty, data residency, data governance, and compliance with local privacy laws.BI: If most companies simply rent computing capacity from a cloud provider, why would they care where the data centers are?In some cases, it's actual compliance with the law. For example, let's say it was a patient's medical records, personally identifiable information, or other sensitive data. They may have a compliance obligation regarding where they can store data.The second is that the lowest level of risk is if the chain of custody can be documented from end to end. So keeping data in-country and in a sovereign cloud enables the highest levels of accountability and avoids transferring data across international networks.BI: How does a sovereign cloud work?If you want true technological independence, you can deliver it with essentially an air gap deployment and a dedicated control plane where the customer is completely untethered from any other data centers or infrastructure.AI doesn't necessarily require interactions with data from many sources. Many training jobs are specific data sets that can be loaded onto a network in a sovereign deployment. And everything can quite easily be executed in-country.I think many countries realize that some of the most important applications of AI are around matters of national security, critical industries, and citizen data, where their local laws around consumer data and privacy may be very, very different from those in other countries. So it's quite important to them to be able to ensure for their citizens that anything that's being done, with AI is being done within the confines of the country and in compliance with their own laws.BI: What do people mean when they use the term "sovereign AI"?They are focused on capacity in a specific country, and typically they're talking about capacity sponsored by the government, whether it's at a state or federal level within that country.One of the challenges, or inequities, is the very uneven distribution of AI infrastructure around the world.Obviously, people are well aware of the transformative impact that AI can have across so many industries, but the infrastructure itself to perform that work, train models, and support inference is very unevenly distributed globally.Many countries are realizing that if they don't take an active role at the government level in helping sponsor, encourage, and incentivize the deployment of infrastructure locally, their businesses and populations will have less access to that technology.By definition, large language models are specific to a language. And the biggest portions of early innovation were done in US English. Only recently we're seeing the globalization of many of these models. You can't train on a US body of data, for example, for legal documentation then do simple translation into other languages.Obviously, you'd miss local conventions of law and language, and therefore, translations are not enough. You'd actually need to do training on local models, on local bodies of data. Every major language economy in the world wants to benefit from AI, yet the resource is not available proportionately to where the population or even the GDP of the world is, right now.BI: AI computing is extremely <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-data-centers-us-power-grid-gpu-nvidia-cerebras-amazon-2024-7">energy intensive,</a> and concerns about the US grid abound. Can you speak to how those dynamics are changing where data centers might be built?Given the significant growing power consumption of AI infrastructure and the importance of its efficient delivery, we will increasingly see capacity building in global markets that have a comparative advantage in supporting lower-cost data center capacity.We have a strategic partnership with <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://datacenternews.asia/story/vultr-singtel-enhance-cloud-gpu-capacity-in-southeast-asia">Singtel in Singapore</a>, and if you look at the way that they're building across the region, they're bringing up massive capacity in markets like Malaysia and others where we'll be able to very efficiently serve the region and much of the world where you see more efficient power and operating costs.The domestic military or Department of Defense equivalent in any country will want those deployments to be domestic, regardless of any cost.But for many enterprises, so long as the execution is done at world class compliance, privacy, and trust commitments, you will see more efficient distribution of those workloads that can be executed in other places in the world.

Sovereign AI explained: An AI cloud CEO unpacks what's behind the trend

The Union Budget for 2024-25, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, places significant emphasis on <keyword id="19941381" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="energy-security" source="keywords">energy security</keyword> and sustainability. As per the government, the current strategy will focus on ensuring that energy resources are readily available, making energy affordable for all citizens and keeping energy costs low to prevent economic strain on consumers. Here's a breakdown of the key initiatives announced: <h2>PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana</h2>One of the standout initiatives is the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana. This program aims to install <keyword id="20366573" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rooftop-solar-plants" source="keywords">rooftop solar plants</keyword> across 1 crore households, providing up to 300 units of free electricity per month. As per the FM, the scheme has already seen significant interest, with over 1.28 crore registrations and 14 lakh applications. <h2>Pumped Storage Policy</h2>To enhance electricity storage capabilities and integrate more <keyword id="19895602" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="renewable-energy" source="keywords">renewable energy</keyword> into the grid, the government will introduce a policy promoting pumped storage projects. These projects are crucial for balancing the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources like wind and solar power. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111956035" title="Union Budget 2024: What FM Nirmala took from your pocket, what she gave you" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> <h2>Development of <keyword id="20876045" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="nuclear-energy" source="keywords">Nuclear Energy</keyword></h2>Recognising the importance of nuclear energy in India's future energy mix, the government plans to invest in new nuclear technologies. The announcement also mentioned partnering with the private sector to develop and set up Bharat <keyword id="20260886" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Small-Modular-Reactors" source="keywords">Small Modular Reactors</keyword>. Boasting up to a 300 MW capacity, Small Modular Reactors are mobile, flexible in design and require a smaller footprint. Unlike conventional nuclear reactors that need to be built on-site, SMRs can be factory-built. These advantages can add up to significant savings in cost and construction time. <h2>Advanced Ultra Super Critical Thermal Power Plants</h2>The Budget highlights the completion of indigenous technology development for Advanced Ultra Super Critical (AUSC) thermal power plants. These plants boast higher efficiency and will be established through a joint venture between the National Thermal Power Corporation and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited. The initiative includes government support for fiscal needs and aims to boost local production of high-grade steel and advanced metallurgical materials. <h2>Roadmap for Hard-to-Abate Industries</h2>A significant shift is planned for industries that are difficult to decarbonise. The government will move these industries from energy efficiency targets to emission reduction targets. This transition will be regulated through the Indian Carbon Market, replacing the current 'Perform, Achieve and Trade' mode. <h2>Support for Traditional Micro and Small Industries</h2>To promote cleaner energy usage and efficiency, the government will conduct energy audits in 60 clusters of traditional micro and small industries, including brass and ceramics. Financial support will be provided to help these industries switch to cleaner energy forms and implement energy efficiency measures. This initiative will be expanded to 100 more clusters in the next phase. As per Sameer Jain, Managing Director at Primus Partners, MSMEs consume approximately 50% of the nation's power needs while generating over 75% of greenhouse gas emissions. As a result, additional support — such as climate financing — will be crucial to ensure that the MSME sector adapts well to the green revolution, especially with how the budget has committed support to MSMEs to grow and compete globally. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111953230" title="Union Budget 2024-25: Mobile Phones to get cheaper, as FM Nirmala Sitharaman reduces basic customs duty to 15%" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> <h2><keyword id="22521154" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="climate-resilient-crops" source="keywords">Climate-Resilient Crops</keyword></h2>The government will release 109 high-yielding and climate-resilient varieties of 32 field and horticultural crops for cultivation by farmers. With the provision of research funding, including for the private sector, this move is part of a broader strategy to enhance agricultural productivity while adapting to climate change. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111957080" title="What does Union Budget 2024-2025 have in store for farmers and the agricultural sector?" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> <h2>Minerals for Green Technologies</h2>To support the growing demand for minerals used in green technologies, such as cobalt and lithium, the budget proposes exemptions from custom duties for 25 critical minerals and reduction on basic customs duty for two other essential metals. This move aims to bolster the domestic manufacturing of batteries and other components crucial for electric vehicles and renewable energy technologies. <h2>Development of Climate Taxonomy</h2>A new climate taxonomy will be developed to guide the green transition, ensuring that investments and policies are aligned with the goal of reducing carbon emissions and promoting sustainable practices. All in all, the Union Budget 2024-25 sets a promising course for India's energy and sustainability sector. With substantial investments and new initiatives, it aims to accelerate the transition to a greener future, and hopefully take us a step further towards India's net-zero emissions target by 2070.

Free solar electricity to mobile nuclear plants — major sustainability initiatives announced in Budget 2024!

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced a cut in customs duty on minerals such as lithium, copper and cobalt, which are critical for nuclear energy, renewable and other sectors, to give a fillip to the energy transition. In her budget speech in Lok Sabha, Sitharaman recalled that in the interim budget she had announced a strategy to sustain high and more resource-efficient economic growth, along with energy security in terms of availability, accessibility and affordability. "We will bring out a policy document on appropriate energy transition pathways that balances the imperatives of employment, growth and environmental sustainability," she said. Noting that minerals such as lithium, copper, cobalt and rare earth elements are critical for sectors like nuclear energy, <keyword id="19895602" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="renewable-energy" source="keywords">renewable energy</keyword>, space, defence, telecommunications, and high-tech electronics, she proposed to fully exempt customs duties on 25 critical minerals and reduce BCD (basic customs duty) on two of them. This will provide a major fillip to the processing and refining of such minerals and help secure their availability for these strategic and important sectors, she said. She stated that energy transition is critical in the fight against climate change. To support energy transition, she proposed to expand the list of exempted capital goods for use in the manufacture of solar cells and panels in the country. Further, she stated that in view of sufficient domestic manufacturing capacity of solar glass and tinned copper interconnect, I propose not to extend the exemption of customs duties provided to them. Noting that steel and copper are important raw materials and to reduce their cost of production, she proposed to remove the BCD on ferro nickel and blister copper. "I am also continuing with nil BCD on ferrous scrap and nickel cathode and concessional BCD of 2.5 per cent on copper scrap," she said. About the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, which was rolled out earlier this year, he informed the House that in line with the announcement in the interim budget, PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana has been launched to install rooftop solar plants to enable 1 crore households obtain free electricity up to 300 units every month. The scheme has generated remarkable response with more than 1.28 crore registrations and 14 lakh applications, and we will further encourage it, he stated. She further stated that a policy for promoting pumped storage projects will be brought out for electricity storage and facilitating smooth integration of the growing share of renewable energy with its variable &amp; intermittent nature in the overall energy mix. She stated that nuclear energy is expected to form a very significant part of the energy mix for Viksit Bharat. Towards that pursuit, our government will partner with the private sector for setting up Bharat Small Reactors; research &amp; development of Bharat Small Modular Reactor and research &amp; development of newer technologies for nuclear energy, she informed the House. The R&amp;D funding announced in the interim budget will be made available for this sector, she added. The development of indigenous technology for Advanced Ultra Super Critical (AUSC) <keyword id="20421620" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="thermal-power" source="keywords">thermal power</keyword> plants with much higher efficiency has been completed, she informed the House. A joint venture between NTPC and BHEL will set up a full-scale 800 MW commercial plant using AUSC technology and the government will provide the required fiscal support, she added. Moving forward, the development of indigenous capacity for the production of high-grade steel and other advanced metallurgy materials for these plants will result in strong spin-off benefits for the economy, she pointed out. A roadmap for moving the 'hard to abate' industries from 'energy efficiency' targets to 'emission targets' will be formulated, she stated adding that appropriate regulations for the transition of these industries from the current 'Perform, Achieve and Trade' mode to 'Indian Carbon Market' mode will be put in place. She further stated that an investment-grade energy audit of traditional micro and small industries in 60 clusters, including brass and ceramic, will be facilitated. Financial support will be provided for shifting them to cleaner forms of energy and implementation of energy efficiency measures. The scheme will be replicated in another 100 clusters in the next phase, she stated. Gaurav Kedia, Chairman, Indian Biogas Association said that the <keyword id="19908389" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Union-Budget" source="keywords">Union Budget</keyword> 2024 has unveiled a roadmap towards a sustainable and resilient India, with agriculture and energy security at its core. It is anticipated that these initiatives will catalyze the growth of the biogas industry, leading to increased rural employment, reduced carbon emissions, and improved soil health, he stated. 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