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NIAS-DST Training Programme on Science & Technology: Global Developments and Perspectives. 20 Nov to 01 Dec 2023.
Get PDFFormulation of prediction model for working fluid temperature in a vertical paraboloid-shaped thermal energy storage tank during stand-alone operation
Get PDFASEAN and India–ASEAN Relations: Navigating Shifting Geopolitics
No full textThis book analyses the nearly 30 years of India–ASEAN relations from a contemporary perspective, identifies the reasons for India’s vibrant and significant relation with ASEAN and examines the cultural, economic, political and strategic linkages between India and ASEAN.
The book projects the future of India–ASEAN relations in the face of the changing Indo-Pacific geopolitics and explores potential policies which could enhance the connection between India and Southeast Asian countries. Arguing that ASEAN is of primary importance to India, the book suggests that any successful outing in the Indo-Pacific would need a strong partnership with India. The book demonstrates how external powers influence ASEAN, with many of them supporting the centrality of ASEAN and its regional architecture in the broader Indo-Pacific. Chapters by experts in their fields present thematically specific analyses of political, defence, maritime and cultural aspects as well as the position of Northeast India in the India–ASEAN relations and assess the success and challenges of India’s ties with ASEAN in the context of the Look East and the Act East Policies.
A reassessment of ASEAN–India relations past and present, this book will be of interest to academics and policy makers working in the field of International Relations, Asian Politics and South Asian Politics, in particular India’s Foreign Policy and Southeast Asian Politics
Quantification of green-blue ratios, impervious surface area and pace of urbanisation for sustainable management of urban lake – land zones in India -a case study from Bengaluru city
Get PDFQuantification of the ecosystem services of blue and green infrastructure in urban centres with the perspective of planning sustainable development is usually data-intensive, includes use of multi-platform datasets and adds to the complexities in deriving effective and reproducible metrics. The present study describes the creation of four simple metrics to estimate: 1. the ratio of ‘green’ vegetated areas to the ‘blue’ water spread areas, defined as the ‘Green-blue ratio’ (GBA); 2. The ratio of ‘blue’ water spread areas to ‘built-up’ ratio around the lakes, defined as the ‘Blue to Built-up ratio’ (BBA), 3. the percentage of impervious surface area (ISA) and 4. the pace of urbanisation in the dynamic zones (DZ) of urban lake environments. These new metrics were evaluated using landcover areas mapped from satellite imageries. Visual interpretation-based method was adopted to delineate the green, blue and built-up areas from Google Earth, which is suitable for wide range of users. The use of these metrics has been illustrated using available datasets for four representative lakes in Bengaluru city, India: Sankey tank, Ulsoor lake, Nagavarakere and Puttenahallikere. Significant spatio-temporal variations in the ratios of GBA and BBA as well as %ISA were observed and satisfactorily reflected the ecological status of these lakes in concurrence with earlier studies. Detailed analyses constrained a permissible rate of annual increase in the built-up area within the DZs to ∼ 3% for sustainable development of the lakes. The present set of metrics can be recommended as useful tools for urban planners and citizen scientists for seasonal monitoring of urban lake environments
Book Review: Dynamics of Difference: Inequality and Transformation in Rural India edited by Narendar Pani
No full textCost and environmental benefits of coal-concentrated solar power (CSP) hybridization in India
No full textThe footprint of concentrated solar power (CSP) technology in the Indian energy mix is limited since the country mostly receives moderate direct normal irradiance (DNI) (3.5e4.5 kWh/m2/day) and the current capital costs are high. With simulations using an improved DNI database, we compare the costeffectiveness of clean energy dispatch from stand-alone CSP with thermal energy storage (TES) and coal-CSP hybrid systems. The capital costs must be significantly reduced for the economic feasibility of stand-alone CSP-TES plants in India. The levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) and environmental advantages of coal-CSP hybrid systems are presented by simulating the hybrid system in two modes at three locations in India with contrasting DNI profiles. A fraction of turbine bleed-steam is partly/fully replaced by solar-assisted feedwater heating (SAFWH) in the booster mode, while the yield from burning coal is partly replaced by solar heat in the fuel saver mode. Results show that the cost of additional energy generated due to SAFWH in booster mode is up to 51.4% less as compared to a stand-alone CSP, even when operating at sites with moderate DNI. In the fuel saver mode, up to 40 thousand tons of coal can be annually saved with SAFWH, thus reducing CO2 emissions by 1.7% as compared to a stand-alone coalfired plant
Boragaon: Amid Guwahati's Waste is a Neglected Ecosystem of People and Animals
Get PDFWaste is often considered a great nuisance – but it can also be a source of livelihoods and sustenance in its own right.
A big thorn in Guwahati’s side is its municipal waste, and the public dialogue over its Boragaon landfill is currently caught between urban development and ecological and public health.
Yet there exists a third group with its own interests that both civil society and policymakers need to acknowledge and plan for
Foregrounding Equity in Climate Action (NIAS Policy Brief No. NIAS/NSE/EEC/U/PB/15/2022)
Get PDFThe world has already warmed by about 1.07 deg. C (0.8–1.3 deg. C) as compared to the pre-industrial period (IPCC,2021) and the carbon budget for limiting warming to below 2 deg. C or 1.5 deg. C is rapidly shrinking. Developed countries, with about 18% of the global population, are responsible for over 60% of global historical emissions (~2516 GtCO2eq) between 1850 and 2019, while India alone is home to about a similar proportion of the global population but is responsible for only 4.5% of the global cumulative emissions between 1850 and 2019. India’s developmental challenges are significant and in the era of climate change need to be overcome even more urgently. India must strongly lobby for cumulative emissions and the total global carbon budget to be the basis for determining the adequacy and ambition of climate action as this is based on the best available science. Laying a claim on its fair share of the carbon budget is also necessary to ensure that developed countries and other fast emitters do not free-ride on the efforts of India and other developing countries to mitigate climate change. The actual use of this carbon space is contingent on how the energy landscape develops in the future and the extent to which other countries act to mitigate climate change as the latter will determine India’s adaptation needs as well. This policy brief discusses data that supports the recommendations for developing a science-based and equity-driven climate policy for India
Art and Science of Managing Public Risks
No full textThe COVID-19 and the onslaught of Climate Change have exposed the fragility of our lives and ecosystem. Natural disasters like asteroid impact, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, floods, cyclones, etc., and pandemics like plagues, smallpox, cholera, tuberculosis, malaria, etc., have been man's nemesis from the beginning of time. This list of public risks has now expanded to include pollutions, industrial disasters, and very many new, confusing and emerging technologies.
How have governments handled these public risks? How have they convinced people to take precautions under such emergencies? What measures does one take for managing them, and for the rescue, relief, and rehabilitation of the masses? And most importantly, how does one prepare the masses to face the risks without panicking? It is argued that sermons, dictates, and discourses may not work in democratic societies. Rather, one needs a new breed of risk communicators who can enter into a dialogue with the people to prepare them for these challenges and to welcome truly beneficial new technologies.
The book takes a panoramic view of the issue of risks and illustrates the challenges and opportunities of the Art and Science of Managing Public Risks. It celebrates the indomitable spirit of man, who has leveraged science to predict — where possible, and provide solutions for managing these risks