March 23, 2021

Renewable energy must grow 55-fold to achieve zero-emission by 2050

Environment: A report by Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) says renewables in electricity must increase 55-fold if India is to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The country will need to generate at least 83 percent of its electricity from (non-hydro power) renewable energy sources.

To achieve this target, the share of electricity in India’s industrial energy use must rise three-fold, from 20.3 percent in 2018 to 70 percent in 2050, the study—Peaking and Net-Zero for India’s Energy Sector CO2 Emissions: An Analytical Exposition—revealed.

Policymakers will also need to identify manufacturing sectors where electricity could replace fossil fuels. Reducing the cost of electricity to make it competitive would be equally critical, Vaibhav Chaturvedi, Fellow at CEEW, and author of the study said.

In addition, India will need to closely examine the increasing cost of household electricity, increasing railway passenger fares, fiscal challenges for coal-dependent states, job losses for over half a million coal mining workers, and the shifting geopolitics around energy trade and the energy transition before announcing its net-zero targets according to Arunabha Ghosh, CEO, CEEW.

Advanced economies, including China, Japan, the UK, and the US, would have longer periods of transition—at least 30-40 years, since they peaked emissions at much higher levels of development, and slower rates of growth. “India would need to undergo a double transition, through faster electrification of sectors and an increasing share of renewables in power generation, if it were to announce an ambitious net-zero target”, added Chaturvedi.

The study also found that if India were to peak in 2030 and reach net-zero in 2060 like China, its cumulative carbon emissions from 2021 to 2100 would be 80 GtCO2. For the same period, China and the US’ cumulative carbon emissions, even after incorporating their net-zero ambition, would be 349 GtCO2 and 104 GtCO2, respectively.

According to the World Bank, India’s per capita carbon dioxide emissions stood at 1.82 tCO2 in 2016, much lower than the global average of 4.55 tCO2.

Read this article to know how solar power initiatives can provide sustainable self-employment.


May 20, 2021

Home Ministry extends validity period of FCRA registration certificates

Fundraising & Communications: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued a circular extending the validity of FCRA registration certificates to September 30th, 2021. This applies to all FCRA licences that have expired or will expire between September 29th, 2020 and May 31st, 2021. The decision to extend the deadline has been driven by the exigencies arising from the COVID-19 situation.

FCRA refers to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act 2010, which permits charitable organisations based in India to raise funds from foreign sources.

The order also clarified that nonprofits that have already opened an account and have the requisite permission to receive foreign aid, can henceforth receive it only in these newly-opened accounts.

The FCRA law was amended in September 2020 to include a clause that mandated that all nonprofits receiving foreign aid must necessarily open an account in State Bank of India’s New Delhi Main Branch. The government had initially set the deadline for this account opening as March 31st, 2021; it later extended it to June 30th, 2021 after several nonprofits argued in court that there had been delays because necessary approvals from MHA had not been received.

Several organisations have not been able to receive foreign funds during the crisis caused by the second wave, and this has impacted their COVID-19 relief efforts. Relaxing the foreign funding rules could significantly help organisations ramp up their operations to help individuals, supply critical healthcare equipment, and respond to communities in rural areas.

Read this article to know how amending the FCRA can have unforeseen implications.


May 20, 2021

Corporate spending on oxygen support and medical equipment now counts as CSR

Philanthropy & CSR: The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has issued a circular that allows corporate spending on health infrastructure for COVID-19 care to qualify as corporate social responsibility (CSR) expenditure.

This includes setting up medical oxygen generation and storage plants, manufacturing and supply of oxygen concentrators, ventilators, cylinders, and other medical equipment to counter COVID-19.  

The announcement comes at a time when all efforts are being directed towards expediting efforts to support the country’s healthcare infrastructure.

According to the circular, companies can now undertake projects and activities in collaboration with other companies using CSR funds. Additionally, they can contribute to specified research and development projects, as well as publicly funded universities and certain organisations that conduct research in science, technology, engineering, and medicine.

The government had earlier clarified that setting up makeshift hospitals and temporary COVID-19 care facilities would also be considered a CSR activity. Rajesh Verma, the Corporate Affairs Secretary, has requested businesses to consider converting vacant office buildings into COVID-19 facilities to cater to the rapidly increasing caseload.

Read this article to understand why media attention on COVID-19 deaths due to lack of oxygen in big cities has skewed donor priorities.