India pledges $250 million for traditional medicine centre; part of $300 million contribution to WHO for 2025-2028

India’s contribution will also be used for a new regional office for WHO, digital health and thematic funding.

•  India is the sixth largest global contributor to WHO, which faces a global funding gap of $7.1 billion.
• South-East Asia Region countries, partners pledge $345+ million at WHO investment round

World Health Organisation (WHO):

• Specialised agency of the United Nations, responsible for International public health
• Founded in: 1948
• Headquartered: Geneva, Switzerland
• Membership: 194 member states.
• World Health Assembly (WHA): Highest decision-making body of WHO
• Comprises representatives from all member States. 
• WHA Appoints:  Director-general every five years and votes on matters of policy and finance of WHO, including the proposed budget.
• Secretariat: Responsible for carrying out the policies and programs approved by the WHA.
• Regional Offices: Six regional offices
• Africa, the Americas, Southeast Asia, Europe, Eastern Mediterranean, and Western Pacific. 
• Funding mechanism: Two Main Sources: 
• Assessed contributions: Dues countries pay in order to be a member of the Organization.
• Voluntary contributions: From Member States (in addition to their assessed contribution) or from other partners like United Nations organisations, intergovernmental organisations, philanthropic foundations, the private sector etc.

Nilgiri tahr 

In a significant breakthrough for conservation efforts, a newly colonised habitat of Nilgiri Tahr has been discovered in Pasumalai.

• Surrounded by shola forests and abandoned coffee estates, the area has potential grassland cover atop hillocks and cliffs, providing the Tahr with necessary escape terrains – critical for their survival.

• The Nilgiri tahr (Nilgiritragus hylocrius) is a unique species of mountain ungulate endemic to the Nilgiri Hills and the southern portion of the Western and Eastern Ghats in the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala in southern India.

Physical Description

• Appearance: Nilgiri tahrs are stocky goats with short, coarse fur and a bristly mane. Males are larger and darker than females, with both sexes having curved horns.
• They develop a light grey area on their backs, earning them the nickname “saddlebacks”.

Habitat and Distribution

• Location: The Nilgiri tahr inhabits the open montane grassland habitats of the South Western Ghats montane rain forests ecoregion, at elevations ranging from 1,200 to 2,600 meters .
• Range:
• The Nilgiri tahr can be found only in India.
• Historically, they were found along the entire stretch of the Western Ghats, but now they are confined to small fragmented pockets.
• Currently, the Nilgiri tahr distribution is along a narrow stretch of 400 km in the Western Ghats between Nilgiris in the north and Kanyakumari hills in the south of the region.
• Though there are smaller populations found in the Palani hills, Srivilliputtur, and the Meghamalai and Agasthiyar ranges, only two well-protected, large populations are documented — one from the Nilgiris and the other from the Anamalais, including the high ranges of Kerala.
• The Eravikulam National Park in Anamalai hills, Kerala, is home to the largest population of the Nilgiri tahr, with more than 700 individuals.
• Diet: Nilgiri tahrs are primarily grazers, feeding on a variety of grasses, herbs, and shrubs.
• Behavior: They are well-adapted to their rugged, mountainous habitat, with cloven hooves that help them climb rocks and steep slopes.

Conservation Status

• Threats: The Nilgiri tahr faces several threats, including habitat loss due to deforestation, competition with domestic livestock, hydroelectric projects, and monoculture plantations. Occasional hunting for their meat and skin also poses a threat.
• Species is listed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and is protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act of India, 1972.
• The Nilgiri tahr is the only mountain ungulate in southern India amongst the 12 species present in India. It is also the state animal of Tamil Nadu.

Why fair returns for farmers are elusive? 

•  A series of RBI working papers on food inflation says that tomato, onion and potato farmers get a raw deal despite seasonal spikes in prices. In contrast, those growing pulses or rearing poultry are better off..
• The four RBI working papers focused on the value chains of vegetables — tomato, onion and potato (collectively known as TOP crops), fruits — grapes, bananas and mangoes, livestock — milk, poultry meat and eggs, and pulses — gram, tur and moong.
• In the case of fruits and vegetables, farmers get a low to moderate share in the range of 31% -43% in the consumer rupee. In case of pulses and livestock, farmers’ realisation is much higher at 65% – 75% of the consumer rupee.
• During periods of high inflation, middlemen and retailers capture a significant portion of the price paid by consumers for fruits and vegetables, this results in lower earnings for farmers. 

Reasons for the lower realisation in case of tomato, onion & potato 

• A key reason for the farmers’ lower realisation in case of TOP vegetables is that it lacks an efficient value chain system and is highly fragmented.
• This is due to the perishable nature of the crop, regional and seasonal concentration, lack of adequate storage facilities, and presence of a large number of intermediaries. Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs) markets are administered by respective states, which fix mandi fees, official commission charges, and user charges.

A better deal for dairy & poultry farmers

• On an average, 70% and 75% of the consumer rupee goes back to the dairy and egg farmers, respectively, whereas 56% of the consumer rupee goes back to the farmers and integrators in the poultry meat value chain.
• The livestock sector exhibits seasonal variation in production as well as consumption. In the case of the egg value chain, farmers’ share of the consumer rupee varies from 69% in summer to 89% in winter due to seasonality in the demand. Religious festivals also adversely impact demand for meat and eggs.
• Despite milk being a perishable commodity, farmers’ share in the consumer rupee is higher due to efficient value chains developed by dairy cooperatives and private organised players who procure milk from the farmers at the village level and store it in chilling plants.

Price realisation in pulses

• Farmers get a larger share of the consumer rupee for pulses as compared to vegetables and fruits as these have a relatively longer shelf life. This renders pulses stock as an important determinant of price movement. Recent years have seen price spikes due to demand-supply gap, despite the country being the largest producer of pulses in the world. When domestic production falls, the government stabilises supply and price pressures by liberalising imports. It also ensures continued remunerative prices for farmers through assured procurement at minimum support price (MSP) to create buffer stocks. India imports mostly tur, urad and masoor (lentils) and imports would be around 15% of the total consumption of 26-27 million tonne.

How can the value chains be improved?

• In order to enhance incomes of TOP farmers, the working papers have suggested allowing private mandis (wholesale markets) besides stepping up electronic linking of the government’s digital wholesale market — National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) — with the thousands of APMCs and their sub-yards to enable farmers and traders to trade online. As mostly small and marginal farmers grow vegetables, scaling up farmer collectives via Farmers Producers Organisation (FPOs) and empowering them with incentives may help increase their bargaining power.
• Relaunching of potato futures trade in commodity exchanges and launching futures trading in onion especially for the rabi variety can be explored for optimal price discovery. The operational efficiency of the dairy industry can be improved by creating a more efficient value chain through dynamic milk procurement methods, strengthening of the cooperative and organised sectors, besides creating a feed bank and increasing fodder productivity.

Physics Nobel awarded to neural network pioneers who laid foundations for AI

U.S. scientist John Hopfield and British-Canadian Geoffrey Hinton won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics for discoveries and inventions that laid the foundation for machine learning.

• John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton Work
• Work: Developing computer algorithms that mimic the functioning of the human brain in performing common tasks. 
• Hopfield’s revolutionary work in the 1980s: Built an artificial neural network (ANN) resembling the network of nerve cells in the human brain, that allowed computer systems to ‘remember’ and ‘learn’
• Hopfield’s network: Processed information using the entire network structure, and not its individual constituents. 
• Traditional computing: Information is stored or processed in the smallest bits.
• Hinton took forward the work of Hopfield and developed artificial networks that could perform much more complex tasks.

o   Hopfield networks could recognise simple patterns of shape or sound

o   Hinton’s advanced models could understand voices and pictures. 

o   Neural networks could be strengthened, and their accuracy at pattern recognition enhanced through repeated inputs of data, called training. 

• Hinton developed a method called backpropagation that enabled the artificial neural networks to learn from previous mistakes and improve itself

Machine Learning

o   Subset of artificial intelligence (AI), it  focuses on the development of algorithms that enable computers to learn from and make decisions based on data, without being explicitly programmed for specific tasks. 

o   Essence of machine learning is recognizing patterns within data and making predictions or decisions based on those patterns.

o   How it works

• ML systems learn by processing data and optimising internal variables, or model parameters, to reflect the data. 
• The learning algorithm then updates the parameter values as it learns, allowing the model to make predictions and decisions based on the data.

Examples of machine learning

o   Spam filtering: Uses patterns in data to identify spam emails

o   Natural language processing: Enables computers to understand, interpret, and generate human language.

o   Neural networks: Inspired by the human brain’s neural connections, these models are used in machine learning.

o   Overfitting and Underfitting: Overfitting occurs when a model performs well on training data but poorly on new data. Underfitting happens when a model is too simplistic, failing to capture underlying patterns.

Battery Lifecycles and Environmental Implications

The demand for batteries continues to grow across various sectors, the environmental implications of their life cycles have become a critical concern. Traditionally, improving battery lifespan and recycling had much of the focus.

• Today, an equally promising solution is emerging—battery rejuvenation. This innovative approach not only extends battery life but also contributes to the circular economy, reducing environmental damage and conserving resources.
• Battery rejuvenation, particularly through the innovative Electro-Chemical Battery Enhancement Process (EBEP) for lead-acid batteries, offers a sustainable solution to extend battery life and reduce environmental impact by effectively addressing sulphation.”
•  The industry has been revolutionised with a breakthrough in the battery rejuvenation process – Electro-Chemical Battery Enhancement Process (EBEP). This process is specifically designed for lead-acid batteries.
• This process restores batteries often considered at the end of their lifecycle, bringing them back to near-full capacity in a cost-effective and environmentally responsible manner. By addressing the root cause of most battery failures—sulphation—this technology holds the potential to revolutionise how battery systems are managed and sustained Rejuvenation: Extending Battery Lifespan
• Battery rejuvenation goes far beyond repair; it is a systematic process aimed at recovering lost capacity and performance. For lead-acid batteries, sulphation is often the culprit of their demise: lead sulphate crystals accumulate on battery plates, blocking electrochemical reactions necessary to store and release energy efficiently. Eventually, this buildup considerably decreases their capacity to hold a charge over time.
• The EBEP process is specifically designed to dissolve these hard sulphate crystals and restore the battery’s plates, thereby reviving its voltage, internal resistance, and overall performance. It works on batteries across all categories—AGM, VRLA, GEL, or flooded—and can even bring back to life those that have been discarded as non-functional.

This restoration process involves:

• Screening and Diagnostics: A rigorous evaluation to identify batteries suitable for rejuvenation, ensuring that only those with sound plates are restored.
• Hydration and Restoration: Batteries are hydrated and then subjected to a charging process using a patented waveform current that dissolves sulphate deposits, restoring the battery’s health.
• Final Testing: Once restored, the batteries undergo a quality control check to ensure they meet all operational standards before being reintroduced into service.
• This comprehensive approach not only revives individual batteries but also significantly extends their lifespan—by at least a year or more—preventing premature replacements and reducing the environmental impact of frequent battery disposal

Economic and Environmental Benefits with Circular Economy

• Rejuvenating batteries offer numerous financial and environmental advantages. From an economic standpoint, rejuvenation is far less expensive than replacement, helping companies and consumers alike save capital expenditure while still maintaining reliable performance from their battery systems.
• Reducing demand for raw materials such as lead and lithium (which are both costly to mine and harmful to the environment) through delaying new purchases has an additional environmental benefit: less raw material extraction.
• Environmentally speaking, battery rejuvenation provides a more sustainable alternative to disposal. Lead-acid batteries present major environmental risks when they’re improperly discarded – harmful chemicals leach into soil and groundwater, and recycling processes release greenhouse gases.
•  Rejuvenation extends the battery’s operational lifespan, reducing the frequency of disposals, thus decreasing both toxic waste generation as well as emissions caused by recycling processes.
• Rejuvenated batteries fit easily within the larger framework of the circular economy, an economic model designed to maximise resource conservation and limit waste by prolonging product and material lifespans and recycling them back into use rather than going straight from usage to disposal.
• By recycling rejuvenated batteries back into use instead, less strain is placed on our environment and natural resources.

Aligning with Global Sustainability Goals

• As the global push for sustainability intensifies, rejuvenation technologies like EBEP provide a practical solution for industries striving to reduce their environmental footprints. The lead-acid battery market, in particular, can benefit immensely from such innovations, as the vast majority of batteries fail prematurely due to sulphation—a problem that EBEP directly addresses.
• The rejuvenation process aligns with global regulatory trends that emphasise responsible battery management. In regions like the European Union, where strict recycling standards are enforced, rejuvenation offers an additional layer of sustainability by pre-emptively extending the useful life of batteries before they reach the recycling stage. This complements efforts to reduce hazardous waste while enhancing resource efficiency.
• Furthermore, rejuvenation supports the broader transition to cleaner energy systems. By rejuvenating batteries, companies can ensure systems remain operational for longer, thus enhancing the overall stability and efficiency of renewable energy grids.

Future of Battery Technology: Restoration as the Norm

• As industries innovate, battery rejuvenation will undoubtedly increase. While research into cutting-edge battery technologies – like solid state and lithium-ion alternatives – remains important, rejuvenation offers an immediate scalable solution for managing existing battery systems. Instead of solely relying on new chemistries, industries can optimise current technologies through rejuvenation processes like EBEP.

In the end, battery rejuvenation stands to become an essential component of sustainable energy management. By prolonging lead-acid battery lifespan and mitigating environmental harm while fitting into circular economies such as EBEP’s circular economy model, rejuvenation technologies such as this offer an immediate solution to meet rising global energy storage demands. As economies transition toward more responsible practices, adopting rejuvenation battery technologies such as these will be essential in driving both economic efficiency and environmental stewardship.

India’s potent black carbon emissions from kerosene lamps make up 10% of total residential emissions 

•  India’s reliance on kerosene-based lamps as a secondary lighting source leads to release of 12.5 gigagrammes (Gg) per year of a potent climate pollutant called black carbon. This accounts for about 10 per cent of the total residential black carbon emissions, which includes cooking, heating and lighting..
•  Roughly 30 per cent of rural households rely on kerosene lighting during power cuts as a secondary light source, with the figure reaching as high as 70 per cent in the eastern regions .

Black Carbon Emissions in India

• India releases 12.5 gigagrams (Gg) of black carbon annually due to kerosene-based lighting.
• This accounts for 10% of total residential black carbon emissions (from cooking, heating, and lighting).

Rural Dependency on Kerosene Lamps:

• 30% of rural households use kerosene lighting during power cuts.
• The figure reaches as high as 70% in eastern regions of India.

Regional Emission Contributions:

• Eastern India contributes 60% (7.5 Gg) of black carbon emissions from secondary lighting sources.
• Bihar alone emits over 3 Gg per year from kerosene lighting 

 Key Government Initiatives to Reduce Black Carbon Emissions in India

• Saubhagya Scheme: Helped reduce kerosene consumption by expanding access to electricity.
• Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana: LPG connections to women of Below Poverty Line families, helped to reduce Black carbon emission.
• SATAT Scheme: Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT), has been launched to set up 5000 Compressed Biogas (CBG) production plants and make CBG available in the market for use.
• FAME Scheme: Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) phase-2 scheme
• National Clean Air Programme: Under the Programme, the government has revised its target to achieve a 40% reduction in particulate matter concentrations in the cities covered by the initiative by 2026, exceeding the previous goal of a 20-30% reduction by 2024.

Black Carbon

• Black carbon is a short-lived climate pollutant, less than a week, but is highly potent.
• It contributes to global warming and air pollution. 
• Sources: Black carbon is emitted from a variety of sources, including: Vehicles, Non-road mobile machinery, Ships, Coal or wood burning stoves, Forest fires, Agricultural waste burning.
• Though kerosene has a lower burn rate than biomass, the emissions factors of the former are higher than the latter .

 Impacts of Black Carbon

     Climate change

• Black carbon is a major contributor to climate change, absorbing solar radiation and releasing heat into the atmosphere. 
• It’s the second most important contributor to global warming, after carbon dioxide. 
• Global warming potential: Black carbon’s 20-year potential is 700-4,000 times that of CO2
• Black carbon emissions can also accelerate the melting of snow and ice, which can increase the impacts of global warming in the Arctic. 

Air pollution

• Black carbon is a component of particulate matter (PM), which is the most harmful air pollutant to health. 
• Black carbon particles are very fine and can enter the bloodstream and reach other organs. 
• PM2.5, a type of fine particulate matter, can cause damage to the lungs, heart, and brain. 

 2023 driest for global rivers in 33 years, reveals WMO’s report

 The year 2023 was the driest for global rivers in the past 33 years, The State of Global Water Resources report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The report highlighted severe stress on global water supplies.

•    In fact, the past five consecutive years have recorded widespread below-average river flows and reservoir inflows, reducing the amount of water available for communities, agriculture and ecosystems. 

Drier than average river discharge 

•    With 2023 being the hottest year on record, increasing temperatures and widespread dry conditions contributed to prolonged droughts. Compared to the historical period (1991–2020), rivers mostly faced conditions that were drier-than-average to average for river discharge, the report said.

•    Similar to 2022 and 2021, more than half of global catchment areas in 2023 showed deviations from near-average conditions for river discharge, predominantly lower

 than average, with fewer basins exhibiting above- or much-above-average conditions

•   In an era of growing water demand, the report showed a rising trend in dry areas over time, with 2023 being the driest year in the last three decades, followed by 2021 and 2015. Below- and much-below-average conditions affected North America (except Alaska), Central America and South America.

•   Meanwhile, in Asia, large river basins such as those of the Ganga and Brahmaputra experienced lower-than-average conditions across almost their entire territories. Discharge conditions also remained lower than average across the West and Central Asia.

•   The transition from La Niña (2022-2023) to El Niño (2023) appears to have been a key climatic driver in this record-breaking dry and warm situation, combined with a widespread anomalous warming over the worldwide ocean.

 Reservoir inflows and storage

•   The report, now in its third year, indicated that inflow into reservoirs in 2023 generally reflected the overall discharge conditions, with the global balance being mostly below average or average.

•   Specifically, reservoirs in India, especially along the west coast, experienced below- and much-below-average inflows. However, the Ganga river basin in India saw above-average reservoir storage.

•  Reservoir storage is influenced not only by climatic conditions and inflows but also by human regulation of the storage. Even when inflows are low, water can be stored, increasing reservoir volumes but decreasing discharge downstream.

•   Meanwhile in Australia, the Murray-Darling river also recorded below-average inflows. In North and South America, reduced water availability was evident, with lower-than-usual inflows into reservoirs, particularly in the Mackenzie river in North America, across Mexico and in the Paraná river in southern Brazil and Argentina.

Across the West and Central Asia, inflows into reservoirs remained lower than usual.

Dip in groundwater levels

•   In 2023, average groundwater levels were much below average in 19 per cent of monitored wells, below average in 11 per cent, average in 40 per cent, above average in 10 per cent and much above average in 20 per cent.

•   A large part of North America, central and northern Chile, western and southern Brazil, southern Europe (Portugal, Spain, most of France), central Europe (Hungary, Austria, Bavaria, northern Poland), as well as western and southern Australia, were regions where average groundwater levels were below or much below average in a high proportion of wells.

•  Conversely, groundwater levels were above or much above average in a high proportion of wells in New England (United States), the Maritime provinces of Canada, along the Atlantic coast of north-eastern Brazil, northern Europe (the British Isles and Scandinavia), Israel, southern Africa, parts of India, the Republic of Korea, eastern Australia and the North Island of New Zealand.

•   High precipitation also directly contributes to rising groundwater levels by recharging aquifers and this effect was observed in some parts of India.

Low soil moisture

•   The year 2023 ranked just behind 2022 in recent historical records for dry soils. Soil moisture in 2023 was predominantly below or much below average across large areas globally throughout the year.

•   For example, almost all of North America, South America, North Africa and West Asia experienced much-below-average soil moisture levels, particularly during June, July and August.

•   During the same period (June-August), almost all of Europe, the Russian Federation, Central Asia and China experienced below- to much-below-average soil moisture conditions.

•   However, Alaska, north-eastern Canada, India and the north-eastern Russian Federation experienced much-above-average soil moisture conditions.

•   Currently, 3.6 billion people face inadequate access to water for at least one month every year and this number is expected to rise to more than five billion by 2050, according to United Nations Water.

 Helicase-assisted continuous editing

• A fundamental challenge of genomics is to chart the impact of the three billion bases in the human genome on protein function and gene regulation. Thus, a critical goal is to develop strategies for mutagenizing genomic sequences systematically and at high throughput.
• In particular, targeted mutagenesis of single genomic loci could emulate the natural evolution process to reveal sequence-structure relationships, gain- and loss-of-function phenotypes, and cooperative mutations.
•  However, no method exists that can perform continuous mutagenesis at targeted regions in the endogenous genomes of mammalian cells
• Platform called helicase-assisted continuous editing (HACE), which combines long-range editing of entire loci with the sequence programmability inherent to CRISPR gene editing tools.
• HACE uses CRISPR-Cas9 to direct the loading of a helicase-deaminase fusion for targeted hypermutation of the downstream genomic sequence. HACE achieved locus-specific deamination across >1000 nucleotides with mutations continuously accumulating over time.
• HACE can be multiplexed to target multiple genomic regions with a minimal number of guide RNAs. 
•  HACE can be applied  in coding and noncoding genomic contexts to functionally dissect endogenous mutations conferring drug resistance, changes in enzymatic activity, and altered cis-regulatory element function.
• HACE makes possible the continuous, long-range, programmable diversification of endogenous mammalian genomes. We envision that HACE will substantially expand the functional genomics toolbox and enable the building of systematic sequence-function maps of both coding and noncoding genomes.
• Furthermore, HACE can be developed into a directed evolution system in the endogenous genome, enabling the selection of sequences for desired functions in mammalian biology.

 Fattah 2 

 Iran used hypersonic missiles like the Fattah-2 in the ongoing conflict with Israel.

Features

• It is equipped with a Hypersonic Glide Vehicle (HGV) warhead, which allows the missile to manoeuvre and glide at speeds between Mach 5 and 20.
• Fattah-2 boasts a range of 1,500 km, only slightly more than its predecessor, the Fattah-I.
• The missile can accelerate outside the Earth’s atmosphere.
• Its aerodynamic control surfaces allow for steering within the atmosphere.

Isro to build third launch pad at Sriharikota, Cabinet approval pending 

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is set to construct a third launch pad at its Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
• This new facility will serve as a crucial redundancy measure and support Isro''s ambitious future missions, including the New Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV) program.
• The current second launch pad, originally designed for the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), has been re-engineered to handle the more powerful Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) and its cryogenic stage.
• The proposed third launch pad will incorporate innovative design elements to support Isro''s evolving launch vehicle technology. Unlike traditional vertical integration, the NGLV will be integrated horizontally and then tilted for launch, requiring a specially adapted launch pad.
• The new facility will also accommodate more liquid engine boosters, necessitating a redesigned jet deflector system.
• Another significant feature of the third launch pad will be its capacity for entire-stage testing, eliminating the need for separate testing at Mahendragiri. This integration of testing and launch capabilities is expected to streamline Isro''s launch preparation processes.
•  The project has already received approval from the National Space Commission at its 153rd meeting, alongside other major initiatives such as the Venus mission, Chandrayaan-4, and the first module of India''s space station.

Waste Management and Waste to Energy 

Traditional to Modern Waste Management: Key Insights

•  The Industrial Revolution (mid-18th century) marked the beginning of large-scale waste generation due to industrial production.
• Traditional waste management involved direct disposal into landfills, oceans, or remote areas, which is now unsustainable due to environmental impacts.
• Definition of Waste: According to the UN Statistical Division, waste refers to materials that are no longer useful for production, transformation, or consumption and are meant for disposal.
• Global Waste Generation: Currently, global waste production is 1.3 billion tonnes annually and is projected to rise to 2.2 billion tonnes by 2025, making waste management a critical global concern
• Big cities are yet to clear any land in half of their legacy landfill sites, with only 38% of the total dumped waste being remediated so far. It underscores the need for more effective strategies and resources to overcome the obstacles in waste remediation, and draws attention to the significance of waste-to-energy technologies.
• While waste remediation involves processes that clean up and rehabilitate contaminated land, waste-to-energy technologies convert non-recyclable waste materials into usable forms of energy, such as electricity or heat.

Waste-to-Energy Technologies:

• Waste-to-energy technologies serve two purposes: (a) managing large-scale waste generated from household, municipal and industrial activities and, (b) meeting the rising energy demands. Simply put, ‘waste-to-energy refers to a series of technologies that convert non-recyclable waste into some usable forms of energy’.
• They align with UN SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and promote the circular economy.

Conversion Processes:

• Thermochemical Technologies: Include incineration, pyrolysis, and gasification for energy recovery from waste.
• Incineration: Common method for treating heterogeneous waste by burning it at high temperatures in a specific kind of furnace called incinerators. This technique is appropriate for wastes with high caloric value as well as for non-hazardous municipal waste.
• Pyrolysis: Breaks down waste without oxygen to produce fuels (char, pyrolysis oil, syngas). It is an old technology that was used to produce charcoal from wood.
• Gasification: Decomposes carbon-rich waste to produce syngas. Pyrolysis and gasification are better suited for homogenous waste types.
• Biochemical Technologies: Use biological processes for organic waste (kitchen/garden).
• Anaerobic Digestion: is appropriate for organic waste where micro-organisms break down material in the absence of oxygen. One of the end-products is biogas. This method can occur naturally or can be engineered in bio-digesters and sanitary landfills.
• Landfilling: Composting and landfilling involve burying of waste accompanied by deploying landfill gas recovery systems. Although landfilling is less expensive, it is environmentally detrimental due to the release of toxic and obnoxious gases.

Waste-to-Energy in India:

• The first plant was established in Delhi in 1987. As of 2022, India has 12 operational plants.
• Despite policies from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, power generation from waste remains minimal, at just 554 MW (0.1% of total energy generated).
• There is a perception that waste-to-energy plants have failed in India. Commonly cited reasons are administrative delays in getting approval as well local opposition This happened in the case of the Bandhwari plant proposed in Gurugram in Haryana in 2021. Other reasons include extremely heterogeneous, unsegregated and poor quality of waste which requires excessive pre-treatment and increases the fuel requirement making the entire process expensive and unviable.
• Global best practices (e.g., Denmark’s hedonistic sustainability) could be adapted in India.