India

Opinion: India Encourages Heatwaves That Will Defeat It

Back in 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised the country would install 175 gigawatts of wind, solar, and small-scale hydro power by the end of last year. In practice, the country fell roughly 31% short.

India might have hoped that its punishing 2022 heatwave season, which pushed the mercury as high as 49.2 degrees Celsius (121 degrees Fahrenheit) in Delhi, would be followed by a breather. It’s not looking that way.

Most of the country outside the southernmost states is forecast to suffer more heatwave days during the most intense April-June season, the India Meteorological Department said at the weekend. A swathe of land from the Ganga valley to the coast of the Bay of Bengal – home to more than 350 million people – will endure 10 more days of heatwave than in a typical year, according to the department’s latest outlook.

There’s a great injustice in the disproportionate damage being inflicted on India and its neighbors as the climate warms. The average American, Canadian or Australian is responsible for about eight times more emissions than the average Indian. The climate damage that richer nations wrought on their path to wealth is being visited on the country with the largest population of poor people, before it gets its own chance to struggle up the development ladder.

Despite that, as it grows, India is increasingly becoming the author of its own misfortunes. Already by some estimates the world’s biggest country by population, it’s also the biggest source of demand growth for fossil fuels over the coming decade. Rich countries have cut their emissions by about 16% since 2007 and China’s are set to peak before 2030. India’s emissions are already on the brink of overtaking those from the European Union. By 2030, they’ll account for more pollution than Europe and Japan put together.

Whatever happened in the past, the country’s leaders can’t absolve themselves of responsibility for the consequences of their own actions over the coming decade.

That’s particularly the case because in sector after sector, low-emissions technologies are already undercutting dirtier conventional ones. Electric rickshaws and three-wheelers won a two-thirds market share of sales last year, according to BloombergNEF, thanks to running costs that are drastically lower than those for conventional diesel models. Power from new onshore wind and solar generators costs about three-quarters that from new coal plants. Switching to the less polluting option should give more people access to modern energy.

It’s troubling, then, that this isn’t happening. Back in 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised the country would install 175 gigawatts of wind, solar, and small-scale hydro power by the end of last year. In practice, the country fell roughly 31% short.

Some 15.77 gigawatts of wind and solar was installed in 2022, less than half what’s needed annually to hit a fresh government goal of 500 GW by 2030. Renewables tenders issued by utilities fell to just 28 GW from 40 GW in 2022 according to consultancy JMK Research. Those levels put 500 GW far beyond reach.

One factor in the shortfall has been the way that the energy transition is being asked to bear the costs of government trade barriers and industrial policy.

Tariffs as high as 40% on imported solar components introduced last April have left local developers unable to finish projects because of costs that are now drastically higher than when contracts were signed. In the vehicle sector, the government has suspended subsidy programs for electric vehicles and investigated automakers over claims that they didn’t have a sufficient share of local content. The entire automotive electrification subsidy program may be abandoned next year after hitting its modest targets, the Economic Times reported last month, citing officials it didn’t name.

Such counterproductive protectionism is increasingly rife across the world, from the US and EU to South Africa and Morocco. It might seem harsh to single out India for doing the same thing that many other countries are doing. And yet it’s not people who are singling India out, but the climate itself: its loss of long-run gross domestic product from three degrees Celsius of warming would be 10.4%, the highest of any Group of 20 economy after Indonesia, according to one 2018 study.

The complaint of Indian governments for five decades has always been that poverty itself is a form of pollution. A nation cannot clean up its economy until it has first grown affluent. If that means powering its early development with fossil fuels, then so be it, the argument goes. As renewables have undercut the costs of conventional alternatives, however, growth and efficiency is no longer the rhetoric that’s used. Instead the talk is of the power of incumbency: How hard it will be to dethrone coal, for instance, when its inefficient supply chain is bound up with regional economies, rail freight, and the underwater investments of well-connected billionaires and state-owned utilities.

That’s not an egalitarian argument about the necessity of growth. It’s an insistence that the mass of India’s population must pay with their health, their wealth and their futures to support core interest groups, even when a cleaner path is at hand. That will be a hard sell to people laboring under crippling heatwaves over the coming months. Indian politicians shouldn’t assume voters will continue to buy it.

(David Fickling is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering commodities, as well as industrial and consumer companies. He has been a reporter for Bloomberg News, Dow Jones, the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times and the Guardian.)

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.

India

Karnataka Polls: 2,613 Candidates In Fray, Rebel Trouble For Parties

A total of 2,613 candidates are in the poll fray, as the withdrawal of candidatures for the May 10 Assembly elections in Karnataka came to an end on Monday, election officials said.

Karnataka Polls: A total of 517 candidates have withdrawn their candidature till Monday.

Bengaluru:

A total of 2,613 candidates are in the poll fray, as the withdrawal of candidatures for the May 10 Assembly elections in Karnataka came to an end on Monday, election officials said.

A total of 517 candidates have withdrawn their candidature till Monday, even as parties faced “rebel trouble” in several segments.

Out of 2,613 candidates in the poll fray, 2,427 are male, 184 females and 2 others, office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka said.

Among the contesting candidates from recognised political parties- 224 from BJP, 223 Congress (supporting Sarvodaya Karnataka Party in Melukote), 207 JD(S), 209 AAP, 133 BSP , 4 CPI(M), 8 JD(U) and 2 NPP.

While 685 are from Registered Unrecognised Political Parties (RUPP), 918 are independents.

In 16 constituencies there are more than 15 candidates in the fray, so two Ballot Unit (BU) will be used in these segments during the poll.

Political parties made efforts till the last minute to ensure rebel candidates, who had filed nomination disgruntled over being denied tickets by their respective parties, to withdraw their papers.

In some cases, the parties were successful in convincing such candidates to withdraw, while “rebel trouble” loomed large on the electoral prospects of the official candidates in several constituencies.

The rebel trouble seems to be more in the case of BJP and Congress, compared to other parties.

According to party sources, Congress is facing rebel in Pulakeshinagar (Akhanda Srinivas Murthy), Harapanahalli (M P Latha Mallikarjun), Shirahatti (Ramakrishna Doddamani), Shikaripura (Nagaraj Gowda), Jagalur (H P Rajesh), Arakalagudu (Krishnegowda), among others.

In BJP rebel trouble is in – Puttur (Arun kumar Puttila), Afzalpur (Nitin Guttedar), Goolihatti Shekhar (Hosadurga), Bailhongal (Vishwanath Patil), Gundlupet (M P Sunil), Chennagiri (Madal Mallikarjun), Malur (Vijay Kumar), Gandhi Nagar (Krishnaiah Shetty), among others, party sources said.

Among those who have withdrawn as rebel candidates include – former Bengaluru Mayor- Congress’ Gangambike Mallikarjun from Chickpet, BJP’s Mahadevappa Yadawad from Ramdurg.

The elections to the 224-member assembly will be held on May 10 and results will be declared on May 13.

India

Shivraj’s Chouhan Makes A Big Announcement Before Polls

The Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government in Madhya Pradesh, in what appears a last-minute strategy tweak, is trying to court Brahmins months ahead of the assembly elections with the constitution of a Welfare Board for the community.

Madhya Pradesh has 21,104 temples including two Jyotirlingas.

Bhopal:

Besides, the government has also announced that it would develop the Bhagwan Sri Parashurama Lok religious corridor in Indore’s Janapav. Temples, meanwhile, have been given more power over their own land.

“We have decided that the government will not have any control over the activities of the temples and the auction of temple land will be done by priests and not by collectors,” Mr Chouhan said. “Brahmins have always protected religion and culture. So for their welfare, we will set up a ‘Brahmin Welfare Board’,” he added.

Madhya Pradesh has 21,104 temples including two Jyotirlingas. Of these, 1,320 temples have more than 10 acres of agricultural land. For temples without agricultural land, priests are paid an honorarium of Rs 5,000 a month.

The government’s move has triggered questions, especially since Brahmins comprise only 5 to 6 per cent of the state’s electorate.

A clue appears to lie in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the state. The Prime Minister visited Rewa, located in Vindhyas — probably the only region in the country where the upper castes constitute the largest portion of the population. In some assembly seats of Satna and Rewa districts, the population of Brahmins crosses 40 per cent.

In 2018, the Vindhya region prevented Congress from returning to power with full majority. The area now seems to be emerging as one of the most intriguing battlegrounds of the poll-bound state.

In 2018, BJP won 24 out of 30 seats in Vindhyas – up from 17 in 2013. The number of Congress seats slid from 11 to six.

But two recent events – the emergence of Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party in the area and a new party floated by MLA Narayan Tripathi — have given the BJP some cause for concern, sources indicated.

In Rewa and Singrauli, the BJP lost the urban local body polls last year as AAP made its Madhya Pradesh debut with a victory in Singrauli. Mr Tripathi, who earlier belonged to the BJP, has meanwhile been flexing muscle, claiming that his party will contest 30 assembly seats in the region.

The Congress has scoffed at the BJP move, saying the Chief Minister is thinking of giving respect to Brahmins after 18 years. “Till date, he kept neglecting them in the cabinet, now he is making announcements to woo the Brahmins,” said Congress spokesperson KK Mishra.

Claiming that Mr Chouhan has made announcements in Janapav, the birthplace of Parshuram, he said, “What happened to those announcements?”

“It should not be seen from the point of view of elections or votes,” said BJP leader Rahul Kothari.

“Let the Congress makes allegations but they should first answer for the condition of the temples during their tenure. They should answer for the Ramvan Path Gaman,” he added.

India

Senior Citizen Dead After Man Jumps On Him In Mumbai Swimming Pool

A 72-year-old man died after another person jumped on him from a height in a swimming pool in Mumbai, a police official said.

The incident took place at Mumbai’s Goregaon area.

Mumbai:

A 72-year-old man died after another person jumped on him from a height in a swimming pool in Mumbai, a police official said.

The incident took place on Sunday evening at Ozon swimming pool in Goregaon area.

The dead, identified as Vishnu Samant, was swimming when a 20-year-old man jumped into the pool from a height, the official said.

“Samant suffered injuries on his neck and other parts of the body. He was declared dead on arrival at a nearby hospital. On his wife’s complaint, a case has been registered against the 20-year-old man under Indian Penal Code Section 304-A (causing death by negligence),” he said.

India

UP Chief Minister receives death threat, case registered: Cops

A case has been registered against an unidentified person in Lucknow after a death threat was received for Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the police said on Tuesday.

The threat was received via message on ‘Dial 112’.

Lucknow:

A case has been registered against an unidentified person in Lucknow after a death threat was received for Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the police said on Tuesday.

The threat was received via message on ‘Dial 112’ (a number launched by the Uttar Pradesh government for the emergency services), in which the person stated, “I will kill CM Yogi soon”.

After receiving the threat, the Operation Commander of ‘112’ filed a case in the police station Sushant Golf City.

A case has been registered under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 506, 507 and IT Act 66.

“Case has been registered under sections 506 and 507 IPC and 66 IT Act in PS Sushant Golf City against an unknown person after ‘Dial 112’ receives death threat for Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath,” the police said.

In an unrelated incident on Sunday, the police arrested the person who wrote a letter threatening to launch a suicide bomb attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Kochi scheduled for April 24.

The accused has been identified as Xavier, said the police.

On Saturday, Kerala BJP chief K Surendran said that he received a letter last week about a conspiracy to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

While talking to ANI, Kochi City Police Commissioner, K Sethu Raman said, “The person who sent the threat letter against the Prime Minister was arrested. Xavier, the accused was arrested yesterday. The reason is personal enmity. He wrote the letter to trap his neighbour. We found him with the help of forensics.”

“Tight security has been arranged for the Prime Minister arriving in Kochi. 2060 policemen have been appointed for this purpose. As part of this, traffic control has also been imposed from 2 pm,” the Commissioner added.

India

West Khasi Hills in Meghalaya is hit by a 3.5 magnitude earthquake

An earthquake of magnitude 3.5 Richter scale struck Meghalaya’s West Khasi Hills on Monday, according to National Center for Seismology (NCS).

According to the NCS, the earthquake occurred at 3:33 pm (local time).

New Delhi:

An earthquake of magnitude 3.5 Richter scale struck Meghalaya’s West Khasi Hills on Monday, according to National Center for Seismology (NCS).

The earthquake occurred at around 7:47 am, informed NCS.

“Earthquake of Magnitude:3.5, Occurred on 24-04-2023, 07:47:14 IST, Lat: 25.47 & Long: 90.94, Depth: 5 Km, Location: West Khasi Hills, Meghalaya,” NCS said in a tweet.

Earlier on Sunday, an earthquake struck Meghalaya’s South Garo Hills. The magnitude of it was recorded at 3.5 on the Richter scale according to NCS.

According to the NCS, the earthquake occurred at 3:33 pm (local time).

In a tweet, NCS said, “Earthquake of Magnitude:3.5, Occurred on 23-04-2023, 15:33:33 IST, Lat: 25.26 & Long: 90.94, Depth: 5 Km, Location: South Garo Hills, Meghalaya.”

On April 16, an earthquake of magnitude 3.6 on the Richter scale hit Manipur’s Bishnupur district. As per the readings from the centre, the earthquake occurred northwest of Bishnupur at 7:22 am (local time).

“Earthquake of Magnitude:3.6, Occurred on 16-04-2023, 07:22:49 IST, Lat: 24.84 & Long: 93.69, Depth: 10 Km, Location: 24km NNW of Bishnupur, Manipur, India for more information Download the BhooKamp App,” the NCS had said in a tweet.