National
One Health Pilot in Karnataka
⇒ Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying launched One Health Pilot in Karnataka at Bengaluru on 28 June 2022.
Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying (DAHD), Ministry of Fisheries, Animal husbandry and Dairying, Government of India has taken an initiative to bring stakeholders from animal, human and environment health on a common platform to address the challenges through One-Health approach.
Implementation Partner:
DAHD in collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) as implementation partner is implementing the One-Health Framework undertaking project in the states of Karnataka and Uttarakhand.
The Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Government of India has launched a pilot project in the state of Uttarakhand to implement the One Health Framework by One Health Support Unit in April 2022.
- The key objective of the Unit is to develop a national One Health roadmap based on the learnings of the pilot project implementation.
- Inter-ministerial One Health committee under the chairmanship of Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India has been established to lead the implementation of the One Health Support Unit.
By developing the One Health Framework:
India will successfully address the need for efficient disease reporting and response coordination, optimum utilization of resources, emergency preparedness, build capability to handle diseases of economic and zoonotic importance, and create public awareness on animal diseases of zoonotic and economic significance.
ABHYAS – High speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT)
⇒ ABHYAS – High speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) was successfully flight-tested from the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur off the coast of Odisha on June 29, 2022. The performance of the aircraft at low altitude including sustained level and high manoeuvrability was demonstrated during the test flight.
Designed & developed by:
ABHYAS is designed & developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
Key Points:
- The air vehicle was launched using twin under-slung boosters which provide the initial acceleration to the vehicle.
- It is powered by a small gas turbine engine to sustain a long endurance flight at high subsonic speed.
- The target aircraft is equipped with Micro Electromechanical Systems-based Inertial Navigation System for navigation along with the Flight Control Computer for guidance and control along with Indigenous Radio Altimeter for very low altitude flight and Data Link for encrypted communication between the Ground Control Station and Target Aircraft.
- The vehicle is programmed for fully autonomous flight.
‘Forecasting Penetration of Electric Two-Wheelers in India’ Report
⇒ NITI Aayog and TIFAC launched a report titled ‘Forecasting Penetration of Electric Two-Wheelers in India’ on 28 June 2022.
- In an optimistic scenario, the report forecasts 100% penetration of electric two-wheelers in the Indian market by FY 2026–27.
- In another scenario, which is technology driven and where current incentives are withdrawn by 2024, the report predicts 72% penetration by 2031.
Using a tool made by NITI Aayog and TIFAC, eight scenarios have been developed for analyzing the future penetration of electric two-wheelers in the country.
The eight scenarios considered are:
- Challenged Diffusion
- Performance Driven
- Low Battery Cost
- Technology Driven
- Incentive Driven
- Battery Cost Challenged
- Same Performance
- Optimistic
The future scenarios have been constructed on the basis of three major factors that influence the market penetration of electric two-wheelers:
- demand incentives
- cost of battery
- vehicle performance in terms of both range and power.
Four broad constraint levels have also been identified for the eight scenarios, in terms of installed vehicle manufacturing capacity and available charging infrastructure:
- full constraint (where both vehicle production and charging infrastructure are constraints)
- production constraint (where only vehicle production is a constraint)
- charge constraint (where only the charging infrastructure is a constraint)
- no constraint.
Highlights:
» In the ‘Technology Driven’ scenario, if an R&D programme manages to enhance the range and power of electric two-wheelers by 5% annually between FY 2023–24 and 2025–26, and by 10% in FY 2026–2027, then the penetration of electric-two wheelers may reach about 72% in FY 2031–32—even with no extension of demand incentives.
- The sale of electric two-wheelers may cross 220 lakh units in FY 2028–29 under the ‘Optimistic’, ‘Same Performance’ and ‘Battery Cost Challenged’ scenarios.
- It may reach 180 lakh units under the ‘Technology-Driven’ scenario.
» Under the ‘Incentive Drive’ scenario, the sale is expected to reach only 55 lakh units in FY 2031.
- If there is sufficient installed capacity of electric two-wheelers and charging infrastructure, then sale (which finally reaches about 250 lakh units) may at some point even surpass the production under the ‘Optimistic’, ‘Same Performance’ and ‘Battery Cost Challenged’ scenarios.
» The report provides important insights into the required infrastructure, manufacturing capability, policies, and technology-development priorities in the area.
» The scenarios can be used by government agencies, the industry, and academic/R&D institutions for evidence-based analysis of policies, market scenarios and technology development strategies.
International
11th World Urban Forum
⇒The National Institute of Urban Affairs’ Climate Centre for Cities, World Resources Institute India and their partners launched India’s first national coalition platform for urban nature-based solutions at the 11th World Urban Forum at Kotavice, Poland on 29 June 2022.
The India Forum for Nature-based Solutions aims to create a collective of NbS entrepreneurs, government entities and like-minded organisations, to help scale urban nature-based solutions by:
- Defining a shared language and by communicating benefits that inform actions at the local level including scaling up of existing NbS interventions.
- Driving investment and strengthening delivery mechanisms through multi-stakeholder coordination.
- Mainstreaming urban ecosystem-based services and nature-based solutions in India through informing policy, plans and project interventions
About India Forum for Nbs:
- ‘India Forum for Nature-based Solutions’ is led by the National Institute of Urban Affairs’ Climate Centre for Cities (NIUA C-Cube) and anchored by World Resources Institute India under the Cities4Forests initiative.
- It is supported by Caterpillar Foundation, Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Govt of United Kingdom and Norway’s International Climate and Forest Initiative.
- Ecosystem-based services and Nature-Based Solutions are fast emerging as cost-effective and sustainable ways to address climate change induced challenges such as heat, urban flooding, air and water pollution and storm surges.